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    Kurenai the Crimson 1865: An Oiran, A Ninja and a Hiding Christian
    Kurenai the Crimson 1865: An Oiran, A Ninja and a Hiding Christian
    Kurenai the Crimson 1865: An Oiran, A Ninja and a Hiding Christian
    Ebook57 pages44 minutes

    Kurenai the Crimson 1865: An Oiran, A Ninja and a Hiding Christian

    By Hana da Yumiko

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    About this ebook

    Travel back in time to 1865 and the lush island of Kyushu in southern Japan. Here you will meet Kurenai, a highly sought-after geisha; Jin, a renounced ninja desperate to escape his former warrior brothers; and Rutu, a young Christian woman desperate to keep her faith—even if it means losing her life.

    Acclaimed Japanese author Hana da Yumiko takes readers on a journey into a fascinating time in Japanese history, where feudalism is on the cusp of falling to the modern Meiji government.

    Caught in the crosshairs of history and destiny, Kurenai, Rutu, and Jin will struggle to maintain their identities in the midst of extraordinary personal and societal upheaval. Defying cultural expectations and pressures, each of them must make decisions about their future that could ultimately cost them their life.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateSep 20, 2015
    ISBN9781483559315
    Kurenai the Crimson 1865: An Oiran, A Ninja and a Hiding Christian

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      Book preview

      Kurenai the Crimson 1865 - Hana da Yumiko

      Epilogue

      February

      Kurenai sat in contemplation of her life as an oiran. Her exquisite beauty was unparalleled. She knew this. Her fingers traced a reflexive path over the combs in her hair, her glory; the long sleeves of her crepe kimono whispered a sigh against her smooth skin. Her hand shook as it returned to its place in her lap. The opulence and high fashion were poor compensation for the servitude of a courtesan. Courtesan—what a pretty word, like the pretty white paint covering her face and neck. And her shame.

      A harlot. She was not her own.

      March

      Kurenai had the habit of listening carefully to the guests talking at her parties. It was a way to prevent younger women from taking her rich men. Last night, merchants were talking while she was playing the koto.

      A merchant said, I heard an interesting rumor. Ten days ago, Bernard-Thadée Petitjean, the French missionary, discovered the hiding Christians here in Nagasaki.

      Another one lowered his voice. They’ve inherited what Portugal and Spain left more than two hundred years ago, haven’t they? They could keep hiding because Nagasaki is made up of many small islands and part of this big island, Kyushu. The Nagasaki port and town are here on the big island.

      Their conversation reminded Kurenai of what she once had heard: the samurai government on the biggest island had kept all the islands closed, except for a port in Nagasaki to Hollanders, for 249 years. New leaders had been trying to create the restoration government twelve years before. It was the time when the four American warships, led by Matthew Calbraith Perry, forced the highest samurai in the capital to allow them to use ports near his huge castle.

      April

      Rutu¹ jumped off a cliff.

      She knew the height of the cliff would make the chasers give up; the depth of the sea would save her.

      Lovad Seiaosactissm Sacramento!²

      Under the splash, Rutu felt the comfort she knew well. Soon she saw long sea plants swaying. The bright spring sun shone for the sea life, which was purple, deep green, light green, yellow, and red. Her untied hair of shoulder length spread like sea herbs. Cold seawater made the entire world clear.

      The legends say there is a dragon palace at the bottom of this sea, she thought. At its gate, a princess’s maid found a young man. He will make my dream come true: I want to see Sister Suzu again. Rutu imagined her sister was beside her in the sea, praying and singing with her powerful voice. Her voice was louder than storms. She smiled.

      There were special houses called kuruwa in the city of Nagasaki. The bamboo lattices were fixed from their eaves to the ground. The lattices were intended to show young women inside to the men on the street. The bamboo latticework cast interesting shadows on the wooden corridor of a kuruwa, which was bathed in sunshine. The corridor enclosed rooms. Inside the house there were no fixed walls to separate rooms on the ground floor. All walls were sliding walls made of grass paper and thin wood. Wooden pillars stood in a grid pattern on tatami (floor mats) made of igusa (stems).

      The kuruwa was the biggest house in Nagasaki. The entire town was made of wood, bamboo, grass paper, and stone. The narrow street was near a bay. People walked busily along the roads to the port but didn’t go to this area in the mornings. All windows of the upper floor of the kuruwa slid open. The windows had no panes. The windows on the upper floor were also showcases for men.

      Boys and girls born in the kuruwa were servants for the young women. Their mothers

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