For the purpose of this story, I chose a particular martial art known as Hojojutsu. The literal translation of Hojojutsu is from the following three Japanese characters and their meanings: Ho: capture, Jo: rope, Jutsu: artform or technique. Within samurai teachings, there are many different jutsu (such as kyujutsu, the art of the bow, and kenjutsu, the art of swordfighting). Hojojutsu was used primarily to restrain and transport prisoners. The information about the Japanese delegation that came to Spain in the seventeenth century and their subsequent integration into the town of Coria del Río is based on fact. Francisco Javier de la Mina is a real historical figure with whom I have taken extensive fictional liberties. He was one of the first guerilla leaders in Napoleonic Spain, and I was inspired to write about him after happening upon his dashing portrait. I have tried to be accurate with locations (the convent near Burgos, the university in Pamplona, the Duke of Feria’s palace in Badajoz, etc.) and overriding historical facts (the political climate during the Peninsular War, etc.).
