A Guest by by S. B. Watson
When the idea for Tears of the Dragon came to me, I’ll admit, I balked at writing it. I had a core concept—a few characters, a few situations, a few mystery-puzzle mechanisms—but the “set dressing” in my mind was heavily rooted in historic Japan.
And that posed a problem.
I’ve written before about my enjoyment of historical fiction. One thing I didn’t touch on, however, is the sheer weight of work it can involve. In this case, while I had a passing familiarity with the “feel” of historic Japan, I was realistic enough to admit that writing the story in my mind would require a formidable amount of research, study, and outlining.
So, I put it off. As Black Beacon’s deadlines loomed closer, however, every time I was reminded of their submission call, that little idea in my mind was rekindled, and grew. Eventually, the idea-bonfire was simply too well stoked to ignore, and I buckled down to research.
Edo Period Japan was a remarkable place, existing as a fascinating placeholder between the Ancient and the Modern, bridging the gap between two vastly different eras while somehow never exclusively embodying either extreme.
Set between the Sengoku Period—characterized by warring samurai and political upheaval—and the Meiji Restoration—when the values of isolationist Japan began to mix with the rest of the “modern” world—the Edo Period existed in a state of relatively stable feudal rule under a succession of warlord-kings, known as Shōgun. In the Edo Period, one can watch as ancient traditions develop and bloom into modernity. Words can be traced through philological evolutions, beginning at one meaning and morphing into another. Fashion, culture, professions, trades, class-systems, and art all underwent drastic metamorphoses over the two-and-a-half centuries the period spanned.
During this time, as mentioned above, the country existed beneath a feudal rule, producing strict societal hierarchies and systems. Local economies were often tightly interdependent, with their profitability funneled up to their territorial warlords—called daimyō —and from there up to the shōgunate.
Although the warring chaos of the Sengoku Period had passed, samurai still endured, often taking up administrative positions within their daimyō’s estate or providing high-level guard services, or marshalling a daimyō’s local warbands in the service of the nation. Peasantry was stratified into classes, each serving their expected duties beneath their liege daimyō—often agricultural, or trade-working, in nature.
Pleasure quarters became a legal entity during this period, with geisha and oiran—cultural performers and high-level courtesans—producing the expressionist spear-head (along with poets and philosophers) that drove fashion and art in the country for nearly two-and-a-half centuries.
To me, this melting-pot of histories and ideas felt like an ideal setting to introduce something wholly foreign, wholly un-historical, and narratively powerful—a new industrial technology, in the form of steam.
I expect we’re all passingly familiar with the Steampunk Aesthetic—clockwork machinery, Rupe-Goldbergian automatons, crazy scientists, charismatic lone-wolf adventurers, daring skyships, and a return to the pulp-romance of exploration… Well, I decided to approach it from an entirely different angle. One much more intrinsically characteristic of Japan itself, of its people, its administrative systems, its history, and its geography. Especially the geography…
If you want to find out how I approached this, then be sure to pick up a copy of “Steampunk Sleuths” when it comes out, this August, and read Tears of the Dragon. I’d love to take you on a trip back in imaginary-time to an alternate version of a very real place!
Now, before I go, a word on words.
Tears of the Dragon uses many Japanese words and phrases. When I was writing it, I was faced with a dilemma—do I accentuate on the foreignness of the words, and try to define them asbthey’re used, in text? Or do I veer the other way, and anglicize as much as possible?
Well, you probably know me well enough by now to suspect, correctly, that I veered hard the other other way, and anglicized and defined as little as possible in text, relying on context to lend the meanings to a discerning reader. While this makes for a stronger story, it of course robs the reader of many interesting definitions they would otherwise be given.
Hence, I present a brief glossary for Tears of the Dragon, defining many (but not all) of the words used therein, and giving some brief cultural and historical context.
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A Tears of the Dragon Glossary
Administrative
Shōgun – The military ruler of early feudal Japan.
Daimyō – Feudal lords beneath the shōgun, ruling han.
Daimyō-gyōretsu – A daimyō’s formal procession, often to or from the royal castle of the Shōgun at Edo, observing sankin-kōtai.
Han – The territorial estate-domains of the daimyō.
Karō – A high-ranking samurai within a han, reporting directly to the ruling daimyō.
Kiri-sute gomen – The feudal tradition giving samurai the “right to strike” anyone of a lower class whom they believed had compromised their honor.
Sankin-kōtai – A policy during the Edo Period aimed at curtailing the political power of feudal lords beneath the Shōgun, which required daimyō to alternate spending time between their fiefs and the royal castle at Edo.
Kenin – Literally “house person,” a kenin was a high-ranking servant of a wealthy family or business.
