by Adam Baker
His first duel took place on the border of Mino. He fought a mendicant warrior, like himself. The man had a sword. Zenjirou had a big stick. Zenjirou dodged each slash of his opponent’s blade, parried the sword a couple of times with his stick then killed his opponent with a brutal jab to the throat. He crushed the man’s trachea then finished him with a blow to the head. He buried his nameless foe at the edge of the field. He kept the dead man’s sword and carried it ever since.
* * *
A farm village. Bamboo shacks clustered round a central square. Zenjirou stood in the square with a hand on the tsuka of his sword and looked around. Villagers hid in their homes. They knew itinerant swordsmen often brought trouble. Some bugeisha saw their calling as a journey to enlightenment. They regarded everyone they met, even men they killed, with saintly beneficence. But some bushi soured and were overwhelmed by the darkness of their path. They became addicted to slaughter. Zenjirou addressed the villagers. They were shut away but he knew they could hear him.
‘Let it be known I am Zenjirou of Shima. I will accept a duel from anyone who will challenge me.’
He sat on the bamboo steps outside one of the houses all afternoon. A nervous old man brought him a dish of beans. Zenjirou gave a deep bow of thanks. The gesture of gratitude was enough to reassure villagers watching from inside their shacks. They emerged and warily went about their business.
Local children watched him from a distance, then grew bold and approached. He showed them some katana techniques with a broom. The children chased each other round the square and duelled with sticks. Later he grew restless and walked along the banks of a nearby stream. He returned towards nightfall. A child ran up to him and said:
‘Someone came by. They say they accept your challenge.’
‘Who?’
‘A girl.’
‘Did you see her master?’
‘No.’
‘Where is she?’
‘She left. She was here and then she was gone.’
‘What did she say exactly?’
‘She said: tomorrow, in the orchard, at dawn.’
‘But no sign of her master?’
‘No. Just her.’
* * *
Zenjirou slept on the floor of the old man’s house. He woke just as the sky began to turn azure. He thanked the old man for his hospitality. ‘If I don’t come back, my possessions are yours.’
He pulled water from a well, washed then re-tied his topknot. He stood in the centre of the square, head thrown back and studied the constellations with the painfully heightened senses of a man about to fight for his life. He cleared his mind, tucked his sword in his obi and positioned and re-positioned the weapon until he was satisfied he could draw and cut with a single fluid stroke.
He strode down a lane to the orchard. Children followed him. He shouted and threw a couple of stones, told them to go home, but they followed anyway.
* * *
The orchard was an ocean of pink. A series of unseasonably warm days had prompted the trees to blossom early.
Zenjirou walked between rows of peach trees. He glimpsed a figure at the end of an avenue of vivid pink blossom. He approached. A girl dressed in black. She had a strip of fabric tied round her head to hold back her hair and a sword tucked in her waistband.
‘Where is your master?’
She didn’t reply.
‘Tell him I am here. Tell him I’m ready.’
The girl didn’t move.
‘You?’ he asked, gradually coming to realise the girl herself had issued the challenge. ‘You intend to fight?’ He smiled at the absurdity of the situation. ‘What’s your name, girl?’
‘People call me Raven.’
He laughed. He intended say: Go home, girl. Go home to your parents and put away that katana. But something about the focus of her gaze, the quality of concentration, held his attention. His smile faded.
He stared at her. She stared at him. He understood that she was Death and his life was over. They bowed deep, adjusted their footing and readied to fight. Zenjirou took one last breath of morning air. They drew their swords and lunged.
Glossary
Al-Kindi – Arab astronomer, mathematician, physician. 801-873 CE.
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’ practice 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 footsoldiers.
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.
Kyoto – Capital of Japan 1180-1868 CE.
Kyoyochi Pond – A water garden in the precincts of Ryōan-ji, ‘The Temple of the Dragon at Peac
e’, 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, specialising 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.
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 saké. 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 DC 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 JW 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, RHP & Caiger, JG A History of Japan
Mencius (trans DC 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 Japanese Castles 250-1540
Turnbull, Stephen Japanese Castles 1540-1640
Turnbull, Stephen Samurai Horse and Foot Guards 1540-1724
Turnbull, Stephen Ninja AD 1460-1650
Turnbull, Stephen Ashigaru 1467-1649
Turnbull, Stephen War in Japan 1467-1615
Turnbull, Stephen Samurai Women 1184-1877
Turnbull, Stephen Samurai Heraldry
Turnbull, Stephen Samurai – The World of the Warrior
Wilson, William Scott The Lone Samurai – The Life of Miyamoto Mushashi
Yoshida, Kohshyu The Samurai Sword
First published in the United Kingdom in 2016 by Canelo
Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
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United Kingdom
Copyright © 2016 by Adam Baker
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 ret
rieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781910859827
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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