Tales of Old Japan Part 21

THE GHOST OF SAKURA.[60]

[Footnote 60: The story, which also forms the subject of a play, is published, but with altered names, in order that offence may not be given to the Hotta family. The real names are preserved here. The events related took place during the rule of the Shogun Iyemitsu, in the first half of the seventeenth century.]

How true is the principle laid down by Confucius, that the benevolence of princes is reflected in their country, while their wickedness causes sedition and confusion!

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE GHOST OF SAKURA.]

In the province of Shimosa, and the district of Soma, Hotta Kaga no Kami was lord of the castle of Sakura, and chief of a family which had for generations produced famous warriors. When Kaga no Kami, who had served in the Gorojiu, the cabinet of the Shogun, died at the castle of Sakura, his eldest son Kotsuke no Suke Masan.o.bu inherited his estates and honours, and was appointed to a seat in the Gorojiu; but he was a different man from the lords who had preceded him. He treated the farmers and peasants unjustly, imposing additional and grievous taxes, so that the tenants on his estates were driven to the last extremity of poverty; and although year after year, and month after month, they prayed for mercy, and remonstrated against this injustice, no heed was paid to them, and the people throughout the villages were reduced to the utmost distress. Accordingly, the chiefs of the one hundred and thirty-six villages, producing a total revenue of 40,000 kokus of rice, a.s.sembled together in council and determined unanimously to present a pet.i.tion to the Government, sealed with their seals, stating that their repeated remonstrances had been taken no notice of by their local authorities. Then they a.s.sembled in numbers before the house of one of the councillors of their lord, named Ikeura Kazuye, in order to show the pet.i.tion to him first, but even then no notice was taken of them; so they returned home, and resolved, after consulting together, to proceed to their lord's yashiki, or palace, at Yedo, on the seventh day of the tenth month. It was determined, with one accord, that one hundred and forty-three village chiefs should go to Yedo; and the chief of the village of Iwahashi, one Sogoro, a man forty-eight years of age, distinguished for his ability and judgment, ruling a district which produced a thousand kokus, stepped forward, and said--

"This is by no means an easy matter, my masters. It certainly is of great importance that we should forward our complaint to our lord's palace at Yedo; but what are your plans? Have you any fixed intentions?"

"It is, indeed, a most important matter," rejoined the others; but they had nothing further to say. Then Sogoro went on to say--

"We have appealed to the public office of our province, but without avail; we have pet.i.tioned the Prince's councillors, also in vain. I know that all that remains for us is to lay our case before our lord's palace at Yedo; and if we go there, it is equally certain that we shall not be listened to--on the contrary, we shall be cast into prison. If we are not attended to here, in our own province, how much less will the officials at Yedo care for us. We might hand our pet.i.tion into the litter of one of the Gorojiu, in the public streets; but, even in that case, as our lord is a member of the Gorojiu, none of his peers would care to examine into the rights and wrongs of our complaint, for fear of offending him, and the man who presented the pet.i.tion in so desperate a manner would lose his life on a bootless errand. If you have made up your minds to this, and are determined, at all hazards, to start, then go to Yedo by all means, and bid a long farewell to parents, children, wives, and relations. This is my opinion."

The others all agreeing with what Sogoro said, they determined that, come what might, they would go to Yedo; and they settled to a.s.semble at the village of Funabashi on the thirteenth day of the eleventh month.

On the appointed day all the village officers met at the place agreed upon,--Sogoro, the chief of the village of Iwahashi, alone being missing; and as on the following day Sogoro had not yet arrived, they deputed one of their number, named Rokurobei, to inquire the reason.

Rokurobei arrived at Sogoro's house towards four in the afternoon, and found him warming himself quietly over his charcoal brazier, as if nothing were the matter. The messenger, seeing this, said rather testily--

"The chiefs of the villages are all a.s.sembled at Funabashi according to covenant, and as you, Master Sogoro, have not arrived, I have come to inquire whether it is sickness or some other cause that prevents you."

