Previous First
This is the final listing of the Japanese words for objects/titles used in the novel. (Yeah, I rather stretched this out. No, you wouldn't have enjoyed me dumping it all on you at once.)
Tomorrow, if you're still with me, we'll start something new. In the meantime, on to entries for S-Z (well, Y if we're being picky).
Showing posts with label Sowing Ghosts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sowing Ghosts. Show all posts
23 July, 2020
22 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts Glossary 3
Previous First
Today we list terms in the letter grouping K through R. A reminder: this is a list of Japanese words for some of the objects/titles for which I've used English translations in the novel itself.
As with previous items in the list, if you are interested in pronunciation of these words, this is a decent resource.
Today we list terms in the letter grouping K through R. A reminder: this is a list of Japanese words for some of the objects/titles for which I've used English translations in the novel itself.
As with previous items in the list, if you are interested in pronunciation of these words, this is a decent resource.
21 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts Glossary 2
Previous First
Today's list of the Japanese words for certain objects/titles used in Sowing Ghosts covers words beginning D through J. Once again, if you are interested in pronunciation of these words, this is a decent resource.
A Reminder: Japanese grammar does not contain the notion of pluralization for nouns. The same word refers to both a single instance and multiple instances. So in the past Japan had one shōgun; in this story there are two shōgun.
Today's list of the Japanese words for certain objects/titles used in Sowing Ghosts covers words beginning D through J. Once again, if you are interested in pronunciation of these words, this is a decent resource.
A Reminder: Japanese grammar does not contain the notion of pluralization for nouns. The same word refers to both a single instance and multiple instances. So in the past Japan had one shōgun; in this story there are two shōgun.
20 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts Glossary
Previous First
What follows is a list of Japanese words for some of the objects/titles used in the novel. I realize it's a bit late in the day to be posting this, at least for those of you who've already fought your way through it. But for a list this long, it's more or less traditional it come at the end.
And anyway, unless I figured a Japanese word was common enough in English that most readers would know it (shōgun, katana) I mostly used English translations anyway, to make it easier for readers (and for myself). This is especially true in terms of titles; see bugu bugyō, for instance: "arms master" is just easier for most of us.
This glossary will be posted over the next few days so as to not make something annoyingly long. If you are interested in pronunciation of these words, this is a decent resource. Today's list is a short one, covering words beginning with A through C.
Note: Japanese grammar does not contain the notion of pluralization for nouns. The same word refers to both a single instance and multiple instances. So in the past Japan had one shōgun; in this story there are two shōgun.
What follows is a list of Japanese words for some of the objects/titles used in the novel. I realize it's a bit late in the day to be posting this, at least for those of you who've already fought your way through it. But for a list this long, it's more or less traditional it come at the end.
And anyway, unless I figured a Japanese word was common enough in English that most readers would know it (shōgun, katana) I mostly used English translations anyway, to make it easier for readers (and for myself). This is especially true in terms of titles; see bugu bugyō, for instance: "arms master" is just easier for most of us.
This glossary will be posted over the next few days so as to not make something annoyingly long. If you are interested in pronunciation of these words, this is a decent resource. Today's list is a short one, covering words beginning with A through C.
Note: Japanese grammar does not contain the notion of pluralization for nouns. The same word refers to both a single instance and multiple instances. So in the past Japan had one shōgun; in this story there are two shōgun.
