Seven years ago, in Kaei 6 (1853), the American fleet knocked on Japan’s door and then signed the first unequal treaty in Japanese history: the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan.
Since then, powers like Britain and France, like cats smelling fish, came one after another to sign various treaties with Japan.
Two years ago, in Ansei 5 (1858), Japan signed a new treaty with America: the Treaty of Amity and Commerce.
In this treaty, Japan agreed to America stationing a minister in Edo, and the United States Embassy was officially established in Japan.
These foreign Embassies naturally became the primary targets of the Radical anti-foreigners faction.
They launched countless disturbances, large and small, against the Embassies and the people working there.
Currently, the “expel the barbarians” ideology is spreading wider and wider, with more and more people joining the expel the barbarians movement, and attacks on Embassies are becoming increasingly fierce and strong.
If a minister or Others within an Embassy were to be killed by members of the Radical anti-foreigners faction, it would be a serious international issue, so the Shogunate decided to increase security around the Embassies.
However, recruiting guards always takes time.
Therefore, while waiting for the guards to be fully recruited, Tachibana Aoto was transferred to the United States Embassy a month ago to serve as a “temporary guard.”
Tachibana Aoto only served as a temporary guard at the United States Embassy for a total of seven days, and during those seven days, Tachibana Aoto didn’t do anything.
He merely patrolled the Embassy daily, but he was still targeted and hated by members of the Radical anti-foreigners faction.
They believed that such acts of assisting foreigners were unforgivable crimes.
They are Kokuzoku!
Heaven’s Punishment!
The recent incident was not the first time members of the Radical anti-foreigners faction had attempted to assassinate Aoto.
Ten days prior, they had launched their first assassination attempt against Tachibana Aoto.
Tachibana Aoto was extremely lucky.
He was surrounded by four assassins at that time, and just as his head was about to be severed, a group of “onlookers” suddenly appeared, just like tonight.
The assassins, not wanting their appearances exposed, quickly fled.
That time, Tachibana Aoto truly almost died.
The assassins, while brandishing their swords, loudly enumerated Tachibana Aoto’s so-called “crimes.”
Thanks to the assassins’ “meticulous act,” Tachibana Aoto wouldn’t even have known why he was targeted by the Radical anti-foreigners faction.
“Alright,” Kyubei carefully checked the linen he had applied to Aoto’s wound, and after confirming there were no issues, he nodded, “It’s bandaged, Young master, check if it’s too tight or too loose.”
“It’s perfectly bandaged, Kyubei, thank you for your hard work.”
“Huh?” Kyubei, with a bewildered expression, leaned his right ear towards Aoto.
Seeing this, Aoto gave a helpless wry smile, then leaned his mouth towards Kyubei.
“I said!
It’s perfectly bandaged!
Kyubei!
Thank you for your hard work!”
“Oh, oh…” Kyubei nodded gently, as if waking from a dream, “It’s good if there’s no discomfort”
This old man, who had served the Tachibana for over thirty years, had become increasingly hard of hearing and very forgetful as he aged.
Speaking to Kyubei at a volume that sounded like shouting at an enemy—this was one of the daily occurrences in the Tachibana household.
Aoto stood up and bounced a few times in place.
After confirming that the bandage on his leg was fine and wouldn’t hinder Aoto’s movements, Aoto looked up and let out a long sigh.
Seeing this, Kyubei quickly came closer.
“Young master, you must have had a tough night.
Being attacked by the Anti-Foreign Faction again, you must have been terrified.”
“Hmm, yes…” Aoto sighed deeply again, raised a hand to scratch his hair, “I was indeed terrified…”
—I almost got hacked to death right after transmigrating…
—So what’s my situation now…
I just transmigrated and I’m being targeted by a bunch of terrorists…
That Radical anti-foreigners faction, from any perspective, was undoubtedly a group of terrorists.
And they were the kind of terrorists you couldn’t reason with, the kind who were single-mindedly intent on killing you.
As Aoto felt melancholic about his current predicament
—Thump thump thump!
A very rough knocking sound suddenly came from the door.
This sudden knocking sound seemed to have a magical effect, instantly turning Kyubei’s face pale.
“Coming, coming!” Kyubei responded urgently while quickly rushing towards the door.
