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

'To sell needles, of course.'

'Well, then, what brought you into an alleyway in a residential area like this?'

'I thought it was a shortcut.'

'You're lying.' Mitsuhide turned his body a little to the side. 'When I saw you, I could tell you were a seasoned traveler and peddler. So you should have sense enough to know whether or not you could sell needles at a samurai residence.'

'I have sold them, though rarely—'

'I can imagine it's rarely.'

'But it can be done.'

'Well, let's put that aside for the moment. What were you reading in a deserted place like this?'

'Huh?'

'You furtively took out a piece of paper, thinking that no one was around. But anywhere there is life, there are eyes. And things, too, speak to those who have ears to hear. What were you reading?'

'I was reading a letter.'

'Some sort of secret correspondence?'

'I was reading a letter from my mother,' he said very matter-of-factly. Mitsuhide looked searchingly at him. 'Is that so? A letter from your mother?'

'Yes.'

'In that case, let me see it. According to the laws of the castle, when you come across a suspicious person, he's to be arrested and taken to the castle. As evidence, let me see the letter from your mother, or I'll have to hand you over to the authorities.'

'I ate it.'

'You did what?'

'Unfortunately, after I read it, I ate it, sir.'

'You ate it?'

'Yes, that's what I did,' Hiyoshi continued earnestly. 'To me, just by my being alive, my mother is to be more respected than the gods or Buddhas. Therefore—'

Mitsuhide let out a thundering cry, 'Hold your tongue! I suppose you chewed it up because it was a secret communication. That alone makes you a suspicious character!'

'No! No! You're mistaken!' Hiyoshi said, waving his hands. 'To carry a letter from my mother, to whom I'm more grateful than to the gods and Buddhas, and in the end blow my nose on it and toss it away in the street, where it would be trampled under people’ss feet, would be impious and a crime. This is the way I think, and it's a habit of mine always to eat them. I'm not lying. It's natural for someone to miss his mother so much that he'd want to eat the letters, coming from so far away.'

Mitsuhide was sure it was all a lie, but even so, here was a boy who lied much better than the common run. And he sympathized with him because he himself had left his mother behind at home.

Although it's a lie, it's not a base lie. And though it's nonsense to talk about eating a letter from one's mother, there's no mistaking that even this little monkey-faced lad must have parents, thought Mitsuhide, at the same time feeling sorry for his unpolished and uneducated adversary. Nevertheless, if this ignorant, naive youth were the tool of an agitator, he could be as dangerous as a wild animal. He wasn't the kind of person to send off  to the castle, and it would be a shame just to kill him on the spot. He thought about just letting Hiyoshi go, but he kept a sharp eye on him while trying to decide how to handle matter.

'Mataichi!' he called. 'Is Mitsuharu around?'

'I think so, sir.'

'Tell him I don't want to be a bother, but please ask if he can come here for a minute.'

'Yes, sir.' Mataichi ran off.

Shortly after, Mitsuharu came from the house, walking with great strides. He was younger than Mitsuhide, perhaps eighteen or nineteen. He was the heir to the master of the house, the lay priest Akechi Mitsuyasu, and he and Mitsuhide were cousins. Mitsuhide's family name was also Akechi. He lived with his uncle and spent his days in study. It not that he was financially dependent on his uncle; he had come to Inabayama because his home in provincial Ena was far removed from the centers of culture and politics. His uncle often said to his son, 'Look at Mitsuhide and study a little.' Mitsuhide was a serious scholar. Even before he had come to Inabayama, he had already traveled extensively, touring the country from the capital to the western provinces.  He had kept company with traveling swordsmen and sought out knowledge, studied current events, and willingly accepted life's hardships. When he got around to studying firearms, he made a special trip to the free city of Sakai and eventually made so great a contribution to the defenses and military organization of Mino that everyone, beginning with his uncle, respected him as a genius of the new learning.

'How can I be of assistance, Mitsuhide?'

'Well, it's nothing really.' His tone was deferential.

'What is it?'

'I want you to do something for me, if you think it's right.'

The two men went outside and, standing right next to Hiyoshi, discussed what to do with him. After hearing the details from Mitsuhide, Mitsuharu said, 'You mean this nobody? He looked Hiyoshi over casually. 'If you think he's suspicious, turn him over to Mataichi. If he's tortured a bit, beaten with a broken bow, say, he'll talk soon enough. It should be easy.'

'No.' Mitsuhide took another look at Hiyoshi. 'I don't think he's the type who'll talk with that sort of treatment. And I feel sorry for him, somehow.'

'If he's taken you in and made you feel sorry for him, you're not likely to get him to talk. Give him to me for four or five days. I'll lock him up in the storage shed. He'll soon be spitting out the truth when he gets hungry.'

'Sorry to trouble you with this,' Mitsuhide said.

'Shall I tie him up?' Mataichi said, twisting Hiyoshi's arm.

'Wait!' said Hiyoshi, trying to free himself from Mataichi's grip. He looked up at Mitsuhide and Mitsuharu. 'You just said that even if I was beaten, I wouldn't tell the truth. All you have to do is ask me and I'll tell you everything. Even if you don't ask! I can't stand being shut up in a dark place.'

'You're ready to talk?'

'Yes.'

'All right. I'll do the questioning,' said Mitsuharu.

'Go ahead.'

'What about—' But Hiyoshi's composure seemed to unnerve Mitsuharu, and he stopped in mid-sentence, muttering, 'It's no good! He's a strange one. I wonder if he's quite right in the head. He must be playing a game with us.' Glancing at Mitsuhide, he gave a bitter laugh. But Mitsuhide was not laughing. He was looking at Hiyoshi with an anxious look on his face. Mitsuhide and Mitsuharu took turns questioning him, as though they were humoring a spoiled child.

Hiyoshi said, 'Well, then, I'll tell you what's being planned for tonight, but since I'm not part of their gang and don't have anything to do with them, can you guarantee my life?'

'Fair enough. Taking your life wouldn't be much of an accomplishment. Something's up, eh?'

'There's going to be a big fire tonight, if the wind is right.'

'Where?'

'I don't know exactly, but the ronin staying at the lodging house discussed it in secret. Tonight, if the wind comes from the south or west, they're going to meet in the woods near the Jozaiji, split up, and set fire to the town.'

'What?' Mitsuharu's mouth fell open. Mitsuhide swallowed hard, finding it difficult to believe what he had just heard.

Hiyoshi, ignoring their reaction to what he had just said, swore that he didn't know any more, just what he had heard whispered by ronin who happened to be his fellow lodgers. All he wanted to do was sell his stock of needles and return to his hometown of Nakamura as soon as possible, to see his mother's face.

After the color had returned to their faces, Mitsuhide and Mitsuharu stood aghast for a moment. At last,