Namida Bridge - The Flood of the Okuma River (3)

Iwama-kan and Minega-jo are connected by a long covered corridor. As they walked along it, Zushonosuke and Chikugonokami continued their earlier conversation.
“Chikugonokami-sama. You mentioned earlier that ‘Hamao is also in danger.’”
When Zushonosuke first arrived in Sukagawa, he heard that Minbu-taifu, Tameuji’s uncle, had been given a residence built by Jibu in Hamao. At the time, he had only thought that Jibu had been “bewitched by a woman’s charms,” but it seemed the problem was more than just that.
“So you noticed.”
Chikugonokami turned around in front of Minonokami’s private quarters.
“Jibu-dono must have foreseen this from the start. He has lived in this land longer than the lord or Minbu-dono. Naturally, he must have experienced floods before, which is why he does not want to give up Sukagawa, which is on high ground and safe. I apologize to the lord, but for Jibu-dono, Minbu-sama was likely just a convenient pawn. Is the fact that he lured Minbu-sama to land that would be the first to be submerged not proof of that?”
A chill ran down Zushonosuke’s spine. If what Chikugonokami said was true, then it made sense why he still hadn’t handed the castle over to Tameuji. Moreover, he would likely abandon Minbu-taifu, even though he had married his own sister to him.
Chikugonokami conveyed this concern to Minonokami. Minonokami, who still wore a stern expression, seemed convinced by Chikugonokami’s assessment. He smoothed his brow and merely stated, “We shall have them prepare for the flood early.”
Negishi, where Zushonosuke’s home was located, was on slightly higher ground. Even if there were a flood, he hoped it would somehow hold.
When he shared this faint hope, Ando Samanosuke, a senior retainer of Suda, shook his head.
“There is no such thing as an absolute in a flood. If you are worried, it would be better to have Riku-dono evacuate to Shimotsukenokami-sama’s Kifune Castle for a while.”
Zushonosuke, who was not yet familiar with everything in this land, decided to follow that advice. If it were Kifune Castle, where Riku’s family home was, there were no large rivers nearby, so they would be spared the worry of flooding.
But when he thought about what would happen after that, Zushonosuke could not shake his gloomy mood.

