China Station Episode Eight: Potato Pirates of the East China Sea
Hanamura Case Files No. 11
Kujuku-irie Cove
Abunakajima, East China Sea
1932 (Showa 7)
PROLOGUEA group of armed merchants, formerly of the Maomao Tong, have absconded to a secret base, dare I say a “hidden fortress,” with bits of a stolen treasure map with in the hopes of claiming the untold riches for themselves. Disowned by Neko, who is not a poisoner, she and secretly loyal retainers have secreted the Sisters Hanamura and Natsuko in a crate marked “perishable goods” onboard a supply skiff so that they may go after it themselves. Only fools and the desperate risk their lives for rumors of treasure.
The northeast end of Abunakajima featured a high blunt peak that split into curving tendrils as the round disappeared into the waters along the coast. This created endless inlets and switchbacks surrounded by a forested labyrinth of tightly packed miniature islands; its waterways too shallow for most vessels but too deep to walk except for a series of dramatically deep trenches only a few knew. It was the perfect place for pirates to hide.
The pirate mother ship, a small interisland freighter, was sheltered in one of Abunakajima’s larger coves and surrounded by her “children,” an eclectic collection of launches and boats used for raiding cargo ships and coastal towns.
A box lid, seemingly nailed down, poked up on one of the skiffs. Three sets of eyes appeared below it and took in their surroundings. Fewer pirates than expected were on watch or killing time with drink. Static interfered, but jazz could be heard playing on the freighter’s 1MC.
“Raiding at sea,” Tsubaki muttered. “This will be new.”
“Our ancestors were pirate samurai,” Yuri pointed out. “It’ll be just like old times.”
“Our ancestors also drowned at Dan-no-Ura,” Tsubaki reminded her.
“My ancestors were alcoholic potato farmers. It’s why I’m really good at hiding and not making a sound.”
“And to think you said you had nothing to contribute to this endeavor,” Yuri patted her on the back.
Natsuko absent-mindedly rubbed the back of her head, where the empty sake cups routinely hit her when she didn’t hide fast enough. “I’ll thank my ancestors.”
“I don’t know how to react to that,” Tsubaki said.
“You never do,” Yuri replied. “Let’s go.”
SET UPThere are four yellow search points aboard the mother ship and surrounding skiffs, each badly guarded by a half-drunk pirate. Searching a location may yield a scenario card (Properly, it should yield a minor plot point nearby, but that felt redundant.) or another pirate enters the fray.
Yuri burst upon the scene like the bloody Spanish Inquisition and gave the nearest pirate what for! (And how!)
Meanwhile Tsubaki and Natsuko failed to navigate the intricacies of moving boat to boat and fall back into the skiff with wounds. It is not an auspicious start to this scenario.
Another pirate appears over the cargo hold’s edge and lets a few rounds fly, winging Yuri who couldn’t dodge fast enough! (Her parents weren’t alcoholics) More shots rang out from further away but ping off the hold, ricocheting into a wooden box.
“Watch it!” Yuri chastised.
Natsuko wasn’t having a better go of things either, as Tsubaki helped her up a shot flew by. Instinctively, she flinched and with a panicked shout, she let loose a blast of spiritual energy that the attacker took straight to the forehead!
At the end of the round, Yuri and Natsuko shook off their minor injuries and the guy who took one to the face was also raised by alcoholic potato farmers so he’s fine!
“I’ll hold them off, keep looking!” Yuri ordered Natsuko as she made it onto the larger vessel. The cargo hold had plenty of crates but that ricochet earlier happed to knock over a smaller one which now lay before her. It was a
lucky find!
“I think I found it!”
Before she could look, a pirate roused from his drink-induced slumber, emerged from the pilot house and spotting Natsuko’s brightly colored kimono he leapt into the hold with her, ignoring Yuri altogether.
This close, he swung at her with his Colt like a sap. Never one to be a sap, Natsuko blocked his first swing then pushed her open palm into his chest. The transfer of spiritual energy was as if he’d taken a cattle prod to the heart and he collapsed.
“Why did he ignore you and come for me?!”
“I guess you were just his type.” Yuri commented as she leapt from the hold, dispatching the cheap shot pirate from earlier with practiced ease. Not to be outdone, Tsubaki returned fire with an aimed blast at the pirate Natsuko had tagged before, potentially taking a third pirate out of the fight this round. The remaining pirates fired impotent blind shots into the night.
Only the latter two pirates went down, with Natsuko’s blast seemingly kickstarting one guy’s heart as he’s back!
