"You're talking foolishness."
Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha! Anyway, I'm happy. Hey, Tokichiro. We are companions for life but did you ever think there would be a night as happy as this one?"
"No, probably not."
"Nene, is the hand drum around? If I beat the drum, somebody get up and dance
something. Since Kinoshita here isn't a man of sense, I'll bet he doesn't dance so well either.
"Well, for everyone's entertainment, I'll let you see a rather incompetent rendition."
The person who spoke was Nene. Inuchiyo, Ikeda Shonyu, and the other guests opened their eyes wide in surprise. Accompanied by Inuchiyo's drum, Nene opened her fan and began to dance.
"Well done! Well done!" Tokichiro clapped his hands as though he himself had danced. Quite possibly because they were drunk, the energy of their excitement showed no signs of abating. Someone must have proposed that they move on to Sugaguchi, the liveliest quarter of Kiyosu. And there was not a single sober person among them to say no.
"Great! Let's go!" The newlywed Tokichiro got up and led the way. Ignoring his outraged relatives, the party that had come for the water-pouring ceremony forgot even that and, locking arms with the bridegroom, staggered out of the house, supporting one another and waving their arms.
"The poor, poor bride." The relatives were sympathizing with Nene, who had been left behind. But when they looked around for Nene, who just moments ago had been dancing, she was nowhere to be seen. She had pushed open a side door and had gone outside. Pursuing her husband, who was surrounded by his drunken friends, she called out "Have a good time!"and slipped her purse into the front of his kimono. The place that the young men of the castle frequented was a drinking spot called the Nunokawa. Situated in the old quarter of Sugaguchi, it was said that this teahouse had been converted from an old shop of sake merchants, who had lived there long before either the Oda or their predecessors, the Shiba, had been masters of Owari. Thus, the shop was well known for the size of its ancient building.
Tokichiro was more than a regular. In fact, if his face did not appear when people gathered there, the staff and his friends felt the loss—like a smile with a missing tooth, Tokichiro's marriage was more than enough cause for all the patrons to raise their cups at their favorite drinking haunt. As the friends pushed their way through the shop's curtained entrance, somebody announced the news in the huge entrance hall. 'Ladies and gentlemen and staff of the Nunokawa! Won't you all come out to welcome a guest? We've brought in a bridegroom unparalleled in all the world! And guess who it is. A fellow by the name of Kinoshita Tokichiro. Celebrate, celebrate! This is his water-pouring ceremony."
Their feet twisted from one unsure step to the next. Tokichiro was buffeted along among them and staggered in.
The staff looked on in blank amazement, but broke out in laughter when they finally underrstood what was happening. They listened with amazement to the story of the bridegroom being seized and carried away during the wedding party.
“This is not a water-pouring ceremony," they said. "It's more like bridegroom snatching.” And they all laughed uproariously. Tokichiro dashed into the building, looking as though he were trying to escape, but his prank-loving friends sat down, encircling him, letting him know that he was a prisoner until dawn. Impatiently they called for sake.
Who knows how much they drank? There was almost no one who could distinguish what songs they sang or what dances they performed.
Eventually each went to sleep where he fell, with his arms as a pillow, or with arms and legs outstretched. As the night deepened, the smells of autumn silently made their way in.
Inuchiyo suddenly raised his head and looked around with a start. Tokichiro had raised his head, too. Ikeda Shonyu opened his eyes. Looking at one another, they pricked up their ears. The clatter of passing horses that broke the silence had woken them from their sleep.
"What is it?"
"There's quite a number of men." Inuchiyo slapped his knee as though he had thought of something. "That's right! It's just the time for Takigawa Kazumasu to be coming back. Some time ago he went as an envoy to Tokugawa Ieyasu in Mikawa. Maybe that's it."
"Of course. Will they align with the Oda or rely on the Imagawa? The messenger should have Mikawa's answer."
One after another they opened their eyes, but three of the men dashed out of the Nunokawa without waiting for the others. Following the sound of the bridles and the crowd of men and horses up ahead, they ran in the direction of the castle gate.
Kazumasu had gone to Mikawa as an envoy many times since the battle at Okehazama the year before. That he was charged with the important diplomatic mission of winning Tokugawa Ieyasu's cooperation with the Oda clan was not a secret in Kiyosu.
Until just recently, Mikawa had been a weak province, dependent on the Imagawa. And while Owari was also said to be a small province, it had dealt a fatal blow to the powerful Imagawa, sending a strong reminder to the chief contenders for national leadership that there existed today a man by the name of Oda Nobunaga. The strength and morale of the Oda were on the rise. The alliance being sought was called simply a cooperative federation, and the difficult diplomatic trick would be in making the Oda the senior partners in the alliance.
Insofar as a province was small and weak, it was essential that it act without hesitation. A province like Mikawa could be swallowed up in a single military campaign. And the fact was that after the death of Yoshimoto, the province of Mikawa stood at a life-and-death turning point. Should the Tokugawa continue to be dependents of the Imagawa under Ujizane? Or go over to the Oda?
The Tokugawa were perplexed, and there had been any number of deliberations, exchanges of envoys, discussions, and recommendations. In the meantime, minor battles were being fought between Suruga and Mikawa. The skirmishes between the Oda branch castles and their opponents in Mikawa had, naturally, not ceased, and no one was able even to estimate the risk involved to the two provinces, or when the fighting might start. And there was a large number of clans besides the Oda and Tokugawa waiting for the war to start: the Saito of Mino, the Kitabatake of Ise, the Takeda of Kai, and the Imagawa of Suruga. There was no advantage to it. Tokugawa Ieyasu did not feel like fighting, and Oda Nobunaga knew very well that to brace and fight for a final victory over the Tokugawa would be ridiculous. Which is to say that Nobunaga didn't want to fight, either. But it was necessary not to show it. Nobunaga knew the stubborn and patient character of the Tokugawa and thought it important to consider their reputation.
