in 1616, the year of Ieyasu's
death, Todo induced Konoe Nobuhiro, minister of the Right, to promote
this undertaking. Nobuhiro, being the Emperor's younger brother, was
able to exert much influence, and finally the ex-Emperor gave his
consent. In June, 1620, Kazuko, daughter of Hidetada, became first
lady-in-waiting, and ultimately Empress under the name of
Tofuku-mon-in. It is recorded that 1180 chests were required to carry
her trousseau from Yedo, and that the costs of her outfit and of her
journey to Kyoto aggregated more than a million sterling. She gave
birth to two princes and five princesses, and the house of Konoe,
which had been instrumental in procuring her summons to the Court,
became the leader of the Go-sekke.

DEATH OF HIDETADA AND HIS CHARACTER

After resigning the shogunate in 1622, Hidetada retired to the inner
castle (Nishi Maru) in Yedo and there continued to direct affairs. He
died ten years later, at the age of fifty-eight, and was interred at
the temple Zojo-ji, in the Shiba district of the eastern capital.
Japanese historians agree that Hidetada's character was adapted for
the work of consolidation that fell to his lot. He resembled his
father, Ieyasu, in decision and perseverance; he never dealt lightly
with any affair, and while outwardly gentle and considerate, he was
at heart subtle and uncompromising. An interesting illustration of
the administrative canons of the time is afforded in the advice said
to have been given by Hosokawa Tadaoki when consulted by Hidetada.
"There is an old proverb," Tadaoki replied, "that if a round lid be
put on a square vessel, those within will have ease; but if a square
lid be used to cover a square vessel, there will result a feeling of
distress." Asked for a standard by which to judge qualifications for
success, the same nobleman answered that an oyster shell found on the
Akashi shore is the best type of a man qualified to succeed, for the
shell has been deprived of all its angles by the beating of the
waves. Of Hidetada himself there is told an anecdote which shows him
to have been remarkably free from superstition. A comet made its
appearance and was regarded with anxiety by the astrologists of
Kyoto, who associated its advent with certain misfortune. Hidetada
ridiculed these fears. "What can we tell," he said, "about the
situation of a solitary star in the wide universe, and how can we
know that it has anything to do with this little world?"

THE THIRD