Late autumn. The numerous reeds in the area concealed several hundred thousand soldiers, and the smoke of the campfires spread out thickly over the riverbank, morning and night. The order for battle had still not been given. The relaxed soldiers even went fishing for gobies. At such times, when the lightly armored Hideyoshi made a tour of the encampments and suddenly appeared on horseback, the flustered rank-and-file would quickly throw away their fishing rods. But even if Hideyoshi noticed this, he would just pass by smiling.
The fact is that if it hadn't been this particular place, he too would have wanted to fish for gobies and walk barefoot. He was still, in some ways, a boy at heart, and such scenes called forth the pleasures of his childhood.
Across this river was the earth of Owari. Under the autumn sun, the smell of the earth of his birthplace tantalized his senses.
Tomita Tomonobu and Tsuda Nobukatsu had returned from a mission and were waiting impatiently for his return.
Leaving his horse at the gate, Hideyoshi hurried along at a pace unusual for him. He himself led the two men who had come out to greet him to a hut in the middle of a heavily guarded stand of trees.
"What was Lord Nobuo's answer?" he asked. His voice was low, but there was an extraordinary expectant light in his eyes.
Tsuda spoke first. "Lord Nobuo says that he understands your feelings very well and gives his consent for a meeting."
“What! He's agreed?"
“Not only that, but he was extremely pleased."
“Really?" Hideyoshi expanded his chest and let out a tremendous sigh. "Really? That's really what happened?" he repeated.
Hideyoshi's intentions in advancing along the Ise Road at this time had been based on a gamble from the very beginning. He had hoped for a diplomatic solution, but if that failed, he would strike at Kuwana, Nagashima, and Kiyosu. That would open Mount Komaki to attack from the rear.
Tsuda was related to the Oda clan and was a second cousin to Nobuo, to whom he explained the advantages and disadvantages of the situation, and from whom he finally elicited an answer.
“I'm not the kind of person who likes war at all," Nobuo replied. "If Hideyoshi thinks that much of me and wants to hold a peace conference, I would not be indisposed toward meeting him."
From the very first battle at Mount Komaki, Hideyoshi had seen that Ieyasu would be difficult to deal with. After that, he had studied the inner workings of the human heart and had manipulated the men around him from the shadows.
In the inner circles of the Tokugawa clan, Ishikawa Kazumasa was regarded with some suspicion, due to Hideyoshi's influence. Thus, when Niwa Nagahide moved toward arbitration, the men in Nobuo's inner circle who had former connections with him were quickly ostracized as a peace faction. Nobuo himself was uneasy about Ieyasu's true intentions, and the Tokugawa eyed Nobuo's army with vigilance. This state of affairs had evolved under specific orders from faraway Osaka.
It was an article of faith with Hideyoshi that no matter what kind of diplomatic scheme he used, the sacrifices involved were far preferable to those made in war. More than that, after having tried the alternatives—facing Ieyasu directly at Mount Komaki, engaging in some clever military plan, and even making a menacing bluff—Hideyoshi felt that making war on Ieyasu was having absolutely no effect and that he would have to try some other tack.
The meeting the following day with Nobuo was exactly the realization of such deliberation and forethought.
Hideyoshi got up early and, looking up at the sky, said, "The weather's just right."
In the sky the night before, the cloud movements of late autumn had given him some anxiety; and he feared that if by any chance it became windy and rainy, Nobuo's side might say it wanted to postpone the time or change the place, and it might then be suspected by the Tokugawa. Hideyoshi had gone to sleep concerned about how unsavory that might be, but this morning the clouds had blown away and the sky was bluer than usual for the time of year. Hideyoshi took it as a good omen and, wishing himself luck, mounted his horse and left the camp at Nawabu.
His attendants were only a few senior retainers and pages and the two former envoys, Tomita and Tsuda. When the group finally crossed the Machiya River, however, Hideyoshi had taken the precaution to hide a number of his soldiers among the reeds and farmhouses during the night before. Hideyoshi chatted amiably on horseback as though he didn't see them, and finally dismounted at the bank of the Yada River close to the western outskirts of Kuwana.
