Takeda Family 3rd Generation, Chief Priest 2nd Generation

After keeping his eyes closed for a while, my sensei opened them and enunciated, "Nishina Gorou Morinobu is Takeda Shiro Katsuyori's younger brother."

Then, he stroked the edge of the tatami mats and wrinkled the corners of his eyes with a faraway look of nostalgia.

"Goro, who was a baby, is now the lord of the castle. How time flies!"

I said, "Like Goro in the doctor's memory, I was a baby around the same time."

Since yesterday, Dr. Tokuhon and I have been staying at Koufukuji Temple in Shinano Province, below Takato Castle. The lord of Takato Castle is Nishina Goro Morinobu: the man my sensei mentioned.

Normally, I would leave this dangerous place as soon as possible, but the high priest of Kofukuji Temple was very ill, so departing was not an option.

We were waiting in the shukubou (visitor's lodgings) of the temple for the morning work to be finished by the chief priest, the apprentice of the high priest.

"Dr. Tokuhon, is it the story of the time when you were at Tutujigasaki Castle?"

"That's right. It was before Shiro could obtain his genpuku (samurai coming-of-age ceremony)."

My sensei used to be the private doctor of Nobutora Takeda, Shiro Katsuyori's grandfather. He treated Nobutora in Tutujigasaki Castle in a daily basis.

I thought about the following: If he cured Nobutora's illness, the war would be repeated. My sensei would be very upset to witness the death of many soldiers and people in each battle.

When Nobutora's son, Harunobu (AKA Shingen), was exiled from Kai, Dr. Tokuhon left Nobutora's side and became Harunobu's attendant doctor. However, Harunobu also fought many consecutive battles, something that made Dr. Tokuhon greatly worried, so he resigned his post and began to travel around the country treating people. He put up a signboard where it read, "DR. TOKUHON OF KAI, 16 MON - 1 DOSE; ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION, SAME PRICE." He examined everyone without discrimination. His reputation eventually spread to Kyoto, and as a result, it came to my ears.

"Since Goro protects Takato Castle, it must be an important base for the Takeda family in Kai," thought the doctor out loud.

I also had a similar idea. Katuyori Takeda may have entrusted the castle to his younger brother in order to regain the power of the Takeda forces pushed by the Oda forces.

"Doctor, do you still have any attachment to the Takeda family in Kai?"

"I'm not quite sure. Maybe I would feel nostalgic to meet Shiro or Goro."

"Oh, I see."

Since the war had been going on for so long, the living conditions of the common people were getting worse and worse.

As a simple traveling doctor, we were naturally affected by this. The prices of vegetables and fish had become surprisingly high.

The Kofukuji was a famous local temple. Since we were treating the high priest there, we should have been able to get at least one or two ryo (a pre-Meiji unit of currency; 1 ryo equals 4000 mon [US$900]).

However, the doctor still insisted on charging 16 mon. The pseudonym Chisoku-sai expressed his state of mind and it means the one who attained contentment. In other words, someone who does not focus on what he lacks, someone who is thankful for what he has and is satisfied with his status. Apparently, this term was taken from the Ming Dynasty book "Lao Tzu".

Soon, the chief priest arrived with the sound of hurried footsteps.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, but I have to go out again."

He was a big man, over 6 shaku (feet) tall, with hair on the back of his hands like a bear.

He was sweating so profusely that he kept wiping his forehead with a hand towel. Still, some of the sweat dripped down on the tatami mats.

Dr. Tokuhon said to the young chief priest, "Take your time. We'll wait for you until you are totally available for us."

"Thank you, sir. I'll be back as soon as I can."

After bowing, the priest walked out of the room.

I had expected the work of a monk to be a little more relaxed, but now I had reasons to change my mind.

With the high priest in bed because of his illness, the chief priest has no choice but to manage the temple instead. Most probably he was having a hectic day.

When the young priest's back was out of sight as he walked down the corridor, my sensei asked me:

"Nisuke, what do you think?"

"About what, doctor?"

"About the chief priest's sweat."

"Oh, well, he was sweating a lot."

Sweat is a guide to know a person's physical condition. Maybe our chief priest has a lack of lung energy.

"So, he has a deficiency of lung ki (vital energy), doesn't he?"

"And not only that; maybe a deficiency of heart ki, too."

