Kusunoki's Garden of Gods

Young Minato Kusunoki sees a Zashiki-warashi, confirming he has the family ability to see benevolent spirits. As a teenager Minato is made caretaker for the home of a deceased relative. Unknown to him the house is infested with wicked spirits that he cannot see, but his spirit powers are so strong they are exorcised when he enters the house. Soon he is visited by a wolf Yamagami; the Mountain God. Yamagami explains he has been weakened for some time, allowing spirits to run wild, but Minato’s handwriting possesses the power of exorcism, so by writing on post-it notes he unintentionally exorcised the house. Minato carves a nameplate for the house, preventing evil spirits entering. Later, exorcist Saiga Harima is amazed the oblivious Minato exorcises a spirit just by walking through it. Yamagami restores the garden and also summons marten spirits Seri, Torika and Utsugi. Harima visits to ask for Minato’s help as an exorcist. He is amazed Minato’s talisman that exorcised the spirit was a handwritten shopping list. Minato writes him another list which Harima insists on paying ¥100,000 for. Feeling guilty at the amount, Minato insists on drawing an additional pentagram on Harima’s hand. Later, Harima saves his comrades Katsuragi and Horikawa from a powerful spirit using the pentagram, leaving him shocked.

Minato runs out of money buying offerings for Yamagami and the martens. Later, he wins ¥100,000 on a raffle. Yamagami reveals another God has moved into the garden, Reiki the turtle, one of the Four Heavenly Beasts of Luck, who was saved from possession when Minato banished the spirit Harima was chasing. Next, Minato wins a sweepstake of ¥1Million. Reiki gifts Minato seeds to plant. The Gods Fujin and Raijin visit and in exchange for offerings Fujin grants Minato wind magic. Harima continues exorcising using the shopping list and pentagram, making exorcist Seishiro jealous. Reiki's seeds begin growing into a sacred Camphor tree. Minato decides to climb Mount Hojo and clean Yamagami's neglected shrine. An evil spirit appears nearby, so Minato writes another list and throws it using wind magic, exorcising the spirit and freeing a kirin it was possessing, who quickly departs. A dragon visits the house, revealing it is Ouryo, the second Heavenly Beast. Ouryo summons rain which grows the Camphor into an adult tree. Harima, who can't see the Gods, visits to buy more lists written on business cards so he can throw them like shuriken. He also asks for a square grid on his hand, his family crest, instead of a pentagram. Later, Seishiro locates and applies a tracking talisman to Minato.

Seishiro visits, planning to demand Minato work for him, but Yamagami secretly sends him to a dark dimension to be killed repeatedly. The bun shop owner, Echigo, mentions Yamagami helped him when he was young. Minato notices Echigo appears healthier, but Yamagami reveals Echigo is terminally ill, so he blessed him with vitality until his grandson can inherit his shop. Seishiro eventually prays for forgiveness, so Yamagami lets him go. Minato admits he misses the hot spring from his hometown, so Yamagami, Ouryo and Reiki create one in the garden. The kirin visits to thank Minato for freeing him, revealing he is Kirin, the third of the Heavenly Beasts. He is surprised Minato doesn't want a reward as he is used to selfish humans. Fujin and Raijin start to grow into adults as a result of Minato's respect. Fujin notices Minato is repressing his wind magic from fear of hurting people. Minato's mother messages him the nameplate he carved for their house is broken. Yamagami suggests Zashiki-warashi is warning them the protective energy has run out. The martens create a temporary dimension for Minato to harmlessly train magic. Kirin leaves a Durian fruit for Minato, but it is rejected by Ouryo and Reiki because of its stench. After training, Minato creates a more powerful nameplate. Harima discovers a temple emitting miasma.

