fic: metaphors of the sun
Dec. 5th, 2010 02:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bonnefoisTitle: metaphors of the sun
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
measuringlife
Recipient:glory_of_hera
Rating: PG
Warnings: other thanpretentiousness, AU history and allusions to historical violence?
Summary: During Sakoku, Japan finds a stranger upon her doorstep.
Notes: Take one part Allegory of the Cave one part the sun and the cave, one part historical AU and one part fem!Japan. Shake well. This mixes the themes "anything goes, Greece/fem!Japan" and "mixture of mythology of their cultures" or in this case, mythology, philosophy and history. Merry Christmas,glory_of_hera. (Historical notes at the end.)
*
Once a long time ago, the sun hid away in a cave. Once, a long time ago, the land of the rising sun, daughter of the son, closed the shutters and followed her mother. What caused this? For the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, it was the actions of Susano, a mercurial storm god said to be either brother or lover, varying in the tale told. To Japan, it was a similar tale. Her brothers Korea, China, and the Anglos all closing in. Their relationship like Susano and Amaterasu, had always been a stormy one.
She closed every door, guarded every harbor carefully. Should any come to her, door, they would be met with the steel of her katana. Anyone who mistook her for a mere delicate flower might not live long enough to tell of it.
When the sun went away, the world was put to chaos. When the land of the rising sun went into Sakoku, the world remained much the same. It was a comfort, none the same as the Spanish and Portuguese converted the Philippines, much to the consternation of the Protestant Dutch. The threat of death kept out even those with superior forces.
Her doors were closed, and she preferred it that way. She lay on her futon, her hair unbound and the shades drawn. At times she would sneak in a glimmering lamp to read, but rarely did she leave, except for the executions. Even her food was brought to her by a hired boy.
And so it went, for hundreds of years, with only terse meetings with traders, the most limited of contact, until the day he came.
It was a day in Spring, she knew that much. It was the sound of the Nyo, nyo of a cat's cry that made her look outside.
He sat there, a cat curled in his lap. She did not know how long he had been there, apparently in wait for her. He looked different from the other Anglos she had seen. His skin was olive in color, his hair wavy, bordering on curly. It looked very soft. She could only partly see his face, for he was bent and whispering calming words to the cat in a language she did not know.
She stepped towards him, katana in hand. Her plain kimono hung loose, her hair undone and unbrushed. She pressed it to his throat, and he looked up at her calmly.
"The rule is foreigners enter under the threat of death," she said.
"That is the rules you have mandated," he agreed. "The question is, does the world even exist as you perceive it?"
She blinked, her grip relaxing. A madman? Despite his apparent calm, he was quite strong. Could he overpower her, attempt to rape her? Perhaps. He stroked the cat, seemingly oblivious to the blade to his throat.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"You have been hidden within your cave long enough that should you see the world, it could be an entirely different realty, now that you have accustomed to the dark, the shadows of things. You believe the flames for sunlight, and the monsters that you once perceived may no longer exist in the forms you last saw them to be...."
"In whatever form they take, I do not wish for their gods," she said, curtly. "I have many of my own."
He nodded. "I don't agree with the Catholics myself. There was quite a fight some time ago..." He yawned and looked to the harbor beyond, the passing clouds. "And I do not wish to harm, convert or colonize you."
She let the sword fall to her side, and considered him. "What brings you here, if it is not colonization or spreading the word of your god?"
"Curiosity, I suppose..." He said. He gazed up at her, and the bobtail on his lap purred.
"I heard of a girl hidden away for many years....A beautiful girl with ways that seemed unusual to those that had met her. A quiet girl, a wise girl....It sounded like the stories of old."
He studied her, and she felt shy under his gaze. "Obviously, I have found her....and the stories are true."
"And?" She asked, fighting back for her composure.
"I wished to talk to you, actually," he said. "A discussion of like-minded people..."
"Then I will listen," she said. She could grant him that much, at least.
"It isn't philosophy this time, but politics," he said. "I suppose I can see why you would hide yourself away. It is a lasting scar to be occupied...to be conquered."
