“To be sure, Mother Ishiyama’s death was inauspicious. But what does it have to do with you? Did you poison her soup?” Madame set down her tea cup.

  “No, Madame.”

  “Well, then. Call it an accident. The family will mourn. But even if you insist on taking responsibility, remember Mother Ishiyama’s death was very good for Eiko, whose interests you represented. So, take heart. For the bride, you were a charm.”

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  “Madame. I can hardly believe what I am hearing you say.”

  “And I would deny every word if you repeated it, but privately, I urge you to look at this event in the correct light. The married couple is well. Mother Ishiyama was aged. She was very happy to see her son so admired. Take confidence that you were able to encourage such a shift in attitude in time for her death. Otherwise, her death really would be unfortunate.”

  We spoke no more of it, but I did not forget Mother Ishiyama’s strangely timed death. And neither did Madame.

  Tsuchigumo include yatsukahagi (八握脛) and ōgumo (大蜘蛛, “giant spider”). The term “Earth Kumo” represents my personal adaptation of the traditional lore. Tsuchi means dirt or earth. I wanted to draw up a more nuanced view of the tsuchigumo idea. I don’t explore that fully in this version of the story, but I plan to in subsequent work.

  samurai officials of the in Japan. Senior administrative posts open to those who were not . Conventional interpretations have construed these Japanese titles as “commissioner” or “overseer” or “governor”.

  feudal who, until their decline in the early , ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. In the term, dai (大) means “large”, and myō stands for myōden (名田), meaning private land.

  term burakumin does not refer to any ethnic minorities in Japan.

  shakkanhō (, "shaku–kan system”) roughly equivalent to ten feet.

  shakkanhō (, "shaku–kan system”) roughly equivalent to one foot.