Japan's Sengoku Period: The Sanada Clan's Ambition

Chapter 107 Trip to Sakai Port, Smuggling Firearms

When Sanada Nobuyuki arrived at Yukaku, Katagiri Katsumoto had already been waiting at the entrance for quite some time.

When Katagiri Katsumoto saw Sanada Nobuyuki approaching, he immediately went to greet him.

"I just had some discussions with Lord Ishida, and I apologize for keeping Lord Katagiri waiting."

Katagiri Katsumoto quickly waved his hand, "It's alright, I just arrived too."

"Why doesn't Lord Katagiri go in?" Nobuyuki Sanada pointed to the gate on the side.

Katagiri Katsumoto looked embarrassed. "I can't get in here. You need someone to introduce you."

Got it, it's a membership system!

So here's the problem: I'm not a member here either.

However, Nobuyuki Sanada couldn't show any fear, so he mustered his courage and knocked on the door.

To Sanada Nobuyuki's surprise, the woman who opened the door was the same woman he had thoroughly tormented the night before.

When the woman saw that it was Nobuyuki Sanada knocking on the door, she couldn't help but shudder, but quickly her face lit up with surprise.

"Sir, you're here again?"

"Please come in." The woman pushed open the door and then made way for the doorway.

Nobuyuki Sanada nodded to Katagiri Katsumoto, who was standing to the side with an expectant look on his face, and then strode inside with his hands behind his back.

Katagiri Katsumoto followed cautiously behind him.

This place is a famous pleasure quarter in Kyoto. Those who can enter here are basically noble families, wealthy merchants, or at the very least, samurai with high moral character.

Katagiri Katsumoto had long admired this place, but unfortunately, no one from the Hashiba family took him around, so he never had the chance to come in and explore it.

Following behind Nobuyuki Sanada, Katsumoto Katagiri nodded repeatedly at the places they passed, making sounds of amazement.

Sanada Nobuyuki was much more at ease, after all, he had seen the world, and this was far inferior to the places of later generations, right?
Otherwise, after Osaka Castle is built, I'll open a club in Osaka?

A thought suddenly arose in Nobuyuki Sanada's mind.

"Lord Sanada, would you like me to accompany you?" At this moment, the courtesan who had led the way stopped in front of a house and looked at Sanada Nobuyuki with an expectant expression.

Nobuyuki Sanada turned to look at Katsumoto Katagiri, who nodded vigorously, practically screaming "I want it!"

Nobuyuki Sanada leaned close to the courtesan's ear and whispered, "What's the price?"

“For someone like me, 5 strings of cash will suffice. But if you want to see a royal physician, it will cost 20 strings or more,” the courtesan replied softly. “However, a royal physician cannot be seen simply by paying money; the royal physician must decide who he will see.”

Sorry to bother you.

Without saying a word, Sanada Nobuyuki pulled Katagiri Katsumoto into the house.

“We are proper samurai, we did not come here for pleasure.” Under Katagiri Katsumoto’s longing gaze, Sanada Nobuyuki quickly closed the door.

"Two jugs of sake will suffice," Sanada Nobuyuki instructed the courtesans outside before closing the door.

The courtesan stared intently at Sanada Nobuyuki, murmuring, "I can do it for free."
Inside the room, after Sanada Nobuyuki and Katagiri Katsumoto sat down, Katagiri Katsumoto was still confused about the situation.

Didn't you say you were bringing me here to let loose?
Why are there just two grown men drinking here?

I shouldn’t have come.

Katagiri Katsumoto's eyes were filled with disappointment.

Sanada Nobuyuki seemed not to notice and continued to speak to Katagiri Katsumoto with great enthusiasm, "Lord Katagiri, I have an important matter to discuss with you tonight and it is not appropriate for anyone else to disturb us."

"If Lord Katagiri is interested in the women here, how about I find another time to accompany you in a couple of days?"

After hearing Sanada Nobuyuki's explanation, Katagiri Katsumoto's expression softened considerably.

Anyway, I'll get back to Shinano in a few days. Katagiri Katsumoto, you can look forward to it. This wretched place charges five kan every time they ask for it; that's enough to buy a set of Domaru.

