Ryoma : Life of a Renaissance Samurai by Hillsborough, Romulus

Attack At the Teradaya
As the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance was secret, no formal documents were signed. Two days after the historical agreement, Katsura, cagey as usual and even now unable to fully trust Satsuma, wrote a letter to Ryoma, stating the terms of the alliance, and asking him to guarantee that they were as verbally agreed upon in good faith. An outlaw, and as Ryoma had depicted himself in a letter to Otome, "born a mere potato digger in Tosa, a nobody," had now been asked by the political leader of Choshu to act as guarantor for the most powerful military alliance in Japan. Ryoma's prophesy when he had boasted to Otome, "I'm destined to bring about great changes in the nation, " had come true. Ryoma was, however, unable to comply with Katsura s request until the following month, as he was delayed by an unsettling experience upon his return to the Teradaya on the night of January 23.
"Miyoshi-san! Where's Miyoshi-san?" Ryoma called out from the entrance-wsy to the Teradaya, the front door bolted shut. It was well after midnight, and Ryoma, who had not slept for two days, felt intoxicated from lack of sleep, but was anxious to tell Miyoshi about the alliance.

Otose opened the door, a look of relief on her face. "Sakamoto-san, we've been waiting for you," she whispered. "Come in, quickly! It's dangerous outside. The police are combing the streets day and night."

"No matter," Ryoma said. He stepped out of his straw sandals, washed his feet in a bucket of hot water Oryo had placed inside the doorway. "You're safe, Sakamoto-san," the girl said, taking his hand as he stepped into the house.

"And the Bakufu's days are numbered," he roared.

"Sakamoto-san," Miyoshi called, running down the staircase. "How did it go?"

"Success, Miyoshi-san! Success!" Ryoma hollered. "Satsuma and Choshu are united."

Miyoshi took Ryoma's hand, and slapped him on the back "Let's have a drink," he exclaimed.

That's what I was about to suggest, but first I need a bath." Ryoma removed his sword and pistol from his sash, and Oryo began laughing "What's so funny?" Ryoma said.

"I've never heard you say that before," Oryo said.

"Say what before?"

'That you need a bath. But never mind," she said drolly, "I'll get one ready."

After bathing. Ryoma put on a clean bathrobe and heavy cotton frock, then [joined Miyoshi in a room upstairs. Oryo had laid out Ryoma's bedding on one side of the room, hung his jacket in a wooden clothes rack which stood against the opposite wall, and placed his sword and pistol in the alcove. Ryoma sat down next to a black lacquered tray set with two cups and several flasks of sake, besides which was a brazier of burning charcoal. There was a folding screen in the corner near the window, on which we ¦

Kimono-clad beauties, their faces reflecting the light from A" . pa,nted

stood nearby. "Now let's drink," Ryoma said ^ ** lm*m whi<*

"Yes. And what a beauty," the Choshu man said "Which one?" Ryoma asked, glancing at the screen. "Oiyo. She's been so worried about you, and anxious for you to return " Ryoma filled both cups. "Let's drink," he said, ignoring the remark. "Congratulations, Sakamoto-san. This is certainly a memorable night" The two men drained their cups. "And sake has never tasted so good," Ryoma said. "It feels good to be sitting in an actual room again," Miyoshi said. "What do you mean?"

"With the police checking this place day and night, I had to hide in a closet upstairs most of the time you were gone. I think they suspect we're here. We must be very carefuL" Miyoshi reached for his long spear, the blade covered by a wooden sheath. "That's why I keep this with me at all times."

"By the way," Ryoma snickered, "I hear that Lord Yoshinobu is staying in Fushimi tonight on his way to Kyoto from Osaka Castle. So while the Bakufu has been so busy guarding Yoshinobu, we've gotten Satsuma and Choshu together to sign the Tokugawa's death warrant." Ryoma laughed, took up the flask, and refilled both cups. "Let's drink to the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance," he said, his spirits soaring, although he hadn't slept in two days. Ryoma relayed to Miyoshi the details of the alliance, the attitudes of Saigo and Katsura, and the plans to topple the Bakufu and restore the Emperor to power. After talking for nearly two hours, Ryoma yawned heavily, stretched both arms above his head "What time is it? he asked. "It must be after three."

"You and I had better go to Kyoto to see Saigo, but now I'm tired" Ryoma lay back in his bed, his hands behind his head.

