The morning in Amencho Town was filled with clear light, fitting for the season of Seimei. April 5th. Today is also “Haircut Day.” The engineer Spice had set up a strange silver panel in the plaza .
“…This is a ‘Mirror of Truth,’ built by analyzing the reflected light off the Dragon God’s lake. I improved on a city-made AI mirror, tuning it to reflect the figure the viewer’s soul is truly seeking.”
“The figure my soul is seeking… you mean I’ll finally see the me that gets the most swooning?!” Kopo leapt in front of the mirror first. But what appeared wasn’t a muscular hero, nor a prince. It showed an “ordinary, life-sized Kopo,” holding a small pair of scissors, seriously trying to tidy the little tuft of downy hair sticking up on his head.
“…What is this. It’s just the same old me.” As Kopo’s shoulders slumped, Tacchi, peering into the mirror beside him, froze mid-pose — a rare sight. The Tacchi in the mirror wasn’t showing off his long legs at all; he simply rested his too-short hand gently atop his head, smiling calmly.
“Hmph… A perfect pose isn’t what the Dragon God is telling me to love? This ‘imperfect self,’ whose hand can’t reach?”
“Feh-feh. Seimei is when the sky clears, the flowers bloom, and all things rightly shine with their own life.” Sonchō arrived, carrying an old set of grooming tools. “Kopo. However much you dress up on the outside, if the down of your heart stands on end, true spring won’t come. Today is Haircut Day. Why not trim away a little of your excess vanity , and feel lighter?”
With practiced hands, Sonchō snipped off the small tuft of down sticking up from Kopo’s head. The instant it happened, the knot in Kopo’s chest loosened, as if blown away by a spring breeze.
“…Ah. Somehow, everything looks brighter.”
Across the plaza, Bipiku checked her new hairstyle in a mirror, while Keromi sang an improvised song: “New me, hello!” Their figures shone far more vividly than any mirror simulation, reflecting the clear light of Seimei.
Far off in the sky, Hasshi preened his own feathers with his beak, muttering. “Maybe I should trim my crest a bit too, and look smarter. So the frogs see me as a gentle bird they don’t need to fear.”
Spring in Amencho Town was full of the smiles of those who had shed the unnecessary and reclaimed their true shine. In this new season, they took a small break from chasing an “ideal self,” and stepped out clean and clear as their “current self.”
【Today’s Motif: April 5, 2026】
- Seimei: One of the 24 solar terms — a period when all things become clear and vivid .
- Haircut Day: Commemorating the 1872 lifting of the ban on women cutting their hair short.
- Personal Styling Mirrors: A 2026 trend — AI technology proposing “optimal” appearances.
This is an English translation of “清明の鏡と、風に舞う産毛”, part of Tales of Amencho Town (蛙鳴町奇譚).