How Could Poverty Be So Absolute

In the early morning of April 6th, Eiroku 2, Yamauchi Kazutoyo woke in a thatched hut in Takada Village.

This hut, with only two rooms from front to back, had been provided by Maeno Tokiyuki for Yamauchi Kazutoyo and his two retainers to live in.

He went to the door, snapped off a willow branch, stripped away its outer bark to expose the fibers, then squatted by the river and brushed his teeth with the well water in his bowl.

Several months had passed since he had come to this world. Though Yamauchi Kazutoyo had gradually adapted to everything about Japan's Warring States era, there were still some modern habits he could not shake—brushing his teeth, for instance.

Influenced by China, ancient Japan also had a habit of brushing teeth, but it had never become widespread among the common folk. Only certain monks maintained the practice.

"Kichibē, bring out some salt!"

"Coming!"

Eight-year-old Goto Kichibē quickly dug out a cloth bundle and carefully scraped out a little salt with his fingertips.

"My lord, there isn't much salt left at home." Kichibē smeared the salt from his fingers onto Yamauchi Kazutoyo's teeth.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo gave his teeth a rough brushing with the willow twig, then rose to his feet. "There'll be a market in the temple town before Bright Light Temple in two days. Go buy some then."

"Come on, let's get to the fields."

Yamauchi Kazutoyo hoisted the hoe from the corner of the wall and headed for the fields.

The five tan of land Maeno Tokiyuki had given Yamauchi Kazutoyo were all excellent rice paddies. This place lay beside the Kiso River, with ample water nearby.

April was precisely the season for sowing and raising seedlings. If they missed the season and waited until May, it would be too late to transplant the rice.

Sobue Kan'emon and Goto Joki had already been working in the fields for some time. Neither had wanted Yamauchi Kazutoyo to personally do such rough labor, but he had insisted on helping.

The fields were filled with farmers bent with their faces to the earth and backs to the sky. From time to time, someone lifted his head to curiously look at the unfamiliar Yamauchi Kazutoyo, only to soon lower it and return to work.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo had been born into a farming family in his previous life as well. As a child, he had often gone into the fields with his maternal grandparents. Rolling up his trouser legs, he stepped straight into the muddy water.

"You've already sown this much?"

Dense rice seeds were scattered everywhere across the paddy. At first glance, they seemed haphazard, but on closer inspection, Yamauchi Kazutoyo could see there was much hidden method to them.

Goto Joki straightened his back. Being older, he had to rest after working for a while.

"My lord, leave the sowing to the two of us. You and Kichibē only need to clear the weeds around the fields."

Holding a handful of rice seeds, Yamauchi Kazutoyo said unconcernedly, "It's just sowing seeds. It isn't some technical task."

"Not necessarily." Sobue Kan'emon looked up. "Lord Maeno gave us fifteen sho of rice seed. When the autumn harvest comes, we'll have to pay annual tribute based on that amount."

The area sown by one sho of rice seed was called one sho-maki. Where land had not been surveyed, the area covered by the seed was used as the unit for taxation.

In truth, even Maeno Tokiyuki did not know exactly how large the five tan of land he had given Yamauchi Kazutoyo truly were. He had merely estimated it from the annual tribute paid in the past.

"Last night, I roughly measured it with my steps. The actual area of these paddies definitely exceeds five tan, so we need to scatter the seeds more sparsely. Otherwise, it'll be easy for them to spot something amiss." Sobue Kan'emon blinked.

Now Yamauchi Kazutoyo understood. So this was a case of policies from above, countermeasures from below.

If the rice seeds were scattered too densely, they would not cover the entire paddy. Then, in Maeno Tokiyuki's eyes, this paddy would exceed the five tan represented by fifteen sho-maki, and the excess would be taken back, since Maeno Tokiyuki had only granted them five tan.

At the same time, they could not scatter the seeds too sparsely. If there were seeds left over, Maeno Tokiyuki would become suspicious again, because in his mind, this paddy was supposed to be exactly enough for fifteen sho of seed.

Put simply, they had to make sure the fifteen sho of seed covered the whole paddy exactly—not too much, and not too little.

"Fine. You sow the seeds; I'll weed!"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo stopped insisting and began pulling weeds from the edges of the paddies with Kichibē.

At dawn, they rose to tend the wild growth; beneath the moon, they returned bearing their hoes.

After a busy day, Yamauchi Kazutoyo returned home and dug out the cold rice left from the morning, warming it up casually.

"Good thing it isn't too hot. The rice hasn't gone sour."

Sobue Kan'emon lifted his bowl and only began moving his chopsticks after Yamauchi Kazutoyo started eating.

"This miso soup tastes off. Didn't you add salt, Kichibē?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo asked after taking a sip.

Kichibē's nose stung, and tears began to glimmer in his eyes. "Mother always did the cooking before. It was my first time, and I didn't get the amount right. Please forgive me, my lord."

Goto Joki's hand paused. Hearing Kichibē mention Lady Goto left a bitter feeling in his heart as well.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo patted Kichibē's shoulder, poured the miso soup into his bowl, and heartily began eating his rice soaked in soup.

