Zen at War

A few years ago, 2 distressing books entitled "Zen at War" and "Zen War Stories" were published by Brian Victoria about the attitude of the Zen Establishment right before and during World War II in Japan. During this difficult period, a number of Zen Masters gave their support to the Japanese Imperial Army. This was very unfortunate, but they were very likely unaware of the atrocities committed in Korea, China and other Asian countries by the Japanese forces. (Are we really aware of what is going on in Pakistan or Afghanistan ?)

Apparently and according to various authors, Victoria tried to strengthen his case by distorting the words of a number of prominent Zen teachers. Among those are Kodo Sawaki, teacher of Taisen Desshimaru and Gudo Nishijima - and D.T. Suzuki who first translated in English the Lankavatara Sutra - among others - Excusez-moi du peu ! Quotations from these masters were mistranslated and taken out of contest to make them seem like war-mongers when this was quite the opposite.

I suggest you read this article and decide for yourself. 

I don’t know Japanese so I can’t judge of the validity of the arguments on the translations. However, I have been practising Japanese Martial Arts for a few years and I would like to add some wood to the fire of discussion. So here we go :

Zen does not preach the gospel of mercy, in fact Zen does not preach anything at all. Zen is practice.

The connection between Zen and Martial Arts dates from the beginnings of Zen in Japan – i.e. the 13th century when the Mongols of Kubilai Khan twice tried to invade (in 1274 and 1281). These were difficult times for Japanese society.
 

If you want to understand more about the connection between Zen and Martial Arts, I suggest you read Trevor Legett’s "Zen and the Ways” and “The Warriors Koans”, Taisen Desshimaru (another disciple of Kodo Sawaki Roshi) – “Zen and Martial Arts”, Yamaoka Tesshu’s “The sword of no-sword”, or Omory Sogen’s “Introduction to Zen training”. These are all books by men of great accomplishment in Zen and/or Traditional Japanese Martial or other Arts. 

The same sword and swordsman kills and gives life – no distinction. This is not a deep philosophical thing. If you see someone ready to hurt some innocent person, you slice them, your sword killed one person, and gave life to the other person. It is that simple. If you believe otherwise, you are mistaken. You might not be able to do it, but do not blame Buddhism or Zen for that. It is just that you were not able to do it.

There is no shame if you did nothing because you did not know how to handle a sword. No need to be killed yourself. However, if you are fluent in Martial Arts and are not able to use them when necessary, or if you use them too easily when you should not, you have a problem, and society has a problem. 

This is where Zen can help.

 

Yagyu Munenori was chief martial art instructor to the first and second Tokugawa shogun. (Early 17th century). Only once in his life did he draw his sword when a small group of rebels tried to assassinate the Shogun. Munenori, who was himself a disciple of Takuan Soho - sliced them down.
 

In his book “Heiho Kandesho” translated by Scott Wilson as “the Life-giving sword” Munenori clearly explains the identity of the life giving and the killing sword.

Things are not complicated. To become fluent at anything, you need to practice. It is true of Zen, it is true of Martial Arts. You need to practice Zazen, you need to practice Kendo or Calligraphy. If you don’t practice, you are wasting your time. 

And here I am, writing...

The unification of Japan

The second half of the 16th century saw the final unification of Japan.

3 men of exception carried out this amazing task.

• Oda Nobunaga (1534 – 1582)
• Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537 – 1598)
• Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543 – 1616)

One of the various warlords plundering the land which was only nominally under the authority of an emperor isolated in Kyoto, Nobunaga began the process of unification.

Nobunaga only united about 30 % of Japan. He had given momentum for is successors but was assassinated by one of his disgruntled generals in 1582. 

Both Hideyoshi and Tokugawa were his faithful vassals. 

Hideyoshi,  a military genius, was the son of a farmer. He raised in the military through his own valor. He has often been compared to Napoleon. Practically, Hideyoshi achieved the process of unification.  In 1590, he was controlling most of Japan.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was a general and vassal of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi. After Hideyoshi's death in 1598, Ieyasu got rid of his son and installed the Tokugawa shogunate that would last 250 years. 

There is a Japanese saying: "Nobunaga pounds the national rice cake, Hideyoshi kneads it, and in the end Ieyasu sits down and eats it."

Bow and Musket in Japanese warfare.

