CHAPTER V

GOVERNMENT OF IYEYAS

With the removal of Taikosama, the hopes of the Roman Catholic party revived.

Once more the keystone of the arch was removed, and the ordinary institutions of the country were found unequal to the crisis.

The deceased ruler had foreseen this, and had made such arrangements as he could to strengthen the position of his young son. He foresaw that Iyeyas was the man of the future; the man most fitted by talent, military capacity, and position to take the reins. He therefore tried to bind him by ties of marriage, as well as by oaths, to support the youthful inheritor of power. He had, as one of his methods of governing, induced or compelled the nobles to lavish large sums of money in presents to himself, in keeping up large retinues, in making expensive journeys between their country residences and the capital, and in building palaces in the two cities of Osaka and Fusimi. By these means the nobles were impoverished. They could not afford to keep many armed followers. Mowori of Nagato had been lately compelled to give up some of his territories, and to pay his respects at the court. Satsuma had suffered during the recent wars in Kiusiu. Iyeyas alone had kept aloof from Taikosama. He had kept his court and established himself at Yedo, where he was allowed to remain undisturbed, an object of jealousy as well as of fear. Still he seems to have been occasionally about the court of Taikosama, as he is mentioned in one of the letters as being present at the meeting of Taiko and his nephew. He perhaps kept Taikosama’s mother still as a hostage in Yedo. Each of these potentates, in all probability, knew and read the other’s thoughts--each thinking that the territories and the position of both would fall into the hands of the longest liver. The most dissembling are often the most credulous, and Taikosama was catching at a straw when he summoned Iyeyas to his deathbed. Iyeyas had refused to visit him on a former occasion without a hostage in the person of his mother. On this occasion he came, but, no doubt, with sufficient precautions. He saw that a political crisis was impending, and he knew that the fruit he had long waited for was falling into his hands. There was little reason now why he should not seize it.

The only persons who seem not to have descried the change that was at hand were the Roman Catholic fathers. By their own letters they do not appear to have paid any court to the sun rising in the east. No missions are mentioned to Yedo, or in the Kwanto; no interpreter is sent to the court of Iyeyas; no conversions are spoken of there as in Miako and the west; and no priests were located there, who might have been acceptable if they had been able to speak in the dialect of the eastern provinces. The Jesuit fathers, up to this time, had rarely mentioned any of the provinces east of Mino or Owarri.

The Taiko had put to death his nephew, who was of an age fit to have held the reins after his departure. He left, as successor, Hideyori, a child of six years of age. The general belief was that this child was not the son of Taiko, but he himself appears to have firmly regarded him as such. Recollecting his own origin and rise to the pinnacle of power, and knowing the turbulent spirits among the lords, his countrymen, whom he had all his life long been trying to curb, it is little wonder that he felt uneasy at the prospect opening up to this child.

The Jesuits of this time write: “As to religion, there were all the grounds in the world to believe it in a fair way of being established in Japan. So many potent kings and general officers being all Christians at the head of a victorious army, and masters of Simo (Kiusiu), where the inhabitants had all embraced the faith, it was only prudence in the regents (the Gotairo), who were divided among themselves, to keep fair with them. Above all, Samburandono (Sanhoshi), grandson and heir of Nobu nanga, having lately professed himself a Christian, it was probable the Christians and malcontents would join in these divisions, and put him in possession of his ancient rights, which the late Taikosama had unjustly usurped. The faithful began to breathe after the tyrant’s death.”

Probably the conversion of Sanhoshi (if true) to the Christian side blinded these fathers to the weakness of his claims, and to the weight, power, and talents of Iyeyas. The claims of Sanhoshi and Hideyori were equally weak. Both were the heirs of men who had risen from comparatively low rank and seized the coveted position, which had been hereditary in the families of their predecessors, but which, having been held by these men, their fathers, respectively one after the other, could not be said to be in their families hereditary.

The first step taken by the Gotairo, or five governors appointed by Taikosama before his death, who now assumed the power in the name of Hideyori, was the recall of the army from Corea, showing how much the whole expedition depended upon the will of the one man, and with how little favor it was regarded by the people of Japan. This brought back to the island of Kiusiu a strong re-enforcement of Christians with Don Austin at their head; and his bitter foe, Toronosuqui, the strong opponent of the Roman Catholic party.

