Tales of the Otori
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Tales of the Otori is a series of fantasy novels by Lian Hearn, set in a fictional world based on feudal Japan. The four present novels are: Across the Nightingale Floor (2002), Grass for His Pillow (2003), Brilliance of the Moon (2004), and The Harsh Cry of the Heron (2006), although the latter takes place 16 years after Brilliance of the Moon. The books follow a young warrior named Takeo in his struggles to avenge an adopted father, escape the legacy of his biological father, and pursue the love of his life in the midst of an enormous power struggle involving dozens of clan lords and thousands of warriors.
A prequel has been announced, to be published in 2007, called Heaven's Net is Wide.
A movie adaption of Across the Nightingale Floor is being planned, and Lian Hearn has confirmed that a script is in progress, being written by Henry Hwang.
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[edit] Synopsis
The story is told primarily in first-person narrative by Otori Takeo (first introduced to the readers as Tomasu), who was born in a small village of religious outcasts referred to as the "Hidden." The Hidden are persecuted throughout the Three Countries for their religious beliefs, and in the opening chapter Takeo's village is destroyed by a band of warriors led by Iida Sadamu, Lord of the Tohan Clan. During this attack, Takeo is rescued by Otori Shigeru, a young Lord of the Otori Clan, and led back to the Otori stronghold of Hagi. There, Shigeru adopts Takeo and begins to instruct him in the ways of a warrior.
At Hagi, Takeo learns that his father — Kikuta Isamu, who died before Takeo's birth — was a member of the "Tribe," a secretive network of spies and assassins known for supernatural traits (in other words, ninja). Takeo finds he has inherited many of his father's talents: invisibility, silent movement, the ability to create a mirror image of himself, an extremely good sense of hearing, and a stare that can put dogs and humans to sleep. Under the tutelage of Tribe member Muto Kenji, Takeo learns to employ these skills in the role of an assassin, expecting to take part in Shigeru's coming conflict with Iida Sadamu.
Shigeru's uncles, hoping to rid themselves of their popular and powerful nephew, send him to Iida's capital city of Inuyama. Bound by honor and loyalty to his clan, Shigeru follows their wishes despite suspecting a trap, and takes Takeo along with him. Shigeru's wariness proves warranted when Iida imprisons and tortures him upon his arrival in Inuyama. Meanwhile Takeo is taken hostage by the Kikuta family, relatives of Takeo's father who plan on forcing Takeo to take up his father's legacy as a full member of the Tribe. Before he submits to their will, however, Takeo sneaks into Inuyama castle and frees Shigeru, but not before the Otori lord becomes mortally wounded. Filled with a thirst for vengeance, Takeo returns to the castle intent on slaying Iida, but finds him dead at the hands of Shirakawa Kaede, a young woman Takeo fell in love with on the road to Inuyama, and the female heir to the western domain of Maruyama (Kaede's story is a secondary plotline and is intermittently told in third-person chapters).
As Takeo escapes Inuyama with Kaede and the Tribe, word of Iida's death spreads and his Tohan clan is overrun by an army led by Arai Daiichi. In the following weeks, Takeo is torn between three conflicting obligations:
- Avenge the death of his adopted father Otori Shigeru and claim his rightful place as leader of the Otori clan;
- Honor his promise to the Kikuta family to develop his Tribe skills and place them at the employ of the Kikuta;
- Sanctify his love for Kaede through marriage and help her claim the lands of Maruyama.
This conflict is the driving force for the bulk of the series and eventually places Takeo at odds with the Tribe, the Otori lords, and the armies of Arai Daiichi.
Unfortunately, Takeo lives by his word and after putting Kaede to sleep with his eyes, he goes to join the Tribe. He learns to become ruthless, and to develop his talents. Although he longs for Kaede, he finds himself attracted to another member of the Kikuta family, Yuki, who happens to be Kenji's daughter. On the other hand, he incurs the hatred of another member, Akio, for being the object of affection for Yuki. When on a mission to go to the Otori home where he had once lived and to obtain records of what Shigeru had recorded, Takeo overhears Akio tell of a plot against him. Akio had been ordered by Kotaro (the leader of the Kikuta) to kill Takeo. With the wise advice of his former teacher Ichiro, Takeo manages to mortally wound Akio and leaves him to die in a freezing river.
[edit] Setting
Tales of the Otori takes place on the fictional island referred to as the "Three Countries," comprised of the East, the Middle Country, and the West. Each country is ruled by a specific clan, the East by the Tohan, the Middle Country by the Otori, and the West by the Seishuu. The Three Countries are a part of a much larger nation ruled by an emperor who is referred to only in passing and holds little influence over the area.
Social structure in the Three Countries strongly resembles that of feudal Japan, with a samurai-like warrior caste comprising the upper ranks of society and men legally dominant over women.
[edit] Characters
- Otori Takeo — born to the Hidden as Tomasu, but given the name Takeo after his rescue from an attack on his village. Son of Kikuta Isamu and heir to Isamu's many supernatural talents. Nephew and adopted son of Otori Shigeru and legal heir to lordship of the Otori clan. Husband to Shirakawa Kaede and leader of a small army during his campaign to claim lordship of the Otori.
