Chapter 622: Kaminarimon Gate, and Sensoji Temple.
“That’s a huge lantern!”
“Touya-sama, were there giants here in the past?”
“No, no, there weren’t any like that…”
Answering Hilda, I, too, look up at the Kaminarimon Gate just like the children. We had walked to the main gate of Sensoji Temple, the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate). Perhaps because I’m in a child’s body, it feels incredibly large. The God of Wind (Fujin) is enshrined on the right, and the God of Thunder (Raijin) is on the left. I think the official name of the Kaminarimon is ‘Furaijinmon‘ (Wind and Thunder God Gate).
“This one here is the God of Wind, and that one over there is the God of Thunder.”
“Gods, you say?”
“Dad, have you met them?”
“M-Met them… I don’t think I have.”
I haven’t, right? When I was invited to the gods’ banquet in Heaven before, I don’t think these kinds of people were there… But maybe there were just ‘Gods of Wind’ or ‘Gods of Thunder’. I don’t know if they are the same people as these Fujin and Raijin, though. Naturally, as a commemoration, we all lined up in front of the Kaminarimon Gate for a photo. A foreign lady who was also visiting for sightseeing took the photo for us. In return, we took a photo of her group. It’s give-and-take. It’s helpful that we don’t have trouble with language, thanks to the translation items. As expected of a representative tourist spot in Japan, there are a lot of foreign tourists. Just like us, there are countless people taking commemorative photos in front of the gate. Anyway, I told the mother-child pairs to hold hands so they wouldn’t get lost. Well, only Kuon has the lucky situation of having both his hands held by Yumina and Allis. Me? I’m alone, so what? I’m fine, I can manage on my own even if I get lost. I’m not jealous, honestly… When passing through the gate, I noticed a magnificent dragon carved on the bottom of the lantern. Dragons also call the wind and thunder… Are they friends with Fujin and Raijin?
“Amazing! There are so many shops!”
“This is quite a sight.”
Passing through the Kaminarimon Gate leads to Nakamise-dori Street. I heard it’s the approach to Sensoji Temple and one of the oldest shopping streets in Japan. There are various souvenir shops and food stalls on both sides of the street. Oh, ningyo-yaki (doll-shaped baked cakes). I have to buy some. Grandpa’s friends used to buy them as souvenirs often.
“There’s ice cream sold over there!”
“They’re selling dango (dumplings), indeed!”
“That stuffed animal is cute…!”
“Ah, wait a minute…!”
While I was distracted by the ningyo-yaki, they all rushed into their target stores. Is this what they call family dispersion…? No, that’s not it. Well, everyone knows that walking straight leads to Sensoji Temple, and the mother-child pairs are together, so I don’t think they’ll get too lost… Everyone has a smartphone, and as a last resort, I have [Search]. For now, let’s buy the ningyo-yaki calmly. Several boxes of the ones with bean paste and the ones without. Oh, I should buy some kaminari-okoshi (rice puff snack) over there too. Ah, Asakusa seaweed. This too… wait, I can’t really criticize everyone else. But there really are all kinds of stores… from things that scream ‘Tokyo souvenir’ to handbags and hats. They even sell zori (Japanese sandals). Should I buy these setta sandals for God Almighty? These white zori might suit Granny Tokie. Yes, since it’s convenient, I’ll buy both. Oh, Linne and Linze are buying imo-yokan (sweet potato jelly) over there. Arcia and Lu are eating soft-serve ice cream. I’m glad they’re enjoying themselves, but let’s stick to group action, okay? Gathering the two groups and walking further down Nakamise-dori Street, I saw Kuon being fitted with T-shirts by Yumina and Allis at a clothing store. Hmm, Allis. What’s up with that T-shirt with ‘NINJA‘ written hugely on it…? Yumina-san, the ‘I ❤️ Asakusa’ T-shirt won’t be understood in the other world… When I stopped them, they seemed to change it to a safer Japanese-patterned T-shirt, and Kuon breathed a sigh of relief. Even Kuon seemed to question the taste. Those are aimed at foreign tourists after all… …That aside, I’ll buy this Ninja T-shirt as a souvenir for Tsubaki-san and the three Kunoichi daughters. No one suits this T-shirt more than them. After acquiring the interesting… no, the wonderful T-shirt, as we were about to proceed, I heard voices of surprise and commotion coming from up ahead. Rushing over to see what happened, I found Yae pinning down a mustachioed man in a hunting cap, about thirty years old, at an open intersection-like part of the street. Eh!? What is she doing!?
“Hey, Yae!? What are you doing!?”
“Oh, Husband. This fellow is a pickpocket, indeed. He was attempting to steal a purse from that lady’s bag, so I chased and apprehended him.”
