Spirit's Chosen (2013) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters/People edit see section history

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• Himiko: main character; Princess; daughter of the Matsu clan's chieftain; friend of Kaya (stumbled upon Kaya's clan years ago--Kaya's clan took Himiko in for a time); has always had a bad leg--was often shunned by her peers/villagers as a child; returns to her village to find some of her family/clan dead and some taken hostage by the Ookami; much of her village is also destroyed by the recent war
• Kaya: Princess; daughter the chieftess and shaman of the Shika; loyal friend to Himiko; considers herself a Lady Badger: tough, stubborn, and ready for a fight; hunts for the Matsu clan; returns to her clan
• Himiko's mother: current chieftan's wife
• Sora: of the Shika clan; first of the Shika clan to welcome Himiko
• Ryu: Young chieftain of the Ookami; led the Ookami war against the Matsu clan
• Master Michio: Matsu's shaman; haggard and exhausted but happy to see Himiko return; he is also a teacher of Himiko; is happy to share his shaman responsibilities with Himiko
• Yukari: one of Himiko's father's junior wives
• Emi: one of Himiko's father's junior wives
• Takehiko: one of Himiko's family's little ones
• Sanjirou: one of Himiko's family's little ones
• Noburo: one of Himiko's family's little ones (they have 3 little ones); Himiko's (and the family's) favorite
• Masa: one of Himiko's older brothers; blacksmith
• Shoichi: one of Himiko's older brothers
• Aki: one of Himiko's older brothers; secretly married Hoshi (of the Shika Clan)
• Hoshi: Aki's wife; Kaya's sister; she died recently--Himiko has to tell Aki this sad news
• Lady Yama: Matsu's former shaman; before she died, she taught Himiko her skills
• Fusa: Masa's wife
• Lord Hideki: village nobleman; one of Himiko's father's trusted advisors
• Toyo: married Shoichi
• Lady Ikumi: Kaya's mother
• Suzu: ostracized Himiko when they were children
• Yari: Fusa's brother; he and Kaya like each other
• Lord Tsuru: chieftain and shaman of the willow people; tattooed face; thick white criss-cross scar on his left cheek; wiry man
• Lady Iyoko: Himiko's cover story for her journey; chieftess and shaman of the badger clan; powerful voice that summons the spirits/avenging ghosts of the dead
• Lady Karasu: Kaya's cover story for their journey; sister to Lady Iyoko
• Gori: of the Inoshishi clan; broad-chested; brawny; big and imposing; wants to offer his help--knows the mountain paths well
• Reikon: Himiko's spirit prince; she sees him in her dreams; she feels he is her true love (and hopes she can find him in the flesh as well as her dreams)
• Nazuna: pregnant girl of the Inoshishi clan; bids the girls to take a bag of rice to the fox shrine on the other side of the mountain (she is actually sending the rice to her grandmother-Lady Ayame-who lives in the destroyed village near that shrine (another village plundered by the wolf clan)
• Lady Ayame "Grandmother": proud woman of the hawk clan; the Ookami destroyed her village (1st one they destroyed); she has remained there with her 2 young grandchildren--even when Nazuna begs her to come to the Inoshishi clan with her; Himiko meets her along her journey; Himiko worries Ayame and her grandchildren will starve/die; Himiko blesses the dead/buried...so now Ayame can leave her village--join her granddaughter/Nazuna--over the mountain
• Isamu: Lady Ayame's grandson; lookout for her/village; Yuri's brother
• Yuri: Isamu's sister; Lady Ayame's granddaughter
• Oni: he is in the mountain as others have indicated; carrying a club; has huge hairy hands and stinking breath
• Hiroshi: Ookami guard/soldier
• Chizu: Ryu's wife; kind; verbally abused by her husband--especially since she has not borne him a child; also verbally abused by Ryu's mother--especially when she can't get pregnant; kind to Himiko--helps her with the household chores when she can (when husband is not home and away from her mother-in-laws eyes); loves Noburo and treats him as a son; has a son (with the help of Lady Himiko and the midwife)
• Lady Sato: Ryu's mother; rules her son's/Ryu's home (and, often, him); verbally abuses her daughter-in-law; treats her daughter-in-law nicer once she is pregnant; is fairly kind to Himiko--after Himiko foretells of Ryu's new child; tells Himiko that she--unlike her son--upholds tradition (which includes treating shaman with respect); loves Noburo and treats him as a grandson; allows Himiko to go often to the local shaman in exchange for the town shaman's servants each time Himiko goes; she believes the town shaman is inept; tells Ryu that Himiko and Daimu are in love
• Ringi: Ookami shaman ("intern" ~ the master shaman is out of town at the moment); kind/respectful to Himiko; safely keeps the shaman tools taken by Ryu (at the time of her capture); encourages her teaching him what he needs to become a "complete" shaman; abruptly ends their teaching sessions (after he masters the lessons she has taught him ~ after the spirits speak through him and he tells Himiko he has feelings for her--her reply indicates she does not feel that way about him); fears Ryu and Lady Sato; feels betrayed by both when Himiko and Daimu marry
• Master Daimu: returns to Ookami; meets Himiko on his journey home; is kind/respectful to her; sticks up for her to Ryu and his mother (they seem to fear him); earns Himiko's trust after allowing her to tend to his medicines (she knows he trusts her so she can do the same); allows Himiko time with her family (slaves in the Ookami village); loves Himiko; marries Himiko; saves Ryu's family during the earthquake: saves Himiko's brother during the earthquake
• Ashi: servant in Daimu's shrine; cares for Himiko (as Daimu requests)
• Arashi: Chizu and Ryu's newborn son named for Lady Sato's father--a great and strong warrior
• Lady Ikumi: chieftess and shaman of the Shika; Kaya's mother; accepted Himiko into her clan as a lost child;came with Kaya to the Ookami village to help free Himiko and her people; negotiated with the clans along the way so that they would have an easier time freeing Himiko and her people

