Uncharted Waters IV Is So Much Fun!

Though he said he was troubled, the moment Yamauchi Kazutoyo left Hachisuka Estate, he tossed the gloom in his heart beyond the nine heavens.

His greatest worry had been that he had no way to seek service under Oda Nobunaga. Yet this trip to Inagi Estate had shown Yamauchi Kazutoyo that there were many warriors like himself, men whose talents had gone unrecognized.

Joining Oda Nobunaga's ranks would be a shortcut for Yamauchi Kazutoyo, but a man could not spend his life thinking only of shortcuts.

Even Toyotomi Hideyoshi of history had served Oda Nobunaga as a lowly attendant for several years before rising to prominence. Why should he be able to leap from ronin to winning Oda Nobunaga's regard in a single bound?

First, he had to prove his abilities, earn a measure of recognition, and make a name for himself.

At the very least, when he introduced himself in the future, the first thing people thought of upon hearing "Yamauchi Kazutoyo" should not be the Yamauchi clan, retainers of the Iwakura Oda clan, but Yamauchi Kazutoyo himself.

Having sorted this out, Yamauchi Kazutoyo felt even more fired up.

Maeno Village.

"Oh, it's Iemon!"

"Have you settled things with Koroku already?"

Maeno Muneyasu did not seem surprised to see Yamauchi Kazutoyo come calling again.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo carried two fish in his hands, freshly caught from the little river at the village entrance. Kuroda Township likewise bordered the Kiso River, and having practically grown up soaking in the water, Yamauchi Kazutoyo was an excellent swimmer.

"When I first came yesterday, it was on official business, so I did not dare present a gift to Lord Jikan."

"Today, I have come again to pay a visit, so I hope Lord Jikan will not disdain this humble offering," Yamauchi Kazutoyo said respectfully.

Maeno Muneyasu smiled lightly and motioned for an attendant nearby to accept the gift, then gestured for Yamauchi Kazutoyo to sit before him.

"Iemon, you're quite a clever lad."

"Go on, then. What do you need my help with this time?" Maeno Muneyasu picked up the tea from the low table and took a sip. It was a little weak.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo bowed. "Lord Jikan is highly respected throughout the countryside and deeply versed in Chinese learning. Might I be fortunate enough to attend the poetry appreciation gathering hosted by Lord Jikan?"

"A poetry appreciation gathering?" Maeno Muneyasu paused, then said, "When did I ever say... Ah, so that's what you're after."

"It is not a bad idea. But why should I help you?" Maeno Muneyasu looked at Yamauchi Kazutoyo with a smile that was not quite a smile.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo answered neither humbly nor arrogantly, "At this point, this is no longer my affair alone."

"Whether Lord Jikan acknowledges it or not, if I achieve my wish, the Maeno family will also stand to gain from it."

"Besides, Lord Maeno Shikibu-no-jō is, after all, of the Maeno clan. As the head of the main line, surely you cannot truly stand apart from this matter?"

Maeno Muneyasu neither confirmed nor denied it. Then he abruptly changed the subject. "Speaking of Maeno Tokiyuki, he sent me a letter three days ago, asking me to lend you a hand."

Maeno Tokiyuki's letter had arrived two days earlier, but Maeno Muneyasu had only brought it up now because Yamauchi Kazutoyo had already offered a workable plan and was willing to take responsibility himself.

If Yamauchi Kazutoyo had come from the outset asking for help in Maeno Tokiyuki's name, Maeno Muneyasu would not have given him the time of day.

"You are right. Inagi Estate is, after all, a fief of the main house."

"These village leagues have turned their hearts entirely toward Inuyama Castle and have no regard whatsoever for my Maeno family. If helping you succeed benefits the main house, then it would indeed be a great boon."

"This favor, I can grant!"

Just as Yamauchi Kazutoyo was about to offer his thanks, Maeno Muneyasu continued, "Maeno Tokiyuki's letter said that Iemon has some knowledge of Chinese poetry as well. Would you let this old man see it for himself?"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo immediately replied, "That is no trouble at all. I shall write one for you now."

"May I ask which poet Lord Jikan favors?"

"Is that even a question?" Maeno Muneyasu laughed. "Naturally, Bai Juyi!"

As the foremost Tang poet in the hearts of the Japanese, Bai Juyi had been held in great esteem since the Heian period.

Emperor Saga of Japan called Collection of Bai's Works "a secret by his pillow" and could not bear to put it down. Emperor Daigo said, "Of all things I have loved in my life, only the seventy volumes of Collection of Bai's Works remain."

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu borrowed lines from Bai Juyi's poetry in more than a hundred places, while A Thousand Years of Fine Poems, compiled during the Heian period, included a thousand Tang poems, half of them by Bai Juyi alone.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo ground the ink, then swiftly lifted his brush and wrote down one of Bai Juyi's seven-character quatrains.

In the fourth month, all earthly blooms have faded, Yet peach blossoms in mountain temples begin to flourish. Long had I mourned spring gone, with nowhere to seek it— Not knowing it had turned and entered here.

Maeno Muneyasu recognized the characters but could not read them aloud. Even so, after looking over the words on the paper, he could not help nodding.

"Fine handwriting, and an excellent choice of poem."

