Japan Part 9

We shall have occasion often in the subsequent narrative to refer to the progress of Christianity in the empire. In the meantime we must trace the career of n.o.bunaga, who exerted a powerful effect on the affairs of his country and particularly upon the condition of both Buddhism and Christianity. He must be regarded always as one of the great men of j.a.pan who at an opportune moment intervened to rescue its affairs from anarchy.

He prepared the way for Hideyos.h.i.+ and he, in turn, made it possible for Ieyasu to establish a peace which lasted without serious interruption for two hundred and fifty years.

Ota n.o.bunaga was descended from the Taira family through Ota Chikazane, a great-grandson of Taira Kiyomori. The father of Chikazane had perished in the wars between the Taira and Minamoto families, and his mother had married as her second husband the chief man in the village of Tsuda in the province of Omi. The step-child was adopted by a s.h.i.+nto priest of the village of Ota in the province of Echizen, and received the name of Ota Chikazane. When he grew up, he became a s.h.i.+nto priest and married and became the father of a line of priests. One of this succession was Ota n.o.buhide, who seems to have reverted from the priestly character back to the warlike habits of his ancestors. In the general scramble for land, which characterized that period, n.o.buhide acquired by force of arms considerable possessions in the province of Owari, which at his death in A.D. 1549 he left to his son Ota n.o.bunaga. This son grew up to be a man of large stature, but slender and delicate in frame. He was brave beyond the usual reckless bravery of his countrymen. He was by character and training fitted for command, and in the multifarious career of his busy life, in expeditions, battles, and sieges, he showed himself the consummate general. Like many other men of genius he was not equally as skilful in civil as military affairs. He was ambitious to reduce the disorders of his country, and he was able to see in a great measure the success of his schemes. But he failed in leaving when he died any security for the preservation and continuance of that peace and unity which he had conquered.

At the time n.o.bunaga became prominent, the Emperor Go-Nara had died and Ogimachi in A.D. 1560 had just succeeded to the throne as the one hundred and fifth emperor. As.h.i.+kaga Yos.h.i.+fusa had become shogun in A.D. 1547 as a boy eleven years old, and was at this time a young man, who as usual devoted himself to pleasure while the affairs of government were conducted by others. Both emperor and shogun were almost powerless in the empire, the real power being held by the local princes. In many cases they had largely increased their holdings by conquest, and were almost entirely independent of the central authority. For more than a century this independence had been growing, and at the time of n.o.bunaga there was little pretence of deferring to the shogun in any matter growing out of the relations of one prince to the other, and none at all in reference to the internal government of the territories within their jurisdiction. The princ.i.p.al local rulers at this time were the following: Imagaya Yos.h.i.+moto controlled the three provinces of Suruga, Totomi, and Mikawa; Hojo Ujiyasu from the town of Odowara ruled the Kwanto, including the provinces of Sagami, Musas.h.i.+, Awa, Kazusa, s.h.i.+mosa, Hitachi, Kotsuke, and s.h.i.+motsuke; Takeda s.h.i.+ngen ruled the province of Kai and the greater part of the mountainous province of s.h.i.+nano; Uesugi Kens.h.i.+n held under his control the northwestern provinces of Echizen, Echigo, Etchu, and Noto; Mori Motonari after a severe contest had obtained control of almost all the sixteen provinces which composed the Chugoku or central country; the island of Kyushu had been the scene of frequent civil wars and was now divided between the houses of s.h.i.+mazu of Satsuma, Otomo of Bungo, and Ryozoji of Hizen; and finally the island of s.h.i.+koku was under the control of Chosokabe Motochika.(151) Besides these princ.i.p.al rulers, there were many smaller holders who occupied fiefs subordinate to the great lords, and paid for their protection and their suzerainty in tribute and military service. In the letters of the Jesuit missionaries of this period the great lords are denominated _kings_, but neither according to the theory of the j.a.panese government, nor the actual condition of these rulers can the name be considered appropriate. The term daimyo(152) came into its full and modern use only when Ieyasu reorganized and consolidated the feudal system of the empire. But even at the period of n.o.bunaga the name was employed to indicate the owners of land. We prefer to continue down to the time of the Tokugawa shoguns the use of the terms _prince_ and _princ.i.p.ality_ for the semi-independent rulers and their territories.

