The Threshold

Yushiro and Miharu arrive at an old shrine in Watanabe, where they are greeted by an old man who addresses Yushiro by name. He explains by saying that he is the guardian of the shrine and the kugai that rests there, and that he has been waiting for Yushiro to come. Yushiro and Miharu place their hands on the old statue in the shrine, and visions of the past flood their minds -- visions of the rift that split the Kugutsu clan, and two kai named Yushiro and Miharu. The Emperor has requested that the kugai be brought to him, and the head of the Watanabe Kugatsu faction would prefer that the clan emerge from the shadows and reveal their true power. Yushiro and Miharu are ordered to accompany the kugai, in order to merge with them when they lay siege to Kyoto, the capital. (American release in 2001.), Yushiro and Miharu arrive at the threshold of Kyoto, where they unearth truths about their shared history, the time when the Kugutsu attempted to overthrow the emperor of Japan.