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Laura Rowland: The Ronin’s Mistress

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Laura Rowland The Ronin’s Mistress

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“We’re not going to hurt you,” Sano said, and introduced himself. He and his troops sheathed their swords.

The old man gasped, dropped to his knees, and bowed. “Sosakan-sama. A thousand apologies. I thought they’d come back.”

“Who are you?” Sano asked.

“Gorobei. I’m Lord Kira’s valet.” Grief contorted the old man’s face. “I was.”

“The shogun sent me to investigate Kira-san’s murder,” Sano said. “May I speak to his chief retainer?”

Gorobei sobbed. “He’s dead.”

“What about his other officials?”

“They’re either dead, too, or wounded.”

“Who’s in charge?” Sano said.

“Nobody,” Gorobei said.

“Who sent the messenger to Edo Castle?”

“I did. I also sent for a doctor to take care of the wounded men. They’re in the barracks.”

“You’ve done well,” Sano said. “Where are the women and children?” He knew Kira had a large family. “Are they all right?”

“Yes, thank the gods. The gang didn’t touch them. They’re in the private quarters, with the servants.” Gorobei added, “The watchdog was also spared. I found him tied up and muzzled outside.”

Tokugawa law forbade killing dogs. The shogun had been told by his spiritual advisors that if he protected dogs, then the gods would grant him an heir. It hadn’t worked so far, probably because he had sex with men much more often than women. Sano was amazed by the gang’s combination of violence and respect for the law.

“Can you take us to Kira?” Sano said.

Gorobei nodded, choking back tears. He led Sano’s party to the bedchamber. More bloody footprints soiled the tatami around a bed whose quilt was folded back as if the occupant had just risen. Gorobei lifted a scroll painting that hung on the wall, revealing a door.

“My master had this door built, in case of an emergency.” He preceded Sano through the door, into a courtyard. This contained a shed whose door was ajar, the interior filled with coal and firewood. A tarp lay on the ground. Sano could see the shape of a body underneath. Blood had soaked through the fabric.

“I didn’t want to leave him here,” Gorobei said, ashamed and regretful. “But I couldn’t move him by myself, and no one else would touch him.”

“It’s better that you left him until we got here.” Sano was glad to have any clues intact.

Fukida and Marume peeled back the tarp. Bony feet with bunions appeared; next came withered, veined calves, and a beige kimono with blood spatters that grew bigger as the tarp drew away. The whole upper garment was dyed red. Kira’s arms extended out from his sides, fingers stiff. The corpse ended at the neck. Bone, windpipe, and sinews showed through the blood that had clotted around the severed flesh and congealed into a half-frozen puddle.

The detectives let the tarp drop. Fukida sucked air through his teeth. Marume winced. Gorobei wept. Sano and Hirata gazed in silence, paying their respects to their colleague. Sano endured the spiritual pollution that the dead exude. He brushed aside the irreverent thought that he’d stepped in so much blood that he would have to burn his boots when he got home. Then he asked the obvious question.

“Where is Kira’s head?”

“They took it.” Gorobei clarified, “The men who killed him.”

“Who are they?” Sano said. “Did you get a look at them?”

“No. But I know who they must be. They’re former retainers of Lord Asano.”

Sano realized he should have known. Hirata and Fukida nodded in comprehension. Marume said, “Lord Asano. So that’s what this was about. The incident at Edo Castle-when was it? Two years ago?”

“Twenty-two months, exactly.” Sano recited the details of the incident. “Envoys had come from the Emperor’s court in Miyako. The host in charge of entertaining them was Lord Asano Naganori, age thirty-four, daimyo of Ako Castle in Harima Province. Kira’s job as master of ceremonies was to instruct Lord Asano on how to conduct the ritual. An antagonism developed between Lord Asano and Kira.”

“Has anyone ever figured out why?” Hirata asked.

“No. That’s still a mystery,” Sano said. “But one day Lord Asano drew his sword, struck at Kira, and cut his head. Kira survived, but Lord Asano broke the law against drawing a sword inside Edo Castle, which is a capital offense. Lord Asano claimed he and Kira had a personal quarrel, Kira had provoked him, and he had to defend his honor. Kira claimed there was no quarrel and Lord Asano had attacked him for nothing. The shogun believed Kira. He ordered Lord Asano to commit seppuku. The house of Asano was dissolved, its wealth and lands confiscated by the government, and all Lord Asano’s retainers became ronin.

That was a serious disgrace for a samurai, even when he lost his warrior status through no fault of his own. Sano knew because it had happened to his own father. His father’s lord had run afoul of the third Tokugawa shogun, who’d confiscated his lands and turned all his retainers, including the Sano family, out to fend for themselves. Sano’s father hadn’t recovered from the humiliation until Sano had gotten into the Tokugawa regime and restored the family’s honor.

“It appears that these ronin blamed Kira for their lord’s death and they’ve taken revenge,” Sano said.

“But didn’t the shogun rule that Kira wasn’t guilty of anything and therefore shouldn’t be punished?” Fukida said. “Didn’t he forbid any action against Kira?”

Marume covered the corpse with the tarp. “Yes, but apparently that didn’t stop the ronin.

“This shouldn’t come as a surprise,” Sano said. Loyalty to one’s master was the highest principle of Bushido. Avenging the death of his master was a solemn duty that a good samurai could not neglect.

“Except that it happened so long after Lord Asano’s death,” Hirata said.

“And except that so many ronin were involved and they killed so many people besides Kira,” Fukida said. “I’ve never heard of a vendetta like this.”

Vendettas usually involved only two people-the perpetrator and the individual who’d wronged him-although sometimes relatives or friends would join in on either side. The scale and sheer brutality of this revenge astounded Sano. It would surely cause an uproar.

“I don’t suppose the ronin bothered to register the vendetta,” Hirata said. Vendetta was legal when the perpetrator notified the authorities of his intentions. This notification served as a warning to his target, who was then on his guard and had time to hide.

“You’re right,” Sano said. “The shogun’s orders prohibited a vendetta in this case.”

“My master was always afraid it would happen anyway,” Gorobei said. “That’s why he had so many guards. That’s why his bedchamber had a secret exit.”

“That just goes to show: If someone’s determined to get you, they will,” Marume said.

“Well, at least the mystery appears to be solved,” Sano said. “We know who killed Kira and why.”

He felt a massive letdown. Kira’s murder was supposed to be the big case that he could impress the shogun by solving, the pathway to regaining his status and honor, but it had proved to be disappointingly simple, almost over as soon as he’d begun.

“We still have to arrest the ronin,” Hirata said, then asked Gorobei, “Where did they go?”

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