Tokugawa Ieyasu
Episode 49: The Fall of the Castle
The fateful morning arrived.
Ieyasu had ordered his men to 'think of him as dead'.
Ieyasu had decided that the Shogun, Hidetada, would lead,
and headed toward Chausuyama where Sanada Yukimura waited.
But he prayed fervently for the safety of
Hideyori, his mother, and Princess Sen.
Judging from the huge gap in military strength,
Sanada Yukimura knew the outcome of this war.
He didn't change his view of life
that war among men is inevitable.
He had decided to die with that belief
and strike terror into Ieyasu's heart.
The front lines of Ieyasu's Eastern army
was led by Matsudaira Tadanao, who was scolded the day before.
Katagiri Katsumoto's men were lined up alongside him.
This was to stop others from capturing Hideyori
should he emerge from the castle.
Listen!
I don't want our regiment
to be suspected of taking naps on the battlefield!
We shall join forces and prepare to meet the devil!
Attack!
Matsudaira Tadanao stole the march on Sanada Yukimura.
The Honda regiment, who didn't want to be left behind,
also started to attack.
Reporting! Lord Matsudaira has launched an attack!
The summer battle of Osaka Castle had begun.
This shocked Sanada Yukimura in Chausuyama.
Yukimura's strategy to attack Ieyasu's main army
while the Matsudaira regiment advanced forward, was ruined.
It's still too early.
Too early!
Our target is not the Matsudaira regiment,
but Ieyasu's main army which follows behind them.
Tell Lord Mori not to be dragged into this!
Yes, sir!
But the Mori regiment had already been attacked
by the Matsudaira and Honda regiments,
and thrown into a state of confusion.
Reporting! We were attacked by the Matsudaira's!
What?
The Matsudaira regiment fought bitterly,
and various Eastern regiments followed closely behind.
Yukimura was forced to face the Eastern forces.
Yukimura truly regretted this.
He quickly adapted to the situation,
and turned the tide around to the western forces' favor.
He arranged to have 7 men pose as Sanada Yukimura himself.
Each of them came to the aid of the Mori regiment,
and circled the Eastern forces,
throwing them into a state of great confusion.
The real Sanada Yukimura watched from Chausuyama.
Don't move! The Shogun and the Retired Shogun are here!
In the midst of the confusion, the lords went off to fight,
and incredibly, Ieyasu was left with a handful of men.
Sanada Yukimura had waited for this moment.
Forward!
He descended Mt. Chausuyama heading straight for Ieyasu.
The hands of death reached out for Ieyasu...
Ii Naotaka and Todo Takatora suddenly realized this.
The Retired Shogun is in danger!
Don't panic! Our main army will be left defenseless!
Let's go!
No! You may not!
Confusion bred confusion,
and even the Shogun's defenses were reduced to his pages.
Who are you?
Don't worry! I'm Yagyu Mataemon Munenori.
We mustn't panic, should we, Munenori?
Right.
The tide has turned.
I see.
This 'tide' came toward Ieyasu in full force.
Under Yukimura's command,
it attacked Ieyasu like a gust of wind.
As the fatal blow was about to be thrust into Ieyasu's throat,
the Ii and Toda regiments came to his rescue.
The Sanada army lost it's chance to approach Ieyasu
and Mt. Chausuyama behind them was occupied by the enemy.
Listen, all of you!
We shall die upon the honor of the Sanada Army!
Attack!
Though the Sanada army fought bravely,
they were overpowered by the Eastern forces,
and was slowly destroyed...
Yukimura knew that his last battle with Ieyasu was over.
Reporting! Matsudaira Tadanao's men
have killed Sanada Yukimura, the enemy commander!
Sanada Yukimura was 49.
He died with the conviction that wars among men will never end.
With Yukimura's death, the Mori and Osaka men retreated.
I shall die in battle, too! Bring my steed!
No!
The battlefield is in utter chaos.
We cannot send our commander to a sea of corpses!
The Eastern forces, riding on the wave of victory,
have swarmed into our castles 3rd wing!
What?!
Our castle is on fire!
The Eastern forces set fir e to the samurai mansions!
