"It looks like the enemy," they said with alarm.
Hideyoshi and his small force had just climbed around the peak. There appeared to be a group of soldiers stationed on the mountainside in the distance. Those soldiers, too, seemed surprised, and they all stood up together. One of them seemed to be giving out commands while soldiers scattered in disorder.
"They could be remaining enemy soldiers," someone said. "I've heard that they've fled as far as Ibuki."
That was, indeed, a possibility, and the gunners immediately ran forward. The order was quickly given to get ready for battle, but the two monks who were acting as guides called them back.
"It's not the enemy. They're the lookouts from the temple. Don't shoot!"
They then turned toward the mountain in the distance and made themselves understood by gesturing and yelling at the top of their voices.
With that, the soldiers began to descend the mountain like stones tumbling down a cliff. Very soon, an officer with a small banner affixed to his back ran down to them. Hideyoshi recognized him as a retainer from Nagahama.
The Daikichi Temple was nothing more than a small mountain temple. When it rained, water leaked through the roof. When the wind blew, the walls and beams shook. Nene lived and waited upon her mother-in-law in the main temple, while the ladies-in-waiting lived in the priests' quarters. The retainers who came later from Nagahama built small huts in the area or lodged in farmhouses in the village. So in those wretched conditions, a large family of over two hundred had lived for over two weeks.
By the time news of Nobunaga's murder reached them, the advance guard of the Akechi army was already in sight of the castle, and there was hardly time to think of what to do. Nene had written a letter to her husband in the far-off western provinces, but it was truly at the last moment. Taking her mother-in-law, she had abandoned the castle and fled, leaving everything behind. All she was able to do was load a packhorse with a change of clothes for her mother-in-law and the presents her husband had received from Nobunaga.
In that situation Nene felt the tragic resolve and the great responsibility of a woman’s lot. She was in charge of the castle in Hideyoshi's absence, and she had to serve his aged mother and run the large castle household. She must have wanted with all her heart the happiness of hearing her husband tell her that she had done well. He, however, was far
away on the battlefield. Until recently she had lived in the safety of a castle while her husband was on the battlefield, but now, suddenly, there was no distinction between them.
During a war, this situation was no cause for despair, but Nene was pained by the question of where to move Hideyoshi's mother. Even if the castle was abandoned to the enemy, she was certain that Hideyoshi would quickly retake it. But as his wife, if she had allowed her mother-in-law to be injured, she would never have been able to face him again.
“Please just worry about protecting my mother-in-law. Don't think about me. And no matter how much you may regret leaving something behind, don't let yourselves be distracted by possessions." Thus Nene encouraged the women servants and everyone in the household as they moved desperately along the road to the east.
Nagahama was bordered on the west by Lake Biwa, the north was checked by hostile clans and activity in the direction of the Mino Road was unclear. There was no recourse, then, but to flee toward Mount Ibuki.
When her clan was victorious, the warrior's wife would be filled with happiness. But once her husband had become the loser—or they were driven from his castle as fugitives—the pathetic wife must feel a wretchedness that could not be imagined by a man who n the fields or sold his wares in town.
From that that day on the members of Hideyoshi's household went hungry, lay down to sleep in the open, and were frightened by the enemy patrols. During the night it was difficult to avoid the dew; during the day their white, bloodied feet pressed on in flight.
Through these difficulties there was one thing they kept in mind: when we're captured by the enemy, we'll show them. That was almost everyone's secret promise. The women were of one mind. The feeling among them was that if the fragrance that drifted from their rouge and the loveliness of their black hair did not project from their hearts on that day, they should be disdained and condemned as nothing but shams to hide their uglinesss.
The village was an excellent refuge. Sentries had been posted at a distance, so there was no fear of a surprise attack. As it was midsummer, the bedding and provisions were made to last. Their greatest discomfort was only a matter of isolation. Being so far from human habitation, they had no idea of what was going on.
