The Curse of Oda Nobunaga One Shot +18
The warm, humid breeze that was beginning to bring with it the proximity of summer in the Japanese archipelago invaded the days of the Omi province. On the shore of Biwa, next to Lake Sainoko, the wind swayed the leaves of the trees inside the Azuchi Castle fortress.
In the darkness of the night, the navy blue haori that accompanied his yukata of the same color as it, fluttered displaying, in white embroidery, the characteristic emblem of the prominent Oda Clan. The man’s slender figure proudly contemplated the striking colors and majestic details in gold and lacquered wood of the castle where he himself, the Udaijin [1]and Daimyō of Owari, Oda Nobunaga, had ordered the construction of his official residence. As he walked back after a last look at the exterior of that architectural work, the silence was interrupted by the hollow knocking of his wooden geta[2], which resonated until they were lost in the immensity of the place. At some point, the wind changed direction and became icy, strange, enveloping his body and making his skin crawl like a warning of danger looming over him.
Given his position and his purpose of unifying Japan, he had been involved in great battles and won countless enemies from different clans, and his advances and military maneuvers had always kept him in constant danger. So, as a samurai and military leader, death was not a fear in itself, but that feeling of unease had been echoing in his mind for a while, as he entered through the main gate and the clink of his shoes fell behind, leaving him to concentrate completely on that.
Neither the splendid paintings nor the fine details printed on the countless sliding doors that abounded in his castle had been able to divert his attention from that feeling. Even after he had changed and finally lay down on his padded futon, he was able to calm it. Soon, the environment became colder, and the air condensed making it more difficult to breathe in that room. And the denser it was, the more noticeable the appearance of the silhouette of a beautiful woman with long black hair before his eyes. Her body was forming, naked, over his immobilized body, which for some time now could only contemplate the scene that was taking place in front of him. His gaze, sharp and seductive, remained on hers, while her smile revealed evident hints of malice.
Her voice, despite the coldness it conveyed, accompanied her gaze.
“Udaijin” said slowly as her face approached “Daimyō of Owari, the man who wishes to unify these lands and become the sole and supreme lord of them, Oda Nobunaga.”
Her breathing clashed with his.
“Who are you, young lady?” he asked curiously, but without fear. ” If you appear in front me like this, it is not possible that you are human.”
Different possibilities went through his head, from the Yōkai, the yūrei and even the Oni, and all of them could be there with different intentions.
“No” she answered, as if could know what he was thinking “My intentions are clear, honorable sir, and it is up to you to decide what you would do” she told him, but this did not make him lower one`s guard.“And, as popular wisdom says, my name is Mara[3], and what I seek is to offer you what you desire.
“Mara?” he thought for a moment, realizing it immediately. “So, what is it that you can offer me?
Although cautious, Oda entered into her game, because he was extremely curious about what that demonic being, who symbolized temptations and worldly desires with the aim of hindering the path to enlightenment, had for him.
“Oda Nobunaga” the woman smiled. “Your end is approaching, and although death is inevitable, it is possible to postpone it.”
Oda listened attentively to her tempting words, finally waiting for her proposal.
“And that, honorable sir, I can grant you” she assured. “If you accept the deal, I can provide the when, the where and, above all, by whom you will be betrayed. And thus, you would get what you most desire.”
He contemplated her reddish pupils that, despite the fear they could instill, gave to that woman a strange appeal.
“Tell me, Mara. Why do you offer a man like me, who has carried out countless massacres and destroyed countless Buddhist temples in pursuit of his goals, whose accumulation of negative Karma is so great, a deal like this?”
At his unexpected question, Mara’s expression turned stern, and Oda instantly understood what that meant.
He laughed lightly.
“So that’s the reason” he commented. ” As a samurai, you know that, despite the accumulation of negative karma that my actions imply, through Zen meditation practices, I can free myself from suffering, overcome attachment to transcend the ego and reach enlightenment” he explained without undoing his defiant smile until he concluded. “That’s why you’re here, right? Because by falling into your temptations, I would lose the opportunity to reach satori and end the cycle of samsara.”
However, despite knowing that he was aware of her intentions, she did not give up.
“You are a man with power, pride and ambition, with great plans and objetives to fulfill” she flattered him, while caressing his face gently. ” If you die, honorable sir, you will never be able to fulfill them.”
This time, his smile caused the woman to move away with a grimace on her lips, still sitting on his body.
