Sapphire Ambassadors

After the previous day's competition, the servants spent the evening carefully relocating the more permanent works to the Gallery of Dusk and storing records of the one's that could not be such as cooking and dance. Then the gallery was thoroughly cleaned and blessed. Even more toughly blessed than before since someone decided roast ox was art. The next day it slowly fills throughout the day as various artists maneuver into their spaces. Some artists arrive early, overseeing peasants maneuvering heavy statuary while certain poets arrived barely ahead of the judges. The artists' spaces have been meticulously arranged according to their art of choice. The most fragrant arts have been spaced as wide apart as possible, so the scent of, say a certain Scorpion's Garlic Gyoza does not intermingle with the scent of the ikebana displays. Those who arts contain a sound component have been staggered, so the judges might clear one catchy song from their minds before listening to an impassioned flute solo. Neutral gray screen are available for the artists whose works should be viewed shielded from the rest, while others bask in the suns rays, visible to all with eyes.

If the previous day's minor scandal had impacted him in the slightest, the Scorpion chef didn't show it, although he was once again dressed in the attire of a bushi- looking a bit odd without his armor worn over it, but perfectly decorous.

And today, he had guest stars!

There were three covered dishes at three place settings- two at low tables, one set on the floor, and Choudai removed the cover as each diner took their place.

The first, set aside for Doji Yoshino, proved to be a fine and elegant spread- elegantly hand-carved chopsticks beside an enameled tray of choice dainty morsels- senbei, daifuku, namasu, gyoza. Snacks, not a meal, but the sort of light fare a courtier might share with an honored guest over a friendly discussion- nothing that could run or stain, or produce unsightly crumbs unless eaten very sloppily. As befit a courtier's Duty.

The second, equally elegant in its appointment, was reserved for Shosuro Hatsuki. While the chopsticks and place setting were likewise of fine quality, the fare was slightly different- unagi sushi, the cooked eel secured to the rice with a band of nori, a small dish of fresh vegetables expertly diced and chopped, and a small bowl of steaming ramen enriched with quail's egg, chicken, maitake mushrooms, and mitsuba- nothing heavy, but rich in nutrition for an expectant mother, a Duty both difficult and vitally important.

The third place was taken by Choudai himself. The covered dish contained nothing too fancy- not even chopsticks. All the bushi set aside for himself were a rice ball and a piece of dried fish- the sort of field rations a bushi could carry without waiting on a kitchen, or even a runner with a soup pot. He sat on the floor in the aspect of a soldier at rest along the march, a performance he carried off alarmingly well.

He only spoke one word.

"Itadakimasu."

D5/EE Event, Craft: Cooking/Intelligence, Void spent for +1k1, Inheritance grants an additional +1k1, 2 called raises, TN 25 | 8k5 ⇒ 29 (TN: 25) 3 sapphire points, win dedicated to Shosuro Otoko

Like always, Shizenko's display was very simple. Her duty is to the forest and the spirits that inhabit the realm of Chikushudo and so it was represented. It had a group of wisteria trees with a fox, a bear, a tanuki and a cat. The figure of a human taking care of each.

//rolls in PF

Today, Sriyani wears her formal kimono, a silvery-gray silk with purple collar and finely embroidered irises along the hems and sleeves. It hearkens to the formality of court and official duties, and can’t distract from her pieces because today she isn’t wearing them.

Instead, an elegant Fuchigashira*—matched sword hilt collar and pommel are attached to a katana. The blade and tsuba are not of her making, but instead serve as the object ‘wearing’ her art as it rests on a plain stand. The pommel wrappings are likewise a plain, dark silk. The sword is a common symbol of a samurai’s duty, even though not everyone serves as a bushi, and of their spirit. Nothing surprising there.

Collar and pommel are carved, painted, and gilded to offer elegant images from a wedding. The couple sharing the cups of ceremonial sake on the pommel, while their guests celebrate on the collar.

