Hyakkimaru's Birth
Book 1 of the Dororo Novel Series
Toriumi Jinzō
Part 2 - Enlightenment
The next morning, an overbearing messenger arrived from the Imperial Court to the Tanbano estate. Hisamaro was placed under house arrest. He wasn't surprised; he'd been prepared for something like this to happen. He had released so many repressed emotions at the previous day's gathering that he felt nothing but a sense of profound relief.
After the Imperial Court messenger left, Hisamaro sent the elderly couple and the messenger he employed out on errands, then sought out Tajumaru.
"Tajumaru, get your things in order," Hisamaro said.
"For what, father?" he asked. He didn't understand what his father was asking of him.
"I need you to trust me," Hisamaro said, "no matter what happens."
"Of course, father." He could hardly say anything else.
The situation outside the estate was also worsening rapidly. Hisamaro's colleagues in the Imperial Court were spreading false information and slander. He had defied the law and long convention by treating common people's ailments free of charge, and he'd obtained extra supplies from the dispensary to create medicines for commoners. These charges were true, but rumors spread that he was making a profit off of his patients and that he had dealings with certain disreputable suppliers of herbs and medicinal ingredients.
Hisamaro's blatant disrespect for the branch of medicine that dealt with curses and magic also drew ire. It was an open secret that Hismaro had imported and translated forbidden medical texts from China and other places. Some Imperial Court physicians suggested that Hisamaro was disloyal to the shogunate and wished the shōgun's family harm.
But the main thing that harmed his reputation was his dismissive diagnosis of the shōgun's son. When news of his refusal to treat the boy reached the shōgun's estate, the twelve-year-old Yoshikazu shouted, "He's mocking the shōgun, my father! And he's nothing but a lowly court physician. Execute him!"
He was already well enough to shout something like that at the top of his lungs, so he certainly didn't require any further treatment from Hisamaro or any other court physician.
Yoshikazu would be the next shōgun after his father, so many retainers and family members listened to him and agreed with his opinion. The Tanbano estate was placed under strict surveillance. Hisamaro was often scolded for stepping foot outside his own door.
Tajumaru was placed under the same restrictions of his father. He had the added burden of being the son of a disgraced court physician; he felt the fragility of his own social position for the first time in his life. Basic human rights were so easy for the shōgun to grant and take away. Yoshikazu was the same age as Tajumaru, but the power and influence they wielded were nowhere near the same. Defying the shōgun and the Imperial Court was not a struggle between opponents on equal terms. Hisamaro had lost almost as soon as he'd started. The unfairness of the rights of the shōgun and samurai to repress and punish others at their whim made a powerful impression on young Tajumaru.
Late on the fourth night of Hisamaro's house arrest, there was a loud knock at the door. Tajumaru ran out the back door in a panic and saw human shadows encroaching on him from all sides. When Tajumaru took a step back, he noticed that a letter had been wedged into a gap in the door. It was from Chin Uiro.
Tajumaru ran the letter to Hisamaro, who was still in his bedroom. Hisamaro went outside to greet their visitors: a group of Chinese men who had accompanied Zheng He on his visit to Japan. They were the ones who had delivered the letter. Chin Uiro's son, Chin Jōyū, had heard about what happened to Seiko and was deeply moved. He understood that Hisamaro had chosen to defy the Imperial Court and the other court physicians and was completely sympathetic to his reasons.
Hisamaro was still ranked as a court physician, but it was only a matter of time before that rank and position were stripped from him. Chin Jōyū shared many of Hisamaro's ideas and principles about medicine, so he wanted to start a whisper campaign to spread many of those ideas inside the Imperial Court before Hisamaro was removed from his position. Hisamaro couldn't be persecuted for his beliefs and ideas if they were made commonplace.
Chin Jōyū believed that the best way to demonstrate that Hisamaro's way of thinking was correct would be to use Ashikaga Yoshikazu's own case against Hisamaro's detractors. If they could ease the pain of Yoshikazu's injury using Hisamaro's common treatment methods, Chin Jōyū could prove his and Hisamaro's goodwill toward the shogunate in a demonstrable way.
It was a good idea, but Hisamaro refused Chin Jōyū's proposal. If Yoshikazu didn't recover, or if he did and then lied about it, Chin Jōyū's reputation would be ruined along with Hisamaro's. Hisamaro had no choice but to take Tajumaru and run.
