The scent of wood drifted in the cold air, red and orange fluttering against my eyes as curiosity overflowed in my ever restless heart. Standing there amidst stretches of fields, mountains and seas, I found myself taking photos of those moments in my mind, freezing them in my memory.
The vibrant sky seemed to always hover with an air of expectancy -- there's always something new to see with this curious mind of mine. I was in a whole new different place though it felt as if I have been here before. Ah, I felt the same way when I first saw that photograph of the fields on a June day -- I knew I had to be here.

And so on a cold November day, I set forth to live in an unforgettable second home.

She loved the way the embroideries shine in the firelight, the smooth and delicate feel of the fabric embracing her body, the perfumed scent of the fan enveloping her senses in sweet intoxication. Lost in beauty, she remembered the tattered hakama she cherished as she ran in the fields, wild and free, the warmth of the hearth where she ate the food she and her family cared and took from their own crops, the laughter each time they find themselves huddled beside each other in the cold winter nights with no spare blankets to be found. She cherished them, memories old yet full of love. An old life it seems, now replaced with richness she never thought would graze her skin. Mere memories, distant but never forgotten -- she longed for them as she drifted between gold and silver.

Inspired by the stunning Maki-e art of Japan. The first time I saw a piece made with its style in Osaka Castle, I couldn't tear my eyes from it, even my heart. Being kind of melodramatic huh? But it did tug at my heart so much. It's so beautiful and hard to make. Hardwork leads to beautiful things, no matter how long it takes to get there.

Misaki

Misaki loves to wander around the forest alone with her own thoughts...but she's not truly alone. She can hear the thoughts of the wind as it whispers among the trees like a friend's stories, feel the touch of the sunlight piercing through sun-dappled canopies like a loved one's embrace and taste the sweet scent of the flowers like a treat given by a friend. She seems a little too shy and quiet but her tiny cat mask gives away the childlike demeanor everybody wants her to hide. She is her own person and that is enough to make her feel free.

"Briefly like spring time,

I have come, but I will go.

Life is too fleeting."

Tora

She is named Tora. To defend one's land is her duty and it takes up too much of her time. Sometimes she wonders if it was better to have been an ordinary person, tilling farm or making rice, singing songs with her friends and eating with her family at the dinner table. But this is the life that she's been given. She is grateful, but she feels her days and her nights are too short -- life is but similar to the passing of sakura blossoms. She will never know just when the blades or the arrows of her enemies will end her days. In this she feels sorrow but also gratitude -- to die for your people and your country is enough to make the hardship and unpredictability of warfare easier to overcome.

Growing up with six older brothers, all Hagumi wanted was to fit right in with the guys. She took up arms and fought in the skirmishes along with them. But that was only in her wildest of dreams. She's stuck feeding the chickens and cooking dinner at home. Not that she hated doing all the women's work, but she longed for adventure... sans the killing. One day she was forced to do what she had imagined doing -- she must fight to protect her brothers' innocence. Oh great, I was just joking, she thought nervously. Well, I could handle a broom so why not a spear? She's quite sure she could do it. After all those daydreams and watching numerous training and sparring with the scarecrow, she could survive the battlefield, right?