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Tears of Blood
By : SultrySundina
Category: +. to F > Blade of the Immortal
Views: 1863 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Please read disclaimer in each chapter.
Chapter List
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Tears of Blood (My Story Arc: Finale to Blade of the Immortal):

Disclaimer and Rights: This story is not-for-profit fan fiction. The characters and universe of Blade of the Immortal/Mugen no Junin are copyright by Hiroaki Samura and do not belong to me. I will in no way receive any kind of funds or monies for this story, nor will any monies or funds come into my hands in consequence of this story. Please do not sell or print for sale. Do not archive without my written permission. Permission is granted to print for personal use, and to distribute this document in electronic form, without charge, without alteration, and with this disclaimer and my name attached.

Glossary

I would like to give copyright to Madame Manga for almost all of these definitions. Thank you. I have updated a few, but most are the same, and I have also added a few of my own.

Amida Butsu: An incarnation of the Buddha. His name is invoked as a promise of salvation, and popularly as a charm against evil.

Anotsu Kagehisa: The young and dynamic head of the Itto-ryū. Instigator of the murder of Rin's parents, and the focus of her revenge quest.

arigatou: Thank you.

bakūfū: 'Tent government'; the usual term for the shogun's military government, going back to medieval times. 'Shogunate' is an English coinage that refers to the same thing.

banshu: The garrison of a castle and bodyguard to its lord. In this case, the shogun's personal military guard in Edo Castle.

bangashira: Head of the banshu. In this case, Habaki Kagimura, who has been seen as the government's liaison with the Itto-ryū, and also as the man who orchestrated the attack on their leaders at a banquet, and who also orchestrated the slaughter of many of the Itto-ryū. He also tricked Manji and held him captive in Edo Castle to experiment on him.

bobo: A woman's vagina and vulval area.

būshidō: 'The way of the warrior'; the unyielding, death-centered samurai honor code.

būshi: 'Warrior'; i.e., a samurai.

cho: Cho = 109 meters/358 feet.

danna: 'Master', a general term. In this historical period, a commoner would use danna to address a man of higher rank, a courtesan or geisha would use it to address her principal patron, and a wife would use it to address her husband.

dai-sho: 'Long and short', the pair of matched swords samurai males wereentitled to wear as the badge of their caste.

eta: Loaded term for certain outcaste groups, meaning 'filth'. In the Edo period, eta were designated to carry out distasteful and defiling tasks, such as sewage disposal, leather tanning, execution of common criminals and handling of dead

bodies. These groups are ethnically indistinguishable from other Japanese, but their descendants are still discriminated against and are disproportionately poor and under-educated. The modern term is burakumin, meaning 'village dweller'.

fundoshi: Loincloth worn by men. There are several different styles, from ample flaps that provide a lot of coverage to the equivalent of skimpy thong underwear.

furisōde: 'Swinging sleeves'; a young unmarried woman's garment, usually brightly colored and decorated with pretty florals.

furoshiki: Multi-purpose large square of cloth, often used as a scarf or for carrying items.

fusuma: Vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors. They typically measure about 90 centimetres (3.0 ft) wide by 180 centimetres (5.9 ft) tall, the same size as a tatami mat, and are two or three centimeters thick

fūton: Japanese mattress about two to four inches thick, filled with silk waste or cotton wadding. Usually kept rolled up in a closet during the day and spread out at night. The traditional pillow is made of wood or ceramic, or at best is a firm,

small cushion that supports the neck. Soft pillows were considered unhealthy.

geta: Wood-soled sandals with blocks on the bottom to raise the wearer up out of the mud.

gomen: Sorry

gomenasai: I'm sorry

hai: Yes

hakama: Pleated pants or skirt worn over a kōsōde.

han: Each daimyo lord reigned over his own domain, or han, as a virtual petty king. Laws were specific to each domain and outlaws from one area could often find refuge in another, though all daimyo and their holdings were ultimately subject to the military government in Edo.