“Ah! My wallet!?”
When Yae took out a purse from the man’s pocket, a lady in her forties nearby cried out. It seems he was definitely a pickpocket.
“Alright! Girl! You’re amazing!”
“Hey, call the police, the police!”
The surrounding tourists and shopkeepers cheered. The pickpocket struggled beneath Yae, but with his arm twisted and his back pinned down by her knee, he couldn’t move at all. Eventually, two police officers arrived, and the pickpocket was taken away. The lady whose purse was stolen thanked Yae repeatedly. The commotion caused everyone who was at other shops to gather, and we unexpectedly had a full assembly.
“We stood out quite a bit.”
“I apologize, indeed…”
“Well, you didn’t do anything wrong, so it’s fine.”
There was no problem, but the man selling ningyo-yaki gave Yae a bag full of ningyo-yaki, saying, “Well done! Take this!” Although I had bought some for souvenirs, this was appreciated as I wanted to eat some myself too. Rejoicing over the unexpected addition of souvenirs, we walked further down Nakamise-dori Street, reaching another large, vermilion gate. This is the Hozomon Gate, leading to the main hall of Sensoji Temple. The five-storied pagoda is visible on the left. In the center is a large lantern inscribed with ‘Kobunacho‘. Lined up on the left and right are Nio statues. Is the one with an open mouth the Agyo statue, and the one with a closed mouth the Ungyo statue? When passing under the gate, I looked at the bottom of the lantern, and like the Kaminarimon Gate, a dragon was carved here too.
“A huge straw sandal!”
“Eh?”
I turned around at Steph’s sudden cry, and large straw sandals were hung on the wall on the back of the Hozomon Gate… or rather, the side facing the main hall, on the left and right. Steph must have known about waraji (straw sandals) since Yae and the people from Eashen wear them. It seems they were dedicated from Yamagata, but I wonder if there’s any story behind this? Looking back from the straw sandals, there are administration offices selling omikuji (fortunes) and omamori (charms) on the left and right, and in front of them is the majestic Main Hall of Sensoji Temple. It’s so big… I think it’s the oldest temple in Tokyo, with a history of about 1,400 years since the Asuka period, right?
“Apparently, it started when two fishermen brothers pulled a Kannon statue out of the water in the Sumida River and enshrined it. It’s said that a golden dragon descended from the heavens on the day the Kannon statue was recovered, and that’s how the temple got the name ‘Kinryuzan Sensoji‘ (Golden Dragon Mountain Sensoji Temple).”
“Wait, aren’t you a little too detailed…?”
“You should utilize the conveniences of civilization properly, you know?”
Saying that, Leen lightly waved the smartphone she held in her hand. So, she just looked it up now. It’s convenient to be able to look things up while seeing the real thing. For now, let’s leave the omikuji for later and go worship at the Main Hall.
“There’s some smoke coming out…”
Linze was looking at the smoke rising from the large incense burner placed in the temple grounds in front of the Main Hall. Visitors were making gestures as if pulling the smoke toward their bodies and bathing in it. Ah, I saw that on TV. I think it’s the custom where ‘bathing in the smoke of the incense burner will help heal parts of the body that are unwell’. When I explained that, everyone looked puzzled. Tsk, everyone is used to using recovery magic and such… Besides, my wives are divine servants, and the children are half-gods, so maybe it’s unnecessary for them? Well, I’ll bathe in the smoke anyway, just for the experience. …I’ll bathe my head. My head is certainly not always in the best condition… To the right, there was a temizuya (purification fountain). Water was flowing from eight dragons surrounding a statue in armor.
“Sha, sa… How do you read this?”
The pedestal says ‘Shagararyuouzo‘ (Statue of the Dragon King Sagara), but I can’t read it. Well, it’s a Dragon King, anyway. There’s also a painting of a dragon on the ceiling. There are a lot of dragons in this temple… Well, since it’s ‘Kinryuzan Sensoji’, the dragon must be the guardian deity. We cleanse our hands and mouths at the temizuya and finally head towards the Main Hall. A large lantern is hanging here too.
“Um, it was two bows, two claps, one bow, right?”
“No, that’s for Shinto shrines. At a temple, you just join your hands in prayer and bow once at the end.”
I answer Elze, who was holding Elna’s hand. I think that’s right. I remember Grandpa laughed at me when I clapped my hands clap-clap at a temple a long time ago. Oh, I have to hand out money for the offering first. While lining up for the Main Hall, I gave everyone coins to throw into the offering box. I’ll avoid the 10-yen coin and 500-yen coin because there’s a saying that they bring bad luck, meaning ‘long distance connection’ or ‘no better effect (coin)’. When it was our turn, everyone threw in their offerings. We join our hands and bow once. I pray that this trip will be safe.
