The past 24 hours in Kusatsu have not been good. As the sun set today, however, I managed to escape the city. Since I have lately been active in the town of Seinikki, I found my way there, hoping for some rest.

I found very little rest, but I did at least stumble across a clue leading to one of the crime-lords who are causing unrest in the town. I was able to make use of a most effective new poison technique, and thus dispatched a half-dozen of the crime-lords' lieutenants.

They will now be alert to my presence, of course... but perhaps they may suspect it's another underworld organization, instead of a lone ninja. Either way, they will be hampered by the loss of those men.

In the meantime, the Yaneura-gumi wants me to come back to Heian-kyō again tomorrow, for "just one more day". Of course, that's what they said about yesterday. Before I left yesterday, Haruo mentioned that a fighter they'd hired before had apparently failed to kill a particular enemy, and they think the target trained in many of the same techniques as the ones I have already dealt with. So I have hopes that I can make short work of this one.

This week, I was fighting for the Yaneura-gumi. My friend Meiun-no-Neko, who came with the Nanban traders and stayed to join the Okibi-no-Hito-gumi, knew of the Yaneura-gumi's need for a warrior, and sent messages to put us in contact with each other.

The odd thing is, the Yaneura do not use poisons. So I spent the whole week working with a non-poisoned ninja-to, and even with a jō staff (again with no poison; there are few poisons that will work on a jō's wood).

Now I am done with my assignment with the Yaneura, and getting back to a project I am doing for my own happiness. There are problems in Yumehaba and Seinikki, a pair of villages on the borders of Iga Province that I and many of my friends spend much time in. So, as I return to creeping about the back alleys of these villages, I find that I must re-apply the poison on my manrikigusari. It's an interesting feeling...

In many ways, it feels good. A poisoned weapon is much more reliable; when you strike someone with it, you don't have to wonder how much damage you did them, or how long they'll keep fighting you for.

The Zen priests tell a story of the Fifth Patriarch, and his disciple. When the patriarch became old, he held a contest among all the monks of the monastery, to see who could write a poem that best expressed their understanding of Zen. The chief monk at the time was Shen-xiu, who was a diligent meditator; all the other monks assumed Shen-xiu would be selected, and made no attempt to enter the contest.

Shen-xiu himself, however, was not so sure of his own accomplishments. In the night, anonymously, he posted a poem that read:

The body is the Bodhi Tree,
The mind like a bright mirror standing.
Take care to clean it all the time,
And allow no dust to cling.

Publicly, the Patriarch praised the poem and ordered incense to be burned before it. But when Shen-xiu went to the Patriarch in private to admit that he had written the poem, the Patriarch told him that he still had a long way to go in his understanding of the mysteries.

The story ends with a monk of much lesser reputation writing a poem that repudiates the basic assumptions of Shen-xiu's poem and shows a much more advanced grasp of the principles of Zen, and the Patriarch transmitting the office to the other monk in secret. But that's not what I'm concerned with right now.

I am much more interested in Shen-xiu himself, at the moment. Despite all the acclaim of his peers, he was worried. He was not confident in his ability or his understanding. He was concerned that maybe his reputation was much greater than his actual accomplishments, greater than he deserved.

And, obviously, he was quite right. I mean, honestly... "The body is the Bodhi Tree"? I'm no monk, and even I can see that's kind of weak.

This man was the head monk at the monastery, acclaimed by all the others there. And yet, he fundamentally did not understand what Zen was about. I wonder about my own skills, too. I hope that I am not like Shen-xiu... but I fear that I am.

I have just come from a meeting with a man from Clan Kumodachi, who are starting an interesting venture that will require some very skilled warriors. Unfortunately, they need someone who is very skilled with the sansetsukon. I am a multi-weapon fighter, not a sansetsukon specialist; adding me to Kumodachi's army would actually be a mistake on their part.

It is good to know that this is not a personal failure. It is merely a situation where you use hammers to drive nails, and screwdrivers to turn screws, and glue to hold things together, and I am not what is needed here. But that still doesn't make me feel much better.

