Hyakkimaru's Birth
Book 1 of the Dororo Novel Series
Toriumi Jinzō
Part 1 - Kurama
The next day, Jukai went upstream along the line of the Takano River at daybreak. He'd started gathering medicinal herbs in the area with his father as a child, so he still remembered the general placement and location of samurai and imperial estates nearby. New mountain residences for members of the Imperial Court had been built since then. The owners of many of these properties had changed hands over the years, but he'd never met any of the new owners. The forest around him was silent as he traveled upstream.
Everything seemed peaceful at first glance. It was so unlike the capital, where everyone fought like cats and dogs. Wealthy and influential people flattered their friends and sent assassins after their enemies. The people who suffered the most from these whims and eccentricities were the common people who lived in the city. They'd done nothing wrong, but they often got caught in the crossfire of the nobles' petty squabbles.
Jukai had been motivated to study medicine in part because of his close observation of the common people's suffering. His father's dying wish had been for him to become a doctor so that he could help anyone in need, regardless of whether or not they could pay. His father had tried to use his political influence as well as his own medical knowledge to help people as best he could, but Jukai had no gift for politics. His main goal was to survive so that he could save as many lives as possible.
The baby he'd found would never be able to speak. Jukai couldn't help but think of him as another cursed child caught up in the power struggles of those who didn't care if he got hurt or died. He had no limbs, but he was still human, and he'd already lived through something that would kill most people. Jukai was certain that the boy's parents lived around here somewhere.
It was possible that his parents lived as far away as the capital; the river could have carried him a long way before Jukai had found him. Rage on the baby's behalf welled up inside him as he followed the river back to the place where he'd been attacked by lightning the day before.
The river curved around a bit and started winding downstream. Jukai was getting close to his destination. The sunlight reflecting from Hyōtankuzure was clear and clean; Jukai could scarcely believe that the unnatural storm he'd witnessed had only happened yesterday.
The autumn breeze was cool and crisp as he walked along the riverbank. The rocks of Iwakura Shrine rose majestically from the foot of the mountain and shone in the light of the sun. Jukai didn't get the sense that he was trespassing or unwelcome here like he had before. Instead, this place felt strangely comfortable and familiar. He remembered praying for help against the evil spirit and hearing his old master's voice, urging him to help the baby.
"The gods gave me that child. He's mine now. I swear to raise him to the best of my ability. I'll use everything you taught me to do it, master," Jukai said softly.
Both Jukai and the baby had been attacked by the same evil spirit. The god of Iwakura Shrine must have warned Jukai before he could be struck by the spirit's lightning. The baby, too, had been saved by the rainbow-colored light reflected from the mountain peaks of Hyō tankuzure and Konpira.
"The god who gave me this baby must be the one that watches over Iwakura Shrine. Our lives were connected in this place." Jukai approached the shrine and prayed for the baby to have a long life, then returned home.
***
When Jukai returned, Sakuzō was feeding the baby. Almost a day had passed since Jukai had found him. He was relieved when he noticed how easily the baby drank the milk from Sakuzō's special cup. If a normal baby had such an appetite, Jukai would consider it a clear sign of the infant's good health.
While Sakuzō sat in the main living area with the baby in his lap, Jukai considered the results of the thorough examination that he'd performed the previous night. As his appearance suggested, the baby couldn't see, hear, smell or taste. He seemed not to feel any kind of sensation at all, but Jukai wasn't entirely sure about that. He had no limbs, but his internal organs all seemed to be intact and functional—but again, Jukai wasn't certain about that.
Jukai had studied medicine for many years in China, but he didn't have the ability to perfectly diagnose someone based solely on their outer appearance. He was acquainted more with warriors and sailors than he was with other doctors; none of the doctors he knew could match the capabilities of the seemingly superhuman physicians he'd read about during his studies.
Jukai was stunned when the baby's ribs felt normal. "Unbelievable. How does something like this happen?"
Curiosity and doubt warred within him. All of the baby's limbs were gone, but the joints where they should have been attached at the hip and shoulder were all intact. He discharged completely ordinary human waste that both looked and smelled normal; this provided more evidence that his internal organs were likely fine. His body temperature and pulse were normal.
