INTERNAL PEACE AND EXTERNAL WAR. 1573-1603
At the end of the last chapter we left feudal Japan wasted by internal anarchy. It is one of the most remarkable phenomena in history that within two decades after the fall of the Ashikaga the national life not only was restored to its normal peace, but also attained to such fullness of vigor as to embark in a warfare of unprecedented magnitude for foreign conquest. The period of thirty years between the fall of the last shōgun of Muromachi and the foundation of the Edo rule, 1573-1603, stands unparalleled in the annals of the Japanese nation for its wealth of stories of valor and heroism. The spirit of the time was such as brought to the surface only men of uncommon ability. The era was of itself rich in inspiring events, but the latter were in no small measure due to the brilliant achievements of three heroes—Oda Nobunaga (1573-1582), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1583-1598), and Tokugawa Iyeyasu (1600-1616)—who rose one after another to rule over feudal Japan. Deferring the story of the work of the last statesman, we shall now turn to the career of Oda and Toyotomi, who respectively unified the long dismembered nation, and organized the great Korean expedition.
The tendency of the Ashikaga times was to encourage individual ambition. Military chieftains devoted themselves to organizing armies and equipping soldiers in the most efficient manner, in order to overcome rivals and establish their own independence. But none of them ever succeeded in introducing order into the provinces they overran or organizing their administration on a permanent basis. Probably the origin of this defect is to be sought, not in the administrative incompetence of these chieftains, but rather in the absence of any supreme head to issue general orders. The power of the imperial court, indeed, had greatly declined, but the nation nevertheless regarded the sovereign with the utmost respect, and whatever the prowess of military nobles or however great the number of their following, it was impossible for them to undertake any decisive campaign against Kyōto, because, in traversing the interval that separated their bases of operations from the capital, they would have found themselves environed by enemies ready to protect the court against violence, as well as by rivals whom the prospect of any one noble's supremacy would have moved to union against him. Nothing remained, therefore, but to establish local autonomy. Beyond that none of the great nobles succeeded in attaining until the Oda family appeared in Owari, and owing to their sagacity and valor, as well as to the strategical advantages of their position, accomplished more than any of their predecessors.
This remarkable family was descended from the family of Taira. Nobunaga's father, Nobuhide, from his early youth, was an ardent imperialist. He made large pecuniary sacrifices to effect the repairs of the emperor's palace and the reconstruction of one of the principal shrines in Ise. His son Nobunaga, a man of daring, harbored ambitious designs, and following his father's example, treated the sovereign with the utmost deference, and constantly revolved plans for the general pacification of the country and the restoration of order. In his youth he showed a disposition to profligacy, but when his chief vassal committed suicide to emphasize a protest against these dissolute courses, Nobunaga completely reformed his conduct. An opportunity soon occurred to test his military genius. Among the rival lords of that time, Imagawa Yoshimoto, chief of the provinces of Suruga, Tōtōmi, and Mikawa, showed a conspicuous disposition to attack and raid the neighboring territories. In 1560 he invaded Owari at the head of a great army, overbearing all resistance and destroying several strongholds. Pushing on to Okehazama, he rested there, and organized an immense banquet to celebrate his successes. During the progress of these festivities, Oda Nobunaga, in command of a comparatively small force, surprised the Imagawa camp, inflicted a crushing defeat on the invaders, and killed Yoshimoto, a disaster from which the Imagawa family never recovered. Soon afterward Nobunaga annexed the province of Mino, the lord of which had alienated his followers by his unworthy manner of life. Nobunaga further strengthened his position toward the east by entering into marital relations with the families of Takeda and Matsudaira. He now watched closely for a favorable opportunity to direct his arms against the military magnates in Kyōto. It will be remembered how one Matsunaga assassinated the Shōgun Yoshiteru, and how the latter's brother, Yoshiaki, in 1568, succeeded to the shōgunate with the loyal support of Nobunaga. Nobunaga had in the meantime annexed Ōmi and all the Kinai provinces. Nominally a vassal, his influence was greater than that of the shōgun. Nobunaga built a castle at Nijō, summoning the people of the Kinai and other districts to contribute to its completion either in money or labor. This place he assigned as residence to the shōgun, intrusting the duty of guarding him to Kinoshita Hideyoshi, afterward Toyotomi. Nobunaga also repaired the imperial palace, and restored it to its ancient and long-forgotten splendor. One of the methods employed by Nobunaga to obtain funds for the preservation of the imperial buildings was to lend rice to the people, the interest accruing on the loans being devoted to the maintenance of the palace. Nobunaga reversed the policy of the Ashikaga, not only in thus manifesting his loyalty to the imperial house, but also in dealing harshly with the Buddhist priests of Mount Hiye, whose great influence had been feared by temporal rulers ever since the ninth century. In his war with the lord of Echizen, he found these sacerdotal warriors on the side of his enemy. As soon as Echizen