Before the legendary Oöka served the Shogun in the Capitol, he served as the magistrate of a small province on Hokkaido. In his area of authority was a tiny fishing village on the shore of a rich lake. The village depended entirely on their fisherman for their livelihood, and as such, fishing by outsiders was strictly prohibited.

One day, a group of teenage boys found themselves before Oöka, charged with poaching. Among them was the son of the Shogun, who was known to have a wild streak in him. The officials from the village were quite distraught, not knowing whether to release the boy and his friends or report him to the Shogun.

The time came for the boys to go before Oöka. While the Shogun's son himself remained quiet, his friends began taunting Oöka with shouts of "You wouldn't dare lock up the Shogun's son," and the like. Oöka listened to their appeals, taunts, and threats, and when each of the boys had tired himself out, he began to speak:

"You are charged with poaching, which in itself is a very serious offense. However, I now also charge you with impersonating the son of the Shogun! You are lucky the very boy himself is not here to witness this, or I myself would be unable to save the lot of you from beheading!" Of course, all the other boys resumed their protests, swearing on their sutras that their companion was indeed the son of the Shogun. The Shogun's son, however, remained silent, even as he and the other boys were led off to jail.

The next morning, Oöka went to see the boys in their cell. "With the permission of the village," he began, "I have forgiven the charge of poaching, as you did not catch enough fish to hurt their own fishing efforts. However, I cannot forgive your attempt to excuse your poor behavior with the name of our great Shogun and his son. The true son of the Shogun would never behave in such a base manor, which makes your claim that much more preposterous. I therefore fine each of you one silver coin, which must be paid before your release."

The boy who had been silent ever since he walked into Oöka'a court then took out his purse and paid in turn the fines of each of the boys, including himself. He took a long look at Oöka before finally turning away to go home.

Time passed, as it always does, and the boy grew into a strong, brave, and honorable man. And as is the nature of things, that boy took his father's place as Shogun. And when he did, he called on Oöka to come and add his wisdom to the Royal City.

About the Author.

About the Reader.

Back to the top of this page.