“He seemed to be extremely well."
“What about the discipline of his retainers?"
“It had a quality you don't see in other clans—an appearance of indomitability."
“I’ve heard that he employs a great number of newcomers as well."
“It would seem that many are former retainers of the Takeda."
During his conversation with Nobukatsu, Hideyoshi was suddenly struck by the contrast between his own age and Ieyasu's. Certainly he was Ieyasu's elder. Ieyasu was forty-one and he was forty-six—a difference of five years. But far more than Shibata Katsuie—who was his senior by a number of years—had done, the younger Ieyasu was giving him cause for a good deal of thought.
Nevertheless, all of that was hidden in his heart. Outwardly it was not in the least bit apparent that, soon after the hostilities with the Shibata, he anticipated yet another battle. Which is to say that the relationship between the two men seemed to be totally satisfactory. In the Tenth Month Hideyoshi petitioned the emperor on leyasu's behalf to give him a higher court rank.
* * *
In Azuchi, Lord Samboshi was just four years old. Several provincial lords came to greet the New Year and to pay their respects and pray for his continued health.
"Excuse me, Lord Shonyu?"
"Well, Lord Gamo, how fortuitous."
The two men had met by chance in front of the great hall of the main citadel. One of them was Ikeda Shonyu, who had been moved from Osaka to Ogaki Castle to make room for Hideyoshi. The other was Gamo Ujisato.
"You look healthier all the time," Gamo said. "That's the best you could ask for."
"No, my health goes along with the years, but we've been busy anyway. For a number of nights I haven't been able to sleep, even in Ogaki."
"You have the additional burden of being in charge of the construction of Osaka Castle, Lord Shonyu."
"That kind of work is appropriate for men like Matsuda and Ishida, but it's not fitting for us soldiers."
"I disagree. It's not like Lord Hideyoshi to put men in unsuitable places. You can be sure he has a need for you somewhere among the officials."
"I'm really annoyed that you can see that kind of resource in me," Shonyu replied, laughing. "By the way, what about your New Year's greetings to the young lord?"
"I just now took my leave."
"I was just leaving myself, so it's good timing, and there's a private matter I'd very much like to talk over with you."
"To tell the truth, as soon as I saw you, I realized there was also a matter I would like to ask you about."
"We must be having the same thoughts. Where shall we talk?"
Shonyu gestured toward a small room off the great hall.
The two men sat down in the empty room. There was no brazier, but the New Year's sun coming through the sliding paper doors was warm.
"Have you heard the rumors?" Shonyu began.
"I have. It's being said that Lord Nobuo has been killed. And it sounds like the truth."
Shonyu frowned and sighed. "We're already seeing the signs that there will be some kind of disturbance this year. How bad it will get depends on who the antagonists are, but the recent omens are troubling. You're younger than I am, Lord Gamo, but it appears to me that your judgment is better than mine. Don't you have the wit to come up with a good idea before something regrettable happens?"
He looked deeply anxious.
Gamo answered with another question. "Where can these rumors be coming from?"
“I can't tell you that. But where there's smoke, there's fire."
“Do you think there's something we don't know?"
“No, not at all. The facts are just in the wrong order. To begin with, Lord Nobuo went to Takaradera Castle to call on Lord Hideyoshi in the Eleventh Month of last year. It’s said that Lord Hideyoshi himself took charge of the reception held for thanking Lord Nobuo for subjugating Ise, and his hospitality was so great that Lord Nobuo stayed for four days.
“Indeed?"
“Lord Nobuo's retainers had expected him to leave the castle on the following day, but on the second day there was no word from him, nor on the third day, nor even on the fourth. Well, it seems that they imagined the worst, and even his servants outside of the castle started blurting out a number of wild suppositions."
“So that's it," Gamo laughed. "When you expose the roots of these stories, most of them are fabrications, aren't they?"
