He was accompanied by two thousand soldiers. His persimmon-colored silk armor coat was covered with the sweat and dust of the day. But it was in that dirty coat, and the steady movements of his military fan, that he gave out the instructions for the battle.
It was already late at night, somewhere between the second half of the Hour of the Boar and the first half of the Hour of the Rat.
Hachigamine lay to the east of Shizugatake. Genba had brought up a single corps there during the evening. His plan for the attack on Shizugatake the following morning was to act in concert with the vanguard at Iiurazaka and Shimizudani to the northwest and to isolate the enemy fortress.
Stars filled the entire sky. The mountains, however, covered with trees and shrubs, were as black as ink, and the path that wound through them was nothing more than a narrow woodcutters' trail.
One of the sentries grunted.
“What's going on?' another man asked.
“Come here and take a look,' yet another man called from a little farther off. The sound of men rustling through the undergrowth could be heard, and then the figures of sentries appeared on the ridge.
“There seems to be a sort of glow in the sky,' one of them said, pointing toward the southeast.
“Where?'
“From the right of that big cypress all the way to the south.'
“What do you think it is?'
They all laughed.
“It must be the farmers near Otsu or Kuroda burning something.'
'There shouldn't be any farmers left in the villages. They've all run away to the mountains.'
“Well then, maybe it's the bonfires of the enemy stationed at Kinomoto.'
'I don't think so. On a night when the clouds are low it would be different, but it's strange to see the sky colored like this on a clear night. There are too many trees blocking our view here, but we should be able to see if we climb up to the edge of that cliff.'
'Hold up! That's dangerous!'
'If you slip, you'll fall all the way into the valley!'
They tried to stop him, but he climbed out onto the rock face, clinging to the vines. His silhouette looked like that of a monkey on top of the rocky mountain.
'Oh no! This is horrible!' he suddenly called out.
His exclamation startled everyone below.
'What is it? What do you see?'
The man on the ridge stood silently, almost as though he were in a daze. One after another, the men below climbed up to where he was. When they reached the top, they all trembled. Standing on the rocky clifftop, they could see not only Lake Yogo and Lake Biwa but also the road to the northern provinces that wound its way south along the lake. Even the base of Mount Ibuki was visible.
Night had fallen, so it was difficult to see clearly, but there appeared to be a single line of flames flowing like a river all the way from Nagahama to Kinomoto near the foot of the mountain they were on. The flames stretched from point to point as far as the eye could see—a steady stream of fire with circles of light.
'What's that?'
Dazzled for a moment, they suddenly came to their senses.
'Let's go! Quick!'
The sentries scrambled down the cliff face almost as if they'd lost their grip, and ran off to inform the main camp.
With glorious expectations for the next day, Genba had gone to sleep early. His soldiers too were already asleep.
It was close to the Hour of the Boar when Genba sat up, aroused from his light sleep.
'Tsushima!' he called out.
Osaki Tsushima was sleeping nearby, and by the time he got up, Genba was already standing before him, grasping a spear he had taken from the hand of a page.
'I just heard a horse whinny. Go out and check.'
'Right!'
As Tsushima lifted the curtain he ran headlong into a man yelling for his life.
'This is an emergency!' the man said, panicked.
Genba raised his voice and asked, 'What do you have to report?'
In his agitated state the man was unable to report on the urgent situation with conciseness.
'There are a great number of torches and bonfires along the road between Mino and Kinomoto, and they're moving along in an alarming red line. Lord Katsumasa thinks it's got to be an enemy movement.'
'What! A line of fire on the Mino road?'
Genba looked as though he still did not understand. But one step behind that urgent report from Shimizudani came a similar dispatch from Hara Fusachika, who was camped at Hachigamine.
The soldiers in camp began to wake up in the dark commotion. Ripples spread out immediately.
Curiously, Hideyoshi was coming back from Mino. But Genba could not quite believe it; he still wore the unwavering look of someone who persists in his own convictions.
“Tsushima! Go verify this!'
With that order he demanded his camp stool and consciously put on an air of composure. Certainly he understood the subtle feelings of his retainers as they looked to see what was written on his face.
Osaki returned quickly. He had ridden to Shimizudani, then to Hachigamine, and then continued from Mount Chausu to Kannonzaka in order to ascertain the facts. And the facts were these:
“Not only can you see the torches and bonfires, but if you listen carefully you can hear the whinnying of the horses and the clattering of their hooves. It's nothing to joke about. You'll need to plan a counter strategy as quickly as possible.'
“Well, what about Hideyoshi?'
“It’s thought that Hideyoshi is in the van.'
Genba was now so taken aback that he could hardly find the words to speak. Biting his lip, he looked up silently, his face pale.
After a while he said, 'We'll retreat. There's nothing else we can do, is there? A large army is on its way, and our troops are isolated here.'
Genba had stubbornly refused to obey Katsuie's orders the night before. Now he himself ordered his panicked troops to make preparations to strike camp, and hastened his retainers and pages.
“Is the messenger from Hachigamine still here?' Genba asked the retainers around him as he mounted his horse. Told that the messenger was still in camp, he summoned him.
“Go back immediately and tell Hikojiro that our main corps is now beginning a retreat, pulling back through Shimizudani, Iiurazaka, Kawanami, and Moyama. Hikojiro's forces should follow us as a rear guard.'
As soon as he had finished giving the order, Genba joined his retainers and started down the pitch-dark mountain path.
Sthus, Sakuma's main army began its general retreat during the second half of the Hour of the Boar. The moon was not out when they set off. For about half an hour they burned no torches, to prevent the enemy from discovering their whereabouts. Instead, they stumbled down the narrow paths by the light of their fuse cords and the stars.
Comparing their movements in terms of time, Genba must have started to strike
camp just as Hideyoshi had climbed up Mount Chausu from Kuroda village and was taking a rest.
It was there that Hideyoshi talked with Niwa Nagahide, who had come in haste from Shizugatake to have an audience with him. Nagahide was an honored guest, and Hideyoshi’s treatment of him was polite indeed.
“I hardly know what to say at present,' he said. 'You've gone to great trouble since this morning.'
With those few words, he shared the commander's seat with Nagahide, later askingabout matters like the enemy's situation and the lay of the land. From time to time the laughing voices of the two men could be heard on the night wind blowing across the mountaintop.
During that time, the soldiers following Hideyoshi continued coming into camp in groups of two and three
