CONTENTS Writing Down My Rules How I Became Shogun My Rules on Religion Life at the Top Being a Bad Neighbor The Samurai Code My Fiendish Fortress Building My Capital Becoming Very Rich My Lavish Lifestyle My Powerful Death The Way of the Warrior More Fiendish Shoguns Index 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
Writing Down My Rules Writing Down My Rules Writing Down My Rules I am an utterly fiendish shogun I have ruled Japan with an iron fist But I am getting older My son will become shogun when I die Only tough rules will keep him in power So I have decided to write them down to help him be as fiendish as me MY RULES MUST BE WRITTEN CLEARLY The royal scribes shuffle in bowing before me Their hands clasp lacquered writing boxes the suzuri-bako Each scribe picks up an ink stick He grinds it around a well made of traditional ink stone He adds water and dips in his fine weasel-hair brush Stop I shout One of the scribes is using a wolf-hair brush It will totally spoil the effect I feel quite faint My courtier sends for the doctor MY SUBJECTS MUST TELL ME THE TRUTH The doctor hurries in He is also my royal Buddhist priest I ask him how long I have got Will my rules be written before I die He tells me that my body is in chaos There is a bad spirit inside me Get it out I order He is very calm and recites sutras Buddhist texts Then he gives me some green tea Is that it My samurai guards drag the useless doctor away I INSIST ON THE BEST My new doctor is an expert in our traditional kampo medicine He tells me my blood is poor and gives me a drink of cinnamon and hoelen mushroom Then he says I must have needle treatment or acupuncture That’s better The doctor mentions I will need many long needles The scribes look pleased They care about me The doctor first burns a lot of moxi herb Its fumes waft over my body Then he picks up his needles Fabulous Maybe I will live long after all 6
The scribes have written my rules They put down their brushes The ink has dried on their sheets of finest washi bark paper I glow with pride My chief scribe collects the sheets The rules look amazing My work is done I hope my son will be grateful for them OR ELSE 7