"Indeed," replied Sogoro, "I am sorry that you should have had so much trouble. My intention was to have set out yesterday; but I was taken with a cholic, with which I am often troubled, and, as you may see, I am taking care of myself; so for a day or two I shall not be able to start. Pray be so good as to let the others know this."

Rokurobei, seeing that there was no help for it, went back to the village of Funabashi and communicated to the others what had occurred.

They were all indignant at what they looked upon as the cowardly defection of a man who had spoken so fairly, but resolved that the conduct of one man should not influence the rest, and talked themselves into the belief that the affair which they had in hand would be easily put through; so they agreed with one accord to start and present the pet.i.tion, and, having arrived at Yedo, put up in the street called Bakurocho. But although they tried to forward their complaint to the various officers of their lord, no one would listen to them; the doors were all shut in their faces, and they had to go back to their inn, crestfallen and without success.

On the following day, being the 18th of the month, they all met together at a tea-house in an avenue, in front of a shrine of Kwannon Sama;[61] and having held a consultation, they determined that, as they could hit upon no good expedient, they would again send for Sogoro to see whether he could devise no plan. Accordingly, on the 19th, Rokurobei and one Jiuyemon started for the village of Iwahashi at noon, and arrived the same evening.

[Footnote 61: A Buddhist deity.]

Now the village chief Sogoro, who had made up his mind that the presentation of this memorial was not a matter to be lightly treated, summoned his wife and children and his relations, and said to them--

"I am about to undertake a journey to Yedo, for the following reasons:--Our present lord of the soil has increased the land-tax, in rice and the other imposts, more than tenfold, so that pen and paper would fail to convey an idea of the poverty to which the people are reduced, and the peasants are undergoing the tortures of h.e.l.l upon earth. Seeing this, the chiefs of the various villages have presented pet.i.tions, but with what result is doubtful. My earnest desire, therefore, is to devise some means of escape from this cruel persecution. If my ambitious scheme does not succeed, then shall I return home no more; and even should I gain my end, it is hard to say how I may be treated by those in power. Let us drink a cup of wine together, for it may be that you shall see my face no more. I give my life to allay the misery of the people of this estate. If I die, mourn not over my fate; weep not for me."

Having spoken thus, he addressed his wife and his four children, instructing them carefully as to what he desired to be done after his death, and minutely stating every wish of his heart. Then, having drunk a parting cup with them, he cheerfully took leave of all present, and went to a tea-house in the neighbouring village of Funabashi, where the two messengers, Rokurobei and Jiuyemon, were anxiously awaiting his arrival, in order that they might recount to him all that had taken place at Yedo.

"In short," said they, "it appears to us that we have failed completely; and we have come to meet you in order to hear what you propose. If you have any plan to suggest, we would fain be made acquainted with it."

"We have tried the officers of the district," replied Sogoro, "and we have tried my lord's palace at Yedo. However often we might a.s.semble before my lord's gate, no heed would be given to us. There is nothing left for us but to appeal to the Shogun."

So they sat talking over their plans until the night was far advanced, and then they went to rest. The winter night was long; but when the cawing of the crows was about to announce the morning, the three friends started on their journey for the tea-house at Asakusa, at which, upon their arrival, they found the other village elders already a.s.sembled.

"Welcome, Master Sogoro," said they. "How is it that you have come so late? We have pet.i.tioned all the officers to no purpose, and we have broken our bones in vain. We are at our wits' end, and can think of no other scheme. If there is any plan which seems good to you, we pray you to act upon it."

"Sirs," replied Sogoro, speaking very quietly, "although we have met with no better success here than in our own place, there is no use in grieving. In a day or two the Gorojiu will be going to the castle; we must wait for this opportunity, and following one of the litters, thrust in our memorial. This is my opinion: what think you of it, my masters?"

One and all, the a.s.sembled elders were agreed as to the excellence of this advice; and having decided to act upon it, they returned to their inn.

