Page:Tales from old Japanese dramas (1915).djvu/349

 Katsugorōs Revenge

I

HE Regent Taikō Hideyoshi had a retainer named Iinuma Sampei. He was a valiant warrior, and had distinguished himself in the liege-lord's conquest of the island of Shikoku. At the time when this story opens, he was serving as assistant superintendent in the construction of Hideyoshi's castle at Fushimi, in the neighbourhood of Kyōto. His colleague Satō Gōsuké was a licentious, inhuman, and lustful man. Sampei had saved his life in one of the battles in Shikoku. However, the villain was not grateful to his benefactor, but bore him strong ill will on account of the increase of Sampei's stipend, in recognition of his recent achievement. The two samurai had entirely opposite natures. Sampei was upright to the core, and Gōsuké was dishonest and cunning. This fact contributed towards the friction existing between them. One day they quarrelled 275