The Way Of The Dragon (40 page)

‘He’d want you to have them. I want you to have them. Our family would be honoured if these swords served you on your journey.’

She bowed lower, pushing the
sayas
into his hands.

Reluctantly, Jack accepted the
daishō
. He slipped the swords into his
obi
. Unable to resist, he then withdrew the
katana
. The sun, now peeking above the horizon, caught the steel of the blade. A single name glinted in the morning light.

Shizu
.

The swords had a good soul.

Resheathing the
katana
, Jack realized he would be forever indebted to Akiko. He wanted to give something in return, however small the gesture. Jack reached into his pack and removed the Daruma Doll.

‘This is all I have to offer you,’ he said, handing Akiko the little round doll.

‘But it contains your wish,’ she protested.

‘That’s why I want you to look after it for me,’ he replied, closing her hands round the doll. ‘You’re the only one I’d trust with my wish.’

Akiko stared back into his eyes, aware as much as Jack of their hands touching.

‘It would be an honour,’ she whispered. ‘But how will I know if it’s come true or not?’

‘When I am home, you can fill in the other eye.’

Akiko nodded, understanding that she didn’t need to ask how she would know when. She just would.

Both of them remained standing close to one another, hands wrapped round the little doll. Neither seemed to want to pull away. There was so much more that needed to be said. But Jack knew that words would never be enough. How could they express all the experiences they had shared? All the challenges they’d overcome together? All that they meant to each other.

Memories flashed through his mind.

A mysterious girl upon a headland in a blood-red kimono. Japanese lessons in the shade of a
sakura
tree. Stargazing in the Southern Zen Garden. Sharing the first sunrise of the year on Mount Hiei. Witnessing her conquer the waterfall in the Circle of Three. The gift of the black pearl. Her winning performance in
Yabusame
. Discovering she was a ninja. The moment beneath the water when she pressed her lips against his and breathed life into his lungs.

But the sea beckoned. Home and his sister were waiting for him.

If he did what his heart really desired, he knew he’d never leave.

‘I have to go,’ said Jack, pulling away. ‘I must get a head start.’

‘Yes,’ Akiko replied, breathless and slightly flustered. ‘You are right to travel by foot. A horse will draw too much attention. Don’t trust
anyone
and keep off the main roads.’

Jack nodded, undid the gate latch and went through on to the dirt road that swept round the bowl of the valley, weaving though countless paddy fields before disappearing over the rise in the direction of Nagasaki.

Before he could change his mind, Jack turned to head down the road.

Then stopped.

‘Yori would never forgive me if I didn’t give you this,’ he said, reaching for a slip of paper in the fold of his
obi
.

‘What is it?’ asked Akiko.

‘A
haiku
.’

‘You wrote one for
me
!’ she said in astonishment.

‘It’s about sharing a moment… forever,’ replied Jack.

Before Akiko could open the paper, he turned and walked away.

He’d reached the bend in the road before he heard her call his name.

Akiko stood, her back to the rising sun. She appeared to wipe a tear away, or perhaps she was waving goodbye. But her words floated to him clear and pure on the breeze.

‘
Forever bound to one another.
’

She bowed to him.

Jack returned her bow.

When he looked up again, she was gone.

For several long moments, Jack gazed at the rising sun. He questioned if he’d made the right decision. But he knew in his heart of hearts that it was his only option. He couldn’t stay. In Japan, the Shogun wanted him dead. In England, his little sister needed him.

Turning to face the long road ahead, Jack took his first step, alone, upon the Way of the Warrior… and home.

The following quotes are referenced within
Young Samurai: The Way of the Dragon
(with the page numbers in square brackets below) and their sources are acknowledged here:

1. [
   Page 86
   ] ‘He who works with his hands is a mere labourer. He who works with hands and head is a craftsman. But he who works with his hands, head and heart is an artist’ by Louis Nizer (lawyer and author, 1902-94).
   

1. [
   Page 152
   ] ‘A nation that draws too broad a difference between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools’ by Thucydides (Greek historian, 471 BC-400 BC).
   

1. [
   Page 405
   ] ‘When it is dark enough, you can see the stars’ by Charles Austin Beard (American historian, 1874-1948).
   

