chapter 3

 

            A lone cloud hastened across the sky. Swiftly, the winds dissipated it to vapor, then it was gone, like the mirage from some nebulous dream. Shinyasu stood in the chamber, staring through the narrow window. All that remained him was desolation. Within this emptiness he feebly searched for something he sensed was forever elusive.

            He closed his eyes, and hand sliding down the wall, he sat down. Memories of his homeland and of his family echoed in him, especially of his parents. He muttered, speaking to his mother who was hundreds of miles away, "Please forgive me, for failing you."

            Haunted by nostalgia and aching regrets, eventually Shinyasu's posture slumped, and he fell into a battered daze.

            Perhaps an hour later, the guard dredged him up from oblivion, by opening the door and announcing:

            "Good morning, Prince Shinyasu. A company of servants and maikos wish to escort you to the bathhouse, if you are up for it. There will be tea, music, and rice wine as well."

            The information registered groggily to Shinyasu. Why was any of this being offered? It felt utterly pointless. Despite his sorry state though, he saw no reason to refuse. Shunning such generosity would be rude.

 

            The group that came for him consisted of three housemen - one being an old man by the name of Tadoro - and three maikos, all lovely and arrayed exquisitely. Their demeanors and the way they spoke to him was so pleasant, it was as if there was a ray of light, even if faint, that reached Shinyasu through his mournful haze.

            Through the donjon halls the entourage guided him, then down a flight of stairs, and across a courtyard enclosed by the inner castle walls. Further was a multicolored garden, more enchanting than any Shinyasu had beheld. Maples, black pines, willows, and camellias shaded the paths, which were lined by azaleas and other flowering shrubs. Near the heart of the garden was a large pond, reflecting the sky and surrounding gardens like a mirror.

            Standing on a small pier over the pond was a woman, swathed in a pale lavender kimono and a pink sash. She was looking away, over the waters; her dark hair streamed nigh to her waist. As they approached, she turned and greeted them.

            "It is an honor to meet you, Prince Shinyasu." She bowed. "I am Isae."

            Her beauty was like that of a new morning. Shinyasu was speechless. Her eyes were calm, with an alluring glimmer.

            "Would you care to remain here with me, while the others go to prepare the baths?" she asked.

            Still at a loss for words, Shinyasu consented, and went to stand at her side, on the pier, in the dappled light and shade under extending maple boughs. The company departed. Alone, for a spell neither of them spoke; instead they simply contemplated the pond, which undulated slightly with the breeze.

            "It is such a lovely day, neh?" Isae sighed, then stepped nearer the platform's edge. Close to her, Shinyasu appreciated the koi fishes' bright mottled colors, and the weaving song of birds. Isae recounted some anecdotes about the gardens, such as the inspiration a renowned artist drew from the environs. Shinyasu remained silent. The young woman's carefree nature amazed him, and raised his spirits.

            "We can sit, if you prefer." She motioned to a cushioned mat set near the end of the pier.

            While sitting there, Shinyasu ventured, "You like poetry, Isae-san?"

            She looked at him, rather surprised. "How do you know?"

            "Just a guess, I suppose," he said. "If it is alright, I would very much like to hear a poem of yours."

            Isae smiled. Then she pondered the request, for the first time, appearing uncertain, even a touch nervous.

            "What about a haiku?" she asked

            "That would be perfect."

            She considered it a moment longer, then recited:

 

            Birds of spring return.

            Under clouds, pines, rest, embrace,

            Always, I find you

 

            Shinyasu closed his eyes. "It is beautiful," he said

            She thanked him, then asked, "Shinasyu-sama, you are a poet, neh?"

            He looked into the waters, "Once, ... I used to try."

            Isae and Shinyasu continued sitting together. Ducks crossed the sky, a few alighting in the pond. The way the breeze rustled the maples and shimmered the pond's surface was increasingly mesmerizing. Shinyasu gazed at Isae's profile.

            When one of the maikos returned, they guided him to the bathhouse. Here were a series of large rooms with baths. Tadaro explained that the thermal water originated from hot springs in the foothills of the Yoshino Mountains, and was channeled to the castle. The most luxurious bath had been selected for Shinyasu alone. It kept a vista of the forests beyond Fujiyama's walls. Bluish in the distance were the Yoshino Mountains, still snowcapped.

            Shinyasu disrobed and entered the bath. The maikos washed him, then provided cold tea. By virtue of their delicate kindness and good nature, he knew they were trying to console him.

            Once alone in the bath, he leaned back in surrender. Amidst a dreamy state, Shinyasu was on the verge of dozing off when one of the maikos began to gently run her fingers through his hair, and massage his temples. She whispered to him. It was Isae. So he could continue to hear her soothing voice, he asked her to talk to him about anything she wanted. She spoke of the Yoshino Mountains, and of her hometown, that existed not far from there, including things such as the festivals they celebrated.

            "Can I offer you some rice wine, Shinyasu-sama?" she offered. "Or anything else, to help you enjoy the baths, and relax more?"

            "What I have been given today is already more than I could ever ask for."

            Isae nodded. All the same, she massaged his neck and shoulders. With her hands resting on his shoulders, they gazed across the horizon. He put one of his hands over one of hers.

