Min Ho had been extremely tired that day.  It could be the reason he did not sleep well.  He tossed and turned all night.  He dreamed the craziest dream - a dream so real he felt he was really there - saying, feeling and doing.  He remembered it all when he first woke up.  He thought he should write it down because it might have something to do with his crazy thoughts of memories of another time and place.   He started writing and when he was through he was astonished at the words spilling across the pages.  Even though he had pages of written script before him, he felt like there was more – much more to be written.  He had a friend at the University; perhaps he would read this and see what he thought.

Min Ho’s dream:

I am Ashikaga Yoshimochi the fourth shogun of the Ashikaga Bakufu.  I am of the Ashikaga Shogunate, the supreme governance of the Muromachi.  We were established as rule when Ashikaga Takauji obtained the samurais' strong support deposing of Emperor Go-Daigo. In the year 1338, Takauji was proclaimed shogun establishing his government in Kyoto.  He was unable to build a palace because Emperor Go-Daigo escaped and sought to re-establish his rule leading to years of civil war and a disruption of the samurai way.  It was not until my Father, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the 3^rd shogun with his iron fist established order and became the supreme authority.   Father established our headquarters – the Hana-no-gosho or the Flower Palace in Kyoto in 1378. I was born there. 

I was born in the spring of the year 1385.  I remembered I had a mother; a soft spoken delicate little flower of a woman.  I was taken from her or perhaps more like she was taken from me when I was 6 years-old.  I trained then, I trained hard and I learned.  I became a master of ninja at the age of 8.  I was very tall for my age and elders always perceived me to be older.  My lessons were hard won and hard learned.  My Father expected much from me and I always gave more than he expected.  I expected the most from myself for I was ruthless on everyone but the most ruthless on myself.   

I became the shogun when I was 9 years-old. My Father is Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, a legendary and exceedingly cruel man.  He is a supreme fighter and it took 13 years of my life before I struck fear into his evil cruel heart.   My Father set me as shogun in 1395 so that he could devote time and strategy planning an attempt to set one of my brothers as Emperor.  My Father wanted to be named, daijô tennô, or Retired Emperor.  Father served as Chancellor from the year before I was named supreme shogun until his death.  In the year 1405 in order to place my brother in the seat as Emperor, Father worked diligently to formalize relations with the Ming Dynasty of China.   The Yongle Emperor wanted someone he could control in the Emperor’s seat in Japan.  Father became close enough with the Ming Dynasty that the Yongle Emperor allowed Father to come and go in China without .  I did not want these close ties with China.  I did not trust the Yongle Emperor.

In the year 1407, I was 22 years old.  I had watched as my Father wormed his way into the Ming Dynasty.  I decided as the supreme Shogun, I would no longer allow this travesty to continue.  I put a halt to all the planning.  My Father was so incensed, so mad that he became ill.  I would harbor no illusions to how the planning would have been accomplished.  Women and children would have been the first victims and my place in this cruel world was to protect those under me.  My Father died in the year 1408 and I immediately severed all relations with the Ming Dynasty.  Days became months and months became years and I trained harder than ever before because I had to be the best of the best Shoguns.  My people depended on me. 

In the year 1417, the Yongle Emperor sent missions requesting a restoration of our relationship.  I refused and sent the delegation home.  Again in the year 1419, the Yongle Emperor sent another delegation seeking to restore our relationship.  I issued a decree that would not allow any further negotiations, delegations or missions to enter our land to ask for a restoration of the ties my Father forged.  They did not come again.

Somewhere between the age of 15 and 20 I earned a nickname.  I was called ‘The Dragon’.  No one ever said it out loud but I am an expert at being where I can hear and see what is going on without anyone knowing – I am Ninja after all.  I discovered I was ‘The Dragon’ because of my fierceness in battle.  One survivor of a particularly bloody battle swore I breathed fire and coiled like a dragon.  So much for legends and reasons but I will let them call me thus because fear is good. 

