“It’s good to see you again,” Hiroko said, pouring tea. She was two years Reiko’s senior and had rounded features that reflected her tranquil disposition. Maids brought her two little boys, aged one and three years, for Reiko to admire. Hiroko inquired about Masahiro, then said with a gentle, knowing smile, “Somehow I doubt that you’ve come here for the mere pleasure of passing the time with me.”
A fond, sisterly understanding had existed between them since their childhood, when Reiko had taken the lead in games while Hiroko tried to curb Reiko’s willfulness and often shared the consequences of it.
“I need information about the Black Lotus sect,” Reiko said. “I was hoping that the honorable minister might have some knowledge that would help solve the mystery of the fire and murders at the temple. May I speak to him?”
A frown marred Hiroko’s smooth forehead. “You know I would give you anything you wanted of me, Reiko-san, but… ” She paused, seeking words to refuse a favor to the daughter of her father’s master. “My husband is very busy, and women shouldn’t meddle in men’s affairs.”
“I understand,” Reiko said, “and I don’t like asking you to do something that might cause trouble in your marriage, but a life may depend on what I can learn about the Black Lotus.” Reiko described Haru’s plight and her own suspicions about the sect. “Unless I can find out who committed the crimes, a person who may be innocent will be executed.”
Hiroko glanced at her children playing in the next room, her gaze clouded with indecision.
“Will you at least ask your husband if he’ll spare me a moment?” Reiko asked, though she hated to pressure her friend.
Fortunately for Reiko, obedience was ingrained in Hiroko. A sigh issued from her, and she conceded, “I’ll ask him.”
She left the room, but soon returned. “He agreed to see you,” she said, her relief clear in her voice. “Come with me.”
Reiko accompanied her friend to the mansion’s private office and knelt before the man seated behind a desk in the raised study niche. Twenty years older than his wife, he had a lean, rigid figure clad in a gray kimono. The swarthy skin of his face stretched taut over high cheekbones. His eyes, deeply set beneath his shaved crown and heavy brows, had a hard intelligence.
“Honorable Husband, I present Lady Reiko, daughter of Magistrate Ueda and wife of the shogun’s sōsakan-sama. “ Hiroko bowed. She said to Reiko, “Please allow me to introduce the Honorable Minister of Temples and Shrines,” then rose and left the room.
Reiko stifled an urge to call her back. Minister Fugatami’s formidable appearance alarmed her. He must think her a presumptuous little fool.
“I am honored to make your acquaintance,” she said, bowing. Nervousness quavered her words; her heart pounded.
Minister Fugatami also bowed, regarding her with stern disapproval. Reiko guessed that he’d agreed to see her only because her father was a respected colleague and her husband a member of the shogun’s inner circle. “I understand that you have an interest in the Black Lotus sect,” he said. His voice was quiet, cold. “Please explain why.”
When Reiko began faltering through a recitation about Haru, he raised a hand, stopping her. “My wife has already told me about this girl,” he said. “That does not concern me. What I wish to know is why you think the Black Lotus is capable of murder.” With a touch of scorn, he added, “The law requires evidence to support such a presumption, but I wouldn’t expect a woman to understand that. Are you slandering the sect just to remove the blame from your little friend?”
That he should judge her so prematurely and underestimate her knowledge of the law! Indignation gave Reiko courage. She said politely but firmly, “No, Honorable Minister, I am not. “ Surprise raised his thick brows: She was probably the first woman who’d ever stood up to him. “I have reason to believe that the Black Lotus is evil.”
As she described her encounter with the novice monk, and his tales of imprisonment, torture, and murder, Minister Fugatami leaned forward, listening intently, until she finished her account with Pious Truth’s claim that the sect was engaged in a dangerous secret project.
“You heard this from a source inside the sect,” he said. A strange elation inflected his voice. Now he regarded her with a warmth akin to affection. “Please forgive my initial doubt, and allow me to thank you for coming to me.”
His sudden transformation aroused in Reiko a distrust that must have shown on her face, because Minister Fugatami said, “I owe you an explanation. My own interest in the Black Lotus dates back to a time six years ago, when the sect began its rapid expansion.” He seemed to have forgotten her inferior status; in his enthusiasm for his subject, he spoke as if addressing an equal. “Like yourself, I believe the Black Lotus is involved in bad business.”
He turned to the shelves behind him and lifted down four thick ledgers. “These are the records of my research on the sect, but alas, my information comes from sources outside the temple. Your story about the novice monk is the first I’ve heard of any member speaking out against the Black Lotus. It is a welcome sign that the wall of silence surrounding the sect is beginning to crumble, and I shall finally obtain the evidence I need to shut down the temple.”
Reiko felt a thrill of excitement that this powerful official shared her suspicion about the Black Lotus. Perhaps Sano would finally take the allegations against the sect seriously. “May I ask what you know about High Priest Anraku?” she said.
The room was growing dim as the day faded into evening. Fugatami lit lanterns, then opened a ledger.
“This is my dossier on Anraku, whose original name was Yoshi, born thirty-seven years ago to the unmarried daughter of a laborer in Bizen Province,” he said. “At age fourteen he became a novice at the local monastery, where he got a rudimentary education and exercised such strong control over the other novices that they considered him their spiritual leader and refused to obey the priests. Anraku beat any novices who resisted his authority. He was expelled after a year, without taking religious vows.
“Next he set himself up as an itinerant priest, wandering through the countryside, begging alms and cheating peasants at card games. Then came a period of eight years during which Anraku seems to have disappeared. He eventually resurfaced in Edo and began selling charms that would supposedly bring prosperity, but actually did nothing.
“Anraku roamed through town for the next several years, attracting many followers. He established the Black Lotus sect in a makeshift temple in a Nihonbashi storefront. His followers distributed his writings, begged alms, and sold his dirty bathwater, advertised as ‘Miracle Juice’ that could cure diseases. Anraku also charged money for transferring his divine energy to his followers via secret rituals.”
“Didn’t the authorities care?” Reiko said, recalling Dr. Miwa’s arrest for fraud.
Shaking his head in regret, the minister said, “Anraku was good at controlling people and influencing them to believe they’d benefited from his rituals and remedies. Since no one complained about him, there was no reason to censure Anraku. Eventually he raised a fortune. He also forged connections with Zōjō priests. In exchange for a share of his wealth, they adopted the Black Lotus sect as a subsidiary and allowed Anraku to build his temple in their district. But I believe he’s still pursuing his criminal ways, on a larger scale.”
“Why is that?” Reiko asked eagerly.
Minister Fugatami laid his hand on another ledger. “These are complaints about the Black Lotus, filed with my office, from citizens and neighborhood headmen. According to them, the sect kidnaps children, extorts donations, and imprisons followers. Its neighborhood shrines are allegedly fronts for gambling dens and brothels. I am convinced that so many independent accounts tell the truth.”