Making a God of War (Uesugi: Legednary, Domination)

[Maltz]

Chapter 5. Tohachi Bishamon Tenon

The coup took place during the wee hours of January 1, 1545. As Harutage was far away in Kyoto and clan officers loyal to him were mostly absent, Kagetora took Kasugayama Castle without any blood shed. People make wishes on New Year's day. Many wish to have Harukage replaced anyway.

Yet Harukage still has a few loyal captains. Besides, enemies of Echigo, such as Etchu's Jinbo Clan, cannot let go a perfect oppurtunity to split the Nagao Clan into two...

March 15, 1545

It has been years since Kagetora witnessed the "sea of cloud" on top of Kasuga mountain the last time. Just as fascinating as he remembered.

Maoko the housekeeeper: "My lord, Harukage's army has revealed themselves. They are marching toward the Kasugayama Castle! About 800 in strength."
Nagao Masakage: "Darn, where did Harukage gather so many followers? We have pooled over all our strength and gathered only 800."
Maoko the housekeeper: "Harukage wasted away most of the clan's savings. We had to disband most garrison soldiers."
Nagao Masakage:

Nago Kagetora quietly looks at the fuming Masakage, his second-in-command by default. Yet managing finance is not a simple task. Can he do a better job than his brother? He does not even know where to start. But since the battle is imminent, maybe he should worry about finance later.

Kagetora: "So... it is finally the time to fight my brother."
Usami Nomi: "A fighter's destiny belongs to the battlefield. I shall join the bodyguards and fight on the side of my lord!"
Kagetora: "Thank you, Nomi. If you do not wish to be identified to be a woman, you can wear one of those full-face masks with fake white mostache..."

Kagetora lightly taps his almost overly polished armor hanging on the rack. This will be his first time to wear them. This will be his very first battle. A battle to decide his and his clan's fate.

Maoko: "Do you want more wax applied on the bamboo armor, my lord?"
Kagetora: "Thanks, Maoko. I think we can save some wax for the candles..."

Masakage: "We can't wait anymore - the entire Echigo is waiting for our move. Kagetora, please announce the battle! We can reach Harukage in three days."
Kagetora: "Sure. If we have no time to gather more men, we may as well end this sooner."
Maoko: "My lord. What banners shall our soldiers bear?"
Masakage: "Huh? Nagao banners, of course."
Maoko: "My lord, our enemy is using Nagao banners, too. We will be unable to distinguish each other on the battlefield."
Masakage: " That's true. Yet Harukage claims to be the rightful leader of Nagao Clan. If we use another banner, we acknoledge his claim. Our soldiers will feel like traitors and cannot fight properly. There is no other way. Maybe add a headband to distinguish friends and foes?"
Nomi: "Actually, there IS another way."
Masakage: "Huh?"
Nomi: "Let's upgrade this battle to levels above! It is not a battle between brothers of the same clan, but a battle between the righteous and the treacherous, the promised and the cursed, the holy and the sinful! BANISH THE DAMNED SOULS TO THE EIGHTEENTH LEVEL OF HELL!"

Suddenly, Kagetora feels the ground quietly tremor. Earthquake is very common in Japan.

Masakage: "Sounds good. They may be Nagao, but the evil Nagao that is doomed to fail."
Kagetora: "I just hope I can live up to the good guy's reputation. We just made a bad first impression... "
Nomi: "Maoko, could you bring me a large brush, black cloth, and white paint?"
Maoko: "Right away!"

Moments later, Kagetora and Masakage watch Nomi write seven foot-wide Kanji charcters on the black cloth. Her calligraphy is extermely powerful. The words seemed to be flowing with energy. Must have been years of practice.

刀八毘沙門天王
Tohachi Bishamon Tenon

Kagetora: "What an instant masterpiece!"
Masakage: "Wow! Could you design my living room?"
Nomi: "Not interested."
Masakage: "That was intended as a joke... anyway. Bishamonten is the God of War. If we claim to be Bishamonten, our enemies must be ghosts and monsters. Their fate is sealed."
Nomi: "Indeed. Scums like Harukage can be crushed by a single finger."
Kagetora: "But if we claim to be Bishamonten... won't Bishamonten get angry at us and deliver devine punishment?"
Nomi: "Not if you act according to Bishamonten's way."

Nomi gave Kagetora's shoulder a few firm pats.

Masakage: "Good. Hm, it is a bit tedious if we write all seven words on each soldiers' banner. Only the top part is visible anyway. Let's just take one representative word, shall we?"
Kagetora: "To (刀, knife), Hachi (八, eight), Sha (沙, sand), Mon (門, door), Ten (天, sky), On (王, king) are all common words. Bi (毘) is rare as it only appears in translations. Let's use Bi, then."
Nomi: "I like it. Maoko, can you make 800 Bi banners in two days?"
Maoko: "We do have enough artists to mimic Lady Nomi's work, but we are short of black cloth and white paint due to high demands from Chosokabe and Hattori... Does indigo cloth and red ink work?"
Masakage: "Not enough contrast and bizarre taste... but good enough to be unique, I guess?"
Kagetora: "This is my first a battle, and I already claim to be a God of War..."

Note:
Tohachi: "Eight knives". Since Japanese took Bishamon as the God of War, in some sculptures the deity bears 8 knives in the back. Some also say this was a translation from ancient Chinese' pronunciation of Tibet (Tubo).
Tenon: "Heavenly King". Each of the four guardians is a Tenon.