Yasushi Inoue - The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan

The existence of the hero of this story has been argued over and discussed by historians for a long time. Recently a discovery of a letter purported to be written by Yamamoto Kansuke brought special attention to this book, written in 1958.

Furin Kazan was written by Inoue Yasushi, first published in 1958 and reprinted sixty-four times until, at least, 1988. Inoue Yasushi (1907–1991) was born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, graduated from Kyoto University, and became a journalist at the Mainichi Daily News before becoming a very successful author. His first novel, Togyu (A Bullfight), was published in 1949 and received the revered Akutagawa Literary Prize. He was known as Japan’s master of historical fiction for his many popular novels, such as Tempyo-no-iraka, Hyoheki , and Fighting Guns . Some of Inoue’s works that have already been translated into English are Tun-Huang, Lou-Lan, The Counterfeiter , and The Hunting Gun .

— YOKO RILEY

NO ONE KNEW MUCH about Aoki Daizen’s background or early life. The thirty-year-old ronin 3was quite a mystery. It was known that he originally was a vassal of the Hojo family in Sagami, a position that he lost due to scandalous misconduct. He was an extremely skilled swordsman, but his school of swordsmanship was unknown. His movements were unbelievably fast and his skill was quite evident. During battle he seemed to thirst for blood, and he always killed his opponent with a single blow.

It had been a year since he had last entered the castle town that belonged to the warlord Imagawa Yoshimoto in Sunpu. 4Most of the Imagawa vassals avoided Daizen whenever they encountered him on the street. He seemed to represent something evil and unpleasant. He had a pale complexion and a thin white scar between his eyes. His lips were thin, and he lifted his left shoulder slightly when he walked. Although he was rather good-looking, he had a somewhat cold and ruthless appearance.

The same spring of his return to Sunpu, there was a tournament in the square of the castle town. Even ronin were allowed to participate. Nobody could compete with Daizen’s skill with the sword. Many experienced and skillful samurai 5fell under his blows. In every case, Daizen’s bokuto 6was thrust straight into their chests, and they were thrown onto their backs. One opponent vomited blood as a result, and the rest were injured in similar fashion. That was the day the name Aoki Daizen became famous. In spite of this, the Imagawa family sent no offers of service. Although he was a talented swordsman, he seemed to generate an aura of distrust, and people were warned to stay away from him.

The evening of the tournament, Daizen left the samurai residence in Ogata where he had been staying.

At the gate, a servant said something to him, but, as usual, he did not answer. The servant mentioned something about the return of the master of the house, but whether or not Daizen heard the servant was uncertain. He walked slowly, in a sullen manner, toward the back gate. Judging by the fact that Daizen left through the back gate to avoid a possible encounter with the master of the house, it was assumed that he had heard the servant.

An hour later, Daizen was walking along the Abe River.

Eventually he went down to the riverbank at a large bend in the river. He passed the back gate of several farmhouses and entered a rustic temple at the edge of the bamboo forest.

At the threshold of the gate, Daizen called out in a low voice “Are you there?” When he heard no answer, he opened the wooden gate and entered the narrow backyard. Some trees were planted in the yard, and stepping-stones were placed randomly on the ground.

“Are you there?” He whispered again. Sensing somebody was there, he sat down on the veranda.

“Who is it?” a rather hoarse voice answered.

“Aoki Daizen.” He answered arrogantly. Silence emanated from the room.

“It is Aoki Daizen.” Daizen repeated. His eyes were fixed on one of the trees, which were shining under the cold sun.

Then, a slight noise came from beside him as something hit the ground. A gold coin fell on the veranda beside his knee. He picked it up and glanced at it. On the coin there was a pattern like a straw mat, the hallmark of a kiri 7tree and the character of Suruga. 8

“One gold piece!” Daizen snorted scornfully. “You fraud!” he said with hatred in his voice, “It’s amazing that you are boasting about your training in Bushido! Traveling the provinces, learning their customs, studying fortresses, and acquiring an excellent knowledge of geography! Ha!” Then Daizen laughed in a much lower voice. It was a nasty laugh, which truly revealed his insulted ego. Normally he was known to be a silent person; however, it was he who was doing all the talking here. “You deformed bastard! How can you talk about the art of war! Scholar of the secret knowledge of capturing castles and capturing battle camps! You know all about the art of war? Ha! Furthermore you say you are a skillful swordsman of the Gyoryu School of swordsmanship! I would love to see what this Gyoryu is that you boast about. I, Aoki Daizen, would challenge you anytime!”

The person inside remained silent. Then Daizen shouted furiously. “Give me one more piece of gold! Although you are a ronin such as I, you swindle the general public; therefore you fare much better than I do. Give me another coin!”

Another gold coin fell on the veranda with a small, barely audible sound.

“I will wait ten days before I find out who you really are.”

Then, he stood and yelled out again. “I am busy. I must meet the Takeda’s high vassal and negotiate my employment. I’ve had enough of Sunpu Castle.” With that, he started to walk away.

“Wait!” the hoarse voice followed him through the door.

“What?”

“You said Takeda’s high vassal. Who is it?”

“Oh, you are curious. Itagaki somebody, one of the chief vassals of the Takeda Clan. I don’t know the rest of his name.”

After some hesitation, the hoarse voice asked. “Is it so easy to be hired?”

“How do I know? I have to try.”

It was after Daizen had walked two more steps down the walkway that the paper door opened. The person who came out, sliding on his knees, was very small. His face and body were eerie looking.

“What do you want?” Daizen asked as he turned around.

“I will give you a clue. Listen! You said ‘Itagaki.’ He must be Itagaki Nobukata. For generations, the Itagaki family has been playing an important role as vassals of the Takeda. Today, Amari Torayasu and Itagaki Nobukata are considered to be the Takeda’s key vassals. He will not listen so easily to a ronin asking for a position. There is only one way. Listen. You should attack Itagaki Nobukata.”

“Attack!? Why?”

“It’s obvious. You attack him, and I will save Itagaki from danger.”

Daizen did not understand. The small man continued.

“Then Itagaki and I will have some kind of bond. No human being would feel more obligated to help me than someone who had his life saved. I also want to serve his lord, Takeda. When I am given a position with the Takeda, I shall recommend you to him.”

“A trick?” Daizen spat and stared malevolently at Kansuke.

“There is no other way.”

“You deformed bastard!”

“If you don’t like my idea, just leave.”

Daizen stood in thought for a minute, then came back to the veranda and said, “You’ve revealed your true nature finally, you one-eyed fraud!”

The man who sat on the veranda had a wandering eye, and it was difficult to tell where he was looking. When Daizen returned to the veranda, the man put his right hand down and lifted his hip. His middle finger was missing. Though he rose to his feet smoothly, he was extremely short. He was not even five feet tall.