Notes on Itojo

Hidebayashi-in

An account of how Lady Hidebayashi-in (the wife of Hosokawa Ecchu no Kami Tadaoki; Hidebayashi-in-den Kae Sogyoku Daishi being her posthumous Buddhist name) met her end.

1. In the year of Lord Ishida Jibu no Sho's rebellion, that is, on the tenth day of the seventh month of Keicho 5, my father, the fishmonger Seizaemon, went to the residence at Tamatsukuri in Osaka and presented ten canaries to Lady Hidebayashi-in. As my lady was fond of all things imported from the Southern Barbarians, her delight was beyond measure, and I too felt greatly honored. Among the furnishings she owned there were any number of counterfeits; she possessed nothing so unquestionably genuine as these canaries. At that time my father told me that, once the cool season had set in, he would ask leave of Lady Hidebayashi-in and have me married off. Though I had already been in service for more than three years, Lady Hidebayashi-in had not the slightest gentleness in her nature. Since she made it her first concern to behave like a wise woman, one could never even have a lighthearted chat in her presence; it was always stifling to be near her. So when I heard my father's words, I felt as though I could rise to heaven. On that very day, Lady Hidebayashi-in remarked that the women of Japan were shallow-minded because they did not read books in foreign script, and that in her next life she intended without fail to marry into the house of a great lord in the Southern Barbarian lands.

2. On the eleventh, a nun called Sumi came to have an audience with Lady Hidebayashi-in. This nun has lately insinuated herself even into the castle and is said to be very shrewd; but in former days she was the widow of a thread merchant in Kyoto, a wanton woman who changed husbands six times. I disliked her so much that the very sight of her face made me sick, yet Lady Hidebayashi-in did not seem to hate her particularly, and would sometimes keep her by her side as a companion in conversation for half the day. Every time that happened, all of us women in the inner chambers suffered for it. This was entirely because Lady Hidebayashi-in loved flattery. For instance, Sumi would tell her, "How beautiful you always are. Surely any gentleman would take you for no more than twenty or so," and solemnly praise her looks. In truth, however, Lady Hidebayashi-in was not so beautiful as all that; her nose was rather too high, and she had a few freckles as well. Nor, at the age of thirty-eight, could she possibly be taken for twenty, however dim the light or distant the view.

3. Sumi's visit that day was, she said, at the private request of Jibu no Sho, to urge Lady Hidebayashi-in to move her residence into the castle. Lady Hidebayashi-in told Sumi that she would think the matter over and give her reply, but to me it seemed she could not come to any firm decision. So after Sumi left, she knelt before the image of Lady Maria and, about once every quarter-hour, offered up with all her heart a prayer she called an "oratio." By the way, this "oratio" of hers was not in the language of Japan but in the tongue of some Southern Barbarian land called Latin. To our ears it sounded only like "nosu, nosu," and suppressing our laughter at it was no small hardship.

4. On the twelfth nothing in particular occurred, save that from morning on Lady Hidebayashi-in seemed to be in a poor humor. Whenever she was displeased, she would not only scold and sneer at us, but also at the wife of Lord Yoichiro (Tadaoki's son Tadataka); so no one dared go near her unless necessary. That day too, it is said, she lectured Lady Yoichiro at length, citing the tale of the peacock from some book called Aesop's Fables and warning her not to paint her face too heavily. We all felt very sorry for her. This lady was the younger sister of the wife of Ukita Chunagon in the neighboring residence; though I cannot exactly say she was clever, her beauty was such that no exquisite doll could rival it.

5. On the thirteenth, Ogasawara Shosai (Hidekiyo) and Kawakita Iwami (Kazunari) both came as far as the kitchen. In the Hosokawa house it was a house rule that no male, not even a child, might enter the women's quarters. Therefore the officials from the front offices would come to the kitchen and ask us to relay whatever business they had to the inner rooms; this had long been the established custom. All this arose from the jealousy of Lord Sansai (Tadaoki) and Lady Hidebayashi-in. Even Mori Tahei of the Kuroda house is said to have laughed that theirs was truly an inconvenient household rule. Still, there are ways around things behind the scenes, so it was not in practice quite so inconvenient.