was reduced, Nobunaga, disregarding the remonstrance of his vassals, destroyed several of the temples, putting the priests to death as well as the women and children who lived with them, confiscating their lands, and bestowing them on his vassal Akechi Mitsuhide. Thus fell the contumacious and powerful priests who, relying on the authority of their religion, had treated even imperial mandates with contempt. Nothing remained of them but a few of their temples and the doctrines they had taught. Kosa, however, the lord abbot of Hongwan-ji, fled from one place to another and gathered a body of strong supporters wherever he went, and it was not till eleven years later that the priestly opposition was completely reduced. Meanwhile, the Shōgun Yoshiaki grew jealous of the immense power which Nobunaga was acquiring, and in spite of the latter's repeated effort to convince him of his loyalty, at length in 1573 raised an army to destroy Nobunaga. The campaign, however, ended in the defeat of the shōgun. He escaped to the province of Kawachi, and the supremacy of the Ashikaga family came to an end. In 1576 Nobunaga built a castle of unprecedented strength at Adsuchi in Ōmi. The keep was a hundred feet in height. It stood within seven stone walls of circumvallation, with moats constructed of large masses of granite.
Having thus fixed his headquarters in Adsuchi, Oda Nobunaga set about subduing those eastern provinces which still remained independent, and also all of the western provinces, where his influence was almost unknown. No sooner, however, had the former been reduced under his sway and the plans of campaign against the latter matured, than Nobunaga met an untimely death in 1582 at the hand of his vassal, Akechi Mitsuhide. With great strategic skill, Nobunaga had combined the faculty of discovering able men and winning their loyalty. Seldom had so large a number of great men been found under the control of a single ruler as under Nobunaga. Death prevented him from carrying out his design of subjugating Kiushū, as he had conquered the other districts of the empire. Toward the imperial court he had shown unvarying reverence. He had devoted considerable sums to renovating the shrines. He also had adopted effective measures for the repair of roads and bridges, and facilitated travel by abolishing military barriers. But his character was austere, and his administrative measures were strict and uncompromising. It was by the exercise of these traits that he provoked the anger of Mitsuhide, and thus unfortunately met an untimely end without achieving the great ambition of his life.
Akechi Mitsuhide, the assassin, proceeded to Adsuchi, and having there possessed himself of a large supply of money and other valuables, returned to Kyōto. Hashiba Hideyoshi, who led the western campaign against the great Mōri family, quickly accepted the surrender of the latter, who were ignorant of Nobunaga's death, and hastened back to turn his arms against the rebel general. Mitsuhide sustained a crushing defeat at Yamazaki in Settsu. Fleeing toward Ōmi, he was assassinated en route by a farmer, only thirteen days after he had raised the standard of revolt. The celerity with which Hideyoshi avenged the death of Nobunaga had a decisive effect upon the course of events that followed. Other great vassals of the late Nobunaga also hurried from their provinces to accomplish the same end, only to find that Hideyoshi had forestalled them all. A consultation was now held between Hideyoshi and these generals regarding Nobunaga's successor, his two sons, Nobukatsu and Nobutaka, being keen rivals for the honor. Hideyoshi, apprehending that their mutual enmity might prove disastrous if either were nominated, would not listen to the advice of his colleagues, but insisted that Sambōshi, son of Nobutada, the heir of Nobunaga, who perished with his father, should be appointed. Sambōshi was then a child only three years of age, so the power of the Oda family devolved upon Hideyoshi. The other generals, however, refused to endorse this arrangement. Nobutaka especially was hostile to the influence of Hideyoshi. Acting in collusion with Shibata Katsuiye and Takikawa Kazumasu, he attempted to destroy Hideyoshi. But again Hideyoshi's victory was quick and decisive, for not only did the conspirators fall one after another in battle, but their fiefs were annexed by Hideyoshi, whose prestige was thus greatly increased. The emperor now conferred on him the title of sangi (councilor of state). He established his headquarters in Ōsaka, judging the place convenient for purposes of transportation and administration alike. Instructions were issued to the various territorial nobles to furnish timber and stones, with which Hideyoshi caused to be constructed in Ōsaka a magnificent castle. Meanwhile, Nobukatsu, the remaining son of Nobunaga, had conceived hostility toward Hideyoshi, and in conjunction with Tokugawa Iyeyasu, raised an army and occupied a strong position at Komaki in Owari. Hideyoshi, finding himself unable to overcome these adversaries, concluded peace with them. He also subdued the independent provinces of the north and Shikoku. In Kiushū, where the powerful family of Shimadsu had held sway over the whole island, Hideyoshi reduced their fief to three provinces of Hiuga, Satsuma, and Ōsumi, and confiscated the other six. The Hōjō family of Odawara and Date Masamune of the extreme north held out the longest against Hideyoshi, but they also finally yielded to the overwhelming military genius. Further, he recognized as lord of the Island of Ezo, Matsumaye Nobuhiro, whose grandfather had crossed thither and subdued the aborigines. For the first time the wars and tumults that had convulsed Japan since the Ojin era were at last brought to an end, and the whole country came under the administrative sway of one strong ruler.
