Carp in the Pond, Crane on the River

On the Eight Sho-Dan of the Second Infestation Era at Kyosian Gunshiho in Dong ShiHo, ShinJi Dobashi, sole male heir to his father's myojie, struggles with the expectations he's met with. Trapped in an unwanted marriage with someone who is abhorrent to him and his own nature, ShinJi wiles his days away writing poetry, composing music and painting, as he dreams of freedom and a chance of leaving his father's Gunshiho so he can return to the Temple and live a scholarly life.

One day, after a confrontation with his wife, he watches a crane fly - envying the bird its carefree existence, wishing he could do the same. When the crane's flight becomes erratic and ends with a fall, ShinJi finds it imperative that he rescues and nurses it back to health, convinced his own fate and the freedom to leave a life he abhors rest in the success of this venture. Without a word of explanation, he takes off downriver in search of the fallen crane.

But what he finds is as far from a bird as heaven is from hell...