The 47 Ronin Story (19 page)

"I'm sorry to interrupt your gathering," he said calmly, as though he had walked in on nothing more than a tea party, "but a certain urgent matter has come up which will most likely affect your plans."

He looked around at them and some of the men moved uncomfortably, feeling that he might be memorizing their faces so he could take some reprisal against them later. Oishi sensed this and immediately tried to put their minds at rest.

"First let me say that 1 blame no one for being here tonight, nor do I bear any ill will toward those who assumed the authority to summon you."

Hara and Horibe looked at the floor and said nothing as Oishi continued.

"I am aware that many of you have lost faith in my ability to lead you because of things you've heard about my style of living in Kyoto. You've probably learned these things from Hara, who is an eyewitness to the fact that I have caroused with women of the lowest sort—and on money that of course belongs to you all."

Some of the men were beginning to shift around in embarrassment but Oishi kept on with his patient explanation.

"You may also have heard that I have been seen in public places in an intoxicated state and have even been caught brawling in a public theater . . . And I must tell you frankly that all these things are true."

Oishi ignored the low murmur that followed these words and laid down the arrow to turn directly to Hara.

"I had hoped, however, that my old friend Hara would have allowed me to explain my actions before jumping to unfounded conclusions and attempting to seize the leadership of our band for himself."

Hara made a gesture of protestation but Oishi continued.

"I appreciate his desire to do something about our master's death but I submit that it is no stronger than my desire to do the same. I also admire him for starting this school of archery for commoners, because I know from experience what depths we have had to sink to in order to prove to the world that we are what we are not. That was the point to all that I

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Chapter Fifteen

did and T am here to report to you that 1 have met with a measure of success."

He paused and looked at them with an air of satisfaction. "The spies have gone. For the first time since our master's death I feel it is now possible to go ahead with plans that have a chance of success. To have made a move before now would have been foolhardy, as I said all along."

There was a murmur among the men and Oishi turned to Hara.

"Where is your assistant—the one who calls himself Konishi?"

Hara hardly knew how to answer and stuttered in his reply.

"Why, he's—he's gone! I haven't seen him for two days!"

Oishi nodded. "You're lucky, Hara, that this meeting wasn't held two days ago. Isn't it obvious to you that your assistant was one of Fujii's men?"

Hara growled and was about to argue the point but Oishi went on without giving him a chance.

"Kataoka saw him here when he delivered my messages that you refused to receive. He recognized him as the man who was with you that night in Kyoto when you lost your faith in your leader . . . But let me ask you a question. How could you have found me that night unless the man who led you was in league with the spies? Did you ever stop to think about that?"

Hara's mouth fell open. There was no answer.

"Yes, the spies are gone," Oishi went on, "and I credit my acting ability for that accomplishment. I was so accomplished an actor I even fooled many of you, although you should have remembered that I took the same vows as you and have never stopped

respecting them. Regardless of what has happened, however, I think we still have the same desire to avenge our master's death. We made promises to one another which I for one intend to keep. I hope you all feel the same."

There was a pause for a moment and then a general murmur of agreement swept through the room.

"Good," said Oishi, "because the time has finally come when we may speak of action not in terms of next year or next month, but of now! I received a message today from the acting head of the Edo group," and here he looked pointedly at the embarrassed Horibe who was far from his assigned post, "which tells us that as far as our petition is concerned, all is lost. Daigaku Asano has been placed in the custody of Asano-Akinokami in his province. He has been condemned to permanent exile for his brother's crime and the family name is to be excised from the official book of heraldry. All hopes for the recovery of the castle at Ako are dashed once and for all."

The men around him sat wide eyed as this terrible news sank into their minds. Then they began to mutter and the sound grew in subdued excitement.

"Revenge" was the cry. "Now we can take our revenge at last" they said, and Hara walked falteringly to Oishi to bow before him.

"Is it true?" he asked. "Can we at last avenge Lord Asano's death as we should?"

Oishi nodded, his eyes flashing in the torch light.

