The Twelve Kingdoms

In the Moonlight

Yoko visits En-o at Mt. Sho to ask what to do with Shoko who abused his political power to test the Heaven’s will to see if Yoko deserves to be a queen. Kantai delivers personal letters from Yoko and Shokei to Gekkei, Kei State’s Leader, currently in charge of Ho’s temporary government. Gekkei has a dilemma about taking the throne and is about to leave the government because he led the rebels to defeat the king who was too harsh on criminal punishment yet he admired his pure vision. He killed the king for the people but he feels that if he takes the throne now, his action will no longer make sense to himself. Kantai, who was also a rebel in Kei, suggests the establishment of “a government in the moon shadow”(waiting for the sun(= king) to come up).