I. William Adams

“ Hideyoshi knew better; and smarting with shame or repenting of foolhardiness turned again toward Ozaka.
No such joy had come to Yodogima since the day Ieyasu promised his love and protection. While Oyea had never broken faith, and still professed friendship, the younger wife had long ago amply discovered the reason, and knew fairly in her own heart that once a wife in fact no husband might share his love or respect or favor without breaking the tenderer thread, no matter what the demands or the edicts of society and of law, or both. ”

“ It lay far up on the hillside in a small level space that rounded out at the head of a miniature gulch, through which ran the rivulet spanned by the bridge where the lovers met. The site, now dry and hard, was once the source of a natural spring, which had long ago disappeared through a tunnel made farther down the declivity. It was an ideal place for a hidden cave, such as it really appeared to be and as Kinsan called it; and the shogun under whose direction it was improved had spared no expense to make it a place of beauty as well as seclusion. ”

“ Ieyasu listened and Yodogima rendered; sang as if possessed of a spirit never before felt or touched, and Ieyasu hurled at constancy’s feet all that tradition or enlightenment had vainly invoked.
A power unseen, unfelt, unknown, held supreme. The best that the energies of men had yet devised stood symbolized in this one man Ieyasu—nobody disputed that: not even he himself at heart could deny the truth. The exigencies of birth, the value of training, and the force of purpose alike marked this man as a leader among men. ”

“ O Ebisu! god of good luck, how Maido is this day honoured and the gods pleased! for it is my command that he be named Shibusawa, and it is the will of Jimmu that he rise up to good and mighty deeds. Rise, Kakezara, my queen, and place the child in the arms of Okisan; and you, slave, take care that your charge receive due attention that he may grow up strong of body and mind, for so sure as he live he shall be tried by all the gods of hatred and woe. ”

“ Conjure that God as we may, borrow if we can, proclaim Him from the house tops though we do, worship whom we will, there is no salvation till the eye has responded to conscience; and going there, as he did, had Ieyasu but answered to the call that emanated betwixt duty and neglect? Had Yodogima found a haven that is neither of the real nor of the ideal? ”

“ She did not wake, but saw Hyaku, the young magician, and felt the power of his magic, although she could neither move nor speak.
The Band of Forty-Seven had entered Takara’s chamber at dead of night, and placing her in a light chair slung upon the backs of swift carriers, well disguised, ran with the speed of the hare, the endurance of the ox; and before they could be overtaken, or it was really known what had happened, they were at Kyoto, in her own mother’s house; when again Takara saw the hand of Hyaku, and felt its power; she awakened and there was real gladness in her heart. ”

“ Yodogima and Ieyasu, two lovers at heart, loomed the more formidable as enemies, measuring each other in the luminous cauldron of a perfect understanding, and did not their souls unite in the attainment of a common, supreme, an overwhelming obligation—the means as widely divergent as the uplift had been ideal—courage had failed either, and humanity must have lost a most ardently conceived, if untimely wrought, exemplification. ”

“ The shogun mounted his war chair, and Tetsutaisho marched out at the head of the heart and flower of feudalistic Japan. The war god had whispered sweetly the glories of victory, and Hitotsubashi had listened. He drank of the poisoned waters, and became drunk with desire. He had again changed his mind, and Daikomitsu’s counsel was of no avail; he must go, and his friends suffer the consequences of his folly.
They marched out of the city and on toward the enemy, nothing of importance interrupting their progress until they had reached Fushima, not far distant from Kyoto. ”

“ War—the slogan of nature, and the handmaid of creation. War—the savior of mankind, at the cost of brute, stirred them as it had their fathers to superhuman, transcendent energy.
They marched past the shops—in which sycophants wrangled this and that; through the woods where cutters and hewers sweat or chewed; over the plains, amid sustenance born of fain indifference—into the mountains, lofty, grand and inspiring.
The roads ran smooth and easy up the long sloping ascent, they were builded and used, for a like purpose, long before Shibata’s rise had conjured sublimity’s ultimate pass. ”

