Black Lotus

by Laura Joh Rowland

  Then Reiko noticed a disturbed look on Sano’s face. “What’s wrong?” she said.

  “Haru isn’t going anywhere.” Sano’s tone was cautious yet decisive. “She’s staying right where she is.”

  “But you can’t keep her locked up when the case against her has weakened so much.” Reiko couldn’t believe she’d heard him right.

  Sano shook his head. He inhaled deeply as if mustering the energy for an argument he’d hoped to avoid. “What happened today doesn’t clear Haru.”

  “You agree that the sect killed Minister Fugatami and attacked people in Shinagawa. Isn’t it logical that they also killed Commander Oyama, Chie, and the child?”

  “Logical,” Sano said, “but not certain. That the Black Lotus is evil doesn’t necessarily mean Haru is good. Whatever the sect has done, my case against Haru remains the same.”

  “Then you’re still sure she’s guilty?” Incredulity jolted Reiko. “You still intend that she should be tried for the crimes?”

  “I do,” Sano said.

  His expression was regretful, but Reiko heard the finality in his voice. The steaming water around them seemed to grow cold as she realized that she and Sano weren’t on the same side after all. He was still in danger of condemning the wrong person, ruining his honor, and letting killers escape justice.

  “Minister Fugatami probably died because he knew too much about the Black Lotus and was a danger to the sect,” Reiko said. “I think the same conditions apply to Haru, Commander Oyama, and Nurse Chie. They must have seen and heard things inside the temple. High Priest Anraku decided he couldn’t trust them to keep his secrets. He had Oyama and Chie murdered, then framed Haru so she would die too.”

  “I understand how much you want to believe that,” Sano said, “but there’s no proof.”

  Reiko perceived obstinacy beneath his gentle tone. She drew up her knees, avoiding contact with him. “Have you asked Haru what she knows of the sect’s business?” When Sano shook his head, Reiko said, “Neither have I, because I didn’t have the chance. Maybe if we go to the jail and ask her now, she’ll give us information that will clear her and persuade the shogun to let you investigate the Black Lotus.”

  A current rippled the water as Sano folded his arms. “I’ll not give Haru another opportunity to invent tales about other people or pretend she doesn’t know what she did the night before the fire. I don’t trust her to tell the truth about the Black Lotus, so I won’t bother asking.”

  “That’s unfair,” Reiko said, angry now. “Haru deserves a chance to save herself, especially since the Fugatami murder is evidence in her favor.”

  Temper flared in Sano’s eyes. “She’s had plenty of chances to tell a better story about what happened to her. She’ll get another chance at her trial. And I’ve been more than fair to her—and to you—at my own expense. I put off arresting Haru so I could check out all the possible leads. My hesitancy gave Senior Elder Makino the means to destroy my reputation. I’ve also delayed Haru’s trial so I could hear Minister Fugatami’s report on the Black Lotus, as you wished. The shogun has ordered me to convene the trial, and I intend to do so before he can punish me for disobedience. Haru is guilty, and I shall welcome her conviction.”

  Discord seemed to saturate the water like foul poison. Suddenly Reiko could no longer bear to stay near Sano. Rising, she climbed out of the tub in a cascade of dripping water.

  “Reiko-san, wait,” Sano said.

  She heard anguish in his voice but ignored his plea. There was nothing more to say that would alter his opinion or hers. Reiko snatched a cloth from a shelf and swathed her wet body. She hurried out of the room and down the hall to her chamber. Shivering with cold and agitation, she dried herself and donned a dressing gown. Then she knelt by the charcoal brazier and tried to think how to find the Fugatami children and thwart the Black Lotus’s schemes before the trial, when the machinery of the law would claim Haru. Now that neither she nor Sano could go back to the Black Lotus Temple, they had no way to see into the sect.

  The thought stimulated Reiko’s memory of Midori proposing to spy on the temple. Reiko suddenly realized that she hadn’t seen or heard from her friend all day. Disturbed to think Midori was so offended that she was avoiding contact, Reiko decided she must seek out Midori first thing tomorrow and try to repair their friendship.