The story of the rise of Hideyoshi from the humblest to the most elevated position in the feudal world of Japan is highly characteristic of the man and his times. The son of a foot-soldier in Owari, Hideyoshi's original name was Tōkichi. From early childhood he acquired among his playmates a reputation for cleverness. Subsequently, attracted by the great renown of Nobunaga, he took service under him, who, pleased with the sagacity displayed by the youth, raised him after a time to the command of a division of soldiers. Tōkichi grew in favor with the Oda chief, who conferred on him the name of Hashiba, deriving it from the names of his two ablest generals, Niwa and Shibata. When Nobunaga was assassinated, Hideyoshi showed remarkable promptness and ability in destroying the traitorous vassal, a deed that won for him high popularity among the partisans of the deceased chief. Thenceforth his career was a series of brilliantly conceived and boldly executed conquests. Professing always to protect the Oda family, he took advantage of the discussions between Nobutaka and Nobukatsu to overthrow Katsuiye and Kazumasu, and showed at once his magnanimity and his prowess in the easy terms of peace which he granted to the Shimadsu family while pushing his operations against the Hōjō to their complete overthrow. Thus, despite his humble origin, he succeeded ultimately in grasping the administrative reins of the whole empire. His ambition prompted him to desire the post of sei-i-tai-shōgun, but custom had required from time immemorial that the occupant of that high office should be a member of the Minamoto clan. This difficulty Hideyoshi sought to overcome by getting himself adopted as the son of the Shōgun Yoshiaki, but the latter could not be persuaded to consent. Ultimately, he induced the emperor to appoint him kwanpaku or regent, a position really ranking higher than that of shōgun. On that occasion the sovereign conferred on him the family name of Toyotomi. Hideyoshi also spared no pains to restore the prestige of the throne, supplying all the expenses required for the imperial household and exacting from the nobles an oath that they would reverence the sovereign and make no encroachment on the imperial domains.
Hideyoshi's administrative organization was remarkable. He created five bugyō; namely, a mayor of the city of Kyōto, a manager of taxation, a judicial administrator, a supervisor of the public works, and a supreme judge of civil suits. He also selected Tokugawa Iyeyasu, Uyesugi Kagekatsu, Mōri Terumoto, Ukita Hideiye, and Mayeda Toshiiye to form a council of state, called the gotairō, five elders, for the purpose of deliberating upon all weighty national affairs. The question of the land also received careful attention at his hands. Perceiving that, owing to faulty administration of the regulations, many irregularities had arisen, and estates were in many cases wrongly registered, he dispatched inspectors to all the provinces and caused accurate surveys and returns to be made, severe punishment being meted out to any officials convicted of receiving bribes in the execution of this office. The result was that large tracts of land hitherto improperly exempted from taxation were brought within the fiscal system. A radical change was also introduced in the manner of registering lands: hitherto they had been classed according to the monetary income obtained from them; thenceforth they were estimated according to their produce in kind, and the taxes were calculated on the basis of this new valuation. Speaking roughly, about two-thirds of the produce went to the state, the remainder to the cultivators of the land. Further, in view of the defective condition of the currency, Hideyoshi caused gold coins of two dimensions—ōban and koban—to be struck, as well as ingots of silver, and coins of silver and copper known as the tenshō tsūhō-sen.
