Flower Spelling - Chapter 18
Chapter 18 – A Nostalgic Breeze
A cool breeze caressed one’s cheeks. Autumn itself was approaching, albeit the sun was still shining brightly. On the roof at the southwest end of the building, where she had made here her fixed post, Sogetsu was lying on her back with her head entirely covered by a bamboo hat. The clamor in the Yubikan had ceased, replaced by the faint rustling of leaves.
Autumn huh… One year has flown by since I arrived in the clan residence.
Initially, it was all about having fun. Surrounded by lively and cheerful people, she missed Tatsumi Residence but never felt hard. Yet things never remained smooth.
Opening of the country, expulsion of the barbarians, advocate of imperial rule, the end of the Tokugawa shogunate… Various concepts are intertwining together to form a grand swell that shapes the movement of the times.
By living here, Sogetsu exposed herself to a part of this process.
Witnessing the death of a man up close.
Learning how aspiration is literally a matter of risking one’s life.
In the modern world, this is an experience she would never have had.
But this is the consequence of what I had hoped for. I could have stayed here, as I did in Tatsumi Residence, and lived my life oblivious to the challenging times. But I chose to know. I wanted to find out about this time and what Mr. Takasugi and his friends were attempting to accomplish… I suffer from this because I have no clue about it. If it’s Mr. Takasugi, what would he say…?
It reminded her of the time when they spoke on this roof in the past.
Takasugi expressed his wish to follow Shoin’s vision and go to the West.
He is now in distant Shanghai, but if they could meet again, she would like to have the chance to ask him.
Should the expulsion of barbarians be resorted to through force?
In a flash, a blast of wind swept through the area, sending branches swaying.
Her bamboo hat threatened to be blown away, which she promptly gripped with her hand.
Dangerous, dangerous.
Breathing under her bamboo hat, a chuckle reached her ears.
“And here you are, slacking off with your head held high? Well, now you know how to behave.”
“??!”
Like a bullet, she sprang to her feet and narrowed her eyes against the blinding sun. Against the sun, a slight figure towered in the background. There was no misidentifying him.
“??Mr. Takasugi!!”
“Yo, good to see you.”
With an unchanging irreverent smile on his features, Takasugi Shinsaku cast his gaze upon her.
?
“Welcome back! When, when did you return?”
As if urging Sogetsu to lean forward, Takasugi slowly seated himself adjacent to her.
“In July I returned to Nagasaki from Shanghai. Afterward, I was off to Kyo to report to my lord concerning the journey… Having done so much, I arrived in Edo only this morning. Earlier, when I showed up at the Yubikan, I was immediately bombarded with questions. I got fed up with it all and stormed off, only to be met by you.”
“Will that be alright? Everyone wants to hear it. About the foreign country.”
“I have left behind souvenirs for them from Shanghai, nothing to worry for. They are so absorbed in that now that they have forgotten about me.”
“Souvenirs?”
“Books, bags, incense burners… And then there’s this.” Grinning, he pulled it out of his pocket unceremoniously.
“Ah!? Is that a pistol!?”
“This is the most modern six-shooter. I bought two of these. Isn’t it good?”
“Whoa, is this real? First time seeing it…”
Holding it in her grasp, she was amazed to discover that it was much heavier than she had anticipated. To hold it for a long time would demand considerable arm strength. When she idly placed her finger on the trigger, a lazy voice from the side cautioned her to be careful.
“It’s loaded.”
Sogetsu disengaged her hands with lightning speed.
“Tell me ahead of time!”
“Hasn’t it cooled you down a bit?”
“Yes, it’s chilling! Thanks to you!”
As Takasugi merrily laughed, Sogetsu glared at him boldly. But Takasugi, seemingly unaffected by this, snatched the bamboo hat from Sogetsu’s head and began to twirl it dexterously.
“Well, what a revelation! Here I am, back after six months away, and Choshu has changed its policy to the expulsion of the barbarians, and you??” The corners of his mouth twitched up. “Apparently you have learned to slack off.”
“Not that I’m slacking off. Nothing urgent to do today, not even a lecture at Yubikan, hence I’ve been cooling off here… More importantly, please give me my bamboo hat back. I’m going to get sunburned.”
“Despite being the one and only female here, yet you care so much regarding that.”
“It’s funny the way you dress and makeup like a man.”
Sogetsu refitted her hat, which was handed back to her. “Mr. Takasugi, you look rather tanned. Is it due to the long time you spent at sea?”
