Only Hideyoshi did not appear. Eyes were strained in doubt. But as the generals looked in the direction of the faraway altar, among the austere articles such as the shrine, the mortuary tablet, the golden screen, the offertory flowers, and the incense burner, they could see Hideyoshi sitting coolly and smugly beneath the altar, holding the young Samboshi on his lap.

Each one of them wondered what he was doing. When they thought it over, however, they remembered that it had been the judgment of the majority at the conference that afternoon that Hideyoshi would be recognized as an aide to the young lord, along with his two guardians. On those grounds he could not be accused of being presumptuous.

And, simply because he could not find any reason to censure Hideyoshi, Katsuie looked extremely displeased.

"Please go up to the altar in the proper order," Katsuie growled at n.o.buo and n.o.butaka, twisting his chin. His voice was low, but it was boiling over with vexation.

"Pardon me, please," n.o.buo said to n.o.butaka, and stood up first.

Now it was n.o.butaka's turn to look displeased. He seemed to feel that being placed behind n.o.buo in front of the a.s.sembled generals would place him in a subordinate position in the future.

n.o.buo faced his father's mortuary tablet, closed his eyes, and put his hands together in prayer. Offering incense, he prayed once again in front of the shrine and then withdrew.

Seeing that the man was about to return directly to his own seat, Hideyoshi cleared his throat once as if to bring attention to the child, Samboshi, who was sitting on his lap. Without actually saying "Your new lord is over here!" he attracted n.o.buo's attention.

n.o.buo seemed almost startled at Hideyoshi's deliberate gesture, and hurriedly turned in their direction on his knees. He was by nature a weak man, and his alarm seemed almost pitiful.

Looking up at Samboshi, n.o.buo bowed reverently. In fact, he was too polite.

It was not the young lord who nodded his approval; it was Hideyoshi. Samboshi was a fretful, spoiled child, but for some reason, seated on Hideyoshi's lap, he was as quiescent as a little doll.

When n.o.butaka stood up, he likewise prayed in front of the soul of his father. But having witnessed n.o.buo's precedent and apparently not wanting to be laughed at by the other generals, he bowed reverently toward Samboshi with a truly correct demeanor. He then went back to his seat.

The next was Shibata Katsuie. When his large frame knelt before the shrine, almost hiding it from view, both the red and white lotuses on the part.i.tions and the flickering lamps tinted his figure in what seemed like red flames of wrath. Perhaps he was giving n.o.bunaga's soul a lengthy report on the conference and pledging his support for his new lord. But with the offering of incense, Katsuie remained a long time in silent prayer with his palms pressed solemnly together. Then, withdrawing about seven paces, he straightened his back and turned in the direction of Samboshi.

Since n.o.buo and n.o.butaka had already bowed reverently to Samboshi, Katsuie could not very well be negligent in that regard. Very likely feeling that it was unavoidable, he swallowed his pride and bowed.

Hideyoshi looked as though he were nodding in approval of Katsuie as well. Katsuie jerked his short, thick neck to the side and returned with a rustle back to his own seat.

After that, he looked angry enough to spit.

Niwa, Takigawa, Shonyu, Hachiya, Hosokawa, Gamo, Tsutsui, and the other generals paid their respects. Then they moved to the banquet room used for such affairs and, at the invitation of n.o.butada's widow, settled down to a meal. The tables were set for more than forty guests. The cups were pa.s.sed around, and the lamps flickered in the cool night breeze. As the men made themselves comfortable with pleasant words for the first time in two days, each was feeling a little drunk.

The banquet that evening was a bit unusual in that it was given after a memorial service, and so no one got very drunk. Nevertheless, as the sake began to be felt, the generals left their seats to talk to others, and laughter and animated conversations could be heard here and there.

A particularly large number of cups and men gathered in front of Hideyoshi. And then one more man stepped into the crowd. "How about a cup?" asked Sak.u.ma Genba.

Genba's matchless valor in the battles in the north had been highly praised, and it was said that no enemy ever encountered him twice. Katsuie's love for the man was extraordinary. He was fond of describing him as "my Genba," or "my nephew." In his pride he spoke publicly and freely about Genba's martial virtues.

Katsuie had a great number of nephews, but when he said "my nephew," he meant Genba alone.