  At the Black Lotus Temple, nuns herded a hundred novices through the precinct. The young women, dressed in white robes, their long hair loose, marched in pairs past dark, silent buildings. Their eager faces shone in the fitful light from lanterns carried by the nuns. No one spoke. The only noises were their rapid breaths, the scuff of sandals on the gravel path, and the whine of cicadas in the shrubbery. In the middle of the line, Midori walked beside Toshiko. Excitement permeated the group like an invisible force. Midori trembled with anticipation, sure that tonight she would learn something of major importance about the Black Lotus.

  After she’d been accepted into the temple, she had expected the nuns to assign her the menial chores that novices usually performed at temples. She’d thought she could look around and talk with sect members; however, that hadn’t happened. Instead, Midori had spent the day closed up in the nunnery with the other novices. An elderly priest had taught them verses from the Black Lotus Sutra. All speech except chanting the verses had been forbidden. Nuns armed with wooden paddles rapped the heads of anyone who talked during meals. Still, whispers buzzed among the novices. Toshiko had sat beside Midori and passed on gossip: “Enemies are slaughtering our kind.” “All the nuns and priests and Black Lotus followers have been ordered to come to the temple. No one is allowed to leave.” “The temple is closed to outsiders.” “It will happen soon!”

  “What are they talking about?” Midori whispered to Toshiko.

  A paddle rapped their heads, silencing them. Through the window bars Midori saw nuns and priests hurrying by, carrying bundles. A sense of secret purpose pervaded the atmosphere. Midori longed to explore and find out what was going on, but the nuns watched her constantly; they even accompanied the novices to the privy. Then, at the evening meal, Abbess Junketsu-in had addressed the novices.

  “High Priest Anraku has declared that our day of destiny is near, and we must prepare ourselves,” she said. “All novices shall be initiated at a ceremony tonight.”

  Now, as the novices marched through the precinct, the main hall loomed ahead. The nuns led the novices up the stairs, and sudden fear came over Midori because no one had explained what would happen at the initiation ceremony. She hung back, but Toshiko pulled her along with the other girls. Priests opened the doors. Smoky golden light spilled outward, welcoming the novices inside.

  There, flames leapt in brass lanterns that hung from the high, beamed ceiling. Young priests stood like an army of blackrobed, shaven-headed soldiers along walls covered with ornate lacquer friezes. Mirrors above these reflected and expanded the large room. A gleaming, polished cypress floor fronted the altar, a high platform that spanned the entire back wall and held golden Buddha statues, thousands of glowing candles, and incense burners that filled the air with sweet, pungent smoke. Beyond these, a gigantic mural depicted a black lotus. Midori gasped in awe.

  The nuns arranged the novices in ten rows facing the altar. Midori and Toshiko stood together in the second row.

  “Praise the glory of the Black Lotus,” chanted the priests.

  Suddenly, smoke erupted from the altar’s center, billowing in a thick column to the ceiling. Surprised exclamations burst from Midori and the other novices. Up through the smoke rose a human figure. It was a tall man who wore a black patch over his left eye, and a sparkling, multicolored brocade robe.

  “Bow down before Honorable High Priest Anraku,” ordered the nuns.

  As she and her comrades dropped to their knees, pressed their foreheads to the floor, and extended their arms, Midori tried to still her body’s panicky trembling and be brave. She wished Hirata and Reiko were here with her.

 
The high priest spoke: “Welcome, my followers.” His quiet voice had a resonance that penetrated clearly through the chanting. “Raise your heads so I can look upon you.”

  Midori cautiously sat upright. Anraku stepped forward to the red bars of the low railing that bordered the altar. The mirrors multiplied his image all around the room. His beauty dazzled Midori. His gaze scanned the novices, and when it briefly held Midori’s, she felt an instant, exhilarating connection to him.

  “I congratulate you on the advent of your membership in the Black Lotus,” Anraku said. “You have come here from many different circumstances of life, from places near and far, but you all have one marvelous thing in common.”

  He paused, and Midori shared the breathless suspense that immobilized the audience.