The holdings which Ota n.o.bunaga inherited from his father consisted only of four small properties in the province of Owari. Acting according to the fas.h.i.+on of the times he gradually extended his authority, until by A.D.

1559 we find him supreme in Owari with his chief castle at Kiyosu near to the city of Nagoya. His leading retainers and generals were s.h.i.+bata Genroku and Sak.u.ma Yemon, to whom must be added Hideyos.h.i.+,(153) who gradually and rapidly rose from obscurity to be the main reliance of his prince. n.o.bunaga was a skilful general, and whenever an interval occurred in his expeditions against his hostile neighbors he employed the time in carefully drilling his troops, and preparing them for their next movements. He found in Hideyos.h.i.+ an incomparable strategist, whose plans, artifices, and intrigues were original and effective, and were worth more to his master than thousands of troops.

It was not difficult in those days to find excuses to invade neighboring domains, and hence we find n.o.bunaga, as soon as he had made himself master of Owari, on one pretext or another making himself also master of the provinces of Mino, Omi, and Ise. Before this was accomplished, however, we see plain indications both on the part of n.o.bunaga and his retainers that the ultimate aim in view was the subjugation of the whole country, and the establishment of a government like that of Yoritomo.

At this time (A.D. 1567) the affairs of the As.h.i.+kaga shoguns, who ruled in the name of the emperor, were in a state of great confusion. Yos.h.i.+teru, the shogun, had been a.s.sa.s.sinated by one of his retainers, Miyos.h.i.+ Yos.h.i.+tsugu. The younger brother of Yos.h.i.+teru was Yos.h.i.+aki, who desired to succeed, but this did not comport with the designs of the a.s.sa.s.sins.

Accordingly after making several unsuccessful applications for military aid he finally applied to n.o.bunaga. This was exactly the kind of alliance that n.o.bunaga wanted to justify his schemes of national conquest. With his own candidate in the office of shogun, he could proceed without impediment to reduce all the princes of the empire to his supreme authority. He therefore undertook to see Yos.h.i.+aki established as shogun, and for this purpose marched a large army into Kyoto. Yos.h.i.+aki was installed as shogun in A.D. 1568, and at his suggestion the emperor conferred on n.o.bunaga the t.i.tle of f.u.ku-shogun(154) or vice-shogun. This was n.o.bunaga's first dealings with the imperial capital, and the presence of his large army created a panic among the inactive and peaceful citizens.

He appointed Hideyos.h.i.+ as commander-in-chief of the army at the capital, who with a sagacity and energy that belonged to his character set himself to inspire confidence and to overcome the prejudice which everywhere prevailed against the new order of things. Kyoto had suffered so much from fires and warlike attacks, and still more by poverty and neglect, that it was now in a lamentable condition. To have somebody, therefore, with the power and spirit to accomplish his ends, undertake to repair some of the wastes, and put in order what had long run to ruin, was an unexpected and agreeable surprise. The palaces of the emperor and the shogun were repaired and made suitable as habitations for the heads of the nation.

Streets and bridges, temples and grounds were everywhere put in order.

Kyoto for the first time in many centuries had the benefit of a good and strong government.

It was the custom to celebrate the establishment of a new year-period with popular rejoicings. The period called Genki was begun in December A.D.

1570 by the Emperor Ogimachi. n.o.bunaga brought to Kyoto on this occasion a very large army in order to impress on the minds of the nation his overwhelming military power. He intended, moreover, to march his forces, as soon as this celebration was over, against Prince Asakura Yos.h.i.+kage of the province of Echizen, who had not yet submitted himself to n.o.bunaga's authority, and who had not given in his adhesion to the new shogun. Taking with him Hideyos.h.i.+ and all the troops that could be spared from Kyoto, n.o.bunaga marched north into the domains of Yos.h.i.+kage. He was aided in his resistance by Asai Nagamasa, the governor of the castle of Itami in the province of Omi. An attempt had been made by n.o.bunaga to conciliate Nagamasa by giving him his sister in marriage. But Nagamasa was still cool, and now at this critical time he turned to help n.o.bunaga's enemy.

The unexpected combination came very near causing n.o.bunaga a disastrous defeat. At an important battle which was fought in this short campaign, we see together the three most noted men of their time, n.o.bunaga, Hideyos.h.i.+, and Ieyasu. The last of the three was only a few years younger than Hideyos.h.i.+, and had already shown indications of the clear and steady character of which he afterward gave such indubitable proof. The result was the defeat of n.o.bunaga's enemies and his victorious return to the castle of Gifu in the province of Mino.