"Delicious!"

At his words, Kichibē smiled again.

Tonight's dinner consisted of a bowl of brown rice per person, cooked ahead of time before they had left that morning. The side dish was two small plates of dried daikon, shared among the four of them.

Owari produced daikon in abundance, and daikon was also called daikon.

The plain where Matsukura Castle stood was called Kakamigahara. It was an alluvial plain formed by the convergence of three rivers, with fertile land. Several decades earlier, Kakamigahara had introduced a new daikon variety from Settsu. This daikon, later known as Moriguchi daikon, was distinguished by its exceptionally long root.

After dinner, Sobue went to wash the bowls, while Goto Joki began taking stock of their "savings" with Yamauchi Kazutoyo.

Goto Joki poured all the copper coins onto the ground at once, picking through them one by one. "My lord, we have 372 mon left."

"Other than ninety-one bad coins, the rest are all Emperor Song Tongbao and Yongle Tongbao."

Since Japan lacked mature minting techniques, the coins circulating within the country were all imported from China—"coins that had come across."

After the Ningbo Tribute Dispute erupted more than a decade ago, the Ming dynasty severed tally trade with Japan. As a result, high-quality copper coins within Japan had become increasingly scarce, while crudely minted "bad coins" produced by the various daimyo had begun to flood the market.

"Give these sixty mon to my lord first. Buy some salt at the market in two days, then use all the rest to buy rice."

The rice Sobue Kan'emon had borrowed from the villagers had already been eaten. What Yamauchi Kazutoyo and the others were eating now was the ration Maeno Tokiyuki had provided, but it was only enough for one month. After that, the Yamauchi family would have to buy its own rice.

"After we finish sowing the rice seeds tomorrow, I'd like to try my luck at the port outside Matsukura Castle and see whether I can get the swords sharpened." Goto Joki pulled his own sword from a box and set it before him.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo also removed the sword from his waist and handed it over. "Take mine too."

Swords needed maintenance, or they would rust. Other weapons and armor, such as suits of armor and Japanese bows, were the same. The maintenance process was also quite involved. Not everyone knew how to do such delicate work, so they had to spend money hiring craftsmen who specialized in it.

In the Kyoto region, some highly skilled craftsmen had even formed their own distinct schools.

"That means spending another few dozen mon." Goto Joki looked pained.

"I say we should sell the firearm instead. There's no shortage of buyers for it in Owari, and there aren't any merchant guilds interfering here!" Sobue Kan'emon said as he returned from washing the bowls.

In those days, goods were monopolized everywhere by organizations known as guilds. It was difficult for ordinary people to sell anything, and they had to pay hefty commodity taxes. Goods monopolized by guilds simply could not enter the market.

Of course, they could sell things secretly, but that usually meant bartering between neighboring villages. For large transactions, they would be discovered as soon as they passed a checkpoint.

Take Osaka to Kyoto, for example. The road was only a few dozen ri long, yet there were more than a hundred tax checkpoints along it.

Thus, in the Warring States era, it was absolutely impossible to make a fortune through trade—unless a powerful daimyo or major temple stood behind you.

"No!" Goto Joki flatly refused. "If fighting breaks out later, with that firearm, my lord won't have to risk his life as an ordinary ashigaru."

"By the way, my lord, do you know how to use a firearm?" Goto Joki asked.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo shook his head. Before coming here, he had only seen such things in books and on television. He had plenty of theoretical knowledge in his head, but zero practical experience.

After the firearm had been brought to Tanegashima by the Ming dynasty merchant Wang Zhi in 1542, it had gradually begun spreading throughout Japan over more than a decade of development.

Although Sakai Port in the Kinai region and Kunitomo Village in Omi had already begun producing imitations on a large scale, prices remained high. A single Kunitomo firearm could now sell for more than ten kan, and ordinary people could not buy one even if they had the money.

"When there's time, have Kan'emon teach my lord. Firearms are wonderful things. Once a lead ball is fired, even the fiercest warrior has to fall." Goto Joki sighed.

The three lord and retainers fantasized about the future for a while longer, while Kichibē beside them had already grown drowsy from listening.

"It's late. Let's sleep first."

"Alright!"

Lying on the straw mat, Yamauchi Kazutoyo tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Life was peaceful now, but there was no hope in sight at all. Any sudden upheaval could cause the Yamauchi family to lose everything once more.

I still need to wait for an opportunity.

Thinking that, Yamauchi Kazutoyo finally fell into a deep sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, Maeno Tokiyuki was already sitting inside the hut.

"Uncle, why are you here?!" Yamauchi Kazutoyo immediately sat up from the straw mat and kept straightening the hem of his clothes.

Maeno Tokiyuki wore a mournful expression. "Iemon, something terrible has happened."

"I'm afraid I can't keep letting you cultivate these five tan of land."

Yamauchi Kazutoyo was greatly alarmed and hurriedly asked for the reason.

After hearing Maeno Tokiyuki's explanation, Yamauchi Kazutoyo finally understood. So Maeno Tokiyuki had run into the execution threshold too.