Then they stopped in amazement. Before them lay a massive buttress of stone, and in it, plain to see, was a vein of copper ore. The mountain-master prostrated himself before it, as if it were some kami of the mountain. Takara whooped. “You’ve hit the bullseye, my friend!”
“I will call this place Kanki,” replied Tomomochi. It meant “cheers of joy.”
* * *
“So, at least some of what is in the up-timers’ encyclopedias is true,” Tadakatsu told the shogun. “And since we do not allow the Dutch or Portuguese barbarians to roam freely, and we have not given them maps, their detailed descriptions of the geography of Japan must come from the future.”
“Could they not merely have very good diviners?”
“If they have diviners good enough to find copper mines in Nippon, while standing somewhere in Europe, then that is almost as remarkable.”
“The copper will certainly come in handy. What about the gold and silver? And the iron?”
“We have found the iron, too. Near Kamaishi. As to the rest—” Tadakatsu shrugged. “It is disappointing that we haven’t found them yet, but the maps and descriptions are of a very general nature. We must search a dozen ri in every direction from each town mentioned.” A ri was about two and a half miles. “And over mountainous terrain, to boot.
“But in view of our successes with copper and iron, I have ordered that additional surveying parties be sent out to look for the rest of the deposits.”
Beppu, on the Island of Kyushu, Japan
The Christian prisoners stood on the brink of Hell. There were five of them, all peasants, stripped naked, their bodies still bearing the red stripes of the lash.
But even though the sun had set, they weren’t shivering. To the west rose the great caldera of Mount Aso. Far beneath their feet, according to the Shinto priests they disdained, the yama no kami, the mountain spirits, tended gardens of fire in deep grottos. Like seeds blowing in the wind above, seeds of fire escaped from these grottos and heated the nearby lakes to fever pitch.
The kirishitan were held on the rocks above one such cauldron: Chino-ike Jigoku, the Hell of Boiling Blood. Steam rose from its rust-colored surface, first in wisps and then in great billows, and the air smelled of rotten eggs. The Hot Springs of Beppu were considered one of the Sandaionsen, the “Three Great Hot Springs” of Japan, but the kirishitan didn’t seem to be admiring the view.
Hasegawa Sadamitsu studied his prisoners, his expression suggesting that he had just bitten into an unripe persimmon. His superior had been broadly hinting that he wanted Sadamitsu to try throwing Christians into a snake pit, as the inquisitor in Arima was wont to do. Sadamitsu was much opposed to the idea. First, he would have to either buy or catch the snakes. Then they would have to be transported to the place of trial, and thrown in the pit. When the Christians’ ordeal had ended, either in death or recantation (or both), someone would have to recover the serpents and bring them back home. And then they would have to be cared for until the next batch of Christians was arrested. If he lost some of the snakes, there would be paperwork to fill out. And if the snake bit one of his men, who then died of the venom . . . more paperwork. Sadamitsu quietly cursed all hotshots who made unnecessary work for their colleagues.
Sadamitsu debated whether he should prod the Christians off the cliff one at a time. That would give the others time to reconsider their position. The shogunate wanted recanters, not martyrs.
On the other hand, it was getting late, and he really, really wanted a cup of sake.
He caught the eye of his second-in-command, and made a broad sweeping motion.
Edo (Tokyo), Japan
“You are sure of your translation?” demanded Sakai Tadakatsu.
“Most sure, my father taught me well.” The speaker was Magome Anjin . . . known to a few as Joseph Adams. His father was William Adams, the English pilot who became a hatamoto, an upper-level retainer, to Ieyasu, Iemitsu’s grandfather. Ieyasu valued William’s advice on dealings with foreigners. After Iemitsu’s recent edict restricting foreign trade, Joseph had thought it prudent to use his mother’s family name, Magome, rather than the English Adams. And the Japanese given name that Ieyasu had conferred on his father. Anjin, “pilot.” Joseph, too, was hatamoto, but he didn’t have any real influence with Iemitsu.
“I will have to think about how to present this to the shogun, and the Council. In the meantime, speak of it to no one without my permission.”
“Of course not. My heritage puts me at risk, if the information creates more ill will against the gaijin.”