  “You are unique among mortals,” Anraku continued, spreading his arms in an all-encompassing embrace. The smoky air vibrated with the chanting and the force of his personality. “You have extraordinary perception and strong, pure spirit. You are capable of miracles. You are destined for greatness.”

  Pride swelled the chests of the hundred novices and brought smiles to their faces. Anraku’s words stirred Midori despite her role as an outsider and spy. The drifting incense smoke suffused her lungs; she felt giddy. Perhaps she really was special, and Anraku was the first to recognize the fact.

  “You have all paid a price for being special.” As Anraku leaned toward the audience, he seemed to grow in stature; his voice reverberated. “The world is cruel to those who are different. You have suffered slights, mockery, and rejection. You have been ostracized, banished, and punished unjustly. Your lives have been filled with pain.”

  Sobs punctuated the chanting. Midori saw grief contorting the faces of the young women. Their misery infected her. She recalled Hirata’s hurtful teasing and his neglect of her, Reiko’s condescension, the Edo Castle ladies-in-waiting who snubbed her, the family she rarely saw. Tears spilled from her eyes.

  “Those who have hurt you have done so because they envy you,” Anraku said. “They wish to destroy the superiority that you possess and they can never achieve.”

  Revelation stunned Midori. Such a perfectly logical explanation for her troubles! All around her she saw comprehension dawning on tearful faces.

  “But your suffering has a purpose. The divine forces have sent misfortunes to test your spirits. By surviving, you have passed the test. Now fate has chosen you to join an elite order of people like yourselves. You have come to your true home. Here you shall find the fulfillment you deserve.”

  Anraku smiled, radiating a benevolence that healed past hurts. Now the novices wept for joy, and Midori with them. Perhaps fate really had brought her here, and this was indeed the one place where people would appreciate her.

  “Look around you at your new clan,” Anraku said with a sweeping gesture of his hand. “Know that you belong here, together, among others of your kind.”

  Warm, affectionate glances passed among the novices. Midori felt the bliss of a comradeship she’d never known before. She chanted, “Praise the glory of the Black Lotus!”

  “You share an important purpose,” Anraku said. “You all seek spiritual awareness, divine knowledge, and the ultimate expression of the powers within. With me as your guide, you shall attain all those blessings. You are ready to begin the first step of your journey.”

  Eager stirrings rippled the audience. Anraku said, “The Black Lotus Sutra describes the path to enlightenment as a tapestry woven from an infinite number of threads. Approach me one by one so that I may look into your spirit and discern which thread bears your name.”

  Two nuns walked to the first row of novices. They led a young woman up to the altar. Midori experienced sudden alarm. She’d gotten so carried away by the ritual that she’d forgotten why she was here. Anraku leaned down, grasped the novice’s face between his hands, and stared intently into her eyes. The chanting accelerated. Midori saw Anraku’s lips move as he spoke to the novice and knew she couldn’t go up there. When her turn came, Anraku might guess she was a spy!

  Anraku released the novice, who stumbled back to her place, weeping. Nuns led other novices to the altar. After the high priest spoke to them, some moaned, cried, or acquired wondering, dazed expressions; some fainted. What was he saying to them? Midori wondered. Soon the nuns came for her. Filled with dread, she rose, swaying dizzily as if she were drunk. The nuns supported her as she wove to the altar. Mirrored lights and smoke spun around Midori; the chanting echoed through her. Heart racing, she stood before Anraku.

  He seemed tall as a mountain, his robe bright as fire against the huge black lotus flower. Then he leaned down, and his hard, warm hands clasped Midori’s cheeks. Midori dared not look straight at him, lest he realize her deception, yet his gaze captured hers. His single eye was a beacon that illuminated every corner of her soul. Perceiving unfathomable dimensions behind the black patch, Midori whimpered in terror.

  Then Anraku smiled, and the sense of deep connection with him soothed Midori. He said in a soft, hypnotic voice, “Love is the force that compels you. Unrequited love saddens your heart. For love you would walk through fire, travel to the end of the earth, wait for an eternity. Love brought you to me.”

  How could he know? Midori thought wildly. Had he found out who she was? She longed to run away, but his firm grasp paralyzed her.

