Xiaoxiren

The Little People are an enigmatic presence in Air Chrysalis, associated with the making of an air chrysalis and the appearance of two moons. Their decisive significance lies in the uncertainty surrounding them: the Master reports that Eri insisted they were real, yet he cannot say whether the story records actual events or gives them a fantastic, mythical, or allegorical form.

Appearance in Air Chrysalis

In the story, the Little People make an air chrysalis. At that moment, two moons appear, and the girl looks up and sees them. When Komatsu later discusses Tengo’s revision, he singles out this passage for further development: the two moons, he argues, need more concrete and detailed description. The image thus joins the Little People’s mysterious activity to a visible alteration in the story’s sky, while also becoming a specific point for editorial refinement.

Reality and Interpretation

The Master finds the story highly suggestive but says he does not know what it is meant to suggest. He raises the blind goat, the Little People, and the air chrysalis as elements whose meaning remains unclear. Asked whether Eri may have witnessed the scenes she describes while living with the Pioneers, he allows that this is possible, but says it is difficult to determine where reality ends and the fantastic begins. The story can also be read as a myth or an ingenious allegory.

That uncertainty is sharpened by the Master’s report that Eri told him the Little People really existed. Her assertion does not settle the question for him: it sets her conviction against his inability to distinguish testimony from fantasy or figurative narrative. The Little People therefore remain suspended between possible beings within the world of the story and figures whose significance depends on interpretation.