The messenger should return soon. Nene let her thoughts run toward the western sky. The night before she fled Nagahama she had hastily written a letter to her husband. She had heard nothing from the messenger since then. Perhaps he had fallen into the hands of the Akechi on the way, or had been unable to find their hiding place. She had about those possibilities day and night.
More recently she had heard that there had been a battle at Yamazaki. When told about the event, her blood raced to the surface of her skin, flushing her complexion.
‘That’s very likely. It's just like that boy," Hideyoshi's mother said.
The old lady's hair had turned completely white, and now she sat in the main hall of the Daikichi Temple from the time she rose in the morning to the time she went to bed, hardly moving at all and praying devoutly for her son's victory. No matter how chaotic the world became, she believed absolutely that the child to whom she had given birth would not turn from the Great Way. Even now when she gossiped with Nene, she still fell into her old habit of referring to Hideyoshi as "that boy."
"Let him return victorious, even if it's in exchange for this old body." That was her single day-long prayer. From time to time she would look up with a sigh of relief at the statue of the goddess Kannon.
"Mother, I have a feeling we're going to be receiving good news soon," Nene said one day.
"I've been feeling that myself, but I don't know why," Hideyoshi's mother said.
"I felt it all of a sudden when I looked up at the face of Kannon," Nene said. "Yesterday more than the day before, today more than yesterday, she seems to be smiling at us."
It was on the morning of Hideyoshi's arrival that the two women had been talking in this way.
The setting sun was bringing the shadow of the valley across the village, and the walls of the temple were already colored by twilight. Nene was striking the flint to light the lamps in the dark of the inner sanctuary, while the old lady sat in prayer in front of the statue of Kannon.
Suddenly they heard warriors hurrying outside. Hideyoshi's mother turned around in surprise and Nene went out to the veranda.
"His Lordship is coming!"
The shouts of the sentinels echoed throughout the compound. Every day sentinels went downstream about two leagues to stand watch. They all looked as if they had fallen on their faces after running up to the main gate, but when they saw Nene on the veranda, they started yelling at her from where they were, as though there wasn't enough time to come closer.
"Mother!" Nene shouted out.
"Nene!"
The old lady and her daughter-in-law embraced in tears, hardly aware that their happy voices had become one. The old lady prostrated herself before the image of Kannon. Nene knelt next to her and bowed with all her heart.
"The boy hasn't seen you for a long time. You look a little tired. Go brush your hair."
"Yes, Mother."
Nene quickly retired to her room. She brushed her hair, cupped some water from the bamboo conduit to wash her face, and quickly applied some makeup.
All of the members of the household and the samurai were in front of the gate, lined up according to age and rank to greet Hideyoshi. The faces of both old and young, many of whom were villagers, peeked from between the trees. Their eyes were wide with curiosity about what would happen next. After a short while two warriors running ahead of the others came up to the gate and a
nnounced that their lord and his company would arrive soon. When they finished their report to Nene, they joined the line of men at the very end, and everyone became hushed. Every man waited for Hideyoshi to appear in the distance. As she stood in the shadow of the expectant men, Nene's eyes looked strangely opaque.
Very soon thereafter a group of men and horses arrived, and the air was filled with the smell of sweat and dust and the din and bustle of those who had come out to greet their lord. The front gate of the temple was temporarily hidden by the whinnying line ofhorses and people congratulating the men on their safe arrival.
Hideyoshi was among them. He had ridden the short distance from the village, but dismouted in front of the temple gate. Handing the reins of his horse to an attendant, he looked over at a group of children standing at the end of the line of people at his right.
‘There must be a lot of places to play in the mountains," he said. Then he patted the shoulders of the little boys and girls standing nearby. They were all children of his retainers, and their mothers, grandmothers, and grandfathers were there too. Hideyoshi smiled at each one of them as he walked toward the stone steps of the gate.
Well, well. I see that everyone's safe. I'm relieved." Then he turned to the people on his left,where the warriors of his clan stood silently. Hideyoshi raised his voice a little.
