Note: Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See http://www. Archive. Org/details/historyofjapanes00briniala A HISTORY OF THE JAPANESE PEOPLE From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era by CAPT. F. BRINKLEY, R. A. Editor of the "Japan Mail" With the Collaboration of BARON KIKUCHI Former President of the Imperial University at Kyoto With 150 Illustrations Engraved on Wood by Japanese Artists;Half-Tone Plates, and Maps DEDICATED BY GRACIOUS PERMISSION TO HIS MAJESTY MEIJI TENNO, THE LATEEMPEROR OF JAPAN FOREWORD It is trite to remark that if you wish to know really any people, itis necessary to have a thorough knowledge of their history, includingtheir mythology, legends and folk-lore: customs, habits and traits ofcharacter, which to a superficial observer of a different nationalityor race may seem odd and strange, sometimes even utterly subversiveof ordinary ideas of morality, but which can be explained and willappear quite reasonable when they are traced back to their origin. The sudden rise of the Japanese nation from an insignificant positionto a foremost rank in the comity of nations has startled the world. Except in the case of very few who had studied us intimately, we werea people but little raised above barbarism trying to imitate Westerncivilisation without any capacity for really assimilating or adaptingit. At first, it was supposed that we had somehow undergone a suddentransformation, but it was gradually perceived that such could not beand was not the case; and a crop of books on Japan and the Japanese, deep and superficial, serious and fantastic, interesting andotherwise, has been put forth for the benefit of those who werecurious to know the reason of this strange phenomenon. But among somany books, there has not yet been, so far as I know, a history ofJapan, although a study of its history was most essential for theproper understanding of many of the problems relating to the Japanesepeople, such as the relation of the Imperial dynasty to the people, the family system, the position of Buddhism, the influence of theChinese philosophy, etc. A history of Japan of moderate size hasindeed long been a desideratum; that it was not forthcoming was nodoubt due to the want of a proper person to undertake such a work. Now just the right man has been found in the author of the presentwork, who, an Englishman by birth, is almost Japanese in hisunderstanding of, and sympathy with, the Japanese people. It wouldindeed be difficult to find any one better fitted for the task--by nomeans an easy one--of presenting the general features of Japanesehistory to Western readers, in a compact and intelligible form, andat the same time in general harmony with the Japanese feeling. TheWestern public and Japan are alike to be congratulated on theproduction of the present work. I may say this without any fear ofreproach for self-praise, for although my name is mentioned in thetitle-page, my share is very slight, consisting merely in generaladvice and in a few suggestions on some special points. DAIROKU KIKUCHI. KYOTO, 1912. AUTHOR'S PREFACE During the past three decades Japanese students have devoted muchintelligent labour to collecting and collating the somewhatdisjointed fragments of their country's history. The task would havebeen practically impossible for foreign historiographers alone, butnow that the materials have been brought to light there is noinsuperable difficulty in making them available for purposes of jointinterpretation. That is all I have attempted to do in these pages, and I beg to solicit pardon for any defect they may be found tocontain. F. BRINKLEY. TOKYO, 1912. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. The Historiographer's Art in Old Japan II. Japanese Mythology III. Japanese Mythology (Continued) IV. Rationalization V. Origin of the Japanese Nation: Historical Evidences VI. Origin of the Nation: Geographical and Archaeological Relics VII. Language and Physical Characteristics VIII. Manners and Customs in Remote Antiquity IX. The Prehistoric Sovereigns X. The Prehistoric Sovereigns (Continued) XI. The Prehistoric Sovereigns (Continued) XII. The Protohistoric Sovereigns XIII. The Protohistoric Sovereigns (Continued) XIV. From the 29th to the 35th Sovereign XV. The Daika Reforms XVI. The Daiho Laws and the Yoro Laws XVII. The Nara Epoch XVIII. The Heian Epoch XIX. The Heian Epoch (Continued) XX. The Heian Epoch (Continued) XXI. The Capital and the Provinces XXII. Recovery of Administrative Authority by the Throne XXIII. Manners and Customs of the Heian Epoch XXIV. The Epoch of the Gen (Minamoto) and the Hei (Taira) XXV. The Epoch of the Gen and the Hei (Continued) XXVI. The Kamakura Bakufu XXVII. The Hojo XXVIII. Art, Religion, Literature, Customs, and Commerce in the Kamakura Period XXIX. Fall of the Hojo and Rise of the Ashikaga XXX. The War of the Dynasties XXXI. The Fall of the Ashikaga XXXII. Foreign Intercourse, Literature, Art, Religion, Manners, and Customs in the Muromachi Epoch XXXIII. The Epoch of Wars (Sengoku Jidai) XXXIV. Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu XXXV. The Invasion of Korea XXXVI. The Momo-Yama Epoch XXXVII. Christianity in Japan XXXVIII. The Tokugawa Shogunate XXXIX. First Period of the Tokugawa Bakufu; from the First Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu, to the Fourth, Ietsuna (1603-1680) XL. Middle Period of the Tokugawa Bakufu; from the Fifth Shogun, Tsunayoshi, to the Tenth Shogun, Ieharu (1680-1786) XLI. The Late Period of the Tokugawa Bakufu. The Eleventh Shogun, Ienari (1786-1838) XLII. Organization, Central and Local; Currency and the Laws of the Tokugawa Bakufu XLIII. Revival of the Shinto Cult XLIV. Foreign Relations and the Decline of the Tokugawa XLV. Foreign Relations and the Decline of the Tokugawa (Continued) XLVI. The Meiji Government XLVII. Wars with China and Russia APPENDIX 1. Constitution of Japan, 1889 2. Anglo-Japanese Agreement, 1905 3. Treaty of Portsmouth, 1905 INDEX HISTORICAL MAPS Japan about 1337: Northern and Southern Courts Japan in Era of Wars, 1577: Distribution of Fiefs Japan in 1615: Feudatories Japan, Korea and the Mainland of Asia FULL PAGE HALF-TONES Capt. F. Brinkley, R. A. The Emperor Jimmu The Shrine of Ise Prehistoric Remains: Plate A Prehistoric Remains: Plate B Prince Shotoku Kaigen Ceremony of the Nara Daibutsu Thirty-six Versifiers (Painting by Korin) Cherry-Viewing Festival at Mukojima Kamakura Daibutsu Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) Court Costumes Tokugawa Shrine at Nikko The Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito) Sinking of the Russian Battleship Osliabya Admiral Togo WORKS CONSULTED ENGRAVING: MT. FUJI SEEN FROM THE FUJI-GAWA CHAPTER I THE HISTORIOGRAPHER'S ART IN OLD JAPAN MATERIALS FOR HISTORY IN the earliest eras of historic Japan there existed a hereditarycorporation of raconteurs (Katari-be) who, from generation togeneration, performed the function of reciting the exploits of thesovereigns and the deeds of heroes. They accompanied themselves onmusical instruments, and naturally, as time went by, each set ofraconteurs embellished the language of their predecessors, addingsupernatural elements, and introducing details which belonged to therealm of romance rather than to that of ordinary history. TheseKatari-be would seem to have been the sole repository of theircountry's annals until the sixth century of the Christian era. Theirrepertories of recitation included records of the great families aswell as of the sovereigns, and it is easy to conceive that the favourand patronage of these high personages were earned by ornamenting thetraditions of their households and exalting their pedigrees. But whenthe art of writing was introduced towards the close of the fourthcentury, or at the beginning of the fifth, and it was seen that inChina, then the centre of learning and civilization, the art had beenapplied to the compilation of a national history as well as of othervolumes possessing great ethical value, the Japanese conceived theambition of similarly utilizing their new attainment. For reasonswhich will be understood by and by, the application of theideographic script to the language of Japan was a task of immensedifficulty, and long years must have passed before the attainment ofany degree of proficiency. Thus it was not until the time of the Empress Suiko (593-628) thatthe historical project took practical shape. Her Majesty, at theinstance, doubtless, of Prince Shotoku, one of the greatest names inall Japan's annals, instructed the prince himself and her chiefminister, Soga no Umako, to undertake the task of compilinghistorical documents, and there resulted a Record of the Emperors(Tennoki), a Record of the Country (Koki), and Original Records(Hongi) of the Free People (i. E. , the Japanese proper asdistinguished from aliens, captives, and aborigines), of the greatfamilies and of the 180 Hereditary Corporations (Be). This work wascommenced in the year 620, but nothing is known as to the date of itscompletion. It represents the first Japanese history. A shortlivedcompilation it proved, for in the year 645, the Soga chiefs, custodians of the documents, threw them into the fire on the eve oftheir own execution for treason. One only, the Record of the Country, was plucked from the flames, and is believed to have beensubsequently incorporated in the Kojiki '(Records of AncientThings). ' No immediate attempt seems to have been made to remedy theloss of these invaluable writings. Thirty-seven years later theEmperor Temmu took the matter in hand. One of his reasons for doingso has been historically transmitted. Learning that "the chroniclesof the sovereigns and the original words in the possession of thevarious families deviated from the truth and were largely amplifiedwith empty falsehoods, " his Majesty conceived that unless speedysteps were taken to correct the confusion and eliminate the errors, an irremediable state of affairs would result. Such a preface prepares us to learn that a body of experts wasappointed to distinguish the true and the false, and to set down theformer alone. The Emperor did, in fact, commission a number ofprinces and officials to compile an authentic history, and we shallpresently see how their labours resulted. But in the first place aspecial feature of the situation has to be noted. The Japaneselanguage was then undergoing a transition. In order to fit it to theChinese ideographs for literary purposes, it was being deprived ofits mellifluous polysyllabic character and reduced to monosyllabicterseness. The older words were disappearing, and with them many ofthe old traditions. Temmu saw that if the work of compilation wasabandoned solely to princely and official littérateurs, they wouldprobably sacrifice on the altar of the ideograph much that wasvenerable and worthy to be preserved. He therefore himself undertookthe collateral task of having the antique traditions collected andexpurgated, and causing them to be memorized by a chamberlain, Hiyedano Are, a man then in his twenty-eighth year, who was gifted withability to repeat accurately everything heard once by him. Are's mindwas soon stored with a mass of ancient facts and obsolescentphraseology, but before either the task of official compilation orthat of private restoration had been carried to completion theEmperor died (686), and an interval of twenty-five years elapsedbefore the Empress Gemmyo, on the 18th of September, 711, ordered ascholar, Ono Yasumaro, to transcribe the records stored in Are'smemory. Four months sufficed for the work, and on the 28th ofJanuary, 712, Yasumaro submitted to the Throne the Kojiki (Records ofAncient Things) which ranked as the first history of Japan, and whichwill be here referred to as the Records. THE NIHONGI AND THE NIHON SHOKI It is necessary to revert now to the unfinished work of the classicalcompilers, as they may be called, whom the Emperor Temmu nominated in682, but whose labours had not been concluded when his Majesty diedin 686. There is no evidence that their task was immediatelycontinued in an organized form, but it is related that during thereign of Empress Jito (690-696) further steps were taken to collecthistorical materials, and that the Empress Gemmyo (708-715)--whom wehave seen carrying out, in 712, her predecessor Temmu's plan withregard to Hiyeda no Are--added, in 714, two skilled littérateurs toTemmu's classical compilers, and thus enabled them to complete theirtask, which took the shape of a book called the Nihongi (Chronicle ofJapan). This work, however, did not prove altogether satisfactory. It waswritten, for the most part, with a script called the Manyo syllabary;that is to say, with Chinese ideographs employed phonetically, and itdid not at all attain the literary standard of its Chinese prototype. Therefore, the Empress entrusted to Prince Toneri and Ono Yasumarothe task of revising it, and their amended manuscript, concluded in720, received the name of Nihon Shoki (Written Chronicles of Japan), the original being distinguished as Kana Nihongi, or SyllabicChronicles. The Nihon Shoki consisted originally of thirty-onevolumes, but of these one, containing the genealogies of thesovereigns, has been lost. It covers the whole of the prehistoricperiod and that part of the historic which extends from the accessionof the Emperor Jimmu (660 B. C. ) to the abdication of the Empress Jito(A. D. 697). The Kojiki extends back equally far, but terminates atthe death of the Empress Suiko (A. D. 628). THE FUDOKI In the year 713, when the Empress Gemmyo was on the throne, all theprovinces of the empire received orders to submit to the Courtstatements setting forth the natural features of the variouslocalities, together with traditions and remarkable occurrences. These documents were called Fudoki (Records of Natural Features). Many of them have been lost, but a few survive, as those of Izumo, Harima, and Hitachi. CHARACTER OF THE RECORDS AND THE CHRONICLES The task of applying ideographic script to phonetic purposes isexceedingly difficult. In the ideographic script each character has adistinct sound and a complete meaning. Thus, in China shan signifies"mountain, " and ming "light. " But in Japanese "mountain" becomes yamaand "light" akari. It is evident, then, that one of two things has tobe done. Either the sounds of the Japanese words must be changed tothose of the Chinese ideographs; or the sounds of the Chineseideographs must alone be taken (irrespective of their meaning), andwith them a phonetic syllabary must be formed. Both of these deviceswere employed by a Japanese scholar of early times. Sometimesdisregarding the significance of the ideographs altogether, he usedthem simply as representing sounds, and with them built up pureJapanese words; at other times, he altered the sounds of Japanesewords to those of their Chinese equivalents and then wrote themfrankly with their ideographic symbols. In this way each Japanese word came to have two pronunciations:first, its own original sound for colloquial purposes; and second, its borrowed sound for purposes of writing. At the outset the spokenand the written languages were doubtless kept tolerably distinct. Butby degrees, as respect for Chinese literature developed, it became alearned accomplishment to pronounce Japanese words after the Chinesemanner, and the habit ultimately acquired such a vogue that thelanguage of men--who wrote and spoke ideographically--grew to bedifferent from the language of women--who wrote and spokephonetically. When Hiyeda no Are was required to memorize the annalsand traditions collected and revised at the Imperial Court, thelanguage in which he committed them to heart was pure Japanese, andin that language he dictated them, twenty-nine years later, to thescribe Yasumaro. The latter, in setting down the products of Are'smemory, wrote for the most part phonetically; but sometimes, findingthat method too cumbersome, he had recourse to the ideographiclanguage, with which he was familiar. At all events, adding nothingnor taking away anything, he produced a truthful record of the myths, traditions, and salient historical incidents credited by the Japaneseof the seventh century. It may well be supposed, nevertheless, that Are's memory, howevertenacious, failed in many respects, and that his historical detailswere comparatively meagre. An altogether different spirit presided atthe work subsequently undertaken by this same Yasumaro, when, inconjunction with other scholars, he was required to collate thehistorical materials obtained abundantly from various sources sincethe vandalism of the Soga nobles. The prime object of thesecollaborators was to produce a Japanese history worthy to stand sideby side with the classic models of China. Therefore, they used theChinese language almost entirely, the chief exception being in thecase of the old poems, a great number of which appear in the Recordsand the Chronicles alike. The actual words of these poems had to bepreserved as well as the metre, and therefore it was necessary toindite them phonetically. For the rest, the Nihon Shoki, whichresulted from the labours of these annalists and literati, was soChinese that its authors did not hesitate to draw largely upon thecosmogonic myths of the Middle Kingdom, and to put into the mouths ofJapanese monarchs, or into their decrees, quotations from Chineseliterature. "As a repertory of ancient Japanese myth and legend thereis little to choose between the Records and the Chronicles. Theformer is, on the whole, the fuller of the two, and contains legendswhich the latter passes over in silence; but the Chronicles, as wenow have them, are enriched by variants of the early myths, the valueof which, for purposes of comparison, is recognized by scientificinquirers. But there can be no comparison between the two works whenviewed as history. Hiyeda no Are's memory cannot be expected tocompete in fullness and accuracy with the abundant documentaryliterature accessible to the writers of the Chronicles, and anexamination of the two works shows that, in respect to the record ofactual events, the Chronicles are far the more useful authority". * *Aston's Nihongi. It will readily be supposed, too, that the authors of both worksconfused the present with the past, and, in describing the mannersand customs of by-gone eras, unconsciously limned their pictures withcolours taken from the palette of their own times, "when the nationalthought and institutions had become deeply modified by Chineseinfluences. " Valuable as the two books are, therefore, they cannot beaccepted without large limitations. The Nihon Shoki occupied a highplace in national esteem from the outset. In the year following itscompilation, the Empress Gensho summoned eminent scholars to theCourt and caused them to deliver lectures on the contents of thebook, a custom which was followed regularly by subsequent sovereignsand still finds a place among the New Year ceremonials. This bookproved to be the precursor of five others with which it is commonlyassociated by Japanese scholars. They are the Zoku Nihongi(Supplementary Chronicles of Japan), in forty volumes, which coversthe period from 697 to 791 and was finished in 798; the Nihon Koki(Later Chronicles of Japan), in forty volumes--ten onlysurvive--which covers the period from 792 to 833; the Zoku Nihon Koki(Supplementary Later Chronicles), in twenty volumes, which covers thesingle reign of the Emperor Nimmyo (834-850) and was compiled in 869;the Montoku Jitsu-roku (True Annals of Montoku), in ten volumes, covering the reign of Montoku (851-858), and compiled in 879, and theSandai Jitsu-roku (True Annals of Three Reigns) in fifty volumes, covering the period from 859 to 887 and compiled in 901. These fivecompilations together with the Nihon Shoki are honoured as the SixNational Histories. It is noticeable that the writers were men of thehighest rank, from prime ministers downwards. In such honour was thehistoriographer's art held in Japan in the eighth and ninthcenturies. CHRONOLOGY Before beginning to read Japanese history it is necessary to knowsomething of the chronology followed in its pages. There have been inJapan four systems for counting the passage of time. The first is bythe reigns of the Emperors. That is to say, the first year of asovereign's reign--reckoning from the New Year's day following hisaccession--became the 1 of the series, and the years were thenceforthnumbered consecutively until his death or abdication. This methodmight be sufficiently accurate if the exact duration of each reignwere known as well as the exact sequence of the reigns. But no suchprecision could be expected in the case of unwritten history, transmitted orally from generation to generation. Thus, whileJapanese annalists, by accepting the aggregate duration of all thereigns known to them, arrive at the conclusion that the firstEmperor, Jimmu, ascended the throne in the year 660 B. C. , it is foundon analysis that their figures assign to the first seventeensovereigns an average age of 109 years. The second system was by means of periods deriving their name (nengo)from some remarkable incident. Thus, the discovery of copper in Japanwas commemorated by calling the year Wado (Japanese copper), and theera so called lasted seven years. Such a plan was even more liable toerror than the device of reckoning by reigns, and a speciallyconfusing feature was that the first year of the period datedretrospectively from the previous New Year's day, so that events wereoften recorded as having occurred in the final year of one period andin the opening year of another. This system was originally importedfrom China in the year A. D. 645, and is at present in use, the year1910 being the forty-third of the Meiji (Enlightenment and Peace)period. The third system was that of the sexagenary cycle. This was operatedafter the manner of a clock having two concentric dials, thecircumference of the larger dial being divided into ten equal parts, each marked with one of the ten "celestial signs, " and thecircumference of the smaller dial being divided into twelve equalparts each marked with one of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Thelong hand of the clock, pointing to the larger dial, was supposed tomake one revolution in ten years, and the shorter hand, pointing tothe small dial, revolved once in twelve years. Thus, starting fromthe point where the marks on the two dials coincide, the long handgained upon the short hand by one-sixtieth each year, and once inevery sixty years the two hands were found at the point ofconjunction. Years were indicated by naming the "celestial stem" andthe zodiacal sign to which the imaginary hands happen to be pointing, just as clock-time is indicated by the minutes read from the longhand and the hours from the short. The sexagenary cycle came into usein China in 623 B. C. The exact date of its importation into Japan isunknown, but it was probably about the end of the fourth century A. D. It is a sufficiently accurate manner of counting so long as the taleof cycles is carefully kept, but any neglect in that respect exposesthe calculator to an error of sixty years or some multiple of sixty. Keen scrutiny and collation of the histories of China, Korea, andJapan have exposed a mistake of at least 120 years connected with theearliest employment of the sexagenary cycle in Japan. The fourth method corresponds to that adopted in Europe where thenumber of a year is referred to the birth of Christ. In Japan, theaccession of the Emperor Jimmu--660 B. C. --is taken for a basis, andthus the Occidental year 1910 becomes the 2570th year of the Japanesedynasty. With such methods of reckoning some collateral evidence isneeded before accepting any of the dates given in Japanese annals. Kaempfer and even Rein were content to endorse the chronology of theChronicles--the Records avoid dates altogether--but other Occidentalscholars* have with justice been more sceptical, and their doubtshave been confirmed by several eminent Japanese historians in recenttimes. Where, then, is collateral evidence to be found? *Notably Bramsen, Aston, Satow, and Chamberlain. In the pages of Chinese and Korean history. There is, of course, noinherent reason for attributing to Korean history accuracy superiorto that of Japanese history. But in China the habit of continuouslycompiling written annals had been practised for many centuries beforeJapanese events began even to furnish materials for romanticrecitations, and no serious errors have been proved against Chinesehistoriographers during the periods when comparison with Japaneseannals is feasible. In Korea's case, too, verification is partiallypossible. Thus, during the first five centuries of the Christian era, Chinese annals contain sixteen notices of events in Korea. If Koreanhistory be examined as to these events, it is found to agree in teninstances, to disagree in two, and to be silent in four. * This recordtends strongly to confirm the accuracy of the Korean annals, and itis further to be remembered that the Korean peninsula was dividedduring many centuries into three principalities whose records serveas mutual checks. Finally, Korean historians do not make any suchdemand upon our credulity as the Japanese do in the matter of lengthof sovereigns' reigns. For example, while the number of successionsto the throne of Japan during the first four centuries of theChristian era is set down as seven only, making fifty-six years theaverage duration of a reign, the corresponding numbers for the threeKorean principalities are sixteen, seventeen, and sixteen, respectively, making the average length of a reign from twenty-fourto twenty-five years. It is, indeed, a very remarkable fact thatwhereas the average age of the first seventeen Emperors of Japan, whoare supposed to have reigned from 660 B. C. Down to A. D. 399, was 109years, this incredible habit of longevity ceased abruptly from thebeginning of the fifth century, the average age of the next seventeenhaving been only sixty-one and a half years; and it is a mostsuggestive coincidence that the year A. D. 461 is the first date ofthe accepted Japanese chronology which is confirmed by Koreanauthorities. *Aston's essay on Early Japanese History In fact, the conclusion is almost compulsory that Japanese authentichistory, so far as dates are concerned, begins from the fifthcentury. Chinese annals, it is true, furnish one noteworthy and muchearlier confirmation of Japanese records. They show that Japan wasruled by a very renowned queen during the first half of the thirdcentury of the Christian era, and it was precisely at that epoch thatthe Empress Jingo is related by Japanese history to have made herselfcelebrated at home and abroad. Chinese historiographers, however, putJingo's death in the year A. D. 247, whereas Japanese annalists givethe date as 269. Indeed there is reason to think that just at thistime--second half of the third century--some special causes operatedto disturb historical coherence in Japan, for not only does Chinesehistory refer to several signal events in Japan which find no placein the latter's records, but also Korean history indicates that theJapanese dates of certain cardinal incidents err by exactly 120years. Two cycles in the sexagenary system of reckoning constitute120 years, and the explanation already given makes it easy toconceive the dropping of that length of time by recorders having onlytradition to guide them. On the whole, whatever may be said as to the events of early Japanesehistory, its dates can not be considered trustworthy before thebeginning of the fifth century. There is evidently one other point tobe considered in this context; namely, the introduction of writing. Should it appear that the time when the Japanese first began topossess written records coincides with the time when, according toindependent research, the dates given in their annals begin tosynchronize with those of Chinese and Korean history, another veryimportant landmark will be furnished. There, is such synchronism, butit is obtained at the cost of considerations which cannot be lightlydismissed. For, although