"Indeed, I noticed that's why he's sweating a lot. And his mentor, the high priest, might also suffer from a deficiency of heart ki."

"That's right, Nisuke. You've learned a lot lately, haven't you? How did you come to think about the high priest in that way?"

"Yesterday, when I checked his pulse, I had a hunch. From time to time it was interrupted, weakened, or gained strength. It was the first time I had ever experienced such a pulse, but somehow I could link it to a condition in his heart."

My sensei started to check around to make sure there was no one nearby. Then he told me in a whisper: "Did you feel that his pulse was irregular like rolling pebbles? It's called the danseki pulse. It's one of the seven signs of death pulses. Unfortunately, he won't be able to live much longer."

"Oh, such a pity."

Medicine is not a panacea. It can delay death, but it can't stop it.

When that happens, you just have to accept it quietly. However, I didn't have much experience, so I became very nervous about the word death.

"It's painful, but we have to tell the young priest."

The doctor was looking at me as he said this. He seemed to be looking for something on my face.

"Is there anything on my face?"

"Yes, your mouth. Please, use it to explain to the chief priest about his mentor's condition."

"Huh?"

Dr. Tokuhon had just uttered the most ridiculous thing ever.

"This experience will also help you grow."

"It's impossible for me to do it, yet."

"Well, practice makes perfect."

"How do I practice?"

"Imagine me as a chief priest."

"Oh, no."

Without saying a word, the teacher began to pretend to be the chief priest, wiping his sweat with a hand towel.

"How is the master doing?"

"Well, I'm very sorry to say that unfortunately…"

"What do you mean, unfortunately?"

"Well, that he's got the so-called… uh"

"What do you mean, the so-called?"

My frustration made me say moo instead of boo.

"A so-called moo, as in a cow mooing?"

"Oh, please give me a break."

The doctor returned to his normal self and laughed.

"You seem to be biting off more than you can chew, huh?"

"Yes, I admit it."

Perhaps my sensei deliberately started such a prank to get rid of my depressed feelings. He does have a gentle side to him.

I was too embarrassed to thank him, so I just looked at the stone lanterns in the garden.

The mossy surface was engraved with characters, but I couldn't read them because I had never seen them before. And there were more characters I didn't know; so I asked my sensei:

"What is written on it?"

"Oh, that's bonji (Siddham, a script used to write Sanskrit) and it tends to be related to Buddhism" he said. "From the bottom, it reads: chi (earth), sui (water), ka (fire), fū (wind), and kū (sky). It's similar to moku (wood), ka (fire), do (earth), kin (metal) and sui (water)."

"Yes, that's right. Although it comes from a different perspective, there are similarities and they represent all the creation. In medicine, the wind is ki (vital energy), and the sky is yīn-yáng."

"I see."

Oriental medicine uses the yīn-yáng theory and the five elements theory as the basis of its thinking. Things and phenomena in this world can be divided into these cosmic dual forces. For example, the night is yīn and day is yáng, the woman is yīn and the man are yáng, and so on.

Yīn and yáng influence each other and maintain a balance by a repetitive process of increasing and decreasing. In addition, the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) also do the same.

For example, when wood is burned, the flames become more active, so the nature of the wood helps the nature of fire. The flame disappears when water is sprinkled, so we can say that the properties of water help to suppress the properties of fire.

Furthermore, there is yīn and yáng in each property of the five elements. For example, yáng of the wood, yīn of the earth, and so on.

When examining the human body, we apply the five elements and the yīn-yáng theory to the functions of the various organs. When all the organs are in balance, we are healthy; otherwise, we get sick.

Medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion are used to maintain or restore this balance.

"You know almost everything about Buddhism as well as medicine, don't you?"

"Almost everything? Not at all. I only know about a few things."

Then, my sensei humbly added, "I've just lived a long time for nothing much. But it's no small feat just to remember the different disease states, the appropriate treatment, and the proper medication."

I imagined how it felt inside of the doctor's head? Why don't I know as much as he does?

I have to devote myself to medicine more. I have to be more diligent. By the way, is it because I'm in temple that I became more aware of my own path of practice than ever before?

Then one of the little monks came hurriedly and cried out: "Master! The chief priest has collapsed!"

"Oh, my goodness gracious!"

"Just when we thought he had gone out, he came back and then we bumped into him in the main hall."

"Guide us there. Please show us the way," said the doctor standing up.

The little monk led us to the main hall.