Kaga Domain Kanazawa Castle.
In a remote and quiet courtyard, Chiyoko's light sigh could be heard.
"Ah, it's blooming again this year."
Chiyoko discovered that the old crape myrtle tree was blooming.
The faint fragrance of flowers is refreshing, the midsummer sunshine pours down from the tops of the trees, and the whole courtyard seems to be filled with the scent of flowers.
Among the many narrow courtyards of Kanazawa Castle, this rose tree, which is more than five rooms tall, is considered a big tree. (1)
Compared with the prosperous Osaka Domain, this place looks shabby and small.
Looking at the giant tree piercing the sky, Chiyoko thought of her father who had been away for a long time.
"Perhaps my father is as tall as this big tree?"
Chiyoko's father left Japan ten years ago. It was the fifteenth year of Keicho (1610). It was the eve of the Osaka Winter War that determined the fate of the Tokugawa and Toyotomi clan. Portuguese businessmen who were keen on spreading the gospel were keenly aware of the Tokugawa. Because of Ieyasu's attitude towards Catholicism, he abandoned his wife and children - the Japanese mother of two children died soon amidst the curses of Osaka people - and fled to Jakarta in a hurry on a Zhuin ship.
As expected by Chiyoko's father, two years later, the situation in the shogunate changed drastically. In the 17th year of Keicho (1612), Tokugawa Ieyasu issued a ban on Christianity and began to restrict the trade of Zhuin Ship.
Ten years ago, the Toyotomi clan still had strength, the Tokugawa clan still had concerns about Catholicism, and the Portuguese could bring huge trade benefits to Kanto, so the Tokugawa clan did not exterminate all the more than 500,000 Catholics in the territory.
Ten years later, with the collapse of the Toyotomi clan, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was obsessed with trade interests, also died. The shogunate, the successor of Tosho Kami-kun (2), became more aggressive in banning Christianity and persecuting Catholics.
In the seventh year of Yuanhe (1621), two missionaries and 55 believers from various sects who were smuggled to Japan hidden in a Spanish merchant ship were burned to death or beheaded.
Taking this as an opportunity, the shogunate began to expel Catholics from the country on a large scale.
~~~~~~~
The trunk of the rose in front of me is far thicker than Chiyoko's waist.
Its thick old bark and moss-covered bark are nothing compared to the graceful and delicate body of a mixed-race woman.
Two butterflies rested near the bend of the tree trunk.
Two thorns grow from a corner of the courtyard. They climb up along the bottom of the trunk and bloom into two small flowers in midsummer.
Butterflies rest on small flowers.
Chiyoko noticed that the two thorns faced each other but were not entangled.
Fifteen-year-old Chiyoko secretly thought:
"Maybe they will never meet each other in this life, right?"
This courtyard looks like it has not been inhabited for a long time. The weeds in the courtyard are barren, and no one has even cut down the thorns under the tree trunks.
"Didn't my brother and I also leave in a hurry?"
A group of white butterflies flew into the courtyard, fluttering on the thorns with white dots.
Chiyoko was staring at the group of butterflies in fascination when her brother's calm face appeared at the door of the courtyard.
"Chiyoko, the Kaga samurai are here to urge us. Let's hurry up and pack up and leave!"
Chiyoko’s elder brother, Fujiwara Kyouji, is taller than ordinary Japanese, as tall as a room. He stands out among a group of monkey-like Osaka samurai. After arriving in Kaga, the locals said that his burly figure is as tall as a white mountain (3) Man-bear in the forest.
He is still less than sixteen years old and may continue to grow taller.
Fujiwara Kyouji's axe-like face has a pair of charming blue eyes. He has a slender figure, like a fox demon in a shrine, and he can capture the souls of girls with one glance.
In addition, he also has long black hair and bulging mountain roots. It can be said that he has perfectly inherited the advantages of his parents.