But Shonyu continued to look worried, and went on quickly, "After that, there was more public discussion of the matter, and various competing rumors ran back and forth between Ise, Nagashima, Osaka, and the capital. The first one claims that the origin of the false report of Nobuo's death came not from among Lord Nobuo's attendants but from the mouths of Hideyoshi's servants. The men at Takaradera Castle refute this. They claim that the rumor was born from the suspicions and dark spirits of Lord Nobuo's retainers. While each side is loudly denouncing the other, the rumor of Lord Nobuo's murder is ng like the wind."
“Do people believe it?"
“It’s hard to fathom the mind of the common man, but after witnessing Lord Nobutaka's end directly after the fall of the Shibata, it's certain that a number of Lord Nobuo's relatives and retainers must be having bad dreams and asking themselves who's going to be next."
Then Gamo spoke openly about his own fears. He inched closer to where Shonyu knelt and said, "There should be a firm understanding between Hideyoshi and Nobuo regardless of the kind of rumors that are making the rounds. But there just may be considerable discord between them, too."
Gamo stared at Shonyu, who nodded vigorously.
“Look at the situation since the death of Lord Nobunaga," Gamo said. "Most people think that after peace returned Lord Hideyoshi should have passed all authority to his former lord's heir. But no matter how you reason it through, it's clear that Lord Samboshi is young and that the successor should be Lord Nobuo. If Hideyoshi does not submit to Lord Nobuo, he could be accused of being disloyal and of forgetting the many favors the Oda clan bestowed upon him."
“It’s all a little unsavory, isn't it? Nobuo's intentions are transparent, and yet he seem to understand that what is about to happen is just the opposite of what he like."
"But do you think it's really possible that he's holding such optimistic thoughts?"
"He may be. What kind of calculations will be going on in the mind of a pampered fool, after all?"
"It's certain that they're hearing these rumors in Osaka and that misunderstandings are just going to increase."
"This is awkward, to be sure," Shonyu sighed.
As Hideyoshi's generals, both Shonyu and Gamo were bound to him by the absolute bond that existed between lord and retainer. But they were also bound to a set of conditions that now might not be so easily resolved.
First of all, at the time Gamo had been receiving Nobunaga's favors, he had married Nobunaga's youngest daughter. Moreover, Shonyu and Nobunaga had had the same wet nurse, and Shonyu's relationship with his former lord as a foster brother had been particularly close. Therefore, even at the conference in Kiyosu, the two men ranked as relatives. Quite naturally, they could not be indifferent to the problems facing the Oda clan, and except for the young Samboshi, the only person of Nobunaga's direct bloodline was Nobuo.
The two men would not have been so perplexed if they could have found anything of merit in Nobuo's character, but it was clear that he was nothing more than a mediocrity. Both before and after the conference at Kiyosu, it was clear to everyone that he was not the man to grasp the reins that had fallen from Nobunaga's hands.
But unfortunately no one would tell Nobuo the truth. The good-natured young aristocrat—who had always leaned on the strength of his retainers, who had bowed and nodded approval at flatterers on every occasion, and who had been taken in by others who had manipulated him to their own advantage—had let a great moment in history pass by without even being aware of it.
Nobuo had secretly met with Ieyasu the year
before and after the battle of Yanagase, had forced his brother to commit suicide on Hideyoshi's advice. More recently he had been rewarded with the provinces of Ise, Iga, and Owari for his victory in Ise and, perhaps thinking that his day was at hand, expected that Hideyoshi would next transfer the authority of the central government to him.
"But we can't just let the situation continue like this and look on like spectators. Don't you have some good ideas, Lord Shonyu?"
"No, I hoped to get some from you. You've got to think of something, Lord Gamo."
"I think the best thing would be to have Lord Nobuo meet with Lord Hideyoshi. Then he could speak frankly."
"That's an excellent idea. Well, he's been assuming an air of importance recently, so how will we go about this?"
"I'll invent some pretext."
For Nobuo, something that might have been interesting yesterday today was not. In his heart he was always discontented. Moreover, he was not the kind of man who would reflect on why that was so. The previous autumn he had moved to Nagashima Castle in his new province of Ise, and he had been granted a new court rank. When he went out the crowds bowed to him, and when he returned he was greeted by flutes and stringed instruments. There was nothing he wished for that he could not have, and that spring he Was still only twenty-six years old. The tragedy of Nobuo was that living in such enviable conditions, he was all the less satisfied.
