Taiko. Part 36

It was an autumn evening, but indoors it was still hot and sultry. The rattan blinds hung from the eaves as they had throughout the summer, and through them filtered the chirping of insects and the autumn breeze that fluttered the wicks of the oil lamps. The spotlessly clean room was dark and less than luxurious.

The room set aside for the ceremony itself was small, and there was a strangely refreshing quality about the complete absence of decoration. Slatted reed mats had been spread over the floor. An altar to the G.o.ds of creation, Izanagi and Izanami, had been erected at the back of the room, in front of which had been placed offerings of rice cakes and sake, a single candle, and a branch of a sacred tree.

Tokichiro felt himself stiffen as he sat there.

From this night forth...

This ceremony would tie him to the responsibilities of being a husband, to a new life, and to the fate of his in-laws. All of which made Tokichiro take a fresh look at himself. More than anything, he could not help being in love with Nene. If he had not insisted, she would have quickly married another, but after tonight, her fate would be tied to his.

I must make her happy. This was the first thought that came to him as he sat down in the bridegroom's seat. He felt sorry for her because, as a woman, she did not have as much control over her fate as a man.

Before long, the simple ceremony began. After the bridegroom had sat down, Nene was led in by an old lady and took the seat at his side.

Her long hair was tied loosely with red and white cord. Her outer kimono, which was of white raw silk with a brocaded diamond pattern, was wrapped around her waist into a skirt. Beneath it she wore a gown of the same white silk, and beneath that was a final layer of red glossed silk that peeked out from the edge of her sleeves. Apart from a good-luck charm around her neck, she wore no gold or silver hair ornaments, or any thick rouge or powder. Her appearance was in total harmony with the simplicity of the surroundings. The beauty of the ceremony was not the beauty of gaudy clothes, but rather that of the unadorned. The only note of ornamentation in the room was a pair of flasks held by a little boy and girl.

"May this relationship be happy and everlasting. May you be faithful to each other for a hundred thousand autumns," the old woman said to the bride and groom.

Tokichiro held out his cup, received some sake, and drank. The server turned to Nene. Nene in turn made her pledge with a sip from her cup.

Tokichiro felt a rush of blood to his head and a pounding in his chest, but Nene looked remarkably calm. This was something that she herself had decided. She was determined not to hold anything against her parents or the G.o.ds, no matter what she encountered from this day on. Thus there was something touching and lovely in her appearance as she put the cup to her lips.

As soon as the bride and groom had shared the wedding cup, Niwa Hyozo began a congratulatory song in a voice seasoned by many years on the battlefield. Hyozo had just gotten through the first verse of the song, when someone outside took up the chorus.

The house had fallen silent during Hyozo's song, so the sudden, mannerless singing outside was all the more shocking. Hyozo was surprised, and hesitated for a moment. Without thinking, Tokichiro looked toward the garden.

"Who is it?" a servant asked the prankster.

Just then, a man outside the gate began to sing in a deep voice, mimicking a Noh actor, and walked toward the veranda. Completely forgetting himself, Tokichiro left his seat and walked unceremoniously to the veranda.

"Is that you, Inuchiyo?"

"Master Bridegroom!" Maeda Inuchiyo threw back the hood that was hiding his face. "We've come to perform the water-pouring ceremony. May we come in?"

Tokichiro clapped his hands. "I'm really glad you came. Come in, come in!"

"I came with friends. Is that all right?"

"Sure. We've finished the wedding ceremony, and from tonight, I'm the son-in-law of this house."

"They have a good one. Perhaps I might receive a cup from Master Mataemon." Inuchiyo turned and beckoned toward the darkness.

"Hey, everybody! They're going to let us do the water-pouring ceremony!"

Several men answered Inuchiyo's call at once and pushed their way in, filling the garden with their voices. Ikeda Shonyu was there, as was Maeda Tohachiro, Kato Yasaburo and his old friend Ganmaku. Even the pockmarked master carpenter was there.

The water-pouring ceremony was an ancient custom in which the old friends of the bridegroom went uninvited to his father-in-law's house. The bride's family was obliged to receive them cordially, and the gate-crashers would then drag the groom out into the garden and douse him with water.

Tonight's water-pouring ceremony was a little premature. As a rule, it was carried out from six months to a year after the wedding.

Mataemon's entire household and Niwa Hyozo were appalled. But the bridegroom was elated, and welcomed them.

"What? You, too?" he said, greeting men he hadn't seen for some time, and then told his white-robed wife, "Nene, quick, bring some food. And sake. A lot of sake!'

"Right away." Nene looked as if she had been expecting this visit. As Tokichiro's wife, she knew that she should not be surprised by such things. She accepted the situation without the slightest complaint. She took off her snow-white kimono and wrapped an everyday thick skirt around her waist. Tying up her long sleeves with a cord, she set to work.