it is pretty clearly established that anevent which occured at the beginning of the fifth century preludedthe general study of the Chinese language in Japan and may notunreasonably be supposed to have led to the use of the Chinese scriptin compiling historical records, still it is even more clearlyestablished that from a much remoter era Japan had been on terms ofsome intimacy with her neighbours, China and Korea, and had exchangedwritten communications with them, so that the art of writing wasassuredly known to her long before the fifth century of the Christianera, to whatever services she applied it. This subject will presentitself again for examination in more convenient circumstances. ENGRAVING: YUKIMIDORO (Style of Stone Lantern used in JapaneseGardens) ENGRAVING: "YATSUHASHI" STYLE OF GARDEN BRIDGE CHAPTER II JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY KAMI THE mythological page of a country's history has an interest of itsown apart from legendary relations; it affords indications of thepeople's creeds and furnishes traces of the nation's genesis. InJapan's mythology there is a special difficulty for theinterpreter--a difficulty of nomenclature. It has been the constanthabit of foreign writers of Japan's story to speak of an "Age ofGods" (Kami no yo). But the Japanese word Kami* does not necessarilyconvey any such meaning. It has no divine import. We shall presentlyfind that of the hundreds of families into which Japanese societycame to be divided, each had its Kami, and that he was nothing morethan the head of the household. Fifty years ago, the Government wascommonly spoken of as O Kami (the Honourable Head), and a feudatoryfrequently had the title of Kami of such and such a locality. Thus totranslate Kami by "deity" or "god" is misleading, and as the Englishlanguage furnishes no exact equivalent, the best plan is to adhere tothe original expression. That plan is adopted in the following briefsummary of Japanese mythology. *Much stress is laid upon the point by that most accurate scholar, Mr. B. H. Chamberlain. COSMOGONY Japanese mythology opens at the beginning of "the heaven and theearth. " But it makes no attempt to account for the origin of things. It introduces us at once to a "plain of high heaven, " the dwellingplace of these invisible* Kami, one of whom is the great centralbeing, and the other two derive their titles from their productiveattributes. But as to what they produced or how they produced it, nospecial indication is given. Thereafter two more Kami are born froman elementary reedlike substance that sprouts on an inchoate earth. This is the first reference to organic matter. The two newly bornKami are invisible like their predecessors, and like them are notrepresented as taking any part in the creation. They are solitary, unseeable, and functionless, but the evident idea is that they have amore intimate connexion with cosmos than the Kami who came previouslyinto existence, for one of them is named after the reed-shoot fromwhich he emanated, and to the other is attributed the property ofstanding eternally in the heavens. *The expression here translated "invisible" has been interpreted inthe sense that the Kami "hid their persons, " i. E. , died, but the truemeaning seems to be that they were invisible. Up to this point there has not been any suggestion of measuring time. But now the record begins to speak of "generations. " Two moresolitary and invisible beings are born, one called the Kami whostands eternally on earth, the other the "abundant integrator. " Eachof these represents a generation, and it will be observed that up tothis time no direct mention whatever is made of sex. Now, however, five generations ensue, each consisting of two Kami, a male and afemale, and thus the epithet "solitary" as applied to the first sevenKami becomes intelligible. All these generations are represented asgradually approximating to the exercise of creative functions, forthe names* become more and more suggestive of earthly relations. Thelast couple, forming the fifth generation, are Izanagi and Izanami, appellations signifying the male Kami of desire and the female Kamiof desire. By all the other Kami these two are commissioned to "make, consolidate, and give birth to the drifting land, " a jewelled spearbeing given to them as a token of authority, and a floating bridgebeing provided to carry them to earth. Izanagi and Izanami thrust thespear downwards and stir the "brine" beneath, with the result that itcoagulates, and, dropping from the spear's point, forms the first ofthe Japanese islands, Onogoro. This island they take as the basis oftheir future operations, and here they beget, by ordinary humanprocesses--which are described without any reservations--first, "agreat number of islands, and next, a great number of Kami. " It isrelated that the first effort of procreation was not successful, theoutcome being a leechlike abortion and an island of foam, the formerof which was sent adrift in a boat of reeds. The islands afterwardscreated form a large part of Japan, but between these islands and theKami, begotten in succession to them, no connexion is traceable. Inseveral cases the names of the Kami seem to be personifications ofnatural objects. Thus we have the Kami of the "wind's breath, " of thesea, of the rivers, of the "water-gates" (estuaries and ports), ofautumn, of "foam-calm, " of "bubbling waves, " of "water-divisions, " oftrees, of mountains, of moors, of valleys, etc. But with very rareexceptions, all these Kami have no subsequent share in the scheme ofthings and cannot be regarded as evidence that the Japanese werenature worshippers. *The Kami of mud-earth; the Kami of germ-integration; the Kami of thegreat place; the Kami of the perfect exterior, etc. A change of method is now noticeable. Hitherto the process ofproduction has been creative; henceforth the method is transformationpreceded by destruction. Izanami dies in giving birth to the Kami offire, and her body is disintegrated into several beings, as the maleand female Kami of metal mountains, the male and female Kami ofviscid clay, the female Kami of abundant food, and the Kami of youth;while from the tears of Izanagi as he laments her decease is born thefemale Kami of lamentation. Izanagi then turns upon the child, theKami of fire, which has cost Izanami her life, and cuts off its head;whereupon are born from the blood that stains his sword and spattersthe rocks eight Kami, whose names are all suggestive of the violencethat called them into existence. An equal number of Kami, all havingsway over mountains, are born from the head and body of theslaughtered child. At this point an interesting episode is recorded. Izanagi visits the"land of night, " with the hope of recovering his spouse. * He urgesher to return, as the work in which they were engaged is not yetcompleted. She replies that, unhappily having already eaten withinthe portals of the land of night, she may not emerge without thepermission of the Kami** of the underworld, and she conjures him, while she is seeking that permission, not to attempt to look on herface. He, however, weary of waiting, breaks off one of the largeteeth of the comb that holds his hair*** and, lighting it, uses it asa torch. He finds Izanami's body in a state of putrefaction, and amidthe decaying remains eight Kami of thunder have been born and aredwelling. Izanagi, horrified, turns and flees, but Izanami, enragedthat she has been "put to shame, " sends the "hideous hag of hades" topursue him. He obtains respite twice; first by throwing down hishead-dress, which is converted into grapes, and then casting away hiscomb, which is transformed into bamboo sprouts, and while the hagstops to eat these delicacies, he flees. Then Izanami sends in hispursuit the eight Kami of thunder with fifteen hundred warriors ofthe underworld. **** He holds them off for a time by brandishing hissword behind him, and finally, on reaching the pass from the netherto the upper world, he finds three peaches growing there with whichhe pelts his pursuers and drives them back. The peaches are rewardedwith the title of "divine fruit, " and entrusted with the duty ofthereafter helping all living people***** in the central land of"reed plains"****** as they have helped Izanagi. *It is unnecessary to comment upon the identity of this incident withthe legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. **It will be observed that we hear of these Kami now for the firsttime. ***This is an obvious example of a charge often preferred against thecompilers of the Records that they inferred the manners and customsof remote antiquity from those of their own time. ****Again we have here evidence that the story of creation, as toldin the Records, is not supposed to be complete. It says nothing as tohow the denizens of the underworld came into existence. *****The first mention of human beings. ******This epithet is given to Japan. This curious legend does not end here. Finding that the hag of hades, the eight Kami of thunder, and the fifteen hundred warriors have allbeen repulsed, Izanami herself goes in pursuit. But her way isblocked by a huge rock which Izanagi places in the "even pass ofhades, " and from the confines of the two worlds the angry pairexchange messages of final separation, she threatening to kill athousand folk daily in his land if he repeats his acts of violence, and he declaring that, in such event, he will retaliate by causingfifteen hundred to be born. In all this, no mention whatever is found of the manner in whichhuman beings come into existence: they make their appearance upon thescene as though they were a primeval part of it. Izanagi, whosereturn to the upper world takes place in southwestern Japan, * nowcleanses himself from the pollution he has incurred by contact withthe dead, and thus inaugurates the rite of purification practised tothis day in Japan. The Records describe minutely the process of hisunrobing before entering a river, and we learn incidentally that hewore a girdle, a skirt, an upper garment, trousers, a hat, braceletson each arm, and a necklace, but no mention is made of footgear. Twelve Kami are born from these various articles as he discards them, but without exception these additions to Japanese mythology seem tohave nothing to do with the scheme of the universe: their titlesappear to be wholly capricious, and apart from figuring once upon thepages of the Records they have no claim to notice. The same may besaid of eleven among fourteen Kami thereafter born from the pollutionwhich Izanagi washes off in a river. *At Himuka in Kyushu, then called Tsukushi. But the last three of these newly created beings act a prominent partin the sequel of the story. They are the "heaven-shining Kami"(Amaterasu-o-mi-Kami), commonly spoken of as the "goddess of theSun;" the Kami of the Moon, and the Kami of force. * Izanagi expressesmuch satisfaction at the begetting of these three. He hands hisnecklace to the Kami of the Sun and commissions her to rule the"plain of heaven;" he confers upon the Kami of the Moon the dominionof night, and he appoints the Kami of force (Susanoo) to rule thesea-plain. The Kami of the Sun and the Kami of the Moon proceed atonce to their appointed task, but the Kami of force, though of matureage and wearing a long beard, neglects his duty and falls to weeping, wailing, and fuming. Izanagi inquires the cause of his discontent, and the disobedient Kami replies that he prefers death to the officeassigned him; whereupon he is forbidden to dwell in the same landwith Izanagi and has to make his abode in Omi province. Then he formsthe idea of visiting the "plain of high heaven" to bid farewell tohis sister, the goddess of the Sun. *Mr. Chamberlain translates the title of this Kami "brave, swift, impetuous, male, augustness. " But his journey is attended with such a shaking of mountains andseething of rivers that the goddess, informed of his recalcitrancyand distrusting his purpose, makes preparations to receive him inwarlike guise, by dressing her hair in male fashion (i. E. Binding itinto knots), by tying up her skirt into the shape of trousers, bywinding a string of five hundred curved jewels round her head andwrists, by slinging on her back two quivers containing a thousandarrows and five hundred arrows respectively, by drawing a guard onher left forearm, and by providing herself with a bow and a sword. The Records and the Chronicles agree in ascribing to her such anexercise of resolute force that she stamps her feet into the groundas though it had been soft snow and scatters the earth about. Susanoo, however, disavows all evil intentions, and agrees to provehis sincerity by taking an oath and engaging in a Kami-producingcompetition, the condition being that if his offspring be female, thefact shall bear condemnatory import, but if male, the verdict shallbe in his favour. For the purpose of this trial, they stand onopposite sides of a river (the Milky Way). Susanoo hands his sword toAmaterasu-o-mi-Kami, who breaks it into three pieces, chews thefragments, and blowing them from her mouth, produces three femaleKami. She then lends her string of five hundred jewels to Susanooand, he, in turn, crunches them in his mouth and blows out thefragments which are transformed into five male Kami. The beings thusstrangely produced have comparatively close connexions with themundane scheme, for the three female Kami--euphoniously designatedKami of the torrent mist, Kami of the beautiful island, and Kami ofthe cascade--become tutelary goddesses of the shrines in Chikuzenprovince (or the sacred island Itsuku-shima), and two of the maleKami become ancestors of seven and twelve families, respectively, ofhereditary nobles. On the "high plain of heaven, " however, trouble is not allayed. TheSun goddess judges that since female Kami were produced from thefragments of Susanoo's sword and male Kami from her own string ofjewels, the test which he himself proposed has resulted in hisconviction; but he, repudiating that verdict, proceeds to break downthe divisions of the rice-fields laid out by the goddess, to fill upthe ditches, and to defile the palace--details which suggest eitherthat, according to Japanese tradition, heaven has its agriculture andarchitecture just as earth has, or that the "plain of high heaven"was really the name of a place in the Far East. The Sun goddess makesvarious excuses for her brother's lawless conduct, but he is not tobe placated. His next exploit is to flay a piebald horse and throw itthrough a hole which he breaks in the roof of the hall where thegoddess is weaving garments for the Kami. In the alarm thus created, the goddess* is wounded by her shuttle, whereupon she retires into acave and places a rock at the entrance, so that darkness falls uponthe "plain of high heaven" and upon the islands of Japan, ** to theconsternation of the Kami of evil, whose voices are heard like thebuzzing of swarms of flies. *According to the Records, it is the attendants of the goddess thatsuffer injury. **Referring to this episode, Aston writes in his Nihongi:"Amaterasu-o-mi-Kami is throughout the greater part of this narrativean anthropomorphic deity, with little that is speciallycharacteristic of her solar functions. Here, however, it is plainlythe sun itself which witholds its light and leaves the world todarkness. This inconsistency, which has greatly exercised the nativetheologians, is not peculiar to Japanese myth. " Then follows a scene perhaps the most celebrated in all themythological legends; a scene which was the origin of the sacreddance in Japan and which furnished to artists in later ages afrequent motive. The "eight hundred myriads" of Kami--so numeroushave the denizens of the "plain of high heaven" unaccountablybecome--assemble in the bed of the "tranquil river"* to confer abouta means of enticing the goddess from her retirement. They entrust theduty of forming a plan to the Kami of "thought combination, " nowheard of for the first time as a son of one of the two producingKami, who, with the "great central" Kami, constituted the originaltrinity of heavenly denizens. This deity gathers together a number ofbarn-yard fowl to signal sunrise, places the Kami of the "strong arm"at the entrance of the cave into which the goddess has retired, obtains iron from the "mines of heaven" and causes it to be forgedinto an "eight-foot" mirror, appoints two Kami to procure from MountKagu a "five-hundred branched" sakaki tree (cleyera Japonica), fromwhose branches the mirror together with a "five-hundred beaded"string of curved jewels and blue and white streamers of hempen clothand paper-mulberry cloth are suspended, and causes divination to beperformed with the shoulder blade of a stag. *The Milky Way. Then, while a grand liturgy is recited, the "heaven-startling" Kami, having girdled herself with moss, crowned her head with a wreath ofspindle-tree leaves and gathered a bouquet of bamboo grass, mountsupon a hollow wooden vessel and dances, stamping so that the woodresounds and reciting the ten numerals repeatedly. Then the"eight-hundred myriad" Kami laugh in unison, so that the "plain ofhigh heaven" shakes with the sound, and the Sun goddess, surprisedthat such gaiety should prevail in her absence, looks out from thecave to ascertain the cause. She is taunted by the dancer, who tellsher that a greater than she is present, and the mirror being thrustbefore her, she gradually comes forward, gazing into it withastonishment; whereupon the Kami of the "strong arm" grasps her handand drags her out, while two other Kami* stretch behind her a ropemade of straw, pulled up by the roots, ** to prevent her return, andsunshine once more floods the "plain of high heaven. " *These two are the ancestors of the Kami of the Nakatomi and theImibe hereditary corporations, who may be described as the highpriests of the indigenous cult of Japan. **This kind of rope called shime-nawa, an abbreviation ofshiri-kume-nawa may be seen festooning the portals of any Shintoshrine. The details of this curious legend deserve attention for the sake oftheir close relation to the observances of the Shinto cult. Moreover, the mythology now takes a new departure. At the time of Izanagi'sreturn from hades, vague reference is made to human beings, but afterSusanoo's departure from the "plain of high heaven, " he isrepresented as holding direct converse with them. There is aninterlude which deals with the foodstuffs of mortals. Punished with afine of a great number of tables* of votive offerings, his beard cutoff, and the nails of his fingers and toes pulled out, Susanoo issentenced to expulsion from heaven. He seeks sustenance from the Kamiof food, and she responds by taking from the orifices of her bodyvarious kinds of viands which she offers to him. But he, deeminghimself insulted, kills her, whereupon from her corpse are born rice, millet, small and large beans, and barley. These are taken by one ofthe two Kami of production, and by him they are caused to be used asseeds. *The offerings of food in religious services were always placed uponsmall, low tables. Thereafter Susanoo descends to a place at the headwaters of the riverHi (Izumo province). Seeing a chop-stick float down the stream, heinfers the existence of people higher up the river, and going insearch of them, finds an old man and an old woman lamenting over andcaressing a girl. The old man says that he is an earthly Kami, son ofthe Kami of mountains, who was one of the thirty-five Kami borne byIzanami before her departure for hades. He explains that he hadoriginally eight daughters, but that every year an eight-forkedserpent has come from the country of Koshi and devoured one of themaidens, so that there remains only Lady Wonderful, whose time toshare her sisters' fate is now at hand. It is a huge monster, extending over eight valleys and eight hills, its eyes red likewinter cherries, its belly bloody and inflamed, and its backovergrown with moss and conifers. Susanoo, having announced himselfas the brother of the Sun goddess, receives Lady Wonderful and atonce transforms her into a comb which he places in his hair. He theninstructs the old man and his wife to build a fence with eight gates, placing in every gate a vat of rice wine. Presently the serpent arrives, drinks the wine, and laying down itsheads to sleep, is cut to pieces by Susanoo with his ten-span sabre. In the body of the serpent the hero finds a sword, "great and sharp, "which he sends to the Sun goddess, at whose shrine in Ise it issubsequently found and given to the famous warrior, Yamato-dake, whenhe is setting out on his expedition against the Kumaso of the north. The sword is known as the "Herb-queller. " Susanoo then builds forhimself and Lady Wonderful a palace at Suga in Izumo, and composes acelebrated verse of Japanese poetry. * Sixth in descent from theoffspring of this union is the "Kami of the great land, " called alsothe "Great-Name Possessor, " or the "Kami of the reed plains, " or the"Kami of the eight thousand spears, " or the "Kami of the great landof the living, " the last name being antithetical to Susanoo's titleof "Ruler of Hades. " *"Many clouds arise, On all sides a manifold fence, To receive within it the spouse, They form a manifold fenceAh! that manifold fence. " Several legends are attached to the name of this multinominalbeing--legends in part romantic, in part supernatural, and in partfabulous. His eighty brethren compel him to act as their servant whenthey go to seek the hand of Princess Yakami of Inaba. But on the wayhe succours a hare which they have treated brutally and the littleanimal promises that he, not they, shall win the princess, though heis only their baggage-bearer. Enraged at the favour she shows him, they seek in various ways to destroy him: first by rolling down onhim from a mountain a heated rock; then by wedging him into the cleftof a tree, and finally by shooting him. But he is saved by hismother, and takes refuge in the province of Kii (the Land of Trees)at the palace of the "Kami of the great house. "* Acting on thelatter's advice, he visits his ancestor, Susanoo, who is now inhades, and seeks counsel as to some means of overcoming his eightyenemies. But instead of helping him, that unruly Kami endeavours tocompass his death by thrusting him into a snake-house; by putting himinto a nest of centipedes and wasps, and finally by shooting an arrowinto a moor, sending him to seek it and then setting fire to thegrass. He is saved from the first two perils through the agency ofmiraculous scarves given to him by Princess Forward, Susanoo'sdaughter, who has fallen in love with him; and from the last dilemmaa mouse instructs him how to emerge. *A son of Susanoo. Under the name of Iso-Takeru he is recorded tohave brought with him a quantity of seeds of trees and shrubs, whichhe planted, not in Korea, but in Tsukushi (Kyushu) and the eightislands of Japan. These words "not in Korea" are worthy of note, aswill presently be appreciated. A curious episode concludes this recital: Susanoo requires that theparasites shall be removed from his head by his visitor. Theseparasites are centipedes, but the Great-Name Possessor, again actingunder the instruction of Princess Forward, pretends to be removingthe centipedes, whereas he is in reality spitting out a mixture ofberries and red earth. Susanoo falls asleep during the process, andthe Great-Name Possessor binds the sleeping Kami's hair to therafters of the house, places a huge rock at the entrance, seizesSusanoo's life-preserving sword and life-preserving bow and arrows asalso his sacred lute, * and taking Princess Forward on his back, flees. The lute brushes against a tree, and its sound rouses Susanoo. But before he can disentangle his hair from the rafters, thefugitives reach the confines of the underworld, and the enraged Kami, while execrating this visitor who has outwitted him, is constrainedto direct him how to overcome his brethren and to establish his rulefirmly. In all this he succeeds, and having married Princess Yakami, to whom he was previously engaged, ** he resumes the work leftunfinished by Izanagi and Izanami, the work of "making the land. " *Sacred because divine revelations were supposed to be made through alute-player. **In the story of this Kami, we find the first record of conjugaljealousy in Japan. Princess Forward strongly objects to her husband'sexcursions into novel fields. The exact import of this process, "making the land, " is notdiscernible. In the hands of Izanagi and Izanami it resolves itselfinto begetting, first, a number of islands and, then, a number ofKami. At the outset it seems to have no more profound significancefor the Great-Name Possessor. Several generations of Kami arebegotten by him, but their names give no indication of the parts theyare supposed to have taken in the "making of the land. " They are allborn in Japan, however, and it is perhaps significant that among themthe one child--the Kami of wells--brought forth by Princess Yakami, is not included. Princess Forward has no children, a fact whichdoubtless augments her jealousy of her husband's amours; jealousyexpressed in verses that show no mean poetic skill. Thus, theGreat-Name Possessor on the eve of a journey from Izumo to Yamato, sings as he stands with one hand on his saddle and one foot in thestirrup:-- Though thou sayest thou willst not weep If like the flocking birds, I flock and depart, If like the led birds, I am led away and Depart; thou wilt hang down thine head like A single Eulalia upon the mountain and Thy weeping shall indeed rise as the mist of The morning shower. Then the Empress, taking a wine-cup, approaches and offers it to him, saying: Oh! Thine Augustness, the Deity-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears! Thou, my dear Master-of-the-Great-Land indeed, Being a man, probably hast on the various island headlands thou seest, And on every beach-headland that thou lookest on, A wife like the young herbs. But as for me, alas! Being a woman, I have no man except thee; I have no spouse except thee. Beneath the fluttering of the ornamented fence, Beneath the softness of the warm coverlet, Beneath the rustling of the cloth coverlet, Thine arms, white as rope of paper-mulberry bark softly patting my breast soft as the melting snow, And patting each other interlaced, stretching out and pillowing ourselves on each other's arms, True jewel arms, and with outstretched legs, will we sleep. * *B. H. Chamberlain. "Having thus sung, they at once pledged each other by the cup withtheir hands on each other's necks. " It is, nevertheless, from amongthe children born on the occasion of the contest between the Sungoddess and Susanoo that the Great-Name Possessor first seeks aspouse--the Princess of the Torrent Mist--to lay the foundation offifteen generations of Kami, whose birth seems to have been essentialto the "making of the land, " though their names afford no clue to thefunctions discharged by them. From over sea, seated in a gourd andwearing a robe of wren's feathers, there comes a pigmy, SukunaHikona, who proves to be one of fifteen hundred children begotten bythe Kami of the original trinity. Skilled in the arts of healingsickness and averting calamities from men or animals, this pigmyrenders invaluable aid to the Great-Name Possessor. But the usefullittle Kami does not wait to witness the conclusion of the work of"making and consolidating the country. " Before its completion hetakes his departure from Cape Kumano in Izumo to the "everlastingland"--a region commonly spoken of in ancient Japanese annals but notyet definitely located. He is replaced by a spirit whose coming isthus described by the Chronicles: After this (i. E. The departure of Sukuna), wherever there was in theland a part which was imperfect, the Great-Name Possessor visited itby himself and succeeded in repairing it. Coming at last to theprovince of Izumo, he spake and said: "This central land of reedplains had always been waste and wild. The very rocks, trees, andhuts were all given to violence... But I have now reduced it tosubmission, and there is none that