""The Japanese have rites and ceremonies" ""so different from those of all other nations." ""The things they do are beyond imagining." ""And it may be truly said" ""that Japan is a world the reverse of Europe"." "To the first Westerners in Japan, it was a mysterious world." "It was the fabled isle of Zipangu that Marco Polo had only heard about, the land of riches that Christopher Columbus set out to find." "When the Portuguese arrived in Japan in 1543, they encountered a country embroiled in civil war." "Out of this chaos, one samurai warrior would emerge." "He would create a regime so strong, it endured for over 250 years." "Witnesses to this world, both Western observers and Japanese, wrote of these changing times." "Theirs is a story of flowering culture, of poetic ritual and of rigid power struggles." "It is the saga of opening trade with Europe and then closing its doors to the West." "These are the memoirs of Japan's secret empire." ""On the 25th day of the 8th month of the year of the Water and the Hare," ""there appeared off our western shore a big ship." ""No one knew whence it had come"." "As a Buddhist moni kater recounted, samurai guards were quickly dispatched to warn their master." "There were strangers on board these ships unlike anyone the Japanese had ever seen." "The local warlord, called a daimyo, summoned these strangers, the first Europeans to ever set foot on Japanese shores." "It was the year 1543." "When these Portuguese merchants arrived, the daimyo was intrigued by their peculiar, unknown weapons." "The Japanese always like novel things, new things... fads, so to speak." "And so they were very interested in the Europeans." "After he watched the Portuguese shoot down a duck, the daimyo purchased two guns and put his swordsmith to work making copies." "Then he asked for shooting lessons." "These first Europeans, their guns and their religion would have unforeseeable consequences." "In this same year, a boy was born to a daimyo family." "He would be known as Tokugawa leyasu." "His destiny would be to change Japan forever." "As an elite member of the samurai class, the boy inherited a world of tradition, a feudal realm of samurai warriors who ruled by birthright and sword." "The son of a daimyo lord," "Ieyasu would soon have to give up children's games for the politics of war." "When Ieyasu was still a child, the ruling daimyo demanded that Ieyasu's father send the young boy to him as a hostage, insurance that all orders would be obeyed." "When children were taken as hostages, it did not mean prisoners." "This was all part of the political negotiation in which alliances have to be formed." "Because no one trusted no one else." "So there had to be guarantee and therefore the hostage was used." "As a hostage, the young samurai boy travelled in a style befitting his daimyo rank." "He could not know his destiny." "Nor could he know that he would never see his father again." "He would grow up a hostage, his life captive to the turmoil of civil war." ""The whole of Japan was involved in wars." ""Treachery was rampant and nobody trusted his neighbour." ""They would enter into league with one faction," ""then desert it for another, as the winds of fortune blew"." "João Rodriguez, an eyewitness to these perilous times, was one of the first Portuguese to arrive in Japan." "He came as a cabin boy of 15 and would soon become a Jesuit missionary." "As Portuguese merchants traversed the oceans in search of new ports for trade," "Jesuit missionaries accompanied them, searching for souls to save." "The Jesuits were young and dedicated, braving the hardships of the dangerous two-year voyage to reach Japan, a country which they considered ripe for conversion." "They sent home tantalising reports of an alien world." ""Everything is so different and opposite" ""that they are like us in practically nothing." ""Now, all this would not be surprising" ""if they were like so many barbarians." ""But what astonishes me" ""is that they behave as prudent and cultured people in all these matters." ""This is something which I would not dare to affirm" ""if I had not had so much experience among them"." "The missionaries thought that the Japanese were such a remarkable race, their culture was so developed, that it was worthwhile writing back to Europe about the culture which they found, the language the Japanese spoke, and a very complex political system" "without any influence from Christianity, without any influence from Europe." "So I think this is a thing which one should bear in mind." "This was the first time" "Europeans dealt with Asians on equal terms and not as conquerors and a conquered people." ""Their way of writing is very different from ours" ""because they write from the top of the page down to the bottom." ""I asked a Japanese why they did not write in our way" ""and he asked me why we did not write in their way." ""He explained that as a man's head is at the top" ""and his feet are at the bottom," ""so too a man should write from top to bottom"." "During his more than 30 years in Japan," "João Rodriguez became so fluent in Japanese he became known as the 'Interpreter'." "His work allowed him to observe all levels of society, from the highest daimyo warlords... to the lowest Japanese farmer." ""Every class