Solution

On the left path, ignore the statues and close the katana case before defeating Moko the Restless.

Description

Once upon a time, there lived a brilliant onmyoji. His enchantments were famed far and wide─yet the man was cursed with a poor memory, and often misplaced the tools he had imbued with such awesome power. Well aware of his foibles, the onmyoji resolved never to let his pieces escape him again, and wrought enchanted strongboxes to safely store them.

This strategy was put to the test when, one evening, a thief attempted to steal his most valuable tools away, boxes and all. Alas, though the vessels faithfully returned to the onmyoji's side, the poor man was distraught to discover that none of the works within had done the same.

Tokimori tells me that several such strongboxes were once present at Shojo Temple. Their magicks inhibited the spiritual powers of the objects sealed within─objects including a bloodthirsty sword and a dogu figurine. I myself managed to claim the box with the aforementioned sword, though the dogu must have been lost in the chaos that claimed the mountain.

While “bloodthirsty sword” rather speaks for itself, I was curious as to why a simple clay figurine should need to be sealed away. It transpires that the dogu, too, is a powerful tool, once used to ensure the temple's sacred trees flourish. Through the simple ritual of bowing before a small shrine and placing the dogu on the altar within, the monks could coax it into enlivening the surrounding greenery. Similarly, disregard for its care may prompt the dogu to wreak havoc on its environs...in which case, it may be best to enshrine any dogu we encounter.