Chapter Five - Warlords of Japan / 第五章 - 日本的军阀

Imagine想象/ɪˈmædʒɪn/ that you could do what no English英国的/ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/ or French法国的/frentʃ/ adventurer冒险家/ədˈventʃərər/ ever did: find that imaginary Northwest西北的/ˌnɔːrθˈwest/ Passage通道/ˈpæsɪdʒ/! You steer驾驶/stɪr/ your ship船/ʃɪp/ through North America, past mountains山脉/ˈmaʊntənz/ and meadows草地/ˈmedoʊz/ and deep pine松树/paɪn/ forests森林/ˈfɔːrəsts/—and come right out the other side, into the Pacific太平洋/pəˈsɪfɪk/ Ocean海洋/ˈoʊʃən/.

Your ship catches a breeze微风/briːz/ and sails航行/seɪlz/ away from the western coast海岸/koʊst/ of North America, leaving it far behind. After weeks at sea海上/siː/, you finally see land陆地/lænd/: a long chain链条/tʃeɪn/ of islands岛屿/ˈaɪləndz/, rising out of the ocean in front of you. The morning sun太阳/sʌn/, coming up behind your back, throws golden金色的/ˈɡoʊldən/ light on the volcanic火山的/vɑːlˈkænɪk/ peaks山峰/piːks/ and white sand beaches海滩/ˈbiːtʃəz/ of these islands. You've reached Japan日本/dʒəˈpæn/, the "Land of the Rising Sun."

During the years that sea captains船长/ˈkæptənz/ searched for the Northwest Passage, Japan was at war战争/wɔːr/ with itself. The emperor皇帝/ˈempərər/ had retreated撤退/rɪˈtriːtəd/ to his palace宫殿/ˈpæləs/, powerless无权力的/ˈpaʊərləs/. Warlike noblemen贵族/ˈnoʊbəlmən/ called daimyo大名/ˈdaɪmjoʊ/ ruled over different sections of Japan, each fighting against his neighbor邻居/ˈneɪbər/ for more power权力/ˈpaʊər/. Roving bands of Japanese knights骑士/naɪts/, named samurai武士/ˈsæmʊraɪ/, wandered over the countryside, fighting for whatever daimyo could offer the most money金钱/ˈmʌni/ or land.

But then a great leader领袖/ˈliːdər/ named Toyotomi丰臣/toʊjoʊˈtoʊmi/ Hideyoshi秀吉/hiːdeˈjoʊʃi/ helped to end Japan's long civil内部的/ˈsɪvəl/ war. Hideyoshi wasn't a prince王子/prɪns/ or a rich nobleman. He was a peddler小商贩/ˈpedlər/ who made his living生计/ˈlɪvɪŋ/ walking from place to place, selling goods商品/ɡʊdz/. He had no money, no important family家族/ˈfæməli/, and no good looks. As a matter of fact, his wife's nickname绰号/ˈnɪkneɪm/ for him was "The Bald Rat"!

But Hideyoshi didn't intend打算/ɪnˈtend/ to remain a peddler for the rest of his life. Instead, he joined加入/dʒɔɪnd/ the army军队/ˈɑːrmi/ of a Japanese nobleman named Oda织田/ˈoʊdə/ Nobunaga信长/noʊbuˈnɑːɡə/. Nobunaga wanted to unify统一/ˈjuːnəfaɪ/ all the warring parts of Japan, under his rule. He convinced说服/kənˈvɪnst/ strong samurai to join his army. He attacked攻击/əˈtækt/ and killed anyone who opposed反对/əˈpoʊzd/ him! And Hideyoshi served faithfully忠实地/ˈfeɪθfəli/ in battle after battle.

Nobunaga's attention注意/əˈtenʃən/ was attracted by this energetic精力充沛的/ˌenərˈdʒetɪk/, loyal忠诚的/ˈlɔɪəl/ young man. Soon he gave Hideyoshi the special position of his Sandal-Bearer草鞋承担者/ˈsændəl ˈberər/. Hideyoshi carried out his tasks任务/tæsks/ well and was promoted提升/prəˈmoʊtəd/ time after time. Eventually, Hideyoshi became Nobunaga's favorite general将军/ˈdʒenərəl/, famous for his brilliant杰出的/ˈbrɪljənt/ strategies策略/ˈstrætədʒiz/ in battle.