He looked so sad, lost in remembrance of another time. "If I could have avoided it that way, I think I would've too holed up within a cave and simply spent a long time thinking. Would it have been better to see flames as sunlight, to turn shadows into the perception of forms than be the territory of another...?"
"I believe so," she said. "It is certainly the path I have chosen."
He nodded slowly. "Yes...but that was not quite all," he admitted.
"Then you do have some intent?" She said, her voice turning chilly.
"Only to give you this," he said. He handed over something wrapped in clean white cloth. What she found was a mirror, and was surprised by her disheveled appearance. Her kimono was clean, but somewhat wrinkled. The eyes that stared back at her were wary and suspicious, showing none of the gentle, feminine traits praised in women. She if anything, resembled the sort of youkai that devoured men and were eventually laid to rest by monks and priests.
"I asked a scholar to tell me of your tales before I came here. He told me the tale of the sun of the cave...of how your sun goddess hid herself away."
"I see...." She said.
"So land of the rising sun, will you come back to us?" He smiled up at her, gently with no hint of an underlying manipulation for the cause of subjugating her. "Perhaps the world is not in chaos...but we are missing something important."
She looked to the mirror. At this angle she could see both him and herself reflected it its depths. All this time, he had shown her no vice, no sign of aggression or underlying want. He was strange, and yet she sensed nothing else to cause fear or alarm. And she admitted to herself, she must look strange as well with her wild eyes and the dark circles under them that made her resemble a tanuki.
"Actually... There was also a part of naked dancing, but I thought the mirror was a better choice at first...unless you want me to dance naked?" He said.
"....No thank you," she said. "That...that will not be necessary. As for the end of Sakoku...
I. shall think on it. It is not my choice entirely to make."
He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Shouldn't it be?"
"We all have to obey our leaders, whatever the circumstances," she said.
"One of my old bosses buried the old gods and brought in Christ," he said.
"See, they may even throw your gods, your lineage away at a whim," she said, her voice taking on a cold edge.
He shrugged. "My mother had passed, and their time was done."
He leaned back, looking contemplative and perhaps, nostalgic. "My sun gods used to be so precocious....Losing chariots, chasing nymphs and starting prophecies. Yours was very composed compared to my old gods."
"Amaterasu-sama is our ancestor, and the guide to all living things....she has shown us not just how to live, but to live properly."
"You must tell me more about them sometime," he said. "That is, if you've decided to not try and kill me. It's tough to kill our kind, though: it takes a lot more than a sword."
He began to open up his shirt, and she was just about to protest propriety, when she saw that the reasons he did so were not lascivious in nature. There were many think gashes over his chest, even coming up to his throat. He had seen his share of battle, and survived through it all.
"Battles with the Ottoman Empire," he said, anger darkening his features. So while am interested in seeing your swordplay, I must warn I will be much harder to execute than a mere mortal."
"Of course," she murmured. "I will keep your presence from my leader to my best....and I'm afraid I have been rude, and have not asked your name," she said.
"Greece," he said. "You've probably heard of my mother, she was very influential and famous."
"Yes...I have heard of her and am sorry for her and your loss," she said.
"Greece-san, please come in. I am sorry for my rudeness...it is what the times call for."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," he said, as he rose up. The cat protested, but he picked it up and carried it in with him inside. She walked into her house, and throw open the shades, letting the light in as the first foreigner to escape her blade in hundreds of years came inside.
--
Note time!
Sakoku was instituted in policies between 1631-1639 and lasted until 1854 and the arrival of US commodore Matthew Perry lead to the opening of Japan, though it was still illegal for Japanese citizens to leave as late as 1868. The reason for isolationism was largely because of Spanish and Portugese missionary work, and the fear of the influence the Europeans were having over the Asian countries as a whole.
During this time, all imports were very closely guarded, and no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death.
