"Well then, the errand of the messenger who was sent to you two or three times by the Abbot of Yokawa had something to do with that pet.i.tion?"

"No." Mitsuharu quickly shifted his eyes and gazed peacefully into Mitsuhide's face. "The fact is that I thought it was something I needn't trouble you with, so I turned him down myself. Since you're asking me about it now, however, perhaps I should go over it with you. The Abbot of Yokawa knew that you would be staying here, and he wanted to have an audience with you at least once."

"The abbot said that he wanted to meet me?"

"Yes, and he also requested in his pet.i.tion to have the respected name of Lord Mitsuhide on the subscription list for the restoration of Mount Hiei. I told him that both requests were absolutely out of the question."

"And even though you told him it was out of the question, and refused and then refused again, he still sent messengers to the castle three or four more times? Mitsuharu, I would be apprehensive about signing my name to the subscription list out of deference to Lord n.o.bunaga, but I wonder if I need to hesitate just to meet him."

"I think it's totally unnecessary for you to meet him," Mitsuharu said. "What purpose today would there be for you-who acted as a general at the destruction of Mount Hiei- to meet with a priest who survived that destruction?"

"He was an enemy at that time," Mitsuhide replied. "But now Mount Hiei has been made completely impotent, and the people there have prostrated themselves and pledged their allegiance to Azuchi."

"Certainly, in form. But how are the fellow priests and relatives of those who were ma.s.sacred, and the monks whose ancient temples and monasteries were burned, going to forget the resentment that has lived in their hearts for so many years? The dead must have numbered ten thousand, and the buildings had been there since the time of Saint Dengyo."

Mitsuhide let out a long sigh. "There was no way I could avoid n.o.bunaga's orders, and I too became one of those insane arsonists on Mount Hiei that year. I stabbed to death both the warrior-monks and numberless unfortunate monks and laymen, young and old. When I think of that today, my breast is tortured just as though it were the burnning mountain itself."

"But you've always said that we should take the broad view, and it doesn't sound as though you're doing that now. You destroy one to save many. If we burn one mountain but make the Buddhist Law shine brightly on another five mountains and a hundred peaks, then I think that the killings we samurai commit cannot be called murders."

"Of course that's right. But out of sympathy, I can't restrain a tear for Mount Hiei. Mitsuharu! In public I must hold back, but as an ordinary man I feel that there could be no harm in saying a prayer for the mountain, could there? I'm going to go to the mountain incognito tomorrow. I'll come back right after meeting the abbot."

That night, Mitsuharu stayed awake worrying even after he had gone to bed. Why was Mitsuhide so taken by the idea of going to Mount Hiei? Should he, Mitsuharu, try to stop him, or would it be better to let him do what he wanted? Considering the position Mitsuhide was in now, it would be better for him to have no connection whatsoever with the restoration of Mount Hiei. And it would not be advisable for him to meet with the abbot, either.

This much Mitsuharu could think through clearly, but why had Mitsuhide looked displeased at his arbitrary rejection of the abbot's messenger and his refusal of the pet.i.tion? Fundamentally, he did not seem very happy with Mitsuharu's handling of the situation.

What sort of plan was Mitsuhide conceiving, with Mount Hiei as its center? Obviously Mitsuhide's visit would provide good material for slanderous a.s.sertions that he was plotting against n.o.bunaga. And it was certainly a waste of time, just before his departure for a campaign in the western provinces.

"I'm going to stop him. I'm going to stop him no matter what he says." Having made this decision, Mitsuharu finally closed his eyes. In a head-on confrontation he would most likely receive an unpleasant tongue-lashing from Mitsuhide or make him very angry but he was going to do his best to stop his cousin. So resolved, he went to sleep.

The next morning he got up earlier than usual, but as he was washing, he heard the rhythm of running feet hurrying down the main corridor to the entranceway. Mitsuharu called out and stopped one of the samurai.

"Who's leaving?"

"Lord Mitsuhide."

"What!"

"Yes, my lord. He's attired in light dress for the mountain and is accompanied only by Amano Genemon. They're planning to take their horses as far as Hiyoshi. Or that's what Lord Mitsuhide said as he was putting on his straw sandals at the entrance just now."

Mitsuharu never missed his morning prayers in front of the castle shrine and at the family altar, but this morning he neglected both. He dressed with both long and short swords and hurried toward the entrance. But Mitsuhide and his retainer had already gone, and only the attendants who had seen them off remained, looking toward the white clouds on Shimeigatake.

"It looks like the rainy season is ending here too."

The morning mist in the pine grove beyond the castle still had not cleared, and it made the surrounding area look almost like a scene at the bottom of the sea. The two mounted men hurried through the grove at a light gait. A large bird flew over them, flapping its wings majestically.