The first images picturing the distinct Japanese asymmetrical longbow date from the Yayoi period (ca. 500 BC–300 AD). The first written document describing Japanese archery is the Chinese chronicle Weishu (dated around 297 AD), which tells how in the Japanese isles people use "a wooden bow that is short from the bottom and long from the top." The bow was used a a weapon of war as well as for hunting. 

 

When the Portuguese arrived in Japan in 1543, they brought with them muskets or harquebuse. Within 20 years the Japanese blacksmith were able to manufacture their own muskets usually called tanegashima.

The bow kept being used alongside the tanegashima for quite a while because of its longer reach and accuracy and mostly because its highly superior rate of fire. A good archer could fire 30 to 40 arrows during the time it took a musketeer to reload his musket. 

 

However, it was much easier and faster to train a musketeer than it was to train an archer. This allowed Oda Nobunaga (and his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu) to annihilate the traditional samurai archer cavalry army of the Takeda clan with an army mostly consisting of peasants armed with tanegashima in 1575 at the Battle of Nagashino.

 

Suzuki Shosan quotes - I

Suzuki Shosan is among the most dramatic personalities in the history of Zen. Born in the province of Misawa (present day Aichi Prefecture) in 1579, he became a retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1541-1616), who unified Japan after the battle of Sekigahara. At age 41, after being enlightened by deities claiming to be the Nió, the guardians of the temple gate, he became a monk and developed a highly original teaching style strongly imbued with the warrior spirit. The warrior’s life, Shosan believed, was particularly suited to Zen study because it demanded vitality, courage, and "death energy," the readiness to confront death at any moment. Emphasizing dynamic activity over quiet contemplation, Shosan urged students to realize enlightenment in the midst of their daily life.

Advice to warriors :

Do your job with your mind as taut as an iron bow strung with wire. This is the same as Zen meditation.

Use your mind strongly even when you walk down the street, such that you wouldn’t even blink if someone unexpectedly thrust a lance at your nose. All warriors should at all time be in such state of mind in everyday life.

There is a practice designed to enter the Way of Buddha by means of your profession. You should apply this idea, that a man born in a house of valor, polishing a sword and sporting a bow, should always exert the strongest attention, as if he were marching right into an army of ten million men.

The strongest men and the greatest martial arts masters are born that way, so no effort can attain that; but when it comes to exerting our whole heart and disregarding our lives, to whom should we be inferior? No one should think he’ll lose, even to the greatest warriors. Why is that? Because if you back off such a person, who will back off you?

Thus consider that you are always on duty, required to firmly apply your full attention. If you slack off, you’re useless. 

Remember such a stable and firm attitude is itself meditation practice. There is no other method of concentration to seek. Buddhism itself is about applying full attention steadily, without being disturbed by external things. Developing a confident attitude that is never pained or vexed or worried or saddened or altered or frightened is called attaining Buddhahood.

There are those who discuss the amount of rewards and size of entitlement of those who have exercised considerable military ability, put their lives on the line, ground down their bones, and become famous. They are foolish! Why not do a warrior’s deed, costly though it be, for the sake of loyalty? People who think of rewards are nothing but military merchants.

There are myriad different methods of practice, but essentially they amount to no more than overcoming thoughts of yourself. The source of suffering is ego, the thought of self. To know this is reason. Once you know the reason for suffering, your sense of duty evokes effort to extinguish the thought of self with a genuine courageous mind. Fools can’t understand the source of misery and happiness; people without a sense of duty cannot break the bonds of life and death.

The Fighting Man of Japan

I edited and uploaded onto Scribd.com a very interesting book which had been  poorly scanned by Google. Written by F.J. Norman, a British officer who had spent years in Japan at the end of the 19th century, this book entitled " THE FIGHTING MAN OF JAPAN - The training and exercises of the Samurai" describes the Military Training and Education in post Meiji Restoration Japan.

Chapters III and IV are particularly interesting as they respectively treat of Kenjutsu and Ju Jutsu. The author had the rare honor and privilege of probably being the first Westerner admitted to train at high level in these 2 noble arts; and in the process he also became friend with the last Tokugawa Shogun 's Maitre d'Armes...

Full contact Kendo...

You can read or dowload this book at http://www.scribd.com/doc/99921047/Fighting-Man-of-Japan.

