The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 297 After the Honnoji Incident

The Honnoji Incident that shocked the world happened thirty-eight years ago.

At that time, Fujiwara no Kiyomaro was still a small-time official (Note 1) by Oda's side. On June th, when the mutiny occurred, he was sent to perform a mission elsewhere and narrowly escaped death.

Whether this result was fortunate or unfortunate, the elderly Fujiwara no longer knew.

Over the course of more than thirty years, Fujiwara witnessed the end of the Warring States period, the passage of the Oda, the passing of the Toyotomi, and finally the Tokugawa, as the banners of the kings changed from castle to castle. Although thirty-eight years had passed, on that chaotic morning at the age of thirteen, he had not been able to die alongside his lord and his fellow Konoe. His lingering death was a profound shame for this samurai, a descendant of the Konoe clan (Note 2), who had studied at Nijo (Note 3) until the age of twelve.

~~~~~
Kanazawa Castle of Kaga Domain.

In a secluded and quiet courtyard, Chiyoko's light sigh was heard.

“Ah, it’s blooming.”

Chiyoko discovered that the old crape myrtle tree was actually blooming.

The faint fragrance of flowers is refreshing, the midsummer sunshine pours down from the treetops, and the whole courtyard seems to be filled with the scent of flowers.

Among the many narrow courtyards of Kanazawa Castle, this rose tree, more than five rooms tall, is considered a large tree. (Note 3)

Compared with the prosperous Osaka Domain, this place seems shabby and small.

Looking at the giant tree piercing the sky, Chiyoko thought of her father whom she had not seen for a long time.

"Father is probably as tall as this tree?"

Chiyoko's father had left Japan ten years earlier, in 1610, on the eve of the Winter Battle of Osaka, which determined the fate of the Tokugawa and Toyotomi clans. Portuguese merchants, keen on spreading the gospel, were keenly aware of Tokugawa Ieyasu's attitude towards Catholicism, so they abandoned their wife and children—the Japanese mother of the two children soon died amid the curses of the Osaka people—and fled hastily to Jakarta on a red seal ship.

As Chiyoko's father expected, two years later, the situation in the shogunate suddenly changed. In 1612, the th year of Keicho, Tokugawa Ieyasu issued an edict prohibiting Christianity and began to restrict the red seal ship trade.

Ten years ago, the Toyotomi clan was still powerful, the Tokugawa clan was still wary of Catholicism, and the Portuguese could bring rich trade benefits to Kanto, so the Tokugawa clan did not kill all the more than 500,000 Catholics in the country.

Ten years later, with the fall of the Toyotomi clan and the death of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had been obsessed with trade profits, the shogunate's successor, Tosho-jin (Note 4), became increasingly aggressive in its anti-Christian policies and persecution of Catholics.

In 1621, two missionaries and 55 believers of various sects who had smuggled into Japan on a Spanish merchant ship were burned to death or beheaded.

Taking this as an opportunity, the shogunate began to expel Catholics from the country on a large scale.

~~~~~~~
The trunk of the rose in front of me is much thicker than Chiyoko's waist.

Its rough, old bark, covered with moss, was no match for the graceful and delicate body of the mixed-race woman.

Two butterflies rested near the bend of the tree trunk.

Two thorns grew from a corner of the yard. They climbed up along the base of the trunk and bloomed two small flowers in midsummer.

The butterfly rested on the small flower.

Chiyoko noticed that the two thorns were facing each other but not entangled.

Fifteen-year-old Chiyoko pondered to herself:
"Perhaps they will never meet again in this life?"

This courtyard looked like it had not been inhabited for a long time. The yard was overgrown with weeds, and even the thorns under the tree trunks had not been cut away.

"Didn't my brother and I leave in a hurry?"

A group of white butterflies flew into the yard, dancing lightly above the thorns, with white dots on them.

Chiyoko was staring at the group of butterflies in a trance when her brother's calm face appeared at the gate of the courtyard.

"Chiyoko, the Kaga samurai is here to urge us to hurry up and leave once we've packed up!"

Chiyoko's elder brother, Fujiwara no Kyoji, was taller than the average Japanese man, as tall as a room. He stood out among the monkey-like Osaka samurai. After arriving in Kaga, the locals said that his burly figure was like a human bear in the forests of Hakusan (Note 5).