I can spend these five strings of cash on foot soldiers and they will charge into battle for me, but if I use these five strings of cash here, why should I personally go into battle to kill the enemy?

"I wonder what important matter Lord Sanada has to do?" Katagiri Katsumoto asked curiously at this moment.

He was merely a low-ranking samurai in Settsu, holding a 3,000 koku (a unit of grain measure), practically a lowly servant in the Hashiba household. Katagiri Katsumoto couldn't think of any way he could help Sanada Nobuyuki.

"To be honest, our family recently fought a major battle with the Tokugawa family in Shinano."

"Yes, I've heard about this as well. The Sanada clan fought a good battle," Katagiri Katsumoto couldn't help but praise.

Sanada Nobuyuki continued, "Although I was fortunate enough to win against the Tokugawa clan, I also discovered during this battle that my clan's foot soldiers were poorly equipped, especially their arquebuses."

If Sanada Nobuyuki had had a few hundred arquebuses under his command at Lake Suwa at that time, the Tokugawa clan's casualties would have been at least doubled.

"Lord Sanada wants to buy a firearm?"

"Exactly."

Katagiri Katsumoto immediately looked troubled. "I am not in charge of this matter. The procurement of firearms is handled by someone else. I'm afraid I can't help you."

"I do not intend to purchase firearms from Lord Katagiri, but merely wish to ask Lord Katagiri to make an introduction."

"I've heard that Lord Katagiri is from Sakata District in Omi Province, so you must know quite a bit about Kunitomo Village, right?"

Katagiri Katsumoto quickly waved his hand, "Lord Sanada misunderstands. The arquebuses produced in Kunitomo Village are directly supplied to the main family, and outsiders cannot purchase them."

Firearms from Japan's Sengoku period came from two sources.

One method involved direct dumping by merchants from the south, i.e., European merchants, offering high-quality goods at high prices.

The second type was imitation in various places, among which the iron cannon imitation technology of Tanegashima, Kunimitsu Village, and Sakai Port was the most mature.

Nowadays, apart from Tanegashima, Kunitomo Village and Sakai Port are both under the control of Hideyoshi Hashiba. Such strategic resources are not something you can just buy whenever you want.

If it weren't for our good relationship and trade with the Hashiba family, we wouldn't be able to buy this at all.

Of course, there are also some private transactions, but they are usually very expensive and the quantities are not very large.

In any case, the Sanada family could never buy arquebuses in Shinano; only powerful daimyo like the Tokugawa and Hojo families had the opportunity to purchase them.

However, the same problem will arise: who would sell you a firearm if you're not familiar with the area?

"If Lord Sanada really wants to buy arquebuses, he should go directly to the lord."

“As long as our lord agrees, this matter will not be difficult.” Seeing that Sanada Nobuyuki had fallen silent, Katagiri Katsumoto continued.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Sanada Nobuyuki got up and pushed open the door. The courtesan from earlier was kneeling at the door with two jugs of sake in her hands.

"Okay, you go down first."

"Lord Sanada, please wait a moment." Just as Sanada Nobuyuki was about to close the door, the courtesan hurriedly said, "Yoshino Tayu heard that Lord Sanada had come and specially waived today's expenses."

"Really?" Nobuyuki Sanada couldn't help but recall the scene from yesterday when he was with Hideyoshi Hashiba at the Yoshino Tayuya.

The woman nodded. "Yes, Lord Sanada will not have to pay for any expenses."

"Then arrange a few courtesans for me, and do it quickly."

Prostitute: ? ? ? ? ?
That's not what you just said.

Before long, several women dressed in brightly colored clothes walked into the house.

Katagiri Katsumoto was completely dumbfounded by what he saw. Didn't they just say they'd reschedule for another day? Now they've changed the date so quickly?
"Haha, Lord Katagiri, I was just teasing you."

"Since you're already here, please don't be shy, Lord Katagiri, and enjoy the unique atmosphere of this place." Sanada Nobuyuki said with a smile, holding a courtesan in his arms.

Katagiri Katsumoto swallowed hard, then pointed tremblingly to several courtesans beside him. "These are all for me?" "Of course!"

