Taiko. Part 106

"It would be a different matter if we had made such a decision before leaving Kiyosu."

"It's just as Lord Genba says. If people hear that we came this far and then retreated, we'll become a laughingstock for generations to come."

"How about retreating after fighting an engagement?"

"They're only Monkey's soldiers, anyway."

The younger warriors all shouted out their support of Genba.

The only man who remained silent was Menju Shosuke.

"What do you think, Shosuke?"

Katsuie rarely asked Shosuke for his opinion. Recently, Shosuke had been out of favor with Katsuie, and he usually refrained from speaking. He answered docilely, "I think Genba's opinion is absolutely correct."

Among the others, who were all hot-blooded and ready to fight, Shosuke had appeared to be as cold as water and lacking in courage in spite of his youth. But he had responded as if there were no alternative.

"If even Shosuke can speak like this, we'll follow Genba's advice and push straight on through, just as we are. But we should send out scouts as soon as we've crossed the river, and not hurry down the road carelessly. Move out plenty of foot soldiers first, and have a spear corps follow them immediately. Place the gunners ahead of the rear guard. When soldiers are lying in ambush, firearms are not apt to be of much use up front. If the enemy is there and the scouts give us the signal, sound the drum immediately, but don't show them a hair's-breadth of confusion. The unit commanders should all wait for my orders.

Its direction settled, the army crossed the Ibi River. Nothing happened. As it began to advance toward Akasaka, there was no sign of the enemy.

The reconnaissance units were far ahead and approaching the neighborhood of the village of Tarui. Nothing unusual could be discerned there, either. A lone traveler approached. He looked suspicious, and one of the soldiers from the reconnaissance unit ran up ahead and took him into custody. Threatened and questioned by the scouts, the man was quick to talk, but it was those who did the threatening who were dismayed.

"If you're asking me if I saw Lord Hideyoshi's men on the road, well, yes, I most certainly did. Early this morning, in the area of Fuwa, and just now pa.s.sing through Tarui."

"About how many men were there?"

"I'm not sure, but certainly it was a force of several hundred."

"Several hundred?"

The scouts looked back and forth at each other. Dismissing the man, they immediately reported back to Katsuie.

The news was rather unexpected. The enemy was such a small force that Katsuie and generals now had even more misgivings. However, the order to push ahead was given, the army marched on. Just at that moment it was reported that an envoy from Hideyoshi was riding in their direction. When the man finally came in sight, they could see he was not an armored warrior but was, instead, a striking youth wearing a printed gossamer silk coat and a wisteria-colored kimono. Even the reins of his horse were ornately decorated.

"My name is Iki Hanshichiro," the youth announced, "Lord Hidekatsu's page. I am here to offer my services as a guide to Lord Katsuie."

Hanshichiro trotted right past the scouts, who were completely taken aback. Yelling in a confused voice, their commander chased after him, nearly falling off his horse in pursuit.

Katsuie and his field staff looked with suspicion at the young man. They had antic.i.p.ated a battle, and their excitement and antic.i.p.ation of a fight had soared. Then, in the midst of their spears and burning fuse cords, this elegant young man gracefully dismounted and bowed politely.

"Lord Hidekatsu's page? I have no idea what that means, but bring him here. Let talk with him," Katsuie ordered.

Katsuie had stamped down the gra.s.s by the roadside and was standing in the shade of some trees. Having his camp stool set down, he managed to conceal the rigid tension of his subordinates, as well as his own. He invited the envoy to sit down.

"You have a message?"

"You must be exhausted from the long trip home in this heat," Hanshichiro said formally.

Oddly, his words sounded exactly like those of a peacetime greeting. Taking a letter box that was hanging from his shoulder by a red cord, he continued, "Lord Hideyoshi sends his greetings." Then he handed the missive to Katsuie.

Katsuie received the letter suspiciously and did not open it right away. Blinking, he looked at Hanshichiro.

"You say you're Lord Hidekatsu's page?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Is Lord Hidekatsu in good health?"

"Yes, my lord."

"I imagine he's grown up."

"He'll be seventeen years old this year, my lord."

"Well, he's that old already? Time pa.s.ses quickly, doesn't it. It's been a long time since I've seen him."

