The Fall of Daigo
Book 3 of the Dororo Novel Series
Toriumi Jinzō
Part 2 - Nomitadani Fortress
Chapter 4
Nomitadani Fortress was situated near a gorge cut by the Tedori River. Steep cliffs surrounded it on both sides, giving it a high vantage point relative to the surrounding area. Any attackers would be seen before they advanced, and they would have to do most of their fighting uphill.
A wide swath of forest had been cut down recently for use in building up the fortress’ defenses. By road, it wasn’t far from Kaga’s main Judicial Office at all. If Hyakkimaru hurried, he could make it all the way there in less than four days.
But Hyakkimaru couldn’t approach the fortress so brazenly. It was of old construction, built on a vast and sprawling scale out of stone with reinforced earthwork. Hyakkimaru could tell that the design took good advantage of the terrain, even at this distance. There were wooden walls on top of the earthwork fortifications with gaps large enough for archers to shoot through. Large stones hung suspended in nets from the walls that could be dropped on attackers to crush them. The front and back gates leading into the fortress had been fenced off. Both were constantly guarded.
It would be difficult for Hyakkimaru to sneak in without being killed.
Mountain fortresses of this kind were common in Kaga and the provinces surrounding it. Nomitadani Fortress had been built by local carpenters and farmers who’d been executed as soon as construction was complete so that they couldn’t reveal the secrets of the fortress’ design to any enemies.
Nomitadani Fortress was under considerable threat, and had been since the start of the Ōnin War. Kaga Province was ruled by the Togashi Clan, which supported the Eastern Army. Asakura Takakage’s army was to the south, in Ezichen Province, while the Hatakeyama Clan’s army was to the north in Noto Province. Both the Asakura Clan and the Hatakeyama Clan supported the Western Army, so the fortress was sandwiched between enemy armies. To make things worse, the Togashi Clan was also in the midst of a civil war, and skirmishes between local samurai and foot soldiers were common. Nomitadani Fortress was at the heart of it all, sleepless, vigilant, and all but besieged.
Bandits had attacked the fortress recently. Buddhists of the Pure Land Sect and farmers from nearby villages became sick of their impoverished, unsafe conditions and were planning an uprising. Most were willing to welcome Asakura Takakage and the Western Army with open arms if he finally brought an end to the fighting.
But--strange to say--Asakura Takakage did not attack Kaga, even though his army was more than large enough to overwhelm Nomitadani Fortress and completely conquer the surrounding area. People speculated about what he intended to do, but all he actually did was sit in his fortress at Ichijōdani and wait.
Because of Nomitadani Fortress’ strategic location, it was used as a hub to coordinate the defense of the entire province. Togashi Masachika sent orders from his family’s castle, Takō Fortress, to Nomitadani Fortress and Yamagō Takafuji at Yamagō Fortress. Since Nomitadani was between these two important castles, messages and supplies often traveled through it from both of them.
That the Daigo Clan was in charge of Nomitadani Fortress spoke to how much Togashi Masachika trusted and relied on Daigo Kagemitsu. The fortress was too important to be entrusted to anyone who was not inflexibly loyal to the Togashi Clan.
Dororo rode into the gorge close to the fortress next to Ochika. His jaw dropped when the fortress came into view. “Wow! Is that really a castle? It’s huge!”
“That’s why you shouldn’t go,” Ochika chided gently. “Your aniki and taifu will probably say the same thing when they see it.”
“But we decided to meet here,” Dororo said. “They’re probably waiting for me.”
Jukai had called out for them to meet at the fortress before they were separated, but Dororo didn’t know exactly where he and Hyakkimaru would be or when they would arrive.There hadn’t been time to come up with a more precise plan while they were escaping from the Judicial Office’s guards.
Dororo worried that Hyakkimaru and Jukai had arrived before him and were inside the fortress already, but he had no proof of that.
Ochika pulled up on the reins of her horse and turned around. “We can’t linger here for long,” she said. “The fortress has eyes. I’ll return tomorrow to check on you. If you haven’t found your aniki by then, I’ll bring you back to stay with us.”