“Touya-kun, your big sister wants some anko-dama (sweet bean paste balls).”
Again…! I understood, so could you please be quiet for a moment!?
“Okay-kay. Ah, add age-manju (fried bun) too.”
Shaking off the evil thoughts (?) of my sister Karen that flew in from the divine realm, I somehow managed to finish my worship. Afterward, we drew omikuji, and my wives bought charms again. Was it for a blessing for fertility and safe delivery again…? Considering the manifestation of those blessings are standing right here, it must have been quite effective. Although Sensoji Temple’s omikuji is said to have many ‘bad luck’ (kyō), none of us drew one. I was kind of curious to see one, though… On the way back, following Sister Karen‘s request, we bought anko-dama and age-manju. Since they look delicious, I’ll buy a few extra besides the souvenirs. Mom and Dad would probably want to eat some too. Securing things we missed or couldn’t buy on the way in, we returned to the Kaminarimon Gate again. I really wanted to visit Hanayashiki amusement park and the Asakusa Engei Hall, but it’s already past three o’clock. We need to head back soon. As usual, we entered an appropriate building, quickly opened a [Gate] on a deserted stair landing, and quickly returned to Grandpa’s house together.
“We’re home!”
“Welcome ba-ack.”
When Linne opened the door energetically, we had an unexpected welcome. Fuyuka toddled out to the entrance with Blanca.
“Fuyu-chan! We’re home!”
Linne picked up Fuyuka and hugged her tightly. Fuyuka giggled happily in Linne’s arms.
“Fuyu-chan is in a good mood.”
“We bought lots of souvenirs, Fuyu-chan.”
Quun and Yoshino also stroked Fuyuka’s head while she was held by Linne. She’s completely settled on ‘Fuyu-chan’. No, it’s fine, but she’s your aunt, okay? Hmm, I wonder if things will get weird when they meet the grown-up Fuyuka after returning to the future. Fuyuka will meet her nieces and nephews who haven’t changed at all since she was a baby, and the children will suddenly meet the grown-up Fuyuka? If their timelines were the same, Fuyuka would definitely be older than Yakumo… Well, even if Yakumo was born within five years, the age gap wouldn’t be that big… There are plenty of aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews with close ages.
“Welcome back. How was your sightseeing in Tokyo?”
Dad came from the back. Since Dad is watching Fuyuka, Mom must be working?
“We went up the Skytree, went to Kappabashi Kitchen Town, and prayed at Sensoji Temple.”
“Eh, I kind of understand the Skytree and Sensoji Temple, but why Kappabashi…?”
Dad looked puzzled for a moment at my reply, but then looked at Arcia and Lu and nodded as if he understood. As expected, after spending a week together, he seems to understand everyone’s personalities and preferences.
“Now, let’s start preparing dinner!”
“Mother, let’s use the cooking utensils we bought at Kappabashi! Father, please take them out!”
Lu and Arcia put on their newly bought aprons with enthusiasm. They clearly can’t wait to use the new cooking utensils. Well, I understand how they feel. I take out the cooking utensils they bought from [Storage] as requested. Wait, are you bringing out the children’s meal plates and the boat for funamori too? Dinner is going to be quite varied today… Not exactly for a 3 PM snack, but I put the ningyo-yaki we bought on the table. It’s only two per person before dinner. I’ll put out both the bean paste-filled and non-filled ones.
“Ningyo-yaki, huh? It’s been a while. You have to buy this when you go to Asakusa.”
Dad picked up one of the ningyo-yaki nostalgicly and ate it. Fuyuka next to him was also happily munching on a ningyo-yaki.
“You were in Tokyo before you got married, right, Dad?”
“Yeah. I lived in Suginami Ward, and the publishing company I was working for was in Shinjuku, so I didn’t go to Asakusa much.”
Suginami Ward is in the west of Tokyo, if I recall correctly. If the publisher was in Shinjuku, he probably didn’t venture much further than that.
“I met Tsuzuri-san, who was visiting Tokyo to bring in her work, when I went to a different publishing company on an errand for the teacher I was assisting. She was still a junior high school student when I first met her, but I thought she was a very beautiful girl, and she… Ow!?“
“What are you telling the children about!”
Dad is agonizing after taking a knuckle punch to the top of his head from Mom, who was standing behind him with a red face. She hit him pretty hard… That looks incredibly painful… Even if it’s to hide her embarrassment, couldn’t she be a little gentler…? My wives and children are surprised, you know… I unintentionally heard the story of how my parents met, but Mom was a junior high school student then, right? Assuming she was fifteen, Dad was… six years older, so twenty-one? Thinking about a twenty-one-year-old man falling in love at first sight with a fifteen-year-old junior high school student makes me feel a bit uneasy… I thought I heard the phrase, ‘Look who’s talking?’. No, yeah, I know I’m not one to talk.
