The enemy moved quickly along the opposite bank, seeming almost to keep pace with the quick-running current. Honda's men had to do everything with the same rhythm but in double-time and constantly on the run—whether it was an attack or the reorganization of their units.
Because they were close to the water, the musket fire echoed far more loudly than it ordinarily would have, and the gunpowder smoke spread over the river like a vast curtain. As one unit leaped in front and fired, the next unit readied its muskets. Then that unit jumped forward, taking the place of the first unit, and immediately fired toward the opposite bank.
A number of Hideyoshi's troops were seen to tumble over in rapid succession. Very quickly, the line of marching men started to waver.
"Who in the world can that be, challenging us with such a tiny force?"
Hideyoshi was surprised. With a look of shock on his face, he unconsciously stopped his horse.
The generals riding around him and the men close by all shaded their eyes with their hands and looked at the opposite bank, but no one could give a quick answer to Hideyoshi's question.
"To act so bravely toward an army of this size with a little force of less than a thousand men, that must be a daring commander! Does anybody recognize him?"
Hideyoshi asked the question repeatedly, looking around at the men in front and behind him.
Then someone at the head of the line said, "I know who that is."
The man who spoke was Inaba Ittetsu, the commander of Sone Castle in Mino. In spite of his venerable age, he had joined this great battle for Hideyoshi's sake and had been at his side as a guide from the very beginning of the campaign.
"Ah, Ittetsu. Do you recognize the enemy general on the other side of the river?"
"Well, from the antlers on his helmet and the white braid on his armor, I'm sure it nust be Ieyasu's right-hand man, Honda Heihachiro. I remember him clearly from the battle at Ane River years ago."
When Hideyoshi heard this, he looked as though he were about to shed tears. "Ah, what a brave man! With one small force he strikes at twenty thousand. If that is Honda, he must be a stalwart fellow. How touching that he would try to help Ieyasu escape by nomentarily obstructing us here and by dying himself," he muttered. And then, "He's to be sympathized with. Our men are not to shoot a single arrow or bullet in his direction, no matter how much of an attack the man might make. If there is some karmic relation between us, I'll make him one of my own retainers one day. He's a man to be loved. Don't shoot; just let him go."
During that time, of course, the three groups of gunners on the other bank busilycontinued to load their muskets and shoot relentlessly. One or two bullets even came close to Hideyoshi. Just then, the armored warrior upon whom Hideyoshi had beenstraining his eyes—Honda, the man wearing the helmet adorned with deer antlers—went down to the water's edge, dismounted, and washed his horse's muzzle with water from the river.
Separated from him by the width of the river, Hideyoshi looked at the man, while Honda gazed steadily at the group of generals—one of whom was clearly Hideyoshi—who had stopped their horses.
Hideyoshi's gunners' corps began to open fire in response, but Hideyoshi once again reproved his entire army. "Don't shoot! Just hurry on! Hurry on ahead!" With that, he urged his horse on with all the more speed.
When Honda observed that action on the other bank, he yelled out, "Don't let them go!" and doubled his speed. Moving ahead on the road, he once again made a fierce musket attack on Hideyoshi's troops, but Hideyoshi would not take up the challenge and soon took up a position on a hill close to the plain of Nagakute.
As soon as they arrived at their destination, Hideyoshi gave orders to three of his generals to take the same number of light cavalry units and ride out quickly. "Do what you can with the Tokugawa forces that are withdrawing from Nagakute to Obata."
He made his headquarters on the hill, while his twenty thousand fresh troops spread out beneath the red evening sun, demonstrating their intention to take revenge upon Ieyasu.
Hideyoshi assigned two men as chiefs of a scouting unit, and they went off secretly toward Obata Castle. After that, Hideyoshi quickly worked out the military operations for his entire army. But before the orders could be sent out, an urgent report arrived:
"Ieyasu is no longer on the battlefield."
"That can't be!" the generals all said together. As Hideyoshi sat silently, the three commanders he had previously sent out toward Nagakute came hurrying back.
"Ieyasu and his main force have already withdrawn to Obata. We encountered a few scattered groups of the enemy that were late in retreating toward the castle, but the others seem to have been about an hour ahead of us," they reported.