In the letters written by the Jesuits at this period, the Taiko had generally been spoken of as the Emperor, and very rarely is any notice taken of the real Emperor, then living at Miako. Still less notice is accorded to the Shiogoon, Yoshitaru, who was then living at Miako, and holding the highest hereditary office that could be held by a subject. He was of the Ashikanga family, and, so long as he lived, neither Nobu nanga nor Taikosama could hold this office. In 1597 he died, and the office, which in the family had become an empty title, was not conferred on any of his relations. The family is still represented by individuals at Miako, who, though receiving some privileges, live in poverty and obscurity. The death of this man, and the cessation of the hereditary claim to the office, opportunely opened to Iyeyas the prospect of combining once more the chief power with the highest hereditary office in the state.

The year 1599 is given, in the native annals, as the first year in which the English and Dutch ships visited Japan (they are said to have come to the town of Saccay, near Osaka). Dutch pilots had been navigating those seas during several years past; some of the accounts given by Linschoten being the results of observations by Dutchmen. William Adams, the English pilot of the Dutch fleet of five sail, which left the Texel on June 24, 1598, did not reach Boongo till April, 1600, with only nine or ten men surviving out of the crew, and these nearly worn out with scurvy and privations. He was taken to Osaka, where he had an interview with Iyeyas, who was much pleased with him; but the jealousy of the Portuguese was roused, and they tried to instill into the ears of those to whom they had access malicious reports against these newcomers.

Meantime, it was impossible that affairs should continue long peaceably on the present critical footing. The Jesuits, however, were elated with the appearance of things. “(Gieiaso) Iyeyas ko,[3] now called Daifusama” (another name for Nai dai jin), “spoke favorably of religion, giving them leave to exercise their religion at Nagasaki, so that every one thought the Society re-established in the exercise of her functions.

“However, it was not long before the governors fell at variance among themselves--Jiboo no sho and Asano dan jo in the first place. The grudge between them was of an early date, but the office now held by both induced them to come to a kind of agreement. A like dissension happened among the lieutenant-generals in Corea about the late treaty of peace, and the differences ran so high that each took opposite sides on their return home--Don Austin and his followers with Jiboo no sho, and the rest with Asano dan jo. Several of the lords and Daifusama himself labored hard to compose the difference, and at last sentence was given in favor of Jiboo no sho and his party. Asano resolved to right himself by the sword, and in a short time many lords came over to his party. Don Austin, with Arima, Omura, Satsuma, Tchikugo, and Terazawa, stuck close to the interest of Jiboo no sho. But what set the whole kingdom in a flame was a misunderstanding between Jiboo no sho and Daifusama, the regent of the empire. The former charged Iyeyas with assuming an air of authority, and with secret practices, as if he intended to make himself master of the imperial domain. Iyeyas answered these complaints of the governors with a great deal of modesty and calmness, and, in the main, gave a fair account of his conduct. But finding that his opponents were levying troops, he gathered an army of 30,000 men out of his own states to prevent a surprise.

“The nobility were then all at court, part at Fusimi and part at Osaka, about the young prince. But seeing war declared between Jiboo no sho and the regent, every one armed himself and his followers, until they reckoned in the two towns 200,000 combatants, besides inhabitants. The streets swarmed with soldiers, and nothing was looked for but a grand massacre. But it being enacted that whoever first broke the peace should be declared an enemy to the state, it was each one’s business to keep from hostilities. In this manner they continued for some months in the same town, and not a stroke on either side. At last Daifusama being much superior to his adversary (whom most deserted to serve the regent), he sent to him to rip up his belly for the public good.

“Don Austin, who joined interest with Jiboo no sho (otherwise Ishida mitzu nari), knew very well that would not serve Daifusama’s turn, unless, at the same time, he could involve the rest of his party in the same ruin. In the meantime, Daifusama seized on the castle of Osaka with the young prince so suddenly that neither the garrison, nor Jiboo no sho, who lived hard by, had time to put themselves in a posture of defense. This was a thunderbolt to the latter, who fled to Fusimi, to the governors, where he was joined by Don Austin. Daifusama pursued them, and a temporary peace was struck up, on condition that Jiboo no sho gave up his commission and retired to his residence in the province of Omi. He took a son of Daifusama’s with him as hostage.”

