The Toyotomi Blades (12 page)

“Oh? Perhaps something like Zatoichi, the blind swordsman movies?”

I was almost insulted. The Zatoichi movies are great fun, but I’m not a kid. “Actually I was thinking of something like Inagaki’s samurai trilogy or any of Kurosawa’s samurai films. I even consider Ozu’s
Uegestu
a samurai movie, although most would classify it as a ghost film.”

He gave me a big smile. “You are a samurai enthusiast!”

“No, just an old film enthusiast. Most of the movies I see don’t have too many living actors.”

Hirota laughed. “Are you staying in Japan for very long?”

“Unfortunately, no. Just a few more days until the
News Pop
television show is on. I’m scheduled to leave Japan right after that.”

“That’s unfortunate. It would be wonderful if you could see the real Japan, not just the crowding and glitter of Tokyo. I perceive that you are of Japanese ancestry, and it would be wonderful if you could trace down your roots.”

“If I ever get to return to Japan that will be a project I’ll try to arrange. Right now I’m just trying to stay out of trouble until the television show.”

“Well, there are still many things to see in Tokyo. I hope you have a pleasant time in our country.”

“It’s been eventful, if nothing else, but I hope the rest of my stay will be nice.”

Before we could continue Junko came in with a tray holding two covered, handleless cups filled with green tea, the ubiquitous refreshment in Japanese business meetings. She put them down before us and left to get the sword.

“When you said ‘eventful’ you used a tone that makes me wonder what you meant. Has anything untoward happened during your stay here?”

“Well, I’ve been chased twice by a couple of Yakuza thugs, not something on the usual tourist itinerary.”

“Yakuza? What on earth for?”

“I don’t know for sure, but in the case that got me on
News Pop,
I put away the son of the head of the Sekiguchi-gummi. I think they’re trying to take revenge.”

“That is frightening. I do hope you’re taking every precaution to assure your safety.”

“I’m going to do what they used to do in the old West. I’m leaving town. I’ll return on the day of the show.”

“I thought the frontier marshal always stayed in town to fight it out with the tough guys.” Hirota picked up his cup to sip the hot tea.

“That was Gary Cooper in
High Noon.
This is Ken Tanaka in Tokyo. I don’t feel I have a responsibility to protect the capital city of Japan from a couple of Yakuza. The Tokyo police don’t seem too interested in pursuing the case, so I’m going to do what’s best to protect me.”

“Please do. I’m afraid this will probably leave a very bad impression with you about Japan. Our society seems to break down with each passing day and I’m sorry you’ve been disappointed by your visit here.”

“Not disappointed. It’s actually been wonderful. The situation I find myself in is a legacy from Los Angeles, so it’s not something the typical tourist would encounter.”

Junko returned with the sword in its scabbard. Hirota stood up, his eyes bright with anticipation. “May I inspect it?” he asked me.

“Of course,” I said.

He carefully took the sword from Junko and placed it on the coffee table. He unzipped his portfolio and took out a large piece of folded white paper. He unfolded the paper and placed it on the coffee table. It covered the tabletop, overlapping slightly. He moved the sword so it was sitting on the paper. Then he withdrew the sword from its scabbard and placed it down on the paper. He examined it in silence for several moments, then he picked it up and sighted down its blade, with the sharpened side up.

“It’s really in marvelous condition,” he said. “The scabbard and handle are a bit scruffy, but the blade, which is the soul of the weapon, is still bright and sharp. It certainly looks like a Kannemori sword, but I would have to remove the handle and examine the tang to make sure. I don’t know how complete an inspection you’ll allow me, but I’d like to, at a minimum, take a rubbing of the blade.”

He reached into his portfolio and took out two manila envelopes, each labeled in kanji. He opened them and took out two large pieces of tissue paper. Each piece of paper held the image of a sword blade, done in reddish-brown chalk. The tissue paper was put over the blade and the chalk was rubbed across the sword, transferring the patterns on the blade to the paper. The designs were quite clear. One of the blade rubbings ended at the sword guard, but the other was of the complete blade with the handle and guard removed. The tang of this blade had kanji characters incised in it.

“These are rubbings of two other Kannemori swords with these unusual patterns. This sword is at the Japan National Museum.” He indicated the rubbing without a tang and then pointed to the other rubbing. “And this is a Kannemori sword owned by a private collector in Kyoto.”

“They’re different,” I pointed out.

“Yes. The patterns on each are quite distinctive. It’s a highly unusual feature for a Japanese sword. You’ll note I couldn’t get permission to remove the handle of the sword at the Japan National Museum, so I don’t have an impression of the tang. I had a request in to the museum to allow me to do this, but the sword was stolen before it was granted.”

“Stolen?”

“Yes. A student who was working as an intern at the museum apparently stole the sword. He was only a suspect, but he recently committed suicide, apparently in remorse. They searched his room, but they couldn’t find the sword. It’s a very tragic case.”

“Why is the tang important?”

Hirota pointed to the kanji on the rubbing with a tang. “This is the name of the swordsmith and the date the sword was made. ‘Nineteenth year of Keicho,’ which is 1614 on the Western calendar.”

“Your article said there was also the number three on the tang,” Junko said. “Did you get any more information on what that means?”

“Here’s the number,” Hirota said, pointing at a kanji that looked like three parallel strokes. “I’m afraid the number is as mysterious as when I wrote the article. Frankly, I’m curious to see if Mr. Tanaka’s blade also has a number on the tang. I’m prepared to take a rubbing of your blade right now, but actually I’d like to take your sword with me and remove the handle to take a complete rubbing of the tang. I’ll take very good care of it, and the sword will be restored to proper condition. In fact, I’ll even have the handle restored at my expense, because it looks in need of refurbishment.”

“Will you have the sword back by the show?” Junko interjected.