“What is it?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I smile and distract Sue, who noticed my glance. The age gap between Sue and me is about the same… Is this a case of ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’…? Well, we are living happily like this, so there shouldn’t be any problem. Probably. I cast recovery magic on Dad, who is still agonizing while holding his head. Fly away, pain.
“Oh, ningyo-yaki. I like the non-filled ones.”
Ignoring us, Mom said that and ate a non-filled ningyo-yaki. One of the reasons I bought both filled and non-filled ones was that I thought Mom would prefer the latter. Mom likes the wrapper of dorayaki (red bean pancake) more than the bean paste inside. It’s not that she hates bean paste, but sometimes she finds it too heavy.
“Dad, please take out the stuffed animal you bought for Fuyu-chan.”
“Hmm? Oh, right.”
At Elna’s request, I take out the yellow, bus-shaped cat stuffed animal that was in [Storage].
“Nya-busu!”
Fuyuka hugs the stuffed animal she received from Elna with a radiant smile. It seems Fuyuka also loves this anime. Well, I thought Dad and Mom would probably show it to her. I was shown it too. Behind Fuyuka, who was delighted with the cat stuffed animal, I saw Blanca with eyes like a Tibetan sand fox. Wait, you’re not jealous of a stuffed animal, are you? You’re a god, aren’t you…? Eventually, dinner was ready, and the dishes Lu and Arcia made were piled high on the two large dining tables joined together. Among them, children’s meals were served in front of the children. Why is it called a ‘lunch’ when it’s dinner? There were small omelets, Neapolitan spaghetti, hamburger steaks, fried shrimp, fruits, and a mountain of molded chicken rice with a flag standing on top. It’s very authentic and elaborate. Normal-sized hamburger steaks and omelets were served in front of my parents and my wives. There was also a funamori with sashimi placed in the boat they bought. …And why is there a children’s meal in front of me too? Well, it’s fine, but… a space shuttle lunch plate, huh… I eat the chicken rice, carefully scooping it with a spoon so as not to ruin the flag. It’s delicious. As I was savoring the chicken rice, Dad, who was sitting next to me, spoke up.
“Have you decided where you’ll go tomorrow?”
“No, if I drag them out to crowded places every day, the children will get tired. I think I’ll let them rest tomorrow again.”
We still have a week left. If I take them to crowded places day after day like this, they will get exhausted. I don’t want to just create memories of visiting places. I want to create memories between us and the children. The location isn’t important. When touring tourist spots, the actions tend to be fixed: see the place, take photos, buy souvenirs, and so on. While those are memories, spending a relaxing time at home is also good. Well, since my children are active, whether we can actually have a relaxing time is questionable…
“Speaking of which, there’s a festival in the next town tomorrow. Why don’t we all go?”
“Ah, you’re right. Oh, let’s go buy everyone’s yukata (summer kimono) during the day!”
Mom jumped onto Dad’s suggestion. Wait, where did my suggestion to rest tomorrow go?
“We have yukata for all of us. I have fabric for the children’s ones, so I’ll make them now.”
“Now?“
Linze said that with a smile as if it were nothing, and Dad and Mom tilted their heads. Well, Linze could probably make ten yukata in about an hour. Ah, is that eleven, including mine? As soon as dinner was over, Linze started making the yukata. Only Allis and I had our measurements taken. The sizes of the other children were already input, apparently.
“Eh… what is this speed…?”
“Are you using some kind of magic?”
“Well, is it magic or something… it’s Linze’s trait?”
I answer the puzzled pair. Because that’s the only way to explain it. The finished yukata were the same color as their mothers for the daughters, and Allis had an ice blue yukata. That’s fine. But why does Kuon have a normal yukata while I have a jinbei (casual summer wear)?
“I thought that one would suit Touya-san better.”
“Yeah, it suits you, Touya-kun. …It really highlights your mischievousness.”
Dad, what exactly do you mean by that? Hmm? Why does everyone else look like they are holding back laughter…?
“Um, on your back, there is…”
“Eh?”
At Kuon’s words, I went to the entrance and looked at my back in the full-length mirror. On the back of the jinbei, the face of Kohaku (in her cub form) was largely embroidered. What is this?! I didn’t notice because I was changed into it. Linze-san, really?!
“It suits you. Wear that tomorrow.”
“Ehh…?”
Is it decided? It is decided? Mom’s word decided the clothes I’ll wear to the festival tomorrow. It might be acceptable as a back print on children’s clothing, but… I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll go to the festival with Kohaku too tomorrow.