Then Sogoro held a secret consultation with Jiuyemon, Hanzo, Rokurobei, Chinzo, and Kinshiro, five of the elders, and, with their a.s.sistance, drew up the memorial; and having heard that on the 26th of the month, when the Gorojiu should go to the castle, Kuze Yamato no Kami would proceed to a palace under the western enclosure of the castle, they kept watch in a place hard by. As soon as they saw the litter of the Gorojiu approach, they drew near to it, and, having humbly stated their grievances, handed in the pet.i.tion; and as it was accepted, the six elders were greatly elated, and doubted not that their hearts' desire would be attained; so they went off to a tea-house at Riyogoku, and Jiuyemon said--

"We may congratulate ourselves on our success. We have handed in our pet.i.tion to the Gorojiu, and now we may set our minds at rest; before many days have pa.s.sed, we shall hear good news from the rulers. To Master Sogoro is due great praise for his exertions."

Sogoro, stepping forward, answered, "Although we have presented our memorial to the Gorojiu, the matter will not be so quickly decided; it is therefore useless that so many of us should remain here: let eleven men stay with me, and let the rest return home to their several villages. If we who remain are accused of conspiracy and beheaded, let the others agree to reclaim and bury our corpses. As for the expenses which we shall incur until our suit is concluded, let that be according to our original covenant. For the sake of the hundred and thirty-six villages we will lay down our lives, if needs must, and submit to the disgrace of having our heads exposed as those of common malefactors."

Then they had a parting feast together, and, after a sad leave-taking, the main body of the elders went home to their own country; while the others, wending their way to their quarters waited patiently to be summoned to the Supreme Court. On the 2d day of the 12th month, Sogoro, having received a summons from the residence of the Gorojiu Kuze Yamato no Kami, proceeded to obey it, and was ushered to the porch of the house, where two councillors, named Aijima Gidaiyu and Yamaji Yori, met him, and said--

"Some days since you had the audacity to thrust a memorial into the litter of our lord Yamato no Kami. By an extraordinary exercise of clemency, he is willing to pardon this heinous offence; but should you ever again endeavour to force your pet.i.tions; upon him, you will be held guilty of riotous conduct;" and with this they gave back the memorial.

"I humbly admit the justice of his lordship's censure. But oh! my lords, this is no hasty nor ill-considered action. Year after year, affliction upon affliction has been heaped upon us, until at last the people are without even the necessaries of life; and we, seeing no end to the evil, have humbly presented this pet.i.tion. I pray your lordships of your great mercy to consider our case" and deign to receive our memorial. Vouchsafe to take some measures that the people may live, and our grat.i.tude for your great kindness will know no bounds."

"Your request is a just one," replied the two councillors after hearing what he said; "but your memorial cannot be received: so you must even take it back."

With this they gave back the doc.u.ment, and wrote down the names of Sogoro and six of the elders who had accompanied him. There was no help for it: they must take back their pet.i.tion, and return to their inn. The seven men, dispirited and sorrowful, sat with folded arms considering what was best to be done, what plan should be devised, until at last, when they were at their wits' end, Sogoro said, in a whisper--

"So our pet.i.tion, which we gave in after so much pains, has been returned after all! With what f ace can we return to our villages after such a disgrace? I, for one, do not propose to waste my labour for nothing; accordingly, I shall bide my time until some day, when the Shogun shall go forth from the castle, and, lying in wait by the roadside, I shall make known our grievances to him, who is lord over our lord. This is our last chance."

[Ill.u.s.tration: SoGORo THRUSTING THE PEt.i.tION INTO THE SHOGUN'S LITTER.]

The others all applauded this speech, and, having with one accord hardened their hearts, waited for their opportunity.

