A Good (Second-to-Last!) Day at Castle Iwinaga

[ninja_coder]

 
Today, General Wāro and the Ōmi Team took me out to a local steak house for a farewell lunch. Sachiko and her Sōtō Zen monks came, as well, and we all enjoyed fine food and each others' company. I found that the restaurant even has fine shōchū of a type that I've been enjoying lately, so I had a glass.

Since my impressive display last Sunday, Araki has been treating me with new respect. He keeps asking me about chain and grappling-hook techniques, and takes my advice on matters of urban strategy and tactics. Still, this is not enough of a change to keep me; Clan Iwinaga is too focused on samurai, mounted combat, and fighting on open plains.

But they do know how to treat their people, and it was quite enjoyable, sitting there eating finely prepared fugu and drinking daiginjyo shōchū for lunch (and watching Araki have a bit too much sake, so that he was amusingly sloppy with a few of his kata when we returned to the castle!).

Tomorrow, we have a clan-wide meeting to discuss our achievements over the past three months. Then, we have an enkai before I leave forever, and return to Iga for Arisa's and her husband Benjiro's party.