南総里見八犬傳 Nanso Satomi Hakkenden
滝沢馬琴 Takizawa Bakin
[The East Vol. XXXI No.1 May/June 1995]

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39. Death of the Monster

Hinaginu buried the dagger deep beneath her breast. From her wound came not only blood but also a bead, which struck the breastbone of the monster masquerading as Taketo. Uttering a cry, the monster collapsed.
Funamushi and Gajiro were shocked. "Masanori must have conspired with Hinaginu to kill his father," they said to each other. Funamushi unsheathed a dagger and Gajiro drew his sword and attacked Masanori. Masanori tried to defend himself, but Gajiro's sword slashed his elbow.
Suddenly a knife flew from the closet and struck Gajiro in the chest. Nobumichi rushed out of the closet. Surprised, Funamushi tried to flee, but Nobumichi grabbed her and threw her down. She hit her ribs hard against a brazier. Covered with ash, she fainted in agony.
"I appreciate your help," Masanori said to Nobumichi, "but you're too heartless in your treatment of my stepmother and younger brother." In anger Masanori turned to attack Nobumichi, but Nobumichi said, "Wait! I have something to show you." Taking Taketo's skull from his bosom, Nobumichi held it to Masanori's bleeding elbow. Masanori's blood was absorbed by Taketo's skull, proving that they were related. "This is your father's skull," said Nobumichi. "He was killed by a monster. That monster has masqueraded as your father ever since."
Nobumichi told Masanori about his encounter with Taketo's wraith. Masanori listened entranced. He now understood that he had been abused not by his father but by a monster who had assumed his father's shape, and that the monster had married the wicked Funamushi.
Nobumichi handed Masanori Taketo's skull and sword. Masanori thanked Nobumichi for his kindness.
Masanori felt pity for Hinaginu, who has been caught in a trap set by the monster. He gently lifted her and said, "You were not pregnant. The bead that came from your wound struck the monster which killed my father." Opening her eyes, she gazed at Masanori. Comforted by his words, she died.
Just then the monster groaned and rose. It assumed its original form of a dreadful cat. Its eyes glittered and its mouth, which split its face from ear to ear, was blood red. Opening its mouth and baring its fangs, its breath turned into a thin mist, which obscured the room. But Masanori remained calm. He watched for a chance to charge the monster. Unsheathing his sword, Nobumichi prepared to help.
Funamushi awoke and, seeing that Masanori and Nobumichi were focused on the monster, stole out of the cottage.
Masanori charged the monster as it tried to flee through a window. Masanori's sword bit deep into the monster's side. As it fell, he stabbed it in the throat, then finished it with his father's sword. Strangely, from one of the beast's wounds appeared the bead that had come out of Hinaginu. Masanori took the bead, which bore the Chinese character for courtesy, and showed it to Nobumichi.
News of the monster's death spread through the village. Outraged at the monster's evildoing, the villagers mourned Hinaginu. And they praised Masanori and Nobumichi for their bravery.
Masanori buried his wife and his father's remains with due ceremony. Then he went to his father's house with Nobumichi.
Nobumichi consoled Masanori during their stay at Taketo's home. Nobumichi showed Masanori his bead, which bore the Chinese character for faith, explaining that they were two of the eight dog warriors. Nobumichi added that a dog warrior also had on his body a mark shaped like a peony flower, and Masanori said that he had one on his buttocks. Nobumichi and Masanori swore to treat each other as brothers. They decided that after the mourning period ended they would set out in search of the other dog warriors.