"Once again," Hara said penitently, "I ask you to forgive me."

Oishi smiled and took his hand. Now Horibe came forward with apologies and Oishi included him in his smile of forgiveness. He beckoned to Kataoka and

Chapter Sixteen

as the monkey-faced little man approached, Hara seized him in a bear hug of affection that brought an exaggerated gasp from his victim and a tension-breaking laugh from the crowd. Now they were all together again and nothing but death could divide them.

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There was a finahty in the message from Edo about Daigaku's banishment that brought both relief and despair to the house at Yamashina. It was obviously a bitter blow for Shindo and Koyama who had pinned their hopes on winning out without a struggle. When Kataoka heard the news, his monkey face set in an expression of determination and the glint of battle came into his eyes. Chikara's first feeling was of having stepped off into space, but he kept one hand on his sword and pretended his feet were still on the ground.

After the first bitter moment, Oishi felt strangely at peace. For the first time since his master's death, the path of action was now clearly revealed. There would be no more arguments with his men about postponing what must be done. There would be no

more playing the fool as he had so despised. There would be no more hiding his intentions, which were now to be fulfilled. They would kill the man responsible for Lord Asano's death, regardless of the consequences. The time for waiting was over.

At first there was fear that the news would bring back the spy force and Oishi was obliged to move cautiously, but after a few days went by and Fujii and his men did not appear, he sent out word for his men to assemble. It seemed evident now that Kira and his allies had taken the confiscation of the castle at Ako as final and had never considered that Daigaku had a chance with his appeal. The fact that Oishi had waited for the decision on the appeal now gave him an advantage he would never have had otherwise— that of surprise.

The men came to Yamashina in small groups in answer to Oishi's summons and within four days Horibe and the first small contingent of troops went up to Edo. The plan was for the rest to follow a few at a time so as not to create undue suspicion. Once in Edo, they were to use assumed names and stay apart until the last man, Oishi, arrived.

With Onodera, his old chief of staff, Oishi began to work out a schedule of departure. On paper their number had grown to about a hundred and twenty but it soon became apparent that this was a meaningless figure. More men than anticipated belonged to what Yoshida had called the "third group"—those who were with Oishi in his plan to get the castle restored, but who were suddenly unavailable when it came to embarking on the road to vengeance. For this reason he decided to send Kataoka among all the men to return their pledges and tell them that they were free to drop out. He knew some of

Chapter Sixteen

them felt that they would be doing their aged parents or small children a disservice by abandoning them now and he wanted them to know there would be no prejudice against them if they decided not to go on. In the case of some of the followers, he took it on himself to reassure them personally.

One such that he visited was Emonshichi Yato, who was only seventeen, but who had already risked his life to tell Oishi about the meeting Hara had called in Osaka. The boy lived with his aged parents in Kyoto and Oishi went to call when he learned that Yato had reaffirmed his pledge. Since Chikara, who was also seventeen, was being allowed to go, he could not deny this boy on the grounds of age, but he wanted some assurance from his family that they approved.

It was plain from the crude hut they lived in that they were having a hard time of it, but they insisted that Yato be allowed to go. They told Oishi the boy would never live it down if he were refused permission to join the band and they would feel that they had let down their masters, meaning Lord Asano and Oishi himself.

Against this Oishi had no argument but more than ever he realized the dreadful responsibility he had taken on himself. It was up to him to see that the boy did not die in vain, as with all the others. He knew they would follow him wherever he would lead and in life or in death he would be haunted by their recriminations if he failed. As he was leaving the shack on the outskirts of the city, he was surprised to see one of the servants from the Ako castle bringing in a small supply of food to the old couple. The man behaved strangely, pretending not to recognize his old leader as he entered the shack, and Oishi was

puzzled until a flash of insight told him what was happening. The servant was now actually supporting his former masters and did not want this to be known for fear of embarrassing them. Oishi shook his head in wonder, then moved away as a quiet sobbing came from the hut and a comforting voice responded, "It won't be so bad if you think of it as the time before we had a child."

