Judge: The court is now in session.
The case of Takehiro’s
murder is ready to proceed. We may now, call our first
witness.
Judge:
The prosecution calls Woodcutter to the stand.
Judge: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth?
(Shellah last statement)
Judge: The prosecution calls
the Buddhist Priest to the stand.
Judge: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth?
(Julia last statement)
Judge: The defense calls the Policeman to the stand.
Judge: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth?
(Lucas last statement)
Judge:
We have heard three witnesses, each telling a different
version of the truth. The policeman gave us the facts, the
woodcutter described the scene, and the Buddhist priest
spoke of the couple’s last journey together. Yet, the mystery
remains—who is truly guilty, and who is truly innocent? In the
end, the truth lies hidden, like shadows in the grove.
(Judge)
(Judge)
Woodcutter (Omar): I do.
(Shellah q1)
Woodcutter (Omar): Yes, ma’am. Certainly, it was I who
found the body.
(Shellah q2)
Woodcutter (Omar): This morning, as usual, I went to
cut my daily quota of cedars, when I found the body in
a grove in a hollow in the mountains.
(Shellah q3)
Woodcutter (Omar): It was About 150 meters off the
Yamashina stage road. It’s an out-of-the-way grove of
bamboo and cedars.
(Shellah q4)
Woodcutter (Omar): The body was lying flat on its back
dressed in a bluish silk kimono and a wrinkled head-dress of
the Kyoto style. A single sword-stroke had pierced the
breast. The fallen bamboo-blades around it were stained
with bloody blossoms.
(Shellah q5)
Woodcutter (Omar): No, the blood was no longer running.
The wound had dried up, I believe. And also, a gad-fly was
stuck fast there, hardly noticing my footsteps.
(Shellah q6)
Woodcutter (Omar): You ask me if I saw a sword
or any such thing?
No, nothing, ma’am. I found only a rope at the
root of a cedar nearby. And . . . well, in addition
to a rope, I found a comb. That was all.
Apparently he must have made a battle of it
before he was murdered, because the grass and
fallen bamboo-blades had been trampled down
all around.
(Shellah q7)
Woodcutter (Omar):
No, maam. It’s hard enough for
a man to enter, let alone a
horse.
DA 1 (Shellah): Woodcutter, could you confirm
that you were the one who first saw the body?
(Omar a1)
DA 1 (Shellah): When was the body found?
(Omar a2)
DA 1 (Shellah): How about the exact location?
(Omar a3)
DA 1 (Shellah): Can you share some details about
the body?
(Omar a4)
DA 1 (Shellah): As you found the body, was the
blood still fresh?
(Omar a5)
DA 1 (Shellah): Did you find a sword or any
weapons?
(Omar a6)
DA 1 (Shellah): Was there a horse nearby?
(Omar a7)
DA 1 (Shellah) : According to our witness, we
have a body in a secluded grove, with clear signs
of a struggle but no weapon found. The wound
indicates precision—a single sword stroke to the
chest. The absence of fresh blood and the state
of the wound suggest the incident didn’t happen
recently. The lack of clear footprints and the
secluded nature of the grove raise questions
about how the victim and the perpetrator got
there.
Buddhist Priest (Julia): I do.
(Laiza q1)
Buddhist Priest (Julia): The time? Certainly, it was about
noon yesterday.
(Laiza q2):
Buddhist Priest (Julia): The unfortunate man was on the
road from Sekiyama to Yamashina. He was walking
toward Sekiyama with a woman accompanying him on
horseback, who I have since learned was his wife.
(Laiza q3):
Buddhist Priest (Julia): A scarf hanging from her head hid
her face from view. All I saw was the color of her clothes,
a lilac-colored suit. Her horse was a sorrel with a fine
mane.
(Laiza q4):
Buddhist Priest (Julia): The lady’s height? Oh, about four
feet five inches. Since I am a Buddhist priest, I took little
notice about her details.
(Laiza q5)
Buddhist Priest (Julia): Well, the man was armed with
a sword as well as a bow and arrows. And I remember
that he carried some twenty odd arrows in his quiver.
Buddhist Priest (Julia): Little did I expect that he
would meet such a fate. Truly human life is as
evanescent as the morning dew or a flash of lightning.
My words are inadequate to express my sympathy for
him.
(Julia a1)
DA 2 (Laiza): Ma’am, at what time did you see the
man?
(Julia a2)
DA 2 (Laiza): What was he doing?
(Julia a3)
DA 2 (Laiza): Any more details about the woman?
(Julia a4):
DA 2 (Laiza): How tall was she?
(Julia a5)
DA 2 (Laiza): Did the man carry any weapons?
DA 2 (Laiza): Thank you, Ma’am. To summarize, you
saw the man alive yesterday at noon, armed and
accompanied by a woman on horseback. She was
dressed in lilac, her face hidden by a scarf. These
details suggest you encountered the couple shortly
before the incident, making your testimony crucial to
establishing the timeline.
(Judge)
Policeman (Lucas): I do.
(Xianne q1)--------Policeman (Lucas):
The man that I arrested? He is a notorious brigand
called Tajomaru. When I arrested him, he had fallen
off his horse. He was groaning on the bridge at
Awataguchi
(Xianne q2) Policeman (Lucas):
The time? It was in the early hours of last night. For
the record, I might say that the other day I tried to
arrest him, but unfortunately he escaped.
(Xianne q3)
Policeman (Lucas): He was wearing a dark blue silk
kimono and a large plain sword. And, as you see,
he got a bow and arrows somewhere. You say that
this bow and these arrows look like the ones
owned by the dead man? Then Tajomaru must be
the murderer! The bow wound with leather strips,
the black lacquered quiver, the seventeen arrows
with hawk feathers—these were all in his
possession I believe.
(Xianne q4)
Policeman (Lucas): Yes, Ma’am, there
was a horse, a sorrel with a fine mane. A
little beyond the stone bridge I found
the horse grazing by the roadside, with
his long rein dangling. Surely there is
some providence in his having been
thrown by the horse.
(Xianne q5)
Policeman (Lucas): Of all the robbers prowling
around Kyoto, this Tajomaru has given the most grief
to the women in town. Last autumn a wife who came
to the mountain back of the Pindora of the Toribe
Temple, presumably to pay a visit, was murdered,
along with a girl. It has been suspected that it was his
doing.
If this criminal murdered the man, you cannot tell
what he may have done with the man’s wife. May it
please your honor to look into this problem as well.
DA 3 (Xianne): Sir, can you identify the man you
arrested?
(Lucas a1)
DA 3 (Xianne): When was he arrested?
(Lucas a2)
DA 3 (Xianne): Well, what was he wearing?
(Lucas a3)
DA 3 (Xianne): Was there anything left behind at the
grove?
(Lucas a4)
DA 3 (Xianne): Do you know anything about
Tajomaru?
(Lucas a5)
(Lucas a6)
DA 3 (Xianne): Thank you, Sir. Your testimony
confirms that Tajomaru was arrested near the scene,
in possession of items belonging to the deceased,
including a bow and arrow. The horse left behind
matches the one described by the Buddhist Priest.
Tajomaru’s history and proximity to the crime
strongly suggest his involvement.
