Seppun Tanaka was a yoriki of the Imperial Families. He used to visit houses of ill repute, and this information was used by Bayushi Mikoto. Tanaka's magistrate had been ordered to arrest Mikoto, who threatened to make Tanaka's indiscretions public knowledge unless he gave him a chance to prove his innocence. Tanaka delayed his lord with some trivial matters, attending to a bandit gang on the other side of town instead of dealing with Mikoto right away.