Emperor of the Eight Islands: Book 1 in the Tale of Shikanoko (The Tale of Shikanoko series)

BOOK: Emperor of the Eight Islands: Book 1 in the Tale of Shikanoko (The Tale of Shikanoko series)
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Frail indeed must be

Cross threads of frost and drawn threads

Fashioned of dewdrops

For brocades in the mountains

Are woven only to scatter


from
Kokin Wakashū: The First Imperial Anthology of Japanese Poetry
, translated by Helen Craig McCullough

 

THE TALE OF SHIKANOKO LIST OF CHARACTERS

MAIN CHARACTERS

Kumayama no Kazumaru, later known as Shikanoko or
Shika

Nishimi no Akihime, the Autumn Princess,
Aki

Kuromori no
Kiyoyori
, the Kuromori lord

Lady
Tama
, his wife, the Matsutani lady

Masachika
, Kiyoyori’s younger brother

Hina
, sometimes known as Yayoi, his daughter

Tsumaru
, his son

Bara
or Ibara, Hina’s servant

Yoshimori, also Yoshimaru, the Hidden Emperor,
Yoshi

Takeyoshi, also Takemaru, son of Shikanoko and Akihime,
Take

Lady
Tora

Shisoku
, the mountain sorcerer

Sesshin
, an old wise man

The
Prince Abbot

Akuzenji
, King of the Mountain, a bandit

Hisoku
, Lady Tama’s retainer

THE MIBOSHI CLAN

Lord
Aritomo
, head of the clan, also known as the Minatogura lord

Yukikuni no
Takaakira

The
Yukikuni lady
, his wife

Takauji
, their son

Arinori
, lord of the Aomizu area, a sea captain

Yamada Keisaku
, Masachika’s adoptive father

Gensaku
, one of Takaakira’s retinue

Yasuie
, one of Masachika’s men

Yasunobu
, his brother

THE KAKIZUKI CLAN

Lord
Keita
, head of the clan

Hosokawa no
Masafusa
, a kinsman of Kiyoyori

Tsuneto
, one of Kiyoyori’s warriors

Sadaike
, one of Kiyoyori’s warriors

Tachiyama no
Enryo
, one of Kiyoyori’s warriors

Hatsu
, his wife

Kongyo
, Kiyoyori’s senior retainer

Haru
, his wife

Chikamaru, later Motochika,
Chika
, his son

Kaze
, his daughter

Hironaga
, a retainer at Kuromori

Tsunesada
, a retainer at Kuromori

Taro
, a servant in Kiyoyori’s household in Miyako

THE IMPERIAL COURT

The
Emperor

Prince Momozono
, the Crown Prince

Lady Shinmei’in
, his wife, Yoshimori’s mother

Daigen
, his younger brother, later Emperor

Lady Natsue
, Daigen’s mother, sister of the Prince Abbot

Yoriie
, an attendant

Nishimi no
Hidetake
, Aki’s father, foster father to Yoshimori

Kai
, his adopted daughter

AT THE TEMPLE OF RYUSONJI

Gessho
, a warrior monk

Eisei
, a young monk, later one of the
Burnt Twins

AT KUMAYAMA

Shigetomo
, Shikanoko’s father

Sademasa
, his brother, Shikanoko’s uncle, now lord of the estate

Nobuto
, one of his warriors

Tsunemasa
, one of his warriors

Naganori
, one of his warriors

Nagatomo
, Naganori’s son, Shika’s childhood friend, later one of the
Burnt Twins

AT NISHIMI

Lady Sadako
and
Lady Masako
, Hina’s teachers

Saburo
, a groom

THE RIVERBANK PEOPLE

Lady Fuji
, the mistress of the pleasure boats

Asagao
, a musician and entertainer

Yuri
,
Sen
,
Sada
, and
Teru
, young girls at the convent

Sarumaru,
Saru
, an acrobat and monkey trainer

Kinmaru
and
Monmaru
, acrobats and monkey trainers

THE SPIDER TRIBE

Kiku
, later Master Kikuta, Lady Tora’s oldest son

Mu
, her second son

Kuro
, her third son

Ima
, her fourth son

Ku
, her fifth son

Tsunetomo
, a warrior, Kiku’s retainer

Shida
, Mu’s wife, a fox woman

Kinpoge
, their daughter

Unagi
, a merchant in Kitakami

SUPERNATURAL BEINGS

Tadashii
, a tengu

Hidari
and
Migi
, guardian spirits of Matsutani

The dragon child

Ban
, a flying horse

Gen
, a fake wolf

Kon
and
Zen
, werehawks

HORSES

Nyorin
, Akuzenji’s white stallion, later Shikanoko’s

Risu
, a bad-tempered brown mare

Tan
, their foal

WEAPONS

Jato
, Snake Sword

Jinan
, Second Son

Ameyumi
, Rain Bow

Kodama
, Echo

 

1

KAZUMARU

“Did you see what happened?”

“Where is your father?” Two men were standing above him, their shapes dark against the evening sky. One was his uncle, Sademasa, the other Nobuto, whom he didn’t like.

Kazumaru said, “We heard a funny noise,” and he mimed placing stones on a board. “Clack, clack, clack. Father told me to wait here.”

The men had come upon the seven-year-old hidden in the long grass, in the sort of form deer stamp out for their fawns. The horses had nearly stepped on him. When his uncle lifted him up the grass had printed deep lines on his cheek. He must have been there for hours.

“Who brings a child on a scouting mission?” Nobuto said quietly.

“He can’t be separated from him.”

“I’ve never seen a father so besotted!”

“Or a child so spoiled,” Sademasa replied. “If he were mine…”

Kazumaru did not like their tone. He sensed their mockery. He said nothing but resolved to tell his father when he saw him.

“Any sign of his horse?” Sademasa asked Nobuto.

The older man looked toward the trees. “The tracks lead up there.”

A small group of stunted trees clung to the side of the volcanic mountain. Some were dying, some already stumps. The air smelled of sulfur, and steam hissed from vents in the ground. The men went warily forward, their bows in their hands. Kazumaru followed them.

“Cursed-looking place,” Nobuto said.

The larger tree stumps were crisscrossed with faint lines. A few black stones, a handful of white shells were scattered on the ground.

“Something bled here.” Nobuto pointed at a splash on a pale rock. He crouched and touched it with his finger. “Still wet.”

The blood was dark, almost purple.

“Is it his?” Sademasa whispered.

“Doesn’t look human to me,” Nobuto replied. He sniffed his finger. “Doesn’t smell human either.” He wiped his hand on the rock and stood, looked around, then suddenly shouted, “Lord Shigetomo! Where are you?”

You, you, you
, came back the echo from the mountain, and behind the echo another sound, like a flock of birds beating their wings.

Kazumaru looked up as the flock passed overhead. He saw it was made up of strange-looking beings, with wings and beaks and talons like birds, but wearing clothes of a sort, red jackets, blue leggings. They looked down on him and pointed and laughed. One of them brandished a sword in one hand, a bow in the other.

BOOK: Emperor of the Eight Islands: Book 1 in the Tale of Shikanoko (The Tale of Shikanoko series)
11.11Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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