40. Two Hamaji's

Here let's see what became of Inuzuka Shino. After being separated from four other dog warriors while fleeing Mt. Arame, Shino traveled in search of his friends.
In late October of the fourth year of his travels Shino entered Kai Province. While passing through a field one evening, he suddenly heard a gunshot. The next instant he felt a tug at his kimono sleeve and fell down.
The bullet had passed through his sleeve. He had fallen down to trick his assailant into thinking he had been shot dead. Before long there appeared a samurai carrying a gun. With him was an attendant.
"It's a man!" the samurai said in surprise. "I thought he was a beast. He looks dead." The samurai looked around. Seeing that no one else was in sight, he said to his attendant, "Take his swords and money."
As the attendant was reaching for Shino's swords, the dog warrior jumped to his feet and flung the villain away. Surprised, the samurai raised his gun. But Shino wrestled the gun out of the samurai's hand and struck him down with it.
Just then an older man appeared. He introduced himself as Yorogi Mukusaku, the headman of Saruishi Village. "I'm acquainted with this samurai and his attendant," said Mukusaku. "I know you're angry, but would you please forgive them?"
Shino released the two men. As he was about to leave, Mukusaku said, "Would you like to stay at my house for the night?" Shino accepted the village headman's kind offer and introduced himself. As they walked toward Saruishi Village, Mukusaku told Shino that the samurai was Awayuki Nashiro Akizane, a vassal of Takeda Nobumasa, the lord of Kai Province, and that Akizane's subordinate was named Obanai. Reaching his house, Mukusaku had his wife Nabiki and servant Dekisuke entertain Shino.
The next morning, Shino woke and found it was snowing. As he ate breakfast, he wondered if he would be able to travel. Mukusaku suggested that he stay longer unless he was in a hurry to leave. Shino decided to remain awhile.
During his stay at Mukusaku's house Shino learned many things about the headman's family. Nabiki was much younger than her husband and was his second wife. Mukusaku's first wife, Asanae, had died of illness. Shino also learned that Nabiki was having a relationship with Akizane, and she tended to be hard on Mukusaku's adopted daughter, Hamaji, a beautiful sixteen-year-old, who Mukusaku had found over a dozen years ago.
Mukusaku had been hunting. Just as he shot a large eagle, he heard a cry. He found a girl in a nearby tree. The girl, who was dressed in fine clothes, seemed to have been taken there by the eagle. He took the girl home. Asanae had welcomed her as a gift from heaven. The girl was too young to give her name, so the couple called her various names and found that she responded to "Hamaji."
One night Shino tried reading a book to pass the time. But his mind kept returning to the other dog warriors and his late fiancee, who had bore the same name as Mukusaku's adopted daughter. As Shino sighed, Hamaji suddenly entered the room. Surprised, Shino said, "Why have you come to my room so late?"
"Tonight I'm not the daughter of Mukusaku," she replied. "I am your fiancee."
"How can you be my fiancee?" he asked. "She's been dead for four years."
Staring into his eyes, the girl said, "I am the wraith of your fiancee. Mukusaku's daughter is destined to marry you. Unless you are forgetful of me, you should tie the nuptial knot with her, taking her for me."
Suddenly Nabiki came in, attended by Dekisuke. She chastised Hamaji for being in Shino's room. "You should not be too quick to judge others," Shino calmly said to Nabiki. "Your daughter seems to have a good reason for visiting me."
Meanwhile Mukusaku had appeared. Glaring at Nabiki, he asked Hamaji to explain her behavior.
"A beautiful girl appeared to me in a dream," Hamaji said. "She said that she had something to tell Shino through me. Then she led me to his room. I remember nothing after that. Now that I feel like myself again, I'm very ashamed."
Shino said to her parents, "I come from Otsuka Village in Musashi Province. While living there, I was engaged to a girl named Hamaji, who was murdered. My late financee's soul must have entered your daughter to speak to me."
"That's impossible," sneered Nabiki. But Mukusaku scolded her and said to Shino. "I believe you. And seeing that you're not only a man of character but also a master of martial arts, I'd like to recommend to Takeda Nobumasa that he take you into his service. Also, I want you to marry my daughter."

