KAMIYO Episode 14: Ikuguhi-no-Kami — The Joy of Blooming

Prologue: The Kingdom of Monochromatic Green

Through the heated roar of Tsunoguhi-no-Kami, the world was overflowing with vitality.

A vast forest stretched as far as the eye could see. Thick trunks pierced the heavens, and lush leaves overlapped in search of the sun.

The once-inorganic sandy earth had now become a dense sea of green.

However, that world was somewhat suffocating and monotonous.

There was only "strength for survival" and the color "green."

It possessed an orderly severity like an army, as if forbidding any other color.

It was functional, but lacked playfulness. It had strength, but lacked glamour.

Even when the wind blew, the leaves merely rustled with a zawa-zawa sound, lacking any singing joy.

"Could there not be... something more?"

Just as the trees of the forest themselves began to feel bewildered by their own rugged appearance, a warm, soft light, like the sunshine of spring, descended from the treetops.

It was a light possessing "playfulness," coming to unravel the strict rule of green.

Chapter 1: The Manifestation of Ikuguhi

The light raced through the forest like a dancer and landed before Tsunoguhi.

The particles of light burst open, and from within appeared a single goddess.

The Fourth Generation of the Kamiyo-nanayo (The Seven Divine Generations), the goddess paired with Tsunoguhi.

Her name is Ikuguhi-no-Kami.

She appeared as a bright and lovely maiden.

She was clad in a Kosode (short-sleeved kimono) of sprout-green (Moegi-iro). On her sleeves and hem, patterns of flowers from all four seasons—which should not yet exist in this world—were depicted in vivid embroidery.

The air around her alone became sweet, drifting with a scent that made one's heart float.

Ikuguhi looked up at the rugged Tsunoguhi standing like a Deva king and laughed with a voice like rolling bells.

"Wow! What powerful green. I can feel your passion."

She caressed a thick tree trunk lovingly, but immediately smiled mischievously.

"But, it looks a little lonely... Hey, brother. It's boring to just survive. We can make it more fun, more beautiful!"

She was a goddess who appeared to bring the joy of "living beautifully (celebration)," not just "living (survival)."

Chapter 2: The First Blooming

"Beautiful, you say? For those occupied fully with survival, unnecessary decorations are not needed."

Tsunoguhi frowned in disapproval.

Ikuguhi smiled, saying, "Oh, just watch," and approached a single tree.

There was a small "protrusion (bud)" that had grown through Tsunoguhi's power but was simply closed hard.

The goddess brought her lips close to the protrusion and gently blew a breath. Fuu...

The breath of spring, encouraging the activation of life.

Pop.

A lovely sound echoed in the quiet forest.

In the next instant, the hard shell burst, and something like a thin cloth of vivid pink spread out from within.

A flower.

It was the moment plants bloomed "flowers" for the first time in the world.

Tsunoguhi opened his eyes wide in astonishment.

"Wh... What is this impractical, yet strangely captivating shape...!"

Ikuguhi spoke to the flower that had just bloomed.

"Bloom! Do not hold back. Show your true beauty hidden within to the world!"

It was the beginning of the joy of "Self-Expression," transcending mere growth.

Chapter 3: The Dance of Diversity, Explosion of Color

"Come now, everyone follow!"

Ikuguhi jumped out into the sea of green.

She ran around the forest, twirling and dancing happily.

From where her feet touched, from where her sleeves grazed, colors erupted one after another.

Red, blue, yellow, purple, white.

Shapes and sizes differed. Those opening wide toward the sun, those looking down shyly, those releasing sweet scents.

"Everyone is different, and everyone is beautiful! There is no need to compare yourself with anyone!"

Her words became magic, dyeing the uniform forest in colorful hues.

Lives born from the same "green" began to assert their different "individualities."

"You, burn red! You, be clear blue! Cherish your respective qualities and bloom proudly as you wish!"

The god's joy propagated, and the world knew the "Beauty of Diversity" for the first time.

The forest was no longer a place of monotonous survival competition, but changed into a ballroom where colorful lives performed together.

Chapter 4: Cycling Seasons, The Aesthetics of Falling

Flowers bloomed in profusion, and the world became like a paradise.

However, the bloomed flowers eventually withered and scattered.

Seeing this, Tsunoguhi said sadly.

"It is beautiful, but... how transient. Is this not lacking in strength?"

However, Ikuguhi caught a falling petal in her palm and gently shook her head.

"No. Because there is an end, this very moment is precious."

When she spread her arms to the sky, the scent of the wind changed.

A sign was born that the warmth of spring would shift to the heat of summer, and then to the cool breeze of autumn.

"Remaining in the same form forever is not the only eternity. Blooming, scattering, bearing fruit, and becoming seeds again... That shifting figure itself is eternal beauty."

She gave the world the rhythm of "Seasons."

To change and circulate. To bloom without fearing the fall. That drama gave depth to life.

Chapter 5: The Marriage of Power and Beauty (Hieros Gamos)

In the center of the forest where colorful flowers bloomed and petals danced in the wind, Tsunoguhi and Ikuguhi faced each other again.

Tsunoguhi looked at the beautiful flowers blooming on the trees he had raised and nodded with satisfaction.

The rugged trunk supports the flower, and the flower decorates the trunk.

With the two together, the landscape became a perfect painting.

Tsunoguhi wrapped his rugged hand around the goddess's hand.

"I admit it, my sister. Your flowers have breathed a soul into my green."

Ikuguhi also squeezed the male god's hand back and smiled lovably.

"Yes, my brother. Because of your strength, the flowers can bloom in peace."

The male god's strength (Growth) and the goddess's grace (Blooming).

Utility and Decoration. Survival and Celebration.

"Strength" and "Beauty" harmonized, and the world of plants reached its true completion.

As if invited by the laughter of the two gods, flowers all over the world swayed in unison, and their sweet scent reached the heavens.