Customer Reviews

The Golden Naginata (Tomoe Gozen #2)

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This is the second volume in Jessica Salmonson's fantasy series set around the life of Tomoe Gozen, a semi-legendary woman Samurai in 12th Century Japan. Gozen is believed to have become the wife of Minamoto no Yoshinaka who launched an unsuccessful struggle to gain lordship over Japan and the Minamoto clan that culminated in a massive battle near Kyoto in 1184.

This part of the story starts with Tomoe's refusal to accept a husband. In Feudal Japan a woman was permitted to be a samurai until she was married. At that time she must put aside her weapons and become an obedient homemaker - hardly the kind of role for which the young woman was suited. Instead she storms off and becomes enmeshed in fighting the efforts of one sword smith to destroy the life and works of Okio, the most brilliant sword smith of the age.

In a mid-book climax where Tomoe and her companions battle the 55 samurai who took the life of Okio she discovers the one of her new friends is actually Kiso Yoshinaka, to whom she was promised as bride, and who invites her to join him as a full equal instead of a subservient child bearer. Tomoe accepts, and joins in Lord Kiso's conquests as he gradually builds the strength he will need to challenge his cousin.

In the process of this struggle Tomoe is granted the use of the Golden Naginata, a weapon that will blind anyone who see is unless it has been coated with the blood of the magical kirin that is its guardian. While the weapon often grants victory it seems to collect a toll on its wielder, not in strength, but in anger and self-doubt. Thus this isn't just an adventure story but a tale of Tomoe's efforts to find herself in a culture that always seems to limit her choices.

Aside from an overly long battle scene that seems to be more concerned with its emulation of Japanese convention than stimulating interest, this is a better book than it's predecessor. It is more of a novel, and Tomoe Gozen reveals a great deal of character as she follows her own difficult path. She is atypical, even for a female samurai and never falls into the role of romantic heroine.

A rare and beautiful adventure of a warrior in a world of Japanese goblins, samurai's and a truly glorious weapon that Jescia Salmonson has written in The Golden Naginata.
I treasure this Japanese fantasy, it's the most colourful fantasy adventure I've entered. It's one of those books that will remain on my shelf for years to come.

This is a delightful and thoughtful story set in the mythic world of Naipon where the myths and dreams of the Japanese are real. The story is about the woman warrior Tomoe Gozen and how she came to wield the wonderful sword called the Golden Naginata. This book is the second in the series - a compelling story - I enjoyed being immersed in another time and another way of life.

In the next dimension there is a world very much like ours, and on this world is an island nation much like our own Japan. In Naipon, however, the myths and dreams of the Japanese people are clothed in reality- sorcerers make magicks great and small, creatures out of legend walk the land from sea to sea. In Japan, magic exists now only in children's tales. In Naipon, the wonder never died...

In this land travels the one they call Tomoe Gozen - a warrior who is half legend herself, so skilled is she in swordplay and the other arts of the samurai. This is her story: of how she chose between pathways of duty and freedom, between love and honor, and how she came to bear the splendid sword called The Golden Nainata.