s head to Nobukatsu, in
order to recover the free use of the great army assembled in Owari,
Mino, and Ise. Most fortunate was it for Japan that events took this
turn, for, had Ieyasu and Hideyoshi remained mutually hostile, the
country would probably have been plunged into a repetition of the
terrible struggle from which nothing enabled it to emerge except the
combined labours of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu. It was not,
however, until the early summer of 1586 that Hideyoshi and Ieyasu
established genuinely friendly relations. During a year and a half
subsequent to the conclusion of the treaty which ended the Komaki
War, Ieyasu held severely aloof and refrained from visiting Kyoto.
Finally, Hideyoshi despatched Asano Nagamasa to propose that Ieyasu
should take into his household Hideyoshi's younger sister, and that
Hideyoshi should send his mother as a hostage to Okazaki, to remain
there during a visit by Ieyasu to Kyoto. Four months were needed by
Ieyasu to consider this proposal, and in September, 1586, he repaired
to Osaka and thence accompanied Hideyoshi to Kyoto.

HIDEYOSHI BECOMES REGENT

In May, 1583, after the downfall of Katsuiye, the Emperor appointed
Hideyoshi to be a councillor of State, and conferred on him the
fourth order of rank. In November of the following year, he received
another step of rank and was nominated gon-dainagon. The Emperor
Okimachi at that time contemplated abdication, but the palace which
he would have occupied as ex-Emperor had fallen into such a state of
disrepair as to be virtually uninhabitable. Hideyoshi signalized his
loyalty on this occasion by spending a large sum on the renovation of
the palace, and in recognition of his services the Emperor raised him
to the high post of nai-daijin. It was confidently expected that he
would then become sa-daijin, but, owing to complications which need
not be related here, the outcome of the matter was that he received
the still higher post of kwampaku (regent). There can be no doubt
that he himself had contemplated becoming shogun. In fact, it is on
record that he made proposals in that sense to Yoshiaki, the last of
the Ashikaga shoguns. But it had come by that time to be recognized
that only a scion of the Minamoto family could be eligible for the
post of shogun, and thus Yoshiaki declined Hideyoshi's overtures,
though to accept them would have materially altered the fallen
fortunes of the Ashikaga sept. Hideyoshi ultimately became prim