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Chapter 2234 Chapter 2232 Nishinomaru Famous Sword Martial Arts Club

Chapter 2234 Chapter 2.232 Nishinomaru Famous Sword Martial Arts Club

"We need to leave someone on this ship to guard it, otherwise we won't be able to get back," Wu Chen reminded everyone.

"Let me do it," said Consort Qin Hong first.

“Alright.” Captain Yuko, the courtesan of the fifth district, nodded readily. Second Consort Qin Hong's combat strength among the four consorts of the Mixed Origin was second only to the eldest consort, Xing Xiaolu. If they left the weakest of the four consorts, Xu Jingshan, to guard the house-shaped ship alone, they feared being defeated by a powerful enemy. Leaving the strongest, the eldest consort Xing Xiaolu, would be a waste of her talent. Second Consort Qin Hong's combat strength was just right, a perfect balance.

Without delay, the eldest concubine Xing Xiaolu and the fourth concubine Xu Jingshan, one on the left and one on the right, escorted Captain Yuko, the courtesan of the fifth district, into the West Maru.

The Nishinomaru is located on the west side of the Honmaru. It was originally the residence of the retired former shogun and the shogun who was about to succeed him. Its layout is similar to the Honmaru, and it has the Nishinomaru Palace and the Fujimi-yagura (Fuji Watchtower).

As for the actual situation inside the Nishinomaru where ships can dock, we'll have to wait for the frozen scene to unfold again to find out.

"Ah, it's three female warriors." The voice came from the Fujimi-yaguru, which looked down from above. The Fujimi-yaguru is a triple yaguru, and as its name suggests, it offers a view of Mount Fuji.

The pop-up immediately identified the speaker as Katagiri Takayuki, the illegitimate son of Tokugawa Ienari, the eleventh shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.

From "Nemuri Kyoshiro: Engetsu Zan".

The story goes that Katagiri Yu, a 4000-koku lord and retainer of the Tokugawa clan, sent his wife, Katagiri Matsume (Tsukimiya Oto-no-me), into the inner palace (Ooku) to serve as a concubine to the Shogun Tokugawa Ienari, where they had a son, Katagiri Takayuki. Growing up, the tyrannical and unrestrained Takayuki, with his obsessive collection of famous swords, was driven by his mother Matsume's ambition to seize the throne. To this end, Matsume poisoned several potential heirs to the Shogun's position, eventually attracting the attention of the chief councilor, Mizuno Tadanari. To quell the bloodshed within the Ooku, the chief councilor agreed to recommend Katagiri Takayuki as Shogun Tokugawa Ienari, instructing him to remain obedient and refrain from any transgressions within Edo Castle during this period. However, two nights ago, Katagiri Takano was testing his newly collected famous sword "Kikuichimonji Bizen Hosō" on a starving refugee who had fled to Edo. He beheaded an old refugee with a single blow, which was witnessed by the passing swordsman protagonist, thus getting him into a series of duels filled with love, hate and grudges.

As can be seen from the name of Katagiri Takayuki's beloved sword, it was made by Ichimonji Hosō, a swordsmith of the Ichimonji school in Bizen Province.

The "Ichimonji school" was a sword-making school active in Bizen Province from the Kamakura period to the Nanboku-cho period in Japan. It was named after the character "一" (ichi) that was often inscribed on the hilt of the sword. It was one of the core schools of the "Bizen Den" and later subdivided into branches such as Fukuoka Ichimonji, Yoshioka Ichimonji, Katayama Ichimonji, and Iwato Ichimonji due to geographical differences.

Initially, the "Ichimonji school" represented the "flower swords" favored by court nobles. However, due to the Mongol invasion and the rise of samurai families, the combat-oriented "Osafune school" gradually replaced it as the mainstream. Most famous "Ichimonji" swords are rare, such as "Himetsuru Ichimonji" (which, along with "Mumei Ichimonji (Yamatoge)", was a favorite sword of Uesugi Kenshin) and "Nikko Ichimonji" (originally enshrined in Nikko Futarasan Shrine, hence its name. During the Sengoku period, Hojo Soun took it from the shrine, making it a family heirloom of the Hojo clan. Later, due to Kuroda Yoshitaka's involvement in persuading the Hojo clan to surrender during the Battle of Odawara, this sword was also presented as a gift by the Hojo clan to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and ended up in the Kuroda clan)."

The most famous one is the royal tachi from the Kamakura period: Kikuichimonji Norimune.

As for the Bizen swordsmith Ichimonji Hōshū, his skill should be comparable to that of the Fukuoka swordsmith Ichimonji Sukema, who forged the Fukuoka Ichimonji.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been collected by the illegitimate son of a high-ranking general.

