‘You’re correct, dear boy,’ the White Nun murmured. ‘The Oni’s eyes hold a different red to mine. Well done! I told you your powers would mature … controlling an Oni, and an angry one at that … a fine achievement. Forcing its release? A far better one.’
Heron blinked, then looked at each of the youngsters. ‘I see there have been wonders at both ends of the road.’ She looked to the White Nun, making ready to speak.
‘Stop, girl.’ The ancient sage raised a wizened hand. ‘No more thanks, I beg you. It was all their doing, the brave deeds in Fumayama – I did not help. And no, don’t thank me any more for aiding Eagle. He did not fail to send protectors to my mountain, remember? I was simply – though with great pleasure – honouring my obligation to your master.’
‘It’s a miracle.’ Heron shook her head. ‘You changed the nature of the poison.’
‘It’s science,’ the sage corrected her pupil. ‘The oldest science, that of the mind and will, nothing more. Live as long as I have, and you too will master it.’ She sighed heavily. ‘If only all my dealings with shinobi were like this, and involved saving life.’
She turned her strange gaze on Snowhawk. ‘Don’t fret child, the dice are cast now, as I warned Moonshadow they would be on my return to Edo. Oh, you are right, those Fuma are liars, treacherous, the lords of schemes within schemes. Hence I long ago withdrew from teaching my most ancient secrets to their masters. That said, Moon-kun here must still keep his end of the bargain with them.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Groundspider said. ‘If we all agree they can’t be trusted –’
‘In all truth,’ the White Nun cut him off, ‘his impending mission for the Fuma is not about the Fuma’s plans at all, but part of a greater destiny.’
‘What bargain?’ Mantis’s voice came from the doorway. ‘What destiny?’
The assembly turned to face him. Moonshadow cringed. The White Nun smiled. ‘Mantis, my friend, young Moon wishes to tell you himself, and hastily, but first know this: he must go. Far more than Snowhawk’s freedom now hangs in the balance. And besides, during this mission he will finally learn … about his mother.’
‘I …’ Moonshadow slowly sank to his knees, bowing his head. ‘Thank you!’
Mantis nodded at the White Nun. ‘Seems I have catching up to do. Just tell me –’
‘Yes, yes,’ she said irritably. ‘Eagle will soon be well enough for you to hand the reins back to him. So yes, you can finally get back to your precious duelling manual.’
With a slightly embarrassed grin, Mantis bowed to her. ‘Thank you, Great Sage.’
‘Oh, Musashi-kun,’ the White Nun muttered, ‘you weren’t always so formal.’
Groundspider gasped. ‘Brother Mantis? You are the famous Musashi? The greatest duellist ever known? We all knew something of your history, but not that you were he! Besides, the story went round that he died in his hermit cave!’
‘He did die there,’ Mantis said with great humility. ‘And there he was reborn.’
‘Back to more pressing news!’ The White Nun pointed a bony finger at Moonshadow. ‘Your target and his master seek the Dragon’s Vein, but their map is wrong. Intercept Koga Danjo before he finds it, or your mission will unravel like one of Badger’s wall hangings.’ She closed her unearthly eyes. ‘Danjo seeks to tap the vein.’
Moonshadow shook his head. ‘I don’t understand, but … what if he succeeds?’
The White Nun shrugged bleakly. ‘Then the Tokugawa garden of flowers will be swept away in a deluge of blood. An age of cruelty and darkness will descend, its sorrows ending with the fall of the empire. Japan’s true future – a peaceful one – will be thwarted.’
Moonshadow felt his heart beating so fast he thought it would burst out of him. Everyone was looking at him now, and he felt the weight of a castle on his shoulders.
Tap a dragon’s vein? He swallowed. Fall of the empire? The prospect of learning more of his mother had thrilled and almost overwhelmed him, but as to the rest of it –
What had he just blundered into? Had he escaped hell’s lips only to be sent straight to hell itself?
The White Nun smiled knowingly at him. ‘No boy, not quite. But you are off to the single most dangerous valley in all of Asia.’
