Sengoku Quest - Jesuit Edition

[X] Travel into the mountains north and Eastward, and meet a small mining town run by the three families of the Shinkano tribe

For all that appealing to the leader of the Otomo had worked wonders for Father Xavier, you were more cautious as to employing the same tact with the Ouchi.

For one, you weren't sure as to how homogeneous, exactly, the various Japanese clans were. Sato had well warned you away from assuming the mainlanders' customs would be the same as the people of Kyushu. He'd gone so far as to point out several areas where their languages differed- usually do to the increased contact Kyushu had with the outside world relative to the rest of the islands.

So, no, you didn't want to put yourself to such a test immediately at the start.

Indeed' you'd also rather avoid any population center too large for you to be unable to properly form a personal attachment to all the residents, lest one try to out you before you were fully prepared to face the political hierarchs.

Therefore, travelling inland towards what, by what little knowledge you had, was a small mining town. No more than fifty permanent residents at any given time, so perfect for you to both brush up your preaching without putting too much of a dent into your host.

Your destination thus decided, you traveled rapidly through Tokuyama on arrival, ignoring the strange looks you received and only picking out a few of the local foodstuffs from the stalls that line the wide path. You weren't quite as alien to these people as Xavier had been upon his arrival- you could articulate your desire for directions, for example- but it was still interesting to be greeted with such suspicion.

You could only assume it would be worse in the mining village. Until they'd adopted you, of course. Small towns had a way of protecting their own that tended not to change much between peoples.

Thusly your worries assuaged, you ignored the rest of the looks you received and continued on.

Shortly thereafter, you found yourself on the road.

Which was surprising more busy than you were expecting.

At first, Sato attributed it to cherry blossom viewing- hanami- being in season through the area. However, as you found yourself leaving the- admittedly beautiful- blossoming trees behind and the traffic only slacking off lightly, you had to find another reason to attribute why peoples of every shape and size- from what were clearly Samurai with their entourages to elderly peasants clutching at beads you would almost call Buddhist if they weren't doubly-ringed and rather small compared to those beads of the Buddhists your brothers hadn't had several friendly and less-than-friendly exchanges with- would be travelling into the mountains at the center of this stretch of Honshu.

As Sato dissuaded you from pulling one of the travellers to the side to question them- it would probably be rather rude, all things considered-you had to wait three nights until your camp site finally coincided with that of another group.

There were six of them- an elderly man with a cane who regarded you with the sort of cool disinterest a man who'd seen too much would have, two somewhat aged women who you could not tell if were his daughters or in-laws, and a young woman taking care of what were maybe three-year-old twins.

While they'd been initially concerned with your appearance, sharing a portion of your rations- not the host- had made them more amenable to your presence.

The fact that the children- two girls- seemed to delight in finding words that you yet did not understand only aided you in your endeavors.

Eventually, after you and the family had finished your respective prayers, you managed to pull aside the eldest woman while the other two tending to the children and Sato conversed with the Grandfather.

Giving her a light bow of recognition and receiving one in return, you decide to avoid obfuscation and simply come right out.

"Madam, this one must admit to some curiosity. Why is it that so many travel on this path? Is not there only a small mining town at its end?"

Folding her hands over her stomach the matron indicated her father-in-law (as you'd discovered), and responded.

"We are performing the Kumano Sankeimichi. We hope that the Amida Butsu will let the shrines' healing soothe father's aches and that the gods will offer protection to our husbands."

You, mindful of your manners in giving a thankful bow before backing away, return to your bedroll.

You had not expected to have the chance to so swiftly encounter what was, apparently, a major pilgrimage route of the local religion- though you imagined this particular route to be related to the Buddhists in some way, seeing as she'd named a Buddha, though you were not familiar with any beyond Siddhārtha- but Father Xavier had warned you and your brothers as to just how commonplace the various religious shrines were in Japan.

Still, this is too much, is it not?

Alas, it seemed you had yet another decision to make.

Do you divert?
[ ] Yes, seeing these shrines first-hand would provide you with valuable insight as to the practises of the Japanese without you having to be too intrusive. The mining town will still be there when you finish, after all.
[ ] No, you have already set a destination, and to change it simply because your curiosity is peaked would undermine the whole point of setting it. The Shrines will still be there when you finish, after all.