The Singing Bird of Heaven

The Sun Goddess of High Heaven means to send her August Child to rule the troubled Land of Reed Plains below — but first the land must be made calm, and one by one the messengers she sends fail to return. When at last a young prince descends, glory shining from his garments, he too finds the earth has a pull of its own. So Heaven sends its most beloved messenger of all: a golden bird, with a song meant only for his ears. A luminous and sorrowful myth of Heaven and Earth, duty and forgetting.

A traditional tale from Japan.

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