I S L A N D O F E X I L E S
A M Y S T E R Y O F E A R LY J A PA N
I . J. PA R K E R
P E N G U I N B O O K S
penguin books
I S L A N D O F E X I L E S
i. j. parker, winner of a Shamus Award for the short story
“Akitada’s First Case,” is the author of The Dragon Scroll, Rashomon Gate, Black Arrow, and The Hell Screen, and lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
I S L A N D O F E X I L E S
A M Y S T E R Y O F E A R LY J A PA N
I . J. PA R K E R
P E N G U I N B O O K S
penguin books
Published by the Penguin Group
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First published in Penguin Books 2007
Copyright © I. J. Parker, 2007
All rights reserved
Publisher’s Note
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
library of congress cataloging in publication data
Parker, I. J. (Ingrid J.)
Island of exiles / I.J. Parker
p. cm.
ISBN: 1-4362-4739-X
1. Japan—History—Heian period, 794–1185—Fiction.
2. Sugawara Akitada (Fictitious character)
3. Penal colonies—Fiction. 4. Exiles—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3616.A745I85 2007
813'.6—dc22 2007012078
Set in Minion
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For Hannah and Tony,
in hopes that they may grow up to love books
AC K N OW L E D G M E N T S
I am indebted to my readers John Rosenman, Jacqueline
Falkenhan, Richard Rowand, Bob Stein, and John Bushore for
their comments and encouragement. My editor, Ali Bothwell
Mancini, deserves credit for making decisions at the production
stage. And, as always, I am deeply grateful to my agents, Jean
Naggar and Jennifer Weltz, for their unstinting efforts in pro-
moting this series as well as for their unfailing and enthusiastic
support of its author.
C H A R AC T E R S A N D P L AC E S
P l ace Na m e s :
Sadoshima
Sado Island in the Sea of Japan
Mano
Main port city and provincial
headquarters on Sawata Bay
Minato
Village between Lake Kamo and the
northeast coast (modern Ryotsu)
Tsukahara
Village near the southern mountains
Sawata
Town on Sawata Bay
Echigo
Northern province of Japan, known as
“snow country” (modern Niigata)
C h a r ac te r s i n E ch i g o :
Sugawara Akitada
Minor government official, deputy
governor in Echigo
Tora
One of his retainers, presently lieutenant
of the provincial guard
Seimei
His aged secretary
Tamako
His wife, the mother of his baby son, Yori
xii
C h a r a c t e r s a n d P l a c e s
C h a r ac te r s i n Sa d o s h i m a :
Prince Okisada
Aka the “Second Prince,” oldest son
of the previous emperor. Exiled for
plotting the current emperor’s
overthrow
Taira Takamune
His former tutor and fellow exile
Professor Sakamoto
Retired professor of classics, writing a
history of Sado Island
Mutobe Toshikata
Governor of Sadoshima
Mutobe Toshito
His son and assistant
Shunsei
Young Buddhist monk and the prince’s
lover
Yoshimine Taketsuna Newly arrived exile with a secret
Jisei
Prisoner recently released from digging
“badger holes”
Haseo
Taciturn prisoner with a scarred back
Doctor Ogata
Alcoholic physician and coroner
Lieutenant Wada
The local police authority
Superintendent
In charge of the prison and the
Yamada
“Valuables Office”
Masako
His daughter
Shijo Yutaka
Head of the provincial archives
Genzo
One of his scribes
Ribata
Nun with a past
Osawa
Tax inspector in search of a wife
Kumo Sanetomo
Local landowner and high constable of
Sadoshima
Kita
Kumo’s mine foreman
C h a r a c t e r s a n d P l a c e s
xiii
Takao
Landlady of the Minato inn and Osawa’s
friend
Haru
Owner of lake restaurant Bamboo Grove
Doctor Nakatomi
The prince’s physician
Taimai (Turtle)
Crippled porter
Oyoshi
His sister, hostel keeper, and mother of
many children
Little Flower
Childlike prostitute
Ikugoro
Wada’s sergeant of constables
Also: two unnamed but high-ranking officials from the emperor’s private office, cooks, guards, servants, fishermen, monks, elderly
gentlewomen, constables, scribes, and an antique flute.
I S L A N D O F E X I L E S
P RO LO G U E
The orange sun disappeared behind the top of the mountain
range, and a gradual gloom settled over the garden. At the lake’s
edge, a crane emerged cautiously from the reeds and froze, its
small black eye on the five humans in the lakeside pavilion. The
brilliant red patch on its head and the elegant black and white
plumage were clearly visible in spite of the white mist that was
beginning to rise from the darkening surface of the water. The
air chilled quickly on Sado Island.
The crane was hungry for a mouthful of fish before seeking
its roost. The humans, replete with good food and wine, let
their conversation lag in the approaching darkness.
Advancing two slow, considered steps, the crane turned its
attention to the lake bottom.
2
I . J . P a r k e r
Professor Sakamoto and his four guests watched the bird
idly. The professor had retired from the imperial university
in the capital and settled here to write a history of the island
and its famous exiles. This evening his guest of honor was
Prince Okisada, a half-brother of the current sovereign and un-
cle of a future emperor. A frail man in his late forties, the Sec-