(D4, EE) Rappin' 'bout Rei (Discussion)

[Mirumoto Jakuchou]

Hyoukasha seemed quite displeased at the dancing Dragon's demonstration today.

"A farmer knows the value of millet and a noble knows the value bottle of very expensive sake. If the artist is seeking the farmer's opinion, I see no reason to spend another moment considering them." he said dismissively.

"Ahh, the value of sake, that's the secret to nobility then? I apologize for my failure of nobility, since I tend to concern myself more with people than things," Jakuchou says, bowing deeply in reverence to the dismissive wisdom of Hyoukasha. "I will remember the lesson well Kakita-sama. These are the worldly things they don't teach while living an ascetic lifestyle."

[Bayushi Choudai]

Trying to upstage my stir, Mirumoto-san?

I wish you joy of it...

[Togashi Yoshiaki]

Yoshiaki produced a fan to hide his smile at his clan mates words. i do wonder if the Dragon will even be invited next year we sent such odd contestants.

[Doji Nadeshiko]

Nadeshiko turns towards Jakuchou, tensing a bit as she catches the latter half of what's said... but considering how things went with Choudai, she's got enough sense to know the Dragon had been slighted, too.

By the Fortunes, why insult an elder with something meaningful to say? Oh. Right. Because the Crane judges don't actually have anything meaningful to share.

...she can't stop frowning. Part of her wants to go over, but...

[Horiuchi Sriyani]

Sriyani chuckles a bit. "I kind of think the level of discussion Courtesy receives there proves my point that the Crane lead and set the mark, even if, say, the most courteous samurai in all the land happens to belong to some other clan."

"It twines easily with Compassion...though I'm of the opinion Compassion ties through most of the tenets. And etiquette seems...informed by courtesy? But it's stiff in comparison." She avoids the beef dish in her sampling, deciding one serving makes the point. "It's courtesy to look aside and not notice small slips someone makes in etiquette.... and I think that courtesy is actually encoded within etiquette...now this is all getting a bit circular." She also avoids glaring at the Scorpion, not wanting to highlight this attempt as a *small* slip.

"I think so, too. Compassion and Courtesy are sisters," And her voice grows warm in fondness, thinking of her own 'sister'. "It is all rather confusing, isn't it? Both seem so easy, yet in practice they're fickle and tricky, easy to bungle." Case in point: the woman speaking.

That draws a chuckle. "Don't I know it? I was tripping over every mistake at my first winter court. Bungling addresses and names, leaving too early or too late. Everyone lifts their fan in shock and I'm still looking around to see what the fuss it...but I lift mine and everyone wonders what I'm bothered by... It was exhausting." She's quiet, listing out the catalog of her stumbles. "Thank goodness that was just a tiny Iuchi court."

But there's clumsy, and then there's openly hostile to the forms. She watches the standoff brewing and pulls her artfully aged ivory fan out once again with a small shake of her head. "That's not worth stepping in the middle of. Mirumoto-sama there's capable of handling a wee courtier, been doing it longer than the pair of us added up together, I think. Did you know she fought alongside Toturi-shiryo before he was Emperor?"

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

"The harshest critic is always oneself." he said, feeling no need to rub the artist's failure in their face.

Recalling earlier, Akuba nods.

She pointedly walks past the next installation, skipping it in favor of the one to follow.

"A useful historical lesson," she opines, "although one wonders who needs the reminder thereof today."

Hyoukasha cast a backwards glance upon a certain Scorpion cook.

"Oh, I think one need not wonder long on that matter, dearest." he concluded.

[Kakita Akuba]

Hyoukasha cast a backwards glance upon a certain Scorpion cook.

"Oh, I think one need not wonder long on that matter, dearest." he concluded.

Akuba nods to her husband's words and looks ahead to the next presentation, ignoring others' outcries.

"Humble," she says of it, "though it shows effort."

She adds, "But it does show the effort."

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

She adds, "But it does show the effort."

Hyoukasha nods.

"The artist does understand the theme at least, that much is clear." he adds.

[Kakita Akuba]

Hyoukasha nods.

"The artist does understand the theme at least, that much is clear." he adds.

Akuba watches the next.

"It seems some hope to have others make more entries for them," she says. "How...blasé."

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

Akuba watches the next.

"It seems some hope to have others make more entries for them," she says. "How...blasé."

"A sentimental offering, it speaks of the artist's deep bonds with those she has met which is touching....if not actually the theme of the day." Hyoukasha added.

[Kakita Akuba]

"A sentimental offering, it speaks of the artist's deep bonds with those she has met which is touching....if not actually the theme of the day." Hyoukasha added.

The next exhibit attracts Akuba's eye.

"Excellent attention to detail, I admit," she says. "Although the fit to theme is...unclear. Unless the effect is to bid thoughts on failure? But that would be unwelcome attention, certainly."

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

The next exhibit attracts Akuba's eye.

"Excellent attention to detail, I admit," she says. "Although the fit to theme is...unclear. Unless the effect is to bid thoughts on failure? But that would be unwelcome attention, certainly."

"It's a challenge using the sword to represent a specific thing, when it already represents so many things. The message is there, but whispered certainly." Hyoukasha muses.

[Kakita Akuba]

"It's a challenge using the sword to represent a specific thing, when it already represents so many things. The message is there, but whispered certainly." Hyoukasha muses.

The next exhibit.

"Less whispered here," she says, "and less mixed with other messages. But will it cool the user or inflame matters more than would be hoped?"

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

The next exhibit.

"Less whispered here," she says, "and less mixed with other messages. But will it cool the user or inflame matters more than would be hoped?"

Hyoukasha looked it over.

"Art should speak for itself. That the artist feels an expoanatory note if necessary for the viewer is....telling." he concludes.

[Kakita Akuba]

Hyoukasha looked it over.

"Art should speak for itself. That the artist feels an expoanatory note if necessary for the viewer is....telling." he concludes.

For the following two, Akuba has to say "Quaint" of the first and "Quotidian" of the second.

[Akodo Yaukwari]

From the Lion's pen...

Doji Nadeshiko again presented a two-part display, a linked series of poems and a kinchaku whose contents she attributed to Bayushi Choudai. The Scorpion is making quite an impression at the event, it seems, being favored with the attention of several of the other competitors.

Matsu Inori contributed a remarkably detailed depiction of a katana, reminding us all of the duty of samurai and the virtues they uphold. Her work has improved substantially.

The ronin, Tsi Hamada, produced a formidable fan of no mean skill, attracting favorable comment and consideration. Doji Yoshino's following tea ceremony seemed to ease matters, as well, and Moshi Tatsuya displayed skill in mapmaking.

In the end, the ronin and the Unicorn were proclaimed the best contributors of the day. How future events will bear out is eagerly anticipated.

[Doji Nadeshiko]

When the winners are announced Nadeshiko is practically bouncing, her energy's so high. Sriyani won! Sriyani won! It's all the woman can do to contain herself from squealing with delight. Instead she grins from ear to ear.