Buntaro escapes Osaka

Buntaro’s escape from Osaka turns a retreat into a twenty-day ordeal of pursuit, ambush, and flight through the hills. Its decisive outcome is not merely that he reaches Yedo alive, but that his return overturns his wife’s expectation of his death: she had prayed and burned incense for him as if he were already lost.

The Flight from Osaka

A contingent of Toranaga’s samurai first covered Buntaro’s retreat from the beach, allowing him to reach the outskirts of Osaka without trouble. From there he set out for Yedo with fifty picked men and spare horses. Disguised as bandits, they took the hills and lesser paths in a hurried attempt to evade their pursuers.

Pursuit and Attrition

The escape was repeatedly tested. Pursuers caught up with Buntaro’s party twice, but neither group was numerous enough to contain him; he fought his way through both encounters. In a separate ambush he lost all but four men, escaped again, and pressed deeper into the forest. The party moved by night and slept by day, living on berries, spring water, and a little rice taken from isolated farmhouses while hunters remained close behind.

Arrival and Recognition

After twenty days Buntaro reached Yedo. Two men had survived with him. His wife had believed he could not escape alive and said she had prayed and burned incense to his memory each day. When she saw him beside Toranaga on the beach, the shock of his return was so great that she said she thought a Kami possessed her. Toranaga answered her account by calling Buntaro clever and very strong, recognizing the endurance that had carried him through the pursuit.