Suddenly Miyoshi started, and reached for his spear. "Did you hear that?" be whispered. "What?" Ryoma yawned again, not bothering to get up. "Someone's voice downstairs." "Oryo and Otose," Ryoma said, half asleep. "I hear footsteps down mere, near the base of the stain." "The two women," Ryoma said. "It sounds like a tot more than just two women." "Huh?" Ryoma muttered, his eyes closed.

Suddenly there was the sound of footsteps racing up the rear staircase. "Sakamoio-san! Miyoshi-san!" Oryo gasped. "There are men with spears coming up the front stairway."

Ryoma leaped to his feet, took his Smith and Wesson from the alcove, as the girl burst into the room stark naked. "Hurry, you must get out of here now. Down the back staircase," she said frantically.

"Oryo!" Ryoma shouted, grabbing a blanket "Here, cover yourself!" He glanced at Miyoshi, who stood with his spear drawn, poised for an attack.

As Ryoma and Miyoshi had been talking upstairs, and Otose asleep downstairs, Oryo had been soaking in a hot bath. The bathroom was located at the hack of me house, just across a narrow corridor leading to the rear staircase. Relieved that Ryoma had returned safely from Kyoto, she was relaxing for the first time since he had left three s ago. Then suddenly, "There was a thumping sound, and before I had much time to think about it, someone thrust a spear through the bathroom window, right by my shoulder" Oryo would recall years later."Igrabbed the spear with one hand, and in an intentionally loud voice, so that I could be heard upstairs, yelled, 'Don 'tyou know there's a woman in the bath? Who's there?' 'Be quiet,' a voice demanded, 'or I'll kill you.' 'You can't kill me, 'I hollered back, and Jumped out of the bathtub."

After covering Oryo with the blanket Ryoma rushed to the clothes rack to get his hakama, "Damn it," he muttered "1 must have left it in the other room." He took his pistol from the alcove, then removed his heavy cotton frock. "Oryo, get down here, out of the way," he whispered, crouching down on one knee at the rear of the room, his pistol in hand. Miyoshi kneeled beside Ryoma, his long spear ready for an attack, the lethal blade shining in the lantern light Suddenly, the paper screen door slid open slightly.

"Who's in there?" a voice demanded, opening the door further. At the threshold stood a man in a black helmet, his sword drawn. Although he had expected to find the men asleep, after one look at Ryoma aiming his pistol straight at him, and Miyoshi armed with a spear, the man slammed the door shut and retreated into the dark corridor.

"Sakamoto-san," Oryo whispered, "you must escape quickly, down the back staircase."

"Keep quiet, and stay out of me way," Ryoma told her.

The house was silent now, except for a creaking sound in the next room. "Oryo," Ryoma whispered, "the lantern's too bright. Cover the back of it with my jacket." The girl followed Ryoma's instructions, darkening the room. "Good. Now shine it in that direction," he said, pointing his pistol at the door. "See if you can get that door off." When the girl removed the sliding panel door, Ryoma and Miyoshi saw some twenty men, many armed with spears, some holding burglar lanterns, and several wielding sii staves. "Oryo," Ryoma whispered, "I want you to get out of here, and see if you can make it to the Satsuma estate for help." Then, turning to the enemy, he screamed, "What's going on here? You can't insult Satsuma samurai by barging in on us like I his."

"Orders from the Lord of Aim," one of the enemy shouted.

Ryoma looked at Miyoshi, snickered, "Did you hear that?" Then glaring at the men in the corridor, he yelled, "Idiots! You can't expect Satsuma samurai to listen to orders from the Lord of Aizu."

"Get down," the Bakufu men demanded, then started to advance.

"Look out!" Miyoshi shouted. "On your left!" Ryoma whirled around, ducked under a swiping attack, delivered a kick to his opponent's groin, then immediately jumped back. Next he cocked his pistol, aimed it at one of his assailants, with ten others just beyond. Two shots sent all of them retreating into the corridor, and down the staircase, five or six stumbling over the others. "Ah, ha, ha, ha!" Ryoma roared. "Look at them run!"

"Sakamoto-san," Miyoshi whispered, "why don't you use your sword? You can't block an attack with your pistol."