6. Shosai and Iwami summoned a lady attendant named Shimo and told her in detail that rumors were spreading everywhere that Jibu no Sho had suddenly begun taking hostage the family members of the lords who had gone east. They wished to know what should be done, and also to hear Lady Hidebayashi-in's thoughts on the matter. At that time Shimo said to me, "The gentlemen in charge of keeping the house are too slow-witted. Sumi reported all this the day before yesterday. Still, I suppose carrying messages is hard work." This was nothing unusual. News and gossip from the world outside always reached our ears before it reached those officials. Shosai was merely an honest old man, and Iwami a blundering fellow devoted only to martial ways; that such men should lag behind was natural enough. Yet because it happened again and again, those of us in the women's quarters came to say, instead of "nothing can be hidden from the world," simply, "even the stay-at-home officials know of it."

7. Shimo at once conveyed the matter to Lady Hidebayashi-in. My lady said that, since Jibu no Sho and Lord Sansai had long been on bad terms, it was certain enough that this house would be among the first he would seek hostages from. But if, by some chance, that did not happen, should they follow the example of other houses? Or if the demand did come first to them, what answer ought she to give? Shosai and Iwami were to consider the matter. Since the two men had asked for her opinion precisely because they could not decide, my lady's words were beside the point; but Shimo could not stand against her mistress's authority and relayed them exactly as spoken. After Shimo came back down to the kitchen, Lady Hidebayashi-in once again chanted "nosu, nosu" before the image of Lady Maria. When a newly hired maid named Ume could not help laughing, she was given a severe dressing-down for her insolence.

8. Hearing Lady Hidebayashi-in's words, Shosai and Iwami were both at a loss. Soon, however, they told Shimo that even if Jibu no Sho should send such a demand, Lord Yoichiro and Lord Yogoro (Tadaoki's son Okiaki) had already gone east, and Lord Naiki (Tadatoshi) too was at present a hostage in Edo. Since there was not a single person in this residence who could be sent as a hostage, the answer should simply be that no one could be produced. If they insisted nevertheless, they would dispatch a message to Tanabe Castle (Maizuru) and await instructions from Yusai (Tadaoki's father, Fujitaka); until then the other side must wait. Was this an acceptable course? Lady Hidebayashi-in had told them to use their judgment, but was there the slightest trace of judgment in what they proposed? Any veteran retainer, indeed any retainer with ordinary sense, would in such a case have first removed Lady Hidebayashi-in to Tanabe Castle if nowhere else, then helped the rest of us hide ourselves wherever we could, and finally left only the two officials in charge to make their stand. But to say bluntly, and in a quarrelsome tone, that since there was not a single person to send as hostage, they simply could not send one, was enough to bring trouble down on the heads of us innocent bystanders, and we found it intolerable.

9. Shimo again conveyed all this to Lady Hidebayashi-in. My lady made no immediate reply, but merely continued murmuring "nosu, nosu" to herself. At length, however, she resumed an outwardly composed expression and said that their plan would do. Since the officials in charge had not yet even suggested helping her escape, she could hardly be expected to order them to spirit her away; so I suppose that inwardly she resented the senseless proposal of Shosai and Iwami. In any case, from that time on her temper remained extremely bad. She scolded us over everything, and each time she scolded us she would read aloud from that so-called Aesop's Fables, declaring that this one was that frog, that one this wolf. All of us found it more trying than going as hostages. As for me in particular, I was compared, to my lasting mortification, to a snail, a crow, a pig, a baby turtle, a palm tree, a dog, a viper, a buffalo, and even a sick man. Such insults are not easy to forget, not for all the ages to come.

