Often the shogun’s warriors traveled with him. They were called samurai (say SAM-uh-rye).
“Oh, man,” whispered Jack. “Those other guys are samurai!” He and Annie had barely escaped an armored samurai on their earlier trip to Japan.
Samurai were excellent horsemen well trained in the arts of fighting. The code of the samurai was strict. Samurai did not show their feelings. They had great powers of concentration.
“They’re gone,” said Annie.
Jack looked out the window. The shogun and his samurai warriors had disappeared down a tree-shaded dirt road.
“We should get out of the Imperial Garden fast,” said Jack. “If we stay here, we’re just asking to be caught.”
“How do we get out?” asked Annie.
Jack looked in the Japan book. He found a map of Edo. “Look,” he said, pointing at the map. “We have to get over this bridge that leads away from the Imperial Garden into the city. The bridge is on the east side of the garden.”
“The morning sun is over there,” said Annie, squinting into the sunlight. “So that must be east. Let’s climb down and head that way.”
“Good plan. Then we’ll be walking in the opposite direction of those samurai,” said Jack.
“Right,” said Annie. She started down the rope ladder.
“Be careful,” said Jack. “We don’t want anyone to see us sneaking around the Imperial Garden.”
Jack put the Japan book into his burlap bag and slung the bag over his shoulder. As he stepped onto the ladder, he nearly tripped on his kimono. “Oh, brother,” he said. He held up the cloth and carefully climbed down.
Jack joined Annie on a wide path. A gust of dry wind carried petals from cherry trees through the air. The long branches of the willows swayed over the grass.
Jack and Annie began heading east, keeping their eyes and ears open for more people. They walked past flower beds and big rocks. They walked around a pond with swans. They started down a narrow lane between blossoming cherry trees.
Just as they came out from under the trees, Jack and Annie saw four men strolling toward them. One man was shorter and older than the others. He wore a straw hat and a tattered brown coat and used a walking stick. The other three had shaved heads with topknots, and two swords hung from each of their belts.
“Samurai!” whispered Jack.
“Yikes,” said Annie.
“Run!” said Jack.
Jack and Annie turned around and started running back down the narrow lane.
Jack heard the men running after them. “Halt!” cried a samurai.
Jack grabbed Annie’s hand and they stumbled to a halt. Out of breath, they turned to face the three samurai who were rushing toward them.
“Who are you?” one of the samurai barked. He was holding up his sword. “Why do you run from us? Are you spies?”
Just as Jack was about to answer, he heard a voice shout, “Baku! Koto!”
The man with the walking stick and straw hat was hurrying toward them. “Baku, Koto, what are you doing here?” he called out to Jack and Annie. “Why did you not wait for me at the bridge?”
The three samurai turned to the man with the walking stick. “You know them, Master?” one asked.
“Yes, of course,” the man said. “This boy and girl are Baku and Koto, my best students.”
“Hi, Master!” said Annie, pretending she knew who the man was. “We couldn’t find the bridge, so we—uh—we—”
“We came here to look for you,” said Jack.
“And now you have found me,” said the man. “I am sorry you were frightened by my friends.”
The samurai put away his sword. “Forgive me,” he said, bowing before Jack and Annie.
“Sure, no problem,” said Annie.
The samurai turned to the small man. “We will leave you with your students now,” he said. “Thank you, Most Honored Master, for your visit with us today.” All three warriors bowed deeply before the man. Then they walked away.
Why did the samurai call the small man “Most Honored Master”? Jack wondered.
When the samurai were gone, the man turned to Jack and Annie. His eyes twinkled. “I believe you are safe now,” he said.
“Thanks,” said Annie. “But I’m afraid we’re not Baku and Koto.”
“No, you are not,” said the man. “But you are not spies, either, are you?”
“No,” said Jack.
“I did not think so,” said the man. “That is why I thought you needed my help.”
“Thank you,” said Jack.
