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“One does not need buildings, money, power or status

to practice the art of peace. Heaven is right where you

are standing, and that is the place to train.”

—Morihei Ueshiba O’Sensei

PART ONE

The Martial Biography of

Roy Yukio Suenaka

CHAPTER ONE

Early Education

It is the eleventh century. The formidable mounted warriors of Khubilai Kahn have swept out of the steppes of central Europe on a campaign of conquest that will ultimately bring most of Western Europe, China, and all of Korea under Mongol rule. In November of 1274, the Kahn sought to expand his empire by sending an armada of 450 ships bearing some 15,000 troops from conquered Korea southeast across the relatively narrow Korea Strait to the latest object of his desire, the mountainous island chain of Japan. His intent: to take the southernmost island of Kyushu, then sweep northward until the entire chain was under his dominion. Expecting a repeat of his earlier victories, he was to be disappointed. After a day’s fierce fighting on the shores of Kyushu, the Mongol fleet limped home, unexpectedly repelled by the determined samurai forces they encountered.