"The weather is fine, isn't it, Genemon?"

"If it stays like this, the mountain will be clear."

"I haven't felt this good in a long time," Mitsuhide said.

"That fact alone makes this trip worthwhile."

"I want to meet the Abbot of Yokawa more than anything else. That's my only business here."

"I daresay he will be surprised to see you."

"People would have been suspicious if I had invited him to Sakamoto Castle. I have to meet him in private. Make the arrangements, Genemon."

"People are more likely to see you at the foot of the mountain than on the mountain itself. It would be highly unpleasant if word got around to the villagers that Lord Mitsuhide was out on an excursion. You should wear your hood down over your face, at least as far as Hiyoshi."

Mitsuhide pulled his hood down, until only his mouth was visible.

"Your clothes are plain, and your saddle is just that of a common warrior's. No one will be likely to think that you are Lord Akechi Mitsuhide."

"If you treat me with that much courtesy, people will be suspicious immediately."

"I hadn't thought of that," Genemon said with a laugh. "I'll be a little more careful from now on, but don't blame me for being rude."

At the foot of Mount Hiei, rebuilding had been going on for two or three years, and the streets of Sakamoto were slowly taking on their former appearance. As the two riders pa.s.sed through the village and turned off on the path going up to the Enryaku Temple, the morning sun finally began to sparkle on the waters of the lake.

"What shall we do with the horses once we dismount on the way up?" Genemon asked.

"A new shrine has been built on the site of the old one. There must be farmhouses nearby. If not, it should be all right to leave them with a workman at the shrine itself."

A lone rider was whipping his horse to catch up with them.

"Isn't that someone calling us from behind?" Genemon asked with some concern.

"If there's someone chasing us, I'm sure it's Mitsuharu. Yesterday he looked as though he wanted to stop me from making this trip."

"He possesses a gentility and sincerity you rarely see in men these days. He's almost too gentle to be a samurai."

"It is Mitsuharu, just as I thought."

"He certainly seems determined to stop you, my lord."

"Well, I won't turn back, no matter what he says. Maybe he's not going to try to stop me. If he wanted to do that, he'd have grabbed my horse's bridle at the castle gate. Look, he's dressed for a mountain excursion, too."

In the end, Mitsuharu had rethought his position before starting out. He felt that it would be best not to oppose Mitsuhide, but rather to come along with him for the day to nake sure he made no mistakes.

As he brought up his horse alongside of his cousin, he smiled brightly. "You're too fast for me, my lord. I was taken by surprise this morning, and not a little shaken up. I didn't think you would leave at such an early hour."

"I didn't think you were planning to come with me. You wouldn't have had to chase us like that if we'd made arrangements last night."

"I was negligent. Even if you are traveling in disguise, I thought that you would be accompanied by at least ten mounted men carrying along a picnic, and that you would be traveling at a more leisurely pace."

"I would have liked that if this had been a normal excursion," Mitsuhide said. "But the only purpose of today's trip is to pray for those who went through h.e.l.lfire years ago and to hold at least one memorial service for their bones. I hadn't thought about carrying up fine sake and delicacies."

"I may have said something that offended you yesterday, but I'm just prudent by nature. It was really nothing more than my not wanting you to do something that might be taken the wrong way in Azuchi. Given the way you're dressed, and that your intention is to say a ma.s.s for the dead, I'm sure Lord n.o.bunaga couldn't blame you even if he were to hear about it. The fact is that even though I reside in a castle close to Sakamoto, I haven't made one trip to the mountain. So I thought that today would be a good opportunity to visit the place. Well, lead on, Genemon."

Spurring his horse, Mitsuharu rode up next to Mitsuhide and began to make conversation as though he were afraid Mitsuhide might become bored. He discussed the plants and flowers they saw along the roadside, explained the habits of the different birds as he distinguished them by their calls, and generally carried on with the solicitude of a kind woman trying to cheer up an sick person.

Mitsuhide could not reject such a display of true feelings, but Mitsuharu talked almost exclusively about nature, while Mitsuhide's mind was immersed in human concerns whether he was asleep or awake or even holding a brush over a painting. He lived in human society, in the midst of contending demons and within the flames of wrath and malice. Even though the song of the cuckoo filled the mountain air, the hot blood that had risen to his temples during his retreat from Azuchi had not yet been calmed.

As Mitsuhide climbed Mount Hiei, his heart was not at peace even for a moment. How desolate the place looked, when contrasted with its former prosperity. Following the Gongen River up toward the Eastern PaG.o.da, the party saw no signs of human life. Only the birdsong hadn't changed. The mountain had been famous as a sanctuary for rare birds since ancient times.

