eikojuku.seesaa.net So, who was it that first started propagating this fiction as “fact”? It was none other than Hashiba Hideyoshi, or as he later became known, Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
The strange thing about this is that virtually no one knows about it.
“Now is the time, the fifth month, when I stand beneath the rain”
The above verse is widely regarded as evidence of Mitsuhide’s decision to plot against Nobunaga. The verse was composed at a “Renka” (or poetic verse) gathering known as the “Atago Hyakuin” (because it took place on Mt Atago). The location was close to Mitsuhide’s home castle at Tanba Kameyama (now part of Kyoto Prefecture), and occurred three days before the Honnōji Incident. (p.23)
Why was it that this verse in particular became so widely known? In modern times, when a major incident takes place news organisations rapidly gather up information while local information takes a little longer to reach the community. At the time of the Honnōji Incident there were no mass media organisations. It should have been impossible for the specific circumstances of an incident to be so widely known in such a short space of time. Yet the above verse, known as “Mitsuhide’s verse”, was widely acknowledged as revealing Mitsuhide’s mindset before the events at Honnōji took place. (p.24)
And where was this particular verse to be found? In a document known as the Koretōtaijiki (A Record of the Elimination of Koretō).
The “Koretōtaijiki” was composed four months after the Honnōji Incident in the 10th month of Tenshō 10 (1582). It was written by one Ōmura Yūko, a member of Hashiba Hideyoshi’s Otogishū group of retainers. It is a relatively short document, only 20 pages long, but contains all of the details of the Honnōji Incident from start to finish, thus making it a compact “after-action report”. Incidentally, the “Otogishū” were retainers who prided themselves on their talent for writing, and who often became conversation partners for their lord. They fulfilled a role not unlike that of a modern day PR firm.(p.24)
“Koretō” was a surname given to Mitsuhide by the Imperial Court, while “Taiji” refers, just as the title suggests, to Hideyoshi’s defeat and destruction of Mitsuhide following the battle of Yamazaki, and is a kind of “propaganda” tool. This document was the earliest to be distributed after the Honnōji Incident, and was the ‘official’ version of the events surrounding the incident according to Hideyoshi. The document publicly established Mitsuhide as the sole conspirator in the plot against Nobunaga, portrayed Mitsuhide as being driven by a personal grudge against Nobunaga, and declared that Mitsuhide harboured his own ambition to gain control of the realm.(pp.24-25)
The evidence that Hideyoshi produced to prove that Mitsuhide was bent on seizing the realm was “Mitsuhide’s verse”. The Koretōtaijiki described it as thus:
「光秀発句に曰く、時は今あめが下しる五月かな」”As Mitsuhide said, now it is the time, the fifth month, when I stand beneath the rain” (p.25)
This particular verse could be interpreted as saying that “Now I am intent on betrayal, and am prepared to go ahead with it with whomever will join me”. Then again, if we interpret “Mitsuhide’s verse” exactly as written, it says “Right now, as a stand beneath the rain of the fifth month, I am aware that it is indeed the fifth month”. In other words, Mitsuhide was commenting on the characteristics of the rain in the fifth month. (p.25)
However Hideyoshi, using the Koretōtaijiki, did not ascribe to this ostensible interpretation, and changed the meaning of the characters so that “時” instead referred to “土岐” (the surname of a daimyo family related to Mitsuhide, pronounced the same as 時), “あめが下” meant “天下” (or realm), and “しる” meant “統べる” (to pacify). Hence according to Hideyoshi’s reading, the verse read “I (Mitsuhide), of the Toki family, should pacify the realm in this the fifth month”, and was evidence of Mitsuhide’s conspiracy against Nobunaga.(p.25)
Yet the “Mitsuhide’s verse” quoted above is not the only one in existence. In truth, there are around 10 or so copies of the Atago Hyakuin collection of poetic verse. In one copy, kept in the vaults of the Kyoto University Library collection, the section that contains the verb “下しる” is rendered as “下なる”. That particular version’s verse reads as follows:
「時は今あめが下なる五月かな」”It is now the fifth month when the rain falls”
In other words, this verse is saying “Now it is the fifth month, when the rain of the fifth month falls”. If Mitsuhide intended the verse to be read as “beneath the rain”, then this would literally mean “I am beneath the rain”, and so would be in accordance with the Koretōtaijiki’s interpretation of the verse, which was “It is now the fifth month when I must pacify the realm”. (p.25)
So, which reading of the verse was the one that Mitsuhide intended? Why don’t we make a blank slate of the almost four hundred year reading of “下しる” and give this issue a bit of consideration? To jump to the conclusion first, it is beyond doubt that Mitsuhide intended the verse to be read as “the fifth month when the rain falls”. As for why this is the case, the fact is that the reading in the Koretōijiki, i.e., “beneath the rain of the fifth month”, is completely contradictory. (p.26)
Let us accept for a moment the reading of the verse in the Koretōtaijiki, that which says “I, of the Toki family, will pacify the realm in this the fifth month”. Well then, what month did the Honnōji Incident occur in? The Honnōji Incident took place on the second day of the sixth month; not the fifth month, the six month. If the Honnōji Incident took place in the sixth month, then it does not match the time frame included in the Koretōtaijiki. It is a minor point, but in investigating history one cannot afford to overlook any minor points. It is the same as any criminal investigation carried out in modern times. (p.26)
Even if the Atago Hyakuin had been donated to Atago shrine, given that the god of the shrine was venerated for bringing victory in battle, such a ridiculous offering would be completely out of order. The Koretōtaijiki reading should be regarded as a blatant attempt to re-interpret the words of the verse, a re-interpretation that gave way to a contradiction. (p.26)
The strange thing about this is that virtually no one knows about it.