However, this image, when walking in Osaka Castle, would often be mistaken by the sentry posts set up in the city as a Qingqi who was trying to kill people with a knife, and they would capture him. (4)
In Osaka, where male sex is prevalent, there are often family elders and Hatamoto whose sexual orientation is a mystery, trying to have a relationship beyond friendship with this beautiful man of Japanese and Portuguese descent.
This is unimaginable from a Catholic point of view.
"When will we leave?"
"immediately."
Chiyoko Fujiwara went back to her room and put on a raincoat with a cross on it, and put a hat on her thick black bun.
Heavy rains can fall at any time in Kanto in July. It still takes a day and a half to travel from this abandoned Hatagoya (hotel) to the pier. Who knows what will happen on the way? When you go out, you need to be prepared to avoid danger.
Chiyoko covered her face, her bright features shining beautifully under the bamboo hat.
The elder brother divided the gold coin in his sleeve into two halves. This was the only comfort left by the Portuguese businessman to the brother and sister. When his mother died in Osaka, he told Fujiwara Kyouji the location of the gold.
The east is rich in gold, the west is rich in silver, and copper coins are popular throughout the country.
After the Tokugawa shogunate unified Japan, due to the geographical location of gold and silver mines and traditional usage habits, the circulation of currency in each feudal domain was still obviously regionally segregated.
usually. In Osaka, Kaga, Edo and other Kanto areas, people prefer to use gold coins.
"When you wait at the port, you hide the gold coins in the soles of your shoes. On the way, we can only use copper plates used by farmers."
Chiyoko nodded quickly after hearing her brother's instructions.
Along the way from Osaka to Kaga, the brother and sister saw too many Catholics being robbed by fanatical samurai ronin.
The elder brother said that if they wanted to reach Miyako Port alive, escape from Japan on the Zhuin Ship, and go to Jakarta where their father was, they needed to bury their heads in the soil and be as low-key as rice.
Under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, the use of gold, silver, and copper currencies not only had geographical restrictions, but also corresponded to different social class identities (scholars, farmers, industry, and merchants).
The users of gold coins were mainly the warrior class, the users of silver coins were mainly craftsmen and merchants, and the users of copper coins were mainly farmers.
"So what class do we belong to?"
When Chiyoko was distracted, Fujiwara Kyouji had already straightened up his appearance, holding a lantern with a statue of Christ in his hand, and opened the door of the dusty Hatagoya.
After a creak, the brother and sister walked onto the main street of Kanazawa Castle.
Chiyoko did not dare to raise her head to face the passers-by of Kaga Domain. She walked all the way from Osaka, and the further east she went, the more she felt the malice of the Samurai Town people towards them.
Although the Fujiwara siblings are as low-key as mature ears of rice, their abrupt figures still attract criticism from people around them.
Chiyoko stared at the little man painted in front of her brother's lantern.
The appearance of the little figure is somewhat similar to the ukiyo-e that was popular in Edo.
Its sleeves are very long, almost reaching the hem of the clothes, as if they are holding hands together, only around the arms are thicker.
Although a little unclear. But it looks completely different from the Buddha or Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
"Brother, how many days does it take to get from Miyako to Jakarta?"
"Thirty-five days. If the wind is favorable, it will be faster."
Fujiwara Kyouji shrank his left hand in his sleeve, gripped a short sword tightly, and glanced at the two ronin standing with their hands in the distance from the corner of his eye.
The shogunate strictly prohibited Catholics who left Japan from carrying weapons. However, Fujiwara Kyouji was not one to sit back and die, not to mention that he still needed to protect his sister.
The further east you go, the closer you are to Tokugawa Hidetada's lair, and the deeper people's hatred of Catholics becomes.
As one of the staunch supporters of the shogunate, the Kaga clan lost many samurai to their lives in the decisive battle with the Toyotomi clan.
Catholics who supported the Toyotomi clan and were unclear about the Kansai forces became the targets of revenge by the Kanto samurai.