18 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts: Life in the Capital
Previous First
Life in the Capital
For most people in Kyoto (the inhabitants seldom called the city anything other than “the capital”), life was uncertain, whether they were aristocrats or labourers or even emperors. There was no law enforcement because there were no laws. (There were codes of conduct within samurai clans, but in the capital none was being enforced.) The population had crowded together into neighbourhoods enclosed by walls, or moated walls, such that as many as 150,000 people (or 75,000 or 100,000; nobody’s really sure) were crammed into half the original area of the city. Many streets in the occupied sections of the city were barricaded or gated, and the population, no matter how lowly their status, were more than prepared to defend themselves against warrior incursions.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Life in the Capital
For most people in Kyoto (the inhabitants seldom called the city anything other than “the capital”), life was uncertain, whether they were aristocrats or labourers or even emperors. There was no law enforcement because there were no laws. (There were codes of conduct within samurai clans, but in the capital none was being enforced.) The population had crowded together into neighbourhoods enclosed by walls, or moated walls, such that as many as 150,000 people (or 75,000 or 100,000; nobody’s really sure) were crammed into half the original area of the city. Many streets in the occupied sections of the city were barricaded or gated, and the population, no matter how lowly their status, were more than prepared to defend themselves against warrior incursions.
17 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts: Government
Previous First
Government
The most important feature of life at this time was the absence of centralized government. This had a lot to do with a very Japanese approach to the wielding of power. Rather than take over an existing power structure, ambitious men (they were pretty much all men) would insert themselves into a position that was in theory subordinate to the person whose power they were assuming.
So: in theory the ruler of Japan was the emperor, the living representative of an unbroken lineage stretching back to Amaterasu Omikami, the sun-goddess.
But… the emperors, as a class, wielded ruling authority only for a few generations in the first millennium CE, and then their authority was supplanted by one or another aristocratic family, such as the Fujiwara. Instead of usurping the throne, these families took on such roles as regents, and married their daughters to emperors in order to control the throne without occupying it.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Government
The most important feature of life at this time was the absence of centralized government. This had a lot to do with a very Japanese approach to the wielding of power. Rather than take over an existing power structure, ambitious men (they were pretty much all men) would insert themselves into a position that was in theory subordinate to the person whose power they were assuming.
So: in theory the ruler of Japan was the emperor, the living representative of an unbroken lineage stretching back to Amaterasu Omikami, the sun-goddess.
But… the emperors, as a class, wielded ruling authority only for a few generations in the first millennium CE, and then their authority was supplanted by one or another aristocratic family, such as the Fujiwara. Instead of usurping the throne, these families took on such roles as regents, and married their daughters to emperors in order to control the throne without occupying it.
16 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts: Sex and Sexuality
Previous First
Sex and Sexuality
The Japanese attitude toward matters sexual was very different from that of the contemporary West. (It still is, to some extent.) One of the most obvious ways this difference is displayed is in the characters of Hosokawa Katsunata and his wakashū friend, Togashi Shokan. There was no prejudice against homosexuality or bisexuality in pre-modern Japan, and in some cases warrior men were encouraged to have affairs with younger companions. These affairs served a similar function that served by same-sex relations in classical Greece: the older man acted as a mentor—a very intimate mentor—to the younger. There wasn’t even much of a prejudice against those, like young Lord Hosokawa, who were exclusively homosexual. Heirs could be obtained through adoption, a practice followed by a good number of heterosexuals as well.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Sex and Sexuality
The Japanese attitude toward matters sexual was very different from that of the contemporary West. (It still is, to some extent.) One of the most obvious ways this difference is displayed is in the characters of Hosokawa Katsunata and his wakashū friend, Togashi Shokan. There was no prejudice against homosexuality or bisexuality in pre-modern Japan, and in some cases warrior men were encouraged to have affairs with younger companions. These affairs served a similar function that served by same-sex relations in classical Greece: the older man acted as a mentor—a very intimate mentor—to the younger. There wasn’t even much of a prejudice against those, like young Lord Hosokawa, who were exclusively homosexual. Heirs could be obtained through adoption, a practice followed by a good number of heterosexuals as well.
