Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa [516]
He then informed them that as of this day, he was retiring from the dōjō. His intention was not to retire in the ordinary sense but to follow in the footsteps of Ittōsai and go out in search of great enlightenment.
“That is my first great hope,” he told them.
Next, he requested Itō Magobei, his nephew, to take charge of his only son, Tadanari. Magobei was also enjoined to report the day’s happenings to the shogunate and explain that Tadaaki had decided to become a Buddhist priest.
Then he said, “I have no deep regrets over my defeat by a younger man. What does trouble and shame me is this: new fighters like Sasaki are appearing in other quarters, but not a single swordsman of his caliber has come out of the Ono School. I think I know why. A lot of you are hereditary vassals of the shōgun. You’ve let your status go to your heads. After a bit of training, you begin congratulating yourselves on being masters of the ‘invincible Ittō Style.’ You’re too self-satisfied.”
“Wait, sir,” Hyōsuke protested in a trembling voice. “That’s not fair. Not all of us are lazy and arrogant. We don’t all neglect our studies.”
“Shut up!” Tadaaki glared at him fiercely. “Laxness on the part of students is a reflection of laxness on the part of the teacher. I’m confessing my own shame now, passing judgment on myself.
“The task ahead of you is to eliminate laxness, to make the Ono School a center where youthful talent can develop correctly. It must become a training ground for the future. Unless it does, my leaving and making way for a reform will accomplish nothing.”
At last, the sincerity of his statement began to take effect. His students hung their heads, pondering his words, each reflecting on his own shortcomings. “Hamada,” said Tadaaki.
Toranosuke replied, “Yes, sir,” but he was obviously taken by surprise. Under Tadaaki’s cold stare, his own eyes dropped to the floor.
“Stand up.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, without rising.
“Stand up! This instant.”
Toranosuke rose to his feet. The others looked on mutely.
“I’m expelling you from the school.” He paused to let this sink in. “But in doing so, I hope there will come a day when you’ll have mended your ways, learned discipline and grasped the meaning of the Art of War. Perhaps at that time we can be together again as teacher and student. Now get out!”
“M-master, why? I don’t remember doing anything to deserve this.”
“You don’t remember because you don’t understand the Art of War. If you think about it long and carefully, you’ll see.”
“Tell me, please. I can’t leave until you do.” The veins stood out on his forehead.
“All right. Cowardice is the most shameful weakness a samurai can be accused of. The Art of War admonishes strictly against it. It is an ironclad rule at this school that any man guilty of a cowardly act must be expelled.
“Nevertheless, you, Hamada Toranosuke, let several weeks pass after your brother’s death before challenging Sasaki Kojirō. In the meantime, you ran around trying to take revenge on some insignificant melon vendor. And yesterday you took this man’s aged mother captive and brought her here. Do you call that conduct becoming a samurai?”
“But, sir, you don’t understand. I did it to draw Kojirō out.” He was about to launch into a spirited defense, but Tadaaki cut him short.
“That’s precisely what I mean by cowardice. If you wanted to fight Kojirō, why didn’t you go directly to his house? Why didn’t you send him a message challenging him? Why didn’t you declare your name and your purpose?”
“W-w-well, I did consider those things, but—”
“Consider? There was nothing to stop you from doing that. But you adopted the cowardly ruse of getting others to help you lure Kojirō here so you could attack him en masse. By comparison, Kojirō’s attitude was admirable.” Tadaaki paused. “He came alone, to see me personally. Refusing to have anything to do with a coward, he challenged me, on the grounds that a student’s misconduct is his teacher’s misconduct.
“The result of the