“I’m not leaving,” Dororo said with a glare. “I just got here.”
Ochika sighed. “I’ll only bring you back if I find you here when I return. You can’t be thinking of breaking into the fortress on your own.”
“I’ll get in,” Dororo said. “Even if I’m alone, I’ll do it.”
“What?” Ochika’s shoulders set in refusal. “Give up on that. It’s impossible.”
“I won’t give up and you can’t make me.”
“You have to listen to me,” Ochika said, using the same tone as a mother scolding her child.
“Huh?” Dororo tilted his head at her, puzzled.
Ochika shook her head a little, then said, “Dororo, please. It’s too dangerous. You mustn’t do it.”
“Then maybe you should stay with me for a while and show me around,” Dororo said.
Ochika considered for a moment, then nodded. “All right. But we’re only looking. We’re not sneaking in.”
Ochika and Dororo came out of the gorge onto a narrow mountain trail that slanted steeply uphill. The fortress was so huge and built at so many different elevations that it was difficult to take all of it in at once.
There was no sign of Hyakkimaru or Jukai anywhere. Dororo started to worry that they’d gone ahead without him. It was his fault that they’d been separated. He wanted to be useful and make it up to them, but he couldn’t do that if they’d left him behind.
“It’s like I thought,” Dororo said after a while. “I can’t tell anything about this place from the outside. I have to go in.” He snorted. “If I can’t go in through the front, I’ll just have to go in the back.”
“You won’t be able to enter the fortress without a pass,” Ochika said. “Besides, you’re a child.”
“Don’t underestimate me.” Dororo scowled. Being a child was sometimes an advantage. He had bet that Asakura Mitsuhisa wouldn’t kill a child and attacked his horse, and that action had gotten him and Hyakkimaru into Ichijōdani. This fortress was more heavily guarded, but that didn’t mean there was no way in.
Ochika understood that Dororo was determined to get into the fortress no matter how dangerous it was. Instead of trying to dissuade Dororo again, Ochika said, “There may be a way in, but it’s very risky and has a low probability of success.”
“Tell me,” Dororo said, fixing Ochika with serious and intense eyes. “I’ll make it succeed.”
Ochika looked at Dororo’s determined face, feeling jealous of Dororo’s devotion to Hyakkimaru. She hadn’t told Dororo the truth, but she was still Dororo’s mother and couldn’t help but love her child. Seeing Dororo love and depend on someone else made her heart ache with remembered pain.
Dororo’s loyalty to someone else made Ochika jealous, but she also recognized it. She and Hibukuro had been entirely loyal to one another and had risked everything, including their lives, to avenge themselves on cruel samurai and to protect their child. She couldn't fault Dororo for something she came by honestly.
Ochika’s love for Dororo was equally sincere. She didn’t intend to let Dororo out of her sight until they found Hyakkimaru and Jukai.
“Are you sure you want to try this, Dororo?”
Dororo’s eyes lit up. “We won’t try. We’ll do it.”
“I have a plan, but you have to follow it perfectly. Can you do that?”
“Of course I can.”
“I’ll get you in tonight, when it’s dark,” Ochika said. “Find out everything you can. I’ll be waiting for you here at dawn.”
Dororo nodded.
“If they find you, run through the back gate and jump off the cliff. There’s a deep pool at the bottom of it, so if you jump, you won’t die.”
Dororo nodded again.
Ochika turned her horse again and began making preparations to enter the fortress.
***
Nomitadani Fortress was lit as bright as day even in the middle of the night. Patrolling guards carried torches; torches and braziers were built along every wall and gate. Guards gripped their spears and kept careful watch.
Dororo approached the back gate, dressed as a girl from a merchant family. Her1 dark hair was loose and the sleeves of her kimono were long and flowing. She wore a kind, sweet expression.
There was a thick fence of lashed-together logs blocking the rear gate of the fortress. The fence could be shifted to let carts in and out. It was shifted to the side now to allow an ox cart to leave the fortress. The guards on the gate paid extra attention to their surroundings as the cart left.
