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The
castle at Odawara, however, was so strongly built and so stoutly held
that its capture by storm seemed impossible, and Hideyoshi's forces
were obliged to have recourse to a regular siege which lasted nearly
four months. During the latter part of that time, Hideyoshi
encouraged his soldiers to indulge in all sorts of amusements, and
thus the camp of the besiegers constantly echoed the notes of musical
performances and the shouts of dancers and sake drinkers. Finally, in
July, 1590, the great fortress surrendered, and the Hojo baron,
Ujimasa, was put to death, his head being sent to Kyoto for exposure,
but the life of his son, Ujinao, was spared on condition that he
enter a monastery.

HOJO UJINORI

One incident of this struggle is very characteristic of the ethics of
the era. During the interchange of messages that preceded recourse to
arms, the Hojo baron sent his brother, Ujinori, to Kyoto as an envoy
to discuss the situation with Hideyoshi. The latter received Ujinori
with all courtesy and endeavoured to impress upon him the imperative
necessity of his chief's acquiescence. Ujinori promised to contribute
to that end as far as lay in his power, but history describes him as
adding: "Should my brother fail to comply with your commands, and
should it be necessary for you to send an army against the Kwanto, it
must be clearly understood that this visit of mine to your Excellency
shall not in any way prejudice my loyalty to my brother. On the
contrary, if the peace be broken, I shall probably have to command
the van of my brother's forces, and in that event I may have to offer
to your Excellency a flight of my rusty arrows."

Hideyoshi is narrated to have laughingly replied that the peace was
in no danger of being broken and that he trusted Ujinori to use his
best endeavours to avert war. On his return to the Kwanto, Ujinori
was ordered to defend the castle of Nira-yama with seven thousand
men, and he soon found himself attacked by fifty thousand under seven
of Hideyoshi's generals. Ujinori reminded his comrades that Nira-yama
had been the birthplace of the founder of the Hojo family, and
therefore it would be an eternal shame if even one of the
entrenchments were lost. Not one was lost. Again and again assaults
were delivered, but they were unsuccessful, and throughout the whole
of the Kwanto, Nira-yama alone remained flying the Hojo flag to the
end. Ujinori surrendered in obedience to Ujimasa's instructions after
the fall of Odawara, but Hideyoshi, instead of punishing him for the
heavy losses he had inflicted on the Osaka army, lauded his fidelity
and bravery, and presented him with an estate of ten thousand koku.

DATE MASAMUNE

When news reached Date Masamune of the fall of all the Hojo's
outlying forts and of the final investment of Odawara, he recognized,
from his place in Mutsu and Dewa, that an attitude of aloofness could
no longer be maintained with safety. Accordingly, braving
considerable danger, he made his way with a small retinue to Odawara
and signified his willingness to comply with any terms imposed by
Hideyoshi. Thus, for the first time since the middle of the fifteenth
century, the whole of the empire was pacified.

YEDO

It is historically related that, during the siege of Odawara,
Hideyoshi invited Ieyasu to the former's headquarters on Ishigaki
Hill, whence an uninterrupted view of the interior of the castle
could be had. The Tokugawa baron was then asked whether, if the eight
provinces of the Kwanto were handed over to him, he would choose
Odawara for central stronghold. He replied in the affirmative.
Hideyoshi pointed out the superior advantages of Yedo from a
strategical and commercial point of view, and ultimately when he
conferred the Kwanto on Ieyasu, he chose Yedo for the latter's
capital, the accompanying revenue being about two and a half million
koku. Hideyoshi further proposed to appoint Oda Nobukatsu to the
lordship of the five provinces which had hitherto constituted the
domain of Ieyasu, namely, Suruga, Totomi, Mikawa, Kai, and Shinano.
Nobukatsu, however, alleging that he did not desire any large domain,
asked to be allowed to retain his old estates in Owari and Ise.

This attitude angered Hideyoshi for reasons which will presently be
apparent. He assigned to Nobukatsu a comparatively insignificant fief
at Akita, in the remote province of Dewa, and gave the estates in
Owari and Ise to Hidetsugu, the nephew and adopted successor of
Hideyoshi, while the five provinces hitherto under the sway of Ieyasu
were divided among Hideyoshi's generals and retainers. In September,
1590, Ieyasu entered Yedo, and subdivided his extensive domain among
his followers in order of merit, thus establishing the Tokugawa
system of hereditary daimyo and founding a new Bakufu. All this was
very significant. In such matters, Hideyoshi had repeatedly shown
himself to be a man of great magnanimity, and had allowed even his
enemies to retain possession of lands which would certainly have been
taken from them by other conquerors. Thus, in the case of the Mori
sept, fully half of the midland counties was left in their
occupation, and, in the case of the Shimazu family, they were
suffered to retain two and a half provinces.

