I’ll be speaking at ACen (also known as Anime Central) this weekend on a number of topics, including Japanese Folklore & Mythology. The talk isn’t strictly limited to Japanese tales, but that will be the focus since ACen is an anime, manga, and J-culture convention. Admission is by convention…
In a Western forest, when you see lights drifting over your path and beckoning into darkness, you might call them a will-o’-the-wisp. And you should know better than to follow them.
A quick blur of moment drew his eye — a mouse, skimming over the ground? No, a tiny youkai, galloping through the tangled grass, waving stubby arms and piping something in a shrill, unintelligible voice.
Kaworu bent toward him. “What?”
Metal split the air above his bent shoulder and struck the tree beyond. Kaworu did not waste time looking after it but made his lean a roll, dodging to one side and coming up in a crouch.
Happy Halloween! Let’s talk about something spooky.
Her footsteps in the litter and debris muffled the forest noises around her, and for a moment she considered humming to further drown the sounds that frightened her. But it would be foolish to handicap herself. She kept quiet, listening to her too-loud footsteps.
Twilight made the way difficult, and she hoped she was still going the right way. She slipped, half-losing her zouri. She paused, to refit it to her foot, and the footsteps did not.
Want a sneak peek? Here’s a glimpse from chapter 3 of Kitsune-Mochi (sequel to Kitsune-Tsuki)….
I did a fair amount of research for Kitsune-Tsuki and Kitsune-Mochi, and some was much easier than others.
There’s a lot of research involved in any historical piece. I heard Susan Spann, author of Claws of the Cat, say that she had spent over two hours looking up historic ikebana seasonal arrangements, just to put the correct flowers (hydrangeas) in a scene. I myself spent considerable time researching the histories of such commonplace things as daikon and goldfish. But sometimes the source material is hard to come by, especially in English.
Another short excerpt for #TeaserTuesday!
As we come to the Ninth Day of Kitsune, let’s treat one of the senses which has been left so far untouched despite our forays into images, taste, and touch; let’s listen to music, both period and related, from Heian era to today.
