Hisho

Hisho (丕緒) is an artist from Kei. He is the protagonist in the short story, The Birds of Hisho.

Hisho has been employed by the government of the Kingdom of Kei for several generations of rulers, primarily the three rulers who immediately succeeded King Tatsu. As an artisan he has been responsible for creating beautiful bird ornaments that are shot down as part of the monarch's ascension ceremony.

However, the three rulers who succeeded Tatsu with very short reigns did not understand or appreciate Hisho's designs, and he suffers from the deep seated grief and regret over the loss of his friends and colleagues during those long years before the arrival of Youko Nakajima as the kingdom's fourth legitimate female monarch after Tatsu. These factors contribute greatly to Hisho's crippling artist's block as he attempts to create another set bird ornaments for Youko's enthronement.

While Hisho manages to overcome his artist's block to create the necessary bird ornaments for the ceremony, he is surprised when the new ruler personally thanks him for his birds and praises them for their beauty, in contrast to her predecessors' distaste for them.