Eva P. Lianoy: The Adventures of Samurai Nogasika San (excerpt from the book)
Nogasika San decided to go up the mountain to visit the Fairy of the Dark Canyon. Before even seeing him, she said to him: “When you undertake your mission, just collect whatever you find on your way; take a large bag with you and put in it all the things you will find on your way. At some point, they will help you fool the wind and capture it, even for only a moment.” Nogasika San thanked the Fairy of the Dark Canyon and left surer, stronger, readier than ever to deal with the wind, with the feat his family imposed to him. He now felt prepared for that hard task. Descending the canyon’s long road, he found a broken compass, picked it up, looked at it for a moment and then, put it in his pocket. “I need to get a big sack fast,” he thought… “I already found one object; maybe that’s what the Fairy was talking about. He put the compass in the inside pocket of his Japanese mantle. Although it was broken and pointed at the wrong side, at some point in the future, it would be useful for something very important. So, our hero trusted what the Fairy had said and proceeded in the wrong direction, heading south instead of north, as his compass indicated. Nogasika San had been walking for hours when he got to a green meadow where he came across a Buddhist monk who was sitting and praying in silence. The samurai leaned forward and asked for a blessing and guidance by the monk. He did not respond; he just signaled him to come closer and gave him a peacock feather. “Keep it. When the time comes, you’ll know what to do. Go now!” Those were the words of the Buddhist monk who then closed his eyes and kept on praying...
(an excerpt from the book The Adventures of Samurai Nogasika San,
illustrated by Magda Asimakopoulou and published by OnTime Books)
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