The Heike Story (21 page)

Uncertainty, death itself stalking the capital, led Tadamasa in a moment of panic to repudiate all ties with the Heike. Kiyomori, however, listened to his uncle's outburst with a smile, as though this were just a tiff before breakfast.

Kiyomori watched Tadamasa and his horse until they vanished in the distance in a swirl of dust, then rose and untethered his mount; as he settled himself in his saddle, two figures sprang out from between the trees and seized his horse's reins from either side.

"Ho, you—Tokitada and Heiroku? You were slow in returning, so I came on ahead. What now? What of Tokiko and the children?"

"We have done as you ordered. They are safe at Anryakuju-in Temple, and you need have no fears for them."

"Good! As long as the women and children are safe, Mokunosukй can see to the house at Rokuhara. I have nothing more on my mind now. Good work!"

At this, Tokitada and Heiroku hid their faces against their forearms and wept, begging Kiyomori to forgive them; they cried that they knew no way of making amends; not only had they brought down the wrath of Mount Hiei, but their folly had sown discord among the Heike, they said.

"Here, enough of this blubbering, I'm off—" Kiyomori said, spurring his horse to a gallop.

Shaken off, the two stared after Kiyomori with the dust blowing in their faces, then followed after him at a run.

Three priests, the leaders of the monks from Mount Hiei, stalked out of the Cloister Palace, raging. From their furious looks it was plain that their demands had been rejected. They stopped at the gatehouse to reclaim their spears, swung them under their arms with a flourish and called to twelve underlings as they marched out of the gates.

It was usual for the monks to send their representatives to the government to present their demands, and if refused they invariably brought the Sacred Shrine and holy emblems into the capital and terrorized the authorities into acquiescing, for not even the civil powers dared oppose the Shrine.

Today Mount Hiei had demanded the persons of Lord Aki's brother-in-law, Tokitada, and the retainer Heiroku. In conjunction with this, the monks once more pressed their claim to the Kagashirayama manor, but the ex-Emperor had refused.

A wave of excitement passed through the ranks of the warriors. There were cries of: "Here comes Lord Aki, Kiyomori of the Heike!"

The Guards cheered as Kiyomori appeared with his usual jaunty air. Smiling broadly to either side of him as he rode between the armed ranks, Kiyomori sensed a sudden rise in the soldiers' spirits. Sweat poured down his face, and his large ears seemed to quiver. Following him came the crestfallen Tokitada and Heiroku, odd contrast to the debonair figure on horseback.

Palace secretaries, officials, and courtiers with drawn faces crowded the dais-room, where the Cloistered Emperor waited for Kiyomori.

Kiyomori knelt. "Your majesty, though Mount Hiei's real demand is for the Kagashirayama manor, it is my housemen who caused the monks to come here. I alone am responsible for this. Permit me, therefore, to deal with Mount Hiei as I see fit."

The Cloistered Emperor consented; there were no protests from the frightened courtiers, no questions how Kiyomori would induce the orderly withdrawal of the monks to Mount Hiei. Kiyomori made obeisance and withdrew.

His men watched him from a distance, talking among themselves. "We can expect nothing from those weak-kneed courtiers, but his lordship will surely have a plan."

Until now Kiyomori's every move had been followed closely by those around him and there had been considerable speculation as to what step he would next take. His refusal to give up Tokitada and Heiroku to the monks won the complete approval of his soldiers, who regarded him with respectful affection. Kiyomori was one whom any soldier felt he could talk to man to man. There was nothing which distinguished Kiyomori from other warriors in respect of courage or skill with arms, but his quick sympathy for the poor and downtrodden and his readiness to defend them made him popular with his men; that and the curious faculty he possessed of communicating his own gaiety. Wherever he went, his generously proportioned face—the eyebrows like caterpillars, the down-slanting eyes, the large nose, the full lips, the youthful ruddy cheeks and round chin, and those heavy-lobed ears which quivered whenever he laughed—caused merriment.

