Mikawa led him to a teahouse. Looking at the back of the old, white-haired general, it was clear that he had already transcended life and death.
It was a small, secluded teahouse, down a lane through the trees. Hideyoshi sat down and felt that he was in a different world entirely. In the quiet of the teahouse, both host and guest were temporarily cleansed of the bloodiness of the outside world.
It was the end of autumn. The leaves of the trees fluttered outside, but not a speck of dust settled on the polished wooden floor.
"I hear that Lord Nobunaga's retainers have recently taken up the art of tea." Making amiable conversation, Mikawa lifted the ladle toward the iron kettle.
Hideyoshi noted the man's decorum and hastily apologized. "Lord Nobunaga and his retainers are well versed in tea, but I'm a dullard by nature and don't know the first thing about it. I only like the taste."
Mikawa put down the bowl and stirred the tea with the whisk. His graceful movements were almost feminine in nature. The hands and body that had been hardened by armor did not seem cramped in the least. In this room furnished with nothing more than a tea bowl and a simple kettle, the gaudiness of the old general's armor looked out of place.
I've met a good man, Hideyoshi thought, and he drank in the man's character more than his tea. But how was he going to get Oichi out of the castle? Nobunaga's distress was his own. Since his plan had been employed so far, he felt responsible for solving this problem too.
The castle would probably fall on any day they wanted it to, but it would not do to bungle the job now and have to pick through the ashes for the gem. Furthermore, Nagamasa had let both parties know that he was determined to die, and that his wife was ofthe same mind.
Nobunaga's impossible hope was to win the battle and recover Oichi without harm.
"Please don't worry about formalities," Mikawa said, offering him the tea bowl from where he knelt in front of the hearth.
Sitting crossed-legged in the warrior style, Hideyoshi artlessly received the tea and drank it down in three gulps.
"Ah, that was good. I didn't think tea could taste this good. And I'm not trying to flatter you."
"How about another bowl?"
"No, my thirst has been quenched. The thirst in my mouth, at least. But I don't know how to quench the thirst in my heart. General Mikawa, you seem to be someone I can talk to. Would you hear me out?"
"I'm a retainer of the Asai, and you're an envoy of the Oda. I'll listen to you from that standpoint."
"I'd like you to arrange for me to meet with Lord Nagamasa."
"Such a thing was refused when you were at the castle gate. You were let in because you said that you had not come to meet Lord Nagamasa. Coming this far and then going back on your word is a dishonorable trick. I can't put myself in that position and allow you to meet him."
"No, no. I'm not talking about meeting the living Lord Nagamasa. As Nobunaga's presentative, I would like to salute the soul of Lord Nagamasa."
"Stop playing with words. Even if I did convey your intentions to him, there's no reason to think that Lord Nagamasa would consent to see you. I had hoped to partake in the highest warrior etiquette by sharing a bowl of tea with you. If you have any sense of shame, leave now while you haven't dishonored yourself."
Don't move. Refuse to go. Hideyoshi had resolved not to budge until he had achieved his goal. He sat there in silence. Mere words were clearly not going to be any kind of strategy against this seasoned old general.
"Well, I'm going to take you back," Mikawa offered.
Hideyoshi looked grimly in the other direction and said nothing. Meanwhile, his host had prepared a bowl of tea for himself. After drinking it in a dignified manner, he put away the tea implements.
"I know this is selfish, but let me stay here a while longer, please," Hideyoshi said, and did not make a move. His expression indicated that he probably could not have been moved with a lever.
"You can stay there as long as you like, but it won't do you any good."
"Not necessarily."
"There are no two ways about what I said just now. What are you going to do here?'
"I'm listening to the sound of the water boiling in the kettle."
"The kettle?" he laughed. "And you said you didn't know anything about the Way of Tea!"
"No, I don't know the first thing about tea, but it is a pleasant sound, somehow. Maybe it's from hearing nothing but war cries and the whinnying of horses during this long campaign, but it's extremely pleasant. Let me sit here for a moment by myself and think things through."
"It won't make any difference what your meditations are. I'm certainly not going to let you meet Lord Nagamasa, or even step one foot closer to the keep," Mikawa said as he got up to leave.
Hideyoshi made no answer other than to say, "This kettle really has a nice sound to it." He edged a little closer to the hearth and, lost in admiration, gazed intendy at the iron kettle. What had suddenly caught his attention was the pattern raised on the antique surface of the iron. It was hard to say whether it was a man or a monkey, but the tiny creature, its arms and legs supported by the branches of a tree, was standing insolently between heaven and earth.
It looks like me! Hideyoshi thought, unable to suppress a spontaneous smile. He suddenly recalled the time he had left the mansion of Matsushita Kahei and roamed the mountains and forests with nothing to eat and nowhere to stay.
Hideyoshi did not know whether Mikawa was outside, peeping in on him, or had gone away in exasperation, but in any case, he was no longer in the teahouse.
Ah, this is interesting. This is really interesting, thought Hideyoshi. He looked as if he were talking to the kettle. Alone, he shook his head. As he did so, he thought about his decision not to move, no matter what.
Somewhere in the garden, Hideyoshi heard the guileless voices of two young children, trying hard not to burst out laughing. They were looking at him through the gaps in the fence around the teahouse.
“Look how much he looks like a monkey."
"Yes! He's just like one."
“I wonder where he's come from."
“He must be the messenger from the Monkey God."
Hideyoshi turned his head and spotted the children hiding behind the fence.
While Hideyoshi had been engrossed in the design on the kettle, the two children had been secredy observing him.
Hideyoshi was struck with jubilation. He was certain that these were two of Nagamasa's four children—the boy, Manju, and the girl his elder sister, Chacha. He shot them a smile.
"Hey! He's smiling!"
"Mister Monkey smiled."
The two children immediately started whispering. Hideyoshi pretended to scowl at them. This had even more of an effect than smiling. Seeing that the monkey-faced stranger was so quick to join in their games, Manju and Chacha stuck out their tongues and made faces at him.
Hideyoshi glared at them and the two children glared back, trying to see who could last the longest.
Hideyoshi burst out laughing, conceding defeat.
Manju and Chacha laughed excitedly. Scratching his head, Hideyoshi beckoned them with a wave to come over and play another game.
The two children were intrigued by his invitation, and stealthily pushed open the brushwood gate.