TAIKO: AN EPIC NOVEL OF WAR AND GLORY IN FEUDAL JAPAN

Hideyoshi's witness, Horio Mosuke. A small red banner had been fixed to the prow and a red carpet spread over the wooden floor.

The little boat bearing Muneharu in his death robe floated gently as it waited for the Mosuke's boat with its fluttering red banner to pull alongside. The water was at peace. The surrounding mountains were at peace. The only sound to be heard was the oar of the approaching boat.

Muneharu faced the Mori camp on Mount Iwasaki and bowed. In his heart he gave thanks for the many years of patronage he had received. Gazing at his lord's banners, his eyes filled with tears.

'Is this boat carrying the defending general of Takamatsu Castle, Shimizu Muneharu?' Mosuke asked.

'You are correct,' Muneharu answered politely. 'I am Shimizu Muneharu. I have come to commit seppuku as a condition of the peace treaty.'

'I have something else to say, so please wait a moment,' Mosuke said. 'Bring your boat a little closer,' he instructed the retainer at the oar of Muneharu's boat.

The gunwales of the two boats lightly brushed each other.

Mosuke then said in a dignified manner, 'I have a message from Lord Hideyoshi. Peace would have been impossible without your consent in this matter. The long siege must have been trying for you, and he would like you to accept this offering as a small token of his feelings. You should not be concerned if the sun climbs too high. Please finish your leave-taking at your leisure.'

A cask of the best sake and a number of delicacies were transferred from one boat the other.

Muneharu's face was filled with joy. 'This is unexpected. And, if it is Lord Hideyoshi’s wish, I will gladly sample them.' Muneharu helped himself, and ladled cups for his companions. 'Maybe it's because I haven't had such fine sake for a long time, but I'm feeling a little drunk. Please excuse my clumsiness, General Horio, but I would like to perform a final dance.' Then turning to his companions, he asked, 'We don't have a drum, but would you clap and beat the rhythm and sing?'

Muneharu stood up in the small boat and flicked open a white fan. As he moved the rhythm of the clapping, the boat swayed slightly, making small waves. Mosuke could not bear to look at him and hung his head.

As soon as the chanting stopped, Muneharu spoke distinctly once again. 'General Mosuke, please witness this carefully.'

Mosuke looked up and saw that Muneharu had knelt down and cut straight across

his stomach with his sword. As he spoke, his blood turned the inside of the boat red.

'Brother, I'm coming too!' Gessho cried out, slashing his own belly.

After Muneharu's retainers had handed the box containing Muneharu's severed head to Mosuke and returned to the castle, they followed their master in death.

When Mosuke arrived at the Jihoin Temple, he reported Muneharu's seppuku and displayed his head in front of Hideyoshi's camp stool.

'Such a pity,' Hideyoshi lamented. 'Muneharu was an excellent samurai.' He had never appeared more moved. But soon thereafter, he summoned Ekei. When the monk arrived, Hideyoshi immediately showed him a document.

'The only thing that remains now is to exchange pledges. Look at what I've written, and then I'll send a messenger for the Mori's pledge.'

Ekei looked over the pledge and then respectfully returned it to Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi asked for a brush and signed. He then cut his little finger and affixed a seal of blood next to his signature. The peace treaty was signed.

A few hours later, shock and a sense of loss swept over the Mori camp like a whirl­wind with the report of Nobunaga's death. In Terumoto's field headquarters, the faction that had opposed peace all along now spoke up loudly, clamoring for an immediate at­tack on Hideyoshi.

'We were fooled!'

'That bastard completely took us in!'

'The peace treaty should be torn up!'

'We have not been deceived,' Kobayakawa said firmly. 'The talks were initiated by us, not by Hideyoshi. And there was no way he could have foreseen the disaster in Kyoto.'

His brother Kikkawa, who spoke for those who favored the resumption of hostilities, urged Terumoto, 'Nobunaga's death means the disintegration of the Oda forces; they will be no match for us now. Hideyoshi is the first one you'd name as a successor to Nobunaga, and it should be an easy matter to attack him here and now, especially consid­ering the weakness at his rear. If we were to do that, we would become the rulers of the Empire.'

'No, no. I disagree,' Kobayakawa said. 'Hideyoshi is the only man who can restore peace and order. And it's an old samurai saying that one does not strike an enemy in mourning. Even if we were to tear up the treaty and attack, if he survived, he would come back to take his revenge.'

'We cannot let this opportunity slip by,' Kikkawa insisted.

As a last resort, Kobayakawa brought up their former lord's dying instructions: 'The clan must defend its own borders. No matter how strong or wealthy we become, we must never expand beyond the western provinces.'

It was time for the lord of the Mori to give his decision. 'I agree with my uncle Kobayakawa. We will not break the treaty and make Hideyoshi into an enemy for a second time.'

By the time the secret conference ended, it was the evening of the fourth. As the two generals walked back to their camp, they met a party of their own scouts. The officer in charge pointed excitedly into the darkness and said, 'The Ukita have started to withdraw their troops.'

Listening to the report, Kikkawa clicked his tongue. The opportunity had already passed. Kobayakawa read his older brother's thoughts. 'Are you still feeling some regrets? he asked.

'Of course I am.'

'Well, suppose we did take over the country,' Kobayakawa continued, 'do you think you'd be the man to rule?' There was a pause. 'Judging from your silence, I suspect you don't think so. When someone without the proper ability rules the country, it lead certain chaos. It would not stop at the fall of the Mori clan.'

'You don't have to say any more, I understand,' Kikkawa said, turning away. Looking up sadly at the night sky over the western provinces, he fought to hold back the tears were rolling down his cheeks.

Requiem of Blood

The need for the Oda troops' immediate withdrawal had been the reason behind the peace treaty, and Hideyoshi's allies, the Ukita, began to retreat that very night. Not one soldier, however, was withdrawn from Hideyoshi's main camp. On the morning of the fifth, Hideyoshi had still not made a move. Although his mind was racing toward the capital, he gave no indication that he was planning to break camp.

'Hikoemon, how much has the water level gone down?'

'About three feet.'

'Don't let it fall too quickly.'

Hideyoshi went out into the temple garden. Although the dike had been cut and the water was beginning to go down little by little, Takamatsu Castle was still stranded in the middle of the water. One of Hideyoshi's retainers had already gone to the castle the night before to accept its capitulation. And now the defenders were being ferried out.

When evening came, Hideyoshi sent a man to spy on the Mori. He then consulted with Kanbei and his other generals and quickly made preparations to strike camp. 'Have them breach the dike right away,' he ordered Kanbei.

The dike was now breached in ten places. Almost at once, the water began to stir. Innumerable whirlpools appeared as the waters rushed through the openings with a roar that sounded like a tidal wave.

Which would be faster, the water or Hideyoshi, who now whipped his horse toward the east? The high