Tokyo, 1908

The whereabouts of his father had been a mystery for years, and from what eighteen-year-old Hideo had heard, the man had disappeared twice - first for a week and then forever.

Rumors ranged from Yasuhiko getting in trouble with a criminal gang to immigrating to the United States to become a manual laborer, though Hideo knew that all were likely untrue.

After all, he possessed a gift that had become apparent sometime after his fifth birthday, when he'd begun seeing blurred apparitions drifting around the house.

With the knowledge that none of the adults in his life could see the deceased, Hideo could only conclude that the ability had been inherited from his absent father. For this reason, he would sometimes dream of meeting the man in the flesh rather than studying monochrome photos and using his imagination.

If they were anything to go by, his father must have been perpetually sullen and humorless. The man had even looked miserable on his wedding day, and Hideo could only assume that just like with himself, the ability to see spirits had been nothing but a burden to Yasuhiko.

The names of the three souls who haunted the Tanimura estate were etched in his memory. First was Lady Aoi, a Heian period noblewoman who had succumbed to illness during a pilgrimage. Then, there was dimwitted farmer Eizō who had perished after ingesting ground-up moonflowers, and finally, the stoic samurai Hirokatsu who also happened to be one of Hideo's ancestors.

Despite hailing from different classes and eras, all three had a tendency to sneak up on him at unexpected times. This morning had seen one such occurrence. None other than Lady Aoi had slipped into the room while he was getting dressed. He'd been busy buttoning up his shirt, and upon noticing her powdered white face reflected in the mirror, he had jumped in shock. "Egads! What are you doing here?!"

"Do not mind me," Lady Aoi announced, gliding past to sit on his bed. "I was possessed by the inclination to observe your morning routine."

Hideo sighed in exasperation. Like last Monday and the one before that, the thousand-year-old aristocrat had come to criticize him more harshly than his grandparents did.

"All right. Get it over and done with," he muttered after a few seconds of consideration. "I have more important things to worry about."

Lady Aoi's painted eyebrows did not move as the corners of her scarlet lips shifted downward. "Very well," she spoke up, glancing at the collar of Hideo's shirt. "For one of noble birth, I truly believe that you can do better. Your attire is hideous beyond description."

Hideo was not at all surprised by her hatred for modern fashion. It couldn't be easy to linger in the mortal world for a millennium, watching Japan change beyond recognition while remaining the same as one had been at death. He had recently begun reading The Tale of Genji, and if the novel's events were any indication, then Lady Aoi's life must have been filled with a level of extravagance and formality never seen again in this country's history.

"Perhaps, but times have changed," he replied calmly. "We have discovered just how vast the world really is and that there is still much we have to learn."

"You think I have not heard such a thing before?" Lady Aoi scoffed, much to his surprise. "Our historical records told of a time when we believed ourselves to be the only nation in existence. Then, people who spoke a strange language arrived on our shores and introduced us to their writing and customs."

The similarities between her account and the famed Arrival of the Black Ships during his grandparents' youth did not go unnoticed by Hideo. He swallowed, realizing they perhaps had more in common than he'd previously thought. This made him feel uneasy, for he was now forced to consider the possibility of history repeating itself and that Lady Aoi was capable of giving him an insight into the future.

"So..." He murmured while slipping his arms into the sleeves of his high-collared school uniform. "What did those records say happened afterward?"

"We were all too eager to learn from them and adopt their ways, with one of my ancestors himself serving as an envoy to the Tang court," Lady Aoi recalled with a wistful smile.

"And then?"

"A time came when we could follow their lead no longer. We turned to ourselves and began to flourish, thus entering a golden age."

"I see..."

"Though, I must lament that all things come to an end. My soul lingered after death, and I could only watch helplessly as power fell into the hands of warriors with little respect for beauty and the finer aspects of..." Her voice trailed off as she focused on Hideo again. "Of course. Why should I be surprised? You are descended from those brutes, and I cannot expect more from you."

At that, Lady Aoi disappeared in a puff of vapor, leaving Hideo alone to curse his bad luck and dread what was yet to come.

He glared down at his sandal-clad feet, knowing that breakfast with his family would only bring more hassle in the form of Eizō salivating over the food and making crude remarks about his mother, Momoe.

******

Historical Notes:

- Ancient Chinese records indicate that they knew of the existence of Japan from as early as the Han dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE) and may have begun trade during this time. That said, we may never know the whole truth since Japan did not have an official writing system, and it can get hard to distinguish legend from reality.

- The Heian period lasted from 794 to 1185 CE. It is considered a golden age in which Japanese culture matured, and art and literature flourished. However, the downside was that the aristocracy became really out of touch while peasants struggled with poverty and increasing crime rates. The samurai emerged as a separate class, and they gradually assumed actual control of the nation.

- Commodore Perry paid visits to Japan between 1852 and 1854 to force the country to end its isolation and begin trading with the United States. The term 'black ships' was used to refer to Western vessels due to their dark colors and the black smoke they often emitted.

- During the early Meiji era (1868 -1912 CE), Japan began a period of rapid industrialization and Westernization. The samurai were slowly dissolved as a class and forbidden from carrying their swords in public. This led to several failed rebellions, though many managed to stay afloat by becoming businessmen, intellectuals, or politicians.