15 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts: Religion
Previous First
Religion
Most Japanese were Buddhist, but Buddhism was not a single thing, any more than was (or is) Christianity. The oldest schools of Japanese Buddhism date back to the seventh century and were centred in Nara, the ancient capital. A newer set of schools was based in the capital or on the great mountain, Hiei, just north and east of the capital; or in Kamakura in the east, the one-time capital of the Minamoto shogunate. These schools all began as monastic centers, whose monks sought enlightenment as they prayed (and sometimes fought) for the safety of the empire.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Religion
Most Japanese were Buddhist, but Buddhism was not a single thing, any more than was (or is) Christianity. The oldest schools of Japanese Buddhism date back to the seventh century and were centred in Nara, the ancient capital. A newer set of schools was based in the capital or on the great mountain, Hiei, just north and east of the capital; or in Kamakura in the east, the one-time capital of the Minamoto shogunate. These schools all began as monastic centers, whose monks sought enlightenment as they prayed (and sometimes fought) for the safety of the empire.
14 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts: Society
Previous First
Society
A lot of the things we think of when we think of pre-modern Japan are not part of Hiroki’s world. For example, there is no sushi here. And though the two meals of the day are called “morning rice” and “evening rice”, rice did not in fact feature much in the meals of all but the leading one percent of people. Boiled millet was much more likely, or noodles made of buckwheat or wheat flour. Hiroki and his companions are perhaps more fortunate than most in being able to eat the occasional piece of fresh or preserved fish. (But note that though most warriors were Buddhist they were not above hunting and consuming game.)
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Society
A lot of the things we think of when we think of pre-modern Japan are not part of Hiroki’s world. For example, there is no sushi here. And though the two meals of the day are called “morning rice” and “evening rice”, rice did not in fact feature much in the meals of all but the leading one percent of people. Boiled millet was much more likely, or noodles made of buckwheat or wheat flour. Hiroki and his companions are perhaps more fortunate than most in being able to eat the occasional piece of fresh or preserved fish. (But note that though most warriors were Buddhist they were not above hunting and consuming game.)
13 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts: Author's Note
Previous First
For more than a century, between 1467 and 1580 CE, Japan was convulsed by a chaotic period of civil war as the governing Ashikaga shogunate fell apart. This sengoku jidai (best translated as “period of the country at war”) is a tremendous source of stories. But it is also a risky period for writers and readers, because much of what we think we know about medieval Japan is not true for the sengoku.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
For more than a century, between 1467 and 1580 CE, Japan was convulsed by a chaotic period of civil war as the governing Ashikaga shogunate fell apart. This sengoku jidai (best translated as “period of the country at war”) is a tremendous source of stories. But it is also a risky period for writers and readers, because much of what we think we know about medieval Japan is not true for the sengoku.
11 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts 18.6
Previous First
[concluding chapter 18... and the story]
“I’m going to miss that mansion,” Shiro said. “I wonder if Lord Tanuma employs anyone who would be able to make tatami. Those mats are amazingly comfortable.”
Ahead of them a troop of soldiers came to attention at the Kurama Barrier. Hiroki watched them more closely this morning than he had on his previous trip through the barrier, only a week or so before. I have learned much, he thought, and I don’t necessarily like all I have learned. Those warriors, for instance: they were not samurai; they were townspeople who worked for the neighbourhood-safety organizations. How had Katsumi put it? Something like, Soon there will be no point in you people coming back to the capital at all. The thought she might be correct was disconcerting. The world is disarranged enough as it is, without townspeople taking over control of the capital. What has happened to our leaders?
“We never did find out what was really expected of us where Yanagimoto is concerned,” Tetsuo said. “And if we were ever told to fight the man, nobody has passed that order on to me.”
“I don’t know that Yanagimoto had anything to do with what happened to us,” Hiroki said. “As for our fighting for — or against — any of the factions in the capital, I don’t believe anyone in the capital is organized well enough anymore to command Lord Tanuma — or anyone else in the provinces.”
