Grow Bigger and Stronger (Bonus Chapter—Please Keep Reading)

Shotokuji Temple stood in Tomita Village, Nakashima District, Owari Province.

It was a fairly large temple. Not only did it possess numerous monks' quarters and temple-town shops, but more importantly, it controlled extensive temple lands.

To avoid paying hefty annual tribute to their lords, many farmers chose to place their land under Shotokuji Temple's protection. Through this tight binding, Jodo Shinshu wielded a powerful grip over the local populace.

Jodo Shinshu's operating model was, in truth, no different from that of a daimyo. Annual tribute, corvée labor, military service—every obligation the common people owed was present. The whole place was a "Buddha-land upon earth."

And unlike the daimyo's rigid military-service requirements, Jodo Shinshu's followers all "participated voluntarily."

The temple's warrior monks were all believers from nearby. They came of their own accord in shifts to guard the temple, and because the brainwashing ran so deep, these warrior monks were often brimming with fighting spirit and high morale.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo sailed north from Tsushima and soon disembarked at the temple town before Shotokuji Temple.

Sobue Kan'emon and Hachisuka Masakatsu continued onward toward Matsukura Castle with their men, while Yamauchi Kazutoyo and Horio Yoshiharu used Seiganji Temple's letter to knock upon Shotokuji Temple's mountain gate.

After the letter had been verified, Yamauchi Kazutoyo and Horio Yoshiharu were brought to the sermon gathering.

Compared to the deserted Seiganji Temple, Shotokuji Temple had gathered no fewer than several hundred people, and the crowd continued to grow.

Several dozen warrior monks carrying naginata stood within the temple to maintain order. Quite a few even held matchlock guns.

Rich!

That was Yamauchi Kazutoyo's immediate assessment of Shotokuji Temple.

The methods they had used on a backwater little temple like Seiganji Temple probably would not work here.

Though Yamauchi Kazutoyo could now be considered moderately well-off, that was nothing before a great temple like Shotokuji Temple. The interest they earned from lending alone could match his entire fortune.

"You're from Seiganji Temple in Kawada Village?"

"Sit here for now. Someone will take you inside later." A monk stepped forward and addressed Yamauchi Kazutoyo.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo pressed his palms together. Opening with a "Namu Amida Butsu" whenever he met someone could never go wrong.

The monk smiled, then turned and left.

Once the man was gone, Yamauchi Kazutoyo looked over the scene with great interest.

Jodo Shinshu's sermon gatherings were not truly about explaining scripture. A single phrase of Namu Amida Butsu did not require such a grand production.

These so-called sermon gatherings were actually a means of inciting the populace—using some pretext to gather local people together and brainwash them from time to time.

Then they would send out several monks to put on a show of listening to the people's hardships. They certainly would not solve any real problems for them, but in the end, the suffering farmers would always receive comforting words such as, "The Buddha has heard you."

Simply put, the sermon gathering provided the countless farmers dissatisfied with their daimyo a place to vent their feelings. Its main business was emotional value.

After watching for a while, Yamauchi Kazutoyo lost interest. There truly was nothing of substance.

"Ogawa Saburo, correct?"

Just as Yamauchi Kazutoyo was growing bored, a somewhat older man approached.

The man was not dressed as a monk. He was likely a temple administrator of Shotokuji Temple.

"Indeed, that is I. May I ask how I should address you, honored one?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo bowed.

The newcomer's lips curled upward, seemingly quite pleased by Yamauchi Kazutoyo's form of address.

"Shimotsuma Yorinari!"

"Come with me!"

With that, Shimotsuma Yorinari turned and walked away.

The moment he heard the name Shimotsuma, Yamauchi Kazutoyo realized that coming to Shotokuji Temple had been the right move!

Whenever Jodo Shinshu intended to stir up an Ikko uprising somewhere, they often parachuted in specialists to provide technical guidance, and among such people, members of the Shimotsuma clan were especially common.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo and Horio Yoshiharu followed Shimotsuma Yorinari into a monks' chamber. The doors shut, and two blades were laid across their necks.

"What is the meaning of this, Lord Shimotsuma?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo asked, raising his head.

Shimotsuma Yorinari sat down on the floor, his icy gaze seeming to pierce straight through Yamauchi Kazutoyo.

"I only arrived in Owari two days ago, yet you two came knocking today. The Oda clan's information network is quite efficient, it seems."