Minato continues to improve his wind powers. Despite leaving more gifts for him Kirin continues to be nervous around Minato. Harima visits to beg Minato to banish a cursed doll that has become an evil spirit. Due to its sheer malevolence normal exorcists cannot even approach it within its own extra dimensional space. In exchange for an offering of sweets Yamagamai sends the martens to assist Minato. Inside the extra dimension the doll destroys Minato’s shopping lists, injures the martens and captures Minato. Yamagami sends the martens some of his power, so they incapacitate the doll, which Minato purifies by writing on it’s face. The cause of the impurity that corrupted the doll is revealed to be a former god. Minato discovers his normal writing is not powerful enough to purify a god, but the martens reveal he has a sacred Camphor leaf in his jacket. Writing on the leaf, the god is purified and the dimension begins to collapse. Fujin and Raijin help them escape so they don’t disappear into oblivion. Harima thanks Minato with even more sweets. Minato thanks the Camphor for its leaf. The purified god recovers and is revealed to be Ho’o the Phoenix, the fourth Heavenly Beast.

Portals to abandoned dimensional spaces begin appearing everywhere, so Yamagami intervenes. Fujin and Raijin warn Minato humans that wander into these portals can end up lost forever. Voices warn Minato to avoid a nearby shrine, but a portal opens inside the shrine that absorbs Minato and Ho'o. Wandering around he finds the sleeping Goddess that created the space, who realises her power has diminished due to humans neglecting her shrine. As Minato has Fujin's wind magic she asks him to get rid of the miasma that has filled the dimension. In exchange for Camphor leaves the Goddess grants him the power to seal that which cannot be seen. She explains humans usually pray to her to take away what they can't handle or don't like about themselves, such as unfulfilled dreams and jealousy. The martens rescue Minato and deduce the Goddess was Amaterasu, shocking him. They also explain the voices that tried to warn him were wind spirits and he will see them clearer if he trains the ability. Harima comes into conflict with a team of untrustworthy exorcists who charge high fees for exorcisms. Due to closing all the portals Yamagami reverts to a puppy, so Minato decides to keep feeding him snacks until hew returns to his real size.

Minato decides to train his power to seal the unseen, hoping if he can seal exorcism power in an object then it might be useful for Harima. As the house is for sale, Minato wonders why potential buyers keep cancelling. Yamagami sends Minato foraging for bamboo shoots, claiming they will help his training. Fujin and Raijin are revealed to be driving buyers away so Minato never leaves. Fujin considers giving Minato more powers, but Yamagami warns it risks Minato no longer remaining human. A bear approaches Minato, but Yamagami reassures him the bear is a servant of Kirin offering to harvest the bamboo. Minato is confused how eating bamboo helps training, but Yamagami reveals it is about relaxing as Minato has been stressed. The God Ebisu visits and trades Taiyaki for using the hot spring but notes Minato is something other than human. A black fox named Tsumugi visits, explaining she is a servant of the God of the neighbouring mountain, and in exchange for Inarizushi she gives Minato a golden peach. Minato worries being non-human might change him, but Yamagami assures him there is nothing to worry about. Yamagami hints a clue to sealing might be in Minato’s past. Minato recalls the Zashiki-warashi was the first spirit he saw when he was five.

Minato further recalls becoming friends with Warashi. When one yokai, Hihi, began picking on him his grandfather told him to find a way to get along, so Minato began using sweets as offerings. After his grandfather died Minato was attacked by an unfriendly yokai, but it was banished by a travelling exorcist. The exorcist complimented Minato's handwriting, after which Minato carved the inn's nameplate. Minato is certain the man knew his handwriting contained power. Yamagami is certain Minato's power to seal is connected to the memory of that exorcist. Minato imagines sealing his pure heart into a talisman, and finally succeeds. Elsewhere, Harima keeps Minato's identity secret from his five exorcist sisters. On his next trip to Minato's Harima receives the improved sealing talismans. Another abandoned dimension absorbs Minato and Yamagami. Minato finds the God sealed inside a sword, and after purifying it the dimension starts to collapse. Seishiro is shown to be less arrogant as dying repeatedly left him with a phobia of bells, which his assistant Horikawa takes advantage of. Minato escapes the dimension right next to Harima and his sisters but leaves without meeting them. As the new God is drained Minato places it in the garden to recover.