“I’m sorry, Mara” he looked her in the eyes with certainty. “But I don’t need to know when it will be, because I don’t care. Death is part of my path, I don’t fear it in the least,” he assured her with his deep and authoritative voice. “And as for who will betray me, I can get an idea, so I don’t need to know.”
Faced with his insistent refusal to give in to his desire for power, she deviated a little from her objective.
“But you won’t be able to live to achieve it,” she hinted, while grabbed his hand and slid it down her body, trying to make him fall into one of her temptations.
His head shook softly, noticing how he could already move voluntarily.
“You are wrong,” he confirmed. “Even if I die before seeing it, my name will be remembered, and Japan will finally be unified by my own.”
Mara’s expressions became more and more exasperated.
“However,” he called her attention, sat up, “do not be afraid. Because, although your body does not interest me,” he continued before she had the chance to try to say something first. “I am willing to make a deal, just as you proposed.”
That still handsome forty-seven-year-old man beneath her had caught the attention of Mara, who despite all that rejection received from everything could offer him —even life itself — was still willing to make a deal on his own terms.
“Are you aware of what that means?” she asked, but only needed a fleeting glance to know his answer, so continued to listen to him, full of curiosity.
“There is only one thing I can never have in this life,” he informed her. “And that is Akechi Mitsuhide.”
Hearing that name surprised the demon, because the man he was talking about was the same person who would lead him to his death. But she quickly realized, from the smile on his lips, that Oda Nobunaga already knew.
“Are you willing to give up enlightenment and go to Jigoku[4] for the same man you would die for?”
Her face was still unable to understand the reason for such a desire, so it was Oda who spoke first.
“For a long time, I have wanted to have him in my arms” he admited bluntly. “However, our pride, our ambition and the directions our political, leadership and religious strategies took, distanced us more and more over time. We both accepted that what we had begun to feel would never take us anywhere and, consequently, we sacrificed everything in pursuit of our ideals.”
“You knew that one day he would betray you…” she finally understood.
He nodded.
“It was a matter of time before that happened.”
“And what can I offer you, in exchange for your renunciation? Do you wish me to change my form to his? To take me in your arms tonight before you die?”
His eyes shone with a smile of satisfaction at having managed to capture the demon’s attention. Mara knew it, but just like him, she played along with him cautiously. She wanted to know what that brilliant man had in mind.
“I don’t want your body, Mara,” he refused bluntly. “I want him, in this life, even if it’s not during mine. To take him in my arms all night until dawn.”
Lust was reflected in his eyes, contained for years in that body, willing to do anything to have what he longed for.
“Are you willing, for one night of passion, to let that man betray you?”
His answer had been contradictory and confusing.
“Of course not. As much as I want him, betrayal is unforgivable in my eyes, a dishonor, and death is the only way to atone for such a sin.”
This time, Mara turned her gaze back to Oda’s, who was the very image of righteousness.
“We must accept the consequences of our actions, and as a samurai, I am willing to risk our lives for it.”
Mara also nodded, and listened attentively to the brief explanation of the plan he had thought of in a few minutes. He was specific about what he was looking for, the moments in which it should occur, and the conditions under which it should take place. She was surprised by his cunning, the way in which Oda made sure that everything went as he wanted, leaving no loose ends. As if it were a battlefield. But, above all, how he had managed to trick Mara. Not only because of that cunning and strategic ability, but also his arrogance, that immense pride and ambition to the core that had characterized him. For the one he had dared so presumptuously to reject his offer and later the manipulation he had exercised by proposing a deal to Mara himself, under his conditions. All with the firm purpose of achieving each of his objectives, even knowing that this would take him straight to Jigoku.
“I will grant you what you ask of me, Oda Nobunaga” he said as he headed towards the sliding door through which he had entered, and his feet began to disappear. “I must admit that I am moved by the ambition that you drag in your heart to reach such a point.”
“I am a warrior, Mara” he reminded her. “You cannot win battles and unify an entire country only with words. We are men of action, and only with action, sacrificing everything, will I achieve my objectives” he smiled again, this time with a hint of sadness. “Even if it’s while we pay for our sins in Jigoku and, hopefully, meet again in another life.”
