lerbook Chapter 2236-2234 Dazzling Flowers
Chapter 2236-2234 Dazzling Flowers
Chapter 2236 2.234 A Dazzling Array of Flowers
"The Jorogumo clan builds illusionary pavilions to lure scholars, and when their scheme is exposed, they manifest as a swarm of spiders under the eaves..." Wu Chen pondered as he saw the relevant entries pop up on his multi-functional wristwatch.
Perhaps this is the reason for the bizarre layout of Edo Castle, which completely deviates from reality and appears increasingly eerie.
"My lord means that the West Maru before us is a 'palace of illusions' created by Jorogumo." Captain Yuko, the courtesan of Gobancho, immediately realized.
"Hmm." Wu Chen thought for a moment and said, "Let's finish this part of the story first, and then see how it develops."
"Yes, sir." Captain Yuko of the Fifth District Courtesan calmly looked at Somekichi Tatsumi, the courtesan known as the best in Fukagawa, and gracefully entered the arena.
The story goes that Ayan, the daughter of the pawnshop owner, eloped with the shopkeeper, Shinsuke, on a snowy night after falling in love with him. Desperate, they took refuge in the boathouse of the Fukagawa boatmen, Gonji and his wife. However, this boathouse was frequented by all sorts of shady characters, and Ayan was kidnapped and sold to Tokubei, the leader of a gang of thugs, becoming a geisha in Fukagawa. She changed her name to Somekichi and moved among various men, swindling them out of their affections and money. With the help of Shinsuke, she even killed all the men who had wronged her, including Gonji and his wife, and Tokubei, the mastermind behind the pawnshop.
However, the distorted storyline will definitely be different from the original storyline.
The identities of the women who appeared alongside her were identified one by one by the "Super Brain Blockchain".
Konji's wife, Fukagawa Funaya-no-sho A-taki (Fujiwara Reiko), the mother of the house-house lady A-yan (Tachibana Koko), and the mother of Bantou Shinsuke (Mouri Kikue).
"I am Serizawa Somekichi from Mukojima. Nice to meet you." Somekichi, the Tatsumi Geisha who is known as the best in Fukagawa, introduced himself.
“It seems she married Hatamoto Serizawa and became a samurai’s wife.” Wu Chen immediately understood this background plot: “In the original plot, Hatamoto Serizawa was a shogunate samurai who was bewitched by her, and he was also the cause of her falling in love with Shinsuke and the tattoo artist Seikichi who tattooed ‘Lady Spider’ on her, all of whom died together.”
During the Edo period, hatamoto were samurai directly under the Tokugawa shogunate, with a rice yield of less than 10,000 koku and the qualification of "gome-kento" (the ability to directly meet the shogun). They belonged to the "direct sen" class and were on par with gokenin, who did not have the qualification to meet the shogun, in the core of the shogunate's rule.
Located on the east bank of the Sumida River, Mukojima has been a hub of commoner culture since the Edo period. The samurai residence of Hatamoto Serizawa is situated here. The famous Japanese ukiyo-e print series "Thirty-six Views of Tok" includes "The Seven Herbs of Mukojima Flower Garden," depicting the beauty of Mukojima's Hundred Flowers Garden, renowned as a "garden of a hundred flowers blooming in all four seasons."
"So in the twisted storyline, she killed everyone who knew the truth, married Hatakemoto Serizawa, successfully washed away her humiliating past, and escaped her lowly status." Putting herself in her shoes, Captain Yuko, the courtesan of Gobancho, spoke with admiration.
"That should be the case." Wu Chen, as usual, did not refute.
"Katagiri Yuko." The captain of the Gobancho courtesan group, Yuko, spoke succinctly.
"Ah..." Upon hearing that she also shared the surname "Katagiri," Tatsumi Geisha Somekichi, known as the best in Fukagawa, immediately feigned sudden realization: "So, you're also after the position of the next Odai-sho?"
"What?" Captain Yuko, the courtesan of Gobancho, suddenly realized: "Your purpose in participating in the Nishinomaru Famous Swords Martial Arts Tournament is to become the next Odaidokoro."
"Aren't you one too?" This time, it was Tatsumi Geisha Somekichi, known as the best in Fukagawa, who was surprised. "Ah..." Speaking of which, Katagiri Yuki, the former lord of the Tokugawa family and a retainer, sent his wife Matsume to the Ooku (inner palace) to become a concubine of the shogun Tokugawa Ienari, and she gave birth to an illegitimate son, Katagiri Takayuki, for which he received a high stipend of 4000 koku. So, following the example of his superiors, Katagiri Takayuki, as the next shogun, also used the "Nishinomaru Famous Swords Martial Arts Tournament" to choose his principal wife, Midai-dokoro.