is not compliant. " Therefore hesaid finally: "It is I, and I alone, who now govern this land. Isthere, perchance, anyone who could join with me in governing theworld?" Upon this a divine radiance illuminated the sea, and of asudden there was something which floated towards him and said: "WereI not here, how couldst thou subdue this land? It is because I amhere that thou hast been enabled to accomplish this mightyundertaking. " Then the Great-Name Possessor inquired, saying, "Thenwho art thou?" It replied and said: "I am thy guardian spirit, thewonderous spirit. " Then said the Great-Name Possessor: "True, I knowtherefore that thou art my guardian spirit, the wonderous spirit. Where dost thou now wish to dwell?" The spirit answered and said, "Iwish to dwell on Mount Mimoro in the province of Yamato. " Accordinglyhe built a shrine in that place and made the spirit go and dwellthere. This is the Kami of Omiwa. * *Aston's Translation of the Nihongi. After the above incident, another begetting of Kami takes place on alarge scale, but only a very few of them--such as the guardian of thekitchen, the protector of house-entrances, the Kami of agriculture, and so forth--have any intelligible place in the scheme of things. ENGRAVING: CRESTS CHAPTER III JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY (Continued) THE SUBJUGATION OF JAPAN THE dividing line between mythological tradition and historicallegend is now reached. It will have been observed that, after thedescent of Susanoo, the Kami on the "plain of high heaven" took nofurther part in "making" or "ruling" the "ever fruitful land ofreed-covered moors, and luxuriant rice-fields, " as Japan was called. Everything was left in the hands of Susanoo, the insubordinate Kami, who had been expelled from heaven for his destructive violence. Hisdescendant in the sixth generation, the Great-Name Possessor, nowheld supreme sway over the islands, in conjunction with a number ofhis own relations, his seat of power being in the province of Izumo. At this juncture the goddess of the Sun decided that a sovereignshould be sent down to govern the land of many islands, and she chosefor this purpose the son of the eldest* of the five Kami born fromher necklace during the procreation competition with Susanoo. In the first place, however, it was considered necessary to reducethe country to order, observation having shown it to be in a state oftumult. For that purpose the second of the five necklaceKami--considered "the most heroic" of all the beings on the "plain ofhigh heaven"--was despatched. But he "curried favour" with theGreat-Name Possessor and took up his abode in Japan. At the end ofthree years, ** seeing that he had not returned, it was decided by theKami in council to send another envoy, the Heavenly Young Prince. Buthe proved even more disloyal, for he married the daughter of theGreat-Name Possessor, famous for her beauty, *** and planning tosucceed his father-in-law as sovereign of the land, remained in Izumofor eight years. A third conclave of the Kami was now convened by theSun goddess and her coadjutor, the Great-Producing Kami, * and theydecided to despatch a pheasant to make observations. *This Kami married a daughter of one of the two Great-Producing Kamiwho belonged to the original trinity, and who co-operates with theSun goddess throughout. **This is the first mention of a measure of time in the Records. ***She was called Princess Undershining, because her beauty shonethrough her raiment. The bird flew down and lit on a cassia tree at the gate of theHeavenly Young Prince's dwelling, whereupon the prince, at theinstigation of a female spy, taking a bow given to him originally bythe Great-Producing Kami, shot a shaft which pierced the bird's bosom, and, reaching the Milky Way where sat the Sun goddess and theGreat-Producing Kami, was recognized by the latter, who threw it backto earth, decreeing that it should strike the prince were he guiltyof treason, and leave him unharmed if the blood on the arrow was thatof the earthly Kami whom he had been sent to quell. The shaft struckthe prince and killed him. At this point the course of the history is interrupted by anunintelligible description of the resulting obsequies--held in heavenaccording to the Chronicles, on earth according to the Records. Wildgeese, herons, kingfishers, sparrows, and pheasants were theprincipal officiators; the mourning rites, which included singing, and dancing, * continued for eight days and eight nights, and theproceedings were rudely interrupted by the prince's brother-in-law, who, coming to condole and being mistaken for the deceased, is soenraged by the error that he draws his sword, cuts down the mortuaryhouse, and kicks away the pieces. *It has been conjectured, with much probability, that this singingand dancing was a ceremony in imitation of the rites performed toentice the Sun goddess from her cave. The motive was to resuscitatethe dead. These two failures did not deter the Great-Producing Kami and the Sungoddess. They again took counsel with the other beings on the "plainof high heaven, " and it was decided to have recourse to the Kami bornfrom the blood that dropped from Izanagi's sword when he slew theKami of fire. To one of these--the Kami of courage--the mission ofsubduing the land of many islands was entrusted, and associated withhim in the work was the Kami of boats, a son of Izanagi and Izanami. The two descended to Izumo. They carried swords ten hand-breadthslong, and having planted these upside down, they seated themselves onthe points and delivered their message to the Great-Name Possessor, requiring him to declare whether or not he would abdicate in favourof the newly named sovereign. The Great-Name Possessor replied that he must consult his son, whowas absent on a hunting expedition. Accordingly, the Kami of boatswent to seek him, and, on being conducted into his father's presence, the latter declared his willingness to surrender, sealing thedeclaration by suicide. * There remained, then, only the second son ofthe Great-Name Possessor to be consulted. He did not submit soeasily. Relying on his great strength, he challenged the Kami ofcourage to a trial of hand grasping. But when he touched the Kami'shand it turned first into an icicle and then into a sword-blade, whereas his own hand, when seized by the Kami, was crushed and thrownaside like a young reed. He fled away in terror, and was pursued bythe Kami as far as the distant province of Shinano, when he saved hislife by making formal submission and promising not to contravene thedecision of his father and elder brother. *He stepped on the side of his boat so as to upset it, and with handscrossed behind his back sank into the sea. Then the Great-Name Possessor, having "lost his sons, on whom herelied, " agreed to abdicate provided that a shrine were built inmemory of him, "having its pillars made stout on the nethermostrock-bottom, and its cross-beams raised to the 'plain of highheaven. '"* He handed over the broad-bladed spear which had assistedhim to pacify the land, and declaring that if he offered resistance, all the earthly Kami, too, would certainly resist, he "hid in theeighty road-windings. " *This hyperbolical language illustrates the tone of the Records andthe Chronicles. Applied to the comparatively humble buildings thatserved for residences in ancient Japan, the description in the textis curiously exaggerated. The phrase here quoted finds frequentreproduction in the Shinto rituals. Thus, already in the eighth century when the Records and theChronicles were compiled, suicide after defeat in battle had become arecognized practice. The submission and self-inflicted death of theGreat-Name Possessor did not, however, save his followers. All therebellious Kami were put to the sword by the envoys from the "plainof high heaven. " This chapter of the annals ends with an account ofthe shrine erected in memory of the Great-Name Possessor. It wasplaced under the care of a grandson of the Kami born to Izanagi andIzanami, who is represented as declaring that he "would continuedrilling fire for the Kami's kitchen until the soot hung down eighthand-breadths from the roof of the shrine of the Great-Producing Kamiand until the earth below was baked to its nethermost rocks; and thatwith the fire thus drilled he would cook for him the fish brought inby the fishermen, and present them to him in baskets woven of splitbamboos which would bend beneath their weight. " THE DESCENT UPON TSUKUSHI It had been originally intended that the dominion of Japan should begiven to the senior of the five Kami born of the five-hundred-jewelstring of the Sun goddess. But during the interval devoted tobringing the land to a state of submission, this Kami's spouse, thePrincess of the Myriad Looms of the Luxuriant Dragon-fly Island, * hadborne a son, Hikoho no Ninigi, (Rice-Ears of Ruddy Plenty), and thisboy having now grown to man's estate, it was decided to send him asruler of Japan. A number of Kami were attached to him as guards andassistants, among them being the Kami of "thought combination, " whoconceived the plan for enticing the Sun goddess from her cave and whooccupied the position of chief councillor in the conclave of highheaven; the female Kami who danced before the cave; the female Kamiwho forged the mirror, and, in short, all the Kami who assisted inrestoring light to the world. There were also entrusted to the newsovereign the curved-jewel chaplet of the Sun goddess, the mirrorthat had helped to entice her, and the sword (herb-queller) whichSusanoo had taken from the body of the eight-headed serpent. *"Dragon-fly Island" was a name anciently given to Japan on accountof the country's shape. These three objects thenceforth became the three sacred things ofJapan. Strict injunction was given that the mirror was to be regardedand reverenced exactly as though it was the spirit of the Sungoddess, and it was ordered that the Kami of "thought combination"should administer the affairs of the new kingdom. The fact is also tobe noted that among the Kami attached to Hikoho no Ninigi's person, five--three male and two female--are designated by the Records asancestors and ancestresses of as many hereditary corporations, adistinctive feature of the early Japan's polity. As to the manner ofHikoho no Ninigi's journey to Japan, the Chronicles say that theGreat-Producing Kami threw the coverlet of his couch over him andcaused him to cleave his way downwards through the clouds; but theRecords allege that he descended "shut up in the floating bridge ofheaven. " The point has some interest as furnishing a traditional trace of thenature of this so-called invasion of Japan, and as helping to confirmthe theory that the "floating bridge of heaven, " from which Izanagithrust his spear downwards into the brine of chaos, was nothing morethan a boat. It will naturally be supposed that as Hikoho no Ninigi'smigration to Japan was in the sequel of a long campaign having itsmain field in the province of Izumo, his immediate destination wouldhave been that province, where a throne was waiting to be occupied byhim, and where he knew that a rich region existed. But the Recordsand the Chronicles agree in stating that he descended onKirishimayama* in Tsukushi, which is the ancient name of the islandof Kyushu. This is one of the first eight islands begotten by Izanagiand Izanami. Hence the alternative name for Japan, "Land of the EightGreat Islands. " *Takachiho-dake is often spoken of as the mountain thus celebrated, but Takachiho is only the eastern, and lower, of the two peaks ofKirishima-yama. It was, moreover, to a river of Tsukushi that Izanagi repaired tocleanse himself from the pollution of hades. But between Kyushu(Tsukushi) and Izumo the interval is immense, and it is accentuatedby observing that the mountain Kirishima, specially mentioned in thestory, raises its twin peaks at the head of the Bay of Kagoshima inthe extreme south of Kyushu. There is very great difficulty inconceiving that an army whose ultimate destination was Izumo shouldhave deliberately embarked on the shore of Kagoshima. The landing ofNinigi--his full name need not be repeated--was made with allprecautions, the van of his army (kume) being commanded by theancestor of the men who thenceforth held the highest military rank(otomo) through many centuries, and the arms carried being bows, arrows, and swords. * *The swords are said to have been "mallet-headed, " but the term stillawaits explanation. All the annals agree in suggesting that the newcomers had noknowledge of the locality, but whereas one account makes Ninigiconsult and obtain permission from an inhabitant of the place, another represents him as expressing satisfaction that the region layopposite to Kara (Korea) and received the beams of the rising and thesetting sun, qualifications which it is not easy to associate withany part of southern Kyushu. At all events he built for himself a palace in accordance with theorthodox formula--its pillars made stout on the nethermostrock-bottom and its cross-beams made high to the plain of heaven--andapparently abandoned all idea of proceeding to Izumo. Presently heencountered a beautiful girl. She gave her name as Brilliant Blossom, and described herself as the daughter of the Kami of mountains one ofthe thirty-five beings begotten by Izanagi and Izanami who would seemto have been then living in Tsukushi, and who gladly consented togive Brilliant Blossom. He sent with her a plentiful dower--many"tables"* of merchandise--but he sent also her elder sister, Enduring-as-Rock, a maiden so ill favoured that Ninigi dismissed herwith disgust, thus provoking the curse of the Kami of mountains, whodeclared that had his elder daughter been welcomed, the lives of theheavenly sovereigns** would have been as long as her name suggested, but that since she had been treated with contumely, their span ofexistence would be comparatively short. Presently Brilliant Blossombecame enceinte. Her lord, however, thinking that sufficient time hadnot elapsed for such a result, suspected her of infidelity with oneof the earthly Kami, *** whereupon she challenged the ordeal of fire, and building a parturition hut, passed in, plastered up the entrance, and set fire to the building. She was delivered of three childrenwithout mishap, and their names were Hosuseri (Fire-climax), Hohodemi(Fire-shine), and Hoori (Fire-subside). *This expression has reference to the fact that offerings atreligious ceremonials were always heaped on low tables for layingbefore the shrine. **The expression "heavenly sovereign" is here applied for the firsttime to the Emperors of Japan. ***The term "earthly" was applied to Kami born on earth, "heavenly"Kami being those born in heaven. THE CASTLE OF THE SEA DRAGON At this stage the annals digress to relate an episode which has onlycollateral interest Hosuseri and Hohodemi made fishing and hunting, respectively, their avocations. But Hohodemi conceived a fancy toexchange pursuits, and importuned Hosuseri to agree. When, however, the former tried his luck at angling, he not only failed to catchanything but also lost the hook which his brother had lent him. Thisbecame the cause of a quarrel. Hosuseri taunted Hohodemi on thefoolishness of the original exchange and demanded the restoration ofhis hook, nor would he be placated though Hohodemi forged his sabreinto five hundred hooks and then into a thousand. Wanderingdisconsolate, * by the seashore, Hohodemi met the Kami of salt, who, advising him to consult the daughter of the ocean Kami, ** sent him tosea in a "stout little boat. " *"Weeping and lamenting" are the words in the Records. **One of the Kami begotten by Izanagi and Izanami. After drifting for a time, he found himself at a palace beside whichgrew a many-branched cassia tree overhanging a well. He climbed intothe tree and waited. Presently the handmaidens of Princess Rich Gem, daughter of the ocean Kami, came to draw water, and seeing a shadowin the well, they detected Hohodemi in the cassia tree. At hisrequest they gave him water in a jewelled vessel, but instead ofdrinking, he dropped into the vessel a gem from his own necklace, andthe handmaidens, unable to detach the gem, carried the vessel totheir mistress. Then the princess went to look and, seeing abeautiful youth in the cassia tree, "exchanged glances" with him. Theocean Kami quickly recognized Hohodemi; led him in; seated him on apile of many layers of sealskins* overlaid by many layers of silkrugs; made a banquet for him, and gave him for wife Princess RichGem. *Chamberlain translates this "sea-asses' skins, " and conjectures thatsea-lions or seals may be meant. Three years passed tranquilly without the bridegroom offering anyexplanation of his presence. At the end of that time, thoughts of thepast visited him and he "sighed. " Princess Rich Gem took note of thisdespondency and reported it to her father, who now, for the firsttime, inquired the cause of Hohodemi's coming. Thereafter all thefishes of the sea, great and small, were summoned, and beingquestioned about the lost hook, declared that the tai* had recentlycomplained of something sticking in its throat and preventing it fromeating. So the lost hook was recovered, and the ocean Kami instructedHohodemi, when returning it to his brother, to warn the latter thatit was a useless hook which would not serve its purpose, but wouldrather lead its possessor to ruin. He further instructed him tofollow a method of rice culture the converse of that adopted by hisbrother, since he, the ocean Kami, would rule the waters so as tofavour Hohodemi's labours, and he gave him two jewels having theproperty of making the tide ebb and flow, respectively. These jewelswere to be used against Hosuseri, if necessary. *Pagrus major. Finally the Kami of the ocean instructed a crocodile to carryHohodemi to his home. This was accomplished, and in token of his safearrival, Hohodemi placed his stiletto on the crocodile's neck forconveyance to the ocean Kami. The programme prescribed by the latter was now faithfully pursued, sothat Hosuseri grew constantly poorer, and finally organized a fierceattack upon his younger brother, who, using the tide-flowing jewel, overwhelmed his assailants until they begged for mercy, whereupon thepower of the tide-ebbing jewel was invoked to save them. The resultwas that Hosuseri, on behalf of himself and his descendants for alltime, promised to guard and respectfully serve his brother by day andby night. In this episode the hayabito had their origin. They werepalace guards, who to their military functions added the duty ofoccasionally performing a dance which represented the struggles oftheir ancestor, Hosuseri, when he was in danger of drowning. BIRTH OF THE EMPEROR JIMMU After the composition of the quarrel described above, Princess RichGem arrived from the castle of the ocean Kami, and built aparturition hut on the seashore, she being about to bring forth achild. Before the thatch of cormorants' feathers could be completed, the pains of labour overtook her, and she entered the hut, conjuringher husband not to spy upon her privacy, since, in order to be safelydelivered, she must assume a shape appropriate to her native land. He, however, suffered his curiosity to overcome him, and peeping in, saw her in the form of an eight-fathom crocodile. It resulted thathaving been thus put to shame, she left her child and returned to theocean Kami's palace, declaring that there should be no longer anyfree passage between the dominions of the ocean Kami and the world ofmen. "Nevertheless afterwards, although angry at her husband's havingwished to peep, she could not restrain her loving heart, " and shesent her younger sister, Good Jewel, to nurse the baby and to be thebearer of a farewell song to Hohodemi. The Records state that the latter lived to the age of 580 years andthat his mausoleum was built to the west of Mount Takachiho, on whichhis palace stood. Thus for the first time the duration of a life isstated in the antique annals of Japan. His son, called Fuki-ayezu(Unfinished Thatch), in memory of the strange incident attending hisbirth, married Princess Good Jewel, his own aunt, and by her had foursons. The first was named Itsuse (Five Reaches) and the youngest, Iware (a village in Yamato province). This latter ultimately becameEmperor of Japan, and is known in history as Jimmu (Divine Valour), aposthumous name given to him many centuries after his death. * Fromthe time of this sovereign dates and events are recorded with fullsemblance of accuracy in the Chronicles, but the compilers of theRecords do not attempt to give more than a bald statement of thenumber of years each sovereign lived or reigned. *Posthumous names for the earthly Mikados were invented in the reignof Kwammu (A. D. 782-805), i. E. , after the date of the compilation ofthe Records and the Chronicles. But they are in universal use by theJapanese, though to speak of a living sovereign by his posthumousname is a manifest anomaly. THE EXPEDITION TO YAMATO According to the Chronicles, the four sons of Fuki-ayezu engaged in acelebrated expedition from Tsukushi (Kyushu) to Yamato, but onealone, the youngest, survived. According to the Records, two onlytook part in the expedition, the other two having died before it setout. The former version seems more consistent with the facts, andwith the manner of the two princes' deaths, as described in theRecords. Looking from the east coast of the island of Kyushu, theprovince of Yamato lies to the northeast, at a distance of about 350miles, and forms the centre of the Kii promontory. From what haspreceded, a reader of Japanese history is prepared to find that theobjective of the expedition was Izumo, not Yamato, since it was toprepare for the occupation of the former province that the Sungoddess and her coadjutors expended so much energy. No explanationwhatever of this discrepancy is offered, but it cannot be supposedthat Yamato was regarded as a halfway house to Izumo, seeing thatthey lie on opposite coasts of Japan and are two hundred milesdistant. The Chronicles assign the genesis of the enterprise to Prince Iware, whom they throughout call Hohodemi, and into whose mouth they put anexhortation--obviously based on a Chinese model--speaking of a landin the east encircled by blue mountains and well situated, as thecentre of administrative authority. To reach Yamato by sea fromKyushu two routes offer; one, the more direct, is by the PacificOcean straight to the south coast of the Kii promontory; the other isby the Inland Sea to the northwestern coast of the same promontory. The latter was chosen, doubtless because nautical knowledge andseagoing vessels were alike wanting. It is not possible, however, to speak with confidence as to thenature of the ships possessed by the Japanese in early times. Thefirst mention of ships occurs in the story of Susanoo's arrival inJapan. He is said to have carried with him quantities of tree seedswhich he planted in the Eight Island Country, the cryptomeria and thecamphor being intended to serve as "floating riches, " namely ships. This would suggest, as is indeed commonly believed, that the boats ofthat era were simply hollow trunks of trees. Five centuries later, however, without any intervening reference, wefind the Emperor Sujin urging the construction of ships as ofcardinal importance for purposes of coastwise transport--advice whichis hardly consistent with the idea of log boats. Again, in A. D. 274, the people of Izu are recorded as having built and sent to the Courta vessel one hundred feet long; and, twenty-six years later, thisship having become old and unserviceable, was used as fuel formanufacturing salt, five hundred bags of which were distributed amongthe provinces with directions to construct as many ships. There is no mention in either the Chronicles or the Records of anymarked change in the matter of marine architecture during all theseyears. The nature of the Kyushu expeditionary ships must thereforeremain a matter of conjecture, but that they were propelled by oars, not sails, seems pretty certain. Setting out from some point inKyushu probably the present Kagoshima Bay the expedition made its wayup the east coast of the island, and reaching the Bungo Channel, where the tide is very rapid, obtained the services of a fisherman aspilot. Thence the fleet pushed on to Usa in the province of Buzen, atthe north of Kyushu, when two local chieftains built for theentertainment and residence of the princes and their followers a "onepillared palace"--probably a tent. The next place of call was Oka (orOkada) in Chikuzen, where they passed a year before turning eastwardinto the Inland Sea, and pushing on to one of the many islands offthe coast of Aki, they spent seven years before proceeding to anotherisland (Takashima) in Kibi, as the present three provinces of Bingo, Bitchu, and Bizen were then called. There they delayed for eightyears the Chronicles say three--in order to repair the oars of theirvessels and to procure provisions. Up to this time there had been no fighting or any attempt to effect alodgment on the mainland. But the expedition was now approaching thenarrow westerly entrance to the present Osaka Bay, where an armymight be encountered at any moment. The boats therefore sailed inline ahead, "the prow of each ship touching the stern of the other. "Off the mouth of the river, now known as the Yodo, they encounteredsuch a high sea that they called the place Nami-hana (WaveFlowers), a name subsequently abbreviated to Naniwa. Pushingon, the expeditionary force finally landed at a place--not nowidentifiable--in the province of Kawachi, which bounds Yamato on thewest. The whole voyage had occupied four years according to the Chronicles, sixteen according to the Records. At Kusaka they fought their firstbattle against the army of Prince Nagasune and were repulsed, PrinceItsuse being wounded by an arrow which struck his elbow. It wastherefore decided to change the direction of advance, so that insteadof moving eastward in the face of the sun, a procedure unpleasing tothe goddess of that orb, they should move westward with the sunbehind them. This involved re-embarking and sailing southward roundthe Kii promontory so as to land on its eastern coast, but thedangerous operation of putting an army on board ship in the presenceof a victorious enemy was successfully achieved by the aid ofskilfully used shields. On the voyage round Kii, where stormy seas are frequent, the fleetencountered a heavy gale and the boats containing two of the princeswere lost. * Prince Itsuse had already died of his wound, so of thefour brothers there now remained only the youngest, Prince Iware. Itis recorded that, at the age of fifteen, he had been made heir to thethrone, the principle of primogeniture not being then recognized, andthus the deaths of his brothers did not affect that question. Landingultimately at Kumano on the southeast of Kii, the expeditionary forcewas stricken by a pestilence, the prince himself not escaping. But atthe behest of the Sun goddess, the Kami of thunder caused a sword ofspecial virtue to come miraculously into the possession of aninhabitant of Kii, who carried it to the prince, and at once thesickness was stayed. When, however, the army attempted to advanceinto the interior, no roads were found and precipitous mountainsbarred the progress. In this dilemma the Sun goddess sent down thethree-legged crow of the Sun** to act as guide. *In the Chronicles the two princes are represented as havingdeliberately entered the stormy sea, angered that such hardshipsshould overtake the descendants of the ocean Kami. **The Yang-wu, or Sun-crow (Japanese Yata-garasu), is a creature ofpurely Chinese myth. It is supposed to be red in colour, to havethree legs, and to inhabit the sun. Thus indiscriminately are the miraculous and the commonplaceintermixed. Following this bird, the invading force pushed on intoYamato, receiving the allegiance of a body of men who fished withcormorants in the Yoshino River and who doubtless supplied the armywith food, and the allegiance of fabulous beings with