of person, noble or humble," ""uses a fan throughout the whole kingdom." ""People who have business matters" ""and other things which they wish to remember" ""write them down on their fans." ""They are always carrying these fans about in their hands," ""opening them, shutting them and looking at them." ""Nobody would go out into the street without one"." "The Japanese, João Rodriguez observed, regarded the Europeans with equal fascination." ""They greatly wondered at our big and long noses," ""thick beards and red or fair hair," ""and considered all these things as so many defects"." "They called them the 'southern barbarians', which is not a very flattering term." "Their eating habits were rather different." "The Japanese were so polite, eating with chopsticks etc, whereas, in those days, Europeans normally ate with just a knife and..." "with your fingers." "And then, of course, most of the Japanese take a bath every day, whereas Europeans, I'm afraid, in those days, went for months and months and months without taking a bath." "And to some extent, they deserved the epithet of 'barbarians'." "But however they were regarded, the missionaries were determined to stay in Japan." ""Our only desire was to preach and proclaim the law of the Creator." ""Even if there were only one Japanese Christian in the whole country," ""any missionary would spend all his life here," ""just for the sake of that one person"." "These men were very, very zealous and the conditions were rather good for the conversion of people to Christianity." "When you have bloodshed, revolutions, fighting, battles, death in large numbers, obviously, people's thoughts do tend to go to the next life." "In little more than 50 years, these missionaries established over 200 Catholic churches, primarily in southern Japan, and converted up to 250,000 Japanese." ""When a Japanese lord or daimyo changed his religion, he would bring pressure on his people because he had absolute power of life and death on the people below him." "And so you got, in a relatively short... short period of time, large-scale conversions." "But there was another factor, that some of the daimyo, when they became Christian, they had certain considerations of commerce in the back of their mind because where the missionaries went, the Portuguese merchants went." "And the Portuguese merchants offered very profitable trade vis-a-vis the Japanese." "Commerce and religion intertwined." "Some Japanese profited, while others watched with growing concern, convinced of Christianity's threat to their power." "Merchants and missionaries, these early Europeans had set a course which would eventually run into unexpected consequences." "To endure the rigours of never-ending training, to remain clear-minded in the face of grave danger, to face death matter-of-factly... this is the art of kendo, 'the way of the sword'." "Master swordsmen taught young samurai the skills of swordfighting and the traditions of a samurai code of honour." "This was the education the young Ieyasu would receive, even as a hostage." "When you took a hostage in a certain class, they were usually treated very cordially and they were given education, just as they would be given at home." "He probably had a very stoic, spartan kind of education, taught military skills, martial arts and Chinese classics, Japanese classics." "The entire life of Ieyasu was that of patience and forbearance, people say." "The young hostage, Tokugawa leyasu, would learn what it meant to be a samurai." ""Adopt a stance with the head erect," ""neither hanging down, nor looking up, nor twisted." ""Do not roll your eyes nor allow them to blink," ""but slightly narrow them." ""Brace your abdomen so that you do not bend at the hips"." "A legendary swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, would preserve the way of the samurai in a classic book, The Five Rings." "It was a guide to strategy, its philosophy embraced in Japan even to this day." ""In all forms of strategy," ""it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in everyday life" ""and to make your everyday stance your combat stance"." "At age 15, Ieyasu entered manhood and earned the right to carry the two swords of the samurai." "His sword was a symbol of the samurai class." "Only the samurai were authorised to carry two swords, a large one and a small one." "The samurai, with these two swords, ruled over the farmer and the merchant." "You're born to being a samurai." "It's a responsibility." "Amongst a samurai's responsibilities was always carrying one's sword, to use to enact justice." "If somebody were rude to you, it was your duty to kill them." "But still, no samurai would walk around outside without a sword." "And if they were caught without a sword, they could be punished for not upholding their duty." "While the samurai class comprised less than 10% of the population, their presence loomed larger than life." "Even the missionaries wrote as if the samurai were the whole of society." ""They carry a sword and dagger, both inside and outside the house," ""and lay them at their pillows when they sleep." ""Never in my life have I met people who rely so much on their arms." ""They are very warlike and they're always involved in wars." ""And thus the ablest man becomes their