Chapter 12 : Tamashiwari

'Four hours for a cup of tea!' exclaimed Jack as they made their way back

to the Shishi-no-ma under a star-filled night.

'Yes, how wonderful!' enthused Akiko, misinterpreting Jack's

incredulity for awe. 'The ceremony was perfect. The daimyo certainly has a

flair for cha-no-yu, a rare master of sado. You should feel greatly

honoured.'

'I feel greatly sore!' mumbled Jack in English, still suffering from his

knees having locked up after the first hour. 'God forbid tea ever arrives on

our shores!'

'Sorry, what was that?' asked Akiko.

'I said, we have yet to have tea in England,' Jack mistranslated in

Japanese.

'Your countrymen can sail so far, but you don't have tea! How sad to

miss out on such perfection.'

'We have other drinks,' countered Jack, though he had to admit the

drink on-board ship was an acquired taste too.

'Oh, I'm sure they're nice… but what about the Golden Tea Room?'

she continued. 'To think that the daimyo once moved the entire tea room to

the Imperial Palace to entertain the Emperor himself ! We are truly

honoured guests.'

Jack let Akiko talk uninterrupted. The Japanese were usually very

reserved in expressing their emotions and he was happy to see her so

buoyant. While Akiko continued discussing the ceremony with Yamato,

Jack thought about Nijo Castle and its inner palace. He was astounded at

the lengths the daimyo had gone to protect himself. Takatomi was clearly

proud of the new security features he had installed since Dragon Eye's

assassination attempt. Hence the escape challenge the daimyo had arranged

to demonstrate its effectiveness.

'Ninja-proof,' the daimyo had said.

If that were so, reasoned Jack, then the bolt-hole behind the hanging of

the crane was the most secure location to hide the rutter from Dragon Eye.

Certainly far better than under a flimsy futon or in the grounds of the Niten

Ichi Ryū. Besides, the school was the first place the ninja would look. Jack

realized he had no choice but to somehow arrange a return visit to the castle

and hide the logbook.

'KIAI!' screamed Akiko.

Her fist slammed into the solid block of wood.

And rebounded…

The strike looked exceedingly painful and Jack winced for her. Akiko

cradled her hand, tears welling up in her eyes, her joy of the previous night

completely extinguished by their first class of the day, taijutsu.

'Next!' shouted Sensei Kyuzo, without a hint of sympathy.

Akiko knelt back in line to allow Jack to take up position in front of

the short rectangular plank. The cedar was as thick as his thumb and

appeared indestructible with bare hands. Still Sensei Kyuzo had placed it

upon two stable blocks in the middle of the Butokuden and instructed every

student to break the board with their fists.

So far no one had even dented it.

Jack clenched his right hand in preparation to strike. With all his

might, he drove his arm down on to the cedar plank. His fist collided with

the block, sending a shuddering jolt up his arm. The wood didn't even

splinter, but Jack felt as if every bone in his hand had shattered.

'Pathetic,' snarled Sensei Kyuzo, waving him dismissively back into

line.

Jack rejoined the rest of class, who were all nursing bruised hands and

aching arms.

'Iron is full of impurities that weaken it,' lectured Sensei Kyuzo,

ignoring the suffering of his students. 'Through forging, it becomes steel

and is transformed into a razor-sharp sword. Samurai develop in the same

fashion. Those wishing to prove they're strong enough to be chosen for the

Circle of Three will be required to break through three such blocks, at the

same time.'

Sensei Kyuzo suddenly attacked the cedar block, dropping his tiny

body downwards and driving his fist through the wood with a shout of

'KIAI!'

CRACK! The cedar split in two as if it were no more than a chopstick.

'You're all merely iron waiting to be forged into mighty warriors,'

continued Sensei Kyuzo without skipping a beat, 'and your forge is

tamashiwari, Trial by Wood.'

He looked pointedly in Jack's direction.

'It's just that some of you have more impurities than others,' he added

as he strode over to one of the Butokuden's mighty wooden pillars.

Jack bit down on his lip, determined not to rise to the sensei's bait.

'Like iron, you must beat out these weaknesses,' Sensei Kyuzo

explained, indicating a pad of rice straw bound by cord at chest height to

the pillar.

He punched it with his fist. The wooden column boomed deeply under

the force of the blow.

'This is a makiwara. I've set up these striking posts on each pillar of

the training hall. You're to hit these repeatedly to strengthen the bones in

your hands. It's good conditioning for all samurai. Twenty punches each.

Begin!'

Jack lined himself up behind Saburo, who was already preparing to

make his first strike.

'One!' shouted Saburo, working himself up for the punch.

Saburo's fist collided with the straw pad. There was a crunch followed

by a feeble groan as his hand crumpled against the rigid pillar. Saburo, his

eyes screwed up in pain, stepped aside for Jack.

'Your turn,' he moaned through gritted teeth.

'Three blocks!' exclaimed Saburo, who was having trouble holding his

hashi during dinner that evening. He wiggled his fingers trying to get

movement back into his bruised hand. 'I'm glad it's you and not me going

for the Circle of Three. One's hard enough. How on earth are you supposed

to break three blocks?'

'You think Trial by Wood's hard? This is only the beginning. We're

being judged on three other trials too,' said Yamato, putting down his rice

bowl.

He nodded towards the head table, where their kyujutsu teacher sat.

Sensei Yosa, the only female samurai among the teachers and their

instructor in the Art of the Bow, was looking as radiant as ever, the ruby-red

scar that cut across her right cheek discreetly hidden behind her beautiful

mane of black hair. 'I've heard Sensei Yosa's Trial by Fire is to snuff out a

candle.'

'That doesn't sound so bad,' said Jack, his hand also stiff as he

struggled to pick up a piece of sashimi from the centre plate.

'No, but in order to prove your skill for the Circle you have to do it

with an arrow, fired at long distance.'

Jack dropped his sashimi in disbelief.

'At this rate, none of you will be entering the Circle,' observed Kiku.

Jack glumly retrieved his piece of fish from the table. Kiku was

probably right. His own archery skills were passable, but he knew he had

little hope of achieving such a feat as Trial by Fire.

'Do you know what the other two trials are? Are they any easier?'

asked Jack hopefully.

'Sensei Yamada is setting a Trial by Koan,' revealed Akiko. 'Our

answer to the question will be used to assess our intellect.'

'Yori, you'd better be careful,' said Saburo, arching his eyebrows into

a look of serious concern. 'As the king of solving koans, you might be

entered for the Circle whether you like it or not!'

Yori looked up from his bowl of miso soup, a startled expression on

his face.

'Stop teasing him!' scolded Kiku.

Saburo shrugged an apology before slurping appreciatively on his

noodles.

'So what's the final trial?' asked Jack.

'That's Sensei Hosokawa's Trial by Sword,' answered Akiko. 'To test

our courage.'

'I've heard the older students call it the Gauntlet,' added Saburo.

'Why's that?' asked Jack.

'I don't know, but I'm sure you'll find out.'