Flame in the Mist

One extra star for the plot twist, otherwise this would've been a 1★.

There's just TOO MANY incorrect usage of Japanese for me to enjoy this book thoroughly, not to mention the gap between Mariko's image in people's eyes and her actual personality. Everyone keeps saying she's smart and clever, while in reality she tends to be dumb, opens her mouth when she shouldn't, and miscalculates a lot of things.

First of all, there's a glossary in case you are not familiar with Japanese terms. But a lot of the terms listed there are not exactly correct. Here's a few examples:

anate—the command for “fire,” as in “to fire an arrow

HA

boro—patchwork fabric worn by maidservants and peasants

honshō—true

sumimasen—thank you

It's when Mariko lost her virginity to some irrelevant boy to make a statement that her body is hers, and it is her choice what to do with it. In feudal Japan, an umarried woman's virtue is a huge deal so what she did would only bring disgrace to her family. Especially since Mariko is from a warrior family. Women in this era were raised with that in mind, so no one in their right minds would bang some random guy just because IT IS HER BODY SHE CAN DO WHATEVER. That mentality does not exist in that time and place, sorry.