After this, Iyeyas was supreme, the governors continuing to retain their empty titles. The Roman Catholics applied to Iyeyas, who received them so kindly that they were generally of a persuasion that he intended to restore the churches and permit the fathers to preach the Gospel, “so very easy are we to believe what we have a mind should happen.”

However, at this moment they were annoyed by the lord of Firado showing symptoms of intolerance, for in one night six hundred Christians left the island and came to Nagasaki, contrary to the laws and edicts of Taikosama. The province of Higo, in the island of Kiusiu, was now under the rule of Don Austin, and by his orders the inhabitants were being converted or coerced into Christianity.

At this juncture the Emperor was a mere shadow. The power had fallen nominally into the hands of a boy. The scepter, or seat of power, was at the disposal of the most powerful. The respect for, or fears of, the lately deceased ruler had not died out; and the carrying out of his wishes, and the establishment of this boy in his place, was the alleged intention of each of the contending parties. The one party was made up of those chiefs or lords who had been about Taikosama during his life, and had been appointed to high offices under him, such as the five governors or regents for his son. To these were added those who had been engaged as commanders in the Corean wars, of whom Satsuma and Konishi were the ablest and most powerful, the latter being looked upon as the greatest soldier of his day.

On the other side, Iyeyas had evidently determined that the boy, now his grandson by marriage, should not stand in the way of his own advancement to power and position, and that he should be made the ladder by which he might reach his object.

The empire again resounded with the preparations for war. “Daifusama was grown so absolute since the late troubles at Osaka and Menco that he acted and did all by himself, none daring so much as dispute his commands. This sore perplexed the governors and mortified them to the quick; however, as soon as Jiboo no sho was retired [to his castle of Sawoyama, by orders of Iyeyas], they all returned back to Osaka and Fusimi, Cangerafu only excepted, who pretended a grant from Taikosama to live three years in his own states.” This was probably Ooyay soongi kange katzu of Etsingo, one of the wealthiest and most powerful of the lords, and to him Iyeyas sent orders to repair immediately to the young prince on pain of being prosecuted as an enemy to the state. The confederates were trying to divide the forces of their opponent, and to gain by stratagem what he was beginning to feel himself able to obtain by the open assertion and display of power. He had possession of the castle of Osaka and of the town of Fusimi. In the latter he left his son with a garrison. The confederate lords hoped to seize those places so soon as Iyeyas left them. Letters were dispatched to Jiboo no sho and to Konishi, who immediately joined the league, “having no other intention but to keep their promise with Taikosama, and to preserve the crown for the young prince.” They tried to draw over the head officers of “Daifusama’s army; and all things being in readiness, they wheeled round upon Osaka, and so secured most of the nobility to their party. The governors, flushed with their success, sent a manifesto to Daifusama, with heavy complaints of his conduct. They commanded him to return to Quanto, and positively forbade him the court.”

The governors at the same time ordered all persons in his army to return to their posts or homes on the penalty of punishment falling on their relatives and property. This order brought about the death of a Christian lady, Grace, wife of Itowo Tango no kami, one of the commanders in the army of Iyeyas, of whom the Jesuits speak as a miracle of beauty and piety. Her husband having joined the army of Iyeyas, left command with his servants that, in case of any such order being issued and put in force, they were to cut off his wife’s head. His orders were obeyed. His chief servant informed his mistress, with tears in his eyes, of his master’s orders. He, falling on his knees, begged pardon for what he was about to do, promising to revenge her by his and his fellow-servant’s suicide. With one blow he cut off her head, and, thinking it indecent to die in the same room as their mistress, they retired to another, where they cut open their bellies, while one of them set fire to the powder, and blew up the part of the palace in which they were lying.

The army of the league now numbered 100,000 men. The chiefs determined to attack the citadel of Fusimi. They contrived to set it on fire, and in a few hours was consumed “this splendid and last monument of Taikosama’s greatness, the richest and noblest palace in all Japan.” After this they felt themselves strong enough to take the field, and hazard a battle, if necessary, which should decide the fate of parties. “There was this difference betwixt the regent’s and the governors’ troops: The first, being under one supreme head, acted vigorously and with unanimous consent; whereas the other, depending on several masters, and having each separate interests, the whole time was spent in marches and countermarches to no manner of purpose.”

