“Why is the tang important?”
Hirota pointed to the kanji on the rubbing with a tang. “This is the name of the swordsmith and the date the sword was made. ‘Nineteenth year of Keicho,’ which is 1614 on the Western calendar.”
“Your article said there was also the number three on the tang,” Junko said. “Did you get any more information on what that means?”
“Here’s the number,” Hirota said, pointing at a kanji that looked like three parallel strokes. “I’m afraid the number is as mysterious as when I wrote the article. Frankly, I’m curious to see if Mr. Tanaka’s blade also has a number on the tang. I’m prepared to take a rubbing of your blade right now, but actually I’d like to take your sword with me and remove the handle to take a complete rubbing of the tang. I’ll take very good care of it, and the sword will be restored to proper condition. In fact, I’ll even have the handle restored at my expense, because it looks in need of refurbishment.”
“Will you have the sword back by the show?” Junko interjected.
“When is the show?”
“In two days.”
“Oh, I’ll be done by then,” Hirota said. “And I know an expert restorer who I’m sure will restore the handle on a rush basis, if I ask him. I’m positive I can get my work done in two days. So what do you think, Mr. Tanaka? I’ll be able to authenticate your sword as a Kannemori, you’ll get the handle refurbished, and I’ll guarantee that I’ll have the sword back in time for the television show. Will you let me take your sword?”
I wanted him to authenticate the sword, but I was a little curious about the blade and wanted more information. Without answering him I asked, “Do you know what the patterns on the blades mean?”
“It’s supposed to be some kind of message, although what kind of message I don’t know. On your blade there’s a mountain with two peaks and what looks like a line of some kind. I don’t know what that line means, but the mountains are yama in Japanese, so they may be part of two names.”
“I met a wrestler named Torayama last night,” I said.
“That means Tiger Mountain, a good name for a rikishi,” Hirota said. He pointed at one of the rubbings. “On the Kyoto blade there’s a rock outcropping that looks like the letter M and what appears to be a forest. On the Japan museum blade there are two temples and a stream between them. I’ve wracked my brain but I don’t know what this is all supposed to mean.”
“What about the legend?” Junko said. “Your article said something about a legend, but it didn’t give any details.”
“That’s what Sonoda-san says. He’s the owner of the Kyoto blade. He says there’s a legend associated with the blades and that the patterns on the blade give some kind of instructions. I don’t know if that’s true, because I’ve checked the ancient texts and there’s no mention of a legend associated with these swords. Sonoda-san says he has a family connection that allowed him to learn of the legend. I could repeat what little I know, but it would be a lot more interesting coming directly from Sonoda-san, who knows all the details. If you’re serious about learning more, I could introduce you to Sonoda-san, and I’m sure he’d be happy to tell you what he knows.”
“Mr. Sonoda lives in Kyoto?”
“That’s right.”
I looked at Junko. Getting things from the horse’s mouth is always best, but I wasn’t sure how I would get to Kyoto. “Instead of Nikko, would the producers pay for me to stay in Kyoto until the show?”
“I’m sure they would. It actually might be easier to stay out of trouble in a big city like Kyoto, instead of a small town like Nikko.”
I turned to Hirota. “Dr. Hirota, you are welcome to examine my blade as fully as you wish. I’d like a couple of things, though. One is a copy of whatever rubbing you make of my blade. I can frame it and it will make a nice keepsake if I ever sell the sword. I’d also like photocopies of the other two rubbings you have.”
Hirota looked surprised. “What on earth for?”
“In addition to the Japan National Museum theft, two other Kannemori swords were stolen recently, one in New York and one in Rotterdam. That makes three swords by an ancient Japanese swordsmith stolen in a short amount of time.”
“How do you know that?”
“Junko uncovered it while doing computer research for the show.”
“So Kannemori blades are being stolen?”
“That’s correct.”
“Which means …” Hirota raised his eyebrows, clearly intrigued.
I laughed. “I don’t know what it means. I’m just curious and lately I’ve been making a hobby of satisfying my curiosity.”
Junko made the photocopies of Hirota’s rubbings for me, reducing them to a sheet of paper that was approximately legal size. Hirota promised to contact Mr. Sonoda in Kyoto to arrange a meeting and he said he’d tell Junko about it.
When our business was done Hirota left, clutching my sword. Junko looked at me as soon as Hirota left the meeting area and said, “What do you have in mind about those swords?”
I sighed. “Do you have hunches in Japan?”
“Hunch?” It was the first time I had stumped her with an English word.
“A feeling. Intuition. The thought that something might be important, even though you don’t have all the facts to prove that thought is true.”
“Oh yes, chokkan. We have that,” Junko said.
“Well, I’ve got a hunch about these swords. It’s strange that, in a few weeks’ time, several examples of the work of some obscure seventeenth-century swordmaker should get stolen. I believe in coincidence, but if this is only a coincidence, it’s a very strange one. I just want to gather some information about these swords to see if there’s a pattern.”
“So you’re starting to work on another mystery while you’re here in Japan?” Junko asked, rather excited.
I laughed. “I don’t know what I’m doing, except satisfying my curiosity. I don’t know if there is a mystery. In mystery books and detective movies all sorts of things fit together to form a complicated plot, but in life things just happen. Sometimes they’re connected and sometimes they’re not.”
Sugimoto stuck his head in the room and nodded to me. “Sorry to hear about last night,” he said. “I should have gone with you to the hotel to make sure you’d be safe.”
“Don’t be silly,” I said. “No real harm was done, and I got to see the inside of a Tokyo police station.”
“Can you excuse us for a minute while we talk Japanese?” Sugimoto said.
“Sure.”
He started talking to Junko and both their demeanors changed radically with the switch in language. He became very abrupt during his conversation and Junko became very submissive, even bowing her head at the end of the conversation. It surprised me to see the transformation, and although my meager Japanese wouldn’t allow me to keep up with the conversation, I heard Sugimoto say baka, or fool, several times. When he was done he looked at me and said, “Sorry to interrupt your conversation,” and left abruptly.
“What was that all about?” I asked Junko.
“He thinks I’m wasting time on this sword business and ordered me to stop. I apologized for upsetting him.”
“Have I gotten you in trouble?”
“No. Japanese males think they can order any female around. I didn’t want to argue, so I nodded meekly and agreed with him. Now he’s going away happy and I can continue doing what I want to. That’s how we females handle things here. I have what you call a hunch, too. My hunch is that this might turn into a terrific story, and I want to help you get more information about the swords before the show. Sugimoto-san may think it’s stupid, but if it doesn’t turn out to be a good story we won’t lose too much.”
“How are you going to help?”
“I’ll make sure Hirota-san sets up a meeting for you with Sonoda-san in Kyoto. I’ll also make sure the producers pay for your trip. I’ll make the arrangements so you can leave tomorrow morning. I’ve also got some other ideas that I want to check on.”
“That sounds great. I hope this doesn’t cause conflict for you with Sugimoto-san.”