41. Mukusaku Is Murdered

“You flatter me," said Shino. "But I've been searching for my sworn brothers, from whom I became separated. I can't settle down and marry until I find them."
Mukusaku was disappointed. He implored Shino to stay at his house until spring. Shino consented.
Nabiki was upset that Mukusaku planned to marry Hamaji to Shino.
Nabiki had wanted to send Hamaji away as soon as possible, because Hamaji seemed to be aware of her liaison with Akizane. Nabiki wrote to Akizane and informed him of Mukusaku's plans.
Before long Mukusaku received a summons from Akizane. The village headman visited Akizane, who said, "I suggest that you have your daughter Hamaji become a concubine of Takeda Nobutsuna, the heir of my lord. If she bears Nobutsuna his heir, it will bring you great prosperity." But Mukusaku resolutely declined, saying that he was determined to marry her to Shino. This infuriated Akizane. As Mukusaku turned to leave, Akizane shot him in the back. Mukusaku died. Akizane had Obanai hide the body in the garden.
Mukusaku's household waited for his return until midnight. Worried, they sent a messenger to Akizane's house, but Akizane told the messenger that Mukusaku had left for home long before. The following day Obanai gave Nabiki a letter from Akizane, in which he told her to come to Shigetsu-in, a small Zen temple at Isawa.
The new head priest of Shigetsu-in was known for his virtue and commanded the respect of the villagers. He daily begged alms, often accompanied by an acolyte named Nenjutsu.
Akizane and Nabiki rented a small room at Shigetsu-in while the head priest was away begging. Akizane told Nabiki that he had killed Mukusaku and that he planned to charge Shino with the murder. Then Nabiki could sell Hamaji to a brothel and inherit Mukusaku's fortune.
Unknown to Akizane, Nenjutsu happened to be resting nearby instead of out begging with the head priest. He overheard Akizane and Nabiki.
Late that night Akizane had Obanai secretly carry the body to Mukusaku's house. Obanai threw the body into a hole behind the house and covered it with snow.
The next morning the snow melted, revealing Mukusaku's body. Hamaji went into shock. Shedding fake tears, Nabiki declared that she would get the magistrate. She asked Shino to go to the godown and get the things she needed to entertain the magistrate. As Shino entered the godown, however, she locked him in. Shino had fallen into her trap.
Nabiki went to Shino's room and unsheathed his short sword. She spread the blood of a bird on the blade, then returned the sword to its sheath. Nabiki entrusted Dekisuke with the key to the godown and went to the magistrate's office.