10. On the fourteenth, Sumi came again and raised the matter of the hostages. Lady Hidebayashi-in replied that, without Lord Sansai's permission, she would not consent to becoming a hostage whatever happened. Sumi then said that indeed it was most admirable and fitting in a wise woman to respect Lord Sansai's views. Yet since this concerned the grave interests of the Hosokawa house, even if my lady would not enter the castle, might she not at least move to the neighboring residence of Lord Ukita Chunagon? Since Lord Ukita Chunagon's wife was Lady Yoichiro's sister, Lord Sansai would surely not take offense at that. She urged her to do just that. I hated Sumi with all my heart, the old badger-woman that she was, but I thought she had reason on her side. If Lady Hidebayashi-in moved to Lord Ukita Chunagon's residence next door, first the family's public name would be preserved, and second our lives would be safe; there could be no better plan.

11. Yet Lady Hidebayashi-in answered that, though Lord Ukita Chunagon was indeed kin, she had long heard that he too was allied with Jibu no Sho, and if she went there she would still be a hostage all the same, so she could not consent. Sumi pressed her again and again, arguing every which way, but Lady Hidebayashi-in would not yield in the least, and so Sumi's ingenious plan vanished like foam on water. At that time too, Lady Hidebayashi-in discoursed on Confucius, on Aesop, on Princess Tachibana, on Christ, and on tales not only from Japan and China but even from the Southern Barbarian lands. Even Sumi, hardened as she was, seemed deeply overawed by my lady's eloquence.

12. At the unlucky hour of that day, Shimo told me sadly that in the top of a pine tree before the garden she had seen, like a dream, a golden cross descending from heaven, and wondered what evil omen it might foretell. But Shimo was near-sighted, and besides was a coward forever teased by everyone, so I thought it more likely she had mistaken the morning star for a cross.

13. On the fifteenth Sumi came once more and said the same things as the day before. Lady Hidebayashi-in replied that no matter how many times she was urged, her resolve would not change. At that Sumi seems to have lost her temper. As she withdrew, she said, "Your distress must be very great indeed. Why, you look to be over forty now." Lady Hidebayashi-in was furious, and ordered that from then on Sumi was not to be admitted to her presence. That day too she chanted her "oratio" at intervals, but since all secret negotiations had by then completely broken down, none of us felt easy in our minds, and even Ume no longer laughed as she waited upon her.

14. Also that day, Kawakita Iwami is said to have quarreled with Inatomi Iga (Sukenao). Iga was highly skilled in gunnery and had no few disciples even in other houses, so his reputation was excellent; Shosai and Iwami were envious of him for that, and so, it was said, were apt to fall into arguments with him.

15. In the middle of that night, Shimo dreamed that attackers were upon us. Terrified, she ran four or five ken down the corridor, shouting at the top of her voice.

16. On the sixteenth, at about the hour of the serpent, Shosai and Iwami again spoke to Shimo. Just now, they said, an official envoy had come from Jibu no Sho, demanding that Lady Hidebayashi-in be handed over without fail, and threatening that if she were not surrendered they would force their way in and seize her. "What outrageous insolence," they had sent back. "Though it cost us our lives, we will not hand her over." Therefore Lady Hidebayashi-in too was to prepare herself. At the time, unfortunately, Shosai was suffering from an aching tooth that had been pulled, so he had entrusted the speaking to Iwami. And Iwami, in his rage, looked ready to strike Shimo dead as well. So Shimo told it.

17. Having heard the particulars from Shimo, Lady Hidebayashi-in at once entered into a private discussion with Lady Yoichiro. Later I heard that she had urged Lady Yoichiro to kill herself too; it was a truly painful thing to hear. In general, although this whole calamity may have been unavoidable, it is just the same that first the folly of the officials in charge worsened matters, and second that Lady Hidebayashi-in's own temperament hastened her end. Yet now that she had gone so far as to urge Lady Yoichiro to take her own life, there was no telling whether she might not order even us to accompany her in death. Thinking this more and more intolerable, I was deeply uneasy when all of us were summoned before her, wondering what command we were about to receive.