"The peach tree in the courtyard happens to be in bloom. It suits the occasion perfectly." Maeno Muneyasu looked pleased.

Peach trees had originated in China, later spreading to Europe along the Silk Road, with some transplanted to Japan as well. During the Age of Discovery, they were brought by navigators to South Africa and the Americas.

By this time, Japan already had the folk tale of Momotaro. In broad terms, it told of an old woman who found a peach in a river. After she and her husband ate it, the two became young again and gave birth to a son, whom they named Momotaro.

It seemed Japanese farmers really were extraordinarily obsessed with having sons...

"To think of that poem so quickly, Iemon's command of Chinese poetry is quite impressive."

"I happen to have recently acquired a painting. I wonder, can Iemon compose a poem?" Maeno Muneyasu took out a painting and laid it on the table, posing Yamauchi Kazutoyo another difficult question.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo was dumbfounded. Copying poems, he could certainly do. But composing one was far beyond the syllabus.

And he could not exactly copy the poems of ancient Chinese poets and claim them as his own. That was the sort of thing Koreans loved to do.

But Maeno Muneyasu clearly wanted to test whether Yamauchi Kazutoyo possessed genuine talent. Knowing he could not evade the matter, Yamauchi Kazutoyo could only brace himself and unroll the scroll.

Yet the moment he finished looking at the painting, Yamauchi Kazutoyo smiled.

He actually knew this one!

Pointing at the painting before him, Maeno Muneyasu introduced it proudly. "I purchased this painting from a merchant last year for fifty-seven kan. It was painted by the famous Zen master Sesshu several decades ago, depicting the beauty of Mount Fuji in the eastern provinces."

"Could Iemon compose a poem based on the scene in this painting?"

The "Sesshu" Maeno Muneyasu spoke of was a celebrated painter who had died decades earlier, and the only renowned artist to have visited China with an embassy to the Ming dynasty.

Sesshu studied at Tiantong Temple in Ningbo and traveled throughout China. He enjoyed copying masterpieces by ancient Chinese painters such as Xia Gui and Li Tang. After returning to Japan, he founded his own school and was hailed as the "Sage of Japanese Painting."

Seeing that Yamauchi Kazutoyo had not moved, Maeno Muneyasu consoled him. "It is all right. It does not matter if you cannot write one. Poetry is not something achieved in a single stroke."

As he spoke, Maeno Muneyasu moved to put the painting away.

Maeno Muneyasu had owned this painting for over a year without coming up with any particularly fine lines himself. He had only asked in passing and had never expected Yamauchi Kazutoyo to actually produce something.

"Wait!" Yamauchi Kazutoyo reached out to stop him, then began writing beneath Maeno Muneyasu's astonished gaze.

An immortal guest wanders above the clouds' high crest, A divine dragon sleeps within the deep old cavern. Snow like white silk, mist like a handle— A white fan hangs upside down over the eastern sea.

Maeno Muneyasu's jaw dropped at the very first line. Wait, he really could do it?!

"Iemon, such a marvelous work, written in a single sweep of the brush—you are truly remarkable!" Maeno Muneyasu bent over the paper. To his eyes, the lines upon it seemed to bring Mount Fuji to life.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo let out a long breath. Fortunately, when he played Uncharted Waters IV in his previous life, he had not hit the skip button.

There was a character called Saeki Kyotaro in Uncharted Waters IV, and this poem appeared in that character's opening animation.

The poem had been written in the Edo period by Ishikawa Jōzan, a warrior from Mikawa, and vividly captured the beauty of Mount Fuji.

"The immortal guest refers to an immortal crane, while the divine dragon is a metaphor for lava during a volcanic eruption."

"The words 'snow like white silk' compare Mount Fuji's snow to fine silk, while 'a white fan hangs upside down' describes Mount Fuji as though it were a folding fan suspended upside down above the shores of the East China Sea."

"Hahaha! To witness Iemon compose such a Chinese poem with my own eyes, I shall have no regrets in this life!" Maeno Muneyasu clapped his hands in delight.

"What title should this poem bear?" Maeno Muneyasu looked at Yamauchi Kazutoyo eagerly.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo said nothing. He merely added a line of small characters beside the four verses—For Lord Maeno Jikan!

The top patron had already been properly taken care of. It would be awkward for him to refuse my proposal now, wouldn't it?

Maeno Muneyasu carefully put away the poem as though it were a treasure, then excitedly walked to the doorway. "Someone, spread the word! Three days from now, a flower-viewing gathering shall be held at Maeno Tenmangu Shrine to appreciate Chinese poetry. In my name, invite the local samurai and men of virtue from every village to attend."

Sugawara no Michizane, enshrined at Tenmangu shrines, was revered as the "God of Learning," holding a place in Japanese hearts equivalent to China's Star of Literature.

After speaking, Maeno Muneyasu turned back and asked Yamauchi Kazutoyo, "Iemon, are you satisfied now?"

"Many thanks, Lord Jikan!"

"Also, Chubei and his son Nehei of Yamajiri Village need not be included among the invitees," Yamauchi Kazutoyo added.

As soon as the words fell, Maeno Muneyasu and Yamauchi Kazutoyo exchanged smiles. Everything was understood without a word.