Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa [96]
Abruptly Musashi turned to the boy and said, “Jō, there’s something I want you to do for me.”
“What is it?”
“I want you to go on an errand.”
“Where to?”
“Kyoto.”
“That means turning around and going back where I just came from.” “That’s right. I want you to take a letter from me to the Yoshioka School on Shijō Avenue.”
Jōtarō, crestfallen, kicked a rock with his toe.
“Don’t you want to go?” asked Musashi, looking him in the face.
Jōtarō shook his head uncertainly. “I don’t mind going, but aren’t you just doing this to get rid of me?”
His suspicion made Musashi feel guilty, for wasn’t he the one who had broken the child’s faith in adults?
“No!” he said vigorously. “A samurai does not lie. Forgive me for what happened this morning. It was just a mistake.”
“All right, I’ll go.”
Entering a teahouse at the crossroads known as Rokuamida, they ordered tea and ate lunch.
Musashi then wrote a letter, which he addressed to Yoshioka Seijūrō:
I am told that you and your disciples are searching for me. As it happens, I am now on the Yamato highroad, my intention being to travel around in the general area of Iga and Ise for about a year to continue my study of swordsmanship. I do not wish to change my plans at this time, but since I regret as much as you do that I was unable to meet you during my previous visit to your school, I should like to inform you that I shall certainly be back in the capital by the first or the second month of next year. Between now and then, I expect to improve my technique considerably. I trust that you yourself will not neglect your practice. It would be a great shame if Yoshioka Kempō’s flourishing school were to suffer a second defeat like the one it sustained the last time I was there. In closing, I send my respectful wishes for your continued good health.
Shimmen Miyamoto Musashi Masana
Though the letter was polite, it left little doubt as to Musashi’s confidence in himself. Having amended the address to include not only Seijūrō but all the disciples in the school, he laid down his brush and gave the letter to Jōtarō.
“Can I just throw it in at the school and come back?” the boy asked.
“No. You must call at the front entrance and hand it personally to the servant there.”
“I understand.”
“There’s something else I want you to do, but it may be a little difficult.” “What is it?”
“I want you to see if you can find the man who gave you the letter. His name is Hon’iden Matahachi. He’s an old friend of mine.”
“That should be no trouble at all.”
“You think not? Just how do you propose to do it?”
“Oh, I’ll ask around at all the drinking shops.”
Musashi laughed. “That’s not a bad idea. I gather from Matahachi’s letter, however, that he knows somebody at the Yoshioka School. I think it would be quicker to ask about him there.”
“What do I do when I find him?”
“I want you to deliver a message. Tell him that from the first to the seventh day of the new year, I’ll go every morning to the great bridge at Gojō Avenue and wait for him. Ask him to come on one of those days to meet me.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes, but also tell him that I want very badly to see him.”
“All right, I think I have it. Where will you be when I come back?”
“I’ll tell you what. When I get to Nara, I’ll arrange it so that you can find
out where I am by asking at the Hōzōin. That’s the temple that’s famous for its
lance technique.”
“You’ll really do that?”
“Ha, ha! You’re still suspicious, aren’t you? Don’t worry. If I don’t keep my promise this time, you can cut off my head.”
Musashi was still laughing as he left the teahouse. Outside, he turned toward Nara, and Jōtarō set off in the opposite direction, toward Kyoto.
The crossroads was a jumble of people under basket hats, of swallows and of neighing horses. As the boy made his way through the throng, he looked back and saw Musashi standing where he had been, watching him. They smiled a distant farewell, and each went on his way.
A Spring Breeze
On the bank of the Takase River, Akemi