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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

For an author to reach his fifth title in a book series is quite an achievement and I couldn’t have done it without the support of all my fans, friends, family and the fantastic team behind me.

Like the Five Rings, the stability of Earth has been provided by my gorgeous wife Sarah, my mum and my dad, Sue and Simon, Steve and Sam (the best bro and sis-in-law I could wish for!) and all my wonderful friends, in particular Karen and Rob Rose, Geoff and Lucy Roy, Matt Bould, Charlie Wallace, Russell and Jackie Holdaway, Nick and Zelia O’Donnell, Laura Colussi et al…. thank you for your unwavering belief and patience in me.

The adaptability and strength of the Ring of Water is found in Charlie Viney, my ever dependable agent and firm friend; at Puffin, Shannon Park, an editor whom I admire greatly and am so lucky to work with; Wendy Tse and Helen Gray, my hardworking copy-editors; Tessa Girvan, Franca Bernatavicius and Nicki Kennedy, my overseas agents at ILA; and Trevor at Authors Abroad.

The energy and passion of the Ring of Fire shows both in the efforts of the fantastic Puffin PR and marketing team (Lisa Hayden, Vanessa Godden, Jayde Lynch, Tania Vian-Smith, Kirsten Grant et al.) and, above all, Francesca Dow, the daimyo of Puffin Books), as well as the growing legion of dedicated fans and readers around the world – thank you for continuing to spread the word.

The freedom of the Ring of Wind is seen in the understanding and patient tuition of Sensei David Ansell of the Shin Ichi Do dojo (www.shinichido.org) and Sensei Peter Brown at the Shinobi Kai dojo (www.shinobi-kai.net), and also in the constant movement of booksellers, both independent and major, and school librarians who are always working hard to shift copies of the series and promote it to new readers – I truly appreciate your support.

Finally, the creative force of the Ring of Sky that helps me write these books – thank you, but could you make it a little easier next time! I have deadlines to keep, you know!

You can keep in touch with me and the progress of the Young Samurai series on my Facebook page, or via the website at www.youngsamurai.com

Arigatō gozaimasu!