On June 21, 1582, southwest of Biwa, Oda Nobunaga was staying at Honnō Temple, where the Honnō-ji accident had occurred. At that temple, Akechi Mitsuhide’s betrayal had taken place, and Oda Nobunaga’s life had come to an end. General Akechi’s army attacked the temple, and Oda ended his own life by committing seppuku[5] before being killed by them. However, despite the pain of betrayal and the agony of having the edge of his wakizashi[6] plunged into his stomach until he was decapitated by his faithful servant, Mori Ranmaru, his smile of satisfaction did not fade from his face, because he knew that, with this, his wishes and his revenge would finally be fulfilled.
On the evening of the twelfth day after his death, Akechi Mitsuhide was resting in one of the inns near the Yamazaki area. Since he had set out for Kyoto, he had known that he would soon find himself in battle with Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s army, who had already received news of his lord’s death from Bingo Province.
He needed to rest, so he had soon bathed and gone to one of the rooms at his disposal. For a while, silence had reigned around him, but soon he could notice footsteps approaching along the adjoining corridors. They were sliding quickly, barefoot, and were dangerously close to his room, so his muscles tensed, and a strange feeling ran through his body from head to toe. Prepared for the worst, he sat up his body and waited patiently for those shōji doors[7], which revealed a slender male figure through the paper, to finally show him his face. However, it was surprise and confusion that this provoked in his, as he looked tremblingly from his bare feet and blue yukata partially covered by his haori, to his face of unwavering firmness.
His gaze, cold and captivating, met his.
“O-Oda-sama” he managed to say with difficulty. “How is it possible that…?”
He took a step, and without turning around, he slid the door closed again.
“Aren’t you glad to see me again, Akechi?” he smiled slily, his deep voice accompanying his smile.
Still unable to understand the situation, he stood up scared.
“Were you alive…?”
A small laugh came out of his lips, because he had never seen him with that expression.
“No, of course not” he confirmed. “That day you knew that I would choose to die rather than run away like a coward. You made sure that I would, right? That’s why you chose an ambush.”
“So, you are a…” he couldn’t say it. “You are not real…”
Oda approached slowly, but Akechi, paralyzed by surprise, couldn’t move a finger.
“No, it’s really me” he assured him, while he held his face and slowly slid his thumb along Akechi’s lower lip. “A physical body was given to me, since my own was not possible, but it is me, Oda Nobunaga.”
“You have come in search of revenge” he managed to say, believing he understood the reason for that visit.
“Of course, since you dared to betray me” he assured in a severe tone, which immediately softened into a low and deep whisper, as he slid his finger again along those soft lips and his eyes filled with desire. “But not tonight.”
This time, his thumb slid slightly downwards, helping him to slightly separate his lips. Nobunaga did not hesitate for a moment, urgently introducing his tongue into his wet mouth, which, despite the initial surprise that caused him to take a step back, corresponded in the same way, allowing him to introduce it again every time he deepened their passionate kiss.
Akechi felt strange, because the sensations that the man provoked in his body were completely real to him. His aroma, his breathing and his rough fingers from the continuous use of the katana that brushed his skin were no one else’s, reason why he was unable to let go of his lips, letting the passion and desire that he could never satisfy during those years take over him.
“For tonight, Akechi” he whispered over them slowly, “I will claim you as mine until dawn” he finally said just before sliding one of his hands over Mitsuhide’s summer yukata, brushing his fingers against the inside of his backside to let him know without a doubt his more than obvious intentions.
Before he could react to his insinuations, the voice of one of his guards interrupted them.
“Akechi-sama!” he announced his presence. “Is everything fine?”
Mitsuhide looked at Oda, as he was unsure of what that intrusion could cause.
“Why are you here?” he wanted to know first.
“N-nothing in particular, sir. Seeing the light from the lit lamps, we were worried that something might happen to you.”
Akechi quickly realized that from his perspective, the man behind the door could only make out Nobunaga’s silhouette through the paper, which covered his entire body, and which had been mistaken for his own.
This made him sigh with relief.
“Akechi” he whispered sweetly in his ear, “we only have this night. Any more.”
At his reminder, he brought his face closer to Oda’s chest, pressing his body against him, unable to make a decision, well he didn’t want to let that opportunity slip away.
“Everything is fine. Get out,” he finally ordered harshly. “And I don’t want anyone around until dawn. Do you understand?”
“B-but Akechi-sama...”
At a reprimand, he nodded at his orders and quickly walked away from the place, while Oda separated from him. But not his provocative gaze.
Slowly, he took off his haori and threw it to the side, then sat on the futon where Akecho had been lying moments ago.
