Seven Deadly Shadows
Page 28
Kitsune: The Japanese word for fox. In English, the word kitsune refers to a fox yokai capable of shapeshifting into human form, usually to trick human beings. In Japan, foxes are seen as messengers of the gods, and they stand guard over Inari shrines.
Kitto katsu: “You’re sure to win,” a phrase used to wish someone good luck with a difficult endeavor. The phrase’s phonetic similarities to the Kit Kat candy has made Kit Kats astronomically popular in Japan, where hundreds of varieties are available.
Kuzunoha: A legendary kitsune of Japanese folklore, known for being the mother of Abe no Semei.
Machiya: Wooden town houses typified by a first-floor storefront, with residential housing on the upper story. While machiya houses are common throughout Japan, they define the downtown architecture of Kyoto.
Miko: A Shinto shrine maiden. In modern times, the role of miko is generally seen as an after-school job for girls and women in high school or college.
Motomiya: A small shrine or “sub-shrine” located inside a larger shrine’s boundaries.
Mudra: A ritual hand gesture in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. A mudra is a spiritual gesture employed in Indian classical dance, yoga, and many forms of martial arts in Japan.
Naginata: A weapon with a curved blade at the end of a long pole.
Nekomata: A mischievous cat yokai with two tails, with each tip burning with fire. The most dangerous types of these yokai can grow many times larger than a tiger or lion.
Nemaki: Kimono-style robes for sleeping or lounging.
Noren: A drape that hangs over the front of a door, window, or between rooms.
Oni: Supernatural ogres, demons, or trolls. Folklore typically portrays them as hulking beasts with horns, clad only on loincloths made from tiger pelts.
Onmyōdō: Japanese esoteric cosmology and astronomy, also involving practices of magic, divination, and exorcism.
Onmyōji: A practitioner of onmyōdō.
Otogi-zôshi: A group of roughly 350 short stories and folktales from feudal Japan.
Oeyama: Located in Kyoto Prefecture, Mount Oeyama is the traditional residence of Shuten-doji.
Rokurokubi: A type of yokai that appears as a beautiful woman with a long, snakelike neck.
Ryokan: A type of inn that generally features tatami-mat rooms, communal baths, etc.
-sama: An honorific for lord.
-san: An honorific that equates to Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss.
Sasumata: A feudal-era, two-pronged polearm used to trap intruders. Every school in Japan keeps sets of these “man catchers,” which allow students and faculty to defend themselves from attackers.
-senpai: An honorific used to confer respect to one’s seniors at school, work, etc.
Shikigami: A kami represented by a small ghost, able to be bound into folded-and-cut paper forms.
Shimenawa: Ropes of straw or hemp used to designate sacred spaces, natural features, or even special sumo wrestling rings.
Shinigami: Japanese “death gods” or psychopomps, traditionally responsible for taking human lives or guiding them into the afterlife.
Shinkansen (train): A bullet train capable of moving up to 200 miles per hour.
Shinto: The traditional religion of Japan, often used to describe kami worship and related theologies, rituals, and practices.
Shoji: A door, window, or room divider made of translucent paper over a frame of wood.
Shuten-doji: One of Japan’s Three Great Evils, Shuten-doji is the mythical oni or demon leader of Japan.
Suzu bell: A round, hollow bell that contains pellets, somewhat like a jingle bell. Large ones are present in Shinto shrines and used to call to the shrine’s kami.
Takamagahara: High heaven, where the gods dwell.
Tamamo-no-Mae: One of the Three Great Evils of Japan, Tamamo-no-Mae is a beautiful kitsune credited with deceiving an emperor and his court.
Temizu ritual: A purification ritual performed before entering a Shinto shrine, which cleanses the hands and mouth.
Tengu: A yokai that takes a variety of shapes, but usually is presented as a large, monstrous bird with anthropomorphized features.
Tennin: Spiritual beings in Japanese Buddhism that are similar to Western angels. They are generally unnaturally beautiful women dressed in ornate kimono—called hagoromo—that enable them to fly.
Tokonoma: A recessed area in traditional houses used to display artwork, flower arrangements, and other decor.
Torii: A traditional gate that marks the transition from the mundane world to the sacred one; most Shinto shrines have multiple torii gates along their main path, or sandō.
Tsukomogami: Tools that have grown old enough to obtain a kami or spirit.
Tut: Also known as finger tutting. A type of dance that involves intricate movements of the fingers, used in this novel as a verb to describe performing mudras.
Veranda: A roofed platform that runs along the outsides of buildings, known as a hisashi in Japan.
Yakitori: A chicken skewer grilled over a charcoal fire, often made as street food. Yakitori stands are often found outside large shrines.
Yokai: The supernatural monsters, ghosts, spirits, and demons found in Japanese folklore. Yokai can be benevolent, malevolent, mischievous, or anything in between.
Yomi: Literally “World of Darkness,” or the land of the dead, which seems to have a geographical continuity with the living world. In some interpretations, it’s synonymous with Western hell.
Yorimitsu: Also known as Minamoto no Raikō, a historical hero featured in many legends and tales—in Japanese folklore, he snuck into Shuten-doji’s palace and beheaded the oni king.
Yuki-onna: Literally “snow woman,” this yokai preys on travelers lost in snowstorms.
