"False, murderous coward, your day has come! I, Umanosuké, the son of
Umanojô, have come to demand vengeance for the death of three innocent
men who have perished by your treachery. If you are a man, defend
yourself. This day shall your soul see hell!"
With these words he rushed furiously upon Banzayémon, who, seeing
escape to be impossible, stood upon his guard. But his coward's heart
quailed before the avenger, and he soon lay bleeding at his enemy's
feet.
But who shall say how Umanosuké thanked Chôbei for his assistance; or
how, when he had returned to his own country, he treasured up his
gratitude in his heart, looking upon Chôbei as more than a second
father?
Thus did Chôbei use his power to punish the wicked, and to reward the
good--giving of his abundance to the poor, and succouring the
unfortunate, so that his name was honoured far and near. It remains
only to record the tragical manner of his death.
We have already told how my lord Midzuno Jiurozayémon, the chief of
the associated nobles, had been foiled in his attempts to bring shame
upon Chôbei, the Father of the Otokodaté; and how, on the contrary,
the latter, by his ready wit, never failed to make the proud noble's
weapons recoil upon him. The failure of these attempts rankled in the
breast of Jiurozayémon, who hated Chôbei with an intense hatred, and
sought to be revenged upon him. One day he sent a retainer to Chôbei's
house with a message to the effect that on the following day my lord
Jiurozayémon would be glad to see Chôbei at his house, and to offer
him a cup of wine, in return for the cold macaroni with which his
lordship had been feasted some time since. Chôbei immediately
suspected that in sending this friendly summons the cunning noble was
hiding a dagger in a smile; however, he knew that if he stayed away
out of fear he would be branded as a coward, and made a laughing-stock
for fools to jeer at. Not caring that Jiurozayémon should succeed in
his desire to put him to shame, he sent for his favourite apprentice,
Tôken Gombei, and said to him--
"I have been invited to a drinking-bout by Midzuno Jiurozayémon. I
know full well that this is but a stratagem to requite me for having
fooled him, and maybe his hatred will go the length of killing me.
However, I shall go and take my chance; and if I detect any sign of
foul play, I'll try to serve the world by ridding it of a tyrant, who
passes his life in oppressing the helpless farmers and wardsmen. Now
as, even if I succeed in killing him in his own house, my life must
pay forfeit for the deed, do you come to-morrow night with a
burying-tub,[30] and fetch my corpse from this Jiurozayémon's house."
[Footnote 30: The lowest classes in Japan are buried in a squatting
position, in a sort of barrel. One would have expected a person of
Chôbei's condition and means to have ordered a square box. It is a
mistake to suppose the burning of the dead to be universal in Japan:
only about thirty per cent of the lower classes, chiefly belonging to
the Montô sect of Buddhism, are burnt. The rich and noble are buried
in several square coffins, one inside the other, in a sitting
position; and their bodies are partially preserved from decay by
filling the nose, ears, and mouth with vermilion. In the case of the
very wealthy, the coffin is completely filled in with vermilion. The
family of the Princes of Mito, and some other nobles, bury their dead
in a recumbent position.]
Tôken Gombei, when he heard the "Father" speak thus, was horrified,
and tried to dissuade him from obeying the invitation. But Chôbei's
mind was fixed, and, without heeding Gombei's remonstrances, he
proceeded to give instructions as to the disposal of his property
after his death, and to settle all his earthly affairs.
On the following day, towards noon, he made ready to go to
Jiurozayémon's house, bidding one of his apprentices precede him with
a complimentary present.[31] Jiurozayémon, who was waiting with
impatience for Chôbei to come, so soon as he heard of his arrival
ordered his retainers to usher him into his presence; and Chôbei,
having bade his apprentices without fail to come and fetch him that
night, went into the house.
[Footnote 31: It is customary, on the occasion of a first visit to a
house, to carry a present to the owner, who gives something of equal
value on returning the visit.]