greatest lord"." "It was not only the men who swore to uphold this ideal." "Samurai women were also trained to protect their family." "The most important thing about samurai's daughters or wives was never to forget the honour and the pride as samurai's daughter." "In crisis, they had to be prepared to kill themselves rather than be shamed, disgraced by the enemies." "The samurai defended his home and family but his true glory came on the battlefield, defending his lord against enemies." "The samurai dressed carefully for combat." "Finely stitched fabric and leather appeared elegant, even fragile." "Unseen were the tightly woven plates of steel." "Much like his protective armour, a warrior's refined appearance concealed an impenetrable inner core." "This ethic, preserved in writings of the samurai, would prepare the warrior to meet life and death with honour." ""A samurai would wash himself with cold water every morning," ""scent the shaven top of his head and hair with incense" ""to make himself presentable." ""He was ready to be killed in battle at any moment"." "Cherry blossoms are often compared to the samurai." "They are a beautiful sight, like the warrior in his shiny armour." "But it takes only one big storm for the petals to fall to the ground, just like the warrior in battle." "For samurai, as important as knowing how to kill was knowing how and when to die." "In the battlefield especially, your last moment of life, you have to show your control." "Controlling your body, controlling your destiny, fate, is the indication of your internal strength." "So it's the last moment that you have to stage your death." "Seppuku, or harakiri, is the ritual of suicide as practised by samurai." "A samurai warrior carried two swords on his hip, a long one and a short one." "The short sword was for cutting open his abdomen." "Why would a samurai cut open his abdomen?" "Well, Japanese, especially samurai, believe that the heart was in the belly." "They believe that whether their heart was pure or impure would be revealed when they disembowelled themselves." "From the death poem to the final thrust of the dagger, seppuku is a ceremonial ritual of suicide ensuring an honourable death." "João Rodriguez wrote of a man who committed the ritual of seppuku." ""The samurai, dressed in the customary white kimono," ""solemnly, and with great dignity, mounted a raised platform"." ""Then, in a loud voice," ""he told them to watch him carefully as he cut himself open." ""He seated himself and wrote his will slowly and calmly," ""asking his lord to look after his son and family" ""for he was going to die on account of his honour." ""He bade farewell" ""and then, in front of them all, he fearlessly cut his belly." ""And so, he died." ""This sort of thing often happens"." ""There is timing in everything." ""Timing in strategy cannot be mastered" ""without a great deal of practice." ""There is timing in the whole life of the warrior," ""in his thriving and declining, in his harmony and accord"." "These are the enduring principles which guided the life of the samurai warrior." "For Tokugawa leyasu, patient strategising would become his most powerful weapon." "He was now of age-18 years old- and married with two children." "But he was still a hostage of the ruling daimyo warlord." "As time passed, Ieyasu strengthened his skills as a warrior, fighting alongside his daimyo master." "When his master was killed in battle," "Ieyasu was finally free to determine his own destiny." "Ieyasu was put in a position to have to make a decision at some point whether to go along with the host's family." "But, at all times, he never forgot his ambition to go back to his original castle and to regain all the territory that his father's family had and to expand that and to go back to his retainers" "who were, basically, waiting for him." "Ieyasu reclaimed his title as an independent lord... a daimyo." "He returned to his family estate." "He could now fight on his own terms, for his own people." ""I fought against my enemies" ""solely in order that I might take my revenge on my father's adversaries" ""because I was convinced of the rightness of my intention" ""to help the people and bring peace to the land"." "The years of captivity had honed his discipline." "According to his samurai training, he now carefully plotted his strategy." "In a crucial move," "Ieyasu allied himself with the man who killed his daimyo master," "Oda Nobunaga." "Nobunaga had become the most powerful warlord in Japan, feared and ruthless." "The missionary João Rodriguez documented Nobunaga's campaign to unify Japan." ""Nobunaga was the first" ""to begin cutting through the thick forest of wars and discord in Japan." ""He subdued about half the country in fear of him," ""made the remaining part ready to obey him in anything"." "In the battle of Nagashino," "Nobunaga armed 3000 of his foot soldiers three ranks deep." "As 10,000 enemy warriors charged," "Nobunaga's musketeers fired in succession, decimating the opposing army." "Nobunaga's innovations in the use of firearms completely changes the face of samurai warfare." "The old idea was where you would have two samurai meet on the field of battle." "They would shout out their names, their lineages, where they were from." "Sometimes one