Читать книгу Jet Black and the Ninja Wind - Leza Lowitz - Страница 21

CHAPTER 12

アテルイの祠 Aterui no Hokora

Aterui’s Cave

Jet and Hiro made their way down an animal trail into a bamboo grove where thick green stalks stood over seven feet tall.

As they walked, pushing aside the huge wet leaves, the sound of water became louder. They came to a pile of rocks on the mountainside.

“Here’s the cave,” Hiro said.

Jet hesitated. She didn’t want to leave the bamboo grove. Satoko had taught her that a bamboo grove was the safest place in an earthquake, since the roots grew deep and strong, weaving to create a natural grid that locked the earth in place.

Jet surveyed the grove. If only the bamboo could offer safety now.

“Come on, follow me in,” Hiro whispered.

“I can’t,” Jet stammered.

“Why not?”

“I’m scared,” she replied.

In all the training her mother had made her endure, the one thing Jet hadn’t conquered was this—a fear of small, dark spaces. Dark mountaintops, okay. Dark highways, okay. But caves? Jet shivered. She’d sooner sleep in a pit of vipers.

As the images flashed through her mind, Hiro stood beside her, waiting. Was he seeing them, too?

“I used to be afraid, too. But Ojiisan taught me how to conquer my fear.”

“How?” Jet ventured.

“Well, first of all, don’t deny it. Accept that it’s there.”

“Right,” Jet said. “That’s what the itako said, too.”

“Yeah. Just try to call it something else. Not fear, but….” he bit his lip. “Extreme dislike, for example.”

Jet laughed. “I can do that,” she said.

“Good, that’s a start….” he glanced around. “Anyway we better go in. It’s not safe outside.”

Hiro crouched and entered the cave. There was a candle near the wall. He cupped it in his hand, lighting the wick with matches. He then brought it to the entrance, showing Jet the cave’s depths. In the flickering light, Jet saw how young he was. She sensed how afraid he must be. Yet, he carried on.

“Come on,” he waved his hand, gesturing her towards the cave’s opening.

She took a step inside. The air smelled of wet earth, and the wind echoed from outside like a howling animal.

“Look,” he said, shining the candle toward a small wooden shrine deep in the cave. Hiro carried the candle there, pressed his palms together and bowed in front of the shrine. Jet stayed at the entrance, knees shaking, repeating his gesture.

Then Hiro sat on the damp earth as she stayed at the entrance, breathing deeply into her collar to warm herself.

“This is as far as I’m going.” She sat down. “What is this place?”

“A shrine to our ancestor, Aterui.”

Jet started. “When the Emperor’s troops invaded the north, Aterui led the resistance.” She recalled the words from her mother’s story, and repeated them to Hiro.

“Right! So you know about us!” he exclaimed.

“Not so much. I want to know more. Can you tell me? No one else seems to be able to,” Jet sighed, frustrated.

Hiro smiled. “You should know more,” he replied. “I’ll teach you about the tribe. First of all, do you know why Japan is called Nippon?”

“No.” She shook her head, wondering what—if anything—this had to do with the Kuroi family.

Hiro looked at her askance, as if—again—reading her mind. “Ojiisan says if you want to understand a people, look at their language. The words write the history, not the other way around.”

She nodded, trying to quell her impatience, this shortcoming her mother had said came from her “American side.”

“Nippon was translated into English as ‘Jippon,’ which became Jipang. When foreigners came, they had an easier time saying Japan than Jipang. So the name stuck. Here, hold out your hand,” he said and traced two ideograms on her palm.

日本

“That’s ni-hon,” Jet said, proud that she’d remembered.

“Right. But you can also read them as hinomoto, the original name of Japan. 日 (Nichi) means sun and 本 (Hon) means origin.”

“I get it!” Jet said. “The place where the sun rises! Is that why Japan’s called ‘The Land of the Rising Sun?’”

“Yes. Because that’s what the Emishi called their ancient kingdom in Nara. The first king, queen, and residents of Hinomoto were the Emishi–our tribe!”

“I don’t understand,” Jet said, frowning. “What does this have to do with the Emishi?”

“Hinomoto is an Emishi word. Not a word of the Wa. Why? Because this was our kingdom first!”

“Weren’t the imperial family the rulers of Nara?” Jet asked, confused.

Hiro sighed. “That’s what they want you to believe, but it’s only their version. Our ancestors were here first. The Emperor’s army took the land from them. They wanted to ‘civilize’ the barbarians,” he snorted.

Jet was dubious. “How do you know for sure?”

“Don’t take my word for it. The Kojiki says, ‘Emperor Jinmu advanced toward the East, defeating the ‘barbarians’ and ‘relieving’ Nara from the Emishi.’”

“So?”

“So, if Japan’s oldest book says the Emperor had to ‘relieve’ it, clearly the Emishi were already there. Get it?”