;
that there were to be no irregularities and no pursuing of personal
interests; that no questions concerning landed estates should be
dealt with during the minority of Hideyori; that no petitions should
be presented to him, and that Ieyasu himself would neither ask for
changes to be made in the matter of land-ownership nor accept any
gift of land from Hideyori during the latter's minority.

(7) That whatever Hideyori desired to have kept secret, whether
connected with his private life or with the Government, must on no
account be allowed to leak out.

(8) That if any of the administrators or their subordinates found
that they had unwittingly acted contrary to orders, they should at
once report the fact to their superiors, who would then deal
leniently with them.

The above document was solemnly endorsed, the gods being called upon
to punish any one violating its provisions. It was further ordered
that Hidetada, son of Ieyasu, should give his daughter in marriage to
Hideyori; that Ieyasu, residing in the Fushimi palace, should act as
regent until Hideyori reached the age of fifteen, and that Maeda
Toshiiye, governing the castle of Osaka, should act as guardian of
Hideyori. It is recorded by some historians that the taiko conferred
on Ieyasu discretionary power in the matter of Hideyori's succession,
authorizing the Tokugawa baron to be guided by his own estimate of
Hideyori's character as to whether the latter might be safely trusted
to discharge the high duties that would devolve on him when he
reached his majority. But the truth of this allegation is open to
doubt. It may well have been invented, subsequently, by apologists
for the line adopted by Ieyasu. Hideyoshi died on September 18, 1598.
His last thoughts were directed to the troops in Korea. He is said to
have addressed to Asano Nagamasa and Ishida Katsushige orders to go
in person to the peninsula, and to provide that "the spirits of one
hundred thousand Japanese soldiers serving there should not become
disembodied in a foreign land." For a time the death of the great
statesman was kept secret, but within three months the newly created
boards found themselves strong enough to cope with the situation, and
the remains of Hideyoshi were publicly interred at the shrine of
Amida-ga-mine, near Kyoto.

HIDEYOSHI'S CHARACTER

In modern times many distinguished Japanese historians have
undertaken to analyze Hideyoshi's character and attainments. They are
divided