Oishi also intended to visit Shindo and Koyama but he was thwarted in this by their sudden disappearance. It was much later when he finally received an apologetic note from Shindo saying that after due consideration he and Koyama had decided they were not cut out to be fighters and would only be a nuisance in battle. They had concluded that "of thirty-six devices it is best to take flight" and hoped he would forgive them. Oishi was not particularly surprised at their action and was glad they had been weeded out before it was too late. He commended their honesty in admitting their shortcomings, but he hoped too many others would not follow the same path.

The report from Kataoka that night was not encouraging. About half the men they had counted on had reneged, leaving less than sixty. Kataoka, too, had found much misery, including cases of children and old people being forced to work, and everywhere a profound sadness at the thought of the coming farewells. At any rate, they were sure of the men that were left—although that situation could change, too, when they assembled in Edo and their objective was clearly in view.

Seeing that Oishi was depressed by these develop-

Chapter Sixteen

ments Kataoka attempted to add a joking note by telling of one man who could not go because his wife would not let him—"She keeps him too well under her hips!"—but Oishi had already left the room.

He had not seen Okaru for several days because of the rush of activities that began with the message from Edo, but now when he wearily pushed open the door to his room he found her waiting for him. He was grateful for her presence and moved to lie down beside her. He was about to say something in apology for having neglected her, when she threw back the covers and flung her naked body onto him with a sob.

"Don't go," she pleaded. "Don't go to Edo with the rest of them—it's suicide!"

Surprised by her outburst, he took her arms from around his neck and held her hands together in front of him.

"You know better than that," he told her. "You, a trained geisha, so shamelessly displaying your feehngs? What will your customer think?"

"I don't care," she wailed. "You're going up to Edo to die and I won't let you!"

"I think you must be a spy," he told her as he gently lay her down. "You know all my plans and you're trying to change them to benefit my enemy."

"I'm trying to change them to benefit myself," she sobbed as she turned away. "Think of my life. Think of saving it rather than of taking someone else's."

"Oh," he said as before. "Now you're threatening suicide. Is it fair to put me in a position like that? Besides, I know you would never do it."

"How do you know?" she sniffled.

"Because you're too strong," he told her, and rose on his elbow to look down at her. "You've fought

your battle—you've regained your position—you're not the kind to stay defeated."

"But there's no recovery from some kinds of loss," she sniffed.

"You've got to give me the same chance you had," he said. "It's only fair."

"Nothing is fair," she answered bitterly. "And your killing one more scoundrel won't make it so. Have you no concern for your own life—or that of your family?" '

Oishi paused for a moment. "One's life weighs lightly against duty," he told her at last.

"But duty to whom? Your master is dead—there's no one giving you orders now."

"Oh, but there is," he said in a faraway voice, and she lifted herself to look more closely into his face to try to guess his' meaning. He placed his hand behind her head and kissed her as she lay back with a sigh. Then he started to make love to her in the gentle way she had taught him and after a while she responded, and much later they went to sleep.

It was the first week in October before Oishi was ready to leave. He had to obtain articles of arms and armor in Kyoto which he insisted on personally transporting because of the risk. When these were ready, the last of the men had already gone ahead except for Onodera, Kataoka, Chikara, and three others, including the servant Mimura who had a special mission to perform.

It was early one cool autumn morning when they assembled in front of the house and loaded the remaining horses with the crates of "silk goods" they were transporting. All the men were disguised

Chapter Sixteen

as ordinary porters who would walk the long Tokaido with wares consigned to a wealthy daimyo in Edo.

In the manner of a geisha-house farewell, Okaru and the little maiko, both in their gayest kimono, came to the front of the house to see them off. They laughed as though it was the end of a weekend of pleasure with many more to look forward to. Young Chikara bowed a polite farewell to Okaru who smiled mistily; she would never forget that she owed her life to him. Then he turned to the little girl and bowed to her, too. At this, she could no longer hold back her tears and turned quickly to hide her face in Okaru's sleeve. Chikara turned away and took his place in the caravan. Oishi raised his arm to give the command to move out, then hesitated.

