Chapter 2: Internal Affairs

Ōigawa Castle – Isshiki Masataka

1560. Summer.

After the defeat at Okehazama, the atmosphere over at the Imagawa clan turned for the worst. But it didn’t mean we at the Isshiki clan were any better either.

When Father was alive, I always followed him and did various things such as maintaining the castle town and interacting with the retainers. But now that he was gone, I realized that the only reason why I managed to do those things was because Father was there. Perhaps, this was what Ujizane-sama felt too.

Anyway, there were some things that proceeded differently from what happened in history. Ii Naomori, the lord of Iinoya Castle, wasn’t killed in the battle. By the way, he was the father of Ii Naotora who appeared as the main character in a historical drama¹He referred to a drama titled Naotora: The Lady Warlord..

Just like how the Isshiki clan didn’t exist in the historical record, it seemed like some things wouldn’t proceed according to history.

“Masataka, Mother will stay by your side no matter what. Do what you must to make our clan flourish again. And to support the Imagawa clan.”

“Understood. For now, I wish to make those who doubt me believe in me and accept me.”

“Yes, that’s what I want to see. Now, please excuse me, I will have to rest.”

Mother left the room and walked toward her own while sighing. Seeing how she looked sicker by the day ever since the day Father died, it seemed like I still wasn’t reliable enough in her eyes. Then again, considering my age, it was normal.

Regardless, mulling over Father forever wouldn’t get me anywhere.

I needed to get back to work.

“Is Masatomo here?”

“I’ll go get him.”

The page’s voice echoed from outside the room, followed by his subdued footsteps as he ran down the corridor.

Before Masatomo arrived, let me explain a few things. In the Isshiki clan, there were people who were dubbed as “Isshiki Four Retainers”. As the name suggested, the Four Retainers were the four different clans who had been serving the Isshiki clan for a long time.

The person I called just now was Isshiki Masatomo. He was the person in charge of the internal affairs of the territory, as well as someone whom Father would often consult when he had to deal with internal affairs. Although he bore the name Isshiki, he was actually from a branch clan with decades-long history.

Next, there was Hikami Tokimune. He was someone who had been assisting Father for years—effectively his second-in-command. Despite his massive influence within the clan, Father had forbidden him to join the Battle of Okehazama due to his age. When he found out that Father had died, he expressed his deep grievances.

Third, Ono Michifusa. He recently inherited his position as the head of the Ono clan after the death of his father. His father had fallen in the Battle of Okehazama, which he also fought in. He protected his father’s body with all his strength and managed to bring his body back to the castle.

And last, Akiue Sasuke. Like Michifusa, he participated in the Battle of Okehazama. His father, Akiue Yasuke, had also fallen in the battle, and he too, managed to protect his father’s body from the Oda clan’s army.

The Battle of Okehazama left deep scars on even those loyal retainers.

It would be great if I could do something about it, but even that would depend on if I could do well from now on.

“As you’ve requested, young master, I have arrived.”

“Masatomo, I am not a young master anymore.”

“Please excuse my mistake, my lord.”

After I pointed that out, Masatomo bowed his head apologetically. Since my succession was so sudden and he’d been referring to me in that way for the longest time, he was probably not used to it.

“Since you’re in charge of internal affairs, Masatomo, I have something important to discuss with you. Very important, if I may say.”

“If it’s something I can lend my help to, pray tell. What is it that you need from me, my lord?”

As soon as he heard the word ‘important’, he immediately put on a solemn face, ready to take on the business. Currently, he was 29 years old, so he was relatively closer to my age—it was 19 by the way—among the other retainers. The others were generally older.

“First, give instructions to the merchants under our clan’s management to limit their trade to Kantō for a while. Sending our ships to Kyōto is dangerous, while going to the west, where the Oda clan is, is even more so.”

“Understood. Your will shall be done.”

“Then, send a secret message to Harima²It’s a province a distance away from Totomi, to its south west. This province is the birth place of THE Miyamoto Musashi.. Buy the iron that’s being mined there.”