I have given everything to the Ashikaga Bakuful of the Muromachi.  I began this journey as shogun in 1394 at a very young age.  I gave up the right to have a family, a woman that loved me or to have children.  I have become a hard man but I do not regret my decision.  Today in this early summer of 1423, I leave for the coast of Korea.  It is a decision made by the council of Shoguns.  There have been many meetings for the past three months as plans are being laid for a fact gathering secret mission to Korea.  We have spies within the Ming Dynasty court – under the Yongle Emperor’s nose.  We are aware that the Yongle Emperor plans to invade Korea and we wish to be in a position to take advantage of this information.  Hence my departure will be today; I will travel to the coast of Korea.  There I will be met with allies that dwell among the court officials of King Taejong. 

It has been a tediously long hard journey but I am in place outside the court.  I am hidden well and come and go mostly at night.  The King is no fool and his court is guarded well.  I have a particular spot I like to visit that reminds me of home.  Perhaps it is the mimosa tree on the small hillock that makes me think of my home.  I do not want anyone to think me foolish or faint of heart.  I am not sentimental but among these people I miss that which is familiar to me.  That familiarity is my home land in the Flower Palace at Kyoto.  I miss the familiarity of the smells, the land and the people, I suppose.  I have kept watch these past 4 months.  There is much intrigue within the palace and there are several princes who bear watching.  I fear they will cause much trouble if they are placed as heirs.  I became aware of a small movement from a hidden passage door at the very back of the palace walls one night when the moon happened to shine the brightest.  I moved to an advantage point to keep a sharp eye on the small disturbance; soldiers might be on the loose and using a secret passage.

My surprise was great when I noticed it was a tiny slip of a girl.  She was cautious; I give her that.  She moved swiftly toward my mimosa tree.  She was wary as if she sensed someone near her.  I stayed hidden and watched her.  She was light on her feet, moving swiftly.  She stood under the mimosa tree looking at the moon.  She suddenly sat on the ground and cried.  I have heard women and children cry before – battles have those background noises.  But this tiny slip of a girl made my heart feel strange.  Her cries tore at my heart and my sensibilities.  I shook my head to clear it of such unseeming thoughts.  She must have seen a shadow from my sudden movement because she became frightened and ran away.  She ran back toward a wall of water willow trees.  I could see her tiny form hidden among the slender trunks.  She must have stayed hidden for several hours because the night was waning before she dared to make a move back to her hidden door.  I must investigate this door.  I can perhaps use it in the future.

Night after night she made the trek to the mimosa tree.  One day she did not come and I moved out of the shadows to stand under the tree pondering why she might have missed a night.  I did not know she had discovered me and watched me as I watched her.  It is probably the only time in my life I misread a situation and was discovered without knowing it.

Min Ho had tossed and turned so violently at this point that he woke up.  It was early morning and he was exhausted already.  He decided to write his dream down.  He took the pages of writing to his professor friend at the University and asked him to read it and tell him if anything like this had ever happened in Korean history.  He was sure it was just his vivid imagination but it seemed so real.  He could still see the woman’s face and smell her scent.  He had seen that woman many times in his life so he was sure she was simply influencing his imagination.

Professor Ki was not as skeptical as he thought he would be.  He was a teacher of history and loved all things historical.  He had read many accounts of dreams and had yet to find one that was accurate – even semi-accurate.  He had promised Min Ho to call him after he read his account.  As he read through the pages of neat handwriting he became excited.  How on earth did he know of this?  Had he read some obscure manuscript somewhere and remembered it well enough to dream it?  He had to know so he called.

“Professor Ki, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon – so what’s the verdict?  Do I have an imagination or what?” Min Ho laughed.

Professor Ki, “Min Ho, do not became offended but I need to ask you a question.  Have you discovered some manuscript, somewhere perhaps, read it and that is where you came up with this dream?”

“Honestly Professor, I don’t have time to read manuscripts especially those in ancient script and probably in Japanese.  My knowledge of Japanese is limited.  I thought, perhaps, I had watched a historical documentary on TV and simply forgot – that could be my source of information.”

Professor Ki became excited.  “Min Ho, you have written some very important information down.  Some I can verify without checking because it is truly historical knowledge.  However, you have written facts down that are not general knowledge.  Some of which I would only be able to verify with a lot of probing through ancient files but Min Ho, I think what you wrote is accurate.  I would like your permission to show this to a colleague of mine.  She does research on reincarnation and past lives – so do I have your permission?”