Sire!
The 2nd wing is a sea of fire. Retreat to the main wing!
We lost, didn't we...?
Hurry, my lord! Let's retreat!
The fire is spreading; this is dangerous!
Please retreat to our secret basement.
The Lady Mother and the Lady are waiting there.
Sire! Our last moments have arrived.
No! There is a way out of this.
Don't be sentimental!
You have allowed the enemy to enter our castle.
Do you intend to embarrass me more?
First, calm down,
and send our Lady to the Shogun to ask that you lives be spared.
Osen is my wife!
I will not send her to beg for me!
Reporting!
The enemy has advanced into the 2nd wing.
The main wing is engulfed in flames!
We cannot talk in the flames. Run to the rice storage!
Shinjuro...
The main wing is a sea of flames.
Send Princess Sen out!
Don't make any noises.
Princess Sen was gone.
Shinjuro didn't expect Lady Yodo to let Princess Sen go.
He believed that she would drag her to death.
You let the Lady escape?
Don't chase her!
I ordered her to go.
What?!
She's the only one who can beg the Shogun to spare us.
Forgive me, all of you.
She let Princess Sen escape so that her son may be spared.
Yodogimi's maternal love upset Shinjuro's plans.
Sir!
Our Lady has safely headed to Chausuyama.
I see. She is our last hope.
I wanted her to speak to the Shogun
to ask that all three of them meet the Retired Shogun.
Now, the problem is how will we save our heir and his mother?
'Katsumoto, take care of Hiroi for me'.
Katsumoto thought he heard Hideyoshi's voice in the fire.
Brother!
Our heir is in danger.
What?
It doesn't seem that the Shogun will listen to Princess Sen.
A wife must follow her husband.
It's unforgivable that she left the castle alone, he said!
The Shogun ordered that his men leave no stone unturned
in search of our heir!
'No stone unturned...'?
I shall see the Shogun.
Brother!
When Katsumoto arrived at the Shogun, Hidetada's camp,
he had just received congratulations from the other lords.
I'm glad you came, Katsumoto.
There is something I must tell you.
What is it?
I know where Lord Hideyori is.
I see.
You know that castle like the palm of your hand.
I'm sure he's in the rice storage.
Please leave him to me.
I beg of you!
It's too late...
It's been decided.
Decided?
I will clean out that entire area.
Please, give me that task,
or I'll be a disloyal retainer!
I won't worry about that.
You came to report their hiding place to the Shogun.
That's an action of a loyal man.
Please don't mock me.
I'm indebted to the Toyotomi clan...!
Restrain yourself!
If you had made a decision when it was necessary to do so,
we would've avoided these wars like the Retired Shogun wished.
Don't you realize that this is the result because you couldn't?
Therefore, I beg...
No!
You are exhausted, both physically and mentally...
Rest well.
Understood?
Please wait!
And, dawn arrived...
Lord Shuri?
Ii's army has surrounded us.
But they haven't attacked.
I must go...help me.
I'd like to negotiate with them, but I can't.
Please go.
Yes, lord.
I shall be your escort.
I've come as the messenger of Lord Toyotomi Hideyori.
Let's get to the point.
When will he surrender?
He shall emerge from the gate at noon.
At noon?
We shall quietly accept any form of punishment...
But please handle our lord with respect.
'With respect'?! Shall we put him on a cloud?!
He is a heinous criminal who rebelled twice!
He is our prisoner!
Prisoner?
That does not follow the Retired Shogun's desires.
He hasn't forgotten that our lord is the late Regent's son.
Prepare a palanquin for him.
The 74-year-old Retired Shogun himself didn't have one.
How can we find one in this battlefield?!
Then how will you take our lord to your camp?!
We have a horse.
You want the Lady Mother to ride a horse?
We can't help it if she doesn't want to walk.
We don't have fancy vehicles here.
No!
I will not allow our heir and the lady Mother
to be exposed to the public!
If we don't have a palanquin, will he commit seppuku?
How about it?
We'll look for a basket which carried the wounded...
...what? They'll put our lord on a horse
and lead him through their camps as a criminal?!