Acknowledgments
Every book is a journey, but this one took me across the Pacific Ocean—first by plane, then by pen. I expected to battle demons on the page, but I wasn’t prepared for the ones I faced in my own head. In the end, I’m grateful for the myriad things I’ve learned while working on this book.
To my agent, John M. Cusick, who was the first to advocate for this project and who later saved it—thank you. Without you, I don’t think we would have made it to The End. May we see many more beginnings. Actually, we have too many beginnings this year—hold that thought until we have a few more endings in place!
To editor extraordinaire Alexandra Cooper—you are a paragon of patience, and my gratitude to you runs deep. You have shaped and guided this book with wisdom and grace, and I have learned so much about the writing craft from you. Thank you for never giving up on me, even when I was mired in the deep, murky pools of self-doubt. Your midnight emails gave me life!
To the talented crew at HarperCollins—you folks are a Super Sentai Squad for the ages. Thank you for all the hard work you’ve done on behalf of Seven Deadly Shadows.
To the friends who offered their insights, support, and edits throughout this process: Chersti Nieveen, Yamile Saied Méndez, Rebecca Sachiko Burton, Kate Coursey, and Tricia Levenseller. No matter where you left your imprints, they echo through this novel.
To my travel companion in Japan, Emily Coleman—what an incredible, life-changing trip we had! Thank you for helping me navigate the country by bus and train, for finding amazing places to eat, and for being so chill when I decided that biking three miles to Kyoto’s Golden Pavilion “sounded like fun.” How was I to know the journey was going to be almost entirely uphill?
And to our host in Kyoto, Atsuko Kusakabe—thank you for opening your beautiful home to us, for great late-night conversations, and for touring the Shimogamo Jinja with us. I have wandered far abroad, but Kyoto remains my favorite destination because of you.
To my family—both the one I was born to and the one I married into—thank you for respecting my writing time but still inviting me along, knowing my answer would be I’m working! I can’t tell you how much it meant to me.
To dear friends: Dustin Hansen, Jolene Perry, Shawna Meske
-Putnam, Michael Putnam, Zack Laine, and the gamers of Haven—thank you for keeping me company, keeping me sane, and keeping me laughing.
To all the Japanese storytellers, artists, and musicians who have influenced me from childhood—you shaped my inner world with your art, and I will carry your stories with me always. Thank you.
To the members of Twice—your music kept me dancing on my darkest days, and I know Kira would love your work. Onces fighting!
Most important, much love and gratitude to my husband, Bo Jensen, who remained steadfast even when the night grew dark. You have been the most amazing partner in crime, sounding board, and bringer of hugs (and caffeine!) a writer could ever desire. Every day we spend together is the luckiest day.
—Courtney
They say when you hit rock bottom, only then will you know who your real friends and family are. The past couple of years have been extremely difficult, so I have an abundance of gratitude for those who stood by me through all the hard times:
Jacob, my home, love of a lifetime, best friend, and accomplice in all things adventurous.
The ones who give me gray hair but also put up with my whining about dishes, dirty laundry, or funky smells. You guys never cease to make my life a loud and happy one: Jessen, Keahi, Aiden, Kamaile, Elise, Lexi, Cale, Callista, and Lily.
My parents, Howard and Vicki, for keeping me alive and for their never-ending support.
Kristen and Mitch, for helping with the kids and all matters in life.
Stan and Ann Nagamatsu, for assisting with anything and everything.
Those who never fail to check on me and keep me going: Foxy, my sister from another mister; Fresh, Jcote, and Ahjack; Matt L. and Octavia O.; Robert Balenzuela, Michael Baker, Carson M., Victor Vilchiz, Ma, Del, and Alpha; and all my friends at OCD, BS2, and GT.
Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and the entire Writing Excuses crew for allowing me to guest host for season thirteen.
My superhero agent, John Cusick, and everyone at Folio Literary Agency; editor, Alexandra Cooper, and the staff at HarperTeen; and coauthor, Courtney Alameda, for their undying patience.
All the doctors and specialists who brought me back from the almost-dead on many occasions.
Most of all, a huge hug to readers and bibliophiles everywhere.
—Valynne
About the Authors
Photo by Diantha French
COURTNEY ALAMEDA is a writer, veteran bookseller, and librarian. Her debut novel, Shutter, was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award and hailed as a “standout in the genre” by School Library Journal. She also wrote the YA novel Pitch Dark—a Junior Library Guild selection—as well as Sisters of Sorrow, a comic book series she cowrote with Sons of Anarchy screenwriter Kurt Sutter. She holds a degree in English literature with an emphasis on creative writing. A Northern California native, she now resides in Idaho with her husband, legions of books, and a tiny five-pound cat with a giant personality. Learn more about her at www.courtneyalameda.com.
Photo by Dustin Heuston
VALYNNE E. MAETANI is a writer and member of We Need Diverse Books. Her debut novel, Ink and Ashes, was the winner of Tu Books’ New Visions Award and an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor, was a Junior Library Guild selection and a Kirkus Reviews Best Book, and received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and now resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit her online at www.valynne.com.
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Copyright
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS. Copyright © 2020 by Courtney Alameda and Valynne E. Maetani. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Cover art © 2020 by Sam Weber
Cover design by Erin Fitzsimmons
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2019946112
Digital Edition JANUARY 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-257083-3
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-257081-9
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1920212223PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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