by Susan Spann
The innkeeper looked uncomfortable. “I wanted to thank you for finding my missing silver. And to apologize for blaming your servant.” He bowed. “Please forgive my error.”
“All men err.” Father Mateo made a gesture of benediction. “I pray that God will protect you and bless this ryokan.”
“Thank you.” Noboru bowed once more. “I will leave you to your preparations.”
The innkeeper disappeared in the direction of the kitchen, but Otomuro lingered in the doorway.
Hiro gave the samurai a curious look.
Otomuro entered the room and closed the door. “I found your explanation for the crimes quite interesting. . .but incomplete.”
“How so?” Hiro suspected he knew the answer.
“It did not account for my brother’s death.”
Father Mateo’s curious expression suggested the priest had realized this also.
“An intentional omission,” Hiro said, “as a courtesy. Because, as you know already, Hanako did not kill your brother. You did.”
Otomuro’s jowls wobbled. “How did you know? We were alone. . .”
“I will answer that if you explain why you demanded a hundred and fifty gold koban when you knew Noboru lost much less.”
Otomuro’s cheeks flushed red, like giant apples. “It is the sum I need to take my brother’s place in the daimyō’s service. To pay for my armor, and for the necessary gifts. Now, how did you know about my brother?”
“He abused and killed the woman you cared for.” Hiro avoided the more complicated “loved” “Moreover, Yuko could not make a claim against your family—financial or otherwise—if he was dead.”
Otomuro nodded. “It is the truth.”
“Then you never believed in the yūrei?” Father Mateo asked.
“I did believe.” Otomuro looked embarrassed. “I feared she would come for me, despite the fact that I tried to avenge her, because I could not—did not—prevent my brother from killing her.”
He jumped as someone knocked on the door behind him.
The door slid open, revealing Ana. The Jesuit’s housekeeper wore an unadorned blue kimono with an orange obi and carried a bundle across her back.
Otomuro bowed to Hiro. “As our business is concluded, I will leave you to your preparations.”
Father Mateo and the shinobi returned the bow as the portly man withdrew.
Ana took his place inside the door and rested her hands on her hips. “Hm. The two of you are slower than a pair of children heading out to lessons.”
“We’re ready.” Father Mateo hefted the bundle that held his Bible, a spare kimono, and the few additional possessions he had acquired since they left Kyoto.
Hiro’s own traveling bundle, smaller and lighter than the priest’s, lay at his feet. He kept his own important possessions—most of them lethal—concealed on his person.
He reached down and picked up Gato, who splayed her legs in order to avoid being placed in the basket. As he lowered her toward it, she snagged her claws on the rim and stiffened her legs against the sides. Hiro tried, but could not stuff her through the opening.
Ana laughed.
“It isn’t funny,” Hiro said, as Gato let out an angry yowl and bit his hand.
Ana laughed even harder.
Even Father Mateo smiled.
Hiro finally managed to loosen Gato’s claws and slip her into the basket. He secured the lid and Ana picked it up.
“Onward to Edo,” Father Mateo said. “Though one thing still does trouble me. You told the villagers the apparition they saw in the woods was Masako, but I saw her after Masako died.”
“We discussed this,” Hiro reminded him. “You saw Emiri, returning to see Zentaro.”
“Emiri claimed she was not here that night—or on the night we tried to catch the thief.”
“Kunoichi do not always tell the truth,” Hiro pointed out, “but I can try to find her before we leave, and ask—”
“No.” The word came out with unusual force. “I think I would rather believe I saw Emiri.”
After an uncertain pause, the priest concluded, “after all, we have a mission to complete.”
Throwing a caltrop under Oda Nobunaga’s plans to seize Kyoto and the shogunate—and hopefully putting Neko’s spirit to rest. . .and mine as well.
Hiro hefted his pack. “Let’s get back on the road.”
Glossary of Japanese Terms
B
butsudan: a Buddhist shrine commonly found in Buddhist homes and temples
C
-chan: an affectionate diminutive suffix, commonly used for children, pets, and lovers. “Neko-chan” is roughly the equivalent of “kitty.”
