Laura Rowland - The Concubine’s Tattoo

The guests cheered and drank. Maids poured liquor for Sano and Reiko. Hirata spoke next: “During the eighteen months that I’ve served the sōsakan-sama, I have found him to be an exemplary samurai and master. Now I’m glad that he has a wife of similar honor, courage, and fine character. I pledge my service to them for as long as I live.”

More cheers; another round of drinks. Then an official entered the room and announced, “His Excellency the shogun, and his mother, the Honorable Lady Keisho-in.”

In walked Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, regal in his brilliant robes and tall black cap. Keisho-in minced alongside him, smiling. Everyone bowed low, but the shogun gestured for them to rise. “Relax, we’re all, ahh, comrades here tonight.” Eschewing formality, he seated himself and Keisho-in before the dais. He said to Sano, “My mother wishes to present you with a special wedding gift.”

Four priests wrestled a huge Buddhist altar through the door. As Priest Ryuko directed them to set it in the corner, the assembly stared in awe. Garish carved dragons, deities, and landscapes adorned the teak doors of the ceiling-high butsudan. There were columns inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and a gilt pagoda roof. It was a masterpiece of ugliness.

“Wherever shall we put it?” whispered Reiko.

“In a prominent place,” Sano whispered back. The gift sealed the alliance between him and Lady Keisho-in. With her support he hoped to convince the shogun to enact reforms that would reduce government corruption and benefit the citizens’ welfare. And they needed each other to counteract the influence of Chamberlain Yanagisawa, who was conspicuously absent from the banquet. After the failure of his plot, Yanagisawa would be more eager than ever to ruin them. “That’s the most glorious butsudan I’ve ever seen,” Sano declared. “Many thanks, Honorable Lady.”

Keisho-in giggled. The audience murmured polite praises, and Priest Ryuko led his brethren in a chant of blessing. Sano studied the handsome priest with interest: Ryuko, too, was a valuable ally. In the space of a single investigation, he’d built a strong power base from which to further his search for truth and justice.

More speeches followed, with much eating, drinking, music, and merriment. Guests approached the dais to wish the bridal couple well. During a lull, Sano turned to Reiko.

“Happy?” he asked.

Reiko smiled. “Very.”

“Me, too.” This was truly the best day of Sano’s life. Of course he knew that such perfect contentment couldn’t last. There would be more dangerous investigations; the ongoing fight to maintain his position in the political battlefield of the Tokugawa regime; the serious and minor crises of life. But for now, Sano basked in serenity. With such good friends and allies, future success seemed assured. And right beside him was the source of his new optimism.

“Let’s make a promise,” he said. “Whatever happens, we’ll always be lovers.”

Reiko squeezed his hand; her eyes sparkled with mischief. “And partners,” she added.

Laura Joh Rowland is a detective/mystery author best known for her series of mystery novels set in the late days of feudal Japan, mostly in Edo during the late 1600s. Rowland takes some licence with known figures, creating fictionalised versions of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu. Objective historical details, however, are credibly accurate.