“I’ve come back. I understand the hardships you've suffered in my absence. You had to work very hard."
The warriors standing in line bowed low. Beneath the temple gate at the top of the steps, his main retainers and both young and old members of his immediate family waited to greet him. Hideyoshi merely looked to the right and left, demonstrating his own health with a smile. To his wife, Nene, he gave only a glance, and passed through the gate without speaking.
But from that point, the husband was accompanied by the figure of his modest wife. The pages that followed in a crowd and the members of his family either went off to rest as Nene had instructed them or simply saluted him from the veranda, each then disappearing into his own quarters.
In the high-ceilinged main temple, a solitary lamp flickered on a low stand. Next to it sat a single woman with hair as white as a silkworm cocoon, wearing a russet-colored kimono.
She could hear her son's voice as he was led up to the veranda by his wife. Without making a sound, his mother stood up and moved to the edge of the room. Hideyoshi paused beneath the shutter and brushed the dust from his coat. His head, which he had shaved at Amagasaki, was still wrapped in a hood.
Nene came around from behind her husband and spoke in a quiet voice. "Your mother has come out to greet you."
Hideyoshi quickly went up to his mother and prostrated himself. "I've given you so much trouble, Mother. Please forgive me," was all he could say.
The old lady retreated a little on her knees, then repeated her greeting, prostrating herself in front of her son. The etiquette of the occasion required that a greeting be made to the lord of the clan upon his triumphal return; it was the tradition of the warrior class, not a simple, everyday matter between parent and child. But as soon as Hideyoshi saw his mother safe and sound, he was unable to feel anything but affection for his own flesh and blood. Silently he approached his old mother. With modest manners, however, she resisted him.
“You've returned safely. But before you ask about my hardships or well-being, why don’t you tell me about Lord Nobunaga's death? And tell me if you've destroyed our hateful enemy, Mitsuhide?"Hideyoshi unconsciously straightened his collar. His mother continued, "I wonder if
you know that what your old mother worried about day after day was not whether you were alive or dead. I worried about whether you would act like the great General Hideyoshi, a retainer of Lord Nobunaga. Even as I wondered about how you would manage after the death of our lord, I heard about your march on Amagasaki and Yamazaki. But after that, we heard nothing."
"I was slow in letting you know."
Her words seemed reserved and spoken without love, but Hideyoshi trembled with happiness, as though his blood were rushing through his entire body. Rather than being soothed by a natural motherly love, he felt that his mother's present admonishment showed a far greater love, and it gave him encouragement for the future.
He then told them in detail of the events that had happened since Nobunaga's death, and of the great deeds he wished to accomplish. He spoke about these things plainly so that his old mother would understand them well.
His mother now shed tears for the first time, and then praised her son. "You did well by destroying the Akechi in only a few days. Lord Nobunaga's soul must feel satisfied, and he should have no regrets about having given you his affection. To tell the truth, I was determined not to let you spend a single night here if you had come before seeing Mitsuhide's head."
"No, and I wouldn't have been able to see you before finishing that matter, so there was nothing I could do but fight on doggedly until two or three days ago."
"Being able to meet you here safely like this must mean that the road you've taken is in harmony with the intentions of the gods and Buddhas. Well… Nene, come over here, too. We should give thanks together."
With that, the old lady turned once again to the statue of Kannon. Until that time, Nene had sat modestly apart from Hideyoshi and his mother. When her mother-in-law requested her presence, however, she quickly got up to walk into the main sanctuary.
After lighting the lantern in the Buddhist shrine, she returned and, for the first time, sat next to her husband. The three of them bowed together in the direction of the faint light. After Hideyoshi raised his head and gazed at the image, the three bowed again. A mortuary tablet bearing Lord Nobunaga's name had been placed in the shrine.
When they had finished, Hideyoshi's mother looked as though a heavy weight had been lifted from their hearts.
"Nene," the old lady called softly. "That boy is fond of a bath. Has it been prepared?"
