Except in the country ruled by William the Silent, all
magistrates meddled with men's consciences.[12]
In 1597, Hideyoshi died, and the missionaries took heart again. The
Christian soldiers returning by thousands from Korea, declared
themselves in favor of Hideyori, son of the dead Taik[=o]. Encouraged by
those in power, and by the rising star Iyeyas[)u] (1542-1616), the
fathers renewed their work and the number of converts increased.
Though peace reigned, the political situation was one of the greatest
uncertainty, and with two hundred thousand soldiers gathered around
Ki[=o]to, under scores of ambitious leaders, it was hard to keep the
sword in the sheath. Soon the line of cleavage found Iyeyas[)u] and his
northern captains on one side, and most of the Christian leaders and
southern daimi[=o]s on the other. In October, 1600, with seventy-five
thousand men, the future unifier of Japan stood on the ever-memorable
field of Sekigahara. The opposing army, led largely by Christian
commanders, left their fortress to meet the one whom they considered a
usurper, in the open field. In the battle which ensued, probably the
most decisive ever fought on the soil of Japan, ten thousand men lost
their lives. The leading Christian generals, beaten, but refusing out of
principle because they were Christians, to take their own lives by
_hara-kiri_, knelt willingly at the common blood-pit and had their heads
stricken off by the executioner.
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