"I don't see a single monk," Mitsuhide said as he stood in front of a ruined temple. He appeared to be surprised at n.o.bunaga's thoroughness. "Isn't there a single living soul on this mountain? Let's try the main temple."

He looked more than a little disappointed. Perhaps he had thought he would see the latent power of the warrior-monks come back to life on the mountain, in spite of n.o.bunaga's supremacy.

But when they finally arrived at the former location of the main temple and lecture hall, nothing remained but mounds of ashes. Only in the area of the monastery had a number of huts been erected. The scent of incense drifted from that direction, so Genemon went to investigate. He found four or five mountain hermits, sitting around a pot of rice gruel that was cooking over a fire.

"They say the Abbot of Yokawa isn't here," Genemon said.

"If the abbot is not there, is there not perhaps a scholar or elder from former times?"

Genemon inquired a second time, but his answer was not encouraging. "It seems there's no such person on the mountain. They're not allowed to come here without the permission of either Azuchi or the governor of Kyoto. Moreover, even now the law does not recognize any permanent residences on the mountain other than for a limited number of monks."

"The law is the law," Mitsuhide said, "but religious zeal is not like a fire that can be doused with water and disappear forever. Come to think of it, the elders probably thought that we're warriors from Azuchi, and they probably hid. The abbot and the elders who survived are probably somewhere on the mountain right now. Genemon, explain to those men that they should have no such worries, and ask them once again."

As Genemon started to walk off, Mitsuharu said to Mitsuhide, "I'll go. They are not likely to tell us anything, with Genemon's stern way of asking questions."

While he was waiting for Mitsuharu, however, Mitsuhide unexpectedly encountered someone he hadn't planned on meeting at all.

The man was dressed in a greenish brown hood and a monk's robe of the same color and wore white leggings and straw sandals. He was over seventy years of age, but his lips were a youthful red. His eyebrows were pure white, and he looked like a crane dressed in a monk's robe. He was accompanied by two servants and a child.

"Lord Mitsuhide? Well, well, I never thought I'd meet you here, my lord. I heard that you were in Azuchi. What brings you to this deserted mountain today?"

He hardly spoke like an old man; his voice was exceptionally resonant, and his lips formed a constant, untroubled smile.

On the contrary, it was Mitsuhide who appeared to be confused. Distracted by the sharp eyes beneath the old man's clear brow, his response was hesitant.

"It's Doctor Manase, isn't it? I've been staying at Sakamoto Castle for a few days, and thought a little walk through the mountains might cheer me up from the gloom of the rainy season."

"There's no better medicine for the body or the mind than an occasional cleansing of the ch'i by walking through the hills and getting in touch with nature. At a a glance, I'd say you've been tired for some time. Are you returning to your home province on sick leave?" the doctor asked, narrowing his eyes to the size of needles. For some reason Mitsuhide found it impossible to deceive a man who had eyes like that. Manase had been practicing medicine at the time Yoshiaki's father, Yos.h.i.teru, was shogun. The two men had not met for quite a while, but Mitsuhide had sat in the company of the great doctor a number of times at Azuchi Castle. n.o.bunaga had often invited Manase to be his guest at tea ceremonies, and whenever he was sick, he would call him immediately. He had more confidence in this man than in his own physicians.

By nature, however, Manase did not enjoy being employed by the powerful and, as he lived in Kyoto, traveling to Azuchi was a ch.o.r.e, despite his robust health.

At that point Mitsuharu returned without having gone to the hut, as Genemon had quickly run to call him back.

"We've b.u.mped into someone, and it's an awkward situation," Genemon whispered to him as they walked back. But when Mitsuharu saw that it was Manase, he happily joined the conversation, indicating clearly that he had long been on friendly terms with he doctor.

"What a treat! It's Doctor Manase. You always look healthier than a man in his prime. Did you climb up from Kyoto today? Off on a mountain excursion?"

Manase enjoyed conversation and was happy to run into friends on the mountain.

"I climb Mount Hiei every year in the spring or early summer and again in the fall,. But you know, there must be a lot of herbs that we haven't discovered yet right here."

As Manase talked, he did not seem to be paying particular attention to Mitsuhide, though he had been casting his doctor's eye over the man from time to time. Eventually he turned the subject to Mitsuhide's health.

"I've heard from Lord Mitsuharu that you'll soon be leaving to take part in the campaign in the west. Be sure to take good care of your health. When a man pa.s.ses fifty, it's difficult to deny his age, no matter how strong he may be."

There was a concern in his advice that went beyond the words.

"Is that so?" Mitsuhide smiled and responded to Manase's advice as though they were discussing someone else's health. "Recently I've felt as though I've had a bit of a cold, but I've got a strong const.i.tution and haven't really considered myself to be ill."

