Nobutaka left Gifu Castle, took a boat, and landed at Utsumi in Owari. One of Nobuo's attendants went to Nobutaka with an order for him to commit seppuku, and, feeling that his time had come, Nobutaka calmly wrote out his last words and then took his own life. Thus Nobutaka's end was caused by his own brother. But the man who was behind his death was Hideyoshi. It is hardly necessary to say that Hideyoshi was unwilling to attack Nobutaka—who was so closely related to Nobunaga—with his own army, and so resorted to using Nobuo.

At any rate, the mediocrity of Nobuo and Nobutaka cannot be doubted. If they had made their minds one as brothers—or if either one had been distinguished in bravery and blessed with an eye that could perceive the tide of the times—they would not have experienced such a collapse in the end. Compared with Nobuo, who showed a good-natured stupidity, Nobutaka was a bit more courageous. But he was really not much more than an incompetent bluffer.On that seventh day Hideyoshi left for Azuchi, stopping at Sakamoto Castle on the eleventh. In Ise, Takigawa Kazumasu also surrendered. Hideyoshi gave him a province in Omi worth five thousand bushels. He did not venture to question Kazumasu about his past crimes.

10 ELEVENTH YEAR OF TENSHO 1583

Characters and Places

Gamo Ujisato, senior Oda retainer

Nakagawa Kanemon, commander of Inuyama Castle

Ikeda Yukisuke, Shonyu's son

Bito Jinemon, retainer to Hideyoshi

Mori Nagayoshi, Ikeda Shonyu's son-in-law

Sakai Tadatsugu, senior Tokugawa retainer

Honda Heihachiro, senior Tokugawa retainer

Ii Hyobu, senior Tokugawa retainer

Miyoshi Hidetsugu, Hideyoshi's nephew

Oda Nobuteru, Nobuo's uncle

Ise, Oda Nobuo's province

Nagashima, Oda Nobuo's main castle

Ogaki, Ikeda Shonyu's castle

Mount Komaki, fortified position held by Ieyasu

Gakuden, Hideyoshi's main camp

Okazaki, Tokugawa Ieyasu's castle

Osaka, Hideyoshi's new castle

The Sins of the Father

In just one short year, Hideyoshi had risen so rapidly to prominence that even he was surprised. He had struck down the Akechi and the Shibata; Takigawa and Sassa knelt before him; Niwa held him in special confidence; and Inuchiyo had demonstrated his loyalty to their old friendship.

Hideyoshi now controlled almost all the provinces that Nobunaga had conquered. Even his relationship with provinces outside Nobunaga’s sphere of influence had undergone a complete change. The Mori, who for years had obstinately resisted Nobunaga's plans for hegemony, had signed a treaty of alliance and sent hostages.

There was, however, one man who remained an open question: Tokugawa Ieyasu. There had been no communication between the two for some time. They were silent, like poor chess players waiting for the other side to make a good move.

The silence was finally broken by a diplomatic overture from Ieyasu, soon after Hideyoshi's return to Kyoto on the twenty-first day of the Fifth Month. Ieyasu's most senior general, Ishikawa Kazumasa, called on Hideyoshi at Takaradera Castle.

"I have come to convey Lord Ieyasu's congratulations. Your great victory has brought peace to the nation." With that solemn announcement, Kazumasa presented Hideyoshi with a valuable antique tea container called Hatsuhana.

Hideyoshi had become a devotee of the tea ceremony, and he was delighted to receive the precious gift. But it was also clear that he derived even greater satisfaction from having received the courtesy from Ieyasu first. Kazumasa had planned on returning to Hamamatsu that very day, but Hideyoshi detained him.

"You don't have to hurry," Hideyoshi said. "Stay for two or three days. I'll tell Lord Ieyasu that I insisted. Especially since we're having a little family celebration tomorrow.