Tsubaki tried to support Natsuko but the rocking of her skiff threw off her aim, unfortunately the pirate’s was true and Tsubaki stumbled back in pain.
“Stay down!” Natsuko yelled as she pummeled the pirate into submission again, beating on him with her tiny fists like a pair of cattle prods against a drum kit.
Seeing the situation well in hand, or well enough, Yuri searches her skiff and using some
puzzling advice she’d been given earlier struck gold!
“What the-” She began as a pirate burst from the water like Jason! He rose, she whacked him in the mole, and he fell down in one smooth motion. It’s fine though, he got better.
Frustrated, Natsuko strong-armed the box and forced it open! What she found inside made her sigh. It was the damn golden monkey, back from the briny depths to annoy her. Having learned her lesson, she snapped the box back up and stashed it in her kimono sleeve.
(Hey kids, remember the golden monkey? It was last seen in “The Moon over the Ruined Castle!”)
Tsubaki found a second wind, bouncing back from her previous suffering, and leapt aboard the freighter, handily taking down the pirate in the fore hold without trouble.
But it wasn’t enough, he shook it off as did the fish man Yuri took down. She wondered if her pirate samurai forebears had to put up with such nonsense.
Natsuko continued her aft hold search, with it yielding a map segment! During Yuri’s tussle a crate was overturned, yielding an artifact as well! Ignoring her predicament as the pirate groggily got back up, Tsubaki’s search resulted in finding missing parts of the map! The pirates used this opportunity to take the distracted girls on, the bruiser who came at Tsubaki was back on the ground almost as soon as he got up and Yuri traded blows with her opponent. He got his hits in, but she took him down. He didn’t like this none much and got back up.
“I’m trying to pilfer your goods, a little professional courtesy please?” Yuri huffed at him.
“I got it!” Natsuko shouted, her search yielding the final piece of information.
Tsubaki hopped onto the deck, took out a pirate with a ranged shot and began wheeling the deck gun around. Yuri bolted across the ship and successfully untied their chosen getaway craft from the mother ship.
While doing so, the pirate she was fighting tried to follow but hopping through the aft hold stepped on Natsuko’s head, lost his balance, and fell face first onto the deck. He’s out cold!
Natsuko climbed aboard and Tsubaki took control of the steam launch while Yuri pulled the trigger on the deck gun. A round went straight through the hold and the hull, and the ship began sinking immediately. Grinning manically, Yuri leapt from freighter to the launch and they escaped with the map, monkey and all.
Tsubaki had a thought. “I hope Neko didn’t want that boat back…”
“I didn’t do it, the pirates did it.” Yuri replied. The three girls nodded in unison. The pirates did it.
ERRATAKujuku means “99” and is a euphemism for “too many to count.” Sasebo’s famous Kujukushima (99 Islands) partially inspired this location, as I had to explain how these pirates could hide from the Imperial Japanese Navy in the archipelago.
Yuri is referring to the real life Matsuura clan, which ruled Hirado domain for 700 years. They began as pirates based on Hirado Island in the 12th century before gaining legitimacy as lords; though they continued to let wako pirates use Hirado as a base of operations. The Matsuura ruled until the disestablishment of the domains in 1871.
The 1185 Battle of Dan-no-Ura was one of the most pivotal sea battles in Japanese history; the Taira and Minamoto clans faced off in the Kanmon Strait between Honshu and Kyushu. The defeated Taira died by the thousands, along with the child emperor Antoku. Survivors fled to Kyushu and suddenly “Yamaguchi” became every tenth person’s family name in what’s now Nagasaki and Saga prefectures.
Potatoes were introduced to Japan in 1598 via Dutch trade in Nagasaki. They’re referred to as “jaga-imo” in Japanese, the “jaga” is short for “Jakarta.” Incidentally, the Matsuura’s wako pirate associates introduced the Dutch to them and in turn, the Dutch introduced Japan to potatoes.
Sweet potatoes are called “Satsuma-imo,” as they entered Japan via Satsuma Domain (Kagoshima Prefecture) in 1605 from the Ryukyu Kingdom (Okinawa). A century later it became widespread in Japan and Satsuma-imo shochu became a staple alcohol. It can be surmised that since she’s from Kyoto Prefecture, Natsuko’s family grew jaga-imo and got drunk on other people’s potatoes, not their own.
A 1MC is a ship’s public address system.
March 24, 2025, 08:15:32 AM