- Otori Shigeru — adoptive father and uncle of Otori Takeo. Heir to leadership of the Otori before his death at the hands of Iida Sadamu at Inuyama. Keeps records of the Tribe before his death, which Takeo uses during his later conflicts with the Tribe.
- Shirakawa Kaede — cousin of Maruyama Naomi and heir to Maruyama after the death of Naomi and her daughter. Lover and wife of Otori Takeo. She has two younger sisters, Ai and Hana.
- Iida Sadamu — leader of the Tohan clan. Enemy of Otori Shigeru and responsible for Shigeru's death. Killed by Shirakawa Kaede shortly after Shigeru's body is liberated by Takeo from Inuyama castle.
- Maruyama Naomi — secret lover of Otori Shigeru and head of the western domain of Maruyama, which is traditionally inherited by females. She has a daughter, Mariko.
- Arai Daiichi — As an old friend of Kaede's from her time in the Noguchi household, he is a Seishuu warlord who rises to power in the void left after Iida Sadamu's death. Seeks to conquer the Three Countries and to destroy the Tribe.
[edit] Tribe members
- Muto Kenji — master of the Muto Tribe family. Takeo's teacher in Hagi. Father of Muto Yuki and uncle of Muto Shizuka.
- Muto Yuki — Kenji's daughter and mother of Takeo's first son. She delivers Jato, Shigeru's sword, to Takeo and takes Shigeru's head to Terayama, where Shigeru will be honoured after death. She is executed by the Tribe after giving birth to Takeo's son, whom the Kikuta believe will not be raised to hate Takeo if he is raised in the presence of Yuki.
- Muto Shizuka — aide to Shirakawa Kaede. Kenji's niece. Former lover of Arai Daiichi and mother of his two sons, Zenko and Taku.
- Kikuta Isamu — a talented Tribe assassin who left the Tribe to live with his wife among the Hidden. Murdered by Kikuta Kotaro before his son Tomasu (Takeo) was born.
- Kikuta Kotaro — master of the Kikuta Tribe family. Teacher of Kenji and other members of the Tribe.
- Kikuta Akio - Kotaro's nephew and Takeo's cousin. He despises Takeo and antagonizes him whenever he can, especially when Takeo and Yuki become lovers.
- Kondo Kiichi - A member of the tribe who works with Shizuka to protect Kaede.
[edit] Others
- Kubo Makoto — a monk at Terayama temple. Takeo's closest friend and advisor.
- Jo-An — an outcast and member of the Hidden. Helps Takeo in his campaigns to the disgust of the warrior class. Takeo ends up having to kill him.
- Lord Fujiwara — a Seishuu noble who takes an interest in Shirakawa Kaede and arranges with Arai Daiichi for a marriage to Kaede, even after Kaede has already married Takeo.
[edit] The Tribe
The Tribe are a secret organization that nurture the powers that the world used to have. The Tribe consists of several families, of which the Kikuta and Muto are the most powerful and influential. They are frequently employed as spies and assassins by various institutions within the Three Countries. While they usually take on the guise of merchants, some members of the Tribe live rather unassuming lives as merchants and money lenders rather than as spies and assassins.
Little is known about the nature of the Tribe and the organization is rarely employed with complete trust. Most of the information that exists on the Tribe was secretly compiled by Otori Shigeru with the help of Muto Shizuka.
[edit] The Clans
- Muto - One of the two large clans of the Tribe that still have some substantial gifts. They are renowned for their changing faces; as such, they are skilled as spies. The current Master of the Muto is Muto Kenji. The Muto have strong links with the Otori and believe that the Tribe should change in the future. At the beginging of the series there is a close alliance between the Muto and Kikuta which wanes throughout the series.
- Kikuta - The most ferocious clan that is known for its high amount of power, harshness, and skilled assassins. All true Kikuta have a straight palm line across their hand and have great powers, such as invisibility, two bodies and acute hearing. The current Kikuta Master is Kikuta Kotaro, who tries to bring Takeo into the Tribe. These are very traditional in their thinking and do not want to let peace succeed throughout the three countries.
- Kuroda - A lesser clan of the Tribe that are mainly merchants, money lenders and informants. Generally, they do not possess many gifts, although Kuroda Shintarou appears to be an exception likely because he is half-Kikuta. At one stage in "The Harsh Cry of the Heron" it is mentioned that the Kuroda can perceive invisibility, but cannot become invisible themselves.
- Kudo - A lesser clan of the Tribe.
- Imai - A lesser clan of the Tribe that are not often heard about.
[edit] Trivia
- The three religions in the novel are very similar to three actual religions: the "Hidden" are similar to Christians (although actual Christians do appear later on in the series), those who worship "the enlightened one" follow similar beliefs to Buddhists, and those who believe in the spirits of nature are Shinto (Japan's native religion).
- Takeo's real name, "Tomasu" is very similar to and could be considered the Japanese version of the Christian name "Thomas". Tomasu's sister, Madaren, is the Japanese version of Madeline.
- All of the titles follow the Japanese style of 5 and 7 syllables.
