Laura Rowland: The Concubine’s Tattoo

Strong hands seized her. Authoritative male voices gave orders.”She’s ill. Get a doctor.” “Don’t let her disrupt the sōsakan-sama’s wedding.” “Take her to her room… ”

Panic infused strength into Harume’s muscles. As she kicked and thrashed and gasped for breath, her voice burst from her in a scream of terror: “Help! Demons! Don’t let them kill me!”

“She’s mad. Stay back-out of the way! She’s violent.”

Down the corridor they carried her, trailed by the screeching, flapping horde. Harume struggled to free herself. Her captors finally set her down, pinning her arms and legs. She was trapped. The demons would rip her to shreds, then devour her.

Yet even as these fearsome thoughts flashed through Harume’s mind, a more terrifying power gathered within her body. A gigantic convulsion surged through bone, muscle, and nerve; stretched sinews; drew invisible chains tight around internal organs. Harume screamed in agony as her back arched and her stiff limbs shot out. In a cacophony of shrieks, the demons let go, thrown off by the force of her involuntary movements. A second, stronger convulsion, and darkness seeped across her vision. External sensations receded; she couldn’t see the demons or hear their voices. The wild, erratic pounding of her own heart filled her ears. Another convulsion. Mouth open wide, Harume couldn’t draw another breath. Her final thought was of her lover: With a grief as agonizing as the pain, she knew she would never see him again in this life. Then one last gasp. One more unspoken plea:

Help…

Then nothingness.

Sano barely heard the assembly’s murmured blessings, because the attendants were lifting the white drape away from his new wife’s head. She was turning toward him…

Looking even younger than her twenty years, Reiko had a perfect oval face with a delicate chin and nose. Her eyes, like bright, black flower petals, shone with somber innocence. On her high, shaved brow arched the fine lines of painted eyebrows. White rice powder covered smooth, perfect skin, contrasting with the satiny black hair that fell from a center part all the way to her knees. Her beauty took Sano’s breath away. Then Reiko smiled at him-the merest shy curving of dainty red lips before she demurely lowered her gaze. Sano’s heart clenched with a fierce, possessive tenderness as he smiled back. She was everything he wanted. Their life together would be sheer conjugal bliss, which would begin as soon as the public formalities ended.

The assembly stood as the attendants escorted Sano and Reiko from the altar to their families. Sano bowed to Magistrate Ueda and thanked him for the honor of joining the clan, while Reiko did the same to Sano’s mother. Together they thanked the shogun for his patronage, and the guests for coming. Then, after many more congratulations, thanks, and blessings, the party, led by the shogun, moved through the carved doors and down the wide corridor toward the hall where the wedding banquet would take place and more guests waited.

Suddenly, from deep within the castle’s interior, came loud, high-pitched screams, then the sound of running footsteps. The shogun paused, halting the procession.

“What is that noise?” he asked, his aristocratic features darkening in annoyance. To his officials, he said, “Go and, ahh, determine the cause, and put a stop to-”

Down the corridor toward the wedding party stampeded hundreds of shrieking women, some dressed in brilliant silk robes, others wearing the plain cotton kimonos of servants, all holding their sleeves over their noses and mouths, eyes wide with terror. Palace officials stormed after them, shouting commands and trying to restore order, but the women paid no heed.

“Let us out!” they cried, shoving the bridal procession up against the wall as they rushed past.

“How dare these females treat me in this disrespectful manner?” Tokugawa Tsunayoshi wailed.”Has everyone gone mad? Guards-stop them!”

Magistrate Ueda and the attendants shielded Reiko from the mob, which quickly expanded to include panicky guests pouring out of the banquet hall. They crashed into Sano’s mother; he caught her before she fell.

“We’re all doomed if we don’t run!” shrilled the women.

Now an army of guards appeared. They herded the hysterical women back to the castle interior. The wedding party and guests clustered in the banquet hall, where tables and cushions had been arranged on the floor, a troupe of frightened musicians clutched their instruments, and maids waited to serve the feast.

“What is the meaning of this?” The shogun straightened his tall black cap, knocked atilt in the scuffle.”I, ahh, demand an explanation!”

The guard commander bowed to Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.”My apologies, Your Excellency, but there’s been a disturbance in the women’s quarters. Your concubine Lady Harume just died.”

The chief castle physician, dressed in the dark blue coat of his profession, added, “Her death was caused by a sudden violent illness. The other ladies fled in panic, fearing contagion.”

Murmurs of dismay rose from the assembly. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi gasped.”Contagion?” His face paled, and he covered his nose and mouth with both hands to keep the spirit of disease from entering.”Do you mean to say there is an, ahh, epidemic in the castle?” A dictator of delicate health and with little talent for leadership, he turned to Sano and Magistrate Ueda, the men present who ranked next below him in status.”What is to be done?”

“The nuptial festivities must be canceled,” Magistrate Ueda said with regret, “and the guests sent home. I will see to the arrangements.”

Sano, though shocked by this calamitous end to his wedding, hastened to his lord’s aid. Contagious disease was a serious concern in Edo Castle, which housed hundreds of Japan ’s highest-ranking officials and their families.”In case there really is an epidemic, the ladies must be quarantined to prevent its spread.” Sano instructed the guard commander to manage this, and told the castle physician to examine the women for symptoms.”And you, Your Excellency, should stay in your chambers to avoid illness.”

“Ahh, yes, of course,” said Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, obviously relieved to have someone else take charge. Hurrying in the direction of his private suite, the shogun summoned the officials to follow, while shouting orders to Sano: “You must personally investigate Lady Harume’s death at once!” In his fear for himself, he seemed indifferent to the loss of his concubine and the fate of his other women. And he’d apparently forgotten all about Sano’s promised holiday.”You must prevent the evil spirit of disease from reaching me. Now go!”

“Yes, Your Excellency,” Sano called after the retreating despot and his entourage.

Hirata hurried to join him. As they started down the corridor toward the women’s quarters, Sano looked over his shoulder and saw Reiko, white bridal gown trailing behind her, being escorted out by her father and attendants. He felt extreme annoyance at the shogun for reneging on his promise, and regret for the delayed wedding celebrations, both public and private. Had he not earned a little peace and happiness? Then Sano suppressed a sigh. Obedience to his lord was a samurai’s highest virtue. Duty prevailed; once again, death commanded Sano’s attentions. Marital bliss would have to wait.

The women’s quarters in Edo Castle occupied a private inner section of the main palace known as the Large Interior. The route to it led Sano and Hirata through the outer, public areas of the palace, past audience halls, government offices and conference rooms, through convoluted passages. An ominous pall had stilled the castle’s normal bustle of activity. Officials huddled in clusters from which rose uneasy mutters as news of the concubine’s shocking death spread. Armored guards patrolled the corridors in case of further unrest. The great Tokugawa bureaucracy had ground to a halt. Imagining the serious repercussions that an epidemic in Japan ’s capital might have for the nation, Sano hoped that Lady Harume’s sickness would prove to be an isolated incident.