I Want to Worship the Great God Too (Revised)

Inside the Fushimi Inari Shrine.

Priest Ito knelt on the tatami and slowly told the chief priest before him what had happened at the Gion Festival, along with his wish to enshrine Amenominakanushi at the Fushimi Inari Shrine.

"The one who descended was the great Amenominakanushi!" Asakura Sakon, chief priest of the Fushimi Inari Shrine, exclaimed in shock as he listened to Priest Ito.

Even from the Fushimi Inari Shrine, he had seen the miracle at Kyoto's Gion Festival. But it had been too far away to make out clearly. Only after hearing Priest Ito's account did he understand what had happened.

"...As for your suggestion to enshrine the great Amenominakanushi here, that's difficult." Asakura Sakon hesitated.

The Fushimi Inari Shrine had enshrined Uka-no-Mitama since ancient times. Bringing Amenominakanushi in without warning would likely cause an uproar and a flood of objections.

Of course, given Asakura Sakon's standing within the shrine, he could suppress any dissent.

But if Amenominakanushi truly existed, then Uka-no-Mitama most likely existed too.

Bringing Amenominakanushi into the shrine would offend Uka-no-Mitama. And if, after all that, Amenominakanushi refused their worship, they would be in real trouble.

Gods were not magnanimous beings.

Myths and legends were full of people who had offended gods and suffered for it.

"Lord Asakura, the shrine's future standing depends on this. Please consider it carefully." Priest Ito held back his anxiety and kept his voice steady.

Before the miracle, a shrine's standing had been determined by its wealth and influence. Even a shrine dedicated to some obscure minor god among the eight million deities of Takama-ga-hara could outrank the three great shrines within Shinto, so long as it had throngs of worshippers and enough money and power.

After the miracle, though, a shrine's standing would inevitably depend on the status of the god it enshrined. If that god lacked standing, no amount of worship would help.

Uka-no-Mitama was a great god, but could not even rank among Shinto's top five. Great Amaterasu, Susanoo, Izanagi, Izanami, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Great Tsukuyomi—which of them did not outrank Uka-no-Mitama?

If gods outside Shinto were included, Uka-no-Mitama might not even make the top twenty.

With Uka-no-Mitama as its patron, Priest Ito could foresee the Fushimi Inari Shrine's decline.

He had grown up in the shrine, and of course he did not want to see it decline. The only way to save it was to enshrine the great Amenominakanushi.

"Let me think it over carefully. You may go," Asakura Sakon said.

"Yes." Priest Ito withdrew reluctantly.

As soon as Priest Ito had left, Asakura Sakon took out his phone and summoned his two sons, Asakura Yukimura and Asakura Zongxiu. He came straight to the point. "You both saw the miracle in Kyoto City. Priest Ito wants the Fushimi Inari Shrine to enshrine the great Amenominakanushi, but I intend to refuse him."

"For over a thousand years, the Fushimi Inari Shrine has enshrined Uka-no-Mitama. It will continue to do so."

"But the great Amenominakanushi must have someone to serve him. Which of you is willing to give up your position as a priest at the Fushimi Inari Shrine, establish a new Shinto Shrine, and enshrine him?"

Eggs were safer in two baskets.

With two powerful patrons, they could stand more securely.

"I am," Asakura Zongxiu said before his brother could speak.

His father clearly intended to hedge his bets. The new shrine would certainly have the Fushimi Inari Shrine's support, so there was no need to worry about attracting worshippers.

Besides, not all priests were equal.

Both might be priests, but how could a priest serving Uka-no-Mitama compare in standing to one serving Amenominakanushi?

Asakura Yukimura had been about to speak, but his younger brother had beaten him to it. He could only look at him resentfully.

I want to worship the great Amenominakanushi too.

I want to be the foremost god's priest too.

"Good. Lady Reiko serves Amenominakanushi, and she's resting at our Shinto Shrine. Go attend to her later, and make absolutely sure she's satisfied." Asakura Sakon nodded approvingly at his son, though his satisfaction was tinged with regret.

I have too few sons.

If only I had two more.

After all, Takami-Musubi and Kamimusubi had come into being alongside Amenominakanushi. Those two ancient great gods needed people to serve them too.

As he watched his sons leave, Asakura Sakon's wrinkled face broke into a broad smile.

He murmured, "I may not have many sons, but the Asakura Family has plenty of members."

"Ancient great gods who have existed since the dawn of creation yet have no one to serve you—others refuse to serve you because they are heretics."

"But the Asakura Family is different."

"We, the Asakura Family, have always been your most faithful servants."

"We did not serve you before because our family lacked the resources. Now that we have enough, we will devote ourselves to serving you."

"Whoever you are, if you are a great god who has existed since time immemorial, the Asakura Family will serve you. We will build you a grand Shinto Shrine and spread word of your existence far and wide, so that more people will come to worship you."

Eggs were safer in two baskets, but countless baskets were safer still.

Two powerful patrons could keep them steady, but countless patrons would be better.

News of the miracle at Kyoto City's Gion Festival spread across Blue Star over the internet almost immediately.

More than two hundred thousand people claimed online that they had witnessed it.

But without pictures, their claims were questioned, and the two sides traded insults online.

Two hundred thousand was a lot of people, but against the internet's hundreds of millions of users, they were still a minority.

Gradually, those who claimed to have seen the miracle lost ground. Every post they made drew sneers and sarcasm.

But once a clip of NHK's report was posted online, the tide began to turn.

Countless people changed their minds after watching it.

"This is a movie clip, right? Which studio made it? I'll definitely see it in theaters when it comes out."

"This video looks way too real to be special effects. Did a miracle really happen in Kyoto City?"

"The look in Amenominakanushi's eyes is impossible to describe. Even through my phone screen, I felt like dropping to my knees and worshipping him on the spot—and I was in the bathroom!"

"You could've knelt down. Maybe the great god would've rewarded you with gold /smirk."