Taiko. Part 24

"Well, if that's the way it is, that's fine with me."

"There is one person, however, with whom it's not so fine, and that is Nene's father. If you don't withdraw your request, Master Mataemon is going to be caught between two sides and will be forced to commit ritual suicide."

"Seppuku?"

"It seems that Master Mataemon had no idea of the agreement between us, so he ageed to your proposal. But because of the situation I've just explained to you, Nene is refusing to go through with it."

"Well then, whose wife will she be?"

With this challenge, Tokichiro pointed to himself and said, "Mine."

Inuchiyo laughed again, but not as loudly as before. "Put a limit on your jokes, Master Monkey. Have you ever looked in a mirror?"

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Why should Nene be engaged to someone like you?"

"If it's true, what are you going to do?"

"If it is, I'll congratulate you."

"You mean you wouldn't object if Nene and I got married?"

"Master Monkey..."

"Yes?"

"People are going to laugh."

"There's nothing that can be done to a relationship based on love, even if we are laughed at."

"You're really serious, aren't you?"

"I am. When a woman dislikes the man who is courting her, she parries him cleverly, like a willow in the wind. When that happens, you're better off not thinking of yourself as a fool, or that you've been deceived. That aside, please don't bear a grudge against Master Mataemon if Nene and I do get married. That will just add insult to injury."

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes, and I'm very grateful for what you've said. I beg you not to forget the promise you made just now." Tokichiro bowed, but when he raised his head, Inuchiyo was gone.

A few days later, Tokichiro dropped in on Mataemon's house. "Regarding what we talked about the other day," Tokichiro said formally. "I met with Master Inuchiyo and carefully explained your distress to him. He said that if your daughter had no intention of becoming his wife, and if there was already a promise between the two of us, there was really nothing to be done. He seemed to be resigned to the situation." As Tokichiro told his story matter-of-factly, Mataemon's face showed that he didn't know quite what to make of it. Tokichiro continued, "Which is to say that Master Inuchiyo did have some regrets, so it would be unacceptable to him if she were given in marriage to anyone else. If she and I were engaged to be married, he would be disappointed would resign himself. He would take it like a man and congratulate me. Still, he would be highly displeased if you were to give Nene to someone else."

"Hold on, Kinos.h.i.ta. If I heard you right, Master Inuchiyo says it's all right if Nene marries you, but no one else?"

"That's correct."

"Incredible! Who told you that you could marry Nene? And when?"

"No one, I'm ashamed to say."

"What is this? Did you think that I asked you to lie to Master Inuchiyo?"

"Well..."

"But what kind of nonsense have you told Master Inuchiyo? And to say that you and Nene are engaged is nothing more than a joke. This is outrageous!" Mataemon, who was ordinarily a gentle man, was getting upset. "Because it was you who came up with this, people will think that it's probably a joke. But even as a joke, it's terribly embarra.s.sing for an unmarried girl. Do you find it funny?"

"Of course not." Tokichiro hung his head. "I'm the one who made this mistake. I never meant for it to come to this. I'm sorry."

Mataemon looked disgusted. "I don't want you saying how sorry you are. It was my mistake, opening up to someone I thought had a little more common sense."

"Really, I-"

"Well, go home. What are you waiting for? Having said what you have, you're no longer welcome in this house."

"All right, I'll be discreet until the day the wedding is announced."

"Fool!" Mataemon's store of geniality was finally exhausted. He yelled at Tokichiro "Do you think that someone is going to give Nene to a man like you? She wouldn't give her consent even if I ordered her to."

"Well, that's the issue, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's nothing as mysterious as love. Nene probably conceals it in her heart that she won't have anyone else for a husband but me. It's rude of me to say so, but I haven't proposed to you; I've proposed to your daughter. Nene is the one who is hoping that I'd ask her to become my wife."

Mataemon looked at him dumbstruck. This had to be the pushiest man he had ever met! No matter what kind of man he was, maybe Tokichiro would go home if he made a sour face and remained silent and sullen. But Tokichiro sat there without a hint of getting up to leave.

To make matters worse, Tokichiro spoke up coolly, "I'm not lying. I'd like you to ask Nene once what is really in her heart."

Mataemon had had enough. Turning around as though he was unable to take any more, he yelled out to his wife in the next room, "Okoi! Okoi!" Okoi looked anxiously at her husband through the open doorway but didn't get up. "Why don't you call Nene?" he asked her.

"But-"

When she tried to calm him down, Mataemon yelled past his wife: "Nene! Nene!"

Nene, afraid that something had happened, came and knelt behind her mother. Come here!" Mataemon said severely, "Surely, you have not made some promise to Master Kinos.h.i.ta here without your parents' consent."

This came as an unmistakable shock for Nene. Wide-eyed, she looked back and forth at her father and Tokichiro, who was sitting with his head hung low.