"Hiss!" After receiving a positive reply from Sanada Nobuyuki, Katagiri Katsumoto couldn't resist and immediately fell into a gentle embrace.

Half an hour later, Katagiri Katsumoto, who was already slightly drunk, pushed the courtesans out and then plopped down next to Sanada Nobuyuki.

"Lord Sanada, I am truly grateful for your hospitality today."

"The matter that Lord Sanada asked for just now is not entirely without a solution."

"Burp!" Katagiri Katsumoto was already quite drunk by now, and he leaned against Sanada Nobuyuki while burping.

Sanada Nobuyuki pushed Katagiri Katsumoto aside with a look of disgust, then asked in a low voice, "Please teach me, Katagiri-sama."

"Lord Konishi, the ship magistrate of our clan, has a close personal relationship with the Sakai Port Association. I happen to be acquainted with him, and I will introduce him to Lord Sanada tomorrow," Katagiri Katsumoto said confidently, patting his chest.

Nobuyuki Sanada knew immediately that there was hope.

The person Katagiri Katsumoto was referring to was Konishi Yukinaga, whose father was Konishi Ryusuke, a wealthy merchant in Sakai Port.

Konishi Yukinaga was originally a retainer of Ukita Naoie. Later, when Hashiba Hideyoshi attacked Miki Castle, Konishi Yukinaga met with Hashiba Hideyoshi as an envoy.

Hideyoshi Hashiba admired Yukinaga Konishi's talent and recruited him into his service, appointing him as the Ship Magistrate. He was responsible for managing the Hashiba family's warship manufacturing and other related matters.

Konishi Ryusuke quickly came to serve Hideyoshi Hashiba and was appointed as the deputy governor of Harima-murozu and Shodoshima Island in the Seto Inland Sea, managing the business districts of these places on behalf of Hideyoshi Hashiba.

Later, Ryuzo Konishi was appointed as the magistrate of Sakai Port, making him a truly influential and powerful merchant.

Furthermore, Ryusuke Konishi had a close relationship with Christianity and repeatedly protected Christian missionaries in Japan. Both Ryusuke Konishi and his son directly converted to Christianity.

Maintaining good relations with Christianity meant one thing: they could establish trade relations with Europe and buy large quantities of imported goods from European merchants. Imported goods are simply goods that have been brought in from overseas.

Having achieved his goal, Sanada Nobuyuki did not linger.

Katagiri Katsumoto was too drunk to walk, so he decided to stay.

Before leaving, Nobuyuki Sanada made a special trip to see Yoshino Tayu, but the man was entertaining clients.

From the maid waiting at the door, Sanada Nobuyuki learned that there were several court nobles of Kyoto with the rank of Junior Third Grade or above in Yoshino Tayu's quarters. Feeling that his own status was not high enough, Sanada Nobuyuki asked the maid to convey his gratitude to Yoshino Tayu on his behalf.

Back at Hideyoshi Hashiba's mansion, Miyuki took a nice nap, and then got up to go find Katagiri Katsumoto.

In fact, as Katagiri Katsumoto said, if you want to buy a gun, just go directly to Hashiba Hideyoshi.

Given the Sanada family's current standing with Hideyoshi Hashiba, buying some arquebuses should be quite easy.

However, Nobuyuki Sanada knew very well that you should never show any shortcomings in your abilities in front of your superiors, and you should never ask your superiors for help in everything.

You are doing things for your superiors, not the other way around.

It's just a matter of a few arquebuses. If we just go and ask Hashiba Hideyoshi for help, wouldn't that make the Sanada family seem incompetent?

Making a good impression on your superiors is very important, and Sanada Nobuyuki didn't want to waste Hideyoshi Hashiba's goodwill on a few arquebuses.

Arriving at the pleasure house from the previous night with practiced ease, Katagiri Katsumoto explained his purpose and was quickly led out.

"Lord Sanada, so early?" Katagiri Katsumoto looked at Sanada Nobuyuki with a slightly evasive gaze.

"Lord Katagiri said he would take me to pay my respects to Lord Konishi today, so I got up very early."

"It shouldn't be too late to go to Sakai Port now, right?" Nobuyuki Sanada asked softly.

A flicker of panic crossed Katagiri Katsumoto's face; he inwardly wanted to slap himself.