“You are most welcome,” said the man. “Now perhaps you will tell me who you really are, and how you came to be here in the Imperial Garden.”
“Our names are Jack and Annie,” said Jack. “And we—” He paused. It seemed impossible to explain: Teddy and Kathleen’s visit, Merlin’s sorrow, Morgan’s research book.
“We came here to search for a secret of happiness,” said Annie.
The man smiled. “I believe that is something we all seek,” he said. “But you must be very careful, Jack and Annie. The shogun does not allow foreigners into our country. If you do not have passports, you could be caught and punished.”
“We know,” said Annie. “What should we do?”
“Perhaps you should travel with me today,” said the man. “You can continue to be my students, Baku and Koto.”
“Good plan!” said Jack.
“You must remember, seek harmony with your surroundings,” said the man. “Observe the people of Edo and do as they do. If you do not stand out, you will not be noticed by the samurai.”
“Got it,” said Annie.
Seek harmony with your surroundings. Observe the people of Edo and do as they do, Jack repeated to himself.
“Come,” said the man. He started walking briskly through the garden.
Jack and Annie hurried after him. “Excuse me, but what’s your name?” Annie said.
“My friends call me Basho,” the man answered.
“Basho? That’s a cute name!” said Annie.
“And why did the samurai call you ‘Most Honored Master’?” asked Jack.
“Because I am their teacher,” said Basho.
“What do you teach them?” asked Jack.
Basho smiled. “Today they learned how to listen to a cricket in a woodpile,” he said, “and how to think like a frog.”
“Cool,” said Jack. Those must be warrior skills, he thought, special ways to listen for an enemy or jump around with a sword. He remembered how ninjas used secrets of nature to fight their enemies.
Basho led Jack and Annie through a wooden gate in a high wall. They walked over a wide stone bridge that crossed a moat. When they came to the other side of the bridge, they followed a path that led to a small boat dock on a river.
Three fishermen were loading wicker baskets into a long flat-bottomed boat. Hundreds of shiny little fish were inside each basket.
Basho walked over to the fishermen. “Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning, Master Basho,” the fishermen said. All of them bowed.
Everyone seems to know Basho, Jack thought.
“May my students and I ride with you down the river?” asked Basho.
“Oh, yes, of course, Master Basho!” one of the men said. “We would be most honored to carry you in our humble boat!”
“Thank you,” said Basho.
Jack and Annie followed Basho onto the deck of the boat and sat next to the wicker baskets.
One of the fishermen untied the boat, and the others used long poles to push it away from the dock. The men began poling down the river.
The fishing boat floated under a series of bridges, moving in and out of shadows and glittering light. As it passed under one of the bridges, it scraped the bottom of the river. Basho, Jack, and Annie were thrown forward.
“Forgive us, Master!” one of the fishermen called to Basho. “The river is very shallow.”
“There has been no rain fo
r a long time,” said another fisherman. “It is very worrisome to us.”
“Yes, it worries me, too,” said Basho.
“What’s everyone so worried about?” Annie asked Basho.
“When the weather is very dry, the people of Edo worry about fire,” said Basho. “Twenty-five years ago, during a dry spell, half our city was destroyed by a terrible fire. Thousands died.”
“Oh, that’s awful!” said Annie.
“Yes. Since then, everyone has worked hard to rebuild the capital,” said Basho. “Edo is now even more beautiful than before. In fact, along this riverbank are many new castles of the samurai. See? There one hides now.”
Basho pointed at a steep rocky cliff above the riverbank. Jack shaded his eyes as he looked at the curved roof and high stone walls of a samurai castle. “Its largest room is called the Thousand-Mat Hall,” said Basho.
“What does that mean?” asked Jack.
“It means the room can hold a thousand floor mats,” said Basho.
“Cool,” said Annie. “Basho, where do you live?”
Basho smiled. “My castle is on the other side of the Great Bridge,” he said.
Jack wondered how many mats Basho’s castle could hold.
