The Way of the Fox (51 page)

Author’s notes

Spirit Hunters
is not actually set in Japan. These stories are instead located within a fantasy land
inspired
by early 15
th
century Japan. There have been some wiggles here and there, but in general the culture and technology are very fifteenth century. I have kept a few anachronisms just for fun – such as western form ‘Haiku’, castle keeps and so on. And where would a fox be without plum wine?

When most people think of ‘samurai Japan’, they think of the later
Sengoku
and
Edo
eras – periods shaped by the total domination of despotic warlords and the break down of the old medieval social systems. The medieval world, however, was a rather different place. Far more chaotic and colourful, lacking the social rigidity of later eras. It was a far more
laissez faire
place entirely.

And people wore far sillier hats.

Many of the things seen as ‘traditional’ Japanese ghosts and monsters are in fact creatures invented by Japanese writers of horror stories in the 18
th
and 19
th
centuries. Their creations often reflect the specific terrors of their own era. To my mind, they are proprietal – they belong to those authors, the same way Frankenstein’s monster belongs to Mary Shelley. Medieval Japanese monsters tend to be a series of very colourful ghosts, evil spirits, rogue kami and carnivorous creeps. Spirit Hunters monsters tend to build upon these themes.

The ‘Oni’ – the demons of Japanese myth – are also not present in the Spirit Hunters world; at least, not yet…

Taoism was a very early importation to Japan, arriving in the time of the first emperors. It remained confined to the court nobility, and was later totally supplanted by Buddhism. Many of the basic concepts of Taoism folded over into the later Zen Buddhist sects – although Sura could doubtless bend your ear for many hours about the differences between free and easy Taoism, and the baroque structures of Buddhist world views. For this setting, Taoist religious thought has survived amongst the very ancient, somewhat isolated Kitsune clans – creatures far too rooted in a love of the material world to reject it all as illusion.

Taoism celebrates the great diversity and motion of being. Kitsune Sura, however, has a rather unique take upon the entire affair. The
Tao of the Fox
has it roots in the merry writings of Zhuang Zhi, rather than the more restrained and esoteric thoughts of Lao Tzu. Sura’s Taoism will become more and more defined as her adventures continue.

Sura and her companions still have a great many adventures before them.

Hours of the day:

The
Japanese day was divided into ‘hours’, each named after a zodiacal sign. These time periods were each split into two sections: each section is one of our modern hours in length. These sections are referred to as the
lesser
hour, and the
greater
hour. The ‘
lesser hour of the rat’
is thus 12.00 midnight until 1 AM, and the
‘greater hour of the rat’
runs from 1 AM to 2 AM.

The hours were ordered as follows:

• Ne no koku
  - hour of the rat: 12 midnight to 2 AM
  
• Ushi no koku
  - hour of the ox: 2 AM to 4 AM
  
• Tora no koku
  - hour of the tiger: 4 AM to 6 AM
  
• U no koku
  - hour of the hare: 6 AM to 8 AM
  
• Tatsu no koku
  - hour of the dragon: 8 AM to 10 AM
  
• Mi no koku
  - hour of the snake: 10 AM to 12 noon
  
• Uma no koku
  - hour of the horse: 12 noon to 2 PM
  
• Hitsuji no koku
  - hour of the sheep: 2 PM to 4 PM
  
• Saru no koku
  - hour of the monkey: 4 PM to 6 PM
  
• Tori no koku
  - hour of the cock: 6 PM to 8 PM
  
• Inu no koku
  - hour of the dog: 8 PM to 10 PM
  
• I no koku
  - hour of the boar: 10 PM to 12 midnight
  

Heng
é
–
The Animal spirits

The animal spirits of the
Sacred Islands represent a significant minority of the total population. Most large towns and cities will have communities of rat spirits. Other species have clan fiefs, or live in small holdings, often intermingled with human neighbours. Some races such as the kitsune are very powerful indeed, with their own lands, castles and formidable armies. Partnered with humanity since the oldest dawn of civilisation, the animal spirits share much of human culture – although occasionally with mores and morals very much their own.

Animal spirits are frequently found wandering far and wide across the empire. Tanuki traders and the river fleets operated by rat spirits are commonplace. The
kitsune – dedicated busy bodies – have extremely ancient archives. Their own culture preserves many aspects of earlier eras of the empire – such as the survival of Taoism, barbecue recipes, and a prevalence of samurai operating as horse archers.

All animal spirits can change between three different forms: ‘human-like’, a ‘fur form’, and their animal form. The change between forms is relatively swift, but is tiring if performed too frequently. Some features such as tails, a hint of skin colouring, eye colour, hair colour and a change to the shape of the ears prevent animal spirits from ever seeming perfectly human – although makeup and a wig can cover many clues.

Even when in animal form, it is often hard to mistake an animal spirit for its beastly kin – an air of intelligence, purpose and often excellent grooming are immediate clues to the creature’s true identity.

Species of animal spirits found within the empire include the following:

Fox

Rat

Rabbit

Cat

Carp

Mantis

Wasp

Bee

Bear

Wolf

Seal

T
anuki

Crow

Falcon

Crane

Boar

Serpent

Dog

Seagull

The empire is also home to tribes of mountain goblins and swamp goblins – weird peoples that are also nominally subjects of the
emperor.