KOMACHI'S TRAVEL GUIDE: This lovely garden was constructed by the twelfth Governor of Ryoko Owari, a man named Shosuro Atsusuke, to commemorate an imperial visit. It is the largest garden in the city, and is unparalleled in the region for the artistry of its construction. Since the return of our Unicorn neighbors, part of the garden has been set aside to display exotic blossoms and foreign animals.
The garden was built to front the bath house of the Noble Quarter. Built of highly polished green limestone, the bath house is one of the oldest buildings in Ryoko Owari, dating to the reign of the second Governor.
Visitors are often startled by a unique custom of this bath house. In honor of the Scorpion tradition of mask wearing, everyone wears a gauze veil while in the bath house. Some visitors find it disconcerting to cover their features while bathing, but it is a venerable custom, the thin gauze does not interfere with cleanliness, and many natives feel most "naked" when their faces are exposed.
MOROSUKE'S HISTORY: There's a story that the wife of the second Governor was a great beauty, but that when he found her in the arms of a lover he killed the man and cut off her nose to ruin her beauty. While she looked normal with her clan mask on, she could never appear unclothed again without hearing horrified gasps. Her friends were sad that she could no longer join them at the baths, but she was too ashamed of her deformity. Therefore, they started the mask practice so that she could join them.
SHIGEKO'S DOSSIER: The Scorpion Garden can be reached from the Magistrate Residence in ten minutes, and in a like amount from the Civil Hall.