“Yes, exactly as Lord Akutagawa says,” the great egret seemed to nod in agreement. Beneath the bridge that all visitors to Arashiyama pass under by Hankyu train, amid the festive crowds of Chinese families celebrating Lunar New Year, the author quietly exchanged a moment of wordless dialogue with the bird. A scene that could only belong to Kyoto.

Yes, indeed.

Exactly as Lord Akutagawa says.

So the great egret nodded.

The fact that the place where he stood was beneath the bridge that everyone who enters Arashiyama by the Hankyu Railway must pass under—this too is part of Kyoto’s greatness.

Today there were many Chinese visitors who had come with their families to celebrate the Lunar New Year, so the atmosphere felt as though New Year’s Day had come once again.

There, at the foot of the bridge where they were passing by, he stood—and he was holding a conversation with me.