The Lunar Leopard

The clouded leopard flees until he can run no further. Under the gently rippling willow and flags of Tango No Sekku, he takes pause on a hillside. His tortoise companion attempts to disguise their presence with samurai tassels, while the ship rats emulate the rounded shapes of the tsuba. It is the fifth night of the fifth moon in the lunisolar calendar, and a flight of swallows announces the outsiders’ presence under the sparkling sky.