With regard to Ieyasu, however, Hideyoshi behaved with marked
caution. By granting to the Tokugawa chieftain the whole of the
Kwanto, Hideyoshi made it appear as though he were conferring a
signal favour; but in reality his object was to remove Ieyasu out of
the zone of potential danger to Kyoto. Ieyasu fully recognized this
manoeuvre, but bowed to it as the less of two evils. As a further
measure of precaution, Hideyoshi interposed one of his own family,
Hidetsugu, between the Kwanto and Kyoto, and with the object of
menacing the rear of Ieyasu and restraining the movements of the
Date, he placed Gamo Ujisato at Aizu in Oshu. He further posted
Ishida Katsushige at Sawa-yama (now called Hikone) in the province of
Omi, to cover the principal route to Kyoto, and for similar reasons
with regard to the Yamato and Tamba roads he assigned to his brother,
Hidenaga, the castle of Kori-yama, which commanded Izumi and Kii, and
to his adopted son, Hidekatsu, the castle at Fukuchi-yama in Tamba.
This plan of distributing their domains, so that the daimyo should be
mutually repressive, was followed with still greater care by Ieyasu
when he, in turn, became supreme.

HIDEYOSHI AND BUDDHISM

There are evidences that, from his childhood, Hideyoshi had little
reverence for the Buddhist faith. When only twelve years of age he is
said to have beaten and smashed an image of Amida because it remained
always insensible to the offerings of food placed daily before it.
Again, when on his way to Kyoto to avenge the assassination of
Nobunaga, he saw an idol floating on a stream, and seizing the effigy
he cut it into two pieces, saying that the deity Daikoku, having
competence to succour one thousand persons only, could be of little
use to him at such a crisis as he was now required to meet. Finally,
on the occasion of his expedition against the Hojo of Odawara, when
the sailors of Mishima, in Sagami, objected to carrying war-horses in
their boats on the plea that the god of the sea, Ryujin, hated
everything equine, Hideyoshi did not hesitate to remove these
scruples by addressing a despatch to the deity with orders to watch
over the safety of the steeds.

Yet this same Hideyoshi evidently recognized that the Buddhist faith
had great potentialities in Japan, and that its encouragement made
for the peace and progress of the country. Buddhism suffered terribly
at the hands of Nobunaga. The great monastery of Enryaku-ji was a
mass of blackened ruins at the time of the Oda baron's death, and it
has been shown that the monasteries of Kii and Osaka fared almost
equally badly at the hands of Hideyoshi. Nevertheless the latter had
no sooner grasped the supreme administrative power than he showed
himself a protector and promotor of Buddhism. Scattered throughout
the empire and apparently crippled for all time, the monks of
Hiei-zan very soon gave evidence of the vitality of their faith by
commencing a vigorous propaganda for the restoration of the great
monastery. Many renowned priests, as Zenso, Gosei, and others, headed
this movement; Prince Takatomo, adopted son of the Emperor Okimachi,
agreed to become lord-abbot of the sect (Tendai), and the Imperial
Court issued a proclamation exhorting the people to subscribe for the
pious purpose. Hideyoshi, Ieyasu, and other great barons addressed
their vassals in a similar sense, and in Hideyoshi's proclamation the
imperative necessity of Enryaku-ji as a barrier at the "Demon's Gate"
was distinctly stated. Under such auspices the monastery quickly rose
from its ashes, though in point of size and magnificence it was
inferior to its predecessor. At the same time Hideyoshi steadily
pursued the policy of checking the military tendencies of the monks,
and it may be said that, from his era, the soldier-priest ceased to
be a factor in the political situation.

THE KYOTO DAIBUTSU

The erection of a colossal image of the Buddha at Nara, in the eighth
century, and at Kamakura, in the thirteenth century, marked the
consummation of great political programmes in which religious
influence acted a strong part. Hideyoshi determined to set up a still
more imposing effigy in Kyoto, and, in 1586, the work was commenced
under the superintendence of Maeda Gen-i. All the principal
idol-makers were summoned to the capital, and among them were said to
have been some Chinese experts. Hideyoshi declared that whereas the
Nara Daibutsu had taken twenty-seven years to build, the Kyoto image
should be finished in five. He kept his word. No less than twenty-one
provinces were placed under requisition for labour and materials. The
enclosure of the temple containing the image measured 260 yards by
274, and the great hall had dimensions of 110 yards by 74.

The original intention had been to make the idol of copper; but as
the statue was to have a height of 160 feet, the quantity of metal
required could not have been obtained within the time fixed, and
lacquered wood was therefore substituted for copper.