"Call Goroza."
When the chief gunner prostrated himself before him, Nobunaga sat on the floor facing him.
"The message your father left me has pierced my heart. I will never forget it. I have no apology other than that." He was about to prostrate himself in front of Goroza but the youth confusedly took his hands in veneration. Lord and retainer embraced each other in tears.
That year the lord of the Oda built a temple in the castle town, dedicated to his old guardian's salvation. The magistrate asked him, "What name are we to give the temple? As the founder, you'll have to give guidance to the head priest on the selection of a name.”
"The old man would be happier with a name chosen by me." Taking up a brush, he wrote "Seishu Temple." After that, he would often set off suddenly for the temple, although he rarely held memorial services or sat with the priests reading the sutras.
"Old man! Old man!" Walking around the temple, he would mutter to himself and then just as abruptly return to the castle. These excursions appeared to be the whim of a madman. Once, when he was hawking, he suddenly tore flesh off a small bird and threw it into the air, saying "Old man! Take what I've caught!" Another time, while fishing, he splashed his foot in the water and said, "Old man! Become a Buddha!" The violence in his voice and eyes alarmed his attendants.
* * *
Nobunaga turned twenty-one in the first year of Koji. In May he found a pretext to make war on Oda Hikogoro, the nominal head of the Oda clan. He attacked his castle in Kiyosu and, after taking it, moved there from Nagoya.
Tokichiro observed his master's progress with satisfaction. The isolated Nobunaga was surrounded by hostile kinsmen—uncles and brothers among them—and the task of clearing them from his path was far more pressing than dealing with other enemies.
"He has to be watched," Hikogoro had warned. Putting pressure on him wherever he could, he planned Nobunaga's destruction. The governor of Kiyosu Castle, Shiba Yoshimune, and his son, Yoshikane, were supporters of Nobunaga. When Higokoro discovered this, he exclaimed angrily, "What a lesson in ingratitude!" and he ordered the governor’s execution. Yoshikane fled to Nobunaga, who hid him in Nagoya Castle. On that same day Nobunaga led his troops in an attack on Kiyosu Castle, rallying his men with the the battle cry, "To avenge the Provincial Governor!"
To attack the head of the clan, Nobunaga had to have right on his side. But it was also an opportunity to clear away some of the obstacles in his path. He put his uncle, Nobumitsu, in charge of Nagoya Castle, but he soon fell victim to an assassin.
"You go, Sado. You're the only one who can govern Nagoya Castle in my place." When Hayashi Sado took up his appointment, some of Nobunaga's retainers sighed, "He's a fool after all. Just when you think he's shown a spark of talent, he goes and does something stupid, like trusting Hayashi!"
There was good cause to be suspicious of Hayashi Sado. While Nobunaga's father lived, there had been no more loyal retainer. And for that reason, Nobuhide had appointed him and Hirate Nakatsukasa as his son's guardians after his death. But because Nobunaga had shown himself to be spoiled and unmanageable, Hayashi had given up on him. Thus he conspired with Nobunaga's younger brother, Nobuyuki, and his mother, in Suemori Castle, to overthrow Nobunaga.
"Lord Nobunaga must not know of Hayashi's treason," Tokichiro overheard troubled retainers whisper on more than one occasion. "If he did, he wouldn't have made him governor of Nagoya." But Tokichiro himself had no worries for his master. He asked himself how his master would deal with the problem. It seemed that the only ones with happy faces at Kiyosu were Nobunaga and one of his young sandal bearers.
One group among Nobunaga's senior retainers, including Hayashi Sado, his younger brother Mimasaka, and Shibata Katsuie, continued to see their lord as a hopeless fool.
"I'll admit the way Lord Nobunaga handled his first meeting with his father-in-law was different from his usual vacuous behavior. But that's what I call fool's luck. And during their formal interview, he behaved so disgracefully and shamelessly that even his father-in-law was appalled. As the saying goes, 'There's no cure for fools.' And there's no excusing his later conduct, no matter how you look at it." Shibata Katsuie and the others had convinced themselves that there was no hope for the future, and their views gradually became public knowledge. When Hayashi Sado became governor of Nagoya, he was often visited by Shibata Katsuie, and the castle soon became the seedbed of a treasonous plot.
"The rain is pleasant, is it not?"
"Yes, I find it adds to the charm of the tea." Sado and Katsuie were sitting face to face in a small teahouse, sheltered by a grove of trees, in the grounds of the castle. The rainy season had passed, but the rain still fell from a cloudy sky, and green plums plopped to the ground.
"It'll probably clear up tomorrow," Sado's brother, Mimasaka, said to himself as he sheltered under the branches of the plum trees. He had gone out to light the garden lantern. After lighting it, he lingered a bit and looked around. Finally, when he returned to the teahouse, he said in a low voice, "Nothing unusual to report. There's nobody around, so we can talk freely." Katsuie nodded.
"Well, let's get down to business. Yesterday I went secretly to Suemori Castle. I was received by Lord Nobunaga's mother and Lord Nobuyuki, and I discussed our plans with them. The decision is yours now."
"What did his mother say?"
"She is of the same opinion, and made no objections. She favors Nobuyuki over Nobunaga no matter what."
"Good. What about Nobuyuki?"
"He said that if Hayashi Sado and Shibata Katsuie rose against Nobunaga, naturally he would join them for the good of the clan."
"You persuaded them, I suppose."
"Well, his mother is involved, and Nobuyuki is weak-willed. If I didn't egg them on, there would be no reason for them to join us."
"We have plenty of justification to overthrow Nobunaga, as long as we have their agreement. We're not the only retainers worried about Nobunaga's foolishness and concerned for the safety of the clan."
"'For Owari and one hundred more years for the Oda clan!' will be our rallying cry, but what about military preparations?"
"We have a good opportunity now. I can move quickly from Nagoya. When the war drum sounds, I'll be ready."
"Good. Well, then—" Katsuie leaned forward conspiratorially.
At that moment something fell noisily to the ground in the garden. It was just a few unripe plums. There was a lull in the rain, but drops of water carried by gusts of wind hit the eaves. Doglike, a human figure crawled out from the space under the floor. The plums had not fallen by themselves a few moments before; the black-garbed man, who had stuck his head out from under the house, had thrown them. When all eyes in turned, the man took advantage of the distraction and disappeared into the wind and darkness.
Ninja were the eyes and ears of the lord of the castle. Anyone who ruled a castle, living within its walls and constantly surrounded by retainers, had to depend on spies. Nobunaga employed a master ninja. But even his closest retainers did not know the man’s identity.
Nobunaga had three sandal bearers: Matasuke, Ganmaku, and Tokichiro. Though they were servants, they had their own separate quarters and took turns on duty near the garden.
"Ganmaku, what's the matter?"
Tokichiro and Ganmaku were close friends. Ganmaku was lying under the futon, asleep. He loved nothing better than to sleep and did so at every opportunity.
"My stomach hurts," Ganmaku said from under the futon.
Tokichiro tugged at the edge of the bedding. "You're lying. Get up. I just got back from town, and I bought something tasty on the way."