Young Samurai 06 - The Ring of Fire (36 page)

Japanese names
usually consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name, unlike in the Western world where the given name comes before the surname. In feudal Japan, names reflected a person’s social status and spiritual beliefs. Also, when addressing someone,
san
is added to that person’s surname (or given names in less formal situations) as a sign of courtesy, in the same way that we use Mr or Mrs in English, and for higher-status people
sama
is used. In Japan,
sensei
is usually added after a person’s name if they are a teacher, although in the Young Samurai books a traditional English order has been retained. Boys and girls are usually addressed using
kun
and
chan
, respectively.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This story is written as a homage to the film
Seven Samurai
by Akira Kurosawa, one of the greatest directors of Japanese samurai movies. If you have the opportunity, I recommend that you watch all his films.
The Hidden Fortress
inspired George Lucas’s
Star Wars
.
Yojimbo
(
The Bodyguard
) was the basis for Clint Eastwood’s classic western
A Fistful of Dollars
.
Seven Samurai
was remade as a western too –
The Magnificent Seven
. Likewise, Kurosawa’s films have greatly influenced my passion for all things samurai and have been a source of inspiration for my
Young Samurai
novels. For that I sincerely thank him.
Arigatō gozaimashita
.

With the sixth title in this series, my list of people to thank grows ever longer. My gratitude goes out to all my fans, teachers and librarians. Without your support, these books could never happen.

I wish to express my continued appreciation of Shannon Park, my editor, and all at Puffin for their hard work and endless enthusiasm for the Young Samurai series – Wendy Tse, Helen Gray, Vanessa Godden, Julie Teece, Jayde Lynch, Sara Flavell and Paul Young (for his fantastic covers!).

I also must thank Charlie Viney, a great agent and an even greater friend, as well as Franca Bernatavicius and Nicki Kennedy, my overseas agents at ILA, for their passion and enthusiasm.

And, most importantly, my family – thank you for all your support and encouragement, especially my mum and dad, my godparents Ann and Andrew Smeeton, Sue and Simon Mole, Steve and Sam, my wife Sarah and my son, Zach, to whom this book is dedicated.

If I have one lesson for you in life, my son, it is ‘
No man is a failure who has friends
’
.

And so I want to thank my friends for their support of me …

Karen and Rob Rose, Geoff and Lucy Roy, Matt Bould, Charlie Wallace, Hayley Drewery, Russell and Jackie Holdaway, Andy and Sarah Hitt (and Martha and Ellen!), Nick and Zelia O’Donnell, Emma and Simon Gibbins, the ever-growing Dyson family, Lisa and Simon Martin, Rob and Robbie Cooper, Barbara and Scott Horsfield, Heather and Steve Miller, Nick and Jane Coward, Mike and Sonia Evans, Rob and Michelle Dunkerley, Steve Backshall, Oli Bishop, Stephan Bedelian, Anthony Varney, Danny and Kate Fitzpatrick … to name only a few.

Oh, and Gazebo Man for protecting my ‘swords’!

Any fans can keep in touch with me and the progress of the Young Samurai series on my Facebook page, or via the website at
www.youngsamurai.com

Arigatō gozaimasu!

Disclaimer:
Young Samurai: The Ring of Fire
is a work of fiction, and while based on real historical figures, events and locations, the book does not profess to be accurate in this regard.
Young Samurai: The Ring of Fire
is more an echo of the times than a re-enactment of history.

Warning: Do not attempt any of the techniques described within this book without the supervision of a qualified martial arts instructor. These can be highly dangerous moves and result in fatal injuries. The author and publisher take no responsibility for any injuries resulting from attempting these techniques.

PUFFIN BOOKS

Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

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First published 2011

Text copyright © Chris Bradford, 2011
Cover illustration copyright © Paul Young, 2011
Map copyright © Robert Nelmes, 2008
All rights reserved

The moral right of the author and illustrators has been asserted

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-141-96163-7