“Now is the time, the fifth month, when I stand beneath the rain”
The above verse is widely regarded as evidence of Mitsuhide’s decision to plot against Nobunaga. The verse was composed at a “Renka” (or poetic verse) gathering known as the “Atago Hyakuin” (because it took place on Mt Atago). The location was close to Mitsuhide’s home castle at Tanba Kameyama (now part of Kyoto Prefecture), and occurred three days before the Honnōji Incident. (p.23)
Why was it that this verse in particular became so widely known? In modern times, when a major incident takes place news organisations rapidly gather up information while local information takes a little longer to reach the community. At the time of the Honnōji Incident there were no mass media organisations. It should have been impossible for the specific circumstances of an incident to be so widely known in such a short space of time. Yet the above verse, known as “Mitsuhide’s verse”, was widely acknowledged as revealing Mitsuhide’s mindset before the events at Honnōji took place. (p.24)
And where was this particular verse to be found? In a document known as the Koretōtaijiki (A Record of the Elimination of Koretō).
The “Koretōtaijiki” was composed four months after the Honnōji Incident in the 10th month of Tenshō 10 (1582). It was written by one Ōmura Yūko, a member of Hashiba Hideyoshi’s Otogishū group of retainers. It is a relatively short document, only 20 pages long, but contains all of the details of the Honnōji Incident from start to finish, thus making it a compact “after-action report”. Incidentally, the “Otogishū” were retainers who prided themselves on their talent for writing, and who often became conversation partners for their lord. They fulfilled a role not unlike that of a modern day PR firm.(p.24)
“Koretō” was a surname given to Mitsuhide by the Imperial Court, while “Taiji” refers, just as the title suggests, to Hideyoshi’s defeat and destruction of Mitsuhide following the battle of Yamazaki, and is a kind of “propaganda” tool. This document was the earliest to be distributed after the Honnōji Incident, and was the ‘official’ version of the events surrounding the incident according to Hideyoshi. The document publicly established Mitsuhide as the sole conspirator in the plot against Nobunaga, portrayed Mitsuhide as being driven by a personal grudge against Nobunaga, and declared that Mitsuhide harboured his own ambition to gain control of the realm.(pp.24-25)
The evidence that Hideyoshi produced to prove that Mitsuhide was bent on seizing the realm was “Mitsuhide’s verse”. The Koretōtaijiki described it as thus:
「光秀発句に曰く、時は今あめが下しる五月かな」”As Mitsuhide said, now it is the time, the fifth month, when I stand beneath the rain” (p.25)
This particular verse could be interpreted as saying that “Now I am intent on betrayal, and am prepared to go ahead with it with whomever will join me”. Then again, if we interpret “Mitsuhide’s verse” exactly as written, it says “Right now, as a stand beneath the rain of the fifth month, I am aware that it is indeed the fifth month”. In other words, Mitsuhide was commenting on the characteristics of the rain in the fifth month. (p.25)
However Hideyoshi, using the Koretōtaijiki, did not ascribe to this ostensible interpretation, and changed the meaning of the characters so that “時” instead referred to “土岐” (the surname of a daimyo family related to Mitsuhide, pronounced the same as 時), “あめが下” meant “天下” (or realm), and “しる” meant “統べる” (to pacify). Hence according to Hideyoshi’s reading, the verse read “I (Mitsuhide), of the Toki family, should pacify the realm in this the fifth month”, and was evidence of Mitsuhide’s conspiracy against Nobunaga.(p.25)
Yet the “Mitsuhide’s verse” quoted above is not the only one in existence. In truth, there are around 10 or so copies of the Atago Hyakuin collection of poetic verse. In one copy, kept in the vaults of the Kyoto University Library collection, the section that contains the verb “下しる” is rendered as “下なる”. That particular version’s verse reads as follows:
「時は今あめが下なる五月かな」”It is now the fifth month when the rain falls”
In other words, this verse is saying “Now it is the fifth month, when the rain of the fifth month falls”. If Mitsuhide intended the verse to be read as “beneath the rain”, then this would literally mean “I am beneath the rain”, and so would be in accordance with the Koretōtaijiki’s interpretation of the verse, which was “It is now the fifth month when I must pacify the realm”. (p.25)
So, which reading of the verse was the one that Mitsuhide intended? Why don’t we make a blank slate of the almost four hundred year reading of “下しる” and give this issue a bit of consideration? To jump to the conclusion first, it is beyond doubt that Mitsuhide intended the verse to be read as “the fifth month when the rain falls”. As for why this is the case, the fact is that the reading in the Koretōijiki, i.e., “beneath the rain of the fifth month”, is completely contradictory. (p.26)
Let us accept for a moment the reading of the verse in the Koretōtaijiki, that which says “I, of the Toki family, will pacify the realm in this the fifth month”. Well then, what month did the Honnōji Incident occur in? The Honnōji Incident took place on the second day of the sixth month; not the fifth month, the six month. If the Honnōji Incident took place in the sixth month, then it does not match the time frame included in the Koretōtaijiki. It is a minor point, but in investigating history one cannot afford to overlook any minor points. It is the same as any criminal investigation carried out in modern times. (p.26)
Even if the Atago Hyakuin had been donated to Atago shrine, given that the god of the shrine was venerated for bringing victory in battle, such a ridiculous offering would be completely out of order. The Koretōtaijiki reading should be regarded as a blatant attempt to re-interpret the words of the verse, a re-interpretation that gave way to a contradiction. (p.26)
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