Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior facts for kids
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| Author | Chris Bradford |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Young Samurai |
| Genre | Children's fiction |
| Publisher | Puffin Books |
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Publication date
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8 August 2008 |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 978-0-141-32430-2 |
| Followed by | Young Samurai: The Way of the Sword |
Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior is an exciting historical adventure novel for kids by Chris Bradford. It was published in 2008. This book is the first in a series of action-packed stories. They are set in 17th century Japan. The main character is an English boy named Jack Fletcher. He tries to become the first gaijin (foreigner) samurai.
The Young Samurai series has been compared to other popular books. People have called it a "black belt Young Bond" or "Artemis Fowl with swords." Some also say it's like "Percy Jackson with ninja." This book is the first of nine in the series.
Contents
Jack's Amazing Adventure Begins
The story starts in 1609. Masamoto Tenno, the oldest son of Masamoto Takeshi, is killed. He is attacked by a feared ninja known as Dokugan Ryu, or Dragon Eye.
Two years later, a ship called the Alexandria sails near Japan. A big storm hits the ship. On board is 12-year-old Jack Fletcher. His father, John Fletcher, is the ship's pilot. He guides the ship into a safe bay after it hits a coral reef. The crew tries to fix the ship quickly. They are worried about attacks from the Wako, who are fierce Japanese pirates.
When the ship is almost ready to sail, a pirate ship is spotted. That night, all the ship's lights are turned off. Jack feels uneasy. He goes to the deck and sees men dressed in black. He rushes to warn his father. His father tells him to stay in the cabin. But Jack hears his father scream and runs back to the deck. His father is surrounded by the men in black. One of them grabs Jack. He threatens to kill Jack unless John tells them where the rutter is. A rutter is a special book of sea charts. John tells them, hoping they will let Jack live.
But the ninja do not keep their promise. As they are about to kill Jack, John saves him. Sadly, John is killed in the process. As he dies, he tells Jack to take the rutter. He tells Jack to escape the ship before the ninja find it. Jack finds the rutter. But the ninja who killed his father confronts him. Jack tries to escape. When he reaches the deck, the ship explodes. Jack is thrown into the ocean.
Jack is later found by Masamoto Takeshi. He is taken to the house of Masamoto's sister, Hiroko. Jack is cared for there. When he wakes up, he hears voices next door. He accidentally falls through a paper door. A samurai threatens him. Jack remembers advice from a sailor. He bows as deeply as he can. This makes the samurai laugh.
After a few days, Jack feels restless. He tries to escape. He fails and is caught by Taka. He also meets Date Akiko, Hiroko's daughter.
Later, Jack is taken to an island. The whole village is there for a duel. Jack recognizes one of the fighters as Masamoto Takeshi, who saved him. Masamoto wins the duel. He takes Jack back to the house. There, Masamoto asks Jack questions through a translator. The translator is a Portuguese priest named Father Lucius. Jack tells them about his father's killer. Masamoto realizes it is Dokugan Ryu. Masamoto feels bad for not being able to defeat the ninja. So, he adopts Jack as his son until Jack grows up. He also gives the rutter back to Jack. He sees how important it is to the boy. The Portuguese priest is curious about the book. But Jack lies and says it is his father's diary.
Since Jack will be staying in Japan, Father Lucius is told to teach him Japanese. Soon after, Masamoto must return to Kyoto for his school. He leaves his youngest son, Yamato, in Toba. He hopes Yamato and Jack will become friends. But Yamato clearly does not want to be friends. Yamato practices with a bokken, a wooden sword. Jack sees this as a chance to learn sword fighting. He asks Yamato to teach him. Yamato agrees, hoping to make Jack look bad. They practice randori, a type of sparring. Yamato always wins. When Jack finally gets a draw, he is called to Father Lucius. The priest is dying.
Lucius tells Jack that someone is after him. He asks Jack for a favor. He wants Jack to take his dictionary to Diego Bobadilla in Osaka.
Later, Jack tells Akiko what Father Lucius said. Akiko tells him to tell someone. But Jack decides not to. He thinks no one would believe him.
Jack spends the next few months getting better. He also learns to speak and write from Father Lucius. A samurai arrives with a message. It says Masamoto will return to Toba soon. The night before Masamoto arrives, ninja attack the house. Dokugan Ryu is among them. Dokugan Ryu asks Jack where the rutter is. But Jack pretends not to know. Before Dokugan Ryu can do anything, Masamoto arrives. This forces the ninja to run away.