But his way was not yet quite free from obstacles. Asakura Yos.h.i.+kage and Asai Nagamasa although defeated were not crushed, and made various efforts to regain the advantage over n.o.bunaga. The most noted of these was when n.o.bunaga was absent from Kyoto with troops quelling a disturbance in Osaka, Asakura and Asai took advantage of the opportunity and marched a strong force upon the city. They had proceeded as far as Hiei-zan on the borders of Lake Biwa. This mountain was then occupied by an immense Buddhist monastery called Enriaku-ji from the year-period when it was established. It was said, that at this time there were as many as three thousand buildings belonging to the monastery. The monks of this establishment were exceedingly independent, and were so numerous and powerful that they were able to exact whatever concessions they desired from the government at Kyoto, from which they were only a few miles distant. They disliked n.o.bunaga and his powerful government with which they dared not take their usual liberties. Accordingly they made common cause with Asakura and Asai and furnished them with shelter and supplies on their march to Kyoto. But n.o.bunaga met them before they reached Kyoto, and so hemmed them in that they were glad to sue for peace and get back to their own provinces as well as they could. But on the ill-fated monastery n.o.bunaga in A.D. 1571 visited a terrible revenge. He burned their buildings, and what monks survived the slaughter he drove into banishment.

The monastery was partially restored subsequently by Ieyasu, but it was restricted to one hundred and twenty-five buildings and never afterwards was a political power in the country.

During these years of n.o.bunaga's supremacy, the Jesuit fathers had been pus.h.i.+ng forward their work of proselyting and had met with marvellous success. The action of the Buddhist priests in siding with his enemies and the consequent aversion with which he regarded them, led n.o.bunaga to favor the establishment of Christian churches. In the letters of the fathers at this period frequent references are made to n.o.bunaga and of his favorable att.i.tude toward Christianity and their hope that he would finally become a convert. But it is plain that the fathers did not comprehend fully the cause for the enmity of n.o.bunaga to the Buddhist monks, and his political reasons for showing favor to the Christian fathers. He remained as long as he lived friendly to the Christian church, but made no progress towards an avowal of his faith. Under his patronage a church was built in Kyoto, and another at Azuchi on Lake Biwa, where he built for himself a beautiful castle and residence. By this patronage and the zeal of the fathers the Christian church rose to its greatest prosperity(155) during the closing years of n.o.bunaga's life. In the year A.D. 1582 a mission was sent to the pope, consisting of representatives from the Christian princes of Bungo, Arima, and Omura. This mission consisted of two young Christian princes about sixteen years of age, accompanied by two counsellors who were of more mature years, and by Father Valignani, a Portuguese Jesuit, and by Father Diego de Mesquita as their preceptor and interpreter. They visited the capitals of Portugal and Spain, which at this time were combined under the crown of Philip II. of Spain, and were received at both with the most impressive magnificence. They afterward visited Rome and were met by the body-guard of the pope and escorted into the city by a long cavalcade of Roman n.o.bles. They were lodged in the house of the Jesuits, whence they were conducted by an immense procession to the Vatican. The j.a.panese amba.s.sadors rode in this procession on horseback dressed in their richest native costume. They each presented to the pope the letter(156) which they had brought from their prince, to which the reply of the pope was read.

The presents which they had brought were also delivered, and after a series of most magnificent entertainments, and after they had been decorated as Knights of the Gilded Spears, they took their departure. In the meantime Pope Gregory XIII., who had received them, a few days later suddenly died A.D. 1585. His successor was Pope Sixtus V., who was equally attentive to the amba.s.sadors, and who dismissed them with briefs addressed to their several princes.

