Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 264, Uesugi's Wedding

In late October, lapis lazuli carpets stretched from the Romanesque arcades of the Imperial Hotel Tokyo all the way to the lobby.

Before the gold-leaf screen at the reception area, Kuninori Uesugi, the current head of the Uesugi family, wrote the four characters "雪月不朽" (Snow Moon Immortal) with a wolf-hair brush. The strokes were vigorous and sharp as knives. The golden bamboo and sparrow patterns on his black kimono collided with the light and shadow of the floating bamboo and sparrow patterns on the screen, startling a murmur.

The waiter bowed and handed over a lacquered tray. On the tray was a "peony rice cake" made by the Yonezawa Domain, wrapped in rice paper, with a cedar pattern from the Edo period.

Today is the joyous occasion of Uesugi Muneyuki's older brother, Uesugi Sadanori's, wedding. Uesugi Muneyuki naturally attended with Watanabe Minami. As the heir and designated successor to the next generation of the Uesugi clan, Uesugi Kuninori, who is 73 years old and about to retire, has gone all out this time. With his influence and the multiple bloodline buffs flowing through his veins, almost all the bigwigs of the old aristocratic families are present.

Uesugi Muneyuki and Watanabe Minami were together, responsible for receiving guests. Today, Miss Minami stood next to Uesugi Muneyuki, who was dressed in a black kimono. Her fingertips gently traced the silver vine patterns floating on the sleeves of her kimono. The autumn wind swept across the hem of her kaori outer garment, and the hydrangeas embroidered on the dark blue silk shimmered like waves, as if the moonlight of the entire Tokyo city had been cut into fabric.

As she greeted each visitor, Miss Minami couldn't help but press her cypress fan to her lips and secretly smile at Uesugi Muneyuki, saying, "The descendants of heroes from the Warring States period are still alive!"

“Of course they are all still here. When the feudal domains were abolished and prefectures were established, there were 1100 families of the nobility, and nearly 900 of them still exist today.” Uesugi Muneyuki said with a smile, “Today you will witness an unprecedented feast of the nobility.”

Miss Minami naturally agreed sweetly, full of anticipation to witness the glory of the former aristocratic class, but she did not notice the playful look on Uesugi Muneyuki's face.

Grandpa will officially retire from the University of Tokyo on April 1, a year and a half from now. From that moment on, the Yonezawa Uesugi family will truly fall on my brother's shoulders. I wonder if my brother, who is so taciturn and loves archaeology, can shoulder this heavy responsibility and maintain the family's influence in high society like Grandpa's?

"My father definitely can't hold on," Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at Uesugi Hironori, who was in a black kimono entertaining guests in the distance.

Anyway, it has nothing to do with me. I want a separate page in the family tree, to marry into the Watanabe family and become the head of my own Watanabe-Uesugi clan!
Today's wedding theme is "Snow, Moon, and Flowers," echoing the Uesugi family's motto of "The Heart of the Four Seasons" and the culture of the Yonezawa Domain, with platinum as the main color and indigo as an accent.

Soon, the big shots arrived one after another.

Tsunetaka Tokugawa, head of the Tokugawa shogunate's main family, director and vice president of Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), and president of the Yokohama Port Revitalization Association.

Yoshitaka Tokugawa was the head of the Owari Tokugawa family, one of the three great families of Tokugawa, the president of Yakumo Sangyo, and the director of the Tokugawa Art Museum.

The head of the Kii Tokugawa family, one of the three Gosanke of the Tokugawa clan, and architect Tokugawa Yoshiko (female).

Tokugawa Saisei, head of the Mito Tokugawa family, one of the three Gosanke of the Tokugawa clan, chairman of the Tokugawa Museum, chairman of the Tokugawa Art Museum, and executive officer of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Company.

There are also the Tokugawa families of the three chieftains, namely the Ta-yasu Tokugawa family, the Hitotsubashi Tokugawa family, and the Shimizu Tokugawa family, as well as the Echizen Matsudaira family and the Aizu Matsudaira family of the Tokugawa family, etc., which will not be mentioned here.

Besides the main family of the shogun, a large number of other prominent figures from the former feudal lords and aristocratic families also came.