            "Thank you, Isae-san."

 

            After the bath, Shinyasu was given a new, handsome kimono of indigo-blue to wear. While he sat on a stool, Isae oiled and combed his hair, and tied it in a topknot. With the bathhouse concluded, instead of returning to the donjon chambers where he was being kept prisoner, Shinyasu's hosts guided him through a separate courtyard, down a corridor, and into a very large daimyo room decorated with gold-leaf walls painted with landscapes of trees amid autumn foliage. Cushions had been set on the floor. Shinyasu remained with one houseman while the rest of the company withdrew. He wondered where they had gone, but the houseman would not say.

            Shortly after, one of the sliding walls was opened from the middle by the two other housemen. A veranda was revealed, and a jewel of a flowering garden. The maikos reentered, conveying trays with flasks of rice wine and drinking bowls. Last came Isae. She wore a purple kimono now, and had applied a touch of makeup; in her hair was a kanzashi ornament of hydrangea flowers.

            Wine was served and everyone drank, including Shinyasu. To the cadence of the maikos chanting and slow thudding of two small taiko drums, Isae performed Dance of the Violet Irises. In unison, the maikos voices provided the story: It expressed Ame-no-hime's tale, a forest spirit who fell in love with a mortal man. Sadly, because she was a spirit, the man could not see her, and did not even know she existed. Consulting with the gods of forest, Ame-no-hime learned that if she could find a violet iris growing in the fields by the Senjin River, and took it with her, he would be able to see her, and would fall in love with her; and if she gave it to him, he would become her husband.

            Seasons passed, and Ame-no-hime could not find such a violet iris; still, she never gave up. In synchrony with the tale, Isae moved slowly, stepping, and making dramatic gestures, her expression set. The display mesmerized Shinyasu. When Ame-no-hime finally found a violet iris in the fields by Senjin River, she was so overjoyed, she started back right away to find the mortal man. However, when crossing a high pass in the Blue Mountains, jealous Goryo spirits besieged her path with a winter blizzard. The winds howled fiercely, but Ame-no-hime protected the iris and held onto it. Angry at her steadfastness, the Goryo spirits froze her, locked her in ice, and piled much snow over her.

            Many seasons later, after benevolent spirits drove off the jealous Goryo spirits, the snow thawed, and Ame-no-hime was eventually freed. Miraculously, the iris was with her still. Thus she returned to the forest, to find him. Until reaching the village where he lived, she did not realize that myriad of years had passed while she had been trapped in frozen sleep. Entire kingdoms had risen and fallen. The man she loved was long departed from this world. At this point in the dance, Isae walked, swaying in sorrow, and burying her eyes to her sleeves as if weeping. Thus Ame-no-hime returned to her forest, grief-stricken that she would never be able to be with the one she felt her heart belonged to.

            More years passed. Extraordinarily, the iris never wilted, and thus she kept it, dear to her, a dream she could never let go of. One day while she wandered the forests, a man approached her and spoke with her. Although it was impossible that he be the same one she had sought, he looked very familiar. Then she realized it was him - his same spirit. After ages, this spirit had been reincarnated in another body. And the reason he could see her now was because in her hand was the violet iris. Ame-no-hime had had to search for him through lifetimes, as his spirit had searched for her. At long last, their paths had come together, and they had found one another.

 

            Upon the conclusion of the performance, Isae and the maikos were praised. Everyone's drinking bowls were refilled. They toasted and talked of many things, but nothing remotely divisive or troubling. It was as if there was no war being fought, and today was just an afternoon among good friends, where worries did not exist.

            The afternoon grew later, and each of them had had several cups, when the mood for music took them. One of the maikos brought Isae a koto. Isae sat on a cushion in the center of the room, tuning the strings, before she played, Song of the Skies. This particular song had always moved Shinyasu, yet more so now interpreted by Isae's talents. Nevertheless, he remained composed.

            When she had finished, he complimented her, "You are beautiful, Isae-san. Art of the nature you possess only comes once."

            She thanked him. "It is an honor to play for you, Shinyasu-sama. I know your appreciation runs deep."

            As the company conversed, and Shinyasu sipped from his wine cup, a pensive melancholy took him. "Truly, I wish I had been born in another time," he said. "Instead of being a daimyo involved in imperial affairs, I would have much rather had the chance to live a normal life, in the countryside, ... perhaps have a family ..."

            The others did not know what to respond. Isae merely nodded, seeing him with understanding.

            It was when the sun neared the meridian when four guards arrived at the door to escort Shinyasu back to the quarters of imprisonment. This signaled the time had come for the entourage to take their leave. They said their goodbyes.

            "Please, extend my heartfelt thanks to General Daihara," Shinyasu entrusted Tadaro.

            Isae and the others had risen, and were on the verge of departing, when Shinyasu put forth, "If there is one thing I could ask you, Isae-san, ... it would be to see you again."

            For several breaths, Isae did not move or speak.

            "I would like to ... Prince Shinyasu, ..." she stuttered. Then she bowed. "I shall return, ... to see you."

            The guards waited at Shinyasu's side as he watched her go.

            Standing outside on the veranda, Isae turned sidelong, looking at him, a gleam in her eyes, and then she was gone.