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

Inuchiyo jumped off his horse. 'How did it go… later on?' Inuchiyo asked.

'What do you mean, 'How did it go?''

“That would be better left unsaid. I was asking if you are now man and wife.'

“That's nothing you need to ask about.'

Inuchiyo laughed loudly. 'But anyway we're going to the front. If you're late, they'll laugh at you at the assembly grounds, because you just got married.'

'I don't mind being laughed at.'

“An army of two thousand infantry and cavalry is marching to the Kiso River at dusk.

'We're going into Mino, then.'

'There was a secret report that Saito Yoshitatsu of Inabayama suddenly became sick and died. This call to arms and the advance toward the Kiso River is a feeler to determine whether there's any truth in the story.'

'Well, now, let's see. There was a lot of excitement when we heard that Yoshitatsu had gotten sick and died earlier this summer, too.'

'But this time it seems to be true. And regardless, from the clan's standpoint Yoshitatsu murdered Lord Nobunaga's father-in-law, Lord Dosan. In terms of morality, he's the enemy, and we cannot live with him under the same sky; and if the clan is to gain the center of the field, we must have a foothold in Mino.'

'That day is coming soon, isn't it?'

'Soon? We're leaving for the Kiso tonight.'

'No. Not yet, not yet. I doubt if His Lordship will attack yet.'

'The armies are under the commands of Lord Katsuie and Lord Nobumori; His Lordship will not go out in person.'

'But even if Yoshitatsu is dead, and even if his son, Tatsuoki, is a fool, the Three Men of Mino—Ando, Inaba, and Ujiie—are still alive. Plus, while there is still a man like Takenaka Hanbei, who is said to be living in seclusion on Mount Kurihara, it's not going to be done so easily.'

'Takenaka Hanbei?' Inuchiyo cocked his head to one side. 'The names of the Three Men have echoed for a long time even in neighboring provinces, but is this Takenaka Hanbei so formidable?'

'Most people have never heard of him; I'm his only admirer here in Owari.'

'How do you know things like this?'

'I was in Mino for a long time, and…' Tokichiro stopped in midsentence. He had never told Inuchiyo of his experiences as a peddler, the time he spent with Koroku in Hachisuka, and of his spying in Inabayama.

'Well, we've lost time.' Inuchiyo remounted.

'See you at the assembly grounds.'

'Right. Later.' The two men sped away from each other, toward opposite ends of the neighborhood.

'Hello! I'm home!' Whenever he returned home, he always yelled out loudly at the entrance before going in. This way, they would all know that the son-in-law of the house had returned—from the servant working in the storage room to the corners of the kitchen. But today Tokichiro did not wait for people to come out and greet him.

When he entered the room, Tokichiro was struck by what he saw. A new mat had been spread out on the floor, and his armor chest placed on top of it. Naturally enough, his gloves, shin guards, body armor, and waistband were there, but also some medicine for wounds, a brace, and an ammunition pouch—everything he would need to take with him was laid out in order. 'Your equipment,' said Nene.

'Very good! Very good!' He praised her without thinking, but was suddenly struck with the thought that he hadn't yet judged this woman correctly. She was even more ca­pable than he had perceived before marrying her.

When he had finished putting on his armor, Nene told him not to worry about her. She had taken out and arranged the earthenware cup for sacred sake.

'Take care of everything, please, while I'm away.'

'Of course.'

'There's no time to say good-bye to your father. Would you do it for me?'

'My mother took Oyaya to Tsushima Temple, and they still haven't returned. Father's been ordered to duty at the castle, and sent a message a while ago that he won't be coming home tonight.'

'Won't you be lonely?'

She turned away but did not cry.

She looked like a flower caught by the wind with the heavy helmet on her lap. Toki-chiro took it from her, and as he put it on, the fragrance of aloeswood unexpectedly filled the air. He smiled at his wife appreciatively, tightly knotting the scented cords.

3 FIFTH YEAR OF EIROKU 1562

Characters and Places

Saito Tatsuoki, lord of Mino

Oyaya, Nene's sister

Sakuma Nobumori, senior Oda retainer

Ekei, Buddhist monk from

the western provinces

Osawa Jirozaemon, lord of Unuma Castle

and senior Saito retainer

Hikoemon, name given to Hachisuka

Koroku when he became Hideyoshi's ward

Takenaka Hanbei, lord of Mount Bodai Castle

and senior Saito retainer

Oyu, Hanbei's sister

Kokuma, Hanbei's servant

Horio Mosuke, Hideyoshi's page

Hosokawa Fujitaka, retainer of the shogun

Yoshiaki, fourteenth Ashikaga shogun

Asakura Kageyuki, general of the Asakura clan

Inabayama, capital of Mino

Mount Kurihara, mountain retreat of Takenaka Hanbei

Sunomata, castle built by Hideyoshi

Gifu, name given to Inabayama by Nobunaga

Ichijogadani, main castle of the Asakura clan

A Castle Built on Water

In those days the streets of the castle town of Kiyosu rang with the voices of children singing a rhyme about Nobunaga's retainers:

Cotton Tokichi

Rice Goroza

Sneaky Katsuie

Out in the cold, Nobumori