TAIKO: AN EPIC NOVEL OF WAR AND GLORY IN FEUDAL JAPAN

by Eiji Yoshikawa

  "If the Ukita come to an agreement with us, Akashi Kagechika will have no alternative but to come to terms too," Hideyoshi observed. "And if Kagechika submitted to us the Ukita would immediately sue for peace. To carry on both negotiations at the same time is an excellent idea."

  The following day, Hanbei publicly requested leave owing to illness, and announced that he would be going to Kyoto for convalescence. Under this pretense, he left the camp at Mount Hirai, accompanied by only two or three attendants. After a few days, Kanbei also left the camp.

  Hanbei first called on Kagechika's younger brother, Akashi Kanjiro. He was not a friend of Kanjiro's, but he had met him twice at the Nanzen Temple in Kyoto, where they had both practiced Zen meditation. Kanjiro was attracted to Zen. Hanbei reasoned that if he appealed to him from the standpoint of the Way, they would come to a quick understanding. Then he could go on to talk to his older brother, Kagechika.

  Until they met him, both Akashi Kanjiro and his elder brother, Kagechika, had waited, wondering what kind of policy Hanbei would advocate and how eloquent he would be. He was, after all, both Hideyoshi's teacher and a renowned military tactician But when they did speak to him, contrary to their expectations they found him to be a plainspoken man who seemed devoid of the least bit of showmanship or guile.

  Hanbei's conviction and sincerity were so different from the stratagems usually employed during negotiations between samurai clans that the Akashi were convinced. They cut their ties to the Ukita clan. Only when his mission was accomplished did Hanbei fi­nally ask for a short period of leave. This time he truly did put aside his military respon­sibilities and go to Kyoto to convalesce.

  Hideyoshi spoke with him upon his departure and asked him to visit Nobunaga. He was to inform Nobunaga that they had successfully persuaded Akashi Kagechika to join the Oda alliance.

  When he learned the news, Nobunaga was overjoyed. "What? You took Mount Hachiman without losing a drop of blood? You did well!" The Oda forces that had occupied the entirety of Harima had now entered Bizen for the first time. It was a first step of great significance.

  "You look as though you've lost weight. Take good care to recuperate," Nobunaga said, sympathizing with Hanbei's ill health, and in appreciation for his meritorious deed, he rewarded him with twenty pieces of silver.

  To Hideyoshi he wrote:

  You have used uncommon wisdom in this situation. I'll hear the details when we meet in person, but for the present, here is a token of my gratitude.

  And he sent him one hundred gold pieces. When Nobunaga was happy, he was happy to excess. Taking his vermilion seal in hand, he appointed Hideyoshi military governor of Harima.

  * * *

  The long campaign at Mount Hirai, with the extended siege of Miki Castle, had reached a stalemate. But with the defection of the Akashi to their side, the Oda were gradually succeeding in their maneuvers. However, as might be expected of a clan of such distinction, the Ukita were not as easily influenced by negotiations, even though Kanbei used every bit of his acumen in dealing with them. Holding the provinces of Bizen and Mimasaka, the Ukita were caught between the Oda and the Mori. Thus it was not an overstatement to say that the future of the western provinces depended entirely on their attiitude.

  Ukita Naoie followed the advice of four senior retainers: Osafune Kii, Togawa Higo, Oka Echizen, and Hanabusa Sukebei. Among them, Hanabusa had a slight connection with Kuroda Kanbei. And it was to Hanabusa that Kanbei first addressed himself. Kanbei talked all night, discussing the present and future of the country. He spoke of Nobunaga's aspirations and of Hideyoshi's character, and succeeded in winning over Hanabusa.

  Hanabusa then persuaded Togawa Higo to join them, and having won over these two men, Kanbei was able to meet with Ukita Naoie.

  After hearing their arguments, Naoie said, "We must consider the fact that a great national force is rising in the east. If we are attacked by Lord Nobunaga and Lord Hideyoshi, the entire Ukita clan will perish to defend the Mori. To save the lives of thousands of soldiers and benefit the nation, my own three sons would gladly meet their deaths as hostages in enemy territory. If I'm able to protect this domain and save thousands of lives, my prayers will be fulfilled."

