Hikari, thank you so much for reading and reviewing Murasaki!
As it happens, the third book in the series (Kano) plays around with the origins of the ninja myth. Risuko and her friends attend the theater, which includes a kuroko, a stagehand dressed all in black. As I understand it, the kabuki plays that introduced the ninja back in the early 19th century simply used that kuroko costume for the legendary "shadow warriors." Very dramatic! Of course, as Risuko points out in the book, wearing all black is kind of stupid for someone whose job requires them to blend in.
I never called the women of the Full Moon ninja in the series—the word never appears—and I do know that Chiyome Mochizuki's kunoichi are at best semi-historical. When I first learned of them, however, the idea of a group of female spies, bodyguards, and assassins operating in a society as gendered as Japan at a time as violent as the Sengoku Jidai fascinated me. It still does.
We have historical records and legends from around the world and across the ages of women serving in dangerous roles during wartime. While I recognize that Lady Chiyome's dangerous blossoms may or may not have existed in exactly the form I present in the books, I'm confident that there were women serving in those roles during that tumultuous period. I wanted to explore the characters doing such outside-the-norm things in a society where normalcy and tradition are as much a part of the culture as they are in Japan. I was also interested in how a thoughtful young person like Murasaki might feel about being drawn into such a role.
I freely admit that my perspective on Risuko and her world are those of a westerner who has done his best to explore the complexities of life in Sengoku Japan as respectfully and as accurately as I can. I'm always happy to be told when I've fallen short.
I am sorry, too, that you struggled to keep the large cast of characters straight. Knowing that reviewers might be encountering the series for the first time, I included a synopsis at the beginning of the Netgalley edition, and I've included an annotated character list in every book. Nonetheless, if I lost you, I apologize.
Thank you, by the way, for sharing the article—it came out after I had completed researching Murasaki, so I hadn't seen it. I look forward to reading it!
As it happens, the third book in the series (Kano) plays around with the origins of the ninja myth. Risuko and her friends attend the theater, which includes a kuroko, a stagehand dressed all in black. As I understand it, the kabuki plays that introduced the ninja back in the early 19th century simply used that kuroko costume for the legendary "shadow warriors." Very dramatic! Of course, as Risuko points out in the book, wearing all black is kind of stupid for someone whose job requires them to blend in.
I never called the women of the Full Moon ninja in the series—the word never appears—and I do know that Chiyome Mochizuki's kunoichi are at best semi-historical. When I first learned of them, however, the idea of a group of female spies, bodyguards, and assassins operating in a society as gendered as Japan at a time as violent as the Sengoku Jidai fascinated me. It still does.
We have historical records and legends from around the world and across the ages of women serving in dangerous roles during wartime. While I recognize that Lady Chiyome's dangerous blossoms may or may not have existed in exactly the form I present in the books, I'm confident that there were women serving in those roles during that tumultuous period. I wanted to explore the characters doing such outside-the-norm things in a society where normalcy and tradition are as much a part of the culture as they are in Japan. I was also interested in how a thoughtful young person like Murasaki might feel about being drawn into such a role.
I freely admit that my perspective on Risuko and her world are those of a westerner who has done his best to explore the complexities of life in Sengoku Japan as respectfully and as accurately as I can. I'm always happy to be told when I've fallen short.
I am sorry, too, that you struggled to keep the large cast of characters straight. Knowing that reviewers might be encountering the series for the first time, I included a synopsis at the beginning of the Netgalley edition, and I've included an annotated character list in every book. Nonetheless, if I lost you, I apologize.
Thank you, by the way, for sharing the article—it came out after I had completed researching Murasaki, so I hadn't seen it. I look forward to reading it!