Once, Hideyoshi was given the task of capturing攻占/ˈkæptʃərɪŋ/ a castle城堡/ˈkæsəl/ where an enemy敌人/ˈenəmi/ of Nobunaga was hiding. The castle seemed invincible不可战胜的/ɪnˈvɪnsəbəl/—until Hideyoshi noticed that it sat in the middle of a valley山谷/ˈvæli/ with a river河流/ˈrɪvər/ on the far side. Hideyoshi ordered his men to dam筑坝/dæm/ the river. The river spilled over its banks河岸/bæŋks/, ran into the valley, and flooded淹没/ˈflʌdəd/ it! Stranded被困/ˈstrændəd/ in the middle of this brand-new lake湖泊/leɪk/, the castle's owner surrendered投降/səˈrendərd/.

Nobunaga spread his rule over more than half of Japan. But before he could continue his conquests征服/ˈkɑːŋkwəsts/, he was killed in battle. Immediately, four different samurai declared宣布/dɪˈklerd/ that they would help Nobunaga's baby grandson孙子/ˈɡrændsʌn/, the heir继承人/er/ to his power, rule over Japan. The truth was that each samurai wanted the baby's title头衔/ˈtaɪtəl/ for himself!

Hideyoshi was far away from the capital首都/ˈkæpɪtəl/ city of Japan. But as soon as he heard of Nobunaga's death, he gathered over two hundred thousand soldiers士兵/ˈsoʊldʒərz/ and marched toward the palace. The ambitious有野心的/æmˈbɪʃəs/ samurai came out to meet him, but Hideyoshi and his army crushed粉碎/krʌʃt/ their forces. Hideyoshi himself defeated the strongest of the samurai, cut off his head, and attended Nobunaga's funeral葬礼/ˈfjuːnərəl/, setting the head of the rebellious samurai down on Nobunaga's grave坟墓/ɡreɪv/.

Hideyoshi was even more powerful than Nobunaga. But his method方法/ˈmeθəd/ of ruling was different. Nobunaga's people had said, "Our leader's motto座右铭/ˈmɑːtoʊ/ is, 'If the cuckoo杜鹃鸟/ˈkʊkuː/ doesn't sing, I'll kill him!'" But of Hideyoshi they said, "His motto is, 'If the cuckoo doesn't sing, I'll make him!'" Nobunaga had killed his enemies, but Hideyoshi preferred更喜欢/prɪˈfɜːrd/ to force his enemies to take oaths誓言/oʊθs/ of loyalty忠诚/ˈlɔɪəlti/ to him. He didn't want armed revolt反叛/rɪˈvoʊlt/ to break out, so he ordered that every Japanese man who refused to swear loyalty to him must give up his sword剑/sɔːrd/. He sent his soldiers on a sword hunt throughout Japan, taking weapons武器/ˈwepənz/ away from anyone who might possibly rebel against his rule.

Once Hideyoshi had established建立/ɪˈstæblɪʃt/ his rule in Japan, he planned to expand扩张/ɪkˈspænd/ his boundaries边界/ˈbaʊndəriz/. He wanted to make Japan the biggest empire帝国/ˈempaɪər/ in the world—an empire that stretched far beyond the Japanese islands. So he gathered his army together and told them, "Look across the water. The land you see there will be ours!" The land across the water was China中国/ˈtʃaɪnə/—a country with sixty-five million people in it. Could Japan, so much smaller, really defeat this massive巨大的/ˈmæsɪv/ and powerful country?

Hideyoshi was confident自信的/ˈkɑːnfɪdənt/. He planned to ferry运送/ˈferi/ his soldiers across the water to the ports港口/pɔːrts/ of Korea朝鲜/kəˈriə/, land there, and then march through Korea into China. When his soldiers were ready to sail, he sent a message信息/ˈmesɪdʒ/ to Korea: "Make way. We are coming!" Hideyoshi thought he was the most powerful man in the world and that the Koreans would immediately bow to his will. But the Koreans disagreed不同意/ˌdɪsəˈɡriːd/. They ignored忽视/ɪɡˈnɔːrd/ Hideyoshi's demands要求/dɪˈmændz/! So Hideyoshi turned his landing party into an attack攻击/əˈtæk/ force. He sailed across the water, landed his army on Korea's southern shores海岸/ʃɔːrz/, and ordered them to move toward China.

