Chapter 10 – History’s Turning Point

Side: Kazuma

The season changed from summer to fall.  The sake brewing has been proceeding smoothly. 

We’ve gotten used to life in this era without electricity, and I believe everyone’s enjoying the experience. 

As for food, the rice wasn’t very tasty, to be honest.  Something was just missing.  Though in this era, one should be thankful for simply having food on the table in the first place, so I’m not going to complain much. 

「Hey, Kazu. You procure silk and saltpeter from Ming, don’t you? And Ming wants copper and silver in return for those goods.  What do they do with all that copper and silver in Ming? What do they use them for?」

「I heard that silver is often used to make tableware in Nanban. Also, silver itself is treated as quite a valuable commodity.   You can use silver as currency in any country after all.   Compared to other countries, silk is more valuable here in Hinomoto and silver is relatively cheap.  That’s why Ming and Nanban merchants prefer to buy silk cheaply in Ming and sell it for significantly higher prices here in Hinomoto.  The same goes for silver. I heard that silver is highly valuable in Ming.」

Nobunaga-san still frequently made visits to our home and asked questions about matters he was curious about.  As a result, I ended up teaching him about the secrets of Nanban trade. 

It’s mostly second-hand knowledge from historical records and educational textbooks though, so I might have blurted out knowledge that even the Sakai merchants didn’t know about.  Should I just try to gloss over it when pressed?  

「So, silver is expensive in Ming huh?」

「Well, silver and gold are generally treated as precious and finite commodities.  To put it simply, silk can be made as much as one wanted as long as one had mulberry trees and silkworms. The same can’t be said for silver and gold.」

「Wait a moment.  Does that not mean that Hinomoto will run out of silver eventually?」

「Well, yes, I suppose.」

「Then why has no one actually noticed something so crucial!?」

「I wonder. I’m not too sure. But in the first place, isn’t Hinomoto focused more on warring for territory instead of trade?」

Nobunaga-san wasn’t only smart and well-educated. He also had great intuition.  He was able to become aware of the inherent problems with the Nanban trade just from listening to my words.  Well, maybe he just weighed the importance of silver and silk and concluded that silver was a lot more important though. 

「The Nanban traders also make sure not to let the prices of pepper and sugar fall.  Hinomoto is akin to an ignorant farmer who is unaware of the vastness of the world and is easily taken advantage of.」

「Kazu, could it be that your words normally were not supposed to reach the ears of the people of Hinomoto?」

「Perhaps. I don’t really mind though, so it’s fine.」

There were no rules for trade in this era.  Whoever takes the most advantage of another is the ultimate winner.  Besides, buying at a low price and selling high is the basis of doing business. 

The Nanban trade will continue to flourish at this rate, but the people of this era probably don’t even see the problems that will result in the unrestricted outflow of so much copper and silver. 

In fact, the missionaries, who will eventually come to Sengoku-era Japan later on, were also sponsored by the Kingdom of Spain and participated in business in various ways. 

「This matter. It is not something to discuss about while sitting on the porch and drinking barley tea.」

「I’m just a single merchant.  How you would make use of all the information you have learned from this discussion will be up to you, Young Lord.」

「As long as we cannot produce silk on our own, there is nothing that can be done, correct?」

「Well, roughly speaking, that’s right. You can probably produce silk and cotton locally if you wanted to. But nobody has any thought of doing so currently, right? With all the warring going on, I mean.」

Nobunaga-san’s expression turned serious due to the possible dangers of Nanban trade.  I wonder if he’s already considering Tenka Fubu at this stage? Well, it’s true that the current situation wasn’t a laughing matter though. 

「……Kazu, serve under me.」

「What are you saying so suddenly? I’ll get angry. Why would you want someone you know very little about to serve you? And first of all, there’s nothing for me to gain in serving you.」

Nobunaga-san turned silent for a while. After some time mulling things inwardly, he suddenly blurted out something so ridiculous. 

His retainers and Elle and the others ended up getting surprised by his sudden offer and became even more surprised when I turned Nobunaga-san down.  C’mon, guys. It’s nothing to be so surprised about.  It was just something that came up in the middle of a chat after all. 

Even so, what made him come to such a decision in the first place?

「This Hinomoto needs someone to unite it under one banner. Do you not think so?」

「Well, I suppose. Hinomoto has been embroiled in constant wars for nearly ninety years after all.」

「I have been thinking about it for a long time. Just why are we in a state of constant wars? When will this all end? Will it even ever end in the first place?」

Was this kid actually serious? He did seem like he was taking things quite seriously. 

「Should someone not stand up to put an end to it once and for all?」

「And you will be the one to do so, Young Lord?」

「That is my intention.  But I have no idea how to go about it. However, you do know of a way, do you not?」

「I’m just a country bumpkin raised on a small island chain though.」

「That is not so. You people are ones who are knowledgeable about the world outside of Hinomoto.」

「You do know that in order to create a new order, the old one must be destroyed, right? The road you are trying to tread will be a path to hell. You will probably earn the ire of many. It will be to the point that you would likely end up in hell when you die. And even if you do succeed in conquering the world, it is still not a given that the ones who will ultimately end up ruling that unified world will be the Young Lord or the Oda clan.」

「I do not mind. We were originally the clan of a magistrate serving under the shugodai in the first place. I would be more than content if my children or grandchildren can inherit even half of Owari.」

「Well, I’ll be.」

He really looked like he was serious.  However, right now, Nobunaga-san was just a young clan heir apparent who’s ridiculed as a great fool. One normally wouldn’t take such a person seriously.   It sounded so absurd after all.