Of the three hundred Tokugawa soldiers they had killed, not one had been a general of note.
"We were too late." Hideyoshi had no way to dispel his anger, and it clearly burned in the color of his face.
The scouts' reports were all the same: the castle at Obata had closed its gates and appeared to be quiet, proof that Ieyasu had already withdrawn into the castle and was calmly savoring today's military victory as he rested.
In the midst of his complicated emotions, Hideyoshi unconsciously clapped his hands and congratulated Ieyasu. "That's Ieyasu for you! He has remarkable speed. He retreats into a castle and closes up the gates without any boasting. This is one bird we're not going to catch with either birdlime or a net. But you watch, I'll make Ieyasu behave a littie more properly after a few years and have him bow in front of me."
It was already twilight, and a night attack on a castle was considered something to avoid. Moreover, the army had come from Gakuden without rest, so further actiontonight was temporarily postponed. The orders were changed. The men were to eat their provisions. Clouds of campfire smoke climbed into the evening sky. The scouts who had gone from Obata quickly returned. Ieyasu had been sleeping but got up to hear the report. Apprised of the situation, he announced that everyone would immediately be returning to Mount Komaki. His generals argued emphatically for a midnight attack on Hideyoshi, but Ieyasu just laughed and left for Mount Komaki by a circuitous route.
Taiko
Having no other recourse, Hideyoshi turned his army around and withdrew to the fortified camp at Gakuden. He could not deny that the defeat at Nagakute had been a serious blow, even though it had been caused by the overzealousness of Shonyu. But it was also a fact that, on this particular occasion, Hideyoshi had been slow in starting.
It was not because Hideyoshi was measuring himself against Ieyasu on the battlefield for the first time. He had know Ieyasu long before engaging him in battle. Rather, because it was a standoff of master against master—a match between two champions—Hideyoshi was being especially circumspect.
"Don't pay any attention to small castles on the way. Don't waste time," Hideyoshi had warned, but Shonyu had been challenged by the garrison of Iwasaki and had stopped to crush it.
The abilities of Ieyasu and Hideyoshi would determine the outcome of the battle. When Hideyoshi heard of the defeat at Nagakute, he was convinced that his opportunity had come. The deaths of Shonyu and Nagayoshi would surely be the bait for taking Ieyasu alive.
But the enemy had appeared like fire and disappeared like the wind, and after he had gone, it was as silent as the woods. When Ieyasu withdrew to Mount Komaki, Hideyoshi felt he had just missed bagging a scared rabbit, but told himself that he had suffered only a little wound to the finger. Certainly there had been no great damage to his military strength. Psychologically, however, he had given Ieyasu's side a victory.
At any rate, after the violent half-day battle at Nagakute, both men were extremely prudent and watched the other's movements closely. And while each waited to seize a favorable opportunity, neither man would have even considered making a careless attack. Provocations, however, were made repeatedly.
For example, when Hideyoshi sent his entire sixty-two-thousand-man army out to Mount Komatsuji on the eleventh day of the Fourth Mont
h, the reaction at Mount Komaki was nothing more than a peaceful, wry smile.
After that, on the twenty-second day of the same month, a provocation was set up by Ieyasu's side. A combined force of eighteen thousand men was divided into sixteen units and emerged heading toward the east.
Beating drums and raising war cries, a vanguard led by Sakai Tadatsugu and Ii Hyobu made repeated challenges, almost as if to say, "Come out, Hideyoshi!"
The moated palisades were defended by Hori Kyutaro and Gamo Ujisato. Gazing out at the raucous enemy forces, Kyutaro ground his teeth.
After Nagakute, the enemy had been spreading rumors that Hideyoshi's soldiers were frightened of the Tokugawa warriors. But Hideyoshi had made it clear that the soldiers were to make no sorties without his express order, so they could do nothing more than send runners flying off to the main camp.
When the messenger arrived, Hideyoshi was playing go.
“A large Tokugawa force is approaching our men at the double moats," the man announced.
Hideyoshi raised his eyes from the go board for a moment and asked the messenger, “Has Ieyasu himself appeared?"