tails, who cameout of wells or through cliffs. It is related that the invadersforced the elder of two brothers into a gyn which he had prepared fortheir destruction; and that on ascending a hill to reconnoitre, Prince Iware observed an army of women and a force of eighty"earth-hiders (Tsuchi-gumo) with tails, " by which latter epithet isto be understood bandits or raiders who inhabited caves. How it fared with the amazons the annals do not say, but the eightybandits were invited to a banquet and slaughtered in their cups. Still the expeditionary force encountered great opposition, the roadsand passes being occupied by numerous hostile bands. An appeal wasaccordingly made for divine assistance by organizing a publicfestival of worship, the vessels employed--eighty platters and asmany jars--being made by the hands of the prince himself with clayobtained from Mount Kagu in Yamato. * Several minor arrangementsfollowed, and finally swords were crossed with the army of Nagasune, who had inflicted a defeat on the invaders on the occasion of theirfirst landing at Kusaka, when Prince Itsuse received a mortal wound. A fierce battle ensued. Prince Iware burned to avenge his brother'sdeath, but repeated attacks upon Nagasune's troops proved abortiveuntil suddenly a golden-plumaged kite perched on the end of PrinceIware's bow, and its effulgence dazzled the enemy so that they couldnot fight stoutly. ** *The Chronicles state that the prince made ame on the platters. Ameis confectioned from malted millet and is virtually the same as themalt extract of the Occident. **This tradition of the golden kite is cherished in Japan. The "Orderof the Golden Kite" is the most coveted military distinction. From this incident the place where the battle occurred was calledTabi-no-mura, a name now corrupted into Tomi-no-mura. It does notappear, however, that anything like a decisive victory was gained bythe aid of this miraculous intervention. Nagasune sought a conferencewith Prince Iware, and declared that the ruler of Yamato, whom heserved, was a Kami who had formerly descended from heaven. He offeredin proof of this statement an arrow and a quiver belonging to theKami. But Prince Iware demonstrated their correspondence with thosehe himself carried. Nagasune, however, declining to abstain fromresistance, was put to death by the Kami he served, who then made actof submission to Prince Iware. The interest of this last incident lies in the indication it seems toafford that a race identical with the invaders had already settled inYamato. Prince Iware now caused a palace to be built on the plain ofKashiwa-bara (called Kashihara by some historians), to the southwestof Mount Unebi, and in it assumed the imperial dignity, on the firstday of the first month of the year 660 B. C. It is scarcely necessaryto say that this date must be received with all reserve, and that theepithet "palace" is not to be interpreted in the European sense ofthe term. The Chronicles, which alone attempt to fix the early dateswith accuracy, indicate 667 B. C. As the year of the expedition'sdeparture from Kyushu, and assign to Prince Iware an age offorty-five at the time. He was therefore fifty-two when crowned atKashiwa-bara, and as the same authority makes him live to an age of127, it might be supposed that much would be told of the lastseventy-five years of his life. But whereas many pages are devoted to the story of his adventuresbefore ascending the throne, a few paragraphs suffice for all that issubsequently related of him. While residing in Kyushu he married andhad two sons, the elder of whom, Tagishi-mimi, accompanied him on hiseastward expedition. In Yamato he married again and had three sons, the youngest of whom succeeded to the throne. The bestowing of titlesand rewards naturally occupied much attention, and to religiousobservances scarcely less importance seems to have been attached. Allreferences to these latter show that the offices of priest and kingwere united in the sovereign of these days. Thus it was by theEmperor that formulae of incantation to dissipate evil influenceswere dictated; that sacrifices were performed to the heavenly Kami soas to develop filial piety; and that shrines were consecrated forworshiping the Imperial ancestors. Jimmu was buried in a tumulus(misasagi) on the northeast of Mount Unebi. The site is officiallyrecognized to this day, and on the 3rd of April every year it isvisited by an Imperial envoy, who offers products of mountain, river, and sea. TRACES OF FOREIGN INFLUENCE What traces of Chinese or foreign influence are to be found in thelegends and myths set down above? It is tolerably certain thatcommunication existed between China and Japan from a date shortlyprior to the Christian era, and we naturally expect to find thatsince China was at that time the author of Asiatic civilization, shecontributed materially to the intellectual development of her islandneighbour. Examining the cosmogonies of the two countries, we find atthe outset a striking difference. The Chinese did not conceive anycreator, ineffable, formless, living in space; whereas the Japaneseimagined a great central Kami and two producing powers, invisible andworking by occult processes. On the other hand, there is a marked similarity of thought. For, ason the death of Panku, the giant toiler of Chinese myth on whomdevolved the task of chiselling out the universe, his left eye wastransmitted into the orb of day and his right into the moon, so whenthe Japanese Kami returned from his visit to the underworld, the sunemerged from the washing of his left eye and the moon from thewashing of his right. Japanese writers have sought to differentiatethe two myths by pointing out that the sun is masculine in China andfeminine in Japan, but such an objection is inadequate to impair theclose resemblance. In truth "creation from fragments of a fabulous anthropomorphic beingis common to Chaldeans, Iroquois, Egyptians, Greeks, Tinnehs, Mangaians, and Aryan Indians, " and from that fact a connexion betweenancient Japan and West Asia might be deduced by reference to thebeings formed out of the parts: of the fire Kami's body when Izanagiput him to the sword. On the other hand, the tale of which the birthof the sun and the moon forms a part, namely, the visit of Izanagi tohades in search of Izanami, is an obvious reproduction of theBabylonian myth of Ishtar's journey to the underworld in search ofDu'uzu, which formed the basis of the Grecian legend of Orpheus andEurydice. Moreover, Izanami's objection to return, on the ground ofhaving already eaten of the food of the underworld, is a feature ofmany ancient myths, among which may be mentioned the Indian story ofNachiketas, where the name Yama, the Indian god of the lower world, bears an obvious resemblance to the Japanese yomi (hades), as does, indeed, the whole Indian myth of Yami and Yama to that of Izanagi andIzanami. Is it not also more than a mere coincidence that as all the Semitictribes worshipped the goddess Isis, so--the Japanese worshipped, forsupreme being, the goddess of the Sun? Thus, here again there wouldseem to have been some path of communication other than that viaChina between Japan and the west of Asia. Further, the "river ofheaven"--the Milky Way--which so often figures in Japanese mythology, is prominent in Chinese also, and is there associated with theSpinning Damsel, just as in the Japanese legend it serves the Kamifor council-place after the injury done by Susanoo's violence to theSun goddess and her spinning maidens. It has been remarked[Chamberlain] that the chop-stick which Susanoo found floating downa river in Izumo, and the sake (rice-wine) which he caused to be madefor the purpose of intoxicating the eight-headed serpent, areobviously products of Chinese civilization, but as for the rescue ofthe maiden from the serpent, it is a plain replica of the legend ofPerseus and Andromeda, which, if it came through China, left no markin transit. Less palpable, but still sufficiently striking, is the resemblancebetween the story of Atalanta's golden apples and the casting down ofIzanagi's head-dress and comb as grapes and bamboo sprouts to arrestthe pursuit of the "hag of hades. " But indeed this throwing of hiscomb behind him by Izanagi and its conversion into a thicket arecommon incidents of ancient folk-lore, while in the context of thisKami's ablutions on his return from hades, it may be noted that Ovidmakes Juno undergo lustration after a visit to the lower regions andthat Dante is washed in Lethe when he passes out of purgatory. Nor isthere any great stretch of imagination needed to detect a likenessbetween the feathered messenger sent from the Ark and the threeenvoys--the last a bird--despatched from the "plain of high heaven"to report upon the condition of disturbed Japan. This comparison ispartially vitiated, however, by the fact that there is no traditionof a deluge in Japanese annals, though such phenomena are like ly tooccur occasionally in all lands and to produce a great impression onthe national imagination. "Moreover, what is specially known to us asthe deluge has been claimed as an ancient Altaic myth. Yet here wehave the oldest of the undoubtedly Altaic nations without any legendof the kind. " [Chamberlain. ] It appears, further, from the account of the Great-Name Possessor'svisit to the underworld, that one Japanese conception of hadescorresponded exactly with that of the Chinese, namely, a place wherepeople live and act just as they do on earth. But the religion out ofwhich this belief grew in China had its origin at a date longsubsequent to the supposed age of the Gods in Japan. The peaches withwhich Izanagi pelted and drove back the thunder Kami sent by Izanamito pursue him on his return from the underworld were evidentlysuggested by the fabulous female, Si Wang-mu, of Chinese legend, whopossessed a peach tree, the fruit of which conferred immortality andrepelled the demons of disease. So, too, the tale of the palace ofthe ocean Kami at the bottom of the sea, with its castle gate andcassia tree overhanging a well which serves as a mirror, forms a pageof Chinese legendary lore, and, in a slightly altered form, is foundin many ancient annals. The sea monster mentioned in this myth is written with a Chineseideograph signifying "crocodile, " but since the Japanese cannot havehad any knowledge of crocodiles, and since the monster is usuallyrepresented pictorially as a dragon, there can be little doubt thatwe are here confronted by the Dragon King of Chinese and Koreanfolk-lore which had its palace in the depths of the ocean. In fact, the Japanese, in all ages, have spoken of this legendary edifice asRyu no jo (the Dragon's castle). The eminent sinologue, Aston, has shrewdly pointed out that the termwani (crocodile) may be a corruption of the Korean word, wang-in(king), which the Japanese pronounced "wani. " As for the "curvedjewels, " which appear on so many occasions, the mineral jade, orjadelike stone, of which many of them were made, has never been metwith in Japan and must therefore have come from the continent ofAsia. The reed boat in which the leech, first offspring of Izanagiand Izanami, was sent adrift, "recalls the Accadian legend of Sargonand his ark of rushes, the biblical story of Moses as an infant andmany more, " though it has no known counterpart in Chinese mythology. It is noticeable that in spite of the honour paid to the stars in theChinese cosmogony, the only star specially alluded to in Japanesemyth is Kagase, who is represented as the last of the rebellious Kamion the occasion of the subjugation of Izumo by order of the Sungoddess and the Great-Producing Kami. So far as the Records and theChronicles are concerned, "the only stars mentioned are Venus, thePleiades, and the Weaver, " the last being connected with a Chineselegend, as shown above. Two other points remain to be noticed. One is that divination bycracks in a deer's roasted shoulder blade, a process referred to morethan once in the Records and the Chronicles, was a practice of theChinese, who seem to have borrowed it from the Mongolians; the other, that the sounding arrow (nari-kabura) was an invention of the Huns, and came to Japan through China. It had holes in the head, and theair passing through these produced a humming sound. As for theChronicles, they are permeated by Chinese influence throughout. Theadoption of the Chinese sexagenary cycle is not unnatural, but againand again speeches made by Chinese sovereigns and sages are put intothe mouths of Japanese monarchs as original utterances, so thatwithout the Records for purposes of reference and comparison, eventhe small measure of solid ground that can be constructed would becut from under the student's feet. ENGRAVING: BUNDAI SUZURI BAKO (A WRITING SET) ENGRAVING: 'NO' MASKS CHAPTER IV RATIONALIZATION GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES THE southwestern extremity of the main island of Japan is embraced bytwo large islands, Kyushu and Shikoku, the former lying on the westof the latter and being, in effect, the southern link of the islandchain which constitutes the empire of Japan. Sweeping northward fromFormosa and the Philippines is a strong current known as theKuro-shio (Black Tide), a name derived from the deep indigo colour ofthe water. This tide, on reaching the vicinity of Kyushu, isdeflected to the east, and passing along the southern coast of Kyushuand the Kii promontory, takes its way into the Pacific. Evidentlyboats carried on the bosom of the Kuro-shio would be likely to makethe shore of Japan at one of three points, namely, the south, orsoutheast, of Kyushu, the south of Shikoku or the Kii promontory. Now, according to the Records, the first place "begotten" by Izanagiand Izanami was an island called Awa, supposed to be in the vicinityof Awaji. The latter is a long, narrow island stretching from thenortheast of Shikoku towards the shore of the main island--which itapproaches very closely at the Strait of Yura--and forming what maybe called a gate, closing the eastern entrance to the Inland Sea. After the island of Awa, the producing couple gave birth to Awaji andsubsequently to Shikoku, which is described as an island having fourfaces, namely, the provinces of Awa, Iyo, Tosa, and Sanuki. Rejecting the obviously allegorical phantasy of "procreation, " we mayreasonably suppose ourselves to be here in the presence of anemigration from the South Seas or from southern China, which debarkson the coast of Awaji and thence crosses to Shikoku. Thereafter, theimmigrants touch at a triplet of small islands, described as "in theoffing, " and thence cross to Kyushu, known at the time as Tsukushi. This large island is described in the Records as having, likeShikoku, one body and four faces, and part of it was inhabited byKumaso, of whom much is heard in Japanese history. From Kyushu theinvaders pass to the islands of Iki and Tsushima, which lie betweenKyushu and Korea, and thereafter they sail northward along the coastof the main island of Japan until they reach the island of Sado. All this--and the order of advance follows exactly the procreationsequence given in the Records--lends itself easily to the suppositionof a party of immigrants coming originally from the south, voyagingin a tentative manner round the country described by them, andestablishing themselves primarily on its outlying islands. The next step, according to the Records, was to Yamato. About thisname, Yamato, there has been some dispute. Alike in ancient and inmodern times the term has been applied, on the one hand, to the wholeof the main island, and, on the other, to the single province ofYamato. The best authorities, however, interpret it in the lattersense for the purposes of the Izanagi-and-Izanami legend, and thatinterpretation is plainly consistent with the probabilities, for theimmigrants would naturally have proceeded from Awaji to the Kiipromontory, where the province of Yamato lies. Thereafter--on their"return, " say the Records, and the expression is apposite--theyexplored several small islands not identifiable by their names butsaid to have been in Kibi, which was the term then applied to theprovinces of Bingo, Bitchu, and Bizen, lying along the south coast ofthe Inland Sea and thus facing the sun, so that the descriptiveepithet "sun-direction" applied to the region was manifestlyappropriate. In brief, the whole narrative concerts well with the idea of a bandof emigrants carried on the breast of the "Black Tide, " who firstmake the circuit of the outlying fringe of islands, then enter themainland at Yamato, and finally sail down the Inland Sea, using thesmall islands off its northern shore as points d'appui forexpeditions inland. JAPANESE OPINION Japanese euhemerists, several of whom, in former times as well as inthe present, have devoted much learned research to the elucidation oftheir country's mythology, insist that tradition never intended tomake such a demand upon human credulity as to ask it to believe inthe begetting of islands by normal process of procreation. Theymaintain that such descriptions must be read as allegories. It thenbecomes easy to interpret the doings of Izanagi and Izanami as simpleacts of warlike aggression, and to suppose that they each commandedforces which were to have co-operated, but which, by failing at theoutset to synchronize their movements, were temporarily unsuccessful. It will seem, as we follow the course of later history, that theleading of armies by females was common enough to be called a featureof early Japan, and thus the role assigned to Izanami need not causeany astonishment. At their first miscarriage the two Kami, by betterorganization, overran the island of Awaji and then pushed on toShikoku, which they brought completely under their sway. But what meaning is to be assigned to the "plain of high heaven"(Takama-ga-hara)? Where was the place thus designated? By a majorityof Japanese interpreters Takama-ga-hara is identified as the regionof Taka-ichi in Yamato province. The word did not refer to anythingsupernatural but was used simply in an honorific sense. In later agesCourt officials were called "lords of the moon" (gekhei) or"cloud-guests" (unkaku), while officials not permitted to attend theCourt were known as "groundlings" (jige); the residence of theEmperor was designated "purple-clouds hall" (shishin-deri); to gofrom the Imperial capital to any other part of the country was to"descend, " the converse proceeding being called to "ascend, " and thepalace received the names of "blue sky" and "above the clouds. " To-day in Yamato province there is a hill called Takama-yama and aplain named Takama-no. The Records say that when the Sun goddessretired to a rock cave, a multitude of Kami met at Taka-ichi toconcert measures for enticing her out, and this Taka-ichi isconsidered to be undoubtedly the place of the same name in Yamato. But some learned men hold that Takama-ga-hara was in a foreigncountry, and that the men who emigrated thence to Japan belonged to arace very superior to that then inhabiting the islands. When, however, the leader of the invaders had established his Court inYamato the designation Takama-ga-hara came to be applied to thelatter place. Whichever theory be correct--and the latter certainly commends itselfas the more probable--it will be observed that both agree inassigning to Takama-ga-hara a terrestrial location; both agree inassigning the sense of "unsettled and turbulent" to the "floating, drifting" condition predicated of the country when the Kami firstinterested themselves in it, and both agree in interpreting as aninsignium of military authority the "jewelled spear" given to Izanagiand Izanami--an interpretation borne out by the fact that, insubsequent eras of Japanese history, it was customary for a rulerto delegate authority in this manner. Applying the same processof reasoning to the socalled "birth" of Kami, that processresolves itself very simply into the creation of chieftains andadministrators. RATIONALIZATION OF THE LEGEND OF THE VISIT TO HADES It would seem that from Yamato the invaders prosecuted their campaigninto the interior, reaching Izumo on the west coast. The Recordssay that after Izanami's death in giving birth to the Kami of fire, she was buried at Mount Kagu on the confines of Izumo and Hoki. Now the land of Yomi generally interpreted "underworld"--whichIzanagi visited in search of Izanami, was really identical withYomi-shima, located between the provinces of Hoki and Izumo, andNe-no-Kuni*--commonly taken to mean the "netherland"--subsequentlythe place of Susanoo's banishment, was in fact a designation ofIzumo, or had the more extensive application of the modern Sanin-doand Sanyo-do (districts in the shadow of the hill and districts onthe sunny side of the hill), that is to say, the western provincesand the south coast of the Inland Sea. *In the language of ancient Japan ne meant "mountain, " and Ne-no-Kunisignified simply "Land of Mountains. " What the allegory of the visit to hades would seem to signify, therefore, was that Izanami was defeated in a struggle with the localchieftains of Izumo or with a rebellious faction in that province;was compelled to make act of submission before Izanagi arrived toassist her--allegorically speaking she had eaten of the food ofhades--and therefore the conference between her and Izanagi provedabortive. The hag who pursued Izanagi on his retreat from Yomirepresents a band of amazons--a common feature in old Japan--and hisassailant, the Kami of thunder, was a rebel leader. As for the idea of blocking the "even pass of hades" with rocks, itappears to mean nothing more than that a military force was posted atHirasaka--now called Ifuyo-saka in Izumo--to hold the defile againstthe insurgent troops under Izanami, who finally took the fieldagainst Izanagi. It may be inferred that the struggle endedindecisively, although Izanagi killed the chieftain who hadinstigated the rebellion (the so-called "Kami of fire"), and thatIzanami remained in Izumo, becoming ruler of that province, whileIzanagi withdrew to the eastern part of Tsukushi (Kyushu), where heperformed the ceremony of grand lustration. THE STORY OF SUSANOO The story of Susanoo lends itself with equal facility torationalization. His desire to go to his "mother's land" instead ofobeying his father and ruling the "sea-plain" (unabara)--anappellation believed by some learned commentators to apply toKorea--may easily be interpreted to mean that he threw in his lotwith the rebellious chiefs in Izumo. Leading a force into Yamato, helaid waste the land so that the "green mountains were changed intowithered mountains, " and the commotion throughout the country waslike the noise of "flies swarming in the fifth month. " Finally he wasdriven out of Yamato, and retiring to Izumo, found that the localprefect was unable to resist the raids of a tribe from thenorth under the command of a chief whose name--Yachimata noOrochi--signified "eight-headed serpent. " This tribe had invaded the province and taken possession of the hillsand valleys in the upper reaches of the river Hi, whence traditioncame to speak of the tribe as a monster spreading over hills anddales and having pine forests growing on its back. The tribute offemales, demanded yearly by the tribe, indicates an exaction notuncommon in those days, and the sword said to have been found bySusanoo in the serpent's tail was the weapon worn by the last and thestoutest of Orochi's followers. There is another theory equally accordant with the annals and in somerespects more satisfying. It is that Susanoo and his son, Iso-takeru, when they were expelled from Yamato, dwelt in the land ofShiragi--the eastern of the three kingdoms into which Korea wasformerly divided--and that they subsequently built boats and rowedover to Izumo. This is distinctly stated in one version of theChronicles, and another variant says that when Iso-takeru descendedfrom Takama-ga-hara, he carried with him the seeds of trees in greatquantities but did not plant them in "the land of Han" (Korea). Further, it is elsewhere stated that the sword found by Susanoo inthe serpent's tail was called by him Orochi no Kara-suki (Orochi'sKorean blade), an allusion which goes to strengthen the reading ofthe legend. THE DESCENT OF NINIGI Omitting other comparatively trivial legends connected with the ageof Susanoo and his descendants, we come to what may be called thesecond great event in the early annals of Japan, namely, the descentof Ninigi on the southern coast of Tsukushi (Kyushu). The Records andthe Chronicles explicitly state that this expedition was planned inthe court at Takama-ga-hara (the "plain of high heaven"), and that, after sending forces to subdue the disturbed country and to obtainthe submission of its ruler, the grandson (Ninigi) of the Sun goddesswas commissioned to take possession of the land. It is also clearlyshown that Izumo was the centre of disturbance and that virtually allthe preliminary fighting took place there. Yet when Ninigi descendsfrom Takama-ga-hara--a descent which is described in one account ashaving taken place in a closed boat, and in another, as having beeneffected by means of the coverlet of a couch--he is said to havelanded, not in Izumo or in Yamato, but at a place in the far south, where he makes no recorded attempt to fulfil the purpose of hismission, nor does that purpose receive any practical recognitionuntil the time of his grandson Iware. The latter pushes northward, encountering the greatest resistance in the very province (Yamato)where his grandfather's expedition was planned and where the ImperialCourt was held. It is plain that these conditions cannot be reconciled except on oneof two suppositions: either that the Takama-ga-hara of this sectionof the annals was in a foreign country, or that the descent of Ninigiin the south of Japan was in the sequel of a complete defeatinvolving the Court's flight from Yamato as well as from Izumo. Let us first consider the theory of a foreign country. Was it Koreaor was it China? In favour of Korea there are only two arguments, onevague and the other improbable. The former is that one of Ninigi'salleged reasons for choosing Tsukushi as a landing-place was that itfaced Korea. The latter, that Tsukushi was selected because itoffered a convenient base for defending Japan against Korea. It willbe observed that the two hypotheses are mutually conflicting, andthat neither accounts for debarkation at a part of Tsukushiconspicuously remote from Korea. It is not wholly impossible, however, that Ninigi came from China, and that the Court which issaid to have commissioned him was a Chinese Court. In the history of China a belief is recorded that the Japanesesovereigns are descended from a Chinese prince, Tai Peh, whose fatherwished to disinherit him in favour of a younger son. Tai Peh fled toWu in the present Chekiang, and thence passed to Japan about 800 B. C. Another record alleges that the first sovereign of Japan was a son ofShao-kang of the Hsia dynasty (about 850 B. C. ), who tattooed his bodyand cut off his hair for purposes of disguise and lived on the bankof the Yangtsze, occupying himself with fishing until at length hefled to Japan. That Ninigi may have been identical with one of these persons is notinconceivable, but such a hypothesis refuses to be reconciled withthe story of the fighting in Izumo which preceded the descent toTsukushi. The much more credible supposition is that the YamatoCourt, confronted by a formidable rebellion having its centre inIzumo, retired to Tsukushi, and there, in the course of years, mustered all its followers for an expedition ultimately led by thegrandson of the fugitive monarch to restore the sway of his house. This interpretation of the legend consists with the fact that whenJimmu reached Yamato, the original identity of his own race with thatof the then ruler of the province was proved by a comparison ofweapons. THE CASTLE OF THE OCEAN KAMI With regard to the legend of the ocean Kami, the rationalistsconceive that the tribe inhabiting Tsukushi at the time of Ninigi'sarrival there had originally immigrated