Chapter IV
"After crossing a river, you should get far away from it."
"
The Art of War"
~by Sun Tzu~
I soon found myself with a full pack and holding the reins to a pack pony outside Shiro no Shotoku, a walled city to the northwest along the Wajima/Koga border. The Wajima were a small clan who occupied the Wajima peninsula between the Shotoku lands and the land of the Honshu. Shiro no Shotoku was the home of the Shotoku herb gardens and as I would eventually find out,
the
Koga Ninja school.
The city around Castle Shotoku was smaller than Goemon Toshi, but not by much. I saw many of the same types of people coming and going through the streets. I had more than enough to entertain me while we waited for our escort to the Shotoku Daimyo. Eventually, a man dressed as a courtier came for us with a servant.
"Sensei Nokizaru sama?" the courtier asked.
He was a young man with a slight build. He couldn't have weighed much more than me yet he looked to be about eighteen years of age. Grandfather answered him.
"Yes." He bowed to the man.
The courtier bowed back while saying, "I am Fujibayashi Nishi. Daimyo Yoshio sent me to escort you to the castle."
"Of course. We are ready, Nishi san."
With that, the servant took our things and the pony to the accommodations that had been set aside for Sensei and me in the samurai district of the city. We walked after Nishi towards his lord's court room.
The streets of the city were laid out in a nice orderly fashion that was easy to follow. It didn't take long for us to come to the gates of Castle Shotoku itself. Nishi walked us straight in past the guards and towards the entrance to the main hall. The castle was surrounded by stone walls two stories high with towers at the corners. The castle itself had a base of stone comprising the first two floors while the rest were of a lovely red lacquered wood resting atop the stone. Two more guards were posted at the entrance to the castle proper; they opened the doors as we approached. We all exchanged quick bows and continued on into the building.
We walked through a grand main entrance with murals and statues, and stopped at two large shoji screens of simple sea green. These marked the entrance to the Daimyo's main hall. Nishi went inside while we waited.
Our family's new Daimyo had held his throne for a little over a year. His father passed away abruptly, leaving it to his son as his only male heir. His father was 84 when he died, a very old age for a Giapanese. The man had been married three times and was the proud father of eight girls, until his last wife bore him Yoshio.
My knowledge of him, outside of this information, was slim. And the one lesson I learned from Tisada was this: Know everything about everyone. This, I promised myself I would do. Yoshio was not my enemy, but I was under his authority here, and I would not have ignorance as an excuse if I made a mistake.
Soon, a servant came to invite us in to see the Daimyo. We rose and entered. The hall was
beautiful. The ceiling soared three stories above the floor supported by marble columns of red. Daimyo Yoshio sat on his dais at the end of the hall. He was a young man, about sixteen, with short hair and a nervous manner. He wore a simple kimono of dull black with the Shotoku crest above his heart.
I
could have made him a nicer outfit. On his hip rested a dull daisho of worn brown lacquer. We approached and knelt before him.
Grandfather spoke. "Arigato gozaimasu for seeing us, my lord."
"Oh!? Hah! Of course Sensei Nokizaru. It is my pleasure I assure you." He sounded frightened.
"We are honored, my lord."
Yoshio nodded at this. "And who is this you have brought with you?"
"This is my pupil, Shotoku Hiro, my lord." I bowed my head in acknowledgment.
"Ahh, yes you mentioned that in your letter, did you not?"
"Yes, my lord."
"You must forgive me, Hiro san. I am still too new to all of this. It will take some time for me to become a
real
Daimyo."
I bowed again. "I can see nothing to forgive, my Daimyo. You are far greater than I."
He nodded. "Well, you must be tired from your long trip. Nishi? Be so kind as to take our new friends to their rooms please."
Nishi bowed to him and rose. "Of course, my Daimyo."
We rose and followed Nishi out of the room. He led us to the samurai district of the town. They had set aside a small house complete with a servant, for my master. Her name was Nokizaru Minoko. She was an older woman in her forties with good looks and an intelligent smile. She had made sure our things were placed in the appropriate rooms.
There were two sleeping rooms in the house, one for Sensei and one for me. There was a main room for daily meals and meetings, which was where Minoko slept. There was another small building adjacent to the house for preparing food. The entire house was surrounded by a one story wall for privacy, something Koga prefer to a view. The grounds around the house were a garden, with various trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers.
Once we had put away all of the weapons and other items we brought with us, Sensei handed me two silver pieces.
"Your kimono are starting to look a little old. Go buy yourself some material. You will need some new clothes in order to sit in court with Yoshio."
I just looked at him. Finally, when I realized he wasn't joking, I bowed and left with a huge smile.
Every day is New Year's with Grandfather!
