The Samurai's Wife Read Online Free
misplaced."
The undeserved reproach wounded Sano. How unfair that one failure-which wasn't his fault-should negate everything he'd done right in the past! Although furious at Yanagisawa for thwarting his attempt to defend himself, he realized that persisting would only worsen Tsunayoshi's disapproval. He bowed his head. "My deepest apologies, Your Excellency."
Shame and dread sickened him as he suffered the blow to his honor and faced the likelihood of losing his post, and probably his life.
"However," the shogun said, "I have decided to give you a chance to ameliorate your, ahh, disgrace."
The prospect of a reprieve gladdened Sano, as did the sudden anxiety he sensed behind Yanagisawa's neutral expression. His defeat wasn't sealed, as the chamberlain had obviously hoped.
"This brings me to my second reason for summoning you," the shogun said.
He nodded to a servant, who left the room and immediately returned with a samurai clad in an armor tunic with red Tokugawa crests on the breastplate. The samurai knelt on the lower level and bowed.
"This is Captain Mori," the shogun said. "He is an envoy from the office of my, ahh, shoshidai in Miyako."
The old capital, unlike other cities, was governed not by a provincial daimyo-feudal lord-but by a special deputy. This shoshidai was always a Tokugawa relative whose rank and trustworthiness merited this important position.
After introducing Sano and Yanagisawa, the shogun continued, "The captain has just arrived with some disturbing news. Ahh..." Memory or words failed Tsunayoshi, and he gestured to the newcomer. "Repeat what you told me."
Captain Mori said, "Sixteen days ago, Konoe Bokuden, the imperial minister of the left, died suddenly. He was only forty-eight, and in good health. The court officials who reported his death were vague about how it occurred. Foul play seems a possibility. The shoshidai has begun an inquiry, but under the circumstances, he thought it best to seek advice from Edo."
Hope and apprehension rose in Sano as he realized that the shogun was going to send him to Miyako to investigate the death. A new case offered a welcome opportunity to reclaim his honor and reputation. Yet Sano didn't want to go away, leaving Chamberlain Yanagisawa free to menace Reiko and undermine his influence with Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.
"Even if Left Minister Konoe's death was murder, isn't the shoshidai's police force in charge of handling all crimes in Miyako?" Sano said, stalling to delay the order he couldn't disobey. "May I ask why this matter concerns Your Excellency?"
Granted, the Imperial Court occupied a unique position in Japan. The emperor was revered by citizens as a descendant of the Shinto gods who had created the universe. He had the sole power to give official sanction to the nation's government.
Eighty-eight years ago, Emperor Go-Yozei had named Tokugawa Ieyasu shogun, conferring divine legitimacy upon the regime. However, the current emperor had no role in governing Japan, or authority over the bakufu. Other than mundane duties associated with running the palace compound, court nobles such as Left Minister Konoe performed a strictly ceremonial function. They were mere symbols of the real power their ancestors had once wielded from behind the throne. Konoe's death, however mysterious, should hold no personal interest for Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who never went to Miyako, or the Edo bakufu, which delegated the administration of court affairs to its local representatives.
"There's more to the, ahh, situation than one might think, Sosakan Sano." The shogun sighed unhappily. "Left Minister Konoe was a secret agent of the metsuke."
The metsuke was the Tokugawa intelligence network. It gathered information from all over Japan, monitoring citizens whose activities might pose a threat to Tokugawa supremacy. Sano, though startled to learn that an imperial noble
The undeserved reproach wounded Sano. How unfair that one failure-which wasn't his fault-should negate everything he'd done right in the past! Although furious at Yanagisawa for thwarting his attempt to defend himself, he realized that persisting would only worsen Tsunayoshi's disapproval. He bowed his head. "My deepest apologies, Your Excellency."
Shame and dread sickened him as he suffered the blow to his honor and faced the likelihood of losing his post, and probably his life.
"However," the shogun said, "I have decided to give you a chance to ameliorate your, ahh, disgrace."
The prospect of a reprieve gladdened Sano, as did the sudden anxiety he sensed behind Yanagisawa's neutral expression. His defeat wasn't sealed, as the chamberlain had obviously hoped.
"This brings me to my second reason for summoning you," the shogun said.
He nodded to a servant, who left the room and immediately returned with a samurai clad in an armor tunic with red Tokugawa crests on the breastplate. The samurai knelt on the lower level and bowed.
"This is Captain Mori," the shogun said. "He is an envoy from the office of my, ahh, shoshidai in Miyako."
The old capital, unlike other cities, was governed not by a provincial daimyo-feudal lord-but by a special deputy. This shoshidai was always a Tokugawa relative whose rank and trustworthiness merited this important position.
After introducing Sano and Yanagisawa, the shogun continued, "The captain has just arrived with some disturbing news. Ahh..." Memory or words failed Tsunayoshi, and he gestured to the newcomer. "Repeat what you told me."
Captain Mori said, "Sixteen days ago, Konoe Bokuden, the imperial minister of the left, died suddenly. He was only forty-eight, and in good health. The court officials who reported his death were vague about how it occurred. Foul play seems a possibility. The shoshidai has begun an inquiry, but under the circumstances, he thought it best to seek advice from Edo."
Hope and apprehension rose in Sano as he realized that the shogun was going to send him to Miyako to investigate the death. A new case offered a welcome opportunity to reclaim his honor and reputation. Yet Sano didn't want to go away, leaving Chamberlain Yanagisawa free to menace Reiko and undermine his influence with Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.
"Even if Left Minister Konoe's death was murder, isn't the shoshidai's police force in charge of handling all crimes in Miyako?" Sano said, stalling to delay the order he couldn't disobey. "May I ask why this matter concerns Your Excellency?"
Granted, the Imperial Court occupied a unique position in Japan. The emperor was revered by citizens as a descendant of the Shinto gods who had created the universe. He had the sole power to give official sanction to the nation's government.
Eighty-eight years ago, Emperor Go-Yozei had named Tokugawa Ieyasu shogun, conferring divine legitimacy upon the regime. However, the current emperor had no role in governing Japan, or authority over the bakufu. Other than mundane duties associated with running the palace compound, court nobles such as Left Minister Konoe performed a strictly ceremonial function. They were mere symbols of the real power their ancestors had once wielded from behind the throne. Konoe's death, however mysterious, should hold no personal interest for Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who never went to Miyako, or the Edo bakufu, which delegated the administration of court affairs to its local representatives.
"There's more to the, ahh, situation than one might think, Sosakan Sano." The shogun sighed unhappily. "Left Minister Konoe was a secret agent of the metsuke."
The metsuke was the Tokugawa intelligence network. It gathered information from all over Japan, monitoring citizens whose activities might pose a threat to Tokugawa supremacy. Sano, though startled to learn that an imperial noble
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