“ When these days had passed and winter come Shibusawa sang to her the song of the pine and its fidelity, the bamboo and its elasticity, the plum and its courage, vigour, and reputation. Then spring brought in its train the cherry, the peach, the pear, the primrose, the peony, the wisteria, each in turn adding its voice, for the cave stood in the midst of bloom, everywhere doing its part in the beautiful fulfilment of a divine promise. ”

“ The green turf, the broken sky line, birds of plumage and the fragrance of flowers, the open expanse or covered nook, all bespoke a care and a concern intended to move and to weld mankind.
Yodogima remained seated, underneath the shade, amid an environment made, not creative. The sun drove its rays fiercer and more propellingly against Ieyasu’s stand. It remained for him to give; she could but receive. Love beamed from every distance, floated in close upon them, arose subtilely within, grew hard without, compelling, exacting, and vital. ”

“ Takara ought not to suffer much from the loss, and should profit by the subterfuge. Her birth, her position, her ambition, all demanded a better protection, a surer disposition. Why not benefit her? There was not a soul in the house who might be any the wiser, unless it were Michizane, the poet, and banishment must silence him. That were a simple matter and Ikamon would attend to it at once. His own devotion to Takara for a short time should quell any misgivings and allay all feelings on her part, while a little deception would start everything smoothly on its proper course. ”

“ Oyea awaited patiently some response from this newly proclaimed Savior, whom the priests had set over her and home—no other voice than conscience answered; and therein she conjured many thoughts, divined a reason for things, and fell hopelessly at the shrine of an uncontrollable, undenying, born-unto impulse. Yodogima possessed an attraction, Kami in his wisdom had equated life and death, and no man’s blood or woman’s want could save a soul or regenerate an unregenerate. ”

“ There was no need for him in the council chamber; he had not yet assumed the responsibilities of state. His place in the family was that of a makeshift, and his true voice unheeded. Why not go out into the world and there gain that knowledge which would satisfy his thirst and possibly in some measure enable him to preserve the happiness of his own people? Yes; here was an opportunity; he must go, he would go, come what might.
And then he thought of Kinsan. Would she understand him? He must see her, and explain. He would reassure her, and gain her consent. ”

“ Thereat two white falcons spread their wings and flapped away into space. A loud roar and din as of horses trampling and speeding issued from the temple. Armed guards sprang forward everywhere—out of the temples, behind the gates, into the streets, around the palace, amid the hills—and Kuroda stood ready to strike down the lowliest and the highest who dared raise a hand or voice.
Shibata slunk back, and amid the confusion an old woman seemingly, clad in black with drawn hood, carrying a strange bundle, whispered in Yodogima’s ear. ”

“ In all these doings the young general took no active part other than to hold himself in readiness to strike when called upon, but in the meantime gave himself up wholly to the delights of a love that was inevitable, if without the pale. Shibusawa continued to remain absent, and to all but his father had become as if forgotten, while Takara was now the favourite of the lord daimyo, and the castle offered her every privilege as she liked. Tetsutaisho was her slave, and she toyed with him as with a child, coming regularly and remaining at her will. ”

“ Yodogima looked aloft and all around. Peace on earth and good-will toward men whispered from every nook and cranny. The birds sang it, the flowers smelled it, the world looked consistent, but the heart discerned a discordant note. Were death heaven’s only beginning, life’s sole end? No, no; it must not be, for I see with closed eyes, hear with muffled ears, feel without the sense of touch a Kami, whose works neither begin with worlds nor end in man ”

“ Iyesada soon died, and the youthful Iyemochi succeeded as shogun; while Tetsutaisho marvelled at Ikamon’s wisdom, and more than ever resigned himself to the conquest of more peaceful delights. Kinsan had suddenly become the sole object of his attention, and for her heart he pressed his suit, more than ever ardent, if not sincere. Maido, absolved from all these matters, had more and more devoted himself to the memory of his son, but now that good news had reached him he rejoiced, and anxiously awaited the return of Shibusawa. ”

“ Esyo flushed, and Yodogima read her as written.
“Come closer, Jokoin; I want to feel the warmth and cheer of your presence; it is an inspiration, if not a reason: Esyo is so cold; oh, so unsatisfying, yet also inspiring. Between the two of you I am thrust back upon heart, and shall answer neither ‘yes’ nor ‘no.’ Let them fight, if they will, but tell them, both alike, that they are men: that Yodogima shall let neither one answer to his God for a mistake of hers. It is a woman’s province to bear and not to succor man. ”

