The new calendar called it September, but to Azuki, the girl who became a toki, it was the time of the Descent of White Dew, one of the 24 seasonal subdivisions of Japan. Even on the south-western Japanese island of Kyushu, the temperature had dropped, going from the suffocating heat and humidity of summer to just a little cooler, just a little drier, giving just a hint of the pleasant fall days to come.

In her mountain home, Azuki sniffed the clear, cool air and rejoiced. ...