The following
haiku
are referenced within
Young Samurai: The Way of the Dragon
. The page number are in square brackets below and the sources of the
haiku
are acknowledged here:

Flying of cranes

as high as the clouds –

first sunrise.

[
page 82
] Source:
haiku
by Chiyo-ni, 1703-75

Look! A butterfly

has settled on the shoulder

of the great Buddha.

[
page 83
] Source:
haiku
by Bashō, 1643-94

Letting out a fart –

it doesn’t make you laugh

when you live alone.

[
page 87
] Source: anon., seventeenth century

Evening temple bell

stopped in the sky

by cherry blossoms.

[
page 88
] Source:
haiku
by Chiyo-ni, 1703-75

Take a pair of wings

from a dragonfly, you would

make a pepper pod.

[
page 169
] Source:
haiku
by Kikaku, 1661-1707

Add a pair of wings

to a pepper pod, you would

make a dragonfly.

[
page 170
] Source:
haiku
by Bashō, 1643-94

“She may have only one eye

but it’s a pretty one,”

says the go-between.

[
page 203
] Source: anon.,
senryu
, seventeenth century

Temple bell

a cloud of cherry blossom

Heaven? Hanami?

[
page 204
] Source:
haiku
after Bashō, 1643-94

I want to kill him,

I don’t want to kill him…

Catching the thief

and seeing his face,

it was my brother!

[
page 207-8
] Source: after
maekuzuke
, seventeenth century

Haiku Notes

The principles of
haiku
have been described in this book from the point of view of writing this style of poetry in English, so may not necessarily be accurate for true
haiku
written in
kanji
script.

Haiku
is actually a late nineteenth-century term introduced by Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) for the stand-alone
hokku
(the opening stanza of a
renga
or
renku
poem), but the term is generally applied retrospectively to all hokku, irrespective of when they were written. For purposes of clarity and to aid understanding for today’s modern reader, the term
haiku
has been used throughout this book.

For further information on writing
haiku
, please refer to
The Haiku Handbook
by William J. Higginson (New York: Kodansha, 1989).

Bushido

Bushido
, meaning the ‘Way of the Warrior’, is a Japanese code of conduct similar to the concept of chivalry. Samurai warriors were meant to adhere to the seven moral principles in their martial arts training and in their day-to-day lives.

Virtue 1:
Gi
– Rectitude

Gi
is the ability to make the right decision with moral confidence and to be fair and equal towards all people no matter what colour, race, gender or age.

Virtue 2:
Yu
– Courage

Yu
is the ability to handle any situation with valour and confidence.

Virtue 3:
Jin
– Benevolence

Jin
is a combination of compassion and generosity. This virtue works together with Gi and discourages samurai from using their skills arrogantly or for domination.

Virtue 4:
Rei
– Respect

Rei
is a matter of courtesy and proper behaviour towards others. This virtue means to have respect for all.

Virtue 5:
Makoto
– Honesty

Makota
is about being honest to oneself as much as to others. It means acting in ways that are morally right and always doing things to the best of your ability.

Virtue 6:
Meiyo
– Honour

Meiyo
is sought with a positive attitude in mind, but will only follow with correct behaviour. Success is an honourable goal to strive for.

Virtue 7:
Chungi
– Loyalty

Chungi
is the foundation of all the virtues; without dedication and loyalty to the task at hand and to one another, one cannot hope to achieve the desired outcome.

A Short Guide to Pronouncing Japanese Words

Vowels are pronounced in the following way:

‘a’ as the ‘a’ in ‘at’

‘e’ as the ‘e’ in ‘bet’

‘i’ as the ‘i’ in ‘police

‘o’ as the ‘o’ in ‘dot’

‘u’ as the ‘u’ in ‘put’

‘ai’ as in ‘eye’

‘ii’ as in ‘week’

‘ō’ as in ‘go’

‘
ū
‘ as in ‘blue’

Consonants are pronounced in the same way as English:

‘g’ is hard as in ‘get’

‘j’ is soft as in ‘jelly’

‘ch’ as in ‘church’

‘z’ as in ‘zoo’

‘ts’ as in ‘itself’

Each syllable is pronounced separately:

A-ki-ko

Ya-ma-to

Ma-sa-mo-to

Ka-zu-ki