“Lord Ieyasu has not come out himself," the man replied.
Hideyoshi picked up a black stone, placed it on the board and said, without looking up, “Tell me if Ieyasu makes an appearance. Unless he comes out at the head of his army, Kyutaro and Ujisato can fight or not, as they please."
At about the same time, Ii Hyobu and Sakai Tadatsugu at the front lines sent messengers twice with pleas to Ieyasu at Mount Komaki.
“Now is the time for you to make a personal appearance. If you do it immediately, we will undoubtedly be able to strike a fatal blow to the main body of Hideyoshi's troops."
To that Ieyasu responded, "Has Hideyoshi himself made a move? If he's still at Mount Komatsuji, there's no need for me to go out, either."
In the end, Ieyasu did not leave Mount Komaki.
During that time, Hideyoshi clearly meted out the praise and blame for the battle at Nagakute. He was particularly careful about the presentation of increases in stipends and rewards, but did not say a word to his nephew Hidetsugu. And, after having fled from Nagakute, Hidetsugu seemed to feel awkward in front of his uncle. On his return to camp he simply reported that he had come back and later tried to explain the reason for his defeat. But Hideyoshi only talked to the other generals seated around him and did not look Hidetsugu in the face.
'It was my own blunder that sent Shonyu to his death," Hideyoshi said. "From the time of his youth, we shared our poverty, our nighttime amusements, and our whoring around. I'll never be able to forget him."
Every time he talked with others about his old friend, his eyes filled with tears.
Then one day, without letting anyone know what he was thinking, Hideyoshi suddenly ordered the construction of fortifications at Oura. Two days later, on the last day of ourth Month, he gave out more instructions: "I plan on taking a chance tomorrowon the battle of a lifetime. We're going to see who falls, Ieyasu or Hideyoshi. Sleep well, prepare yourselves, and don't be caught off guard."
The following day was the first of the Fifth Month. Expecting that it would be the day on which the great decisive battle would be fought, the entire army had been preparing itself since the night before. Now, finally seeing Hideyoshi in front of them, the soldiers listened to his words in blank amazement.
"We're going back to Osaka! All of the troops should withdraw." Then came his next orders. "The corps under Kuroda Kanbei and Akashi Yoshiro should coordinate with the troops at the double moats. The position of rear guard is to be taken by Hosokawa Tadaoki and Gamo Ujisato."
Sixty thousand troops moved out. Heading west, they began their retreat just as the morning sun appeared over the horizon. Hori Kyutaro was left at Gakuden and Kato Mitsuyasu at Inuyama Castle. Except for them, all the troops crossed the Kiso River and entered Oura.
This sudden withdrawal caused Hideyoshi's generals to wonder about his true intentions. Hideyoshi gave orders in a carefree way, but withdrawing such a large army was even more difficult than leading it to attack. The responsibility of taking up the rear guard was considered to be the most difficult of all, and it was claimed that only the bravest warriors were suitable for the work.
When the men at Ieyasu's headquarters saw Hideyoshi's army suddenly withdraw to the west that morning, they were all seized with doubt and reported the event to Ieyasu.
The generals there were in complete agreement.
"There's no doubt about it. We've crushed the enemy's will to fight."
"If we give chase and attack, the western forces will be totally routed and a great victory will surely be ours!"
Each of them spoke enthusiastically for an attack and asked for the command, but Ieyasu did not look the least bit happy. He strictly refused permission for a pursuit.
He knew that a man like Hideyoshi would not withdraw a large army without reason. He also knew that while he had sufficient strength for defense, he did not have the force to fight with Hideyoshi in an unobstructed battle on an open plain.
"Warfare is not a gamble. Are we going to stake our lives on an event when we have no idea of the outcome? Put out your hand to grasp something only when destiny has come to bless you."
Ieyasu hated taking risks. He also knew himself very well. In that regard, the absolute opposite of Ieyasu was Nobuo. Nobuo was constantly under the illusion that he himself had the same great popularity and genius as Nobunaga. He could not keep quiet at this time, even though the other generals were sitting in silence after Ieyasu had told them that there would be no pursuit.