He was barely sixteen, and perhaps he would continue to grow.

Fujiwara no Kyoji has a pair of charming blue eyes on his axe-cut face. He has a slender figure, like a fox demon in a shrine, and can capture the souls of girls at a glance.

In addition, he has long black hair and a prominent nose bridge, which can be said to be the perfect inheritance of the advantages of both parents.

However, this figure, walking in Osaka Castle, was often mistaken by the sentries stationed in the castle as a geek who was testing his sword and killing people, and was captured. (Note 6)

In Osaka, where homosexuality is prevalent, there are often family elders and hatamoto whose sexual orientation is a mystery, trying to develop a relationship beyond friendship with this handsome Japanese-Portuguese mixed-race man.

This is unimaginable to Catholics.

"When will we leave?"

"immediately."

Fujiwara Chiyoko returned to her room, put on a straw raincoat with a cross painted on it, and then put a conical hat on her thick black hair.

July in Kanto can bring torrential rain at any time. The journey from this deserted Hatagoya (inn) to the port takes a day and a half, and who knows what might happen along the way? When traveling, it's best to be prepared.

Chiyoko covered her face, but her bright and beautiful appearance shone brightly under the bamboo hat.

The elder brother divided the gold coins in his sleeve into two halves. This was the only consolation left by the Portuguese merchant to the brother and sister. When their mother died in Osaka, she told Fujiwara Kyoji the location of the gold.

Gold is valued in the east, silver is valued in the west, and copper coins are used throughout the country.

After the Tokugawa shogunate unified Japan, the circulation of currency among the various feudal domains still had obvious regional separatist characteristics due to the geographical location of the gold and silver mines and traditional usage habits.

Generally speaking, in Kanto regions such as Osaka, Kaga, and Edo, people prefer to use gold coins.

"When we get to the port, you hide the gold coins in the soles of your shoes. On the way, we can only use the copper coins used by farmers."

When Chiyo heard her brother's instructions, she nodded quickly.

On the way from Osaka to Kaga, the brother and sister saw too many Catholics being robbed by fanatical samurai ronin.

My brother said that if they wanted to reach Miyako Port alive, escape from Japan on the red seal ship, and go to Jakarta where their father was, they needed to bury their heads in the soil and be as low-key as rice.

Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the use of gold, silver, and copper coins was not only restricted by region but also corresponded to different social classes (samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants). Gold coins were primarily used by samurai, silver coins by artisans and merchants, and copper coins by farmers.

"So what class do we belong to?"

While Chiyoko was distracted, Fujiwara Kyoji had already straightened himself up, holding a lantern with a carved image of Christ in his hand, and opened the dusty door of the Hatagoya.

After a creak, the brother and sister walked onto the main street of Kanazawa Castle.

Chiyoko didn't dare look up at the passers-by from Kaga Domain. She had walked all the way from Osaka, and the further east she went, the more she could feel the malice of the samurai townspeople towards them.

Although the Fujiwara siblings were as low-key as mature rice ears, their unconventional figures still attracted the attention of people around them.

Chiyoko stared at the little man painted on the front of her brother's lantern.

The appearance of the little man is somewhat similar to the Ukiyo-e that was popular in Edo.

The sleeves are very long, almost reaching the hem of the clothes, as if the palms are clasped together, and only the area around the arms appears thicker.

Although it is a little blurry, it looks completely different from a Buddha statue or a Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue.

"Brother, how many days does it take to get from Miyako to Jakarta?"

"Thirty-five days. It will be faster if there is a favorable wind."

Fujiwara no Kyoji tucked his left hand into his sleeve, clenching a short sword, and glanced at the two ronin standing with their hands folded in the distance out of the corner of his eye.

The shogunate strictly prohibited Catholics leaving Japan from carrying weapons, but Fujiwara no Kyoji was not one to sit idly by and wait for death, not to mention that he needed to protect his sister.

The further east you go, the closer you get to Tokugawa Hidetada's stronghold, and the deeper people's hatred for Catholics becomes.

As one of the staunch supporters of the shogunate, many samurai of the Kaga clan died in the decisive battle with the Toyotomi clan.