One man is well-enough organized, he realized, and that’s Miyoshi Motonaga. The one who seems to enjoy working with men from the provinces, who keeps himself outside the capital. Hiroki wanted to believe that Miyoshi Motonaga was just another ambitious samurai leading yet another faction fighting for Kyoto. But is he really? Something about him is very different. And though he could have given us much more trouble than he did, yet he is leaving us alone. Why?
You’ll want to learn everything you can about that man, Hiroki told himself.
“Just as well,” Shiro said. “We’re going to be busy enough this spring and summer just defeating all of Lord Tanuma’s enemies in Kozuke. We won’t have time to worry about the capital, next year or any year.”
“There will be time enough to worry about Lord Tanuma’s enemies in Kozuke,” Hiroki told them, “once we have safely got back to Kozuke. One task at a time, gentlemen.”
Pausing to let Lords Naitō and Matsukata, the servants and their baggage catch up, Hiroki, head held high, led them through the barrier.
They began to climb the north-eastern hills, leaving the smell of wood-smoke behind them.
Next Characters Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6
Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14
Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18
[concluding chapter 18... and the story]
“I’m going to miss that mansion,” Shiro said. “I wonder if Lord Tanuma employs anyone who would be able to make tatami. Those mats are amazingly comfortable.”
Ahead of them a troop of soldiers came to attention at the Kurama Barrier. Hiroki watched them more closely this morning than he had on his previous trip through the barrier, only a week or so before. I have learned much, he thought, and I don’t necessarily like all I have learned. Those warriors, for instance: they were not samurai; they were townspeople who worked for the neighbourhood-safety organizations. How had Katsumi put it? Something like, Soon there will be no point in you people coming back to the capital at all. The thought she might be correct was disconcerting. The world is disarranged enough as it is, without townspeople taking over control of the capital. What has happened to our leaders?
“We never did find out what was really expected of us where Yanagimoto is concerned,” Tetsuo said. “And if we were ever told to fight the man, nobody has passed that order on to me.”
“I don’t know that Yanagimoto had anything to do with what happened to us,” Hiroki said. “As for our fighting for — or against — any of the factions in the capital, I don’t believe anyone in the capital is organized well enough anymore to command Lord Tanuma — or anyone else in the provinces.”
One man is well-enough organized, he realized, and that’s Miyoshi Motonaga. The one who seems to enjoy working with men from the provinces, who keeps himself outside the capital. Hiroki wanted to believe that Miyoshi Motonaga was just another ambitious samurai leading yet another faction fighting for Kyoto. But is he really? Something about him is very different. And though he could have given us much more trouble than he did, yet he is leaving us alone. Why?
You’ll want to learn everything you can about that man, Hiroki told himself.
“Just as well,” Shiro said. “We’re going to be busy enough this spring and summer just defeating all of Lord Tanuma’s enemies in Kozuke. We won’t have time to worry about the capital, next year or any year.”
“There will be time enough to worry about Lord Tanuma’s enemies in Kozuke,” Hiroki told them, “once we have safely got back to Kozuke. One task at a time, gentlemen.”
Pausing to let Lords Naitō and Matsukata, the servants and their baggage catch up, Hiroki, head held high, led them through the barrier.
They began to climb the north-eastern hills, leaving the smell of wood-smoke behind them.
THE END
Next Characters Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6
Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14
Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18
10 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts 18.5
Previous First
[continuing chapter 18]
Katsumi lay on her side, one hand propping up her head while the other traced the characters in the book she was reading. Hiroki, standing in the doorway to her room, saw sweat beading on her forehead and said to himself, Increase the dosage in her medicine tonight. The wound isn’t healing quickly enough.
“I am sorry to see you still in pain,” he told her.
“I have an enormous hole in my leg,” she said. “Of course I’m still in pain.” She took a deep breath. “I am sure I will still be in pain long after you have left the city.”
[continuing chapter 18]
Katsumi lay on her side, one hand propping up her head while the other traced the characters in the book she was reading. Hiroki, standing in the doorway to her room, saw sweat beading on her forehead and said to himself, Increase the dosage in her medicine tonight. The wound isn’t healing quickly enough.
