It was only natural it would be the Koga, instead of one of the other ninja groups.
He rubbed his palms against his kimono. He was desperate to kill that man. It was obvious that Ieyasu-sama was not pleased with him, and something drastic had to be done to change the situation. Ieyasu-sama had already reduced, changed, or totally eliminated fiefs for other daimyo. Most of these were men who supported Hideyoshi’s heir, but some were part of the Tokugawa camp. They were men Ieyasu-sama didn’t trust or was displeased with. With the bulk of his army still intact after Sekigahara, it was unwise to defy the orders of the new Shogun.
“Damn!” Toyama said. “I want that man dead. It is the only way!”
CHAPTER 7
An evil nature
can reside in a small space.
An atrocious child.
O ne of Okubo’s earliest memories was of seeing a man boiled alive. His father had a special fondness for this type of punishment, and he prescribed it often for miscreants of all types. Okubo couldn’t remember the crime of the first man he saw boiled, but he did remember the event.
In the center of the courtyard of the Okubo villa, a large iron pot was placed. This kind of pot was normally used for cooking vegetable stew for large numbers of troops, but it served admirably for the purposes of Okubo’s father.
On the wooden veranda that encircled three sides of the courtyard, new t
atami
mats were placed. Okubo’s father sat on one of these mats, with his young son at his side. Okubo’s mother pronounced the proceedings “gruesome” and refused to attend the execution.
Okubo remembered that his father, who was a tall, normally phlegmatic man, was very animated and excited about the boiling. He was constantly leaping up to inspect or supervise some aspect of the execution. He directed his vassals as to how to arrange the logs around the pot and where to put the kindling. Then he saton the tatami eating pickled radishes as he waited impatiently for the servants to bring bucket after bucket of water to fill up the pot.
When the condemned man was brought into the courtyard, Okubo’s father personally supervised tying him up before placing him in the pot. The prisoner was crying, and Okubo clearly remembered his father slapping the prisoner and telling him to be a man.
When he returned to the tatami, Okubo’s father explained to him some of the fine points of how the man was tied. Tying up prisoners was one of the skills learned by samurai, but these ties were meant to immobilize a prisoner, not keep him trussed up in a pot. Okubo especially remembered his father telling him not to loop a length of rope around the prisoner’s neck, because he might be able to use it to strangle himself and thereby cut short his misery.
Finally, when all was ready, Okubo’s father ordered the fire lit.
At first the man was relatively stoic, crying softly as the logs surrounding the pot gradually heated up the water within. By the end, the man was screaming for mercy and begging Okubo’s father to end his agony.
At the very end, one of the guards broke ranks and stepped forward with a spear, ready to thrust it into the prisoner to end his suffering. Angrily, Okubo’s father ordered the guard arrested before he could deliver the thrust of mercy. Okubo couldn’t remember what happened to that guard, but he supposed that the guard was himself boiled at a later date. What he did remember was that his father quite enjoyed himself, laughing out loud while the other witnesses to the execution all turned away.
Okubo’s father kept the man in the pot until his flesh started boiling off his bones. Young Okubo and his father sat on the veranda for the entire time this took. Then, when it was all over,Okubo’s father asked his heir if he enjoyed the spectacle. The young Okubo answered, “Hai! Yes!”
When Okubo was around nine, his father conducted a series of disastrous campaigns against his neighboring daimyo. Although he was
He rubbed his palms against his kimono. He was desperate to kill that man. It was obvious that Ieyasu-sama was not pleased with him, and something drastic had to be done to change the situation. Ieyasu-sama had already reduced, changed, or totally eliminated fiefs for other daimyo. Most of these were men who supported Hideyoshi’s heir, but some were part of the Tokugawa camp. They were men Ieyasu-sama didn’t trust or was displeased with. With the bulk of his army still intact after Sekigahara, it was unwise to defy the orders of the new Shogun.
“Damn!” Toyama said. “I want that man dead. It is the only way!”
CHAPTER 7
An evil nature
can reside in a small space.
An atrocious child.
O ne of Okubo’s earliest memories was of seeing a man boiled alive. His father had a special fondness for this type of punishment, and he prescribed it often for miscreants of all types. Okubo couldn’t remember the crime of the first man he saw boiled, but he did remember the event.
In the center of the courtyard of the Okubo villa, a large iron pot was placed. This kind of pot was normally used for cooking vegetable stew for large numbers of troops, but it served admirably for the purposes of Okubo’s father.
On the wooden veranda that encircled three sides of the courtyard, new t
atami
mats were placed. Okubo’s father sat on one of these mats, with his young son at his side. Okubo’s mother pronounced the proceedings “gruesome” and refused to attend the execution.
Okubo remembered that his father, who was a tall, normally phlegmatic man, was very animated and excited about the boiling. He was constantly leaping up to inspect or supervise some aspect of the execution. He directed his vassals as to how to arrange the logs around the pot and where to put the kindling. Then he saton the tatami eating pickled radishes as he waited impatiently for the servants to bring bucket after bucket of water to fill up the pot.
When the condemned man was brought into the courtyard, Okubo’s father personally supervised tying him up before placing him in the pot. The prisoner was crying, and Okubo clearly remembered his father slapping the prisoner and telling him to be a man.
When he returned to the tatami, Okubo’s father explained to him some of the fine points of how the man was tied. Tying up prisoners was one of the skills learned by samurai, but these ties were meant to immobilize a prisoner, not keep him trussed up in a pot. Okubo especially remembered his father telling him not to loop a length of rope around the prisoner’s neck, because he might be able to use it to strangle himself and thereby cut short his misery.
Finally, when all was ready, Okubo’s father ordered the fire lit.
At first the man was relatively stoic, crying softly as the logs surrounding the pot gradually heated up the water within. By the end, the man was screaming for mercy and begging Okubo’s father to end his agony.
At the very end, one of the guards broke ranks and stepped forward with a spear, ready to thrust it into the prisoner to end his suffering. Angrily, Okubo’s father ordered the guard arrested before he could deliver the thrust of mercy. Okubo couldn’t remember what happened to that guard, but he supposed that the guard was himself boiled at a later date. What he did remember was that his father quite enjoyed himself, laughing out loud while the other witnesses to the execution all turned away.
Okubo’s father kept the man in the pot until his flesh started boiling off his bones. Young Okubo and his father sat on the veranda for the entire time this took. Then, when it was all over,Okubo’s father asked his heir if he enjoyed the spectacle. The young Okubo answered, “Hai! Yes!”
When Okubo was around nine, his father conducted a series of disastrous campaigns against his neighboring daimyo. Although he was
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