"You know . . ."he said to Okaru, but he could not go on. His arm came down and the men slowly moved out with their horses. Okaru smiled bravely to the last, but when they were out of sight beyond the gate the smile faded and her pretty red fan fell from her hand. The autumn wind had already begun to blow. She took the little maiko by the hand and led her in to prepare for her return to Gion alone. Okaru's own chance to go back had been forfeited by her refusal to spy on Oishi, for that was the price Hoshino had been willing to pay.

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Mimura left several hours ahead of the others. He had been entrusted with a mission of the utmost importance and his chest swelled as he thought of the responsibility that had been entrusted to him.

He, too, was dressed as an ordinary porter, but his route did not lie directly in the direction of Edo. Instead he took the road to Kyoto, a dim path to follow in the predawn darkness. He entered the city and made directly for the district where the Emperor held his court. At a certain back gate on a side street he stopped, looked around to see that he was not observed, and knocked lightly.

No light went on inside, but in a moment he heard someone coming and the gate slowly opened. He heard a flurry of movement from inside and what sounded like a woman's muffled sob before a small form stepped out alone. It was Lord Asano's little daughter, dressed as a commoner, but with a bright, eager expression on her aristocratic little face that gave her away as anything but a peasant.

Without a word to those inside, Mimura took her by the hand and started to walk rapidly away. Oishi

Chapter Seventeen

had already thanked the foster parents in the letter which had set up this meeting and the clumsy servant had no wish to waste time now when every moment was precious.

The sun was beginning to break over the rooftops of Yamashina when he arrived back at the junction of the road that led to Edo. His arrival had been timed perfectly. Along the road from Yamashina at that very moment came Oishi and the rest of the group, walking beside their pack horses.

They could not help expressing their joy at seeing the child and welcomed her in low voices. She ran to Oishi and threw herself in his arms and after a brief, silent embrace he picked her up and put her on the back of one of the horses. He motioned to Mimura to take the bridle of this horse and to drop back behind the main body of men. There was always the danger that they might be recognized and he wanted Lord Asano's daughter to appear to be traveling separately. Mimura would always be within shouting distance in case of an emergency.

They were in no hurry. Oishi still believed the roundabout way was best and purposely took his time. At night they often camped by the side of the road rather than risk being seen in an inn where sharp eyes and wagging tongues could do them damage. At a slow walking pace, it took them ten days to reach the Hakone Pass.

The trip so far was uneventful with not a single spy in evidence. For this reason, and because his future now seemed so clear-cut, Oishi was able to relax and enjoy the scenery he had been too preoccupied to notice before. Now he could appreciate the spectacular sights of the countryside in the fall and the majesty of Mt. Fuji as never before.

There was a barrier at Hakone, the last one before descending to the Kanto Plain, but they had successfully passed all others and Oishi was confident they could convince the gatekeepers that they were on legitimate business.

Still, he approached it at night, just to be on the safe side. There was a cold wind blowing, which gave them an excuse to turn up the collars of their long cloaks and also guaranteed that the guards would not stay long outside their warm huts.

It went as Oishi had planned. The guards were in a hurry to get back inside and did not even inspect their goods. It was over quickly and again they were on their way, Oishi in the lead. It seemed as though nothing could stop them now.

As they started the long descent, however, a lone horseman appeared on the road approaching them. Oishi wrapped his cloak tighter and turned aside as the man passed but then he drew in his breath sharply as he recognized who it was. The tall, thin figure of the man who had been following him for so long was unmistakable. It was the ronin Fujii!

There was nothing he could do to warn the others and his hand went to his sword beneath his cloak. The man on horseback looked over every man in the group carefully and it seemed impossible that he should not know them. Yet he rode on silently without a sign of recognition. Oishi watched him till he disappeared from view, then motioned to the others to halt. For their own safety it would be best to put on all speed, but his first thought was of the little girl. Until she came safely in view, they would wait.

