Toko watched the bird fly away and then turned and waited for Sugaru. Like the swans, he too was preparing to leave. Sugaru had spent the winter with them in Hidakami, but now that the weather was changing he had decided to return to Izumo. Carrying a large bag over his shoulder, he grumbled, “It’s so far when you have to walk. How I wish that I’d gone back when I could still use the Misumaru.”
“You’re perfectly welcome to stay here with us, you know,” Toko said. Oguna, who was no longer the commander of a conquering army, and Takehiko and his men, who were no longer soldiers of Mahoroba, had thrown themselves into developing this land, where they planned to stay.
“It’s not a bad place,” Sugaru said. “But there’re people waiting for me. I need to go back.”
“To Kisako, right?” Toko said.
Sugaru grinned. “Not necessarily. There are countless women waiting for me.”
“No, to Kisako. Admit it. How many times did you visit her?”
Only Midori hung around Sugaru’s neck now. It no longer glowed, but he did not mind. It still retained its meaning as a charm for safe childbirth, an heirloom to be passed down through his family. Sugaru laughed. “Kisako’s actually quite worth courting now. She’s resumed her training as a shrine maiden. Next to Lady Toyoao, she’s gathered quite a bit of respect in Izumo.”
Sugaru liked a challenge, Toko knew. Still, she was impressed by Kisako’s efforts to adjust to life in a new land. Just like Toko, she was no longer the girl she had been before. “The women of Mino don’t change their minds easily once they’ve made a decision,” she said. “I expect that Kisako will become a great shrine maiden.”
“I’m betting she’ll waver,” Sugaru said happily. “If she still insists on becoming a shrine maiden even when I tell her that I’ve traveled the length and breadth of Toyoashihara but failed to find anyone to rival her, then she’s the real thing.”
“You’re so evil,” Toko laughed. Being Sugaru, he was bound to stir up trouble, but in the end, the odds were high that Midori would become Kisako’s. Kisako’s in Izumo. I’m in Hidakami. The Tachibana of Mino have been lost, but we’ll set down roots elsewhere. And our blood will carry on …
Something suddenly occurred to her. “Sugaru, do you think the last maga-tama that was supposed to be in Hidakami still exists? The one we could never recover?”
“Maybe. Someday it might suddenly turn up.”
“Lady Iwa told me that it was beyond our reach.”
Sugaru ran a hand through his hair and said simply, “Then it will probably be kept for your children or your grandchildren or your descendants. You and Oguna’s descendants, that is.”
“Children?” Toko stammered.
“Honestly. What are you going to do if you blush even at the mention of children?”
At that moment Oguna approached leading Sugaru’s steed. Takehiko and the others had also gathered to say farewell. They surrounded Sugaru, who said goodbye to each one in turn. When he finally mounted his horse, Oguna said, “You’ll pass the capital on your way back to Izumo, won’t you? Do you think that you’ll see Nanatsuka again?”
“Yeah, I’d like to. We’ve got a lot to talk about,” Sugaru said.
“If you do, could you give him a message from me? Tell him that I hunted deer in his homeland. And that, if possible, I’d like to hunt deer with him.”
Toko’s eyes shone. “Of course! It would be wonderful if Nanatsuka came back to Hidakami. I’m sure he’ll find much of what he has lost right here. And I want to tell him about us. We’ve really gained so much here.”
“Tell him from me that Hidakami is just as wonderful as he told me,” Oguna added. “It’s just like he said.” He turned to Toko suddenly and said in a whisper, “But there’re so many snakes. I just found out this spring. That’s going to be a problem.”
“Oguna,” Toko exclaimed. “Don’t tell me you’re still afraid of snakes? Even though you’ve grown up?”
“I’ll be sure to tell Nanatsuka,” Sugaru promised. He laughed merrily.
Afterword
YAMATO TAKERU is by far the most celebrated hero in Japanese mythology. Even in grade school when I first read a children’s version of the Kojiki, an eighth century record of legends about the origins of Japan, I remember thinking that he was clearly special. In the latter half of the Kojiki, which deals with the world of men, no other character receives such passionate attention from the narrator, who extols his origins, achievements, and premature death.
The more carefully one reads this legend, however, the more confusing Yamato Takeru seems. Violent and unruly, he rips his elder brother to pieces with his bare hands, yet by merely donning women’s clothing, he is transformed into an attractive maiden. He weeps before his aunt yet is so arrogant he taunts a god. Despite such contradictions, no Japanese can remain unmoved by the tragic tale of this warrior, forced to travel the land from one end to the other in obedience to a father who has rejected him and to die far from home, an ode to the beauty of his homeland on his lips. That Yamato Takeru is the archetypal Japanese hero is amply demonstrated by the enduring popularity of Minamoto Yoshitsune.
