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

Tokichiro's words struck home.

'So why is it that we are at peace today? Fundamentally, of course, it's thanks to His Lordship. But you, the people of this province, most certainly protect us with this castle as your very center. No matter how much we samurai fight, if the heart—the people—were to waver…' Tokichiro spoke with tears in his eyes, but he was not pretending. He grieved from the heart and meant every word he spoke.

Those who were struck by the truth of his words were immediately sobered and hushed. Someone wept and blew his nose. It was the carpenters' foreman—the most influential and oldest hand—who had been more openly opposed than anyone to Tokichiro.

Ah, me!…Ah, me!' He dried the tears on his pockmarked cheeks. The others looked on, amazed. When he realized they were all looking at him, he suddenly pushed through his colleagues and threw himself down in front of Tokichiro.

“I have no excuses. I understand my own foolishness and superficiality now. You should tie me up as a lesson, and hurry on with this construction for the sake of the province.' Head bowed, the old man trembled as he spoke.

At first, Tokichiro looked at him with blank amazement, but then he nodded slightly and said, 'Hm. You were told to do this by Yamabuchi Ukon, right?'

“You knew it all along, Master Kinoshita.'

'How could I not know? And Ukon told you and the others not to come to my house when I invited you.'

'That's right.'

'And he told you to be as slow as possible at the construction site, to delay the work purposely, and to disobey my orders.'

'Y-yes.'

'It's not surprising that he would do such things. And if all of you made a mess of things, your heads would be lined up too. Well, all right, don't blubber. I'll certainly par­don you for realizing that you've done wrong.'

'But there's more. Yamabuchi Ukon told us that if we worked as poorly as possible and slowed things down so that it exceeded three days, he would give us all a load of money. But listening to what you just said, I know that accepting Master Yamabuchi's money and setting ourselves against you was working toward our own destruction. Now I see things clearly. As the leader of the mutineers, I should punished, and the construc­tion completed without delay.'

Tokichiro smiled, realizing that with a single turn, a strong enemy had become a sincere ally. Rather than tying the man up, Tokichiro gave him a cup. 'There's no guilt in you. At the instant you come to this realization, you become the most loyal citizen of this province. Come on, have a drink. Then, after a rest, let's get to work.'

The foreman received the cup with both hands and bowed from the heart. But he did not drink. 'Hey! Everybody!' he shouted, suddenly jumping up and lifting his cup high. 'We will do exactly as Master Kinoshita says. After one drink, let's get to work. We should be ashamed of ourselves, and it's a wonder that we haven't been punished by heaven. I've devoured rice in vain so far, but from now on I'm going to try to make up for it. I'm going to try to be of real service. I've made up my mind. What about the rest of you?'

As soon as the foreman had finished, the others stood up all at once. Lets go!

'We'll do it!' they all shouted.

'Ah, thank you!' said Tokichiro, raising his cup too. 'Well, I'm going to put away this sake for three days. When we've finished the work, we're going to drink it to our hearts' content! Also, I don't know how much money Yamabuchi Ukon said he would give you, but after we've finished this job, I'll reward you as much as I'm able.'

'We won't need anything like that.' With the pockmarked foreman leading, they all downed their cups in one gulp. And, just like warriors about to fight in the vanguard of a battle, they dashed back to the construction site.

Watching their spirit, Tokichiro experienced heartfelt relief for the first time.

'I've done it!' he blurted out without thinking. He was not going to miss this chance, however; he mixed with the others, working in the mud, laboring like a madman for the next three nights and two days.

*  *  *

'Monkey, Monkey!' There was somebody calling him. He saw that it was Inuchiyo, looking unusually agitated.

'Inuchiyo.'

'This is good-bye.'

'What?'

'I've been exiled.'

'Why?'

'I cut someone down in the castle, and Lord Nobunaga reprimanded me. For the present, I've been made a ronin.'

'Who did you cut down?'

'Yamabuchi Ukon. You'll understand my feelings better than anyone else.'

'Ah, you were too quick.'

'The hot blood of youth! I thought of that right after I cut him down, but it was too late. One's nature comes out unconsciously, even if it's repressed. Well then…'

'Are you going right away?'

'Monkey, take care of Nene. This shows that she and I were not meant for one another. Look after her.'

About the same time, a single unruly horse pierced the darkness as it galloped from Kiyosu toward Narumi. Seriously wounded, Yamabuchi Ukon held fast to the saddle. It was eight or nine leagues to Narumi, and Ukon's horse galloped quickly.

It was already dark and no one could see, but had it been daylight, passersby would have seen the blood that fell with the galloping of the horse. Ukon's wound was deep but not fatal. Nevertheless, as he clung to the horse's mane, he wondered which would be faster: the horse's hooves or death.

If I can only make it to Narumi Castle, he thought, remembering that when he had been struck by Maeda Inuchiyo, Inuchiyo had almost flown at him, screaming, 'Traitor!

The voice that had brought down this accusation was like a nail driven right into his skull, and would not fade away. Now, between his hazy consciousness and the wind that cut through him on the galloping horse's back, his thoughts wandered. How had Inuchiyo found out? As he considered how this event was going to affect Narumi Castle and the fortunes not only of his father but of his entire clan, panic seized him and he began to bleed heavily.

Narumi Castle was one of the branch castles of the Oda clan. Ukon's father, Samanosuke, had been made Narumi's governor by Nobuhide. Nevertheless, his vision of the world was limited, and what he saw did not portend a great future. When Nobuhide had died, Nobunaga was fifteen, and his reputation was at its lowest. At that time Samanosuke had given up on him and secretly allied himself with Imagawa Yoshimoto.

Nobunaga had discovered Narumi's treason and had attacked the castle twice, but Narumi had not fallen. There was reason for it not to fall; it was supported at the rear by the mighty Imagawa, both militarily and economically. Nobunaga could attack in any way he liked, but his own strength was always spent in vain. Nobunaga understood this and ignored the rebels for a number of years.

But the Imagawa, in their turn, started to doubt Samanosuke's loyalty. Narumi was being  looked upon with suspicion by both sides, and being regarded in this way by the ruler of a large province could only advance one's own demise. So, whatever his real intentions, Samanosuke went to Nobunaga, lamented his many years of misconduct, and

begged to be returned to his former position.

'The branch never outgrows the trunk. It would be good if you understood that. Try to be loyal from now on.' With these words, Nobunaga forgave him.

After that, the public works of both father and son were many and impressive, and their former treachery was forgotten. But what had been well hidden was seen by two men: Maeda Inuchiyo and Kinoshita Tokichiro.