Tales of the Otori

In his black-walled fortress at Inuyama, the warlord Iida Sadamu surveys his famous nightingale floor. Constructed with exquisite skill, it sings at the tread of each human foot. No assassin can cross it unheard.The youth Takeo has been brought up in a remote mountain village among the Hidden, a reclusive and spiritual people who have taught him only the ways of peace. But unbeknownst to him, his father was a celebrated assassin and a member of the...

"Otori Takeo and Shirakawa Kaede are now married and more resolved than ever to strengthen their domains. Yet their hasty marriage has enraged Arai Daiichi, the warlord who controls most of the Three Countries, and has insulted the nobleman Lord Fujiwara, who considered Kaede betrothed to him. Brilliance of the Moon follows Takeo and Kaede as they attempt to consolidate their powers and fulfill the holy woman's prophecy: "Your lands will stretch from...