EPTRetsudo, who is already old and prior to the rampage of Ogami, sees the determination of his foe and calls in every Yagyu asset, including their elite “Grass” forces from around Japan. The first battle between Ogami and Retsudo was epic, but ultimately ended in a draw. In preparation for their second and final battle, Retsudo has the Grass attack first through deceit, one of their members is sent to “polish” Ogami’s sword when in truth, he actually weakens its integrity.
After that the Grass ninja assault Ogami in multiple ways from multiple fronts. They all fall, but not in vain. Those who strike first do so with the intent to kill their opponent. After this proves futile and no one can seem to break his guard, they change their strategy.
Towards the end of the Grass attacks, they don’t even attempt to hurt Ogami himself, but instead attack with swords in metal scabbards. Knowing that they cannot actually wound him, they instead give up their lives in order to strike a blow or two at his great dotanuki. Even if they cannot strike the killing blow, or even strike the blow that breaks his sword, every hit is meant to build up to the moment where at least the seemingly unstoppable Lone Wolf can be deprived of his weapon and his ability to fight.
The writer alludes to the will of heaven being on Ogami’s side. That while the lay of the land, the masses against a single warrior (with a child strapped to his back for most of the fight) might seem to tilt against the Lone Wolf and Cub, it is heaven who decides who is the victory in any battle. But through the sacrifice of the grass, the way they changed their tactics to not go from being the one who strikes the killing blow, but rather reminiscent of the great Haitian General Toussaint L’Overture, the one who makes the opening.
This dimension of sacrifice is present in all wars, but it becomes clouded and obscured as it is not something for polite conversation. It is part of the calculus of war in which human beings are numbers to be crunched. It is part of the brutish nature of war, where not everyone can be heroes and not every sacrifice is noble or even worth it. Sometimes it is the grinding of flesh, the piling of bodies in order to achieve an end. It is fundamentally anti-human, but it is necessary to win wars.
It can be inspiring in its own way, but the singular hero, standing above the fray will always dominate our understanding of war as it is an easier concept to integrate. It is much more comforting to believe in.
But as you read Lone Wolf and Cub and see wave after wave of Grass ninja smash against the blade and hell-bound tenacity of Ogami Itto, you can see why the Japanese during their age of imperialism could have believed themselves capable of taking on anyone. So long as they possessed that fanatical ability, that willingness to sacrifice, they could crack the armor of anything, and overcome anyone. They also assumed a weakness of fighting spirit in their potential foes. They saw Americans as being soft, and not capable of accepting the sacrificial role that many Japanese did.
The short conversation between Ogami Itto and the last of the Grass Ninja Kagami Tenzen is one of my favorite from the entire manga. I have typed it up below.
KAGAMI TENZEN: Itto! We damaged your dotanuki! Not Retsudo-Sama! We alone!
KAGAMI TENZEN: Do you call us cowards?
OGAMI ITTO: No! Such trickery is a part of battle, I thought my guard was perfect.
OGAMI ITTO: It was cunning worthy of the Yagyu’s Shinobi.
Kagami Tenzen, the last of the Grass, as he is dying from a sword in his chest presents Ogami with a rosary.
KAGAMI TENZEN: A ninja’s life, like these seeds. Hard. Plain.
KAGAMI TENZEN: We die at our master’s whim.
KAGAMI TENZEN: And thus we make rosaries from the seeds of the corpse tree.
KAGAMI TENZEN: The corpse tree. Some say the Bodhi tree of the Sutras.
KAGAMI TENZEN: Beneath that tree the Buddha received enlightenment. How better to pray for our souls?
KAGAMI TENZEN: And for the souls of you and your son.
KAGAMI TENZEN: And so let us pray. Warrior’s way. Shinobi’s way.
KAGAMI TENZEN: Why do we fight, humans all?
KAGAMI TENZEN: The grass withers, your life drains away.
KAGAMI TENZEN: Pray. Accept the rosary of the grass.
KAGAMI TENZEN: Pray the rosary of the corpse tree…