"What kind of wedding is this?" complained an indignant wedding guest. Calming their relatives down, Mataemon and his wife bustled through the din and confusion of the crowd. When Mataemon had heard that the gate-crashers were led by Inuchiyo, he had been alarmed. But when he saw how Inuchiyo laughed and talked with Tokichiro, he was put at ease.

'Nene! Nene!" Mataemon said, "if there's not enough sake, send someone out to buy some more. These men should drink as much as they want." And then, to his wife, Okoi! Okoi! What are you doing, just standing around? The sake is here, but n.o.body has a cup. Even if it's no great feast, bring out whatever we have. I'm so happy that Inuchiyo has come here with all these people."

When Okoi returned with the cups, Mataemon served Inuchiyo personally. He had very strong feelings for this man who might have become his son-in-law. But that fate had not been theirs. Strangely, though, their friendship had survived, the straightforward comradeship of two samurai. Emotion swelled in Mataemon's breast, but he did not let it show in his face or words-they were two samurai together.

"Well, Mataemon, I'm happy too. You've got a good son-in-law. I congratulate you with all my heart," Inuchiyo said. "Listen, I know I barged in tonight. You're not put out, are you?"

"Not at all, not at all." Mataemon himself was spurred on by this. "We'll drink all night long!"

Inuchiyo laughed loudly. "If we drink and sing all night, won't we make the bride angry?"

"Why? That's not the way she was brought up," Tokichiro said. "She's a very virtuous woman."

Inuchiyo drew closer to Tokichiro and began to tease him. "Well now, could you talk a little more about such shameful things?"

"No. I apologize. I've already said too much."

"I'm not going to let you off so easily. Now here's a big sake cup."

"You can spare me the big one. The little one will be just fine."

"What kind of bridegroom are you? Don't you have any pride?"

They teased each other as though they were children. But even with so much sake around, Tokichiro did not drink to excess-not tonight or ever. Since childhood he had carried with him the vivid memory of the effects of excessive drinking, and now when he looked at the big sake cup being forced on him, he saw the face of his drunken stepfather, and then the face of his mother, who was made to grieve so often because of his stepfather's drinking. Tokichiro knew his own limits well. He had grown up in great poverty, and his body was not strong compared to others. Although he was still a young man, he was careful.

"A big cup is too much for me. Give me a small one, please. In return, I'll sing something for you."

"What? You'll sing?"

Instead of giving an answer, Tokichiro had already begun to beat his lap as if it were a drum, and now started to sing.

To think that a man Has only fifty years to live...

"No, stop." Inuchiyo put his hand over Tokichiro's mouth in mid-verse. "You shouldn't sing that. It's from Atsumori, the one His Lordship does so well."

"Well, I have learned the dances and songs he performs by following his example. It's not a forbidden song, so is it so bad to sing it?"

"Yes, it is. It's not good at all."

"What's so bad about it?"

"It's just inappropriate to perform at a wedding."

"His Lordship danced to Atsumori the morning the army set out for Okehazama. From tonight, the two of us, a poverty-stricken husband and wife, are starting out in the world. So it's not altogether inappropriate."

"The resolution to go out on the battlefield is one thing, and a wedding celebration isanother. True warriors set their minds on living a long life with their wives, until they're white-haired old men and women."

Tokichiro slapped his knee. "That's right. To tell the truth, that's exactly what I hope. If there's a war, it can't be helped, but I don't want to die in vain. Fifty years is not enough. I'd like to live happy and faithful to Nene for a hundred years."

"Bragging again. You'd better dance. Come on, dance."

At Inuchiyo's urging, a great number of people egged Tokichiro on.

"Wait. Wait a moment. I'll dance." Persuading his friends to let him off for a moment, Tokichiro turned toward the kitchen, clapped his hands, and called out, "Nene! We're out of sake!'

"Coming," Nene answered. She was not at all timid with the guests. Cheerfully carrying in the flasks, she served everyone just as Tokichiro had asked. The only people who were surprised were her parents and relatives, who had always regarded her as nothing more than a child. But Nene's heart had already become one with her husband's, and Tokichiro did not seem in the least awkward with his new wife. As might be expected, Inuchiyo, who was a little drunk, could not keep from blushing when she served him.

"Well, Nene, from tonight on, you're Master Tokichiro's wife. I should congratulate you again," he said, moving the sake stand in front of her. "There's something that all my friends know and that I haven't hidden from them. Rather than being ashamed and keeping it to myself, I'm going to make a clean breast of it. How about it, Tokichiro?"

"What is it?"

"I'd like to borrow your wife for a moment."

Laughing, Tokichiro said, "Go ahead."

"Well, Nene. At one time it was on everyone's lips that I loved you. And there's been no change in that at all. You are the woman I love." Inuchiyo became more serious. And even if he had not been, Nene's breast was already full of the emotions of just having become someone's wife. With this night, her life as a single young woman was over, but she was unable to extinguish her feelings for Inuchiyo.