Before Ryoma could answer, a spear came flying right at him, past his head, and stuck fast into a wooden beam on the wall behind. "Damn it!" Ryoma screamed, rushed at the doorway, crouched down and fired another shot. Meanwhile, Miyoshi thrust violently at the silhouette of a man behind the paper screen door on his left, as three more of the enemy charged through the other door, their swords drawn. Ryoma knocked the first man to the floor with a powerful blow to the jaw, then used his pistol to block an attack to his head. Just then, Miyoshi came from behind, slicing the man wide open from the top of his shoulder to his hip, as blood sprayed like a fountain. Another man came from behind the threshold, his short blade flashing in the lantern light. Ryoma, gripping his pistol with both hands, blocked an attack, but now he felt a sharp pain, first on his right hand, then his left. By the time he turned the pistol on his opponent and fired, me enemy had retreated back into the shadow. "That's five rounds," be whispered to Miyoshi. "Only one left in the cylinder." Just then, a man in a black hood appeared along the wall, his spear pointed directly at Ryoma's face. "Get down," Ryoma said, then moved behind Miyoshi and mounted his pistol on the Choshu man's left shoulder. "Take this, you son of a bitch!" Ryoma roared, firing point-blank into the man's chest. "Did you get him?" Miyoshi asked.

Ryoma wiped his brow with the back of his hand, which he now realized was drenched with blood. "I think so. Look at him." The man was sprawled out on the floor, crawling on his belly. Suddenly there was a terrific crashing sound, as if the enemy were ripping apart screens and smashing doors upstairs, but still nobody approached. "Thank you, Takasugi," Ryoma said, sal down on the floor and removed the cylinder. "They're terrified of us, Miyoshi-san," he snickered. "Just the two of us, your spear and this pistol." Miyoshi stood at the doorway, his spear ready for another attack. "What are you doing?" he said in an exasperated tone. "The enemy could charge any time."

"Reloading," Ryoma answered calmly, as if they were not in the middle of a battle. "But it's too dark in here," he said. "I can hardly see a thing." After Ryoma had loaded the first two bullets, something slipped out of his blood-drenched hands, and he cursed aloud.

"What's the trouble?" Miyoshi said, without removing his eyes from the doorway.

"1 dropped the cylinder." It was only now that Ryoma knew that his hands had been cut so badly that he could barely use them. "The base of my right thumb wag sliced wide open, the knuckle of my left thumb hacked off and the knuckle of my left index finger cut down to the bone" be would write in " letter to his family.

"Can't you find it?" Miyoshi whispered, standing beside Ryoma. his spear poised for an attack.

"I'm looking. It's not under here." Ryoma searched through the bedding and ashes from the brazier which were scattered all over the floor. "Damn it" he muttered under his breath, threw down his pistol. "So much for that."

"Then the only thing left to do is charge the enemy and fight," Miyoshi whispered.

"Don't be stupid. Who knows how many of them are out there. If we have any chance at all, it's getting out of here through the back door." Ryoma stood up, tried to grab his sword, then drew back in pain. "Come on!" he demanded.

Miyoshi direw down his spear, and the two men snuck down the rear staircase, out the back door and into the night. Soon they came to a narrow alley just behind the inn. "Which way?" Miyoshi asked, looking down the alley, which led between two rows of houses into the central part of the town.

"We can't go that way," Ryoma whispered. "They'll definitely be waiting for us at the other end. The only way is through there." Ryoma pointed at a neighboring house, the back of which faced the rear of the Teradaya.

"We can't just break into someone's house," Miyoshi protested, albeit halfheartedly.

"Would you rather go the front way, and face the enemy again?"

"No."

"Then, let's go."

They ran to the house, kicked in the wooden shutter doors. Inside, the house was dark. "I can't see a thing," Ryoma said.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone here. All the fighting and shooting next door must have scared them away."

"I'm sorry to do it, but we have to get through to the other side," Ryoma said, charged the wall directly in front, smashing through it shoulder-first. "Let's get out of here," he hollered.

They proceeded frantically through the dark house, kicking in screen doors, smashing down walls, crashing into furniture and whatever else happened to be in their way. When they finally reached the room at the front of the house, they noticed that the bedding had been laid out. "1 guess you were right," Ryoma said, shaking his head. "It looks like we must have scared them out of their sleep. It's too bad, but let's get out of here." The two men trampled over the bedding and into the corridor leading to the front door of the house.

The air outside was freezing, and Ryoma only now noticed that all he was wearing was the thin cotton robe, "Not a soul around," he whispered, shivering. "I wonder which way to the Satsuma estate from here?"

"I think it's this way. Quickly, Sakamoto-san."