Just received a message from my favorite herald, saying his gumi has no news of anyone who needs Pagoda Bearer or Jōgesen-ryū fighters right now. The armies of Clan Seikoku, who had previously expressed some interest, are having treasury problems and cannot add any new warriors now.

Not that this is at all unusual. This winter has been a bleak one. All Nippon feels it.

The situation in Yagyū, of course, is little better. There are small, upstart gumis that cannot afford to pay anything beyond promises of future glory — when and if they even manage to conquer anything.

I continue working on some of my own kata, which I can show off in the squares and marketplaces of Yagyū, and perhaps gain attention for my skills.

Very interesting. Today, I have been contacted by two heralds of the Raiisō-gumi. They are a group that attempt to supply warriors to armies that need them. Such groups are, of course, very important in Nihon these days, as everyone wants the best warriors on their side.

The Raiisō messengers have been very polite and friendly. They say they heard of me from another herald, a man from Clan Tenkai, and that he spoke very highly of me. But I have not heard from him in over a week, and I had thought that he considered me an unworthy fighter.

In any event, this woman of Raiisō says a high priest of Clan Gobāruto is very interested in speaking with me. He is apparently a Tendai priest of their clan... so, I am not yet interesting to their warriors, but who knows?

I will be speaking with him tomorrow. We shall see what comes of it. Their clan operates in Kawachi, which is unfamiliar territory for me... and I recall how badly things went in Izumi, when I was with Clan Nettobuku.

This is the initial WordPress post, that normally just says “Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!”

I could delete it, but it makes a great honeypot for spammers, so I’m leaving it here. Anything that comments on it will be assumed to be a spambot and dealt with accordingly.

All that I attempt goes awry. Have I angered Bishamonten? I must certainly go to His temple and make offerings, for every step I perform in the Pagoda Bearer style today is off balance, or malformed somehow. A bitter, evil wind is blowing from the northeast, the demon gate that lets evil in.

I must make offerings. I must re-sharpen my sword. And I must continue to persevere. The enemies that now seem so invincible — soon I will find a way to slay them. The ninja endures; the ninja perseveres.

As usual, the Totemo Akarui-gumi had its ninja meeting today. Daichi was a bit tired after a late-night mission last night.

There is little left to be done for Clan Kuruma-no-Danshaku, until they determine what the next stage of their strategy will be. Apparently we have been quite successful in removing all opposition to their initial goals, but they may acquire new enemies in a while.

I have a new mission, which concerns the gumi's own internal ryū. It is a style which attempts to mimic the famed Jōgesen school of sansetsukon fighting, except with a ninja-to. Our form is not as polished, of course, but it has seen some use already in our battles on behalf of Clan Sanatsui and the Phantom Dance-gumi. But we have realized something our ryū lacks, and which it needs:

The ability to be used with a poisoned blade.

I have been given the task of adding such an ability to our gumi's fighting style. We are also trying to find a good name for this style; "Totemo Akarui-ryū" doesn't quite seem to work, and besides, there is some possibility of changing the gumi's name, too.

At any rate... such a mission should keep me busy for a few days.

Working with the Totemo Akarui-gumi has its good points and its bad ones. I am very nearly a free ninja, able to set whatever hours and working conditions I please... but access to healers is very limited, and sometimes there isn't a lot to do.

But today, I have performed a most skillful feat for the Daiyokaru monks. They wanted to know if it was possible to find a way into the castle of Lord Mainen, who is notorious for his security. A previous Totemo Akarui ninja, who has since left our gumi, once tried and failed.

But now I have crept deep into Mainen's castle. (No, I'm not saying how.) While he was occupied with other matters, I took a single piece of writing-paper from his desk, wrote on it "I am Ichirō of Iga, in Lord Mainen's office"... and then stamped it with Lord Mainen's chop! I have it now in a pocket, as I work my way back out of the castle so I can report to the Daiyokaru.

It is work like this that makes me proud to be a ninja.

And I have a message from Jinsei detailing some work that I can do for a new client, the Sanatsui Clan.