‘Please,’ she sobbed. ‘I have dedicated my life to the blade. It’s all I have. It’s all I am. You have my existence in your hands.’
She kicked and punched the unyielding wood, and screamed with frustration.
‘If you don’t open the gate I will throw myself from the cliff.’
She lost all her strength and fell against the iron-studded oak door in defeat. Night was falling. A westerly wind began to clear the sky of clouds and reveal a dusting of stars. She huddled against the door frame to escape the cutting cold. She stared into the sky so long she became aware of the slow rotation of the constellations above her. She wanted to freeze, succumb to an easy death, a slow slide into endless sleep. But sleep wouldn’t come and the cold burned like fire so she walked to the edge of the plateau and stood at the cliff edge. She couldn’t summon the courage to step forward into nothingness so she looked up at the brilliant starscape once more, spread her arms and began to rock back and forth. She hoped to gently topple into the chasm and embrace the air, transitioning from life into death without confronting the moment.
She slowly leaned forward, willing herself to cross the threshold of courage which would allow her to commit to the fall, then the door hatch suddenly slammed back and she almost lost her balance. She stumbled back to the gateway and threw herself against the weathered timbers.
‘Hello?’ she shouted, gripping the lip of the aperture, trying to pull herself up to see inside. ‘Who’s there? Show your face.’ She dropped to the ground, reached into her pack and fumbled for the sword box. She pushed the lacquered box into the black vacancy. ‘You know what this is, neh? Take it and show it to your master.’
She felt the box being snatched from her grasp. The view-hatch slammed shut once more and she was left alone on the exposed plateau. She fell to her knees and hung her head like she was waiting for judgement. Heavy bolts drew back then the great door creaked open. She struggled to her feet once more.
‘People call me Tengu, the raven,’ she shouted, announcing herself to the impenetrable shadows which lay beyond the doorway. ‘Hello? Anyone? Speak to me.’ She got no response.
‘I am Tengu, sword master, follower of the Way.’
Her voice echoed back at her and died away. She hesitated at the threshold then entered the darkness.
Glossary
Al-Kindi – Arab astronomer, mathematician, physician. 801-873 CE.
Amaterasu – A major Shinto diety, part of the origin myths of Japan.
Amida Buddha – A representation of Buddha associated with Pure Land Buddhism, a Japanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism.
Bancha – A standard grade of green tea.
Barbican – A fortified gatehouse.
Batō Kannon – Buddhist deity of the horse.
Bo shuriken – An iron throwing spike.
Bokken – A wooden training sword.
Bugeisha – A master of martial arts.
Chō-Han – A traditional dice game. Two dice shaken in a cup, bets take on the likelihood of an odd or even roll. The house keeps a cut of the stake.
Cuirass – An armoured breast plate.
Daimyō – A regional feudal lord.
Daitoku-ji – ‘The Temple of Great Virtue’ located in Kyoto. One of fourteen temples dedicated to the Rinzai school of Zen.
Diamotsu – Battle of Diamotsu, 1531 CE.
Dōsojin – Shinto deity believed to protect travellers from evil spirits.
Echizen – Medieval province, now the northern part of Fukui Prefecture.
Emishi – The indigenous tribes of Japan.
Etchū – Medieval province, now Toyama Prefecture.
Freshwater Sea – Medieval name for Lake Biwa (also The Inland Sea).
Fundoshi – A loin cloth.
Fushimi Inari – Kyoto temple dedicated to the Shinto rice god Inari, patron of merchants and manufacturers.
Gallnut Dye – A tooth sealant used in the ‘Ohaguro’ practise of blackening teeth.
Gekokujō – ‘Low conquers high’, a situation in which a low-born man overthrows his social superior.
Gigaku – An extinct form of masked dance/drama, a forerunner of Noh.
Ginkaku-ji – ‘Temple of the Silver Pavilion’, Kyoto.
Go – A traditional Chinese board game in which black and white counters (stones) are placed on a grid board. Each player attempts to encircle and convert their opponent’s counters.
Goban – the 19x19 grid board used in games of go.
Hachiman – Shinto god of war, protector of warriors.
Hakama – Traditional Japanese leg-wear.
Haori – A jacket.
Hanten – A jacket. Less formal than a haori. Often quilted.
Hashi – Chopsticks.
‘Hé?’ – ‘eh?’
Hichiriki – A double-reed flute.