“Akechi, come here,” he pointed daring, touching his crotch, waiting for him to sit on it.
Akechi frowned slightly, embarrassed by his actions.
“Oda-sama, since when are you so…” he said, not knowing how to finish that sentence, before being interrupted by the sudden yank on his arm from Oda forcing him to sit with his back turned over that bulging place.
Oda leaned back slightly, holding on with his left hand, while the other slid under the other’s yukata, and forced with his own legs to open Akechi’s shamelessly.
“Every time our eyes met during the campaign meetings, I burned with desire to hold you like this” he whispered again, and his wet breath brushed his skin. But it was the movement of his hips that pressed his rear simulating a thrust and the path of his fingers caressing dangerously close to his member that made him sigh for a moment, moved by impatience . “As we gazed at each other with indifference, I imagined the warmth of your body trembling against mine…”
His nose brushed the nape of Akechi’s neck, inhaling the soft scent of his skin after the bath, and then he savored it, trailing his tongue down the path to provocatively bite his ear.
Of course, his hand didn’t stay still for a moment, and he pulled out the fundoshi[8] before caressing his bare skin, from base to tip, which made him feel a greater urgency to deepen his contact.
Panting filled the room, trying not to let the pleasure that was taking over his body escape, while Oda masturbated him mercilessly. His hands caressed him so deliciously that his pre-cum began to wet them with each rise and fall. Both knew that, at this rate, Akechi would not take long to cum, because his panting intensified, not being able to avoid letting his head fall on Oda’s shoulders, and his fingers digging into the fabric waiting to reach his long-awaited and close orgasm.
“I want to fuck you, for you to beg me for more,” he gasped in his ear, uttering those obscene words without any shame.
“Ahn...” he couldn’t suppress the moan as he felt that from one second to the next he would came. But he didn’t. Nobunaga didn’t allow it.
A small malicious laugh escaped his mouth.
“Damn it!” he cursed with suspicion and annoyance.
“Not yet, Akechi.” He grabbed the collar of the yukata with a finger and slowly slid it over himself, exposing the other’s shoulders, and forced him to lean forward, hands and knees on the floor.
Shame invaded his face, while Nobunaga impatiently watched the exposure of his butt, still covered by the fabric, but clearly showing the enormous and round shape it drew.
“I’m going to touch, centimeter by centimeter, every little part of your body...” he communicated, sunk in his lust and sliding each of his hands up his hips, slowly lifting the fabric that covered his ass. And he didn’t stop until he had lifted it up to his lower back, showing that very intimate area “…Until you beg me to fuck you with my dick.”
The wetness of his tongue invaded that place, caressing with it, as he had promised, every inch of his skin, giving him an immense pleasure that constantly rivaled his modesty, and that he forced himself to stifle.
“Nnh… Ahn!” he repressed until he began to caress his hard and needy member as well.
That sound and the ones that followed made him inhibited, because he thought that, at his age, in such a shameless position and enjoying the pleasure provided by the restless and soft tongue of that man he had so desired, was totally inappropriate.
After a few minutes, his moans and pants intensified. And his wet and dilated ass contracted asking for more of his caresses. With desperation and after the frustration caused previously by Oda, his body leaned forward even more, impatiently noticing how his penis was about to explode.
“Nnh... Ungh...” he held back as much as he could, while his pre-cum began to drip again, predicting his end.
“Ugh!” he complained in frustration.
Nobunaga had stopped again, preventing him from finally cumming. However, he knew that with the slightest touch, he would manage to cum, so he urgently directed his hand towards his swollen cock.
“With whose permission, Akechi?” he stopped him, rejoicing, although his tone remained calm.
Oda held Akechi’s hands to his back, immobilized, at the same time that he rubbed his hard dick in the same place he had been licking. Separated only by the thin fabric of the yukata that Oda was still wearing.
Despite this, he didn’t touch his memver, making sure that Mitsuhide would calm down and become desperate at the same time, ready to repeat that process as many times as necessary.
Mitsuhide noticed this, but the pride that he dragged around for no reason prevented him from saying those words.
“Come on, you know very well what I want” he accelerated his rubbing even more, almost simulating small thrusts, helping himself with one of his hands to attract the other’s hip. “Give it to me. Let me hear you say it. Tell me, despite everything, you wanted the same thing as me.”
“Hah…” he gasped from the agitation and excitement “If you already know that…”
Oda smiled when he saw how desperate and trembling he was to be penetrated by his cock, but he wouldn’t stop with that torture until he got what he wanted. Then, he decided to rub it directly on his skin, which contracted with each touch.