It was about ten days after the meeting between Chikugonokami and Minonokami. Just as Chikugonokami had feared, the long rains continued. Furthermore, a typhoon arrived, and for three days and three nights, the fierce wind and rain beat against the shingle roofs with a clattering sound.
At that point, Zushonosuke instructed Riku to evacuate to Kifune Castle in Tanimori. Naturally, Riku would have to take a leave of absence from her duties at Iwama-kan for a while, but that could not be helped. While the rain was letting up, he hurriedly packed her belongings and urged Riku to leave.
“Will the Lady be alright?”
Riku, wrapped in a straw raincoat, muttered as she stroked the horse’s wet muzzle. It seemed that, in her heart, she was not keen on being the only one to evacuate.
“The Lady is being protected by Minonokami-sama and the others.”
Zushonosuke said firmly. While he was certainly worried about the lord and his wife, Minonokami and his retainers were by their side. In contrast, they had to protect themselves.
Shimotsukenokami, the father-in-law and lord of Kifune Castle, had already entered Minega-jo, concerned for Tameuji’s safety. He had left Yasuda Hayato, a senior retainer of the Yabe family, at Kifune Castle as his proxy, and had secured a promise that he would take care of Riku.
“Zushonosuke-sama. Please, stay safe.”
Recently, he had begun to let his wife’s snide remarks slide, but for the first time in a while, Riku showed a lovely side. Zushonosuke took a small statue of Amida from his pocket and tucked it into Riku’s robe.
“This Amida-sama will surely protect you as well.”
The two stared at each other for a moment, but eventually, Riku nodded once and mounted the horse. The horse carrying Riku neighed, frightened by the precarious footing. About six inches below the bridge, muddy water was swirling violently. Soothing the horse, she managed to cross the Kosakuda Bridge, whose bridge girders were already looking unstable, and set off toward Tanimori.
That night, trembling at the sound of the rain intensifying again and the wind howling, Zushonosuke spent the night alone for the first time in a while. He felt somewhat unsettled because the warmth that was usually beside him was missing. Even so, as he drifted in and out of sleep, he heard a faint splashing sound. Could the water have risen this far?
The next morning, having resisted the urge to open the door to check on the weather, he woke up with the crowing of the first rooster. Zushonosuke was speechless at the sight that greeted him along with the first sunrise in a long time.
The source of the splashing sound last night was the nearby waterway overflowing. However, the golden and pale green fields that usually looked so vast were now stained the color of mud. He hurriedly tucked up the hem of his clothes, put on his straw sandals, and climbed to the grounds of the Furumine Shrine behind his house. Ando Samanosuke was already there.
“Isshiki-dono. It was the right decision to have Riku-dono depart for Kifune.”
A dark look also appeared on Samanosuke’s face. The land of Wada, looking down from the small hill, was submerged in a sea of mud everywhere. The Kosakuda Bridge that Riku must have crossed yesterday had long since been washed away.
“The Lord and the Lady...”
“They seem to be safe, for now. They have moved from Iwama-kan to Minega-jo, as expected. A messenger came to us from Minonokami-sama as well.”
It seemed someone had risked their life to send a messenger to Samanosuke.
“We are to open the grain stores of Wada-kan. You are to help as well, Isshiki-dono.”
Wada-kan, one of the castles held by the Suda clan, had a food warehouse. They were going to open the food stored there as emergency rations for the people of the domain.
However, that was only a temporary measure. There might only be enough to barely get the people of Wada through the winter.
Four or five days later, when the water finally began to recede and the mud began to dry, Zushonosuke thought of the lord and his wife as he rode his horse along the dusty road.
When he finally met them, the lord and his wife were unexpectedly energetic. It was likely because Minonokami had been protecting them by their side.
“To think that so much water would overflow... Indeed, being near a river has its pros and cons.”
While Iwakiri Tonai-zaemon, who also served as an attendant to the Lady, stated this without any malice, Endo Gakunosuke, who had come to serve Tameuji like the other retainers, cast a sharp glance at him. The Shakado River flowed right below Takadate, the residence of Gakunosuke. According to Gakunosuke, flooding had also occurred at the Shakado River, and the area around the residence and tea fields had been submerged.
However, those who had spent their time in the safe castle of Sukagawa could not grasp that sense of crisis as their own. Naturally, the lords of the regions where the flooding occurred would not be pleased.
Not all of the Iwase region was submerged, but the lords of the regions where the flooding occurred had to bow their heads to the lords of other regions and ask them to share their food. The retainers of Wada, led by Minonokami, struggled to decide on the distribution.
“My, my. When I moved to Kitazawa, I thought it was a beautiful land with great scenery, but I never imagined this flood.”
Zushonosuke also heard the rumor that Minbu had said this when he visited Minega-jo with his wife, having been pestered by Chitose-gozen, who happened to say, “I want to see my niece’s face.” Among the Nikaido clan, who were the lord’s family, some were beginning to say, “That is really too much,” regarding Minbu’s overly carefree way of speaking.
The one who told him this was Yatano Samanosuke, the lord of Yatano Castle. Because Yatano was in the mountains, there was no flood damage. However, transcending the enmity between east and west, he had sent skilled craftsmen to rebuild bridges and provided food to Wada, Hamao, Tsutsumi, and other areas to save the regions that had suffered from the flooding.
“Yatano-sama. I am truly grateful.”
Genzo, who had also suffered flood damage like Wada, controlled parts of Tsutsumi, Emochi, and Hamao.
“Think nothing of it. We should help each other when we are in trouble.”
Zushonosuke felt favorably toward Yatano Samanosuke, who brushed it off cheerfully.

©k.maru027.2023

＞“The Flood of the Okuma River (4)”continues to

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