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[Continuing chapter 2]
“Your men fight very well,” Lord Hosokawa said to Lord Naitō. He wiped his blade on the short kimono of the dead captain, then sheathed it. “I have been introduced to your warriors, lord, but not to yourselves. This person is Hosokawa Katsunata.” Lord Hosokawa bowed as to an equal.
Lord Naitō returned the bow in kind; Lord Matsukata’s bow was just a bit more respectful. “You represent a very powerful clan,” Lord Naitō said. “Are you one of the arms master’s men, then?”
Lord Hosokawa smiled, though Hiroki thought the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I am my own man, Lord Naitō. My friendship with the Lady Tomiko is for its own sake. And you, I take it, are from the provinces on an embassy to—?”
Lord Naitō had stiffened at Lord Hosokawa’s claim to be his own man, but now he relaxed a bit. With a sigh only a little exaggerated he said, “We were sent here to negotiate with the shōgun. Now we learn there is not one shōgun but two. And neither of them controls the capital. So we are improvising as best we can.”
Hiroki saw townspeople beginning to appear in the street again, though none approached the intersection in which the fight had taken place. The bodies had to be removed, of course, before normal activities could begin again. But nobody but outcastes could touch the dead, and Hiroki saw no signs that anyone was prepared to send for some. Not your problem, he reminded himself.
“I do not pretend to understand what is happening in the provinces,” Lord Hosokawa said. “But what could you possibly gain from the shōgun? Neither of the contenders can control the capital, much less the countryside.”
“There is something to be gained for all that,” said Lord Matsukata. For a moment Hiroki was worried that the lord was going to be intemperate, but Lord Naitō resolved the issue by interrupting.
“All we seek is an understanding that the Ashikaga clan will not object to our Lord’s supremacy in our province. The Ashikaga ancestral lands are in the south-east of Kozuke,” he added when Lord Hosokawa looked confused. “Ashikaga approval will be taken to mean the emperor’s approval.”
“And so the weaker may overthrow the stronger,” Lord Hosokawa said. Hiroki grimaced; he had heard this phrase too many times in reference to the turmoil affecting the provinces. That it was true in Lord Tanuma’s case made it even more awkward to hear.
Lord Naitō had no qualms, apparently, for he smiled and nodded his head at the boy. Who thought for a moment, then smiled back, broadly. “My lords,” he said, “might one ask where you are residing during your stay in the capital?”
“We are guests of Shōkokuji,” Lord Naitō said. “I was surprised to see how many of the capital’s temples still haven’t been rebuilt. How many years has it been?”
“Over fifty,” Lord Hosokawa said. “There is a certain reluctance to rebuild, given the frequency of fires in the city.”
Fires started by warriors, Hiroki thought. We might be provincials, but we take care of our home. Once again he found himself wondering who was caring for the capital.
“Please permit me to suggest that a temple is not an appropriate residence for an embassy to the government,” Lord Hosokawa said. “Would you consider moving into one of my houses? I own more properties in the city than I can possibly occupy. If you were to accept one of my mansions—on a formal rental basis,” he added, as Lord Naitō moved to object, “then I would be honoured. And my servants would have useful work, for which they would thank you.”
Lord Matsukata was inclined to object, but he was easily overridden by Lord Naitō’s curiosity about life in a mansion, whatever he may have said against mansions this morning. Another factor, Hiroki guessed, was Lord Naitō’s dislike of the smell of mold and mildew polluting the futon they had been given by the monks.
Nor did it hurt that the mansion Lord Hosokawa escorted them to was only half the distance to the arms master’s mansion as was Shōkokuji.
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