Bloody Sunrise

by Christopher Nicole

  ‘If you will accompany me, honourable sir,’ Masaru continued. ‘I would have you renew your acquaintance with my wife.’

  Masaru Suoko was on her knees, her forehead hovering above the floor. ‘Rise, Mrs Masaru, please,’ Nicholas said. ‘As I told your husband, it is I should bow to you.’

  When she smiled, she was the mother of Sumiko. In repose her face was serious. But then, all Japanese women seemed to possess this dual personality. ‘It is we who are flattered, Barrett san,’ she protested. ‘For the honour you do us.’

  Behind her, Tadatune waited with suitably grave features, as befitted the arranger. ‘Then you are agreed that I should marry Miss Sumiko?’ Nicholas asked, not at all sure that he would not be relieved by a refusal.

  ‘But of course, Barrett san. Have we not accepted your presents?’

  Nicholas glanced at Tadatune. ‘They are here, Barrett san,’ the hatamoto said. ‘To your future father-in-law you have presented this fine sword, worked with the most exquisite art. And to Masaru Suoko, this silk robe, together with five barrels of wine and three boxes of condiments.’

  ‘For which, Barrett san, we are eternally grateful,’ Masaru said. ‘And in return, we beg of you to accept from us ten barrels of wine and five boxes of condiments, humbly apologising for the poorness of our gifts.’

  ‘Ten barrels of wine?’ Nicholas whispered to Tadatune. ‘When I gave but five?’

  ‘Sssh,’ Tadatune said. ‘You will have to bear all the expense of the wedding itself.’ Nicholas gulped, as he realised he was likely to be run into debt in this country as easily as in England. But could someone get into debt in Japan?

  ‘And now,’ Masaru Suoko said, ‘let Sumiko be brought in, honourable husband.’ Masaru bowed, and went to the door.

  ‘Do I not get to see her alone?’ Nicholas whispered to Tadatune.

  ‘But of course not,’ Tadatune said. ‘Do not fear. I have seen to everything.’

  ‘Yes, but I still have not been told if the girl wishes to be my wife.’

  ‘Not wish to be your wife?’ Tadatune looked astonished. ‘You are strange people, you barbarians.’ Nicholas watched the door, as Masaru returned, accompanied by Sumiko. The girl walked with bowed head, sank to her knees without looking at Nicholas, inclined forward to rest her forehead on the mat. Nicholas would have stopped her, but Tadatune warned him with a glance, and so he allowed the full kowtow before summoning her to her knees once again. ‘Behold, the betrothal gifts of Barrett san,’ Tadatune said, and clapped his hands.

  One of the Satsuma retainers entered, bearing a large tray, which he set on the floor. Tadatune proceeded to lift the gifts, one after the other, like some diminutive Father Christmas; they consisted mainly of silk, and embroidered stuffs for girdles. The most important was a silk robe, which had been laid on the tray without folding, and was lifted with great care by Tadatune, continuing to make sure that there was no fold or crease in the garment. All these were passed before Sumiko, while she never raised her head or acknowledged them in the slightest way, and were then given to her mother. ‘And without,’ Tadatune said, ‘there await ten barrels of wine, and seven boxes of condiments. It is hoped by Barrett san that these gifts please you, Masaru Sumiko.’

  ‘I am pleased, my lord Tadatune,’ Sumiko promised in a low voice, while Nicholas tried to work out who was actually going to be ahead in this giving and receiving of wine and condiments. But he forgot about that as her head came up, and for the shortest second her gaze met his, and then the eyes were gone again. Beneath the caked white paint there was no hint of emotion, of pleasure or displeasure. His heart pounded. He longed to reach for her, to take her hand and tell her he loved her, as an English gentleman might, even if he did not know for sure that he did. He glanced at Tadatune, almost begging with his eyes for the opportunity to speak with her. But the young nobleman was rising to his feet, and bowing to the Masarus, one after the other. It was time to leave.