The Japanese soldiers rampaged横冲直撞/ˈræmpeɪdʒd/ forward, killing thousands of Koreans. But Chinese troops军队/truːps/ marched down into Korea to help drive back this Japanese threat威胁/θret/. Against the combined Chinese and Korean forces, Hideyoshi's army began to falter动摇/ˈfɔːltər/. And Hideyoshi soon found that the Korean navy海军/ˈneɪvi/ was much stronger than his own. Whenever he sent supplies补给/səˈplaɪz/ across to his army, the Koreans attacked his ships with their famous "tortoise boats." These boats were covered with iron plates板/pleɪts/, so that they looked like turtle shells. Rather than firing guns, they rammed the Japanese supply ships with sharp iron spikes尖刺/spaɪks/!

Outnumbered数量劣势/ˌaʊtˈnʌmbərd/, Hideyoshi announced that he would make peace和平/piːs/ on one condition: the daughter of the Chinese emperor must come to Japan and marry结婚/ˈmæri/ the Japanese emperor. If a Chinese princess公主/ˌprɪnˈses/ married the Japanese emperor, their sons could claim声称/kleɪm/ the right to the Chinese throne王位/θroʊn/. But the Chinese simply laughed笑/læft/ at this sneaky狡猾的/ˈsniːki/ attempt to make China part of Japan. In response, they told Hideyoshi, "Your emperor only holds his throne because we我们/wi/ allow him to. He should ask Chinese permission许可/pərˈmɪʃən/ to rule in Japan!"

Hideyoshi was infuriated愤怒/ɪnˈfjʊrieɪtəd/. He gathered his forces together for yet another assault攻击/əˈsɔːlt/ on Korea. But the soldiers had barely set foot on Korean land when Hideyoshi became ill生病/ɪl/. Soon, he was too sick to direct指挥/dəˈrekt/ the attack. The soldiers retreated撤退/rɪˈtriːtəd/, and Hideyoshi died not long afterward. He had gained power over Japan—but he had failed to conquer征服/ˈkɑːŋkər/ China.

Hideyoshi was dead. Now it was time for Tokugawa德川/toʊkuˈɡɑːwə/ Ieyasu家康/iːeˈjɑːsu/ to step into the spotlight聚光灯/ˈspɑːtlaɪt/. Like Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu had been Nobunaga's second-in-command. When Nobunaga died and Hideyoshi seized power, Ieyasu made the best of it. He swore to be loyal to Hideyoshi. As a matter of fact, Hideyoshi trusted信任/ˈtrʌstəd/ Ieyasu so much that he made him one of five guardians监护人/ˈɡɑːrdiənz/ who would watch over his young son Hideyori.

But while Hideyoshi ruled, Ieyasu waited等待/ˈweɪtəd/. He spent years in the east of Japan, in an area called the Kanto关东/ˈkæntoʊ/ plain, ruling as Hideyoshi's helper—and building loyalty to himself. He became richer更富有/ˈrɪtʃər/ and richer; he used his money to build an army. And then Hideyoshi died. Hideyoshi left his power to his five-year-old son Hideyori. He appointed Hideyori's five guardians, including Ieyasu, to rule as regents摄政/ˈriːdʒənts/ on his son's behalf. But the five guardians didn't want to help Hideyori rule. They began to fight among themselves, each one hoping to become Japan's ruler.

Ieyasu was determined决心/dɪˈtɜːrmɪnd/ to win the fight. Eventually, the five guardians and the daimyo (noblemen) who fought for them divided into two separate armies—the Western西方/ˈwestərn/ Army, which pledged loyalty to the five-year-old Hideyori, and the Eastern东方/ˈiːstərn/ Army, which followed Ieyasu. But Ieyasu sent secret秘密/ˈsiːkrət/ messages to the daimyo in the Western Army, promising them land and money if they would pretend假装/prɪˈtend/ loyalty to Hideyori while actually fighting for Ieyasu. His plan worked! Only two years after Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu met the Western Army in an enormous battle, called the Battle战役/ˈbætəl/ of Sekigahara关原/ˌsekiˈɡɑːhɑːrə/. His Eastern Army advanced forward. Suddenly, the daimyo of the Western Army refused to fight against Ieyasu's Eastern Army. Some of these treacherous背叛的/ˈtretʃərəs/ daimyo even turned and attacked their own samurai! When the battle was over, Ieyasu had triumphed胜利/ˈtraɪʌmft/.

