Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa [110]
“When it was only a matter of physical strength, I won, but I left there feeling defeated. Why? Did I win outwardly only to lose inwardly?”
Suddenly remembering Jōtarō, he retraced his steps to the Hōzōin, where the lights were still burning. When he announced himself, the priest standing watch at the door poked his head out and said casually, “What is it? Did you forget something?”
“Yes. Tomorrow, or the next day, I expect someone to come here looking for me. When he does, will you tell him I’ll be staying in the neighborhood of Sarusawa Pond? He should ask for me at the inns there.”
“All right.”
Since the reply was so casual, Musashi felt constrained to add, “It’ll be a boy. His name is Jōtarō. He’s very young, so please be sure you make the message clear to him.”
Once again striding down the path he had taken earlier, Musashi muttered to himself, “That proves I lost. I even forgot to leave a message for Jōtarō. I was beaten by the old abbot!” Musashi’s dejection persisted. Although he had won against Agon, the only thing that stuck in his mind was the immaturity he had felt in Nikkan’s presence. How could he ever become a great swordsman, the greatest of them all? This was the question that obsessed him night and day, and today’s encounter had left him utterly depressed.
During the past twenty years or so, the area between Sarusawa Pond and the lower reaches of the Sai River had been built up steadily, and there was a jumble of new houses, inns and shops. Only recently, Okubo Nagayasu had come to govern the city for the Tokugawas and had set up his administrative offices nearby. In the middle of the town was the establishment of a Chinese who was said to be a descendant of Lin Ho-ching; he had done so well with his stuffed dumplings that an expansion of his shop in the direction of the pond was under way.
Musashi stopped amid the lights of the busiest district and wondered where he should stay. There were plenty of inns, but he had to be careful about his expenses; at the same time, he wanted to choose a place not too far off the beaten track, so Jōtarō could find him easily.
He had just eaten at the temple, but when he caught a whiff of the stuffed dumplings, he felt hungry again. Entering the shop, he sat down and ordered a whole plateful. When they arrived, Musashi noted that the name Lin was burned into the bottom of the dumplings. Unlike the hot pickles at the Hōzōin, the dumplings had a flavor he could savor with pleasure.
The young girl who poured his tea asked politely, “Where are you planning to stay tonight?”
Musashi, unfamiliar with the district, welcomed the opportunity to explain his situation and ask her advice. She told him one of the proprietor’s relatives had a private boardinghouse where he would be welcome, and without waiting for his answer, trotted off. She returned with a youngish woman, whose shaved eyebrows indicated she was married—presumably the proprietor’s wife.
The boardinghouse was on a quiet alley not far from the restaurant, apparently an ordinary residence that sometimes took in guests. The eyebrowless mistress of the shop, who had shown him the way, tapped lightly on the door, then turned to Musashi and said quietly, “It’s my elder sister’s house, so don’t worry about tipping or anything.”
The maid came out of the house and the two of them exchanged whispers for a moment or two. Apparently satisfied, she led Musashi to the second floor.
The room and its furnishings were too good for an ordinary inn, making Musashi feel a bit ill at ease. He wondered why a house as well-off as this one would take in boarders and asked the maid about it, but she just smiled and said nothing. Having already eaten, he had his bath and went to bed, but the question was still on his mind when he went off to sleep.
Next morning, he said to the maid, “Someone is supposed to come looking for me. Will it be all right if I stay over for a day or two until he arrives?” “By all means,” she replied, without even asking the lady of the house, who soon came herself to pay her respects.
She was a good-looking