HOSOKAWA TADAOKI AND IEYASU

細川忠興と家康

The Kampaku Toyotomi Hidetsugu had lent money secretly to the Daimyos in order to attach them to his side, and when his plot against Hideyoshi failed a number of bonds with their signatures were discovered. Then Ishida Jibushoyu went to the Daimyous concerned and told them to pay these amounts quickly or he would show the documents to Hideyoshi which would mean their ruin. So they all ran round in great perturbation trying to raise money to redeem their debts. Now Hosokawa Tadaoki was one of then, for he had borrowed a hundred pieces of gold, and he tried to borrow the amount from various sources, but as money happened to be rather scarce just then, he found no little difficulty. Now fortunately Tadaoki's veteran councillor Matsui Sado-no-kami Yasuyuki was very friendly with Honda Sado-no-kami Masanobu, Councillor to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and when he sounded him about a loan, Masanobu asked Ieyasu what he thought, and he very readily consented. So Honda introduced Matsui into the presence of Ieyasu. "This is quit a serious matter," said Ieyasu, "and I fear your master must have been rather troubled about it. However, I think I can arrange something." He then told Honda to bring a certain armour box, giving him the number of it, and when it was brought he produced a key from his purse and told him to open it. "Under the helmet and also under the body armour you will find a packet of money," he observed, and when Honda took out the two packets and opened them he found the date written on them showing that they were put there when Ieyasu was at Suruga. "They have been there a ling time. That's thirty years ago," said Ieyasu as he handed them to Yasuyuki, "and there are a hundred pieces in the packets, so that should relieve your difficulties."

関白豊臣秀次は彼に味方する為の大名工作としてお金をばらまきました。その事が秀吉の知る所となり、石田治部少輔が関わりのある大名にたいして詳細な報告を求めました。金品を受け取った大名達は大慌てでお金を工面して返しました。その中に細川忠興もいたのです。彼は百両のお金を受け取っていて、すぐ返そうとしましたが、足りませんでした。大変な問題になると思った彼の家臣、松井政幸と言う人物が本多正信と親交があり彼に相談する事になりました。本多正信は徳川家康の重臣でそのことを家康に報告しました。家康は考え、相談にのる旨を松井に答え会うことにしたのです。「これは難しい問題ですね」と家康は切り出し「私によい考えが有りますからお任せ下さい」と本多に武具箱を運ばせました。財布から鍵をとりだしてその箱を開けました。甲冑の中にはいくつかの袋が付いていて、そこにはお金が入っていました。これは私が駿河時代に入れたものでもうすっかり忘れているものなので、と言い、「細川殿に差し上げて下さい」といいました。

The Councillor thanked him very gratefully and told him that he would proceed to his fief and inform his master who would send an acknowledgement to Ieyasu at once. "Oho,no," replied Ieyasu, "there is no need of that. I purposely avoided aending to him directly. That's why I had this mony taken out of the armour box on the quiet, so that nobody should know anything about it. There is no need to say anything more." And so Tadaoki escaped from an awkward situation.

松井は大いに感謝し、忠興が必ずやお礼と借用証を書き持参する旨を家康に伝えると、彼は首を横にふり、「それにはおよびません、これは忘れて入れていたお金ですから」と固辞しました。その工作により細川忠興のばつの悪い窮地は救われたのです。



When Hideyoshi pardoned Hosokawa on this occasion he gave him the Cha-ire, called Ari-ake as a consolation for having 'gated' him while under suspicion. Afterwards Tadaoki again became hard up and pawned it for fifty pieces of gold and it got into the hands of Ankokuji-Eikei, then taking the name of Ankokuji Katatsuki. It was given by him to Tsuda Koheiji Hidemasa and from him stolen by Hosokawa.

後に、秀吉は細川忠興に対し疑いをかけたわびとして有明と言う茶入を彼に進呈しました。忠興が窮した折、その茶入は五十両で手放され、安国寺恵瓊へ渡り安国寺肩付茶入と銘々されました。その後また津田小兵治秀正を経由して再び細川家へ戻りました。



Some time after this Tadaoki happened to come up to Fushimi on duty and passing before the front gate of the mansion of Ieyasu he saw a retainer of his, Yamaoka Doami, going in to pay a visit, whereupon he went in also and asked Doami to introduce him. Ieyasu was very pleased to see him and asked them into the reception room. "I have never so far had the honour of calling on you," said Tadaoki, "but as I happened to see my retainer coming in I suddenly made up my mind to come too. It has long been my whish to be your guest at Cha-no-yu, so perhaps it is not too much to hope that it may now be fulfilled."

ある時、忠興は公務で伏見へ赴き家康邸の前を通りかかりました。ちょうど家康の家来である山岡道阿弥を門前で見つけ、家康への謁見を申しいれました。忠興を見た家康はたいそう喜び、二人を貴賓席へと案内しました。忠興は「貴殿のご配慮を片時も忘れた事はなく、いつか必ずご挨拶へ伺わなければと思っておりました。茶を一服是非とも差し上げたくその機会が巡りこの上ない光栄です」と挨拶しました。

Now Tadaoki was one of the seven chief disciples of Rikyu and a very accomplished Tea Master, so Ieyasu turned to Doami and said, "Etchu Dono is one of our greatest exponents of Cha-no-yu, so it will be a great honour for me to entertain him. But please assist me, as I am not such an expert." But Tadaoki replied that he would rather they were quite alone. To this Ieyasu objected that it would be easier for him if Doami were present too, but still Tadaoki insisted, whereupon Doami perceived that he had some good reason and took his leave. When they were by themselves Tadaoki requested that Honda Masanobu might be called and soon he appeared in the Tea-room. "Some time ago," said Tadaoki to them, "my retainer made a request to you for assistance which you were kind enough to give, thus enabling me to escape a great danger. This service I shall certainly never forget, and to-day I have come to thank you and to assure you that I shall not overlook any way of repaying you. This is all wish to say now and perhaps it is not advisable that I come again for some time." And he took his leave.

忠興は利休の弟子の一人としてとても高名でした。家康は道阿弥へ敬意を込めて紹介し、是非一所に茶を所望しようと誘いました。ところが忠興は二人きりになりたいと言い張り、問答の末、道阿弥は彼の気持ちを察し退室して行きました。すると忠興は本多正信を呼んで下さいと頼み、彼がやってきたのです。忠興は二人に向かい「過日は助けていただいて本当にありがとうございました」っと心からお礼を言い、「二度とご迷惑になるようなことはいたしません」と誓って行きました。

Now this was the time when Ishida Kazushige was making his plans to overthrow Ieyasu, and Tadaoki, while appearing to have nothing at all to with Ieyasu, was working very vigorously on his behalf in secret. Therefore he chose the Tea-room as a suitably private place for this meeting.

石田一茂氏の家康と忠興の歴史背景の推察記によれば、家康はこの時に彼の懐柔に成功したのだと述べています。茶室が格好の場所になった一つの例です。

Ishida also did not overlook this use of Cha-no-yu, for he sent a Tea Master round to the various Daimyo to stay in each fief for a while as Instructor, and then move on with his seditious information elsewhere. (Cf. Watanabe Soan.)

石田氏の説によれば、茶人を様々な大名達へ派遣し、スパイとして利用したとも述べています。









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