Akita Matagi or Akita Pronounced ‘ah-kee-ta’ and ‘mah-tah-gee’
A tough, intelligent, wolf-like dog. Originally bred from Japan’s ancient Matagi native hunting dog in the Akita region, according to some historians, by samurai of the Satake Clan. Nowadays called simply Akita. Gentle in temperament, but fearless when hunting or defending their human family.
ashiko Pronounced ‘ah-she-koh’
Detachable foot spikes, usually used along with shuko climbing claws.
bento Pronounced ‘ben-to’
A single-serve home-packed meal, traditionally of fish, rice and cooked or pickled vegetables, usually in a wooden or bamboo box.
chisai odutsu Pronounced ‘chee-sigh’ (little) ‘oh-dut-soo’ (cannon)
A little cannon carved from wood, small enough to carry or even wear on a strap; an anti-personnel weapon usually loaded with gravel and iron chips.
daimyo Pronounced ‘die-m’yoh’
A member of the Japanese aristocracy and a powerful feudal lord owning a fiefdom of land.
Edo Pronounced ‘eh-doh’
The Shogun’s chosen capital and now Tokyo, the capital city of Japan.
Fuma Kotaro Pronounced ‘foo-mah koh-tah-roh’
The name adopted by a real historical figure who led his ninja in the service of the Hojo clan and remained an enemy of the Tokugawa Shogunate when the ‘age of warring states’ finally ended. He died around 1603.
Fumayama Pronounced ‘foo-mah-ya-ma’
The mythical but logically named setting for our story’s climax. Fuma is the name of a real historical ninja clan, and ‘yama’ is a Japanese word for ‘mountain’.
furube sutra Pronounced ‘foo-roo-beh soo-tra’
(‘The Shrugging Off’ or ‘Shaking Off’)
An ancient saying or prayer of preparation. It was intended to clear the spy’s mind of distractions, calm them and ready their skills. The text of the sutra can be interpreted in a number of ways when translated from Japanese. The rendering at the front of the book was kindly translated by Iaido expert Dr Yasuhisa Watanabe and reworded by the author for tonal and dramatic purposes.
furui Pronounced ‘foo-roo-ee’
A compact wooden sieve used for mixing medicine or gunpowder.
futon Pronounced ‘foo-ton’
Traditional style of Japanese bedding with folding mattresses and quilts that can be stored during the day, enabling the bedroom to be used for other purposes.
goshikimai Pronounced ‘go-shee-kee-my’
A cipher (or coded message) written by arranging grains of rice which have been dyed in one of five colours: yellow, blue, red, purple and black. A real historical ninja practice employed by a number of ‘shadow clans’ including the Iga and Koga.
Great Void
A Buddhist expression for the ‘gulf of nothingness’ looming after death. Some saw it as a ‘waiting room’ for rebirth, others as an enlightened ‘state of peace’.
hakama Pronounced ‘hah-car-mah’
Traditional Japanese item of clothing which covers the body from the waist down and resembles a wide, pleated skirt, but is actually giant pleated trousers.
Iaido Pronounced ‘ee-eye-doh’
The samurai art of sword-drawing and duelling, which features about fifty different waza (techniques) and reached the peak of its development around five hundred years ago. Modern students of Iaido use steel swords in wooden scabbards and wear the traditional clothing of medieval samurai. To this day, the art’s ‘world titles’ are held in Japan, on a mountain top near Kyoto, before a Japanese prince. Author Simon Higgins has competed in this event.
Iga see Koga
Jizo Pronounced ‘jee-zoh’
A Buddhist saint and guardian o
f the dead, especially of dead children. Stone statues of little monks, usually smiling, represent his caring presence. As in medieval times, these stone ‘jizo’ are found all over Japan today. See also River Sai.
kami Pronounced ‘car-mee’
The Japanese term for objects of awe or worship in Shintoism, Japan’s oldest (and native) religion. Though sometimes translated as ‘deity’ or ‘gods’, this is not strictly accurate and ‘spirits’ may be a safer way of describing the kami, who can be ‘beings’ but also simply forces of nature or ‘living essences’.
kanji Pronounced ‘khan-jee’
Chinese characters traditionally used by the Japanese to write words from their own language. The Japanese word kanji literally means ‘Han characters’ referring to their origin in China’s Han dynasty.
katana Pronounced ‘ka-ta-nah’
The long curved sword, made from folded, tempered steel, which served as the samurai’s primary weapon and the symbol of his social status.
kimon Pronounced ‘kee-mon’
A ‘devil’s gate’, a place or even a direction (traditionally north-east) from which evil or dangerous spirits, ghosts or monsters may appear.