Why bother talking so much in front of Sanada Nobuyuki? He knows Konishi Yukinaga, but they're not close.

In other words, it was possible to buy arquebuses from Sakai Port through Konishi Yukinaga's connections, but Katagiri Katsumoto's influence wasn't enough to persuade the Konishi family to risk smuggling arquebuses to the Sanada family.

But since the words had already been spoken, Katagiri Katsumoto could only grit his teeth and lead Sanada Nobuyuki to Sakai Port.

"Lord Konishi and Lord Kato are serving as quarrying officials in Osaka Castle. I will be going to Shodoshima in a few days to help them out."

"I have this as an excuse to request an audience with Lord Konishi. Please wait a moment, Lord Sanada, while I go in first."

At the entrance of the Konishi family mansion, Katagiri Katsumoto gave a few instructions before entering alone.

Sanada Nobuyuki looked at Konishi's house with great interest. As expected of a wealthy merchant in Sakai Port, the house was indeed luxurious, with marble tiles even paving the open space in front of the gate.

Before long, a servant came out and led Sanada Nobuyuki inside.

Luckily, President Konishi happens to be home today.

"Lord Konishi, this is Lord Sanada Hyogo from Shinano."

After entering the house, Katagiri Katsumoto introduced himself to Konishi Yukinaga.

Sanada Nobuyuki also quickly bowed.

"I have heard of the Sanada family; they have been making a lot of noise in Shinano lately."

"I've heard that my lord also holds Lord Sanada in high regard." Konishi Yukinaga returned the greeting. "My name is Konishi Yakuro. Lord Sanada may also call me Augustine."

Augustine is the name of Konishi Yukinaga's greeting.

"I apologize for coming today, but I have a favor to ask of you." Sanada Nobuyuki didn't stand on ceremony and directly stated that he had come to ask for help.

There's no need to follow the traditional samurai rules when dealing with a merchant-turned-samurai.

"Is it because of firearms?" Konishi Yukinaga knew perfectly well that the son of a daimyo from Shinano had come to see him for no other reason than firearms.

Seeing that the topic had been brought up, Nobuyuki Sanada readily admitted, "That's right."

"Quantity?" Konishi Yukio was sparing with his words.

"Price?" Nobuyuki Sanada also didn't mince words.

Konishi Yukinaga has now become somewhat interested in Sanada Nobuyuki; the man's temperament suits his taste.

“For an ordinary person, it would naturally cost 10 kan per piece, but since it is Lord Sanada, I will make the decision and only charge 7 kan!”

Sanada Nobuyuki did a quick mental calculation. If he used the gold ingots that Hashiba Hideyoshi had given him yesterday to buy arquebuses, he could buy about 300 arquebuses.

All I can say is that Hideyoshi was magnanimous.

“If it’s 7 kan per gun, I can buy 300 guns,” Sanada Nobuyuki replied directly.

Konishi's eyes immediately lit up; this was a big customer.

Thinking of this, Konishi Yukinaga became much more enthusiastic. "How much lead and saltpeter are needed?"

"I can offer Lord Sanada a very favorable price: 400 mon per pound of lead ingots, how about that?"

"As for saltpeter, I can offer 500 wen per jin," said Konishi, holding up five fingers.

How many????
Nobuyuki Sanada stared in disbelief, his mouth agape.

The gun itself isn't valuable; it's the ammunition that's valuable.
　Regarding lead blocks and saltpeter: There are many accounts of the prices of lead blocks and saltpeter during Japan's Sengoku period, but the differences are not significant.

　　Generally speaking, lead ingots in the Kyushu region cost about one kan per kilogram, while saltpeter cost one tael of silver for 10 kilograms, which is equivalent to about 8 kan per 10 kilograms of copper coins.

　　Kira was unable to find the exact prices of saltpeter and lead blocks, so this book uses the average of various prices. We hope you understand.

　　If you have any questions about the price, please feel free to discuss them, but please don't argue with me. Thank you for your understanding.

　　Finally, thank you to "Yan Yun Jiedushi", "Everything Starts from Zero", and "Heaven and Earth, Sun and Moon, for their generous donations.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)