Dear readers, tonight with us is a Samurai’s daughter from the 19th century Meiji era. She is here to speak about encountering ghosts, mysteries, and a kitsune who offers her help in exchange for confronting a demon.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I live in the most beautiful city in the world: Kyoto. The homes, teahouses, and shops are all made of wood slats or bamboo and shine in the sunlight, and we have smooth stone streets. I love the willows that drape themselves over the creeks and alleys that are lit by red lanterns. However, lately, Emperor Meiji has taken away from the beauty with his western inventions. There are these ugly…electricity wires running across our sky, and train tracks cutting through our city now. I worry for our future.

Did you have any favourite toys as a child? Any cherished memories?

This is a wonderful question! It takes me back to more blissful days, when my mother was alive and my father was around – at least, when he wasn’t saving lives on duty as a samurai. He had a lot of tasks back then, and so many relied on him for help. But when he was home we would play Hanetsuki, usually under the shade of the trees away from the hot summer sun. We each had a paddle – if we had paints, we’d decorate them – and a small ball with feathers stuck in it, that we would toss between us.

With my friends at school, we sometimes ran with kites to see if we could catch the wind. I loved their bright colors. We’d paint them with figures from folklore or kabuki!

My favorite memories were enjoying each of the seasons in the mountain paths with my parents. We’d bring fruit or rice balls on our walks, and watch the sunset or pick flowers or leaves along the way. Sometimes we’d press them in mother’s poetry books – which I need to find…

What do you do now?

Frankly, I hate my job. I couldn’t ever tell my father though, or I know he would be hurt. I should be grateful for it – being an assistant in a teahouse to a prestigious geisha. Many would kill for a job like mine, with that kind of exposure to her high-level clientele and work with such an esteemed teahouse. But it is a nightmare to me. I know it’s temporary, while my father is rebuilding our wealth as a merchant, ever since being a samurai was outlawed. So we need to make money somehow! But I hate serving the men who get drunk and just want to play games or tell silly stories. They reek, and can be so rude to us. Adakichi, the geisha who runs my teahouse, is so effortlessly patient, but behind closed doors, I sometimes wonder if she is possessed by a demon… she can be so cruel, so easily.

Someday I’d love to do something else, but my destiny is likely to marry and support my family clan. I don’t know what that looks like yet. If only something could change around here, or someone could offer me a chance to do something else; I’d love to be able to help others like my father did for so many years as a samurai… I am a samurai daughter, after all.

What can you tell us about your latest adventure?

I was at one of my favorite festivals, dancing with my friends and enjoying the night of music – it was magic, if I may. But after the festival, I had the strangest encounter. The festival is popular for chasing away demons and yokai, and yet – after the festival – I met a fox. AND IT TALKED! But now stranger things are happening. Emperor Meiji is changing Kyoto every day, and my father hasn’t bene in touch at all since leaving me behind. So I am feeling lonelier than usual, and quite impatient. The fox found me at a strange time in my life, and now I can’t stop seeing…other yokai.

What did you first think when you met the fox? (Please edit)

I was terribly frightened. I ran away at first, I promise. But then I saw it was hurt, and needed food. And wouldn’t you help any creature in trouble? Now, we have bonded and become friends. It offers me insights and information I need, especially with my woe and grief caused by my teahouse and friends. It also has promised to be on the lookout for my father, who I wish would come home soon. So much is happening, and I’m very afraid of all of the change, and the demons – there are so many demons out there.

Tell us a little about your friends.

I met Kiku, Ai, and Tane all in school. School was a relatively new concept for all of us, as those in clans all had personal tutors. But we were fortunate to find each other, though we often have disagreements. We each come form very different families; Tane is a merchant family, Ai will one day inherit the most famous horse temple in Kyoto, and Kiku is daughter to a musician family. We are really close – or, I think we are. They’ve been strange recently, knowing full well my father has been gone for a while. They’re starting to talk marriage, and I’m sitting here without any goals like they have. I’ve been feeling a little left out recently, but I didn’t realize it until you asked me…

Any romantic involvement?

Oh! This…I’m not typically comfortable with this idea. I know eventually I’ll need to marry, especially since my father will need to use my marriage as an alliance that can re-establish our clan. Emperor Meiji’s new policies have left our family clan without the standing we once had…my father was very proud to be part of this newly-formed society, of course, but it has been difficult to assimilate. But…no. I love my friends and my grandmother. Kiku is just lovely. She is so vibrant, and always so fun to be around. I really love her demeanor. I’d love to be with someone like her, who could help me be more confident.

Whom (or what) do you really hate?

I can’t stand Fujiwara! He’s the primary client we serve at the teahouse, as one of Adakichi’s main sources of incomes. We have to respect him and welcome him anytime he pays a visit and demands entertainment. But he believes the oddest stories, and often scares us with news and threats. He’s so awful! I dread when he walks through the door, bringing with him salacious rumors that are meant to keep us awake at night, and ghost stories that scare us into submission.

What’s your favourite drink, colour, and relaxing pastime?

There is little better than a nice cup of green tea. It’s perfect for any season, cleanses you inside and out, and offers the comfort I yearn for in these uncertain times. My stomach is easily unsettled, and tea is often the cure I need to resort to. I’m partial to reading poetry – I rarely write, as my mother was the poet in the family – as a way to imagine places of calm and peace.

What does the future hold for you?

There is a lot more to my journey. I hardly remember all that happened during that one festival; it felt so frantic…there were so many ghosts…it’s really a blur. But I know something big happened, and I’m on the brink of something exciting…I think there’s a lot in store for me. But I’m also really scared about what it all means. I might need your help to see where I go and what I do next…

Can you share a secret with us, which you’ve never told anyone else?

Well…I’ve been very nervous to admit this, because admitting something as profound as this could…leave me estranged. It would be a huge shame – nobody speaks of these things. But, okay…I think I trust you. But please, keep it between us? I’m not sure what it means quite yet, and I haven’t even told my best friend. The implications are severe…and I myself am partially certain it may all be a ruse of some kind; maybe an evil kind.

Ghosts… ghosts visit me. Nobody else can see them. They’re trying to tell me something – and I think I have to help them. But I don’t know what they want.

Do you believe me?

Natalie Jacobsen is an award-winning journalist, writer, and marketer; she grew up in Oregon, and now lives in Washington, DC, after living in Japan and Virginia for years. At the University of Oregon she studied Japanese media and history, which inspired her to write her debut novel, Ghost Train, which wouldn’t be finished for another twelve years. Each week, she hosts a mini episode series called Folklore Friday, in which she shares about Japanese folklore and its lessons we can learn from them, even today.

You can find Maru on the pages of Ghost Train.

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