“Oh well… Shanghai was incredible. Thousands of foreign ships were crowding the harbor. Not just merchant ships. Steam-powered, advanced warships, too. Can you imagine?”
??Hardly can she imagine.
“Just seeing it alone was earth-shattering, not to mention the sheer scale of the city itself??”
An endless castle-like city composed of the white walls of the nation’s merchant buildings. Ceaseless echoes of gunfire.
Once ashore, Takasugi accompanied the shogunate officials to the foreign consulates, witnessed the military drill, and was introduced to the latest weapon, the Armstrong gun.
While on holiday, in the company of his friends, he paid visits to the dwellings of Americans and Englishmen and listened to their accounts, striking up a rapport with one of the Qing people with whom he made a solid friendship.
There were times when perhaps sensing the rarity of Japanese people, residents would follow them around the city, peeping into bookshops and antique shops.
The descriptions of Shanghai were so vivid that Sogetsu could practically sense the atmosphere there as she listened unflinchingly.
“But…” Takasugi dropped his voice abruptly. “This is only one side of Shanghai. Most of the Qing people are living in poverty and are forced to live on the street. Shanghai can no more be regarded as a part of the Qing Dynasty… I felt that Shanghai was like the future of Japan.”
“Eh?”
The word “future” momentarily threw her over the edge.
“You understand what I’m talking about, right? You have always said that the power of foreign nations is not to be underestimated… I have to admit, I was arrogant back then. Even though foreign technology is superior, I wondered how good it could be. Yet, after witnessing Shanghai, I realized. If Japan were to be invaded by a country with that level of military power, it would be outmatched. If we are truly committed to the principle of “expulsion of the barbarians from the country by the Emperor,” we must not be as lax as we have been up to now. We must make clear to the shogunate that it was wrong to sign the treaty against its will and be prepared to engage them in battle.”
“Huh? Whoa, hold on a minute. Are you planning to combat not only foreign countries but also the Shogunate? Isn’t that a bit of a leap in logic?”
“If you don’t have that kind of spirit, you’ll never get anywhere. Look around you. The other lords are all talk and stand idly by. Even in Choshu, it is questionable how committed they are to expelling the foreigners. Even the other day, I heard that Master Seishi prevented a man from carrying out the slaying of a foreigner in Yokohama.”
??It was the matter of Kuruhara.
Sogetsu silently cast her eyes down.
“Any attempt on the part of the shogunate or the imperial court is merely an affectation to promote himself in light of the public opinion.”
“… But Mr. Katsura and Mr. Kusaka are using their great authority to issue mobilization orders to the clans, aren’t they? If there’s a need to engage in a battle, don’t you think you have a better chance than the Choshu clan?”
“If that’s the way the whole clan operates. Rather than relying on the forces of others, Choshu itself ought to build up its army and prepare for emergencies. ??What do you think should be the first thing to be done there?”
“Huh? Um…”
If any foreign country were to strike, they would have to do so from the sea…
“Fortify the coast. Do you mean, in particular, erecting artillery battery?”
“That’s part of it. But I consider that the first thing is to have ships in position. Artillery battery would be effective but would lead the enemy’s ships inadvertently close to the country. Instead, the better strategy is to assemble a large number of warships and repel them before they get near Japan. And yet, no matter how much I tell them so, nobody will heed me. Against thousands of steam-powered warships, what can one or two small sailing ships do? Choshu needs steamships now. Why can’t the inflexible members of the clan understand that!” He spoke vehemently, banging on the roof tiles.
He had attempted to purchase a steamship at his own discretion (at a price of 20,000 ryo!). It is said that the upper echelons of the clan were in a panic and rushed to conceal it.
Only Sufu consented, stating, “The contract had already been signed, and that if they sold off their lord’s gold and silver tools, they could not fail to pay”.
Sogetsu felt that she could recognize Takasugi’s agitation.
Those who vociferously advocate the expulsion of foreigners have no real insight into the superior military power of other countries. They merely believe blindly in the superiority of Japan.
But not Takasugi. Now, Takasugi had learned the extent of the power gap between them. He was torn between his changed self and his unchanged friends. He struggled to come to terms with this.
The reason for escaping from the Yubikan must have been that it was too strenuous to be present.
“Let all the Choshu people go to Shanghai. And then you say, ‘Would you say the same thing if you saw this?’.”
“All of them, huh. Sounds good.”
Sogetsu had nothing to offer beyond staring at the profile of Takasugi, who smiled sorrowfully.
It was only a couple of days later, Takasugi left a note and left the residence of the clan.