Chapter 1 - Chapter 1: Introduction

It was a night wrapped in silvery mist when Mei Takigawa stepped off the train at Kamakura Station. The last bell had sounded from the great bronze hall of Engaku-ji, and the faint scent of sea salt moved inland with the wind. Mei, a photographer from Tokyo, had come to document the moonrise over Hase Beach — an assignment for a travel magazine exploring "spiritual Japan."Kamakura, lit only by lanterns and the rising moon, did not feel empty. The streets seemed to hold breath. In the dim reflection of a shuttered tea house, she saw the blurred outline of a woman standing beside her. Yet when Mei turned, there was only the wind and a paper charm fluttering from the eaves.That night she checked into a small inn near the steps of Hasedera Temple. The innkeeper's daughter, Hana, warned her not to stay out after midnight. "The moon over Kamakura shows what the sun hides," she whispered. "The sea remembers faces the living forget ,,'