Iyeyas laid siege to Gifoo, the fortress of Hide nobu or Saburo dono, the nephew of Nobu nanga, in the province of Mino. By a stratagem and ambuscade he routed the army, completely destroying it, and entered and seized the castle, taking prisoner Hide nobu. He then turned back westward to meet the army of the governors, which was lying on the west of the plain and village of Sekingaharra. The army of his opponents had been re-enforced by the troops of Satsuma and of Konishi. This plain is to the east side of the hills which form the east wall of the Lake of Owomi. One hill of this ridge, Ee buki yama, is still noted for the foreign plants which grow upon its sides, the result or remains of the labors of the Portuguese missionaries who had a residence upon the hill. From this hill flows to the east the waters of the Kisso gawa. One of the main roads of Japan, the Naka sen do, passes through this plain from east to west, and at the village of Sekingaharra another road crosses the former from the northwest. Here on this plain the two armies met; but before the most decisive battle in Japanese history was fought they lay thirty days facing one another, “and durst not strike a stroke.”

The army of the league numbered 80,000 men, while that of Iyeyas could only muster 50,000. Each party had been engaged in trying to gain over some of their opponents before trusting to the fate of war. Iyeyas had been delayed by his enemies in the eastern provinces; but hearing of the position of affairs at Sekingaharra, he marched rapidly up, and in October, 1600, joined his army with a considerable re-enforcement of troops. His motions were so rapid and so secret that his opponents were not aware of his being in the province. The following day he commenced an attack upon the army of the governors, commanded by Jiboo no sho and Don Austin. “No sooner had the armies begun to move than several of the general officers, with the troops under their command, marched straight over to the side of Iyeyas, which put the rest of the army in such consternation that, instead of fighting, they turned tail and fled without looking behind them. Daifusama, perceiving them in disorder, gave word for his men to advance; and making his way through the lines, which made very little opposition, gained a complete victory almost without the trouble of striking a blow for it. None besides the general officers and some of the leading men had the courage to face the enemy at the first onset. These partly dispatched themselves, partly were killed by the enemy, and partly were taken prisoners. Among these latter was the celebrated Don Austin. This great hero, seeing his men in a rout, and no possibility of rallying again, threw himself into the midst of the enemy’s troops, slaying on every side, and bearing all down before him, till, wounded from head to foot, and overpowered by numbers, he was forced to yield to fate and surrender himself prisoner, together with Jiboo no sho, who had not the heart (as he confessed himself afterward) to open his belly after the example of the worthies above mentioned.

“As for Don Austin, nothing but conscience could possibly have hindered him from such an attempt; and therefore choosing, as he did, to pass for heartless and a coward, and to expose himself to an ignominious death rather than offend God, was an action of the first rate, worthy to be found upon the roll in the history of his other heroical exploits.” The native account would make out that Don Austin attempted to escape from the field of battle, taking the road leading to the residence of the Roman Catholic priests on the hill of Ee buki yama, but was taken prisoner before reaching a place of safety.

The immediate result of this very decisive victory was to blow to the winds the rope of sand which his enemies had been endeavoring to coil round Iyeyas. His opponents were scattered and their hands paralyzed. Iyeyas was master of the situation. He lost no time in marching westward to gain possession of Osaka. He seized Sawoyama, a castle then belonging to Jiboo no sho, and now known as Hikonay, the residence of Ee kamong no kami. The brother of the proprietor was in command of the place. He put to death all the women and children, and set fire to the house, to take from the enemy the honor of leading him in triumph. Mowori was in command at Osaka, and, as ruler over ten provinces, he was now the only chief who was likely to dispute with Iyeyas the position of regent. But he was panic-struck, and, though at the head of 40,000 men, gave up the place and surrendered to the conqueror, who immediately entered the town in a kind of triumph, and soon after all Japan submitted to his government. He was, in truth, now the monarch of Japan. The Emperor was in existence, but this was only known near Miako by the titles which he occasionally conferred on those about his court.

