"THE SHIMABARA UPRISING 1638" "It was a vicious fight that lasted three months." "Starving, ruthlessly taxed, their Christian religion proscribed the people could stand no more and rose in rebellion." "For a hundred days the castle resisted against 120,000 soldiers of the Tokugawa Shogun." "I am Jinno Sukezaemon." "I serve Lord Hosokawa of Etchu." "You are Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, leader of this rebellion?" "The time has come for me to leave this world." "Kill me." "First, show me the power of your God." "Let's see you walk on water!" "Fly to heaven on a cloud." "Show us what this God of yours can do." "Well?" "Are those just stories?" "Now I call on God no more." "The castle fell." "Fearing the magic of the Christian God the Tokugawa government killed 37,000 men, women and children." "SAMURAI RESURRECTION" "MATSUDAIRA NOBUTSUNA ELDER COUNCILOR, LORD OF IZU" "YAG YU MUNENORI CHIEF INSPECTOR, LORD OF TAJIMA" "The battle in Shimabara was long and hard." "But at least those who would stand against the Shogun are gone." "Perhaps we will have peace at long last." "The age of war is past." "Rule by the House of Tokugawa over the entire land will ensure peace." "As overseer of the barons, Tajima, your responsibilities are great." "Yes." "By the way, it is rumored Musashi was at Shimabara." "Miyamoto Musashi?" "Yes." "I am sure his twin swords were hard at work there." "You and he were once the greatest swordsmen in the land." "Now he is a samurai of no master, while you instruct the Shogun." "Time has told." "No more will skill at arms bring glory." "Now honor will go to he who best induces others to act." "These are not welcome words, I know for one who has advanced by the sword." "No." "You speak the truth." "The day of the sword is done." "A DECADE LATER" "Tokugawa Yorinobu, Great Councilor Kishu." "Son of the first Tokugawa Shogun, the late Leyasu and Uncle to the third and reigning Shogun, Lemitsu he was a man to be reckoned with." "A heron?" "No, Milord." "A pheasant." "A white pheasant?" "A good omen, Sire!" "Milord!" "Wait, Sire!" "That way lies danger!" "A fine shot." "Someone else would have taken it if you had not." "Once it falls to someone else, it will never be yours." "The same goes for your aspiration." "Aspiration?" "To what do you think I aspire?" "To rule all under heaven." "And who might you be?" "Amakusa Shiro Tokisada." "As leader of the Shimabara Uprising I rebelled against the Shogun's government." "Nonsense!" "He was killed at Shimabara." "Nonetheless I am here." "From here on, the Great Councilor goes alone." "You who dwell in silent dark arise from the ashes." "Abandon your dwelling and appear again in the form of flesh." "Come to me and be the vessel of my will." "You who dwell in silent dark arise from the ashes." "Abandon your dwelling and appear again in the form of flesh." "Come to me and be the vessel of my will." "You deceived me!" "I cannot see." "I cannot move." "Was it for this torment I sold you my life?" "!" "Think carefully." "Have you forgotten why you wished to be reborn?" "Immortal life is yours." "To take up your sword or not is your choice to make." "My sword..." "Give me my sword!" "I'll kill him!" "May I present Araki Mataemon, who cut down thirty six men at Locksmith's Corner." "What sorcery is this?" "Resurrection." "A secret art only I possess." "A Yagyu master of the sword who died with his future before him." "With only the memory of bitter regret he is reborn in this world." "His body is restored, but his soul is that of a devil." "Those who stand against you, be they a thousand strong he will kill on your command." "Villains!" "Are you not reborn to make this a Christian land?" "I have abandoned that wish." "I will ask no more of God's mercy." "This world is neither God's nor the Shogun's." "It is the strong who must rule." "In a time of strife, yes." "But those days are gone." "No, they are not." "To rule all under heaven takes ability recognized by all." "You have that ability far more than the present Shogun." "By the will of your father Leyasu, you were to succeed to the million-koku domain of Suruga." "But you were shut away here in Kishu, a fief of half that size." "Let us be clear." "The house of the Shogun fears your power, Councilor." "You say that I could rule all under heaven?" "Tell me how." "VILLAGE OF THE YAG YU" "My shoulders are stiff." "You sleep too much." "Grandfather?" "Well?" "Loll about