As the old man said, a week later, my schedule was changed in the direction of adding more lessons, but my rest was cut down significantly, completely eliminating the concept of "free time". When I saw the paper with the detailed schedule for the first time, I didn't believe it at first. But very quickly I realized the depth of the pit I had been thrown into.
It is worth admitting that there were no useless classes, and those that seemed so revealed another facet of my ignorance over time. Gymnastics turned into martial arts: hand-to-hand combat and sword-fighting — kenjutsu. Calligraphy unexpectedly came in handy in magic classes, as the Miyazaki clan turned out to be hereditary wizards, onmyouji. Most family magic focuses on communication with spirits (summoning, banishing, resting, divination), healing techniques (medicines, poisons), and the creation of magical charms, amulets, and protective barrier systems. It also includes the creation of shikigami — the infusion of a spirit into a ritual object and the use of the incarnated essence. Amulets, seals, ritual objects — all this was covered with ancient symbols and modern hieroglyphs (this is when the thing was obviously made weak, not designed for long work), and here the science of marking the quackery helped a lot. I remembered from the anime how the characters used paper strips with drawings and inscriptions. So this is exactly the science I was taught.
Now a little more detail on the list. Each of these talismans can look like anything, be made in a variety of ways, and have any function. I read somewhere that for certain magic you need certain materials, like different kinds of wood, herbs collected at the right time (midnight of such and such a month, after rain, or something like that), or stones and minerals related to the desired strength. During my studies I was enlightened that this is true, but not always. If you want to create a spiritual weapon, there are several ways to do it, and they also depend on a number of variables, such as: what the weapon is for, when it is needed, how much money you have to create it, the availability of materials, etc. The easiest thing to do is to make a spear in advance that will last you a few years in active combat. Or you can use a universal talisman in a battle, with the help of which and your own power you can create a weapon for a few minutes, after which it disappears. Or you can create a super spear, but it will cost you a lot of gold, rare materials, and time. Something like that. I think it all makes sense. And interesting. I was very interested in this: create a super sword, learn how to use it (or in some other order), and become Conan, he he. And what's even more interesting is that paper talismans, namely universal talismans, can be programmed with prayer phrases right in the action, causing exactly the effect that's needed right now. When I first saw two talisman papers, absolutely identical in all respects, being used to produce a stream of water from one and fire from the other, I was amazed. The sh*tty grandmother teacher, a very disgusting person not only in appearance but also in behavior, wasted no time in speaking rather rude words to me because I was shocked by the effect. Honestly, even if I were really as old as my body, I would have stopped wanting to learn this magic at that moment. But I quickly overcame the outburst of resentment and anger — it was not for nothing that he studied spiritual techniques and meditation to better control the mind. But I promised myself that I would repay the witch as harshly as possible. Looking back, I will say that it was this grandmother who was in charge of my magic training for all the following years, and she took all my successes personally. Why, it was SHE who taught this mediocrity, and not he who spent hours of sleep trying to understand the stream of theory filtered through the contemptuous tone of a fossil. My hatred was cold, and revenge for her words and antics reached the level of torture before a ritual sacrifice after the first year. The clan elder herself, by the way, gave material on the level of "standard methods of Onmyouji Templars"; there was no talk of clan knowledge. I was glad that the local analog of artifacts is not hidden guild or clan information (most of it).
Further. The history of Japan began in ancient times, and although it was a difficult subject to study, it was quite fascinating. The teacher was not as much of an ass as the grandmother, even though he liked to make faces, but he told interesting stories. It was quite interesting to hear and read about the events in the big world, which were influenced from the shadows, and sometimes not, by wizards and magical creatures. I was reminded again of anime in which werefoxes or kitsune are often mentioned or become the main characters. It turns out that foxes have had a rather impressive influence on Japan — cunning rogues, fond of jokes and pranks, sometimes quite cruel. In second place after them are tanuki, werewolf raccoons. Also jokers, rogues, thieves, but more straightforward, and love noisy parties. And in general, Japan, China and Korea turned out to be very busy places, on whose lands otherworldly life not only exists, no, it BOILS! In these countries live many physical, semi-spiritual and spiritual beings of varying levels of intelligence and strength. They even revealed to me that there are several cities throughout Japan where communities of werewolves live: foxes, tanuki, wolves, cranes, neko, nezumi (rats), and even frogs and bears. In other words, these creatures are completely intelligent and live side by side with humans, obeying the common laws and norms. Amazing, right? I really liked the cat Himari in the anime, and after hearing this, I had a strong desire to see the Neko. Okay, go on, I got distracted. I didn't even notice when the history lesson was supplemented with patriotic pumping (or was that intended?). But he didn't brush it off, and for good reason, as it turned out. In general, to put it in a nutshell (although I was harassed about it for a long time), there was an agreement between humans and creatures, like in the movie "Day Watch": some things are not allowed, some things are allowed, and some things only if the other side has allowed them. Those who break the law can be judged or immediately destroyed, depending on their actions. A pretty viable option for coexistence, without harsh pitchforks on both sides, only lunatics and crazies are immediately destroyed — no one needs war. So, in the conditions of life before the treaty, mages and monks-exorcists-exorcists fought for the people, studied, developed, grew into clans, strengthened, created connections with allies. Individual mages without strong support cannot gain the knowledge and power that clan members gain. A clan name can save where a lone wolf would lay down his life. And on and on. In general, life in a clan is much better than life without a clan, although there are many disadvantages. But the fact that a clan mage develops his power from childhood and a loner only from the last year of Mahoutokoro, a secondary school of magic, already creates a gap in power that grows over the years. In short, I decided to control my temper and study while getting to know this world. However, this did not stop me, in the second month of my studies with the witch, from arranging my first revenge on her: during the day, she could not leave the house, since there were many places on the estate for collecting birds, and each of them considered it their duty to show their respect to the elder of the Miyazaki clan. It was fun, the only pity is that it was impossible to express my feelings, and so they suspected me, but it turned out well, and the elder changed three kimonos before she realized what was happening.
