Shomei Mayuko was a simple man from a small town in Japan. His home hardly qualified to be called a town as it was more of a collection of houses nestled up against a mountain.

Shomei lived a quiet life. He wasn’t awakened but there was something magical about him. Shomei made a living as a flute maker. Using bamboo that grew locally, he specialized in a traditional flute known as a Shakuhachi. The process of making each flute was slow and tedious but thanks to foreign interest each flute sold at a premium.

It wasn’t that Shomei needed money. Life in the countryside was not very expensive. Shomei worked his trade due to his love of the craft and the sound that his flute produced.

It was this very love of the Shakuhachi that wound up changing his life forever. Whenever he had free time, he made his way up the peak of the mountain with one of his beloved creations. He had spent many afternoons unknowingly serenading the gods with his music. Clumsy at first, Shomei had gotten quite adept at playing the instrument, its drawn-out notes echoing across the countryside.

Little did he know but Shomei was not alone on that mountaintop. One of the things he had always savored was the gentle breeze that ruffled his hair and caressed his cheek while he serenaded the world.

The day that Fujin, the goddess of the wind, appeared in front of him, Shomei nearly passed out from the shock. The goddess floated translucently in front of him, a green haze that embodied the wind. He fell in love at first sight.

From that day forward, Shomei rarely left the mountain, only going down to sleep and eat. At first, he took to creating his Shakuhachi on the mountaintop but eventually even that stopped. Shomei did not need money after all. He had a lot of money saved up.

Fujin whispered sweet nothings to the man as he played his love song for the goddess. Shomei played for hours while becoming infatuated with the wind.

One day after many months, Shomei stood at the edge of a cliff while Fujin swayed seductively in front of him and whispered, “I love you.”

It was his truth. Gods had seduced many mortals in the past and Shomei’s love was no different. Long content to live a peaceful life in a small village, he suddenly found himself wanting something more.

Fujin said nothing. She reached out a whispy hand to him, rustling the hairs on his arm as her touch breezed over him. Shomei accepted her and they connected for the very first time.

All of a sudden, the man felt his feet leave the ground, carried away by the wind. The two danced through the sky as Shomei was carried by the wind to blow where she might. He didn’t return home that evening, not that anyone noticed. To the other townsfolk, Shomei was the eccentric villager who was prone to wandering off when the weather was far too cold.

Fujin showed Shomei parts of Japan that no human had ever laid eyes on. She carried him across lush valleys and over beautiful lakes. She even took him through caves in the mountains where her passing made music of its own.

The two were falling for each other in ways that many mortals could never understand. Neither had been in love before.

It was because of this love that Fujin did the unthinkable. She made Shomei into a god. With the barrier of humanity out of the way, the two finally had a way to be together.

Bonded through the wind, they began a torrid affair that lasted for months. Stormed raged across Japan as Shomei and Fujin just couldn’t get enough of one another. The new wind god hardly noticed when the village he used to live in was decimated by his passion.

Their lovemaking swept the countryside, passing over towns and cities before reaching the ocean. A great wind storm unlike any seen before in Japan raged uncontrollably for weeks.

One morning while Fujin slumbered peacefully, Shomei whispered in her ear. “I want to start a family.”

She cooed softly, gusting peacefully across a valley. “In time, my love. All in due time.”

Over the weeks that passed, Shomei became frustrated. In his passion for procreation, he barely noticed the path of destruction that he was leaving on the Earth in his wake. The wind didn’t care about the damage it caused as it swept by.

Finally, Fujin guided Shomei back to the mountaintop where they first met. She breathed in his ear. “Today, I will attempt to grant your wish but I must warn you. There is a price to be paid.”

The goddess confined all of her wind that day to the tiny mountaintop. A great tornado extended up to the heavens as the two danced an age-old duet.

Just as soon as it had begun, the storm peaked and was gone. In its wake, Shomei opened his eyes to see a beautiful woman standing naked in the tall grass at the peak of the mountain.

Her green hair blew in the gentle breeze that Shomei found himself caressing her with. When she spoke, he knew it was the voice of his lover. “I have done as you asked, my love. You will soon be a father. Unfortunately, there is no room in the heavens for two gods of the wind. It throws off the balance of nature.”

“Then I will become human too.” Shomei pleaded with the green-haired beauty.

She shook her head sadly. “Alas, you cannot. There must always be a Fujin. Always be a god of the wind. You must take my place if you wish for me to bear this child. Fear not, my love. I will visit you every day.”

She did visit every day for a while. Taking up residence in the town at the base of the mountain, Shomei was shocked when she told him about the destruction caused by the wind. He begrudgingly agreed that two wind gods mating uncontrollably could be dangerous.

As the new wind god, they agreed that Shomei would take up the mantle of Fujin. That left his mate without a name. It took them a while but they ended up deciding to call her Gyoko, which meant Windfall.

Around six months later, Gyoko stopped coming up the mountain. Fujin was worried and raced down to the village, bringing a storm along with him.

He quickly discovered that Gyoko had become too pregnant to continue the trek up the mountain every day to visit him. Resigned to his fate, the god of the wind busied himself with his duties.

Just as depression was beginning to set in, he heard a familiar sound coming from the village. Even from a distance, the sound of the Shakuhachi was unmistakable. Rain began to fall as tears formed in his eyes. Gyoko had learned to play his beloved instrument.

In the ninth month, the wind howled alongside the cries of childbirth as Gyoko labored to bring new life into the world. All was quiet for several hours while the new Fujin waited desperately for news.

It finally came in the form of another village woman who climbed the mountain by herself to deliver a message. “You have a daughter. She is healthy. Her name is Fuyuki.”

That night, the breeze could be felt by everyone in Japan as Fuijin proudly declared his joy to all the land. It was a six-month wait before he actually met Fuyuki. The tiny child had a mop of green hair and was just as captivating as her mother. Her eyes were a rich green which was uncommon in Japan.

The wind billowed and flared in an attempt to please the giggling baby girl. She cooed and sighed as the wind danced around her. Fujin whispered vows and promised to be a good father. Unbeknownst to anyone, the child gained a title that day.

BLESSED BY THE WIND