from the south and hadgradually spread inland. Those inhabiting the littoral districts wereultimately placed by Ninigi under the rule of Prince Hohodemi, andthose inhabiting the mountain regions under the sway of PrinceHosuseri. The boats and hooks of the legend are symbolical ofmilitary and naval power respectively. The brothers having quarrelledabout the limits of their jurisdictions, Hohodemi was worsted, and bythe advice of a local elder he went to Korea to seek assistance. There he married the daughter of the Ocean King--so called becauseKorea lay beyond the sea from Japan--and, after some years'residence, was given a force of war-vessels (described in the legendas "crocodiles") together with minute instructions (the tide-ebbingand the tide-flowing jewels) as to their skilful management. Theseships ultimately enabled him to gain a complete victory over hiselder brother. WHAT THE JAPANESE BELIEVE These rationalizing processes will commend themselves in differentdegrees to different minds. One learned author has compared suchanalyses to estimating the historical residuum of the Cinderellalegend by subtracting the pumpkin coach and the godmother. But we areconstrained to acknowledge some background of truth in the annals ofold Japan, and anything that tends to disclose that background iswelcome. It has to be noted, however, that though many learnedJapanese commentators have sought to rationalize the events describedin the Records and the Chronicles, the great bulk of the nationbelieves in the literal accuracy of these works as profoundly as thegreat bulk of Anglo-Saxon people believes in the Bible, itscosmogony, and its miracles. The gist of the Japanese creed, as based on their ancient annals, maybe briefly summarized. They hold that when the Sun goddess handed thethree sacred objects to Ninigi--generally called Tenson, or "heavenlygrandchild"--she ordained that the Imperial Throne should be coevalwith heaven and earth. They hold that the instructions given withregard to these sacred objects comprised the whole code ofadministrative ethics. The mirror neither hides nor perverts; itreflects evil qualities as faithfully as good; it is the emblem ofhonesty and purity. The jewel illustrates the graces of gentleness, softness, amiability, and obedience, and is therefore emblematic ofbenevolence and virtue. * The sword indicates the virtues of strength, sharpness, and practical decision, and is thus associated withintelligence and knowledge. So long as all these qualities areexercised in the discharge of administrative functions, there can beno misrule. *It must be remembered that the jewel referred to was a piece ofgreen or white jade. They further hold that when the Sun goddess detailed five Kami toform the suite of Ninigi, these Kami were entrusted with theministerial duties originally discharged by them, and becoming theheads of five administrative departments, transmitted their officesto generation after generation of their descendants. Thus Koyane wasthe ancestor of the Nakatomi family who discharged the priestlyduties of worship at the Court and recited the Purification Rituals;Futodama became the ancestor of the Imibe (or Imbe), a hereditarycorporation whose members performed all offices connected withmourning and funerals; Usume became ancestress of the Sarume, whoseduties were to perform dances in honour of the deities and to act asmediums of divine inspiration; Oshihi was the ancestor of the Otomochief who led the Imperial troops, and Kume became the ancestor ofthe Kumebe, a hereditary corporation of palace guards. Further, theyhold that whereas Ninigi and his five adjunct Kami all traced theirlineage to the two producing Kami of the primal trinity, the specialtitle of sovereignty conferred originally on the Sun goddess wastransmitted by her to the Tenson (heavenly grandchild), Ninigi, thedistinction of ruler and ruled being thus clearly defined. Finallythey hold that Ninigi and these five adjunct Kami, though occupyingdifferent places in the national polity, had a common ancestor whomthey jointly worshipped, thus forming an eternal union. ENGRAVING: ANCIENT CIVIL AND MILITARY HEAD-GEAR CHAPTER V ORIGIN OF THE JAPANESE NATION: HISTORICAL EVIDENCES IN considering the question of the origin of the Japanese nation fourguides are available; namely, written annals, archaeological relics, physical features, and linguistic affinities. WRITTEN ANNALS The annals, that is to say, the Records and the Chronicles, speak ofsix peoples; namely, first, Izanagi and his fellow Kami, who, asshown above, may reasonably be identified with the originalimmigrants represented in the story of the so-called "birth" of theislands; secondly, Jimmu and his followers, who re-conquered theislands; thirdly, the Yemishi, who are identical with the modernAinu; fourthly, the Kumaso; fifthly, the Sushen; and sixthly theTsuchi-gumo (earth-spiders). By naming these six separately it is notintended to imply that they are necessarily different races: thatremains to be decided. It will be convenient to begin with theSushen. THE SUSHEN The Sushen were Tungusic ancestors of the Manchu. They are firstmentioned in Japanese annals in A. D. 549, when a number of themarrived by boat on the north of Sado Island and settled there, livingon fish caught during spring and summer and salted or dried forwinter use. The people of Sado regarded them as demons and carefullyavoided them, a reception which implies total absence of previousintercourse. Finally they withdrew, and nothing more is heard oftheir race for over a hundred years, when, in A. D. 658, Hirafu, omiof Abe and warden of Koshi (the northwestern provinces, Etchu, Echizen, and Echigo), went on an expedition against them. Nothing is recorded as to the origin or incidents of this campaign. One account says that Hirafu, on his return, presented two whitebears to the Empress; that he fought with the Sushen and carried backforty-nine captives. It may be assumed, however, that the enterpriseproved abortive, for, two years later (660), he was again sentagainst the Sushen with two hundred ships. En route for hisdestination he took on board his own vessel some of the inhabitantsof Yezo (Yemishi) to act as guides, and the flotilla arrivedpresently in the vicinity of a long river, unnamed in the annals butsupposed to have been the Ishikari, which debouches on the west coastof Yezo. There a body of over a thousand Yemishi in a camp facing theriver sent messengers to report that the Sushen fleet had arrived ingreat force and that they were in imminent danger. The Sushen hadover twenty vessels and were lying in a concealed port whence Hirafuin vain sent messengers to summon them. What ensued in thus told in the Chronicles: "Hirafu heaped up on thebeach coloured silk stuffs, weapons, iron, etc. , " to excite thecupidity of the Sushen, who thereupon drew up their fleet in order, approached "with equal oars, flying flags made of feathers tied topoles, and halted in a shallow place. Then from one of their shipsthey sent forth two old men who went round the coloured silk stuffsand other articles which had been piled up, examined them closely, whereafter they changed the single garments they had on, and eachtaking up a piece of cloth went on board their ship and departed. "Meanwhile the Japanese had not made any attempt to molest them. Presently the two old men returned, took off the exchanged garmentsand, laying them down together with the cloth they had taken away, re-embarked and departed. Up to this Hirafu seems to have aimed at commercial intercourse. Buthis overtures having been rejected, he sent to summon the Sushen. They refused to come, and their prayer for peace having beenunsuccessful, they retired to "their own palisades. " There theJapanese attacked them, and the Sushen, seeing that defeat wasinevitable, put to death their own wives and children. How theythemselves fared is not recorded, nor do the Chronicles indicatewhere "their own palisades" were situated, but in Japan it has alwaysbeen believed that the desperate engagement was fought in the AmurRiver, and its issue may be inferred from the fact that although theJapanese lost one general officer, Hirafu was able on his return topresent to the Empress more than fifty "barbarians, " presumablySushen. Nevertheless, it is recorded that in the same year (A. D. 660), forty-seven men of Sushen were entertained at Court, and theinference is either that these were among the above "savages"--inwhich case Japan's treatment of her captured foes in ancient timeswould merit applause--or that the Sushen had previously establishedrelations with Japan, and that Hirafu's campaign was merely to repeltrespass. During the next sixteen years nothing more is heard of the Sushen, but, in A. D. 676, seven of them arrived in the train of an envoy fromSinra, the eastern of the three kingdoms into which Korea was thendivided. This incident evokes no remark whatever from the compilersof the Chronicles, and they treat with equal indifference thestatement that during the reign of the Empress Jito, in the year A. D. 696, presents of coats and trousers made of brocade, together withdark-red and deep-purple coarse silks, oxen, and other things weregiven to two men of Sushen. Nothing in this brief record suggeststhat any considerable intercourse existed in ancient times betweenthe Japanese and the Tungusic Manchu, or that the latter settled inJapan in any appreciable numbers. THE YEMISHI The Yemishi are identified with the modern Ainu. It appears that thecontinental immigrants into Japan applied to the semi-savage racesencountered by them the epithet "Yebisu" or "Yemishi, " terms whichmay have been interchangeable onomatopes for "barbarian. " TheYemishi are a moribund race. Only a remnant, numbering a fewthousands, survives, now in the northern island of Yezo. Neverthelessit has been proved by Chamberlain's investigations into the origin ofplace-names, that in early times the Yemishi extended from the northdown the eastern section of Japan as far as the region where thepresent capital (Tokyo) stands, and on the west to the province nowcalled Echizen; and that, when the Nihongi was written, they stilloccupied a large part of the main island. We find the first mention of them in a poem attributed to the EmperorJimmu. Conducting his campaign for the re-conquest of Japan, Jimmu, uncertain of the disposition of a band of inhabitants, ordered hisgeneral, Michi, to construct a spacious hut (muro) and invite theeighty doubtful characters to a banquet. An equal number of Jimmu'ssoldiers acted as hosts, and, at a given signal, when the guests wereall drunk, they were slaughtered. Jimmu composed a couplet expressinghis troops' delight at having disposed of a formidable foe so easily, and in this verselet he spoke of one Yemishi being reputed to be amatch for a hundred men. Whether this couplet really belongs to its context, however, isquestionable; the eighty warriors killed in the muro may not havebeen Yemishi at all. But the verse does certainly tend to show thatthe Yemishi had a high fighting reputation in ancient times, thoughit will presently be seen that such fame scarcely consists with thefacts revealed by history. It is true that when next we hear of theYemishi more than seven and a half centuries have passed, and duringthat long interval they may have been engaged in a fierce strugglefor the right of existence. There is no evidence, however, that suchwas the case. On the contrary, it would seem that the Japanese invaders encounteredno great resistance from the Yemishi in the south, and were for along time content to leave them unmolested in the northern andeastern regions. In A. D. 95, however, Takenouchi-no-Sukune wascommissioned by the Emperor Keiko to explore those regions. Hedevoted two years to the task, and, on his return in 97, he submittedto his sovereign this request: "In the eastern wilds there is acountry called Hi-taka-mi (Sun-height). The people of this country, both men and women, tie up their hair in the form of a mallet andtattoo their bodies. They are of fierce temper and their general nameis Yemishi. Moreover, the land is wide and fertile. We should attackit and take it. " [Aston's translation. ] It is observable that theprincipal motive of this advice is aggressive. The Yemishi had notmolested the Japanese or shown any turbulence. They ought to beattacked because their conquest would be profitable: that wassufficient. Takenouchi's counsels could not be immediately followed. Otherbusiness of a cognate nature in the south occupied the Court'sattention, and thirteen years elapsed before (A. D. 110) thecelebrated hero, Prince Yamato-dake, led an expedition against theYemishi of the east. In commanding him to undertake this task, theEmperor, according to the Chronicles, made a speech which, owing toits Chinese tone, has been called apocryphal, though some, at anyrate, of the statements it embodies are attested by modernobservation of Ainu manners and customs. He spoke of the Yemishi asbeing the most powerful among the "eastern savages;" said that their"men and women lived together promiscuously, " that there was "nodistinction of father and child;" that in winter "they dwelt in holesand in summer they lived in huts;" that their clothing consisted offurs and that they drank blood; that when they received a favour theyforgot it, but if an injury was done them they never failed to avengeit, and that they kept arrows in their top-knots and carried swordswithin their clothing. How correct these attributes may have been atthe time they were uttered, there are no means of judging, but thecustoms of the modern Ainu go far to attest the accuracy of theEmperor Keiko's remarks about their ancestors. Yamato-dake prefaced his campaign by worshipping at the shrine ofIse, where he received the sword "Herb-queller, " which Susanoo hadtaken from the last chieftain of the Izumo tribesmen. Thence hesailed along the coast to Suruga, where he landed, and was nearlydestroyed by the burning of a moor into which he had been persuadedto penetrate in search of game. Escaping with difficulty, and havingtaken a terrible vengeance upon the "brigands" who had sought tocompass his destruction, he pushed on into Sagami, crossed the bay toKazusa and, sailing north, reached the southern shore of Shimosa, which was the frontier of the Yemishi. The vessels of the latterassembled with the intention of offering resistance, but at theaspect of the Japanese fleet and the incomparably superior arms andarrows of the men it carried, they submitted unconditionally andbecame personal attendants on Yamato-dake. Three things are noticeable in this narrative. The first is that the"brigands of Suruga" were not Yemishi; the second, that the Yemishioffered no resistance, and the third, that the Yemishi chiefs arecalled in the Chronicles "Kami of the islands" and "Kami of thecountry"--titles which indicate that they were held in some respectby the Japanese. It is not explicitly recorded that Yamato-dake hadany further encounter with the Yemishi, but figurative referencesshow that he had much fighting. The Chronicles quote him as saying, after his return to Kii from an extended march through thenortheastern provinces and after penetrating as far as Hi-taka-mi(modern Hitachi), the headquarters of the Yemishi, that the onlyYemishi who remained unsubmissive were those of Shinano and Koshi(Echigo, Etchu, and Echizen). But although Yamato-dake subsequentlyentered Shinano, where he suffered much from the arduous nature ofthe ground, and though he sent a general to explore Koshi, heultimately retired to Owari, where he died from the effects offatigue and exposure according to some authorities, of a wound from apoisoned arrow according to others. His last act was to present asslaves to the shrine of Ise the Yemishi who had originallysurrendered and who had subsequently attached themselves to hisperson. They proved so noisy, however, that the priestess of theshrine sent them to the Yamato Court, which assigned for them asettlement on Mount Mimoro. Here, too, their conduct was so turbulentthat they received orders to divide and take up their abode at anyplace throughout the five provinces of Harima, Sanuki, Iyo, Aki, andAwa, where, in after ages, they constituted a hereditary corporationof Saeki (Saekibe). These details deserve to be recorded, for their sequel showshistorically that there is an Yemishi element in the Japanese race. Thus, in later times we find the high rank of muraji borne by amember of the Saekibe. Fifteen years (A. D. 125) after the death ofYamato-dake, Prince Sajima was appointed governor-general of thefifteen provinces of Tosan-do (the Eastern Mountain circuit); that isto say, the provinces along the east coast. He died en route and hisson, Prince Mimoro, succeeded to the office. During his tenure ofpower the Yemishi raised a disturbance, but no sooner was forceemployed against them than they made obeisance and threw themselveson the mercy of the Japanese, who pardoned all that submitted. This orderly condition remained uninterrupted until A. D. 367, whenthe Yemishi in Kazusa made one of the very few successful revolts onrecord. They killed Tamichi, a Japanese general sent against them, and they drove back his forces, who do not appear to have taken veryeffective measures of retaliation. In 482 we find the Yemishirendering homage to the Emperor Kenso, a ceremony which was repeatedon the accession of the Emperor Kimmei (540). But, though meek in the presence of peril, the Yemishi appear to havebeen of a brawling temperament. Thus, in 561, several thousands ofthem showed hostility on the frontier, yet no sooner were theirchiefs threatened with death than they submitted. At that time allthe provinces in the northeast and northwest--then included in Mutsuand Dewa--were in Yemishi possession. They rebelled again in 637, andat first gained a signal success, driving the Japanese general, Katana, into a fortress where he was deserted by his troops. His wifesaved the situation. She upbraided her husband as he was scaling thepalisades to escape by night, fortified him with wine, girded hissword on herself, and caused her female attendants--of whom therewere "several tens"--to twang bowstrings. Katana, taking heart ofgrace, advanced single handed; the Yemishi, thinking that his troopshad rallied, gave way, and the Japanese soldiers, returning to theirduty, killed or captured all the insurgents. No other instance of equally determined resistance is recorded on thepart of the Yemishi. In 642, several thousands made submission inKoshi. Four years later (646), we find Yemishi doing homage to theEmperor Kotoku. Yet in 645 it was deemed necessary to establish abarrier settlement against them in Echigo; and whereas, in 655, whenthe Empress Saimei ascended the throne, her Court at Naniwaentertained ninety-nine of the northern Yemishi and forty-five of theeastern, conferring cups of honour on fifteen, while at the same timeanother numerous body came to render homage and offer gifts, barelythree years had elapsed when, in 655, a Japanese squadron of 180vessels, under the command of Hirafu, omi of Abe, was engagedattacking the Yemishi at Akita on the northwest coast of the mainisland. All this shows plainly that many districts were still peopled byYemishi and that their docility varied in different localities. Inthe Akita campaign the usual surrender was rehearsed. The Yemishideclared that their bows and arrows were for hunting, not forfighting, and the affair ended in a great feast given by Hirafu, thesequel being that two hundred Yemishi proceeded to Court, carryingpresents, and were appointed to various offices in the localitiesrepresented, receiving also gifts of arms, armour, drums, and flags. * *It is related that these flags had tops shaped like cuttlefish. An interesting episode is recorded of this visit. One of the Yemishi, having been appointed to a high post, was instructed to investigatethe Yemishi population and the captive population. Who were thesecaptives? They seem to have been Sushen, for at the feast given byHirafu his Yemishi guests came accompanied by thirty-five captives, and it is incredible that Japanese prisoners would have been thushumiliated in the sight of their armed countrymen. There will beoccasion to recur to this point presently. Here we have to note thatin spite of frequent contact, friendly or hostile, and in spite of somany years of intercourse, the Yemishi seem to have been stillregarded by the Japanese as objects of curiosity. For, in the year654, envoys from Yamato to the Tang Emperor of China took with them aYemishi man and woman to show to his Majesty. The Chinese sovereign was much struck by the unwonted appearance ofthese people. He asked several questions, which are recorded verbatimin the Chronicles; and the envoys informed him that there were threetribes of Yemishi; namely, the Tsugaru* Yemishi, who were the mostdistant; next, the Ara Yemishi (rough or only partially subdued), andlastly, the Nigi Yemishi (quiet or docile); that they sustained lifeby eating, not cereals, but flesh, and that they dispensed withhouses, preferring to live under trees and in the recesses ofmountains. The Chinese Emperor finally remarked, "When we look at theunusual bodily appearance of these Yemishi, it is strange in theextreme. " *The Story of Korea, by Longford. Evidently whatever the original provenance of the Yemishi, they hadnever been among the numerous peoples who observed the custom ofpaying visits of ceremony to the Chinese capital. They wereapparently not included in the family of Far Eastern nations. Fromthe second half of the seventh century they are constantly foundcarrying tribute to the Japanese Court and receiving presents orbeing entertained in return. But these evidences of docility andfriendship were not indicative of the universal mood. The Yemishilocated in the northeastern section of the main island continued togive trouble up to the beginning of the ninth century, and throughoutthis region as well as along the west coast from the thirty-eighthparallel of latitude northward the Japanese were obliged to build sixcastles and ten barrier posts between A. D. 647 and 800. These facts, however, have no concern with the immediate purpose ofthis historical reference further than to show that from the earliesttimes the Yamato immigrants found no opponents in the northern halfof the island except the Yemishi and the Sushen. One more episode, however, is germane. In the time (682) of the Emperor Temmu, theYemishi of Koshi, who had by that time become quite docile, asked forand received seven thousand families of captives to found a district. A Japanese writing alleges that these captives were subjects of theCrown who had been seized and enslaved by the savages. But that isinconsistent with all probabilities. The Yamato might sentence thesepeople to serfdom among men of their own race, but they never wouldhave condemned Japanese to such a position among the Yemishi. Evidently these "captives" were prisoners taken by the Yamato fromthe Koreans, the Sushen, or some other hostile nation. THE KUMASO There has been some dispute about the appellation "Kumaso. " One highauthority thinks that Kuma and So were the names of two tribesinhabiting the extreme south of Japan; that is to say, the provincesnow called Hyuga, Osumi, and Satsuma. Others regard the term asdenoting one tribe only. The question is not very material. Among allthe theories formed about the Kumaso, the most plausible is that theybelonged to the Sow race of Borneo and that they found their way toJapan on the breast of the "Black Tide. " Many similarities of customhave been traced between the two peoples. Both resorted freely toornamental tattooing; both used shields decorated with hair; bothwere skilled in making articles of bamboo, especially hats; both werefond of dancing with accompaniment of singing and hand-clapping; andboth dressed their hair alike. Japanese annals use the word "Kumaso"for the first time in connexion with the annexation of Tsukushi(Kyushu) by the Izanagi expedition, when one of the four faces of theisland is called the "land of Kumaso. " Plainly if this nomenclaturemay be taken as evidence, the Kumaso must have arrived in Japan at adate prior to the advent of the immigrants represented by Izanagi andIzanami; and it would further follow that they did not penetrate farinto the interior, but remained in the vicinity of the place oflanding, which may be supposed to have been some point on thesouthern coast of Kyushu. Nor does there appear to have been anycollision between the two tides of immigrants, for the firstappearance of the Kumaso in a truculent role was in A. D. 81 when theyare said to have rebelled. The incident, though remote from the capital, was sufficientlyformidable to induce the Emperor Keiko to lead a force against themin person from Yamato. En route he had to deal with "brigands"infesting Suwo and Buzen, provinces separated by the Inland Sea andsituated respectively on the south of the main island and the northof Kyushu. These provinces were ruled by chieftainesses, who declaredthemselves loyal to the Imperial cause, and gave information aboutthe haunts and habits of the "brigands, " who in Suwo had no specialappellation but in Buzen were known as Tsuchi-gumo, a name to bespoken of presently. They were disposed of partly by stratagem andpartly by open warfare. But when the Yamato troops arrived in Hyugawithin striking distance of the Kumaso, the Emperor hesitated. Hedeemed it wise not to touch the spear-points of these puissant foes. Ultimately he overcame them by enticing the two daughters of theprincipal leaders and making a show of affection for one of them. Sheconducted Japanese soldiers to her father's residence, and havingplied him with strong drink, cut his bow-string while he slept sothat the soldiers could kill him with impunity. It is recorded thatKeiko put the girl to death for her unfilial conduct, but theassassination of her father helped the Japanese materially in theircampaign against the Kumaso, whom they succeeded in subduing and inwhose land the Emperor remained six years. The Kumaso were not quelled, however. Scarcely eight years hadelapsed from the time of Keiko's return to Yamato when they rebelledagain, "making ceaseless raids upon the frontier districts;" and hesent against them his son, Yamato-dake; with a band of skilledarchers. This youth, one of the most heroic figures in ancientJapanese history, was only sixteen. He disguised himself as a girland thus gained access to a banquet given by the principal Kumasoleader to celebrate the opening of a new residence. Attracted by thebeauty of the supposed girl, the Kumaso chieftain placed her besidehim, and when he had drunk heavily, Yamato-dake stabbed him to theheart, * subsequently serving all his band in the same way. Afterthis, the Kumaso remained quiet for nearly a century, but in the year193, ** during the reign of the Emperor Chuai, they once morerebelled, and the Emperor organized an expedition against them. Hefailed in the struggle and was killed by the Kumaso's arrows. Thenceforth history is silent about them. *The Chronicles relate that when the Kumaso was struck down he askedfor a moment's respite to learn the name of his slayer, whose prowessastounded him. On receiving an answer he sought the prince'spermission to give him a title, and declared that instead of beingcalled Yamato Oguna, the name hitherto borne by him, he should betermed Yamato-dake (Champion of Japan) because he had conquered thehitherto unconquerable. The prince accepted the name, and then gavethe Kumaso his coup de grace. **It should be understood that these dates, being prehistoric, arenot wholly reliable. Who, then, were they? It is related in the Chronicles that, afterbreaking the power of the Kumaso, the Emperor Keiko made a tour ofinspection in Tsukushi (Kyushu), and arriving at the district ofKuma, summoned two brothers, princes of Kuma, to pay homage. Oneobeyed, but the other refused, and soldiers were therefore sent toput him to death. Now Kuma was the name of the three kingdoms