He was completely different from the stillborn infant Jukai had studied in India. He hadn't examined that stillborn's joints thoroughly, but there had definitely been deterioration and missing tissue. The baby currently resting in Sakuzō's lap was the strangest human he'd ever examined.
"I think this baby may have been born normal—I mean, with all his limbs," Jukai said. "But what happened to his missing pieces?" He had no idea how the baby got this way, but he didn't think he was wrong.
"It's obvious that he's lost his limbs and all his sense organs, but his internal organs seem fine. If a demon or a spirit stole his limbs and eyes, why would it leave his internal organs alone? Is all of this some kind of strange coincidence, or is there a reason why only certain pieces were taken?"
Jukai had no answers, and he didn't like to speculate without more information. The baby was remarkable in so many ways. Jukai sensed a kind of hidden potential within him.
"Sakuzō," he said, "I've decided to raise this child as my own."
"Good idea, taifu," Sakuzō said with a grin.
"But it's hard to take care of a newborn without a woman's help. Most babies breastfeed for their first year, at least. We'll need to find him a wet nurse."
"Wet... nurse?" Sakuzō's face clouded over.
"You'll have to go look for one in Shizuhara."
"No! Strangers... will see me. They'll..."
"Calm down. No one one's looking for you there. As soon as you find her, you can bring her back here and she'll stay with us."
Sakuzō sank into sullen silence.
"I can't let this baby out of my sight right now," Jukai said. "I can't guess what would happen if I did. I'll have to examine him every day to make sure he's healthy. He needs constant monitoring. We can't bring him outside and let others see him, either. They'll make him out to be some kind of freak or spectacle. I can't risk exposing him to such danger and cruelty.
"So please," Jukai said. "Go to Shizuhara and find this baby a wet nurse. I'll double your pay this month. Please, hurry."
Sakuzō regarded Jukai with a serious expression. "Women... talk," he said.
Jukai stared at Sakuzō.
"It's... impossible. I can't."
Jukai laughed. He never expected Sakuzō to distrust women so much; wasn't he married? The world was full of untrustworthy people; being male or female was irrelevant.
Sakuzō was aware of his position in the turbulent world in which they lived. It seemed that his policy was to trust Jukai and no one else. Jukai was touched by this unexpected consideration.
"Taifu," Sakuzō said. "I'll... raise... him."
"Huh? You?"
"I... can."
"It's a lot of work to raise a child," Jukai said. "No matter how hard you think it is, it's harder."
Looking after a baby would add too much to Sakuzō's workload. He already took care of their animals and he wasn't able to walk very well.
"I'll be fine. Let me... try. Please."
Sakuzō was stubborn. Jukai didn't want to fight him without a good reason, so he decided to let him try.
"All right. I guess we're his parents, then," Jukai said.
Sakuzō nodded. "Thank you." He bowed his head repeatedly in gratitude.
"This boy needs a name," Jukai said. "I found him near the shrine that protects this area from demons, so... how about Onitarō?" 1
"Demons?" Sakuzō pulled a face.
What the Japanese called demons were usually called evil spirits in China. Japanese demons could be monsters or spirits.
"It might seem strange to include the word 'demon' in his name," Jukai said. "Maybe you're thinking we might raise him to be unlucky or bad-tempered with a name like that. But there are fierce beings that fight against the demons of this land, too, and they use the kanji for 'demon' in their name as well.2 It may be good luck. Even if his body is weak and not whole, he might become strong enough to fight demons someday. I like to think that he'll be able to escape his circumstances and make his mark on the world. How about Onimaru?"3
"Uh..." Sakuzō still seemed unhappy with the name.
"Hm," Jukai said. "What if we added a piece of the mountain's name? This would be his home, after all. Kurama's right behind us. How about...Oniwakamaru?" 4
"I guess that's... fine," Sakuzō said. He grinned. He thought it was a good name for an unlucky hero.
"On second thought, I had a friend when I was young who had that name, so what about—"
Sakuzō glared at Jukai.
Jukai tilted his head, then clapped his hands together. "Oniwakamaru it is."
Sakuzō smiled down at the baby and stumbled over the syllables of his new name. The baby always fell asleep immediately after he ate. Sakuzō set him down gently so that he wouldn't wake.
