ally averted. A
council was convened in the castle to consider this advice. Opinions
were divided. Some held that Ieyasu could not be believed, and that
if the struggle were maintained for a few years, the face of affairs
might change radically. Others urged that the loyalty of the garrison
was not above suspicion, and that if the fight went on much longer,
treachery might be practised, to which risk a speedy peace, even at
some cost, would be preferable. Ono Harunaga was among the advocates
of surrender, but Hideyori himself showed that his character had not
been mistaken by Ieyasu. He indignantly reminded Harunaga and the
latter's fellow thinkers that arms had been taken up by their advice
and in opposition to the loyal efforts of Katsumoto in the cause of
peace.

Lady Yodo, however, threw her influence into the scale with Ono
Harunaga, and finally peace was concluded on terms highly favourable
to the Toyotomi. It was agreed that Hideyori should remain in the
possession of the castle and of all his domains, and that the
garrison, as well as the unattached samurai who formed part of it,
should not be punished but should be provided for subsequently. It
might have occurred to the leaders of the Osaka party that these
lenient conditions covered some occult designs; nothing was less
likely than that a statesman like Ieyasu would be content with so
signal a failure. But a short-sighted sentiment of confidence seems
to have obscured the judgment of the Osaka folks. They actually gave
heed to Ieyasu's complaint that he, the o-gosho, and his son, the
shogun, must not be allowed to have taken so much trouble for
nothing; that it was customary to give hostages to an army which
agreed to raise a siege, and that at least a portion of the castle's
defences should be destroyed. As to the last point, the Tokugawa
chief was kind enough to say that the work of demolition should not
cost the garrison anything, since labour would be supplied gratis by
the shoguni.

After considerable correspondence it was agreed that Harunaga's son
should go to Yedo as a hostage, and that a portion of the outer moat
of Osaka Castle should be filled up. Ieyasu did not lose a moment in
giving effect to this latter provision. He ordered some of the fudai
daimyo of the Kwanto to proceed to Osaka with several thousands of
men, who should go to work forthwith to tear down the parapets and
fill up the moats of the castle. These orders were implicitly obeyed