The next night, Tajumaru awoke before dawn. His father was in his room. "Get up, Tajumaru," Hisamaro said.
Tajumaru rubbed sleep out of his eyes and got slowly to his feet. Hisamaro had packed them each supplies for a journey. He told Tajumaru to prepare to leave, and quickly.
"Yes, father." Tajumaru knew why they were leaving. He was fairly sure that they were never coming back.
"Hurry," Hisamaro said. Tajumaru dressed himself faster.
He and his father lifted their small packs onto their backs and fled their home before the sun rose. Hisamaro carried their money, medicines, and Seiko's mortuary tablet; he'd packed little else for himself. Chin Jōyū's letter was tucked into Tajumaru's pack. He considered it safer to store it there instead of in his own in case they were stopped and searched.
The stars twinkled overhead as Tajumaru and Hisamaro began their journey. Tajumaru felt utterly hopeless. The cold autumn air cut through him all the way to his bones. He had no idea what their destination was. He had to trust his father completely; there was nothing he could do on his own.
Hisamaro and Tajumaru sneaked out of the estate through a large wooden gate in the back. Two ashigaru were sleeping right outside the gate in front of a fire, snoring hugely. Tajumaru and Hisamaro were almost past them when another, better-armed mercenary blocked their path.
"Oi!" he shouted. "Those two are trying to escape!"
"Run, Tajumaru!" Hisamaro yelled, pushing Tajumaru ahead of him. The well-armed mercenary ran up to them and struck Hisamaro hard in the shoulder with the butt of his spear.
Hisamaro cried out as he fell. He scrabbled to his hands and knees and yelled again, "Run!"
"Father!"
Tajumaru was frozen to the spot. He couldn't possibly flee from the estate alone.
The mercenary pointed his spear at Hisamaro. "I was ordered to kill you if you tried to get away," he said. "Prepare yourself."
Hisamaro crawled forward and gasped, "Run."
Then Tajumaru did something a little crazy: he ran full speed at the mercenary and toppled him over. The man smelled dead drunk. Before he could react to his fall, Tajumaru wrenched his weapon out of his hand. When the mercenary twisted away from him and tried to retreat, Tajumaru rushed after him and stabbed him through the spine.
The mercenary grunted and collapsed face-first to the ground. Tajumaru didn't remember what happened after that.
When Tajumaru came back to awareness, he was running next to his father, red-faced and out of breath. They were heading south out of the capital. Fortunately, the other ashigaru were so drunk and uncoordinated that they lost sight of them quickly and didn't give chase. The shōgun had the ashigaru guarding Tanbano estate executed to a man for permitting their escape.
By the time Tajumaru and Hisamaro reached the road to Toba, it was well past dawn. Sunlight streamed into Tajumaru's eyes as they ran. They couldn't stop: Hisamaro had broken house arrest in addition to his other crimes, so he would be cut down by any samurai loyal to the shōgun if he was recognized. More pursuers would come for them soon. Hisamaro was too important, and had angered the shōgun too badly, to simply be let go.
News of Hisamaro's flight spread quickly through the five provinces and seven districts of Japan. The roads to Yase, Kurama and Toba were crawling with warriors on the hunt for Hisamaro.
Tajumaru and Hisamaro climbed up a steep hill and looked down on the road. The forest was thick behind them; farms and forests dotted the landscape below. Hisamaro grabbed Tajumaru's shoulder to stop him before they reached the top of the hill.
"Wait," Hisamaro said.
There was an old temple directly in front of them. Some common people were gathered in front of it, through there seemed to be some low-ranked government officials in the crowd, judging by their dress. Tajumaru wondered if his father's pursuers had managed to cut them off already. It was possible; messengers for the shōgun were sent out on the fastest horses available.
"We need to backtrack before we're seen," Hisamaro whispered.
Tajumaru nodded.
They returned to the road below the hill, then passed into the forest, following the line of the Katsura River for a while before cutting deeper into the woods in the direction of the Yodo River.1 They ran on the paths between rice fields below the mountain of Kuga all the way to Izumi.