Hida – Medieval province, now the north of Gifu Prefecture.
Honshu – Largest of the islands of Japan.
Hotei – An incarnation of Buddha-nature, usually represented with a fat belly and welcoming smile.
Humming Bulb Arrows – Singing arrow-heads used to signal the commencement of battle.
Iga Ware – Dark and starkly simple form of ceramic.
Inkstone – A small dish in which an inkstick is ground and the powder mixed with water.
Izanami-no-Mikoto – Mythological goddess of life and death. Name means ‘she who invites’.
Jingasa – A conical hat made of iron or leather worn by foot soldiers.
Jōkamachi – A‘town-beneath-the-castle’.
Jūnihitoe – An elegant and elaborate kimono.
Kaga – Medieval province, now part of Ishikawa Prefecture.
Kakebuton – A quilted bed-cover.
Kami – Shinto spirits.
Kata – A sequence of ritualised martial arts manoeuvres.
Katana – The archetypal samurai sword.
Ki – Life force (from the Chinese Qi).
Kimono – A T-shaped shirt/robe.
Kobusen – One of the denominations of Chinese copper coins used as currency in Japan.
Kohai – a junior, or pupil.
Kyoto – Capital of Japan 1180-1868 CE.
Kyoyochi Pond – A water garden in the precincts of Ryōan-ji, ‘The Temple of the Dragon at Peace’, Kyoto.
Manjū – A popular bean paste pastry.
Mon – Unit of Japanese currency 1336-1870.
Moxibustion – A traditional Chinese therapy in which dried mugwort is burned on the skin.
Muhammad ibn Zakariyā Rāzī - Persian alchemist, physician and chemist, 854-925 CE.
Naginata – A curved blade attached to a wooden staff. A weapon associated with foot soldiers and warrior monks. Also associated with women trained in martial arts.
Naka-ima – A Shinto concept of times as ‘the eternal present’.
Nara – Capital of Japan 710-794 CE.
‘Neh?’ – ‘Is that so?’
Ninja – Highly trained soldiers, usually mercenaries, specializing in infiltration and assassination.
Ninjitsu – The necessary skills of a ninja, eg: climbing, archery, silent swimming, disguise, concealment, etc.
Nobori – Large battlefield flags.
Noh – Traditional form of musical drama.
Nōshū – An alternate name for Noto, a province in medieval Japan.
Nurizaya – Type of hilt/scabbard wood traditionally used to dress swords when not in use.
Obi – Sash worn around the waist. (The stiff, formal sash is known as the kaku-obi, whereas the softer, more informal sash is known as the heko-obi.)
Ōnin Wars – The devastating civil war, 1467-1477 CE, which led to the destruction of Kyoto and the beginning of the Age of the Warring States.
Oshiroi – Face powder made from ground white rice (name means ‘honourable white’).
Pagoda – A tiered tower.
Palanquin – A litter, similar to the western sedan chair.
Palisade �
� A perimeter wall composed of tree trunks sharpened to a spike.
Pure Land Buddhism – One of the dominant strains of monastic Buddhism in medieval Japan.
Rajōmon Gate – The Kyoto city gate at the southern end of the great Suzaku Avenue, a wide boulevard which led to the outer gates of the Imperial Palace.
Ri – A unit of length equivalent to 3927m or 4295 yards.
Ryō – A gold coin worth a thousand brass coins, or enough rice to feed a person for four years.
Ryōan-ji – ‘The Temple of the Dragon at Peace’, Kyoto.
Saké – Rice wine, traditionally drunk warm.
-sama – A suffix indicating respect and deference to the person being addressed.
Samue – The simple work clothes of Buddhist monks.
Samurai – ‘One who serves.’ The military nobility of Japan.
Sarutahiko Ōkami – Shinto deity, sometimes portrayed as a monkey god. Often regarded as a patron spirit of martial arts.
Sashimono – A pennant worn by samurai as they entered battle.
Saya – A scabbard.
Sekino – Capital of Etchū province.
Sengoku Judai – The Age of the Warring States, 1467-1603 CE.
Seppuku – Ritual suicide. Also known as hara-kiri.
Shachihoko – Mythological creature with the body of a carp and the head of a tiger. Often used as roof ornaments to protect buildings from fire.
Shenqu – A preparation of wheat used in the treatment of acute ailments.
Shatranj – Early Persian form of chess.
