A Water Mirror in a Landlocked Town

The deity Kaori serves, Ichikishimahime-no-Mikoto, is a goddess of maritime safety. Unlike Itsukushima or Munakata—where the spirits actually reside—Hikami, located in the Nara Basin, has no sea. One summer night, while Kaori was discussing management strategies with the Hikami Hotel manager (Junichiro Saki) in the cool evening breeze, the goddess Ichikishimahime seemed to take a liking to the hotel pool's surface. Nostalgic for the ocean, she projected an image of Itsukushima Shrine onto the water. Kaori smiled, sensing the goddess's feelings, while the manager watched the scene unfold. It is just one ordinary moment in the daily life of Hikami, a town where the presence of gods is felt everywhere. The scene was described using a Japanese prompt based on Kaori's character specifications. After adjustments—such as detailing the appearance of the water surface—this is one of three images produced in the generation run. Depicting the manager standing on the water's surface proved surprisingly challenging. https://openart.ai/suite/create-image/gpt-image-2, GPT Image 2, 3:2, Quality: medium, 1536x1024, $0.0447 (7.10 yen) per image.