  These words from Naoie ended the discussion among his retainers. The conference was concluded, and a letter pledging the cooperation of the Ukita clan was given to Hikoemon, who delivered it to Mount Hirai. Thus, Hideyoshi won a victory to the rear of his army without expending a single arrow. The two provinces of Bizen and Mimasaka bloodlessly became allies of the Oda.

  Hideyoshi naturally wanted to inform his lord of this happy event as quickly as he could, but a letter might be dangerous, he thought. This was a matter of the greatest secrecy: until the right opportunity presented itself, it would be necessary to conceal the alliance from the Mori clan.

  He sent Kanbei to Kyoto to inform Nobunaga.

  Kanbei immediately set off for the capital. When he arrived, he had an audience with Nobunaga.

  As he listened to Kanbei's report, Nobunaga seemed to become extraordinarily displeased. Previously, when Takenaka Hanbei had come to Nijo Palace and had reported on the submission of the Akashi, Nobunaga had been overjoyed and had praised him. This time, however, his reaction was completely different.

  "On whose orders did you do this? If it was on Hideyoshi's, he is going to get a grilling! For him to enter into an agreement with the two provinces of Bizen and Mimasaka at all is the worst form of audacity. Go back and tell that to Hideyoshi!" Then, as though this blunt rebuke were not enough, he continued, "According to Hideyoshi's letter, he'll be coming to Azuchi in a few days with Ukita Naoie. You tell him that I won't see Naoie even if he does come. In fact, I won't even see Hideyoshi!"

  He was so angry that even Kanbei could not deal with him. Having come in vain, Kanbei returned to Harima nursing feelings of discontent.

  Even though he felt ashamed to tell Hideyoshi exactly what had happened in view of all the hardships Hideyoshi had been through, he could hardly keep the matter secret. When Kanbei looked surreptitiously at Hideyoshi's face, he could see a forced smile ap­pear on his haggard cheeks.

  "Yes, I understand," Hideyoshi said. "He got angry because I made an unnecessary alliance on my own authority." He didn't seem to be as discouraged as Kanbei. "I imagine Lord Nobunaga wanted us to destroy the Ukita so that he could divide their lands among his retainers." Then, trying to console the downcast Kanbei, he said "It's a real battle when things don't go as planned. The plans you thought through last night change in the morning, and the schemes you have in the morning change by the afternoon."

  Kanbei, for his part, was suddenly aware that his life was in this man's hands. Deep in his heart, he felt that he would not even begrudge dying for Hideyoshi.

  Hideyoshi had read Nobunaga's heart. If he truly knew how to serve Nobunaga, he obviously understood his way of thinking. Nevertheless, Kanbei now fully understood that the present confidence and status that Hideyoshi enjoyed had been won through twenty years of service with Nobunaga.

  "Well then, does this mean that you went ahead with the alliance with the Ukita even though you knew it would be against Lord Nobunaga's will?" Kanbei asked.

  "Considering Lord Nobunaga's ambitions, there was no doubt he was going to be angry. When Takenaka Hanbei reported the submission of Akashi Kagechika, His Lord­ship was so happy that he rewarded both Hanbei and me excessively. Certainly he saw that the submission of the Akashi clan would ease the attack on the Ukita, and a success­ful attack would have allowed him to divide up the Ukita province and offer it as rewards. But now that I have made the Ukita submit to us, he cannot very well grab their lands, can he?"

  "When you explain it that way, I can understand Lord Nobunaga's feelings. But he was so angry that you're not easily going to get a chance to talk frankly with him. He said that if Ukita Naoie comes to Azuchi, or even if you come to intercede for him, he won’t give an audience to either one of you."

  "I'll have to call
on him, regardless of how angry he is. There are ways of avoiding a row when a husband and wife are angry with each other, but it's not good to avoid the anger of one's lord. Nothing is going to make him feel better than my going to apologize, even if I get a beating or he yells at me while I lie prostrate at his feet, looking foolish."

  The written pledge procured from Ukita Naoie was in Hideyoshi's hands, but Hide­yoshi was only the commander of an expeditionary army. If the treaty did not meet with Nobunaga's approval, it would be worthless.

  Moreover, as a matter of formality, etiquette demanded that Ukita Naoie go to Azu­chi, pay obeisance to Nobunaga, and ask his further orders. On the date they had prear­ranged, Hideyoshi accompanied Naoie to Azuchi. Nobunaga's anger, however, had not yet cooled off.