Mizuno Nobutomo was governor of Ogawa Castle. Although he was a retainer of the Oda, he was also Tokugawa Ieyasu's uncle. Nobunaga asked him to speak to his nephew in his behalf. Nobutomo met with Ieyasu and his senior retainers, and tried to entice them from the side with diplomatic efforts. Approached both frontally and laterally, the Tokugawa finally seemed to have made a decision, and an answer to that effect had arrived from Ieyasu. Thus, Takigawa Kazumasu had been sent to Mikawa as an envoy to receive the final answer concerning Nobunaga's offer of an alliance. And when he returned that night, he went to the castle even though it was past midnight. Kazumasu was a senior Oda general, knowledgeable in firearms and a fine marksman.
Nobunaga, however, valued his intelligence far above his marksmanship. He was not what would be called an orator, but his earnest speech had the virtue of sounding extremely rational. Serious and full of common sense, he was also very quick-witted. Because of this, Nobunaga saw him as the right man for this important phase of the diplomatic process.
It was late at night, but Nobunaga was already up and was waiting for Kazumasu in the audience chamber. Kazumasu prostrated himself, still in his travel clothes. To be overly concerned at a time like this about appearing while still dressed in dirty travel clothes, and thus arranging one's hair and clothes, cleaning away the sweat and smell, and only then coming into the lord's presence, was liable to elicit a remark such as, "Did you go off flower viewing?" Kazumasu had witnessed this sort of ill-humored criticism, and so was here with both hands to the floor, still breathing hard, dressed in clothes that smelled of horses. On the other hand, there were very few times when Nobunaga had let his retainers wait a long time while he leisurely took his seat.
Nobunaga questioned him, eager for a reply.
The answer was to the point. There were retainers who, upon returning and giving their official report, would talk a long time about this or that, prattling on about what happened on the way, discussing all the minor details of the problem. As a result, it was difficult to get to the essential question: Did the errand go as planned or not? Nobunaga hated that, and when messengers gave their answers in nothing but digressions, an irritated expression would darken his face that even an outsider could have understood. "Get tothe point!" he would caution.
Kazumasu had been warned about this. Having been selected to perform such an important diplomatic mission, he now looked up to Nobunaga, made a single obeisance, dan went straight to the point. "My lord, I have good news. The agreement with Lord Ieyasu of Mikawa is finally in order. Not only that, but almost all of the provisions are as you desired."
"You succeeded?"
"Yes, my lord, it's settled." Nobunaga's expression was matter-of-fact, but behind it he heaved a heavy sigh of relief. "Moreover, I promised to conclude the articles covering the specifics at a later date with a discussion at Narumi Castle with Ishikawa Kazumasa of the Tokugawa clan."
"Well then, the lord of Mikawa has promised to cooperate with us?"
"By your command."
"Good work," Nobunaga said for the first time. Only then did Kazumasu give a detailed report.
It was near dawn when Kazumasu withdrew from Nobunaga's presence. By the time the light of early morning spilled into the castle grounds, the rumor that the Oda and the lord of Mikawa had made an alliance had already been back and forth, whispered from ear to ear.
Even such secret information as that concerning the imminent meeting of the representatives of the two clans at Narumi to sign the agreement, and the proposed New Year's visit the following year of Tokugawa Ieyasu at Kiyosu Castle to meet Nobunaga for the first time, was quickly and quietly passed among the retainers.
Inuchiyo, Shonyu, Tokichiro, and the other young samurai had recognized from as far away as Sugaguchi the identity of the messenger who was returning to the castle, and had immediately chased after him. Sitting packed together in a room in the castle, they waited breathlessly to know if it would be war or peace with Mikawa.
"Rejoice!" The page, Tohachiro, had heard the news that came swiftly from the inner council, and he told them everything he had heard.
"It's been agreed?" This outcome had generally been expected, but when they knew a settlement had been reached, their faces were brighter, and their hearts looked to the future with anticipation.
"Now we can fight," said a samurai.
Nobunaga's retainers had not been praising the alliance with Mikawa as a means of avoiding war. They heartily welcomed the treaty with Mikawa, the province to their rear so they could face a greater enemy with all their strength.
"It's His Lordship's good fortune as a warrior."
"And advantageous for Mikawa, as well."
"Now that I've heard the outcome, I can't keep my eyes open. Come to think of it, we haven't slept since last night," said one of the previous night's revelers; to which Tokichiro yelled, "Not me! I feel just the opposite. Last night was a happy event, and so is this morning. With all of these happy things one after another, I feel like going back to Sugaguchi and drinking some more."
Shonyu joked, "You're lying. The place you feel like going back to is Nene's house Well, well, how would the bride spend the first night? Master Tokichiro! This forbearance is futile. How about asking for a full day off today and going home? Somebody's waiting for you now."
"Bah!" Tokichiro put up a bold front in the face of his friends' laughter. The burst of loud guffaws drifted down the corridors in the dawn. Finally, a huge drum sounded from the top of the castle, and each of them quickly went off to his post.
I’m home!" The entrance to Asano Mataemon's house was not large, but when Tokichiro stood there, it seemed awfully big. His voice was clear, and his presence brightened the surroundings.