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure. It's all very fine when a sick man is conscious of his own illness and takes the proper precautions. But when a man is overconfident, as you are, he can fall quite gravely into error."

"Well then, do you think I am suffering from some chronic condition?"

"I can see, just by looking at your complexion and listening to your voice, that you're not in your usual state of health. Rather than saying that you are suffering from a chronic disease, I would suggest that your internal organs may have become fatigued, and that the subtle energies a.s.sociated with them are out of balance."

"If you're just saying I'm fatigued, I'll certainly agree to that. From taking part in various battles over the past few years and from serving my lord, I've pushed my body beyond its limits time and again."

"Speaking about something like this to someone as knowledgeable as you is probably like teaching the Dharma to the Buddha, but you really should take care of your health. The five internal organs-the liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys-are manifested in the five aspirations, the five energies, and the five sounds. For example, if the liver is ill, you'll have copious tears; if the heart is injured, you'll be beset by fears, no matter how brave you are ordinarily; if the spleen is distressed, you'll be easily angered; if the lungs an not functioning properly, you'll go through mental agony and not have the psychological strength to understand why. And if your kidneys are weak, you'll have strong swings of mood."

Manase gazed steadily at Mitsuhide's complexion. For his part, Mitsuhide was confident of his own health and did not intend to listen to what Manase was going to say. He did his best to conceal what he felt behind a forced smile but was beginning to fee ill-humored and uneasy. Finally, his patience worn thin, he appeared to be waiting for an opportunity to get away from the old man.

Manase, however, was not going to stop what he had to say halfway through. Understanding exactly what the look in Mitsuhide's eyes meant, he continued to lecture him.

"What I noticed from the moment I met you was the color of your skin. You seen to be either very afraid or worried about something. You repress the anger in your eyes, but I can see that they are filled not only with the anger of a man but also with the tears of a woman. Haven't you recently felt a chill at night that goes all the way to the tips of your fingers and toes? What about a ringing in your ears? Or dried-up saliva and a taste in your mouth as though you've been chewing thorns? Do you have any of those symptoms?"

"There have been nights when I could not sleep, but last night I slept fine. Well, I certainly appreciate your concern, doctor, and during the campaign I'll take extra care about medicine and food." Taking this opportunity, Mitsuhide signaled to Genemon and Mitsuharu that it was time to go.

That day the Akechi retainer Shinshi Sakuzaemon belatedly left Azuchi for Sakamoto Castle, accompanied by a small party of men. His lord, Mitsuhide, had left in such haste that Shinshi had stayed behind to take care of unfinished business.

As soon as he had taken off his travel clothes, several men crowded around him in his room and questioned him.

"What was the situation like afterward?"

"What kind of rumors spread around Azuchi after His Lordship left?"

Shinshi spoke, gritting his teeth. "It's only been eight days since His Lordship left Azuchi, but for the men who receive their stipends from the Akechi clan, it's been like sitting on a bed of nails for three years. Every servant and commoner in Azuchi has walked by the empty banquet hall and yelled insults. 'Is this Lord Mitsuhide's empty mansion? No wonder it smells like rotten fish. With this kind of bad luck and disgrace, the light shining on that k.u.mquat Head is going to fade right away.'"

"No one criticized Lord n.o.bunaga's actions as unreasonable or unfair?"

"There must be some retainers who understand. What are they saying?"

"During the days after His Lordship's departure, the banquet was being held for Lord Ieyasu, so Azuchi Castle was involved in that and nothing else. Perhaps Lord Ieyasu thought it strange that the official in charge of the banquet had suddenly been changed, and I've heard that he asked Lord n.o.bunaga why Lord Mitsuhide had suddenly disappeared. Lord n.o.bunaga only replied nonchalantly that he had had him return to his home province."

Everyone who heard this report bit his lip. Shinshi went on to tell them that most of the senior Oda retainers seemed to think that Mitsuhide's adversity was their good luck. Furthermore, it was possible that n.o.bunaga was considering moving the Akechi clan to some out-of-the-way place. That was nothing more than a rumor, but there is rarely smoke without fire. Ranmaru, n.o.bunaga's favorite page, was the son of Mori Yoshinari, the Oda retainer who had died in battle years before at Sakamoto. For this reason Ranmaru secretly coveted Sakamoto Castle. There was even a rumor that he had already received a tacit promise from n.o.bunaga.

And there was more. Many were of the view that the order for Mitsuhide to advance toward the Sanin Road had more than likely been calculated so that when he occupied the area, he would be made its governor on the spot. Sakamoto Castle, so close to Azuchi, could then be presented to Mori Ranmaru.