Like all monks, the tengu of the mountain temple valued cleanliness. The grounds had been equipped with a communal bath, its walls and floors lined with pale cedar planks. Because the mountain lacked a natural hot spring, a fair amount…

Not long after his visit to the village, the year’s first snow covered the mountain. Stone and tree alike were coated in a thin layer of white. The snow sparkled in the winter sunlight, echoing the sounds of footsteps and…