You're not a very good overseer. And you think I'm wrong to laugh at you."

"That is unpardonably abusive language! You miserable wretch! To someone of my rank—"

"Listen!" Tokichiro stuck out his chest and, looking at the faces around him, said, "Are these times of peace or of war? The man who doesn't understand this is a fool. Kiyosu Castle is surrounded by enemies: Imagawa Yoshimoto and Takeda Shingen to the east, Asakura Yoshikage and Saito Yoshitatsu to the north, the Sasaki and the Asai to the west, and the Tokugawa of Mikawa to the south." They were overpowered. His voice was full of self-confidence, and because he was not simply speaking his own private feelings, they all listened raptly, carried away by his voice. "The retainers think these walls are im­pregnable, but if a storm were to blow, they would crumble. It's outrageous negligence that this little bit of construction has taken over twenty days, and is still taking day after tedious day. What would happen if an enemy took advantage of this weak point and stormed the castle one night?

"There are three rules governing castle construction. The first is to build with speed and secrecy. The second is to build with unadorned strength. This means that ornament and beauty are fine, but only in peacetime. The third is constant preparedness, which means to be ready for attack despite the confusion of construction. The most frightening thing about construction is the possibility of creating a breach. The province might fall because of one small breach in a mud wall."

His intensity was overpowering. Ukon was about to say something two or three times, but he was checked by Tokichiro's eloquence, and his lips could only quiver. The foremen, too, gaped, overawed by Tokichiro's speech. Hearing the sense in what he said, no one could interrupt him with either abusive language or force. It was now unclear who was the overseer. When Tokichiro thought that what he was saying had sunk in, he continued.

"So while it's impolite to ask, just how exactly is Master Ukon conducting this enterprise? Where is the speed, the secrecy? Where the preparedness? After almost twenty days, has even one yard of the wall been rebuilt? It takes time to replace the collapsed stones be­neath the mud walls. But to state that castle construction is subject to the same military regulations as a battlefield—this is nothing more than the boast of someone who does not know his true station. If I were a spy from an enemy province, I would see that an at­tack could be made where the wall is weakest. It's folly to think that this won't happen, and to carry on in a leisurely fashion as though you were a retired gentleman building a teahouse!

"It's extremely inconvenient for those of us who work within the castle grounds. Rather than blame those passing through, why not discuss the matter and speed up the progress of the construction? Do you understand? Not just the overseer but you, too, his subordinates and the foremen."

When he had finished, he laughed cheerfully. "Well, excuse me. I've been rude, just speaking what's on my mind, but we all think of this as an important official matter, night and day. Well, it's gotten dark. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go home."

While Ukon and his men stood dumbfounded, Tokichiro quickly left the castle grounds.

The following day Tokichiro was in the stables. In his new post, his diligence was second to none.

"Nobody loves horses as much as he does," his colleagues said. To an extent that amazed even the other stable workers, he completely immersed himself in the rounds of the stables and in the grooming of the horses, and his daily life was totally taken up with these animals.

The group leader came to the stables and called to him, "Kinoshita, you've been summoned."

Tokichiro looked out from beneath the belly of Nobunaga's favorite horse, Sangetsu, and asked, "By whom?" Sangetsu had developed an abscess on his leg, so Tokichiro was washing his fetlocks with hot water.

"If it's a summons, it means by Lord Nobunaga. Hurry up." The group leader turn and shouted in the direction of the samurais' room, "Hey! Somebody take Kinoshita place and take Sangetsu to the stable."

"No, no. I'll do it." Tokichiro did not emerge until he had finished washing Sangetsu’s leg. He applied an ointment and bandaged the wound, stroked the animal's neck, and then took it back to its stall himself.

"Where is Lord Nobunaga?"

"In the garden. If you don't hurry, you're going to put His Lordship in a bad mod.”t

Tokichiro went into the office and pulled on his blue coat with the paulownia crest. With Nobunaga in the garden were four or five retainers, including Shibata Katsuie and Maeda Inuchiyo.

Tokichiro, dressed in his blue coat, hurried over, stopped more than twenty yards from Nobunaga, and prostrated himself.

"Monkey, come here," Nobunaga ordered. Inuchiyo immediately put up a stool for him. "Come closer."

"Yes, my lord."

"Monkey? I've heard that you shot out some pretty big words at the construction site on the outer walls last night."

"You've already heard, my lord?"

Nobunaga forced a smile. Tokichiro did not seem to be a person who would have 1et out those big words; he was now bowing before him, looking shamefaced.

"From now on, restrain yourself," Nobunaga reprimanded him. "Yamabuchi Ukon came to me this morning with loud complaints about your bad manners. I calmed hir down because, according to others, there seemed to be a lot of sense in your words."

"I'm extremely sorry."

"Go to the construction site and apologize to Ukon."

"Me, my lord?"

"Of course."

“If it's an order, I'll go and apologize."

“Do you disapprove?"

“I hesitate to say this, but won't it encourage his vice? What I said was correct, and his work,, in terms of service to you, can hardly be called conscientious. Even that little bit of repair has taken close to more than twenty days, and furthermore—"

"Monkey, are you going to spit out those big words even to me? I've heard your lec­ture already."

"I thought I spoke what was obvious, certainly not just big words."

"If that's so, how many days should it take to finish the job?"

"Well…" Tokichiro became a bit more cautious and thoughtful, but he answered promptly, "Well, since the work has already been started, I think I could finish it without difficulty in three days."

"Three days!" Nobunaga exclaimed involuntarily.

Shibata Katsuie looked exasperated and sneered at Nobunaga's credulity in believing Tokichiro. But Inuchiyo had absolutely no doubt that he could do exactly as he claimed.

Nobunaga promoted Tokichiro to the post of overseer of building works on the spot. He would replace Yamabuchi Ukon, and in just three days, he would be expected to re­pair two hundred yards of the castle walls.

He accepted the commission and prepared to withdraw, but Nobunaga asked him again, "Wait. Are you sure you can do it?" From the sympathetic tone of Nobunaga's voice, it was clear that he did not want Tokichiro to be forced to commit seppuku if he was to fail. Tokichiro sat a little straighter and said with certainty, "I will do it without fail."

Nevertheless, Nobunaga asked him to think about it a little more. "Monkey, the mouth is the cause of most disasters. Don't be obstinate over such a trivial matter."

"I'll have the walls ready for your inspection after three days," Tokichiro repeated, and withdrew.

That day he returned home earlier than usual. "Gonzo! Gonzo!" he called out. When his young servant peeked into the back garden at his master's call, there was Tokichiro, stripped naked and sitting cross-legged.

"Do you have an errand for me?"

"Yes, indeed!" he answered heartily. "You have some money on hand, don't you?"

"Money?"

"That's what I said."