intowhich the Korean peninsula was divided in ancient times, and it hasbeen suggested [Aston] that the land of Kuma in Korea was the parentcountry of Kuma in Japan, Kom in the Korean language having the samemeaning (bear) as Kuma in the Japanese. This, of course, involves theconclusion that the Kumaso were originally Korean emigrants; a theorysomewhat difficult to reconcile with their location in the extremesouth of Kyushu. The apparent silence of the annals about the subsequent career of thetribe is accounted for by supposing that the Kumaso were identicalwith the Hayato (falcon men), who make their first appearance uponthe scene in prehistoric days as followers of Hosuseri in his contestwith his younger brother, Hohodemi, the hero of the legend about thepalace of the sea god. Hohodemi according to the rationalized versionof the legend having obtained assistance in the shape of ships andmariners from an oversea monarch (supposed to have reigned in Korea), returned to Tsukushi to fight his brother, and being victorious, spared Hosuseri's life on condition that the descendants of thevanquished through eighty generations should serve the victor'sdescendants as mimes. "On that account, " says the Chronicles, "the various Hayato, descended from Hosuseri to the present time, do not leave thevicinity of the Imperial palace enclosure and render service insteadof watch-dogs. " The first mention of the name Hayato after theprehistoric battle in Kyushu, occurs in the year 399, when Sashihire, one of the tribe, was induced to assassinate his master, an Imperialprince. This incident goes to show that individual members of thetribe were then employed at Court; an inference confirmed fifty-oneyears later, when, on the death of Emperor Yuryaku, "the Hayatolamented night and day beside the misasagi (tomb) and refused thefood offered to them, until at the end of seven days they died. " It can scarcely be doubted that we have here a reversion to the oldcustom which compelled slaves to follow their lords to the grave. TheHayato serving in the Court at that epoch held the status generallyassigned in ancient days to vanquished people, the status of serfs orslaves. Six times during the next 214 years we find the Hayatorepairing to the Court to pay homage, in the performance of whichfunction they are usually bracketted with the Yemishi. Once (682) awrestling match took place in the Imperial presence between theHayato of Osumi and those of Satsuma, and once (694) the viceroy ofTsukushi (Kyushu) presented 174 Hayato to the Court. THE TSUCHI-GUMO In ancient Japan there was a class of men to whom the epithet"Tsuchi" (earth-spiders) was applied. Their identity has been asubject of much controversy. The first mention made of them inJapanese annals occurs in connexion with the slaughter of eightybraves invited to a banquet by the Emperor Jimmu's general in apit-dwelling at Osaka. * The Records apply to these men the epithet"Tsuchi-gumo, " whereas the Chronicles represent the Emperor ascelebrating the incident in a couplet which speaks of them asYemishi. It will be seen presently that the apparent confusion ofepithet probably conveys a truth. *This incident has been already referred to under the heading"Yemishi. " It is to be observed that the "Osaka" here mentioned isnot the modern city of Osaka. The next allusion to Tsuchi-gumo occurs in the annals of the year(662 B. C. ) following the above event, according to the chronology ofthe Chronicles. The Emperor, having commanded his generals toexercise the troops, Tsuchi-gumo were found in three places, and asthey declined to submit, a detachment was sent against them. Concerning a fourth band of these defiant folk, the Chronicles say:"They had short bodies and long legs and arms. They were of the sameclass as the pigmies. The Imperial troops wove nets of dolichos, which they flung over them and then slew them. " There are four comments to be made on this. The first is that thescene of the fighting was in Yamato. The second, that the chiefs ofthe Tsuchi-gumo had Japanese names--names identical, in two cases, with those of a kind of Shinto priest (hafuri), and therefore mostunlikely to have been borne by men not of Japanese origin. The third, that the presence of Tsuchi-gumo in Yamato preceded the arrival ofJimmu's expedition. And the fourth, that the Records are silent aboutthe whole episode. As for the things told in the Chronicles aboutshort bodies, long limbs, pigmies, and nets of dolichos, they may bedismissed as mere fancies suggested by the name Tsuchi-gumo, whichwas commonly supposed to mean "earth-spiders. " If any inference maybe drawn from the Chronicles' story, it is that there were Japanesein Yamato before Jimmu's time, and that Tsuchi-gumo were simply bandsof Japanese raiders. ENGRAVING: AINUS (INHABITANTS OF HOKKAIDO, THE NORTHERN ISLAND) They are heard of next in the province of Bungo (on the northeast ofKyushu) where (A. D. 82) the Emperor Keiko led an army to attack theKumaso. Two bands of Tsuchi-gumo are mentioned as living there, andthe Imperial forces had no little difficulty in subduing them. Theirchiefs are described as "mighty of frame and having numerousfollowers. " In dealing with the first band, Keiko caused his bravestsoldiers to carry mallets made from camellia trees, though why suchweapons should have been preferred to the trenchant swords used bythe Japanese there is nothing to show. (Another account says"mallet-headed swords, " which is much more credible). In dealing withthe second, he was driven back once by their rain of arrows, and whenhe attacked from another quarter, the Tsuchi-gumo, their submissionhaving been refused, flung themselves into a ravine and perished. Here again certain points have to be noticed: that there wereTsuchi-gumo in Kyushu as well as in Yamato; that if one accountdescribes them as pigmies, another depicts them as "mighty of frame, "and that in Kyushu, as in Yamato, the Tsuchi-gumo had Japanese names. Only once again do the annals refer to Tsuchi-gumo. They relatecurtly that on his return from quelling the Kumaso the Emperor Keikokilled a Tsuchi-gumo in the province of Hizen. The truth seems to bethat factitious import has been attached to the Tsuchi-gumo. Mainlybecause they were pit-dwellers, it was assumed for a tune that theyrepresented a race which had immigrated to Japan at some date priorto the arrival of the Yemishi (modern Ainu). This theory was foundedon the supposed discovery of relics of pit-dwellers in the islands ofYezo and Itorop, and their hasty identification as Kuro-pok-guru--theAinu term for underground dwellers--whose modern representatives areseen among the Kurilsky or their neighbours in Kamchatka andSaghalien. But closer examination of the Yezo and Itorop pits showedthat there was complete absence of any mark of antiquity--such as thepresence of large trees or even deep-rooted brushwood;--that theywere arranged in regular order, suggesting a military encampmentrather than the abode of savages; that they were of uniform size, with few exceptions; that on excavation they yielded fragments ofhard wood, unglazed pottery, and a Japanese dirk, and, finally, thattheir site corresponded with that of military encampments establishedin Yezo and the Kuriles by the Japanese Government in the early partof the nineteenth century as a defence against Russian aggression. Evidently the men who constructed and used these pit-dwellings werenot prehistoric savages but modern Japanese soldiers. Further veryconclusive testimony has been collected by the Rev. John Batchelor, who has devoted profound study to the Ainu. He found that theinhabitants of Shikotan, who had long been supposed to be a remnantof pre-Ainu immigrants, were brought thither from an island calledShimushir in the Kurile group in 1885 by order of the JapaneseGovernment; that they declared themselves to be descended from men ofSaghalien; that they spoke nothing but the Ainu language, and thatthey inhabited pits in winter, as do also the Ainu now living inSaghalien. If any further proof were needed, it might be drawn fromthe fact that no excavation has brought to light any relics whateverof a race preceding and distinct from the Yemishi (Ainu), all thepits and graves hitherto searched having yielded Yamato or Yemishiskulls. Neither has there been found any trace of pigmies. An Ainu myth is responsible for the belief in the existence of suchbeings: "In very ancient times, a race of people who dwelt in pitslived among us. They were so very tiny that ten of them could easilytake shelter beneath one burdock leaf. When they went to catchherrings they used to make boats by sewing the leaves together, andalways fished with a hook. If a single herring was caught, it tookall the strength of the men of five boats, or ten sometimes, to holdit and drag it ashore, while whole crowds were required to kill itwith their clubs and spears. Yet, strange to say, these divine littlemen used even to kill great whales. Surely these pit-dwellers weregods. "* *"The Ainu and their Folk-lore, " by Batchelor. Evidently if such legends are to be credited, the existence offairies must no longer be denied in Europe. Side by side with thetotal absence of all tangible relics may be set the fact that, whereas numerous place-names in the main island of Japan have beenidentified as Ainu words, none has been traced to any alien tonguesuch as might be associated with earlier inhabitants. Thus, thetheory of a special race of immigrants anterior to the Yemishi has tobe abandoned so far as the evidence of pit-dwelling is concerned. The fact is that the use of partially underground residencescannot be regarded as specially characteristic of any race or asdifferentiating one section of the people of Japan from another. Tothis day the poorer classes in Korea depend for shelter upon pitscovered with thatch or strong oil-paper. They call these dwellings umor um-mak, a term corresponding to the Japanese muro. Pit-dwellersare mentioned in old Chinese literature, and the references to themuro in the Records and Chronicles show that the muro of those dayshad a character similar to that of the modern Korean um-mak [Aston]. We read of a muro being dug; of steps down to it; and we read of amuro big enough to hold 160 persons at one time. The muro was notalways simply a hole roofed over: it sometimes contained a househaving a wooden frame lashed together with vine-tendrils, the wallslined with sedges and reeds and plastered with a mixture of grass andclay. The roof was thatched with reeds; there was a door openinginwards, and a raised platform served for sleeping purposes. Adwelling closely resembling this description was actually unearthednear Akita in O-U, in 1807. Muro were used in ancient times by thehighest as Well as the poorest classes. Susanoo is said by the IzumoFudoki to have made for himself a muro; Jimmu's sort is representedas sleeping in a great muro, and the Emperor Keiko, when (A. D. 82)prosecuting his campaign in Kyushu, is said to have constructed amuro for a temporary palace. "In fact, pit-dwelling in northernclimates affords no indication of race. " CONCLUSION FROM HISTORICAL EVIDENCE Thus the conclusion suggested by historical evidence is that theJapanese nation is composed of four elements: the Yamato; the Yemishi(modern Ainu); the Kumaso (or Hayato), and the Sushen. As to the lastof these, there is no conclusive indication that they ever immigratedin appreciable numbers. It does not follow, of course, that thehistorical evidence is exhaustive, especially Japanese historicalevidence; for the annalists of Japan do not appear to have paid anyspecial attention to racial questions. ENGRAVING: ANCIENT HANGING BELLS ENGRAVING: FUTAMI-GA-URA (The Husband and Wife Rocks) CHAPTER VI ORIGIN OF THE NATION: GEOGRAPHICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL RELICS JAPAN'S CONNEXION WITH THE ASIATIC CONTINENT THE group of islands forming Japan may be said to have routes ofcommunication with the continent of Asia at six places: two in thenorth; two in the southwest, and two in the south. The principalconnexion in the north is across the narrow strait of Soya from thenorthwest point of Yezo to Saghalien and thence to the Amur region ofManchuria. The secondary connexion is from the north-east point ofYezo via the long chain of the Kuriles to Kamchatka. The first of thesouthwestern routes is from the northwest of Kyushu via the islandsof Iki and Tsushima to the southeast of Korea; and the second is fromthe south of the Izumo promontory in Japan, by the aid of the currentwhich sets up the two southern routes. One of these is from thesouthwest of Kyushu via the Goto Islands to southeastern China; theother is from the south of Kyushu via the Ryukyu Islands, Formosa, and the Philippines to Malaysia and Polynesia. It has also beenproved geologically* that the islands now forming Japan must at onetime have been a part of the Asiatic continent. Evidently thesevarious avenues may have given access to immigrants from Siberia, from China, from Malaysia, and from Polynesia. *There have been found in the gravel Tertiary mammals includingelephas primigenius, elephas Namadicus, stegodon Clifti, and unnamedvarieties of bear, deer, bison, ox, horse, rhinoceros, and whale. (Outlines of the Geology of Japan; Imperial Geological Survey). CULTURE Archaeological research indicates the existence of two distinctcultures in Japan together with traces of a third. One of thesecultures has left its relics chiefly in shell-heaps or embedded inthe soil, while the remains of another are found mainly in sepulchralchambers or in caves. The relics themselves are palpably distinctexcept when they show transitional approach to each other. The older culture is attested by more than four thousand residentialsites and shell-heaps. Its most distinctive features are the absenceof all metallic objects and the presence of pottery not turned on thewheel. Polished, finely chipped, and roughly hewn implements andweapons of stone are found, as are implements of bone and horn. It was, in short, a neolithic culture. The vestiges of the otherculture do not include weapons of stone. There are imitations ofsheath-knives, swords, and arrow-heads, and there are some models ofstone articles. But the alien features are iron weapons and hardpottery always moulded on the wheel. Copper is present mainly inconnexion with the work of the goldsmith and the silversmith, andarrow-heads, jingle-bells, mirrors, etc. , are also present. Theformer culture is identified as that of the aboriginal inhabitants, the Yemishi; the latter belongs to the Yamato race, or Japaneseproper. Finally, "there are indications that a bronze cultureintervened in the south between the stone and the iron phases. "* *Munro's Prehistoric Japan. PRIMITIVE CULTURE The neolithic sites occur much more frequently in the northern thanin the southern half of Japan. They are, indeed, six times asnumerous on the north as on the south of a line drawn across the mainisland from the coast of Ise through Orai. The neighbourhood of thesea, at heights of from thirty to three hundred feet, and thealluvial plains are their favourite positions. So far as thetechnical skill shown by the relics--especially the pottery--isconcerned, it grows higher with the latitude. The inference is thatthe settlements of the aborigines in the south were made at anearlier period than those in the north; which may be interpreted tomean that whereas the stone-using inhabitants were driven back in thesouth at an early date, they held their ground in the north to acomparatively modern era. That is precisely what Japanese history indicates. Jimmu's conquests, which took place several centuries before the Christian era, carriedhim as far as the Ise-Omi line, but Yamato-dake's expedition againstthe Yemishi north of that line was not planned until the secondcentury after Christ. Apart from the rough evidence furnished by thequality of the relics, calculations have been made of the age of animportant shell-heap by assuming that it originally stood at theseaside, and by estimating the number of years required to separateit by the present interval from the coast at a fixed annual rate ofsilting. The result is from five thousand to ten thousand years. Abook (the Hitachi Fudoki), published in A. D. 715, speaks of thesekaizuka (shell-heaps) as existing already at that remote period, andattributes their formation to a giant living on a hill who stretchedout his hand to pick up shell-fish. This myth remained current untilthe eighteenth century, and stone axes exhumed from the heaps werecalled thunder-axes (rai-fu) just as similar relics in Europe werecalled elf-bolts or thunder-stones. There is great diversity of size among the shell-heaps, some being ofinsignificant dimensions and others extending to five hundred squareyards. They are most numerous in the eight provinces forming theKwanto. In fact, in these ancient times, the Yamato race and theaborigines had their headquarters in the same localities, respectively, as the Imperial and Feudal governments had in mediaevaland modern times. But there are no distinct traces of palaeolithicculture; the neolithic alone can be said to be represented. Itsrelics are numerous--axes, knives, arrow-heads, arrow-necks, bow-tips, spear-heads, batons, swords, maces, sling-stones, needles, drill-bows, drill and spindle weights, mortars and pestles, paddles, boats, sinkers, fishing-hooks, gaffs, harpoons, mallets, chisels, scrapers, hoes, sickles, whetstones, hammers, and drills. It must be premised that though so many kinds of implements are hereenumerated, the nomenclature cannot be accepted as universallyaccurate. The so-called "hoe, " for example, is an object of disputedidentity, especially as agriculture has not been proved to have beenpractised among the primitive people of Japan, nor have any traces ofgrain been found in the neolithic sites. On the other hand, themodern Ainu, who are believed to represent the ancient population, include in their religious observances the worship of the first cakesmade from the season's millet, and unless that rite be supposed tohave been borrowed from the Yamato, it goes to indicate agriculturalpursuits. There is, indeed, one great obstacle to any confident differentiationof the customs and creeds prevalent in Japan. That obstacle consistsin the great length of the period covered by the annals. It mayreasonably be assumed that the neolithic aborigines were in more orless intimate contact with the invading Yamato for something liketwenty-five centuries, an interval quite sufficient to have producedmany interactions and to have given birth to many new traditions. Anillustration is furnished by the mental attitude of the uneducatedclasses in Japan towards the neolithic implements. So completely hasall memory of the human uses of these implements faded, that they areregarded as relics of supernatural beings and called by such names asraifu (thunder-axe), raitsui (thunder-club), kitsune no kuwa(fox-hoe), raiko (thunder-pestle), and tengu no meshigai (rice-spoonof the goblins). Many of the neolithic relics show that the peoplewho used them had reached a tolerably high level of civilization. This is specially seen in the matter of ceramics. It is true that thewheel was not employed, and that the firing was imperfect, but thevariety of vessels was considerable, * and the shapes and decorationswere often very praiseworthy. Thus, among the braziers are foundshapes obviously the originals of the Japanese choji-buro(clove-censer) and the graceful rice-bowl, while community ofconception with Chinese potters would seem to be suggested by some ofthe forms of these ancient vases. Particularly interesting areearthenware images obtained from these neolithic sites. Many of themhave been conventionalized into mere anthropomorphs and are rudelymoulded. But they afford valuable indications of the clothing andpersonal adornments of the aborigines. *Cooking-pots and pans, jars and vases, bowls and dishes, cups, bottles, nipple pots, lamps, braziers, ewers, strainers, spindles ordrill weights, stamps, ornaments, images, and plaques (Munro'sPrehistoric Japan). What end these effigies were intended to serve remains an unsettledquestion. Some suggest that they were used as substitutes for humansacrifices, and that they point to a time when wives and slaves wererequired to follow their husbands and masters to the grave. They mayalso have been suggested by the example of the Yamato, who, at a veryremote time, began to substitute clay images for human followers ofthe dead; or they may have been designed to serve as mere mementoes. This last theory derives some force from the fact that the images arefound, not in graves or tombs, but at residential sites. No data havebeen obtained, however, for identifying burying-places: sepulture mayhave been carried out in the house of the deceased. Whicheverexplanation be correct, the fact confronts us that these clayeffigies have no place in the cult of the modern Ainu. Historyteaches, however, that degeneration may become so complete as todeprive a nation of all traces of its original civilization. Suchseems to have been the case with the Ainu. INTERMEDIATE CULTURE Traces of a culture occupying a place intermediate between theprimitive culture and that of the Yamato are not conclusive. They areseen in pottery which, like the ware of the neolithic sites, is notturned on the wheel, and, like the Yamato ware, is decorated in avery subdued and sober fashion. It is found from end to end of themain island and even in Yezo, and in pits, shell-heaps, andindependent sites as well as in tombs, burial caves, and cairns ofthe Yamato. Thus, there does not seem to be sufficient warrant forassociating it with a special race. It was possibly supplied to orderof the Yamato by the aboriginal craftsmen, who naturally sought tocopy the salient features of the conquering immigrants' ware. BRONZE VESTIGES There are also some bronze vestiges to which considerable interestattaches, for evidently people using bronze weapons could not havestood against men carrying iron arms, and therefore the people towhom the bronze implements belonged must have obtained a footing inJapan prior to the Yamato, unless they came at the latter'sinvitation or as their allies. Moreover, these bronze relics--withthe exception of arrow-heads--though found in the soil of western andsouthern Japan, do not occur in the Yamato sepulchres, which featureconstitutes another means of differentiation. Daggers, swords, halberds, and possibly spear-heads constitute the hand-weapons. Thedaggers have a certain resemblance to the Malay kris, and the swordsand halberds are generally leaf-shaped. But some features, asovershort tangs and unpierced loops, suggest that they weremanufactured, not for service in battle but for ceremonial purposes, being thus mere survivals from an era when their originals were inactual use, and possibly those originals may have been of iron. Somestraight-edged specimens have been classed as spear-heads, but theyclosely resemble certain ancient bronze swords of China. As forbronze arrow-heads, they occur alike in Yamato sepulchres and in thesoil, so that no special inference is warranted in their case. Thebronze hand-weapons have been found in twelve provinces of southernand western Japan: namely, five provinces of northwest Kyushu; threeon the Inland Sea; one facing Korea and China, and the rest on theislands of Iki and Tsushima. These localities and the fact that similar swords have been met within Shantung, suggest that the bronze culture came from central andeastern Asia, which hypothesis receives confirmation from thecomplete absence of bronze vestiges in the southern provinces ofKyushu, namely, Osumi and Satsuma. Bronze bells, of which there aremany, belong to a separate page of archaeology. Though they have beenfound in no less than twenty-four provinces, there is no instance oftheir presence in the same sites with hand-weapons of bronze. InKyushu, Higo is the only province where they have been seen, whereasin the main island they extend as far east as Totomi, and areconspicuously numerous in that province and its neighbour, Mikawa, while in Omi they are most abundant of all. They vary in height fromabout one foot four inches to four and a half feet, and are of highlyspecialized shape, the only cognate type being bells used in Chinaduring the Chou dynasty (1122-225 B. C. ) for the purpose of givingmilitary signals. A Chinese origin is still more clearly indicated bythe decorative designs, which show a combination of the circle, thetriangle, and the spiral, obviously identical with the decorativemotive* on Chinese drums of the Han dynasty (202 B. C. -A. D. 220). Thecircle and the triangle occur also in the sepulchral pottery of theYamato sites, and considering the fact together with the abundance ofthe bells in districts where the Yamato were most stronglyestablished, there seems to be warrant for attributing these curiousrelics to the Yamato culture. *This resemblance has been pointed out by a Japanese archaeologist, Mr. Teraishi. Dr. Munro states that the same elements are combined inan Egyptian decorative design. To this inference it has been objected that no bells have been foundin the tombs of the Yamato. The same is true, however, of severalother objects known to have belonged to that people. If, then, thebells be classed as adjuncts of the Yamato culture, shall we bejustified in assigning the bronze weapon to a different race? On thewhole, the most reasonable conclusion seems to be that all the bronzerelics, weapons, and bells alike, are "vestiges of the Yamatoprocession at a time anterior to the formation of the great dolmensand other tombs" [Munro]. A corollary would be that the Yamatomigrated from China in the days of the Chou dynasty (1122-225 B. C. ), and that, having landed in the province of Higo, they conquered thegreater part of Tsukushi (Kyushu), and subsequently passed up theInland Sea to Yamato; which hypothesis would invest with someaccuracy the date assigned by the Chronicles to Jimmu's expeditionand would constitute a general confirmation of the Japanese accountof his line of advance. YAMATO CULTURE The ancient Yamato are known chiefly through the medium of relicsfound in their sepulchres. Residential sites exist in comparativelysmall numbers, so far as research ha hitherto shown, and such sitesyield nothing except more or less scattered potsherds and low wallsenclosing spaces of considerable area. Occasionally Yamato potteryand other relics are discovered in pits, and these evidences, combined with historical references, go to show that the Yamatothemselves sometimes used pit-dwellings. The tombs yield much more suggestive relics of metal, stone, andpottery. Some four thousand of such sepulchres have been officiallycatalogued, but it is believed that fully ten times that numberexist. The most characteristic is a tomb of larger dimensionsenclosing a dolmen which contains a coffin hollowed out from thetrunk of a tree, or a sarcophagus of stone, * the latter being muchmore commonly found, as might be expected from its greaterdurability. Burial-jars were occasionally used, as were alsosarcophagi of clay or terracotta, ** the latter chiefly in theprovinces of Bizen and Mimasaka, probably because suitable materialsexisted there in special abundance. Moreover, not a few tombsbelonged to the category of cists; that is to say, excavations inrock, with a single-slabbed or many-slabbed cover; or receptaclesformed with stone clubs, cobbles, or boulders. *The stone sarcophagus was of considerable size and various shapes, forming an oblong box with a lid of a boatlike form. **The terracotta sarcophagi were generally parallel, oblong orelongated oval in shape, with an arched or angular covering andseveral feet. One has been found with doors moving on hinges. There is great difficulty in arriving at any confident estimate ofage amid such variety. Dolmens of a most primitive kind "exist sideby side with stone chambers of highly finished masonry incircumstances which suggest contemporaneous construction" so that"the type