The Nightingale Floor
The main villain of the novel, Iida Sadamu, has a famous "nightingale floor" in his palace, which is a floor specifically engineered to "sing" at the contact of any human foot, making it nearly impossible for any assassin to slip in undetected. This nightingale floor becomes a symbol for the challenge Takeo must face in order to take his revenge on Iida - it implies that he must train in the shadowy ways of the Tribe to conquer even this seemingly insurmountable obstacle.
The Crucifixion of Shigeru
Shigeru is undoubtedly the Christ-figure of this novel. He saves Takeo from his enemies, fighting them himself in Takeo's stead. He then tutors and guides Takeo through the rest of the novel before he is wounded at the end during the climactic battle with Iida's forces. Before he dies, he is crucified on the wall of the palace, clearly bringing out the Jesus symbolism (as Christ was crucified in place of man). In essence, through the course of the novel, he trades his own life for Takeo's, which is the hallmark of a Christ-figure.
Kaede's Beauty
Kaede's physical beauty is a representation of her inner beauty and kindness. She doesn't know she's beautiful, as she has never looked into a mirror; when she does so for the first time, she is astonished. This effortless beauty represents the overflow that will come from the heart to the appearance when kindness is abundant in one's heart.
The Name Change
When Lord Otori saves Tomasu from the Tohan after they burned down his village and killed his family, he realizes that the name Tomasu is an indicator that he belonged to the Hidden, a fact they would want to keep Hidden. To disguise Tomasu's background, he gives him the new name Takeo. Takeo accepts this name, inwardly proclaiming that the name change is a symbol revealing that from this moment on, he is a new person.
The Fate of Isao
Isao, the leader of the Hidden, is literally ripped apart by Iida's men at the beginning of the novel. This dismembering is a symbolic representation of this atrocity's effect on Tomasu's life: his family being slaughtered and his village burned to the ground, his life has essentially been ripped apart. His witnessing of this horrible event, followed by his unpleasant encounter with Iida and the intervention of Shigeru, heighten the meaning and the impact of this symbolism.