Their pursuers were fast at their heels, eager to bring Hisamaro and Tajumaru to swift and violent justice. Tajumaru considered the idea that he might have killed the mercenary that he'd run through with a spear as they fled. His father didn't tell him whether he had or not, but if he had, then he was complicit in his father's escape. They would receive the same sentence if they were caught: death by beheading or crucifixion.
Fear of their pursuers drove Hisamaro and Tajumaru relentlessly forward. They traveled as much as possible, even at night. They couldn't stay near the road or stop at any inns for food and rest, so their journey was extraordinarily difficult. Hisamaro refused to tell Tajumaru that the mercenary he'd stabbed was dead because he didn't want him to have to recover from the shock of that while they were still desperately fleeing. Tajumaru was twelve years old, and he'd already killed a man.
Tajumaru assumed that his father wouldn't talk about the mercenary because he was dead, but not knowing for sure filled him with anxiety.
Both Hisamaro and Tajumaru spent many sleepless nights under trees in the woods or at small inns where they weren't recognized. Tajumaru stared up at the silver moon in the darkness with tears clouding his vision.
Where can we run? How will we be able to live now?
***
They reached the edge of a harbor and sought out the captain of a cargo ship called Hibikimaru, which had just arrived from Buzen in Kyūshū. The captain's name was Akamano Gotarō. He'd was mentioned in Uiro's letter as a potential source of help.
Gotarō was past middle age, but his skin was a healthy pink, as his name suggested.2 His right eye had been cut out by a sword in battle. His empty eye socket was covered by a patch. His only remaining eye was bright with intelligence; his wary expression carried a hint of intimidating malice.
Gotarō read Uiro's letter over, then nodded hugely. "Uiro is a good man. I wouldn't expect him to fall into step with the rest of those sniveling cowards that serve the shōgun." He laughed: a hearty, free-spirited sound. "Hibikimaru is my castle and my treasure. Welcome aboard."
Hisamaro and Tajumaru stayed concealed in Gotarō's house for three days before the ship's departure. Gotarō's crewmen roamed the harbor and reported on Hisamaro's pursuers. Two other men were staying in Gotarō's house as well. They had the look of wealthy merchants and were generally pleasant and friendly. Hisamaro was wary of them. The men seemed to sense this and gave both Hisamaro and his son plenty of space.
Gotarō preoccupied himself with preparations for the coming voyage. He liked and trusted Uiro, but Hisamaro and Tajumaru were still unsure of how to treat him, since he was a stranger. They didn't fully relax around Gotarō until after the ship set sail.
Hisamaro approached Tajumaru on the deck as the ship drifted away from the harbor. "We're heading for Kyūshū," he said, "toward the port of Karatsu."
"But won't they still be searching for us in Kyūshū?" Tajumaru asked.
"Yes," Hisamaro said, "but the eastern part of the city is nothing but doctors, so we'll blend right in, at least for a few days."
From Tajumaru's perspective, they were sailing directly into the enemy's hands. It was foolish and reckless. He wanted to sail somewhere else. He felt exposed, like the eyes of their pursuers were already on them.
"Can't we go somewhere else?" he asked his father. His tone was shrill with fear and anger and other emotions he couldn't name.
"It'll be the same no matter where we run. As long as we stay in Japan, there's no escape."
Tajumaru sucked in a breath. He finally understood his father's plan, and Uiro's. He and his father would leave Japan and cross the sea to China, where they would be safe. His fear lessened somewhat now that he knew his father's intentions. He wanted to ask more questions, but his father's expression was so weary and pained that he kept his mouth shut.
***
Aki was a busy place.
The setting sun dyed the waves golden as the ship neared shore close to the port. Hisamaro and Tajumaru stood on the deck and watched the waves crash against the coastline. Hisamaro's heart and mind were wholly preoccupied with thoughts of China. Tajumaru thought about China, too, but his heart was torn. He'd never been there before, and fleeing there meant that he'd never get to go home. He knew that he and his father would be much safer in China, but that didn't mean he wanted to go.
"Tajumaru," Hisamaro said softly, "do you really hate the idea of becoming a doctor?"
He didn't look at Tajumaru when he asked the question. His eyes were on the calm and peaceful sea. Hisamaro was neither stupid nor ignorant; he remembered Tajumaru's early resistance to being trained as a court physician.
Still, this was the first time he'd asked Tajumaru this question in such plain terms. He was considering Tajumaru's future now that they had both lost their foundation. Tajumaru wasn't sure how to respond to the question and remained silent.