like this and your sword grows dull!" "How are you, Squire?" "Why are you not in the dojo?" "That is why you were sent down from Edo in spite of being Lord Yagyu of Tajima's eldest son." "It serves me right." "Do you think I jest?" "Leaving that aside, what brings you here?" "I have come for my grand-daughters, Ohiro and Ohina." "Lord Makino, Senior Retainer of my clan says that Councilor Yorinobu of Kishu wishes to see them." "What does the Great Councilor want with them?" "Concubines, perhaps?" "I do not understand it myself." "ENSHOJI TEMPLE KISHU DOMAIN" "Kimura..." "Sire!" "I will take charge of them." "Ohina!" "Yagyu is a league away!" "Go!" "But..." "Go!" "Kimura Sukekuro of Kishu stands against you." "State your name!" "In the name of my sword master, Yagyu Sekishusai I will not let you proceed even one step past this point." "Miss Ohina!" "Are you all right?" "Hold on!" "Miss Ohina!" "Hold on!" "Did she escape?" "Squire Kimura!" "Who are you?" "This is Yagyu, you know!" "Mataemon!" "But you're dead!" "I am no longer of this world." "I live in the demon realm." "You were one of us!" "It is gratitude you owe the Yagyu school, not rancor." "I know neither gratitude nor rancor." "Jubei, it is only to kill you that I have come back to life." "Hiding behind your name living idly from day to day ." "How will the third generation of Yagyu fare in a real fight?" "The power of the spirit world is greater than I thought." "My body simply moves to where I will it." "Hold!" "Next time we'll take each other's measure with no one to interfere." "What happened?" "It was not only us." "Lord Makino had gathered a number of retainers daughters." "We were kept under heavy guard, so no word would leak out." "Grandfather was suspicious." "Hard as it may be to believe, I suspect a serious plot." "They are bringing back demons from the dead." "The girls are made a sacrifice in a ceremony and never return alive." "What sort of demons?" "I wouldn't know!" "Grandfather said more than one will return from that other realm." "Where is Ohiro?" "And the others?" "My elder sister and I were separated on the way." "Shall I go?" "Sir?" "Where?" "To Kishu." "I'll go speak to the Great Councilor about this." "How dare you return thus?" "I feel no shame." "You promised immortal life." "So give me an arm." "I will have no ear for prattle." "Will you follow me?" "Or destroy yourself and return to hell?" "I will not die for you." "Yagyu Jubei..." "Are you so powerful?" "Your face is one that knows no fear." "A perfect bearer..." "What do you want?" "In you will be buried the bones of one who is dead." "As those bones feed on your entrails they will thrive within you." "When they have consumed all they will burst out into this world." "Your life will flicker out in a great, ecstatic abyss." "Will you die now?" "Or will you consecrate your body to us?" "I will return alive to my Yagyu home." "I admire that spirit." "YAG YU HOUSE EDO" "Jubei is not here." "I am Inshun of the Hozoin Temple." "I will not leave until I see Jubei." "That is not possible." "Jubei has been sent to the country." "Why?" "For an act of foolishness." "He was instructing Shogun Lemitsu and knocked him out with a practice sword." "The Shogun?" "That is how a swordsman should train." "Yagyu Jubei stays his hand for no one." "All the more reason for me to face him." "I will stand against you in place of my son." "Is an elder's role not to discourage such fighting?" "You are ill, Milord." "I need no Buddha's mercy." "My sword is Ashura himself." "Why would you pity a foe?" ""Pity"?" "My son's is a killing sword." "Defeat at arms is death." "He knows that well." "Who are you?" "Hear me, Inshun." "Would you discard the Buddha's law to master the secrets of the spear?" "If your spear were made so sharp you could kill who you wished?" "Wraith..." "Would you lead me astray?" "For my spear I stop at nothing!" "I fear not even hell itself!" "But I cannot believe that you speak the truth." "You must choose one." "The spear, or the law." "A test..." "Violate the law." "Stab me." "A thrust like that will take no one's life." "With the Buddha in your heart you will triumph over no one." "Kill me!" "That's right..." "Kill!" "Kill!" "No matter." "It matters not!" "Do you know now?" "Do you serve the Buddha, or with your spear draw blood?" "Which is the true Inshun?" "Fiends!" "We have come to greet a spirit fit for the demon realm." "Inshun?" "From Hozoin