Catholics who supported the Toyotomi clan and had unclear ties with the Kansai forces became the targets of revenge by the Kanto samurai.

The Shogun issued a bland order in Edo Castle, ordering the samurai along the way not to embarrass these pagans.

It was obvious that the feudal lords who hated Catholicism were not prepared to seriously implement this order.

Because the wife of the Kaga domain lord Maeda Toshitsugu (まえだとし) was Tokugawa Tamahime, the daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada.

This in-law relationship made the Kaga clan more loyal than other daimyo in carrying out the orders of the shogun. (Note 7)

A month earlier, the Shogun issued an expulsion order against Catholics in Japan:

All believers who refuse to give up their faith in God must leave their respective domains and Japan within a specified period of time.

At the same time, believers were required to wear ornaments that could identify themselves as "Red Haired Barbarians" to facilitate their unified dispatch by the daimyo of each domain.

Those who fail to leave within the deadline will face the most severe punishment from the shogunate.

"Are you the half-blooded bastard abandoned by the red-haired barbarians in Osaka?"

Suddenly, three ronin carrying ethereal swords jumped out from the intersection ahead.

"I think I hear the clinking of coins. You pagans, you swindled money out of Japan, and you just want to walk away like this?"

Fujiwara no Kyoji used his body to block his sister, facing the ronin, and took out a red seal with worn corners from his sleeve and slowly unfolded it in front of the other person.

"This is a pass issued by the Inoue family elder in Osaka, instructing all the feudal domains along the way not to stop us. It has the seal of the Shogun..."

A ronin stepped forward in wooden clogs, grabbed the red seal, crumpled it in his hands, pointed his knife at the Catholic, and shouted angrily:

"My brother died in the Battle of Osaka, and I was reduced from a second-class samurai to a ronin. It's all because of you pagans from Kansai! Today, you must leave the copper coins behind!"

Another ronin suddenly walked up to Chiyoko, lifted his hat with his scabbard, looked at the mixed-race woman who was a head taller than him, and stood there with his mouth wide open.

"So there's another beauty. Are you in a hurry to go to Jakarta too? The sea is so windy. Why don't you stay in Kanazawa Castle and be a geisha? You'll be as tall as a giant, and customers will love you..."

As the ronin spoke, he stared at the blade reaching towards Chiyoko's chest with a lustful and greedy expression.

With a clang, the katana on Chiyoko's neck was bounced away.

Fujiwara no Kyoji raised his short sword like a fighting mantis.

"Chiyoko, you go first! Go through Hakusan Village and meet me at the harbor."

Chiyoko opened her eyes wide and stared at the bloody scene in front of her. Before she could see clearly, the ronin who had teased her had a finger cut off by the sharp blade and was kneeling on the ground howling like a wild boar.

The remaining two men pointed their knives at the fierce Catholic, preparing to attack him from both sides.

"Come on!"

Fujiwara swung his sword and yelled at his sister.

Chiyoko shouted "Take care" to her brother's disheveled figure, and ran towards Hakusan with tears in her eyes.

Note:
1. Xiaoxing: A military official title. A samurai who served his lord closely and was responsible for daily chores.

2. Nijo: One of the main roads running east-west through Heian-kyō, also known as Nijo Continent. Currently Nijo-dori in Kyoto.

3. Ken: A unit of length during the Warring States Period in Japan. One ken is approximately equal to six feet, or 1 meters.

4. Tosho-jin: After Tokugawa Ieyasu's death, he was granted the title of "Tosho Daigongen" by the Japanese imperial court and became the god of the Edo shogunate. He was enshrined in the Tosho-gu Shrine in Japan and was called "Tosho-jin" by later generations.

5. Hakusan: A stratovolcano located in Ishikawa, Fukui, and Gifu prefectures in Japan. Volcanic activity began between 3 and 30 years ago.

6. The Kinkizhe: also known as the Hatamoto slaves, are young scoundrels with the identity of Hatamoto and their gangs in the Edo period.

7. Gaiyang daimyo: People who were daimyo with Tokugawa Ieyasu before the Battle of Sekigahara, or daimyo who were loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori during the war and surrendered after the war. Those who belong to this category are called "gaiyang daimyo".

(End of this chapter)