"I want to become a new kind of doctor," Hisamaro said. "Uiro will be able to contact us in China. I hope that he'll help me...but what about you? What do you want to do?"
"I don't know yet," Tajumaru said. "Let me think about it for a while. Please."
Hisamaro nodded. The silence between him and his son felt heavy and oppressive.
"It's a wonderful evening, isn't it?" a man asked from behind them. It was Sōza Emon, a member of the fishermen's guild. He was one of the men who had stayed at Gotarō's house with Hisamaro and Tajumaru before the voyage. Neither Hisamaro nor Tajumaru had asked for details, but it was obvious from the way they spoke to one another that Gotarō and Emon had known one another for a long time. They often discussed trade and market prices to pass the time.
Hisamaro smiled at Emon, then bowed politely. "The sea is beautiful. It looks like the Buddha's paradise."
Hisamaro had always relied on his professional façade. Telling patients that they might die while bursting into tears was not good for their outlook and wouldn't encourage them to live. He tried to always appear friendly and calm so that people wold trust him to take care of them. He used his façade now to conceal his deep distress from Emon.
Emon frowned a little. Hisamaro was an avowed atheist, so it was strange to hear him talk about paradise and the Buddhist heaven, even in simile.
"If there's a heaven in this world, that must mean there's a hell, too," Emon said. "We'll be stopping in Fushimi soon, so enjoy the quiet while you can—it's about to get noisy and crowded for a while."
Hisamaro and Tajumaru exchanged surprised glances. They hadn't known about the stop in Fushimi. During their escape, they'd come close to Fushimi with their pursuers right behind them.
Hisamaro hunched his shoulders and faced the sea. "Is there something there?" Hisamaro asked. "Why are we stopping?"
"Supplies," Emon said. "And you might even say that hell is there." He paused. "There was a madman in Fushimi, long ago now. He was a famous Buddhist image maker who carved statues. He died insane."
"Died...insane?"
Tajumaru looked back and forth between his father and Emon. It didn't seem like Emon knew that Tajumaru and Hisamaro were on the run. Gotarō wasn't a loose-lipped man as a rule, so it was possible that Emon didn't know their circumstances.
"The place is famous because of him," Emon said. "There's a temple complex in Fushimi called Unryū. One of the temples is full of strange figures that the madman carved; the locals call it the Hall of Hell and say it's cursed. There's always some fuss or another over it."
Tajumaru tried to remember what his mother had told him about Buddhist temples and religion. He knew almost nothing of hell, even as a concept.
Emon continued telling Hisamaro and Tajumaru what he knew of Fushimi. According to him, the Buddhist image maker Unga, a disciple of the famous carver Unkei, made forty-eight statues in demon shapes, meant to represent the forty-eight sins of humanity. Unga had heard a story about Amida Buddha refusing to ascend to Nirvana until those sins were eradicated from the earth.3 The statues were representations of sin, but Unga had also wanted them to act as the Buddha's eyes on the earth so that he could verify that the sins had been destroyed.
Rumors spread that the statues contained the sins and wickedness that they represented within themselves. Unga sealed the statues inside a temple and refused entry to everyone who tried to go inside. People said that Unga was cursed by the malevolent forces contained within the statues, leading to his insanity and suicide. That couldn't have been Unga's plan; most people believed that he'd created the statues to draw the eyes of Amida Buddha to the earth. Clearly, he had failed.
Tajumaru and Hisamaro listened to Emon's tale in stunned silence. Fushimi seemed like an ominous sort of place. The strangeness of the story made such a strong impression on Tajumaru that he never forgot it.
1 he Yodo River begins at the southern outlet of lake Biwa in Ōtsu. The Yodo flows into Kyōto Prefecture, then merges with two other rivers, the Katsura River and the Kizu River. Tajumaru and Hisamaro are traveling north through the woods. Since they eventually reach a harbor, they must turn south eventually, likely while following the line of the river.↩
2 Gotarō’s surname, Akamano, starts with the kanji character for red, 赤, aka.↩
3 Amida Buddha is the form of Buddha that was most worshiped in Japan during this time period. He began life as a boddhisatva, a person who embodies Buddhist ideals (especially compassion) but who had not yet ascended to Nirvana or paradise.↩
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