Shogun As.h.i.+kaga Yos.h.i.+aki, whom n.o.bunaga had been instrumental in installing, became restive in the subordinate part which he was permitted to play. He sought out the princes who still resisted n.o.bunaga's supremacy and communicated with them in reference to combining against him. He even went so far as to fortify some of the castles near Kyoto. n.o.bunaga took strenuous measures against Yos.h.i.+aki, and in A.D. 1573 deposed him. He was the last of the As.h.i.+kaga shoguns, and with him came to an end a dynasty which had continued from Taka-uji in A.D. 1335 for two hundred and thirty-eight years.

n.o.bunaga a.s.sumed the duties which had hitherto been performed by the shogun, that is he issued orders and made war and formed alliances in the name of the emperor. But he never took the name of shogun(157) or presumed to act in a capacity which from the time of Yoritomo had always been filled by a member of the Minamoto family, while he was a member of the Taira family. Whether this was the cause of his unwillingness to call himself by this t.i.tle to which he might legitimately have aspired we can only conjecture. Of one thing we may be sure, that he was disinclined to arouse the enmity of the ambitious princes of the empire, whose co-operation he still needed to establish his power on an enduring basis, by a.s.suming a position which centuries of usage had appropriated to another family. The emperor bestowed upon him the t.i.tle of _nai-daijin_, which at this time however was a purely honorary designation and carried no power with it.

The Prince of Chosu was one of the most powerful of those who had not yet submitted to the supremacy of n.o.bunaga. The present prince was Mori Terumoto, the grandson of the Mori Motonari who by conquest had made himself master of a large part of the central provinces. n.o.bunaga despatched Hideyos.h.i.+ with the best equipped army that at that time had ever been fitted out in j.a.pan, to subdue the provinces lying to the west of Kyoto. He did not overrate the ability of the general to whom he entrusted this task. They set out in the early part of the year A.D. 1578.

Their first movement was against the strongholds of the province of Harima, which he reduced. We for the first time find mention in this campaign of Kuroda(158) Yos.h.i.+taka, who in the invasion of Korea was a notable figure. His services to Hideyos.h.i.+ at this time were most signal.

The campaign lasted about five years and added five provinces to n.o.bunaga's dominions. Then after a visit to Kyoto he continued his conquests, never meeting with a defeat. The most remarkable achievement was the capture of the castle of Takamatsu, in the province of Sanuki.

This castle was built with one side protected by the Kobe-gawa and two lakes lying on the other sides, so that it was impossible to approach it by land with a large force. Hideyos.h.i.+, with the genius for strategy which marked his character, saw that the only way to capture the fort was to drown it out with water. He then set his troops to dam up the river below the fortress. Gradually this was accomplished and as the water rose the occupants of the castle became more uncomfortable. Hideyos.h.i.+ understanding his master's character feared to accomplish this important and critical exploit without n.o.bunaga's knowledge. He therefore wrote asking him to come without delay to his a.s.sistance. n.o.bunaga set out with a group of generals, among whom was Akechi Mitsuhide, with the troops under their command. They started from Azuchi on Lake Biwa, which was occupied as n.o.bunaga's headquarters. They were to proceed to the besieged fort by the shortest route. n.o.bunaga with a small escort went by way of Kyoto, expecting soon to follow them. He took up his temporary abode in the temple of Honnoji. It was observed that Akechi with his troops took a different route from the others and marched towards Kyoto. When spoken to about his purpose he exclaimed, "My enemy is in the Honnoji." He explained to his captains his purpose and promised them unlimited plunder if they a.s.sisted him. He led his troops to Kyoto and directly to the Honnoji.

n.o.bunaga hearing the noise looked out and at once saw who were the traitors. He defended himself for a time, but soon saw that he was hopelessly surrounded and cut off from help. He retired to an inner room of the temple, set it on fire, and then calmly committed _hara-kiri_. His body was buried in the burning and falling ruins. His death occurred in A.D. 1582.

Thus ended the career of one of j.a.pan's great men. He had shown the possibility of uniting the provinces of j.a.pan under one strong government.

He had given to Kyoto and the provinces lying east and north of it a period of peace and quiet under which great progress had been made in agriculture, the arts and in literature. He was a warrior and not a statesman, and for this reason less was done than might have been in confirming and solidifying the reforms which his conquest had made possible. Personally he was quick-tempered and overbearing, and often gave offence to those who were not able to see through his rough exterior to the true and generous heart which lay beneath. The cause of the plot against him was probably the consequence of a familiarity with which he sometimes treated his military subordinates. It is said that on one occasion in his palace when he had grown somewhat over-festive he took the head of his general Akechi(159) under his arm and with his fan played a tune upon it, using it like a drum. Akechi was mortally offended and never forgave the humiliating joke. His treason, which resulted in n.o.bunaga's death, was the final outcome of this bit of thoughtless horse-play.