  "I won't meet with them." This is all he would tell Hideyoshi through his attendant.

  Hideyoshi was at a loss. He could only wait. He went back to the guest room where Naoie was waiting and reported the outcome.

  "His Lordship is not in such a good mood today. Would you wait for me awhile back at your lodgings?"

  "Is he indisposed?" Naoie asked unhappily. In suing for peace, he had not been seek­ing Nobunaga's pity. He could still count on a formidable army. What's the matter? Why this cold reception? These words never left his mouth, but he could not help indignantly thinking them.

  Naoie could not bear further humiliation. He was beginning to think that he should return to his home province and once again send out the salutations that were appropri­ate for enemy provinces.

  "No, no," Hideyoshi told him. "If there's a problem now, we can meet him later. For the time being, let's go to the castle town."

  Hideyoshi had arranged for Naoie's lodgings in the Sojitsu Temple. The two hastily returned to the temple, where Naoie changed from his formal clothing and spoke to Hideyoshi.

  "I'm going to leave Azuchi before nightfall and stay overnight in the capital. Then I think it would be better if I returned to Bizen."

  "Now, why would you want to do that? At least why would you want to leave before we meet Lord Nobunaga again?"

  "I don't feel like meeting him any longer." For the first time, Naoie manifested his feelings in both his countenance and his words. "And I think that Lord Nobunaga does not want to see me, either. Moreover, this is an enemy province with which I have no connection. It would probably be better for both of us if I left right away."

  "It will compromise my honor."

  "I'll come and thank you properly for the way you've treated me on another day, Lord Hideyoshi. And I shall not forget your kindness."

  "Please stay one more night. I can't bear to see the two clans that I have brought together for a peace conference suddenly become enemies again. Lord Nobunaga refused to grant us an audience today, and he has his reasons. Let's meet again this evening and I'll explain them to you. Right now I'm going back to my lodgings to change out of these clothes. Wait for me before eating dinner."

  There was nothing Naoie could do but wait until evening. Hideyoshi changed and returned to the temple. They talked and laughed as they ate their evening meal, and as they finished, Hideyoshi remarked, "Ah, that's right. I promised to tell you why Lord Nobunaga was so displeased with me."

  And he started to talk as though he had just remembered the subject. In his desire to hear Hideyoshi's explanation, Naoie had put off his departure. Now Hideyoshi had hisundivided attention.

  With artless candor, Hideyoshi explained why his own arbitrary settlement had offended Nobunaga. "It's rude of me to say so, but both the provinces of Mimasaka and Bizen would sooner or later have become the possessions of the Oda clan. So to make a peace treaty now with you was not really necessary. But if Lord Nobunaga did not crush the Ukita clan, he would not be able to divide its territory among his generals as rewards for their meritorious deeds. In addition, it was unpardonable that I didn't even seek His Lordship's permission. This is why he's so angry." He laughed as he spoke, but because there was not the slightest fabrication in what he said, the truth was manifested with a clear conscience even from behind his smile.

  Naoie was overwhelmed. His face, flushed by sake, suddenly went pale as the blood drained from it. He did not doubt, however, that Nobunaga was thinking in this way.

  "So he's in a bad mood," Hideyoshi went on. "He won't give me an audience and he won't meet you either. Once he's that resolved, he's not going to bend. I'm stumped, and I feel horrible for you. The pledge that you entrusted to me is still unauthorized, and long as it doesn't receive His Lordship's vermilion seal, there's nothing I can do. I will return it to you, so you might as well sever your connections with us, renounce the treaty, and hurry back to Bizen tomorrow morning."

  With that, Hideyoshi took out Naoie's pledge and handed it back to him. Naoie, however, quietly stared at the light flickering in the tall lamps and refused even to touch the document.

  Hideyoshi remained silent.

  "No," Naoie said, suddenly breaking the silence. Courteously, he put his hands gether. "I'm going to entreat you to do everything you can once again. Please mediate with Lord Nobunaga for me."

  This time his attitude was that of a man who had surrendered from the bottom of his heart. Until now he had appeared to surrender only because of the forcible arguments Kuroda Kanbei.

  "All right. If you have that much confidence in the Oda," Hideyoshi said, nodding vigorously, and he consented to undertake the matter.

