Volume 5: Kyoto Summer Campaign Chapter 266 Gion Festival
"That year, my brother and I were only 17 years old."
"Young men of this age cannot afford the temptation to become samurai."
"My brother and I accepted the offer from that great man without any hesitation."
"And that big shot didn't lie to us. He really changed our household registration to samurai and made us the Yoroki of Kyoto."
"My brother and I transformed from Yakuza to samurai, and became the Yoriki of Kyoto."
"So - from the perspective of household registration, I am actually still a samurai." Makimura shrugged with a wry smile, "It's just that this household registration is fake."
"After becoming the Yoroki of Kyoto, my career has been smooth sailing."
"After spending five years in office peacefully, I had to leave Kyoto two years ago due to some issues."
"After leaving Kyoto, I was taken in by Huluwu by chance and coincidence, and have been working for Huluwu until now."
After listening quietly to Makimura's story, Ogata said softly:
"Mucun... you are also a person with a lot of stories..."
"Everyone in the Gourd House has a story." After responding to Ogata's words in a half-joking tone, Makimura said seriously, "Brother Ogata, after you finish being a guest in our Gourd House, you plan to go to Kyoto to look for clues about the master and apprentice, right?"
"That's right." Ogata nodded without hesitation.
"In that case, if you have any questions about Kyoto, you can ask me now." Makimura grinned, "After all, I have been in Kyoto for 23 years."
"When it comes to my knowledge of Kyoto, there are probably few people in the world who can surpass me."
By the time Makimura finished speaking, the three of them had just washed their bodies and started heading towards the bathhouse.
There were only three of them using the huge pool - I have to say this was a different kind of enjoyment.
"Ogata-kun." Mamiya, who had immersed his entire body in the pool, pointed to his neck and said, "Can the wound on your neck be touched by water?"
"It's fine now. It's starting to scab over."
When parting with Chikanosuke and others, Ogata got some medicine for knife wounds from Sokai, and he has been applying the medicine on time these days.
With a vitality of up to 23 points and the fairly effective medicine, Ogata's neck injury recovered at a rapid speed.
The wound has now scabbed over and should be back to normal soon.
It’s a pity that this piece of flesh and blood is still dark purple, announcing to Ogata: the immortality poison is still in your body.
After immersing the part below the neck in hot water, Ogata continued the conversation he had just had with Makimura.
"There's nothing particular I want to know about Kyoto..." Ogata said with a wry smile.
"I see... Then let me give you a suggestion."
"After you come to our Hulu House to be our guest, if you rush to Kyoto without stopping, you should be able to catch the Gion Festival in Kyoto this year."
"Gion Festival?" Ogata asked puzzledly.
"Kyoto's Gion Festival is a huge festival that has a history of nearly a thousand years. Brother Ogata, you should know about it, right?"
"Yes. But not much."
"The Gion Festival is the busiest time of the year in Kyoto." A hint of nostalgia appeared on Makimura's face at this moment, "Men, women, young and old, will take to the streets and have fun."
"There are mikoshi parades and yamaboko parades..."
"You can see men and women wearing yukatas and wooden sandals laughing and laughing everywhere on the streets."
“It would be a pity if you go to Kyoto and fail to see the grand Gion Festival.”
"Gion Festival..." Ogata chewed on the term, "If I could catch up with the Gion Festival in Kyoto, I would be happy to go and see it."
"What a pity..." Makimura sighed softly, "Even if Brother Ogata really caught up with the Gion Festival this year, you probably wouldn't see much of a bustling scene."
"Hmm? Why do you say that?"
"Because of the fire at dawn." Mamiya on the side suddenly responded.
"That's right." The smile on Makimura's face gradually faded. "After suffering a fire of this magnitude, Kyoto must not have fully recovered yet."
After hearing what Makimura said, Ogata's expression involuntarily became heavier.
The Tenmei Fire - Ogata knew about this sensational fire.
The Tianming fire occurred two years ago, in the 7th year of Tianming, 1788 AD.
In this year, Kyoto suffered the largest fire in its history.
There was a strong wind blowing at that time.