Quotes edit see section history

• “We were the Matsu, the pine tree clan, as strong and steadfast as the venerable tree that was our guardian spirit.”

  Himiko

• “I'd never question your courage, but I have to question your silence.”

  Himiko

• “Whatever's waiting for you down there, you won't face it alone.”

  Kaya

• “Happy tidings can be as big a shock as bad ones if it comes out of nowhere.”

  Kaya

• “My strong willed, independent friend was not even able to look me in the eyes steadily. What had I become?”

  Himiko

• “If we do not show mercy now, why should the gods ever grant mercy to us?”

  Himiko

• “I was Himiko the healer, Himiko the shaman, Himiko the warrior who fought without spear or bow, yet won. I would win this battle; for my mother's sake, I had to.”

  Himiko

• “Either I provide for myself or I go hungry, but I will not rely on what I carry and I do not depend on anyone but me.”

  Himiko

• “My lord, we are strangers here...I don't blame you for mistrusting us. My father was a chieftain and his first duty was the protection of the clan. It made him more careful than other men, suspicious of anything or anyone that might harm us. So you see, I understand you.”

  Himiko

• “My path here led me through many clans conquered by the Ookami, but the Inoshishi were the first. You have suffered their greed longer than any other people.”

  Himiko

• “No, Lady Iyoko...we were the second.”

  young man of the Inoshishi clan

• “I did not pursue you and your sister because I thought you were helpless females. I admire your courage for having undertaken this challenging journey. I don't think I could have done something so brave. All I want is to share one small part of your adventure by getting you through the mountain pass and beyond the oni's territory. Will you allow it?”

  Gori

• “If you keep talking about him, he's always going to be with you, like a sickness that can't be cured. You'll never be able to forget how powerless he made you feel...Whether he lives or dies back there, kill the memory of him once and for all.”

  Himiko

• “Mori: Forest. He died where he had lived, and where his spirit had always belonged.”

  Himiko

• “Meek little Chizu didn't attempt to stop me. It would not have mattered had she tried. I was going back and no one would stand in my way.”

  Himiko

• “I left because I was deeply troubled by the path our people were taking, a path that led from conquest to conquest, destruction to destruction.”

  Master Daimu

• “I have eaten strange food and drunk strange water for too long, but at least my journey has taught me lessons of value gathered grom those who serve the gods in other clans. I am happy to share these new ways with our people.”

  Master Daimu

• “We do not need any new ways.”

