The Sword, Jewel and Mirror of the title refer to the three sacred treasures of Japan, which collectively make up the Imperial Regalia (san-shu no jingi). The san-shu no jingi are handed down from father to son in the Imperial Family, and are kept at shrines around Japan.

The first section of the piece is HINOIRI (SUNSET) describing the bright sun gradually disappearing beneath the horizon and the coming of night. With night comes sleep, and with sleep come dreams of ancient, mythical Japan and recollections of the old legends.

The KUSANAGI (SWORD) is said to have been found in the tail of an eight-headed serpent, tricked and killed by Susano no Mikoto, the God of Storms. In another legend, a Prince trapped by fire in rush-plains uses the Sword to cut the grass and change the direction of the wind, allowing his escape. Kusanagi means "Mower of Grass".

The dreamscape shifts to a time even before the legends of the sword. The aforementioned God, Susano, was said to have ruled the Plain of the Seas and, one day, wanting to speak to his sister Amaterasu Omikami, the Goddess of the Sun, he ascended to her realm, the Plain of High Heaven. Unwittingly, he left havoc in his wake, destroying crops and damaging buildings, and Amaterasu, horrified, hid herself in a cave. Darkness is said to have descended on the Lands of Japan.

The legend continues with all the Gods assembling outside the cave, trying to lure Amaterasu back into the world. In branches of a nearby sasaki tree, it is said that they hung many trinkets including the Sacred Jewel of this piece's title. Then the female God Uzume began to dance, building to a thunderous and uproarious climax - UZUME'S DANCE. Hearing the commotion outside, the legend goes that Amaterasu slowly opened the cave door, until suddenly she caught sight of herself in the Sacred Mirror, also hanging in the sasaki tree, and light returned to the Realm.

The last section of the piece is HINODE (SUNRISE), which is an exact mirror-image of the first, and the piece ends with the rising sun establishing itself once more.

Philip Harper