The sudden sighting of a Japanese hut in the middle of Hamburg city
Led, within us, to a great amount of wonder, and not a little curiosity
Is it the retirement home of the last Samurai, I wondered aloud
Living out his last days in exile, feeble yet still erect and proud
The reasons for his downfall could be many
For though Samurais were strong & skillful, they were never very canny
Maybe he had been tasked with protecting the Emperor or his brood
And had been unjustly accused of poisoning their food
The real culprit, of course, would have been the Samurai’s mentor
Who had evil designs on the throne, as well as the Emperor’s eldest daughter
But he would have known that our hero too was in love with her
And if anybody raised his eyes towards her, he would behead the mangy cur
So the mentor decided to play a wicked game, and kill two birds with one stone
He killed the Emperor by poisoning his sake, and with apparently great reluctance, sat upon the throne
Our poor Samurai hero was tried in a kangaroo court and sentenced to exile
But his sense of duty and pride turned out to be more powerful than his mentor’s wile
He escaped from his prison, and unraveled his mentor’s master plan
And then challenged him to single combat, as only a truly honorable Samurai can
The fight between two Samurais was savage, but a beauty to behold
Since one of them was young, but inexperienced, while the other was masterful but old
An epic bout like that was bound to last long
But in the end only one man stood alive at the beating of the gong
It was our hero who had won the day, but there was no joy on his face
For during the fight, he had discovered his beloved’s fall from grace
When the two fighters were on a brief break to refresh themselves with some food and water
She tried to put some sleeping potion in our hero’s sticky rice pudding, but just in time, he caught her
It was only then that he realized the true scale of the conspiracy, and worked himself into a lather
For the woman he loved had not only betrayed him, but killed her own father
But he knew he would never be able to prove her hand in this complex plot with multiple strands
So he decided to sacrifice everything and take matters in his own hands
And before anyone could realize what was happening
His sword was in the stomach of his lover, and his knife in the heart of the current king
He surrendered to the Supreme Council of Samurais after that, for there was no honor in running
The Council investigated his charges, and found that there was truth in his charges, even though they were unbelievable and stunning
But he had, after all, killed a reigning Emperor, and a princess without a trial
So he was given a choice between exile, and a poison-filled vial
And now, here he was, living out the rest of his days in poignant peace and quiet
So we decided to pay our respects to the hero who’d fallen from such a great height
But swimming while day-dreaming is dangerous, as I realized when I bumped into a sign that said
Japanese Tea Making Ceremony by Hamburg’s Finest Tea Houses, entry only 5 Euros per head
jagahdilmein 