Even though Genba was only twenty-eight years old, he held Oyama Castle as a general of the Shibata clan and had received a province and rank hardly inferior to the great generals gathered in the banquet room.

"Say, Hideyoshi," Katsuie said. "Give a cup to that nephew of mine, too." Hideyoshi looked around as though he had just noticed Genba. "Nephew?" Hideyoshi said, studying the younger man. "Ah, you." Certainly, he did appear to be the hero everyone talked about, and his st.u.r.dy frame overshadowed the short-statured, frail-looking Hideyoshi.

Genba did not, however, have his uncle's pockmarked face. He was fair-skinned but ribust, and at a glance seemed to have the brows of a tiger and the body of a leopard. Hideyoshi presented the man with a cup. "It's understandable that Lord Katsuie has such fine young men in his clan. Here, have a cup."

But Genba shook his head. "If I'm going to receive a cup, I'd like that big one." The cup in question still contained some sake.

Hideyoshi artlessly emptied it out and called, "Somebody come serve him." The mouth of the gold-lacquered flask touched the edge of the vermilion cup, and even though the bottle was quickly emptied, the cup itself was not yet full. Someone brought in another flask, and the cup was finally filled to the brim. The handsome young hero narrowed his eyes, raised the cup to his lips, and drank it in one gulp.

"Well then. What about you?"

"I haven't got that kind of talent," Hideyoshi said, smiling. At Hideyoshi's refusal to drink, Genba pressed harder. "Why won't you drink?"

"I'm not a strong drinker."

"What! Just this little bit."

"I drink, but not a lot."

Genba roared with laughter. Then he said, loudly enough so that everyone would hear, "The rumors that you hear are certainly true. Lord Hideyoshi is good at making excuses, and he's certainly modest. A long time ago-over twenty years-he was an underling sweeping up horse droppings and carrying Lord n.o.bunaga's sandals. It's admirable of him not to have forgotten those days."

He laughed at his own effrontery. The others must have been startled. The chattering stopped suddenly, and everyone looked back and forth from Hideyoshi, who was still sitting across from Genba, to Katsuie.

In an instant, everyone forgot about his cup and suddenly sobered up. Hideyoshi only smiled as he looked at Genba. His forty-five-year-old eyes simply gazed at the youth of twenty-eight. Their dissimilarity was not just a matter of a difference of age. The life Hideyoshi had lived the first twenty-eight years after his birth and the path Genba had followed for his twenty-eight years were extremely different in terms of both environment and experience. Genba might have been considered as just a little boy who knew nothing of hardships in the real world. For this reason he had a reputation for arrogance as well as for bravery. And apparently he was a man who did not employ caution in a place that was more dangerous than any battlefield-a room in which the leading men of the day were gathered.

"But, Hideyoshi, there is just one thing I can't stand. No, listen, Hideyoshi. Do you have ears to hear?" At that point he was yelling at Hideyoshi disrespectfully. It appeared to be less a matter of being drunk than of something eating at him from inside. Hideyoshi, however, looked at his drunken state and spoke to him almost with affection.

"You're drunk," he said.

"What!" Genba shook his head violently and straightened his posture. "This is no small problem to be written off to drunkenness. Listen. Just a little while ago in the chapel, when Lord n.o.buo and Lord n.o.butaka and all the other generals came to do reverence to the soul of Lord n.o.bunaga, didn't you sit in the seat of honor with Lord Samboshi on your lap and make them bow in your direction, one after another?"

"Well, well," Hideyoshi said, laughing.

"What are you laughing about? Is something funny, Hideyoshi? I don't doubt that your shrewd design was to hold up Lord Samboshi as an ornament for your own insignificant self so that you could receive the bows of the Oda family and its generals. Yes, that's it. And if I had been present, I would have had the pleasure of pulling your head right off. Lord Katsuie and the distinguished men sitting here are so good-natured that I get impatient, and-"

At that moment Katsuie, who was sitting about two seats away from Hideyoshi, drained his cup and looked around at the other men. "Genba, what do you mean by talking in such a way about another man? No, Lord Hideyoshi, my nephew is not speaking out of malice. So just ignore him," he said, laughing.

Hideyoshi was unable to show his anger and unable to laugh. He had been placed in a predicament in which he could only force a subtle smile, but his own particular appearance was well fitted for such situations.