After running for some distance through the dark, Ryoma suddenly Stopped at the side of a narrow waterway, near a wooden floodgate barely visible in the moonlight He was dizzy and out of breath, both hands bleeding profusely. "Miyoshi-san," he panted, "do you know where we are?" I "No, not really."

"1 don't think 1 can go much further." Not only had Ryoma lost a great dem of blood, but he felt feverish and delirious from lack of sleep.

"We must get you to a doctor quickly," Miyoshi said, looking at Ryoma's hands. "I think an artery has been severed."

"Let's hide in that lumber shed over there so you can rest," Miyoshi said. pointing at an old two-story building on the other side of the waterway.

"The only way across is under the floodgate," Ryoma said, then stepped into the water, which he was relieved to find warmer than the freezing air. Both men took a deep breath, and very quietly went under, swimming beneath the floodgate to the opposite side.

"Through there," Miyoshi whispered as they stood dripping wet and shivering. "Up on that loft," he said after they had entered the shed. "Here," Miyoshi said, getting down on his hands and knees, "get on my back, and I'll help you up."

Ryoma took a deep breath, exhaling sharply as he pulled himself up onto the loft, his hands screaming with pain. Miyoshi climbed up after him, took off his jacket. "Here," he said, slicing off the sleeves with his short sword, and wrapping them around Ryoma's hands. This will have to do until we can get you to a doctor."

The two men lay exhausted for several minutes, their heads propped up on pieces of cut lumber. "We can't wait too much longer," Ryoma said shivering, his arms wrapped around his wet body. "Soon it will be daybreak. They'll certainly find us then,"

"Let's rest here a few minutes, then try to make it to the Satsuma estate," Miyoshi said.

"No. 1 can't go anywhere like this." Ryoma looked at his hands, the makeshift bandages soaked with blood. "I'd only slow you down." "1 can't leave you here."

"You must It's our only chance. If you make it to the Satsuma estate, then you can come back with help."

"It's impossible. They'll surely find me. Sakamoto-san, the only thing left for us to do is cut our bellies right here and now, before they find us.

"Don't be stupid. If we do that, we lose for sure. With Satsuma and Choshu finally united, this is when the fun starts. I'm not ready to die just yet." Miyoshi gave Ryoma a strange look "Of course," he said. "Just make sure you get to the Satsuma estate safely," Ryoma said. "Now hurry! Get there before the sun comes up."

Ryoma lay shivering as he watched the dim sunlight grow brighter, shining through the window above the loft. He felt his life fading from his body, but somehow knew that he would not yet die. "I wonder how many men we killed back there'.'" he thought sadly, then a more immediate problem overcame him. "What if the Bakufu police find me before help arrives? What if Miyoshi has been caught? He might very well be dead. But no matter, it he is I'll be joining him soon." Ryoma closed his eyes tightly, as his gaping-bleeding wounds pounded. "To die," he thought, "is merely to return one s life to Heaven." Although Ryoma rarely gave much thought to afterlife, he BOW concluded, "There's nothing to fear in death." Then shivering, he muttered, "If only it weren't so damn cold."

Miyoshi arrived at the Satsuma estate at sunrise. He was greeted by the Satsuma men, and Oryo, who, at Ryoma's instructions, had gone to the estate to seek help. By the time a contingent of Satsuma samurai had arrived at the Teradaya, however, Ryoma and Miyoshi had already escaped.

As Ryoma lay thinking and bleeding on the loft atop the woodshed, Miyoshi and Oryo anxiously watched four Satsuma men board a small, open riverboat, the Satsuma banner visible in the cold light of dawn. The estate was situated along the river, the rear of the building facing the water. "If he's alive," one of the men called out, as the boat departed, "we'll bring him back with us."

Miyoshi and Oryo went inside the estate to wait, besides themselves with anxiety. Although Miyoshi was exhausted and cut slightly at several places, he refused Oryo's treatment of his wounds. "I can't worry about myself until he has returned safely," Ryoma's bodyguard insisted.

Oryo sat down near a brazier, and poked nervously at the burning coals with a pair of long wooden sticks. "Miyoshi-san," she said calmly, despite a gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach, "there must have been over a hundred of them last night. How did you two ever escape?"

"Were there that many?" Miyoshi said.

"It was a miracle that you survived."

Soon the Satsuma boat, flying the banner emblazoned with the black cross in a circle, returned to the estate. The four Satsuma men carried Ryoma inside, into a private room, where Oryo had prepared bandages, and white liquor as a disinfectant.

