Matsuda breathed a sigh of relief when Lord Takarada and his retinue arrived at Edo Castle. The ride had taken several days but Matsuda’s body ached everywhere, as if it had been weeks. He hoped Takarada would let them rest so he could find a bath somewhere and perhaps a massage, but the daimyo found the shogun in a state of agitation. Tokugawa suspected his chamberlain of plotting with some of the other lords to remove him from the throne.
As with all episodes with the shogun, he believed every rumor and gossip he heard, regardless if the source was reliable. Then he reacted in the most dramatic and loudest manner so his couriers cringed and rolled their eyes behind his back, but coddled and sucked up to him.
“It was one of the shogun’s concubines,” another daimyo told Takarada. “Lord H