The shogun issued a mild order in Edo Castle, so that the samurai along the way should not embarrass these pagans.
Obviously, the vassals that hated Catholicism were not prepared to seriously implement this order.
Because the main wife of the Lord of the Kaga Domain, Maeda Toshitsune (まえだとし), was the daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada, Tokugawa Tamahime.
This in-law relationship made the Kaga clan more loyal than other outside daimyo when executing the orders of the shogun. (5)
A month ago, General Zheng Yi issued an expulsion order against Catholic believers in Japan:
All Catholics who refuse to give up their faith in God must leave each domain and leave Japan within a time limit.
At the same time, believers must wear accessories that can identify themselves as "red-haired barbarians" to facilitate the unified repatriation of daimyo from each domain.
Those who fail to leave within the time limit will face the severest punishment from the shogunate.
"Are you the half-breed bastard from Osaka who was abandoned by the red barbarians?"
Suddenly, three ronin carrying etheric swords jumped out from the intersection ahead.
"I seem to hear the jingling of copper plates. You pagans have defrauded money in Japan, and you just want to leave like this?"
Fujiwara Kyouji put his body in front of his sister and faced Ronin. He took out a red seal with frayed edges from his sleeve and slowly unfolded it in front of her.
"This is a traffic order issued by the Inoue family in Osaka. All the feudal lords along the way are not allowed to stop. It has the seal of the general who conquered the barbarians..."
A ronin stepped forward on wooden clogs, pulled out the red seal shape, crumpled it into a ball in his hand, pointed a knife at the Catholics and said angrily:
"My brother died in the Battle of Osaka, and I was reduced from a second-class samurai to a ronin. It was all because of you pagans from Kansai! Today, you must keep the copper plate!"
Another ronin suddenly walked up to Chiyoko and suddenly opened his bamboo hat with his scabbard. He looked at the mixed-race woman who was a head taller than him and stood there with his mouth wide open.
"It turns out there is another beauty. Are you in a hurry to go to Jakarta? The sea is windy. Why not stay in Kanazawa City and work as a geisha? She will be as tall and big as a giant, and customers will like her very much..."
Ronin said while staring at the blade extending towards Chiyoko's chest with a lustful and greedy expression.
There was a clang sound, and the ether sword placed on Chiyoko's neck was bounced away.
Fujiwara Kyouji raised his short sword like a fighting mantis.
"Chiyoko, you go first! Pass through the Baishan Village and meet me at the port."
Chiyoko stared at the bloody scene in front of her with wide eyes. Before she could see clearly, one of the fingers of the ronin who was teasing her had been cut off by a sharp blade, and he was kneeling on the ground and howling like a wild boar.
The remaining two men pointed their knives at the fierce Catholic, preparing to attack their opponent from both sides.
"Let's go!"
Fujiwara yelled at his sister while slashing with his sword.
Chiyoko yelled "take care" to her brother's messy figure, and ran towards Hakusan with tears streaming down her face.
Note:
1. Room: A unit of length in Japan during the Warring States Period. A room is approximately six feet, or approximately 1.8 meters.
2. Tosho God: After Tokugawa Ieyasu's death, he was granted the title of "Tosho Daigongen" by the Japanese court and became the god of the Edo shogunate. He was enshrined in Tosho Palace in Japan and was called "Tosho God" by later generations.
3. Hakusan: A stratovolcano located in Ishikawa, Fukui, and Gifu counties in Japan. There has been volcanic activity since 300,000 to 400,000 years ago.
4. The Stranger: The Hatamoto slave, a young scoundrel who was Hatamoto and his gang during the Edo period.
5. Gaimei daimyo: People who were the same daimyo as Tokugawa Ieyasu before the Battle of Sekigahara, or daimyo who were loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori during the war and surrendered after the war. Those who fall into this category are called "gaigen daimyo".