ANNALS OF THE SWORD TAIA

The full text of Zen Master Takuan's letter is included in "The Unfettered Mind" a translation by William Scott Wilson of 3 texts about swordsmanship by Takuan.

In this post I only provide the Translation of the Chinese part of the text, without the Japanese commentaries of Takuan. I encourage you to read and consider them, then refer to Takuan's comments in the full version to reach a better understanding of this letter. 

       Presumably, as a martial artist, I do not fight for gain or loss, am not concerned with strength or weakness, and neither advance a step nor retreat a step. The enemy does not see me. I do not see the enemy. Penetrating to a place where heaven and earth have not yet divided, where Ying and Yang have not yet arrived, I quickly and necessarily gain effect.

     Well then, the accomplished man uses the sword but does not kill others. He uses the sword and gives others life. When it is necessary to kill, he kills. When it is necessary to give life, he gives life. When killing, he kills in complete concentration; when giving life, he gives life in complete concentration. Without looking at right and wrong, he is able to see right and wrong; without attempting to discriminate, he is able to discriminate well. Treading on water is just like treading on land, and treading on land is just like treading on water. If he is able to gain this freedom, he will not be perplexed by anyone on earth. In all things, he will be beyond companions.

      Do you want to obtain this? Walking, stopping, sitting or lying down, in speaking and in remaining quiet, during tea and during rice, you must never neglect exertion, you must quickly set your eye on the goal, and investigate thoroughly, both coming and going. Thus should you look straight into things. As months pile up and years pass by, it should seem like a light appearing on its own in the dark. You will receive wisdom without a teacher and will generate mysterious ability without trying to do so. At just such a time, this does not depart from the ordinary, yet it transcends it. By name, I call it "Taia."

      All men are equipped with this sharp Sword Taia, and in each one it is perfectly complete. Those for whom this is clear are feared even by the Maras, but those for whom this is obscure are deceived even by the heretics. On the one hand, when two of equal skill meet at swords' point, there is no conclusion to the match; it is like Shakyamuni's holding the flower and Kashyapa's subtle smile. On the other hand, raising the one and understanding the other three, or distinguishing subtle differences in weight with the unaided eye are examples of ordinary cleverness. If anyone has mastered this, he will quickly cut you into three pieces even before the one has been raised and the three understood. How much more so where you meet him face to face?

     In the end, a man like this never exposes the tip of his sword. Its speed - even lightning cannot keep up with it. Its brevity - it is gone even before the quick wind of the storm. Not having such a tactic, if one, in the end, becomes entangled or confused, he will damage his own blade or injure his own hand, and will fall short of adroitness. One does not divine this by impressions or knowledge. There is no transmitting it by words or speech, no learning it by any doctrine. This is the law of the special transmission beyond instruction.

     There is no established rule for manifesting this great ability. Orderly action, contrary action - even heaven does not determine this. So what is the nature of this thing? The ancients said, "When a house does not have a painting of a Pai Che, it is like having no ghosts at all." If a man has tempered himself and arrived at this principle, he will control everything under heaven with a single sword.

For those who study this, let them not be thoughtless.

Notes :

• Takuan Soho was a Zen monk, calligrapher, painter, poet, gardener, tea master, and, perhaps, inventor of the pickle that even today retains his name. His writings were prodigious (the collected works fill six volumes), and are a source of guidance and inspiration to the Japanese people today, as they have been for three and a half centuries.
• Born in 1573 into a samurai family of the Miura clan, Takuan entered a monastery at the age of ten to study Jodo Buddhism, moving on to Rinzai Zen at the age of twenty-four. He becamethe abbot of the Daitokuji, a major Zen temple in Kyoto, at the young age of thirty-five.
• At the court of the Tokugawa Shogun, Takuan was in frequent contact with Yagyu Munenori of the Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, and Ono Tadaaki, second Grand Master of Ono Ha Itto Ryu. Both Munenori and Tadaaki were official sword instructors of the Shogun's family and his close retainers. Legend has it that Takuan was also the friend and teacher of the famous Miyamoto Musashi. (See the story of the Takuan, Musashi and the Snake)
• In his writings, Takuan emphasizes the unity of Zen and Sword, (Zen Ken Ichi Nyo), which deeply influenced the Great Masters of the time and produced a number of documents which continue to be read and applied, such as the Heiho Kadensho of Yagyu Munenori and the Gorin no Sho of Miyamoto Musashi.
• His letter Taiaki, "Annals of the Sword Taia," was written during his exile in the North between 1629 to 1632, possibly to Ono Tadaaki, Taiaki mostly is about the relationship between one's self and the other.