However, hadn't he already signed a marriage agreement with Komi Yamazakiya?
"This must be Nishinomaru-sama's intention," sighed Yuko, the captain of the courtesan team in Gobancho. The true intentions of the Katagiri mother and son were obvious. It was quite something that Hatakemoto Serizawa, a samurai of the shogunate, would follow the example of the former Katagiri daimyo by offering his wife to gain immense wealth for himself.
Wow, the plots are all the same!
Since everyone has their own needs, we will stop here.
Rankichi, the Tatsumi Geisha who is known as the best in Fukagawa, whispered a few words to the person behind him.
Then Fukagawa Funayako's female general, A-Taki, stepped forward, brandishing her weapons: "Atsushi Toushirou, Namazuo Toushirou."
"Atsushi Toushirou" is a "Yokotsu (armor-piercing) short sword" made by Toushirou Yoshimitsu, son of Awataguchi Norikuni or Kuniyoshi, a swordsmith from the Kamakura period. As a masterpiece of the Awataguchi school, this Atsushi Toushirou, which at first glance looks like a kitchen knife, is known for its blade length of 7.2 suna (about 22 cm) and its thick blade (about 1.2 cm). It is hailed as the "armor-piercing awl" and witnessed the story of loyalty between Toyotomi Hidetsugu and his page Yamada Sanjuro in history. It is now a national treasure and is housed in the Tokyo National Museum.
"Namazuo Toushirou" is a naginata made by Toushirou Yoshimitsu, son of the swordsmith Awataguchi Norikuni or Kuniyoshi, during the Kamakura period. For some unknown reason, it was modified halfway through its construction into a wakizashi, hence the name "Namazuo Toushirou" (Catfish Tail Toushirou). Because the naginata was modified into a wakizashi, and the blade resembled a catfish's tail, it was named "Namazuo Toushirou".
The sword was originally owned by Oda Nobunaga's second son, Oda Nobukatsu. Before the Battle of Komakiyama-Nagakute, Nobukatsu ordered his retainer Hijikata Katsuhisa to personally kill three high-ranking retainers suspected of colluding with Hashiba Hideyoshi. Among them, the one whose head was severed by hand was Ayuo Toushirou. Later, Hijikata Katsuhisa served the Toyotomi clan, and he presented Ayuo Toushirou to Hideyoshi, who then passed the sword on to Hideyori.
During the Siege of Osaka in 1615, this sword perished in the flames along with Toyotomi Hideyori after the fall of Osaka Castle. After the war, the shogunate army discovered the Namazuo Toushirou sword, now in a charred state, in the ruins. Tokugawa Ieyasu, having abandoned his prized sword, ordered his personal swordsmith, Echizen Yasutsugu, to reforge it, making it part of the Tokugawa family. After Ieyasu's death, it was given as a memento to Tokugawa Yoshinao, the first lord of the Owari Domain, and subsequently became the property of the Owari Tokugawa family. It continued to be passed down within the family after the Meiji Restoration and is now housed in the Tokugawa Museum of Art.
Based on shape and size, Japanese swords can be divided into tachi, katana, wakizashi, tanto, etc.
The tachi is worn with the blade facing downwards at the waist, while the katana is generally inserted into the belt with the blade facing upwards. In terms of the fitting characteristics, the tachi, because it is worn at the waist, has a loop on the side of the scabbard, while the katana, because it is inserted directly into the waist, does not have a loop on its fitting, but the katana's scabbard has a chestnut-shaped ornament.
The katana was designed for infantry combat. When worn, the blade is typically inserted upwards into the belt, making it easier to draw and leading to the development of a unique swordsmanship technique that combines drawing and attack. During the Muromachi period, the katana and wakizashi were worn together, reaching their peak of popularity. In the Edo period, shogunate law mandated that samurai carry both the katana and wakizashi as a pair of swords.
Because she was not a samurai, Fukagawa Funadoku woman Akaki chose the short sword Atsushi Toushirou and the wakizashi Namazuo Toushirou.
It perfectly matches the Ōwakizashi "Tarobo Kenmikazu" and "Aoimon Echizen Yasutsugu" held by the eldest concubine Xing Xiaolu and the fourth concubine Xu Jingshan.
Isn't that a coincidence?
(End of this chapter)