Among them, the most prestigious are undoubtedly these families: Maeda Risuke, head of the Kanazawa Maeda family, Grand Chamberlain of the Imperial Household Agency, and permanent chairman of the Kasumi Kaikan.

Mr. Osamu Shimazu, head of the Shimazu family in Satsuma, chairman of the board of directors of Shimazu Kogyo Co., Ltd., and chairman of the Shimazu Kenshokai.

The head of the Higo Hosokawa family and former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa.

In addition, Motohide Mori, head of the Mori family of Choshu, Yasunori Date, head of the Date family of Sendai, Hideyuki Takeda, head of the Takeda family of Kai, and Toyokichi Yamauchi, head of the Yamauchi family of Tosa, also came.

Here's a bit of a dig: the 87 Taiga drama "One-Eyed Dragon Masamune," starring Ken Watanabe, had Date Yasunori, the head of the Date family, serving as the historical advisor and supervisor throughout. "One-Eyed Dragon Masamune" is also the only Taiga drama in which the main character himself appears on screen.

(This refers to the Date family excavating Date Masamune's grave and retrieving his remains. They not only measured his height at approximately 159 centimeters, but also displayed Date Masamune's skull below the title in the opening sequence of the Taiga drama.)
The protagonist of the 2006 Taiga drama "Komei no Shichi" is Yamauchi Kazutoyo, the first head of the Yamauchi family. However, Yamauchi Kazutoyo was actually a minor figure in the Sengoku period of Japan, with only a few thousand koku of rice. He rose to become the daimyo of Tosa with 200,000 koku of rice through his accurate political choices and good luck. However, the descendants of the Yamauchi family are doing very well in modern Japan and have made a lot of money. So, when they spent a lot of real money, they actually sponsored NHK to make a Taiga drama about their ancestor with him as the protagonist. In this drama, they spoke highly of Yamauchi Kazutoyo, making him seem like a key figure who determined the course of the Sengoku period. They even arranged for Oda Nobunaga to have Yamauchi Kazutoyo on his mind before committing suicide at Honno-ji Temple.

Therefore, it is also important to have an excellent descendant who continuously embellishes the image of one's ancestors.

After the arrival of the shogunate's aristocratic clan and the former feudal lords' aristocratic clan, the court nobles' aristocratic clan also arrived one after another. The head of the Konoe family, Konoe Tadahiro, the head of the Kujo family, Kujo Michiichi, the head of the Nijo family, Nijo Emiko, the head of the Nijo family, Ichijo Saneaki, the head of the Ichijo family, and Takatsukasa Naotake, the head of the Takatsukasa family, all made an appearance.

However, compared to the still relatively illustrious lives of the shogunate's aristocratic families and the former feudal lords' aristocratic families, these noble families were much poorer. Among them, the Kujo, Nijo, and Takatsukasa families had become ordinary families, and the most miserable one, Takatsukasa Naotake, was just an ordinary employee of Nippon Electric Company.

This shows that Emperor Wuxing's postwar reforms were still strong and effective!
The Meiji Restoration nobility also arrived one after another. Uesugi Kuninori also had the blood of Ito Hirobumi in his veins, and Uesugi Sōsetsu's mother, Uesugi Tomoko, was originally named Saionji Tomoko—she was a descendant of Saionji Kinmochi.

Of course, President Komiyama of the University of Tokyo and others also arrived, which was due to Uesugi Kuninori's connections. In addition, many people from the arts and culture circles also came, but we will leave those aside.

As the current face of the Uesugi family, Uesugi Muneyuki entertains many important figures. Benefiting from the various major news events of the past two years, almost everyone knows him and is happy to chat with him and build a rapport. Although Uesugi Muneyuki's abilities are somewhat specialized and not always applicable, they are not entirely useless either!
As Uesugi Muneyuki received the distinguished guests, a strange feeling welled up inside him.

Although today's gathering was as grand as the Rokumeikan and the Kasumigaoka Hall, with a gathering of heroes and an immeasurable honor, Uesugi Sōsetsu felt a sense of déjà vu, like the funeral of Qin Keqing in Dream of the Red Chamber, where all the four kings and eight dukes were present and extremely illustrious, yet it still carried the feeling of a setting sun.

The benefits inherited from our ancestors will eventually run out.

