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

“Yes, my lord. The Abbot Arima is here. He says he'd like to see you in private.'

“What, Arima?'

“I told him that you had gone to sleep early, but he insisted.'

For a moment no answer came from inside the mosquito netting. Finally Hideyoshi said, “Show him in. But give him my apologies for not getting up, and tell him that I was indisposed at the castle and took some medicine.'

Mosuke's footsteps quietly descended the steps from the mezzanine. Then someone could be heard climbing the steps, and very soon a man was kneeling in front of Hideyoshi on the wooden floor.

“Your attendants told me you were asleep, but…'

“Your Reverence?'

“I have something of great urgency to tell you, so I ventured to come over in the middle of the night.'

“With two days of conferences, I've become both mentally and physically exhausted.  But what brings you here in the middle of the night?'

The abbot spoke softly. 'Are you planning to attend the banquet for Lord Samboshi at the castle tomorrow?'

“Well, I might be able to if I take some medicine. My malady could just be heatstroke, and people will be annoyed if I'm not there.'

“Perhaps your being indisposed is a premonition.'

“Well now, why do you say that?'

“Some hours ago, you withdrew about halfway through the banquet. Soon after that, only the Shibata and their allies remained, and they were very intently discussing something in secret. I didn't understand what was going on, but Maeda Geni was anxious about the situation too, and we secretly listened in on them.'

Suddenly becoming silent, the abbot peeped inside the mosquito netting as if to make sure that Hideyoshi was listening.

A pale blue bug was chirping at the corner of the netting, and Hideyoshi was lying down as before, looking up at the ceiling.

“Go ahead.'

“We don't know in detail what they plan to do, but what we're sure of is that they are not going to let you live. Tomorrow when you go up to the castle, they want to take you into a room, confront you with a list of your crimes, and force you to commit seppuku. If you refuse, they plan to kill you in cold blood. Furthermore, they are planning to station soldiers in the castle and even take control of the castle town.'

“Well now, that's rather intimidating.'

“In fact, Geni was anxious to come here and inform you himself, but we were afraid that his leaving the castle would be noticed, so I came here instead. If you are sick just at this moment, it must be heaven's protection. Perhaps you should reconsider attending tomorrow’s ceremony.'

“I wonder what I should do.'

'I hope you won't be attending. By any means!'

'It's a celebration for the accession of the young lord, and all are supposed to attend. I'm grateful for your good intentions, Your Reverence. Thank you very much.'

Inside the mosquito netting, Hideyoshi pressed his palms together in prayer toward the retreating footsteps of the abbot.

Hideyoshi was very good at sleeping. To fall asleep immediately, wherever the thought occurs to one, may seem like an easy ability to acquire, but it is, in fact, quite difficult.

He had acquired this mysterious skill—so close to enlightenment—out of of neces­sity, and he had formulated it into as a sort of motto to follow, both to alleviate the pres­sure of the battlefield and to preserve his own health.

Detachment. For Hideyoshi, that simple word was a talisman.

Detachment might not seem to be a very impressive quality, but it was at the heart of his skill at sleeping. Impatience, delusion, attachment, doubt, urgency—every kind of bond was cut through in an instant with his two eyelids, and he slept with a mind as blank as a virgin sheet of paper. And conversely, he would wake up in a moment, com­pletely alert.

But detachment was not only for when he fought cleverly and his plans went as he intended. Over the years he had made many blunders, but during those times he never brooded over his failures and lost battles. On such occasions he recalled that one word: detachment.

The kind of earnestness people often spoke of—sustained determination and perseverance, or singleminded concentration—was not a special quality for him, but rather a natural part of daily life. Thus for him, it was far more essential to aim toward that detachment that would allow him to remove himself from those qualities—even if just for a moment—and allow his soul to breathe. In turn, he naturally left the problems of life and death up to that one concept: detachment.

He had been lying down just a short time. Had he slept an hour?

Hideyoshi got up and went down the stairs to the toilet. Immediately, a man on duty was kneeling on the floored veranda, holding up a paper lantern. Very soon thereafter, when he stepped from the toilet, another man was holding a small dipper filled with water, and, drawing near, he poured the water over Hideyoshi's hands.

As Hideyoshi wiped his hands, he gazed at the position of the moon over the eaves, then turned to his two pages and asked, 'Is Gonbei there?'

When the man he had asked for appeared, Hideyoshi started back toward the stairs to the second floor, looking back at Gonbei as he walked.

'Go to the temple and tell the men we're leaving. The division of soldiers and the streets by which to advance were all written down this evening when we left the castle and given to Asano Yahei, so get instructions from him.'

'Yes, my lord.'

'Wait a moment. I forgot about something. Tell Kumohachi to come see me.'

Gonbei's footsteps went from the stand of trees behind the house off in the direction of the temple. After he had left, Hideyoshi quickly dressed in his armor and went out.

Hideyoshi's lodgings stood near the crossroads of the Ise and Mino roads. He passed by the corner of the store house and walked off in the direction of that crossroads.

At that moment Kumohachi, who had just received Hideyoshi's summons, ran tottering up from behind. 'I'm here and at your service!' He came around and knelt in front of Hideyoshi.

Kumohachi was an old warrior of seventy-five years, but he was not easily bested even by younger men, and Hideyoshi saw that he had come with his armor already on.

'Well now, this is not a matter that necessitates armor. I'd like you to do something in the morning. I want you to stay behind.'

'In the morning? You mean at the castle?'

'That's right. You've understood well, typical of your years of service. I want you to go with a message to the castle that I fell ill during the night and suddenly had to return to Nagahama. Also say that I deeply regret not being able to attend the ceremony, but that I hope everything will be well. I imagine that Katsuie and Takigawa will dwell on that for a while, so I want you to wait there, appearing to be senile and hard of hearing. Don't react to anything you hear, and then leave as though nothing had happened.'

“I understand, my lord.'

The old warrior was bent at the waist like a shrimp, but his spear never left his hand.  Bowing once before standing up, he turned his body as though his armor weighed heavily upon him, and shuffled off.

Almost all of the men at the temple had already lined up on the road in front of the gate.  Each corps, which was identified by its banner, was in turn divided into companies.  The commanders readied their horses at the head of each unit.

The fires on the fuse cords flickered back and forth, but not a single torch was lit.

The moon in the sky was only a slender crescent. Along the row of trees, the seven hundred troops swayed silently in the dark, like waves on a shore.

'Hey! Yahei!' Hideyoshi called out as he walked along next to the line of officers and men.  The men were