The Otori army lies in wait to ambush him, so Takeo leads them over the mountains, and across the river near Kibi, with the assistance of a bridge made by Jo-an and some outcasts.

Takeo takes up Maruyama as his base of operations, and he and Kaede prepare to restore the domain Meanwhile, Shizuka and Kondo Kiichi arrive at the hidden Muto village, and are reunited with her uncle, Kenji, and her two sons.

Kenji's grief at his daughter's death has caused him to split from the Kikuta; regretful of his betrayal of Shigeru, he now tries to rally the other families of the Tribe to help Takeo.

He travels to Oshima island to meet his childhood friend Terada Fumio, whose family have now become pirates, to seek an alliance.

They retreat to the coast as Maruyama surrenders to Arai's men, hoping for Fumio to come by boat, but the weather delays him.

With Kenji and Taku, Arai and Shizuka's younger son, they sneak into the castle, and kill the lords and their families.

Fumio shoots Arai dead with the firearm, and at that moment a huge earthquake rocks the entire three countries.

But Kaede's hair is shorn, terrible burns marring her neck; Takeo gently covers her scars with his maimed hand.

A short epilogue, 15 years after the events of the book, closes off the trilogy, and sets the scene for the sequel, The Harsh Cry of the Heron.

Kirkus Reviews wrote "There is heroism, to be sure, and many a noble speech, but there are also a sadness and an acknowledgement of human folly that raise Hearn's writing far above where it's been before.

"[3] Brilliance of the Moon has also been reviewed by Booklist,[4] the Historical Novel Society,[5] School Library Journal,[6] and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.