MONAS | Tone 1 | Phrase 3: The Night Breeze of Ōmihachiman ~ This muddy vesture of decay

Aureilia
May 31
14 min read

Updated: Jul 6

[Tone 1. Shiga: The Sea of Niho] 〜 This muddy vesture of decay 〜

Ōmihachiman. A historic castle town established by Toyotomi Hidetsugu.

Having already checked into their hotel and now travelling light, the two strolled through the atmospheric, water-laced streets under the veil of night. Kaho surveyed the traditional streetscape, and as if struck by a sudden surge of inspiration, her eyes sparkled with the pure, unadulterated curiosity of a child.

The restaurant recommended to them was an exquisitely charming eatery, meticulously converted from a traditional Ōmi merchant’s townhouse. As they slipped through the serene, reddish-brown lattice doors at the entrance, Kai ran his long, rugged fingers lightly over the grain of the wood and murmured.

“…What a magnificent Bengal red (bengara) lattice.”

“Hehe, exactly what you’d expect from a former plasterer. You really do have an eye for these things.”

The private inner room they were shown into was elegantly designed to overlook a hira-niwa—a ‘flat garden’ style entirely unique to the Ōmi region. Rather than forcing extreme, artificial elevations with stones and sand like a typical dry landscape garden, it gracefully embraced the natural, subtle undulations of the earth, expanding into a flawlessly flat and endlessly serene space.