  *

  The courtyard of the house of Shimadzu no-Takanawa was lit by flaring torches, to form an avenue of light from the gate to the porch. On either side, on this night, there had also been lit fires, to make the courtyard as bright as day. And now that the hour approached, the blenders of the rice meal had taken their places: two men and two women, one pair sitting on each side of the path, their mortars ready. The whole assembly waited. The women from the household of Masaru Toshiro had come up the hill yesterday, with the bride’s effects, and her presents. These had been carried on a long tray, and presented to Nicholas before Shimadzu-no-Takanawa, his wife, and his son. On the tray had been two silken robes, stitched together; one of them was the same robe Nicholas had presented to Sumiko, the day before. Then there was a ceremonial dress, with epaulettes of hempen cloth; an upper girdle and an under girdle; a fan; five pocket books, and a sword. All that Masaru Toshiro could afford, for the honour of his daughter.

  These had been placed in the bridal chamber, which was composed of three rooms converted into one by the removal of the inner screen walls, and newly decorated, by order of Shimadzu no-Takanawa. The presents, Sumiko’s to Nicholas, and his to her, were set out in their two trays. Beside the trays, Nicholas’s clothes were draped over a clothes rack. The mattress and bedclothes were already laid out, and Sumiko’s clothes and effects had been arranged next to Nicholas’s. Now all was ready; even the lacquered basin for washing had been placed on the raised floor, and in the corner a shrine had been arranged, containing the image of the family god of the Shimadzu, here acting as Nicholas’s own. And in front of the bed, in the position of honour, waited the towel rack, with its full complement of warmed cloths.

  All was ready. Nicholas sweated as he waited with Tom and Shimadzu-no-Takanawa for the arrival of his bride’s litter. The two naval officers wore uniform, and were the most uncomfortable people present. Tom was almost as excited as Nicholas himself; no doubt he was anticipating his own wedding. Nicholas tried to recall everything about Sumiko, standing next to the tub, smiling at him as he was bathed; he could remember almost nothing of yesterday. Lord Takanawa smiled at him. ‘You are anxious, Barrett san. This is good. An anxious husband is a fruitful one. Be sure that your bride will also be anxious.’

  The old samurai was as pleased as anyone. But when last they had met, this man had condemned him to death. Nicholas could not help but wonder, sometimes, if the entire last six months had not been a dream, from which he would suddenly awaken, to find himself standing on Juno’s bridge, taking a noonday sight. ‘She comes,’ Takanawa said. They did not go outside, but the outer door was open, and they could see the litter approaching, through the main gate.

  Tadatune came first, with Masaru Aki, Sumiko’s cousin. They walked together up the path between the flaring torches, both dressed in their finest garments, and paused at the steps to the porch to congratulate each other. Behind them walked two of Masaru Toshiro’s manservants, carrying a huge bowl of broth, made from the clams Nicholas – or rather Tadatune – had sent down the hill the previous day. This was solemnly presented at the doorway of the house, and received by Shimadzu-no-Tamatane, Tadatune’s brother. Now the men and women on each side of the path commenced pounding the rice in their mortars, moving with careful emphasis, each stroke a timed function. For the litter was coming through the gate. And now, too, in the porch, two of the Shimadzu women each lit a candle, one standing on the left and the other on the right of the corridor leading to the bridal chamber. Slowly the litter, borne by four of the Masaru male relatives, and completely enclosed by its decorated drapes, came across the courtyard. As it passed between the rice blenders, those on the left of the path handed their bowls to the blenders on the right, and the contents of the two bowls were mixed together.

  The litter reached the steps to the porch, and here it was laid on the ground. The curtains were parted, and Masaru Sumiko stepped down. She wore a white silk robe with a lozenge pattern, made from a bolt of cloth Tadatune had given her, on Nicholas’s behalf, as a betrothal
present, over an under robe, also of white silk. A veil of white silk hung from her head, so that only the crown of her black hair was visible. She slowly came up the steps between the bowing women who, as she reached them, passed the left-hand candle over the right-hand candle, when the two wicks were brought together to be extinguished. Nicholas and Tom and Shimadzu-no-Takanawa, together with all the assembled Shimadzu relatives, and also the Masaru family, bowed low as Sumiko came down the corridor towards them. For all her humble birth, on this occasion she was the most noble person present – to her must be both the deference and the place due to her temporary rank. She swept past them, her face hidden beneath her veil, and was escorted into the room and beyond, into a small chamber set aside as a dressing-room, by two of the Shimadzu women. When she had straightened her gown, and renewed her paint, she re-entered the room, and mounted the steps to the dais, where she took her place, kneeling on the embroidered mat.