I was so excited I did not think about where I was going until I reached the gates of the castle. Before leaving the grounds I asked one of Yoshio's mononofu how to find the merchant quarter of town. He was very forthcoming. It was easy to find.
The streets of Shiro no Shotoku were laid out even simpler than my hometown. When I arrived I found there were many tailors to choose from.
This
was a quandary. I spotted a tea-house, "The Loyal Koga," and I decided to ask there.
I got many looks from the patrons as I walked into the place. A nine year old boy wanting to buy tea was odd. The manager noticed me as I approached him in the corner.
"What have we here? A Koga child wanting tea?"
"No, Shotoku san. A Koga child wanting information."
He laughed very hard at that statement. "This is a first for me. Tell me boy, who do you want to frame?" He was a jolly man.
"I need to purchase a few bolts of silk. Who would you advise me to buy from?"
He pulled his head back. "Ah, so you are actually a merchant-ko then?"
I nodded. "If it means I get a better price on my silk? Yes."
He laughed again. "Very good. My friends tend to buy from Kailun. He owns "The Perfect Silk" store. It is three buildings down on the right. Yes?"
I pulled a handful of copper from my purse, money from my working in Goemon Toshi, and I dropped these in a jar he had at his table for gratuity. His eyes brightened at that. "Domo arigato, Shotoku sama." I bowed and left him laughing even harder.
Kailun's store was nice. The material was not the best, but I found out it was not the most
expensive either. He greeted me as soon as I entered.
"Come to purchase something for your mother?"
I bowed to him in greeting. "Yes, I need some silk." I saw no reason to dispute things with the man. He showed me several bolts of cloth. Some were good. Some not so good. I purchased two bolts of white because it is the color of the Koga House and the color of death. One of them plain and the other with the Koga crest on it. I purchased two bolts of red, one a rich crimson the second color of the Koga House; it is also the color of blood. The other red was almost rose in color. Last, I purchased a bolt of green, because I liked the color. I also had to purchase some sewing gear, as mine was at my mother's house, and a few pairs of shoes. I thanked Kailun and went back to my master.
"Well that was quick." He had been reading on the front porch.
"Yes. I knew what I was looking for." He laughed lightly. I showed him what I had purchased and gave him back what was left of his money, one silver and two copper. He took it and looked at me.
"Are you a banker now?"
I shook my head. "Just a tailor, Grandfather."
Grandfather ran me through the usual rigors each day. My sleeping hours were still during the day. I would work on my clothing when I could. I made an obi from each of the five colors I bought, and as many kimono, and under garments. I was in heaven, well, except for the training. When my clothes were done Sensei started taking me to court.
We arrived in the morning, during the hour of the Snake, 9 am to 11 am, and he would leave me there until it was time for sleep. He would take me back to the house, rest, wake up, get cleaned, and then drill me on what was scheduled for that day. In the evenings I could go to the Shotoku library, when there wasn't any training to do.
Court was... interesting. Daimyo Yoshio would cower and shake at almost anything. A general, or courtier, or messenger would approach him and bow. He would then politely ask them what it was they wanted and they would tell him. He would then begin with the nervous twitters. All who saw him thought little of the man. You could see it on their faces. I thought the same thing too until one day I witnessed an argument between Yoshio and one of his generals.
"My lord! The Wajima are not going to simply stop farming our land because we ask! They have been harvesting more and more of our land every day!" Yelled the Shogun.
The Wajima were a minor House to our west. They were infringing on the border because they could. They saw Yoshio as weak, and they wanted more rice to harvest. That's what the General was saying.
"You think we should fight them, Shogun Masashigi?"
"Yes, my lord!"
He began to twitter. "Oh, I don't know. The Wajima are a small family, but very elusive on the field of battle. Or so my advisers tell me."
"My lord, they are nothing! We can crush them easily!"
Yoshio gave a small laugh. "Easy for you to say, sitting in a court miles from the enemy."
The Shogun seemed to calm himself. This was
his
Daimyo he was speaking to after all.
"My lord, these people are taking advantage of you."
"These people are farming the land my father granted them." Yoshio whined.
"That was a temporary offer, meant to last a season. Not three years!" The Shogun rebutted.
"Either way, I do not see the advantage of going to war with a very dangerous house." The Shogun was going to speak but Yoshio held up his hand. "No. They are farming land we do not need and I will not go to war with anyone for that, Masashigi san." Yoshio shook his head nervously.
"My Daimyo, your honor demands you act!"
"My honor will not put food on my family's table, Shogun." Shogun Masashigi was going to speak again but Yoshio held up his hand again. "It is obvious I must do something to keep you silent so I will send someone to talk to them."
The Shogun rubbed his face with both hands before saying, "My lord, we have talked to these people many times. Even if you sent your best courtier I doubt they would listen to him."
"Oh I will not be sending my
