moderate government ministers
were assassinated. Wasn't Hodama
involved in all that?"
"So it is
rumored," said Chifune. "Whether he did any of the actual killing ,
we don't know. Anyway, for plotting to
assassinate Prime Minister Admiral Saito, Hodama was actually sent to prison by
the moderate regime in 1934, and served over three years, but then he was let
out when the extremists took over. And,
of course, having been in prison for the cause put him right in there with the
new regime. His rightist and nationalist
credentials were impeccable. He had
endless contacts in government and in the military and through the various
secret societies he was involved with. From then on, he was into everything — but always operating behind the
scenes. He was already a kuromaku ."
Kuromaku , thought Adachi. The word had a sinister ring. There was a long tradition of such figures in
Japanese life. Kuromaku literally meant ‘black curtain,’ a reference to classic
Kabuki theatre, where a concealed wire-puller controlled the action on the
stage from behind a black curtain. The
English equivalent would perhaps be godfather or string-puller or kingmaker,
but a kuromaku was more than all
these. The word implied a person of very
special caliber, and more recently it suggested links to both organized crime
and politics at the highest level. Above
all, the very sound represented power.
"Into
everything?" said Adachi. His eyes
were closed. He was rubbing Chifune's
soft wet center with his toe. The
sensations were incredibly exotic. Her
voice in itself was an aphrodisiac.
"Everything,"
said Chifune. There was a slight quaver
in her voice. Aikido, a martial art
which taught self-control, could take a woman just so far. "He wheeled, he dealed, he traveled, he
traded, he spied, he made and broke people. He had vast commercial interests. He finished World War Two with the rank of Admiral, though there is
little evidence that he knew much about the navy except how to make money out
of it. He both supported and used the
Tojo militarists."
"And," said Adachi. This was an area where Koancho files would be
more complete than his own . The police were not invulnerable to political
pressure. The war was a sensitive
issue. Detailed records of behavior
during that period were not encouraged by those in power.
"Prior to
Pearl Harbor
," said Chifune, "he had
connections with U.S. Army Intelligence. He supplied them with information about
China
. He was there a great deal. Prior to the actual outbreak of war, there
were certain mutual areas of interest between the
U.S.
and this country."
Adachi
whistled. "Energetic little fellow,
wasn't he? Was he actually an American
spy?"
"We don't
know," said Chifune. "They may
have thought so, but I doubt he was in the sense you mean. Certainly he balanced things out by actually
funding part of the Kempei Tai — the secret police — operations in
China
."
"And then
came the bombs," said Adachi. "Distracting even for a kuromaku ."
"Very
distracting," said Chifune. "
Japan
surrendered, the Americans landed, MacArthur arrived, and within a short space
of time Hodama was arrested and slung into Sugamo Prison to await trial. He was classified as a Class A war
criminal."
"I
imagine he was," said Adachi. "But nobody hanged him."
"He had a
great deal of money hidden away," said Chifune, "on the order of
hundreds of millions of yen — and he was a good talker. And he knew people and things, and he could
make connections. And he had people
outside who worked for him. Part of his
money went to found a new political party — democracy now being in fashion
again."
"The
Liberal Party," said Adachi, "which merged with the Democratic Party
in 1955, which as the Liberal Democratic Party has ruled this country ever
since. Ouch! Why couldn't somebody less controversial have
got himself
were assassinated. Wasn't Hodama
involved in all that?"
"So it is
rumored," said Chifune. "Whether he did any of the actual killing ,
we don't know. Anyway, for plotting to
assassinate Prime Minister Admiral Saito, Hodama was actually sent to prison by
the moderate regime in 1934, and served over three years, but then he was let
out when the extremists took over. And,
of course, having been in prison for the cause put him right in there with the
new regime. His rightist and nationalist
credentials were impeccable. He had
endless contacts in government and in the military and through the various
secret societies he was involved with. From then on, he was into everything — but always operating behind the
scenes. He was already a kuromaku ."
Kuromaku , thought Adachi. The word had a sinister ring. There was a long tradition of such figures in
Japanese life. Kuromaku literally meant ‘black curtain,’ a reference to classic
Kabuki theatre, where a concealed wire-puller controlled the action on the
stage from behind a black curtain. The
English equivalent would perhaps be godfather or string-puller or kingmaker,
but a kuromaku was more than all
these. The word implied a person of very
special caliber, and more recently it suggested links to both organized crime
and politics at the highest level. Above
all, the very sound represented power.
"Into
everything?" said Adachi. His eyes
were closed. He was rubbing Chifune's
soft wet center with his toe. The
sensations were incredibly exotic. Her
voice in itself was an aphrodisiac.
"Everything,"
said Chifune. There was a slight quaver
in her voice. Aikido, a martial art
which taught self-control, could take a woman just so far. "He wheeled, he dealed, he traveled, he
traded, he spied, he made and broke people. He had vast commercial interests. He finished World War Two with the rank of Admiral, though there is
little evidence that he knew much about the navy except how to make money out
of it. He both supported and used the
Tojo militarists."
"And," said Adachi. This was an area where Koancho files would be
more complete than his own . The police were not invulnerable to political
pressure. The war was a sensitive
issue. Detailed records of behavior
during that period were not encouraged by those in power.
"Prior to
Pearl Harbor
," said Chifune, "he had
connections with U.S. Army Intelligence. He supplied them with information about
China
. He was there a great deal. Prior to the actual outbreak of war, there
were certain mutual areas of interest between the
U.S.
and this country."
Adachi
whistled. "Energetic little fellow,
wasn't he? Was he actually an American
spy?"
"We don't
know," said Chifune. "They may
have thought so, but I doubt he was in the sense you mean. Certainly he balanced things out by actually
funding part of the Kempei Tai — the secret police — operations in
China
."
"And then
came the bombs," said Adachi. "Distracting even for a kuromaku ."
"Very
distracting," said Chifune. "
Japan
surrendered, the Americans landed, MacArthur arrived, and within a short space
of time Hodama was arrested and slung into Sugamo Prison to await trial. He was classified as a Class A war
criminal."
"I
imagine he was," said Adachi. "But nobody hanged him."
"He had a
great deal of money hidden away," said Chifune, "on the order of
hundreds of millions of yen — and he was a good talker. And he knew people and things, and he could
make connections. And he had people
outside who worked for him. Part of his
money went to found a new political party — democracy now being in fashion
again."
"The
Liberal Party," said Adachi, "which merged with the Democratic Party
in 1955, which as the Liberal Democratic Party has ruled this country ever
since. Ouch! Why couldn't somebody less controversial have
got himself
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