by Rohan Kōda
Dairoku brought his story up to the present without pause.
"Not even suspecting that the two of you came here to avenge Kotarō tonight, I started telling you about him in the belief that my end was imminent. To my surprise, Miss Tamae proved to be the sister of the boy I had killed. You already have his sword, but please take a look at this. Here is the lock of his hair I have been carrying, wrapped in his own sleeve."
The item that Dairoku produced was unmistakable. At the sight of the familiar sleeve, Tamae dissolved in grief, giving way to silent sobs.
Unmindful of her weeping, Dairoku mused, "Now I have said all there is to say, and I can die without regrets. Now that my death is inevitable, it might be more fitting for me to tender my head to you tonight. Is it fate that I should die not in the Oda camp but in Mikawa and not by official execution but by giving my life to you—Heaven's dispensation to have the retribution fit the sin? Rather ingenious! Well, it is time I put an end to it all. Ah, don't be alarmed. Ha, ha, ha! The sake is all gone, and I might as well return to the original void which fills this drinking vessel. With no regret binding me to this world, I shall join, by virtue of my sutra chanting, an existence as infinite as the bright dawn sky. A couple of short steel pieces called sword and blade are about to halve and quarter the ephemeral body of mine. Why should I resist? Miss Tamae, go ahead and kill me. Avenge your young brother. I will gladly accept your blade, for I see no sense in raising my hand against a lady. I'll let you kill me as I sit. Hurry, put your sword to me."
Dairoku craned his neck in staid composure, but Tamae, having learned the truth, was speechless in her vacillation.
"Why are you faltering now?" Tominaga urged impatiently. "Lend no ear to an unconfirmed story. What is this hesitation before the mortal enemy of your young brother?"
Her emotion inflamed once again by Tominaga's bellows, Tamae sprung to her feet in spite of herself, calling out, "Slayer of my brother!" Her enlarged eyes stared down at her foe, seated just below the gleaming tip of her short sword held upside-down, ready to plunge.
The hulking mound of a man sat calm and still, his eyes slightly upcast in an attitude of expectancy. His crimson face was as fresh and serene as a baby's. His tightly drawn mouth was firm yet unspiteful; his clear eyes and unclouded forehead radiated the purity of his heart. A magnificent growth of beard covered his cheeks and his jaws, harboring an almost imperceptible smile. A splendid picture of masculinity he was.
"There's nothing about him that I can hate," thought Tamae. "Perhaps he truly did look upon his young foe, my Kotarō, with tender fondness." Momentarily dazed, she suddenly felt the lamplight grow dazzlingly bright. Unwittingly she staggered back a few paces and let her weapon fall.
"For shame, Miss Tamae! Have you taken fright in spite of what I told you? I stand by you; kill him without fear," Tominaga prompted.
Tamae sat down. "It's very ungracious of you to ask if I have taken fright," she observed pensively. "I may be a woman, but I am not one to lose courage in avenging her brother. It is just that I have lost my hatred of Kasai-dono. In truth, the goodness of his heart makes him all but impossible to hate. I cannot bring myself to take his life for Kotarō's. Rather than being resentful, my brother in the nether world is probably very grateful to Kasai-dono for keeping his promise. If our lord wants to take his life, I intend to plead for clemency on his behalf. The official sentence is yet to be passed, and I no longer contemplate a private revenge. To my deepest grief, my young brother died in combat to fulfill his heart's desire. It is a grievous blow to the Yanagi family, but man's life and death are not his own making. They are perhaps machinations of an omnipotent deity and therefore far beyond the conjecture of a humble human mind. Is it mysterious divine dispensation, predestination, or what is commonly called the law of cause and effect? I am but a creature more evanescent than a dewdrop, and I can do no more than sense some vague shadow hovering above the heads of others. This extrasensory sensation chills me to my marrow and bathes my eyes in tears of some nameless emotion, neither grief, regret, nor resentment. Ah, among the mortals standing helpless under this ominous cloud called Providence, among humans who can communicate formless thoughts in words and voiceless feelings through their eyes, I wonder if such things as hate and resentment can really exist. Rest assured, Kasai-dono, I have already abandoned the idea of killing you. I would be most grateful if you feel pity for my poor brother and say prayers for the repose of his soul on occasions when you recite sutras."
