Sanjurou

The bamboo merchants in The Great Panda City say Sanjurou’s lantern is fueled by pure stubbornness, lit the day a rival explorer dared them to be the first to chart the peaks above the city. For years, the two have been locked in a gentle race. Sanjurou’s methodical pace is pitted against their rival’s reckless speed, and from the city streets below, one can often spot two figures on the cliffs—one a steady light, the other a fleeting shadow. The older chimps, however, recall the blizzard that nearly claimed the rival. It was Sanjurou’s light that cut through the freezing wind to find them, and the ancient sabre on their back that cut the frozen ropes to pull them to safety. The race was never officially called off; it just became a shared journey.