"Nene, people say that a young girl's heart is unreliable, but you did well when you chose Tokichiro. I gave up the person whom I couldn't help loving. Pa.s.sion is a foolish thing, because I really love Tokichiro even more than I love you. You could say that I gave you to him as a gift of love from one man to another. Which is to say that I treated you as a piece of goods, but that's what men are like. Isn't that right, Tokichiro?"

"For the most part, I received her without reserve, thinking that might be your motive."

Well, if you had shown reservations about this good woman, it would have been a misjudgment on my part, and I wouldn't have thought much of you. You've got a woman who's far above you."

"You're talking foolishness."

Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha! Anyway, I'm happy. Hey, Tokichiro. We are companions for life but did you ever think there would be a night as happy as this one?"

"No, probably not."

"Nene, is the hand drum around? If I beat the drum, somebody get up and dance something. Since Kinos.h.i.ta here isn't a man of sense, I'll bet he doesn't dance so well either.

"Well, for everyone's entertainment, I'll let you see a rather incompetent rendition."

The person who spoke was Nene. Inuchiyo, Ikeda Shonyu, and the other guests opened their eyes wide in surprise. Accompanied by Inuchiyo's drum, Nene opened her fan and began to dance.

"Well done! Well done!" Tokichiro clapped his hands as though he himself had danced. Quite possibly because they were drunk, the energy of their excitement showed no signs of abating. Someone must have proposed that they move on to Sugaguchi, the liveliest quarter of Kiyosu. And there was not a single sober person among them to say no.

"Great! Let's go!" The newlywed Tokichiro got up and led the way. Ignoring his outraged relatives, the party that had come for the water-pouring ceremony forgot even that and, locking arms with the bridegroom, staggered out of the house, supporting one another and waving their arms.

"The poor, poor bride." The relatives were sympathizing with Nene, who had been left behind. But when they looked around for Nene, who just moments ago had been dancing, she was nowhere to be seen. She had pushed open a side door and had gone outside. Pursuing her husband, who was surrounded by his drunken friends, she called out "Have a good time!"and slipped her purse into the front of his kimono. The place that the young men of the castle frequented was a drinking spot called the Nunokawa. Situated in the old quarter of Sugaguchi, it was said that this teahouse had been converted from an old shop of sake merchants, who had lived there long before either the Oda or their predecessors, the Shiba, had been masters of Owari. Thus, the shop was well known for the size of its ancient building.

Tokichiro was more than a regular. In fact, if his face did not appear when people gathered there, the staff and his friends felt the loss-like a smile with a missing tooth, Tokichiro's marriage was more than enough cause for all the patrons to raise their cups at their favorite drinking haunt. As the friends pushed their way through the shop's curtained entrance, somebody announced the news in the huge entrance hall. 'Ladies and gentlemen and staff of the Nunokawa! Won't you all come out to welcome a guest? We've brought in a bridegroom unparalleled in all the world! And guess who it is. A fellow by the name of Kinos.h.i.ta Tokichiro. Celebrate, celebrate! This is his water-pouring ceremony."

Their feet twisted from one unsure step to the next. Tokichiro was buffeted along among them and staggered in.

The staff looked on in blank amazement, but broke out in laughter when they finally underrstood what was happening. They listened with amazement to the story of the bridegroom being seized and carried away during the wedding party.

"This is not a water-pouring ceremony," they said. "It's more like bridegroom s.n.a.t.c.hing." And they all laughed uproariously. Tokichiro dashed into the building, looking as though he were trying to escape, but his prank-loving friends sat down, encircling him, letting him know that he was a prisoner until dawn. Impatiently they called for sake.

Who knows how much they drank? There was almost no one who could distinguish what songs they sang or what dances they performed.

Eventually each went to sleep where he fell, with his arms as a pillow, or with arms and legs outstretched. As the night deepened, the smells of autumn silently made their way in.

Inuchiyo suddenly raised his head and looked around with a start. Tokichiro had raised his head, too. Ikeda Shonyu opened his eyes. Looking at one another, they p.r.i.c.ked up their ears. The clatter of pa.s.sing horses that broke the silence had woken them from their sleep.

"What is it?"

"There's quite a number of men." Inuchiyo slapped his knee as though he had thought of something. "That's right! It's just the time for Takigawa Kazumasu to be coming back. Some time ago he went as an envoy to Tokugawa Ieyasu in Mikawa. Maybe that's it."

"Of course. Will they align with the Oda or rely on the Imagawa? The messenger should have Mikawa's answer."

One after another they opened their eyes, but three of the men dashed out of the Nunokawa without waiting for the others. Following the sound of the bridles and the crowd of men and horses up ahead, they ran in the direction of the castle gate.