"It is said that a soldier respects the opportunity given him. How can we sit here and let this heaven-sent opportunity pass us by? Please leave the pursuit to me." Nobuo argued with increasing vehemence.
Ieyasu admonished him with two or three words, but Nobuo was parading his courage more than he ever had before. Arguing with Ieyasu, he acted like a spoiled child who would listen to nobody.
"Well then, there's nothing to be done. Do as you please."
Ieyasu gave his permission, knowing full well that disaster would follow. Nobuo immediately led out his own army and chased after Hideyoshi.
After Nobuo left, Ieyasu put Honda in charge of a group of soldiers and sent him along behind. Just as Ieyasu had thought he would do, Nobuo fought Hideyoshi's rear guard as it withdrew and, while he looked superior for a moment, was quickly defeated. In this way he caused the death in battle of a great number of his retainers.
If Honda's reinforcements had not come from the rear, Nobuo himself might have become one of the greatest prizes of Hideyoshi's rear guard. Retreating to Mount Komaki, Nobuo did not appear before Ieyasu right away. But Ieyasu heard the details of the situation from Honda. With no change of expression, he nodded and said, "It was only to be expected."
When Hideyoshi retreated, it was not just a simple withdrawal. As his army moved along the road he said to his retainers, "Shouldn't we take some nice souvenir?"
Kaganoi Castle stood on the left bank of the Kiso River, in an area to the northeast of Kiyosu Castle. Two of Nobuo's retainers had entrenched themselves there, prepared to act as one of Nobuo's wings in case of an emergency.
“Take it." Hideyoshi gave the command to his generals as though he were pointing at a persimmon on a branch.
The army crossed the Kiso River and took up a position at the Seitoku Temple. At the center of the reserve army, Hideyoshi opened the attack on the morning of the fourth day of the month. From time to time he went out on his horse and watched the battle from a hill in the vicinity of Tonda.
During the fighting on the following day, the commander of the castle was killed. The castle itself, however, did not fall until the evening of the sixth.
Hideyoshi had fortifications built for a later day at a strategic point in Taki, and returned as far as Ogaki on the thirteenth. At Ogaki Castle he met with Shonyu's surviving family, and comforted his wife and mother.
&nbs
p; “I can imagine that you feel lonely. But keep the promising futures of your children in mind. You should try to live the rest of your lives in harmony, rejoicing in the growth of young trees and watching the flowers of the season."
Hideyoshi also called over Shonyu's two surviving sons and encouraged them to be strong. That night he became like one of the family and talked for hours about his memories of Shonyu.
“I'm a short man, and Shonyu was too. When that short little man entertained the other generals, he'd often do the spear dance when he got drunk. I don't suppose he ever showed it to the members of his family, but it went something like this." Doing an imitation, he made them all laugh. He stayed in the castle for a number of days, but finally, on the twenty-first of the month, he took the Omi Road back to Osaka Castle.
Osaka was now a large city, radically changed from the little port of Naniwa, and when Hideyoshi's army arrived, the people jostled together along the streets and in the vicinity of the castle, cheering them on until nightfall.
The external construction work for Osaka Castle had already been completed. When night fell, an otherworldly scene unfolded. Bright lamps shone from the innumerable windows of the five-story keep of the main citadel, as well as from the second and third citadels, adorning the night sky and illuminating the boundaries of the castle on all four sides: to the east, the Yamato River; to the north, the Yodo River; to the west, the Yokobori River; and to the south, the great dry moat.
Hideyoshi had left his camp at Gakuden, changing his mind and taking up the strategy of a "fresh start." But how had Ieyasu reacted to that change? He had sat and watched as Hideyoshi's retreating troops marched away. And even though he had heard about the distress of his allies at Kaganoi Castle, he had not sent reinforcements.
"What's the matter?" Voices of indignation rose among Nobuo's subordinates. Nobuo, however, had already ignored Ieyasu's advice, attacked Hideyoshi's rear guard, and met with an ignominious defeat. Saved by Honda, he had finally returned to camp. Thus Nobuo now felt that he had lost his right to say anything at all.
TAIKO: AN EPIC NOVEL OF WAR AND GLORY IN FEUDAL JAPAN Page 138