Beyond the steep cliffs, the boat traffic grew heavier. Now there were many boats floating on the wide river: big sailboats, barges loaded with lumber, and ferries filled with passengers holding parasols.
The fishing boat glided toward a crowded dock next to a market. In the market, thousands of gleaming fish were laid out on tables. Men and women also sold fish and other sea creatures from baskets that hung from poles across their shoulders. “Shrimp!” “Tuna!” “Octopus!” “Eel!” they shouted.
“Wait for us while we deliver the fish,” Basho said to Jack and Annie. “Then we will travel further on the river.”
The fishermen tied up the boat. Jack and Annie waited on the landing as Basho helped the crew unload the wicker baskets. Then each man put a basket on his head and started up the stone steps that led to the fish market.
“Oh, no!” said Annie. “Look!” She pointed toward the other end of the dock.
Jack looked. He saw several samurai getting off a boat. “Quick! Grab a basket!” he said.
Jack and Annie each picked up a basket of fish. As Jack tried to lift the basket to his head, he tilted it. A couple of fish hit him on the nose as they fell to the dock.
“Leave them! Come on!” whispered Annie.
Carrying the baskets on their heads, Jack and Annie followed Basho and the fishermen up the steps and delivered their fish to a young woman at one of the tables. Jack glanced back at the river. The samurai were standing on the landing, checking someone’s passport.
Jack looked at Basho. Basho was watching the samurai, too. He turned to the fishermen. “Thank you for the ride,” he said calmly, bowing to the men. “We will walk from here.”
The fishermen nodded and smiled.
Good plan, Jack thought, relieved.
“Come,” said Basho. He led Jack and Annie away from the market. Soon they came to a busy road crowded with pedestrians and travelers on horseback.
As they walked along with the crowd, Jack remembered Basho’s words: “Seek harmony with your surroundings.” He tried to blend in by walking at a steady pace. Keeping his eyes down, he worried about their mission. How will we ever find the secret of happiness, he wondered, if we have to keep dodging the samurai?
“Look at that bridge!” said Annie.
Jack glanced up. A high, arched bridge spanned the river. Hundreds of people were walking across it.
“That is the Great Bridge,” said Basho. “It will lead us away from the heart of Edo to the bank of the Sumida River, where I live.”
“Great,” said Jack. He hoped they would be safer away from the heart of Edo. Then maybe they could focus on their search for the secret.
Jack, Annie, and Basho joined the crowd crossing the bridge. They walked single file, close to the wooden railing. Jack stared straight ahead, careful not to look anyone in the eye. He saw people having picnics on the other side of the bridge. Kids were flying red kites.
“What’s that mountain?” said Annie. She pointed to a snowcapped mountain looming in the distance. The white cone of the gray mountain rose above fleecy, rose-tinted clouds.
“That is a volcanic mountain called Mount Fuji,” said Basho.
“Oh, I’ve heard of Mount Fuji!” said Jack. “That’s the highest mountain in Japan, right?”
“Yes, and the most beautiful,” said Basho.
“It is beautiful,” said Annie.
Jack looked around. Actually, he thought everything seemed beautiful at that moment: the green and yellow parasols of the ferryboat passengers below, the pink cherry trees shimmering at the river’s edge, the red kites and white seagulls gliding through the sky.
“I love Japan,” Jack said softly.
“I do, too,” said Basho. “We call our world ‘the floating world,’ for it seems to float on beauty.”
“It really does,” murmured Jack. Walking across the Great Bridge, he felt as if he himself were floating through the floating world.
Basho led Jack and Annie off the Great Bridge and down a crowded road. They passed huge stacks of lumber. Then they came to a row of stages built along the riverbank. On one stage women were dancing. Their faces were painted white. They wore shimmering kimonos and waved fans.
Musicians played on a second stage. They plucked three-stringed instruments and blew on bamboo flutes. Their music was high-pitched and strange, but Jack liked it.
On another stage was a puppet show. Puppeteers wearing black clothes moved a giant dragon puppet around the stage. A man stood to the side and told a story to the audience. From the back of the crowd, it was hard to hear him.