42. Hamaji's Identity Is Revealed

Two hours later a samurai came to Mukusaku's house with several sturdy men. The samurai introduced himself as the magistrate of Kai, explaining that Nabiki had been detained. He examined Mukusaku's body and Shino's bloodstained sword. Then the magistrate had Dekisuke release Shino from the godown. Summoning Hamaji, he said, "I need to ask you and Shino some questions. Please come with me, and bring the garment you wore when Mukusaku found you."
Before leaving, the magistrate said to Dekisuke, "Your master was killed with a gun, not a sword. And the blood on Shino's sword is so fresh that it cannot be that of Mukusaku, who has been dead for over a day."
Some time after the magistrate and his men departed with Shino and Hamaji, Nabiki returned. "The magistrate will be here soon," she said. Surprised, Dekisuke said that he had already turned over Shino and Hamaji to the magistrate. "You fool!" Nabiki shrieked. "You were tricked by a fake!"
Just then the real magistrate appeared. After inspecting Mukusaku's body and Shino's bloodstained sword, the magistrate said to Nabiki, "You allege that Shino killed your husband with his sword. But that's impossible. I suspect you are trying to frame Shino." Then the magistrate had his men beat Nabiki until she confessed.
The fake magistrate was another dog warrior, Inuyama Tadatomo. He took Shino and Hamaji to Shigetsu-in. Reaching the temple, Shino was surprised to see Chudai and Amasaki Terufumi, who were in the service of Satomi Yoshizane, lord of Awa and Kazusa provinces. Chudai had been serving as the head priest of the temple.
Several years before, at the behest of Yoshizane, Chudai and Terufumi had set out in search of the dog warriors. Two years ago Chudai and Terufumi stopped at Shigetsu-in and decided to stay there awhile. Chudai kept an eye on travelers as he daily went begging alms. That past summer two other dog warriors, Tadatomo and Gakuzo, came to Shigetsu-in and decided to sojourn there. Gakuzo was now away on a journey to the eastern provinces.
"Yesterday, while I was begging alms, Akizane and Nabiki met at the temple," Chudai told Shino and Hamaji, "Nenjutsu overheard them plotting. When I returned, he informed me of their plan against you."
"Then I decided to go to Mukusaku's house in the guise of the magistrate in order to rescue you," Tadatomo said.
Shino and Hamaji thanked Tadatomo. Shino was delighted to see him, Chudai, and Terufumi again.
"I have a surprise for you," Terufumi said to Hamaji. "After examining the garment you were wearing when Mukusaku rescued you, I have concluded that you're the fifth daughter of Satomi Yoshinari, the heir of my lord. Fourteen yean ago a large eagle plucked you from the garden of Takida Castle. Nothing has been heard of you since. Your mother died in deep sorrow."
Hamaji, although pleased to learn who she was, could not help melting into tears over the death of her mother. She said that she wanted to become a nun and pray for the repose of the souls of her late mother and foster father.
Meanwhile the magistrate reported Nabiki and Akizane's evil deeds to the lord of Kai, Nobumasa. Nobumasa ordered the magistrate to execute Nabiki and to pursue Akizane, who was in hiding. The next day Nobumasa visited Shigetsu-in.
Chudai introduced Nobumasa to Shino and Tadatomo while relating their exploits. Impressed by their loyalty and courage, Nobumasa invited them to serve him. But they declined, explaining that they had to search for their sworn brothers. Chudai and the dog warriors expressed their thanks to Nobumasa for his kindness and saw him to the temple gate.
That night Shino and Tadatomo decided to leave Shigetsu-in the next morning with Princess Hamaji and Terufumi, who would return to Awa.
As day broke, the princess and her party took their leave of Chudai and headed east. Four days later they reached the Sumida River. "Tadatomo and I will part from you here," Shino said. "Across this river is Shimousa, which is close to Awa. When we've found the other dog warriors, we'll go to Awa."
Thanking Shino and Tadatomo for accompanying her to the river, the princess boarded a boat with Terufumi. The dog warriors saw the boat off, promising to see Hamaji again.
The princess arrived at Takida Castle under the escort of Terufumi. She told her grandfather Yoshizane and father Yoshinari of her many years in Kai. But she was too ashamed to inform them that her foster father had intended to marry her to Shino and that she had been possessed by the wraith of Shino's late fiancee.
Shino and Princess Hamaji, as predicted by the wraith of Shino's fiancee, would later marry.