"Shall we wait here for Lord Nobuo to come?" he asked, and, sitting down on his camp stool, he looked out at the local scenery.
Not long thereafter, Nobuo, accompanied by a group of mounted retainers, arrived on time. Nobuo must have spotted the men waiting on the riverbank as well, and he immediately began conferring with the generals to his right and left as he focused his eyes on Hideyoshi. He brought his horse to a halt in the distance and dismounted, apparently still quite apprehensive.
The crowd of warriors that accompanied him opened up to the right and left. Placing himself at their center, Nobuo started toward Hideyoshi, his armor displaying all of his martial prestige.
Hideyoshi. Here was the man who, until just the other day, had been vilified to the nation as the worst kind of assassin and inhuman ingrate. Here was the enemy whose crimes had been enumerated by both himself and Ieyasu. Even though he had agreed to Hideyoshi's proposal and was meeting him here, Nobuo was unable to feel at ease. What were the man's true intentions?
As Hideyoshi caught sight of Nobuo standing in all his dignity, he left his stool behind him and, completely alone, went hurrying toward him.
"Ah, Lord Nobuo!" He was waving both hands, just as though this were some unplanned and unexpected meeting.
Nobuo was bewildered, but the retainers around him, who looked so imposing with their spears and armor, gaped in openmouthed surprise.
But this was not their only shock. Hideyoshi was now kneeling at Nobuo's feet, prostrating himself so that his face nearly touched Nobuo's straw sandals.
Then, taking the hand of the stunned Nobuo, he said, "My lord, there hasn't been a day this year that I haven't thought about wanting to meet you. Before anything else, I'm extremely pleased to see that you're in good health. What kind of evil spirit could have confused you, my lord, and brought us to fight one another? From this day forth you will be my lord, just as before."
"Hideyoshi, please get up. I'm speechless at your repentance. We were both at fault. But first please get up."
Nobuo pulled Hideyoshi up with the hand the latter had grasped.
The meeting of the two men on the eleventh day of the Eleventh Month went smoothly, and the peace accord was agreed upon. It goes without saying that the proper order of things would have been for Nobuo to have discussed the matter with Ieyasu and to have gotten his agreement before the fact. But he responded totally to this opportune blessing, and an independent peace was established.
The simple fact was that the beanbag that Ieyasu had thrown around and used for his own purposes was being snatched from the side by Hideyoshi. Essentially, Nobuo had been taken in.
One can only imagine the sweet words Hideyoshi used to gain Nobuo's favor. In fact, in all his years of service, Hideyoshi had rarely moved Nobuo's father, Nobunaga, to appeasing Nobuo must have been easy for him. But the conditions of the peace that had first been communicated by the two envoys were neither sweet nor easy:
Item: : Hideyoshi would adopt Nobuo's daughter.
Item: The four districts in northern Ise that Hideyoshi had occupied would be returned to Nobuo.
Item: Nobuo would send women and children from his clan as hostages.
Item: Three districts in Iga, seven districts in southern Ise, Inuyama Castle in Owari, and the fortress at Kawada would be given to Hideyoshi.
Item: All of the temporary fortifications belonging to both sides in the two provinces of Ise and Owari were to be destroyed.
Nobuo affixed his seal to the document. As gifts from Hideyoshi that
day, Nobuo received twenty pieces of gold and a sword made by Fudo Kuniyuki. He was also presented with thirty-five thousand bales of rice as spoils of war from the Ise area.
Hideyoshi had bowed to Nobuo and shown him respect, and had given him gifts as proof of his goodwill. Treated in that way, Nobuo could not help but smile with satisfaction. It is certain, however, that Nobuo had not considered how his scheming was going to come back at him. In terms of the ebb and flow of the violent tides of the times, Nobuo could only be called an unpardonable fool. There would be no blame if Nobuo had remained on the sidelines. But he had come out at the very center, had been made a tool of war, and had caused a great number of men to die under his banners.
* * *
The one who was most surprised when the facts were out was Ieyasu, who had already moved from Okazaki to Kiyosu to gain a war footing and confront Hideyoshi. It was the morning of the twelfth.
SakaiTadatsugu suddenly whipped his horse to the castle, having traveled overnight from Kuwana.