“When is the show?”

“In two days.”

“Oh, I’ll be done by then,” Hirota said. “And I know an expert restorer who I’m sure will restore the handle on a rush basis, if I ask him. I’m positive I can get my work done in two days. So what do you think, Mr. Tanaka? I’ll be able to authenticate your sword as a Kannemori, you’ll get the handle refurbished, and I’ll guarantee that I’ll have the sword back in time for the television show. Will you let me take your sword?”

I wanted him to authenticate the sword, but I was a little curious about the blade and wanted more information. Without answering him I asked, “Do you know what the patterns on the blades mean?”

“It’s supposed to be some kind of message, although what kind of message I don’t know. On your blade there’s a mountain with two peaks and what looks like a line of some kind. I don’t know what that line means, but the mountains are
yama
in Japanese, so they may be part of two names.”

“I met a wrestler named Torayama last night,” I said.

“That means Tiger Mountain, a good name for a rikishi,” Hirota said. He pointed at one of the rubbings. “On the Kyoto blade there’s a rock outcropping that looks like the letter
M
and what appears to be a forest. On the Japan museum blade there are two temples and a stream between them. I’ve wracked my brain but I don’t know what this is all supposed to mean.”

“What about the legend?” Junko said. “Your article said something about a legend, but it didn’t give any details.”

“That’s what Sonoda-san says. He’s the owner of the Kyoto blade. He says there’s a legend associated with the blades and that the patterns on the blade give some kind of instructions. I don’t know if that’s true, because I’ve checked the ancient texts and there’s no mention of a legend associated with these swords. Sonoda-san says he has a family connection that allowed him to learn of the legend. I could repeat what little I know, but it would be a lot more interesting coming directly from Sonoda-san, who knows all the details. If you’re serious about learning more, I could introduce you to Sonoda-san, and I’m sure he’d be happy to tell you what he knows.”

“Mr. Sonoda lives in Kyoto?”

“That’s right.”

I looked at Junko. Getting things from the horse’s mouth is always best, but I wasn’t sure how I would get to Kyoto. “Instead of Nikko, would the producers pay for me to stay in Kyoto until the show?”

“I’m sure they would. It actually might be easier to stay out of trouble in a big city like Kyoto, instead of a small town like Nikko.”

I turned to Hirota. “Dr. Hirota, you are welcome to examine my blade as fully as you wish. I’d like a couple of things, though. One is a copy of whatever rubbing you make of my blade. I can frame it and it will make a nice keepsake if I ever sell the sword. I’d also like photocopies of the other two rubbings you have.”

Hirota looked surprised. “What on earth for?”

“In addition to the Japan National Museum theft, two other Kannemori swords were stolen recently, one in New York and one in Rotterdam. That makes three swords by an ancient Japanese swordsmith stolen in a short amount of time.”

“How do you know that?”

“Junko uncovered it while doing computer research for the show.”

“So Kannemori blades are being stolen?”

“That’s correct.”

“Which means …” Hirota raised his eyebrows, clearly intrigued.

I laughed. “I don’t know what it means. I’m just curious and lately I’ve been making a hobby of satisfying my curiosity.”

Junko made the photocopies of Hirota’s rubbings for me, reducing them to a sheet of paper that was approximately legal size. Hirota promised to contact Mr. Sonoda in Kyoto to arrange a meeting and he said he’d tell Junko about it.

When our business was done Hirota left, clutching my sword. Junko looked at me as soon as Hirota left the meeting area and said, “What do you have in mind about those swords?”

I sighed. “Do you have hunches in Japan?”

“Hunch?” It was the first time I had stumped her with an English word.

“A feeling. Intuition. The thought that something might be important, even though you don’t have all the facts to prove that thought is true.”

“Oh yes,
chokkan.
We have that,” Junko said.

“Well, I’ve got a hunch about these swords. It’s strange that, in a few weeks’ time, several examples of the work of some obscure seventeenth-century swordmaker should get stolen. I believe in coincidence, but if this is only a coincidence, it’s a very strange one. I just want to gather some information about these swords to see if there’s a pattern.”

“So you’re starting to work on another mystery while you’re here in Japan?” Junko asked, rather excited.

I laughed. “I don’t know what I’m doing, except satisfying my curiosity. I don’t know if there is a mystery. In mystery books and detective movies all sorts of things fit together to form a complicated plot, but in life things just happen. Sometimes they’re connected and sometimes they’re not.”

Sugimoto stuck his head in the room and nodded to me. “Sorry to hear about last night,” he said. “I should have gone with you to the hotel to make sure you’d be safe.”

“Don’t be silly,” I said. “No real harm was done, and I got to see the inside of a Tokyo police station.”

“Can you excuse us for a minute while we talk Japanese?” Sugimoto said.

“Sure.”

He started talking to Junko and both their demeanors changed radically with the switch in language. He became very abrupt during his conversation and Junko became very submissive, even bowing her head at the end of the conversation. It surprised me to see the transformation, and although my meager Japanese wouldn’t allow me to keep up with the conversation, I heard Sugimoto say
baka,
or fool, several times. When he was done he looked at me and said, “Sorry to interrupt your conversation,” and left abruptly.

“What was that all about?” I asked Junko.

“He thinks I’m wasting time on this sword business and ordered me to stop. I apologized for upsetting him.”

“Have I gotten you in trouble?”

“No. Japanese males think they can order any female around. I didn’t want to argue, so I nodded meekly and agreed with him. Now he’s going away happy and I can continue doing what I want to. That’s how we females handle things here. I have what you call a hunch, too. My hunch is that this might turn into a terrific story, and I want to help you get more information about the swords before the show. Sugimoto-san may think it’s stupid, but if it doesn’t turn out to be a good story we won’t lose too much.”

“How are you going to help?”