  “Love is your path to enlightenment,” Anraku said. “It is a path through much darkness and trouble, but I shall guide you safely to your destiny. Follow me, and you shall win your heart’s desire.”

  Wisdom illuminated his face. His power flowed from his hands into Midori like a charge of energy. As she stared at him, his image transformed. Suddenly it was Hirata holding her, smiling down at her. Joy exhilarated Midori. The high priest really could grant her anything she wanted, even Hirata! Then the vision dissolved, and Anraku released her.

  Midori experienced a sensation of falling away from him at great speed as lights swirled around her. Abruptly, she found herself kneeling in the row of novice nuns. Breathless from shock, she tried to figure out what had happened, but rational thought eluded her. She knew the high priest was drawing her into his realm of enchantment and she must resist, yet she desperately wanted what he offered.

  Novices continued going to and from the altar. Moans, sobs, and emotion agitated the group. Midori wondered what he’d promised everyone else. That he could know them all and give them everything made no sense; yet it made perfect sense. Midori felt her will weakening, her spirit cleaving to Anraku.

  When the ritual ended, Anraku surveyed the novices with proud satisfaction. They raised rapt faces to him, and Midori knew they felt toward him the same fear, trust, and attraction as she did. Anraku said, “Now you each know the path that is yours to follow. Before you embark on your journey, you must take the vows that are required from all members of the Black Lotus sect.” He lifted his hands. “Rise, my children.”

  Midori clambered to her feet. Still dizzy, she wobbled. The unsteady bodies of Toshiko and other young women bumped her.

  “Repeat after me,” Anraku said: “I pledge to embrace the Black Lotus faith and shun all other faiths forever.”

  As an untrained newcomer Midori had no idea what comprised her new faith, but that seemed less important than saying whatever was necessary to earn the reward Anraku had promised. Her voice joined the loud, heartfelt chorus of repetitions.

  “I pledge to forsake my family, friends, and the entire outside world,” Anraku said.

  Even as visions of her sisters, Hirata, Reiko, Sano, and Masahiro flitted through Midori’s mind, she recited the oath.

  Distorted perception magnified Anraku to colossal stature; his mirrored, glittering reflections filled the room with his presence. He intoned, “I pledge to dedicate my life to the service of the Black Lotus.”

  The novices echoed him with increasing fervor. Midori felt her whole self blending into the group.

  “I pledge to obey High Priest An
raku from now until forever,” Anraku said.

  Shouting the vow, Midori could no longer distinguish her voice from the voices of her comrades. Her heart beat in rhythm with theirs; they breathed together like a single being.

  “I pledge my loyalty to the Black Lotus sect,” Anraku said.

  Hysteria transformed the people around Midori into a hot, dense mass of swaying bodies and reaching hands. “I pledge my loyalty to the Black Lotus sect!”

  With stern gravity, Anraku said, “This is your last, most important pledge: If I should break my vows, may death strike me down and doom me to an eternity in hell.”

  Thunderous response shook the room. Excited beyond rationality, Midori couldn’t bear for the ritual to stop. Body and spirit demanded something more, though she didn’t know what. “Now we shall affirm your vows with the sacred initiation rite of the Black Lotus,” Anraku said.

  Chanting priests formed ranks behind the rows of novices. Two nuns climbed steps to the altar. Anraku spread his arms, and they removed his brocade robe. He stood proudly nude and magnificent. Midori stared because she’d never seen a naked man before. The sight of Anraku’s manhood shamed and fascinated her.

  “I welcome you as a follower of the true faith.” Anraku extended his open hands. Towering amid the candles and smoke, he looked like an idol come to life. “Share my power. Receive my blessing.”

  The two nuns knelt on either side of Anraku. The priest behind Midori closed a hand over her shoulder. Twisting away, she looked around at him. He was a few years older than she, with a sly face. He grasped her shoulders and turned her to face the altar. Midori saw other priests holding the other novices. She recoiled from her priest, whimpering—this seemed wrong. Around her, novice nuns, wrapped in the arms of their priests, sighed with pleasure. The sensual atmosphere enfolded Midori. The priest’s cheek grazed hers. When she again turned to look at him, she saw that he was Hirata.