Toyotomi and the Modern Era (2): The Limits of a Society Without Shared Concepts — The Hostage Mother and the Dissolution of Boundaries

Introduction

Past events always contain hints for interpreting the present.

In this series, we will examine the problems and pathologies we face today, starting from the historical facts of the Toyotomi era.

In the first installment, I discussed the structure in which a community's shared concepts are exploited by outsiders.

In this second installment, I will consider the flip side: the structure in which a community that has lost its shared concepts collapses.

A man who belongs to no world

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was born a peasant, rose to prominence as a samurai, and ultimately became the ruler of the nation as Kampaku.

However, perhaps he never fully belonged to any of those groups.

This is because he always seemed to view the rules of the community from the outside, utilizing them at will.

This way of being is exactly that of a trickster.

Such an aspect is also evident in the incident where he offered his own mother as a hostage.

The political technique of the hostage mother

After Nobunaga's death, Hideyoshi rapidly expanded his power, inviting strong opposition from those around him.

In 1584 (Tensho 12), Nobukatsu Oda and Ieyasu Tokugawa formed a coalition to encircle Hideyoshi.

This was the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, the watershed moment for the unification of the realm.

Although Ieyasu won on the battlefield, Hideyoshi used political maneuvering to secure a separate peace with Nobukatsu.

Ieyasu lost his justification for fighting.

As the standoff continued, Hideyoshi was appointed Imperial Regent (Kanpaku) in 1585 (Tensho 13).

Shielded by an unshakeable cause, he pressured Ieyasu to come to the capital and pledge allegiance, but Ieyasu did not comply.

This was because there was a possibility he would be killed if he went.

To lower his guard, Hideyoshi first sent his younger sister, Asahi, to be married to him.

Simply because she was a relative of a suitable age, she was forcibly torn away from her husband, despite being married, and used as a hostage.

Even then, Ieyasu did not move.

Then, this time, under the pretext of 'visiting Asahi to check on her health,' he sent his elderly, ailing mother, Omandokoro, to Ieyasu.

Of course, this was also a hostage situation.

Even the formidable Ieyasu had no choice but to rise to the occasion, and he finally submitted to Hideyoshi's command.

The Freedom of Crossing Borders and Its Limits

In fact, this hostage situation is overwhelmingly unfair.

Unless Hideyoshi kills Ieyasu, there is almost no possibility that the hostages will be harmed.

The risk is low, but the return is high.

On the other hand, if Ieyasu were to lay a hand on them, he would immediately lose his honor and political legitimacy, and become isolated.

The risk is high, and the return is nonexistent.

Such hostages should have originally been a 'forbidden move'.

Hostages are not just pawns, but symbols of mutual trust.

This is because if one were to kill them without a just cause, they would completely lose their standing in samurai society.

For a community, rules are sacred, and therefore taboos exist.

It was precisely because Hideyoshi viewed them as mere systems that he was able to use the taboo as a 'backdoor'.

Ieyasu naturally followed the rules, and as a result, Hideyoshi's wishes were achieved.

However, the reason this 'clever scheme' worked was not because the scheme itself was superior.

I will touch upon that at the end.

Ieyasu's philosophy of 'sustainability'

Hideyoshi focused on 'continuing to win the political game right in front of him,' building a system that relied on individual talent and charisma.

However, the moment he was no longer present, that system rapidly lost its stability.

In contrast, what Ieyasu aimed for was the 'long-term maintenance of order.'

He built a system (see Note 1) that excluded irregularities, ensuring the organization would function regardless of who held power.

At the foundation of this was the shared samurai concept of the 'Ie' (house/family line).

The 'Ie' is not something that ends in one generation; it is something to be passed down to descendants.

With that framework and a group that shares those values, the 'Ie' can survive even if the individual head of the family fails.

Thus, the Toyotomi regime collapsed 15 years after Hideyoshi's death, while the Tokugawa regime lasted for 251 years after Ieyasu's death.

The Modern Era: A Society Without Boundaries

By the way, what is a shared concept?

It is sometimes viewed as an old-fashioned rule, but that is not the case.

As long as people have physical bodies and others exist, unavoidable realities will continue to be created.

The accumulation of countless people who have struggled with such absurdities is what constitutes a shared concept.

It includes ethics and philosophies that have been refined through the trial and error of many generations.

They are the criteria for living in the 'here and now,' and are, so to speak, the very pillars of a person.

However, inheritance comes at a high cost.

It requires time, and the person passing it on is also expected to have experience and perspective.

Yet, modern society, in the name of rationalization and efficiency, continues to discard things with high maintenance costs.

Shared concepts are likely at the top of that list.

Meanwhile, globalization is thinning boundaries, and digitalization continues to proliferate information at a rate that exceeds human processing speed.

When boundaries become blurred, one no longer knows who they are.

When there is too much information, one no longer knows what criteria to use for judgment.

That is precisely why people have a greater need for the ethics and philosophy that support them.

However, at the same time, these things are being lost.

Consequently, there will be a stronger tendency to seek out quicker, simpler, and more easily understood places to belong. (*Note 2)

But there is no accumulation built over a long period of time there.

At best, it is something that merely masks anxiety temporarily.

And perhaps, people will split into two paths.

One is the path of seeking more instant places of belonging.

The other is the path of drawing stronger boundaries and creating a relative sense of support by excluding others.

At the end of neither path should there be anything one can truly belong to.

This is because there is no accumulation sufficient to cultivate enough pillars of support.

What is most terrifying is that this state will be inherited by the next generation.

People who cannot possess sufficient pillars cannot pass on sufficient pillars.

With each passing generation, it diminishes.

Conclusion

Finally, let us check the answer to the "hack" by Hideyoshi.

The real reason it succeeded was because everyone except him followed the rules.

He was certainly a genius.

However, whether this can be called strategy is another matter entirely.

In the modern era, rules are rapidly being lost.

In other words, the number of people who cannot read each other's 'basis for thinking and acting' will continue to increase.

Eventually, when the world becomes full of Hideyoshis—it shouldn't be too hard to imagine what will happen.

Note:

*1 Such as the 'Buke Shohatto' (Laws for the Military Houses).

*2 If the population of that community is taken as small, it refers to 'fandoms' or 'circles,' and if taken as large, it refers to nations, ethnicities, ideologies, etc.
The latter inherently contains accumulations built over a long period of time, but what is sought here is its external form, and there is no guarantee that the inner substance will be inherited.

Next time:

Reference articles:I write character biographies with a similar stance. If you like this kind of thing, please check them out!

- Hideyoshi Edition: Why did the man who became the ruler of the realm self-destruct in his later years?

- Chacha Edition: Why did the joyous event of the birth of an heir lead the Toyotomi family to hell?

- Nene Edition: What was the woman called a wise wife actually continuing to face?