“Ise is too provincial," he would complain. "Why is Hideyoshi building that absurdly big caste in Osaka? Is he planning on living there himself, or is he going to invite the rightful heir to do so?"
When he spoke that way, it was Nobunaga speaking in his head. It was as though he had received his father's form but not his substance. "That Hideyoshi is immodest. He's forgotten that he was my father's retainer, and now he not only taxes my father's remaining retainers and hurries to build a gigantic castle, but he treats me as though I were an encumbrance. Lately he doesn't consult with me about anything."
The silence between the two men dated from the Eleventh Month of the previous year. Recent rumors that Hideyoshi was making plans and leaving him out of them were lough to raise his suspicions.
At the same time, Nobuo let out certain unguarded statements among his retainers, and these became public, so that his innermost thoughts became a further irritation to Hideyoshi. As a result, the New Year passed by without their exchanging greetings.
At New Year's, when Nobuo was playing kickball in the rear garden with his ladies-in-waiting and pages, a samurai announced a visitor. It was Gamo. He was two years older than Nobuo and was married to Nobuo's sister.
“Gamo? He's here just at the right time," Nobuo said, gracefully kicking the ball. “He’ll be a good opponent. Bring him to the garden immediately."
The messenger left but quickly returned, saying, "Lord Gamo says he's in a hurry and is waitng for you in the guest room."
“What about kickball?"
“He said to tell you that he has no skill at the game."
“What a peasant!" Nobuo laughed, showing a line of elegantly blackened teeth.
A number of days after Gamo's visit, a letter arrived from Gamo and Shonyu. Nobuo had been in a very good mood, and he quickly summoned four of his elder retainers and passed on the information.
“We're going to Otsu tomorrow. They say that Hideyoshi is waiting for me at the Onjo Temple."
“Will that be safe, my lord?" one of the four elders asked.
Nobuo smiled, clearly displaying his blackened teeth.
“Hideyoshi must be troubled by the public rumors about our falling out. I'm sure that’s it. He hasn't been dutiful to the person closest to my father."
“But what sort of arrangements have been made for this meeting?"
In his answer Nobuo sounded quite self-assured. "It's like this. A while ago, Gamo came and said that there was gossip of something unseemly between Hideyoshi and me, but Gamo assured me Hideyoshi harbors no grudge at all. He asked me to go to the Onjo Temple in Otsu and have a New Year's meeting with him. I felt there was no reason to have any animosity toward Hideyoshi and agreed to go. Both Lord Shonyu and Lord Gamo assured me that I would be quite safe."
It could be said that Nobuo's tendency to accept at face value whatever was written or spoken was the result of his upbringing. So his elder retainers were all the more inclined to be prudent, and they could not hide their misgivings.
Crowding together, they looked over Gamo's letter.
"There's no mistake," one said, "it seems to be in his handwriting."
"Nothing else can be done," another replied. "If Lord Shonyu and Lord Gamo have gone to the trouble to handle the matter this far, we should not be remiss."
And so it was decided that the four senior retainers would accompany Nobuo to Otsu.
On the following day Nobuo set out for Otsu. When he arrived at the Onjo Temple, Gamo called on him immediately, and Ikeda appeared a little later.
"Lord Hideyoshi arrived yesterday," Shonyu said. "He's waiting for you."
The place for the meeting had been prepared at Hideyoshi's lodgings, the main temple, but upon being asked politely when it would be convenient for him to meet Hideyoshi, Nobuo replied with a little display of willfulness, "I'm tired from the trip, so I'd like to rest all day tomorrow."
"Well then, we'll make arrangements for the day after tomorrow." And the two men returned to inform Hideyoshi.
No one had the leisure to spend an entire day doing nothing, but since Nobuo had said he wanted to rest, everyone spent the day in useless tedium.