The group of skilled fighters surrounding Katagiri Takayuki were also immediately locked onto by the "Super Brain Area Chain" pop-up. Among them were Kanbei, a poor swordsman of the Maniwa Nenryu school who lived on only thirty liters of rice but adhered to the samurai code; Toda Hayato, a swordsman of the Sato Kasumi Iai-ryu school; Banzo, the thief "Ainar" who was exiled to Sado; and Masaki Kaname, the loyal chief retainer of the lord.

Logically, everyone mentioned above, including the shogun's illegitimate son Katagiri Takayuki, should have either died or been injured by the protagonist's sword. It's impossible for them to be standing unharmed on the Fujimi Turret. Therefore, there must have been a plot twist. "So it's 'Nishinomaru-sama' (an honorific title for the shogun's son who has been designated as heir, named after his residence, Nishinomaru)." If he hadn't been designated as the shogun's heir, Katagiri Takayuki wouldn't have moved into Nishinomaru. The courtesan captain of Gobancho, Yuuko, had already spoiled this plot twist, so using this specific title must be correct.

"I heard you're Katagiri Yuuko, the courtesan of the Yugiri-ro in Ushigome-Michimon-nai's fifth district." Unable to hide his smugness, Nishinomaru-sama Katagiri Takayuki also immediately recognized Yuuko as the captain of the fifth district's courtesan brothel. So, it seems yokai definitely have spies among themselves.

"It's me." Captain Yuko, the courtesan of Gobancho, smiled slightly.

"So, the courtesan has come here to participate in the Nishinomaru Famous Swords Martial Arts Tournament?" Nishinomaru-sama Katagiri Takaichi asked, adopting an air of superiority.

"A real sword duel." Captain Yuko, the courtesan of Gobancho, had already guessed it.

“Yes, a duel of famous swords.” Nishinomaru-sama Katagiri Takayuki corrected him in a pretentious manner.

“You’re right.” Captain Yuko, the courtesan of the fifth district, gestured to the eldest concubine Xing Xiaolu and the fourth concubine Xu Jingshan to take out the two wakizashi they had just acquired: the great wakizashi “Tarobo Kenko” and the wakizashi “Aoimon Echizen Yasutsugu”.

"Ah..." The moment the two wakizashi appeared, Nishinomaru-sama Katagiri Takayuki's eyes lit up. As expected of a man with a penchant for collecting famous swords: "Please come in, Katagiri family courtesan."

"Thank you." Yes, the courtesan Yuko of Gobancho also has the surname Katagiri.

The person who greeted the Nishinomaru Palace to greet the shoku-sou team was "Yoshimoto" (in the Edo period, this referred to young maids who served daimyo, shogun, or upper-class samurai families. They were mostly from townspeople or lower-ranking samurai families. Their duties included relaying messages, serving tea, and tidying clothes. Their status was lower than that of upper-class female officials in "jochu" (women's quarters), but they were often considered potential concubines or candidates for future marriage into other families) Yamazaki-ya Koha (Tokyoko).

Komimoto Yamazakiya Komi was the eldest daughter of Yamazakiya Den'emon, a wealthy merchant in Edo.

Referring to the hidden background story, the shogunate implemented a currency reform policy, which brought in approximately 184 million taels of gold. However, this led to currency devaluation and rising prices. During his rule, the chief elder statesman Mizuno Tadashige created the third peak of political bribery in the Edo period: the forms of bribery became more singular, mainly consisting of gifts of gold, silver and other precious metals, supplemented by luxurious meals and sightseeing.

The practice of bribery spread from the individual to generals, central and local officials, with the "Oku-suke group" being particularly prominent. Soliciting and offering bribes became more open and permeated lower- and middle-ranking officials, leading to a significant increase in the number of participants. Even after the fall of the Edo shogunate, political bribery remained unchecked. This deeply influenced later generations, giving rise to an ineradicable cancer in Japanese politics—"factional corruption."

Therefore, to realize her ambitions, Katagiri Matsuno entered into a marriage agreement with the wealthy merchant Yamazaki-ya Den'emon. Once Katagiri Takayuki ascended the throne, the eldest daughter of the Yamazaki-ya family, Kona, would be appointed as the Shogun's principal wife, the Odai-sho (Midai-sho), becoming the mistress of the inner palace, second only to the Shogun. Leveraging the immense wealth of Yamazaki-ya Den'emon, Katagiri Matsuno lavishly bribed officials throughout the shogunate, eventually establishing a connection with the chief councilor, Mizuno Tadashige.

This led to the subsequent development of the story.

Therefore, according to the previously known rule of the disordered teleportation of the Purple Coral Spirit, all the important characters in the same storyline of "Nemuri Kyoshiro: Engetsu Zan" must also be in the Nishinomaru.