Shinano –Medieval province, now Nagano Prefecture.
The girlbi – Alternate name for ninja.
Shiokowa no gawara – Battle of Shiokowa no gawara, 1531 CE.
Shō – Standard bottle measure of sake. Approx 1.8 litres.
Shōgun – The military ruler of Japan.
Shoji – A sliding partition wall. Paper over a wooden frame.
Suzaku Ōji – The wide central avenue of Kyoto which led to the gates of the Imperial Palace.
Tabi – Split-toed socks.
Takase bune – Flat bottom river boat used for navigating the Takase River, Kyoto.
Tantō – Short blade sword/knife.
Tatami – A rice straw mat.
Tatenawate – Battle of Tatenawate, 1530 CE.
Tendai – Japanese school of Mayahana Buddhism.
Tengu – Shinto daemon. A harbinger of war. Often portrayed as a bird of prey.
Tenryū Shiseizen-ji – Head temple of Renzai Zen Buddhism, Kyoto.
Topknot – Traditional samurai hair arrangement.
Tövd – Mongolian name for Tibet. (Means ‘snowy’.)
Tsuba – Sword hilt guard.
Tsuka – Sword hilt.
Uji – Area to the south of Kyoto associated with high-grade green tea.
Usa Hachimangū – Main temple to Hachiman, Shinto divinity of war, in the city of Usa.
Wakasa – Medieval province, now the southern part of Fukui Prefecture.
Warded Lock – One of the earliest forms of lock using a key cylinder.
Yamabushi – A mountain ascetic.
Yōkai – Phantoms, apparitions.
Za – Feudal trade guilds.
Zabuton – A floor cushion.
Zōri – Thonged sandals.
Further Reading
Cleary, Thomas, Classics of Strategy and Counsel Vols 1–3
Cleary, Thomas, Code of the Samurai – A Modern Translation of the Bushido Shoshinshu of Taira Shigesuke
Cleary, Thomas, Training the Samurai Mind – A Bushido Sourcebook
Clements, Jonathan, The Samurai – A New History of the Warrior Elite
Confucius (trans D. C. Lau), The Analects
Deal, William E., Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan
Donnelly, Ivon A., Chinese Junks and Other Native Craft
Fan, Warner J. W., A Manual of Chinese Herbal Medicine
Hori, Ichiro, Folk Religion in Japan – Continuity and Change
Kaptchuk, Ted J., Chinese Medicine – The Web That Has No Weaver
Lao-Tzu (trans Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo), Tao Te Ching
Lowry, Dave, Autumn Lightning – The Education of an American Samurai
Man, John, Ninja – 1,000 Years of the Shadow Warriors
Mason, R. H. P. and Caiger, J. G., A History of Japan
Mencius (trans D. C. Lau), Mencius
Miller, Sgt. Rory, Meditations of Violence – A Comparison of Martial Arts Training and Real World Violence
Reider, Noriko T., Japanese Demon Lore – Oni From Ancient Times to the Present
Statler, Oliver, Japanese Inn
Sun Tzu (trans Thomas Cleary), The Art of War
Sun Tzu (trans Lionel Giles), The Art of War
Takuan Sōhō (William Scott Wilson), The Unfettered Mind
Tilburg, Hans K., Chinese Junks of the Pacific
Tokitsu, Kenji, The Inner Art of Karate – Cultivating the Budo Spirit in Your Practice
Tsunetomo, Yamamoto (trans William Scott Wilson), Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai
Tsunetomo, Yamamoto (trans Takao Mukoh), Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai
Turnbull, Stephen, Ashigaru 1467–1649
Turnbull, Stephen, Japanese Castles 250–1540
Turnbull, Stephen, Japanese Castles 1540–1640
Turnbull, Stephen, Ninja ad 1460–1650
Turnbull, Stephen, Samurai Heraldry
Turnbull, Stephen, Samurai Horse and Foot Guards 1540–1724
Turnbull, Stephen, Samurai Women 1184–1877
Turnbull, Stephen, Samurai – The World of the Warrior
Turnbull, Stephen, War in Japan 1467–1615
Wilson, William Scott, The Lone Samurai – The Life of Miyamoto Mushashi
Yoshida, Kohshyu, The Samurai Sword
First published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Canelo
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Copyright © Adam Baker, 2018
The moral right of Adam Baker to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781911591665
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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