Bundori

Bundori is the second published work by Laura Joh Rowland and the second entry in the Sano Ichirō series. It was originally published in 1996 by Random House. 
== Synopsis ==
"In the misty streets and alleys of Edo, Japan's feudal capital, a serial killer lurks. Each victim is rendered up as a severed head, nailed to a plank, offered for public display as a bundori: a war trophy in samurai military tradition. Detective Sano Ichiro, newly promoted to the new position as the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator, tries valiantly to follow Bushido—the Way of the Warrior—as he strives to bring the killer to justice. Will his attempts be foiled by the villainous Chamberlain Yanagisawa? Or will he succeed through the help of the beautiful and mysterious Aoi, a mystic trained in the ninja arts? As it becomes obvious that the killer is one of three powerful men, Sano must reconcile his noble heritage with his duty to the shogun. Will trapping the murderer lead to prestige and glory for Sano... or disgrace and forced ritual suicide?"
== Dedication ==
"In memory of my grandparents:
Day Hung and Susanna Joh
Gow Sing and Quon Gin Lee"
== Acknowledgments ==
Rowland thanks the following people for contributing to the making of Bundori: Pamela Gray Ahern, Marie Goodwin, John McGhee, Graig Nelson, and David Rosenthal.
== Plot ==
=== Prologue ===
A lone old man shuffles through the streets of Nihonbashi, a swordsman trailing his progress. The stalker ambushes the old man, cleanly decapitating him. He imagines himself to be a soldier fighting for Oda Nobunaga, the head of his victim Oda's enemy. Stowing the head in his cloak, the stalker travels until he reaches a room. Unwrapping the old man's head, the stalker turns it into a war trophy. Once finished, the stalker takes it to a firewatch tower where it will surely be discovered.
=== Chapter 1 ===
Sano Ichirō partakes in a mock battle when a messenger tells him that Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi requests his presence. Two months have passed since he moved into the castle, during which his father died.
Along the way, Sano is intercepted by Noguchi Motoori, who notifies him that Magistrate Ueda has agreed to a miai between Sano and his daughter, Reiko. When Sano arrives at the No theater, the Shogun is in the middle of overseeing auditions. He puts a halt to the auditions so he can inform Sano about Kaibara Tōju's murder, with Chamberlain Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu eventually making an appearance. 
Kaibara was decapitated, his head turned into a war trophy then left on the view level of a firewatch tower somewhere in Nihonbashi. Since Kaibara was a vassal of the Tokugawas and bundoris a wartime practice, the Shogun is pronouncing this crime an act of war against his clan. The Shogun is leaving the task of finding the murderer to Sano; he has already sent a spirit medium to his home so he can make inquires at once. 
Throughout this exchange, Chamberlain Yanagisawa has had a hostile look in his eyes whenever Sano glances at him, which confuses Sano. Additionally, Sano is a bit hesitant to take up a murder investigation after his previous case harmed so many. And yet, he cannot help but feel slightly cheerful; this is first time in the past two months that the Shogun has acknowledged his presence, and Sano sees this case as an opportunity to distinguish himself.
=== Chapter 2 ===
However, when he arrives at his residence, Sano learns that the spirit medium has not arrived. As he sits down for a meal, he ruminates about the impending miai to Ueda Reiko; he hopes that married life will fill the loneliness inside him.
When the shrine attendant arrives, his initial annoyance at the delay disappears when he sees- instead of an old crone- an attractive woman around his own age. The shrine attendant introduces herself as Aoi. Sano arranges to meet with her tonight at the shrine she works at, where she will attempt to contact the spirit of Kaibara and perhaps learn the identity of his killer. After she leaves, Sano eagerly anticipates their next meeting.
=== Chapter 3 ===
Leaving his home, Sano goes to Nihonboshi. He bumps into a former college, who is not inclined to lend him a hand. Thankfully, he finds a willing assistant in a dōshin named Hirata. Hirata helps Sano find a pharmacist named Tarō and his wife, who found Kaibara's body, and a sentry named Udoguchi, who found the old man's head. Taking them to the pharmacist's shop, Sano questions the three while Hirata guards the shop's entrance. 
Tarō and his wife explain Kaibara had a habit of wandering the pharmacist district, though when he did it was random. Udoguchi was so distraught upon finding the head that he is not sure if he saw anyone exiting the firewatch tower. While he does remember seeing a samurai before the gates closed, he cannot recall anything other than that. And unfortunately for Sano, Tarō and his wife's theory that it was a vengeful ghost that killed Kaibara does not help the sentry's nerves. Sano orders them to keep quiet about their theory. 
