Samurai and the Long-nosed Devils. Lensey Namioka
you do, don’t draw your sword,” he warned as he reluctantly followed Matsuzo.
Reaching the scene of the conflict first, Matsuzo saw that one of the combatants was a tall, muscular man with a white cotton scarf on his head. The scarf was worn low across the forehead, with the corners tied at the back of the neck. It was the headdress of a warrior monk. For more than seven hundred years these monks, who lived on Mt. Hiei just northeast of Miyako, had terrified the people of the capital, including even the emperors.
Matsuzo was outraged to see that the monk had his grasp on a wildly struggling young girl. She was clearly not a peasant girl, for her skin was fine and white and her kimono expensive looking. Although small and slender, she stubbornly continued the unequal struggle against her huge opponent.
With a sharp twist the girl succeeded in tearing herself free. She looked around for help, and her eyes fell on Matsuzo, standing straight and noble, the very picture of a brave protector. She ran around to his back and put her arms tightly about his waist.
The monk turned and saw the young ronin. Glaring at this new enemy, he hunched his massive shoulders and growled.
“He reminds me of a wild boar,” thought Matsuzo, “with his mean little eyes and thick neck. Why, he’s even pawing the ground with his feet.”
Exactly like a wild boar, the monk made a sudden vicious charge. But Matsuzo was prepared. When the monk was two paces away, the young ronin quickly stepped aside, clinging girl and all, and thrust out his foot. Unable to stop himself, the monk tripped over Matsuzo’s foot, staggered wildly, and ended by crashing into the eel vendor’s stall.
A hoarse scream arose from the collapsed wooden stand, torn canvas and scattered charcoal. The smell of burning human flesh was now added to the aroma of broiled eel. The girl released her hold on Matsuzo and ran to the eel stand. Taking one look at her former adversary, she threw back her head and burst out laughing. Matsuzo found her laughter very infectious, and soon he and most of the bystanders in the street joined her.
It is annoying to be the object of general laughter while one is sitting on a hot grill next to some eels. The furious monk bellowed. He thrust himself up from the wreckage of the eel vendor’s stand and reached for his staff, a murderous weapon tipped with iron.
Matsuzo stopped laughing and watched the approach of the monk with grim satisfaction.
He now had a perfect excuse for drawing his sword.
Meanwhile Zenta had not been idle. He had noticed something which Matsuzo had not, that among the onlookers were two other monks wearing identical headdresses. When Matsuzo reached for his sword, the other two monks hurried forward to the aid of their companion. But well before the first monk had picked himself up from the eel stall, Zenta had already acted. Quickly and inconspicuously, he worked his way through the crowd until he was standing directly behind the two watching monks. He took out a piece of looped cord used by all samurai to tie their wide sleeves out of the way in preparation for action. But instead of tying his own sleeves back, he tied the sleeves of the two monks together.
The monks noticed nothing so long as they walked forward side by side; but when they separated to attack Matsuzo, they jerked to a standstill. Annoyed, both men simultaneously gave a sharp tug. It was the height of summer, and the men were wearing thin cotton kimonos loosely tied at the waist with a sash. At this tug-of-war the man whose sash was less tightly knotted found himself stripped down to his loincloth. The other man’s kimono was pulled off his shoulders, but his sash held tight, and he was left bare to the waist with his friend’s kimono draped over his ankles.
The angry curses of the two monks drew the attention of the crowd away from the drama at the eel stand. When the girl saw the near-naked men, she burst into fresh peals of laughter. “Look at their fat stomachs!” she cried. “I don’t think these monks are very strict about their vegetarian diet!”
One of the monks had finally discovered the cord that was tying the two sleeves together. After trying without success to loosen the tight knot, he whipped out a short, ugly knife and slashed apart the sleeves. Then, knife in hand, he advanced on Matsuzo as the person responsible.
Now that bloodshed seemed inevitable, the crowd fell silent and pressed back, leaving an arena cleared for action. Zenta shook his head gloomily. His hand dropped to his sword and his thumb pressed against the guard, easing the sword up for instant release.
The sound of hoofbeats suddenly broke the silence, and a man at the edge of the crowd cried, “Some soldiers are coming! They look like Nobunaga’s men!”
The crowd quickly drained away. The first to leave were the three monks, who thrust themselves roughly past the townspeople and disappeared into a side street. After his troops had occupied Miyako, one of Nobunaga’s first acts had been to suppress all lawless elements in the capital city.
Zenta grabbed Matsuzo. “We’d better leave, too. We can’t be brought to Nobunaga’s attention as participants in a public brawl.”
But before the two ronin could leave, a voice said, “Don’t go.” It was the girl. Indicating the leading horseman, she said, “I know this officer well, and I shall tell him that you came to my rescue.”
When the officer saw the girl, he dismounted and hurried to her. “Chiyo! I heard that some monks were attacking you. Are you hurt?”
“I only have a few scratches,” replied the girl called Chiyo. “I’m in better condition than my attacker, thanks to the help of these two kind gentlemen.”
The officer turned to look at the ronin. When he saw Zenta, his eyes widened. “Konishi Zenta!” he cried. “Now that I look at the total shambles here, I should have known that it was you!”
Chapter 2
“I had nothing whatever to do with it!” protested Zenta. “This girl can tell you.”
The officer was grinning broadly. Not quite so tall as Zenta, he was strongly built and had an expressive face with lines of laughter around his eyes. “I’m not accusing you of anything,” he said. “I’m merely pointing out that when you are around, things happen. Doors pop out of their frames, saddles slip from horses’ backs and helmets fly from people’s heads. Wasn’t that a naked monk I just saw? Don’t tell me you weren’t responsible!”
“Then you two are old friends?” asked Matsuzo, surprised.
“Hambei and I are old acquaintances,”corrected Zenta. “Don’t believe half of the things that he tells about me. He is famous for his lies and his practical jokes. Most of the incidents he mentioned just now were started by him, and I had to save him from the consequences.” Hambei made no effort to deny Zenta’s statement and only laughed heartily. “You look half-starved, as usual,” he said. “Come on. I know a good restaurant not far from here.”
“I must go back to my master’s house,” said Chiyo. She bowed low to the two ronin and murmured her thanks for their help. Her solemn expressions of gratitude ended in a smile of pure mischief. Although Chiyo’s eyes were too big for perfect beauty in the classical sense, they were alive with humor and intelligence.
Matsuzo found the girl enchanting, and he was quite sorry that she and Hambei seemed to have some sort of understanding already.
After dismissing his men, Hambei led the two ronin to one of the many eating places overlooking the Kamo River. The ground floor was crowded with customers trying to find some coolness in the river breezes. Matsuzo, conscious of his own grubby condition, read amusement in the glances of the people. On his travels he was accustomed to the respect given to his two swords and his status as a samurai. But the sophisticated citizens of the capital city seemed to show no awe whatsoever for a provincial warrior. All the benches of the ground floor dining room were occupied and no one seemed inclined to make room for the three samurai.
Hambei, however, was a favored customer. The proprietor bustled forward andconducted them to a private room on the second floor. One side of the room was almost completely open to the river, and Matsuzo was delighted with the view. There before his eyes were