18. When we came before her, Lady Hidebayashi-in said that the time was near when she would at last go to the paradise called "paraiso," and that this was a thing to rejoice in greatly. Yet her face was pale and her voice trembled somewhat, so of course I understood this to be bravado. She went on to say that the only hindrance on her road to the next world was the future awaiting us. Since our hearts were corrupt and we had not devoted ourselves to the Christian faith, in the life to come we would fall into the hell called "inferno" and become food for devils. Therefore from this day forward we were to amend our hearts and keep the teachings of the Lord of Heaven. If we would not do so, then we were all to accompany her in death and leave this defiled world together. In that case, she said, she would ask an "arcanjo" to intercede for us, and the archangel would in turn entreat his Lord Jesus Christ, so that all of us together might behold the splendor of paradise. At this we all choked with tears of emotion and at once answered with one voice that we would devote ourselves to the Christian faith. Lady Hidebayashi-in, much pleased, said that now there was no obstacle left upon her road to death; relieved of her anxiety, she added that there would be no need for us to accompany her.

19. Lady Hidebayashi-in then wrote farewell letters to Lord Sansai and Lord Yoichiro, giving both letters to Shimo. After that she also wrote something in foreign script to a padre in Kyoto called Gregorio-ya, and this she gave to me. Though it was only five or six lines long, it took Lady Hidebayashi-in more than an hour to write it. Since it comes up, I may as well add that when I delivered this letter to Gregorio-ya, a Japanese iruman, that is, an assistant cleric, solemnly told me that suicide was in general forbidden by the Christian faith, and that therefore it was unlikely Lady Hidebayashi-in would ascend to paradise after all. However, if prayers called "missa" were offered for her, their merit was so great that she might escape an evil destination. If such a mass were to be performed, he said, I should give one piece of silver.

20. I believe the attackers came on at about the hour of the boar. The front of the residence was under Kawakita Iwami, the rear gate under Inatomi Iga, and the inner quarters under Ogasawara Shosai. When word came that the enemy was approaching, Lady Hidebayashi-in sent Ume to summon Lady Yoichiro, but it turned out that she had already escaped to goodness knows where; her room was completely empty. At this we all rejoiced. Lady Hidebayashi-in, however, was greatly angered and said to us that she, who in life had trusted as father Akechi Mitsuhide, the shogunal general Koreto who contended for the realm with the Taiko at the Battle of Yamazaki, and who in death would trust as mother Lady Maria in paradise, had now been subjected at her last hour to the disgrace of this common daimyo's daughter. The unseemliness of her behavior at that moment remains vivid before my eyes even now.

21. Before long Ogasawara Shosai came as far as the next room, clad in dark blue-laced armor and carrying a small halberd, to serve as kaishaku at her death. Because the pain from his extracted tooth was still severe, the left side of his face was swollen, and his martial appearance seemed somewhat feeble. Shosai said that to step over the threshold into her chamber would be too presumptuous, so he would act as kaishaku from beyond the threshold and then disembowel himself after her. Since Shimo and I had been assigned to witness her end, and by that time everyone else had fled who knew where, only the two of us remained. Lady Hidebayashi-in looked at Shosai and said that she was obliged by his service as second. Later I heard from Shimo that since Lady Hidebayashi-in had entered the Hosokawa house as a bride, except for her husband and close kin she had never looked upon a man's face, and that this day was the first time she had looked upon one, beginning with Shosai. Shosai knelt in the next room with both hands on the floor and announced that the moment had come. But because one side of his face was swollen, his speech was very unclear, and Lady Hidebayashi-in, somewhat perplexed, told him to speak louder.

22. At that moment some young retainer or other came running to the next room in armor laced with light green cords and carrying a great sword. He cried that Inatomi Iga had turned traitor and that the enemy was flooding in through the rear gate, so she must make ready at once. Lady Hidebayashi-in wound her hair tightly about her right hand and appeared resolved; but when she saw the figure of this young man, perhaps she felt ashamed, for all at once her face flushed red to the roots of her ears. Never in my life, before or since, have I thought Lady Hidebayashi-in so beautiful.

23. By the time we came out through the gate, flames were already rising from the residence, and outside too a great crowd had gathered in the firelight. Later I heard that these were not the enemy at all, merely people who had come to watch the fire, and that the enemy, taking Iga with them, had withdrawn before her final moment. In any case, the circumstances of Lady Hidebayashi-in's death were roughly as I have here related.

(December 1923)