What Hideyoshi called "a little family celebration" was the banquet to mark his Investiture with a new court title, which was the seal of imperial approval on his domestic policies and military successes. He was also to announce the construction of a major new castle in Osaka.

The banquet lasted three days. A seemingly endless line of guests made its way up to the castle, and the narrow streets of the town were clogged with the carriages of courtiers, servants and horses.

Kazumasa was forced to admit that Nobunaga's mantle had come to rest on Hideyoshi’s shoulders. Until that day he had firmly believed that it would be his lord, Ieyasu, who would succeed Nobunaga, but the time he spent with Hideyoshi changed his mind.  When he compared Hideyoshi's and Ieyasu's provinces and reflected on the differences between their troops, he concluded sadly that the Tokugawa domain was still a small provincial outpost in eastern Japan.

A few days later, Kazumasa announced his intention to leave, and Hideyoshi accompanied him as far as Kyoto. As they were riding along, Hideyoshi turned in the saddle and looked back. He beckoned to Kazumasa, who was riding some way behind, to join him. As a retainer of another clan, Kazumasa had been received with the courtesy due to a guest, but he quite naturally rode behind Hideyoshi.

Hideyoshi said warmly, "We decided to travel together, and that doesn't mean that we should ride separately. The road to Kyoto is particularly boring, so let's talk as we ride."

Kazumasa hesitated for a moment but then rode up to Hideyoshi's side.

“it’s inconvenient going back and forth to Kyoto," Hideyoshi went on. "So within the year I’m going to move to Osaka, which is close to the capital." He then described his plans to build a castle.

“You’ve chosen a good location in Osaka," Kazumasa remarked. "It's said that Lord Nobunaga had his eye on Osaka for a number of years."

“Yes, but the warrior-monks of the Honganji were entrenched in their temple-fortress there, so he was forced to settle for Azuchi."

Before long they entered the city of Kyoto, but just as Kazumasa was about to take his leave, Hideyoshi stopped him once again and said, "It wouldn't be advisable to take the land route in this heat. You'd better take a boat across the lake from Otsu. Let's have some lunch with Maeda Geni while the boat's being prepared."

He was referring to the man he had recently appointed to the governorship of Kyoto.  Giving Kazumasa no chance to refuse, Hideyoshi led him to the governor's mansion. The courtyard had been swept clean, as though the visitor had been expected, and Geni's reception of-Kazumasa was extremely courteous.

Hideyoshi continuously urged Kazumasa to relax, and during lunch they talked of nothing else but the castle he was going to build.

Geni brought in a large sheet of paper and spread it out on the floor. A plan for a cas

Tle was beining shown to an envoy from another province, and both the man showing it and the man being shown it looked apprehensive of the reason for Hideyoshi's openness; ^parent explanation was that Hideyoshi had forgotten that Kazumasa was a retainer of the Tokugawa clan, as well as the status of his own relationship with that clan.

“I’ve heard that you're quite an expert on castles," Hideyoshi told Kazumasa, " so if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate."Just as Hideyoshi had said, Kazumasa was quite well versed in castle construction. Normally such plans would be top secret—hardly something to show to a retainer from a rival province—but Kazumasa put away his doubts about Hideyoshi's intentions and studied the plans.

Kazumasa knew Hideyoshi was unlikely to do anything small, but he was overawed by the scale of the project. When Osaka had been the headquarters of the warrior-monks of the Honganji, their fortress had occupied an area of one thousand square yards. In Hideyoshi's plan, that became the foundation for the main citadel. The area's topography —rivers, mountains, and seacoast—had been taken into consideration; their advantages and disadvantages had been considered, and the comparative difficulties of attack and defense and other logistical problems had all been thought out. The main citadel, and the second and third, were all surrounded by earthen walls. The circuit of the outer walls was more than six leagues. The tallest building within the walls was a five-story keep, which would be pierced with openings from which to shoot arrows. The tiles of the roof were to be gold-leafed.