would ride out in front of all these troops and challenge someone to come and defeat him." "So it was very manly, it was imbued with the ideal of valour." "Now you have faceless ranks of samurai shooting other faceless ranks of samurai." "Nobunaga continued to amass power until one night treachery within his inner circle caught him off guard." "A missionary was nearby." ""Some Christians came just as I was resting, to say an early mass," ""and told me to wait because of a commotion in front of the palace." ""We at once began to hear musket shots and see flames." ""We learned that it had not been a brawl" ""but that one of his generals had turned traitor." ""Some say he cut his belly," ""while others believe that he set fire to the palace" ""and perished in the flames." ""What we do know, however, is that of this man," ""who made everyone tremble, not only at the sound of his voice" ""but at the mention of his name," ""there did not remain even a small hair" ""which was not reduced to dust and ashes"." "As the flames burned, Nobunaga's loyal general, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, seized the moment." "Hideyoshi immediately springs into action, murdering the murderer of his own lord, which then gives him the right, in essence, to claim leadership of Nobunaga's vast coalition of armies." "Ieyasu watched from a distance." "Would he subordinate himself to Hideyoshi's command?" "Or was it time to fight for control?" "Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Tokugawa leyasu... these were the men who would bring an end to the brutal civil wars." "They would go down in history as the unifiers." "There's a story in Japanese that explains the character of the three unifiers." "Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu are watching a cuckoo bird, waiting for it to sing." "But the bird doesn't sing, and Nobunaga says" ""Little bird, if you don't sing, I will kill you"." "And Hideyoshi says "Little bird, if you don't sing, I'll make you sing"." "And Ieyasu says "Little bird, if you don't sing," ""I'll wait for you to sing"." "Ieyasu is a patient strategist who will wait for things to go his way and then he'll act." "After Nobunaga's death," "Ieyasu and Hideyoshi faced off in a measured game of strategy, each in his own way trying to outsmart the other." "As a military leader, Ieyasu was a courageous man who never hesitated in battle." "However, though he was brave, he was also cautious." "In one famous story, Ieyasu was known as an excellent horseman." "One day he and his troops had to cross a very narrow bridge over a raging river." "All were watching to see how the great Ieyasu would ride his horse over this dangerous bridge." "To his men's surprise," "Ieyasu dismounted, took the horse's reins in his hands and carefully led the horse over the bridge to the other side." "That's how vigilant he was." "I believe this kind of caution helped him to victory in battle." "While Ieyasu practised restraint and careful strategising," "Hideyoshi acted quickly and decisively." "Hideyoshi was from peasant stock." "The son of a lowly foot soldier, he worked his way up through the ranks." "Hideyoshi became known as a brilliant general and he held the same grand vision of himself." ""When my mother conceived me, she was given a miraculous omen." ""On the very night that I was born," ""the room was suddenly aglow with sunlight," ""thus changing night to day." ""Finally, they divined," ""the child whose birth was attended by these miracles" ""was destined to become a man of unusual attainments." ""This prediction is fulfilled in me"." "Shortly after Hideyoshi took control, Ieyasu challenged him." "But Ieyasu soon realised there was more to be gained as Hideyoshi's ally than as his enemy." "Hideyoshi rewarded Ieyasu for his loyalty with a vast domain of land, ordering him to make his headquarters in the remote fishing village of Edo," "300 miles east of Hideyoshi's castle in Osaka." "Some might have thought the gift an insult, but in Edo, the village that would later become Tokyo," "Ieyasu busied his troops, building a massive five-storey castle fortification." "Within the walls of the city of Osaka," "Hideyoshi was consumed with fortifying his own castle." "Reputed to be the most impregnable fortress of its time, it was also one of the most ostentatious." "Osaka Castle had a strategic location close to the emperor's palace in nearby Kyoto." "For centuries, the emperor had remained a ruler in name only, ignored by those who truly held power." "He whiled away his days with court gossip, calligraphy and poetry." "By Ieyasu's time, the court is still powerless, but it is only the court which can appoint the shogun." "So, in the ultimate symbolic sense, the court is still the arbiter of final resort." "That's why all the warlords are aiming for Kyoto." "You have to get the emperor to recognise that you're the most powerful of all of the combatants on the field of battle." "Hideyoshi curried the emperor's favour, inviting him to No plays and musical performances." "But the emperor would not grant this warrior of peasant stock the title of shogun." "Ieyasu never relinquished his desire for power." "He offered the emperor more than invitations." "He arranged the marriage of one of his granddaughters to the