Chapter 25: Acquiring Muramasa

  "The lord's consideration is indeed reasonable. Once the family head enters the Kyoto Imperial Palace, our house will lose its independence and become a puppet like the Matsudaira clan. It would be unbecoming to let Kira Kōzuke no Suke rise to power in such a way." ōishi Yoshio felt that his own thoughts were still somewhat unreasonable, but he also couldn't bring himself to let Kira Kōzuke no Suke go to Kyoto and rise to power.

  "But our family hasn't been to Luoyang for over thirty years! Isn't this decision a bit hasty?"

  "Finally, we're getting to the point!" Kiryu Kazuma had been waiting for this line all along, and with ōkawa no Makoto inadvertently helping him out, this time's review would be much easier. "Apart from the main house and Ue-Kiriyama, what other names are there in Nishijō Kiriyama?"

  "It's Kyoto Kira... I understand, my lord!" ōkōchi Nobusada sighed, knowing that Kiramasa no Matsu had made up his mind. He could only ask: "So, after the master of the mansion goes to Kyoto, how will he arrange the household affairs?"

  "Wait! But what does Marquis Guan mean by this? Is he playing dumb with the master of the mansion?" Some of the attendants were dissatisfied with his attitude and shouted: "First, explain clearly why you must go to Luoyang. How can you say that after more than 30 years without going to Luoyang, you want to go now?"

  "Did you all remember that my Kira family hasn't gone to the capital for thirty years? Since the Northern and Southern Courts period, my Kira family has been divided into two parts, with each generation's head of household following the shogunate's will and serving in Kyoto. The previous Lord Yoshimasa also served in Kyoto!" ōishi Kuranosuke thought that some people were beyond salvation, having forgotten even the laws governing the generations-long service to the Imperial Court by the Kira family, and having degenerated into this state after decades of being rural lords.

  "But hasn't it been over thirty years since the Kiryū family last went to Rakuyo?" Also, Fuu Daiko defended himself by saying: "So, Master shouldn't have gone to Rakuyo either, right?"

  Their meaning is clear, can't you take us to Luoyang? Now that the Takeda family is about to be besieged by a large army, who has the heart to follow you to Kyoto, a place with an uncertain future, and what if their own territory is swallowed up by Takeda Shingen, where will they go to cry?

  "So our house must go up to Kyoto, because the successive heads of my Kira family have all been in the service of the shogunate, and it is natural that our house cannot stand by and do nothing! However, you are all important retainers of my Kira family, and it would not be right for you to lightly abandon your duties and follow me to Kyoto. This time, I will not require the retainers to accompany me on the journey, after all, the domain of the Kira family still needs you to take care of it." Kira Yoshichika was very considerate in relieving the retainers' worries, he thought himself too great, that he didn't need his vassals to follow him to Kyoto, this good thing would be foolish not to do.

  Fortunately, they are not too stupid either. Upon hearing the head of the household offer such good conditions, they immediately changed their attitude and clearly supported the proposal: "So that's how it is! We were wrong! So, Master, when do you plan to go to Luoyang? We can prepare!"

  "No rush for now, let's wait and see after the evaluation meeting in August! Everyone, continue, I still have things to do." Kiryu Kazuma handed over the main issues and stood up to leave the evaluation room.

  Time flew by for several days, and Hattori Masahide, who had been out of contact for a long time, finally returned from Kanto. Kirishima Mitsumaru, sitting in the Honmaru Tenshukaku, held a black-lacquered sword with both hands, drew the blade out casually, examined it carefully, and asked: "Isn't it said that when Muramasa draws his sword, rainwater flows down? Why didn't our family see any water marks?"

  "This minister didn't know what it meant, he just made sure the inscription on the sword was correct and then brought it back."

  "Huh? Did Kōmei also see it? Let me take a look." He disassembled the hilt and took a closer look, and indeed there were four characters "Seishūmura" on it. He put the sword back in its scabbard without changing its original state and handed it to Yamahiro no Sōjirō, who was kneeling beside him. "Please enshrine this sword in the Fudō-dō of our main house, and place it next to the family heirloom, the thin gold armor."

  "Yes!" Yamagata Zentaro carefully accepted the Murage, holding it up with both hands as he retreated. This famous sword was a spoil of war from Kiryu Mansaburo's momentary impulse, and due to its extreme sensitivity, it had been locked away in storage for a very long time.

