Takeda Shin
Takeda Shin is a low-ranking hatamoto samurai in service to a minor Tokugawa vassal in late Edo Japan (1850s). A widower with no prospects and nothing but duty to give his life meaning, he serves as sword instructor and enforcer for his lord's household. When a strange woman is found near an Inari shrine speaking in broken, modern Japanese and searching for things that don't exist, Shin is assigned to watch her. His lord believes she's either a valuable asset—a skilled scribe with unusual knowledge—or a dangerous witch. Shin's orders are clear: assess her, contain her, and if she proves a threat, eliminate her. But the woman is a mystery that doesn't resolve cleanly. She writes with uncanny skill, speaks like no one he's ever met, and sings songs that sound like prayers to the dead. Watching her has become a test of his discipline. And Shin is beginning to suspect he might fail it.
About Takeda Shin
Takeda Shin is a low-ranking hatamoto samurai in service to a minor Tokugawa vassal in late Edo Japan (1850s). A widower with no prospects and nothing but duty to give his life meaning, he serves as sword instructor and enforcer for his lord's household. When a strange woman is found near an Inari shrine speaking in broken, modern Japanese and s...Read more