The saya sheathing the blade is similarly decorated with carvings, these in the shape of open fans, lined up along the length of the saya, each with some scene of court life—gilded courtiers whispering behind fans, arguing before a lord, piecing together treaties on open scrolls.

The entire thing ‘wears’ a net of silver chain studded with charms depicting more spiritual matters. The charms themselves are simple, too small for more than a single image stamped on each—a fortune, a stick of burning incense, a sacred rope, a fortune.

Altogether, it’s an elegant arrangement calling out to the many small duties that make up a life. Remove one of the elements, and the harmony of the piece would be off.


*(example: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/25991)


************
Day 5 Presentation: Chugo. VP for +1k1, 2 Raises. TN 25 | 8k5 ⇒ 29 (TN: 25)

3 SP

[edit to dedicate to Shiba Aibou. Posting before caffeine has some issues]

Ameiko gave no preamble and simply played a marching song that may or may not have lyrics that talk about a whip, a way, and not really wanting to go to war, but too bad, huh?

OOC
3 raises, TN 30 perform: 53
=4 points
Dedicating to Otoko

Hatsuki was back in form today, despite the events of earlier. Perhaps it was the lack of pressure that came with working with her own face rather than someone else's. Maybe it was having a good night's sleep. Who knew? Regardless, she felt confident this time.

It had taken her a long time to decide on how to approach Chugo - Duty. The most important of the virtues to her Clan. She had considered, in her worst moments, of recreating her wedding makeup. No. That wasn't it, though. The situation with Mikan earlier in the day had narrowed her in on what she wanted to create with her art, and what the duty of an artist was.

Sunny blue and bright gold went into it. The vast sky and its light, showing the vast possibilities. Art wasn't limited. It could be anything, if one decided to let oneself see it. To that latter end, she applied white to the water line to let her eyes look wider, because one had to be willing to look. She created a light blue line along her lips, above and below, that didn't quite reach the edged. On the lips themselves, she carefully filled with a variety of colors - each of the Clans' that worked the most aesthetically within the piece. Harmonious, but different, and moving past the blue to the edges of her lips. The framework was created by Doji, but she left things open for others to be able to do new and different things with the idea of art that she established. Exploring the new and unconventional was an honor to Doji and taking inspiration from her, rather than something to be looked upon with suspicion.

She adjusted one side of her makeup to make her look sad, while the other looked happy. Exploring the difficult and painful with art was just as important the exploring the happy and good. Happiness and tragedy were part of life, to be reflected in their work.

The makeup look incorporated a lot of known colors and techniques, but the result was something wholly unique.

The duty of an artist, and what they needed to do as artisans and perhaps eventually as Sapphire Ambassadors, was to inspire others. Whether to create themselves, no matter what their ability, or to reach greater heights of their own duty. It didn't have to be pretty or pleasant, but it had to bring something out in the people who view or listen to it.

"Others will go on to create work after this that may be better or worse, but if it has inspired something, created something in the hearts and minds of others, Duty for an artist is fulfilled."

---

D5 Chugo Event, Tech, Void, Kakita TN Raise, 3 Raises for TN 35 | 10k5+2 ⇒ 36 (TN: 35)

EE Chugo, Soul's Dream, Tech for 10k4, vs Etiquette/Willpower | 10k4 ⇒ 34 (TN: 20) creating Inspiration in the viewer

4 Points
Dedicated to Otoko

After the news from yesterday, Asano had spent time contemplating whether she should paint more or not. There had been rumors about those things coming from paintings... but not hers. Still, it wouldn't surprise her if people started getting wary of paintings... In the end though, it's what solidified her resolve. She would protect people and not run scared. It was her Duty to be here to represent her Clan... as well as her art! Like a Kakita artisan she was a specialist. Sure, she could have done a charcoal or ink drawing instead, but that felt like admitting defeat.