emperor's son." "All of the lords in Japan used family to cement political alliances." "You would marry off daughters or marry off sons." "What Ieyasu did in particular was have an abundance of sons that he could use." "He could set them up to support his nascent government." "He could set them up as independent military lords that he could then call upon for help." "In contrast, Ieyasu's rival, Hideyoshi, failed to produce a male heir." "Finally, he adopted a nephew and groomed him as his successor." "Then, at 60 years of age, Hideyoshi finally fathered a son of his own." "He called him Hideyori, and he was the jewel of his life." "Hideyoshi's thoughts now turned to the safety and survival of his young son." ""I cannot describe the endless tedium," ""as if I were guarding an empty house," ""when Hideyori is not here with me." ""I say again, strictly order, that all be vigilant against fire." ""Each night have someone make rounds of the rooms two or three times"." "As Hideyoshi obsessed over his own son, his adopted son, now an adult, was in peril." "By the end of his life, Hideyoshi was acting more and more erratically." "He became increasingly cruel, if not sadistic." "Then, when he finally, in his final years, produced an heir of his own, he ordered this adult male, who had been his heir, to commit suicide." "Hideyoshi then ordered his adopted son's entire family put to death." "A missionary recounted:" ""They were drawn along the streets in the carts" ""to the open view of the world, 31 ladies and gentlewomen," ""with the two sons and one daughter of his adopted son," ""the oldest of whom was not more than five years old." ""All their bodies were thrown into a pit" ""for which was built a little chapel with a tomb in it, with this inscription..." "'The Tomb of the Traitors. '" "Soon after, Hideyoshi's health began to fail." "He wrote his death poem." ""Ah..." "As the dew, I fall." ""As the dew, I vanish." ""Even Osaka Fortress is a dream within a dream"." "Hideyoshi then called Ieyasu and four of the most powerful daimyo to his deathbed." "He appointed them legal protectors of his 5-year-old son Hideyori, his heir and the future ruler of Japan." "Ieyasu pledged to protect the boy with his own life... a pledge that would become very difficult to keep." ""It is said that war is a curse." ""It is resorted to only when it is inevitable." ""However, in time of peace," ""do not forget the possibility of disturbances"." "Ieyasu was on guard." "Those daimyo who feared his growing power began to plot against him." "Ieyasu's territory now extended throughout most of Japan." "He was determined to maintain his holdings and expand his base of power." "One of Ieyasu's nicknames is the 'Old Badger'." "It reflects his craftiness as well as his famed ability to wait." "And he waits until after Hideyoshi is dead, until he has a clear preponderance of power, and then makes his move to become the dominant military leader in Japan." "Ieyasu mobilised his troops." "He sent one division to Ogaki Castle, where his enemies were gathering." "When the battle began, women and children rushed to safety." ""Ieyasu sent a large force to lay siege to the castle" ""and they fought day and night"." "One of the young girls at the castle later told her family of the terrifying experience." ""Mothers, concubines and daughters stayed in the tower and cast bullets." ""There was panic." ""A bullet struck my younger brother, killing him on the spot." ""It was a cruel sight, indeed it was"." ""We felt as if we should die." ""There was nothing but fear and horror left"." "As the battle wore on, heads of slain warriors were brought to the castle to be prepared for the ritual presentation to the victor." "It was believed that, even in death, the samurai should be viewed as a worthy opponent." "Those people who were in the castle would wash the heads and then put some cosmetics on the face of the dead corpses because they were proof of having killed someone important." "That was a very small part of what they did, which is inconceivable to, you know, us modern people, modern women." ""All the decapitated heads were brought into the tower." ""We weren't a bit afraid of the heads" ""and used to sleep in the midst of the nasty smell of bloody heads"." "Victorious at Ogaki Castle," "Ieyasu's troops now pursued the rebellious daimyo and their armies." "They faced off in a narrow valley just west of the village of Sekigahara." "This would be the battle that changed the course of Japanese history." "Ieyasu set up his command post atop a hill overlooking the valley, waiting through the night for the rest of his armies to arrive." "At dawn, Ieyasu's attendant physician hastily noted in his journal:" ""Slight rain." "Dense fog in the mountain valley." ""Can't see." "Barely made out enemy banners." ""On horseback, Lord Ieyasu made out their positions." ""Estimate distance at two and a half miles"." "Ieyasu was outnumbered, with only 50,000 troops challenging his enemy's 80,000." "He waited for his son to arrive with reinforcements." "But at 8 in the morning, the fog suddenly lifted and the two opposing armies found themselves within striking distance." "Ieyasu could wait no more." "Rallying his troops, it was said he sent them forward with his famous battle