Kaika is the sort of girl who has her head in the clouds and a knack for getting into trouble because of it. Her mountain village is well acquainted with her wandering thoughts and vivid imagination. While other kids study practical spells to grow plants and purify water, Kaika spends her time writing songs about the gods of old and crafting makeshift instruments from old pots, strings, and branches from the forest floor. She daydreams of playing for a royal audience whose cheers echo off the marble and gold of the Empress' palace. Tending to the forest may be the way of her people but she only has a mind for music. To her, it is a different, better sort of magic.

A passing theatre troupe is a rare and welcome treat for their village, and they often perform in exchange for supplies and a place to rest. When brightly colored wagons and even more flamboyant entertainers arrive one summer evening, Kaika is the first one there to see their act. No seat in the village square is good enough and she eventually sneaks onto the back of one of their wagons to watch the kabuki play up close, enraptured by the band playing songs she’s never heard before. She falls asleep among their props and dreams of painted masks and poignant melodies.

When she wakes, she discovers she is no longer surrounded by the familiar trees of her village but open skies above the mountain foothills. The theatre troupe is just as surprised by their stowaway. Their bandleader offers to take her back but Kaika begs them to let her stay. They agree on the condition she earn her keep by taking part in their productions, and hand her her very own shamisen. They have an important performance coming up soon and need all the help they can get. She dedicates herself to learning their songs, and teaches them hers in return as they travel from town to town towards their final destination: to perform for the Empress herself.