In Hideyoshi's time Christianity had already obtained considerable vogue throughout the country. Oda Nobunaga had sanctioned the preaching of the foreign creed, and had built for it a place of worship, called Namban-ji, in Kyōto. But when Hideyoshi, in the course of his campaign against Shimadsu, reached Hakata, the Christian priests showed such an arrogant demeanor that Hideyoshi, enraged by their conduct, ordered that they should leave Japan by a certain day, and prohibited the people from embracing Christianity. He even went to the length of causing Namban-ji to be destroyed. Some of the converts, however, managed to conceal themselves and carry on their worship in secret. When the Tokugawa shōguns came into possession of the administrative power, the edicts against the foreign faith were strictly enforced, and steps were taken to restore to Buddhism those who had embraced Christianity. These measures were unsuccessful, however, and culminated in the Shimabara disturbances in 1637, which will be subsequently described.
We shall now relate the story of Hideyoshi's Korean expedition. It will be remembered how, during the period of the lax administration of the Ashikaga, the laws were ill respected, disorders were constant, and the littoral population took advantage of the situation to engage in piratical raids against China. These proceedings led to a cessation of intercourse between Japan and China, and Korea also, having been conquered by China, ceased to maintain friendly relations with Japan. At the same time, on Japan's part, much cause of complaint existed against Korea. The Koreans had always assisted the Yuan dynasty of Mongols in their attacks upon Japan, and had shown themselves her bitter enemies. But owing to the unceasing prevalence of internal disturbances in Japan, it was not possible to avenge the hostile acts of China and Korea. So soon, however, as domestic broils were brought to an end and the control of the administration rendered effective throughout the empire, Hideyoshi formed the project of leading an expedition against the Ming sovereigns. He had entertained this idea for some time, and had made it known to Oda Nobunaga when preparations were in progress for the campaign against the Mōri family. In 1587, after his successful expedition against the Shimadsu in Kiushū, Hideyoshi sent a dispatch to Sō Yoshitomo, warden of Tsushima Island, directing him to take steps for inviting the king of Korea to come to Japan in order to have audience of the Japanese emperor. This invitation was to be accompanied by an intimation that unless the king obeyed the summons, the Japanese forces would at once be directed against Korea. Following up this measure, he determined—in 1590, by which time the country's domestic troubles had been entirely settled—to insist on presents being sent to Japan by both China and Korea, on pain of being invaded unless they consented to take that step. He dispatched an envoy to Korea with instructions to make known his purpose, and to require that the Koreans should act as intermediaries to procure China's consent. In the event of the Koreans' refusing, they were threatened with the punishment of being compelled to march in the van of the Japanese army to the invasion of China. The Koreans, however, declined to accept such a proposition. Hideyoshi thereupon gave up the office of kwanpaku to his adopted son, Hidetsugu, and assuming the title of taikō, he decided to lead an expedition against Korea. The emperor having given his approval of the step, orders were issued to all the provinces to furnish troops and military supplies, as well as to build a great fleet of war-vessels. In 1592 Hideyoshi appointed Ukita Hideiye commander-in-chief of the army, with Masuda Nagamori, Ishida Mitsunari, and Otani Yoshitaka for his staff. The whole force, numbering, it is said, 130,000 men, was divided into eight corps, and with the van were Konishi Yukinaga and Katō Kiyomasa. The sailors of the fleet aggregated 9000, and were under the command of Kuki Yoshitaka.
In March, Hideyoshi left Kyōto, and proceeding westward worshiped at the sepulchers of the Emperor Chūai and the Empress Jingō, passing thence to Nagoya in Hizen, where the forces from all the provinces were being mustered. In April the expedition sailed from the coast of Japan. The number of ships was so great that they seemed to cover the sea and struck the Koreans with consternation. Konishi Yukinaga and his division were the first to reach Korea. They effected a landing at Fusan, and took prisoner the Korean general who attempted to defend the port.