cry:" ""There are only two ways to come back from the battlefield..." ""with the head of an enemy or without your own"." "Ieyasu watched as his troops faced what seemed insurmountable odds." "Then, suddenly, the tide turned." "Several enemy daimyo and their armies, convinced of Ieyasu's ultimate victory, defected and joined Ieyasu's forces." "By 2 pm, Ieyasu's troops had defeated the rebellious army." "Tokugawa's victory at Sekigahara brought an end to the warring states and signalled a new era." "That's the significance of the battle of Sekigahara." "In recognition of Ieyasu's power, the emperor awarded him the title of shogun, the barbarian-subduing generalissimo." "Tokugawa leyasu now had the authority to rule Japan in all military matters." "He ruled unchallenged, but always there was the spectre of Hideyoshi's young son, Hideyori, growing up in Osaka Castle." "Ieyasu had sworn with his life to protect the boy, the boy who could some day lay claim to all Ieyasu had won." "As the young boy Hideyori approached manhood, a daimyo warned:" ""Although he is Hideyoshi's heir," ""Ieyasu will never let him rule Japan." ""Sooner or later," ""some ambitious character will foment rebellion in his name." ""And even if Hideyori knows nothing about it," ""he will be blamed and forced to commit suicide," ""to the grief of Hideyoshi's ghost"." "Now, the Tokugawas had no divine right to rule Japan." "They ruled Japan because they were the most powerful, they had the most money, they had the most soldiers, but they had no divine right." "And there were many other powerful daimyo, especially in the West, the Christian daimyo." "And so, if there were any philosophy, any political movement, that would bring these daimyo together as a coalition against the Tokugawa family, that was very dangerous." "Tokugawa leyasu tolerated no dissent." "He expelled many of the foreign missionaries, including João Rodriguez." "Ieyasu wanted to clear the board of all these foreign influences which were just muddying the waters, making life more complicated." "He even ordered all Christian activity among the Japanese halted, but still he faced the only true threat to his power, the young Hideyori." "By the time he reaches adulthood," "Hideyori can no longer be ignored by Ieyasu." "He's a threat simply because he exists." "He is the legitimate heir of Hideyoshi." "Ieyasu is supposed to be supporting him until he becomes an adult, and he poses an intrinsic threat to the legitimacy of the Tokugawa shogunate." "Ieyasu came to but one conclusion." "He could not longer honour his pledge to a dead ally to protect his son." "Ieyasu decided to go into battle once more." "It was obviously going to be another showdown and the many, many, many samurai, in their thousands... and these were hard-bitten warriors... they still owed loyalty to Hideyoshi's family and, of course, they owed just as much loyalty to his son." "So they gathered in Osaka Castle and Osaka Castle was a very, very, very strong castle." "It was considered impregnable." "In the winter of 1614," "Ieyasu accused Hideyori of subversion and ordered his troops to advance against Osaka Castle." "Hideyori's supporters, nearly 100,000, held strong." "Ieyasu retaliated with a devious plan." "He sent a woman samurai to negotiate a truce with Hideyori's mother." "Ieyasu offered a safe haven for Hideyori's garrison if in return he agreed not to mount further rebellion against Ieyasu's rule." "To prove his intentions, Ieyasu signed the pledge in blood." "Hideyori's mother convinced her son to accept the offer." "Ieyasu's ploy had worked." "As soon as the fighting stopped," "Ieyasu began to fill in the moats of Osaka Castle, the deep moats." "And the people in Osaka Castle protested a lot." "That was not in the agreement." "But that didn't matter." "They filled in the moats, and once the moats were filled in, then Ieyasu's troops would storm into the castle and there was a dreadful slaughter." "Thousands of defeated soldiers, women and children fled the castle compound." "A European merchant recorded the event in his journal." ""We had news today that Ieyasu hath taken the fortress of Osaka" ""and overthrown the forces of Hideyori." ""They say the taking of this fortress hath cost about 100, 000 lives" ""and that no dead man of account is found with his head on," ""but all cut off"." "Ieyasu's army set the castle on fire." "As the flames raged around him," "Hideyori refused to surrender and was left with no other option." "He committed seppuku." "There's one big problem with killing Hideyori, however, and that's that Ieyasu was supposed to be his supporter and it's a very realistic, cold-blooded strategy." "But he wanted to establish a dynasty that would last through the ages." "There is reason to believe that Ieyasu genuinely regretted having to kill the son of his former lord." "Ieyasu is said to have paid penance by writing the name of the Buddha 10,000 times on scrolls of parchment." "Tokugawa leyasu had wiped out the last threats to his power, or so it seemed." "But not everyone was under his control." "There were the Western traders who he valued but mistrusted, and the Christians, who he considered a threat." "Tokugawa leyasu had won the wars." "His struggle to control the future of Japan had just begun."