Teito Monogatari:
The Tale of the Imperial Capital
Part 2: Supernatural Babylon
Author: Hiroshi Aramata
Part 5: Destruction in the Year of the Boar
Chapter 26: The Dalian Conspiracy
A great pillar of fire shot up from the ground, bringing with it a crashing sound that ruptured eardrums. Orange fog hung over the area, turning the air hostile.
"Who goes there?!" a loud voice cut through the clamor.
The echo of horses' hooves grew louder as three riders cut through the fog.
Japanese soldiers panicked and shot at the riders. One shot, two, three... but the bullets all missed. The riders passed them by and didn't stop.
"So they got us again." A soldier came running up beside the railroad tracks, brandishing his gun. "They got us. They planted bombs on the tracks. And they buried them pretty deep. They didn't just damage the tracks. The entire foundation has been blown apart. We'll have to rebuild the tracks from scratch now."
"Damn those bastards," another soldier said. He holstered his gun and looked around. "Their cavalry are too good. They're harassing's us because they resent Japanese occupation."
"Sure, sure. But attacking the railroad hurts everyone, doesn't it? Why do they always target it?"
"We'll catch them tonight. For the honor of the Japanese army. Remember that." The soldier removed his gloves and slammed them hard onto the ground, which was still spouting clouds of toxic fog.
***
The three riders slowed down and hid in the forest. Tonight's job had been simple. There were no pursuers.
"Katō, let's rest the horses here."
"Very well," a man dressed in black replied. He was as slender as a whip. "Tonight's explosion will be even more effective. It's the sixtieth day of the year of the boar's sexagenary cycle, which is also a multiple of twelve. Since the zodiac sign of the boar overlaps, the effect is doubled."
"Katō, I can't accept your methods. All we want is to repel the Japanese army. Destroying infrastructure is excessive. Why do you do it? You always bury extra bombs in the ground, and it doesn't help our cause at all."
"There's no point in talking about it," Katō said. "We're going to have to agree to disagree. I am casting a spell to destroy Japan's capital, Tōkyō. You'll understand my methods soon enough."
"Will I?"
"We can't waste time," Katō said. "The day is auspicious for us. Tonight, the god Saisetsu informs us that the killing aura is most powerful in the direction of the ox. Moreover, the Rago star descends in the same direction. There is no better day than this to launch a military operation."
"Saisetsu? Rago? What are those?"
"Do your people not know anything of sorcery? Saisetsu is a god formed when the spirit of Mars descends to the earth. It governs the killing aura and destroys all things. When this god is facing the direction of the ox, it is at its most powerful. Rago is a manifestation of Marici, the Buddhist god of war, which governs the earth and graves. When Rago descends to the ground, it becomes Ōban. It is auspicious to unfurl a military banner toward the direction where the god is present. All of these signs indicate a day that is fit for taking military action."
"Katō, you use magic for everything."
"Fool. It is not 'magic,' which is spoken of contemptuously by mortals in the vulgar world. What I use is rational and proven. It follows the movements of the heavens and the five elements. The destructive power of nature is my ally." He still spoke like an imperial soldier, but he had cast away his military uniform to join the Manchurian rebels long ago. He plotted acts of sabotage against Japanese military installations regularly now.
"What is your real purpose, Katō? Are you truly our ally?" a rebel asked. He peered at Katō's face as if he were searching for the truth in it.
"I told you that I am here to destroy Japan's capital, Tōkyō. I wish to crush it in my own hands. The city is the symbol of my ancient enemy. I must destroy it."
"How?"
"I will use sorcery--divine and demonic sorcery. These bombings will bring about the destruction of Tōkyō."
"Tōkyō?"
"Of course, Tōkyō. You would not know it, but I have done this work for twelve years already. I should have completed it twelve years ago in the previous year of the boar. However, the time was not yet ripe, and instead Sun Yat-sen's Xinhai Revolution occurred.
"You know the geomantic art called feng shui, do you not? It is the technique of divining the fortune or misfortune of a plot of land. According to feng shui, the terrestrial current that runs from here in Dalian—that is, the flow of the earth's spiritual power, commonly called a dragon vein—descends to the southeast, enters the sea, then passes through Japan and sinks into the floor of the Pacific Ocean. It is as if a single dragon departed from the land of Manchuria and went to subdue the waters of the Pacific long ago. And this terrestrial current—that is, the feng shui dragon vein—has Dalian as its tail and Tōkyō, Japan, as its head."
