The Traitor Warrior

By Matsuo Koichi

Ishii Yoshitoshi, the lord of Takata in Kita Ward, Kyoto, had a very small house. His wife and children had left for their mother's home in Osaka to celebrate his son's graduation from a university there. He was alone with his secretary in his study on the second floor. The study door stood open; through it they could see into the room where two servants were sitting at a table. They would be eating lunch after their morning duties were done, so Ishii ordered them to leave. But he had no sooner closed the door behind him than a man came running up the stairs to greet him. "My Lord! A messenger has just come from Shiba Katsuie-Lord Shingen is coming back today!"

The servant bowed deeply. Then he asked permission to bring tea. The master smiled. Yes, of course he wanted some tea; that was why he had sent for him. As his secretary set out the teapot and cups, Ishii said, "What kind of news did my uncle have?"

"He says that the shogunate is still considering whether to take away the power of the daimyōs. And that you may have to give up your office of head tax collector."

As the young servant poured tea for them both, the lord looked around at the walls covered with paintings of landscapes and animals. There must be thousands here, he thought. I'm fortunate indeed to be able to live in such a house.
Then he remembered something else: His father, who had succeeded to the estate of Takata, had once told him that this house used to belong to a samurai named Shimazu Nariaki. But when he'd been a boy, no one seemed to know anything about him. That was twenty or thirty years ago. Nowadays he had no time to look into family matters, but if he had been a relative of the Shimazus...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BZ9ZFKJP
• ISBN13: 9798387833908
• Release Date: March 2023
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 146 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"