Hideyori, the boy representative of Taikosama, was only seven years of age, and had no very strong claim to be considered that potentate’s successor, a position which he could not hold without the assistance of Iyeyas, his wife’s grandfather. Iyeyas had felt that the peace of the state was depending upon him, and that, from the position which the governors had taken up, either he or they must yield; but neither would give way without an appeal to arms. The Jesuits seem all along to have shown a want of foresight in omitting to see that he was the coming man, and made a mistake in placing their trust in Don Austin, whose position was now to them a source of great anxiety.

Into the late war there does not seem to have entered any religious element of discord, as Christians of rank were found upon both sides. The lords of Arima and Omura and Kahi no kami (who is frequently mentioned by the Jesuit writers) were in the army of Iyeyas, while Don Austin and others took the opposite side.

Ishida, Jiboo no sho, being now a prisoner, was not likely to receive much mercy at the hands of Iyeyas. Letters had passed between them which reduced their position to a personal quarrel. He had already been once spared by his foe, and had retired on parole to his castle of Sawoyama. Thinking that an opportunity for revenge had arrived, he put himself at the head of the army of the confederates. He had again failed, and now found himself a prisoner in an ignominious and dishonorable position. But Konishi Setsu, or Tsu no kami, also a prisoner, ran the risk of losing his life, more probably from jealousy of his military capacity than from any other reason. He was the son of a drug merchant in Sakkai. The eulogiums pronounced upon him by the Christian writers may pass for what each values them at; but he had been trusted in a very responsible position by Taikosama in Corea. He had subsequently been degraded at the instigation of his rivals, and afterward reinstated for the accomplishment of schemes requiring the utmost acuteness in diplomacy, as well as for the execution of plans requiring military skill and prowess. He had shown himself capable of both. As an evidence of the position to which he had raised himself was the marriage of his son to the granddaughter of Iyeyas himself. He had been appointed to the office then known as viceroy of the island of Kiusiu, and was at the same time commander-in-chief both of the naval and military forces in the Corean war. Had Iyeyas acted with his ordinary clemency and judgment, he would after his victory have pardoned such a rival and family connection; but there were hungry wolves who personally hated Don Austin, who gloated over his downfall, and cast longing eyes on his territories, about to be confiscated. Chief of these was Toronosuqui, “Vir ter execrandus,” as the Jesuits style him, one of the coarsest men of Japanese history, but since his death canonized as a saint in the Japanese calendar as Say sho go sama of the Nitchi ren sect of Buddhists. Hitherto known by this name of Toronosuqui, he figures in the subsequent letters of the Jesuits as Canzuge dono, or properly, as the title now is, Kazuyay no kami.

After his capture, Konishi seems to have been treated with great rigor--not being allowed to see any of his relatives or any foreign priest--and was beheaded, along with the Jiboo no sho, at Awata ngootchi, the common execution-ground at Miako. His young son was shortly afterward inveigled and murdered by Mowori, who thought to please Iyeyas and save himself, after his mean surrender of himself and his position, by sending the head of Don Austin’s child to his wife’s grandfather; but Iyeyas was disgusted, and Mowori in the end was stripped of the greater part of his possessions.

Native writers agree with the Jesuit accounts in giving Iyeyas credit for great moderation and sagacity in the use of the power which had fallen into his hands. Thinking himself firmly seated, he tried to make all know that he wished the past to be forgotten--that he was not angry with those who had been in arms against him, but that he was grieved that it had been necessary that so much blood should have been shed. He granted an amnesty to all who would accept of it; and even some--such as Tatchibanna--who were not very influential, and who would neither accept of it nor submit to him, he left quietly alone to allow time to work. The great secret of his power seems to have been that when he once made a promise he never broke it, and the most perfect reliance was placed upon his word. “In effect, Daifusama, being naturally of a meek and easy temper, took quite different methods from Taikosama, who had rendered himself extremely odious by his cruel and severe oppressions. He proposed to himself to govern more by love than fear; and therefore, contrary to the maxims of his predecessor, pardoned several of the lords that bore arms against him. Moreover, he sent a pardon to Don Austin’s lady and daughter (who expected, according to law, to have shared his fate), as also to his brethren and their children; and, what is more, he did not show any resentment to the fathers for being constant to the interests of Don Austin, or for harboring his lady at the time of her retreat at Nanga saki.” The only unsettled portion of the empire was the island of Kiusiu. The territory of Don Austin in the province of Higo was handed over to Katto Kiomassa, or Toronosuqui, who, as has been said, was a virulent opponent of the Christian religion. While Don Austin held this territory, by the advice of his spiritual superiors, every one had been compelled to be baptized and turn Christian, or to leave the territory. It was now the turn of the opposite party to use the same tactics, and most mercilessly they followed the example set by these Spanish priests both in Japan and in Europe.

