Guiding a tour in Jigokudani, Nagano, we spotted Japanese monkeys congregating at the edge of a natural hot spring. The weather was quite unusual and created a momentary phenomena like an eclipse of the sun. Clouds pregnant with snow suddenly obscured all but a few shards of light as tiny flakes of snow glittered like distant stars. And in the center was this monkey, shrouded in a halo of cosmic mystery.