"Sakamoto-san, your hands!" Oryo gasped.

"I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for you," Ryoma said smiling. "Another minute later and they would have been all over us, with no warning at all."

"Sakamoto-san, you're bleeding badly. Now please be quiet and try to rest," Oryo said, as she set herself to tending his wounds.

Til kill them with my bare hands!" roared Saigo the Great, his large face red with anger. The sun had just risen when a messenger arrived at Satsuma's Kyoto headquarters with news of the attack at the Teradaya. "Yoshii," Saigo called his private secretary, who came immediately from the next room. "Yes. What is it?" He had never seen Saigo so angry. ' "Ryoma's been attacked by men under the Fushimi Magistrate." Saigo loaded a pistol as he spoke. Indeed, Saigo had good cause to be upset. Not only was Ryoma his friend, but without Ryoma there would never have been a Satsuma-Choshu Alliance. And from a more practical point of view, Saigo was sure that losing Ryoma would prove more harmful to the revolution than he dared imagine.

Jh. ^297

"Attacked** Yoshii blurted. "Where is he?"

"I don't know. I only know that he and his bodyguard have escaped Get

some men together," Saigo ordered. "We'll leave for Fushimi immediately

to kill them." y

"Kill who?" Yoshii asked.

"The criminals who attacked Ryoma!" Saigo boomed. "Saigo-san," the little man hollered, in an attempt to bring the huge man to his senses. "I understand your anger, but I wish you'd let me handle the situation." Saigo stared silently at his friend, breathing hard. "You see," Yoshii continued, "if you rush to Fushimi right now, you'll only give us away. Even if the Bakufu suspects Ryoma, they are still most likely unaware that he is working with us. Anyway, attacking the magistrate's office will only cause unnecessary trouble."

"I don't care about trouble," Saigo boomed with the wrath of one of the many cannon he had recently purchased from foreigner traders. "I only know that if Ryoma is dead, 1 will not rest until I've gotten vengeance." He thrust his loaded pistol into his sash.

As Saigo was preparing to leave for Fushimi a second messenger arrived with word that Ryoma was safe. "How badly is he wounded?" Saigo asked. "His hands are cut up, but apparently nothing too serious." Saigo heaved a heavy sigh of relief, sat down on the tatami floor, took his pistol from his sash and placed it on the table. "Alright Yoshii, you handle it your way. But we must get a doctor to Ryoma right away, and bring him here, where he'll be safe."

"I'll make the arrangements immediately," Yoshii said, then started to leave. "Excuse me," the messenger said nervously, casting a quick glance at Saigo. "What is it?" Yoshii said.

"I don't think mat Sakamoto will be in any condition to travel for at least a few days." "Of course," Yoshii said.

"No matter," Saigo grabbed Yoshii by the wrist. "I want you to take a rifle platoon to the Fushimi estate to guard him. If the Bakufu men should come for him, you have my orders to hold them offby force if need be. Then, when Ryoma is well enough to travel, I want you to bring him here." Turning to the messenger Saigo added, "Tell them that I'll send a doctor immediately, and that an armed guard will be arriving shortly after."

"No," Yoshii interrupted, drawing a worried look from the messenger, who couldn't believe that anyone would dare contradict Saigo. "I'll bring the doctor to Fushimi myself. We'll leave on horseback this morning."

"Good!" Saigo grinned widely, to the relief of the distraught messenger, who immediately bowed and took his leave.

Saigo looked grimly at Yoshii. "Meanwhile," he said, "let's hope the Fushimi Magistrate has not discovered anything. The longer the Bakufu is unaware of the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance, the better."

The Fushimi Magistrate was furious when he learned that the two outlaws had escaped. Not only had they killed or wounded several of his men, but Ryoma left behind a document revealing his complicity in the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance. The magistrate, however, suspected that the document was a fake, intended to fool him into believing that an alliance had been formed. "Whether it's true or not," he told his men, "find them and kill them, particularly Sakamoto. His very existence is dangerous to the House of Tokugawa." Having discovered a few days later that Ryoma and Miyoshi had taken refuge at the Satsuma estate, the magistrate dispatched a group of men to arrest mem.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," a Satsuma man lied when the police arrived at the outer gate.

"We know they're in here," roared a burly man, dressed all in black, ten others with him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the Satsuma man repeated.

"We have orders from the Magistrate of Fushimi to arrest Sakamoto Ryoma."