Oniwakamaru lived a very strange existence for a while. He had only a torso and a head, so he couldn't learn to crawl or walk. He had no mother, but he had two fathers. Sakuzō had left five children behind in his home village of Kaede, so taking care of Oniwakamaru reminded him of his experiences with his own children.
Jukai went to his library and retrieved all the books and scrolls he had on infant care and child-rearing from the shelves. During the Northern Song Dynasty (4 February 960 – 20 March 1127) , a great physician by the name of Senitsu had written several comprehensive scrolls on both subjects. His pupil, Enkōchū, had expanded on his research and tested his methods; he'd also written down most of his master's knowledge so that it could be preserved and shared.
"Until the infant is weaned," Jukai read, "which is around two to three years of age, the most important thing is regular feeding. An infant will not become a healthy child without proper nutrition. Breast feeding is required for the first six months. After that, wheat gruel and other starchy foods may be introduced in small amounts. At ten months, the infant may eat cooked rice. Avoid feeding the infant chilled foods, raw foods, fermented foods, or sweet foods. Feeding the infant any of these may result in illness."
The scroll listed herbal remedies and medicines for common illnesses in infants and children. Jukai was trained as a surgeon, not a pediatrician, so scrolls like these were critical reference texts. Oniwakamaru was still too young to be helped by any of the surgical techniques that Jukai knew. He needed to survive his infancy before Jukai's current medical expertise could be useful. Both he and Sakuzō would need to do their utmost to make sure Oniwakamaru remained healthy.
Jukai's library was vast. Piles of scrolls and books were gathered along one wall; another wall contained shelves that held a wide variety of surgical tools. He kept his prototypes on a long table in the center of the library along with all of his more delicate instruments and tools. There were drawings of anatomical structures and skeletons hanging from the walls and ceiling. He also had fossils and dried, preserved cadavers that he'd dissected. All of these things had been acquired over many years with painstaking care.
Jukai's approach to medical practice was radically different from that of his Chinese teachers. All of his Chinese drawings outlined each of the internal organs in isolation, but the ones Jukai had drawn himself were more comprehensive; Jukai studied the effects that some organs had on others. Some of his drawings magnified an organ's size in order to show greater detail.
Even the physicians of the Chinese Emperor or the Japanese Imperial Court would be envious of Jukai's collection. He was sometimes tempted to share his knowledge, but it would be too dangerous. Most court physicians had completely backward and wrong-headed ideas when it came to medicine. They were steeped in tradition and old methods, even though those methods didn't work. Jukai knew that if he shared his library with the court physicians in Kyōto, he'd be condemned as a heretic and chased out of the city, or worse. They might follow him home and burn his books and prototypes so that the knowledge he'd gained couldn't spread.
Genkai Namitarō , the pirate who nominally owned this estate, had brought Jukai many of his books and tools over the years. Rin Dōjin's Secrets of Amputation and Tissue Repair, written at the end of the Tang Dynasty ( 618 to 907), was the crown jewel of his collection; Shu Shinkō's Guide to Medicinal Plants had also taught him a great deal. Chin Jimei's books on pregnancy and birth might also be useful as supplemental reading for him now.
The estate where Jukai lived was only a single story and didn't have many rooms, but its living spaces and bedrooms were fairly large. In addition to the library, there was a room for storing dried herbs and medicines, a room for food storage, a bathroom with a full bath, personal bedrooms for both himself and Sakuzō, and several miscellaneous storage areas.
Jukai had spent quite a lot of money to acquire so much, but he considered the books and objects in his library to be his true wealth. He could have lived in luxury like the shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, 5 but he wouldn't trade all the shōgun's money for a single book in his library. His lamps, lanterns, dishes and cutlery were all of Chinese make; most of his clothing, blankets and rugs were made from fabric he'd bought in India and Persia. Some of his tools came from as far away as Greece and Italy. His food storage room was full of dried goods imported from China and his favorite wines. He even had some Shaoxing wine in storage; Namitarō knew how much time Jukai had spent in China and was constantly bringing him Chinese things, whether he asked for them or not.
