“What matters the terror or the death or even the dishonor of a woman, weighed in the balance against that which I seek to accomplish? No; whatever the cost, I must win a favorable audience with the Shogun, for the sake of Dai Nippon and the sacred Mikado! It is a rare chance for us, Woroto. We will take part in Keiki’s badger game.”
“And, like the fox, snap the game from between his paws,” I punned.
He nodded. “With the aid of Kohana, we are to become priests of the official Jodo sect.”
“You said the Yamabushi are Buddhists. Why change?”
“Iyeyasu built Zozoji for the Jodo sect. They have charge of the temple and the tombs of the four Shoguns who are buried at Shiba Park. Therefore we go as Jodo priests, lately arrived from Kyoto.”
“With sharp arguments and loud words for the Mito ronins,” I added.
He caught at my sleeve. “Not that!—not your pistols, brother. To fire a gun within the bounds of Yedo is certain death!”