“What’s he saying?” said Annie.
“He is telling the legend of the Cloud Dragon,” said Basho. “The Cloud Dragon is one of the guardian animals of the four directions. She has the power of flight and commands the rain clouds.”
“Cool,” said Annie.
Basho led them on past rows of stalls where craftspeople sold beads, cloth, kites, and paper lanterns. Some boys were holding up yo-yos for sale. Jack was surprised to see yo-yos in old Japan.
Beyond the craft stalls was a row of inns and cafés. The smell of spices and grilled fish filled the air.
“Yum,” said Annie.
Jack was hungry, too.
“Would you like to stop at a teahouse?” Basho asked them.
“Yes!” Jack and Annie said together.
Basho led them toward a small building with an open front. At the entrance, Basho slipped off his sandals. Jack and Annie did the same. They placed their sandals in a row of shoes that other people had left by the door.
Inside the teahouse, cooks stirred steaming pots over a wood-burning stove. People sat at long low tables, eating with chopsticks and drinking from small cups. Several customers smiled shyly and bowed before Basho.
Basho must be a really famous teacher of the samurai, thought Jack. It made Jack feel important to be with him.
Basho led them to a table and sat cross-legged on a straw mat. Jack and Annie did the same. A waiter with a kerchief around his head hurried to the table. “Welcome to our humble teahouse, Master Basho!” he said.
“Thank you,” said Basho.
Everyone is so polite in Japan! Jack thought.
The waiter handed Jack, Annie, and Basho warm wet towels. “Thank you,” said Jack and Annie.
Jack watched Basho wipe his hands on the towel. He and Annie did the same. Then they all gave their towels back to the waiter.
“I would like plates of sushi for me and my two students, please,” said Basho.
“Thank you,” said the waiter, bowing.
While they waited for their food, Jack studied the people in the room. Jack noticed that even little kids were eating with chopsticks. He and Annie had never had much luck using chopsticks
in Asian restaurants back home.
Soon the waiter brought over three plates of small cakes of sticky rice wrapped in dark green, paper-like strips. He also brought napkins and three pairs of chopsticks.
When the waiter had gone, Basho spoke to Jack and Annie in a soft voice so no one else could hear. “We call this sushi,” he said. “It is rice with pieces of raw fish in the middle.”
“Raw fish?” said Jack. He gulped.
“And what’s this part?” Annie pointed at the papery wrapping.
“Seaweed,” said Basho.
“Seaweed?” said Jack.
“It is very good,” said Basho.
Jack was so hungry he was willing to try anything, even raw fish and seaweed. His only problem was the chopsticks.
“Try it this way, Jack,” said Annie. She carefully picked up a piece of sushi between the wooden ends of her chopsticks. Jack copied her. But as they both tried to bring their food to their mouths, their pieces of sushi fell onto the table.
Jack and Annie laughed and tried a second time. Annie was successful. But Jack dropped his sushi again. Without thinking, he grabbed it with his fingers and popped it into his mouth.
“Mmm!” said Jack. The vinegar-tasting rice, the raw fish, and the green, salty seaweed were delicious!
But Jack stopped in mid-chew. Two samurai at another table were glaring at him. One of the men had a big scar on his face. The other had fierce dark eyes.
Jack’s throat was dry as he swallowed. They saw me mess up with my chopsticks! he thought. They can tell I’m not from Japan! He picked up another piece of sushi with his chopsticks. He glanced again at the samurai. They were watching him like hawks.
Jack’s hand felt shaky. He tried to stay calm. He remembered a passage from their research book: Samurai did not show their feelings. They had great powers of concentration.
Jack tried very hard not to show his fear. He concentrated on holding the sushi with his chopsticks. He raised the sushi to his mouth and ate it calmly. He lowered his chopsticks and picked up another piece of sushi. He ate it calmly.
Dragon of the Red Dawn Page 2