Now it so happened that, on the 20th day of the 12th month, the then Shogun, Prince Iyemitsu, was pleased to worship at the tombs of his ancestors at Uyeno;[62] and Sogoro and the other elders, hearing this, looked upon it as a special favour from the G.o.ds, and felt certain that this time they would not fail. So they drew up a fresh memorial, and at the appointed time Sogoro hid himself under the Sammaye Bridge, in front of the black gate at Uyeno. When Prince Iyemitsu pa.s.sed in his litter, Sogoro clambered up from under the bridge, to the great surprise of the Shogun's attendants, who called out, "Push the fellow on one side;" but, profiting by the confusion, Sogoro, raising his voice and crying, "I wish to humbly present a pet.i.tion to his Highness in person," thrust forward his memorial, which he had tied on to the end of a bamboo stick six feet long, and tried to put it into the litter; and although there were cries to arrest him, and he was buffeted by the escort, he crawled up to the side of the litter, and the Shogun accepted the doc.u.ment. But Sogoro was arrested by the escort, and thrown into prison. As for the memorial, his Highness ordered that it should be handed in to the Gorojiu Hotta Kotsuke no Suke, the lord of the pet.i.tioners.

[Footnote 62: Destroyed during the revolution, in the summer of 1868, by the troops of the Mikado. See note on the tombs of the Shoguns, at the end of the story.]

When Hotta Kotsuke no Suke had returned home and read the memorial, he summoned his councillor, Kojima Shikibu, and said--

"The officials of my estate are mere bunglers. When the peasants a.s.sembled and presented a pet.i.tion, they refused to receive it, and have thus brought this trouble upon me. Their folly has been beyond belief; however, it cannot be helped. We must remit all the new taxes, and you must inquire how much was paid to the former lord of the castle. As for this Sogoro, he is not the only one who is at the bottom of the conspiracy; however, as this heinous offence of his in going out to lie in wait for the Shogun's procession is unpardonable, we must manage to get him given up to us by the Government, and, as an example for the rest of my people, he shall be crucified--he and his wife and his children; and, after his death, all that he possesses shall be confiscated. The other six men shall be banished; and that will suffice."

"My lord," replied Shikibu, prostrating himself, "your lordship's intentions are just. Sogoro, indeed, deserves any punishment for his outrageous crime. But I humbly venture to submit that his wife and children cannot be said to be guilty in the same degree: I implore your lordship mercifully to be pleased to absolve them from so severe a punishment."

"Where the sin of the father is great, the wife and children cannot be spared," replied Kotsuke no Suke; and his councillor, seeing that his heart was hardened, was forced to obey his orders without further remonstrance.

So Kotsuke no Suke, having obtained that Sogoro should be given up to him by the Government, caused him to be brought to his estate of Sakura as a criminal, in a litter covered with nets, and confined him in prison. When his case had been inquired into, a decree was issued by the Lord Kotsuke no Suke that he should be punished for a heinous crime; and on the 9th day of the 2d month of the second year of the period styled Shoho (A.D. 1644) he was condemned to be crucified.

Accordingly Sogoro, his wife and children, and the elders of the hundred and thirty-six villages were brought before the Court-house of Sakura, in which were a.s.sembled forty-five chief officers. The elders were then told that, yielding to their pet.i.tion, their lord was graciously pleased to order that the oppressive taxes should be remitted, and that the dues levied should not exceed those of the olden time. As for Sogoro and his wife, the following sentence was pa.s.sed upon them:--

"Whereas you have set yourself up as the head of the villagers; whereas, secondly, you have dared to make light of the Government by pet.i.tioning his Highness the Shogun directly, thereby offering an insult to your lord; and whereas, thirdly, you have presented a memorial to the Gorojiu; and, whereas, fourthly, you were privy to a conspiracy: for these four heinous crimes you are sentenced to death by crucifixion. Your wife is sentenced to die in like manner; and your children will be decapitated.

"This sentence is pa.s.sed upon the following persons:--

"Sogoro, chief of the village of Iwahashi, aged 48.

"His wife, Man, aged 38.

"His son, Gennosuke, aged 13.

"His son, Sohei, aged 10.

"His son, Kihachi, aged 7."