The owner of these features came out by an inner gate and started across the Palace plaza. He was soon surrounded by warriors who pressed on him with cries of: "Kiyomori of the Heike, what came of the talks?"

"Is there to be an imperial decree?"

"What happened, and what does his majesty say?"

Question after question was flung at him rapidly. Mopping his heated brow, Kiyomori pulled up the helmet slung at his back, set it on his head, and tied the cords under his chin.

"Now, now, there's no need to worry. I go straight to Gion to stop their marching with the Shrine."

"Stop them?"

"Here, leave it to his lordship to do that!"

"But those monks fear nothing; they scorn us as less than the dust under their feet, and last night showed they're thirsty for our blood. Should you go there, sir, there's no telling what they'll do. . . ."

"That's true, but I'm taking Tokitada and Heiroku with me. Much as I regret it, I shall have to turn them over to the monks and try to reach an agreement."

"Eh? Then you will give them up, after all, to the monks?"

"I have no choice."

"What a thing to do! So his majesty expects the warriors to take the brunt of it after all?"

"Come, stop this useless arguing. But remember that it was I who proposed this solution, not his majesty. Now let me be off to halt them before they leave Gion. If happily I return alive, there'll be a tale to tell. Now each man of you to his post."

With Tokitada and Heiroku following him, Kiyomori rode away on the dazzling sunlit highway, parched white with heat. Every leaf and blade drooped under the blazing sun. The guards stared, speechless, after the three as though they were the ghosts of the dead walking at noon.

From the stone staircase of one of the temples in Gion, the three leaders who had returned from the Cloister Palace harangued two thousand monks, gathered to hear the outcome of the negotiations.

"... We find no sincerity in his majesty. Both petitions have been thrust back at us. There's no hope that even the matter of the Kagashirayama manor will be settled. There's nothing left for us but to march on the Palace with the Sacred Shrine to bring his majesty to his senses."

A mad roar went up: "To the Palace, then! Chastise them!" and with this the multitude began assembling their weapons and surged toward the sanctuary where the Sacred Shrine rested amid tapers burning like myriads of stars and clouds of incense which all but enveloped the groves of Gion. To the massed chanting of sutras, the measured clanging of gongs, and to drums, throbbing like savage alarms to war, the great army got under way, and the air pulsed as though charged with some diabolic influence. Borne at last on the shoulders of white-robed priests, and shimmering blindingly with encrustments of gold, slowly, slowly swaying, the Sacred Shrine made its way down the hill onto the great highway.

A figure suddenly darted out in front of the oncoming shrine and held up a hand. "Wait, you infernal priests!" On his head was a black helmet of iron, bare of insignia; he was incased in black armor, wore straw sandals, and held up a long bow. Not far behind him were Tokitada and Heiroku, unarmed, their faces set hard like masks.

"I, Lord Aki, Kiyomori of the Heike, demand that you hear me. Among all you evil ones there must be at least one who will listen to reason."

To the advancing host, he looked like Asura, the God of War, hewn out of jet, with yawning jaws from which issued a torrent of sound.

Astounded by the temerity of this fellow and his words, the monks shouted: "Whew! . . . Kiyomori!" Then a mad roaring broke loose. "Slash him to bits for the festival of blood!"

The leaders who walked ahead showed no surprise and brought the marchers to a stop, restraining them. "Let him speak. Let no one touch him. Let us first hear what he has to say."

The Shrine-bearers pushed back the angry crowd, crying: "No man shall come near the Shrine and defile it! Beware of the sacred emblem!"

Kiyomori stood his ground, still shouting hoarsely: "That which you demand, I now give you. Here are Tokitada and Heiroku—take them! Remember, however, they're still alive."

The wary looks of the leaders changed to mocking smiles at Kiyomori's words. Kiyomori took another deep breath and continued: "That affair at Gion brought on this. See me, O you gods! And you, Buddha, unstop your ears! Hear what I have to say. Both sides are guilty, for were they not intoxicated? Has it not always been said that both parties to a quarrel are in the wrong? I, Kiyomori, therefore, give up these two whom I love to Mount Hiei, and in return demand a hearing of this sacred object, the symbol of your godhead!"

