hibachi
| small charcoal brazier made of clay
|
Hō-oh-no-ma
| the Hall of the Hawk
|
inro
| a little case for holding small objects
|
in-yo
| an old samurai prayer meaning darkness and light
|
irezumi
| a form of tattooing
|
jindou
| arrows with their blunt wooden ball heads
|
kachi guri
| dried chestnuts
|
kagemusha
| a Shadow Warrior
|
kaginawa
| three-pronged grappling hook on a rope
|
kakurenbo
| Japanese version of hide-and-seek
|
kama
| a sickle-shaped weapon
|
kami
| spirits within objects in the Shinto faith
|
Kampai
| a toast, as in ‘Cheers!’
|
Kanabō
| large oak club encased in iron or with studs
|
kanji
| the Chinese characters used in the Japanese writing system
|
kappan
| a blood stamp sealing a document to make it binding
|
kata
| a prescribed series of moves in martial arts
|
kenjutsu
| the Art of the Sword
|
ki
| energy flow or life force (Chinese:
chi
or
qi
)
|
kiai
| literally ‘concentrated spirit’ – used in martial arts as a shout for focusing energy when executing a technique
|
kiaijutsu
| the Art of the Kiai
|
kimono
| traditional Japanese clothing
|
kisha
| Japanese archery on horseback
|
koan
| a Buddhist question designed to stimulate intuition
|
Kyosha
| a competition archery contest on horseback
|
kyujutsu
| the Art of the Bow
|
ma-ai
| the distance between two opponents
|
maekuzuke
| a short two-line verse to which a
haiku
-style verse is added
|
manriki-gusari
| a chain weapon with two steel weights on the ends
|
menpō
| protective metal mask covering part or all of face
|
menuki
| decorative metal grip under wrapping of sword handle
|
metsuke
| technique of ‘looking at a faraway mountain’
|
momiji gari
| maple-leaf viewing
|
Mugan Ryū
| the ‘School of “No Eyes” ’
|
musha shugyo
| warrior pilgrimage
|
naginata
| a long pole weapon with a curved blade on the end
|
ninjutsu
| the Art of Stealth
|
Niten Ichi Ryū
| the ‘One School of Two Heavens’
|
nobori
| a long rectangular banner used to identify units within an army
|
nodaichi
| a very large two-handed sword
|
omamori
| a Buddhist amulet to grant protection
|
origami
| the art of folding paper
|
ri
| traditional Japanese unit of distance, approx 2.44 miles
|
Ryōanji
| the Temple of the Peaceful Dragon
sado
the Way of Tea
|
sakura
| cherry-blossom tree
|
sashimono
| small rectangular personal banner worn by samurai in battle
|
shaku
| a traditional unit of length, approx 30 cm
|
shinobi shozoku
| the clothing of a ninja
|
Shishi-no-ma
| the Hall of Lions
|
Shodo
| the Way of Writing, Japanese calligraphy
|
shoji
| Japanese sliding door
|
shuriken
| metal throwing stars
|
surujin
| rope weapon with weights on each end
|
taijutsu
| the Art of the Body (hand-to-hand combat)
|
Taka-no-ma
| the Hall of the Hawk
|
tanka
| a short Japanese poem of around thirty-one syllables
|
Taryu-Jiai
| inter-school martial arts competition
|
tessen
| a Japanese fan with a reinforced metal spine
|
tetsu-bishi
| small sharp iron spike
|
tonfa
| hand-held baton weapon
|
uke
| training partner who attacks
|
wakizashi
| side-arm short sword
|
Yabusame
| ritual mounted archery
|
yakatori
| grilled chicken on a stick
|
zanshin
| a state of total awareness; lit. ‘remaining mind’
|
Japanese names
usually consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name, unlike in the Western world where the given name comes before the surname. In feudal Japan, names reflected a person’s social status and spiritual beliefs. Also, when addressing someone,
san
is added to that person’s surname (or given names in less formal situations) as a sign of courtesy, in the same way that we use Mr or Mrs in English, and for higher-status people
sama
is used. In Japan,
sensei
is usually added after a person’s name if they are a teacher, although in the Young Samurai books a traditional English order has been retained. Boys and girls are usually addressed using
kun
and
chan
, respectively.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This third book in the
Young Samurai
series is about loyalty and sacrifice. The following people have demonstrated immense loyalty to me and many have sacrificed their time, energy and reputation for
Young Samurai
. I would like to thank them all for their hard work and dedication: Charlie Viney, my agent, for being a valiant and courageous warrior always protecting my rights and fighting for my career; Shannon Park, the commanding
daimyo
of editing at Puffin, for the respect she’s shown the heart of the story and her sword-like cuts; Wendy Tse for her hawk-like eyes in checking the proof; Louise Heskett, Adele Minchin, Tania Vian-Smith and all the Puffin team for running a successful campaign on the publishing battlefield; Francesca Dow; Pippa Le Quesne; Tessa Girvan at
ILA
for conquering the world with
Young Samurai
; Akemi Solloway Sensei for her continued support of the
series
(readers, please visit:
www.solloway.org
); Trevor, Paul and Jenny of Authors Abroad for their tireless efforts in managing all my event bookings; David Ansell Sensei of the Shin Ichi Do dojo, an inspiring teacher and a swordsman of great insight and knowledge; Ian, Nikki and Steffi Chapman for spreading the word; Matt, for his enthusiasm; my mum for still being my number-one fan!; my dad, who is the steel behind the sword; and my wife, Sarah, for whom I know this journey has been hard, but the rewards will be lifelong.
Lastly, I offer a bow of respect to all the librarians and teachers who have supported the series (whether you are ninja or samurai!) and all the Young Samurai readers out there – thank you for your loyalty to Jack, Akiko and Yamato. Please keep reading and sending me emails and letters. It makes all the hard work worthwhile.
Arigatō gozaimasu.