Dororo took advantage of the guards’ brief distraction to slip through a gap in the fence.
She hadn’t gone ten steps before a young guard sprinted up to her, spear held high. “Oi, you there! Stop!”
Dororo stopped still and stuck her tongue out a little. “Whoops, you’ve found me. What will you do with me now?”
Dororo showed no fear. To all appearances, she was someone who had sneaked outside the fortress from the inside.
“We can’t be lax with the security around here,” the guard said. “Show me your pass, miss.”
Dororo shrugged helplessly. “I lost it.”
“It’s more likely that you’re trying to leave without permission,” the guard muttered. “Whose guild are you with?”
“The Manzō Carpenter’s Guild,” she said nervously.
“Never heard of it, but there are tons of you lot inside. Hm.” The guard thought for a moment. “Who’s your lord? Manzō?”
“Yes, but he left in a hurry,” she said. “I wanted to follow him, and--”
“--you can’t,” the guard said, cutting her off. “No one is allowed out of the gate without a pass! I’ll need to have a messenger go inside and get it for you.”
Dororo’s lower lip trembled. She burst into tears, covering her face with her hands.
An older guard heard the commotion and rushed up to Dororo and the young guard. “What seems to be the problem?” he asked.
“This woman is trying to leave without a pass,” the young guard said.
“Now, miss, you know that’s not allowed,” the older man said. “Go along back inside. If you want to leave, bring your pass next time.”
Dororo sniffed, then looked up a little. “A-all right. I will.” She was still crying as the older guard escorted her past the fence and through the back gate of the fortress.
“Thank you,” Dororo said.
After the guards left Dororo alone, he stuck his tongue out. “Ha! Fooled you.”
He hid behind a storage shed, removing the kimono and putting his hair back into a topknot.
“There, that’s better.”
Ochika was the one who had dressed Dororo as a girl. She had also coached Dororo on how to act like one. She’d claimed that the guards would be more lenient with a girl than a boy.
Seeing Dororo dressed as the beautiful girl she was born as touched Ochika deeply. Dororo didn’t have the slightest inkling of his mother’s feelings and changed out of the flowing kimono as soon as possible. Boys’ clothes were easier to move in.
Dororo had until dawn to figure out as much as he could about this place. He wasted no time, dashing out from behind the storage shed to look around. He kept to the shadows as much as he could, though this was difficult. The narrow streets of the fortress were lit as well as the gates and walls were. He saw guards, patrolling soldiers, and merchants in the street selling their wares. The guards and soldiers were vigilant against threats from the outside, so Dororo was able to move freely.
He was able to find the main fortress without much trouble. A wide street led to it, fenced off and brightly lit just like the back gate. All of the outbuildings surrounded it in neat, much narrower streets.
The gate to the fortress looked the same as the one Dororo had entered through, but the walls surrounding it were much higher and thicker, made of a special kind of impact-resistant clay. The core of the walls was likely stone. This was the most vital part of the fortress, and the most heavily defended.
The wide street was lined with ashigaru and more guards. Dororo saw inns, shops, warehouses and silos for storing rice and grain. There were huts behind the silos and inns where merchants and other people of the fortress town lived. Going straight along the street would take Dororo into a sheltered grove where the main fortress was built. That was where the military governor and his family lived. If Daigo Kagemitsu was anywhere, he was there.
Hills rose to the east of the main fortress building. They were dark with trees. Dororo saw no torchlight there. Slipping through there might be feasible, but even if he got in, he didn’t see any way of getting out again. The main fortress building and the fortress town were ringed around with stone walls that were impossible for him to climb.
Dororo didn’t know it, but Nomitadani Fortress was laid out like typical Chinese fortresses and castles. It was difficult for anyone inside to leave, and it was equally difficult for anyone outside to enter in. Merchants bringing food and supplies always used the back gate, usually in the evening. The community inside the fortress was very insular. If Dororo stayed for too long, people would realize that he was an outsider.
The guards patrolling the walls all carried bows. Dororo couldn’t even climb them to escape if he got into trouble; those archers would finish him off easily. He felt boxed in and trapped.