harigata: A dildo or other sex toy. Usually made of tortoiseshell, horn, leather or some other moldable material. Harigata came in a great number of varieties in the Edo period, and illustrations of them can be found in erotic shunga prints. Their use was not morally condemned, since most people considered harigata a practical way for a woman to gain physical relief without violating her chastity.

haru-dori: The most common song bird in Japan. It is the Japanese Bush Warbler. Haru-dori means "spring bird".

hatamoto: The most trusted retainers of the Tokugawa shoguns held the hereditary rank of hatamoto or 'standard bearer'. Manji's former lord, whom he assassinated for corruption, washatamoto.

henoko: Penis.

Honorifics: Honorific suffixes are extremely important when addressing any person in Japanese. Which ones you use are determined by your relationship to the person and his or her age and status relative to you. They are not used between family members, with the exception of -chan. Honorifics are often omitted in translation, but may be hinted at in English by

varying the degree of respect one person uses towards another. However, they convey shades of meaning that aren't readily translatable and can be very useful even in English dialog.

-san: The most common suffix. It's the equivalent of Mister or Ms. Not used to close friends, since it would come across as stuffy and standoffish, but proper for most adults.

-sama: A respectful term, a degree stronger than -san.

-dono: An archaic term used for high officials and important people, or to convey great respect.

-chan: A diminutive with a cute connotation, used for children, intimate friends and lovers, and among women. 'Sweetie' might be an English equivalent.

-kun: Used by a senior male towards a junior or between friends. If used to an equal who is not an intimate, -kun is condescending, like calling a grown man 'boy'. Otherwise it's a little like addressing a buddy as "hey, dude".

haha: A respectful term, used for one's mother.

musuko: A respectful term used for one's son.

O- : Women are often addressed with O- in front of their names, such as O-Ren, the prostitute killed by Shira. This is polite, but a less exalted term than -san, and therefore appropriate for females.

okaasan: An intimate term used to one's own mother.

onii-chan: A diminutive with a cute connotation, used to denote the oldest child; either among children, or a very affectionate term to one's own eldest or only son.

sensei: Teacher, skilled person. May be used of any person of talent, such as an artist or musician. "Master" Sori the artist is addressed as Sori-sensei.

Ittō-ryū: Anotsu Kagehisa's group of unusual fighters.

Ji: Temple; 'Hasu-ji' means 'Lotus Temple'. At this time, Japanese Shinto and Buddhist temples and clergy were often integrated and almost indistinguishable from each other. Only a few shrines were solely dedicated to one tradition. Shinto and Buddhism were forcibly separated by law at the Meiji Restoration,since the Buddhist establishment was regarded as a tool of the old Tokugawa regime and State Shinto was promoted as mythological justification for the emperor's absolute rule and the unique position of Japan as the realm of the sun goddess's descendants.

Kami: God, spirit or life force.

katana: The longer of the two swords samurai were entitled to wear. The length varied according to the height and the means of the wearer, but could be anywhere from about two to three feet.

kenshi: Swordsman, possibly a samurai but not necessarily. Classes other than samurai were allowed to carry swords for defense, but the length of the blade was strictly regulated. Obviously the Ittō-ryū pays little attention to the weapons laws.

kessen-chu: Holy bloodworms; the source of Manji's healing ability and immortality.

kissing: The common idea that kissing is a Western practice introduced into Japan is not correct; many erotic shunga prints depict mouth-to-mouth kissing as a sexual act. However, the idea of a kiss as a token of romantic love or as a public act is definitely not traditional. The Blade of the Immortal world is not wholly traditional either, of course, and the manga has several times shown couples kissing in the modern sense of the gesture.

kōban: Gold coin worth about one koku, or the amount of rice one person is presumed to eat in a year.

kōsōde: 'Small sleeves': A basic garment worn by both men and women either as an underlayer or on its own. Kōsōde might be made of silk, hemp or cotton, but are heavier than a yūkataand usually have a lining.

koto: Stringed instrument played with plectrums.