"How heedless of you, Miss Tamae! How like a woman!" howled Tominaga, barely able to hold his breath to the end of her tearful speech. "Where is your sense of moral responsibility toward your slain brother? False mercy is a useless thing. You are all too readily taken in by your enemy's honeyed lies. Your weak-kneed behavior does not become a sister of Kotarō Muneharu. How scandalous! How disgraceful, disgusting! Stand aside! You may be willing to forgive this bearded face, but I refuse to do so. Upon my honor, I cannot let him be. I shall not stop until I present General Sakai with your head, Dairoku, swinging upside-down by that overlong beard of yours held firmly in my own hand. Now stand up and fight!" Tominaga leaped up and stamped his feet.
Dairoku glared back. "What a crass, bullheaded cad! I would have let Miss Tamae kill me, but even that because I believed my execution was set for tomorrow. Now that I know otherwise from what she just said, I fully intend to live as long as I can. Why should I yield my life to the likes of you? When the actual party in this vendetta has forgiven me, do you still mean to busy yourself with killing me just to clear your conscience before a friend? I don't particularly hate you, but I can't back down in the face of your challenge, can I? If you want my head, go ahead and make your bid for glory. Just be careful you don't wind up proving the sharpness of this sword that you have so honorably provided me with." Unsheathing the blade in a flash, Dairoku rose on one knee.
"Damn you!" Tominaga barked, driving his sword down with enough force to split a mountain.
It was too late for Tamae to intercede. Two redoubtable warriors already crossing swords, relentless and unyielding, their blades glinting as radiant as frost on bamboo leaves in the windy dawn—there was no room for her to edge between them. While she watched in helpless horror, there arose the clang of weapons and the thud of footsteps of men approaching the room. Letting in sudden beams of bright light, the wooden doors clattered open one after another, yielding some thirty armored guards. At the head of the throng was Sakai Tadatsugu, distinctly identifiable under the torchlight held high in his hand.
"This is an outrage! Stop it, Tominaga. You too, Kasai Dairoku, hold your sword. Men, pull them apart!"
At his command, the men tackled the pair in a heap. Dairoku withdrew his sword unresisting, but Tominaga was implacable. "Get out of my way, men. Stand aside, Sakai, and just watch. I won't stop until I see his blood." Tadatsugu caught hold of the growling Tominaga's arms, restraining him forcefully. "Come to your senses, Tominaga! Who asked you to kill Kasai? An attempt of personal revenge upon a prisoner in official custody is an affront to our lord." Even as Tadatsugu was chiding Tominaga, a number of guards, including Tamon, who was in charge of this guard unit, piled upon Tominaga and managed to remove his sword. Forcibly subdued, Tominaga sat down with a thud and glared indignantly at Dairoku, gnashing his teeth.
[19]
The abbot's chamber was becalmed by a faint scent of burning aloeswood incense and tranquil flickers of the lamplight. Inside sat Dairoku, Tadatsugu, Tominaga, and Tamae, relishing the properly prepared tea served by the white-browed abbot. In direct contrast to the mood of less than two hours earlier, their speech was congenial.
"Now that we are opening our hearts to one another, Dairoku, I will be quite frank with you," said Tadatsugu, a smile flooding his face. Ever since I learned that you had killed Kotarō, I could not bear the thought of you sitting safe and sound within my reach; I even pleaded privately with my lord to let me have you. The compassionate lord refused, however, to grant
permission, most displeased with my request for the right to dispose of his prisoner. But even then I was unable to give you up entirely. I asked this old abbot to send me a daily report of your activities and to send a special messenger to me should anything untoward happen. My primary motive was to catch you as you tried to escape so that I could avail myself of the opportunity to avenge Kotarō. Thanks to my precaution, I was informed as soon as Tominaga and a lady called on you this evening. Since Tominaga was involved with the Kotarō incident, it was not hard to divine his motive, and I was almost certain that the lady was Miss Tamae. Quite alarmed by a prospect of trouble, I rushed over here at once.
"When I arrived at this temple, I learned everything, so I no longer bear the slightest grudge against you, just as Miss Tamae admitted herself. On the contrary, I feel quite close to you now. Tominaga has also abandoned all thoughts of harming you. Putting your official status aside, there is no one in this room who doesn't consider you a friend. So, Kasai-dono, will you compromise yourself a bit and become a Mikawa subject so that you can share a long friendship with us not only in private but with official sanction as well? Our master commands only a modest domain and even more limited political power, but he is mellow of heart and broad of mind, considerate enough never to resort to force in dealing with his subordinates, and a discerning judge of character. All in all, he is a master one can serve with bright hope for the future. Since his entire domain scarcely fills your palm, it is probably impossible to offer a stipend attractive enough to entice you. But I dare to hope that you find a deserving object of your devotion in our master, whose character, disposition, profound regard for his retainers, and steadfast allegiance to the way of the samurai must be all but public knowledge by now.
