Get the Vase Back from the Bandits! The Story of the Odd-Couple Swordsmen "Kagero Kenshi" / Introducing All of Fujiko F's Early Works (30)

This article is the 30th in a series introducing the early works of Fujiko F. Fujio, starting from when he turned twenty in December 1953, in roughly chronological order. I am currently covering works from 1958, when he was 24 years old.

1958 was a year in which he focused on publishing works primarily in Kodansha's grade-level magazines and Akita Shoten's "Manga O." In "Manga O," he alternated between writing science fiction short stories and period piece short stories.

"Kagero Kenshi," which I will cover in this article, is classified as one of the period pieces from "Manga O."

Thrilling Period Manga is the title of this work. While "period manga" might sound like an unfamiliar term today, in the 1950s and 60s, period dramas—whether in the form of films, manga, or novels—were at the center of entertainment.

This is a 32-page work with a fairly simple story.

It is a buddy story featuring Jiro Maruyama, a man on a warrior's pilgrimage, and Kagero Usuba, a samurai who is pursuing four bandits for a specific reason. It is an action-packed story about this odd-couple duo working to retrieve a stolen vase from the bandits.

Since it has a simple structure, I would like to follow the story and check out the highlights.

It is the height of a hot summer where the heat haze is shimmering. Amidst this, there is a man shivering as if he were in the middle of winter. The man is waiting for a group of four bandits to appear, but he is trembling with fear.

The bandits, who look truly villainous, walk up, and the man gathers his courage and jumps out. He shouts, "Return the Mountain Monkey's vase!" but is mocked with, "Who did I think it was? Just a coward." However, the man gets scared and runs away the moment the bandits point their blades at him.

After running away, the man is laughed at by another boy. His pathetic display had been witnessed. Here, the two protagonists meet and introduce themselves to each other.

The faint-hearted man says his name is Kagero Usuba, and because the Mountain Monkey's vase that his lord cherished had been stolen, he had been given the strict order: "Go get it back, and don't come home until you do."

The boy who laughed at Kagero is Jiro Maruyama, who is on a warrior's pilgrimage. He comforts the crying Kagero and offers to help him get it back. He is an extremely cheerful boy.

When the two follow the bandits' tracks, they find out they are staying at an inn. They try to sneak in to steal the vase back, but the enemies are no fools; they are easily discovered, leading to a fight.

The battle here is the first highlight. It becomes clear that Jiro Maruyama is agile, strong, and quick-witted. Thanks to his efforts, they successfully retrieve the vase and escape.

Now, is the matter settled? Not quite. The bandits, having had their loot stolen back, are not going to just back down. The four bandits boast, saying things like, "I'll tear you apart and make you into oden," "I'll crush you and make you into tsukudani," and "I'll roll you up and make you into an onigiri." (Though, since they brought up food, they get hungry.)

Then, one of the bandits, hungry and lured by the smell of rice balls, finds Kagerou and Jiro eating rice balls in the shade of the grass. Here, a battle begins between Kagerou, who is holding the jar, and the bandits, but Kagerou quickly throws the jar away and runs off.

He is a man who is cowardly through and through. Of course, by emphasizing his cowardice in this way, it serves the role of increasing the exhilaration of the reversal at the end, but...

Jiro picks up the jar and runs away instead, but he gets separated from Kagerou here. The bandits chase after Jiro, but he manages to escape successfully.

That night, Kagerou, who had been hiding, is captured by the bandits. In exchange for his life, Kagerou is forced to help lure Jiro, who has the jar. Then, as instructed by the bandits, he calls out to Jiro as he approaches. The bandits aim their bows at Jiro.

Here, the greatest climax arrives. It has become a scene where the courage of Usuba Kagerou, a coward to the core, is put to the test.

Unless Kagerou stands up, Jiro will be shot...! The moment the bows are drawn, Kagerou shouts at the top of his lungs for Jiro to "Get down!" Jiro narrowly escapes the arrows.

Naturally, Kagerou, who interfered, is also targeted by the bandits. However, with Jiro's assistance, he escapes the situation, and Kagerou and Jiro successfully reunite. Here, the two-on-four sword fight begins.

Jiro is strong to begin with, so the bandits are no match for him. Kagerou is attacked by those who underestimate him, thinking he is "safe because he is weak," but he uses his wits to repel the enemies. In a battle lasting only two pages, the outcome is decided quite easily.

Having retrieved the jar and tied up the bandits, Kagerou returns home with great swagger with Jiro smilingly accompanying him. Truly, this is a thrilling period drama, and thus it ends happily ever after...

Since it is 32 pages long, it does not have the multi-layered narrative structure unique to Fujiko F's works, but is a straightforward story of simply retrieving a jar from bandits.

Both the enemies and allies are easygoing, and they are all people you can't help but like. I am reminded once again that this readability and enjoyment are the charms of Fujiko's works.

Well then, there are only a few early Fujiko F works left to introduce. I'll do my best for a little longer.