Manji: Renegade samurai who assassinated his feudal lord for corruption. The manhunt that followed cost the lives of one hundred policemen and officers who tried to take Manji into custody. The last policeman Manji killed was his own sister's husband, in her presence. The sight drove her insane, and Manji took responsibility for her care. At some point after this, an ancient nun named Yaobikuni infested Manji's body with holy bloodworms, which make him functionally immortal by healing all

damage and preventing aging. This is a double-edged gift, since he feels all the pain of his wounds yet cannot die. He must work to atone for the deaths on his conscience until he has killed one thousand evil men. After his sister's murder by gang members intent on revenge for Manji's killing of one of their own, Manji retired to a small hut in the country outside Edo.

There he encountered Rin, whose vendetta against the Itto-ryū Manji agreed to aid as her bodyguard.

mizuage: The sale of a new courtesan's virginity to the highest bidder.

Nihongo: The Japanese language.

Nihon-onna: Japanese woman or women.

obi: Cloth belt or sash, worn by both men and women to hold their garments closed.

onsen: A term for hot sprints in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hotsprings. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth. Onsen were traditionally used as public bathing places and today play a central role in directing Japanese domestic tourism.

Otonotachibana Makie: A beautiful, melancholy musician and was once a

prostitute who is the most powerful fighter in the manga. She is Anotsu's lover and wife after his first wife killed herself. She uses a three-part spear that she conceals in her samisen. She once defeated Manji in battle and would have killed him if not for Rin's intervention.

ri: 36 cho/4 km/2.5 miles, or about one hour's walk at a moderate pace.

Rin (Asano Rin): Sixteen years old, Rin has been alone in the world since the murder of her parents on her fourteenth birthday. She vowed to avenge them, and with Manji's help has caused the deaths of a number of Itto-ryū. Her fighting skills are not high, but are increasing with training and experience. She and Manji have forged a very close but not easily definable relationship in the time they have been together.

ronin: 'Wave man'; masterless samurai. The peaceful Edo period and the fall of daimyo threw many samurai out of work, and masses of disgruntled armed men soon became a serious social problem.

ryō: Unit of currency. One kōban coin is equivalent to about one ryō. These values fluctuated over time and from place to place. In the world of Blade of the Immortal, a ryō seems to be worth in the neighborhood of $1000.

ryokan: Unit A type of traditional Japanese inn that originated in the Edo period (1603-1868), when such inns served travelers along Japan's highways. They typically feature tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas where visitors may wear yūkata and talk with the owner.

saké: A liquor brewed from rice. Technically a beer, but usually containing about the same alcohol percentage as wine or sherry.

samisen or shamisen: A banjo-like instrument often used to accompany singing

or dancing.

samurai: The highest of the four official social castes of Tokugawa period Japan, comprising 7-10% of the total population, and the only caste entitled to serve as soldiers. Others could bear arms for self-defense, but only samurai were allowed to wear the matched dai-sho pair of swords. Although theoretically a household could only inherit samurai status and a family name, in actual practice those could be awarded for distinction in any calling or art, or even purchased. During the long peace of this era, samurai became administrators and bureaucrats rather than active warriors. Most nominal samurai were neither wealthy nor high-ranking, and those without official posts and stipends often had to turn to teaching, handicrafts or even farming in order to make a living.