Aoto, not understanding what was happening, followed behind Kyubei with a bewildered expression.
Whoosh…
The wooden door was pulled open.
Standing outside the room were three young men.
The leading young man was dressed in very plain clothes and wore a straw hat with a very low brim.
After Kyubei opened the door, he immediately lifted his straw hat, revealing a face that, although its features were quite delicate, had its beauty ruined by a large scar running from his left earlobe to his right earlobe.
“Good evening, Lord Tachibana.”
Scarface smiled, warmly greeting Aoto, who stood behind Kyubei.
“As you can see, I’m back.
Have you saved enough money this time?”
—Save money?
Who are these people again?
Aoto’s bewildered expression deepened, and he quickly searched Tachibana Aoto’s memories.
As Aoto diligently searched Tachibana Aoto’s memories, the frightened Kyubei hurried back to the back room, then quickly returned from the back room.
When he returned, Kyubei held a small paper packet in his hand.
“Here.” Kyubei pushed the small paper packet into Scarface’s arms.
Scarface opened the paper packet—inside, it was full of money.
“Only this much this time…?” Scarface pouted, “Isn’t that a bit too little?”
“Please be accommodating,” Kyubei quickly said.
Scarface glanced at Kyubei.
“…Alright then, I’ll be accommodating this time.”
With that, he flicked the money in his hand with his fingers, quickly counted the amount, and then took a small abacus from his waist.
“Hmm…
deducting the money you returned this time…
Lord Tachibana, your father currently owes 520 ryo of gold in gambling debt.”
Scarface, after manipulating the abacus, smiled and tucked the money Kyubei had just given him into his arms.
“The debt is now only 520 ryo of gold, congratulations, congratulations, keep up the good work, Lord Tachibana.”
Scarface pulled down the brim of his straw hat.
“The money has been received, so I won’t bother you any longer.”
“I’ll come again in a while.
Please be sure to prepare a more substantial amount then.”
“The money you prepared tonight was really too little; normally, I wouldn’t even bother to collect it.”
“But seeing as you’ve always made an effort to repay the debt, I’ll be accommodating this one time tonight.”
“Next time, please don’t try to fool me with such a small amount of money again.”
“Otherwise…”
Scarface gave Aoto a very sunny, very gentle smile, his eyes narrowing into slits.
“You wouldn’t want to live a life where you can’t even get a good night’s sleep, would you?”
“I wish you a good night’s sleep.”
After speaking, Scarface pushed down the straw hat on his head, then waved his hand, and led the two young men behind him swaggering away.
Aoto stared blankly at Scarface’s retreating figure.
Just now, he had finally processed Tachibana Aoto’s memories regarding the “debt,” and figured out who this Scarface was.
They are Yakuzas!
In modern terms, the Scarface from just now was what you’d call a gangster.
As a former Police Academy graduate, Aoto was very familiar with gangsters.
When he was studying at the Police Academy in his previous life, a senior who specialized in organized crime had educated Aoto about Japanese gangs.
The origins of Japanese gangs can be traced back to the Edo Period—which is the era Aoto is currently in.
The predecessors of Japanese gangs were a group of bottom-dwellers in Edo Period society who banded together for survival.
However, gradually, these organizations of lower-class individuals banding together for survival began to change.
They started engaging in illicit but highly profitable activities such as prostitution, gambling, and moneylending, to seek profit and expand their influence.
During the Edo Period, there was no term like ‘organized crime’ or ‘gangsters.’ People at that time contemptuously referred to those who engaged in such underworld activities as “Yakuzas.”
Yakuzas is a transliteration of the Japanese word “ヤクザ”, meaning “scoundrel” or “good-for-nothing.”
It wasn’t until the 20th century that Japanese gang members, wanting to glorify themselves, adopted the name “Gokudo.”
Why would Yakuzas come to Aoto for money?
That’s a long story.
It’s all because Aoto had a scoundrel of a father…
Aoto’s father, Tachibana Takashi, was originally a mentally sound, cheerful, and upward-looking middle-aged man with no bad habits.
However, fate played a cruel trick—he unfortunately became addicted to gambling a year ago.
People addicted to gambling all share one common trait: they always believe they’ll win the next hand, and once they’re at the gambling table, they’ll never leave until they have nothing left to bet.
