Yamabuki's World -- 12th Century Japan
Yamabuki travels from the Taka compound to the capital of Heian-kyo.
Cold Heart
Archery and War
Hazard Sensei used to say that archery was the prefered method of fighting in old Japan. Swords were too personal. Too in close. Too involved with the opponent. Archery was “better.” In fact, the old Japanese root word for “war” is said to come from something approximate to “archery exchange.” As I draw to a close in my work on Cold Heart, I draw inspiration from a very nice video that resonates....
Seventh Book, COLD RAIN, 冷雨, Added to the Yamabuki Series
An excerpt.
Yamabuki’s Sword — historic blade from her era and her swordmaker
Few swords survive from the period in and around the Gempei War and Yamabuki’s era.
The World of Taira no Kiyomori
As a big fan of Japanese television, I have watched more than a historic drama or two. It is a rather Japanese style to introduce historic dramas by showing the films of historic places as they look today along with artifacts and scrolls. Think Ken Burns and The Civil War, if you are American. The other day I presented a map of the Isle of Unknown Fire, which today is called Kyushu and it the southern-most of Japan’s four main isles....