ABSTRACT
Hideyoshi was apparently of the opinion that Ieyasu’s position was a strong one, for he did not venture to attack, but tried to conciliate him by proposing a marriage with his half-sister Asahihime. She was the daughter of his stepfather Chikuami, and she was not consulted as to her views, though she happened to be married already. It is not quite clear who her husband was, it is true, for there are several versions of the affair, and they refer to different men. One says he was one Saji Hyuga-no-kami, and that he committed suicide owing to the slight put upon him by the unceremonious recall of his wife. Another calls him Soeda Jimbei, commander of the fortress of Tai in Tajima, and relates that she was taken away from him because he lost his castle and that he did not complain. And since many lost what was more irreplaceable than a wife under these circumstances, he would have no reason. Again, a more pleasing version has it that Soeda, who was now the lord of Karasu-mori in Owari, waived his claim to his wife and gave her up gracefully at Hideyoshi’s request, because she was needed for greater things—the unification of the Empire, to wit. And that Hideyoshi generously offered him an income of 50,000 koku as a solace, but that he refused all reward, retired from active life, and became a recluse.