“I want to hear you say it. And I assure you that we can stay like this all night until you do it” he threatened, with that captivating and firm tone that he possessed.
Mitsuhide cursed inwardly, resisting his provocations.
But time was passing, and it was already limited enough. In addition, he did not know at all how much had passed since they started, and that sowed immense anguish in his chest. However, it was not his feelings that he could not admit, it was putting into words what he felt that he could not pronounce. Oda had always been like that, and those feelings had been born despite that, he recognized it. However, he had given up on them a long time ago, and after his betrayal, he believed he had buried them forever. For that reason, getting them out of his mouth and in such an embarrassing situation, was something terribly difficult for him.
“Alright” he gave up after thinking about it for a few seconds, because that was his only and last chance. “Despite everything, despite having betrayed you, in every encounter I noticed the lust in your eyes and I burned with desire for him not to say goodbye to me. For him to call me to his room and…”
Nobunaga’s gaze intensified, impatient.
“I wanted you to fuck me, and even now, I still want it” he finally begged, even if his cheeks burned.
Nobunaga didn’t wait. He abundantly lubricated his member, letting his saliva fall on it, and inserted it without warning to the base, while Akechi received without difficulty that thick intromission that thrust him deeply and made him shudder with pleasure.
“Don’t forget to moan for me this time before you cum, Mitsuhide.”
That had been the first time that Oda Nobunaga had called him by his name, and also while he was thrusting hard after having kept him in suspense on two occasions, excited and exasperated by the orgasm he could not reach.
“Ngh...Ahn...!” He was unable to repress his shameless moans of pleasure that they had tried so hard to hide.
He no longer cared.
Feeling his hard cock slide inside him, moistened with his saliva, made him enjoy without shame. Each touch excited him and made him desperately squeeze the kakebuton[9] of his bed. And the pleasurable sensation ran through him to his toes, which he twisted uncontrollably.
Before, it had not taken much more to finish while he masturbated him, but after the rhythm of his hot and deep thrusts and the long wait to come, the orgasm was approaching again.
“Ahn...yeah...Nobunaga-sama…” he also called, leaving behind the extreme formality, shortening the distance. “It feels so…”
Oda gasped in pleasure.
“Tell me…” he begged, leaning over his body and pressing Akechi’s hip against the floor with his hand, which made Akechi open his legs a little more.
“…s-so good…Ahn…..Ungh…right there, I’m going to… Ahn!” With those few thrusts he reached his longed-for orgasm, which was even deeper and more pleasurable than he had imagined.
His semen mixed between the fabric, and his gasps echoed throughout the room.
He knew they weren’t finished, because Oda hadn’t cum yet, and he still wanted a little more despite his exhaustion. So, when Oda grabbed his arm to lift him from his position and place him on top of him, he didn’t put up the slightest resistance.
“I…” he tried to say. calming his breathing, at the same time that Oda leaned back on one hand and listened attentively “… Actually, over time, I started to think that you hated me. I decreased my presence, and in recent years the distance between us became even more evident… Hmm!”he felt his big, hard member making its way inside him again, which made him feel an immense and inexplicable satisfaction.
“I never hated you” he told him sincerely, brushing one of his nipple with his tongue, which he later caught between his lips, and he removed the obi that had prevented it yukata from opening completely at all times. “I hated not being able to hold you in my arms.”
His words and gentle touch made him tremble slightly, seeking to express his joy with his lips, which was quickly interrupted by the movement of his hips. His first moans were muffled by them, until soon he could no longer hold them back.
“Come on, ride me,” Oda begged, almost in a command. Despite the fact that he himself had been thrusting into him, now he wanted him to be the one to move.
Before long, he didn’t have much time left either, and Mitsuhide could see it in his unwavering expression, melting on his neck from the pleasure his body gave him. However, that didn’t stop him from doing what he himself had done to him moments before. He lifted his ass to pull his dick out of that place, even if it was a difficult action for him, but to his surprise, it was initially extremely pleasurable.
“Ahn” he couldn’t help but moan at that.
Nobunaga looked at him, aware of what he was up to.
“You can be proud, Mitsuhide,” he tried to say amidst obvious frustration, holding the other’s smug gaze. “Not just anyone dares to defy me like you have so far.”
