TAIKO: AN EPIC NOVEL OF WAR AND GLORY IN FEUDAL JAPAN

Hiyoshi went out every day to sell needles, and on his return he brought back salted vegetables and rice, for everyone did his own cooking. The stoves were available to those who paid for the firewood. Seven days passed. Still no word from Shichinai. And wasn't Shichinai himself idle every day? Hiyoshi felt as though he had been abandoned.

Then one day, while Hiyoshi was walking down a side street in a residential area, plying his trade, a man with a leather quiver at his side and a couple of old bows on his shoulder came walking toward him, calling out in a voice far louder than Hiyoshi's, 'Old bows repaired! Old bows repaired!'

When he got up close, the bow mender stopped, his eyes widening with surprise. 'Why, it's Monkey, isn't it? When did you get here, and who are you with?'

Hiyoshi was no less surprised. The bow mender was Nitta Hikoju, another of Koroku's men.

'Master Hikoju, what are you doing mending bows in Inabayama?'

'Hm, I'm not the only one. There are at least thirty or forty of us. But I didn't expect to find you here.'

'I came seven days ago with Master Shichinai, but all he told me to do was go out and sell my needles, so that's what I've been doing. What's it all about, anyway?'

'Don't you know yet?'

'He wouldn't tell me a thing. And there's nothing worse for a man than to have to do something without knowing why.'

'Yes, I can imagine.'

'Surely you know what's going on.'

'If I didn't, would I be walking around mending bows?'

'Please, can't you tell me anything?'

'Hm, Shichinai's unkind. You go around without knowing why your life is at risk. But we can't stand and talk in the middle of the street.'

'Our lives are in danger?'

'If you were caught, there'd be a risk of the plan being exposed, but for all our sakes, maybe I should explain so you'll have some idea of what it's all about.'

'I'd appreciate that very much.'

'But we're too conspicuous standing out here.'

'How about behind that shrine?'

'Yeah, and I'm hungry. Why don't we have lunch?'

Hikoju walked ahead, and Hiyoshi followed. The shrine was surrounded by woods, and very quiet. They opened their lunches wrapped in bamboo leaves, and started to eat. The ginkgo leaves above them danced in the sunlight. As they looked through the bright yellow foliage, they saw Mount Inabayama clad in the flaming red leaves of departing au­tumn. The castle on the peak soared into the blue sky above: the pride of the Saito clan and the symbol of its power.

'That is our objective.' Hikoju pointed at Inabayama Castle with his chopsticks, their tips sticky with rice. They were both looking at the same castle, but each saw it quite differently. Hiyoshi's mouth fell open as he stared blankly at the tips of the chopsticks.

'Are the Hachisuka going to storm the castle?'

'Don't be stupid!' Hikoju snapped his chopsticks in two and threw them on the ground. 'Lord Dosan's son, Yoshitatsu, holds the castle, and from there he controls the neighborhood and the roads to Kyoto and the east. Within its walls he drills his troops and stores new weapons. The Oda, Imagawa, and Hojo are no match for him. So what could the Hachisuka do? Don't ask such stupid questions. I was going to let you in on plans, but now I don't know whether I should.'

'I'm sorry. I won't say anything else.' Scolded, Hiyoshi fell meekly silent.

'There isn't anybody around here, is there?' The bow mender looked around and then licked his lips. 'I suppose you've heard about the alliance between our clan and Lord Dosan.' Hiyoshi limited his reply to a nod. 'Father and son have been at odds for years.” Hikoju told Hiyoshi about the feud and the resulting chaos in Mino.

Dosan had once traveled under other names, one of which was Matsunami Sokuro. He was an experienced man: he had been an oil merchant, a wandering swordsman, and even a novice in a temple. Eventually he had risen from the lowly position of oil merchant and seized the province of Mino with his bare hands. To do this, he had killed his 1ord, Toki Masayori, and driven his heir, Yorinari, into exile. He had later taken one of Toki’s concubines. There were countless stories about his brutality and the atrocities he had committed. If more proof were needed of his astuteness, once he had become master of Mino, he had not ceded a single inch of land to his enemies.

But the workings of fate are terrifying. Could it be that what happened next was divine retribution? He adopted Yoshitatsu, the son of his former lord's concubine. But he worried about whether the child was his own or Lord Toki's. As Yoshitatsu grew up, Dosan's doubts became stronger with each passing day.

Yoshitatsu was an imposing man, who stood over six feet tall. When he was made lord of Inabayama, his father moved into Sagiyama Castle, on the other side of the Nagara River. On opposite banks of the river, the destinies of father and son were in the of the gods. Yoshitatsu was in his prime and he ignored the man he assumed to be his fathr. The aging Dosan, ever more suspicious, cursed Yoshitatsu and finally disinherited him, with the idea of putting his second son, Magoshiro, in Yoshitatsu's place. Yoshitatsu, however, was quick to catch on to the plan.

But then Yoshitatsu contracted leprosy and became known as 'the Leper Lord.' He was a child of fate and eccentric, but also resourceful and brave. Yoshitatsu set up forts to guard against attack from Sagiyama, and never turned down an opportunity to fight. Determined to rid himself of this despicable 'Leper Lord'—his own son—Dosan resigned himself to spill blood. Hikoju took a deep breath. 'Dosan's retainers are, of course,  known hereabouts. We were asked to set fire to the castle town.'

'Fire the town!'

'It wouldn't do any good just to suddenly set fires. Before doing that, we're to spread rumors, and when Yoshitatsu and his retainers at Inabayama are unsettled, we pick a windy night and turn the castle town into a sea of flame. Then Dosan's forces will cross the river and attack.'

'I see.' Hiyoshi nodded with a grown-up look. He showed neither admiration nor disapproval. 'So we've been sent here to spread rumors and commit arson.'

'Correct.'

'So in the end, we're just agitators, aren't we? We're here to stir up the people.'

“Well, yes, you could put it that way.'

“Isn't being an agitator the work of the lowest outcasts?'

'There's nothing we can do about it. We Hachisuka have been dependent on Lord Dosan for many years now.' Hikoju saw things very simply. Hiyoshi looked at him. A ronin was always a ronin, but he had trouble getting used to the idea. Although he got his rice from the table of a ronin, he considered his own life to be precious, and he did not intend to throw it away heedlessly.

“Why did Master Shichinai come?'

“He's here to direct operations. With thirty or forty men entering the area separately, you need someone to coordinate and supervise them.'

“I see.

“So         now you know what it's all about.'

“Uh-huh. But there's one more thing I don't understand. What about me?'

“Hm. You?'

“What do you suppose I'll have to do? I've had no orders from Master Shichinai so far.

“Perhaps because you're small and agile, you'll be given the job of setting the fires on the night when there's a wind.'

“I see. An arsonist.'

“Since we've come to this town on secret orders, we can't afford to be careless. When we pose as bow menders and needle sellers we have to be careful and watch what we say.'

“If they learn about our plan, will they start looking for us right away?'