  The Kira family is a renowned Minamoto clan, with an extremely high reputation in both birth and martial arts, and there are many family heirlooms that have been passed down through generations, such as more than 20 famous swords that are not well-known. This time, taking the village rainball from the Kanto public house also counts as fulfilling one of his small wishes.

  Apart from the famous sword, the Kiryū family also enshrines one of the eight Minamoto clan's eight suits of armor, the Hakukin Cuirass, which is recorded in "Heike Monogatari" and has been passed down for centuries as the eight large cuirasses of the Kawachi Minamoto clan. The eight cuirasses are: Minamoto no Taizō no Koromo, Hakukin, Hachiryū, Sawarabi, Tate-nashi, Hizamaru, Hinumazu, and Tsukinomaru.

  The eightfold cuirass, which was the first in the ranking of Minamoto no Tsunetō's armor, was worn by Minamoto no Yoshitaka at the time of his coming-of-age ceremony and was therefore called "Minamoto no Tsunetō's cuirass". Later, Minamoto no Yoshiie wore this cuirass during the Former Nine Years War and established a reputation as a warrior. It was later worn by Minamoto no Yoritomo, who became the leader of the Minamoto clan.

  The second is the Thin Gold, this set of armor is silver and gold throughout, it was once the armor of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the sixth generation pillar of the Minamoto clan, later fell into the hands of the Taira clan and was given to Shinoda-shirō by Emperor Go-Toba, during the Nanboku-chō period it was worn by Nitta Yoshisada, who also added gold decorations on top, making it a truly golden armor.

  The third-ranked Yoroi, is the elder brother of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, known as Genyōta, worn by Minamoto no Yoshihira, with a vermilion-colored Dō, adorned with eight pure gold dragon decorations, and wrapped in white brocade of Fudō Myō-ō on the chest, became the symbol of Ashikaga clan during the Nanboku-chō period, contrasting with the thin golden armor of Nitta Yoshisada of the Southern Court, and became a famous Yoroi passed down through generations of the Ashikaga shoguns.

  Ranked fourth, the Sawara is worn by Minamoto no Yoshitsune when he fled from Sanuma Temple to seek refuge with Fujiwara no Hidehira of ōshū. Fujiwara no Hidehira purchased it at a high price and presented it to Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who wore it in several battles against the Taira clan and became another famous general of the Kawachi Genji.

  The fifth-ranked Tatewaki is the family heirloom armor that the Takeda family often shows off, which was once worn by Minamoto no Yoshimitsu of Shinra. The Takeda clan claims to be descended from Yoshimitsu's legitimate line, and therefore considers this armor and the "Gonfannon" to be the treasures that protect the Takeda clan. Tatewaki means that this armor is so strong that it does not need a shield for defense.

  The sixth-ranked day is the source of the armor worn by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, which is entirely golden in color and has an image of the Sun Goddess painted on it. It was mentioned several times in "Heike Monogatari" and was once worn by Ashikaga Tadayoshi during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. Later, it was stored by the Kantō Kubō, but unfortunately, the large armor is difficult to move, so Kira no Daisuke also didn't want to bring this armor together.

  Ranked seventh in the number of months, the whole body is light blue, with a picture of the Moonlight Bodhisattva, during the Hōgen Rebellion it was worn by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and later by Kikuchi Takefusa during the Northern and Southern Courts period, after which it was collected by the Imagawa clan, and Imagawa Ujizane wore this armor to go out to the battlefield in Suruga Province, and had a great reputation on the Tōkaidō.

  The eighth-ranked Koshimaru is also a suit of armor that Minamoto no Yoshitsune once wore. This armor was named Koshimaru because it was said to have been made from the skin of the knee of a thousand-headed bull, as he believed that this would mix in the bull's vital energy and make him even more brave and strong. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, it was worn by Sasaki Dōyō, and later seemed to be collected by the Kyogoku family.

  The Kiryū family has served as the custodian of the ōgon no Yoroi for generations. Although it is slightly inferior to the first-rate armor, Minamoto no Yoshitsune's "Gen'yō no Koromo", it is on par with the "Hachiryū" owned by the Tōshō Ashikaga clan. The struggle between Nitta Yoshisada and Ashikaga Takauji was also a popular topic among warriors. Later, it came into the possession of Ashikaga Naoyoshi, who presented it to his close relative Kiryū Mitsuyoshi, thus becoming a treasured heirloom of the Kiryū clan.