From this point Yukinaga marched confidently on Tokunegi, overbearing all resistance and putting the enemy's officers to the sword. Shortly afterward Kiyomasa and his corps also reached Fusan, and heading for Kegushagushu, attacked and took it. Korea's opposition was soon crushed, and the whole country submitted to the vast force of invaders. Meanwhile, the king, Lien, who had not failed to convey to China intimation of the pending danger, sent to the court of the Ming sovereigns earnest appeals for succor; and his troops having been everywhere defeated by the Japanese, he finally fled from the capital with his son, and took refuge in Hegushagu, having left one of his generals to defend Kanko. The Japanese troops, everywhere victorious, pushed on to the capital, which was taken by Konishi Yukinaga, the other generals subsequently assembling there. Yukinaga now made preparations to invade Hei-ando, and Kiyomasa took Hamukyando as the scene of his next campaign. Meanwhile, Hideyoshi, forseeing that a Chinese army would be sent to aid the Koreans, dispatched reinforcements to the invading troops, and conveyed to the commanders messages of encouragement and exhortation. He was persuaded that the Japanese army would defeat the Chinese, and he believed that in the space of two years the conquest of China might be effected, in which event he purposed transferring the capital of Japan to China. He even went so far as to determine the routine to be followed in the removal of the Japanese court to China. Kiyomasa now marched northward to Hamukyando, where he took a town called Eikyo. Learning there that two Korean princes were at Kaineifu, he attacked it and took them both prisoners. Continuing his advance, he crossed the northern frontier and entered Orankai, where he destroyed the castle, taking and putting to death a number of Koreans. The impetuosity of his movements and the unvarying success of his arms filled the Koreans with dismay. They gave him the name of "Kishokwan" (i. e., the demon general), and fled at the mere news of his approach.
Yukinaga, in the meanwhile, having conquered Hei-an, the king of Korea retired from Hegushagu and would have entered Hamukyan, but finding that Kiyomasa had already overrun that district, he turned westward to Gishu (Wiju). Yukinaga marched against Kuimeigen and took Hegushagu, the Japanese troops being everywhere victorious. Things did not fare equally well with the navy, however. The ships sustained several defeats, and their intention of proceeding from Terura-do to Kanai-do to effect a junction with the army was frustrated by the Korean commander Li Shunshin, who fought with the utmost tenacity and stoutness.
The emperor of China, having received intelligence of what was going forward in the peninsula, had dispatched from Ap-lok-kong a general named Tso Shingfon at the head of a considerable force, to succor the Koreans. Yukinaga encountered this army and completely routed it, the Chinese general barely escaping with his life, the news of which event inspired much alarm in China. Kiyomasa, whose operations had also been attended with uniform success, now directed his forces southward, and Lien, the king of Korea, in his extremity, once more applied to China for aid. The Chinese sovereign thereupon commissioned a minister, Chom Wei-king, to consult with his colleagues as to the advisability of concluding peace with Japan. But among the Chinese captains there was one Li Chiu, who, having much confidence in his own prowess, insisted that no terms should be offered, and that the war should be prosecuted to the end. Another army was accordingly dispatched to Korea under his command, and marching with rapidity, he soon reached Hegushagu at the head of a great force. There he encountered the Japanese under Yukinaga and defeated them. Yukinaga retired to the Korean capital, whither also the other Japanese generals concentrated their troops, the corps under the command of Kobayagawa Takakage alone remaining to guard Kaijo, despite the urgent advice of the other three generals that he too should concentrate his forces at the capital. Li, following up his victory, pushed on toward the capital at the head of a large army. Takakage and others encountered the Chinese army at Hekitei-kan, and the divisions of Tachibana Muneshige and Mōri Hidekane fought with such bravery that Li's force was almost exterminated, Li himself barely escaping. Takakage hotly pursued the retreating Chinese, great numbers of whom either fell under the swords of the Japanese or were drowned in attempting to cross rivers. This blow threw the Chinese into a state of disorganization. Li retired into Hegushagu, and remained inactive.