So instead she put all her resolve into her painting. She painted a holy scene, one of a temple with spirit warriors guarding the gates and light spilling from the heavens down onto it. Not only did it show the Duty of all samurai to protect the purity of the Empire, but she hoped such a scene would bless whereever it went, keep out evil spirits with her resolve and intentions.

Day 5, EE, Capturing Chugo, Painting/Awareness TN15, 3 called raises, TN30, VP 1/3 Day 5 for 1k1 | 7k5 ⇒ 40 (TN: 30)

+4 Sapphire points.

This had been another one of those events that Hamada had not been certain about, and struggled to think of an answer. What was she devoted to? For all the pride in being a new Family, and as much of an honor that truly was, it was a new development. It was a shockwave that had not truly settled in the soul of the Tsi.

No, Hamada had decided. It was not the idea of "Family" that she and hers were devoted to right now...it was "family", the ones who had borne out a living at the edges of Rokugan society, and there a quiet, intimate way that devotion was shown.

The statues are modestly sized, as they had needed to be transported, each the carved figure of a departed relative. The remainder is a bit of a pantomine, the statues arranged as if they were a memorial. To complete it, Tsi rekinkles her charcoal brazier. This time, rather than a moderate even heat she places incense on the lid, a gentle perfume wafting through her space as she picks a broom a dutifully sweeps the space. She arranges a small basket of sticky rice stuffed in taro leaf as her meal along with a small bowl of persimmons and ume. She sits in view, folding paper. It is not the elegant folds of origami, but rather a structural piece, building out a small building. Inside is a roughly made forge, anvil and hammer. When she is satisfied, she loads the paper into the brazier, watching the fire curl and lick at the edges as the evaporates into smoke. She continues her meal, feeding half of it to the fire in the brazier is small doses. The fire crackles and sizzles from the juice of the fruit, and the incense is matched with the smell of burning taro leaf and cooking fruit. Shoju is poured in the fire, causing the flames to leap and retreat.

When the meal is complete, Hamada bows and pray, stepping over the fire while she allows it to burn down. The sweeping of the graves is complete.

She has not dared to look up during her presentation. The idea that she would break with the ritual to see what others thought seems wrong, even to an unconventional person like herself. She is surprised to notice the crowd that has gathered to watch.

Presentation of Chugo - Artisan (Sculpture) - 2 Raise - Devoting points to Yoritomo - TN 25 - VP used | 6k5 ⇒ 71 (TN: 25)

+3 Sapphire points, dedicated to Yoritomo

Duty.

Was that ever a heavy topic. For any Samurai. Especially for a Lion. More so for a Matsu.

And most for a Matsu who still believed she was failing hers.

Inori exhaled, heavily. This would not be easy, but at the same time she already knew what she would paint. What she needed to express. This time it would be...different. Harder.

The picture that took shape under her brush was a doorway, a dark room behind, opening towards a courtyard filled with bright sunlight. Only a few rays of sunlight filtered past the woman who stood in the doorway, facing the bright light. It had to be shining directly into her face, strong enough to make someone want to flinch - but of course the painting was a still image of her standing there - clad in her light brown Kimono with yellow trim and a yellow Obi. Lion colours. Her hair was done up in a knot much like Inori herself wore.

In the room behind the floor was covered with Tatami. Near the door there was a spear, leaning against the wall in a corner - left behind, just like the armor next to it, as well as a child's toy, a Kendama, below the stand that held the suit of armour. Half in the shadow, dark, yes, but also safe from the blinding sunlight and whatever was on the other side of that door.

One of those things was a palette and a paint brush, and the woman was reaching for them even as she crossed the threshold of that door.

That had been hard, and Inori trembled a little as she lowered her paintbrush. Closed her eyes, collected herself for a moment before she stepped back and joined the others.

Rolling successfully (see text) for 3 sapphire points, dedicated to the cause of Shiba Aibou

There was one more piece in the back of the gallery, walled off with grey screens.

