cumstances. I am afraid that it is my duty to place you and Lord

Taira under arrest for attempted treason.”

Okisada said nothing. His lower lip trembled and he

clutched convulsively at Taira. Taira detached himself gently

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and said, “Let us resume our seats, Highness, and hear what this

person has to say in explanation of such outrageous charges.”

Passing Akitada and the staring soldiers, he led his master

back to the cushions in the first room. The soldiers put up

the screen again. On a gesture from Akitada, they remained. A

brazier full of glowing coals made the area hot and stuffy on

this late summer day. Nobody invited Akitada to sit. He knelt

formally, found that his knee hurt abominably, and sat back

on his heels.

He addressed Okisada. “I have no doubt that you already

know who I am and why I am here on Sadoshima, but to ob-

serve the formalities, I serve as temporary imperial envoy with

powers to inquire into certain irregularities among the exiles

here. More specifically I was sent to investigate Your Highness’s

alleged murder. Would you care to explain why you performed

this extraordinary charade?”

Okisada’s lower lip began to quiver again. Taira put his thin

hand on his arm and said angrily to Akitada, “How dare you

address His Imperial Highness in such a tone and with such

words? Where are your credentials?”

“My lord, I believe you know very well where they are.

Besides, since both of you are exiles here, I do not owe you any

explanations. We are wasting time. I suppose you expect the

arrival of the rebel Kumo before leaving on the ship at anchor in

the harbor? I regret to inform you that Kumo is dead, and that

Governor Mutobe is at this moment boarding the ship to arrest

its captain and men. Your supporters will shortly be rounded up

and tried for their involvement in this plot.”

Okisada cried out and clutched at Taira again. Taira turned

very pale. He snapped, “You lie.”

Akitada removed the gilded sword from his sash and placed

it on the mat before Taira. “I told you the truth,” he said. “I killed Kumo myself and took his sword off his body not an hour ago.”

I s l a n d o f E x i l e s

381

They both looked at the sword in horror. Taira bit his lip,

then his eyes searched Akitada’s face. Okisada began to weep.

“All for nothing,” the prince blubbered. “It was all for noth-

ing. Poor Shunsei starved to death, and all my suffering wasted.

Oh, why is this world so cruel to me?”

Taira murmured something soothing and stroked the

prince’s back.

So Okisada’s lover had died, expecting to join his beloved

in another world. Akitada sighed. There was little pleasure in

confronting this man with his guilt. He was weak, spoiled, and

self-centered, but he had been raised expecting to be emperor.

The disappointment apparently had destroyed whatever good

qualities the prince might once have had. He said, “I think you

took a carefully measured amount of the fugu poison during the professor’s dinner in order to induce a deathlike trance. You did

this to cause the governor’s son to be arrested for your murder

and to cover preparations for your return to imperial power.

Your charade worked because neither Sakamoto nor Mutobe’s

son were familiar with this particular effect of the poison.”

“What you are pleased to call a charade, Lord Sugawara,”

said Taira in a tired voice, “was no more than an accident. We

all thought His Highness dead. It was his physician, Nakatomi,

who discovered that the prince had fallen into a state approxi-

mating nirvana. He remained like that for days. We thought

it a miracle when he returned to life, and we were, of course,

overjoyed, but . . .” He paused, searching for words.

Akitada snapped, “In that case, why did you pursue the

murder charge against young Mutobe? And why allow the

monk Shunsei to die of grief?”

Okisada buried his face in a sleeve and sobbed.

Taira sighed. “You don’t understand. We had hoped for bet-

ter treatment from the authorities here. Instead Mutobe and his

son began a systematic campaign of persecution against us and

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our sole protector, the high constable. Don’t forget that you are

in the presence of the rightful emperor. Our lives are dedicated

to returning him to the throne.”

“And so you would have let young Mutobe die for a murder

which did not happen?”

Taira raised his brows. “Certainly not. Exile is the worst that

could happen to him. He is an irritating young man. A period of

military service in the north might make a man of him.”

Akitada found himself agreeing with that. Having wronged

Toshito by misjudging him had worsened his dislike for the

young man. There was something about Toshito that made

him the perfect target for false accusations. But it would not

do to let Taira know of his feelings. He said coldly, “I do not

believe you. Many people have spoken of the prince’s fondness

for fugu. I expect he knew the effects of the poison very well indeed. But Sakamoto, Shunsei, and young Mutobe all thought

the prince had died. You had the presumed corpse taken to

Nakatomi, who pronounced death by poison. Then you staged

a cremation and afterwards you, my lord, left for your mansion

with the prince hidden in your sedan chair. There you and

the prince waited until Toshito would be found guilty and

Mutobe would be recalled. But two events interrupted your

plans. First I arrived on the scene, and then Toshito escaped

from prison.”

Taira growled, “Kumo always was too devout. He should

have killed you.”

“Yes. I wondered why I was buried alive in his mine. I take it

that the thief Genzo brought you my papers?”

Taira did not answer.

“Well, as I said, Toshito’s unexpected escape from prison

caused another delay, and that is why you are still here now.

With your ship at anchor in the harbor.”

I s l a n d o f E x i l e s

383

The prince whimpered. Taira was very pale, but his black

eyes burned. “Prove it! We have done nothing.”

“The proof is waiting. The governor is about to arrest the

ship’s captain and crew. Then we will question Nakatomi. I

doubt they will hesitate to speak under the circumstances. And

with Kumo dead, your connections to the mainland and ties

with the Ezo rebels are broken. Your contacts there will also be

arrested. It is pointless to persist, my lord.”

There was a long silence. Then Taira said, “I wish to see

Kumo’s corpse.”

Akitada dispatched Tora with four of the soldiers to bring

the body. Then he turned to Okisada. “You must have been

afraid of dying, Highness.”

Okisada sat up a little and dabbed the tears from his face.

“Nonsense,” he muttered. “I was very careful. There is not another

person in the world who knows as much about the fish as I do.”

Akitada heard the boast and believed it. But he still thought

Okisada had been lucky. Or perhaps not. For what would hap-

pen next was in the hands of the emperor and his advisors, and

it would hardly be as pleasant as Okisada’s exile on Sadoshima.

As for Taira, a second attempt at rebellion meant the death

penalty.

More to the point, Okisada had just admitted his guilt,

though he would not think of himself as being either culpable

or foolish. Taira compressed his lips, but did not chide his

master.

“I have been wondering how you smuggled the fugu fish to