"A man must live equally well through prosperity, decline, adversity, and peril, but under a master of no quality, he is but a prize painting to a blind man, a flute to a deaf man, something to be discarded or, worse yet, to be toyed with into destruction, with no one to appreciate the rich glow of his heart or to give him a chance to strike up a pure note. Who can but regret such a fate? If you consent to become a Mikawa subject, we hope to do our humble best to enjoy a long, genuine friendship with you and to stride through this chaotic world hand in hand, jubilantly exchanging cheers, helping and competing in friendly rivalry. Doesn't the idea appeal to you? I may be inane, but I am never malevolent. As you can see, Tominaga is also as open and straight as a split bamboo stalk. We, the Mikawa comrades, have lived in harmony and friendship all these years, regardless of the differences in our abilities and experiences, for there is not a single scheming sycophant among us. If you join our clan, all of us, not to mention our lord himself, will be overjoyed to gain a good comrade. Will you accept my invitation? I cannot call it judicious of you, with all your admirable qualities, to persist in the fruitless fate of a tree buried in a desolate valley. I would regret that very much."
Dairoku laughed resoundingly when Tadatsugu had finished his logical and emotional appeal. "I appreciate your concern," he said. "However, if I were to take your advice, you would have done your lord no more service than reinforcing a great mountain with a handful of soil, but what would it mean in terms of my service to my own lord? I am fully aware of what is or is not to my own benefit, but personal interests concern me less than an itch or a pain that might assail me in a dream. I cannot accept your offer. If granted death, I am prepared to die, even tomorrow. Otherwise I shall cling tenaciously to life, waiting for a chance to escape and make my way back to kōshū. I might even come face to face with your lord Ieyasu in the battlefield some day. If such a time does come, Tominaga-dono, I shall be glad to finish the fight that was interrupted today. General Sakai would not play the worrisome old woman to stop us again, I trust."
Dairoku burst into spirited laughter.
[20]
Some time later, when Katsuyori came out of Kōshū again to defend Takatenjin Castle in Enshū, Kasai Dairoku, still unexecuted, somehow learned of the campaign and escaped from Hōkō Temple, injuring many guards in the process. Taken by surprise, people expressed their dismay at Ieyasu's handling of the prisoner. After some deliberation, Ieyasu said with a smile, "Well, it's no matter. The kōshū lads are soon to be my limbs in any case." At that, he reverted to his old self.
Selected Allusions
AKECHI MITSUHIDE (1526-82: one of Nobunaga's vassals; he eventually staged a coup d'état and drove Nobunaga to death, only to outlive him for a few days.
ASURA : the fighting spirits of the dead warriors inhabiting one of the Six Spheres of the Buddhist cosmology.
GAMŌ UJISATO (1556-95): a samurai who served Nobunaga and Hideyoshi successively, eventually to command a large fief. He is said to have sent a mission to the Vatican, but this is as yet unproven.
HACHIMAN: the Japanese god of war; his origins are uncertain.
HASHIBA HIDEYOSHI (1536-98): later known as Toyotomi, one of Nobunaga's field commanders at the time of this story. After Nobunaga's death, he seized power and united much of Japan.
JŌHA (Satomura Jōha, 1524-1602): noted poet in Nobunaga's retinue; later served Hideyoshi as cultural advisor.
MARISHITEN (Skt., Marīci): a goddess worshiped as the guardian of samurai.
MATSUDAIRA NOBUYASU (1559-79): Ieyasu's eldest son and a fierce field commander. He was married to one of Nobunaga's daughters, who later trumped up a false charge of his conspiring with Katsuyori against Nobunaga, which resulted in a death-by-suicide sentence for Nobuyasu and his mother.
MINAMOTO-NO-HACHIMAN-TARŌYoshiie (1039?—1106): Katsu-yori's grand clan ancestor and a reknowned hero, worshiped almost as a divinity by the warriors who descended from him. Generally known as Minamoto-no-Yoshiie, he was given the name Hachiman-Tarō at his coming-of-age ceremony at the Iwashimizu-Hachiman Shrine, Kyoto.
MIROKU (Skt., Maitreya): a bodhisattva, the Future Buddha who is predicted to manifest himself to save mankind at a time exactly 5 billion 670 million years after the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni of India, entered Nirvana (died).