However, we did want to establish a place for ourselves in the general area. 

I don’t think it would be a bad idea to serve under Nobunaga-san and establish a territory to call our own somewhere around the mainland.  This sure is a pickle. 

「I need you all. You who have detailed knowledge of Nanban and Ming. I need the wisdom of those not from Hinomoto.」

「Hmm. I don’t mind lending you a hand, but do I really need to serve as your retainer? Honestly, I’m no good with such formalities.  How about I simply remain as your personal merchant?」

「That will probably not be enough. We are going to create a new world. It is not like you all need to become samurai. Rather than that, I need you all to show the samurai your way of thinking and your way of life that is so different from their own.」

Well, he sure is forward-thinking.   However, there would probably be quite a lot of difficulties implementing his ideas.  People see things differently depending on factors like gender, social position, and age.  What Nobunaga-san envisions for Hinomoto may not be what the current rulers of this era wish to see. 

「People probably call you a great fool because you spout things like that so easily.」

「I do not mind being called some great fool. The current ways of the samurai will never unify the world.」

「What do you think, everyone?」

Looking at things objectively, it indeed wasn’t a bad move to enlist us who were familiar with foreign countries and trading under Nobunaga-san’s banner.  But he really might seem like a great fool to those who weren’t familiar with history and didn’t come from the future like us since he was spouting stuff like unifying the world even if he hasn’t even inherited the position of the head of the Oda clan. 

「We don’t really mind on our end.」

「Alright then. We will serve under you, Young Lord.」

I asked Elle and others for their opinions first before making a decision.  They tended not to openly oppose my decisions, but judging from their expressions, it looked like they really didn’t have any problems with it. 

The world, huh?  If we lent our power to Nobunaga-san, the Toyotomi government, and the Tokugawa shogunate will probably not come into being. 

Even so, us becoming official Japanese citizens will be the most suitable way to establish a territory of our own on the mainland.   Also, I was originally a Japanese citizen anyway. 

Nobunaga-san was also a rather pleasant young man who had big dreams, quite unlike the picture of him that was painted in the history books. 

However, the glimpses of his rebelliousness and innovative ways of thinking were characteristics that many in this era might not deem appropriate or appreciate.  

「Oh, right. You will now become a samurai.  If so, then you will need a surname.  I shall grant you one then. ……How about Kuon? Kuon Kazuma.」

Nobunaga-san seemed a bit surprised by our abrupt acceptance of his offer, but he quickly regained his composure. He then suddenly coined a last name for me. 

To be honest, I would have liked to coin my surname on my own, but…… As expected, this guy was probably quite a genius. 

“Kuon” was originally a Buddhist term.  It meant “eternity”.  It also encompassed the distant past and the far future.  

I also coined the name of my very first gynoid, Elle, from the word “eternal”. 

***

Side: Oda Nobunaga 

I was blissfully unaware.  It never even crossed my mind that Hinomoto might be being preyed upon by the merchants from the distant Nanban and Ming. 

But it was possible for one to come to such a conclusion if they gave some more thought to the matter.  Anyone would wish for the prosperity of their own homelands. Furthermore, there was no reason for people living outside of Hinomoto to consider this nation’s benefits when conducting business. 

Were the merchants in Hakata and Sakai unaware of this? Or were they aware but chose to do nothing about it? What are those from the court thinking? 

As I thought, I had no choice but to take action myself. 

Listening to Kazu’s words made me understand.  Hinomoto and I were akin to nothing but ignorant farmers.  Learning about things was not enough.  If I do not recruit people who have knowledge of the lands beyond the sea, I will never be able to live a life different from those of the other samurai. 

They were different.  Kazuma and the others were truly different.  Their viewpoints, way of living…… Everything was different. 

I wonder what my father would say? I had now taken the owner of a Nanban ship under my employ.  I do hope he will not have any objections. 

***

According to the『Oda Unification Chronicles』, Oda Nobunaga personally came to Tsushima and recruited Kuon Kazuma, who was visiting Tsushima at the time, as his retainer.   It was also written that the Kuon family name was granted to Kazuma by Nobunaga himself.

The events of Nobunaga visiting Kazuma three times before formally welcoming him as a vassal was widely depicted in various novels and period dramas, but this was actually a fictional detail that was added in later retellings. 

It was said that Nobunaga himself did not disclose the details of these events except for saying that he was blessed with heavenly luck, and Kazuma himself did not say anything about the matter either and merely laughed it off.  

However, Ikeda Tsuneoki, who was present during the historic meeting, was quoted saying that the conversation between the two at the time sounded incomprehensible to him, which has become a topic of fervent discussion among many researchers and historians in later generations.    

Also, in the『Kuon Family Chronicles』, it was said that Kazuma came to Owari in search of new business partners after he had inherited his family’s estate in the Kuon Islands.