Kazumasu had gone to Mikawa as an envoy many times since the battle at Okehazama the year before. That he was charged with the important diplomatic mission of winning Tokugawa Ieyasu's cooperation with the Oda clan was not a secret in Kiyosu.

Until just recently, Mikawa had been a weak province, dependent on the Imagawa. And while Owari was also said to be a small province, it had dealt a fatal blow to the powerful Imagawa, sending a strong reminder to the chief contenders for national leadership that there existed today a man by the name of Oda n.o.bunaga. The strength and morale of the Oda were on the rise. The alliance being sought was called simply a cooperative federation, and the difficult diplomatic trick would be in making the Oda the senior partners in the alliance.

Insofar as a province was small and weak, it was essential that it act without hesitation. A province like Mikawa could be swallowed up in a single military campaign. And the fact was that after the death of Yoshimoto, the province of Mikawa stood at a life-and-death turning point. Should the Tokugawa continue to be dependents of the Imagawa under Ujizane? Or go over to the Oda?

The Tokugawa were perplexed, and there had been any number of deliberations, exchanges of envoys, discussions, and recommendations. In the meantime, minor battles were being fought between Suruga and Mikawa. The skirmishes between the Oda branch castles and their opponents in Mikawa had, naturally, not ceased, and no one was able even to estimate the risk involved to the two provinces, or when the fighting might start. And there was a large number of clans besides the Oda and Tokugawa waiting for the war to start: the Saito of Mino, the Kitabatake of Ise, the Takeda of Kai, and the Imagawa of Suruga. There was no advantage to it. Tokugawa Ieyasu did not feel like fighting, and Oda n.o.bunaga knew very well that to brace and fight for a final victory over the Tokugawa would be ridiculous. Which is to say that n.o.bunaga didn't want to fight, either. But it was necessary not to show it. n.o.bunaga knew the stubborn and patient character of the Tokugawa and thought it important to consider their reputation.

Mizuno n.o.butomo was governor of Ogawa Castle. Although he was a retainer of the Oda, he was also Tokugawa Ieyasu's uncle. n.o.bunaga asked him to speak to his nephew in his behalf. n.o.butomo met with Ieyasu and his senior retainers, and tried to entice them from the side with diplomatic efforts. Approached both frontally and laterally, the Tokugawa finally seemed to have made a decision, and an answer to that effect had arrived from Ieyasu. Thus, Takigawa Kazumasu had been sent to Mikawa as an envoy to receive the final answer concerning n.o.bunaga's offer of an alliance. And when he returned that night, he went to the castle even though it was past midnight. Kazumasu was a senior Oda general, knowledgeable in firearms and a fine marksman.

n.o.bunaga, however, valued his intelligence far above his marksmanship. He was not what would be called an orator, but his earnest speech had the virtue of sounding extremely rational. Serious and full of common sense, he was also very quick-witted. Because of this, n.o.bunaga saw him as the right man for this important phase of the diplomatic process.

It was late at night, but n.o.bunaga was already up and was waiting for Kazumasu in the audience chamber. Kazumasu prostrated himself, still in his travel clothes. To be overly concerned at a time like this about appearing while still dressed in dirty travel clothes, and thus arranging one's hair and clothes, cleaning away the sweat and smell, and only then coming into the lord's presence, was liable to elicit a remark such as, "Did you go off flower viewing?" Kazumasu had witnessed this sort of ill-humored criticism, and so was here with both hands to the floor, still breathing hard, dressed in clothes that smelled of horses. On the other hand, there were very few times when n.o.bunaga had let his retainers wait a long time while he leisurely took his seat.

n.o.bunaga questioned him, eager for a reply.

The answer was to the point. There were retainers who, upon returning and giving their official report, would talk a long time about this or that, prattling on about what happened on the way, discussing all the minor details of the problem. As a result, it was difficult to get to the essential question: Did the errand go as planned or not? n.o.bunaga hated that, and when messengers gave their answers in nothing but digressions, an irritated expression would darken his face that even an outsider could have understood. "Get tothe point!" he would caution.

Kazumasu had been warned about this. Having been selected to perform such an important diplomatic mission, he now looked up to n.o.bunaga, made a single obeisance, dan went straight to the point. "My lord, I have good news. The agreement with Lord Ieyasu of Mikawa is finally in order. Not only that, but almost all of the provisions are as you desired."

"You succeeded?"

"Yes, my lord, it's settled." n.o.bunaga's expression was matter-of-fact, but behind it he heaved a heavy sigh of relief. "Moreover, I promised to conclude the articles covering the specifics at a later date with a discussion at Narumi Castle with Ishikawa Kazumasa of the Tokugawa clan."

"Well then, the lord of Mikawa has promised to cooperate with us?"

"By your command."

"Good work," n.o.bunaga said for the first time. Only then did Kazumasu give a detailed report.