He disappeared through the door. The garden grew quiet once more.
Ikuko stared up into Sherlock’s face, seeming no less troubled than before. But seeing that the detective had already calmed down, she hurriedly released him. “Excuse me,” she murmured, flustered.
The silence grew uncomfortable. Asako stared at him with wet eyes. Sherlock realized that it was he who was responsible for this deplorable situation. He had done this.
“Forgive me,” he muttered. “My behavior was unacceptable.”
“Mr. Holmes,” whispered Umeko. “Please, talk to him…”
He nodded. He walked toward the entrance. His pace quickened. Only once he was racing into the house did he realize that he had forgotten to remove his shoes. He plucked them off in a rush before hurrying down the hall.
Sherlock spotted Ito through a half-open door. The other man was in his study, standing in an absent daze. Sherlock stepped inside. “Ito… you were right. This is your home. It is only right that I follow the example set by the master of the house.”
Ito slowly turned to face him. His gaze was piercing. “Not just in my house. I want you to refrain from it entirely while you are in Japan. Indeed, I wish you would swear to never take up the habit again.”
Sherlock fell silent. Ito possessed a gaze that could unsettle even the most steely of fortitudes. And what could he say in return? After all, Ito was right.
Ito vacillated for a moment, and then spoke once more. He seemed determined. “Until you return to England, I promise to refrain from my gallivanting as well.”
Sherlock stared at Ito, openmouthed. Ito returned his gaze.
It seemed incumbent that he say something. “I understand how great a commitment that is from you,” he said softly. “I promise, then.”
Ito nodded quietly, breaking his stare. He continued to linger, staring down at his desk.
Something else seemed wrong. “Ito, what is it?”
Ito lifted a single sheet of paper and sighed deeply. “This is a section of the unequal treaty we signed with the British. Here, read the column under supplement B.”
Sherlock saw it was in English. He read the section out loud. “In the event that Japan offers, surrenders, cedes, loans, leases, or sells any national properties to Russia, Britain shall reserve the right to demand a trade of at least equal value with Japan.”
Ito groaned. “This supplement is not commonly known. In short, anything that Japan gives to Russia we must give to Britain as well.”
“These are abysmal terms.” Sherlock put the paper back on the desk. “I cannot believe it was signed.”
“Western countries with constitutions already in place formed a great number of treaties with the less advanced countries that were designed to impose rule—designed to force barbaric, closed nations like ours to listen to their more knowledgeable, more powerful betters. Terms included recognizing extraterritorial rights for foreign residents, ceding territory, leasing territory, and so on and so forth. Some countries even lost tariff autonomy. The Treaty of Nanking, which the British imposed on the Qing Dynasty after the Opium War, was the first of these unequal treaties.”
Sherlock chose his words delicately. “I imagine you were reluctant to agree to such terms.”
“It is true, feudal Japan lacked basic legal principles. Torture and other cruel punishments existed, trade was unregulated, and contracts were unprotected. Perhaps that was why the West believed they needed to resort to controlling Japan through treaties.”
“Our perspective was somewhat different. After being closed off for so long, many believed that Japan would not understand the rules of international society. If a foreigner broke the law in Japan we had no idea by what standards he would be judged. It also seemed possible you might not understand the concept of tariffs. From our perspective, Britain was simply helping Japan manage its affairs in a more modern manner. The same interpretation had been applied to China, earlier.”
Ito laughed mirthlessly. “After the attack on Tsarevich Nicholas, Russia is likely as convinced as ever of our barbarism. And yet it is precisely at this juncture that we show our concern for the rule of law by choosing to not execute Sanzo Tsuda. It must seem like very impertinent behavior from such an uncivilized nation.”
“Britain does not see Japan in that way.”
“Perhaps you do not, but the British Empire might disagree. Five years ago a merchant vessel sank off the coast of Japan. The English captain and the 26 Western crewman used lifeboats to escape. The 25 Japanese passengers, however, were all left onboard. None were saved.”
“If you are referring to the sinking of the Normanton, I read of it in the papers. It was a tragedy.”
“It was clear the Japanese passengers had been abandoned. The captain, however, insisted that they were forced to leave them behind because they did not understand English and had retreated to the hold rather than board the lifeboats. The entire crew was found innocent in the ensuing investigation.”
“But the captain was later charged with murder. He was found guilty, I believe.”
“Imprisoned for only three months, and that was the end of that.” Ito gave Sherlock a morose stare. “Things were easier when I was younger. I thought I could do anything in the name of joui. I meted out punishment, cutting down those who angered me where they stood. Law and order is a much more difficult affair. That became painfully clear to me after the Normanton incident. The captain and his men ought to have paid with their lives, and yet I was powerless to lift a finger against them.”
An image suddenly flashed before Sherlock’s eyes. It was of Moriarty, waving his arms frantically and shouting his adversary’s name just as he was about to tumble to his death. What had he hoped to communicate in that moment? Did he wish to plead for a fair trial? To say violence was only the purview of the barbaric? Moriarty’s own misdeeds, of course, withstanding.
“The greatest villains take sanctuary in the protection of the law,” Sherlock said, voicing his own thoughts.
Ito did not retreat. “And yet the law remains paramount. If we allow people to be killed without trial, merely because they are criminals, we would be left with an entire nation of vigilantes. We would recede into the past, when we must progress into the future.”
Images of the Reichenbach Falls grew more vivid in Sherlock’s imagination. Moriarty, falling. His body receding, growing smaller and smaller, plummeting down the sheer cliffs before dashing against a rock. His body rebounding into the air, before finally colliding with the frothy surface of the water below.
“You are an admirable people,” he murmured. “You especially, Mr. Ito.”
“Me? What do you mean?”
“With your jujutsu you can toss people about like sticks, but instead you are patient and follow the law.”
Ito’s expression softened. “It was for the future of my country,” he whispered, and looked down again.
They were silent for a moment. Sherlock wondered how Ito had felt upon hearing the verdict that Sanzo Tsuda would be imprisoned for life.
The sheet of paper from the unequal treaty was still lying on the desk. Ito stared at it. “This was brought up in this afternoon’s meeting of the Privy Council. I had completely forgotten about this article. Considering this agreement, if we were to cede Hokkaido to Russia we would likely be forced to give Kyushu to the British.”
“It will not come to that, Chairman,” Sherlock assured him. “We shall chart a course through these straits.”
Ito turned his attention back to the English detective and sighed. The expression in his eyes was gentle. “There is a man I’d like you to meet tomorrow.”