Yes, and they said they'll prepare a basket for you
which carried the corpses...
The Retired Shogun had no desire to save you!
Enough!
I see.
Ii wasn't there to greet our heir under Ieyasu's orders...
I'm afraid that our lord is their prisoner...
Does anybody have some water?
Prepare our final drink.
Final drink?
Right.
Victory and defeat go hand in hand.
Our heir is a warrior, so riding a horse is not shameful to him.
But, I shall remain here, and bid him farewell.
Take a good last look at your mother.
I was an evil woman who shouldn't have been with you.
Three times I have seen my castle go up in flames.
The Odani Castle in which my father, Asai Nagamasa died...
Then the Kitano Castle in which my mother burned...
Finally, this castle in which my only son lived...
I lost my father, and my mother burned to death...
this time...
this time, I kill my own son...
Where can you find another life more cursed than mine?
Misfortune always accompanies me.
Mother...
Therefore, you must leave this cursed mother of yours.
Luck will never come to you unless you leave me.
Let's sever our ties as mother and son with a drink.
Ieyasu was pleased to hear that Hideyori and his mother were safe.
Don't worry.
Lord Hideyori is in the rice storage.
Ii Naotaka is protecting them, so don't worry.
Then why did the Shogun scold me for leaving my husband?
Well, Osen...
I shouldn't have left him.
I shall hate you for this, Chobo.
Don't say such cute things...
I'll go fetch them!
You, grand-father?
Don't worry.
Just wait for good news.
Just then, the hunt for the clan's refugees had begun.
And Okuhara Shinjuro, who was to save Hideyori and his mother,
was dragged into the confusion.
The last cups were being exchanged in the rice storage.
Now our bond has been severed.
Escort him as soon as he's finished.
Hanzaburo and Juzaburo, and one page is sufficient.
Sire.
Ogino Doki, I have a favor to ask.
Please finish them off.
Do it quickly for I don't want them to suffer.
Yes!
Mori Katsunaga.
I'll ask you to finish me off.
Thanks for fighting hard.
I won't forget you.
No!
What was that?!
It sounded like a gunshot.
I know that. Go look!
That careless Naotaka...
I'm here to welcome them!
Don't tell me you have secret orders from the Shogun
that you haven't told me about.
Not at all...
I see.
Then, go!
Excuse me!
My lord...see you in the next world...
The two lives that Ieyasu fervently prayed for,
disappeared in flames...
You fool!
So you were here, Retired Shogun.
You, too!
I told you to save Hideyori and his mother!
How dare you fire at them!
You tell me that they rushed into death?
Do you think I don't know?
How dare you deceive me.
Take this!
Someone bring some water!
Well...
I'll return to Nijo Castle.
What about the Shogun?
Fool!
A terrible scene would ensue if I see him now.
What will happen if I grabbed his hair in front of you all?
Just as Ieyasu instinctively knew,
everything had ended in the rice storage.
The Retired Shogun is sick and has left for Nijo Castle.
What?
He told me to instruct you to handle matters with respect.
Ieyasu, who left the battlefield before disbursing his camp,
was overwhelmed by a terrible loneliness.
Princess Sen received news of their deaths...
Another man's life was cruelly distorted.
It was Okuhara Shinjuro who
failed to save the lives of Hideyori and his mother.
Shinjuro...
Forgive me...
I destroyed the Toyotomi clan...
NIJO CASTLE
I didn't expect to experience such loneliness at my age.
I was never alone.
Even when I was a hostage in Sumpu,
I had many men with me.
Since I returned to Okazaki Castle,
I have been supported by hope and a fighting spirit
and was always the central figure among my men.
In my later tears,
I devoted myself to teaching my descendants,
and thought they trusted me...
so I was lead to believe...
However, the Shogun and his young aides
thought very little of me, in fact.
Sire...
How many times did I tell them...
yet they totally ignored Hideyori and his mother.
Chaya.
I may cry at times, Cha, but keep this a secret.
I...
I wanted to sit Osen and Hideyori in front of me
and preach to them...
That...
That was my happy dream... and yet...yet...