ABSTRACT
Hideyori issued an appeal for assistance to all the daimyos, but not one of them responded. He had to rely on his ninety thousand freelances to defend the castle, whereas from all over the country, east and west and north and central Japan, the lords of provinces and castles sent their contingents to join the Tokugawa forces, which are usually computed at ninety-four thousand men. Ieyasu led one army from Sumpu and Hidetada the other from Edo, and before long Osaka was completely surrounded on all sides. However, no very great efforts were made to take the fortress by storm, and the amount of fighting in this campaign was not great. In view of the strength of the castle this was not surprising.