"Well, Nene? Our family honor is at stake. It's also for the sake of your own honor when you do get married. You had better speak up clearly. Surely nothing like that has happened."

Nene was silent for a moment, but finally she spoke clearly and modestly: "It has not Father."

"Nothing, right?" With a look of victory combined with a sigh of relief, Mataemon stuck out his chest.

"But, Father-"

"What?"

"There's something I'd like to say while Mother is here, too."

"Go ahead."

"I have a request. If Master Kinos.h.i.ta will have an unworthy person like myself as his wife, please give your consent."

"Wha-what?" Mataemon stuttered.

"Yes."

"Have you lost your senses?"

"One doesn't speak lightly of such an important subject. I feel very embarra.s.sed to speak of such things, even to my parents, but this is so important for all of us that I must speak about it openly."

Mataemon let out a groan and stared openmouthed at his daughter.

Extraordinary! Tokichiro silently praised Nene's splendid speech, and his entire body thrilled with excitement. But more than this, he could not understand why this carefree, laffected girl had given him her confidence.

It was evening. Tokichiro was walking along absentmindedly. Having left Mataemon's iuse, he was on his way to his own home in the paulownia grove.

If her parents would give their permission, she would like to become Master Kinos.h.i.ta's wife, Nene had said. Even though he was putting one foot in front of another, he wa.s.s so wrapped up in his happiness that he was barely conscious. Nene had spoken seriously, but he still had some doubts. Does she really love me? If she loves me that much, why didn't she tell me sooner? he wondered. He had secretly sent her letters and gifts, but until now Nene had not sent him a single answer that might be interpreted as favorable. From this he had naturally thought that Nene did not like him. And what about the way had dealt with Inuchiyo and Mataemon? He was just being his normal pushy self. Win or lose, he had persisted in his own hopes without asking himself what Nene really felt. He should marry her. He had to marry her.

Nevertheless, for her to say in front of her father and mother that she wanted to marry him-and when he himself was present-required a great deal of courage. Her admission astonished Tokichiro more than it surprised her father.

Until Tokichiro left, Mataemon had sat with a sour and disappointed look on his face, without consenting to his daughter's request. Rather, he had sat silently sighing, confused, pitying and disdaining his daughter's frame of mind, saying, "There's no accounting for taste."

Tokichiro was also uneasy. "I'll come back another day and ask again," he had said as prepared to leave.

Mataemon replied, "I'll try to think about it. I'll think about it." Which was an implicit refusal.

But Tokichiro found some hope in these words. Until then, he had not understood Nene's feelings at all. But if Nene's heart was set, he was confident that he would be able to change Mataemon's mind somehow. "I'll think about it" was not an outright no. So Tokichiro felt that he had already made Nene his wife.

Tokichiro was still lost in thought as he entered his house and sat down in the main room. He was thinking about his own self-confidence, Nene's feelings, and the right time for their marriage.

"There's a letter for you from Nakamura."

As soon as Tokichiro had sat down, the servant put the letter and a package of millet flour in front of him. A feeling of homesickness told him that the letter was from his mother.

There are no words to express our grat.i.tude for the gifts you always send: the dumplings and the clothes for Otsumi. We only have tears to thank you.

He had written to her several times, telling her about his house, and asking her come and live with him. Although his stipend of thirty kan would not allow him to discharge his filial duties fully, she would not lack food or clothing. He also had several servants, so that her hands, which had become rough from years of work on the soil, would not have to scrub and clean again. He would also find a husband for Otsumi. And he would buy some good sake for his stepfather. He himself enjoyed a drink, and nothing would please him more than if the whole family could live together, talking about the former poverty over their evening meal.

Onaka's letter went on: Although we would be happy to live with you, I am sure that this would get in the way of your work. Certainly, your mother understands that a samurai's duty is to be ready to die at any time. It is still too early to think of my happiness. When I think about former times and your present position, I thank the G.o.ds, the Buddhas, and His Lordship for their favors. Do not worry about me. Rather, work harder. There nothing that will make your mother happier. I have not forgotten what you said at the gate that frosty night, and think of it often.

Tokichiro cried and read the letter over and over. The master of the house was not supposed to let his servants see him cry. Moreover, it was the upbringing of a samurai not to let anyone see his tears. But Tokichiro was not like that. And there were so many tears that the servant felt awkward and fidgety.

"Ah, I was wrong. What she said is perfectly correct. My mother is so smart. It's still not the time to think about myself and my family," he said aloud to himself as he folded the letter. His tears would not stop, and he rubbed his eyes with his sleeve like a small child.