Taia was one of China's legendary swords. It was forged by the famous sword-smith Ou Yezi for King Zhao of Chu (r.515-489 B.C.)

The Pai Che is a legendary animal with a cow's body and a man's head. It eats dreams and misfortunes. In ancient China people they would display a picture of a Pai Che at the entrance of their house to ward off evil spirits.

MAN-AN - On Zen practice by Lay People

Man-An Eishu was a prominent Soto Master of the early Edo period. He was a good friend of Samurai and Zen Master Suzuki Shosan, and tried to raise the Soto Zen of that period to a higher level. He rebuilt the Temple of Kosho-ji in Uji. Together with other Masters of this period, he was convinced that a general reform of Zen was necessary, but he lacked the influence to carry it out. (He possibly pissed off a few important heads of powerful Monasteries, favorites of the Tokugawa shogunate ...). Man-An never had on Soto Zen the influence that Master Hakuin had on Rinzai Zen.

This post is a passage from  "An elementary talk on Zen", from "Minding Mind - a course in basic meditation" , a collection of texts translated  by Thomas Cleary.

This first part is about the practice of Zen by Lay people (us...) Man-An was not always tender for some of his fellow Zen Masters...

         If you want to quickly attain mastery of all truths and be independent in all events, there is nothing better than concentration in activity. That is why it is said that students of mysticism working on the Way should sit in the midst of the material world.

The Third Patriarch of Zen said, "If you want to head for the Way of Unity, do not be averse to the objects of the six senses. " * This does not mean that you should indulge in the objects of the six senses, it means that you should keep right mindfulness continuous, neither grasping nor rejecting the objects of the six senses in the course of every day life, like a duck going into the water without its feathers getting wet.

If, in contrast, you despise the objects of the six senses and try to avoid them, you fall into escapist tendencies and never fulfill the Way of Buddhahood. If you clearly see the essence, then the objects of the six senses are themselves meditation, sensual desires are themselves the Way of Unity, and all things are manifestations of Reality. Entering into the great Zen stability undivided by movement and stillness, body and mind are both freed and eased.

As for people whose tout to cultivate spiritual practice is with aversion to the objects and desires of the senses, even if their minds and thoughts are empty and still and their contemplative visualization is perfectly clear, still when they leave quietude and get into active situations, they are like fish out of water, like monkeys out of the trees.

Even people who go deep into mountain forests; cut off relations with the world for ever, and eat from the fruits of the trees as ascetics can not easily attain pure singleness of, concentration. Needless to say, it is even more difficult for those who are mendicants in name only, or shallow householders, who are so busy making a living.

In truth, unless you have definite certitude of overwhelming faith, or are filled with overwhelming doubt or wonder, or are inspired with overwhelming commitment, or are overtaken by overwhelming death, it is hard to attain concentration that is pure and undivided in principle and fact, inaction and stillness.

If you are wholeheartedly careful of how you spend your time, aware of the evanescence of life, concentrating singlemindedly on Zen work even in the midst of objects of desire, if you proceed right straight ahead, the iron walls will open up. You will experience the immense joy of walking over the Polar Mountain and become the Master with in the objects of sense. you will be like a lotus blooming in fire, becoming all the more colorful and more fragrant in contact with the energy of fire.

Do not say that it is harder for lay people living in the world of senses and desires to sit and meditate, or that it is hard, to concentrate with so many worldly duties, or that one with an official or professional career can not practice Zen, or that the poor and the sickly do not have the power to work on the Way. These excuses are all due to impotence of faith and superficiality of the thought of enlightenment.

If you observe that the matter of life and death is serious, and that the world is really impermanent, the will for enlightenment will grow, the thieving heart of egoism, selfishness, pride, and covetousness will gradually die out, and you will come to work on the Way by sitting meditation in which principle and fact are one.

Suppose you were to lose your only child in a crowd or drop an invaluable gem: do you think you would let the child or the, jewel go at that, just because of the bustle and the mob? Would you not look for them even if you had a lot of work to do or were poor or sickly? Even if you had to plunge into an immense crowd of people and had to continue searching into the night, you would not be easy in mind until you had found and retrieved your child or your jewel.

