Susan Spann, The Blade of the Samurai

Susan Spann, The Blade of the Samurai
© 2014 Susan Spann
A Thomas Donne Book/Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press
ISBN978-1-250-02705-4

This is the second book in a series (so far at 6 books and counting: http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/S_Authors/Spann_Susan.html) about Matsui Hiro (a shinobi—an assassin) who has been sent by his clan to serve as the bodyguard for Father Mateo, a Portuguese priest attempting to convert the Japanese to Christianity.  Set in the 16^th century, the historical background seems to me (a dilettante in this time period and country) seems extraordinarily well done.  At that time, the Japanese only allowed external trade with the Portuguese, who had a small number of merchants in the country, confined generally to specific parts of the major cities.  The Japanese had also permitted a number of Catholic priests to accompany the merchants and, while not actively encouraging those priests, also did not prohibit their activities.  Most of the priests proselytized the upper classes; Mateo worked among the lower classes.  (A reasonable overview of the period is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period)  In this period, the Emperor was largely a figurehead, with control of the government in the hands of the Shogun.

The books are set largely in Kyoto, at that time the residence of the Emperor and the most important city in Japan.  The period is known as the Sengoku (“Age of Warring States”), and was a period of considerable political instability and internal warfare.  This book is set in the 1650s (European dating), if I recall correctly.

The book opens with Hiro (his personal name; Matsui is a family name, and not, actually, his real name) being disturbed by a creaking floorboard, causing him to go into (if you will) ninja mode.  The intruder turns out to be a relative, Kāzu, who works as a scribe in a government office.  His superior, Ashikaga Saburo, has been murdered, with Kāzu’s dagger, and Kāzu is certain he will be accused.  He swears he is innocent.  (The dead man is a member of the Shogun’s family.)

And then there comes a hammering on the door—a messenger from the government compound has come to bring Father Mateo to investigate the murder of Saburo (because of his success in solving a prior baffling murder—with, of course, Hiro’s assistance.  Hiro does not reveal Kāzu’s presence, and arranges for him to slip away while Mateo, accompanied by Hiro, goes to begin an investigation of Saburo’s murder.  A complicating factor is that it appears that an army, raised by Lord Oda, is marching on Kyoto, apparently with the aim of replacing the Ashikaga Shogunate with an Oda Shogunate.  So there is also a concern that Saburo’s murder is in fact linked to the country’s political instability.

Spann does an excellent job of keeping the dynastic issues clear and this helps make the investigation of the murder stand out.  While dynastic issues seem to be at the forefront, the murder could easily have been a personal matter—Saburo has private as well as political enemies.  As Mateo and Hiro investigate, and as the political crisis looms, two more deaths complicate matters, and Hiro meets Saburo’s very young son (who turns out to be an important part of the story).

This is, in my opinion, an extraordinarily rich book.  The characters (especially, but not only the continuing characters of Mateo’s household) are well defined and developed people; I never got any sense that they were these just to move the story along.  Hiro, who is really the main character, and Mateo are engaging, complex characters, whose friendship enriches the story.  For me, this book is a must-read, as is (so far) the entire series.