"Are you calling me, a samurai of Satsuma, a liar?" the man screamed, his confidence fortified by a platoon of sixty men who had just arrived from Kyoto. Presently, ten of them, armed with rifles, appeared at the front entranceway.

"We'll be back," the burly police commander sneered, before retreating with his men.

Inside the estate, Oryo hadn't left Ryoma's side for three days, until the bleeding finally stopped. Although his quick recovery was due in part to a naturally strong constitution, not to mention the skill of the Dutch-educated physician whom Yoshii had brought, more than anything else, and much to his chagrin, Ryoma felt indebted to Oryo. "It was only because of Oryo that I survived," he would write to his sister.

"If we had never been attacked that way," he told himself over and over during the week he spent in bed, "maybe I'd never have felt this way about her." Then, after days of introspection, when Oryo came to change his bandages one morning, Ryoma took her by the hand. "Oryo," he said, "I think you and I owe a lot to the Fushimi Magistrate."

Oryo laughed. "What are you talking about? Sometimes you say such foolish things. You haven't stopped joking since you got here."

"I'm serious. If it hadn't been for the attack, I might never have asked you to marry me." Although Ryoma attempted nonchalance, he could not hide his embarrassment.

"I have to change your bandages," Oryo said, tears welling in her eyes.

"Why are you crying?"

"It's just that I'm so happy," Oryo said, removing the bandages from Ryoma's left hand.

"Then, you'll marry me?"

"Yes, Sakamoto-san. Yes."

White Ryoma was proposing marriage to Oryo inside of the Satsuma estate spies from the Fushimi Magistrate office were keeping close watch outside. "He has to come out sometime," the magistrate reasoned. "And when he does, we'll get him."

"Not on my life," Saigo told Yoshii, as if he had read the magistrate's mind seven leagues away at Satsuma headquarters in Kyoto. "Even if it is dangerous bringing them here, we must move them somehow."

"Would you like me to dispatch another rifle platoon?" Yoshii asked with a sardonic grin. "Another sixty men." Saigo nodded slowly. "Yes." "Then I'D do it immediately," Yoshii said, getting up to leave. "And one more thing," Saigo said. "Yes?"

"Be sure that they bring a howitzer," Saigo said laughing. "Is there something funny about our men bringing a howitzer from Kyoto to Fushimi?" "Not at all."

Then why do you laugh?"

"It's the thought of the look on the magistrate's face when he sees one hundred twenty Satsuma samurai, each armed with a rifle, just to guard a single ronin" Perfect warmth radiated from the great man's eyes. "But what the magistrate doesn't know, is that that particular ronin is worth more than all of his men put together."

Yoshii ted the second rifle platoon through the outer gate of the Fushimi estate just after noon of the first day of February, an intimidating howitzer mounted on a cart at the rear of the procession.

"Sakamoto-san," Yoshii called as he hurried into the building. "Where's Sakamoto-san?"

"Right this way," Oryo answered, followed by two guards armed with rifles. "How is he?" Yoshii asked anxiously. "I've never seen him look so good," Oyro beamed. Yoshii found Ryoma in a room at the rear of the building. Miyoshi was with him, as was Nakaoka, who had rushed to Fushimi from Dazaifu when he heard Ryoma had been wounded.

"I've come to take you back with me to Kyoto," Yoshii said. "Saigo is waiting there for you with another man." "Who?" Ryoma asked.

"Ike Kurata. When he heard about what happened, he was ready to attack the magistrate's office by himself. As was Saigo."

"The poor magistrate has had a hard enough time with us as it is," Ryoma snickered.

"Since you're safe now, I think they can be convinced to hold off their attack," Yoshii snickered. "And by the way, Sakamoto-san, since I doubted you'd be in any condition to walk into Kyoto, I've arranged a palanquin for you."

"Ah," Miyoshi interrupted, glancing at Ryoma out of the corner of his eye, "I mink we'll need one more."

"One more what?" Yoshii asked.

"Palanquin."

"Don't worry, Miyoshi-san. We have extra uniforms and rifles for you and Nakaoka-san. The two of you can march along with the rest of our men. Nobody will know you're not from Satsuma."

"It's not us I'm worried about," Miyoshi said.

"Oh?"

"I can't very well leave Oryo behind," Ryoma muttered, obviously embarrassed.

"1 see," Yoshii said, nodding grimly. "But we only have one palanquin here in Fushimi."