It was unusual for a commander at the front lines to leave his battle position and Kiyosu unannounced. Moreover, Tadatsugu was a sixty-year-old veteran. Why had this old man traveled all night with only a few attendants?
It was before breakfast, but Ieyasu came out of his bedroom, sat down in the audience chamber, and asked, "What is it, Tadatsugu?"
“Lord Nobuo met with Hideyoshi yesterday. The rumor is that they made peace without consulting you, my lord."
Tadatsugu could see the repressed emotion on Ieyasu's face, and, unexpectedly, it lmade Tadatsugu's own lips twitch. He could hardly hold his feelings back. He wanted to shout that Nobuo was a great fool. Perhaps that is what Ieyasu was holding down in his heart. Should he be angry? Should he laugh? No doubt he was repressing all those things inside of himself at once, almost as though he could not accept the violent emotions raging inside him.
Ieyasu appeared to be dazed. He was dumbfounded. That was all his expression said. The two men sat in that way for some time. Finally, Ieyasu blinked two or three times. Then he pinched his large earlobe with his left hand and rubbed the side of his face. He was puzzled. His round back began to move a little from side to side. His left hand dropped back to his knee.
"Tadatsugu, are you sure?" he asked.
"I wouldn't come to report such a thing lightly. But dispatches will arrive later with more detailed information."
"You still haven't heard anything from Lord Nobuo?"
"We heard the report that he had left Nagashima, passed through Kuwana, and stopped at Yadagawara, but I thought he was just looking over the defenses and the disposition of his troops. Even when he returned to his castle, we had no idea of what his intentions had been."
Subsequent reports confirmed the rumors of Nobuo's separate peace agreement, but no word came from Nobuo himself throughout the entire day. The truth was soon known generally among the Tokugawa clan's retainers. Each time they met, their excited voices rose as they confirmed together what they could hardly believe. Gathering at Kiyosu, they accused Nobuo of lacking integrity and wondered aloud how the Tokugawa could face the nation with dignity after the predicament in which they had been placed.
"If this is the truth, we're not going to let him be, even if he is Lord Nobuo," the hot-blooded Honda said.
"First we should take Lord Nobuo out of Nagashima and investigate this crime," Ii added with a furious glare. "After that we should fight a decisive battle with Hideyoshi."
"I agree!"
"Isn't it because of Lord Nobuo that we mobilized in the first place?"
"We advocated the upholding of duty and rose up only because Lord Nobuo came begging for Lord Ieyasu's help and crying that Lord Nobunaga's descendants would perish because of Hideyoshi's ambitions! Now the banner of that war of duty—the embodiment of justice—has tumbled over to the enemy's side. The stupidity of that man is beyond words!"
"As the situation is now, it's an affront to His Lordship's dignity, and we've become a laughingstock. It's also an insult to the spirits of our comrades who died at Mount Komaki and Nagakute."
"They were made to die tragically meaningless deaths, and there's no reason why the living should have to bear such painful thoughts. What kind of decision can our lord have made by now?"
"He stayed in his living quarters all morning. He called a meeting of the senior retainers, and it seems that they've been deliberating all day."
"How about someone here delivering our opinion to the senior retainers?"
"That's right. Who would be good?"
They all looked around at one another.
"What about you, Ii? And Honda, you should go too." Honda and Ii were just about to leave the room as representatives for the others when a messenger came in with specific information.
"Two envoys from Lord Nobuo have just arrived."
“What! Envoys from Nagashima?"
The news made the men's indignation boil up again.
As the envoys had already been taken into the large audience chamber, however, it was very likely that they were already face to face with Ieyasu. Calmly reassuring each other that their lord's intentions would now be made clear, the men decided to wait for the result of the meeting.
Nobuo's envoys were his uncle, Oda Nobuteru, and Ikoma Hachiemon. As might be imagined, it was extremely awkward for those men to face Ieyasu, let alone try to explain Nobuo’s thoughts, and they waited in the room, withering at the mere thought of the meeting.
Soon enough, Ieyasu appeared with a page. He was dressed in a kimono, without armor, and seemed to be in a good mood.
He sat down on a cushion and said, "I've heard that Lord Nobuo has made peace with Hideyoshi."
