Harakiri Page #3

and requesting a few day's rest.

I see. That's too bad.

Master Tsugumo.

As you heard,

Omodaka is not present today.

You will need to make another choice.

That is most disappointing.

I had my hearit set on Master Omodaka

performing the service.

I wonder if I might not beg

his special consideration.

Well,

he says he's ill,

but he seemed fine yesterday.

Surely it can't be anything serious.

Messenger!

Make all due haste

to Omodaka's residence.

Tell him to come immediately,

if his illness permits. Now hurry.

I'm putting you

to a great deal of trouble.

Please accept my apologies.

Now then,

do you wish to wait here

or would you like

to come inside and relax?

No.

The comforit of your residence

might cause my resolve to waver.

My journey into eternity mustn't grow

distasteful. I shall remain here.

You display remarkable discipline.

I can but express my admiration.

If I may, Counselor,

it could be quite tedious for us both

to sit here and wait in silence.

To pass the time,

perhaps you'll allow me to tell you

a little about myself.

About yourself?

Yes.

The hardscrabble tales of a half-starved

ronin don't amount to much,

but what befalls others today

may be your own fate tomorrow.

Perhaps your retainers

will find some small point or two

worith remembering

among my otherwise

useless ramblings.

"What befalls others today

may be your own fate tomorrow"?

This could be amusing.

I want everyone here

to listen carefully to this man.

The words of one

staring death in the face...

are unlikely to be useless ramblings.

I'm sure we'll all learn something.

Counselor.

That tale you related earlier -

may I be assured

it was true in every detail?

Indeed.

The ronin from Hiroshima

named Motome Chijiiwa

was a man of some acquaintance to me.

Motome Chijiiwa...

was a man of some acquaintance to me.

Motome was a lad of 15,

and my daughter Miho

was an angelic child of 11.

That was 11 years ago.

But when I close my eyes,

their images come back to me vividly,

as if it were only yesterday.

- My turn again.

- Never mind.

All we do all day is count stones

to repair the castle walls.

We won't be needing bows and arrows

for a good long while.

"The world is at peace.

The four seas are calm."

Incidentally, this coming 22nd

is the seventh anniversary

of Nui's passing.

I knew it was coming up,

but is it seven years already?

Yes, and I'm planning

a modest ceremony at my residence.

Don't bring any offerings.

Very well.

I can hardly believe it.

Seven years already.

What never ceases to amaze me

is how a rough warrior like you

has managed to raise Miho all these years

without taking a second wife.

Come, Jinnai.

Look who's talking.

When your Yuki died,

I wondered how you would ever manage.

But look at you.

You're a perfect example

of the kite begetting a hawk.

Kite begetting a hawk?

You were the widower kite,

doting so on your child

in every aspect of his upbringing,

that Io and behold,

the child grew not into a kite

but a magnificent young hawk.

Nonsense.

He ceritainly keeps growing,

but he's got a long way to go

before you can compare him

to a young hawk soaring freely overhead.

You know,

I never figured either of us would be good

for anything but battlefield laurels,

but we haven't done too bad

at raising children.

Had life gone on like that,

all would have been well.

But it was not to be.

When all is said and done,

our lives are like houses

built on foundations of sand.

One strong wind and all is gone.

How my master's house

with its 498,000-koku domain

was brought to ruin...

I'm sure you already know

even better than I do myself.

Owing to an unreasonable and one-sided

judgment by the Tokugawa shogunate

regarding the repairs

being performed on Hiroshima Castle,

in June of 1619,

my master, Masanori Fukushima,

was ordered into exile at Kawanakajima,

leaving his 12,000 retainers

without any means of livelihood...

through no fault of their own.

Jinnai!

TO HANSHIRO TSUGUMO

In view of our long-standing friendship,

I ask your indulgence in the following:

The castle repairs commissioner,

the Honorable Masakatsu Fukushima,

will be electing death at any moment.

Therefore, I will precede him

on his journey.

My company alone will suffice.

I beg you not to follow.

Regarding my only child, Motome,

he has grown tall,

but he is still only 15.

Please look after him

as he finds his way in life.

Why did he have to be so hasty?

Committing harakiri

even before I have done so.

Hanshiro, I forbid you to follow.

If the house could still be saved, I might

wish you to accompany me in death.

But with the house abolished,

it would be pointless.

Jinnai's company will suffice.

- But, sire!

Don't be foolish, Hanshiro.

Jinnai died because he knew

you would if he didn't.

He died to accompany me

on your behalf as well.

Which means, Hanshiro,

that you must now live on.

Both for you and for him.

And also for his son, Motome.

Who will look after him if not you?

I go now to meet Jinnai.

Hanshiro, is there anything

you'd like me to tell him?

Do you have nothing for me to say?

Tell Jinnai...

Tell Jinnai this.

Have no fears about Motome.

I will watch over his every step

on the path to manhood.

I will not fail him.

I swear this on my life.

Go on, Master Tsugumo.

What did you find out?

It seems his illness

is indeed most serious.

What's the nature of the ailment?

According to his family,

a high fever

and excruciating pain

in all his joints.

Go on.

I asked if I might visit him

at his bedside,

but he sent word back

that his pain was so great

that he did not wish to be seen

in his present state.

All I could do was convey

the message you sent and return.

It seems

there's nothing we can do.

Perhaps he was overcome by

the relentless heat of recent days.

Master Tsugumo,

you heard what he said.

I must ask you to select

someone else as your second.

I am sorely disappointed,

but it appears I have no choice.

In that case...

I would ask for Master Hayato Yazaki.

Hayato?

Inaba, I believe he too

has been absent these four or five days?

That is correct.

He requested leave

because he wasn't feeling well.

Master Tsugumo,

I'm afraid Hayato Yazaki

is also absent due to illness.

Master Yazaki is also ill?

I'm sorry to hear that.

Again it seems I have no choice.

I request Master Umenosuke Kawabe.

Counselor,

surely it's not possible

that Master Kawabe

is also under the weather?

Well, well.

It seems he is indeed indisposed.

All three unavailable

on this pariticular day -

what a very odd coincidence.

Most curious.

- He's up to something.

- Clearly so.

Hikokuro was the one

who first insisted

that Motome Chijiiwa

be forced to go through with harakiri.

Yazaki was the one

who discovered his blades were bamboo

and insisted he be forced to use them,

and Kawabe was quick to agree.

That's why I urged that he at least

be spared the bamboo blade.

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