Enma-ō—one of the nine Yama Kings, and chief judge of all the hells. Enma-ō is the final arbiter of where a soul will reside after death, and how soon it will be allowed to rejoin the wheel of life.
Izanagi (Lord)—also called Izanagi-no-Mikoto, literally “He who Invites”, the Maker God of Shima. He is a benevolent deity who, with his wife Izanami, is responsible for creating the Shima Isles, their pantheon of Gods and all the life therein. After the death of his wife in childbirth, Izanagi travelled to Yomi to retrieve her soul, but failed to return her to the land of the living.
Izanami (Lady)—also called the Dark Mother, and the Endsinger, wife to Izanagi, the Maker God. Izanami died giving birth to the Shima Isles, and was consigned to dwell in the Yomi underworld. Izanagi sought to reclaim his wife, but she was corrupted by Yomi’s dark power, becoming a malevolent force and hater of the living. She is mother to the thousand and one oni, a legion of demons who exist to plague the people of Shima.
Hachiman—the God of War. Originally a scholarly deity, thought of more as a tutor in the ways of war, Hachiman has become re-personified in recent decades to reflect the more violent warlike ways of the Shima government. He is now seen as the embodiment of war, often depicted with a weapon in one hand and a white dove in the other, signifying desire for peace, but readiness to act. He is patron of the Tiger zaibatsu.
The hells—a collective term for the nine planes of existence where a soul can be sent after death. Many of the hells are places where souls are sent temporarily to suffer for transgressions in life, before moving back to the cycle of rebirth. Before Lord Izanagi commanded the Yama Kings to take stewardship over the souls of the damned in order to help usher them towards enlightenment, Shima had but a single hell—the dark, rotting pit of Yomi.
The hungry dead—the restless residents of the underworld. Spirits of wicked people consigned to hunger and thirst in Yomi’s dark for all eternity.
Raijin—God of Thunder and Lightning, son of Susano-ō. Raijin is seen as a cruel God, fond of chaos and random destruction. He creates thunder by pounding his drums across the sky. He is the creator of arashitora, the thunder tigers.
Susano-ō—the God of Storms. Son of Izanagi, he was born along with Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun and Tsukiyomi, God of the Moon, when his father returned from Yomi and washed to purify himself of Yomi’s taint. Susano-ō is generally seen as a benevolent God, but he constantly torments his sister, Amaterasu, Lady of the Sun, causing her to hide her face. He is father to the Thunder God, Raijin, the deity who created arashitora—the thunder tigers. He is patron of the Ryu zaibatsu.
Tsukiyomi—the God of the Moon. Son of Izanagi. He was born along with Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun, and Susano-ō, God of Storms, when his father returned from Yomi and washed to purify himself of Yomi’s taint. Tsukiyomi angered his sister, Amaterasu, when he slaughtered Uke Mochi, the Goddess of Food. Amaterasu has refused to speak to him since, which is why the Sun and Moon never share the same sky. He is a quiet God, fond of stillness and learning. He is the patron of the Kitsune zaibatsu.
Yomi—the deepest level of the hells, where the evil dead are sent to rot and suffer for all eternity. Home of demons, and the Dark Mother, Lady Izanami.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Jay Kristoff would like to offer Big Scary Hugs to the following outstanding human beings:
Amanda, for the throwaway line that planted the seed for the entire book, reading it seventeen thousand times, being generally wonderful and forgiving of my silence, surliness and sarcasm.
Pete Wolverton, Julie Crisp and Anne Brewer, for handing me the hacksaw and blowtorch, and helping make this book something I’m truly proud of.
Brunch Bitch, Sharkgrrl, KK and The KitKat for telling me the parts that sucked and saying OMFG in all the right places. I love youse guys.
Matt Bialer and LT Ribar for shooting straight, changing my diapers and wiping the dribble away from my bubbling lips.
The fantabulous Cassie Galante, Rachel Howard and the PR/Marketing posse at St. Martin’s Press, Bella Pagan, Louise Buckley and all at Tor UK, Charlotte “Don’t call me Reetard” Ree, Hayley Crandell, Praveen Naidoo and crew @ PanMacMillan Aus. You people are awesome, and the energy you put into pimping my sorry ass is nothing short of amazing. Much love.
Scott Westerfeld, Pat Rothfuss, K. W. Jeter, Stephen Hunt, Marissa Meyer and Kevin “Droogie” Hearne for not only reading but pimping my warez.
Lance Hewett, Narita Misaki, Sudayama Aki and Paul Cechner for being my gurus in all things Japanese.
The mighty Kira Ostrovska for laying the smackdown on my Russki. “Imperatritsa dvenatseti stolits!”
Brad Carpenter, the web-mastah of disastah, the ayatollah of rock and rollah.