D
daimyō: a samurai lord, usually the ruler of a province and/or the head of a samurai clan
F
futon: a thin padded mattress, small and pliable enough to be folded and stored out of sight during the day
H
hakama: loose, pleated pants worn over kimono or beneath a tunic or surcoat
I
Inari: (also: Inari Ōkami) a Shintō kami (deity) worshipped in Japan since at least the eighth century as the patron of agriculture, fertility, rice, saké, foxes, swordsmiths, and merchants. In Shinto belief, kitsune (foxes) often serve as Inari’s messengers. inarizushi: (also: inari sushi) a type of sushi named for the Shinto deity Inari, made by stuffing sushi rice seasoned with black sesame into pockets of fried tofu (aburaage). According to Japanese legend, this type of sushi is a favorite meal of the kitsune, or foxes, who act as Inari’s messengers.
K
kami: the Japanese word for “god” or “divine spirit”; used to describe the gods of Japan’s indigenous Shinto faith, the spirits inhabiting natural objects, and certain natural forces of divine origin
kanji: Chinese characters used, together with the phonetic hiragana and katakana syllabaries, for writing the Japanese language
kanzashi: traditional Japanese hair ornaments or hair pins.
kata: literally, “form”; a series or pattern of movements, often used for training in martial arts
katana: the longer of the two swords worn by a samurai (the shorter one is the wakizashi)
kimono: literally, “a thing to wear”; a full-length wraparound robe traditionally worn by Japanese people of all ages and genders
kitsune: literally, “fox”; in Japanese, used to refer to both normal foxes and to the supernatural fox spirits of Japanese folklore, some of which are closely associated with the Shinto deity Inari
koban: an oval Japanese coin, generally made of gold
kunoichi: a female shinobi, trained in the arts of espionage and assassination
M
miso: a traditional Japanese food paste made from fermented soybeans (or, sometimes, rice or barley)
N
neko: cat
O
obi: a wide sash wrapped around the waist to hold a kimono closed, worn by people of all ages and genders
onryō: (literally: “vengeful spirit”) a wrathful yūrei (ghost) that causes natural disasters and seeks revenge against the living
R
ronin: a masterless samurai ryokan: a traditional Japanese inn
ryu: literally, “school”; shinobi clans used this term as a combination identifier and association name (Hiro is a member of the Iga ryu)
S
saké: an alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice
-sama: a suffix used to show even higher respect than -san
samurai: a member of the medieval Japanese nobility, the warrior caste that formed the highest-ranking social class
-san: a suffix used to show respect
sasa: broad-leafed bamboo, a variety of running bamboo
shamisen: a three-stringed Japanese instrument with a long neck and wooden body, similar to a banjo but with a smaller, drum-shaped body and without any frets on the neck
shinobi: literally, “shadowed person”; shinobi is the Japanese pronunciatio
n of the characters that many Westerners pronounce “ninja,” which is based on a Chinese pronunciation
shogun: the military dictator and commander who acted as de facto ruler of medieval Japan
shogunate: a name for the shogun’s government and/or the compound where the shogun lived
shoji: a sliding door, usually consisting of a wooden frame with oiled paper panels
shuriken: an easily concealed palm-sized weapon made of metal and often shaped like a cross or star, which shinobi used for throwing or as a handheld weapon in close combat
stupa: a Buddhist monument, often made of wood or stone and used for storing sacred relics, marking graves, and other religious purposes
T
tabi: traditional Japanese socks, which have a separation between the big toe and the other toes, allowing them to be worn with sandals
tatami: a traditional Japanese mat-style floor covering made in standard sizes, with the length measuring exactly twice its width; tatami usually contained a straw core covered with grass or rushes
tokonoma: a decorative alcove or recessed space set into the wall of a Japanese room; the tokonoma typically held a piece of art, a flower arrangement, or a hanging scroll
torii: a sacred Shinto gate that marks the entrance to a Shinto shrine or the boundary between a worldly space and a sacred one
tsukemono: (literally, “pickled things”) a general term for the pickled vegetables that typically accompany a traditional Japanese meal
U
unagi: eel
W
wakizashi: the shorter of the two swords worn by a samurai (the longer one is the katana)
Y
yamabushi: a Japanese mountain ascetic, once believed to possess supernatural powers and an unusual ability to communicate with various gods and spirits.
