SAMURAI MYSTERIES Follow ronin warrior, Matsuyama Kaze, as he relentlessly pursues his quest in rural Japan in the 17th century. Author Dale Furutani, a third generation Japanese-American , brings us back to a time when rogue samurai and brigands alike wander the countryside. The trilogy begins with the book, "Death At The Crossroads". Kaze comes across a poor peasant, Jiro, who is accused of murder. Kaze knows Jiro is innocent and must race against time to find the real killers. The second episode in the series is "Jade Palace Vendetta". While traveling the Tokaido Road, Kaze sees a gang of thugs attacking a helpless merchant and comes to his defense. He agrees to become the merchant's bodyguard for the remainder of the trip, but all is not as it seems. The third and final installment of this trilogy is, "Kill The Shogun". Kaze finds himself embroiled in an assassination attempt on Shogun Tokugawa. He is now the closest he's ever been to fulfilling his quest. Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm). "The purpose of practice, his Sensei would tell him, was to transcend technique, and take his motions with the sword into the realm of expression and art. By repeating the motions over and over again, you could reach a point where the mind and muscles no longer had to coordinate consciously. When that point was reached, the sword movement became a part of your body's existence like breathing, or the beating of your heart. A natural movement of your body that required no thought to execute." - Jade Palace Vendetta             Sitemap Sounds of Taiko (Best viewed at 800x600)