That's right! he realized. There haven't been any wars here for a while, but there's no telling when war might erupt in a castle town. The people who live in Nakamura are safe. No, she's saying that that kind of selfish thinking is wrong to begin with. Service to one's lord should come first. Raising the letter to his forehead reverently, Tokichiro addresse his mother as though she were in the room with him, "No, I understand what you've said, and I'll abide by it absolutely. When my position is secure, and I have the confidence of my lord and others, I'll visit you again, so please come to live with me then." He then took the package of millet flour and gave it to the servant. "Take this to the kitchen. What are you looking at? Is there something strange about crying when you're supposed to? This millet flour my mother ground at night with her own hands. Give it to the maid-servant. Tell her not to waste it, but to make it into dumplings for me from time to time. I've liked them since I was a child. I guess my mother remembered that."

He completely forgot about Nene, and continued thinking about his mother while he ate his solitary evening meal. What does Mother eat? Even if I sent her money, she'd use it to buy sweets for her child or sake for her husband and eat unseasoned vegetables herself. If my mother does not live a long life, I don't know how I'll carry on.

When he went to bed, he was still lost in thought. How can I get married before my her comes to live with me? It's too soon, much too soon. It would be better to marry Nene later.

The Walls of Kiyosu Every year in the fall there were violent storms. But other, far more ominous winds were blowing around Owari. From the Saito of Mino to the west, from the Tokugawa of Mikawa to the south, and from Imagawa Yoshimoto of Suruga to the east-all the signs pointed to the growing isolation of Owari.

The storms that year had damaged more than two hundred yards of the outer castle wall. A great many carpenters, plasterers, coolies, and stonemasons came to the castle to take part in the reconstruction. Lumber and masonry were brought in through the Karabashi Gate, and construction materials were piled up here and there so that the pathways in the castle and around the moat were highly congested. The people who pa.s.sed by every day complained openly about the inconvenience: "You can't walk anywhere!"

"If they don't finish quickly, the stone walls are going to be in danger when the next storm comes."

But then a sign was clearly posted at the roped-off construction site: "This area is under repair. Unauthorized entry prohibited."

The work was carried out with the semblance of a military operation under the authority of Yamabuchi Ukon, the overseer of building works, so that the people who pa.s.sed through the area did so in single file, with great deference and constraint.

The construction was nearing its twentieth day, but there was still no sign of progress Certainly it was an inconvenience, but now no one complained. Everyone understood that it was going to take a long time and a good bit of construction to repair two hundred yards of the castle wall.

'Who is that man over there?" Ukon asked one of his subordinates, who turned and looked over to where he was pointing.

"I think it's Master Kinos.h.i.ta from the stables."

"What? Kinos.h.i.ta? Ah, yes. He's the one everyone calls Monkey. Next time he pa.s.ses by, call him over," Ukon ordered.

The subordinate knew that his master was angry because every day, when Tokichiro went to work, he pa.s.sed the site and never made any salutations. Not only that, but he also walked over the piles of lumber. Of course, there was nothing else to be done where lumber had been put in the paths, but this was to be used for the castle construction, and if anyone was going to step on it, he should have asked the permission of the people in charge.

"He doesn't know his manners," the subordinate said later. "At any rate, he's been promoted from servant to samurai and has just been granted a residence in the castle town. He's new, so it's not that surprising."

"No, there's nothing worse than the pride of an upstart. They're all p.r.o.ne to conceit. Getting his nose put out of joint once would do him some good."

Ukon's subordinate waited eagerly for Tokichiro. He finally appeared in the evening, about the time people were going off duty. He was wearing his blue coat, as he did all year round. As almost all the duties of the men who worked in the stables were outside, it served his needs, but his position was such that he could have been properly dressed if he had wanted. Nevertheless, it seemed that Tokichiro never had money to spend on himself.

"He's coming!" Ukon's men winked at one another. Tokichiro walked by slowly, the paulownia crest showing on his back.

"Wait! Master Kinos.h.i.ta! Wait!"

"Who, me?" Tokichiro turned around. "What can I do for you?"

The man asked him to wait, and went over to Ukon. The workmen and coolies had been called out and were starting to go home in large groups. Ukon had called the foremen of the plasterers and carpenters and was discussing die next day's work. But when he heard his subordinate, he stood up. "It's Monkey? You stopped him? Bring him here. If I don't admonish him now, he's going to develop bad habits."

Tokichiro came over without a word of greeting, without a bow. And now he seemed to be saying arrogantly, You stopped me. What do you want?

This made Ukon all the angrier. From the standpoint of status, there was an incomparable difference between the two. Ukon was the son of Yamabuchi Samanosuke, the governor of Narumi Castle, and thus the son of a senior Oda retainer. He was far superior to this man who stood there in an old blue coat.

"What presumption!" Ukon's face was flushed.

"Monkey. Hey! Monkey!" he called, but Tokichiro did not answer. This was not like him at all. Tokichiro was called Monkey by everyone from n.o.bunaga down to his friends, ind the nickname didn't usually bother him. But today was different.

"Are you deaf, Monkey?"

"That's nonsense!"

"What?"