Laura Rowland - The Ronin’s Mistress

On one hand, Bushido was the foundation of his life. His father had raised him to believe that nothing was more important than a samurai’s duty to his master. His samurai blood told him that the forty-seven ronin had done right to murder Kira.

On the other hand, he had a duty to his own lord, the shogun. The forty-seven ronin had defied the shogun’s orders, and Sano must uphold the law. And they’d killed many innocent people who hadn’t deserved to die for whatever Kira had done to Lord Asano-if in fact Kira had done anything to Lord Asano. To complicate matters, Sano had a personal code of honor that often conflicted with Bushido, that compelled him to seek the truth before he took action, that valued justice above blind obedience. There were too many questions in this case, and he needed answers before he made up his mind about the forty-seven ronin.

The shogun sighed. “Ahh, this is a complicated issue.”

“Yes, it is complicated.” Yanagisawa refrained from declaring his position. “If you set the forty-seven ronin free, you’ll look weak because you let them get away with disregarding your orders. If you put them to death, you’ll send a message that loyalty doesn’t matter, and thousands of other samurai may decide that they have better things to do than serving you.”

Those were good points, but Sano figured that Yanagisawa wanted to see which way the wind blew hardest before he took a stand. Although Yanagisawa didn’t like rogues who disrupted order, and he would probably like to see the forty-seven ronin dead before sundown, an example to anyone else who was thinking of misbehaving, he had to consider the effect that the case would have on his quest for power.

“There will be trouble, mark my words,” Yanagisawa said, “and Your Excellency has Sano- san to thank for it.”

“You!” the shogun exclaimed, recoiling as if Sano had hit him.

Incredulity struck Sano. “This isn’t my fault, Your Excellency,” he said, then turned to Yanagisawa. “What are you talking about?”

“You arrested the forty-seven ronin, ” Yanagisawa said. “You dumped them in His Excellency’s lap.”

“I was following orders to capture Kira’s killers,” Sano defended himself.

“I ordered you to, ahh, get to the bottom of things,” the shogun retorted. “I didn’t say, ‘Cause more problems for me.’ But that’s ahh, exactly what you’ve done.”

“There you go.” Yanagisawa shrugged at Sano. Yoritomo smiled triumphantly.

Trust Yanagisawa to twist things around so that I look bad, Sano thought. Everyone else looked impressed with Yanagisawa’s deft play.

“Since Sano- san created this situation, he should be the one to settle it,” Yanagisawa said.

“A good idea,” the shogun said. The physician began pulling the cups off his stomach. Each made a loud, sucking sound as it came up, leaving a bright red circle on his skin, like a comical rash. “Well, Sano- san ? Shall we rule that the forty-seven ronin are innocent according to Bushido and pardon them? Or that they’re guilty of, ahh, treason and murder, and order them to commit seppuku ?”

“This needs to be settled quickly,” Yanagisawa added.

Sano was aware that peremptory action for the sake of action would be a dire mistake. This was such a sensitive issue that any decision was bound to create discord. It could even ignite a civil war. Yanagisawa wanted to force Sano to decide now. Later he would make sure it turned out to be the wrong choice and that Sano suffered the consequences.

Two could play that game.

Sano said, “Chamberlain Yanagisawa is second-in-command. He’s the man who should advise Your Excellency.”

“Ahh, you’re right.” The shogun turned to Yanagisawa. “What do you suggest?”

Yanagisawa couldn’t hide his annoyance that Sano had deflected the responsibility onto him. The case of the forty-seven ronin was like a hot coal that would burn whoever held it, and he was quick to toss it to someone else. “I suggest that the Council of Elders should decide.”

The elders didn’t flinch. They’d been in politics for so long that they recognized a fatal game of catch and they were prepared. Ohgami said, “We should create a special supreme court to rule on the fate of the forty-seven ronin. ”

“Yes!” The shogun sat up, closed his robe, and clapped his hands, ecstatic. “That’s the perfect solution! Who shall be the, ahh, judges?”

The physician packed up his equipment and decamped. A wise move, Sano thought. Everyone else probably wished they could leave, too, lest they end up on the court.

“First, let’s decide on how many judges we need,” Yanagisawa said, obviously buying time to think how to turn the new situation to his advantage. “I suggest four.” He must think he could control that small number of men.

“That’s not enough to decide such an important issue. I suggest twenty-five.” Sano knew that was too many, but he’d allowed room to negotiate.

“Six,” Yanagisawa countered.

Impatience heated up the shogun’s temper. “I say fourteen.” His rash, arbitrary decision was final.

“The judges should be high, trusted officials in the regime,” Yanagisawa said. “I nominate Inspector General Nakae.”

“I second the nomination,” Ihara said.

In theory, the inspector general was responsible for auditing government operations and making sure they were conducted properly. But Nakae was a crony of Yanagisawa’s, which meant he kept a lookout for misbehavior done by everyone except Yanagisawa.

“I nominate Magistrate Ueda,” Sano said. Magistrate Ueda was Reiko’s father, and not only Sano’s ally but an honest man who would do his best to ensure that the court acted fairly.

“Second,” Ohgami said.

There followed a heated discussion about who else should be appointed. As Sano and Yanagisawa each vied to stack the supreme court with his own allies, Sano was disturbed to see that the case was becoming more about politics than justice. But he could breathe easier now. With the case in hands other than his, he was safe.

After a while the shogun said, “Why is it so hard to choose fourteen judges? Give me their names now and, ahh, be done!”

Sano quickly recited seven names, including Magistrate Ueda’s. Yanagisawa named his seven choices, headed by Inspector General Nakae.

“Inform the judges that they’ve been appointed to the supreme court,” Ohgami told Sano.

The shogun brushed his hands together. “I’m glad that’s finished.”

“It isn’t quite,” Yanagisawa said. “The supreme court will need to investigate the case and collect evidence.”

Sano realized that Yanagisawa was angling to throw him back into jeopardy. “An investigation isn’t necessary. Because we already know that the defendants killed Kira,” he said, even though the case wasn’t as clear-cut as he would like.

Ohgami backed Sano up. “Why do we need evidence, when the forty-seven ronin have already confessed?”

“This isn’t like other murder trials,” Yanagisawa explained smoothly. “What we need is evidence that will justify the supreme court’s verdict, so that everyone accepts it and no one starts a war over it.”

“What kind of evidence would that be?” the shogun asked, hopeful yet confused.

“Anything that pertains to the forty-seven ronin ’s actions or motives, or the events leading up to Kira’s death, that hasn’t come to light yet,” Yanagisawa said.

Sano had to agree that Yanagisawa’s point was valid. Neither side in the controversy would be satisfied with a verdict based solely on the results of a judicial debate. If the shogun exercised his right to punish the forty-seven ronin, he had better have solid grounds unless he wanted extreme political strife on his hands. And if the shogun reversed his original decision that prohibited punishing Kira, he had better have a strong rationale unless he wanted to lose face and expose weakness that would practically beg for an attack on his regime.