"Yes. I thought it would be more relaxing for him than anything else, so I'm having one prepared right now."
"It would be good if he could at least wash off the sweat and dirt. In the meantime, I'll go to the kitchen and have them prepare something he likes to eat."
The old lady left the two of them alone.
"Nene."
"Yes?"
"I suspect you went through a lot of hardships this time, too. But even with managing everything else, you kept my mother safe. That was really my only concern as well."
"The wife of a warrior is always ready for difficulties like these, so it didn't seem so bad."
“Really? Then you've understood that there is nothing more satisfying than to look around and see your difficulties behind you."
“When I see that my husband has come home safely, I know just what you mean."
They returned to Nagahama the following day. The morning sun reflected on the white mist. Following the Azusa River, the road grew progressively narrower, and the warriors dismounted and led their horses.
Halfway through the journey, they encountered one of the staff officers from Nagahama who had come to report on the war situation.
“Your letter concerning the punishment of the Akechi was sent to the other clans, and, perhaps due to the speed with which it was notified, the army of Lord Ieyasu has returned to Hamamatsu from Narumi. On the other hand, Lord Katsuie's army, which had come as far as the Omi border, seems now to have halted its advance."
Hideyoshi smiled silently and then almost muttered to himself. "It seems that Lord Ieyasu also felt a little confused this time. Of course it was only an indirect result, but it seems that checking Ieyasu dispersed Mitsuhide's military strength. How chagrined the Tokugawa warriors must be to have gone back without a fight."
Thus, on the twenty-fifth of the month, the day after he safely returned his mother to Nagahama, he departed for Mino.
There had been agitation in Mino, but as soon as his army advanced, the area was subdued. First presenting Nobutaka with the castle at Inabaya
ma, he demonstrated his toward the clan of his former lord. Then he waited calmly for the conference at Kiyosu, which was to begin on the twenty-seventh of that month.
War of Words
Shibata Katsuie was fifty-two years old that year. As a military commander, he was the veteran of many battles; as a man, he had experienced many vicissitudes on the road of life. He was of a good lineage and had a distinguished career; he commanded a powerful army, and he was blessed with a robust physique. No one doubted that he had been chosen by the times. He himself assumed that this was unquestionably the case. On the fourth day of the Sixth Month, he was encamped at Uozaki in Etchu. The moment he heard the news of the Honno Temple incident, he told himself, What I do now is of the utmost importance, and I must do it well.
For this reason, his actions were delayed. He was that circumspect. His mind, however, hurried to Kyoto like a squall.
He was the most senior Oda retainer and the military governor of the northern provinces. Now, equipped with a lifetime of wisdom and strength, he was gambling his entire career on one move. Abandoning the battlefield in the north, he hastened toward the capital. Though one might say he hastened, in fact it took him several days to leave Etchu, and he spent several days more in his home castle at Kitanosho in Echizen. He himself did not consider his progress to be slow. Once a man like Katsuie moved on such an important mission, everything had to be done according to the rules, and that necessitated a proper prudence and correct timing.
The speed with which he moved his troops seemed remarkable to Katsuie, but by the time his main force reached the border of Echizen and Omi, it was already the fifteenth of the month. It was not until noon on the following day that the rear guard from Kitanosho caught up with him, and the entire army rested their horses at the mountain pass. Looking down onto the plain, they could see that the summer clouds were already high in the sky.
It had been twelve days since Katsuie had heard of Nobunaga's death. It is true that Hideyoshi—who was fighting the Mori in the western provinces—had heard the report from Kyoto one day ahead of Katsuie. But on the fourth of the month Hideyoshi had made peace with the Mori, on the fifth he had departed, on the seventh he had arrived at Himeji, on the ninth he had turned toward Amagasaki, on the thirteenth he had struck down Mitsuhide in the battle at Yamazaki, and by the time Katsuie had reached the borders of Omi, he had already swept the capital clear of the remaining enemy troops.
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