Koga Pronounced ‘koh-gah’
Like Iga (pronounced ‘ee-gah’), a name associated with a mountain region of Honshu, Japan in which ‘shadow clans’ trained highly skilled contract spies and assassins whose powers of stealth and disguise became legendary. Author Simon Higgins has visited several preserved shinobi houses that feature displays of weapons and tools, hidden traps, and even underground escape passages.
-kun Pronounced with a shortened ‘oo’ sound.
An honorific used by seniors when addressing their juniors. Also used as a term of affection. See also -san.
kunoichi Pronounced ‘coo-noh-ee-chee’
Traditional term for a female ninja. See also ninja and shinobi.
kusarikama (or kusarigama) Pronounced ‘coo-sah-ree-ca-ma’
Literally ‘chain-sickle’. A traditional Japanese weapon developed from the miniature sickle used in farming. A weighted length of chain attached to the sickle is used to snare an enemy’s weapon before attacking them with the sickle’s blade.
Musashi (Miyamoto Musashi) 1584–1645 Pronounced ‘mee-ya-mo-to moo-sa-shee’
A famous duellist from a young age, Musashi went by many names during his life. He was a samurai (and a ronin) but also an artist, sculptor and author. Musashi founded the Niten-ryu school of Iaido and wrote The Book of Five Rings, a manual of combat strategy and philosophical reasoning still studied today. Little is known of his life between his thirtieth and fiftieth years. The Moonshadow series presumes that during this time he ‘reinvented himself’ as Brother Mantis of the Grey Light Order, changed both his name and his style of fighting, and deeply regretted his past ‘kills’.
naginata Pronounced ‘na-gi-nah-ta’
A weapon consisting of a long pole fitted with a curved, single-edged blade. Sometimes used by spies, the short naginata was also a favourite weapon of high-born samurai women, being ideally suited for self-defence indoors.
nanashi Pronounced ‘na-na-shee’
A Japanese word meaning ‘no name’. In Grey Light Order tradition, the name given to a trainee shinobi prior to awarding them a ‘real’ lifelong name based on their strongest combat move, ninja trick or Old Country science.
ninja Pronounced ‘nin-jah’
Alternative term for a shinobi. Some scholars believe this term emphasises their role as assassins whereas ‘shinobi’ is more general, implying the inclusion of scouting and spying roles.
Noburu Pronounced ‘noh-boo-roo’
Japanese name, usually given to a male, meaning ‘ascend’ or ‘climb’, and the fictitious name of one of the governing Fuma brothers.
Oni Pronounced ‘oh-nee’
A mountain or cave-dwelling ogre or giant, usually shown as having blue, red, black or brown skin, fangs and two horns. Oni wear only a tiger skin loincloth and usually carry an iron club, tree trunk or giant sword. Traditionally, like many Japanese monsters and evil spirits, Oni are believed to attack mostly from the north-east.
Rikichi Pronounced ‘ri-ki-chee’
An old Japanese name, usually given to a male, the kanji for which can be written so that it also translates as ‘congratulations’, ‘logic’ or even ‘good luck’.
River Sai Pronounced as in ‘sigh’
A dry river bed that the souls of the departed must cross to reach the land of the dead. It is guarded by an Oni who plagues those trying to cross or who are building little towers of stone in the river bed to make up for causing others pain in their recent life. Jizo, guardian of the dead, is said to come and chase the Oni away.
ronin Pronounced ‘roh-nin’
Literally ‘wave men’ – unemployed samurai, warriors who had lost their ruling lord through military defeat, death or some other disbandment of his fiefdom. Many roamed the country, duelling or taking work as bodyguards, mercenaries or assassins.
samurai Pronounced ‘sa-moo-rye’
A member of the ruling warrior class; a warrior in a warlord’s service.