Satsuma, who had escaped from the field of Sekingaharra, expected that the weight of the victor’s wrath would shortly fall upon him, and he prepared for it. The subjection of Kiusiu was intrusted to Kuroda Kahi no kami and Terasawa Sima no kami, with the lesser lords who had territories in the island. Satsuma was obliged to yield, and submitted to Iyeyas, receiving back from him the greater part of the territory then held by him.

The part of the island of Nippon east of the barrier of Hakonay, in the province of Segami, is commonly called Kwanto; and the Hasshiu, or eight provinces beyond the boundary toward the east part of the island, had more or less for many years been under the entire rule of Iyeyas. Kamakura, which had at one period been a rival to Miako as a second capital, had fallen into decay. Odawara, the castle of the Hojio family, at the head of the same bay, had never risen to any position as a central city. The Nishi maro, a part of the castle of Yedo, had formerly been built and occupied by Owota do kwang, whose memory is to this day cherished in Japan, and his name and writings are still extant on some parts of his castle or shiro. On a summer house in the garden of the castle is a couplet in poetry which is looked upon as a prophecy of coming events with reference to its accomplishment in the present age:

“From this window I look upon Fusiyama, With its snow of a thousand years. To my gate ships will come from the far East Ten thousand miles.”

Considering the associations which hung around Miako and Narra and Osaka as the capitals, imperial, ecclesiastical and commercial, of the empire, it might be deemed a great stretch of power and firm confidence in himself and the stability of his system of government, that Iyeyas should think of removing the location of the executive to Yedo. He had doubtless pondered long and deeply over the best system of government for the country. He had seen the anarchy which preceded the rise of Nobu nanga to power; he had seen the want of system by which the structure of government at that time had crumbled down with the fall of the one man upon whoso shoulders it had been supported; he had all the experience since that time to be gained from ruling an extensive territory of his own, combined with what observations he might make upon the system of Taikosama. In the settling of that system, doubtless, he had a large share; but he went further than Taikosama, and, disregarding the old associations connected with Miako, he removed the seat of the executive to his own provinces and to his own court in the city of Yedo, in what was considered a remote part of the empire, the inhabitants of which were looked upon as rude and unpolished, and regarded with contempt as savages of the east--“Azuma yebis.” The city, when Iyeyas first took possession of the shiro, consisted only of one street, known then and now as Koji matchi. It had increased very much in size under his care, and through the residence of the court, the Daimios, and their wives and families, and in no long time became a city of commercial importance. Although Yoritomo, and the Shiogoons and Kwanreis who succeeded him, held court at Kamakura and in the Kwanto, no one had ever called upon the great feudal lords, or Daimios, as we may now call them, to reside or keep up establishments there; but Iyeyas seemed to think that in an empire like Japan, without external foes, strength would be gained by a division of the empire. All his plans seem to have had regard to the welfare and peace of the country rather than the gratification of ambition, which he never allowed to master his judgment.

This year (1600) and the following Iyeyas devoted to internal improvements, especially in the highways of the empire. The road between the two capitals, Yedo and Miako, was greatly improved. He arranged the stations (tsoongi, or shooku), to the number of fifty-three, at nearly equal distances along the road, for the accommodation of Daimios and others traveling on official business. The Do chioo, or laws of the roads, were laid down, regulating the traffic, but more especially the movements and service of these lords when traveling.

In the year 1603 to Iyeyas was given the hereditary title and power of Se i dai shiogoon, or tranquilizer of barbarians and commander-in-chief. The last who had held this office was Yoshikanga Yoshiteru, who died in 1597. Hideyori was made Naidaijori.