  Tadatune touched Nicholas’s elbow, and he started forward. How his heart pounded. Suppose she was undergoing this unwillingly? Suppose she had not the ability to love, as he wanted? Was that the only reason he was marrying her? Of course. No hypocrisy here in Japan. He wanted her body. He wanted her body to possess his, as Kita the geisha had done. He reached the dais, and took his place immediately beneath Sumiko. As instructed by Tadatune, he did not glance at her, but turned to kneel facing the room as the assembled relations came in and took their places before them, and the ladies prepared for the ceremony.

  Two covered trays had already been placed upon the dais. Between them was a lacquered table, on which were plates of cooked chicken, fish, and two sake bottles, together with three cups and two kettles for warming the wine. The ladies now knelt before the couple, and handed them each dried fish and seaweed to eat, accompanying each dish with a short speech in which they praised the beauty, industry, and virtue of Sumiko, and the manhood, valour and fame of Barrett san, and promised the assembly that here was a union which would be honoured so long as Japan itself endured. While they knelt thus, two married ladies, one a Shimadzu and the other a Masaru, each took one of the sake bottles to the lower part of the room, where there was a brazier. Two handmaids also took down the kettles, to be heated. The ladies attached a paper model of a female butterfly to one bottle, and a male butterfly to the other. The female butterfly was then removed and laid on its back, and sake was poured from that bottle into the kettle. The male butterfly was now placed on top of the female, and sake poured from the male bottle into the same kettle, after which the mixed sake was poured into the second kettle, which was then placed on the floor.

  While this was going on, the handmaids were busily arranging small lacquered tables before each person in the room, before Sumiko and before Nicholas, and before the two ladies who were acting as her bridesmaids. Now at last Sumiko removed the veil from her face. She never looked at Nicholas, but remained gazing in front of herself at the table; beneath the white paint it was impossible to decide on her expression. One of the handmaids now placed the three cups, each inside the other, in front of Nicholas. Again as instructed by Tadatune, he sipped twice from the first cup, and then poured some sake from the full kettle into the empty kettle. He next poured sake into the cup, filling it rather fuller than before, and drank half of it. The handmaid took the cup up to Sumiko, who finished what remained of the sake, and then in turn poured some from the full kettle into the empty one.

  Condiments were then served, and the wine ceremony repeated, this time starting with Sumiko, and using the second cup. Then a third cup was served, beginning with Nicholas. This done, Tadatune gave him a signal to rise, and he was able to leave the room for the porch, where he wiped his brow. ‘By God, Tadatune, but this is the most serious business I have ever undertaken.’

  ‘Oh, indeed it is, Barrett san. There is only one more serious event in a man’s life than marriage, and that is his death.’

  ‘Where is she going?’ Nicholas asked, as he saw Sumiko, escorted by the two married ladies, also leaving the room.

  ‘To change her gown,’ Tadatune explained. ‘So come, you can stretch your legs.’ He escorted Nicholas into another dressing room. ‘This break is really more of an excuse to permit the guests to eat, as they are not sustained by the emotion of the moment. They will be given special soup, made from fish’s fins, and a cup of sake to drink, to give them strength for the rest of the ceremony.’

  ‘To give them strength’ Nicholas muttered.

  Tadatune winked. ‘Truly, Barrett san, it is enough to make a man wonder if marriage is worth it, when there is a geisha house in every town.’

  *

  Once again Nicholas knelt on the mat below Sumiko, this time drinking clam soup and eating a preparation of rice, while the women placed two earthenware cups, one gilded and the other silvered, on a tray. Inscribed on the tray was a map of the island of Yakasago, in the province of Harima, on which there was a pine tree known as the pine of mutual old age. At the root, the tree was single, but towards the centre it split into two stems, and this twin-stemmed tree was a symbol that the happy pair would reach mutual old age together, while the evergreen leaves denoted the unchanging constancy of their hearts. Drawn under the two stems of the tree were the figures of an old man and an old woman, to represent the spirits of the pine.