The next day, Masamoto takes Jack, Yamato, and Akiko to Kyoto. They will learn the way of the samurai at his school. Jack makes friends there. But he also makes enemies, like Oda Kazuki. Jack shows he is a talented student in the Way of the Samurai. This upsets others who do not like the idea of a foreigner learning their ways.
After the attack in Toba, Jack and Yamato became good friends. But Kazuki attacked Jack. He asked Yamato if he would help the "gaijin." Yamato backed away and started spending time with Kazuki. A fight happens between Jack and Kazuki. Students from another school also get involved. Masamoto and Kamakura Katsuro stop them. Kamakura is the head of the Yagyu-ryu School. Kamakura challenges Masamoto to a Taryu-Jiai, a special duel. Masamoto agrees. Later, Masamoto is very angry at Yamato. He is upset that Yamato did not help Jack and shamed the family name. Upset, Yamato leaves the school. He joins the Yagyu-ryu.
When it is time for the Taryu-Jiai, Yamato is one of the opponents from the Yagyu-school. The duel ends in a draw. So, Yamato and Jack must compete against each other. The winner will bring victory to their school. Whoever gets the Sword of Jade and takes it back to school wins. It is a very close race. They are climbing next to a waterfall. Yamato cannot go on. He blames Jack for taking his father away. Jack has taken the sword. He says he never wanted to do that. He tries to help Yamato. But Yamato refuses to listen. He jumps into the waterfall. Jack jumps after him and saves him. Yamato says sorry. He asks Jack to be friends again. Jack agrees.
When they return to school, Yamato carries the sword. He is about to give the sword to Kamakura. But in the end, he gives it to his father. He admits that Jack took the sword. Masamoto then tells Yamato that he has what it takes to be a student of his school and a Masamoto.
Some time after the Taryu-Jiai, the Gion Matsuri Festival takes place. Jack spends the days with his friends. He has a great time. Then he bumps into a man dressed in black. The man tells him to go away. Jack recognizes him as Dokugan Ryu. Jack and his friends follow the ninja into Nijo-castle. There, Jack stops Dragon Eye. He stops him before he can kill Daimyō Takatomi Hideaki. Masamoto rewards Jack and his friends for their bravery. He gives Jack his first swords as a gift. Jack realizes he still has a long way to go. He must train hard to defeat Dokugan Ryu and get revenge for his father.
Meet the Characters
- Jack Fletcher – The main hero of the Young Samurai series.
- John Fletcher – Jack Fletcher's father. He was the pilot on the ship Alexandria.
- Date Akiko – The daughter of Dāte Hiroko and niece of Masamoto.
- Masamoto Yamato – The second son of Masamoto Takeshi.
- Masamoto Takeshi – A skilled samurai swordmaster. He founded the Niten Ichi-ryū school.
- Dokugan Ryu – Also known as Dragon Eye. He is a one-eyed ninja and Jack's sworn enemy.
- Father Lucius – A Portuguese Jesuit Priest.
- Sensei Hosokawa Yuudai – A teacher of Kenjutsu (sword fighting).
- Kamakura Katsuro – The daimyō (powerful lord) of Edo (Tokyo). He founded the Yagyu school.
- Oda Kazuki – A student who is Jack's rival.
- Sensei Kyuzo Isamu – A teacher of Taijutsu (unarmed combat).
- Saburo – Jack's talkative friend. He eats a lot and is very determined.
- Takatomi Hideaki – The daimyō of Kyoto. He governs Japan for the Emperor.
- Masamoto Tenno – The first son of Masamoto Takeshi.
- Sensei Yamada Izumi – A teacher of Zen (meditation and focus).
- Yori – Jack's quiet, shy friend. He has a surprising talent in Zen Class and is a favorite of Sensei Yamada.
- Sensei Yosa Hoshi – A female teacher of Kyujutsu (the Way of the bow).
Awards and Recognition
The Way of the Warrior has received many awards and nominations. It won the Northern Ireland Book Award in 2011. For the 70th anniversary of Puffin Books, this book was chosen as one of Puffin's 70 Best Ever Books. It was listed alongside famous stories like Treasure Island and Robin Hood.
From Book to Screen?
Since the book was published, many people have been interested in turning Young Samurai into a movie or TV show. A UK company called Coolabi first bought the rights. Then, Purple Pictures took over. They worked with ITV to create a TV series based on the ninth book. This project almost started filming. But it was put on hold because another ITV project became more important. The rights to make the series then went back to the author.
