Teito Monogatari:
The Tale of the Imperial Capital
Part 1: Great Spirit of Tokyo
Author: Hiroshi Aramata
Part 3: The Enchanted Maiden
Chapter 12: Lieutenant Katō’s Sorcerous Practices
It was the night of May 4th, 1906 (Meiji 39). Army Surgeon General Mori Rintarō returned triumphantly from Manchuria at the end of the Russo-Japanese war. Recently, he had been socializing with many literary figures.
In April of the previous year he'd been appointed to his rank Army Surgeon General, a rank equivalent to Major General. As such, he did not have much free time. Despite the many pressing demands on his time, he joined the Evergreen Poetry Society. This group was centered around Yamagata Aritomo. Mori Rintarō gained the favor of this elder statesman and further deepened his interactions with writers. This was only natural, for he had several ideas for elevating the social status of literary figures.
Some might find it strange for a military man to assist writers, but Mori Rintarō was not known to the world for his military prowess. He was famous around the world as a translator, novelist and poet who wrote under the pen name Mori Ōgai.
Rintarō had recently started receiving fewer letters from one writer that he deeply respected: Koda Shigeyuki. The higher he rose in his position as a military doctor, the more distant his friendship with Koda Shigeyuki became. This saddened him, though he understood it in some ways. Koda Shigeyuki was not the type to curry favor with high-ranking bureaucrats. Rintarō knew that his friend would not approve of him doing that, either.
On the evening of May 4th, Rintarō invited Shigeyuki to a traditional restaurant for the first time in a long while. He wanted to rekindle their old friendship, but that was not his only reason for sending the invitation. He also wanted to introduce Shigeyuki to a new acquaintance, a young officer named Katō Yasunori, whom he had met in Manchuria.
Despite his youth, Lieutenant Katō was fluent in Russian and Korean. He also had a thorough understanding of Manchuria’s geographical features and proved himself to be a master tactician.
What impressed Mori most was Katō’s extensive knowledge of the mystical military art known as Qi Men Dun Jia. He had almost superhuman knowledge of all forms of Eastern divination and sorcery. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was the only officer that Rintarō had ever met who was capable of deploying sorcery in combat. His techniques transcended those of mere fortune-tellers. His comprehensive skill set combined magical knowledge with cutting-edge modern scientific theory.
Lieutenant Katō had saved Rintarō's life on several occasions.
Rintarō was delighted to have the opportunity to introduce Lieutenant Katō to his friend Shigeyuki. Shigeyuki had a keen interest in divination and mysticism and was widely considered an authority figure on both.
“This will surely be an engaging conversation,” Rintarō thought with a quiet smile. Rintarō had heard rumors that Katō had joined the Imperial Capital Renovation Plan committee, which was being sponsored by the Ministry of Finance. Shigeyuki had published his own grand plan for the renovation of Tokyo at the end of 1899 (Meiji 32), in the magazine New Novel. His article was called "The Capital of a Nation."
Rintarō believed that Shigeyuki and Lieutenant Katō's interests were closely aligned. They were practically fated to meet. He chose the evening of May 4th to introduce them. At the meeting, he passed Lieutenant Katō a copy of Shigeyuki's article, "The Capital of a Nation." He hoped to enjoy good rice wine while listening to Katō and Shigeyuki talk about the future of Tokyo and Eastern mysticism.
Unfortunately, the meeting between Lieutenant Katō and Shigeyuki did not go as well as Rintarō had hoped. Both men presented their own theories on divination and were embroiled in a heated debate almost instantly.
Koda Shigeyuki looked like Taoist priest. He had piercing eyes and spoke passionately about astronomy, calendar studies, and geomancy. Second Lieutenant Katō responded logically about the mystical significance of star festivals and the techniques of great sorcerers throughout history. Their debate on the art of spirit-summoning magic was especially intense.
Rintarō listened, bewildered. He couldn't understand a word that the men were saying. He guessed that the core of their dispute was related to the methods of cursing people to death. They didn't talk about the Imperial Capital Renovation Plan at all.
Koda Shigeyuki had deliberately avoided the topic of Tokyo. He'd purposely meant to engage Lieutenant Katō in such a fierce debate. Shigeyuki was a mid-career writer with twenty years of experience. He was also of the samurai class. In his youth, he applied for a position as a telegraph technician. In 1885 (Meiji 18), he became a tenth-class technician and was appointed as a non-commissioned government official at the Yoichi Post Office in Shiribeshi Subprefecture in Hokkaidō.
Not long after, Shigeyuki returned to Tokyo on his own accord. From then on, he spent his days immersed in the Tokyo Library reading the classics, Buddhist scriptures, and literature related to Taoist immortality. He was known as a novelist, but he was also considered one of Japan’s leading researchers on Taoist magic and Eastern occult arts.
Shigeyuki had arrived at Rintarō's residence almost an hour late. As he walked through the main hallway guided by a maid, he happened to notice a young military officer engaged in strange behavior in a dark corner of the courtyard. Shigeyuki realized that this was Lieutenant Katō, whom he was supposed to meet that evening.
The officer was holding a drawstring pouch with a restaurant’s name on it in one hand. In the other hand, he held a leaf.
Shigeyuki watched Lieutenant Katō's actions from behind a pillar.
The officer swiftly placed the leaf on the ground, causing a beetle crouched there to turn over. The beetle struggled as its white belly faced the sky. The Lieutenant picked up the beetle and put into the pouch. Next, he tossed a leaf toward a caterpillar nesting in a cherry tree.
Suddenly, the caterpillar clinging to the branch fell to the ground. With a cold smile, the Lieutenant picked up the caterpillar and put it into the pouch along with the beetle.
How strange. Shigeyuki watched the Lieutenant work, thinking about curses. In China, there was a sorcerous practice that specialized in killing via curses. Every year on May 5th, practitioners of this art collected a hundred kinds of insects, poisonous snakes, and venomous creatures into a single container and forced them to fight to the death. The last surviving creature would then be buried in the ground--or ground up to be swallowed by a person who would die of a fatal curse.
This kind of sorcery was among the most vile. Shigeyuki had never seen one of its practitioners in person before. He believed that Lieutenant Katō's sorcerous specialization was in curses. Today was May 4th—could it be that he was trying to curse someone?
Shigeyuki almost cried out in alarm. Who was this soldier? He was about to make himself known when Rintarō slid open a door at the end of the hallway and came out to greet him.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Shigeyuki,” he called out.
Shigeyuki raised his head.
Lieutenant Katō turned around.
There was an eerie silence. Shigeyuki had not even been formally introduced to Lieutenant Katō yet, but he considered him a mortal enemy.
After Shigeyuki returned home that night, he couldn't forget about the strange lieutenant and his sorcerous activities. He'd seen curse magic performed before his very eyes.
Translator's Note
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