November 1633
The senior members of the Roju, the Council of Elders, were assembled in the yobeya, the “business office” of the shogunate. It was in the central citadel of Edo Castle, near the shogun’s daytime apartment. The councilmen in attendance were Inaba Masakatsu, Naito Tadashige, Morikawa Shigetoshi, Aoyama Ukinari, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Abe Tadaaki, and Sakai Tadakatsu.
A page entered, and announced the impending arrival of the shogun. The Roju made the appropriate obeisance and Iemitsu entered.
Iemitsu cleared his throat. “You are of course aware that an extraordinary event has been reported to have occurred in the land of the Southern Barbarians. A so-called ‘Ring of Fire’ transported a town from four hundred years in the future into our time. And from the place the Barbarians call ‘America’ to their Europe.
“The Dutch and Portuguese agree that this Ring of Fire is real, and they also agree that such a prodigy could only be the result of divine action. Such agreement on the part of barbarians so hostile to each other is of course a miracle in itself.
“While they did not dare to say so to us, I am sure that they credit it to their Christ. We of course know that it must be the result of the action of the buddhas, or the kami, or perhaps both acting in concert.
“It is of course essential that we fully understand the significance of this event in the context of Ryobu Shinto.” The term referred to the amalgamation of the Shinto and Buddhist religions, peculiar to Japan.
“We believe that this requires firsthand observation. But even if there was a barbarian whom we trusted, they are all ignorant of the true nature of the universe, and could not be expected to make intelligent observations. Hence, we have decided that a proper religious delegation must be sent to this, this Grantville.
“So, I have decided to license a Dutch ship to sail under the Red Seal, and bear my embassy to Amsterdam, and, ultimately, to Grantville.” He paused, then added nonchalantly. “While the delegation is in Grantville they can of course also consider whether the up-timers have any suitable gifts for us. Like the ‘rain poncho.’ Or the ‘barometer.’” “Gifts” was a euphemism for trade goods, it being uncouth for any of the bakufu, let alone the shogun, to show open interest in any mercantile dealings. The bakufu were the ruling class, that is, the shogun’s close relations, high shogunate officials, and the daimyo and their most powerful retainers.
Osaka, Japan
“So, is it ready yet?” asked Takara.
“Not yet,” Tomomochi replied. They stood outside a swordsmith’s shop. There, they could hear the impacts of the hammers as the swordsmiths pursued their sacred art. In his mind’s eye, Tomomochi could picture them. They wore robes, like those of Shinto priests, and their work area was marked off by a rope from which paper streamers hung, like the enclosure of a Shinto shrine.
A messenger had come from the capital a few weeks ago, informing Tomomochi that in view of his discovery of the great new copper mine, he had been awarded the right to wear the daisho, the “long and short.” A commoner usually could only carry the short blade, the wakizashi, and then only when authorized to do so by a travel permit. Only samurai, and a few privileged non-samurai, had the right to carry the longsword, the katana.
“Have you decided on the tsuba design?” The tsuba was the sword guard, and would be made by another craftsman.
“An ‘igeta,’ of course.” The igeta was the frame placed around a country well. A stylized igeta, four crossed lines in a diamond pattern, appeared on the shop-sign of Riemon Soga’s smithy in Kyoto, and also, of course, on that of Tomomochi’s satellite establishment in Osaka. Both of their stores were named Izumi-ya, that is, “spring-shop.”
Tomomochi’s thoughts went to the other news brought by the messenger. News of risk and opportunity. He had been invited to join a mission halfway around the world, to study the arts of Grantville. Not one Japanese in ten thousand even knew the name, so closely had the shogunate guarded the information about it. But he had been told that the general location of the copper mine he had found had been divulged in a book from Grantville, a book supposedly written hundreds of years in the future. And that the shogunate had resolved to find out if Grantville really came from the future, the spiritual significance of its appearance, and finally, whether they had any useful arts which the Japanese should acquire. As it had acquired gunsmithing from the Portuguese almost a century ago. The messenger hinted that the up-time craftsmen exceeded the Portuguese as much as the Japanese did the primitive Ainu to the north.