"Did Oda Nobunaga send you to pry for information?"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo relaxed inwardly. So they had mistaken him for an Oda clan retainer.

Yet the man's extreme caution only confirmed Yamauchi Kazutoyo's suspicions.

"Lord Shimotsuma, it is true that I am an Oda clan retainer, but I do not come from Kiyosu Castle."

A man like Shimotsuma Yorinari would not be easy to fool. The story they had used on Seiganji Temple in Kawada Village clearly would not deceive him.

Since that was the case, Yamauchi Kazutoyo needed a different story.

"Not from Kiyosu Castle?"

"Don't tell me you're from Inuyama Castle?" Shimotsuma Yorinari folded his arms and gestured for Yamauchi Kazutoyo to continue.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo took a deep breath. "To be frank, my brother and I were once retainers of the Iwakura Oda clan."

"That's right. We were warriors of Iwakura Castle, not men of the Oda clan," Horio Yoshiharu added.

"Oh?" Shimotsuma Yorinari showed a little interest. "How will you prove it?"

Meeting the man's gaze without flinching, Yamauchi Kazutoyo said, "Given Owari's current situation, what benefit could there possibly be in pretending to be warriors of Iwakura Castle?"

"Interesting." Shimotsuma Yorinari waved a hand, and the warrior monks standing on either side immediately withdrew.

"Ogawa... Did the Iwakura Oda clan have retainers with that surname?"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo flushed and said with slight embarrassment, "Lord Shimotsuma truly has a discerning eye. My brother and I... are not actually warriors."

"We took Ogawa as our surname only because there is a little river at the entrance to our village."

"I knew you weren't warriors!" Shimotsuma Yorinari chuckled softly. "The two of you donated five kan to a mere country temple. Would those impoverished warriors ever spend money so generously?"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo's expression stiffened. So this was where they had slipped up. He had been careless.

But Shimotsuma Yorinari changed the subject. "You are not warriors, yet you spend so freely. There must be some explanation behind that, surely?"

"Before the true Buddha, I will not keep pretending."

"That's right!" Yamauchi Kazutoyo straightened his chest and declared loudly. "We are the bandits who plunder merchant ships on the Kiso River and raid villages."

"Two years ago, Kuroda Castle in Haguri District was attacked, and Yamauchi Juro, son of the lord of Kuroda Castle, Yamauchi Tajima no Kami, was killed in battle. My brothers and I were responsible!"

Shimotsuma Yorinari curled his lip. Did a local warrior's residence like Kuroda Castle even deserve to be called a castle?

Still, Yamauchi Kazutoyo's words had indeed stirred Shimotsuma Yorinari's interest. The Ikko uprisings in Owari and Mino could not get off the ground now precisely because they lacked manpower.

Nagashima Gansho-ji and Honshoji Temple in Mikawa were both nearby, so strictly speaking, there should have been no shortage of people.

But Oyama Gobo in Kaga was preparing to attack the Asakura clan of Echizen. Believers from Ise, Mikawa, and other places were gathering in Hokuriku for the expedition, leaving places such as Owari severely short-handed.

Before Shimotsuma Yorinari could speak, Yamauchi Kazutoyo added, "There are three brothers among us. Our eldest brother is Ogawa Taro."

"The Ogawa Band has more than a hundred men, all fierce fighters from various villages."

"If that is so, what is your purpose in coming to Shotokuji Temple?" Shimotsuma Yorinari looked at Yamauchi Kazutoyo.

He did not believe Yamauchi Kazutoyo had joined Jodo Shinshu for something like faith.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo met Shimotsuma Yorinari's eyes for several seconds, then suddenly grew animated.

"To make money!"

"Make money?" A trace of appreciation appeared in Shimotsuma Yorinari's eyes.

Had Yamauchi Kazutoyo spoken of "faith" or anything of that sort, Shimotsuma Yorinari would have risen at once and shown him out. But making money? Now that interested him.

"Go on!"

Sitting upright, Yamauchi Kazutoyo said, "Lord Shimotsuma, when the Iwakura Oda clan still stood, our Ogawa Band was unstoppable on the Kiso River."

"But now that Oda Nobunaga of Kiyosu Castle controls places such as Haguri District and Niwa District, the pressure upon us has grown as well."

"As people say, it is good to rest beneath a great tree. Therefore, the Ogawa Band hopes to receive Jodo Shinshu's support, grow bigger and stronger on the Kiso River, and create new glory once more!"