evidently furnishes little or no criterion of age, " and, moreover, local facilities must have largely influenced the method ofbuilding. The dolmen is regarded by archaeologists as the mostcharacteristic feature of the Yamato tombs. It was a chamber formedby setting up large slabs of stone, inclined slightly towards eachother, which served as supports for another slab forming the roof. Seen in plan, the dolmens presented many shapes: a simple chamber orgallery; a chamber with a gallery, or a series of chambers with agallery. Above the dolmen a mound was built, sometimes of hugedimensions (as, for example, the misasagi* of the Emperor Tenchi--d. A. D. 671--which with its embankments, measured 5040 feet square), andwithin the dolmen were deposited many articles dedicated to theservice of the deceased. Further, around the covering-mound there aregenerally found, embedded in the earth, terracotta cylinders(haniwa), sometimes surmounted with figures or heads of persons oranimals. *By this name all the Imperial tombs were called. According to the Chronicles, incidents so shocking occurred inconnexion with the sacrifice of the personal attendants* of PrinceYamato at his burial (A. D. 2) that the custom of making suchsacrifices was thenceforth abandoned, clay images being substitutedfor human beings. The Records speak of a "hedge of men set up round atumulus, " and it would therefore seem that these terracotta figuresusually found encircling the principal misasagi, represented thathedge and served originally as pedestals for images. Within thedolmen, also, clay effigies are often found, which appear to havebeen substitutes for retainers of high rank. Had the ancient custombeen effectually abolished in the year A. D. 3, when the EmperorSuinin is recorded to have issued orders in that sense, a simple andconclusive means would be at hand for fixing the approximate date ofa dolmen, since all tombs containing clay effigies or encircled byterracotta haniwa would necessarily be subsequent to that date, andall tombs containing skeletons other than the occupants of thesarcophagi would be referable to an earlier era. But althoughcompulsory sacrifices appear to have ceased from about the firstcentury of the Christian era, it is certain that voluntary sacrificescontinued through many subsequent ages. This clue is thereforeillusory. Neither does the custom itself serve to connect the Yamatowith any special race, for it is a wide-spread rite of animisticreligion, and it was practised from time immemorial by the Chinese, the Manchu Tatars, and many other nations of northeastern Asia. *They are said to have been buried upright in the precincts of themisasagi. "For several days they died not, but wept and wailed dayand night. At last they died and rotted. Dogs and crows gathered andate them. " (Chronicles. Aston's translation. ) The substitution of images for living beings, however, appears tohave been a direct outcome of contact with China, for the device wasknown there as early as the seventh century before Christ. It wouldseem, too, from the researches of a learned Japanese archaeologist(Professor Miyake), that the resemblance between Japanese and Chineseburial customs was not limited to this substitution. The dolmen alsoexisted in China in very early times, but had been replaced by achamber of finished masonry not later than the ninth century B. C. Inthe Korean peninsula the dolmen with a megalithic roof is notuncommon, and the sepulchral pottery bears a close resemblance tothat of the Yamato tombs. It was at one time supposed that the highlyspecialized form of dolmen found in Japan had no counterpart anywhereon the continent of Asia, but that supposition has proved erroneous. The contents of the sepulchres, however, are more distinctive. Theyconsist of "noble weapons and armour, splendid horse-trappings, vessels for food and drink, and various objects de luxe, " thougharticles of wood and textile fabrics have naturally perished. Ironswords are the commonest relics. They are found in all tombs of allages, and they bear emphatic testimony to the warlike habits of theYamato, as well as to their belief that in the existence beyond thegrave weapons were not less essential than in life. Arrow-heads arealso frequently found and spear-heads sometimes. * The swords are allof iron. There is no positive evidence showing that bronze swordswere in use, though grounds exist for supposing, as has been alreadynoted, that they were employed at a period not much anterior to thecommencement of dolmen building, which seems to have been about thesixth or seventh century before Christ. The iron swords themselvesappear to attest this, for although the great majority aresingle-edged and of a shape essentially suited to iron, about ten percent, are double-edged with a central ridge distinctly reminiscent ofcasting in fact, a hammered-iron survival of a bronze leaf-shapedweapon. ** Occasionally these swords have, at the end of the tang, adisc with a perforated design of two dragons holding a ball, adecorative motive which already betrays Chinese origin. Other swordshave pommels surmounted by a bulb set at an angle to the tang, *** andhave been suspected to be Turanian origin. *The most comprehensive list of these objects is that given inMunro's Prehistoric Japan: "Objects of iron--(1), Swords and daggers;(2), Hilt-guards and pommels; (3), Arrow-heads; (4), Spear-heads andhalberd-heads; (5) Armour and helmets; (6), Stirrups and bridle-bits;(7), Ornamental trappings for horses; (8), Axes, hoes, or chisels;(9), Hoes or spades; (10), Chains; (11), Rings; (12), Buckles; (13), Smith's tongs or pincers; (14), Nails; (15), Caskets, handles, hinges, and other fittings. Objects of copper and bronze--(1), Arrow-heads; (2), Spear-heads; (3), Hilt-guards and pommels; (4), Scabbard-covers and pieces of sheet-copper for ornamental uses; (5), Helmets; (6), Arm-and-leg guards; (7), Shoes; (8), Horse-trappings;(9), Belts; (10), Mirrors; (11), Bracelets and rings; (12), Variousfittings. Silver and gold were employed chiefly in plating, but finechains and pendants as well as rings of pure gold and silver havebeen met with. "The stone objects may be divided into two classes, viz: "A. Articles of use or ornaments--(1), Head-rest; (2), Mortar andpestle; (3), Caskets and vessels; (4), Cups and other vessels; (5), Bracelets; (6), Magatama; (7), Other ornaments; (8), Plumb-linependant; (9), Spindle-weight; (10), Objects of unascertainedfunction. "B. Sepulchral substitutes--(1), Swords and daggers; (2), Sheath-knife; (3), Arrow-head; (4), Spear-head; (5), Shield; (6);Armour; (7), Wooden dogs; (8), Mirror; (9), Comb; (10), Magatama;(11), Cooking-knife; (12), Sickle or scythe-blade; (13), Hoe orchisel; (14), Head of chisel or spear; (15), Bowl; (16), Table; (17), Sword-pommel; (18), Nondescript objects. " The above list does notinclude pottery. **The leaf-shaped bronze sword is found over all Europe from theMediterranean to Lapland, but generally without a central ridge. ***Mr. Takahashi, a Japanese archaeologist, suggests that theseweapons were the so called "mallet-headed swords" said to have beenused by Keiko's soldiers (A. D. 82) against the Tsuchi-gumo. The name, kabutsuchi, supports this theory, kabu being the term for "turnip, "which is also found in kabuya, a humming arrow having a turnip-shapedhead perforated with holes. Yet another form--found mostly in the Kwanto provinces and to thenorth of them, from which fact its comparatively recent use may beinferred--was known in western Asia and especially in Persia, whenceit is supposed to have been exported to the Orient in connexion withthe flourishing trade carried on between China and Persia from theseventh to the tenth century. That a similar type is not known toexist in China proves nothing conclusive, for China's attitudetowards foreign innovations was always more conservative thanJapan's. Scabbards, having been mostly of wood, have not survived, but occasionally one is found having a sheeting of copper thicklyplated with gold. Arrow-heads are very numerous. Those of bronzehave, for the most part, the leaf shape of the bronze sword, butthose of iron show many forms, the most remarkable being thechisel-headed, a type used in Persia. Spear-heads are not specially suggestive as to provenance, with theexception of a kind having a cross-arm like the halberd commonly usedin China from the seventh century before Christ. Yamato armouraffords little assistance to the archaeologist: it bears noparticularly close resemblance to any type familiar elsewhere. Therewas a corset made of sheet iron, well rivetted. It fastened in frontand was much higher behind than before, additioned protection for theback being provided by a lattice-guard which depended from the helmetand was made by fastening strips of sheet iron to leather or cloth. The helmet was usually of rivetted iron, but occasionally of bronze, with or without a peak in front. There were also guards of copper oriron for the legs, and there were shoulder-curtains constructed inthe same manner as the back-curtain pendant from the helmet. Shoes ofcopper complete the panoply. The workmanship of these weapons and armour is excellent: it shows anadvanced stage of manufacturing skill. This characteristic is evenmore remarkable in the case of horse-trappings. The saddle andstirrups, the bridle and bit, are practically the same as those thatwere used in modern times, even a protective toe-piece for thestirrup being present. A close resemblance is observable between thering stirrups of old Japan and those of mediaeval Europe, and a muchcloser affinity is shown by the bits, which had cheek-pieces and wereusually jointed in the centre precisely like a variety common inEurope; metal pendants, garnished with silver and gold and carryingglobular jingle-bells in their embossed edges, served for horsedecoration. These facts are learned, not from independent relicsalone, but also from terracotta steeds found in the tumuli andmoulded so as to show all their trappings. Other kinds of expert iron-work have also survived; as chains, ringsand, buckles, which differ little from corresponding objects inEurope at the present day; and the same is true of nails, handles, hinges, and other fittings. Tools used in working metal are rarelyfound, a fact easily accounted for when we remember that such objectswould naturally be excluded from sepulchres. There is another important relic which shows that the Yamato were"indebted to China for the best specimens of their decorative art. "This is a round bronze mirror, of which much is heard in earlyJapanese annals from the time of Izanagi downwards. In China the artof working in bronze was known and practised during twenty centuriesprior to the Christian era; but although Japan seems to havepossessed the knowledge at the outset of the dolmen epoch, (circ. 600B. C. ), she had no copper mine of her own until thirteen centurieslater, and was obliged to rely on Korea for occasional supplies. Thismust have injuriously affected her progress in the art of bronzecasting. Nevertheless, in almost all the dolmens and later tombs mirrors ofbronze were placed. This custom came into vogue in China at an earlydate, the mirror being regarded as an amulet against decay or asymbol of virtue. That Japan borrowed the idea from her neighbour canscarcely be doubted. She certainly procured many Chinese mirrors, which are easily distinguished by finely executed and beautifuldecorative designs in low relief on their backs; whereas her ownmirrors--occasionally of iron--did not show equal skill of techniqueor ornamentation. Comparative roughness distinguished them, and theyhad often a garniture of jingle-bells (suzu) cast around the rim, afeature not found in Chinese mirrors. They were, in fact, an inferiorcopy of a Chinese prototype, the kinship of the two being furtherattested by the common use of the dragon as a decorative motive. Bronze vases and bowls, simple or covered, are occasionally found inthe Yamato sepulchres. Sometimes they are gilt, and in no case dotheir shapes differentiate them from Chinese or modern Japanesemodels. It might be supposed that in the field of personal ornament somespecial features peculiar to the Yamato civilization should presentthemselves. There is none. Bronze or copper bracelets, * closed oropen and generally gilt, recall the Chinese bangle precisely, exceptwhen they are cast with a garniture of suzu. In fact, the suzu(jingle-bell) seems to be one of the few objects purely of Yamatoorigin. It was usually globular, having its surface divided intoeight parts, and it served not only as part of a bangle and as apendant for horse-trappings but also as a post-bell (ekirei), which, when carried by nobles and officials, indicated their right torequisition horses for travelling purposes. *Jasper also was employed for making bracelets, and there is someevidence that shells were similarly used. To another object interest attaches because of its wide use inwestern Asia and among the Celtic peoples of Europe. This is thepenannular (or open) ring. In Europe, it was usually of solid gold orsilver, but in Japan, where these metals were very scarce in earlydays, copper, plated with beaten gold or silver, was the materialgenerally employed. Sometimes these rings were hollow and sometimes, but very rarely, flattened. The smaller ones seem to have served asearrings, worn either plain or with pendants. Prominent among personal ornaments were magatama (curved jewels) andkudatama (cylindrical jewels). It is generally supposed that themagatama represented a tiger's claw, which is known to have beenregarded by the Koreans as an amulet. But the ornament may also havetaken its comma-like shape from the Yo and the Yin, the positive andthe negative principles which by Chinese cosmographists wereaccounted the great primordial factors, and which occupy a prominentplace in Japanese decorative art as the tomoye. * The cylindricaljewels evidently owed their shape to facility for stringing intonecklaces or chaplets. The Chronicles and the Records alike show thatthese jewels, especially the magatama, acted an important part insome remarkable scenes in the mythological age. ** Moreover, a sword, a mirror, and a magatama, may be called the regalia of Japan. Butthese jewels afford little aid in identifying the Yamato. Some ofthem--those of jade, chrysoprase, and nephrite***--must have beenimported, these minerals never having been found in Japan. But thelatter fact, though it may be held to confirm the continental originof the Yamato, gives no indication as to the part of Asia whence theyemigrated. *Professor Takashima has found magatama among the relics of theprimitive culture, but that is probably the result of imitation. **The goddess of the Sun, when awaiting the encounter with Susanoo, twisted a complete string, eight feet long, with five hundredmagatama. Lesser Kami were created by manipulating the jewels. WhenAmaterasu retired into a cave, magatama were hung from the branchesof a sakaki tree to assist in enticing her out. Several otherreverential allusions are made to the jewels in later times. ***The jewels were of jasper, agate, chalcedony, serpentine, nephrite, steatite, quartz, crystal, glass, jade (white and green), and chrysoprase. Mention is also made of rakan, but the meaning ofthe term is obscure. Probably it was a variety of jade. YAMATO POTTERY The pottery found in the Yamato tombs is somewhat more instructivethan the personal ornaments. It seems to have been speciallymanufactured, or at any rate selected, for purposes of sepulture, andit evidently retained its shape and character from very remote if notfrom prehistoric times. Known in Japan as iwaibe (sacred utensils), it resembles the pottery of Korea so closely that identity has beenaffirmed by some archaeologists and imitation by others. It hascomparatively fine paste--taking the primitive pottery asstandard--is hard, uniformly baked, has a metallic ring, varies incolour from dark brown to light gray, is always turned on the wheel, has only accidental glaze, and is decorated in a simple, restrainedmanner with conventionalized designs. The shapes of the variousvessels present no marked deviation from Chinese or Korean models, except that, the tazzas and occasionally other utensils are sometimespierced in triangular, quadrilateral, and circular patterns, to whichvarious meanings more or less fanciful have been assigned. There is, however, one curious form of iwaibe which does not appearto have any counterpart in China or Korea. It is a large jar, ortazza, having several small jars moulded around its shoulder, * thesesmall jars being sometimes interspersed with, and sometimes whollyreplaced by, figures of animals. ** It is necessary to go to theEtruscan "black ware" to find a parallel to this most inartistic kindof ornamentation. *This style of ornamentation was called komochi (child-bearing), thesmall jars being regarded as children of the large. **Mr. Wakabayashi, a Japanese archaeologist, has enumerated sevenvarieties of figures thus formed on vases: horses, deer, wild boars, dogs, birds, tortoises; and human beings. With regard to the general decorative methods of the iwaibe potters, it is noticeable, first, that apparent impressions of textiles arefound (they are seldom actual imprints, being usually imitations ofsuch), and, secondly, that simple line decoration replaces the rudepictorial representations of a primitive culture and suggestspropagation from a centre of more ancient and stable civilizationthan that of the Yamato hordes: from China, perhaps from Korea--whoknows? As for the terracotta figures of human beings and sometimes ofanimals found in connexion with Yamato sepulchres, they convey littleinformation about the racial problem. * The idea of substituting suchfigures for the human beings originally obliged to follow the dead tothe grave seems to have come from China, and thus constitutes anotherevidence of intercourse, at least, between the two countries fromvery ancient times. *Chinese archaic wine-pots of bronze sometimes have on the lidfigures of human beings and animals, but these served a usefulpurpose. It has been remarked that "the faces seen on these images by no meanspresent a typical Mongolian type; on the contrary, they might easilypass for European faces, and they prompt the query whether the Yamatowere not allied to the Caucasian race. " Further, "the nationalvestiges of the Yamato convey an impression of kinship to thecivilization which we are accustomed to regard as our own, for theirintimate familiarity with the uses of swords, armour, horse-gear, andso forth brings us into sympathetic relation to their civilization. "[Munro. ] SUMMARY It will be seen from the above that archaeology, while it disclosesto us the manners and customs of the ancient inhabitants of Japan, does not afford material for clearly differentiating more than threecultures: namely, the neolithic culture of the Yemishi; the ironculture of the Yamato, and the intermediate bronze culture of a racenot yet identified. There are no archaeological traces of theexistence of the Kumaso or the Tsuchi-gumo, and however probable itmay seem, in view of the accessibility of Japan from the mainland, not only while she formed part of the latter but even after the twohad become separate, that several races co-existed with the Yemishiand that a very mixed population carried on the neolithic culture, there is no tangible evidence that such was the case. Further, theindications furnished by mythology that the Yamato wereintellectually in touch with central, if not with western Asia, arere-enforced by archaeological suggestions of a civilization and evenof physical traits cognate with the Caucasian. ENGRAVING: DRUM AND MASK ENGRAVING: "NO" MASKS CHAPTER VII LANGUAGE AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS LANGUAGE HOWEVER numerous may have been the races that contributed originallyto people Japan, the languages now spoken there are two only, Ainuand Japanese. They are altogether independent tongues. The formerundoubtedly was the language of the Yemishi; the latter, that of theYamato. From north to south all sections of the Japanese nation--theAinu of course excepted--use practically the same speech. Varietiesof local dialects exist, but they show no traits of survival fromdifferent languages. On the contrary, in few countries of Japan'smagnitude does corresponding uniformity of speech prevail from end toend of the realm. It cannot reasonably be assumed that, during aperiod of some twenty-five centuries and in the face of steadyextermination, the Yemishi preserved their language quite distinctfrom that of their conquerors, whereas the various languages spokenby the other races peopling the island were fused into a whole sohomogeneous as to defy all attempts at differentiation. The morecredible alternative is that from time immemorial the main elementsof the Japanese nation belonged to the same race, and whatever theyreceived from abroad by way of immigration became completely absorbedand assimilated in the course of centuries. No diligent attempt has yet been made to trace the connexion--if anyexist--between the Ainu tongue and the languages of northeasternAsia, but geology, history, and archaeology suffice to indicate thatthe Yemishi reached Japan at the outset from Siberia. The testimonyof these three sources is by no means so explicit in the case of theYamato, and we have to consider whether the language itself does notfurnish some better guide. "Excepting the twin sister tongue spokenin the Ryukyu Islands, " writes Professor Chamberlain, "the Japaneselanguage has no kindred, and its classification under any of therecognized linguistic families remains doubtful. In structure, thoughnot to any appreciable extent in vocabulary, it closely resemblesKorean, and both it and Korean may possibly be related to Mongol andto Manchu, and might therefore lay claim to be included in theso-called 'Altaic group' In any case, Japanese is what philologistscall an agglutinative tongue; that is to say, it builds up its wordsand grammatical forms by means of suffixes loosely soldered to theroot or stem, which is invariable. " This, written in 1905, has been supplemented by the ampler researchesof Professor S. Kanazawa, who adduces such striking evidences ofsimilarity between the languages of Japan and Korea that one isalmost compelled to admit the original identity of the two. There areno such affinities between Japanese and Chinese. Japan has borrowedlargely, very largely, from China. It could scarcely have beenotherwise. For whereas the Japanese language in its original form--aform which differs almost as much from its modern offspring as doesItalian from Latin--has little capacity for expansion, Chinese hasthe most potential of all known tongues in that respect. Chinese maybe said to consist of a vast number of monosyllables, each expressedby a different ideograph, each having a distinct significance, andeach capable of combination and permutation with one or more of theothers, by which combinations and permutations disyllabic andtrisyllabic words are obtained representing every conceivable shadeof meaning. It is owing to this wonderful elasticity that Japan, when suddenlyconfronted by foreign arts and sciences, soon succeeded in buildingup for herself a vocabulary containing all the new terms, andcontaining them in self-explaining forms. Thus "railway" is expressedby tetsu-do, which consists of the two monosyllables tetsu (iron) anddo (way); "chemistry" by kagaku, or the learning (gaku) of changes(ka); "torpedo" by suirai, or water (sui) thunder (rai); and each ofthe component monosylables being written with an ideograph whichconveys its own meaning, the student has a term not only appropriatebut also instructive. Hundreds of such words have been manufacturedin Japan during the past half-century to equip men for the study ofWestern learning, and the same process, though on a very much smallerscale, had been going on continuously for many centuries, so that theJapanese language has come to embody a very large number of Chinesewords, though they are not pronounced as the Chinese pronounce thecorresponding ideographs. Yet in spite of this intimate relation, re-enforced as it is by acommon script, the two languages remain radically distinct; whereasbetween Japanese and Korean the resemblance of structure andaccidence amounts almost to identity. Japanese philologists allegethat no affinity can be traced between their language and the tonguesof the Malay, the South Sea islanders, the natives of America andAfrica, or the Eskimo, whereas they do find that their language bearsa distinct resemblance to Manchu, Persian, and Turkish. Some go sofar as to assert that Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit are nearer toJapanese than they are to any European language. These questionsawait fuller investigation. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RACES The Japanese are of distinctly small stature. The average height ofthe man is 160 centimetres (5 feet 3. 5 inches) and that of the woman147 centimetres (4 feet 10 inches). They are thus smaller than anyEuropean race, the only Occidentals over whom they possess anadvantage in this respect being the inhabitants of two Italianprovinces. [Baelz. ] Their neighbours, the Chinese and the Koreans, are taller, the average height of the northern Chinese being 168centimetres (5 feet 7 inches), and that of the Koreans 164centimetres (5 feet 5. 