The wind fueled the fire, and the fire fueled the wind. Soon the fire got out of control in this all-wooden city.
The fire raged in Kyoto for two days before it finally stopped.
According to the official statement released by the Edo Shogunate later: The fire burned down 36,797 houses, 201 temples, and 37 shrines in Kyoto.
The buildings destroyed by fire accounted for 80% of the total number of buildings in Kyoto.
There are different accounts of the number of casualties. The official number released by the Edo Shogunate is 150 people - but even a fool knows that in a fire of this scale, it is impossible for only so many people to die.
According to official statements, the fire started in an empty house on the outskirts of the city, but the cause of the fire has not been determined.
This fire, which burned down 80% of the houses in Kyoto, was called the "Tenmei Fire" by the world.
Although the Tenmei Fire did not completely destroy Kyoto, it almost did.
It had only been two years since the Tenmei Fire. It was impossible to completely rebuild Kyoto and restore its former glory in such a short period of time.
Ogata was already prepared to see ruins everywhere after arriving in Kyoto...
…
…
After the three men finished taking a bath, Zhang San's subordinates had just prepared clothes and horses for the three men.
The clothes that Ogata had been wearing since he was in the Hirose domain had long been tattered. After he got new clothes, he ruthlessly threw away these tattered clothes.
I don't know whether Jōzo's subordinates did it intentionally or unintentionally, but the new clothes they found for Ogata were exactly the same color as his old clothes.
Black hakama and tabi socks, dark blue kimono, and light green haori.
Looking at this new set of equipment that was exactly the same color as his old equipment, Ogata couldn't help but smile helplessly.
After changing into clean new clothes, Ogata and his two companions, led by Jozo's subordinates, came to the outskirts of Ohgawa Town.
The reins of the three horses were tied to a large tree in a small forest outside of Ohgawa Town. Saddles and stirrups were already tied to the three horses.
"Mamiya-sama, Makimura-sama."
The subordinate, Zhang San, made a "please" gesture to the three horses.
"Please check it!"
"Thank you very much." Mamiya smiled and bowed to the man, then walked towards the three horses.
The horse chosen by Mamiya was the one that looked the most aggressive.
The wild horses were snorting and paddling the ground with their hooves.
After seeing Ogata and others approaching, it continued to neigh and roar at them.
"I'm sorry." The confused subordinate looked apologetic. "At present, we only have these three horses that can be ridden. There are no more docile horses."
"It's okay." Mamiya waved his hand, "That's all."
After saying that , Mamiya just came to the side of the fierce horse.
With a neat flip, Mamiya climbed onto the back of the wild horse with extremely beautiful movements.
As soon as Mamiya sat on its back, the fierce horse immediately let out a series of eardrum-numbing neighs.
While neighing, he kept jumping and shaking his body, trying to throw Mamiya off his back.
But at this moment - a miracle happened.
Facing the wild horse that wanted to throw him to the ground, Mamiya pulled the reins in his hand with a special force with an expressionless face.
He kept muttering strange onomatopeia like "do do do do do do".
After a while, the extremely violent horse under Mamiya's crotch gradually calmed down.
After Mamiya got on the horse, Makimura also picked a horse at random.
The other two horses seemed to be much docile in temperament. After Mucun got on the horse, the horse under him neither ran nor jumped, but only snorted a few times.
Although both Mamiya and Makimura could ride horses, Ogata could still see at a glance that Mamiya was far superior to Makimura in terms of riding skills, not to mention Mamiya's horse training skills.
While riding on horseback, Mamiya's waist and legs were very relaxed, while Makimura's back and legs were tense.
"Mamiya, you must have learned horse riding and horse training somewhere before, right?"
"You are right. I once learned horse riding and horse training in the Shinano region. Get on the horse, Ogata-kun. We are about to start our journey."
"I don't know how to ride a horse..." Ogata walked slowly towards the last horse with a nervous mood .
"Don't worry." At this time, Zhang San's subordinate said, "That horse has the most docile temperament. Even if you don't know how to ride a horse, you don't have to worry about being thrown to the ground by that horse!"
"Don't worry, Ogata-kun." Mamiya also said at this time, "We will teach you step by step. Horse riding is not difficult and you will be able to master it quickly."
