"Where this information came from," she had whispered to him, "I do not know but the mama-san said it was from the source you would know about."
Also she reported the facts of the manner of Shorin's death. But knew nothing further of Ori or Hiraga, other than that Ori's wound was healing and both were hiding out in the Yokohama Settlement, with Akimoto-- Hiraga, somehow, miraculously a confidant of a gai-jin official.
"You are right, Sumomo, the Bakufu will never recover," Katsumata said. "And our next hammer blow will end the Toranaga Shogunate forever."
Immediately following the successful elimination of Shogun Nobusada--at all costs leaving Princess Yazu unharmed--shishi would launch a mass attack on Ogama's headquarters to assassinate him, simultaneously Katsumata and others would seize the Gates, raising the banner of sonno-joi, declaring power had returned to the Emperor, at which time all true daimyos and samurai would flock to make obeisance.
"Sonno-joi," she murmured, exultant like all of them.
Except Takeda, one of the Choshu shishi.
Uneasily he shifted in his place. "I'm not sure about killing Ogama. He is a good daimyo, a good leader--he stopped Sanjiro seizing power, stopped the Tosa seizing power, he is the only daimyo enforcing the Emperor's orders to expel gai-jin. Isn't he closing the Shimonoseki Straits? Only our cannon oppose the gai-jin ships--only Choshu forces are in the front line, eh?"
"That's true, Takeda," a Satsuma shishi of renown said. "But what did Sensei Katsumata remind us? That Ogama has changed now he has sole control. If he honored the Emperor, now that he controls the Gates, simple for him to declare sonno-joi and return all power to the Emperor. That is what we will do when we have the Gates."
"Yes but..."
"Simple for him, Takeda. But what has he done? Only used his power to twist the Court to his whims. He wants to be Shogun.
Nothing less."
There were murmurs of agreement and then Sumomo said, "Please excuse me, Takeda, but Ogama is a major threat. You all know I am Satsuma, so is Sensei Katsumata, we agree Sanjiro also has done some good, but nothing for sonno-joi. So he must relinquish power, gladly or unhappily, and will go... will go. The same for Ogama. Yes he has done some good, but now he does bad. The truth is no daimyo who has the Gates and is so close to being Shogun will ever go willingly."
Takeda said, "Perhaps if we petitioned Ogama?"
She said, "Please excuse me but a petition will be of no value. When we possess the Gates, to prevent civil war and the possibility of any daimyo being tempted ever again, when we possess the Gates we must go further, we must request the Emperor to abolish the Shogunate, Bakufu and all daimyos."
Amid sounds of surprise at such a radical proposal, Takeda burst out, "That's mad. Without a Shogunate and daimyos who will rule? There'll be chaos! Who pays our stipends? Daimyos! The daimyos own all rice koku an--"
Katsumata said, "Let her finish, Takeda, then you can have your say."
"So sorry, Takeda, but this is Hiraga-san's idea, not mine. Hiraga said that, in future, daimyos will be figureheads only, the good ones, that power will be exercised through councils of samurai, of all ranks, equally, who will decide everything, from stipends, to which daimyo is worthy and who will succeed him."
"It will never work. It's a bad idea,"
Takeda said.
Many disagreed with him, the majority for her, but Takeda was unconvinced. Then she said, "Sensei, is it a bad idea?"
"It is a good idea, if all daimyos agreed," Katsumata said, well pleased that his teachings were bearing such fruit, that correctly they were arriving at the future by consensus. Like the others he was squatting on his heels, saying little, his mind on his close escape, inwardly seething at the new attempt on his life and narrow escape.
Too near this time, he thought, bile again in mouth. The net is closing. Who is the traitor? The traitor has to be in this room.
No other shishi units knew I was spending the night at the Whispering Pines. The traitor has to be here. Who is he--or even she? Who?
"Continue, Sumomo."
"I just wanted to add... Takeda-san, you are Choshu, so is Hiraga-san, others from Tosa, the Sensei and others and me Satsumas, others from other fiefs, but first we are shishi with duties above family, above clan.
In the New Order this will be the law--the First law for all Nippon."
"Well, if that's going to be the law..."
One of them scratched his head. "Sensei, when the Son of Heaven has power again what will we really do? Us? All of us?"
Katsumata glanced at Takeda. "What do you think?"
Takeda said simply, "I will not be alive, it matters not at all. Sonno-joi is sufficient and that I tried."
"Some of us must survive," Katsumata said, "to be part of the new leadership. More important for now: Toranaga Yoshi. How to eliminate him?"
"Whenever he comes out of his sanctuary we must be ready," someone said.
"Of course," Takeda said irritably, "but he will be surrounded by guards and I doubt if we can get near him. The Sensei said not to activate our men inside. It has to be outside but that will be very difficult."
"Half a dozen of us with bows from rooftops?"
"A pity we have no cannon," another said.
They sat there in the growing light, each within in his own mind, Yoshi a prize. But five days were foremost, then the attack on Ogama--the only way to take the Gates.
Sumomo said, "It could be easier for a woman to infiltrate the Toranaga bastion, neh?
Once inside..." She smiled.
Now clouds covered the sky. The afternoon was gloomy. Even so, the wide streets outside the walls of the Shogunate barracks were crowded with townspeople, buying and selling in the market opposite the main entrance, along with orange-clad Buddhist priests, their inevitable begging bowls outstretched, samurai strutting along, singly or in groups. Ogama patrols were prominent, each with the insignia of their fief embroidered on their clothes. Katsumata, Sumomo and half a dozen shishi strolled amongst the crowds, disguised and wearing large conical hats. Housewives, maids, servants and street sweepers and night soil collectors, porters and hawkers, moneylenders, letter writers and fortunetellers, palanquins and ponies for samurai and highborn and never a wheeled vehicle.
All who passed the Shogunate gates, open now but heavily guarded, bowed politely according to rank and hurried on. News that the Guardian of the Heir had arrived unbelievably without pomp had flashed through the city--and this, coupled with the never-in-historical-memory, imminent arrival of the awesome Shogun himself, arbiter of the Land, his personage shrouded with almost as much mystery as the Son of Heaven, and who, rumor had it, was even married to one of the Deity's sisters, was almost too much to bear.
At once samurai worriedly began checking the readiness of their weapons and armor, daimyos and their most trusted counselors trembled at the news, assessing their own positions and what to do and how to avoid taking any decisive action when the inevitable happened: Lord Yoshi clashed with Lord Ogama.
Activity on the street outside the Shogunate barracks ceased as a heavily armed cortege began to come out of the gates, Yoshi's banners to the fore, soldiers surrounding a closed palanquin, with more soldiers bringing up the rear.
At once everyone within seeing distance put their heads to the earth, all samurai stood still, then bowed deeply until the cortege had passed.
Only when Yoshi and his men had vanished did a semblance of normality return. Except that Katsumata and the others were cautiously following.
Half a mile away a similar armored cortege began snaking out of the main Choshu barracks, Ogama's banners to the fore, to even greater obeisances. Inside the palanquin was Ogama. For days he had been forewarned of his enemy's arrival, just as he had been monitoring the progress of Shogun Nobusada. His advisors had recommended waylaying Yoshi and destroying him outside Kyoto but he had refused. "Better he becomes my pawn.