To see the previous installments, click on the following links: #1, #2

It is mid-afternoon and Rodrigo is kneeling on a small straw mat that insulates him from the cold of the stone floor. In front of him is a worn wooden board that serves as a desk, where he rests a sheet of washi paper (和紙) and a small black ceramic inkwell filled with sumi, the Japanese black ink. These are the luxuries bestowed on him for belonging to the lineage of Date Masamune.

And so, with slow, ceremonious movements, he takes a small piece of solid ink, rubs it on the stone surface, mixes it with a few drops of water to form a dense, dark substance and, little by little, the scent of the vegetable oils it contains permeates the atmosphere of his cell.

Holding the brush and the washi sheet, he begins to draw the first strokes of the kanji characters that, forming words, summarise the key moments of his journey. At times, the brush pauses in mid-air as Rodrigo searches his memory for the appropriate words that best describe the journey that took him from Coria del Río to Japan.

From time to time, he stops and looks at his pictograms. The still-wet ink reflects the afternoon light. Rodrigo puts the brush aside and lifts the paper carefully. Holding it in his hands, he feels that each word he has drawn is a struggle against oblivion.

The echo of footsteps in the corridor interrupts his concentration. He knows that the jailer will soon arrive to collect the writing implements and bring him the last meal of the day.

To be continued

Header Image:

Japanese writing utensils. Source: Internet