He has Udoguchi lead him to the firewatch tower where the head was found. The search proves unsuccessful: the landing where the watchmen sit and survey the city has been cleaned and purified. If there was any evidence, it has long since been erased or removed. He floats a weary question to his deceased father before exiting the tower, at the bottom of which Hirata awaits. Sano orders him to search for more witnesses who might have seen the killer before mounting his horse and leaving for Edo Morgue.
=== Chapter 4 ===
Up in Edo Castle, Aoi has a meeting with Chamberlain Yanagisawa. As a ninja, Aoi has been tasked with digging up personal information about Sano that could be used to bring about his downfall. So far, Aoi has not found any compromising secrets, and she is loathe to give Yanagisawa the biggest weakness that she could exploit: Sano's loneliness. Still, she cannot directly go against Yanagisawa, not while he holds a threat against her family over her head. 
=== Chapter 5 ===
At Edo Morgue, Sano meets with Dr. Ito Genboku and his eta assistant Mura. The examination of Kaibara's body and head show that the decapitation was a clean one, and there was no struggle. What puzzles Sano is the name on the war trophy: Araki Yojiemon, a samurai that had fought for Tokugawa Ieyasu during Japan's Sengoku Jidai period, over one hundred years ago. Not only that, but Ito reveals this is not the first bundori murder to have happened: another man was killed in the same way ten days ago. The only reason this murder was not reported is because the man was an eta, someone from Mura's settlement. Sano believes that investigating this murder might help him get closer to the truth behind Kaibara's.
=== Chapter 6 ===
As night descends, the Bundori Killer stops at Asakusa Kannon Temple to pray. His mind still drifts between the present and the distant past, during a time where Oda Nobunaga lived. In his dream world, Oda informs Ieyasu about his brother-in-law's betrayal, and they both do battle against Lord Asakura. In reality, the Bundori Killer prays to Kannon for both his and his lord Oda's victory.
=== Chapter 7 ===
Once the autopsy is done, Sano goes to Edo Castle for his meeting with the Shogun. Hirata is at the gate, and each of them inform the other of their progress. Sano orders Hirata to warn gate sentries and headmen that they should be on the lookout, the better to protect the public. After arranging to meet at Kaibara's home, Sano heads to the Shogun's private reception room. 
Tsunayoshi and Sano talk education for a bit before the Shogun brings up the murder. Before Sano can speak, Chamberlain Yanagisawa appears, a teenage samurai in tow. The young samurai is Shichisaburō, current star of the Tokugawa No theater troupe. Yanagisawa assumed that the Shogun would want to see the actor after his meeting with Sano. Yanagisawa dismisses Shichisaburō, who leaves to go to Tsunayoshi's bedchamber.
Throughout the rest of the meeting, the Shogun is too distracted by the promise of carnal pleasures to pay much attention to Sano's report. Yanagisawa takes over, making sure to discredit Sano's progress at each turn. Yanagisawa's hostility confuses Sano, but decorum prevents him from demanding answers. In the end, Yanagisawa deftly manipulates the Shogun into thinking that Sano's theory as to the murderer's motive is unfounded thanks to the unnamed man's death, a development that complicates a once straight forward case. The Shogun will arrange for a meeting with the Council of Elders in two days time, during which Sano will make another report. 
== Character Appearances ==
<tabber>
|-|Debut=
* Hirata
* Shichisaburō
* Aoi
* Kaibara Tōju
* Chūgo Gichin
* Tarō
* Tarō's wife
* Udoguchi
|-|Reoccurring=
* Sosakan Sano Ichirō
* Chamberlain Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu
* Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
* Hayashi
* Tsuda
</tabber>
== Character Deaths ==
Name 	Cause of Death 	When
Kaibara Tōju	Decapitated by Chūgo Gichin	Prologue
== Glossary ==
* Bundori
* Bushido
== Cover Gallery ==
Bundori english paperback first edition (1996).jpg|1996 First edition (English)
Bundori english paperback early (1997).jpg|April 1997 Paperback (English)
Bundori english paperback (1997).jpg|1997 Paperback (English)
Bundori english hardcover (1998).jpg|1998 Hardcover (English)
Bundori bulgarian paperback (2000).jpg|2000 Paperback (Bulgarian)
Bundori german paperback (2001).jpg|2001 Paperback (German)
Bundori czech hardcover (2002).jpg|2002 Hardcover (Czech)
Bundori english paperback (2009).jpg|2009 Paperback (English)
Bundori bulgarian cover.jpg|Bulgarian cover
Bundori german cover.jpg|German cover
== Trivia ==
* The prologue can be read for free on Rowland's official website.
== References ==
== Navigation ==
Category:Books
Category:Novels
Category:Sano Ichiro novels