To me, Yamato Takeru’s image as a tragic hero has always seemed too firmly rooted in the Japanese psyche to be used as subject matter for a novel. But then I discovered something quite unexpected. While reading the Fudoki, ancient records on Japan’s provinces and the mythical origins of geographical names, for a seminar on ancient literature in my third year at university, I came across the legend of the naming of Hitachi. This story presents a completely different side to Yamato Takeru’s character. (The following is an abridged translation by the author.)
… Long ago, the heavenly sovereign Yamato Takeru stayed on the hill of Kuwahara, and when he was given food, he made the people dig a new well. The water gushed forth, pure and sweet, and as it was very good to drink, he said, “Much water pools here.” Thereafter this place was called Tamari [from the verb tamaru “to pool”].
… According to the elders, when the heavenly sovereign Yamato Takeru was staying in the palace before Auka Hill, he set up a great cookhouse on the shore, and so this place was named Oh [from the word oh meaning “great”]. Furthermore, when his consort Princess Ototachibana came from Yamato, it was here that they met, and thus this place was named Auka no Mura [from the word au “to meet”].
… According to the elders, when the heavenly sovereign Yamato Takeru bivouacked in this field, the locals told him that the fields were full of deer and the sea was full of abalone, so Yamato Takeru went to hunt in the fields and sent his consort, the Tachibana princess, to fish in the sea, and they vied to see who could catch the most. The heavenly sovereign caught nothing, but the princess’s harvest was very great. The heavenly sovereign remarked to his companions, “I have tasted enough of the sea to grow tired of it,” and so this village was named Akita no Mura [from the word akita, past tense of “to grow tired of”].
These passages caused me to search through the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, an eighth century chronicle of legends concerning the rulers of Japan. Had Princess Ototachibana traveled through the eastern lands with Yamato Takeru before casting herself into the waters of the Hashirimizu Sea to appease the god? According to these records, however, she did not. Both place her death en route, before they reach the eastern lands, although the route taken differs slightly in each of these chronicles. The Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, however, are not necessarily the only truth. The deeds of both Princess Ototachibana and Prince Yamato Takeru are, after all, a fusion of many different myths and legends.
At any rate, I found this story very amusing. Here we have the prince and his princess, usually painted in such a tragic light, competing to see who can catch the most food. And the princess wins. It suddenly dawned on me that I did not have to let Yamato Takeru’s conventional image as a tragic hero limit me. Rather, I could let my imagination run free.
When I finished writing Dragon Sword and Wind Child, I had no plans to write a
nother novel. In fact, it was a wonder that I finished the first one at all. I felt drained and had no idea whether the first book would even meet with a positive response or make it possible for me to write another. It was the success of the Super Kabuki theatrical performance of Yamato Takeru that inspired me to tackle this story. I finally realized that many people have used, and will doubtless continue to use, the Japanese archetypal hero Yamato Takeru in their creative work. Suddenly I felt an urgent need to write, anxious not to lose this opportunity.
Even so, Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince was a long time in the writing. Able to pour into it all the dreams I had nurtured over the years, I was much less reserved than with the first book. Toko is still the character that I found the easiest to develop.
— NORIKO OGIWARA
August 2005
HAIKASORU
THE FUTURE IS JAPANESE
MARDOCK SCRAMBLE BY TOW UBUKATA
Why me? It was to be the last thought a young prostitute, Rune-Balot, would ever have … as a human anyway. Taken in by a devious gambler named Shell, she became a slave to his cruel desires and would have been killed by his hand if not for the self-aware Universal Tool (and little yellow mouse) known as Oeufcoque. Now a cyborg, Balot is not only nigh-invulnerable, but has the ability to disrupt electrical systems of all sorts. But even these powers may not be enough for Balot to deal with Shell, who offloads his memories to remain above the law, the immense assassin Dimsdale-Boiled, or the neon-noir streets of Mardock City itself.
ROCKET GIRLS: THE LAST PLANET BY HOUSUKE NOJIRI
When the Rocket Girls accidentally splash down in the pond of Yukari Morita’s old school, it looks as though their experiment is ruined. Luckily, the geeky Akane is there to save the day. Fitting the profile—she’s intelligent, enthusiastic, and petite—Akane is soon recruited by the Solomon Space Association. Yukari and Akane are then given the biggest Rocket Girl mission yet: to do what NASA astronauts cannot and save a probe headed to the minor planet Pluto and the very edge of the solar system.
ALSO BY NORIKO OGIWARA—DRAGON SWORD AND WIND CHILD
The God of Light and the Goddess of Darkness have waged a ruthless war across the land of Toyoashihara for generations. But for fifteen-year-old Saya, the war is far away—until the day she discovers that she is the reincarnation of the Water Maiden and a princess of the Children of the Dark.
Raised to love the Light and detest the Dark, Saya must come to terms with her heritage even as the Light and Dark both seek to claim her, for she is the only mortal who can awaken the legendary Dragon Sword, the weapon destined to bring an end to the war. Can Saya make the choice between the Light and Dark, or is she doomed—like all the Water Maidens who came before her?
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