So, this happened.

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 Why in Dende's name do I have a blog? As though I don't have enough crap to write? Well, I think that the way I come up with stories is pretty interesting. Of course, I could add an Author's Note to the end of my stories...but frankly 99% of my readers don't care what music I listened to, or what scene specifically made me think this plot was good. So, this thing is probably mostly just to give me a place to pretend to talk about the creative process. Maybe, unlikely but possible, it's to write something interesting about how I write. If that sounds interesting, enjoy!

Kitsune Ch 10-12: Kanro

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 (If you haven't yet, make sure to read the intro.)

Chapter 11

I'm back! I hope for real this time. I finally have some notes to give for this chapter.

A quick note about chapter titles: Originally this story was going to be seven chapters total, taking place roughly in the seven sekki between July 23 and November 6. But...it kind of got away from me, as you can probably see. So sadly, the chapter titles no longer correspond with the season in the story and are probably going to be continuing well into winter. 😅

Bulma’s note:  A suzuri is a small stone well with a sloped side (see picture), and is an important tool for traditional Japanese writing. Liquid ink as we know it was not common in Japan. Instead, sumi ink was made from soot and animal glue compressed into hard sticks. To write, a small amount water was poured into the suzuri, and the stick of ink was ground against the stone. This would dissolve the ink into the water to make a writing liquid. A brush, usually made of wood or bamboo and with a bristle of hair, would be dipped into the ink for writing. This method is still used for artistic calligraphy today. The brush is not held at an angle like a pencil; instead it is held vertically, perpendicular to the paper.
You can see the suzuri in the background

While this system would likely be used at home, I found while researching this that there was another method that might have been used instead!

The peace of Edo Japan caused an explosion in letter-writing for a few reasons. First was increased mobility meant people were more likely to travel or move long distances, thus increasing the need for writing to relatives and loved ones. Another factor was the building of roads and establishment of a robust postal service. As people moved, a more efficient method of writing became needed. Thus, while sumi ink was (and is) still common, a portable writing set that included a sealed pot of liquid ink, called a yatate, became more used.

Yatate were used as early as the 12th century, a good 500 years before Edo, but spread into common usage during this "Letter-Writing Period". They could be hung from an obi while traveling and had space for a pot of ink-soaked cotton and a brush. There were a wide variety of designs, from simple bamboo tubes to ornate gold, or even shaped like a dragon or gun. Some even had daggers so you could use them to defend yourself!


The horse race: Japanese horse riding was reserved for the samurai class, but by the Edo period was a well-honed skill. Japanese native horses at the time were smaller than the horses known today, or even in Europe at the time; if you’ve seen Mongolian wild horses they were much more like those. That doesn’t mean they weren’t fast, though! Sadly they are almost gone now due to mandatory gelding in the Meiji era.

Native Kisouma horse

 Saddles were made of multiple parts, and were tied onto the horse with wide cloth strips. If you are interested, here is more information.

Traditional riding tack

I have to admit that I’m not an expert on horseback riding and am not entirely sure whether Vegeta’s move is actually possible, or whether it would have killed Bulma or not.

One other note here: while a beautiful silk kimono being dumped into a rice paddy would be a tragedy, luckily for her ride Bulma was wearing a more casual short robe known as a kosode under a pair of split riding pants known as umanori. These are lighter and less restrictive, and can be made of cotton rather than silk so a dunk in some water wouldn't be too much of an issue and we can forgive Vegeta a little.

Wound care: Medicine at the time was far more advanced in Japan and China than in Europe. Traditional Japanese medicine, or kanpo, is still widely used today and involves a wide variety of herbs both individually and in carefully-made compounds. The cures I describe were used specifically for healing wounds and preventing infection. The kuzu root would be particularly good at stopping bleeding, as it is quite starchy and would form a nice thick paste. Rokumigan is a compounded formula that has been shown to increase the healing process. (If I got anything wrong, please forgive me! This is the resource I used but I am not an expert.)

Autumn symbols in this chapter: the river of clouds in the morning, the kochia (common name) bushes in the courtyard, bush clover and kuzu found in the medicine. The azuki beans are also an autumn symbol, but as a food - the sweet beans are a traditional filling for the moon cakes eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, they are also used in kanpo, as they are here.