yūrei: (literally: “dim spirit”) a type of Japanese ghost, commonly believed to be the spirit of a person who died in a sudden or violent manner, which is stuck in the world of the living until the conflict that bound the spirit to this world is resolved
For additional cultural information, expanded definitions, and author’s notes, visit http://www.susanspann.com
Author’s Note
Ghost of the Bamboo Road was inspired by my friend and fellow author, Kerry Schafer (who also writes as Kerry Anne King), whose paranormal mysteries (starting with Dead Before Dying) are among my favorite reads. She asked me what Hiro would do if he saw a ghost, and refused to accept “He doesn’t believe in them” for an answer. This story is the result of that friendly challenge.
Japan is rich in ghostly lore, and each of the phantoms mentioned in this book features prominently in Japanese legend, as do the kitsune,who really are considered messengers of the deity Inari Okami. Inari remains a popular and revered Shinto deity throughout Japan to this day, and his primary shrine, Fushimi Inari Taisha, is famous around the world for the thousands of vermillion torii (sacred Shinto gates) that line its slopes.
For centuries, the mountains of Hakone represented a major barrier for people and traders traveling between the medieval capital of Kyoto and the northern city of Edo. In the early sixteenth century, Tokugawa Ieyasu would unify Japan and move the capital from Kyoto to Edo. At that time, he also unified the major travel roads between those cities, creating five official travel routes, including the famous Tokaido, which passed through Hakone.
Ghost of the Bamboo Road is set on Hakone’s Yusaka-michi, a route through the mountains that predated the official Tokaido. Although portions of the route remain (I hiked them several times while researching the novel) the route itself has essentially become a ghost, remembered only by historians, hikers, and the occasional novelist. Landslides like the one in the story really did cause the travel routes to change, because in Hiro’s time it was easier to find a new path through the steep, unforgiving mountains than to dig the trails out enough to allow the passage of heavily loaded carts and animals. This book was partially inspired, also, by my curiosity about what happened to the villages along those older roads when a landslide caused the route to shift and they became phantoms of their former selves.
In Japan, it is said that every author has a yōkai (ghost) story to tell.
This one is mine.
Acknowledgments
Many people don’t bother to read the acknowledgments section, so if you’re reading this, the first thanks belongs to you.
Thank you for choosing this book from among the millions of stories and other media clamoring for your attention. I deeply appreciate you spending your valuable time with Hiro and Father Mateo, and with me.
Thanks to my agent, Sandra Bond, for so many things that it would take me pages to list them all. You were the first to believe in Hiro and Father Mateo, and you continue to be their constant champion (and mine), as well as an eagle-eyed editor who ensures that Hiro (and I) always appear at our very best on the page. Thank you for being the best business partner, and friend, an author could hope to have.
Thanks to Dan Mayer, my editor, for giving Hiro and Father Mateo a home at Seventh Street Books and for the thoughtful, attentive editing that makes the stories better than I could ever hope to make them on my own.
Thank you to Heather Webb, Kerry Schafer, Rae (R.F. James), Corinne O’Flynn, and all of the other friends who have been such an enormous help and support. As iron sharpens iron, one person sharpens another, and I am grateful for the way you keep my heart full and my skills at a katana’s edge. To each of you, and to all of my other friends: I love you, and I could not do this—or anything else—without you.
Last, but certainly not least: thank you to my family. Michael and Christopher, Paula, Spencer, Robert, Lola, Anna, Matteo, Gene, Marcie, Bob, and Spencer (III): words alone are not enough. I love you deeply and appreciate your support, not only now, but in the many years before this crazy dream became reality.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you again for reading this page—and this book—to the end. If you like this novel, or any other, I hope you’ll consider telling a friend about it. Your praise and your recommendation are the greatest rewards an author can receive.