"Today he was ordered by his father to come as far as Tarui to extend a welcome."

"What?" Katsuie stammered. A pebble beneath one leg of his camp stool was crushed by the weight of his heavy body, which equaled the surprise in his heart. Hidekatsu, who was n.o.bunaga's son, had been adopted by Hideyoshi.

"Welcome? Welcome who?" Katsuie asked this time.

"Why, Your Lordship, of course."

Hanshichiro covered his face with his fan and laughed. His adversary's eyelids and mouth were twitching uncontrollably, so he could hardly suppress a smile.

"Me? He's come to welcome me?" Katsuie continued to mumble to himself.

"First take a look at the letter, my lord," Hanshichiro requested.

Katsuie had been in such a daze that he had completely forgotten about the letter in his hand. Katsuie nodded repeatedly for no particular reason. As his eyes followed the written words, a range of emotions swept across his face. The letter was not from Hidekatsu at all, but was unmistakably from Hideyoshi's brush. It was quite openhearted.

The road between northern Omi and Echizen is one you've traveled many times before, so I a.s.sume you know the way. Nevertheless, I am sending my foster son, Hidekatsu, to guide you. There is a baseless rumor abroad, unworthy of our notice, that Nagahama would be an advantageous place from which to hinder your return home. In order to contradict such mean-spirited reports, I have sent my foster son to greet you, and you may take him as a hostage until you have pa.s.sed through with peace of mind. I would have liked to entertain you at Nagahama, but I have been sick since leaving Kiyosu...

Rea.s.sured by the words of the envoy and the letter, Katsuie could not help reflecting his own timidity. He had been cowering before what might have been in Hideyoshi's heart, and now he was relieved. For some time he had been regarded as a clever strategist, and was acknowledged to be so full of intrigue that whenever he did anything, people were quick to say that Katsuie was up to his old tricks again. At moments like these, however, he was not even going to bother to cover up his emotions with a feigned nonchalance. It was that part of his character that the late n.o.bunaga had understood well. He considered Katsuie's courage, conspiratorial mind, and honesty to be distinctive features that could be put to good use. Thus he had given Katsuie the heavy responsibility of being commander-in-chief of the northern campaign, had put numerous warriors and a large province into his charge, and had relied upon him fully. Now, when Katsuie thought about the lord who had known him better than anyone else and contemplated the fact he was no longer in the world, he felt that there was no one in whom he could put his trust.

But now he was suddenly touched by Hideyoshi's letter, and the emotions he had harbored toward his rival were completely reversed in an instant. He now frankly reflected on the fact that their enmity had been based entirely on his own suspicions and timidity.

So Katsuie rethought the situation.

"Now that our lord is gone, Hideyoshi will be the man in whom to put our trust." That night he talked warmly with Hidekatsu. The following day he crossed Fuwa with the young man and entered Nagahama, still holding on to his new warm impressions. But in Nagahama, after he and his senior retainers had accompanied Hidekatsu as far as the castle gate, he was shaken once again, when he found out that Hideyoshi had not been in Nagahama for some time. He had gone on to Kyoto, where he had been involved in important state affairs.

"I've been taken in by Hideyoshi again!" Katsuie said, his irritation quickly returning, and he hurried to start out again on the road home.

It was the end of the Seventh Month. Fulfilling the promise he had made, Hideyoshi surrendered the castle and lands of Nagahama to Katsuie, who gave it to his foster son, Katsutoyo.

Katsuie still did not know why Hideyoshi had insisted at the conference of Kiyosu that the castle be given to Katsutoyo. And neither the men at the conference nor the public at large were suspicious about the condition or even stopped to consider what Hideyoshi had in mind.

Katsuie had another foster son, Katsutoshi, a boy who would be fifteen years old that year. Those members of the Shibata clan who had any feelings about it at all lamented that if the relationship between Katsuie and Katsutoyo was that cold, they could only fear for the future of the clan.

"Katsutoyo is so irresolute," Katsuie complained. "He never does anything with real clarity and decision. He doesn't even have the proper disposition to be my son. Katsutoshi, on the other hand, has no trace of malice in him at all. He's really taken to me as his father."