“I am sorry to see you still in pain,” he told her.
“I have an enormous hole in my leg,” she said. “Of course I’m still in pain.” She took a deep breath. “I am sure I will still be in pain long after you have left the city.”
09 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts 18.4
Previous First
[continuing chapter 18]
He had eaten a bowl of millet porridge with pickled vegetables, and then a bowl of noodles in broth, and drunk several cups of tea, and now Hiroki sat, reclining slightly, in the mansion’s great bath. His knee heartily approved of the heat and moisture, and it was possible now for him to believe he would be comfortable on horseback for however long it took to return to Kozuke.
“I always feel a bit strange conversing with someone in the bath,” Lord Hosokawa said from the doorway. “My ancestor Masamoto was murdered in his bath, you know.”
“I know,” Hiroki said. “I remember being told about it.” He nodded for Lord Hosokawa to sit anywhere he could be comfortable. “I will trust you, having no real choice in the matter.”
[continuing chapter 18]
He had eaten a bowl of millet porridge with pickled vegetables, and then a bowl of noodles in broth, and drunk several cups of tea, and now Hiroki sat, reclining slightly, in the mansion’s great bath. His knee heartily approved of the heat and moisture, and it was possible now for him to believe he would be comfortable on horseback for however long it took to return to Kozuke.
“I always feel a bit strange conversing with someone in the bath,” Lord Hosokawa said from the doorway. “My ancestor Masamoto was murdered in his bath, you know.”
“I know,” Hiroki said. “I remember being told about it.” He nodded for Lord Hosokawa to sit anywhere he could be comfortable. “I will trust you, having no real choice in the matter.”
08 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts 18.3
Previous First
[continuing chapter 18]
“What’s the hour?” Hiroki stretched, sucking in a breath as his knee protested, and pulled the upper futon right up to his chin.
“The horse, sir,” Jiro said. “Practically mid-day. Should I have woke you earlier?”
“No, and I’m glad you didn’t,” Hiroki said. “Are the others awake yet?”
“Yes, and both Tetsuo-dono and Shiro-dono have bathed. You mentioned as how you would be wanting a hot bath today yourself. Should I have the bath-house readied?”
[continuing chapter 18]
“What’s the hour?” Hiroki stretched, sucking in a breath as his knee protested, and pulled the upper futon right up to his chin.
“The horse, sir,” Jiro said. “Practically mid-day. Should I have woke you earlier?”
“No, and I’m glad you didn’t,” Hiroki said. “Are the others awake yet?”
“Yes, and both Tetsuo-dono and Shiro-dono have bathed. You mentioned as how you would be wanting a hot bath today yourself. Should I have the bath-house readied?”
07 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts 18.2
Previous First
[continuing chapter 18]
Perhaps it was simply the shock of hearing the accusation spoken aloud, but Kanegawa Akihiro’s rigid composure — and posture — shattered and collapsed.
“It was the end of everything,” he said, sobbing into his hands. “Her decision destroyed me. If she told our lord what we had been doing I would be disgraced or even executed for the part I had played in negotiating with a clan the Miyoshi oppose.”
“And you were overcome?” the arms master asked. “You lost your self-control in your anger?”
Kanegawa nodded, wordlessly. Hiroki frowned at the lord.
“I am sorry, my lord, but this was not the spontaneous action of a passionate man driven past his ability to control himself.”
[continuing chapter 18]
Perhaps it was simply the shock of hearing the accusation spoken aloud, but Kanegawa Akihiro’s rigid composure — and posture — shattered and collapsed.
“It was the end of everything,” he said, sobbing into his hands. “Her decision destroyed me. If she told our lord what we had been doing I would be disgraced or even executed for the part I had played in negotiating with a clan the Miyoshi oppose.”
“And you were overcome?” the arms master asked. “You lost your self-control in your anger?”
