#dearfriend

Letter slipped under the door of Takeda Shingen…

Dear Noviate,

Welcome to Hogan-ji, I am, as I would be with any noviate, pleased that you wish to study and meditate within our walls. From the questions you posed during yesterday’s study session, I sense that you possess a keen intellect that only wants focus.

However, last evening, as I returned from a mission of mercy, I happened to pass by the door to your personal chamber. The noise that I heard did not appear to be related at all to religious practice.

Sincerely,

Kennyo

Letter slipped under the door of Abbott Kennyo

Dear Kennyo,

There are many forms of religious practice. I encountered an example of heavenly beauty that wanted further study. I however, endeavor to keep the noise down. I apologize for disturbing you.

Sincerely,

Takeda Shingen

P.S. Just before I slid this under your door, I heard a noise… several noises, coming from your chamber that also do not appear to be related at all to religious study.

Letter slipped under the door of Takeda Shingen…

Dear Noviate,

Although I hesitate to humor your rather ill-timed joke, you are welcome to visit and determine the origin of the sound yourself.

In fact, I wish you would do so.

Promptly.

Kennyo

Letter slipped under the door of Abbott Kennyo

Dear Friend,

I am not certain what I expected to find when you bid me enter your room, however, I can say without hesitation, that it was not the Abbott of Hongan-ji caring for a litter of newborn kittens. My friend, your heart is too kind for this world, and I worry that at some point in the future, the inhabitants will be responsible for bruising it.

However, today is not that day, and I apologize in advance for not attending today’s study circle. I am to a mission of my own.

Takeda Shingen,

PS, motherhood suits you.

Letter slipped under the door of Takeda Shingen…

Dear Intemperate Friend,

Dare I ask where you procured the goat’s milk from?

Kennyo

Letter slipped under the door of Abbott Kennyo

Dear Friend,

You are better off not knowing.

That said, I have also procured a few bottles of excellent sake, and would welcome your companionship in drinking them.

Takeda Shingen

PS Of course, the kittens are welcome as well, however, I believe they should stick to milk.

Letter slipped under the door of Takeda Shingen…

Dear Friend,

Thank you for the invitation. I must decline, as you are here to study. Thank you for the invitation. I welcome the opportunity to drink and study with you, as underneath your rather frivolous exterior, you have a fine mind, worthy of cultivation.

Kennyo

Letter slipped under the door of Abbott Kennyo

Dear Kennyo,

Thank you for the discussion, as well as the offering of fresh peaches last evening. You were correct that they did indeed go well with sake. And, no, I do not know who or what might be stealing from the temple’s peach groves, but it is telling that you are more concerned with whether they have gotten enough to eat, than the act of the theft itself.

As for your ideas, I agree with you that the role of the religious leader is not only to foster study, but also to become a boon to the community. In the province of Kai, I would certainly welcome the assistance of monks in building schools and libraries, and I suspect many daimyo would agree.

Many but not all.

Your premonition that a storm may be coming… one does not need the talents of a yokoi accept this as truth.

Shingen

Letter slipped under the door of Takeda Shingen…

Dear Friend,

I have found the peach thief. As I suspected, it was a very young boy, an orphan. He has nowhere else to go, and while he may be too young for study and religious practice, I believe he will be safer growing up in the temple than anywhere else. Though of course he is too young to choose a life of religious contemplation, we can give him the tools to make an informed decision when he is of age.

Friend, while I thought we were beyond the point of me chiding you for your carnal distractions, I was disappointed not to see you in today’s study session. You are not required to live a celibate life, but I do hope you are not wasting the opportunity to achieve religious enlightenment.

Kennyo

PS,  Your cough is sounding serious again. Have you visited a healer?

Letter delivered to Kennyo at Ishiyama Hongan-ji by messenger…

Dear Friend,

I apologize for leaving the temple in such a hurry. If I had time my choice, I would still be there, looking forward to our next discussion. However, I have come to the realization that must take upon more responsibility for Kai, for my lands, to defend them from the coming storms, both natural and manmade.

Once again the Midai and Kamanashi rivers flooded after the spring rains, finding solutions for this yearly disaster has become one of the more pressing issues that I hope to solve while I am able.

To add injury to the situation, the Dragon of Echigo is threatening my land, and I suspect that soon the Devil King will rise in the East. I have heard he has set his sights on Ishiyama.

Be careful my friend.

Shingen

PS When we last spoke, you asked if something was wrong. I am… touched by your concern. It is nothing that I wish to discuss in a letter.

Historical Note: If my google research is correct, and it... might not be, Shingen & Kennyo were actually brothers-in-law, because their wives were sisters. You can throw Yoshimoto into that in-law situation too - his wife was Shingen's sister. The things you learn when you research.