But if Katsuie preferred Katsutoshi to Katsutoyo, he favored his nephew, Genba, even more. His love for Genba went beyond that felt naturally for a nephew or son, and he had an inclination to indulge the emotion. Thus Katsuie kept a watchful eye on Genba's younger brothers, Yasumasa and Katsumasa, installing each of them in strategic castles while they were still only in their twenties.

In the midst of all that deep affection between family members and retainers, only Katsutoyo felt dissatisfied with his foster father and the Sak.u.ma brothers.

Once, during the New Year's celebrations, for example, when Katsuie's family and retainers had come to congratulate him on the New Year, the first toast was offered by Katsuie. Katsutoyo had naturally a.s.sumed that it would be offered to him, and had advanced respectfully on his knees.

"It's not for you, Katsutoyo, it's for Genba," Katsuie said, holding the cup back.

It became known in other quarters that this slight was a matter of discontent for Katsutoyo, and the story was doubtless heard by spies from other provinces. Certainly such information reached Hideyoshi's ears.

Before surrendering Nagahama to Katsutoyo, it was necessary for Hideyoshi to move his own family to a new home.

"We'll be moving to Himeji in just a little while. It's mild in winter, and there's fish from the Inland Sea."

With these orders, Hideyoshi's mother, wife, and the entire household moved to his castle in Harima. But Hideyoshi himself did not go.

There was no time to waste. He had the castle at Takaradera near Kyoto completely renovated. It had been Mitsuhide's stronghold at the time of the battle of Yamazaki, and there was a reason Hideyoshi did not send his mother and wife to live there. He went from Takaradera Castle to the capital on alternate days. When he returned, he supervised construction; when he was absent, he was seeing to the government of the nation.

He was now taking the responsibility upon himself for safeguarding the Imperial Palace, for the administration of the city, and for overseeing the various provinces. According to the original decision of the Kiyosu conference, all phases of the government of Kyoto were to be managed equally by the four regents-Katsuie, Niwa, Shonyu, and Hideyoshi-and were never supposed to be Hideyoshi's responsibility alone. But Katsuie was far away in Echizen, carrying on some secret maneuvers with n.o.butaka and others in Gifu and Ise; Niwa, though close by in Sakamoto, seemed already to have given over his responsisibility entirely to Hideyoshi; and Shonyu had quite gallantly declared that, although he had been given a tide, the problems of dealing with the administration and the n.o.bility were beyond his abilities, and he would have nothing more to do with either.

It was in just these areas that Hideyoshi had true ability. His talents were far more administrative than anything else. Hideyoshi knew that battle was not his main talent. But he understood clearly that if a man held high ideals but was defeated on the battlefield, great administrative works would not go forward. Thus he risked everything on a battle, and once he had started a campaign, he fought to the bitter end.

In rewarding his martial accomplishments, the Imperial Court informed Hideyoshi would be given the rank of Lieutenant-General of the Imperial Guard. Hideyoshi declined, protesting that his merits did not deserve such an honor, but the Court graciously insisted, and he finally accepted a lesser t.i.tle.

How many there are who are quick to find fault when they witness those who do good in the world! How many of the mean-spirited ones talk against those who work with upright hearts!

This is always true, and whenever great changes occur, the flood of gossip is liable to be especially violent.

"Hideyoshi is exposing his arrogance quickly. Even his subordinates are grasping authority.

"They're ignoring Lord Katsuie. It's as though there were no one else to serve."

"When you look at the influence he's gained recently, it's as though they're proclaiming that Lord Hideyoshi is Lord n.o.bunaga's successor."

The criticism aimed at him was noisy indeed. But, as always in such cases, the identies of the accusers remained unknown.

Whether or not he heard the rumors, Hideyoshi was unconcerned. He had no leisure to listen to gossip. In the Sixth Month, n.o.bunaga had died; in the middle of that month, the battle had been fought at Yamazaki; in the Seventh Month, the conference at Kiyosu had been held; at the end of that month, Hideyoshi had withdrawn from Nagahama, moving his family to Himeji; and in the Eighth Month, he had begun construction on Takadera Castle. Now he continued to go back and forth between Kyoto and Yamazaki. If he was in Kyoto, in the morning he would be bowing at the Imperial Palace; in the afternoon he would be inspecting the city, in the evening he would look over governmental matters, send out replies to letters, and greet guests; at midnight he would review letters from distant provinces; and at dawn he would make decisions concerning the pet.i.tions of his subordinates. Every day he would whip his horse off somewhere while still chewing the food from his last meal.