The two messengers responded in the affirmative as they prostrated themselves, unable even to raise their heads.
Nobuteru said, "The sudden peace talks with Lord Hideyoshi were surely both unexpected and mortifying to your clan, and we can only respectfully appreciate what your thoughts must be, but in fact, His Lordship put much deep thought into the situation before him, and—"
“I understand," Ieyasu replied. "You don't need to give me some long explanation."
“The details are fully explained in this letter, so, ah, if you would read it—"
“I’ll take a look at it later on."
“The only thing that pains His Lordship is the thought that you may be angry," Hachiemon said.
“Now, now. That's not worth his consideration. From the very beginning, these hostilities had nothing to do with my own desires or plans."
“We understand completely."
“That being so, the hope I entertain for Lord Nobuo's well-being is unchanged."
“His Lordship will be relieved to hear it."
“I’ve had a meal prepared for you in another room. That this war has been terminated so quickly is the greatest blessing of all. Have a leisurely lunch before you go."
Ieyasu went back into the interior of the castle. The messengers from Nagashima were entertained with food and drink in another room, but they ate hurriedly and soon left.
When Ieyasu's retainers heard about this, they were outraged.
“His Lordship must have some deeper thoughts. Otherwise, how could he so easily approve of this monstrous alliance of Lord Nobuo and Hideyoshi?"
During this time, Ii and Honda went off to the senior retainers to inform them of the young retainers' opinion.
“Secretary!" Ieyasu called out.
After meeting with Nobuo's envoys in the audience chamber he had returned to his own quarters and sat quietly alone for a while. Now his voice rang out.
The secretary brought out an inkstone and waited for his lord's dictation.
I want to sent congratulatory letters to both Lord Nobuo and Lord Hideyoshi."
As he dictated the letters, Ieyasu looked off obliquely and closed his eyes. Indeed, as he polished the sentences to be written down, he seemed first to absorb thoughts in his breast that must have been like draughts of mo
lten iron.
When the two letters were finished, Ieyasu gave an order to a page to summon Ishikawa Kazumasa.
The secretary left the two letters in front of Ieyasu, bowed, and withdrew. As he left, a personal attendant came in carrying a candle and quietly lit two lamps.
At some point the sun had set. Looking at the lamps, Ieyasu felt that somehow the day had been a short one. He wondered if that was why—even with all the pressure of work—he was still feeling an emptiness in his heart.
As though from far away, he could hear the sound of the sliding door opening softly.
Kazumasa, dressed in civilian clothes like his lord, was bowing in the doorway. Almost none of the warriors of the clan had yet untied their armor. Nevertheless, Kazumasa realized that Ieyasu had been dressed in plain clothes since the morning and had quickly changed into a kimono.
"Ah, Kazumasa? You're too far away over there. Come a little closer."
The man who had not changed at all here was Ieyasu. As Kazumasa came before him, however, he seemed almost to have been disarmed.
"Kazumasa, I'd like you to be my envoy tomorrow morning to Lord Hideyoshi's camp and Lord Nobuo's headquarters at Kuwana."
"Certainly."
"Letters of congratulation are right here."
"Congratulations for the peace accords?"
"That's right."
"I think I understand what's in your mind, my lord. You won't be showing your dissatisfaction, but when he sees such magnanimity, even Lord Nobuo will probably be embarrassed."
"What are you saying, Kazumasa? It would be cowardly of me to embarrass Lord Nobuo, and a declaration to continue fighting from a sense of duty would look a little strange. Whether it's a false peace or whatever it is, I have no reason to voice dissatisfaction about peace. You are to explain earnestly and even happily that I think it is splendid from the bottom of my heart, and that I rejoice together with all the subjects of the Empire."
Kazumasa was someone who knew his lord's heart well, and now Ieyasu had given him careful instructions concerning his mission. But for Kazumasa, there was yet one more pain he had to bear. That was the misunderstanding the other retainers had had about him from the very beginning—that he and Hideyoshi had some intimate connection. The year before, after Hideyoshi's victory at Yanagase, Kazumasa had been selected as Ieyasu's envoy to Hideyoshi.
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