I was fascinated by the Hayao Miyazaki's Tonari no Totoro, especially the mononoke and their world of the camphor tree. One of the most haunting scenes is when they are high in the giant tree playing a few soulful lingering notes on an ocarina. When the girls awake, they can't be sure whether it was a dream.
The gods of the forest sing to make the dew fall and the snow melt, and they play for the fog and the sun. They make the leaves unfurl and the grass grow. But sometimes, too, they play just for the joy of it. I rendered this before Mononoke Hime came to the United States. If I had seen that one first, I have a feeling the forest god would have looked a lot more like Yakul.