In it Doji Nadeshiko stood atop the castle ramparts, bent over releasing a cloud of gas upon the invading army lead by Bayushi Choudai. While it was similar to her previous entries, there was something about this work that really drove home the meaninglessness of existence. Beauty, glory, honor, life, death, it was all a farce, endlessly repeated by people desperate to convince themselves that they mattered in the slightest.

Jakuchou understood loyalty. She had understood it the day she first killed another for the vision of Toturi. And felt it the day he chose death to protect his people. It was probably more defining in her life than she'd really considered in the past. And so she felt it was important to give life to this aspect of bushido. And so, on this particular day she had something of a sandbox brought into the performance area.

Loyalty was the truest expression of love among the seven, and so she did her dance while spelling out the symbols for what she truly loved and was loyal to in this world, from the least important to her to the most.

With a small flourish, the Rokugani word for Daikoku first appeared, likely surprising to many for an ascetic. But it was in one of his monasteries that she found her home. A small leap to the right placed her in position to write out the character for Dragon. Counter to the last, this one was pretty obvious and straightforward. A spinning turn placed her in the center of the sandbox where she wrote out the official name of her old battle commander and emperor in a manner appropriate to honor the man, Toturi I. Her next movement took her to the top left corner of the sandbox where she spelled out a word/character that was not common in writing outside of religious orders, a very old term used frequently by the devout, "all under Heaven". This one tied directly into the next character which used only a part of the previous character, but in much larger bolder strokes, Tengoku.

It was a basic hierarchy that didn't exactly match what the celestial hierarchy was defined as, but it revealed the truth of her own loyalty and what she thought was important to her. The sandbox was pushed aside with her danced characters remaining as a reminder of her performance.

D5 EE, Chugo Performance, Perform: Dance / Agility, VP +1k1, 3 Called Raises | 9k5 ⇒ 32 (TN: 30)
4 Sapphire Points
Dedicated to Yoritomo Tomodachi

D5 EE Event, Calligraphy/Intelligence, Void Point, 2 raises, TN 25 | 6k5 ⇒ 37 (TN: 25)
Pass with 2 raises, +3 Sapphire Points, +3 Amigo Points to Saiba Aiobu

Grey Screens were placed, but not because it is something distasteful, but to minimize distractions from the piece. A collection of enlarged version of the Personal Mons of one Daidoji Jo detail the life of a hardworking Ji samurai who served countless lords well through the first Crab-Crane war. At the end of the display is a note thanking Shiba Aiobu for providing information on where to find copies of these mons in a fair and legal way.

A modest ikebana display was set up in a corner position of the gallery, purposefully out of the way. The chosen flowers were all of spring. It was a lively and bright display befitting the season. It was also delicate and fleeting, with the blooms at their zenith. They'd stay this way for a couple of days at best if carefully kept out of the light. The ikebana would, however, have been merely quaint if not for the chosen vessel. Combined they made a statement piece on Chugo. Lacquer mixed with powdered gold had very obviously been used to repair what was otherwise once a very beautiful and elegant vase. The amazing colours of the raku firing process made the vase interesting to look at beyond merely its shape. Yet it had been broken. While the technique to repair it would have been for peasants without the kintsugi technique, the golden mending merely made it salvageable for a Crane's refined tastes. If it wasn't complemented by deliberately chosen flowers that is, or matched to the theme of the day.

The Alstroemeria flowers conveyed, to those that knew the language of flowers, the meaning of such a strong connection that language was limited in explaining it. These were intentionally lower down than the dazzling pink flowers of spring, bridging them and the spry green leaves with the vase. It was broken, but it still served.



-----
D5 EE Event Artisan: Ikebana/awareness, void for +1k1, 1 raise, TN20 5k4: 22 = pass
+2 Sapphire points

Nadeshiko comes to the gallery empty-handed. She looks tired, but still, the woman’s smiling. Today her kimono’s pink patterned with red four-petaled flowers. A plain white obi’s paired with it. Her hair’s worn up in a twist at the base of her neck. A red camellia bloom’s pinned over one ear.