Temple?" "He has given his life in trade to have no equal with the spear." "The greatest fighters in the land are your vanguard." "Should all become known, they will not be swayed." "And, Councilor, should worse come to worst become a demon yourself." "Me, reborn as a demon?" "You ask much." "There are few who can." "It takes great force of spirit and profound discontent." "If the need arises, I offer my body as your vessel." "Who goes there?" "Halt!" "Halt!" "Leave to speak!" "Jubei..." "Yagyu Jubei has presented himself." "What?" "You may remember having granted me audience at Edo Castle." "I am Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi, son of Tajima." "I know you." "Why has Yagyu Jubei come here?" "On a confidential matter of some urgency." "Let all hear." "Speak." "A certain clan has fallen under demonic influence and a grave conspiracy is in progress." "Who has said that?" "A certain 'Kimura'." "And you are to catch this demon?" "How would one driven from Edo merit such a task?" "But what does this have to do with me, or my Kishu domain?" "Ohiro!" "In the unlikely event that something untoward were to happen in Kishu I have come to warn Your Highness against being caught up in it." "Enough of this farce!" "Let us hide nothing from each other." "Intruders!" "What's that?" "You seem to have visitors." "I take my leave." "Who are you?" "Amakusa Shiro Tokisada." "Why does a ghost from Shimabara haunt the lands of Kishu?" "Do you seek vengeance?" ""Vengeance"..." "Have you looked into hell?" "Slaughter as object lesson." "The last days of those who sought to escape Tokugawa rule..." "Hell itself." "Man is not born to be another's dog!" "Judgment is near." "The Tokugawa will sink in flames." "Its world of dogs will be destroyed and chaos will return." "Are you the God of Death?" "I bring you immortal life." "Are you telling me I must live even longer?" "Your heart is bitter." "That bitterness will disappear with my death." "Were it that bitterness would vanish as the dew, I would not be here." "Lord Tajima when did you last wield your sword with all your strength?" "Is there one you would have met before you laid your sword aside to serve as a government official?" "Musashi..." "I never faced him." "And one more." "With Musashi dead, there is only one who is a match for you." "You know his name." "And you will grant me life?" "You will let me live as long as I wish?" "That is our wish as well." "Man must live for himself, and for no one else." "Be you God, or be you serpent, I do not care." "Give me strength." "I promise life in perfection." "That day, a message arrived for Yorinobu saying Shogun Lemitsu was critically ill." "His heir, Letsuna, was still only six years old." "Were Lemitsu to die, confusion and strife were certain." "WAKAYAMA CASTLE KISHU" "How long will His Majesty live?" "Ten days, perhaps." "Father do you remember the siege of Osaka Castle?" "The House of Toyotomi fell before I couId join your ranks." "I, Yorinobu, have seen war but never fought." "I go to Edo." "1,300 samurai." "With bearers, more than 3,000 men." "All that to call on a sick relative?" "How long till they reach Edo?" "Seven days?" "Eight?" "Let's go exorcise some demons." "Jubei..." "An old, familiar name." "We never chanced to meet while I was alive." "All the more reason to wish it now." "Joma!" "The way of the spear is one of blood." "Without killing, you do not travel it." "A filthy demon!" "Not only me." "That girl, too." "She killed herself by biting through her tongue." "Now she waits to take your head." "But in you I sense no hate, no grief, no impulse to kill." "Why were you reborn?" "Look at me." "I am bound to no one now." "The fog has lifted." "I see now where life makes its place." "I wish single combat." "As do I." "Is this all the weight your life has?" "My life is dedicated to my spear." "When his spear is broken, Inshun dies." "Come to the demon realm." "You'll like it there." "Do Inshun's words resonate within you?" "The true warrior's spirit will not suffer to be hidden." "Will you meld your power in ours?" "The reward is eternal life." "What would I do with that?" "Who do you defend?" "The Shogun or Kishu?" "I take no side." "But I will kill every demon I find." "You persist?" "I do." "The reborn are more than two." "Among them are Yagyu." "Soon you will see." "And when you die, I will be there." "Let me go!" "The demon lied!" "I did bite off my tongue!" "When I came