  Naoie stayed at the Sojitsu Temple more than ten days waiting for the outcome. Hideyoshi hurriedly sent off a messenger to Gifu, hoping that Nobutada could mollify Nobunaga somewhat. Already having some business in the capital, Nobutada left for Kyoto soon thereafter.

  Accompanied by Naoie, Hideyoshi then had an audience with Nobutada. Finally, through the latter's intercession, Nobunaga relented. Later that day the vermilion seal was affixed to the pledge, and the Ukita clan completely severed its ties to the Mori and allied itself with the Oda.

  Hardly seven days later, however, whether by coincidence or for reasons of military expediencey, one of Nobunaga's generals, Araki Murashige, betrayed his lord and joined the enemy camp, raising the banner of rebellion right at the Oda's feet.

  Murashige's Treachery

  "It's a lie! It must be a lie!"

  Nobunaga could not believe it at first. When the news of Murashige's revolt reached Nobunaga in Azuchi, his first reaction was denial. But the gravity of the situation was quickly confirmed when two of Murashige's senior retainers, Takayama Ukon of Takatsuki and Nakagawa Sebei of Ibaragi, cited moral obligations and followed Murashige in unfurling the banner of revolt.

  The look of dismay deepened on Nobunaga's brow. The strange thing was that he showed neither anger nor his usual hot temper at this unexpected turn of events. It would be a mistake to judge Nobunaga's character as one of fire. But it would also be an error, in observing his coolness, to classify him as water. When you thought of him as fire, he was water; when you thought of him as water, he was fire. Both the heat of flames and the chill of water coexisted in his body.

  "Call Hideyoshi," Nobunaga suddenly ordered.

  "Lord Hideyoshi left for Harima early this morning," Takigawa replied nervously.

  "He's already left?"

  “He probably hasn't gotten very far. With your permission, I'll take a horse and go fetch him back." It was rare for someone to seize the moment and rescue Nobunaga from his own impatience. When the retainers who were present turned to see who this someone might be, they discovered that it was Ranmaru, Nobunaga's page.

  Nobunaga granted his request and urged him to hurry.

  Noon came, and Ranmaru had not yet returned. In the meantime, reports from the scouts in the areas of Itami and Takatsuki Castle were arriving frequently. The one report among them that made Nobunaga's blood run cold announced yet another new fact.

  “Just this morning at dawn, a large Mori fleet approached the Hyogo coast. Soldiers disembarked and entered Murashige's castle at Hanakuma."
<
br />   The coastal highway through Hyogo that ran beneath Hanakuma Castle was the only route from Azuchi to Harima.

  "Hideyoshi is not going to be able to get through." At the moment Nobunaga realized this, he also understood the danger of communications being cut between the expedi­tionary army and Azuchi. He could almost feel the hands of the enemy at his throat.

  "Is Ranmaru back yet?" Nobunaga asked.

  "No, my lord."

  Nobunaga was once again sunk in thought. The Hatano, the Bessho, and Araki Murashige had now suddenly revealed their links with the enemy—the Mori and the Honganji—and Nobunaga felt that he was being surrounded. Moreover, when he looked to the east, he saw that the Hojo and Takeda had recently come to terms.

  Ranmaru whipped his horse through Otsu, and finally caught up with Hideyoshi near the Mii Temple. Hideyoshi was resting there, or rather, having come that far, he had heard about Araki Murashige's rebellion and sent Horio Mosuke and two or three others to verify the reports and find out the details.

  Ranmaru pulled up and said, "His Lordship ordered me to come after you. He de­sires to talk with you again. Would you return to Azuchi as quickly as possible?"

  Leaving his men at the Mii Temple, he turned back toward Azuchi, accompanied only by Ranmaru. On the way back, Hideyoshi thought through what was likely to occur. Nobunaga would be furious at Murashige's rebellion. The first time Murashige had served Nobunaga was during the attack on Nijo Palace, when they had driven out the former shogun. Nobunaga was the kind of man who would show favor toward anyone who pleased him a little, and he showed recognition of Murashige's valor especially. Nobunaga had loved Murashige more than he had loved most men. And Murashige had betrayed Nobunaga's trust. Hideyoshi could imagine what Nobunaga's feelings must be.