Upon his arrival, Nobuo had been annoyed to find that Hideyoshi and his retainers had occupied the main buildings, while the smaller ones had been allotted to his party. In arranging the day of the meeting Nobuo had tried to be a little self-assertive and had acted on whim, but the next day he himself seemed to be greatly troubled by his own boredom, and he started to complain.
"Even my senior retainers aren't here."
Nobuo spent the day being shown the temple's treasured books of poetry and being bored to tears by the endless talk of the old priests. When evening finally came, his four senior retainers appeared in his room. "Did you have a good rest, my lord?" one of the four asked.
The fools! Nobuo was angry. He wanted to scream that he was bored and had nothing to do, but instead he replied, "Yes, thank you. Did each of you make yourself comfortable in your own lodgings?"
"There was no time to make ourselves comfortable."
"Why is that?"
"The messengers from the other clans were unending."
"There were that many visitors? Why didn't you come and tell me?"
"You said that you wanted to rest for the day, and we did not want to disturb you, my lord."
Drawing circles with his fingers and tapping his kneecaps, Nobuo looked at them with haughty disinterest.
"Well, fine. But the four of you should eat your evening meal with me. We'll have a little sake too." The senior retainers looked at each other and seemed to be embarrassed. "Is there something else that will prevent you from doing that?" Nobuo asked.
One of the retainers said, as though he were apologizing, "The fact is that a while ago a messenger came with an invitation from Lord Hideyoshi, and we came here to ask your permission."
“What! Hideyoshi invited you! What's this? Another tea ceremony?" A frown appeared on Nobuo's face.
“No, I don't think it's anything like that. I doubt that he would invite retainers like us, especially for tea, and leave our lord out, when there are other lords here he could have invited instead. He said there was something he wanted to talk over with us."
“How strange," Nobuo said, but then shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if he's invited you, I wonder if he's going to talk about finally having me fully take over the Oda clan. That might be it. It would be improper for Hideyoshi to lord it over the rightful heir. The people would never stand for it."
The main temple hall was deserted. Only the lamps waited for the night.
The guests arrived. It was the middle of the First Month and bitterly cold. Then someone else approached, clearing his throat. Because the person was accompanied by an attendant, Nobuo's four retainers immediately realized that it must be Hideyoshi. He seemed to be giving orders in a loud voice as he walked along.
“Sorry to keep you waiting," he said as he entered the room, and then coughed into his hand.
When they looked up, they could see that he was now alone—not even a page was behind him.
The four men were ill at ease. As each one greeted him, Hideyoshi blew his nose.
“You appear to have a cold, my lord," one of Nobuo's retainers said affably.
“I just can't seem to get over it," Hideyoshi replied in no less a friendly manner.
It was a rather plain setting for a discussion. Neither food nor drink were offered, nor did Hideyoshi begin with any small talk. "Aren't you troubled by Lord Nobuo's recent behavior?" he began.
The four men were filled with apprehension. They were shocked by what seemed to be a reprimand, and thought he was laying the blame on them as Nobuo's senior advisers.
“You’re doing your best, I suppose," he said then, and the color returned to their faces. “all of you are intelligent men, but I suspect you can't do much under Lord Nobuo. I understand. I've taxed my own ingenuity for his sake, but regrettably, it seems like I'm always meeting with reverses."
He said these last words emphatically, and the four men felt extremely cramped. Hideyoshi continued to expose his innermost feelings, making his dissatisfaction with Nobuo very plain. "I have made my decision," Hideyoshi said. "I feel sorry that you four have spent many years serving this man. To be brief, we can end the matter without fuss if you can persuade Lord Nobuo either to commit seppuku or to become a priest. As a reward-I will give you lands in Ise and Iga."
It was not just the cold that chilled the four men to the bone. The four walls felt like silent swords and spears. Hideyoshi's eyes shone fixedly, tiny pinpoints of light. Those eyes required the retainers to say either yes or no.
He would not give them time to consider his offer or allow them to leave withou hearing their answer. They were in a desperate situation. The four men hung their head in grief. Finally, however, they agreed and quickly wrote and signed pledges.
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