To have been born human and heard true teaching is a very rare opportunity, so to neglect meditation because of your career is to treat the life of wisdom of the body of truths of the Buddhas less seriously than worldly chattels. But if you search for wisdom singlemindedly like someone who has lost a child or dropped a gem, one day you will undoubtedly encounter it, whereupon you will light up with joy.

People in all walks of life have all sorts of things to attend to, how could they have the leisure to sit silently all day in quiet contemplation? Here there are Zen teachers who have not managed to cultivate this sitting meditation concentration , they teach deliberate seclusion and quietude, avoiding population centers, stating that intensive meditation concentration can not be attained in the midst of professional work, business, and labor, thus causing students to apply their minds mistakenly.

People who listen to this kind of talk consequently think of Zen as something that is hard to do and hard to practice, so they give up the inspiration to cultivate Zen, abandon the source and try to escape, time and again becoming like lowly migrant workers. This is truly lamentable. even if they have a deep aspiration due to some cause in the past, they get to where they neglect their jobs and lose their social virtues for the sake of the Way.

As an ancient said, if people today were as eager for enlightenment as they are to embrace their lovers, then no matter how busy their professional lives might be and no matter how luxurious their dwellings maybe, they would not fail to attain continuous concentration leading to appearance of the great Wonder.

* Kaichi Sosan in the Shin Jin Mei

Takuan, Munenori and the Tiger

In November, in the 13th year of Kanyei (1636), a Korean ambassador came to pay tribute to the Third Shogun Tokugawa Iyemitsu. He presented to him various Korean products, among them a live tiger.

One day, the Shogun went to see the tiger with his retainers. Zen Master Takuan and Kenjutsu Master Yagyu Munenori were among them.

The tiger was about 5 feet in height. The Shogun was interested in its fur. "How fine its fur!" he said to his attendants, "Can any of you go and touch it?"

No one answered.

"Does it look so fierce to you?" said the Shogun. "What do you think Yagyu" he inquired."You are a master swordsman and expert at military arts. Surely your kenjutsu ability can overcome the tiger. When you succeed it will do credit to the virtues of Japanese Military expertise and will be an honor to Japan abroad."

Munenori bowed to the Shogun and rose quietly. With an iron fan in hand, he approached the tiger. Munenori stood before the pen, and ordered the gardener to open its door. "Is it safe to open?" inquired the gardener. "It is safe,' replied Munenori. At this, the gardener opened the pen. The tiger held itself in readiness to leap, but Munenori entered the pen fearlessly, holding out the iron fan in front. All looked on with breathless interest, and the Korean envoys stared in amazement.

The animal became very nervous. But Munenori remained calm. He edged along, holding out the iron fan in front pointing it at the animal's eye. It gave a roar. Munenori kept his eye upon its breathing, aimed his fan at the tiger and gave a loud kiai. The tiger reluctantly drew back. The people were astonished. When Munenori shouted once more, the tiger bent its forelegs and stooped with its jaw on the ground. Munenori smiled and walked slowly out of the pen.

The Korean envoys were impressed...

Munenori bowed before his lord.

"You have done well, Lord Yagyu," said Master Takuan. "This display of your ability surely will convince every ruler of foreign lands of the glory of Japanese Military Arts, I have been your friend for many years but had never seen you display your ability to that extent before.

As Takuan had spoken, the Shogun asked him. "The tiger was crushed by Yagyu's swordsmanship. If you could tame it by virtue of Buddhism, it would be the greatest national glory in foreign countries. I wish you to try at once, Takuan."

Takuan laughed and said, "It may not be so interesting or glorious. But as you wish my Lord, let me tame the animal."

He bowed to the Shogun and went down to the yard, walked straight to the tiger and opened the pen himself. When the gardener tried to stop him, he had already entered the pen.

The tiger became roared in anger. Fearless and smiling the Priest entered the pen and closed it himself. He stood before the tiger, turning up his sleeves.

The people opened their eyes in amazement at his boldness, being unable to guess what he intended to do. The tiger at first appeared ready to spring at the intruder, but far from taking the offensive, it stepped back with its back raised and rounded like a rock, overwhelmed by the Priest's friendly manners.

Takuan walked toward the tiger, bent a little forward and thrust out his left hand before the nose of the animal who licked it.