Meanwhile, the victorious career of the Japanese had been checked in Chiushu, in attacking which place they were repulsed. Moreover, plague broke out in the camp and provisions were exhausted. Under these circumstances the Japanese were not unwilling to listen to proposals of peace made by a Chinese envoy, Chom Wei-king. Hideyoshi dictated seven articles as the basis of a treaty; first, that in order to secure amity between the two empires, a Chinese imperial princess should become the consort of a Japanese imperial prince: second, that permits for commercial intercourse should be sent to Japan; third, that the ministers of the two countries should exchange a friendly convention; fourth, that Korea should be divided into halves, one to belong to Japan, and the other, including the four provinces and the capital, then in Japanese hands, to be restored to Korea; fifth, that Korea should place in Japan's hands, as pledges of good faith, her prince royal and certain ministers of the crown; sixth, that Japan should restore to Korea the two Korean princes whom she had taken prisoners; and seventh, that influential Korean subjects should give written promises of submission to Japan. The Chinese envoy objected to the two conditions relating to the marriage of a Chinese princess with a Japanese prince, and to the partition of Korea. Hideyoshi, however, urged him to return to China and report the situation to his sovereign. Meanwhile, he ordered the Japanese generals to send back the two Korean prisoners, and to renew the attack on Chiushu, pending the conclusion of peace. But, after some further parleying, the Chinese envoy finally refused to comply with Hideyoshi's suggestion, and no answer to Japan's conditions was received from the Chinese emperor. Hideyoshi, now concluding that peace was impossible, began to make preparations for himself leading an army to attack China. At this juncture the envoy who had been sent to Japan, as well as other Chinese statesmen, suggested to their emperor that what Hideyoshi really wanted was an imperial commission appointing him king of Japan. The Chinese emperor accordingly dispatched another envoy to Japan carrying a gold seal and a headpiece specially manufactured for the purpose. In 1596, Hideyoshi gave audience to this envoy in the castle at Fushimi, and ordered him to read the documents with which he had come entrusted. The envoy complied, but when he came to the clause where it was stated that the Chinese government appointed Hideyoshi to be king of Japan, the taikō became greatly enraged. Seizing the document he threw it and the headpiece on the floor, and declared that his intention was to become king of China, and that the Chinese government should learn how little it had to do with the sovereignty of Japan. He dismissed the Chinese and Korean envoys, and issued orders for a campaign against China. In February of the following year, the Japanese generals assembled at Nagoya in Hizen, Kiyomasa and Yukinaga being the first to set out for Korea. The Chinese government, learning that the negotiations had been unsuccessful, sent another army to the peninsula under the command of Ying Kai and Tik Ho.
Meanwhile, the Korean general Li Shunshin had gained several victories over the Japanese forces, and joined by this new army, his strength became very great. Thereupon Kiyomasa fortified his position at Urosan, and there sustained a stubborn siege, the Chinese General Tik Ho's repeated efforts to reduce the place proving abortive. By degrees the provisions within Kiyomasa's lines became exhausted. His men were obliged to eat horse-flesh, and being exposed to the bitter cold of mid-winter many lost their hands from frost-bite. Hearing of the evil plight of their comrades, Toyotomi Hideaki and Mōri Hidemoto marched to the relief of Kiyomasa, and the besieging army retired without resistance. Kuroda Nagamasa fell on them as they retreated, and being joined by Kiyomasa, the two generals attacked the Chinese with great vehemence and completely routed them. Shimadsu Yoshihiro also defeated a Chinese army at Shinsai and Shisen. At this juncture, however, the taikō died. On the point of death he issued instructions for the recall of the Japanese army from Korea. This event occurred in 1598, and the news caused great rejoicing in China. The Chinese forces in Korea hung upon the flanks of the Japanese troops as they withdrew, but were so disheartened by the crushing reverses they had just experienced that they did not dare to make any serious attack. The Japanese ships also defeated the Chinese squadron, and were thus enabled to return to Japan unmolested. In the following year, the services of Tokugawa Iyeyasu and other Japanese generals were duly considered by the imperial court in Kyōto, and received adequate recognition. A few years later, in 1607, Korea sent an envoy to Japan carrying gifts and suing for peace. The Shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada received these overtures favorably and amicable relations were established between the two countries.
During the closing years of Hideyoshi's life, his adopted son Hidetsugu, in whose favor he had resigned the office of kwanpaku so greatly abused his power that Hideyoshi became indignant and ordered him into retirement in the monastery of Kōya-san, where, shortly afterward, he received instructions to commit suicide. Hideyoshi bequeathed his rank and titles to his son Hideyori, who was a mere child at the time of his illustrious father's decease. A few hours before his death the great captain and administrator summoned all his generals to his side, and made them swear to protect his youthful successor, appointing Mayeda Toshiiye to the post of guardian. The generals, however, entertained toward each other sentiments of such jealousy and hostility that the old disorders would have been renewed but for the transcendent ability and prowess of Tokugawa Iyeyasu.