Young Samurai _ The Way Of The Dragon - Chris Bradford [19]
‘What are those?’ asked Jack, awestruck at the sight.
‘They’re the Meoto Iwa,’ replied Akiko. ‘The sacred Wedded Rocks. Beautiful, aren’t they? And over there is Mount Fuji.’
Jack looked to his left and could just see a conical snow-capped peak in the haze on the horizon. He could only imagine how big the mountain was for it to be visible at such a great distance. From here, though, he could cover it with his entire hand.
After the sun had risen and they had completed their meditation, Akiko paid her respects at the nearby Shinto shrine. When Jack had first attended the Niten Ichi Ryū, he hadn’t been able to understand the dual religious practices of the Japanese. They followed Buddhism and, at the same time, Shinto, the worship of kami, the spirits they believed were contained within everything living and non-living.
Back in England, Jack had been brought up as a Christian, following the Protestant not the Catholic belief system. His father had explained this was the reason Europe was involved in so many conflicts. The division in faith had set Catholic Spain and Portugal against Protestant England. Since the battle for dominance was also being fought at sea and in the New World, this meant the rutter had immense significance. The possession of such an accurate navigational logbook, like his father’s, could tip the balance of power in favour of one country and its religion over the other.
Yet, in Japan, two religions coexisted in perfect harmony.
It was Buddhism’s respectful acceptance of other faiths that had allowed Jack to come to terms with practising Buddhist rituals in samurai school, while remaining at heart a Christian.
His decision was also a matter of survival. With the growing animosity towards foreigners in Japan, Jack needed to blend in as much as possible and show his willingness to accept Japanese beliefs. He needed to prove he was samurai not only in mind and body, but in spirit too.
Jack bowed his head before the Shinto shrine and said a prayer for his father and mother in heaven and for his little sister Jess on the other side of the world, his words carried away by the gentle lapping of the waves.
* * *
Walking along the coastal path, Akiko and Jack guided their horses back in the direction of Toba.
‘Thank you,’ said Jack, feeling at peace and happy to have shared the moment alone with Akiko.
‘I thought you’d like to see the ocean again,’ she replied, smiling warmly.
Jack nodded. The new dawn had given him fresh perspective and time to think. He would always be a sailor. It was in his blood. But he was now samurai too.
As they climbed a small rise overlooking a crystal-clear cove, Akiko stopped, her hand going to her forehead.
‘Are you all right?’ asked Jack.
‘I’m fine, just a little light-headed,’ she replied. ‘It must be the sea air.’
‘Perhaps you’re not fully recovered. You should sit down,’ suggested Jack, tying the horses to a nearby tree, then settling beside her at the edge of the cliff.
‘It’s amazing you survived the poisoning in the first place,’ Jack commented, recalling how Akiko had almost been killed by the ninja that Dragon Eye had sent to assassinate him, while he stole the rutter. The ninja had favoured a poisoned hairpin as a weapon. Akiko had been struck in the neck and she’d collapsed unconscious. By all accounts, she should have died.
This was just one of a number of unexplained skills and mysteries about Akiko. Like how she’d climbed the maple tree with such grace and agility to retrieve Jack’s drawing, or how she’d survived for so long beneath the waterfall during the Circle of Three. Perhaps now was the time to ask such questions.
‘When you were sick, I overheard Sensei Yamada and Sensei Kano mentioning dokujutsu, the ninja art of poison. They thought someone might have trained you to resist such poisons and that’s why you survived?’
Akiko picked