Dororo hated to come this far and not go all the way in, but he understood the foolishness of such an attempt. He saw some smaller buildings south of the main fortress in the woods that were probably residences for the Daigo Clan. He was just starting to creep closer when he noticed dim light to the east.
The sun was rising. Dororo had to get out of here. He wouldn’t be able to find out more on his own even if he had all day, anyway. He found a low wall in the direction of the rear gate and climbed over it, landing behind the main fortress building on the other side
“Who’s there?” a man called out in the half-darkness. Dororo hadn’t noticed him before jumping down. He was an ashigaru, still in his cups from the looks of it, clutching a spear. He wasn’t standing near a torch. Dororo guessed that he was off-duty and had decided to go drinking.
In the split second it took for Dororo to realize he’d been seen, he started running.
“Stranger on the grounds! Don’t let them escape!” the ashigaru called out. The voices of more ashigaru and guards called back to him.
Dororo dashed into the gap between two buildings. He heard the echoes of voices calling out to one another all around. The street was suddenly full of ashigaru and common soldiers.
Dororo regretted running and calling attention to his hiding place, but it was too late to take back what he’d done. He might have been able to bluff his way out if he’d remained dressed as a girl. A boy running away was more suspicious than a girl doing the same thing.
Dororo had no choice but to flee from this place before he was completely surrounded. He sprinted out from between the buildings, then stopped dead when he encountered an ashigaru with his spear leveled at him. He changed direction to avoid the spear, hearing the ashigaru chasing after him. He didn’t dare look over his shoulder.
“You can’t run, brat,” the ashigaru spat.
Dororo shot a dart into his shoulder with his blowgun. The ashigaru grunted, stumbling to his knees.
“Stop!” More ashigaru ran up behind their fallen comrade. They were gaining on Dororo. He shot a dart into the closest ashigaru’s thigh, making him fall and trip several of the men behind him. Another ashigaru ran alongside Dororo and stabbed.
The point of the ashigaru’s spear passed between Dororo’s thighs. His legs got caught on the spear and he fell--which was still better than being run through.
By the time Dororo sprang to his feet, he was completely surrounded by ashigaru. There was no place left to run, so Dororo surrendered. He sat down and stayed quiet while the ashigaru bound his hands behind his back.
A rider approached, leading several other men on horseback behind him in a line. The rider gripped his spear strongly and looked down at Dororo with a severe expression. He was a young man, not much more than fifteen or sixteen years old. His eyes were large for his face; this effect was exacerbated by his unusually thin eyebrows. His face was very pale and his build was more wiry than muscular. It was obvious from his bearing and his clothes that he was a lord.
“You dodged that spear brilliantly,” the young lord said.
Dororo snorted. “I think I need more practice.” Dororo gave the lord a bold, fearless smile.
“Were you trying to sneak into the fortress? Well done. You nearly made it. What is your name, boy?”
“I’m Lord Dororo. Remember it.”
The young lord laughed. “I see you’re also skilled at playing the fool. Are you one of the Asakura Clan’s spies?”
“I am a crow at dawn,” Dororo said.
The young lord was nearing the end of his patience. “You are clever, but insolent,” he said.
“You have mood swings,” Dororo said. “Smiling one minute, frowning the next.”
“Kill him,” the young lord commanded.
One of the riders rushed to obey, but another called out in a loud voice, “Lord Tahōmaru, please reconsider. This boy matches the description of one of the people to infiltrated the province’s Judicial Office. He should be questioned before execution.”
Lord Tahōmaru considered for a moment, then nodded. “Interesting. There’s obviously more to you than meets the eye, boy.” He turned his horse a little and rode off. The ashigaru who’d captured Dororo all bowed their heads to him.
Who is this Tah ōmaru guy, anyway?
He seemed to have high status within the fortress. Dororo stared at his retreating back in fascination as he rode away.
Translator's Note:
1
Female pronouns are used for this section even though Dororo tends to view himself as male. It is never explicitly stated in the text, but Dororo seems to view gender as performative.
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