Mitsuhide's Road to Infamy, Part II

 

However...

A later look at the map shows something called the Akechi-goe passing through the hills north of the Hozo-kyo gorge.  Could this have been Akechi Mitsuhide's route?  It makes some sense, as it travels along the foothills of Atago-san, and Mitsuhide may have detoured to the summit in order to pray at the shrine there. I decide to follow this route to see if I can find any other clues.     

It is a month after my previous hike, the snows long gone, but the wind still blowing cold.  I'd allowed myself to get distracted by a few things as I left the house, and thus forgot to bring a jacket.  But I was wearing a few layers, the forecast was for warmth, and I figured that I'd heat up on the climb anyway.  What I hadn't counted on are the icy blasts that are my sole focus as I shiver across the wide flyover crossing the Hozugawa. The eastern skies have a long thick duvet of cirrocumulus clouds.  Early warning of the rain to come tomorrow. 

I find some relief in the old village on the opposite side whose narrow lanes acted as a windbreak. It is a beautiful morning, the sky completely clear, and the sakura buds mere days from opening. Some of the larger homes have rather expansive grounds, framed by earthen walls.  A handful of thatched roofs stand steadfast, towering above the rest. 

I begin to climb.  The trail is well trod, carved from the forest floor by centuries of sandals, be they worn by pilgrim or samurai. I come across a number of information signs, which when scanned by QR reader, offer some of the very hints I've been looking for.  A low stone wall is all that remains of the Mine-no-dō hermitage, where the 9th century Emperor Seiwa spent the remainder of his short life, taking tonsure after ceding the throne to his 5 year-old son.  In later years this hall took on the moniker, "The Hall of Remorse," as it was a popular spot for Mitsuhide to survey his domain, and perhaps his spirit lingers, in atonement for his lofty ambitions.   Further on, the Doyō no Reisen spring is said to provide cold water in even the hottest months. 

It is sunny along the ridge.  I have an odd moment when I think I hear voices.  Ghosts of Mitsuhide's fallen warriors? A few moments later I overtake another hiker, and ask him if he is with a companion.  He is solo, but when I mention the voices, he says that it was indeed him, talking to himself as is common with his age group.  

Fine views of Atago open to my left.  As I begin the steep descent, a lizard and I startle each other.  Even this early in March, the reptiles are awake.  I bring my eyeline more toward my footing, which shuffle down the V-shaped gully that serves as trail, through the leaves of autumn that never got the snows necessary to decompose.  

The trail finally levels out, first as a logging road, then joins the surfaced tarmac that leads to the valleys and villages just coming alive with spring.  A quick moving stream is my companion all the way to the Hozōkyo.  Minutes after climbing atop the bridge that multitasks as the rail platform, my train pulls in. I'm soon whisked away, as flat bottomed tourist boats trace the S-curves of water below.  

Equally less than straight-forward are any conclusions about Mitsuhide's actual path that May day in 1577.  I'll stick to assumptions that he did indeed visit Atago, but this leads to the bigger question of where did he go from there?  There is a trail climbing into the mountains that eventually meets the Karato-goe, which would in fact connect both routes, proving both theories correct. Or perhaps in the interest of speed he split his forces, sending some along the Karato-goe.   Most likely he would have followed an old trail down at the Hozō river's edge, or perhaps just followed the valley that leads past Saihō-ji, the famous moss temple.  

Japan usually makes things easy for the historically minded, with their copious approach to documentation.  It is somewhat surprising that mystery lingers in such an important event.  Yet another cultural trait is to cover up a bad smell, so the records have probably long ago been destroyed.  

But we do know what happened next...  

(CONTINUED)

 

On the turntable: Neil Young, "Decade"