The content of the message:
call me.
There was Cy on the other end of the Skype line. Her hair was in even more disarray than last time, and a towel was hanging around her neck.
"You're lucky I picked up," she said. "I've just been at the beach."
"Of course. What else is an Australian to do?"
"Dan-o," she said, "you owe me big time, and I don't mean sexual favors."
"What did you find? I'm very intrigued!"
"You sure as fuck should be! Exactly nothing like this has ever come out of the Choto Temple. And it's fairly bizarre that this just did."
"How did you come across it?"
"A friend with Fukuleaks."
"The folks who are trying to expose corruption within the Japanese nuclear industry?"
"Yes, those are the ones," she confirmed impatiently. "One way or another, they swept up a lot of data from various computers, including on your mountain there. My friend tells me this file looks like it's never left the hard drive of the laptop it was typed on.
"He said they were actually just going to get rid of it, since it's not related to exposing corrupt politicians. He said they 'had no interest in exposing anyone for participating in unusual sexual practices.'
"But he knew I'd be interested. They had bothered to translate it already, and he figured it couldn't hurt to share it with me.
"It's written anonymously. And there's no hard proof that it's real. But he's sure it came off of a laptop from your mountain. For whatever that's worth. Definitely makes for interesting reading anyway."
"I was already going to give you research credit for this piece. But now your name will be in caps."
"Yeah, right. You're welcome."
It was a very revealing document indeed. Well worth quoting at length.
Diary of a Choto Girl
Day 1
I'm riding on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Yamaguchi. I thought I'd keep a diary about the experience that I'm about to have. Though I suppose it started when I sent in my application, almost a year ago.
I was intrigued when I first heard about the Purification Temple. It seemed so very Japanese.
You want something. But rather than fighting over it, you just make yourself so attractive that what you want comes to you.
It also fit so well with our notions of exchanging gifts. Receiving longevity and giving joy seemed like a fine exchange.
And then the rumors spread of the smaller, Choto Temple, and I was really intrigued.
I have known for a long time that I was different. I have recently learned there are words for this difference, too. English words, as they so often are.
I find great emotional contentment from service. Especially service which involves abdicating - giving control to someone else.
The specifics are unclear to me now, sitting on this train. But the general idea is clear. The founders of the Choto Temple wished to go beyond the framework of the Purification Temple.
For Choto, offering the purity of youthful beauty for the Donor to inoculate was not going far enough. They sought to create the ideal. That is, to understand this one man and the peculiarities of his earthly desires. And crystallize those desires in human form.
The idea of being an ascetic has always attracted me. But I don't believe in any gods. So becoming a nun of some kind always seemed a bit disingenuous.
But to serve this Temple of a different sort, the idea fills me with fascination. So here I am. Unknowing but ready.
Well, not entirely unknowing. I know there will be an unusual combination of service to a cause, and sex with one man. I can't imagine there will be very much sex, though - given the ratio, with one man and scores of women. Unless we women are to have sex with each other. Who knows.
Day 2
It's beautiful here in the mountains of Yamaguchi.
I had only read about this prefecture. It's the home of the samurai who led the revolution against the old regime at the end of the Edo era. The home of modern Japan, but a very traditional-feeling place today, compared to Tokyo.
It was also so interesting to meet the other members of the Choto Temple.
The founders are a bit different, and older. But all of those of us in the Temple, the members, are similar in many ways.
There was an immediate feeling for me of doing something important, and strange, among other people who seemed to really appreciate both the importance and the strangeness.
Day 3
There were interesting orientation events today, involving members of both Temples, where we discussed a wide variety of subjects.
Cancer rates, nuclear power. Concepts of service, and concepts of sexuality. And different kinds of sexual orientations.
It was interesting to note that for the Choto members, even the very new ones, everything was so familiar, and agreeable.
For the Purification members, particularly the sexual stuff was new to them. They are very young, and often very traditional. Although they have voluntarily signed up for this unusual procedure. And generally at least, they don't seem to feel ashamed of themselves. As far as I can tell.
Day 4
Today was the last day of orientation before the ascetic practice begins, only for Choto members. Which I have learned involves getting piercings and a sort of implant. The instructor explained that no one has to go through with this or stay in the Temple a minute longer than they wish to. But no one left.
The topic today was about specific sexual practices within the BDSM spectrum.
I was once again impressed at how familiar all the Choto girls seemed to be with this subject. It turns out that all of the ones I've talked to, like me, were already consciously involved with kink.