CHAPTER IX. TOYOTOMI HIDEYOs.h.i.+.

The death of n.o.bunaga in the forty-ninth year of his age left the country in a critical condition. Sak.u.ma and s.h.i.+bata had been his active retainers and generals for many years, and they had the most bitter and envious hatred toward Hideyos.h.i.+, whom they had seen advance steadily up to and past them in the march of military preferment. It was to Hideyos.h.i.+ that the country looked to take up the work which n.o.bunaga's death had interrupted. Akechi began to realize when too late that he must reckon with him for his terrible crime. He appointed two of his lieutenants to a.s.sa.s.sinate Hideyos.h.i.+ on his way back to the capital. He sent word to Mori Terumoto, who was trying to raise the siege of the castle of Takamatsu, concerning n.o.bunaga's death, hoping that this tragedy would encourage Terumoto to complete his designs.

In the meantime the news had reached Hideyos.h.i.+. Terumoto had heard of the starting of n.o.bunaga with additional troops, and had determined to make peace with Hideyos.h.i.+. He had sent messengers with a proposition for peace.

The measures for taking the castle had succeeded and it was surrendered.

In this state of things Hideyos.h.i.+(160) pursued a course which was characteristic of him. He sent word to Terumoto that n.o.bunaga was now dead and that therefore his proposition for peace might, if he wished, be withdrawn. You must decide, he said, whether you will make peace or not; it is immaterial whether I fight or conclude a treaty of peace. To such a message there could be only one answer. Peace was at once concluded and Hideyos.h.i.+ started for Kyoto to deal with the traitors.

The attempt to a.s.sa.s.sinate Hideyos.h.i.+ on his journey came very near being successful. He was in such eagerness to reach his destination that he hurried on without regard to his army which accompanied him. A small body-guard kept up as well as they could with their impatient chief. At Nis.h.i.+nomiya in this journey Hideyos.h.i.+, when in advance of his body-guard, was attacked by a band of the a.s.sa.s.sins. His only way of escape was by a narrow road between rice fields, leading to a small temple. When he had traversed part of this lane he dismounted, turning his horse around along the way he had come, and stabbed him in the hind leg. Mad with pain, he galloped back with disastrous effect upon the band which was following him. Meanwhile Hideyos.h.i.+ hurried to the temple. Here the priests were all in a big common bath-tub, taking their bath. Hastily telling them who he was, and begging their protection, he stripped off his clothes and plunged in among the naked priests. When the a.s.sa.s.sins arrived, they could find nothing but a bath-tub full of priests, whom they soon left in search of the fugitive. As they disappeared, the anxious body-guard arrived, and were astonished and amused to find their chief clad in the garb of a priest and refreshed after his hurried journey with a luxurious bath.(161)

Hideyos.h.i.+, as soon as he arrived at Kyoto, issued an invitation to all the princes to join him in punis.h.i.+ng those who had brought about the death of n.o.bunaga. A battle was fought at Yodo, not far from Kyoto, which resulted in the complete defeat of Akechi. He escaped, however, from this battle, but on his way to his own castle he was recognized by a peasant and wounded with a bamboo spear. Seeing now that all hope was gone, he committed _hara-kiri_, and thus ended his inglorious career. His head was exposed in front of Honnoji, the temple where n.o.bunaga perished.

As might have been expected, this premature death of n.o.bunaga-for he was only forty-nine years old-created an intense excitement. The idea of heredity had so fixed a place in men's minds, that the only thought of n.o.bunaga's friends and retainers was to put forward in his place some one who should be his heir. There were living two sons, both by concubines, viz. n.o.buo and n.o.butaka, and a grandson, Sambos.h.i.+, still a child, who was a son of his son n.o.butada, now deceased. Each of these representatives had supporters among the powerful retainers of the dead prince. It may be a.s.sumed that each was supported not because of the rightful claim which he had to the estates and the power which the dead prince had left behind him, but solely because the supporters of the successful heir would be entrusted with special authority, and endowed with conquered provinces. It is sufficient to explain here that Hideyos.h.i.+ supported the candidacy of the grandson, Sambos.h.i.+, probably with no higher motive nor more disinterested purpose than the others. After a noisy and hot debate it was finally agreed that the grandson should be installed as successor, and Hideyos.h.i.+ undertook to be his guardian. He had a large army at Kyoto, and with this he felt strong enough to carry things with a high hand. He appointed a funeral ceremony to be held in honor of n.o.bunaga, to which all the princes were invited, and he posted his troops in such a way as to command every avenue of approach. He claimed for himself, as guardian of the child Sambos.h.i.+, precedence of all the princes and generals. So at the funeral service, with the child Sambos.h.i.+ in his arms, he proceeded in advance of all others to pay memorial honors to the dead. He supported this action with such an overwhelming display of military force that his enemies were afraid to show any resistance.

