The fourth book in the Sano Ichiro series, 1998

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It is my privilege to open this ceremony in which Sōsakan Sano Ichirō and Lady Ueda Reiko shall be united in marriage before the gods.” Pudgy, nearsighted Noguchi Motoori-Sano’s former superior and the go-between who had arranged the match-solemnly addressed the assembly gathered in Edo Castle’s private reception hall.

On this warm autumn morning, sliding doors stood open to a garden resplendent with scarlet maple leaves and brilliant blue sky. Two priests, clad in white robes and tall black caps, knelt at the front of the hall before the alcove, in which hung a scroll bearing the names of the kami-Shinto deities. Below this, a dais held the traditional offerings of round rice cakes and a ceramic jar of consecrated sake. Two maidens, wearing the hooded cloaks of Shinto shrine attendants, stood near the priests. On the tatami to the left of the alcove knelt the bride’s father and closest associates: stout, dignified Magistrate Ueda and a few relatives and friends. To the right, the groom’s party consisted of Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japan ’s supreme military dictator, dressed in brocade robes and the cylindrical black cap of his rank, attended by several high officials; Sano’s frail, elderly mother; and Hirata, Sano’s chief retainer. All eyes turned to the center of the hall, the focus of the ceremony.