y knee to the Kwanto. Rather will I and my son make
this castle our death-pillow." Then, with Ono Harunaga, she formed a
plot to kill Katsumoto and to draw the sword against the Tokugawa.
Subsequently, when Katsumoto returned to Osaka and reported the
result of his mission, he stated his conviction that the only exit
from the dilemma was one of the three courses indicated above.
Yodogimi, on being informed of this opinion, intimated her desire to
see Katsumoto. But when the day named for the meeting came and
Katsumoto was on the point of leaving his residence for the purpose
of repairing to the conference, he received information that the
intention was to kill him en route. He therefore fled to his domain
in the remote province of Ibaraki. It is recorded that Katsumoto's
plan was to offer to send Yodo as a hostage to Yedo. Then the
question would arise as to a place of residence for her in the
eastern capital, and the processes of preparing a site and building a
house were to be supplemented by accidental conflagrations, so that
the septuagenarian, Ieyasu, might easily pass away before the actual
transfer of the hostage took place. Such was Katsumoto's device, but
he had to flee from Osaka before he could carry it into effect.

THE SIEGE OF OSAKA CASTLE

In the year 1614, Ieyasu issued orders for the attack of Osaka
Castle, on the ground that Katsumoto's promise had not been
fulfilled. The Tokugawa chief set out from Sumpu and his son,
Hidetada, from Yedo. Their armies, combined with the forces of
several of the feudatories, are said to have aggregated one hundred
and fifty thousand men. In Osaka, also, a great host was assembled,
and among its leaders were several renowned warriors, including
Sanada Yukimura, Goto Matabei, Hanawa Naotsugu, and others, who,
although not originally vassals of the Toyotomi, supported Hideyori
loyally. As for the castle, its enormous strength rendered it
well-nigh impregnable, and after weeks of effort the Tokugawa forces
had nothing to show for their repeated attacks except a long list of
casualties.

Ieyasu now had recourse to intrigue. The mother of Kyogoku Takatsugu,
daimyo of Obama, in Wakasa, was the younger sister of the lady Yodo.
Ieyasu induced her to open communications with Yodo, and to represent
to the latter the advisability of concluding peace with the Tokugawa
instead of remaining perpetually beleaguered in a fortress, thus
merely postponing an end which could not be fin