seppuku: 'Self-killing', usually applied to the ritual suicide method of cutting open the belly to spill the intestines, reserved for samurai males. The same kanji written in opposite order are pronounced hara-kiri, meaning 'belly-cutting' in a

more vulgar sense. In traditional Japanese philosophy, the spirit resides in the abdomen, and cuttingit open both releases the spirit from the body and divulges a person's essentialinner qualities and sincerity in the most direct possible way. The self-discipline,pain tolerance and physical bravery required to open one's own belly is theessence of būshidō. The original medieval version of seppuku required a horizontalcut from left to right across the belly, then a second crossing cut upwards to thebreastbone. The subject would then die unassisted from blood loss, though notquickly. This elaborate and almost unimaginably painful operation is called the'figure ten', since the crossing cuts resemble the kanji for the numeral 10. Theversion usually employed in later centuries required only the horizontal cut and

allowed for beheading afterwards. However, a few samurai intent on their posthumous reputations still carried out the 'figure ten', in one case as late as 1912. In all cases, the subject took care to die in a crouching or face-down position rather than fall backwards. Usually the subject would request a sword-wielding second, or kaishakunin, to behead him and prevent or cut short any shameful public display of agony or clumsiness. Depending on instructions or the subject's performance, the second might carry out the beheading at the first cut into the abdomen, wait until the entire belly had been opened and the subject gave the signal by leaning forward for the sword stroke, or he might strike at the moment the subject reached out for a blade or closed fan laid before him. It was a dubious honor to act as a second, since a poorly done beheading would shame the swordsman and embarrass the witnesses, and a good performance would go without remark. An aura of bad luck might cling to the second and to any weapon he used. Usually the blade used for the belly-cutting was discarded afterwards, and so it was stripped of its valuable hilt and guard and handled instead with a thick wad of paper. A samurai woman invariably performed seppuku by cutting her own throat, never by opening the belly. Usually she would tie her knees together to avoid lapsing into an undignified or exposed position in death. During the Edo period, an order for a samurai to carry outseppuku was a facesaving method of official execution. Simple beheading was humiliating and

dishonoring by contrast, and crucifixion was the usual execution method for commoners and therefore a tremendous disgrace for a warrior. A wellperformed seppuku could expiate most crimes and mistakes, and could also be used as an unanswerable reproach or appeal to a superior.

shido: Fictional forked sword. Manji has a pair, and uses them frequently. They are the weapons that killed his sister; he appropriated them from her murderer.

shinju: A double suicide or murder-suicide of lovers or would-be lovers. The term doesn't distinguish between mutually agreed-on deaths and those carried out by unwelcome suitors. In plays and novels of the time, shinju was commonly romanticized, to the point that the government forbade its mention in any way.

shōchū: A Japanese distilled liquor of about 50-60 proof, fermented from sweet potatoes or grain.

shōji: Wooden-framed sliding paper screens used as walls and doors in a traditional Japanese building. Fusama are heavier sliding doors made of solid wood.

tabi: Fabric or leather slipper-socks worn by themselves indoors and with sandals or geta outdoors. The big toe is made separate to allow the thong of the sandal to pass through.

tachi: Long sword, originally meant for use by a mounted warrior. Tachi blades vary in length, from similar to a katana to monsters four feet long or more.

tanka: A traditional form of Japanese poetry written with five lines of counted syllables.

tatami: Floor mats used in traditional Japanese houses. Usually made of straw with a smooth woven reed outer covering and bound at the edges with cloth.

tsuba: The small, pierced iron guard installed at the base of the hilt when a Japanese blade is furnished. Tsuba come in a variety of shapes, frequently round or oval, and are often highly decorated and inlaid with precious metals.

wakizashi: The shorter of the two swords samurai were entitled to wear. Usually twelve to eighteen inches long.

yōjimbō: Usually translated as 'bodyguard'. This term has the connotation not only of a personal guard, but of a mercenary soldier or weapons specialist hired to carry out particular tasks.

yūkata: A lightweight cotton garment worn by both sexes. Functions as undergarments or by itself as nightclothes, bathrobe or casual summer wear.

zegen: A licensed procurer who buys children and youths from impoverished families and re-sells them into the sex trade.
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Tears of Blood	By : SultrySundina Category: +. to F > Blade of the Immortal Views: 1863 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Please read disclaimer in each chapter.

Tears of Blood