The Sho Way of Battle

While the ancient Sho tactician/philosopher Yoshitsune Tengutaro explained the Sho conceptions of conflict and battle in great detail, it is again, curiously, an outsider's account of Sho warfare that sheds greatest objective light upon the reality of the matter.

Following are excerpts from the epic Gharundim epic poem "Sword and Fire", which tells of the disastrous warfare that ensued when a Sho princess, known only by her given name of Yukiko, was sent to marry the Gharundim Caliph to cement a political alliance. Arriving on her wedding day, it was discerned by magical means that she was with child, a fact that was taken as a grave slight by the Caliph...grave enough that Yukiko was garroted in the dungeon of the Caliph. So passed from the world, it is said, the greatest beauty ever born amongst the Sho race. The verses describing her last hours are heart-rending, a masterpiece of Gharundim literature.

Meanwhile, the Sho Lord Yanagida, her no-longer secret and now bereaved lover, immediately marched upon the Gharundim. Insult and misunderstanding followed one upon another, and it was not until a mysterious monk appeared that peace was re-established...after the loss of some 12,000 Sho and Gharundim warriors at the Battle of the Shifting Sands. Yanagida, however, was slain by an arrow through the eye; to this day, it is said amongst the nomadic desert dwellers, his shade wanders the hot sands of the battleground, wailing for his young love.

We join the epic as the battle lines are drawn up. These excerpts appear from the larger work "Epics of The Gharun", compiled and translated by Tacitus the Scholar. His commentary is included below, where relevant.

From out the green oasis marched the Sho,
7,000 warriors arrayed
in bright mail, yoroi, the
glittering blades
of ancient smiths firmly girt,
yari, yumi, weapons old and
polished well for battle;

and Yanagida, in white shirt
and hood of mourning,
led upon his mount.
To death he rode, knowing full
well the end that, defeat or victory,
before him lay.

'But not by my own hand will I
be slain,'
resolved the lord, young
and of noble mien;
'Only a worthy foe shall
lay me low: by noble hand
alone shall I fall,
and by noble hands be lain
in a barrow of earth and stone
with this keen blade,
forged in Jojii's time,
forever by my side.'

And so "Death, to death!"
was their cry;
Unafraid and firm they
arrayed themselves for battle
in lines five deep,
with archers before and
flanking, units of horse
and footman strongly in reserve
both behind and beside.
And Yanagida, ringed all
'round by the stout bannermen
of his guard, waited
in the center, head bowed
low...

Ed. Commentary: Though the epic clearly predates Takemoto Seiryu's "Musings of the Path of the Retainer", it is clear that the values expressed by that later work were in place even upon this field of Shifting Sands, so distant in the past. Death, life -- illusory and inconsequential. It must be noted from the Gharun historical records that several dozen Gharun warriors were later executed by the Caliph for cowardice on the field. Not a single Sho warrior retreated.

Next, lines from the climax of the epic, the cataclysmic battle itself:

A buzzing as of wasps was heard,
but without wings came
the sting of arrows,
in flight blotting the
very sun! Alas for friend
and foeman both,
falling like withered
grasses before even
blade was drawn, battle
cry given! The banners
of noble houses lay
in desert dust.
Blood ran in rivulets,
and sank into the thirsting
sand.

And Yanagida, seeing the
tumult of the clashing lines,
listened well to his bannermen.
"Lord," they cried,
"meet it is to fight
this day, but for what to
lay down our bodies here?
The princess has passed
beyond to the dragon's
realm, and no blood here
will return her to you!
Look, Lord, at the charging
lines of horse, the brave
swordsmen of the foe! Surely,
many men will die here pierced
with pikes and darts,
hewn with axes through helm
and mail. We fear not to fight,
but Lord! Your love blinds
you! Many a fair youth
for sake of your grief and love lost
will this day sink
to his knees, crying out for
pity, for mercy,
as blade thrusts home!"

The Lord was silent.
Then, quietly weeping,
he drew forth the golden tachi
of his fathers, forged in
Jojii's time, with relics
of the Great Sage and
his disciple, wise Ananda,
sealed within the crystal hilt.
Pulling from his belt
the lacquered scabbard,
dusted with gold and set
with garnets and sapphires,
he gazed upon it a long
moment...then
cast it forward into
the fray!
End over end it flew,
and disappeared in the dust
of the clashing lines.
"Not again shall I
need you," he said alouid,
"for not today
will this sword by my
hand be sheathed..."

Ed. Commentary: The reader would be quite correct to draw connection between this scene and another, from Sho literature. Yamamoto Yoshi, fighting a blood feud against the rival Shojuro merchant house for the sinking of a fleet of barges, each laden with a fortune in spice and spell powders, declares in a stirring speech to his wounded that he has wronged them. To atone to them, he draws his yaoji, hands the sheath to his retainer, removes his helmet and marches boldly into the advancing enemy. His wounded and demoralized soldiers, impressed by his display, rejoin the fight. Though the Shojuro claim today to have his skull mounted upon small jade pedestal, Yamamoto's feat of leadership kept tight the bonds of loyalty.

At this the generals
fell back, and Yanagida
turned in his saddle,
wildly glaring to left
and right, brandishing aloft
the great blade.
"To death!
For death I seek!
It is the fool who
clings to any thing,
most of all to life!
Brave generals, you
know well what is our fate
should we return to lands
of Sho! When the princess
was found with child,
my death was sealed!
Secret lovers we,
though not secret to you.
And so with my suicide
alone atonement comes...
and also with yours, my senior
officials and generals,
for not by emperor will
you be spared! As for these
young ones, try to dissuade
them from dying by
our sides!
No, generals, not
by suicide or executioner's
stroke would I have them,
the flower of my clan,
meet their fate.
Better this, the glory
of the charge!
And forget not
the crime itself,
the fair sweet one
throttled in some dark
cell. The tyrant himself,
there he rides! And does
her scarf adorn his spear?
My friends, justice I'll
achieve this day!
And more than this:
for one moment, to face
death and snatch from him
his mask,
to fall before him
smiling and without regret!
Not the bed, not the
death of the old for us!
This is our path today,
generals. Let us live now
fully! I go now to die,
and thus I live!
Casting
aside myself, friends,
all is gained!
What sweeter end,
my generals, than to
fall fighting, side by side,
with one's friends?"

The bannerman and guards,
the inner circle of the clan,
were speechless, mouths agape.
The sight of their Lord
astride his white horse,
with the single cold blade
held aloft against the
clouds sweeping
from horizon to horizon...
it seemed to them a great
ancestor or a god of war
had descended down to lead them!
And Kansuke, chief strategist,
cried suddenly aloud:

"Victory! Victory and death to Yanagida!"

And the cry went out, until
all the Sho, as one mass,
cried, "Victory! To death,
to death!
For the princess
justice, for us death!"

Yanagida, seeing the remaining
mass of men before him
united in heart,
said quietly, "Good.
It is good. Let it be done."
Then, as to himself, he
muttered, heard only by
Kansuke, his loyal friend
of long years, "Beloved, for one kiss
alone of the many you gave
would I still deem it a fair
exchange, the price I go to pay..."

And the Sho moved forward,
like a flame spreading out over
the sands...