“ Her two sisters had disappeared—Takiyama had laid siege to the one, and the other scolded the way along to keep her company and see that Hideyoshi’s second best general proved a diligent escort.
The roads were smooth, withal their crookedness and the rugged aspect of the country through which they entered to pass. An occasional rabbit jumped away, into the thicket, none the wiser for a strange, harmless fright, and Yodogima marvelled the dextrousness of his small endeavor. Could she likewise defeat or escape harm? No; civilization had reduced her to less agile and more hardened methods. ”

“ The disconsolate young man went home with a sadder heart and firmer determination than ever. He was fully convinced that Kinsan had been untrue, yet in charity he charged her failure to the law’s barrier. At first he had been stunned, and his love momentarily wavered; but as he gained freedom and more carefully reflected, his heart withstood the test and his mind regained its composure; and when he arose the next morning he set himself to his task with a will that knows no better victory than constancy. ”

“ Do with it and with me as you like; you are both strong of arm and quick to see,” urged Hideyoshi, approaching and tendering with much reverence the hilt of his unsheathed, if vain, resolver of ethics.
Yodogima frowned. All the womanhood within her revolted at such boasted display of wanton cowardice. That man never is right till might has made him so, she could well believe; that might is right in the eyes of the gods were as incomprehensible to her as it seemed satisfying to him. ”

“ Shibusawa sat and watched the long procession slacken and start with each recurring interruption, until a temporary pause brought to a standstill directly opposite to him a high float which was arranged like a pyramid and covered with flowers, shrubs, and vines. Amid the lotus blossoms in the centre there sat a young maiden not more than fifteen, who wore a crown of maple leaves and did her hair in a manner to indicate that she was yet unmarried. Her hair was black and abundant, and set beautifully a rosy face in which a pair of large dark eyes betokened tenderness, if a little serious. ”

“ Kinsan had not retired for the night, but sat trilling and musing in her chamber. The child in its kimono lay sleeping on the floor near by, while the warm, sultry air floated in at the house sides, where the slides had not yet been closed. The tall trees overhanging her veranda seemed more shadowless than ever before, and she peered, as she so often did, into the dark solitude outside. ”

“ Then, as womanhood arrived, barely kissed fain consciousness, in one stolen rapport, just an unguarded moment, the godlight once shone in, had seized upon her, made it seem as if there was a heaven, as if God himself had touched her very soul and the blessed come to earth—a little thing as insignificant as any worm or bird or animal, only a fox, had come between her and what she might have had for the taking ”

“ The young commander did not wait for an answer, but set the day upon which to sail. When the time came he bid all on land a hearty good-bye, and under the promise of warm skies and a calm sea spread canvas; and the southern armada sailed away, toward its heroic mission and enlarged purpose.
Shibusawa’s ship had been the last to leave its moorings, and as it slowly backed off a shout went up from the throngs who crowded the shore, bringing the young hero on deck where he bade them all farewell. Blushing maidens waved their handkerchiefs, while young men shouted themselves hoarse. ”

“ There is no subtler hold than that we know; the things we see are but the shades of reality. Truth vainly lives apart and is infinite.
Sitting there enveloped, within a world as distinct as sublime, as far above earth as its canopy is broad, the mystic spell touched and warmed her as though [pg 128] its complement were at hand. The province of sex fastened upon her as the sun’s rays congeal and expand with each unhindered contact: communing, Yodogima had been less than human, had worse than mocked His divinest precept, were the bread and wine passed untasted. ”

“ And if these things were inevitable, if there remained at Azuchi a soul forlorn and perchance bitter, perhaps welling up a still more ruthless indisposition, and if the ideal toward which a hapless, helpless woman had bent her every energy, sacrificed the body to preserve a soul, were attained—if all this had resulted in fact, there yet remained among them one in whose heart there lingered not only a burning, compelling sense of duty, but as well an abiding faith in truth. ”