The Samurai Strategy Part 56

The speech began with a long-winded celebration of the famous Yasukuni Shrine, home of the spirits of all j.a.panese warriors. That shrine, His Majesty then went on to declare, was increasingly misconstrued by the world as a symbol of j.a.panese militarism, a misapprehension both unfortunate and untrue, since j.a.pan had indeed renounced martial force forever. However, to reinforce that commitment in the eyes of a nervous world, he was now announcing the dedication of a new national shrine to j.a.pan's spirit that would have no such misleading overtones. This new shrine, at Tsukuba Science City, would be a memorial to the peaceful use of technology, to man's mastery of the physical world sanctified so long ago by the s.h.i.+nto G.o.ds.

She looked up. "A new national shrine? Nice political move."

"Better read the rest before you jump to conclusions."

She glanced down and continued on.

It had further been decided, the Emperor would say, that the newly recovered Imperial sword would not be housed at Ise after all. It would instead be the centerpiece of this new memorial to j.a.panese technology.

Well, she thought, it still sounds okay. Theme shrines are perfectly within tradition. After all, the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo commemorated the nineteenth-century emperor who began j.a.pan's modernization. However, the thing to remember was that new shrines can have a philosophical subtext. The Meiji told the j.a.panese that their country had accepted Westernization. So, given that the creation of a new shrine can embody a message to everybody, she found herself wondering what word was being sent out this time.

The Emperor would go on to spell this out, lest any of his subjects were too dense to get the picture. Unlike the Yasukuni Shrine, he would say, this new memorial at Tsukuba would not commemorate j.a.pan's warrior past; rather it would celebrate a modern j.a.pan whose world eminence would be fas.h.i.+oned not with arms but through economic struggle. In so doing, it would symbolize the regeneration of j.a.pan's ancient spirit, _Yamato damas.h.i.+_, of which the _bus.h.i.+do _of the samurai was merely one manifestation, only a stage. Grander things were on the way. j.a.pan's rightful place in the new world order was only now coming into its own.

The new Tsukuba _damas.h.i.+ _would harness modern technology to j.a.pan's ancient traditions, would put the new at the service of the old.

What he was really telling his people, she realized, in oblique language only they would comprehend, was that j.a.pan was now prepared to wage open confrontation through commerce--their trading state pitted against the world's military states, whose economic base and martial ascendancy they would now proceed to challenge through technological superiority and cutthroat trade.

"Ken, does this mean what I think it means?" She pa.s.sed back the yellow page.

"If you think it means Noda's got him now, then the answer is yes. He's co-opted the Imperial house." He took the sheet and returned it to his briefcase. "I'd bet you anything Noda himself wrote that speech. He's begun, Tamara. His total takeover, of America and j.a.pan."

She sat a moment in silence, a strange sensation in her stomach. Did she believe it? She wasn't sure.

"Ken, there's something you should know. A colleague came with me on this trip. An American lawyer. Knowing him, he's probably still down in the bar. I'd like him to read this. Why don't we go down and I'll introduce you."

"Who is he? Can he be trusted?"

"As a matter of fact, he's an old friend. From a long time past. But we've been through a lot together lately."

He leaned back and sipped his beer. "Am I to a.s.sume this traveling companion is more than a casual friend?"

"That's not exactly your worry, is it? I don't pry into your life when I'm away." She got up to retrieve another can of beer.

"You can't blame me for being curious, Tam. It's a simple, reasonable question."

Nothing Kenji Asano does is ever simple, she told herself. There's always a subtext.

"Don't try to change the subject. One thing at a time." She sipped from her gla.s.s. "And regarding your plan, as far as I'm concerned, there's been too much MITI dabbling already. Frankly it p.i.s.ses me off."

"I'm sorry if you choose to feel that way, Tam." His eyes darkened.

"Please believe me when I a.s.sure you we're on the same side. I've told you what I propose doing about Noda. But I haven't heard any of your ideas."

She sighed and sipped her beer. "I don't have any. Yet."

"Then why not trust me?"

Trust. There was that word again. Trouble was, she wasn't sure she trusted anybody anymore. She rose, strolled to the window, and reached for the curtain. Should she let him stay the night? Maybe that was just asking for more heartaches. Letting j.a.pan screw America two ways. With that dismal thought she pulled open the curtains.

It had begun to snow, a swirl of drifting white.

"Ken, come and take a look." She beckoned him. "I think I'd like to go outside for a while. I'm weary to death of arguing."

He rose and came over to the window, standing next to her. "It's just started." He glanced around the room. "Did you bring any boots?"

"No, and I don't care. I just want some fresh air to help clear my head."

"All right, but we'll have to use the service elevator. I can't be seen walking through the lobby, not till tomorrow."

"We can take the stairs. Come on."

By the time they emerged onto the driveway leading out toward the road, traffic had slowed to a crawl and the futuristic shapes of Tsukuba's labs seemed like a fairyland. She noticed that the hotel had its own helicopter pad, undoubtedly to accommodate MITI officials who needed to pop up for a quick consultation. The place was high-tech, powerful, frightening.

Just like Kenji Asano.

"Ken, I'm afraid maybe we've lost it, you and me."

"Lost what?"

"Whatever we had there in Kyoto." She sighed.

"Maybe you've lost it, Tamara." They were striding through the first thin film of white that now blanketed the sidewalk paralleling the road, leaving a trail of flattened footprints. "Nothing has changed for me. You're welcome to come back and be part of my life anytime you choose."

"Well, right now I just want to walk in the snow." She glanced at him, wondering if she still felt anything at all. "You know, it's a funny thing, but the snow tonight reminds me of a trip I once took, years ago, up north to Hokkaido. The innocence, the simplicity, it was all captured in that pure, endless white." She looked around them. "How could Tsukuba Science City even be part of the same country?"

He smiled. "As the tour books always say, 'j.a.pan: land of contrasts.'

Well, the old ways are going fast, Tam, except in our hearts. Some things will always be the same."

"Tell you the truth, that's what scares me the most. Things like the sword, which can cause this whole country to go crazy overnight."

"Ah yes, the sword. Matsuo Noda's magic talisman. You know, that's the real reason he'll be so hard to stop. What a

genius. He delivers it to the Emperor, almost the same way the Sun G.o.ddess supposedly once did, and in the process makes himself a living G.o.d."

"Speaking of the sword, by the way, Matt is going over to the Metallurgy Lab tomorrow to see it. Live and prime time."

"Matt?"

"The lawyer I told you about."

"So his name is Matt?"

"Short for Matthew. Walton."

"But why . . ."

"Well, besides being a corporate attorney, he's supposed to be an amateur expert on swords. Hobby of his."

"And Noda is actually letting him see it?" There was a faint note of surprise in his voice. "Very unusual. That sword has been kept very tightly under wraps, or so I've heard."

"Believe it. Tomorrow Matt Walton gets a command presentation. Courtesy of Noda. He's arranged everything with the Imperial Household." She gazed up at the sky, now a white marble reflecting back the lights from the traffic.