Tachibana Takashi kept gambling and gambling…
until six months ago, when he suddenly contracted an incurable illness and died, finally stopping.
Although only half a year passed from the time he became addicted to gambling until his death, Aoto’s father still accumulated an enormous gambling debt—a full 600 ryo of gold!
One ryo of gold in this era was worth approximately 128,800 Japanese yen in modern Japan.
600 ryo of gold is 240.000.000 million Japanese YEN…
Converted to USD, it’s nearly $1.486.488 million…
[Note: The conversion between Japanese YEN and USD is based on the exchange rate when Author wrote this chapter.]
It’s clear how astonishingly astronomical 600 ryo of gold was.
In the Edo Period, generally only Yakuzas would open and operate casinos.
Ordinary merchants would never dabble in the casino business.
The casino where Aoto’s father incurred his debt was backed by the Yakuzas group commonly known as the Shimizu Clan.
Yakuzas in the Edo Period adopted a family-centric organizational structure, so people generally referred to them as “XX Clan” or “XX Faction.”
The Shimizu Clan was no ordinary Yakuzas.
Their influence was immense, involved in and meddling with all industries in Edo.
They were recognized as the “most powerful Yakuzas group in Edo.”
The Scarface from earlier was a member of the Shimizu Clan.
Tachibana Takashi’s popularity was actually quite good; even after he suddenly became a gambling addict who spent all day gambling, there were still a few people who remained loyal to him.
After Tachibana Takashi died of illness, his close friends immediately banded together, deciding to collectively find a way to secure an official position for Aoto, so that the Tachibana family wouldn’t fall into ruin due to a lack of income.
After some maneuvering, they successfully arranged for Aoto to inherit Takashi’s official position six months ago, becoming the new Doshin of the Edo North Magistrate’s Office Sadamachi-Mawari.
Aoto inheriting Tachibana Takashi’s official position—that was certainly good news.
But what Aoto also inherited…
was that enormous debt Tachibana Takashi owed to the Shimizu Clan…
When Aoto’s father died, his gambling debt naturally fell upon Aoto’s shoulders.
In the half-year since Aoto’s father died, members of the Shimizu Clan would come to their door every now and then to collect the debt.
Paying debts, a son inheriting his father’s debt, it’s only natural, especially when the creditor is the Yakuzas, who have always disregarded law and order…
He had silently endured and paid off the debt for half a year, successfully reducing it from 600 ryo of gold to just…
520 ryo of gold…
Slap!
Aoto slowly lifted his head, then abruptly raised both hands and pressed them against his cheeks.
—Not only targeted by terrorists, but also by the most powerful Yakuzas group in the city…
—What kind of hellish start is this?!
[Japanese History Class is starting!]
Between the Kamakura period and the muromachi period, there was actually a very short period: the Northern and Southern Courts period (1336 to 1392).
After the fall of the Kamakura Shogunate, the Kyoto Imperial Court briefly regained national power, and the Emperor once again became the de facto national leader.
However, the various reforms implemented by Emperor Go-Daigo, the reigning Emperor at the time, to strengthen imperial power, failed to meet the needs of the samurai class.
Ashikaga Takauji, a general of the Imperial Court at the time and a warrior who had achieved great success in overthrowing the Kamakura Shogunate, was quite dissatisfied with Emperor Go-Daigo.
He successfully forced Emperor Go-Daigo to abdicate and enthroned a new Emperor: Emperor Kōmyō.
After establishing this puppet Emperor, Ashikaga Takauji, under Emperor Kōmyō’s conferment, received the official title of Shogun and established the second Shogunate in Japanese history in the Muromachi region: the Muromachi Shogunate.
However, not long after Emperor Go-Daigo’s abdication, he managed to escape to Yoshino in what is now Nara Prefecture, confronting Emperor Kōmyō, who was supported by Ashikaga Takauji.
Thus, historians referred to the regime supported by Ashikaga Takauji as the “Northern Court” and Emperor Go-Daigo’s regime as the “Southern Court.”
It wasn’t until the Muromachi Shogunate reached its third Shogun that the Northern Court finally defeated the Southern Court, ending the Northern and Southern Courts period.
*****
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