Kanegawa nodded, wordlessly. Hiroki frowned at the lord.
“I am sorry, my lord, but this was not the spontaneous action of a passionate man driven past his ability to control himself.”
06 July, 2020
Sowing Ghosts 18.1
Previous First
The sixteenth day of the second month
Hiroki watched closely to see how Kanegawa would respond to the accusation, but for the longest time the secretary seemed frozen. His brush hovered above the paper before him; not even the ink seemed able to move, and so no droplets fell from the brush.
“A man of action,” Hiroki said with scorn, “would perhaps have tried to cut his way out of this trap. Or at least to deny the charge.” The insult was calculated, but Kanegawa seemed not to have heard or understood it. Again, he did not respond at all.
“But — ” the arms master began.
After staring at Kanegawa for a long breath he opened his mouth again. “I had no real reason for believing Kanegawa had done anything wrong. I imprisoned him simply because I had to do something, and he was the most convenient.” If the lord flushed a little at the admission, it was only justified. No proper lord would have behaved in that way toward a vassal, Hiroki thought.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
DEPARTURES
The sixteenth day of the second month
Hiroki watched closely to see how Kanegawa would respond to the accusation, but for the longest time the secretary seemed frozen. His brush hovered above the paper before him; not even the ink seemed able to move, and so no droplets fell from the brush.
“A man of action,” Hiroki said with scorn, “would perhaps have tried to cut his way out of this trap. Or at least to deny the charge.” The insult was calculated, but Kanegawa seemed not to have heard or understood it. Again, he did not respond at all.
“But — ” the arms master began.
After staring at Kanegawa for a long breath he opened his mouth again. “I had no real reason for believing Kanegawa had done anything wrong. I imprisoned him simply because I had to do something, and he was the most convenient.” If the lord flushed a little at the admission, it was only justified. No proper lord would have behaved in that way toward a vassal, Hiroki thought.
26 June, 2020
Sowing Ghosts 17.5
Previous First
[concluding chapter 17]
I am going to leave instructions that I not be awakened in the morning. Hiroki found himself stumbling as he walked across the courtyard back to the primary pavilion of the arms master’s mansion. I could sleep for a month.
The guards outside the pavilion had clearly been told to look for him, for two of them came down to meet him as he approached, and then escorted him, one on each side, into the building. “You need not wait to be announced, sir,” one of the guards said. “They are expecting you.”
And probably have been since I left, he thought. Well, if the gods are truly with me it will all be over soon and we can all of us go to bed. He wondered how he was going to explain everything that had happened to Lords Naitō and Matsukata. I’ll wait until we’re on our way home to Kozuke, he decided.
[concluding chapter 17]
I am going to leave instructions that I not be awakened in the morning. Hiroki found himself stumbling as he walked across the courtyard back to the primary pavilion of the arms master’s mansion. I could sleep for a month.
The guards outside the pavilion had clearly been told to look for him, for two of them came down to meet him as he approached, and then escorted him, one on each side, into the building. “You need not wait to be announced, sir,” one of the guards said. “They are expecting you.”
And probably have been since I left, he thought. Well, if the gods are truly with me it will all be over soon and we can all of us go to bed. He wondered how he was going to explain everything that had happened to Lords Naitō and Matsukata. I’ll wait until we’re on our way home to Kozuke, he decided.
25 June, 2020
Sowing Ghosts 17.4
Previous First
[continuing chapter 17]
“Maids do not have possessions,” Jitsuko told him, her voice rough with sleep. “I have none; Aki had none. There is nothing to show you.” She stood in the veranda of the women’s quarters, shivering with the cold but otherwise unmoving.
“Not even an ink-stone and a brush?” Hiroki asked her.
She started backward, and in the light of his lantern tears sparkled on her cheeks. “Oh, no. No, no, no.” She sank to the floor, prostrated herself. “How did you know this?” She tossed her head such that her hair flowed around his feet. “I did not want to lie, master. Please, tell me — will I be killed?”