"No problem," Ryoma said, then called the girl, who soon appeared at the doorway. "Oryo, how would you like to disguise yourself as a Satsuma samurai?" Ryoma asked.

"Joking again!" Oryo laughed, then turning to Yoshii said, "He hasn't stopped joking since he got here."

"I'm not joking. Yoshii-san, do you have an extra hakama, jacket and swords?"

"Sakamoto-san," Yoshii blurted, "you're amazing." Then turning to Oryo, "I'll get you a rifle also, if you wouldn't mind."

"Mind?" Oryo said, "I'd love it."

Later that afternoon, over 120 samurai, each armed with a rifle and two swords, marched through the outer gate of the Satsuma estate in Fushimi, with three men at the rear towing the howitzer. At the center of the procession was a palanquin displaying the Shimazu cross; and although it was apparent to the dozens of Bakufu troops who watched vexedly from the side of the road that Sakamoto Ryoma rode inside, they dared not disturb the men of Satsuma.

Just before leaving, Ryoma had asked Yoshii to lead the procession past the Teradaya. For all Otose knew Ryoma was dead; with the Bakufu police staking out her inn since the attack, the Satsuma men had been unable to inform her otherwise. "If you see Otose as we pass by the Teradaya," Ryoma had instructed Oryo, "throw this at her." He handed her a small amulet that Otose had bought on her New Year's pilgrimage to a local shrine. "She gave it to me on the night we arrived at the Teradaya, before we left for Kyoto. She said it would protect me," he laughed. "And maybe she's right, because I've been wearing it ever since, and I'm not dead yet."

"Sakamoto-san," the girl whispered as the procession approached the Teradaya. Oryo was marching alongside the palanquin, dressed like the other men; her hair was tied in a topknot, the carried a heavy rifle over her shoulder, and two swords hung at her left hip. "1 can see Otose-san. She's watching from the side of the road."

"Well, throw the amulet," Ryoma said. "And make sure you throw it hard."

Oryo did just that, and the amulet landed at Otose's feet. By the time Otose picked it up, the procession had already passed by, but she now knew that Sakamoto Ryoma was alive.

Arriving at Satsuma's Kyoto headquarters before dusk, Ryoma, Miyoshi, Nakaoka and Oryo were immediately shown to a private room, where Saigo was waiting. "Sakamoto-san, you gave us quite a scare," Saigo said, taking hold of Ryoma's right forearm, and inspecting the wounds on his hand. Then turning to Miyoshi, he bowed. "I am Saigo Kichinosuke of Satsuma. I hear that you fought bravely at the Teradaya. I can't thank you enough for all you've done for Sakamoto-san."

"We fought well together," Miyoshi said, bowing his head slightly.

"And you must be Oryo-san." The commander in chief of the most powerful army in Japan bowed to the young girl. "How can I ever repay you for saving their lives? Whatever you want, whatever you need, just let me know and you'll have it. And I must say," he said grinning, "you look quite impressive dressed like that."

Oryo bowed deeply. "Thank you very much," she said demurely. I...I \ really..." the girl hesitated.

"Go ahead, Oryo," Ryoma urged. "He's big, but he doesn't bite."

"If it wouldn't be too much to ask, Saigo-san, I'd like to borrow a kimo- , no, a woman's kimono that is. All of my things are still in Fushimi at the Teradaya."

"Done!" Saigo bellowed. "We'll get you the finest kimono in Kyoto. But you must be very tired. Please sit down. I want all of you to relax for a few days."

"A few days?" Ryoma said, sitting down with the others near a large blue 'J ceramic brazier. "I've been relaxing for the past week. As a matter of fact, I've never felt more relaxed in my life. What I need now is to get down to Shimonoseki to talk to Katsura and Takasugi about the war."

In January, only days after Satsuma and Choshu were secretly united, the Bakufu convinced the Imperial Court to issue an edict for the retirement of the Choshu daimyo, and a reduction in the land and income of his domain. Since the Bakufu was ill prepared for war, it had hoped that these relatively ; lenient terms would convince Choshu to relinquish its defiant stance; but . when its demands were brazenly ignored, Edo resorted to more affirmative ^ action.

In February, troops from thirty-one han, which in the previous November had been ordered by the Bakufu to prepare for war, surrounded Choshu; and , while Ryoma lay convalescing at Satsuma's Fushimi estate, Takasugi's revolutionary army, "silent as the dead of night," awaited an attack.

