Takaoka's Travels by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa

Author:Tatsuhiko Shibusawa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stone Bridge Press

The mountain-bound nation of Nanzhao was different in every sense from the realms along the South Sea through which the Prince had already passed. First, there was the climate. As the Ming poet Yang Shen wrote of this region after he was exiled to Yunnan for displeasing Emperor Jiajing: “Flowering branches unending, in every season spring.” Here it was neither hot nor cold but always mild. This alone made it a much more hospitable place. Additionally, while Yunnan had long taken advantage of the Burma Route to trade with India, the area was much more exposed to cultural influences from China. Local government and religious practices, for example, were entirely based on Chinese models. The same could be said of its Buddhist temples. In this sense, the area differed markedly from Chenla, Funan, and Panpan, all of which were under the strong influence of Indian culture. From the age of Piluoge, Nanzhao’s fourth ruler, who was dubbed King of Yunnan by Emperor Xuanzong, the Nanzhao royals felt no need to disguise their outright Sinophilia. Time and again, China-crazed Nanzhao marched on Chengdu, robbing the Han of their riches and their craftsmen. The nation also repeatedly pressed the Tang court to wed their princesses into the Nanzhao royal bloodline, and for the nation’s young aristocrats, there was no dream as fine as studying in Chengdu.

In The New Book of Tang, we learn that it was Fengyou, the tenth ruler of Nanzhao, who put an end to the custom of kingly names, stating: “It is out of my love for China that I cannot in good faith continue my father’s name.” Thus, in his reign, this tradition was abandoned. Perhaps King Fengyou felt that nothing could be more embarrassing than participating in some childish name game.

At any rate, the Prince had paid his respects to the honey man resting in the cave atop Mount Cock-Claw. His heart now at peace, he began his descent. In his travels so far, the Prince had always been in the company of Anten, Engaku, and young Akimaru. Finding himself alone in a foreign land for the first time, he looked inward, wondering if he felt at all lonely. He was certain he did not. In fact, as he made his way downhill and saw the spring flowers covering the green mountainside, the Prince felt lighter, as if he were a young man again. This sort of setting was far from common in the sun-scorched Southern Lands, and as the Prince went on, a peculiar fantasy took hold of him: Had he returned to his native Japan?

An odd thought now bubbled within him. He felt as though he had left his real self behind—or that some part of him had come loose. But how? Was it this place or was it something inside him? Whichever the case, it was as if his original self had been left back in Arakan with his fellow travelers; meanwhile, another Prince had traveled up to Nanzhao by flying canoe. It was

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