47 Ronin by John Allyn

Author:John Allyn
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4629-0623-9
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Chapter Ten

Spring came wetly to the Kyoto area with heavy rainfall and repeated flood conditions. Oishi was confined closely to the house at Yamashina with plenty of time to think and consequently to brood. He felt hemmed in and on the defensive because of the continued presence of Chisaka’s spies. He could well sympathize with Horibe and the others in Edo who kept close watch on Kira and were therefore tempted beyond the bounds of reason to strike out against him. Here in Yamashina, Oishi had no more formidable opponents to face than shadowy spies, but by the time the weather had cleared and the flood damage was repaired, he had decided on an unusual plan. Although not as dangerous as physical combat, it entailed risks of a different sort, which Oishi felt were worth taking. A sword is not always required in order to do battle.

During the first week in April he stayed late in Kyoto for several nights without explanation, but on the occasion of Ka­­tao­ka’s next visit in May his motives began to become apparent.

“I’m glad to see you,” he greeted his old friend, with an expression more intense than usual.

“No word from Edo about the petition yet?” the monkey-faced man asked as they entered the house.

“No,” Oishi growled, “and it doesn’t look like there’s going to be. Horibe and the others were right—the councilors are only stalling.”

“You don’t know that . . .” Kataoka began, but Oishi interrupted him.

“Don’t try to salve my vanity. I admit I was wrong. I was so hopeful of saving something of what was dear to us that I blinded myself to the real truth.”

“There may still be a chance. Araki said . . .” But again Ka­taoka was cut short.

“Araki doesn’t make the decisions. He’s been polite, possibly helpful, but we can’t depend on his optimism. No, from now on we must assume that all is lost and plan accordingly.”

“You mean attack now?” asked Kataoka incredulously.

Oishi hesitated, then spoke in a low voice, “When in haste it is sometimes best to take a roundabout way. There are certain preliminaries I had postponed till now but I see they can no longer wait. Get your house in order, my friend, as quickly as possible, and I shall do likewise.”

They went to bed, Kataoka still puzzled about Oishi’s meaning, but the next day revealed that he was indeed in earnest about settling his affairs.

In the morning Oishi rose early, as usual, to eat the morning meal with his wife and children. When it was finished and he had watched the little ones go off to play, he asked his wife to come out of the kitchen where she was helping the cook prepare the day’s menu, and led her into a sitting room in another part of the house. It was late spring and he threw open the paper shoji to the garden, now beginning to warm in the sun. He motioned for her to sit down and she knelt obediently before him, curious and not a little apprehensive about what her husband was going to say.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.