Thirteen years ago, the idea for this story popped into my mind unexpectedly, like a little seed. I had borrowed some movies to watch at home, something I love to do in my spare time. I was just relaxing in the living room, not paying much attention to the previews, when suddenly a scene from an action movie caught my eye. I don’t even remember what movie it was, but there was a burning bus and I saw a woman, just an extra in the movie, leading a child by the hand as they escaped from the fire.
Suddenly I wanted to write a story — the tale of a thirty-year-old woman protecting a child. Into my mind sprang an image of a woman. She was dressed for traveling and carrying a short spear. A young boy was holding her hand and running to keep up. He seemed well-bred, but strong-willed too. A million thoughts raced through my mind. He didn’t look like her child. Was she taking care of him for his mother? If so, why? One idea led to another, and before I knew it, the story was finished.
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit takes place in a land born from my imagination, and the names of the characters and places are all from languages that belong to this imaginary world. Yet it is also influenced by the culture and lifestyle of my birthplace, Japan, in some ways resembling the country in the Middle Ages.
Like a tree spreading its branches, the story of this land that lies superimposed on another world has grown and expanded so that now, thirteen years after I started, there are ten tales in all. The Moribito series, which begins with this book, has won a wide following among children and their parents in Japan. Recently, it was made into an animated series for television by the director of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. It is also a popular manga series. And now it has crossed the ocean to the United States, Italy, and Taiwan. The seed that popped into my mind thirteen years ago has grown into a very large tree indeed.
I am thrilled that Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit will be published and read in the United States. I hope you enjoy the adventures of Balsa, the kind-hearted, spear-wielding bodyguard, and the brave, honest boy she protects in this fantasy world that carries the scent of Japan.
Nahoko Uehashi
Chiba, Japan
May 2008