He frequendy had a number of destinations-the mansion of a court n.o.ble, meetings, unspections-and recendy he had been heading off repeatedly toward the northern part of Kyoto. It was there that he had ordered an enormous construction project to be started. Within the grounds of the Daitoku Temple, he had begun to build yet another temple, the Sokenin.

"It must be completed by the seventh day of the Tenth Month. Finish clearing the area by the eighth day, and complete preparations for all the ceremonies by the ninth day. There should be nothing left to be done by the tenth day."

This he said very firmly to Hikoemon and to his brother-in-law, Hidenaga. No matter what construction project Hideyoshi undertook, he would not change the time limit.

The memorial service was held within a lamplit shrine that was one hundred eighty-four yards wide. The brightly colored canopy sparkled, the thousands of lanterns looked like stars, and the smoke from the incense drifted among the fluttering banners, creating purple clouds above the heads of the crowds of mourners.

Among the priests alone, venerable scholars from the five major Zen temples and priests from the eight Buddhist sects attended. People of the time who observed the service described it as though the five hundred arhats and the three thousand disciples of the Buddha were all before their very eyes.

After the ceremonies of reading from the sutras and scattering flowers before the Buddha had taken place, the Zen abbots paid their respects. Finally, Abbot Soken recited the parting gatha and, with all of his strength, yelled "Kwatz!" For an instant all was hushed. Then, as the solemn music was played once again, the lotus flowers fell, and one by one the partic.i.p.ants offered incense at the altar.

Among the mourners, however, about half of the Oda relatives who undoubtedly should have attended were absent. Samboshi had not appeared, neither had n.o.butaka, Katsuie, or Takigawa.

But perhaps most unfathomable of all were the intentions of Tokugawa Ieyasu. After the Honno Temple incident, he was in a unique position. What his thoughts were, or how his cold eyes regarded present events, no one was able to judge.

9.

TENTH YEAR OF TENSHO 1582 WINTER.

Characters and Places.

Fuwa Hikozo, senior Shibata retainer.

Kanamori Gorohachi, senior Shibata retainer Sa.s.sa Narimasa, senior Oda retainer and ally of Shibata Katsuie.

Sak.u.ma Yasumasa, Genba's brother Menju Shosuke, Shibata Katsuie's page Yamaji Shogen, retainer of Shibata Katsutoyo Maeda Toshinaga, Inuchiyo's son.

Echizen, province of the Shibata clan Kitanosho, main castle of the Shibata clan Fuchu, Maeda Toshinaga's castle.

The Snows of Echizen.

Day and night, the snow fell on wintry Echizen, leaving no opening through which a man could free his heart. But within the castle walls of Kitanosho, it was warmer than usual that year. That uncommon state of affairs was due to the presence of Lady Oichi and her three daughters. The lady herself was rarely seen, but her daughters could not bear to be confined to their apartments. The eldest, Chacha, was fifteen, the middle sister eleven, and the youngest only nine. To these girls, even falling leaves were a cause for wonder, and their laughter rang through the corridors of the citadel.

Katsuie was drawn by their voices to the women's quarters, where he hoped to forget his many cares amid their gay laughter, but whenever he appeared, the expressions on the faces of the girls darkened, and they neither laughed nor smiled. Even Lady Oichi was solemn and quiet, beautiful and cold.

"Please come in, my lord," she would say, inviting him to sit by the small silver fretwork brazier.

Even after their marriage, they spoke to each other with the formality of a retainer addressing a member of his lord's family.

"Your loneliness must be all the greater when you see the snow and feel the cold of this place for the first time, my lady," Katsuie said sympathetically.

"Not so much, my lord," Oichi replied, but it was clear that she longed for a warmer land. "When do the snows of Echizen begin to melt?" she asked.

"This is not Gifu or Kiyosu. When the rape flowers are blooming and the cherry blossoms are beginning to fall there, these mountains are still patched with melting snow."

"And until then?"