When the judges join her she bows. “Today I share a poem with you, based on a story from Scorpion lands. It is my hope the next Sapphire Tournament can be held there.”

Introduction done, the Crane does her best to live up to her Doji ancestors, standing straight, gaze case downwards, voice clear.

“Autumn.

Pale moonlight flickered
Along the dark water’s surface.
Spiderlilies swayed.
A lone cicada cried out
For another of its kind.

The chill of autumn
Carried with the maple leaves
A longing for home.
When you caught me crying there,
You kept your eyes averted. Yet…

Blooming with laughter,
Your smile set me at ease.
My aching heart warmed;
All my troubles fell behind
As we explored the garden.

Each day, a new path,
Shared, discovered, secret,
Two foxes playing –
Every moment together
Cherished like a rain in drought.

Winter.

Two sets of footprints
Marred the glittering landscape.
A pair of crane took flight.
When I looked back from that white sky,
I caught you watching me. Oh.

As our fingers brushed
My breath caught in my throat. Oh.
A red tsubaki.
Snowflakes powdered its petals
As you leaned down to meet me.

With the first snowfall
Came the first kiss, soft and new.
Your gaze was so warm.
For a moment my spirit
Light as a bird, hot as flame.

How strange to learn
A heart can share two bodies.
What a connection:
In a sea of faces, yours
Shining brighter than the sun.

Spring.

Sunlight-dappled leaves
Offered their shade to young lovers
As the world woke.
We watched sparrows build a nest,
Considered doing the same.

When my father called
My heart felt cut in two: me / you.
Still, I returned home,
While my longing, lonely dreams
All led back to that garden.

Oh.

No.

It isn’t so.
Someone else tells you the news.
How something sweet breaks:
You can’t look me in the eye
As we speak like two strangers.

All our happiness
Had only been a short dream.
Again we don our masks.
We are what we are, my love:
Only one path awaits us.

Goodbye.

A bitter frost choked
The budding flowers I love,
Save for the kempi.
I tuck mine against my heart
In vain hope it might take root.

We made a promise
(Our families could live with)
To find happiness.
I won’t run away from that –
Won’t back down from what matters.

Dusk paints the sky red.
Our whole world holds its breath, waits,
Eager for the strike.
In a sea of faces, yours
Shining brighter than the stars.

Perhaps in our next life
(Connected by a red thread)
Fortune will favor us.
We move together: bodies /
As well as hearts / torn apart,

Blood-soaked petals
All that remain of a love
Which couldn’t wither.”

Nadeshiko lets the poem settle – not just with her, but with every romantic it can find, love and loss walking the crowd hand-in-hand in hopes of meeting kindred souls. Little does she know how close to home it hits.

Day 5 Tournament Event: Artisan: Poetry / Awareness, Avant-garde emphasis. Prodigy for +1k0. Void point spent to gain +1k1. 2 called raises for Sapphire points. TN 30. | 10k4 ⇒ 43 (TN: 30)
+3 Sapphire points.

Dedicated to Shosuro Otoko.
+3 Amigo points.

Tatsuya makes an entry of origami, dedicated to Tomodachi, that does not achieve his ambition.

Ghosted by request- Fuku.

The judges discussion lasts a bit longer than previous days, but eventually they submit their decision to Utemaro, who has the room called to attention to announce the results."

"You have all performed your Duty well here today in these displays dedicated to the tenent. Regardless of the outcome of the competition, each of you can return to your lords and senseis with your heads held high." he says.

"There are, as always, two whom thejudges hold above all others on this day. Today those two are:

Doji Nadeshiko and Shosuro Hatsuki"

"May they and your fellow artists inspire you to ever greater heights. We look forward to your works tomorrow."