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Atagi Nobuyasu was descended from a samurai warrior of the same name who had died in 1578. In the days when Japan was divided into feudal battlegrounds ruled by the Daimyo, lords with absolute power of life and death over their subjects, the samurai served their masters with fanatical loyalty and commitment. When the feudal period ended, they continued to serve the emperor and his generals.
Then the West came, with new weapons that dishonored the ancient codes of combat. Wearing of the two swords was forbidden, and the era of the samurai was over. The days of samurai warriors walking the streets with their swords were long gone, but they were far from forgotten.
For Atagi Nobuyasu and the secretive group he belonged to, the samurai code of bushido was the touchstone of their lives.
Bushido was an unwritten code for warriors that had emerged in the sixteenth century. Some called bushido the soul of Japan. It was a collection of moral imperatives, values, and martial arts disciplines. For the Japanese, bushido was a way of life, built around a unique concept of honor and loyalty. Death in service to the emperor was seen as the culmination of the warrior's way. The code of bushido was woven inextricably into the fabric of Japanese existence. It was one of the reasons so many soldiers of Japan had fought fanatically to the death during World War II.
The Honjo Masamune was more than a symbol of Japan's warrior past. Ancient legends surrounded the blade. Some believed the sword held mystical power that could restore the glory of past centuries and wipe out the humiliation of defeat. For that to happen, the blade had to be returned to its land of origin.
Nobuyasu hadn't quite told the truth about the ownership of the sword, nor had he revealed the real reason he sought it. As far as he was concerned, the Tokugawa clan had given up all claim to the sword by handing it over to the enemy. He did not consider the Tokugawas worthy of the sword. Had they not betrayed their ancestors and the nation by giving up the sword in the first place? No, the Tokugawas were not worthy. Nobuyasu sought the sword for himself. It was his right to claim the sword and its secret.
Nobuyasu belonged to Nippon Kaigi, the largest and most conservative right wing group in Japan. Politics in Japan was a complicated thing. In some ways it was similar to the West, although a Westerner would never fully understand it. With many subtle variations, it boiled down to left and right, with many factions in between.
Alone in his hotel room, Nobuyasu took out his phone and made a brief call.
"They have agreed. Make sure no action they take goes unobserved."
"As you wish, Nobuyasu-san."
Nobuyasu disconnected and thought about Harker and her group. It had been personally difficult to approach them. The idea of using foreigners to find the sword went against everything he believed in. He had only considered it after talking with his friend in the security service. Every other avenue he'd tried had ended in failure.
From now on, Harker's group would be watched. If and when they found the sword, Nobuyasu would make sure it came into his possession.