NOBUKATSU (Oda Nobukatsu, 1558-1630): Nobunaga's second son; an army commander. He survived his father and commanded a 50,000-koku fief under Ieyasu.
NOBUTADA (Oda Nobutada, 1557-82): Nobunaga's eldest son, an army commander who would be responsible for defeating the Takeda and forcing Katsuyori to commit seppuku. He eventually died fighting in the aftermath of the Akechi uprising.
ODA NOBUNAGA (1534-82): warlord and senior ally of Ieyasu. He deposed the last Ashikaga shogun in 1573, destroyed the Takeda in 1582, and was on his way to unifying Japan when he died in fire surrounded by Akechi's army.
OKUDAIRA SADAMASA (1555-1615): garrison commander at Nagashino Castle. He rebelled against his newly imposed overlord, Takeda Katsuyori, and later served Ieyasu and was awarded one of Ieyasu's daughters as his wife.
SAKAI TADATSUGU (1527-96): hereditary vassal of Ieyasu's and one of the Tokugawa Four generals. He married Ieyasu's aunt.
SAKUMA NOBUMORI (d. 1582): vassal of Nobunaga's and planner of his "false traitor" plot.
SHIBATA (Shibata Katsuie, 1522-83): member of Nobunaga's war council. He married Nobunaga's sister, was eventually defeated by Hideyoshi's army, and died in the fall of his own castle.
SHINGEN (Takeda Shingen, 1521-73): warlord and father of Katsuyori. He is believed to have been undefeated in battle. He died of tuberculosis on a campaign in Mikawa before the battle in this story.
TAKEDA SHIRŌ KATSUYORI (1546-82): warlord, son of Shingen, and lord of fictional hero Dairoku in this story. (For a fuller treatment of Katsuyori, see Historical Notes on "The Bearded Samurai," p. 275.)
TAKIGAWA (Takigawa Kazumasu, dates unknown): vassal of Nobunaga's. He was later defeated by Ieyasu's army and surrendered. He ended his life as a lay monk.
TOKUGAWA IEYASU (1542-1616): warlord and ally of Nobunaga's, later founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867), which Rohan's family served until the Meiji Restoration.
TORII SUNE
'EMON (d. 1575): Okudaira Sadamasa's messenger; crucified by the Takeda forces at the battle of Nagashino.
UESUGI KENSHIN (1530-78): Shingen's most renowned rival, lord of Echigo and Etchū provinces.
WESTERN PURE LAND: a Buddhist paradise presided over by the Amida Buddha of the West.
YOSHIMITSU (Minamoto-no-Yoshimitsu, 1045-1127): Minamoto-no-Yoshiie's younger brother and direct ancestor of Katsuyori.
Footnotes
* The domain of Uesugi Kenshin (see the entry for Uesugi Ken-shin in the Selected Allusions, p. 259).
* Japanese chess; its spear piece can move only forward.
* Professional undercover agents.
* "Kasai" is written with two Chinese characters, one meaning "bamboo hat" (kasa the other "well," "spring"
AFTERWORD
AS MENTIONED in the Introduction, one of the concepts with which a pagoda is identified is that of the universe, in which the ancient Buddha, symbolized by the moon, and the present Buddha, by the sun, exist side by side. In "The Five-Storied Pagoda," Jūbei is ordered to build the pagoda by a mysterious figure in a dream; after his faith passes the test of Nature, the pagoda launches the moon and swallows the sun. In Mahayana (greater vehicle) Buddhism, which has been dominant in Japan since the ninth century, salvation is not a goal attainable by a privileged few through rigorous physical and spiritual training, as in the Hinayana (lesser vehicle) branch. On the contrary, the universal salvation of Mahayana, in which Rohan firmly believed, cannot be achieved without the collective endeavor of the human race. Only by sacrificing his ear can Jūbei save his pagoda from the fate of the Tower of Babel. Both Jūbei and Genta must risk their lives and artist's honor in the storm to prove the power of art (human accomplishment) to recreate eternity. Satan in the Judeo-Christian tradition is a grand antithesis to God, an evil tempter bent on misleading souls away from the path of virtue. In marked contrast, the demons in Buddhism are guardians of the Law and chastisers of miscreants, and their mission is to shepherd erring mankind toward the collective way to universal salvation. Hence, it is the demons who personify the forces of nature that test human faith, while the Abbot Rōen embodies the humanly attainable Buddha-like perfection.