The disappointed princes retired to their provinces and hoped that by some fortuitous circ.u.mstances they might still be able to circ.u.mvent the plans of Hideyos.h.i.+. He saw well that he must meet the opposition which would be concentrated on him by activity and force. As a general not one of his enemies could compare with him in fertility of resources, in decisiveness of action, and in command of military strength. His first contest was with his old comrade in arms s.h.i.+bata Katsuie, who had served with him under n.o.bunaga, and who was intensely jealous of Hideyos.h.i.+'s rapid rise in military rank and territorial authority. s.h.i.+bata had championed the cause of n.o.butaka in the contest as to the successor of n.o.bunaga. He had command of troops in Echizen, and n.o.butaka was governor of the castle of Gifu in the province of Mino. The campaign was a short and decisive one. The battle was fought at s.h.i.+gutake and resulted in the complete defeat of s.h.i.+bata and his allies. It is notable that in this battle artillery were used and played a conspicuous part. s.h.i.+bata after his overthrow committed _hara-kiri_. n.o.butaka having escaped also put an end to himself. Thus the active enemies of Hideyos.h.i.+ in the north and west were overcome and the forfeited territory made use of to reward his friends.

His next contest was with the adherents of n.o.buo, the other son of n.o.bunaga. This was made memorable by the a.s.sistance which Ieyasu rendered to n.o.buo. Hideyos.h.i.+'s army, himself not being present, was defeated.

Ieyasu being satisfied with this victory and knowing that he could not ultimately triumph now made peace with Hideyos.h.i.+. The island of s.h.i.+koku, which was under the control of Chosokabe Motochika was reduced to subjection in a brief campaign and the chiefs compelled to do duty to Hideyos.h.i.+ as their head.

It seems that at this time Hideyos.h.i.+ was ambitious to attain official appointment which would legitimately descend to his children and make him the founder of a new line of shoguns. He applied to the ex-shogun Yos.h.i.+aki, whom n.o.bunaga had deposed(162) and who was now living in retirement, intimating that it would be to his interest to adopt him as his son so that he could be appointed by the emperor as shogun. But Yos.h.i.+aki declined to comply with this suggestion on account of Hideyos.h.i.+'s humble origin. In place of this appointment, however, he was installed A.D. 1585 by the Emperor Ogimachi as _Kuambaku_, which is higher in rank than any other office in the gift of the imperial court. Hitherto this t.i.tle had been borne exclusively by members of the Fujiwara family, and it must have been a severe blow to their aristocratic pride to have a humble plebeian who had risen solely by his own talents thus elevated by imperial appointment to this dignified position. He also received at this time the name of Toyotomi(163) by which he was afterward called, and in recognition of his successful conquest of much territory he received A.D. 1575 the honorary t.i.tle of Chikuzen-no-kami.

There were a few years from about A.D. 1583-with an important exception which will be given below-when peace reigned in all the territories of j.a.pan, and when Hideyos.h.i.+ devoted himself wisely and patiently to the settlement of the feudal condition of the country. It was at this time he began building his great castle at Osaka which occupied about two years.

Workmen were drawn from almost all parts of j.a.pan, and a portion of it is said to have been finer and more ma.s.sive than had ever been seen in j.a.pan.

This magnificent work(164) survived its capture by Ieyasu in 1614 and remained undisturbed down to the wars of the restoration in 1868, when it was burned by the Tokugawa troops at the time they were about to evacuate it.

The exception to which reference is made above was the important campaign which Hideyos.h.i.+ was called upon to conduct in the island of Kyushu against the Satsuma clan.(165) The distance at which Kyushu lay from the centre of imperial operations, the mountainous and inaccessible character of a great part of the territory, made it no easy matter to deal with the refractory inhabitants of this island. The Satsuma clan even at that early day had a reputation for bravery and dash which made them feared by all their neighbors. The prince of Satsuma at this time was s.h.i.+mazu Yos.h.i.+hisa, a member of the same family who held the daimiate until the abolition of the feudal system. It is a tradition that the first of this family was a son of Yoritomo, who in the year A.D. 1193 was appointed governor of Satsuma.

