Jonin of the Funakoshi Ninja Clan
Tanemura was young when he assumed leadership of the clan. At ten years of age, he hadn�t even completed his training when a Togakura assassin murdered his father. For the next fifteen years, Tanemura worked as the president of the Funkoshi�s toy company. His youth was spent trying to bring unity to his mind and body, but he was frustrated at every turn. His mind was sharp . . . His body, toned. But he still felt that something was missing.
When he was meditating one day, he saw the number three on a red, white and blue background. He packed his belongings and headed for the U.S., hoping to discover the meaning of the cryptic number. In his thoughts, his body and mind were two out of the three.
Tanemura traveled from California, where he had arrived, to Missouri. There, he chanced upon a Japanese man by the name of Toshishiro Tanaka. Tanaka had lived in the States for a number of years and took Tanemura to a Baptist church that had been started by a Japanese couple. The ninja learned what the third, missing part of him was. He had worked to perfect his body and mind, but he�d neglected his soul. On that fateful night, the leader of the Funakoshi ninja clan became a Christian.
Tanemura remained in St. Louis, MO, until he retired from his now U.S.-based toy company thirty-five years later. By then, his nephew�s family had joined him in St. Louis and converted to Christianity. Kuji took over the company and Tanemura moved to the small, Southern Missouri town of Jameston. He regretted never having a pupil, but was satisfied that Kuji and Mai�s daughter would make a good jonin upon his death.
But God did eventually bless Tanemura with a student . . . A student named Jamie Raleigh.
BACK