Category Archives: Japanese tales

BENZAITEN-Japanese Gods and Goddesses

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Benzaiten (an Edo painting)

I’m delving into the paranormal life and times of Japanese Gods and Goddesses. Not delving, let’s just say putting my toes into the ocean. So the first one of these series of blogs, one of the main ones  for my sequel to Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai, is Benzaiten, or Benten. She is amazing. As  you can see, women tattoo their bodies with her image. Why is she so popular? As a Goddesses, they don’t get much better. Even her name:      … Continue reading →

#2 IN HISTORICAL FICTION—THE STORY!

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  2. THE STORY What do all of these have in common: Alison Weir, Anne Perry, Ann Woodward, Laura Joh Rowland, Stephen Saylor, Elizabeth Peters, Mary Renault, the early Jean Auel, Philippa Gregory, James Melville and Diana Gabaldon? THE STORY. Amazing plot-driven, character-driven, conflict-driven, history-driven, stories.     The STORY is what draws me into historical fiction and the historical background is what keeps me there.  IF the history is accurate (See my previous post) i.e. no anachronisms, or egregious errors. I was reading a… Continue reading →

PERSISTENCE

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The Seven Luck Gods

The Japanese, especially in the Heian period and perhaps later,  world we would call superstitious. Like  Western Europeans they believe that illness could be caused by “bad spirits” and that their minute actions could cause disastrous consequences not only for themselves but for others. Naturally they would turn to the Seven Gods of Luck, displayed above and below. As I write this I take out a special package friend of mine gave me in which I keep buttons. But these buttons have the faces of… Continue reading →

HISTORICAL FACT FROM HISTORICAL FICTION

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Two women sleeping under winter quilts

One of the things I love about historical fiction is that I am able to learn about the historical time, people and events. So — who were the real people and who are fictional characters in Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai? Kozaishō and all of the Taira:  Michimori, his family members, and even his ‘sidekick’, Tokikazu,were real. The Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa and Antoku did live as well.                   As did the Minamoto: Yoshitsune, Yoritomo, Yoshitomo, Yoshinaka, Noriyori, and Yukiie. Kozaishō’s family, Akio, Toshiko, the girls on the… Continue reading →

More Tales and Superstitions

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Animals of the Japanese Zodiac

How We Tell Time – in Ancient Japan with the Zodiac I thought you might enjoy reading (or reading again) the story that is told to Kozaishō who learns the twelve animals of them: One day, the Emperor of Jade, the God of the heaven, declared to all the animals that he was going to choose twelve of them to name the years. The first twelve who arrived at his palace would each have the task of protecting mankind for one year. All the animals… Continue reading →