It seemed that Ieyasu could never forget the time he had spent with the Imagawa clan. There was no one among his attendant retainers who had not heard the stories of his days as a hostage.

"But you know," he continued, "according to what I was told by Sessai, priests have more respect for what a man's shoulders say about him than what his face does. It seems that he could tell if a man had reached enlightenment just by looking at his shoulders. So, when I looked to see what the abbot's shoulders were like, I found that they were always as round and soft as a halo. If a man wanted to put the entire universe in his breast, he couldn’t do it with his chest stuck out. So I started to think that my own posture was not so bad."

Having set up his headquarters in Fujigane, Ieyasu looked around calmly.

"Is that Gifugadake? The men there must be Nagayoshi's. Well, I suppose Shonyu's forces will very soon be getting themselves ready at some mountain or another. One of you scouts hurry and take a look."

The scouts quickly returned and made their reports to Ieyasu. Of course, the information about the enemy positions came in piecemeal. As Ieyasu listened to the reports, he formulated his strategy.

By that time it was already the Hour of the Serpent. Nearly two hours had passed since the enemy's banners had appeared on the mountain before them.

But Ieyasu was composed. "Shiroza. Hanjuro. Come over here." Still seated, he looked around with a serene expression.

"Yes, my lord?" The two samurai approached him, their armor clattering.

Ieyasu asked for the two men's opinions as he compared the map in front of him with the immediate scene.

"When I think about it, it seems that Shonyu's forces at Kobehazama must consist of the real veterans. Depending on how they move, we may be at a real disadvantage here at Fujigane."

One of the men pointed to the peaks in the southeast and answered, "If you're resolved to a decisive battle of close fighting, I think that the foothills over there could be much better places to plant your banners."

"Good! Let's move."

His decision was that quick. The change in the army's position was made immediately. From the foothills, the elevated land held by the enemy was close enough to touch.

Separated only by a marsh and the low area of Karasuhazama, the soldiers could see their enemies' faces and even hear their voices carried on the wind.

Ieyasu ordered the placement of each unit, while he himself had his camp stool set up in a place with an unobstructed view.

"Well, I see that Ii is leading the vanguard today," Ieyasu said.

"The Red Guard has come out to the front!"

"They look good, but I wonder how well they'll fight."

Ii Hyobu was twenty-three years old. Everyone knew that the young man was highly regarded by Ieyasu, and until that morning he had been among the retainers at Ieyasu's side. For his part, Ieyasu viewed Ii as a man that could be put to good use, and he had given him the command of three thousand men and the responsibility for leading the vanguard. That position held the possibility of yielding both the greatest fame and the bitterest hardship.

"Show your spirit just as you please today," Ieyasu counseled.

Ii was so young, however, that Ieyasu took the precaution of attaching two of his experienced retainers to his unit. He added, "Listen to the words of these veterans."

The brothers Yukisuke and Terumasa looked out at the Red Guard from their elevated position at Tanojiri, to the south.

"Strike at that ostentatious Red Corps that's making such a show!" Yukisuke ordered.

With that, the brothers sent a unit of two or three hundred men out from the side of a ravine and a attack corps of one thousand men from the front lines, first opening up with their firearms. At the same time, the foothills erupted in thunderous gunfire, and white smoke spread out like a cloud. As the smoke turned into a light haze and drifted toward the marsh, Ii's red-clad warriors quickly ran toward the low ground. A group of black-armored warriors and foot soldiers ran out to meet them. The distance between the two groups was quickly breached, and the two spear corps engaged in hand-to-hand fighting.

The real heroics of a warrior's battle were usually seen in the fight of spear against spear. More than that, the outcome of battle was often decided by the actions of the spearmen.

It was here that the Ii corps killed several hundred of the enemy. The Red Guard, however, did not escape without casualties, and a good number of Ii’s retainers met their deaths.

Ikeda Shonyu had been thinking about the plan of battle for some time. He saw that the troops under his sons were engaged in hand-to-hand fighting with the Red Guards, and that the battle was gradually becoming intensified. "Now's your chance!" he yelled behind him.

A corps of about two hundred men who were ready to win or die had readied their spears beforehand and were waiting for the moment. As soon as they were given the command to advance, they were to rush out into the direction of Nagakute. It was in Shonyu's character to choose unusual battle tactics even at a time like this. The unit of attack troops received the command, circled around Nagakute, and aimed at the troops that remained after the Tokugawa's left wing had pushed forward. The plan was to swiftly attack the enemy's center and, when the enemy's battle array was in confusion, to capture the commander-in-chief, Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The plan, however, did not succeed. Discovered by the Tokugawa before reaching their objective, they received a heavy fusillade of musket fire and were brought to a standstill in a swampy area where it was difficult to move. Unable to advance or retreat, they sustained pitiful losses.

Nagayoshi looked out at the battle situation from Gifugadake and clicked his tongue. “Ah, they were sent too early," he cried out. "It's not like my father-in-law to be so impatient." Today it was the young man who, in every situation, was far more composed than his father-in-law. In fact, Nagayoshi was resolved in his heart that that day was to be the day of his death. With no other thoughts or distractions, he simply looked straight ahead at the commander's stool under the golden fan in the foothills in front of him.

If only I can kill Ieyasu, he thought. Ieyasu, for his part, kept his eye on Gifugadake more than on any other area, aware that the spirit in Nagayoshi's ranks was high. When a scout informed him about the way Nagayoshi was dressed that day, he issued a warning to the men around him.

"Nagayoshi appears to be dressed in his death outfit today, and there's nothing more intimidating than an enemy determined to die. Don't make light of him and be taken in by the god of death."

Thus, the confrontation was not going to be easily initiated by either side. Nagayoshi watched his opponent's movements, feeling in his heart that if the battle at Tanojiri intensified, Ieyasu would not be able to look on simply as a spectator. Surely he would detach a division of soldiers and send them as reinforcements. And with that opportunity Nagayoshi would strike. But Ieyasu was not going to be taken in easily.

"Nagayoshi is fiercer than most men. If he's this quiet, it's certain that he's up to something."

But the situation at Tanojiri betrayed Nagayoshi's expectations, and the signs of the Ikeda brothers' defeat were coming thick and fast. Finally he resolved that he could wait no longer. But just at that moment, the commander's standard with the golden fan that had remained invisible until now was suddenly raised in the foothills where Ieyasu waited.

Half of Ieyasu's army dashed toward Tanojiri, while the remaining men raised their voices and attacked Gifugadake.

Nagayoshi's troops charged out to meet them, and with the collision of the two armies, the lowland area of Karasuhazama was turned into a whirlpool of blood.