落とし穴番外：最古の付喪神 (Part1)
**Pitfall Side Story: The Oldest Tsukumogami**
**Side: Taiki**
"I see, so they're *tsukumogami*."
I muttered this, genuinely impressed. If they were *tsukumogami*, they were, in a sense, deities, so things probably wouldn't turn out too badly. Above all, they were *yokai* born from the principle of not wasting objects.
"All things possess a spirit." It might be a bit different from the Japanese concept of the "eight million gods," but it was close.
"For now, let's take a look at the *Hyakki Yagyō Emaki* (Scroll of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons)," Yuki-san said, pulling a book on *yokai* out of nowhere.
It felt wrong to ask why he kept such things on hand. This place was crawling with monsters, and since Luna-san kept dragging things back from Earth, he probably kept it for countermeasures. I even recognized the book myself.
"That's the one by Toriyama Sekien-sensei, right?"
"No, that would be the *Gazu Hyakki Yagyō*."
"Huh? Are they different?"
"Yeah. Toriyama Sekien is a famous *yokai* artist, and his famous work is the *Gazu Hyakki Yagyō* I just mentioned. Also known as a *yokai* art collection. It consists of three volumes: Yin, Yang, and Wind. Sometimes people just call it *Hyakki Yagyō*. But what I've brought out is much older, written in the Muromachi period. Toriyama Sekien lived in the Edo period, so this is about 200 years older."
*Whoa.* I knew *yokai* art had been around for a long time, but I was impressed that there were such specific distinctions.
"This one is strictly a *Tsukumogami Emaki*, written by a specialist, so it's likely more accurate than the *Hyakki Yagyō*."
"Huh, a specialist one, huh?"
"What kind of things are in it?"
"Let's see!"
Aslin-chan and Firia-chan leaned in with me as I peered at the pages. The scroll was filled with unique, ink-brushed illustrations.
"Man, this is great. It’s got real character."
"It’s truly mysterious. Was this style mainstream in Japan? What about portraits?"
"Hifi-san, traditional Japanese portraits weren't exactly realist."
Comet-san was being her usual self, and since Hifi-san and Taizo-san had started a deep dive into Japanese art history, I decided to let that slide. I barely knew anything beyond *ukiyo-e* or ink wash paintings anyway.
Setting the art talk aside, there was a fundamental problem with this *Tsukumogami Emaki*.
"Just looking at these pictures, I have no idea what kind of *tsukumogami* they are or what kind of influence they have."
"True. Let's just ask Shuten. Shuten, does anything catch your eye? Something safe, preferably."
"Hmm. I don't see the *tsukumogami* from my time. I'm not sure which one is good."
"Ah, right. This scroll is from the Muromachi period, and Shuten was from the Heian period. The eras are completely different."
Right, to Shuten-chan, this scroll was from the distant future. It made sense she wouldn't recognize them. As I thought about how the tools used would have changed with the times, she spoke up.
"Oh, wait. That woman holding the bell. I recognize her."
"A bell? This one?"
"Yeah. Aslin, that's her."
Shuten pointed to a woman simply holding a bell, but...
"Is that a *yokai*? A *tsukumogami*? She just looks like a woman holding a bell."
Wasn't this just a woman who had been surprised by the *Hyakki Yagyō*? It was common for people to be depicted in *yokai* scrolls, so I assumed this was just one of those.
"Hmm, let's see. Ah, it's only natural that Shuten would know her. She was one of the ones who pulled me out of the Heavenly Rock Cave."
" " "Hah!?" " "
We were all stunned by Luna-san's sudden declaration. Wait, what? She pulled Luna-san out?
"Ah, well, 'one of them' or rather, a tool. You know the legend of me locking myself in the Heavenly Rock Cave, right?"
"I know the legend, but hearing you say it's your own story is highly regrettable."
"Why? Well, whatever. So, do you remember how they got me out of that cave, Taizo?"
"Yes. I am well aware. They held a banquet outside the cave, and you were lured out by it."
"Right. That’s mostly correct."
Yeah, I knew the legend just as Taizo-san described it. Though I didn't know the finer details. Yuki-san, however, looked deeply suspicious.
"What are you talking about, considering you locked yourself away because you were threatened by your brother, Susanoo? And Taizo-san was being polite by saying you were 'lured out,' but the texts say you were peeking out because you were curious about the party, and they forcibly dragged you out, right?"
"You're noisy. My brother was the one at fault. I settled the score with him later."
Ah, right, that did happen. But then Susanoo-no-Mikoto went on to slay the Yamata no Orochi... and that was Shuten's mother. Yeah, she built a nation, but whether there were extenuating circumstances remained debatable. I decided not to press that point here.
"Anyway, Amaterasu Omikami, which means you're a wolf, right? What about your current form?"
"If you want me to talk in the form of a wolf, I can do that. But I already told you I'm a composite entity, didn't I? I have no intention of repeating that argument here."
"Fine, fine. So, is this Suzuhiko-hime in the scroll one of the instruments from that time?"
"Yeah. Well, her base is close to the stripper, Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto."
"That's your fault! You should apologize to Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto herself. It's tragic that she's remembered as a stripper in later ages."
"It doesn't matter. She's famous as Okame-sama, isn't she? Anyway, I can summon the *tsukumogami* Suzuhiko-hime if you want, but what will you do? Actually, it seems Shuten knows her?"
Oh, right, Shuten-chan had reacted as if she knew her.
"Yeah, I know her. We had banquets like that in my time, too. I think I recognized her from the scroll because that tradition has been passed down."
I see. Traditional performing arts faithfully recreate the ways of the past, so it wasn't strange that Shuten-chan had seen her.
"In that case, let's summon Suzuhiko-hime first. She's one of the oldest *tsukumogami*, so she should know which *tsukumogami* or *yokai* are safe."
No one objected to that idea, and it was decided that Suzuhiko-hime would be summoned immediately.
...And it was truly immediate.
With a sudden flash of light, a girl appeared. She was slightly taller than Aslin-chan or Firia-chan, about the same height as Shera-chan, with long, straight black hair and a bell hair ornament—the very image of a Japanese girl.
"Amaterasu Omikami-sama. Suzuhiko-hime, reporting."
The moment she appeared, she turned toward Luna-san and bowed deeply, kneeling with reverence.
"Mm. Raise your head."
"Yes!"
Wow. Suzuhiko-hime didn't even blink at Luna-san's out-of-place tone, simply raising her head with a serious expression. Her demeanor made it clear that Luna-san truly was Amaterasu Omikami. But still...