-san The ‘a’ is pronounced with a slight ‘u’ sound as in ‘sun’. An honorific attached to a person’s name to show one is addressing them with respect. It can be taken to mean ‘Mr’, ‘Mrs’, ‘Miss’ or, nowadays, ‘Ms’.
saru Pronounced ‘sa-roo’
Japanese for monkey.
seiza Pronounced ‘say-zah’
The traditional (floor or mat) sitting position of the Japanese. The legs are folded, back kept straight, palms are rested on the thighs and one literally sits on one’s heels. Difficult at first, the body adapts to it within a few months.
shinobi Pronounced ‘shi-no-bee’
Also known as ninja. Those adept at spying or covert scouting. Some shinobi were also hired killers. They were trained in a wide variety of secret and martial arts: combat with and without weapons, acrobatics, explosives, poisons, traps, hypnotism and numerous forms of disguise.
shinobu Pronounced ‘shi-no-boo’
A 470-year-old sword waza (technique) of the Musou Jikiden Eishin-Ryu school of Iaido, the art of the samurai sword. It is used for attacking sentries. The technique involves taking up a low stance in deep shadow, tapping one’s sword on the ground to trick the foe into attacking the wrong location, then executing a powerful, usually fatal downward strike. See also Iaido.
Shogun Pronounced ‘show-gun’
The ultimate commander of the Japanese warrior class. Many warlords aspired to seize or earn this auspicious rank. In Moonshadow’s time Tokugawa Ieyasu was the Shogun.
shoji Pronounced ‘show-jee’
A window, room divider or door made of oiled, translucent paper set in a grid of bamboo or wood. In medieval times, Shoji was also sometimes used as a man’s name.
shuko Pronounced ‘shoo-koh’
Iron claws worn on the hands to assist climbing. Shuko were used, usually along with ashiko (foot spikes) to scale and climb, cross ice and even as combat weapons.
shuriken Pronounced ‘shoo-ri-ken’
Circular or star-shaped throwing knives, usually black and made in ingots or from thin sheets of iron. They could have four, eight, twelve or more points. Their tips could be poisoned or flecked with a powerful sedative if the target was to be taken alive.
tabi Pronounced ‘tah-bee’
Traditional Japanese socks or cotton ‘under-boots’. Ankle high, tabi separate the big toe from the other toes. Worn by men and women, they go with most thong-like footwear including geta (clogs) and zori (firm-based thongs). See also waraji.
tatami Pronounced ‘tah-tah-mee’
Usually translated as ‘folded and piled’, tatami are traditional Japanese flooring mats, made of woven soft rush straw and packed with rice straw. Tatami are often bordered by brocade or coloured cloth.
tetsubishi Pronounced ‘tet-soo-bi-she’
Also known as makibishi or
(in Europe) caltrops. Sharp, usually triple-spiked foot jacks made from iron, twisted wire or pointy seed-pods. Able to penetrate sandals, tetsubishi caused unexpected injuries, stopping or slowing a pursuer.
torinoko Pronounced ‘to-ree-no-ko’
A traditional ninja smoke bomb. Though folklore suggests they were percussion-activated, historical torinoko in ninja museums appear to have had short fuses which had to be lit with a flint kit before being hurled.
waraji Pronounced ‘wah-rah-jee’
Traditional Japanese sandals, made from rice-straw rope and once the most common footwear in Japan. Ninja could fit ashiko over them to assist climbing.
Yameru Pronounced ‘yah-meh-roo’
A Japanese word for ‘stop’, and the fictitious name of one of Fuma Kotaro’s brothers.
The Moonshadow stories are fantasy tales set in a romanticised historical Japan. Though they reflect certain key events of the early Tokugawa era, and include many facts and details about the sword art of Iaido and Japanese warrior culture in general, they remain adventure yarns, not histories. Despite the many liberties I have taken, I hope these stories inspire readers of all ages to investigate the saga and customs of fascinating Old Japan, a world which still has so much to teach us.
The Twilight War Page 17