"Lord Katsuie, don't let this upset you. It's all right," Hideyoshi said ambiguously. He was clearly pretending to be drunk.

"Don't pretend, Monkey. Hey, Monkey!" Tonight Genba was acting even more arrogantly than usual. "'Monkey!' Now that was a slip, but it's not so easy to change a name that was commonly used for twenty years. That's right, it's that 'Monkey' that comes to mind. A long time ago, he was the monkeylike underling being chased around and around from job to job in Kiyosu Castle. At that time, my uncle occasionally served on night duty. I heard that one night when he was bored, he invited Monkey over and gave him sake, and when my uncle got tired from drink he lay down. Then, when he asked Monkey to come over and ma.s.sage his legs, the tactful Monkey happily did so."

All the men present had lost their pleasant feelings of intoxication. Each man's face turned pale while his mouth went sour. This was not a simple situation. It was very likely that beyond the walls not so far removed from the banquet, in the shadows of the trees and under the floors, were swords, spears, and bows hidden by the Shibata. Were they not persistently trying to provoke Hideyoshi? A weird sensation, shared by everyone, began to grow out of the feelings of distrust, and that sensation rode the inklike evening breeze and the shadows of the lamps that flickered throughout the hall. It was the middle of the summer, but every man felt a chill along his spine.

Hideyoshi waited until Genba had finished and then laughed out loud.

"No, Lord Nephew, I wonder from whom you heard that. You've reminded me of a pleasant memory. Twenty years ago, this old monkey had the reputation of being good at ma.s.sage, and the entire Oda clan had me rub them down. Lord Katsuie's legs were not the only ones to get ma.s.saged. And then, when I was given some sweets in reward, how good they tasted! That makes me nostalgic now, nostalgic for the taste of those sweets." Hideyoshi laughed again.

"Did you hear that, Uncle?" Genba asked grandiosely. "Give something nice to Hideyshi. If you ask him to ma.s.sage your legs now, he might even do it."

"Don't go too far in this game, Nephew. Listen, Lord Hideyoshi, he's just being playful."

"That's all right. Why, even now I still occasionally ma.s.sage a certain person's legs."

"And who would that be?" Genba asked with a sneer.

"My mother. She's seventy years old this year, and ma.s.saging her legs is a unique pleasure for me. Since I've been on the battlefield for so many years, however, I haven't had that pleasure at all recently. Well, I'll take my leave now, but the rest of you stay as long as you like."

Hideyoshi was the first to leave the banquet. As he left and walked down the main corridor, no one got up to stop him. On the contrary, the other lords thought it wise of him to have left, and were all relieved of the sensation of intense danger they had felt.

Two pages suddenly came out of the room near the entrance where they had been stationed, and followed after him. They had been able to perceive the atmosphere that had pervaded the castle for two days, even from their room. But Hideyoshi had not permitted a large number of his retainers to enter the castle, so when the two pages saw that their lord was safe, their minds were set at ease.

They had already stepped outside and were summoning the attendants and horses when a voice called out from behind.

"Lord Hideyoshi! Lord Hideyoshi!"

Someone was looking for him in the dark, open field. A crescent moon floated in the sky.

"I'm over here."

Hideyoshi was already mounted. Recognizing the sound of a slap against the seat of a saddle, Takigawa Kazumasu ran over to him.

"What is it?" Hideyoshi asked with a glance of the same sort that a lord might give to his retainer.

Takigawa said, "You must have gotten very angry this evening. But it was only because of the sake. And Lord Katsuie's nephew is still young, as you can see. I hope you'll forgive him." Then he added, "This is something that was arranged beforehand, and you may have forgotten about it, but on the fourth-tomorrow-the celebration announcing Lord Samboshi's succession will be held, and you should be sure not to miss it. Lord Katsuie was very concerned about this after you left just now."

"Is that so? Well..."

"Be sure to be there."

"I understand."

"And again, about tonight. Please forget about it. I told Lord Katsuie that you were a big-hearted person and not likely to be offended by the jests of a drunken young man on one occasion."

Hideyoshi's horse had started to move. "Let's go!" he shouted to the pages, almost knocking Takigawa to the ground.

