As soon as Suzukida had left the room, Shigenari helped Ryōkwan to get up, and very kindly assisted him to his own chamber where he attended to his bruises with great solicitude. When the tea-priest had recovered somewhat, Shigenari said to him, gently remonstrant:—
“How foolish it is of you, Ryōkwan, to be so proud of your strength and in consequence to behave so arrogantly to your comrades and superiors. A samurai should use his gifts for his lord’s service only. You should exert yourself solely for the benefit of His Highness Lord Hideyori. It is regrettable that you should waste your powers in causeless quarrels and fights. It was fortunate for you that it was I you insulted the other day; had it been some one else you would undoubtedly have paid for it with your life on the instant. You have superior muscular power and no little skill in the use of arms; now that war is so imminent the life of every samurai is precious; that is why I spared you—that you might live to serve in time of need. But you did not understand my motive and sought occasion to insult me again. How undiscriminating! If I had not interceded for you just now you would have died a useless death at the hands of Suzukida Dono. Is not a purposeless death like that dishonour for a samurai? If you repent your past mistakes I will ask Suzukida Dono to overlook and pardon your rudeness, and I am sure he will not refuse. Will you not amend your conduct and from henceforth direct all your energies to doing your very best for our lord and his cause, Ryōkwan?”
To this long speech delivered with a winning earnestness that pierced him to the heart, Ryōkwan listened with bent head and averted eyes. A few hot tears stole down his rough cheeks; he brushed them away with his sleeve before he answered in a broken voice.
“Every word you have uttered has cut me to the heart, Kimura Sama,” he said. “Your kindness overwhelms me. I am deeply ashamed of myself, and I now see how blind I was not to perceive your noble and unselfish motives in the way you acted. Oh, that I might commit seppuku in atonement! But to take my life would be in opposition to your kind instruction: as you have pointed out it is the duty of us all to live till we die in our lord’s cause.... If you can forgive me it is my earnest desire that you will take me for your own retainer. Unworthy though I am, I entreat you will not deny my request.”
Touched and pleased at the success of his remonstrance, Shigenari gladly agreed to do as Ryōkwan asked. Having obtained permission from Lord Hideyori, they exchanged vows as master and retainer; and thus the brawling, overbearing drunkard of a tea-priest became a changed man, and with all the strength of a strong nature devoted himself to the service of the master he adored.
II.
The year following the events just narrated, the strained relations between the rivals, the Toyotomis and Tokugawas snapped, and as had been foreseen war was declared. The Ex-Shogun Iyeyasu and the reigning Shogun Hidetada with an army of 200,000 men lay siege to the Castle of Osaka, though as yet they did not venture on very close quarters. The besieged troops, though outnumbered by the enemy, were well commanded by numerous veteran generals and defended themselves with courage and skill. In several small engagements which took place without the castle, Iyeyasu’s men, ensnared with artfully constructed stratagems, suffered severe defeat. Above all they sustained signal reverses at the hands of Shigenari who manœuvered adroitly and fought bravely with his company.
The siege lasted several months and still the brave little garrison held the enemy at bay. With each success their spirits rose. The shrewd Iyeyasu, seeing the impossibility of taking the stronghold by force and hopeless of starving it out, deemed it would be the best policy to patch up peace in some way, and trust to the pride and arrogance of the opposing faction to bring about their own downfall. Therefore, most cunningly, through the Emperor’s mediation as it seemed, he proposed, nay, almost dictated peace to Hideyori. Most of his generals, including Sanada Yukimura, Chief of the General Staff, and Shigenari, considering the present situation favourable to the triumph of their side, emphatically opposed such a fatal act; but Hideyori’s infamous and beautiful mother Madame Yodogimi who had great influence over her son, being persuaded to that effect by her licentious and thoughtless favourites who were weary of the confinement necessitated by the siege, threw all the weight of her maternal authority on the acceptance of the terms. Furthermore, the proposal coming from the highest quarter could hardly be slighted; therefore the defenders were almost without option compelled to agree to the humiliating terms proposed, which were that Hideyori should destroy the outer moat of his castle—to show the sincerity of his peaceful intentions—while Iyeyasu, in return, should cede to him the provinces of Kii and Yamato.
A day was appointed for the formal signing of the treaty; and Shigenari was nominated special envoy for the occasion, with Kōri Shumenosuké for vice-envoy.
Iyeyasu had the entrance to his camp strictly guarded; and with a view to displaying his authority before all the daimios assembled to witness the ceremony, he secretly instructed his most trusted generals to humiliate the expected envoys as much as possible. These officers who felt much chagrin at their frequent defeats were only too glad to have opportunity to wreck vengeance on the enemy by affronting their representatives.