“Harima? If I may ask, why should we reach such a faraway place?”

“Just think of it as an investment for the future. I’ve heard that they’re going to present their iron to Kyōto.”

“Which means their iron is of high quality. I’ll immediately do as you say, my lord.”

Masatomo was about to stand up as he said that, but we weren’t done yet.

This was something that I’ve heard of back in my previous life, when I was still in grade school. When it came to Suruga Bay, the first thing that came to mind would be fishing. Why? Because the bay had abundant marine resources, abundant enough that the market there was stable even in turbulent times.

“Next, develop our fishing port more than it currently is right now. Being the best in Tōkai won’t be enough; make it the best in Hinomoto³Hinomoto-no-kuni or in English, the Land of Rising Sun. It’s what Japan was called during this time.. If you run out of funds, you’re free to take what’s in our treasury. Also, around where our Ōigawa meets the sea, I wish to build a port town around there. Make preparations for that.”

“A port town? Why the sudden interest in fishing? Are the donations from the merchants not enough to fill our treasury, my lord?”

“Father told me that the bay has an abundance of marine resources, so I want to make use of that. Building a port town will attract people, including merchants who’ll be coming and going. I wish to enrich our territory with those two.”

Of course, Father never said that. Masatomo tilted his head in confusion.

“That’s all. The clan has to grow stronger quickly, or else we will not be able to survive.”

“I see… Then, my lord, may I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“My lord… Are you… planning to abandon the Imagawa?”

His eyes looked so serious that I couldn’t just pass it off as a joke. I couldn’t even laugh and give him a half-hearted answer like, ‘Dude, what are you even saying? Are you high?’.

“Mother is the daughter of the late lord Ujichika. In other words, I, too, have the Imagawa blood running in my veins. There is no way I would abandon the Imagawa clan.”

“If that’s the case, please allow me to express my relief. I’ve heard news that Matsudaira had occupied the Okazaki Castle and showed signs of hostility toward Imagawa, so I was anxious to confirm. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“There is no need for you to worry. Still, that news was indeed a serious matter. I reckon that the other retainers are also anxious. Alright, I will bring it up in the next council meeting. We, the Isshiki clan, will continue our support toward the Imagawa clan and Ujizane-sama.”

“Understood. Then, if I may.”

After that, I finally let Masatomo leave the room. Anyway, that was quite the news.

Matsudaira Motoyasu, the youth that would later become Tokugawa Ieyasu⁴The first emperor of Japan., had led his clan to leave the Imagawa’s side after the Battle of Okehazama and declared independence. In history, he approached Oda and formed the Oda-Tokugawa Alliance afterward. Soon after, the Imagawa lost Mikawa⁵Mikawa is Matsudaira’s territory, and its right next to Tōtōmi. and Tōtōmi, to him, and then, he’d bare his fangs at Suruga⁶Suruga is where the Imagawa is at, it’s also right next to Tōtōmi. Mikawa is to Tōtōmi’s west, Suruga is to its east..

At some point, the Takeda⁷Like Imagawa, Takeda is one of the strongest clan in Japan at this time. They are also allied with Imagawa at this time in the story, due to Yoshimoto marrying the sister of Takeda’s clan head, Takeda Shingen (remember this name if you aren’t familiar with him). clan also joined in and the Imagawa had to ask for the Hōjō⁸Another big clan that can match Imagawa and Takeda. The three were rivals until Imagawa Yoshimoto married Takeda Shingen’s sister, and married his son to Hōjō Ujiyasu, Hōjō’s clan head’s daughter, creating a three-way alliance between the three. Those two families will be important later. clan’s help, but since some events already didn’t follow what was recorded in history, no one could be so sure about all this and I had to always keep my guards up.

In fact, even some of the most powerful of the Imagawa retainers had started to abandon them. It made me wonder. Would my lord, Imagawa Ujizane, follow the same path he had taken in history, or…?