Nobunaga's Lament

"I am Oda Nobunaga. Who the hell are you?
"Where were you ever king of a country?
"When did you advance the age of your times?
"A ruler by virtue, a ruler by skill.
"No force from without could defeat me.
"So I was defeated from within.
"The tortured power of living by the sword.
"Had I surrendered, I would have won."
-Haiku Monk

In a previous posting, I recounted my sojourn to Japan to retrace the steps of Oda Nobunaga and the remnants of my beloved Azuchi castle. But now from across the ages, Nobunaga speaks for himself.

"OOOOODDDDAAAAAAA!

"Bakana! I was the most powerful man alive, the leader of a new age. The air was alive with electricity, all my decisions destined to succeed. All eyes looked to me to lead the way. They knew as I did I was the most capable man in the land! There were those I respected, even a few I trusted, but my understanding of what needed to be done surpassed all others. A divine wind guided my hand. But I put faith in my vanity and not the wind and so the wind cut me down like a reed. Yet when I let down my self, I let down my people."

A home for my pride;
Your darkened hearts followed me;
Nobunaga's fire.
"Of the Three Great Unifiers of Japan, I was the first, followed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hideyoshi was greatness! A true joy to be around. It has been said of me I was hot when you expected me to be cold and cold when you expected me hot. Hideyoshi transcended my moods, always brightening my day. He too understood the times. But he was a builder not a ruler, with no direction left once the country stood united.

"Ieyasu never fooled me. He was always a calculating sort, searching for any chink in your armor. Loved him as an ally, though. No fool, he. I'm sure he thought me rash and perhaps was even a bit mystified by me. I knew if he ever seized power, it would never slip from his hands. But never could he have started the great drive for unification as I had. He would have waited until the odds were better - and that day would never come."

Warlord's sword drips blood;
His private hell made public;
NO one says a word.
"I lost my head. I was too mercurial to approach about my behavior and I doubt I would have listened anyway. The power was choking me. No one understood. If only I had let go. My successors lead my people and our glorious land back into fuedalism, understanding none of my reforms. In desperation to hold power, Hideyoshi and Tokugawa shackled the people. Bakas! It was the freedom to create that started the new thinking for unification. In the end, they only stifled it, taking us down the road to atomic abomination upon our most precious land.

"I failed you Land of the Rising Sun, and can no longer look my countrymen in the eye. Perhaps no matter how great the deeds a man does, his first responsiblity is always to love."