No sooner had he reached the room next to that in which Jiurozayémon
was sitting than he saw that his suspicions of treachery were well
founded; for two men with drawn swords rushed upon him, and tried to
cut him down. Deftly avoiding their blows, however, he tripped up the
one, and kicking the other in the ribs, sent him reeling and
breathless against the wall; then, as calmly as if nothing had
happened he presented himself before Jiurozayémon, who, peeping
through a chink in the sliding-doors, had watched his retainers'
failure.
"Welcome, welcome, Master Chôbei," said he. "I always had heard that
you were a man of mettle, and I wanted to see what stuff you were made
of; so I bade my retainers put your courage to the test. That was a
masterly throw of yours. Well, you must excuse this churlish
reception: come and sit down by me."
"Pray do not mention it, my lord," said Chôbei, smiling rather
scornfully. "I know that my poor skill is not to be measured with
that of a noble Samurai; and if these two good gentlemen had the worst
of it just now, it was mere luck--that's all."
So, after the usual compliments had been exchanged, Chôbei sat down by
Jiurozayémon, and the attendants brought in wine and condiments.
Before they began to drink, however, Jiurozayémon said--
"You must be tired and exhausted with your walk this hot day, Master
Chôbei. I thought that perhaps a bath might refresh you, so I ordered
my men to get it ready for you. Would you not like to bathe and make
yourself comfortable?"
Chôbei suspected that this was a trick to strip him, and take him
unawares when he should have laid aside his dirk. However, he answered
cheerfully--
"Your lordship is very good. I shall be glad to avail myself of your
kind offer. Pray excuse me for a few moments."
So he went to the bath-room, and, leaving his clothes outside, he got
into the bath, with the full conviction that it would be the place of
his death. Yet he never trembled nor quailed, determined that, if he
needs must die, no man should say he had been a coward. Then
Jiurozayémon, calling to his attendants, said--
"Quick! lock the door of the bath-room! We hold him fast now. If he
gets out, more than one life will pay the price of his. He's a match
for any six of you in fair fight. Lock the door, I say, and light up
the fire under the bath;[32] and we'll boil him to death, and be rid
of him. Quick, men, quick!"
[Footnote 32: This sort of bath, in which the water is heated by the
fire of a furnace which is lighted from outside, is called
_Goyémon-buro,_ or Goyémon's bath, after a notorious robber named
Goyémon, who attempted the life of Taiko Sama, the famous general and
ruler of the sixteenth century, and suffered for his crimes by being
boiled to death in oil--a form of execution which is now obsolete.]
So they locked the door, and fed the fire until the water hissed and
bubbled within; and Chôbei, in his agony, tried to burst open the
door, but Jiurozayémon ordered his men to thrust their spears through
the partition wall and dispatch him. Two of the spears Chôbei clutched
and broke short off; but at last he was struck by a mortal blow under
the ribs, and died a brave man by the hands of cowards.
[Illustration: THE DEATH OF CHÔBEI OF BANDZUIN.]
That evening Tôken Gombei, who, to the astonishment of Chôbei's wife,
had bought a burying-tub, came, with seven other apprentices, to fetch
the Father of the Otokodaté from Jiurozayémon's house; and when the
retainers saw them, they mocked at them, and said--
"What, have you come to fetch your drunken master home in a litter?"
"Nay," answered Gombei, "but we have brought a coffin for his dead
body, as he bade us."
When the retainers heard this, they marvelled at the courage of
Chôbei, who had thus wittingly come to meet his fate. So Chôbei's
corpse was placed in the burying-tub, and handed over to his
apprentices, who swore to avenge his death. Far and wide, the poor and
friendless mourned for this good man. His son Chômatsu inherited his
property; and his wife remained a faithful widow until her dying day,
praying that she might sit with him in paradise upon the cup of the
same lotus-flower.
Many a time did the apprentices of Chôbei meet together to avenge him;
but Jiurozayémon eluded all their efforts, until, having been
imprisoned by the Government in the temple called Kanyeiji, at Uyéno,
as is related in the story of "Kazuma's Revenge," he was placed beyond
the reach of their hatred.
So lived and so died Chôbei of Bandzuin, the Father of the Otokodaté
of Yedo.