Laura Rowland - The Concubine’s Tattoo

Yanagisawa knew he was only acting and didn’t mean a word of what he said, but this didn’t bother Yanagisawa at all. How wonderful that someone respected him enough to exert all this effort to please!

“At night I dream of you, and-and I must confess an embarrassing secret.” Shichisaburō’s voice trembled convincingly. “Sometimes my desire for you is so great that I caress myself and pretend you are touching me. I hope that this does not offend you?”

“Far from it.” Yanagisawa chuckled. The actor, despite his talent and heritage, was a commoner, a nobody. He was weak, naïve, pathetic, and another man might consider his words an insult. Yet Chamberlain Yanagisawa relished the charade as proof that he was no longer the helpless victim, but the omnipotent user of other men. He had flunkies instead of friends. He’d married a wealthy woman related to the Tokugawa clan, but kept a distance from her and their five-year-old daughter, for whom he’d already begun seeking a politically advantageous match. He didn’t care if everyone despised him, as long as they obeyed his orders. Shichisaburō’s pretense aroused Yanagisawa; power was the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Now Chamberlain Yanagisawa reluctantly deferred his pleasure. “I need your help with a very important matter, Shichisaburō,” he said, sitting upright.

The young actor’s eyes brimmed with happiness, and Yanagisawa could almost believe he truly felt flattered by the request, which was actually an order. “I’ll do anything for you, master.”

“This is a matter of utmost secrecy, and you must promise to tell no one about it,” Yanagisawa warned.

“Oh, I promise, I promise!” Sincerity radiated from the boy. “You can trust me. Just wait and see. Pleasing you means more to me than anything else in the world.”

Yet Yanagisawa knew that it was not devotion but the threat of punishment that held Shichisaburō in thrall to him. Should the actor disobey, he would be stripped of his status as star of the Tokugawa theater troupe, banished from the castle, and put to work in some squalid highway brothel. The chamberlain smiled. Everyone will do my bidding and fear my anger…

Bending close, Chamberlain Yanagisawa whispered to Shichisaburō. Inhaling the boy’s fresh, youthful scent, Yanagisawa felt his manhood lift within his loincloth. He finished conveying his orders, then let his tongue trace the delicate whorl of Shichisaburō’s ear. The actor giggled and turned to Yanagisawa in delighted admiration.

“How clever you are to think of such a wonderful plan! I’ll do exactly as you say. And when we’re done, Sōsakan Sano will never trouble you again.”

From above the enclosure came a flutter of wings. On impulse, Chamberlain Yanagisawa fitted an arrow to his bow and aimed upward, scanning the cobalt sky, the black filigree border of trees. Against the moon’s luminescent silver disc hovered a dark shape. Yanagisawa released the arrow to invisible flight. A screech pierced the evening calm. Into the enclosure plummeted an owl, the arrow stuck in its breast. Its own prey-a tiny blind mole-was still gripped in the sharp talons.

Shichisaburō clapped his hands gleefully. “A perfect shot, master!”

Chamberlain Yanagisawa laughed. “By attacking one, I also claim the other.” The symbolism was as perfect as his aim, the shot an auspicious omen for his scheme. Triumph fed Yanagisawa’s desire. Dropping the bow, he extended his hand to Shichisaburō. “But enough of business. Come here.”

The young actor’s eyes faithfully mirrored Yanagisawa’s need. “Yes, master.”

The wind’s hushed breath stirred the forest; the rising moon swelled. On the silk walls of the enclosure, two shadows fused into one.

When Sano arrived at his residence after the long, tiring ride from Edo Jail, Hirata came out through the gate to meet him. “The shogun’s mother has agreed to speak with us before her evening prayers. The otoshiyori-chief lady palace official-will answer questions, but she has to make her night tour of inspection around the Large Interior soon.”

Sano cast a longing look at his mansion, which held the promise of food, a hot bath, and the company of his new bride. With what peaceful, feminine pursuits had she occupied the time since their wedding? Sano pictured her sewing, writing poetry, or perhaps playing the samisen- an oasis of calm amid violent death and palace intrigue. He yearned to enter that oasis, to become acquainted with Reiko at last. But night was rapidly descending upon the castle and Sano couldn’t keep Lady Keisho-in and her otoshiyori waiting, or delay informing the shogun that there would be no epidemic because Lady Harume had been murdered.

Leaving his horse with the guards, Sano said to Hirata, “We’d better hurry.”

Through stone-walled passages they ascended the hill, past patrol guards carrying flaming torches. Out of cautious habit they didn’t speak until they’d cleared the last security checkpoint and were approaching the palace, whose many-gabled tile roof gleamed in the moonlight. Torches flared against its half-timbered walls and sentries guarded the doors. The garden lay deserted under the moonlight. Here, among the gravel paths and shadowy trees, Sano told Hirata the results of Dr. Ito’s test.

“The residents and staff of the Large Interior are potential murder suspects,” Sano said. “Did your inquiries turn up anything?”

“I spoke to the guards and their commander,” Hirata said, “as well as the chief administrator of the Large Interior. The official story is that Harume’s death is a tragedy, which they all mourn. No one would say otherwise.”

“Because it’s the truth, or to protect themselves?” Sano mused. With the fact of murder established, he and Hirata could probe beyond official stories later. The women were the people closest to Harume, with the easiest access to her room and the ink jar. Sano and Hirata needed the cooperation of Lady Keisho-in and the otoshiyori before they could interview the concubines and attendants.

Gaining admission to the palace, they walked past silent, dark offices to the shogun’s private chambers. The guards stationed there told Sano, “His Excellency is not available. He left word that you should report to him first thing tomorrow.”

“Please tell him there’s no epidemic,” Sano said, so that Tokugawa Tsunayoshi need worry about illness no longer.

Then he and Hirata continued deeper into the palace’s labyrinth. As they approached the Large Interior, a high-pitched hum pervaded the quiet. When the guards opened the door to the women’s quarters, the hum exploded into a din of shrill female voices, chattering to the accompaniment of slamming doors, running footsteps, splashing water, and the rattle of crockery.

“Merciful gods,” Hirata said, covering his ears. Sano winced at the noise.

In the hours since their first visit, the Large Interior had assumed what must be its normal condition. Walking toward Lady Keisho-in’s private suite at the center, Sano and Hirata passed chambers jammed with pretty, gaudily dressed concubines eating meals off trays, preening before mirrors, or playing cards while arguing with one another and calling orders to their servants. Sano saw nude women scrubbing themselves or soaking in high wooden tubs, and blind masseurs massaging naked backs. All the women met his gaze with a curious passivity that reflected a stoic acceptance of their lot. Sano was reminded of Yoshiwara’s courtesans: the only difference seemed to be that those women existed for public pleasure, and these for only the shogun’s. When he and Hirata passed a chamber, conversation and activity ceased momentarily before resuming with undiminished noise. A gray-robed female official patrolled the corridors beside a male guard. In this feminine prison, life went on, even after the violent demise of an inmate.