Yagyu Munenori sighed and lowered his head, struck with admiration.

Takuan stroked the tiger on the head, he laid down like a puppy and played with him.

The Master laughed merrily and sat astride the tiger.

In future posts :  

• The meeting of Master Takuan, Miyamoto Musashi - an other famous sword master - and a venomous snake... 
• The fight between Master Kaicho Yamamoto - founder of Yoshukai Karate - and an other Tiger.

3 Treatises on Swordsmanship - and Zen...

The Battle of Sekigahara on October 21, 1600 cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though it would take three more years for Ieyasu to consolidate his position of power over the Toyotomi clan and the daimyo, this battle is considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Edo period, or Tokugawa shogunate.

At the beginning of this period, 3 short treatises on swordsmanship appeared which would become influential far beyond what their authors originally intended.

The First classical treatise on swordsmanship was The Mysterious Record of Unmoving Wisdom, (Fudochi Shinmyoroku) written by Zen Master Takuan Soho around 1632. This treatise looks at Swordsmanship from the perspective of Zen. 
It specially emphasizes the importance of keeping the mind free of attachment and fixations.  
On the battlefield, this means keeping the mind from stopping on anything, whether the stance, the opponent's sword, the technique, anything that could prevent the mind from moving freely.

The Second classical treatise on swordsmanship was The Life Giving Sword (Heiho Kandensho) written by Yagyu Munenori around 1632 also. The philosophy of this treatise is based on the above mentioned Fudochi Shinmyoroku written by Takuan for his friend and disciple Munenori.

It emphasizes in a similar way the importance of keeping the mind free of attachment to details of techniques, or even to the idea of winning. This treatise is however much more technical in its description of certain techniques Munenori inherited from his father and his father's master, the legendary Kamiizumi Ise no Kami Hidetsuna.

The Third classical treatise was the famed Book of Five Rings (Gorin no Sho) written by Miyamoto Musashi between 1643 and 1645. Although the Philosophy underlying Musashi's book is also to keep the Mind Free from any attachment, Musashi puts high emphasis on the technique of Swordsmanship, and does not consider the willingness to win as a hindrance, but as a mean to complete one's duty to one's Lord, but the willingness to survive the fight as one attachment that could mean defeat. 

Yagyu Munenori was a disciple and friend of Takuan. It is not clear whether Musashi ever met Munenori, although they were together in Edo(Tokyo)in 1623. Musashi also very likely met Takuan around 1630 after he had been temporarily banished to Northern Japan.

Numerous translations of these treatises are available, but I particularly enjoy the ones by William Scott Wilson. 

These are :

The Unfettered Mind – includes the Fudochi Shinmyoroku and 2 other texts by Takuan.

The Life Giving Sword by Yagyu Munenori

The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi.

Mr Wilson gives us clean, accurate and lively translations of these 3 great texts. Although he is not himself a swordsman, the help he received from persons qualified in this domain make his translations very valuable for whoever is interested in how Martial Arts and Zen were related in 17th century Japan.

Patience...

The original Chinese meaning of the Kanji NIN 忍 (as in Ninja) means patience, endurance. In Japan NIN evolved into shinobi, meaning to hide, to sneak in...

Three men laid the foundations for modern Japan and were to rule in succession :

• Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), warlord of the province of Owari,

• Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), one of his generals,

• Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), Nobunaga's junior ally.

Nobunaga, known for his cruelty, almost unified Japan but was betrayed by one of his lieutenants and slained.

Hideyoshi, known for his impetuosity, finally unified Japan and brought the end of the Civil War Era. When all Japan was unified and no enemy could be found, he tried and failed to conquer China. He died from old age in 1598 without ever becoming Shogun.

When Nobunaga was slained, Ieyasu, known for his patience, decided not dispute about Hideyoshi's claim for regency and kept the position of No.2 in Japan. When Hideyoshi died, Ieyasu vanquished his successor at the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He got the title of Shogun in 1603, established his Shogunate in Edo, known as Tokyo today, and his dynasty ruled until 1867...

The following tale is told about these three extraordinary rulers :

There was a little bird who wouldn't sing. Nobunaga said, “little bird, if you don't sing, I'll kill you." Hideyoshi said, “little bird, if you don't sing, I'll make you sing." Tokugawa said, “little bird, if you don't sing, I'll wait for you to sing."