With a new passport and finally with money of my own, I first came to Japan in 2011 at eighteen years old. I cried when it was time to leave, and just a few months later I was back in Tokyo as a study-abroad student at Toyo University.
I came back after graduation and have lived here ever since, first in Nagano, then in Tokyo, and now near Enoshima Island in Kanagawa. I’m so glad I could combine my love for this wonderful country with my hopes of becoming a writer.
Japan entered a state of sakoku, or isolation, in 1603 and didn’t reopen to foreign trade until the arrival of the Americans in the 1850s. During this period of isolation, no foreigner could enter the country and no Japanese person could leave, making it one of the most self-sufficient and uniquely developed countries in the world.
You understand, then, that, wanting to write about a romance between a European woman and a Japanese samurai, my options were somewhat limited.
I’ve always been fascinated with Japanese history. It’s one of the major reasons I had wanted to move to Japan since I was a kid. I had tremendous fun researching the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, named after the Satsuma province (now Kagoshima Prefecture), where the samurai made a final, dramatic stand against imperial soldiers intent on crushing the old way of life for ever in favour of the Japan we know today.
It is a sad history, one that became the setting for Isla and Keiichirō’s story. Though Keiichirō Maeda is fictional, there were many young samurai just like him embroiled in the rebellion who gave their lives for their beloved leader. Real historical figures, such as Toshiaki and Hisa Kirino, Shinpachi Murata, and Shinsuke Beppu, also make appearances in the story, and are portrayed as close to real life as possible.
The Satsuma Rebellion was the final rising against the fast-developing modernisation and Westernisation of Japan to compete with international powers. The rapid changes sent a shockwave of violence throughout the country as the samurai class ceased to exist. Takamori Saigō was brought reluctantly out of retirement to lead the rebellion, and, with inferior manpower and weapons, he and his people were doomed from the start. It all ended with a last, bloody battle on the slopes of Mount Shiroyama.
Seinan Sensō: The Battle of Japan that Changed its History is a manga comic-style book that provides a stunning account of the rebellion. Samurai Castles by Jennifer Mitchelhill also provides fascinating information about various castles still standing in Japan, including Kumamoto Castle, a major setting of the conflict. Visiting Kagoshima was an amazing experience where I learned a lot more about the rebellion and walked in Isla’s footsteps.
Takamori Saigō’s statue stands in Kagoshima today as a sort of mascot. Anyone who visits can see the caves in which the samurai hid in their final days. I am pleased to set Isla and Keiichirō’s story in such a rich part of history.