Hideyoshi's lodgings were in the western section of town. They consisted of a small Zen temple and a wealthy family's house that he was renting. Quartering his men and horses at the temple, he himself occupied a floor of the house.

It had been easy for the family to accommodate him, but he had been accompanied by seven or eight hundred retainers. That was actually not very many men, however, as the Shibata clan, it was rumored, had quartered approximately ten thousand of its soldiers in Kiyosu.

As soon as Hideyoshi returned to his lodgings, he complained that it was smoky inside. Ordering the windows to be opened, he almost kicked off his ceremonial robes with the paulownia crest. Then he quickly stripped naked and requested a bath.

Thinking that his lord was in a bad mood, the page warily poured a pail of hot water over Hideyoshi's back. Hideyoshi, however, yawned as he sank into the tub. Then, as if he were stretching his arms and legs, he let out a grunt. "I'm loosening up a little," he observed, then grumbled about the stiffness of the last two days. "Has the mosquito netting been put up?"

"We've already put it up, my lord," responded the pages who were holding his sleeping kimono.

"Fine, fine. All of you should turn in early too. And tell that to the men on guard as well," Hideyoshi said from inside the mosquito netting.

The door was closed, but the windows were open to let in the breeze, and the light from the moon seemed almost to be quivering. Hideyoshi began to feel drowsy.

"My lord?" called a voice from outside.

"What is it? Is that Mosuke?"

"Yes, my lord. The Abbot Arima is here. He says he'd like to see you in private."

"What, Arima?"

"I told him that you had gone to sleep early, but he insisted."

For a moment no answer came from inside the mosquito netting. Finally Hideyoshi said, "Show him in. But give him my apologies for not getting up, and tell him that I was indisposed at the castle and took some medicine."

Mosuke's footsteps quietly descended the steps from the mezzanine. Then someone could be heard climbing the steps, and very soon a man was kneeling in front of Hideyoshi on the wooden floor.

"Your attendants told me you were asleep, but..."

"Your Reverence?"

"I have something of great urgency to tell you, so I ventured to come over in the middle of the night."

"With two days of conferences, I've become both mentally and physically exhausted. But what brings you here in the middle of the night?"

The abbot spoke softly. "Are you planning to attend the banquet for Lord Samboshi at the castle tomorrow?"

"Well, I might be able to if I take some medicine. My malady could just be heatstroke, and people will be annoyed if I'm not there."

"Perhaps your being indisposed is a premonition."

"Well now, why do you say that?"

"Some hours ago, you withdrew about halfway through the banquet. Soon after that, only the Shibata and their allies remained, and they were very intently discussing something in secret. I didn't understand what was going on, but Maeda Geni was anxious about the situation too, and we secretly listened in on them."

Suddenly becoming silent, the abbot peeped inside the mosquito netting as if to make sure that Hideyoshi was listening.

A pale blue bug was chirping at the corner of the netting, and Hideyoshi was lying down as before, looking up at the ceiling.

"Go ahead."

"We don't know in detail what they plan to do, but what we're sure of is that they are not going to let you live. Tomorrow when you go up to the castle, they want to take you into a room, confront you with a list of your crimes, and force you to commit seppuku. If you refuse, they plan to kill you in cold blood. Furthermore, they are planning to station soldiers in the castle and even take control of the castle town."

"Well now, that's rather intimidating."

"In fact, Geni was anxious to come here and inform you himself, but we were afraid that his leaving the castle would be noticed, so I came here instead. If you are sick just at this moment, it must be heaven's protection. Perhaps you should reconsider attending tomorrow's ceremony."

"I wonder what I should do."

"I hope you won't be attending. By any means!"

"It's a celebration for the accession of the young lord, and all are supposed to attend. I'm grateful for your good intentions, Your Reverence. Thank you very much."

Inside the mosquito netting, Hideyoshi pressed his palms together in prayer toward the retreating footsteps of the abbot.

Hideyoshi was very good at sleeping. To fall asleep immediately, wherever the thought occurs to one, may seem like an easy ability to acquire, but it is, in fact, quite difficult.

He had acquired this mysterious skill-so close to enlightenment-out of of necessity, and he had formulated it into as a sort of motto to follow, both to alleviate the pressure of the battlefield and to preserve his own health.