Greece achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832. In real historical canon, Greece and Japan established diplomatic relations in 1899, some time after Japan had come out from its isolationism. This takes place about 1854, with a subtle shift of events.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakoku
Tanuki is a raccoon dog. There's quite a bit of folklore surrounding them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanuki
youkai are superntural creatures in Japanese lore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dkai
Author:
measuringlifeRecipient:
glory_of_heraRating: PG
Warnings: other than
Summary: During Sakoku, Japan finds a stranger upon her doorstep.
Notes: Take one part Allegory of the Cave one part the sun and the cave, one part historical AU and one part fem!Japan. Shake well. This mixes the themes "anything goes, Greece/fem!Japan" and "mixture of mythology of their cultures" or in this case, mythology, philosophy and history. Merry Christmas,
glory_of_hera. (Historical notes at the end.)*
Once a long time ago, the sun hid away in a cave. Once, a long time ago, the land of the rising sun, daughter of the son, closed the shutters and followed her mother. What caused this? For the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, it was the actions of Susano, a mercurial storm god said to be either brother or lover, varying in the tale told. To Japan, it was a similar tale. Her brothers Korea, China, and the Anglos all closing in. Their relationship like Susano and Amaterasu, had always been a stormy one.
She closed every door, guarded every harbor carefully. Should any come to her, door, they would be met with the steel of her katana. Anyone who mistook her for a mere delicate flower might not live long enough to tell of it.
When the sun went away, the world was put to chaos. When the land of the rising sun went into Sakoku, the world remained much the same. It was a comfort, none the same as the Spanish and Portuguese converted the Philippines, much to the consternation of the Protestant Dutch. The threat of death kept out even those with superior forces.
Her doors were closed, and she preferred it that way. She lay on her futon, her hair unbound and the shades drawn. At times she would sneak in a glimmering lamp to read, but rarely did she leave, except for the executions. Even her food was brought to her by a hired boy.
And so it went, for hundreds of years, with only terse meetings with traders, the most limited of contact, until the day he came.
It was a day in Spring, she knew that much. It was the sound of the Nyo, nyo of a cat's cry that made her look outside.
He sat there, a cat curled in his lap. She did not know how long he had been there, apparently in wait for her. He looked different from the other Anglos she had seen. His skin was olive in color, his hair wavy, bordering on curly. It looked very soft. She could only partly see his face, for he was bent and whispering calming words to the cat in a language she did not know.
She stepped towards him, katana in hand. Her plain kimono hung loose, her hair undone and unbrushed. She pressed it to his throat, and he looked up at her calmly.
"The rule is foreigners enter under the threat of death," she said.
"That is the rules you have mandated," he agreed. "The question is, does the world even exist as you perceive it?"
She blinked, her grip relaxing. A madman? Despite his apparent calm, he was quite strong. Could he overpower her, attempt to rape her? Perhaps. He stroked the cat, seemingly oblivious to the blade to his throat.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"You have been hidden within your cave long enough that should you see the world, it could be an entirely different realty, now that you have accustomed to the dark, the shadows of things. You believe the flames for sunlight, and the monsters that you once perceived may no longer exist in the forms you last saw them to be...."
"In whatever form they take, I do not wish for their gods," she said, curtly. "I have many of my own."
He nodded. "I don't agree with the Catholics myself. There was quite a fight some time ago..." He yawned and looked to the harbor beyond, the passing clouds. "And I do not wish to harm, convert or colonize you."
She let the sword fall to her side, and considered him. "What brings you here, if it is not colonization or spreading the word of your god?"
"Curiosity, I suppose..." He said. He gazed up at her, and the bobtail on his lap purred.
"I heard of a girl hidden away for many years....A beautiful girl with ways that seemed unusual to those that had met her. A quiet girl, a wise girl....It sounded like the stories of old."
He studied her, and she felt shy under his gaze. "Obviously, I have found her....and the stories are true."
"And?" She asked, fighting back for her composure.
"I wished to talk to you, actually," he said. "A discussion of like-minded people..."
"Then I will listen," she said. She could grant him that much, at least.
"It isn't philosophy this time, but politics," he said. "I suppose I can see why you would hide yourself away. It is a lasting scar to be occupied...to be conquered."
