The Tokugawa had suffered a grave defeat, but it might be said that they had shown their mettle. Not only that, but they had once again caused Shingen to abandon his march to the capital and left him with no other choice than to withdraw to Kai. Many men had been sacrificed. Compared with the four hundred men of the Takeda, the dead and wounded on the Tokugawa side numbered as many as eleven hundred eighty.

Funeral for the Living

Red and white petals fluttered down from Gifu Castle on its high mountain peak, and fell on the roofs in the town below.

Year by year, the people's confidence in Nobunaga increased—a confidence that grew from the security of their lives. The laws were strict, but Nobunaga's words were not empty. The things he promised concerning the people's livelihood were always put into effect, and this was reflected in their wealth.

To think that a man

Has but fifty years to live under heaven.

Surely this world

Seems but a vain dream….

The people of the province knew the verses Nobunaga loved to chant when he drank. But he understood these words quite differently from the way the monks did—that the world was nothing more than a fleeting and impermanent dream. "Is there anything that will not decay?" was his favorite line, and every time he sang it, he raised the pitch of his voice. His view of life seemed to be contained in this one line. A man would not make the most of his life if he did not think deeply about it. Nobunaga knew this about life: In the end, we die. For a man of thirty-seven, the future would not be a long one. And for such a short time, his ambition was extraordinarily large. His ideals were limitless, and facing these ideals and overcoming the obstacles fulfilled him completely. Man, however, has an allotted span of life, and he could not help his feelings of regret.

“Ranmaru, beat the drum."

He was going to dance today again. Earlier that day, he had entertained a messenger from Ise. He continued to drink through the afternoon.

Ranmaru brought the drum from the next room. Instead of playing it, however, he delivered a message: "Lord Hideyoshi has just arrived."

At one time it had seemed that the Asai and Asakura were going to make their move after Mikatagahara, as they had begun to wriggle and squirm repeatedly. But after Shingen had retreated, they cowered inside their own provinces and began to strengthen the defenses.

Anticipating peace, Hideyoshi had secretly left Yokoyama Castle and toured the area around the capital. None of the castle commanders anywhere, regardless of how chaotic the conditions of the country, remained locked up in their castles. Sometimes they would pretend to be gone but would really be there; at other times they would pretend to be there but would really be gone, for the way of a soldier lay in properly using the forms of truth and falsehood.

Of course, Hideyoshi had also traveled incognito on this trip, and quite likely that was also the reason he had arrived so suddenly at Gifu.

“Hideyoshi?" Nobunaga had him wait in another room, and soon came in and sat down. He was in an extraordinarily good mood.

Hideyoshi was dressed with extreme simplicity, looking no different from an ordinary traveler. In this attire he prostrated himself, but then looked up and laughed. "I'll bet you’re surprised."

Nobunaga looked as though he didn't understand. "About what?" he asked.

“My sudden arrival."

“What kind of foolishness is this? I've known you were not in Yokoyama for the last two weeks."

“But you probably didn't expect me to show up here today."

Nobunaga laughed. "You think I'm blind, don't you? You probably got tired of playing around with the prostitutes in the capital, came down the Omi Road as far as some man's house in Nagahama, secretly called Oyu, and came here after a rendezvous."

Hideyoshi mumbled a reply.

“You're the one who's probably surprised," Nobunaga said.

“I am surprised, my lord. You see everything."

“This mountain is high enough for me to look out over ten provinces at least. But

there's someone who knows your behavior in even more detail than I do. Do you have any idea who that is?"

“You must have a spy trailing me."

“Your wife."

“You're joking! Aren't you a little intoxicated today, my lord?"

“I may be drunk, but I'm hardly mistaken about what I'm saying. Your wife may be living at Sunomata, but if you think she's far away, you're making a serious mistake."

“Oh, no. Well, I've come at a bad time. With your permission, I—"

“You can't be blamed for playing around," Nobunaga said, laughing. "There's nothing wrong with looking at the cherry blossoms from time to time. But why don't you call Nene, and the two of you get together?"

“Of course."

"It's been a while since you've seen her, hasn't it?"

"Has my wife been bothering you with letters or the like?"

"Don't worry. There hasn't been anything like that, but I sympathize. And not just with your wife. Every wife has to look after the home while her husband is away at war, so even if he has only a little bit of time, a man should show his wife before anyone else that he's all right."

"As you wish, but…"

"Do you refuse?"

"I do. There's been nothing untoward for a number of months, but my state of mind has not moved away from the battlefield by even a hair's breadth."

"Always the clever talker! Are you going to start wagging that tongue again? It's quite unnecessary."

"I'll retire, my lord. I'm rolling up my banners here."

Lord and retainer laughed together. After a while they started drinking and even sent Ranmaru away. Then the talk turned to a topic serious enough for them to lower their voices.

Nobunaga asked expectantly, "So how are things in the capital? I have messengers constantly going back and forth, but I want to hear what you have seen."

What Hideyoshi was about to say seemed to have to do with his expectations.

"Our seats are a little far apart. Either my lord or I should move a little closer for this."

"I'll move." Nobunaga took the sake flask and his cup and moved down from the seat of honor. "Close the sliding doors to the next room too," he ordered.

Hideyoshi sat down directly in front of Nobunaga and said, "The conditions are the same as ever. Except that, since Shingen failed to reach the capital, the shogun seems to have become more despondent. His schemes have become openly hostile to you, my lord."

"Well, I can imagine. After all, Shingen got as far as Mikatagahara, and then the shogun heard that he had withdrawn."

"Shogun Yoshiaki is a crafty politician. He fidgets about, bestowing favors on the people, and indirectly makes them fear you. He's made good propaganda out of the burning of Mount Hiei, and seems to be inciting other religious groups to rebellion."

"Not a pleasant set of circumstances."

"But it's not worth worrying about. The warrior-monks have seen what happened to Mount Hiei, and it has cooled their courage considerably."

"Hosokawa is in the capital. Did you see him?"

"Lord Hosokawa has fallen out of favor with the shogun and has confined himself to his country estate."

"He was driven away by Yoshiaki?" Nobunaga asked.

"It seems that Lord Hosokawa thought that allying with you would be the best way to preserve the shogunate. He risked his own reputation and advised Lord Yoshiaki several times."

“It's apparent that Yoshiaki won't listen to anyone."

“More than that, he's taking a rather extravagant view of the remaining powers of the shogunate. In a period of transition, a cataclysm separates past and future. Almost all of those who perish are those who, because of their blind attachment to the past, fail to realize that the world has changed."