to, there was no wound!" "Isn't that strange?" "Have you tried to kill the Sensei?" "Or join in with the demons?" "No!" "Never!" "You have not changed." "You are still Ohiro." "I ask that if I become like Mataemon or Inshun kill me on the spot." "Yes, 'if'." "KAKEGAWA KISHU HEADQUARTERS" "Jubei alone is too much?" "Damn Shiro!" "For all he says, he is of no use!" "We cannot waste time on mere swordplay." "500,000 masterless samurai are gathering in Edo to support the triumph of Kishu." " As we planned?" " Yes." "Do you think that without us the land will fall to you?" "Stand and watch." "We can exploit the Shogun's death to create chaos in Edo." "We had hoped you yourself would end Shogun Lemitsu's life." "Why would His Lordship do such a thing?" "If you will not, very well." "Ask nothing more of us." "What a fool!" "He speaks as if he already ruled the land." ""The wise ruler", they call him, but he is a fool." "His lust for power is easily exposed." "Tokugawa will fight Tokugawa, and bring confusion to the world." "But who will kill Lemitsu?" "Yorinobu is not the only Tokugawa." "MEMORIAL SHRINE TO SHOGUN IEYASU" "The Kishu party has stopped at Sunpu." "Stopped?" "Orders from Edo, perhaps?" "SUNPU CASTLE" "Izu..." "I take no orders from you!" "I regret that no one may disobey the late Shogun Leyasu's "Rules for the Military Houses"." "You are allowed no action without official permission." "I go to Edo on a matter of grave importance for the Shogun." "As an Elder Councilor, you cannot object to that." "The Rules are the Rules." "I will not desist!" "Over the past few days, Councilor, under your name large numbers of masterless samurai have assembled." "They are a wild rabble, not worth consideration and as such need not trouble you." "What has been done with them?" "They have all been dealt with." "If under these conditions you must still leave your domain I most strongly suggest you do so incognito." "Have your procession stop in Sunpu and leave your soldiers, swords, spears and guns in the castle here." "I will conduct you in absolute safety to Edo." "You are honored as wise and just." "I am sure you will agree with me." "Takumi!" "I am Miyamoto Musashi, samurai of Sakushu, of no domain." "Fall back." "The true warrior is only alive for that brief moment when swords cross." "While Musashi holds sword in hand he is immortal." "Sir Musashi..." "Have at me, Jubei!" "I will!" "Ohiro!" "Demon blood will take a demon's life!" "Ohiro!" "Sensei..." "Ohiro..." "She wanted nothing more than to be with you." "Don't speak." "We go to Edo." "Sensei..." "There is one I must meet there." "Your lives are in my charge." "Where is Shiro?" "Summon him!" "I need his power!" "Do you not have the power you need without our help?" "Damn your insolence!" "Stopped by an official order!" "The entire land will laugh at me!" "Then end your life here." "Do you think we have done what we have for your sake?" "It has all been for our own." "Have you sacrificed yourself?" "There is a dead man lodged in this body." "What?" "Die." "And Lemitsu with you." "All of Tokugawa blood consume each other and die!" "Fiend!" "I will kill Lemitsu." "The Tokugawa will end in an orgy of blood." "There is no one better to strike down the Shogun." "Leyasu, God of this shrine." "Yorinobu..." "Father!" "Would you smite Lemitsu?" "Surely you would not destroy Tokugawa rule of this land!" "I would regret it no more than the fading dew." "I have sold this world in trade for immortality." "Immortality?" "Then grant it to me as well!" "No!" "A world of war and strife summons me." "I go to Edo." "Amakusa Shiro Tokisada requests an audience." "I have waited, Jubei." "You have done well." "You are indeed my son." "So it is you, Father..." "I wanted to stand against you with nothing held back." "There have been times when your willfulness has enraged me." "But now I look on you with nothing but affection." "My father's wish is mine." "Be it God or Serpent he who brought us here has my thanks." "Be happy that your death comes at your father's hands." "Do you know what enemy remains?" "I will cut him down." "How would I know?" "I remain myself." "I never thought to look on you again, Grandfather." "Am I in this world or the next?" "History changes its course this night." "This realm of the Tokugawas ends with your blood!" "Jubei!" "Now I will hear your last breath." "Where there is light there is also dark." "That is the truth of this world."