Like all the feudal princes of the period, the prince of Satsuma was ambitious to extend his dominion as far as possible. Hyuga, Bungo, Higo, and Hizen were either wholly or in part subject to his authority, so that by the year A.D. 1585 it was the boast of the prince that eight provinces acknowledged him as lord.(166)

It was in this critical period that Hideyos.h.i.+ was appealed to for help by the threatened provinces. He first sent a special envoy to Kagos.h.i.+ma, who was directed to summon the prince to Kyoto to submit himself to the emperor and seek invest.i.ture from him for the territories which he held.

s.h.i.+mazu received this message with scorn, tore up the letter and trampled it under his feet, and declared that to a man of mean extraction like Hideyos.h.i.+ he would never yield allegiance. Both parties recognized the necessity of deciding this question by the arbitrament of war.

Hideyos.h.i.+ called upon thirty-seven provinces to furnish troops for this expedition. It is said that 150,000 men were a.s.sembled at Osaka ready to be transported into Kyushu. The vanguard, consisting of 60,000 men under Hidenaga, the brother of Hideyos.h.i.+, set sail January 7, A.D. 1587. Troops from the western provinces joined these, so that this advanced army numbered not less than 90,000 men.

In due time, January 22d, Hideyos.h.i.+ himself, with his main army, consisting of 130,000 men, left Osaka, marching by land to s.h.i.+monoseki, and from this point crossing over to Kyushu. The Satsuma armies were in all cases far outnumbered, and step by step were compelled to retreat upon Kagos.h.i.+ma. Hideyos.h.i.+ had by means of spies(167) acquired a complete knowledge of the difficult country through which his armies must march before reaching Kagos.h.i.+ma. After much fighting the Satsuma troops were at last driven into the castle of Kagos.h.i.+ma, and it only remained for Hideyos.h.i.+ to capture this stronghold in order to end in the most brilliant manner his undertaking.

It was at this juncture that Hideyos.h.i.+ made one of these surprising and clever movements which stamp him as a man of consummate genius. Instead of capturing the fortress and dividing up the territory among his deserving generals, as was expected, he restored to the s.h.i.+mazu family its original buildings, viz., the provinces of Satsuma and Osumi and half the province of Hyuga, only imposing as a condition that the present reigning prince should retire in favor of his son, and that he should hold his fief as a grant from the emperor. Thus ended one of the most memorable of the campaigns which Hideyos.h.i.+ had up to this time undertaken, and with this also closed a series of events which exerted a permanent influence on the history of j.a.pan.

It will be desirable at this point to trace the incidents which had transpired in connection with the Jesuit fathers. It will be remembered that the work of the fathers(168) was much interfered with by the political troubles which preceded the advent of n.o.bunaga. Owing to their taking sides with his enemies he was very much incensed against the Buddhist priests and visited his indignation upon them in a drastic measure.(169) His desire to humiliate the Buddhist priests probably led him to a.s.sume a favorable att.i.tude towards the Christian fathers. As long therefore as n.o.bunaga lived, churches were protected and the work of proselyting went on. Even after the death of n.o.bunaga in A.D. 1582 nothing occurred for some time to interfere with the spread of Christianity.

Hideyos.h.i.+ was too much occupied with political and military affairs to give much attention to the circ.u.mstances concerning religion. Indeed the opinion of Mr. Dening(170) in his _Life of Hideyos.h.i.+_ is no doubt true, that he was in no respect of a religious temperament. Even the superst.i.tions of his own country were treated with scant courtesy by this great master of men.

Gregory XIII. seeing what progress the Jesuits were making, and realizing how fatal to success any conflict between rival brotherhoods would be, issued a brief in A.D. 1585, that no religious teachers except Jesuits should be allowed in j.a.pan. This regulation was exceedingly distasteful to both the Dominicans and the Franciscans, especially after the visit of the j.a.panese emba.s.sy to Lisbon, Madrid, and Rome had directed the attention of the whole religious world to the triumphs which the Jesuits were making in j.a.pan. Envy against the Portuguese merchants for their monopoly of the j.a.panese trade had also its place in stirring up the Spaniards at Manila to seek an entrance to the island empire. The opposition with which Christianity had met was represented as due to the character and behavior of the missioners. In view of these circ.u.mstances the Spanish governor of Manila sent a letter to Hideyos.h.i.+, asking for permission to open trade with some of the ports of j.a.pan. Four Franciscans attached themselves to the bearer of this letter and in this way were introduced into the interior of j.a.pan. Among the valuable presents sent to Hideyos.h.i.+ by the governor of Manila was a fine Spanish horse(171) with all its equipments.