Upon learning that the last horse had a very docile temperament, Ogata's anxiety was slightly relieved.
He put his left foot into the stirrup on the left side of the horse, then imitated what Mamiya and Makimura had just done and climbed onto the horse's back by flipping over.
Just as Zhang San's subordinate had just said - this horse was indeed docile in nature, and even with a person on its back it behaved well and did not make any noise or trouble.
"Hold the reins tightly." Mamiya rode to Ogata's side, "Then tap the horse's belly lightly with your right heel."
Ogata followed Mamiya's instructions obediently.
After Ogata tapped the horse's belly lightly with his right heel, the horse under his crotch immediately let out a low neigh, then ran forward carrying Ogata.
Ogata, who was not prepared for the horse's sudden advance, let out a low cry of surprise and nearly fell off the horse.
"Remember to hold the reins tightly." Mamiya gave a few wicked laughs, then tapped the horse's belly lightly under his crotch and chased after Ogata in front.
"Please teach me how to ride a horse, Brother Ogata..." After letting out a helpless sigh, Makimura drove the horse under him and followed closely behind Mamiya.
…
…
Under the hands-on instruction of Mamiya and Makimura, Ogata finally mastered the tricks of horse riding and was able to control his horse well - of course, this was also due to the particularly docile temperament of his horse.
If Ogata were given a horse with a bad temper, he would probably fall off the horse's back and be crushed.
With the horses, the three people's speed immediately increased.
The three of them headed north from Kii towards Owari.
Ogata did not specifically count how long it took them to reach Owari. After an unknown amount of time, Ogata finally heard Mamiya and Makimura say - we are almost there, and our base in Karuya is right in front of us.
It is now dusk.
The sun setting in the west illuminates the dense clouds covering the northern half of the sky. The sky begins to take on the color of sunset, but it is still bright on the ground.
Thanks to the relatively bright light, Ogata could clearly see a small village surrounded by mountains sitting before him.
As it was almost time for dinner, wisps of smoke rose from all over the village. At the entrance of the village, a few naughty children were playing, and in the fields nearby, Ogata saw many villagers packing up their farm tools and preparing to go back to the village for dinner.
Looking at this small village that looked extremely ordinary no matter from which angle, Ogata's expression and look couldn't help but become strange.
"Mamiya, Makimura, is this where your base of Huluwu is located?"
"Are you thinking that this ordinary rural village is actually the base of your Huluwu?" Mucun asked in a half-joking tone, "If you think so, you are right. After all, this place is deliberately arranged to look ordinary."
"This village is actually the outpost of our Huluwu." Mamiya said softly, "The villagers here are all our people. Once an outsider approaches this place, the villagers will immediately inform us of the news of 'outsiders coming'."
After seeing Mamiya and Makimura, several villagers who happened to be standing at the entrance of the village immediately came up to them with respect on their faces.
When Mamiya and Makimura arrived at the village entrance, they dismounted from their horses and handed the reins to the villagers.
Seeing Mamiya and the others dismount, Ogata also dismounted immediately and, imitating what Mamiya and the others had just done, handed the reins to the villagers.
It seemed that it was not the first time for those villagers to lead horses. After taking the horses from Ogata and the other two, they used their skillful techniques to pull the three horses to a corner of the village.
"Ogata-kun, we are going to walk a mountain road next."
As Mamiya spoke, he pointed to a big mountain behind the village.
"Our Huluwu base is inside that mountain."
"It should be almost time for dinner now. If we hurry up, maybe we can make it in time for dinner."
"By the way - I've always forgotten to ask you, how many members are there in your Calabash House?" Ogata asked, looking at the mountain that Mamiya pointed to.
"Not many." Mamiya held up four fingers. "In the entire Gourd House, apart from the lord and Master Genichi, there are only four members, including Makimura and me."
"There are too few people!" Ogata shouted angrily.
"Otherwise, why do you think I want to pull you into our Gourd House so much?" Mamiya smiled bitterly, "Ogata-kun, the other two members of our Gourd House... their personalities are a little... weird, so - be prepared."
