ST-STYLE MZ012 "RYUCHI"

Ryuchi was his name. That’s what his greatgrandfather had called him because even as a baby he was as strong and as fierce as a dragon. Like every other samurai’s son his training started when he was quite young. He had to learn to master the sword and the bow. And from his old and frail greatgrandfather, whose mind was still as sharp as a katana despite his advanced age, he learned about history, warfare and music.

Whatever his family lacked in money and power was compensated by their sense of honour. His ancestors had fought side by side famous warlords and had always gained respect by their deeds. He had inherited the very swords he used from one of them. 

One day he accompanied the warlord he was serving to the the house of a nobleman. He was known for his beautiful garden that in springtime was filled with the scent of cherryblossoms.

During the conversation between the nobleman and the warlord Ryuchi was distracted by an enchanting melody that touched him right in the heart. Despite the fact he was supposed to stay in the vicinity of the warlord his feet followed the music deeper and deeper into the garden.

It was a wonderful garden indeed but he paid little attention to it. Restlessly he wandered past trees where colourful butterflies flew and hidden birds sang their songs. Somehow it all was in harmony with each other. Was the garden magical after all, as he had been told? 

Just when he was about to give up he found her. Sakura, as she was lovingly called.

The voice belonged to a young woman sitting by a pond in the midst of a cloud of dancing kami who listened to her breathlessly. A clear brook was clattering nearby. Among the spirits there was even a young dragon. This creature flew to him immediately and looked deep into his eyes for what felt like centuries as if he was trying to fathom the innermost secrets of his soul. It was a magnificent creature to be sure. He told himself there was nothing to be afraid of. Nonetheless that big snout with all of those sharp teeth hovering in front of his face was still a little unsettling. Fortunately it only lasted a short while before the green dragon flew back. And the moment Ryuchi looked in the eyes of the singer his fate was sealed and his heart was given. Whatever else happened; they were meant for each other.

Bear in mind that in their time and culture it wasn’t a matter of course that people could choose their own partner but as the warlord stated eventually: if the kami themselves approved of this relationship only a fool would forbid it.

Unfortunately the world outside of the garden continued as usual with all of the ugliness thereof  and Japan was faced with a fleet of soldiers sent by the ruler of China. One defeat followed the next for the defenders of Japan. The invaders were in the majority by far and used different weapons and tactics than they were used to. At Hakata Bay the enemy built a bridgehead in order to conquer the rest of Japan from there.

Ryuchi was one of the samurai who were sent there to stop the enemy. He didn’t have a good feeling about it. Of course he would do everything he could; it was his duty after all. As befitted a true samurai he wasn’t afraid of death but he was sorry he hadn’t been able to say goodbye properly to his beloved Sakura. The music of the drums of war had taken the place of the gentle song of the garden.

At night the restless warrior woke up to watch the soldiers crawling around in the enemy camp like ants. Something had awoken him just when he had finally found some sleep. A melody, a feeling. He couldn’t place it. What exactly was happening here he couldn’t have explained afterwards but it seemed as if a different kind of army was hounding the enemy. And this army fought with something completely different than swords and bows. 

All of a sudden a terrible typhoon came up that destroyed a third of the enemy army and a large part of the fleet, so they had no other choice but to withdraw. The kami themselves were defending Japan. 

There were more of them than he had ever seen in the garden. And there, in the middle of the raging whirlwinds that for some reason didn’t affect Ryuchi, was a young green dragon he recognised as Tatsu, if that was even his real name. You never know with dragons, after all. His lethal rage sounded in the song he sang in the language only dragons speak and at the same time it was a song of love as well. Tatsu’s windmagic whipped the ships and drove the enemy away from Japan.

At any rate, in the days afterwards the young samurai could return to the magical garden and his beloved Sakura.