These Franciscans who came in this indirect way were permitted to establish themselves in Kyoto and Nagasaki. They were at once met by the protest of the Jesuits who urged that the brief of the pope excluded them.

But these wily Franciscans replied that they had entered j.a.pan as amba.s.sadors and not as religious fathers, and that now when they were in j.a.pan the brief of the pope did not require them to leave.

A very bitter state of feeling from the first therefore manifested itself between the Jesuits and Franciscans. The latter claimed that the opposition they met with was due to the plots and intrigues of the Jesuits, and they openly avowed that the Jesuit fathers through cowardice failed to exert themselves in the fulfilment of their religious duties, and in a craven spirit submitted to restrictions on their liberty to preach. Hideyos.h.i.+'s suspicion was aroused against the foreigners about this time, A.D. 1587, by the gossip of a Portuguese sea-captain which had been reported to him. This report represented the captain as saying: "The king, my master, begins by sending priests who win over the people; and when this is done he despatches his troops to join the native Christians, and the conquest is easy and complete."(172) This plan seemed so exactly to agree with experiences in China, India, and the East Indies, that Hideyos.h.i.+ resolved to make it impossible in j.a.pan. He therefore issued an edict in the year A.D. 1587 commanding all foreign religious teachers on pain of death to depart from j.a.pan in twenty days. This edict, however, gave leave to Portuguese merchants "to traffic and reside in our ports till further order; but withal we do hereby strictly forbid them, on pain of having both their s.h.i.+ps and merchandises confiscated, to bring over with them any foreign religious."(173)

In consequence of this edict, in A.D. 1593 six Franciscans and three Jesuits were arrested in Osaka and Kyoto and taken to Nagasaki, and there burnt. This was the first case of the execution of Christians by the order of the government. To explain the transportation of these missionaries to Nagasaki and their execution there, it should be stated that in A.D. 1586, at the close of the Satsuma campaign, Nagasaki had been taken from the prince of Omura and made a government city, to be controlled by a governor appointed immediately from Kyoto. Shortly after this, in A.D. 1590, on account of its superior harbor, it was fixed upon as the only port at which foreign vessels would be admitted.

There was still one refractory element in his dominions which it was necessary to deal with. Hojo Ujimasa maintained a hostile att.i.tude at Odawara. He was determined once for all to reduce this rebellious chief and the others who might be influenced by his example. It is unnecessary to give the details of this short but decisive undertaking. Only one incident deserves to be given as ill.u.s.trative of the character of Hideyos.h.i.+. In sending troops to the field of action it was necessary that a large number of horses should cross the sea of Enshu,(174) which was usually very rough at that time of year. The boatmen, as is usual, were very superst.i.tious, and had a decided aversion to transporting the horses in their boats; averring that the G.o.d of the sea Ryugu had a special dislike for horses. Hideyos.h.i.+ sent for the boatmen and told them that he had undertaken this expedition at the command of the emperor, and that the G.o.d of the sea was too polite to interfere in anything pertaining to the transportation of troops for such a purpose. He said however that he would make it all right by writing a letter to Ryugu, instructing him to insure the safe pa.s.sage of the s.h.i.+ps. This was done, and a letter addressed "Mr.

Ryugu" was thrown into the sea. The boatmen were satisfied, and the horses were taken over without difficulty.(175)

With the fall of Odawara the whole of the Kwanto, comprising the provinces of Sagami, Musas.h.i.+, Kotsuke, s.h.i.+motsuke, Hitachi, s.h.i.+mosa, Kazusa, and Awa came into the possession of Hideyos.h.i.+. During the progress of the siege, it is said that he and Ieyasu were standing in a watch tower which they had built on the heights above the castle of Odawara. Hideyos.h.i.+ pointed to the great plain before them and said(176): "Before many days I will have conquered all this, and I propose to give it into your keeping."