I'm back from my first trip to
Japan (yep, looks like it happened for real: I went to Japan!!
) and whoa, if I found inspiration there... As I expected, it was like stepping right into a dream and see it take shape and substance before my eyes! And this was true both concerning the myth and atmosphere I've been expecting to find there since I was a child, and more specifically so many details of this fanfic, too.
Just to give you an example, I stepped into
Kennin-ji, the oldest zen temple in Kyoto, completely by chance and unaware of what I was about to see (they had me at "dragons painted on the ceiling"
), and not only I was blown away by its ancient beauty, but I also knew at once I finally had in front of my eyes the perfect model for the Tokimasa dwelling, which I had never managed to picture clearly in my mind, down to the tiniest detail (dragons painted on the shōji! A small building in the garden which resembled perfectly the tiny dragon temple! That old, majestic and elegant feeling!): "breathtaking" doesn't give you the right idea.
And then there was
Enoshima. I guess it's time to share my own precious tale about that tiny island not far from Tokyo, and why I've been wanting to visit it for more than ten years.
Back then, when I first "created" Choryunami and had no idea of who she was, nor that she was going to live such a complex and long-running story, the only thing I knew for sure was that she had to have some connection with dragons (which I've always loved). So I looked for a fitting name for her clan, and after a long research I found and chose Tokimasa, since it seemed to have been an ancient Japanese name for the Dragon constellation.
Only quite a while later I discovered that according to a legend a certain
Hōjō Tokimasa, first Hōjō regent of the Kamakura shogunate and head of the Hōjō clan, once went into retreat at a temple on Enoshima Island, praying for lasting success in his campaigns...and then a dragon, the guardian of the island, appeared and granted supremacy, glory and prosperity to him and his descendants, leaving behind three scales that then became the crest of the Hōjō clan (and later, the inspiration for the Triforce symbol ;-P). ...Reminds you of anything? Well, it did remind me! In the best way possible, I was shocked. I had suddenly found out that, totally unaware, I had basically created a story that, in another form (but with the same name!), already existed in Japanese mythology. No wonder I was so blown away and began to dream about seeing Enoshima with my own eyes, one day... And when it happened, well, it was quite a dream-like (and super inspiring!) experience.
Here I am, reaching for the dragon guarding one of the shrines on the island, the one I saw in that pic years ago when I found out about the legend of Hōjō Tokimasa.
(Thank you SO much fumikoai for the company on my dreamy trip and for the pic! )As I wrote at the beginning of this journal, I came back with a remarkable load of new inspiration and will to write more! This also means, though, that I'm probably going to focus on writing chapters in
Italian from now on, and then I'll translate them later (it's gonna take a lot of time, I'm afraid...
). I feel I should take advantage of this stream of ideas to write as much as I can in the way I find more comfortable: once the material is there, it will be easier to translate it at any time! I hope you can understand! (But of course I will translate stuff earlier, or at least try, in case there are specific requests!
)
Until next time, then! Hopefully with more and more new material to share!
...Oh, and keep your eyes peeled: a new, gorgeous commission from awesome illustrator
ritam is coming soon in the group!