Culture and Entertainment
Hanamachi – “Flower Towns” during the early Edo Period were segregated geisha quarters, containing geisha houses and teahouses, as well as theatres and other gathering places. Later, these pleasure quarters grew to include the professional establishments of yūjo as well, and were called yūkaku. In Tears of the Dragon, I infuse the yūkaku with the hanamachi, including geisha houses as well as the elegant brothels Japan’s historic red-light-districts were famous for.
Ochaya – Teahouses where geisha entertained, often directly associated with an Okiya.
Okiya – Communal domiciles of geisha and maiko. Each Okiya had distinct naming conventions and symbols associated with them, allowing for a geisha’s house to be easily identified.
Kamon – Japanese crests, historically associated with royal or very influential families, or powerful enterprises. Okiya during the Edo Period commonly used kamon—the present-day symbols of the remaining geisha houses can be traced back to Edo roots.
Geisha – A senior female entertainer, skilled in traditional dance, music, poetry, and cunning conversation. Contrary to some beliefs, geisha did not customarily engage in sexual activities with patrons—these services were provided by the varying classes of yūjo and oiran.
Maiko – Understudy geisha, usually younger girls, studying beneath a designated senior.
Yūjo – The collective term for the common class of prostitutes. In contrast to Oiran, high-level courtesans.
Oiran – The collective term for the highest rank of courtesans. The highest rank within the oiran were the tayū, expected to be masters of various cultural skills, similar to geisha.
Okasan – The “house-mother” of an Okiya.
Oneesan – Japanese honorific for an older, more senior woman-figure.
Geimyo or Geimei – A professional name taken by maiko and geisha utilizing poetical suffixes and prefixes, distinctive to their okiya, to produce names with common imagery.
Myōseki – Professional names taken by oiran. Unlike geisha, oiran passed their myōseki down generationally to their understudies, allowing for some names to hold long historical reputations and significances within their brothel. Myōseki were often taken from works of poetic literature, and sometimes myth and fairytale. The Tale of Genji, a 12 th century erotic classic, was so popular for name inspiration—and so frequently used—that some courtesans are recorded as having taken the titles of chapters, section headings, and even male-character names for their myōseki.
Kamuro – Young oiran-in-training, attending the senior courtesans as they studied to eventually be promoted into full-fledged courtesans themselves.
Daily Life
Izakaya – Drinking establishment, in the Edo period analogous to a tavern.
Uchikake – Highly formal over-kimono, often worn by elite oiran.
Furisode Kimono – A long-sleeved, heavily ornamented kimono often worn by young, unmarried women. Maiko frequently wore furisode, while geisha wore contrasting kosode kimonos, with shorter sleeves and more muted colors, emblematic of mature women who no longer need high-fashion to attract.
Tansu – Traditional mobile storage cabinets, similar to portable chests.
Shoji – Doors or room dividers made of thin-paper sheets secured to lattice frames. Allowed in much light, but also sound, from adjoining rooms.
Kanzashi – Traditional formal hair styles for women. During the Edo Period, kanzashi became very intricate, requiring skilled use of tools and devices to prepare as well as hold in place. For this reason, takamakura were often used.
Takamakura – A high, narrow “pillow,” often fashioned from wood with little or no padding, that supported the head and neck during sleep without allowing pressure to be applied to the hair, thus preserving a kanzashi hairstyle for many days.
Kate-bukuro – A provision bag, worn by samurai, constructed of woven netting and suspended to the waist or belt. Closely related to the kubi bukuro, literally “neck bag,” used by samurai to carry the severed heads of their enemies slain during lawful combat.
Kaiken – A short dagger, often carried by women in the sleeve-pouches of their kimonos. Used for self-defense, or seppuku—ritual suicide.
Saya – A wooden scabbard, often lacquered and highly ornamental, used to sheath katana, wakizashi, tanto, and kaiken, all various bladed instruments.
Poetry
Tanka – An early form of traditional Japanese poetry, found along with other forms in the Man'yōshū, one of the most influential poetry anthologies of Japan, dating to the eighth century. During the Edo Period, tanka were considered short poems, as compared to longer choka. Tanka poems are historically one of the most numerous, and expanded upon, forms in Japanese literature.
Utamakura – “Poem Pillows,” one of a widely recognized group of words with communally understood poetic symbology and imagery, used to suggest a belying concept. Geographical place names were often used as utamakura. For example, Fukakusa, a small city located in Fushimi Ward near the present city of Nara, was once known for the presence of imperial graves, and so was often used to evoke images of death and used in poetic lamentations.
Hitodama – Referred to in Japanese poetry, hitodama were believed to be the physical manifestation of the human soul, revealing themselves in a spectral bioluminescence. In Tears of the Dragon, I re-apply this concept and definition to mean something else… To find out what, you’ll just have to read the story!