Go on. Kendo is the way of the sword, kyudo is the way of the bow, sojutsu is the art of the yari spear, naginatajutsu is the art of the naginata, and all this is united in kobudo — the ancient martial arts. Well, it should be said that it was long and difficult, I am glad that the main emphasis was only on Kendo and Sojutsu, the rest was on the level of understanding what and how. But this is only so simple in words, but in reality it was unrealistically difficult and tedious, because there was ceremony in everything. You couldn't take the bow the way it was most convenient for you, break your anatomy, walk exactly like that, bow to who knows who, and so on and so forth. For some reason, the most ceremony was in kyudo, and, oh, what a coincidence, it was kyudo that I hated to the core. But the hatred only spurred me on to get rid of this filth as quickly as possible — in two and a half years. I took the whole philosophical shell apart, thought about it, and threw it in a garbage dump. The Mongols shot much better and faster, from any position, without any "just stand up like this, only with your feet...", so hit the fire! Naginata also has something like that, philosophically, but much less. One and a half to two meters shaft, thirty to forty centimeters blade curved to the end. Well, it's mediocre, yes: when I was young, it was okay, but as I grew up and gained strength, I realized that the weapon was not for men, in the sense that it was for someone light and agile. Female, or for a light, small man, teenager. Not mine, in general. And the design of the blade is more for cutting than chopping (it quickly fails, breaks, crumbles under heavy chopping blows). Sojutsu was difficult because the yari spear is a rather heavy weapon, with nuances, so seeing that it was too early for me to work with it, we settled on short and long naginata. Kendo. At first I decided that this wasn't for me either — too straightforward, too predictable. I admit, I jumped to conclusions, because the first thing I saw was sport kendo, modern, more for entertainment, fighter's endurance and tactics. The real art of the sword turned out to be much deeper, and its philosophy had a deep meaning. Not because you have to stand like this because "the gods want it that way", but because it warms up the necessary muscle groups specifically for that technique or ligament. Now you have to swing like this and step like this because it will make it easier for you to do this and that. And, of course, everything is generously seasoned with the philosophy of local life and harsh romanticism. The more I worked, the more I was fascinated by this business; I was not stopped by my bloody feet and palms, cut fingers and beaten body by the "master". His teaching style also turned out to be tough and rude, more than once or twice my fingers and arms were broken by blows from the shinai and bokken. Nevertheless, every month the sword, be it bamboo, wood or steel, seemed to grow into me, its roots penetrating deeper into my hands. I regularly took revenge on other teachers with similar behavior. One middle-aged man even fell into a medical coma for a month when he decided to punish me during the potion class and splashed the remains of the tainted potion on his hands. And my hands were bandaged with ointment to heal the worn skin. It was painful. In response, this "subhuman" was poisoned with the common poison of puffer fish. For some reason, the poison ended up in his favorite cake. A miracle! When my injuries prevented me from actively using weapons, and I was given some free time, I was immediately sent to the forge, to old man Yamamoto, a master blacksmith. My task was to share with him the magic, the energy for fire, fur and water.
The old blacksmith, during all the years of my exile (the teachers never found out that the blacksmith treated me well, and even treated me with goodies, including sweet liqueurs, a little at a time, so that the fire burned brighter, yes), explained well the general concepts of his craft, delved a little deeper into the specifics of creating Japanese type blade weapons, a little — European. He showed and explained how to add special impurities to weapon steel to give the weapon special, magical properties. Unfortunately, it was not possible to go deeper into this topic, because it was necessary to work for hours and days in the forge, to experience the processes of numerous different options. Of course, no one is going to give me that much time for something they don't think I need. It's a pity, because old man Yamamoto turned out to be a master weaponsmith, capable of forging even real spiritual weapons. In all the years I spent with the master, I learned to forge good iron, steel in any form, but not magic items. My ceilings are blanks without complex specifications. We didn't even talk about jewelry, although I sometimes helped the master make expensive bracelets and combs.
At this rate, I spent another five years in this world. By the time I was eleven years old, I had reached a level in kendo where even the teacher sweated a lot during a fight and won only because of weight, strength, and arm length. We were equal in technique, and he couldn't teach me anything new even if he wanted to. After I reached that level, all I could do was practice familiar moves and train my skills. Moreover, the ideas of clannishness and privilege began to fascinate me more and more, and I myself began to bow (still without deep bows) according to the etiquette, to keep an impassive face, to live with a straight back, and to sit comfortably in the "seiza" posture. Nothing remains forever, the world changes and we change with it. So, unnoticed by myself, without much breaking, I smoothly transformed into what they wanted me to be. I did not feel any rejection, and the use of etiquette allowed me to feel more confident in any situation, even unfamiliar ones. For example, at a big party a few months after my eleventh birthday.
