Page 42 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

he served as advisor first to Nobunaga, then Hideyoshi, and finally Toku-
gawa leyasu, who made him lord of Tanabe Castle. He practiced the tea
ceremony and calligraphy but was best known for his poetry and criti-
cism. He inherited and passed on a body of aesthetic lore concerning the
poetry of the Kokinshù, the tenth-century anthology of waka poetry,
compiled his own collection of waka, and wrote a travel diary and several
poetic commentaries. Devoted to poetry, he participated in renga ses-
sions with Jóha and others. Yüsai was unusual in being a warrior whom
courtiers, as well as other warriors, could admire for his literary abilities
and excellence in the ways of bun.
No discussion of daimyo culture in the sixteenth century would
be complete without at least some reference to Christianity. Between
1549 and 1551 Francisco Xavier was received favorably by the Shi-
mazu, Ouchi, and Otomo. Other early missionaries found equal favor
among the western daimyo. The Jesuits' policy was to win over the rulers
and assume that the ruled would follow. For their part many daimyo
responded favorably in the hope that the Portuguese merchant ships
that brought guns and other precious commodities from the West would
visit their ports. Whatever their reasons, some daimyo were converted,
and others at least allowed proselytization in their domains. When dai-
myo were sympathetic their wives, family members, samurai, and even
the farmers in the domain quickly followed suit, as the Jesuits had antici-
pated. Nobunaga set an example by entertaining Christian missionaries
and allowing the building of a seminary at Azuchi. Christian daimyo
sponsored the building of churches, colleges, and seminaries. They en-
tertained missionaries and imported books, paintings, and religious ob-
jects from Europe. They commissioned screens and paintings showing
scenes of the "southern barbarians." By mid-century there was a fad for
things Portuguese, including the costumes of the padres. Daimyo and
young blades, most of whom had made no spiritual commitment to
Christianity, decked themselves out in Portuguese styles and sported
rosaries and crucifixes as fashionable accessories. But if some daimyo
accepted Christianity easily, most abjured it quickly when Hideyoshi and
leyasu proscribed it and ordered the eradication of the alien teaching. An
exception was Takayama Ukon (1553-1614), who was exiled for refusing to
relinquish his faith.

The transition Hideyoshi had dreamed of establishing an enduring
from war dynasty. Shortly before his death he set up a council
to peace: °f powerful daimyo to serve as regents for his heir, the
daimyo in the &&& Hideyori. Not surprisingly, these daimyo had po-
rp i litical ambitions of their own. The council quickly
o ugawa broke up into rival factions that drew other daimyo
political into the conflj ct One group led by Ishida Mitsunari,
system Mori Terumoto, and Uesugi Kagekatsu supported the
cause of the Toyotomi. Another faction, including
Maeda Toshiie and Date Masamune, supported the powerful and wily
Tokugawa leyasu. The battle took place at Sekigahara, near Kyoto, in
October 1600. Many daimyo, expecting a Tokugawa victory, made their
peace with leyasu before the battle, or refrained from active participa-
tion. The Toyotomi supporters were routed and fell back on Osaka Cas-
tle, where they were finally eliminated in the siege of 1614-1615.
By his victories at Sekigahara and Osaka, leyasu had achieved an
even more extensive control over the country than Nobunaga or Hide-
yoshi. He was, in the fullest sense, the master of the realm. Unification
was complete. But it was a unification that had been achieved by military
conquest based upon the utilization of the feudal loyalties of the daimyo

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