King Anisika
by Tetsuya Sato
Translated from Japanese by Toshiya Kamei
Once upon a time in a certain part of the world, there was a small kingdom. It was so small that it had never appeared on a map, nor had it been mentioned in any travel guidebook. However, even had it been known to travelers, it was doubtful anyone would be crazy enough to visit the kingdom. That’s because it was ruled by a despotic monarch.
There lived a king called Anisika. According to the tradition that has come down, the basis of his reign was somewhat vulnerable, so he built a castle on a remote swamp in the backwoods in order to solidify the defense of the kingdom. It was a terribly small castle with only one stone tower, but there was no path leading to it, for it was surrounded by mud, hindering enemies from gaining a foothold. The castle was impregnable.
King Anisika sent his troops from the castle once a year and plundered various villages in order to cover expenses. Not much better than a band of thieves, the king’s army roamed the kingdom at the time of harvest and robbed the peasants of their grain, livestock, fruits, and chicken eggs by means of intimidation and violence. As most people didn’t know any other king besides Anisika, they endured these hardships, thinking that was the way a king was supposed to behave.
One day, however, a traveler who was passing through this kingdom saw what was going on and declared that it was tyranny. On hearing this, many changed their minds. Then they grabbed their weapons, banded together, encircled the castle, and urged King Anisika to cease pillaging.
When the king paid no heed to their appeals, a man confident in his ability hurled a hooked rope up at the castle tower. With the hook on the edge of the tower, a large number of men pulled the rope, causing the castle to tilt slightly.
King Anisika appeared on the top of the tower. “Let me think about it,” said the king.
After some deliberation, the king settled on a new way. Now his army went from village to village taking hostages and returned to the castle instead of looting the harvest. And as ransom for the return of the hostages, the king demanded a part of the harvest.
Compared to the plundering of the past, this was somewhat better. The fields were no longer destroyed, and the cattle sheds and the chicken coops remained intact. As many didn’t know any other way, they were pleased, believing that their burdens were lessened.
One day, however, a traveler who was passing through this kingdom saw this situation and thought it was tyranny. On hearing this, many changed their minds. Then they grabbed their weapons, banded together, encircled the castle, and urged King Anisika to change his tyrannical ways.
When the king paid no heed to their appeals, a man confident in his ability hurled a hooked rope up at the castle tower. With the hook on the edge of the tower, a large number of men pulled the rope, causing the castle to tilt slightly.
King Anisika appeared on the top of the tower. “Let me think about it,” said the king.
After some deliberation, the king settled on a new way. He stopped indiscriminately taking a large number of hostages. Instead, he selected local lords around the kingdom and held them hostage. Things were considerably better now. The king’s soldiers no longer appeared out of the blue to break down the door, storm into the house, and whisk someone away. They stopped plundering farms.
While the villagers were rejoicing, saying that things had improved much, local strongmen appeared with their henchmen and robbed the peasants of their harvested crops. Needless to say, this was done to bring tributes to the king. However, those who couldn’t be appeased thought that the king had resumed his despotic rule.
Then they grabbed their weapons, banded together, encircled the castle, and urged King Anisika to change his tyrannical ways. When the king paid no heed to their appeals, a man confident in his ability hurled a hooked rope up at the castle tower. With the hook on the edge of the tower, a large number of men pulled the rope, causing the castle to tilt slightly.
King Anisika appeared on the top of the tower. “Let me think about it,” said the king.
After some deliberation, the king settled on a new way. He stopped holding the local lords hostage. Instead, the king chose a strongman in each village and issued him a kidnapping license. With this permit, each local strongman led his henchmen, stormed into houses to take hostages, and demanded ransom for their return. Although the fields were no longer destroyed, and the cattle sheds and the chicken coops remained intact, most thought that the king’s tyranny was continuing.
Then they grabbed their weapons, banded together, encircled the castle, and urged King Anisika to change his tyrannical ways. When the king paid no heed to their appeals, a man confident in his ability hurled a hooked rope up at the castle tower. With the hook on the edge of the tower, a large number of men pulled the rope, causing the castle to tilt slightly.
King Anisika appeared on the top of the tower. “Let me think about it,” said the king.
After some deliberation, the king settled on a new way. He sent letters to strongmen around the kingdom and threatened to kidnap them if they didn’t pay. Then the strongmen themselves sent letters to inhabitants in their respective villages and threatened to abduct them if they didn’t pay. If the locals refused to pay, the strongmen carried out their threats to show that they meant business. As the king and the strongmen demanded outrageous amounts, many couldn’t meet their demands and ended up being abducted. The people in the kingdom believed that the king was behaving in a despotic manner.
Then they grabbed their weapons, banded together, encircled the castle, and urged King Anisika to change his tyrannical ways. When the king paid no heed to their appeals, a man confident in his ability hurled a hooked rope up at the castle tower. With the hook on the edge of the tower, a large number of men pulled the rope, causing the castle to tilt slightly.
King Anisika appeared on the top of the tower. “Let me think about it,” said the king.
After some deliberation, the king settled on a new way. King Anisika’s army emerged from the castle, traveled around the kingdom, examined the harvest of each farmer, recorded it in a ledger, and sent it to local strongmen. The strongmen decided on an amount for each farmer based on the revenue noted in the ledger and sent letters, threatening to abduct them unless they paid. As the demands were largely reasonable, there was hardly anyone who couldn’t come up with the money and ended up being abducted.
However, a traveler who was passing through this kingdom saw this situation and said that there was no worse tyranny than this. Then the people grabbed their weapons, banded together, encircled the castle, and urged King Anisika to change his tyrannical ways. When the king paid no heed to their appeals, a man confident in his ability hurled a hooked rope up at the castle tower. With the hook on the edge of the tower, a large number of men pulled the rope, causing the castle to tilt sharply.
The ground where the castle stood was as vulnerable as the basis of King Anisika’s reign. The king appeared on the top of the tower, lost his footing, and plunged into the swamp. The castle collapsed and mercilessly crushed those below.
Copyright © by
Tetsuya Sato
Translation © 2019 by Toshiya Kamei