Disunity, however, continued to bedevil Edo. The most prominent of < those in the Bakufu who opposed the second expedition were Okubo Ichio, ; Matsudaira Shungaku and Katsu Kaishu. (Although Kaishu was still under ,

house arrest in Edo, he made his position known through various influential visitors, including Okubo.) Kaishu's Group of Four (minus Yokoi Shonan, still under house arrest) feared that civil war might invite foreign invasion. They proposed that instead of fighting among one another, the most powerful clans should cooperate with Edo for the common good of Japan, and a council of lords be formed to settle the Choshu problem. Not only had the expedition already cost a great deal of money-money which would best be spent fortifying the nation-but the thirty-one lords who had sent troops to the Choshu borders had only done so out of protocol. Surely these lords would hesitate before actually fighting a war whose victory would only strengthen Edo, and very possibly spell their own destruction. The Group of Four pointed out that most of these lords had mistakenly expected Choshu to surrender once their armies were massed at its borders. Furthermore, it was clear that few of the Bakufu troops, and virtually none of their commanders, had much stomach for war, and that the lords themselves were anxious for their armies to return to their respective fiefdoms, lest disorder at home occur during their absence.

Even some of the Bakufu's most powerful allies viewed the expedition against Choshu as designed to crush the possibility against resistance to Edo. They feared the repercussions from exorbitant prices which war would inevitably cause, foreseeing riots among the commoners, and uprisings in their own fiefdoms. The Lord of Owari, the Tokugawa branch head who had commanded the first expedition, refused to cooperate with the second. The Lord of Fukui (Shungaku's heir), who was vice-commander of the first expedition, worked within court circles in an attempt to block the second. With such staunch Bakufu allies opposing the expedition, it was no wonder that the most powerful of the Outside Lords followed suit. The Lords of Hiroshima'and Okayama, in southwest Honshu, felt that an expedition could not possibly serve their interests. The Lord of Fukuoka, in northern Kyushu, reneged on his initial agreement to fight for the Bakufu. Lord Yodo of Tosa, despite his firm refusal to actually oppose the Tokugawa, rejected a Bakufu request to send troops, claiming that compliance would spark rebellion among the Loyalists in Tosa. But most ominous was the attitude of Satsuma, which had recently shown open hostility to Edo, though its alliance with Choshu remained secret. The uneasiness of these lords about Tokugawa intentions was exacerbated by the knowledge that Edo was becoming more intimate with, if not dependent upon, the government of Napoleon III.

The French, who were fiercely competing with the British for diplomatic dominance of Asia, supported the Tokugawa, just as their rivals had unofficially allied themselves with Satsuma-Choshu. Leon Roches, Napoleon Ill's minister to Japan, insisted that the only way the Bakufu would be able to completely dominate the country would be through French military aid-an opinion that Oguri Tadamasa, Kaishu's nemesis who had replaced him as navy commissioner, wholly adopted. The Bakufu had recently procured from the French state-of-the-art cannon to mount on its warships; and, as Okubo had warned Ryoma, the construction of a Tokugawa shipyard at Yokosuka, just west of Yokohama, had finally begun with French backing. The Bakufu's readiness to be thus seduced by the French was no secret, and the great lords suspected that once they had helped the Tokugawa crush Choshu, their own destruction would be imminent.

"And when the war starts, my men and I will fight at sea, alongside Takasugi's Extraordinary Corps," Ryoma boasted, as he painfully wondered if Katsu Kaishu would not be commanding the Tokugawa fleet.

"Yes, the war," Saigo said ominously. "It's only a matter of time before the Bakufu armies attack."

"Saigo-san," Ryoma said, "could you arrange for a Satsuma ship to take us to Shimonoseki? The sooner the better."

The great man smiled, his black eyes shimmering like two large diamonds. "Sakamoto-san, I'd rathef see you completely recuperated first. But since you can't seem to sit still for too long..."

"Ryoma-san," a voice called from the corridor, as Saigo stopped short his speech.

"Kura!" Ryoma answered. "Come in."

Ike Kurata wore a sullen expression, despite his delight at being reunited with Ryoma. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you alive," he said.

Ryoma laughed. "Well, I'm glad I could make you happy, Kura."

"But..." Kurata hesitated.

"What is it?" Ryoma said.

"I have bad news from Nagasaki."

Ryoma braced himself, glanced at the others. "Let's hear it," he said.

"Kondo Chojiro is dead."