Three years later, Ieyasu took the title of shogun将军/ˈʃoʊɡən/, or military ruler of Japan. His patience耐心/ˈpeɪʃəns/ had paid off! Soon his people were saying of him, "Ieyasu's motto is, 'If the cuckoo doesn't sing, I'll wait until he does!'" Ieyasu moved the capital of Japan to the city of Edo江户/ˈedoʊ/, where a strong castle fortress要塞/ˈfɔːrtrəs/ already stood. He made this castle stronger, so that he could defend himself against any uprising起义/ˈʌpraɪzɪŋ/. Today, we call the city of Edo "Tokyo."

Now Ieyasu had power and his own capital city. But he had a greater goal: to establish建立/ɪˈstæblɪʃ/ his family as the rightful shoguns of Japan. He hoped that his sons and grandsons and great-grandsons would inherit继承/ɪnˈherɪt/ the title of shogun without having to fight for it. His dream of a Tokugawa Shogunate幕府/ˈʃoʊɡəneɪt/ still had one flaw缺陷/flɔː/ in it, though: Hideyoshi's son and heir was still alive.

After Ieyasu's victory胜利/ˈvɪktəri/ at Sekigahara, Hideyori and the daimyo still loyal to him fled to a fortress in another Japanese city called Osaka大阪/oʊˈsɑːkə/. For fifteen years, Hideyori stayed in this castle. He grew up. He got married and had a son! All the time he remained in Osaka, afraid of the man his father had trusted. Ieyasu wasn't yet ready to make a final attack on Hideyori. Instead, Ieyasu continued to build his own family's power. He gave the title shogun to his son, and together they planned ways of keeping the daimyo loyal. They ordered that every daimyo must destroy摧毁/dɪˈstrɔɪ/ each castle in his territory领地/ˈterətɔːri/ except for the one where he actually lived. That way, no daimyo could build up a secret army in a hidden fortress. Ieyasu and his son forced the daimyo to swear oaths of loyalty to the Tokugawa family. And they made every daimyo bring his family to live in Edo, the Tokugawa capital. Any daimyo who might consider rebellion叛乱/rɪˈbeljən/ would remember that his wife and children were living in the shogun's city—and could be held as hostages人质/ˈhɑːstɪdʒəz/!

Ieyasu didn't forget the samurai either. Japan was filled with samurai warriors—several hundred thousand—who had fought for their daimyo during Japan's civil wars. All these armed and skilful fighters could be a threat威胁/θret/ to Tokugawa rule! So Ieyasu and his son gave the samurai new jobs. They were appointed to be tax collectors收集者/kəˈlektərz/, bookkeepers记账员/ˈbʊkˌkiːpərz/, and policemen警察/pəˈliːsmən/. Ieyasu ordered the samurai to spend their time studying literature文学/ˈlɪtərətʃər/, art, music, and poetry诗歌/ˈpoʊətri/, not just the art of war. And he encouraged them to wrestle摔跤/ˈresəl/, rather than to fight with swords. Japanese warriors became famous for their skills in poetry, music, and wrestling. Today, we call this style of wrestling sumo相扑/ˈsuːmoʊ/ wrestling.

But Ieyasu had one thorn left in his side. Hideyori still lived. In 1614, fourteen years after the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu finally collected his forces and besieged围攻/bɪˈsiːdʒd/ Hideyori's castle in Osaka. The samurai in both armies fought for months. The siege围攻/siːdʒ/ lasted for almost a year. Slowly, Hideyori began to lose hope. He began to plan for defeat. Rather than surrender, he would kill himself; for a Japanese warrior, suicide自杀/ˈsuːɪsaɪd/ was more honorable光荣的/ˈɑːnərəbəl/ than capture被俘/ˈkæptʃər/ by an enemy.

Finally, in June of 1615, Ieyasu's armies broke into the castle. When Hideyori saw his enemy's soldiers climbing over his walls, he killed himself, as he had planned. Perhaps he hoped that Ieyasu would spare饶恕/sper/ his family. But Ieyasu had no mercy仁慈/ˈmɜːrsi/. When he entered the castle, he ordered Hideyori's son and heir put to death. The family of Hideyoshi was gone at last; Ieyasu's family, the Tokugawa Shogunate幕府/ˈʃoʊɡəneɪt/, was firmly in charge of Japan.