Whatever Namitarō couldn't provide, Jukai bought himself. He had a small fortune of copper coins and rare, dried tropical plants in his cellar that he could easily sell. The copper coins had a favorable exchange rate with foreign currencies, especially Chinese currency, which was much circulated in southern Japan. Jukai averaged an eight percent profit per coin exchanged.
These copper coins had been amassed in secret by Namitarō over the years. Treasure-hoarding was typical pirate behavior, so Jukai didn't exactly blame him, but he was somewhat disturbed by Namitarō's double-dealing ways. Much of his treasure came from the shōgun, either by theft or through legitimate work for the Imperial Court.
The last time Jukai brought this up, Namitarō had said, "We benefit from our relationship with the shōgun. So what? You shouldn't complain, doc. It's not like you make us any money."
Namitarō was a pirate, just as his father had been before him, but he'd always been a friend and ally to the poor and isolated people that lived far away from Japan's large cities. Jukai treated the illnesses and injuries of him and his crew in exchange for free lodging at this estate and the necessities of day-to-day living.
Namitarō also seemed to think that he was in need of a wife. "Taifu Jukai, you can't continue your good work alone without help forever. What if you found a young woman to assist you? She could keep up the house and give you more time to work. Want me to ask around?"
It wasn't a joke; Namitarō genuinely wanted to play matchmaker for him. Jukai always answered him in vague terms; he had no desire to marry. He knew Namitarō's needling was done out of care for his own welfare. He wanted Jukai to have someone taking care of him.
The animals of the estate were housed in sheds and barns. A wide area of forest had been cleared to allow cows to graze and horses to run. He and Sakuzō had two horses, two milking sows, and around ten egg-laying hens. Most of Sakuzō's time was spent taking care of the animals. He made butter from cow's milk; Jukai was teaching him how to make cheese. They had enough food in storage for the two of them for at least a year, but Jukai hadn't anticipated needing to store extra for the baby.
Jukai had storage sheds for herbs he gathered and for the tropical plants that Namitarō imported for him. It shouldn't be difficult to raise Oniwakamaru from a supplies standpoint. He could always send any special requests to Namitarō if the need arose.
Jukai had been relatively idle lately, following his old habits and old routines. Having Oniwakamaru as a patient inspired him to research more exhaustively than he had in years. He spent a lot of time with his tools in his library, thinking up new treatments and prosthetics.
In most cases, the loss of even a single limb was emotionally and economically devastating to a patient. Common men and women lacking an arm or a leg couldn't till their fields. Warriors and samurai couldn't fight with such a severe handicap. Treating a quadriplegic in such a way that they could function normally in day-to-day life was likely impossible, but Jukai was determined to try. He spent long days and sleepless nights carving prosthetic prototypes out of different materials and testing their capabilities and strengths.
He relied on the same methods and research that he'd used when crafting Sakuzō's artificial left leg. He'd already devised knee and ankle joints that were flexible and strong enough to move like a real limb. Similar prosthetics might allow Oniwakamaru to walk someday, but walking wasn't Jukai's sole concern. Learning how to make Sakuzō's leg had taken years of study, months of further research, and months of crafting—and it was only a single limb. Each individual limb would likely take just as long to devise.
"I'm a doctor, not a warrior. Selfish desires only result in slaughter and tyranny. I would never have taken this task on if I intended to be selfish."
If Jukai hadn't honored his father's dying wish and become a doctor, he never would have met Oniwakamaru or his teacher Yōda. And if he'd never met Yōda, he would never even be able to dream of making Oniwakamaru the limbs that he lacked.
1 Onitarō : This literally means "demon boy,"
from the kanji for "demon," 鬼, and the kanji for "boy," 太郎.↩
2 鬼神 Kishin, literally "demon god," is usually
translated "fierce god" or "fierce deity.” One of these beings
may have saved the baby and Jukai in the prologue.
↩
3 鬼丸 Onimaru also uses the demon kanji along
with medieval Japan's common name kanji for boys' names, 丸. It
also means "demon boy."↩
4 鬼若丸 Oniwakamaru adds a similar sound to
鞍馬 Kurama, though the two names aren't connected in any way
aside from phonetics. The name means "young demon boy."↩
5 Ashikaga Yoshimasa was the eighth shōgun of
the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 during the
Muromachi Period of Japan.
↩
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