Grandpa has been doing everything he can to pave the way for my brother.

What will become of the Yonezawa Uesugi clan in the future?
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Minami pinched Uesugi Muneyuki's large hand and said with a mischievous smile, "Thinking about our engagement scene in a month? Will it be as big as this?"

“It certainly won’t be as big as it is now.” Uesugi Muneyuki couldn’t help but laugh, and gently pinched Minami’s delicate and sweet little nose: “So many nobles are coming this time because of Grandpa, but I am destined to be separated from them. Most of the nobles who are here today will not come later.”

“Sigh…” Miss Minami has always loved grand occasions and spectacles. Hearing Uesugi Muneyuki say this, she was a little dissatisfied, but after thinking about it carefully, since the Watanabe family had stolen Uesugi Muneyuki’s surname, she didn’t seem to have any complaints: “It’s okay. When Father’s connections come, I guarantee that he will be more prominent and influential than your brother!”

After saying that, Miss Minami, dressed in a beautiful autumn-style kimono with flowing sleeves, narrowed her eyes into crescent moons, waved her little fist at Uesugi Muneyuki, and smiled like a little fox who had stolen a piece of meat.

Uesugi Muneyuki chuckled upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "It's not just your connections; it's as if I have no connections at all."

But he didn't say anything more. Instead, he took Minami's small hand and whispered a thank you.

I'm grateful that Miss Minami took a liking to him, paid attention to him, and supported him early on, and even tolerated his womanizing ways, bringing Erena and Asuka into the system.

I also want to thank Ms. Minami for taking care of his life and helping him with his career and interpersonal relationships, which are areas he doesn't like. Fortunately, Ms. Minami is there for him.

The two have helped each other achieve success and support each other, and are destined to spend many years together in the future.

The corridor displays the "Uesugi Family Army Flag Scroll," showcasing Uesugi Kenshin's sword "Azuki Nagamitsu." The crystal chandelier between the peacocks is dimmed to its lowest setting, and the "Map of Kyoto and Kyoto" on the thirty-six-panel Tang paper screen fades into a silhouette.

At the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, over forty tables were set up in the Peacock Room, where a newlywed couple received congratulations from everyone.

The groom, Uesugi Sadanori, wore a black patterned haori hakama, a masterpiece from the Echigoya school. The inside of the garment was embroidered with a famous quote by Uesugi Takayama in gold thread, and only when he raised his arm could one glimpse a line of gold. The bride's white kimono appeared simple, but through close-up shots by the photographer, the Chinese ladies in the guests could see clearly that her kimono was adorned with a special embroidered "snow crystal" pattern, which reflected a halo of light like falling snow with each step.

The only problem was that the bride wasn't very pretty. For some reason, Uesugi Muneyuki always felt that his sister-in-law looked a bit like Princess Aiko of the Imperial Family. Although it was a Promax version, her long, thin face resembling a ukiyo-e print and her short, stocky figure made Uesugi Muneyuki wonder if his grandfather had some issues with his aesthetic sense.

Mikoto and the bride are both 157cm tall. The forensic beauty is particularly well-proportioned and slender, and has a pair of beautiful legs that Uesugi Muneyuki praised highly.

But Uesugi Muneyuki no longer cared about these things; he would soon marry into the Watanabe family and start a new life.

At the wedding, Uesugi Sakunori's face was a bit dark, and he didn't seem happy. The bride, on the other hand, was like a doll, accepting being manipulated, but her face was filled with a faint joy, as if she was satisfied that she had finally gotten married and that her mission in life had been completed.

Happy wedding, brother!
Looking at the newlyweds on the stage from afar, Uesugi Muneyuki murmured to himself.

Once you get married and have children, my pressure will be gone. The Yonezawa Uesugi clan will be handed over to you, while I will be in charge of my Watanabe Uesugi clan.

That's good.

Just then, a guy blocked Uesugi Muneyuki's way.

He was Date Yasunori, the head of the Date clan of Sendai.

"Uesugi-kun, may I speak to you in private?" Date Yasunori was about 50 years old, with graying temples and a somewhat plump figure. "And Minami, the head of the Special Missions Division, would you mind coming along as well?"

"There are some things I'd like to discuss with you two."

(End of this chapter)