Rumblings of laughter greeted Kiyomori's words. "Look at him, Kiyomori, Lord Aki! How he raves! He's mad!"

Kiyomori's body was contorted in an effort to make himself heard. Sweat poured down his cheeks and chin and from behind his ears, like water bubbling on hot iron.

"Mad or not, listen further to what I have to say. Let this god hear me, too! Whether it is a divinity or Buddha himself, it is a curse, a delusion, and the cause of suffering to men! It is no more than an object of idolatry! Has it not deceived men for centuries and led them astray, this abomination from Mount Hiei? But Kiyomori is not deceived. Hear me, therefore, you cursed godhead, and beware!"

Consternation spread through the monks as Kiyomori fitted an arrow to his bow; it creaked as he arched it like the full moon; then he aimed straight at the Shrine.

One of the leaders leaped forward shrieking: "Alas! A curse on you, blasphemer! You shall die foaming blood!"

"Die? Then so be it."

The bowstring twanged, the arrow hissed and pierced the very center of the Shrine. From two thousand throats came a frenzied roar. The white-robed priests sprang to their feet, shouting rapidly to one another, and the air was suddenly filled with wails, angry shrieks, cries of anguish, the screams of half-demented men; moans, and bestial howls.

Never had the Shrine been thus desecrated! Never had any man raised a hand against it, for had he dared, he would have been struck dead instantly, foaming blood. Yet there stood Kiyomori, nor did blood gush from his mouth. The emptiness of the myth had been exposed in broad daylight, and the priests stripped of all authority. Aghast, the leaders quickly sought to turn the mob's disillusionment into fury by urging them on to violence.

"Don't let that madman escape!"

The massed body of monks broke loose. Kiyomori vanished in an onrush of flashing spears, dust, and flailing staves. Not far off, Tokitada and Heiroku were soon engulfed by the mob and lost to sight.

Kiyomori's bowstring snapped; he laid about him with his bow, felling three or four of his opponents, and fighting on as though possessed. But the odds were against him, for he had no other weapon.

"Don't kill him! Get him alive!" The monks baited him as though he were a boar at bay. The leaders clamored hoarsely: "Catch him! Beat him down! We'll drag him back alive to Mount Hiei!"

"Capture him alive, alive!" they cried. They could hold him for ransom in their future talks with the Palace, or else punish this arch-rebel as an example to the people of Mount Hiei's authority.

The unwieldy mob moved clumsily, and in the hand-to-hand fighting Kiyomori wrenched a halberd from one of the monks. With it he hacked at arms and legs until he drew blood, and saw six or seven wounded or dead sprawl to the ground. He caught glimpses of Tokitada and Heiroku not far off, dodging in their attempts to get to him. Fragments of their anxious cries reached him, and he called back to them: "Don't yield! Keep up your courage! The same sun looks down on all of us!"

All this took place in a matter of moments. Meanwhile the outcry and commotion attracted the common folk in the vicinity. In a short while a dense crowd had gathered noisily at the scene. One of them picked up a stone and shouted: "Don't let the wolves of Mount Hiei devour you!" There were loud cries of: "You good-for-nothing hirelings!" "You cursed monks!" The jeering mass was clamoring: "At those greedy, evil priests!" as they snatched up fragments of rock and stones, which they hurled at the churning monks. A howl of indignation was followed by another volley of stones. Just then a black column of smoke shot up from among the trees of Gion. Another column, then another, and yet another followed. At this sight the monks wavered and then began to fall back in confusion. Calling to one another that they had been ambushed, the battling monks turned about in full retreat. Forgotten now was the inviolability of the Shrine in the panic; it careened wildly at a sharp angle above the heads of the dissolving mass, borne on the shoulders of the priests as they fled madly toward Gion.