[continuing chapter 17]
“Maids do not have possessions,” Jitsuko told him, her voice rough with sleep. “I have none; Aki had none. There is nothing to show you.” She stood in the veranda of the women’s quarters, shivering with the cold but otherwise unmoving.
“Not even an ink-stone and a brush?” Hiroki asked her.
She started backward, and in the light of his lantern tears sparkled on her cheeks. “Oh, no. No, no, no.” She sank to the floor, prostrated herself. “How did you know this?” She tossed her head such that her hair flowed around his feet. “I did not want to lie, master. Please, tell me — will I be killed?”
24 June, 2020
Sowing Ghosts 17.3
Previous First
[continuing chapter 17]
The guards escorted all of them to the mansion’s largest audience chamber, which was now brightly lit and beginning to warm through the efforts of braziers kindled in all four corners. Hiroki ensured that he entered the room first, having surrendered all of his weapons to the guards, and walked directly up to the dais where the master of the house sat, squeezing his temples with crooked fingers.
Arms Master Lord Miyoshi Takahashi looked distressingly like a ghost himself in the lantern-light. His face, never that attractive, was now pale and lined. The evidence of his fingers and cheeks showed he had not been eating. And was that …? Ah, yes. Of course it is. The liquid had dried, but the track it had made on his temple was still visible.
“My lord,” Hiroki told him softly as he straightened from his bow, “I believe your sister would be pleased if you would not use dye to disguise the mark she has given you.”
[continuing chapter 17]
The guards escorted all of them to the mansion’s largest audience chamber, which was now brightly lit and beginning to warm through the efforts of braziers kindled in all four corners. Hiroki ensured that he entered the room first, having surrendered all of his weapons to the guards, and walked directly up to the dais where the master of the house sat, squeezing his temples with crooked fingers.
Arms Master Lord Miyoshi Takahashi looked distressingly like a ghost himself in the lantern-light. His face, never that attractive, was now pale and lined. The evidence of his fingers and cheeks showed he had not been eating. And was that …? Ah, yes. Of course it is. The liquid had dried, but the track it had made on his temple was still visible.
“My lord,” Hiroki told him softly as he straightened from his bow, “I believe your sister would be pleased if you would not use dye to disguise the mark she has given you.”
23 June, 2020
Sowing Ghosts 17.2
Previous First
[continuing chapter 17]
“If you don’t mind, I’ll just set mine down,” Shiro said, crouching. “Don’t want to damage it. Not the most magnificent blade, but it’s the only one I’ve got.”
“Please send someone to tell the arms master that Yoshino Hiroki is here,” Hiroki told the guard captain, who remained only dimly visible outside the glow of Shiro’s torch. “If it will speed up his response, give him my apologies for the lateness of the hour, but that I think it important. I have the solution to his ghost problem.”
From the sharp intake of breath Hiroki guessed that the lord’s sleepless nights had become a topic of conversation amidst the inhabitants of the compound. “Go,” the guard told someone. A dark figure ran back toward the gatehouse.
“Who is this?” the captain asked. “One of you?”
[continuing chapter 17]
“If you don’t mind, I’ll just set mine down,” Shiro said, crouching. “Don’t want to damage it. Not the most magnificent blade, but it’s the only one I’ve got.”
“Please send someone to tell the arms master that Yoshino Hiroki is here,” Hiroki told the guard captain, who remained only dimly visible outside the glow of Shiro’s torch. “If it will speed up his response, give him my apologies for the lateness of the hour, but that I think it important. I have the solution to his ghost problem.”
From the sharp intake of breath Hiroki guessed that the lord’s sleepless nights had become a topic of conversation amidst the inhabitants of the compound. “Go,” the guard told someone. A dark figure ran back toward the gatehouse.
“Who is this?” the captain asked. “One of you?”
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