foredeck and sank to their knees as Toshiro Hase-Gawa appeared in full
ceremonial armour astride a proud, stout-legged pony.
They were an imposing sight. Toshiro's body-armour was made up of
black lacquered plates edged with gold and fastened together with cords
of crimson silk; on his head, a matching helmet with a wide, flaring
brim. On the front of the helmet, cut from a circle of polished
bronze, was the emblem of the present Shogun - the raised wings, breast
and crested head of a long-necked wading bird.
The pony's trappings were of the same stamp and splendour. Its dappled
body was caparisoned in black and gold; its mane and tail braided with
crimson cords and tassels. The bamboo poles carrying Toshiro's
personal banners were now mounted in leather sockets attached to the
backplate of his body-armour, the tall narrow bands of silk fluttering
and snapping in the sea-breeze.
The spectators on shore fell to their knees as Toshiro directed his
steed down the ramp, then pressed their foreheads to the ground as he
passed by. Their obeisance was a sign of the reverence accorded to the
Shogun and the government officials who, under his guidance, ordered
the affairs of their nation. A reverence accorded but also demanded.
Had Toshiro been ill received, he could have called for the immediate
execution of anyone deemed guilty of insolent behaviour and indeed, as
he had demonstrated in the past, was quite capable of carrying out the
sentence himself.
Toshiro let the pony take him slowly through the village at a pace
known among samurai horsemen as the 'parade trot' - a jaunty,
high-stepping walk. The laws that obliged the lower ranks to push
their noses into the dirt also obliged their superiors to conduct
themselves with a certain style. When he had passed the last prostrate
inhabitant, he spurred the pony into a canter along the winding road
that led to Yedo.
The road swung from side to side of a narrow, ragged peninsula which,
in the mind of the Shogun, formed the upper half of his fish-island's
forked tail. To Toshiro's right, waves from the Eastern Sea broke
gently on the smoothly curving shore. To his left, the land was eaten
away by backwaters and bays, some of which had joined to form islands
linked at low tide by threads of rock and sand. Ahead lay a forty-mile
stretch of open road. The pony, responding to his urging, lengthened
its stride.
Behind him, the tall slender poles arched gracefully, their narrow
banners with their word-signs and emblems ironed flat by the wind.
Toshiro Hase-Oawa was a Herald of the Inner Court, one of a small,
select band of samurai who received their instructions from and