  There was another wine ceremony, which was followed by the wedding feast itself, beginning with soup made from the carp – according to Tadatune the most expensive fish in all Japan, but indispensable to a banquet – followed by twelve plates of sweetmeats, and then three courses, the first of seven dishes, the second of five, and the third of three dishes. During the meal Sumiko and Nicholas were each taken out twice, he to stretch his legs and she to change, and at the end she put on the second of the silk robes he had given her as a betrothal present. But at last he found himself sipping a cup of green tea, while the guests murmured discreetly amongst themselves, and Tadatune smiled at him from across the room. It was time. Nearly. He watched Masaru Toshiro and his wife rise, and bow towards their daughter, and then low towards Shimadzu-no-Takanawa and his wife, before going to the door to take their leave. Then more tea, again sipped decorously. The room was nearly quiet. Nicholas could feel Sumiko, close to him, and could almost hear her breathing. They were married, now. It was only a matter of patience.

  Tadatune was rising, and bowing, and smiling, and beckoning Nicholas. He got up in turn, bowed to his wife, and to his foster-parents for this occasion, and to the handmaids and guests, before joining Tadatune outside. ‘I had supposed Sumiko would leave first,’ he whispered.

  ‘Not so, Barrett san, for we now have our duty to perform.’ He led the way to the porch.

  ‘You mean I do not stay in the same house as my bride?’ Nicholas demanded.

  ‘In due time, Barrett san. First we must pay a visit to your mother-and father-in-law, for no doubt this is the last time you will ever see them.’

  ‘What nonsense, Tadatune. I like them both. And I have no intention of cutting Sumiko off from her own people.’

  ‘As of now, they are no longer her people,’ Tadatune said, gravely. ‘Now she is your wife, she has become part of you, and is the lady of your house. Think well on this, Barrett san. It is a great step for a young woman to take, to abandon entirely one set of relatives in favour of another. A great step in any circumstances. But in normal circumstances she is at least assured of a large new family, who will protect her honour and guard her children. But you, Barrett san, have no family here in Japan. You are clearly of importance to Lord Shimadzu and General Saigo, and this is very good, but still, lacking the support of clansmen, a man may yet find himself alone, no matter whence his favour. Sumiko has taken a deep and grave step, for now she too is alone in the world, saving her lord.’

  What have I done? Nicholas wondered. That aspect of things had not occurred to him. Nor had it been explained to him when he could have reconsidered his position. He had been trapped, because, if he was an honourable
man, he could never abandon his wife, even to resume his career. Then the Royal Navy would have to accept her, he thought, suddenly feeling a tremendous swelling of courage and determination. To be alone with Sumiko, in this world of looming war and ever-present honour, blood and courage! There was a responsibility.

  He watched the Shimadzu servants at work. The two trays used at the feast had been brought on to the porch, and were now being loaded with fowl and fish and condiments, before being placed in a long box for transportation down the hill. Five hundred and eighty cakes of rice had also been prepared, and these were placed in lacquered boxes, to follow the rest of the food. Behind these there came the gifts Nicholas personally had to present to his parents-in-law, amounting to seven men’s loads, as representing his wealth and status in the community. There was a sword and a silk robe for Masaru Toshiro, and a silk robe for Suoko, and also presents for his new cousins-in-law, all chosen with great care by Tadatune. ‘Truly, my head is spinning,’ Nicholas said, as he started down the hill behind the porters. ‘What happens now, Tadatune?’

  ‘Why, you will go through the wine-drinking ceremony with Masaru and his wife. Do not fret; Sumiko is at this moment going through the same ceremony and exchange of presents with my father and mother.’

  ‘And how long will this take?’

  Tadatune shrugged. ‘Perhaps an hour. Perhaps more.’

  ‘And then I return here?’

  Tadatune smiled. ‘Indeed you will, Barrett san. But not to retire. For you must then await a return visit from Masaru Toshiro and his wife.’

  ‘For another wine ceremony?’

  ‘That is correct.’

  Nicholas scratched his head. ‘Tell me this, Tadatune: do I ever get to be alone with my wife?’