"A dragon of the earth, eh? We believe that here, sure. We don't build houses or graves in places where the dragon vein is blocked. Then I too believe in it. If a mountain presses down on the dragon vein, we cut that mountain away. One cannot defy a dragon's power, Katō."
"Dalian's dragon is in agony," Katō said. "Its head is pinned down by Tōkyō, and it is unable to drink the waters of the Pacific. It writhes in torment. The frequent earthquakes in Tōkyō are a manifestation of that. That is whyI have repeatedly set off explosions, giving my aid so that the flow of the dragon vein may pierce straight through to the Pacific in one burst.
"The dragon shall overturn Tōkyō and finally plunge its thirst-tormented head into the waters of the Pacific. At that time, Tōkyō will be struck by a massive earthquake and sink beneath the sea. I prayed to the gods that this joyous day would come in the year of the boar. The boar symbolizes the divine beast revered by my ancestors."
"Katō, are you not Japanese?"
"At this point, nationality is meaningless. I am the final descendant of death. I bear the grudges of the common people of the Han and Tang dynasties, and also of the Minato people and the Tsuchigumo. I am the manifested form of all the gods that hate Japan and will destroy it."
"Why?"
"Do not ask. You will understand in time. Since this is a fitting opportunity, I will bid farewell to you all. I shall go to Tōkyō. The time for the final decisive battle has come. The dragon of Dalian has regained sufficient strength for my purposes. All that remains is to ride into Tōkyō and open the Death Gate there."
"The Death Gate?"
"That is right. We are speaking of the Eight Gates in Qimen Dunjia, namely the Open Gate, Rest Gate, Life Gate, Injury Gate, Delusion Gate, Scenery Gate, Death Gate, and Fear Gate. The most ominous of these is the Death Gate. On the day when it opens, a straight line of ominous energy will extend from Tōkyō Bay through the canal all the way to the Imperial Palace. On the day when Mars, the star of Saisetsu, emits its baleful red radiance at the end of that line, I shall summon forth all the vengeful spirits that protect Tōkyō and make them allies of the dragon that will overturn Japan."
"That can't be true."
The mounted rebels turned deathly pale and closed in around Katō.
"I have neither father nor mother. Taking resentment as my father and hatred as my mother, I was born into this age as a demonic child." Katō's eyes shone with unnatural light as he glared at the men.
The rebels were afraid.
"Revenge is what I seek. Japan once built divine ships painted with cinnabar and invaded China. Now the resentment of us unsubjugated people, accumulated over fifteen hundred years, shall be avenged by a cinnabar-painted ship passing through Tōkyō's Death Gate. Tōkyō will be destroyed this autumn. Mark my words."
Katō flung back his black hood and looked around at the mounted rebels. Not one of them spoke. The enormous moon shone down on the three Manchurian rebels as though mocking them.
Translator's Note:
The sexagenary cycle is a 60-year cycle of 12 animal zodiac and 5 elements in Chinese astrology. More generally, the same term is used to refer to the 12 animal zodiac signs and their corresponding years, but Katō is using it to refer to specific calendar dates during a specific year.
According to the Chinese traditional calendar, the direction of the ox is east. Saisetsu is one of the eight gods of the Japanese traditional calendar (which is modeled on the Chinese one). Saisetsu and the other calendar gods determine which of the cardinal directions are lucky or unlucky for a given year. This is a different traditional divination method that is similar to the ones Hirai Yasumasa used.
Rago is a mythological celestial body and/or evil spirit (asura) said to cause eclipses. Ōban is another calendar god like Saisetsu. The others are Taisai, Daishō, Daion, Saigyō, Saiha, and Hyōbi. Each of these deities is associated with a different planet or celestial body. Taisai is associated with Jupiter, Daishō is associated with Venus, Saigyō is associated with Mercury, Saiha is associated with Saturn, Saisetsu is associated with Mars, Ōban is the deified form of the unlucky star Rago, and Hyōbi is the deified form of Ketu, the polar opposite of Rago. Ketu is not a star, but the Moon at the farthest point of its orbit from Earth.
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