He looked so sad, lost in remembrance of another time. "If I could have avoided it that way, I think I would've too holed up within a cave and simply spent a long time thinking. Would it have been better to see flames as sunlight, to turn shadows into the perception of forms than be the territory of another...?"
"I believe so," she said. "It is certainly the path I have chosen."
He nodded slowly. "Yes...but that was not quite all," he admitted.
"Then you do have some intent?" She said, her voice turning chilly.
"Only to give you this," he said. He handed over something wrapped in clean white cloth. What she found was a mirror, and was surprised by her disheveled appearance. Her kimono was clean, but somewhat wrinkled. The eyes that stared back at her were wary and suspicious, showing none of the gentle, feminine traits praised in women. She if anything, resembled the sort of youkai that devoured men and were eventually laid to rest by monks and priests.
"I asked a scholar to tell me of your tales before I came here. He told me the tale of the sun of the cave...of how your sun goddess hid herself away."
"I see...." She said.
"So land of the rising sun, will you come back to us?" He smiled up at her, gently with no hint of an underlying manipulation for the cause of subjugating her. "Perhaps the world is not in chaos...but we are missing something important."
She looked to the mirror. At this angle she could see both him and herself reflected it its depths. All this time, he had shown her no vice, no sign of aggression or underlying want. He was strange, and yet she sensed nothing else to cause fear or alarm. And she admitted to herself, she must look strange as well with her wild eyes and the dark circles under them that made her resemble a tanuki.
"Actually... There was also a part of naked dancing, but I thought the mirror was a better choice at first...unless you want me to dance naked?" He said.
"....No thank you," she said. "That...that will not be necessary. As for the end of Sakoku...
I. shall think on it. It is not my choice entirely to make."
He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Shouldn't it be?"
"We all have to obey our leaders, whatever the circumstances," she said.
"One of my old bosses buried the old gods and brought in Christ," he said.
"See, they may even throw your gods, your lineage away at a whim," she said, her voice taking on a cold edge.
He shrugged. "My mother had passed, and their time was done."
He leaned back, looking contemplative and perhaps, nostalgic. "My sun gods used to be so precocious....Losing chariots, chasing nymphs and starting prophecies. Yours was very composed compared to my old gods."
"Amaterasu-sama is our ancestor, and the guide to all living things....she has shown us not just how to live, but to live properly."
"You must tell me more about them sometime," he said. "That is, if you've decided to not try and kill me. It's tough to kill our kind, though: it takes a lot more than a sword."
He began to open up his shirt, and she was just about to protest propriety, when she saw that the reasons he did so were not lascivious in nature. There were many think gashes over his chest, even coming up to his throat. He had seen his share of battle, and survived through it all.
"Battles with the Ottoman Empire," he said, anger darkening his features. So while am interested in seeing your swordplay, I must warn I will be much harder to execute than a mere mortal."
"Of course," she murmured. "I will keep your presence from my leader to my best....and I'm afraid I have been rude, and have not asked your name," she said.
"Greece," he said. "You've probably heard of my mother, she was very influential and famous."
"Yes...I have heard of her and am sorry for her and your loss," she said.
"Greece-san, please come in. I am sorry for my rudeness...it is what the times call for."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," he said, as he rose up. The cat protested, but he picked it up and carried it in with him inside. She walked into her house, and throw open the shades, letting the light in as the first foreigner to escape her blade in hundreds of years came inside.
--
Note time!
Sakoku was instituted in policies between 1631-1639 and lasted until 1854 and the arrival of US commodore Matthew Perry lead to the opening of Japan, though it was still illegal for Japanese citizens to leave as late as 1868. The reason for isolationism was largely because of Spanish and Portugese missionary work, and the fear of the influence the Europeans were having over the Asian countries as a whole.
During this time, all imports were very closely guarded, and no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death.
Greece achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832. In real historical canon, Greece and Japan established diplomatic relations in 1899, some time after Japan had come out from its isolationism. This takes place about 1854, with a subtle shift of events.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakoku
Tanuki is a raccoon dog. There's quite a bit of folklore surrounding them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanuki
youkai are superntural creatures in Japanese lore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dkai