  Ryu

• “If that were so, we would still live as we did in the time before we knew the gods at all...I have journeyed far and I have seen clans even more prosperous than ours. Surely you cannot deny they are doing something to earn so much favor from the spirits.”

  Master Daimu

• “We did not trust you as a Matsu girl, but as a shaman. We have been watching you, Lady Himiko...see how Master Daimu respects you. That's good enough for us.”

  Ookami citizen

• “I can't break the walls of your cage, but if I can widen the spaces between the bars--”

  Master Daimu

• “But not even the greatest shaman in the world can account for why and how the gods choose to reveal their will to mortals.”

  Himiko

• “You know more spells than you ever bothered to teach me: how to change lies into love; how to snare a heart of snow.”

  Master Rinji

• “The people should be guided by those who can lead them best, those who terrify them most.”

  Himiko

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Grandfather Pine: Matsu's sacred tree; most of it was pulled down in the war; Master Michio blames himself
• Matsu clan's village: Himiko's village; recently attacked by/destroyed by the Ookami clan; grandfather pine was in this village
• Willow clan's village
• journey to the Ookami clan: takes approximately 11 days (according to Lord Hideki--he is able to set Himiko on the correct path/journey to this clan)
• Hot Springs: Kaya and Himiko luxuriate in these waters
• Inoshishi village
• Taka village
• Ookami village: ruled by Ryu's iron hand; soldiers here have destroyed many villages over the years; have taken multiple hostages
• Nyu's home: Himiko is taken here (after Kaya's escape)--in order to be a slave to Nyu and his family; his mother and wife live here; Noburo (Himiko's favorite brother)
• shaman's shrine and quarters: Himiko trains the interim shaman here; the interim shaman keeps Himiko's mirror and bell here (when Nyu confiscates these items)

Organizations edit see section history

• Matsu clan: pine tree clan; Himiko's clan; recently fell at the hand's of the Ookami clan
• Ookami clan: wolf clan; Ryu is chieftain of this clan; this clan recently destroyed the Matsu clan/village; Himiko returns to her clan to find homes destroyed, citizens killed/taken hostage, and emotions charged
• Shika clan: Kaya's clan; they took in Himiko when she was estranged from her own family/clan
• Inoshishi clan: the boar people; this is the last stop before getting to the Ookami village; the wolf clan is responsible for taking much from this village too--this is the second clan to fall to the Ookami
• Taka clan: clan of the hawks; first village taken/destroyed by the Ookami clan

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• shaman: healer; in tune with the spirit world
• oni: Matsu's synonym for ogre; twice the size of a full-grown man with five times the strength; deep blue or bloodred skin; horns on their heads; tusks; claws and talons; and a spiked iron club for a weapon
• mamushi: venomous serpent

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Self-Discovery: Himiko's powers as a shaman grow: she is able to project the spirit world.
• The Power of Women: Kaya and Himiko are both ultra strong characters. Each is considered to be important in their own rights (chieftan/chieftess daughters); however, each also strives to be even stronger role models for women throughout the novel. Himiko becomes a shaman (openly). Kaya is a strong hunter and tracker. Himiko and Kaya continue to speak their minds--even when, as women--tradition dictates, they should defer to the men.
• Coming of Age: Describe this theme.
• Self Acceptance
• Preserving knowledge and tradition: Himiko strives to protect tradition: one example is seen when she ensures burial traditions are followed for her family members who have died and for the Taka clan deceased; as a shaman, tradition and knowledge are extremely important to Himiko
• Sacrificing of self to protect others: In order to protect her mother (save her life), Himiko must sacrifice herself
• Nature (Respect for Nature): all the clans uphold nature and rely on nature for all they have; Himiko is one with nature when she is in tune with the spirit world (i.e. speaking to the snake, speaking for the spirits, etc)
• Good versus Evil
• Respect
• Leadership through Example
• Healing

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Spirit's Princess.

Preceded by Spirit's Princess, and followed by Kestrel’s Princess.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Esther M. Friesner (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Notes for Parents edit see section history

This is an excellent novel for all ages. Beautifully written and full of great themes/messages.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › History & Criticism › Asian › Japanese
• Books › Teens › History & Historical Fiction › Historical Fiction
• Books › Teens › Social Issues › Being a Teen
• Books › Teens › Literature & Fiction › Girl Power

More Books Like This edit see section history