43. Dog Warriors Reunited

Let’s return to Inuta Kobungo, who had left Kamakura determined to locate Inusaka Tanetomo. Kobungo traveled to Ojiya Village in Echigo Province. There he took lodgings at an inn owned by Ishikameya Jidanda.
One day Kobungo went out to watch bulls fight. When one of the bulls charged the spectators, Kobungo overpowered it, drawing praise from the spectators. But one of the spectators was Funamushi, who, after escaping from Masanori and Nobumichi, had come to Echigo and married a bandit named Shutenji.
Some time later Kobungo's eyes began bothering him. Feeling stiff as well, he called in a masseuse. Funamushi pretended to be a masseuse in order to kill Kobungo, who had slain her first husband. Kobungo, with his poor eyesight, did not recognize Funamushi when she came in. Just as she was about to bury her dagger into his throat, however, he felt his bead alerting him to the danger. He flung her away and disarmed her. She was captured and suspended from a beam of Koshin-do, an old temple on the outskirts of Ojiya Village.
After this encounter Kobungo remembered the mysterious power of his bead and rubbed it on his ailing eyes. Eventually his eyesight returned to normal.
Gakuzo, who had been journeying in the eastern provinces, happened to pass Koshin-do and heard Funamushi groaning inside. Funamushi cajoled Gakuzo into releasing her. Then she lured him into her house. She and her husband plotted to kill Gakuzo and steal his money and then assault the inn where Kobungo was staying and kill him. But Gakuzo overheard them plotting and escaped.
Funamushi's husband and his men stormed the inn. But Gakuzo suddenly appeared and killed her husband with little difficulty. Funamushi fled together with Obanai, who, after Akizane was denounced, had worked for Funamushi's husband.
Gakuzo and Kobungo left Ojiya for Isawa to see Chudai at Shigetsu-in. On their way they encountered Tanetomo in the guise of a beggar, who was in search of Komiyama Yoritsura, the man who had killed his father. Gakuzo and Kobungo discovered that Tanetomo was a dog warrior; he possessed a bead bearing the Chinese character for wisdom and had on his right elbow a mark shaped like a peony flower. Gakuzo and Kobungo showed Tanetomo their similar beads and marks, explaining about the eight dog warriors who were considered to be the sons of the late Princess Fuse of the Satomi. Comforted by his brotherly ties with Gakuzo and Kobungo, Tanetomo resumed his journey. Gakuzo and Kobungo hurried to Isawa.
Nobumichi and Masanori, who were searching for the other dog warriors, came across Shino and Tadatomo at the Senju River. Delighted, the four dog warriors exchanged stories. Nobumichi and Masanori decided to go to Shigetsu-in.
Tanetomo went to Musashi Province. He made a show of his martial arts ability on the grounds of a shrine and caught the eye of Kaname, wife of Ogigayatsu Sadamasa, who was now based at Isarago Castle, Musashi. Tanetomo impressed her as a man of wisdom and courage. Then she asked him to slay Sadamasa's treacherous vassal named Tatsuyama Yoritsura. When Tanetomo learned that Tatsuyama Yoritsura was actually Komiyama Yoritsura, he readily consented to her request.
Funamushi and Obanai, after fleeing Echigo, were married and took up residence near Shiba-hama beach in Musashi Province. Funamushi sold her body along the beach every night. If her client seemed to have a lot of money, she killed him with the help of Obanai. Then they took the money and threw the body in the sea. But one night, while she was soliciting a samurai who had just arrived, she was surprised to see that it was Kobungo. He was also surprised, but lost no time in capturing her. Obanai, watching from a temple along the beach, loaded a gun. As he took aim at Kobungo, Shino and Tadatomo rushed out of the temple and wrested the gun from him. They arrested the villain. Before long Gakuzo, Nobumichi, and Masanori showed up as well.
Kobungo, Gakuzo, Nobumichi, and Masanori had met at Shigetsu-in. But the four dog warriors had found Chudai away on a journey to an old battlefield at Yuki in Shimousa. They went to meet Chudai, who was going to hold a memorial service for those killed at Yuki. On the way, however, they heard a divine voice say, "Go to Shiba-hama." Light-footed Kobungo had been the first to arrive there.
Tadatomo had been at the shrine when Kaname had asked Tanetomo to kill Komiyama Yoritsura. At the time, Tadatomo had thought, "Sadamasa seems to listen to whatever Yoritsura says. If Tanetomo kills Yoritsura, Sadamasa will have his troops kill Tanetomo. I'd better arrange help for Tanetomo." Tadatomo asked a friend of his to send reinforcements. The friend told Tadatomo to meet them at Shiba-hama, so Tadatomo had come to the beach.
The six dog warriors tied Obanai and Funamushi to trees beside the temple. Then they drove a bull into a frenzy and had it gore the evil couple to death.
Eventually Tanetomo succeeded in taking revenge on Yoritsura. With the help of the reinforcements, he and the other six dog warriors captured Sadamasa's Isarago Castle. Then they headed together for Yuki to see Chudai.

[The East Vol. XXXI No.2 July/August 1995] 44. The Fake Shinto Priest home