Akechi smiled in satisfaction and himself thrust back in, his hips moving up and down, searching for that spot that made him shudder until he came with each stroke of his cock inside him.
“I know it... Aah!... I know it...” he moaned, increasing the pace and depth, which made Nobunaga let out a hoarse moan before coming. “Ah, yeah! Don’t pull it out, me too...”
A wave of pleasure coursed through his body again, caught up in the feeling of satisfaction that the orgasm and Nobunaga’s hot cum produced. However, there was not plenty of time before the next one, as he was forcefully pushed to the floor.
“Do you want more?” he asked, surprised and exhausted, as Oda positioned his arms behind Akechi’s knees, pressing him against the ground and inserting his still-erect cock.
Nobunaga smiled maliciously, watching his own semen spill from that hot, slippery place that sucked him hard.
“Until dawn.”
As promised, their bodies didn’t stop until sunrise approached.
Lying on Nobunaga’s chest, Akechi slept peacefully, immensely exhausted by everything Nobunaga had made him do for hours. He didn’t care, as he only had one night, but his body was irremediably feeling the weight of years, and that frantic pace had surpassed his limits.
Meanwhile, Nobunaga watched him, waiting for the little bit he had left before the sun began to enter through the door.
His time was up.
“Are you leaving already?” he assured himself sadly, still half asleep, without taking his eyes off Oda’s toned body, who was already heading for the door.
“Yes” he stated bluntly with a smile before saying goodbye, which sowed a hint of confusion on Akechi Mitsuhide’s face. “See you.”
That day, July 2, 1582, Akechi Mitsuhide woke up again and wondered, before continuing on his way, if everything that had happened had been a dream. However, that had been the least of his worries. After his departure, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had approached Yamazaki and organized his army better and much sooner than Akechi had anticipated. He, who had seized power through a vile betrayal, found himself embroiled in a battle that his disorganized and small army could not cope with, making the final decision to flee the scene. Not far from there, after being wounded in the fight, the blow received by a stone that a peasant was holding behind his back made him fall to the ground.
His eyes shone with a reddish hue, and his soft voice filled his ears.
“Oda-sama has a message for you,” he called him attention before speaking. “See you at the Jigoku.”
Akechi Mitsuhide immediately noticed, and despite his injuries, he began to laugh, because Oda Nobunaga had kept each one of his words.
“Yes, see you at the Jigoku,” he managed to say, while maintaining his smile and his gaze faded from that world.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
After the death of Akechi Mitsuhide, Japan was finally unified by General Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, giving rise to the Tokugawa Shogunate. Oda was recognized and remembered in history as one of the most famous and powerful daimyō who played a fundamental role in the consolidation of power and the unification of the country.
In popular culture, it was believed that the death of Akechi Mitsuhide could be the work of a curse related to Oda Nobunaga himself, since he died shortly after betraying his lord, and that the latter, defeated and humiliated by having to flee, died in dishonor, murdered by some member of the army or some peasant, as it is not known for certain.
If you liked it, don’t forget to comment, I would like to know what you think of my stories :D And sorry for my grammar and punctuation, inglish is not my language.
[1] Minister of the Interior
[2]Traditional Japanese footwear, similar to sandals, made of wood and have support strips called “teeth” or “hashira” on the bottom that raise them off the ground
[3]Mara is the name given to the symbolic figure in Buddhism who tries to create distractions, temptations and obstacles on the path to enlightenment or the truth to reach nirvana. This is a demonic deity who tries to tempt humans with worldly desires and pleasures to stray from that path, as it tried to do with Buddha. It can take the form of either a man or a woman, depending on its intentions.
[4]In Jigoku (地獄) is the Japanese term for “hell” in the context of Japanese Buddhism. In Japanese Buddhism, Jigoku is not actually a place of eternal punishment, but rather a manifestation of suffering and the consequences of bad actions in life. It is related to the idea of karma and the endless cycle of rebirth and death that comes with not achieving enlightenment of the soul to free oneself from this cycle of continuous suffering.
[5]Ritual suicide of the samurai class also known as Harakiri in which they cut their abdomen with a sword or a dagger
[6]It is a traditional Japanese sword shorter than the katana of the set carried by the samurai; Katana (long sword), Wakizaki (short sword)
[7]Sliding wooden doors with paper panels.
[8]A fabric worn as underwear in the Sengoku period (1467-1568), similar to that worn by sumo wrestlers
[9]The futon cover, with a duvet.
