"Takigawa was happy enough to accept posts when Lord Nobunaga was alive and was even appointed to the important position of governor-general of eastern Japan, so why is he so late in arriving in this present crisis? It's a shameful display on his part."

There were others even more unabashed in their criticism.

"He's a clever politician, and he is not a man of unshakable loyalty. That's probably why he hasn't stirred yet."

That sort of talk made the rounds of the taverns.

Soon thereafter, criticism concerning Katsuie's lateness in attacking Mitsuhide was also heard here and there. Of course, the various clans residing in Kiyosu heard it as well, and Hideyoshi's retainers quickly brought it to his attention.

"Really? So that's started too? It's criticism of Katsuie, so no one is going to think that the rumors are being spread by Katsuie himself, but to me it looks like an attempt on his part to cause dissension among us—a battle of scheming before the big confer­ence. Well, let them have their little tricks. Takigawa has been won over by Katsuie any­way, so let it be."

Before the conference, each man conjectured about his own future and groped for what was in the others' minds. In the meantime there were the usual unspoken under­standings and antagonisms, spreading false rumors, winning over others, splitting the op­position, and every other stratagem.

The communication between Shibata Katsuie and Nobutaka was particularly conspicuous; the one man was of the highest rank among the clan's elders, while the other was the third son of Nobunaga. The intimacy between these two went beyond official business and could not be kept secret.

The general opinion was that Katsuie planned to ignore Nobunaga's second son, Nobuo, and establish Nobutaka as the next heir. They all took it for granted, however, that Nobuo would oppose Nobutaka.

There was little reason to doubt that Nobunaga's successor would naturally be either Nobutaka or Nobuo, the younger brothers of Nobutada, who had died at Nijo Castle at the time of his father's death. Everyone, however, was confused over which one of these two should be supported.

Nobuo and Nobutaka: both were born in the First Month of the first year of Eiroku and were now twenty-four years old. Though it seems strange that they could be born in the same year and still be called older and younger brothers, the explanation is that they had different mothers. Although Nobuo was considered the elder brother and Nobutaka the younger, Nobutaka had actually been born twenty days earlier than Nobuo. It would have been natural, then, for Nobutaka to be called the elder brother, except for the fact that his mother was a woman from a small, obscure clan, and so he was designated Nobunaga's third son while Nobuo was established as the second.

Therefore, while these men were called brothers, the intimacy between true flesh-and-blood relatives was absent. Nobuo's disposition was lethargic and negative, and the only positive feeling he displayed was his constant opposition to Nobutaka, whom he looked down upon as his subordinate "younger brother."

When these two were fairly compared, everyone recognized that Nobutaka had far more the disposition to be Nobunaga's successor. On the battlefield he was much more like a general than was Nobuo; he displayed an ambitious spirit in his everyday words and actions, and, more than anything else, he was not retiring like his brother.

So it was natural that he began to show an aggressive attitude quite suddenly after going to Yamazaki and displaying a dominating presence in Hideyoshi's camp. His will­ingness to bear the responsibilities of the Oda heir were manifested clearly in his recent words and behavior, and as striking proof of the ambition he was entertaining, after the battle of Yamazaki he began to detest Hideyoshi.

For Nobuo, who had panicked when the Akechi had attacked and whose own army had set fire to Azuchi Castle, Nobutaka had some harsh words.

"If punishments are going to be clearly imposed, they will have to ask him about his responsibility. Nobuo is a fool." Although those sentiments were not spoken publicly, the atmosphere in Kiyosu was tense, and it was certain that someone must have repeated the words to Nobuo. It was a situation in which covert schemes brought out the most repug­nant aspects of human nature.

The conference was supposed to begin on the twenty-seventh of the month, but be­cause Takigawa Kazumasu was late in arriving, it was postponed one day after another until finally, on the first day of the Seventh Month, an announcement was circulated to all of the important retainers staying in Kiyosu: "Tomorrow, at the second half of the Hour of the Dragon, everyone should proceed to the castle, there to determine who will be the ruler of the nation. The chairman of this great conference will be Shibata Katsuie."

Nobutaka lent prestige to Katsuie, while Katsuie provided influence for Nobutaka, and they boasted that they would have their own way at this conference. Moreover, when the conference finally opened, it appeared that a great number of men were already lean­ing in their direction.

All of the many partitions in Kiyosu Castle had been opened that day, no doubt be­cause the sun continued to shine and the heat and stuffiness would otherwise have been unbearable. That action, however, also implied that a certain amount of care was being taken not to allow private conversations. Almost all the guards inside the castle were retainers of Shibata Katsuie.

By the Hour of the Snake, all of the lords were seated in the great hall.

Their seating arrangements were as follows:

Katsuie and Takigawa sat on the right, facing Hideyoshi and Niwa on the left. Lesser retainers, such as Shonyu, Hosokawa, Tsutsui, Gamo, and Hachiya, were seated behind them. At the very front in the seats of highest rank were Nobutaka and Nobuo. But from the side, Hasegawa Tamba could be seen holding a small boy.

That was, of course, Samboshi.

Waiting modestly beside them was Maeda Geni, the retainer who had received Nobutada's last order when the latter was about to die in the battle at Nijo Castle. Apparently he did not feel it an honor to be the only survivor present.

Samboshi was only two years old, and as his guardian held him on his lap directly in front of the assembled lords, he could barely keep still. He stretched out his hand and pushed Tamba's chin and then stood up in his lap.

To help the perplexed Tamba, Geni tried to humor the child by whispering some­thing from behind; at that, Samboshi reached over Tamba's shoulder and pulled Geni's ear. Bewildered, Geni did not protest, and once again the wet nurse who had been kneel­ing behind them placed a folded paper crane into Samboshi's hand. Geni's ear was saved.

The eyes of all the assembled generals fixed on the innocent child. Some showed a faint smile, while others shed silent tears. Only Katsuie looked out over the great hall with a sullen face. He appeared as though he would have liked to mutter something about a "nuisance."

As the chairman of the conference and as the dignified and solemn spokesman, he should have begun the proceedings by speaking first. Nevertheless, now everyone was distracted and he had lost the opportunity to speak. He seemed to be almost unbearably distraught at his own vain efforts.

At length Katsuie opened his mouth and said, "Lord Hideyoshi."

Hideyoshi looked straight at him.

Katsuie forced a smile. "What shall we do?" he asked, exactly as though he were opening negotiations. "Lord Samboshi is an innocent child. Being confined to his guard­ian's knee must be trying for him."

"That could be so," Hideyoshi said in a noncommittal tone.

Katsuie must have thought that Hideyoshi was becoming conciliatory, and he quickly mustered a confrontational attitude. Antipathy mixed with dignity stiffened his entire frame, and he now displayed an expression that showed his extreme displeasure.