As he left Oishi's group behind and his horse climbed toward the guard station, Fujii's head was spinning. He had dared not challenge Oishi at first

Chapter Seventeen

sight because he was outnumbered and would have been cut down in a second. But what would Chisaka give to know that his worst fears had been realized and the men of Ako were on the march? He had only to notify the guards at the barrier and Oishi would be held for the Shogun's disposal. He would surely be rewarded—perhaps even given a permanent position with Uesugi's troops.

That had been his first inclination. But now, as he came closer to the guard shack, he began to have second thoughts. Was anyone paying him for spying now? Did he have any responsibility toward a former employer who had failed to live up to his promises? And what if there were a reward—would it be enough to pay for what he might lose?

He reached the guard shack and stopped. The men came out into the cold grumbling and asked him the routine questions about his identity and destination. It was easier to leave Edo than to get into it. He was tempted to share his secret with them, just to see the shocked look on their faces, but the word loyalty kept coming to his mind and he kept silent. When he had satisfied them, they went back inside and he turned once to look in the direction from whence he had come, then kicked his horse into a walk. His first loyalty was to his reputation as a samurai, even an ex-samurai, and he knew that his own honor was at stake. What business of his was it if a fellow samurai entered Edo? Especially someone like Oishi, whom he had come to respect, now more than ever?

As he moved along the path, he saw a ragged fellow approaching with a child on a horse. He could not identify the man because he was walking on the opposite side of his horse, although his ungainly walk was vaguely familiar. The child meant nothing

to him. It only crossed his mind that it was a cold night and such young ones should be home in bed. He shivered a little, wrapped his cloak tighter about him, and went on with a curiously peaceful smile.

At Kamakura, thirty miles from Edo, Oishi and his group stopped. They rested here for three days, still apprehensive about the encounter with Fujii, but when no troops appeared to take them into custody they began to breathe more easily. At the great bronze statue of Buddha, Oishi gave thanks for their safe journey, as did the other members of his party. Now Oishi sent Chikara ahead as a scout and the rest of them moved to Kawasaki, closer still to Edo.

While they waited impatiently for some word that it was safe to go ahead, they passed the time watching the fish in the stream beside which they had made their camp. Here, for the first time since leaving Yamashina, Oishi felt secure enough to approach the little girl.

"How did you like your life in the Emperor's world?" he asked as he sat beside her on a rock by the sparkhng water.

"Oh, it was wonderful, uncle," she said. "The family was so nice to me—they treated me like their own daughter. I had music lessons and calHgraphy right along with their own children. And we had parties, too, and celebrated all the festivals."

Oishi nodded. He had hoped it would be like that.

"You know, don't you, that life with your mother may be a great deal different? She may be confined to her parents' home for a long time to come and you will be expected to share her exile."

She nodded. "I know."

Chapter Seventeen

"But you still want to go to your mother, don't you?"

"Oh, yes," she said without hesitation. "That's my proper place, as everyone knows."

Oishi smiled. Getting her back to her mother had been almost as important in his mind as getting the house restored, and now such an accomplishment was within his grasp.

They were still sitting together talking about her experiences in Kyoto when Chikara appeared on the bank waving to them, and they hurried to see what he had to say.

"It's safe to go ahead," he reported, and Oishi wasted no time in sumimoning the others and packing to leave.

They split up and entered the city separately. Now Oishi accompanied the girl while the rest went to establish headquarters at a central inn. First they would dispose of the goods they were carrying at a "fencing school" which Horibe had recently established. It was an appropriate place to store the arms they had smuggled in from Kyoto.

Oishi kept his promise to himself not to see Lady Asano again, although it required a tremendous effort on his part not to go with the little girl to her meeting with her mother. He had sent no advance notice of his intentions, but relied on his memory of the layout of her parents' garden to know how to find the back gate and let her in. The joyous cries he heard over the wall were all the reward he needed for a job well done and he smiled as he heard them.

Then he reluctantly turned away and went to join his men.