5 inches). Nevertheless, Professor Dr. Baelz, the most eminent authority on this subject, avers that "the threegreat nations of eastern Asia are essentially of the same race, " andthat observers who consider them to be distinct "have been misled byexternal appearances. " He adds: "Having made a special study of therace question in eastern Asia, I can assert that comity of race ingeneral is clearly proved by the anatomical qualities of the body. Inany case the difference between them is much smaller than thatbetween the inhabitants of northern and southern Europe. " The marked differences in height, noted above, do not invalidate thisdictum: they show merely that the Asiatic yellow race has severalsubdivisions. Among these subdivisions the more important are theManchu-Korean type, the Mongol proper, the Malay, and the Ainu. Tothe first, namely the Manchu-Korean, which predominates in northChina and in Korea, Baelz assigns the higher classes in Japan; thatis to say, the men regarded as descendants of the Yamato. They have"slender, elegant and often tall figures, elongated faces with notvery prominent cheek-bones, more or less slanting eyes, aquilinenoses, large upper teeth, receding chins, long slender necks, narrowchests, long trunks, thin limbs, and often long fingers, while thehair on the face and body is scarce. " Dr. Munro, however, anothereminent authority, holds that, "judging from the Caucasian and oftenSemitic physiognomy seen in the aristocratic type of Japanese, theYamato were mainly of Caucasic, perhaps Iranian, origin. These werethe warriors, the conquerors of Japan, and afterwards thearistocracy, modified to some extent by mingling with a Mongoloidrank and file, and by a considerable addition of Ainu. " He remarksthat a white skin was the ideal of the Yamato, as is proved by theirancient poetry. As for the Mongol-proper type, which is seen in the lower classes andeven then not very frequently, its representative is squarely built, and has prominent cheek-bones, oblique eyes, a more or less flat nosewith a large mouth. The Malay type is much commoner. Itscharacteristics are small stature, good and sometimes square build, aface round or angular, prominent cheek-bones, large horizontal eyes, a weak chin, a short neck, broad well-developed chest, short legs, and small delicate hands. As for the Ainu type, Dr. Baelz finds itastonishing that they have left so little trace in the Japanesenation. "Yet those who have studied the pure Ainu closely willobserve, particularly in the northern provinces, a not insignificantnumber of individuals bearing the marks of Ainu blood. The mostimportant marks are: a short, thickly set body; prominent bones withbushy hair, round deep-set eyes with long divergent lashes, astraight nose, and a large quantity of hair on the face and body allqualities which bring the Ainu much nearer to the European than tothe Japanese proper. " GENERAL PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS In addition to physical characteristics which indicate distinctionsof race among the inhabitants of Japan, there are peculiaritiescommon to a majority of the nation at large. One of these is anabnormally large head. In the typical European the height of the headis less than one-seventh of the stature and in Englishmen it is oftenone-eighth. In the Japanese is it appreciably more than one-seventh. Something of this may be attributed to smallness of stature, but suchan explanation is only partial. Shortness of legs in relation to the trunk is another marked feature. "Long or short legs are mainly racial in origin. Thus, in Europe, thenorthern, or Teutonic race--namely Anglo-Saxons, North Germans, Swedes, and Danes--are tail; long-legged, and small-headed, while theAlpine, or central European race are short of stature, have shortlegs and large heads with short necks, thus resembling the Mongolianrace in general, with which it was probably originally connected. "[Baelz. ] In the Japanese face, too, there are some striking points. The firstis in the osseous cavity of the eyeball and in the skin round theeye. "The socket of the Japanese eye is comparatively small andshallow, and the osseous ridges at the brows being little marked, theeye is less deeply set than in the European. Seen in profile, forehead and upper lid often form one unbroken line. " Then "the shapeof the eye proper, as modelled by the lids, shows a most strikingdifference between the European and the Mongolian races; the open eyebeing almost invariably horizontal in the former but very oftenoblique in the latter on account of the higher level of the outercorner. But even apart from obliqueness the shape of the corner ispeculiar in the Mongolian eye. The inner corner is partly or entirelycovered by a fold of the upper lid continuing more or less into thelower lid. This fold, which has been called the Mongolian fold, oftenalso covers the whole free rim of the upper lid, so that theinsertion of the eyelashes is hidden. When the fold takes an upwarddirection towards the outer corner, the latter is a good deal higherthan the inner corner, and the result is the obliqueness mentionedabove. The eyelashes are shorter and sparser than in the European, and whereas in the European the lashes of the upper and the lower liddiverge, so that their free ends are farther distant than theirroots, in the Japanese eye they converge, the free ends being nearertogether than the insertions. Then again in the lower class thecheek-bones are large and prominent, making the face look flat andbroad, while in the higher classes narrow and elongated faces arequite common. Finally, the Japanese is less hairy than the European, and the hair of the beard is usually straight. " [Baelz. ] VIEWS OF JAPANESE ETHNOLOGISTS It may well be supposed that the problem of their nation's origin hasoccupied much attention among the Japanese, and that theirethnologists have arrived at more or less definite conclusions. Theoutlines of their ideas are that one of the great waves of emigrationwhich, in a remote age, emerged from the cradle of the human race incentral Asia, made its way eastward with a constantly expandingfront, and, sweeping up the Tarim basin, emerged in the region of theYellow River and in Manchuria. These wanderers, being anagricultural, not a maritime, race, did not contribute much to thepeopling of the oversea islands of Japan. But in a later--or anearlier--era, another exodus took place from the interior of Asia. Itturned in a southerly direction through India, and coasting along thesouthern seaboard, reached the southeastern region of China; whence, using as stepping-stones the chain of islands that festoon easternAsia, it made its way ultimately to Korea and Japan. Anterior to both of these movements another race, the neolithicYemishi of the shell-heaps, had pushed down from the northeasternregions of Korea or from the Amur valley, and peopled the northernhalf of Japan. The Korean peninsula, known in Chinese records as Han, appears in the form of three kingdoms at the earliest date of itshistorical mention: they were Sin-Han and Pyon-Han on the east andMa-Han on the West. The northeastern portion, from the presentWon-san to Vladivostok, bore the name of Yoso, which is supposed tohave been the original of Yezo, the Yoso region thus constituting thecradle of the Yemishi race. Japanese ethnologists interpret the ancient annals as pointing tovery close intercourse between Japan and Korea in early days, * andregard this as confirming the theory stated above as to theprovenance of the Yamato race. Connexion with the colonists ofnorthern China was soon established via Manchuria, and this fact mayaccount for some of the similarities between the civilization as wellas the legends of the Yamato and those of Europe, since there isevidence that the Greeks and Romans had some hazy knowledge of China, and that the Chinese had a similarly vague knowledge of the RomanEmpire, ** possibly through commercial relations in the second centuryB. C. *The annals state of Princes Mikeno and Inahi, elder brothers ofPrince Iware (afterwards Jimmu Tenno). That the former "crossed overto the Eternal Land" (Tokoyo-no-kuni) and the latter went down to thesea plain, it being his deceased mother's land. Japanesearchaeologists identify "mother's land" as Shiragi in Korea, andTokoyo-no-kuni as the western country where the sun sets, namelyChina. They further point out that Susanoo with his son, Itakeru, went to Shiragi and lived at Soshi-mori, for which reason Susanoo'sposthumous title was Gozu Tenno, gozu being the Japanese equivalentfor the Korean soshi-mori (ox head). Susanoo is also quoted assaying, "there are gold and silver in Koma and it were well thatthere should be a floating treasury;"* so he built a vessel of pineand camphor-wood to export these treasures to Japan. The "Korea" herespoken of is the present Kimhai in Kyongsan-do. It is furtherrecorded that Susanoo lived for a time at Kumanari-mine, which is thepresent Kongju. Again, a Japanese book, compiled in the tenth centuryA. D. , enumerates six shrines in the province of Izumo which werecalled Kara-kuni Itate Jinja, or shrine of Itakeru of Korea. A muchabler work, Izuma Fudoki, speaks of Cape Kitsuki in Izumo as a placewhere cotton-stuffs were imported from Shiragi by Omitsu, son ofSusanoo. There are other evidences to the same effect, and taken inconjunction with the remarkable similarity of the Korean and Japaneselanguages, these facts are held to warrant the conclusion that themost important element of the Japanese nation came via Korea, its FarEastern colony being the ultima thule of its long wanderings fromcentral Asia. **See Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Vol. 6, p. 189 b. The first mention of Japan in Chinese records is contained in a bookcalled Shan-hai-ching, which states that "the northern and southernWo* were subject to the kingdom of Yen. " Yen was in the modernprovince of Pechili. It existed as an independent kingdom from 1 122to 265 B. C. That the inhabitants of Japan were at any time subject toYen is highly improbable, but that they were tributaries is notunlikely. In other words, intercourse between Japan and northernChina was established in remote times via the Korean peninsula, andpeople from Japan, travelling by this route, carried presents to theCourt of Yen, a procedure which, in Chinese eyes constituted anacknowledgement of suzerainty. The "northern and southern Wo" wereprobably the kingdom of Yamato and that set up in Kyushu by Ninigi, asupposition which lends approximate confirmation to the date assignedby Japanese historians for the expedition of Jimmu Tenno. It is alsorecorded in the Chronicles of the Eastern Barbarians, a work of theHan dynasty (A. D. 25-221), that Sin-Han, one of the three Koreankingdoms, produced iron, and that Wo and Ma-Han, the western of theseKorean kingdoms, traded in it and used it as currency. It is verypossible that this was the iron used for manufacturing the ancientdouble-edged swords (tsurugi) and halberds of the Yamato, ahypothesis strengthened by the fact that the sword of Susanoo wascalled Orochi no Kara-suki, Kara being a Japanese name for Korea. *This word was originally pronounced Wa, and is written with theideograph signifying "dwarf. " It was applied to the Japanese byChinese writers in earliest times, but on what ground such an epithetwas chosen there is no evidence. ENGRAVING: JAPANESE SADDLE, BRIDLE, AND STIRRUPS CHAPTER VIII MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN REMOTE ANTIQUITY If it be insisted that no credence attaches to traditions unsupportedby written annals, then what the Records and the Chronicles, compiledin the eighth century, tell of the manners and customs of Japantwelve or thirteen hundred years previously, must be dismissed asromance. A view so extreme is scarcely justified. There must be afoundation of truth in works which, for the most part, have receivedthe imprimatur of all subsequent generations of Japanese. Especiallydoes that hold as to indications of manners, customs, andinstitutions. These, at least, are likely to be mirrored with acertain measure of accuracy, though they may often reflect an agelater than that to which they are referred, and may even have beenpartially moulded to suit the ideas of their narrators. In brieflyepitomizing this page of history, the plan here pursued is to adhereas far as possible to Japanese interpretations, since these must ofnecessity be most intelligent. THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE At the basis of the social structure stand the trinity of Kami, mythologically called the Central Master (Naka-Nushi) and the twoConstructive Chiefs (Musubi no Kami). The Central Master was theprogenitor of the Imperial family; the Constructive Chiefs were thenobility, the official class. What was originally involved in theconception of official functions, we learn from incidents prefatoryto the expedition conducted by Ninigi for the subjugation of Japan. Amaterasu (the Sun goddess) attached to the person of her grandsonfour chiefs and one chieftainess. To two of the former (Koyane andFutodama) she entrusted all matters relating to religious rites, andthey became respectively the ancestors of the Nakatomi and the Imibefamilies. To the female Kami (Usume) was entrusted the making ofsacred music and she founded the Sarume family. Finally, all militaryfunctions were committed to the chiefs, Oshihi and Kume, whosedescendants constituted the Otomo and Kume families. In every case these offices were hereditary for all time, and thefamilies of their holders constitute the aristocracy of the nation, marrying among themselves and filling the highest offices fromgeneration to generation. Their members bore the title of hiko (sonof the Sun) and hime (daughter of the Sun), and those that governedtowns and villages were called tomo no miyatsuko, while those thatheld provincial domains were entitled kuni no miyatsuko. This was the origin of the Japanese polity. The descendants ofAmaterasu, herself a descendant of the Central Master, occupied thethrone in unbroken succession, and the descendants of the twoConstructive Chiefs served as councillors, ministers, and generals. But the lineage of all being traceable to three chiefs who originallyoccupied places of almost equal elevation, they were united by a bondof the most durable nature. At the same time it appears that thisequality had its disadvantage; it disposed the members of thearistocratic families to usurp the administrative power whilerecognizing its source, the Throne, and it encouraged factionaldissensions, which sometimes resulted disastrously. As to the middleand lower classes, no evidence bearing on their exact composition isforthcoming. It is plain, however, that they accepted a subordinateposition without active protest, for nothing like a revolt on theirpart is alluded to, directly or indirectly, in the Records or theChronicles. The term for all subjects was tomobe. DWELLING-HOUSES The palace of the sovereign--called miya or odono--corresponded inappearance and construction with the shrines of the deities. It wasbuilt by erecting central pillars--originally merely sunk in theground but in later times having a stone foundation--from whichrafters sloped to corner posts, similarly erected, the sides beingclapboarded. Nails were used, but the heavy timbers were tiedtogether with ropes made by twisting the fibrous stems of climbingplants. A conspicuous feature was that the upper ends of the raftersprojected across each other, and in the V-shaped receptacle thusformed, a ridge-pole was laid with a number of short logs crossing itat right angles. This disposition of timbers was evidently devised tofacilitate tying and to impart stability to the thatch, which waslaid to a considerable thickness. It is not certain whether in the earliest times floors were fullyboarded, or whether boarding was confined to a dais running round thesides, the rest of the interior being of beaten mud. Subsequently, however, the whole floor was boarded. Chimneys were not provided;charcoal being the principal fuel, its smoke did not incommode, andwhen firewood was employed, the fumes escaped through openings in thegable. For windows there were holes closed by shutters which, likethe doors, swung upon hooks and staples. Rugs of skin or of rushmatting served to spread on the boarded floor, and in rare cases silkcushions were employed. The areas on which buildings stood were generally surrounded bypalisades, and for a long time no other kind of defence save thesepalings seems to have been devised. Indeed, no mention of castlesoccurs until the first century B. C. , when the strange term"rice-castle" (ina-ki) is found; the reference being apparently to apalisade fortified with rice-bags, or to a rice-granary used as afortress. The palace of the sovereign towered so high by comparisonthat it was termed Asahi-no-tada-sasu-miya (miya on which the morningsun shines direct), or Yuhi-no-hiteru-miya (miya illumined by theevening sun), or some other figurative epithet, and to the Emperorhimself was applied the title 0-mikado (great august Gate). Thedwellings occupied by the nobility were similarly built, though on aless pretentious scale, and those of the inferior classes appear tohave been little better than huts, not a few of them being partiallysunk in the ground, as is attested by the fact that the term "enter"took the form of "creep in" (hairu). ADMINISTRATION AND WORSHIP In the instruction said to have been given by Amaterasu to hergrandson Ninigi, on the eve of his expedition to Japan, the words arerecorded: "My child, regard this mirror as you regard me. Keep it inthe same house with yourself, and make it the mirror of purity. "Accordingly the insignia--the mirror, the jewel, and the sword--werealways kept in the main hall of the palace under the care of theNakatomi and the Imibe families. An ancient volume (Kogo-shui)records that when the palace of Kashihara was reached by Jimmu'sarmy, the grandson of the founder of the Imibe family--cutting timberwith a consecrated axe (imi-ono) and digging foundations with aconsecrated spade (imi-suki)--constructed a palace in which he placedthe mirror, the jewel, and the sword, setting out offerings andreciting prayers to celebrate the completion of the building and theinstallation of the insignia. "At that time the sovereign was still very close to the Kami, and thearticles and utensils for the latter were little distinguished fromthose for the former. Within the palace there stood a store house(imi-kura), the Imibe family discharging daily and nightly the dutiesrelating to it. " Thus it is seen that in remote antiquity religiousrites and administrative functions were not distinguished. Thesovereign's residence was the shrine of the Kami, and the term for"worship" (matsuri) was synonymous with that for "government. " RELIGIOUS RITES The ceremony spoken of above--the Odono matsuri, or consecration ofthe palace--is the earliest religious rite mentioned. Next inimportance was the "harvest festival. " In the records of themythological age it is related that Amaterasu obtained seeds of the"five cereals, " and, recognizing their value as food, caused them tobe cultivated, offering a part to the Kami when they were ripe andeating some herself. This became a yearly custom, and when Ninigi setout to conquer Japan, his grandmother gave rice seed to the ancestorsof the Nakatomi and the Imibe families, who thenceforth conducted theharvest festival (nii-name, literally "tasting the new rice") everyautumn, the sovereign himself taking part, and the head of theNakatomi reciting a prayer for the eternity of the Imperial line andthe longevity of the Emperor. Other important rites were the "greatpurification" (Oharai) performed twice a year, on the last day of thesixth month and the last day of the twelfth month; the "fire-subduingfete, " the "spirit-tranquillizing fete, " etc. Of all these rites the principal features were the recitation ofrituals and the offering of various objects, edible or otherwiseuseful. The rituals (norito) being, in several cases, set formulas, lent themselves with special facility to oral transmission fromgeneration to generation. It is certain that they were familiar tothe compilers of the Records and the Chronicles, and they containexpressions dating from such a remote era as to have becomeincomprehensible before history began to be written in Japan. In theyear A. D. 927, seventy-five of the norito were transcribed into abook (Yengi-shiki, or Ceremonial Law) which contains, in addition tothese rituals, particulars as to the practice of the Shinto religion;as to the organization of the priesthood--which included ten virginprincesses of the Imperial family, one each for the two great templesof Watarai in Ise and Kamo in Yamashiro--and as to the Shinto shrinesqualified to receive State support. These shrines totalled 3132, among which number 737 were maintained at the Emperor's charges. Considering that the nation at that time (tenth century) did notcomprise more than a very few millions, the familiar criticism thatthe Japanese are indifferent to religion is certainly not proved byany lack of places of worship. The language of the rituals isoccasionally poetic, often figurative and generally solemn, * but theyare largely devoted to enumeration of Kami, to formulae of praise forpast favours, to petitions for renewed assistance, and torecapitulations of the offerings made in support of these requests. As for the offerings, they comprise woven stuffs, and their rawmaterials, models of swords, arrows, shields, stags' antlers, hoes, fish (dried and fresh), salt, sake, and, in some cases, a horse, acock, and a pig. In short, the things offered were essentiallyobjects serviceable to living beings. *The Norito of the Great Purification Service has been translated byMr. W. G. Aston in his Japanese Literature. THE KAMI The Kami may be broadly divided into two groups, namely, thoseoriginally regarded as superior beings and those elevated to thatrank in consideration of illustrious deeds performed during life. Ofthe former group the multitudinous and somewhat heterogenouscomponents have been supposed to suggest the amalgamation of two ormore religious systems in consequence of a blending of races alien toone another. But such features may be due to survivals incidental tothe highest form of nature religion, namely, anthropomorphicpolytheism. There were the numerous Kami, more or less abstract beings withoutany distinguishing functions, who preceded the progenitors of theYamato race, and there was the goddess of the Sun, pre-eminent andsupreme, together with deities of the Moon, of the stars, of thewinds, of the rain, of fire, of water, of mountains, of mines, offields, of the sea, of the trees, and of the grass--the last a femaledivinity (Kaya-no-hime). The second group those deified forillustrious services during life--furnished the tutelary divinities(uji-gami or ubusuna-Kami) of the localities where their familieslived and where their labours had been performed. Their protectionwas specially solicited by the inhabitants of the regions where theirshrines stood, while the nation at large worshipped the Kami of thefirst group. Out of this apotheosis of distinguished mortals theregrew, in logical sequence, the practice of ancestor worship. It wasmerely a question of degrees of tutelary power. If the blessings ofprosperity and deliverance could be bestowed on the denizens of aregion by the deity enshrined there, the same benefits in a smallerand more circumscribed measure might be conferred by the deceasedhead of a family. As for the sovereign, standing to the whole nationin the relation of priest and intercessor with the deities, he washimself regarded as a sacred being, the direct descendant of theheavenly ancestor (Tenson). THERIANTHROPIC ELEMENTS That the religion of ancient Japan--known as Shinto, or "the way ofthe gods"--had not fully emerged from therianthropic polytheism isproved by the fact that, though the deities were generallyrepresented in human shape, they were frequently conceived asspiritual beings, embodying themselves in all kinds of things, especially in animals, reptiles, or insects. Thus, tradition relatesthat the Kami of Mimoro Mountain appeared to the Emperor Yuryaku(A. D. 457-459) in the form of a snake; that during the reign of theEmperor Keitai (A. D. 507-531), a local deity in the guise of aserpent interfered with agricultural operations and could not beplacated until a shrine was built in its honour; that in the time ofthe Emperor Kogyoku, the people of the eastern provinces devotedthemselves to the worship of an insect resembling a silkworm, whichthey regarded as a manifestation of the Kami of the Moon; that theEmperor Keiko (A. D. 71-130) declared a huge tree to be sacred; thatin the days of the Empress Suiko (A. D. 593-628), religious rites wereperformed before cutting down a tree supposed to be an incarnation ofthe thunder Kami; that on the mountain Kannabi, in Izumo, there stooda rock embodying the spirit of the Kami whose expulsion from Yamatoconstituted the objective of Ninigi's expedition, and that prayer toit was efficacious in terminating drought, that the deityKoto-shiro-nushi became transformed into a crocodile, and that "thehero Yamato-dake emerged from his tomb in the shape of a white swan. " Many other cognate instances might be quoted. A belief in amulets andcharms, in revelations by dreams and in the efficacy of ordeal, belongs to this category of superstitions. The usual form of ordealwas by thrusting the hand into boiling water. It has been allegedthat the Shinto religion took no account of a soul or made anyscrutiny into a life beyond the grave. Certainly no ideas as toplaces of future reward or punishment seem to have engrossedattention, but there is evidence that not only was the spirit (tama)recognized as surviving the body, but also that the spirit itself wasbelieved to consist of a rough element (am) and a gentle element(nigi), either of which predominated according to the nature of thefunctions to be performed; as when a nigi-tama was believed to haveattached itself to the person of the Empress Jingo at the time of herexpedition to Korea, while an ara-tama formed the vanguard of herforces. Some Japanese philosophers, however--notably the renownedMotoori--have maintained that this alleged duality had referencesolely to the nature of the influence exercised by a spirit onparticular occasions. Shinto has no sacred canon like the Bible, theKoran, or the Sutras. Neither has it any code of morals or body ofdogma. Cleanliness may be called its most prominent feature. Izanagi's lustrations to remove the pollution contracted during hisvisit to the nether world became the prototype of a rite ofpurification (misogi) which always prefaced acts of worship. Acognate ceremony was the harai (atonement). By the misogi the bodywas cleansed; by the harai all offences were expiated; the origin ofthe latter rite having been the exaction of certain penalties fromSusanoo for his violent conduct towards the Sun goddess. * The twoceremonies, physical cleansing and moral cleansing, prepared aworshipper to approach the shrine of the Kami. In later times bothrites were compounded into one, the misogi-harai, or simply theharai. When a calamity threatened the country or befell it, a grandharai (o-harai) was performed in atonement for the sins supposed tohave invited the catastrophe. This principle of cleanliness foundexpression in the architecture of Shinto shrines; plain white woodwas everywhere employed and ornamentation of every kind eschewed. Inview of the paramount importance thus attached to purity, acelebrated couplet of ancient times is often quoted as the unique andcomplete canon of Shinto morality, *His nails were extracted and his beard was plucked out. "Unsought in prayer, "The gods will guard "The pure of heart. "* *Kokoro dani Makoto no michi ni Kanai naba Inorazu tote mo Kami ya mamoran. It is plain, however, that Shinto cannot be included in the categoryof ethical religions; it belongs essentially to the family of naturereligions. CRIMES The acts which constituted crimes in ancient Japan were divided intotwo classes: namely, sins against heaven and sins against the State. At the head of the former list stood injuries to agriculturalpursuits, as breaking down the ridges of rice-fields, filling updrains, destroying aqueducts, sowing seeds twice in the same place, putting spits in rice-fields, flaying an animal alive or against thegrain, etc. The crimes against the State were cutting and wounding(whether the living or the dead), defilement on account of leprosy orcognate diseases, unnatural offences, evil acts on the part ofchildren towards parents or of parents towards children, etc. Methodsof expiating crime were recognized, but, as was the universal customin remote times, very cruel punishments were employed againstevil-doers and enemies. Death was inflicted for comparatively trivialoffences, and such tortures were resorted to as cutting the sinews, extracting the nails and the hair, burying alive, roasting, etc. Branding or tattooing seems to have been occasionally practised, butessentially as a penalty or a mark of ignominy. DIVINATION As is usually the case in a nation where a nature religion isfollowed, divination and augury were practised largely in ancientJapan. The earliest method of divination was by roasting theshoulder-blade of a stag and comparing the cracks with a set ofdiagrams. The Records and the Chronicles alike represent Izanagi andIzanami as resorting to this method of presaging the future, and thepractice derives interest from the fact that a precisely similarcustom has prevailed in Mongolia from time immemorial. Subsequentlythis device was abandoned in favour of the Chinese method, heating atortoise-shell; and ultimately the latter, in turn, gave way to theEight Trigrams of Fuhi. The use of auguries seems to have come at alater date. They were obtained by playing a stringed instrumentcalled koto, by standing at a cross-street and watching the passers, by manipulating stones, and by counting footsteps. MILITARY FORCES It has been related that when the "heavenly grandson" undertook hisexpedition to Japan, the military duties were entrusted to twomikoto* who became the ancestors of the Otomo and the Kume families. There is some confusion about the subsequent differentiation of thesefamilies, but it is sufficient to know that, together with theMononobe family, they, were the hereditary repositories of militaryauthority. They wore armour, carried swords, spears and bows, and notonly mounted guard at the palace but also asserted the Imperialauthority throughout the provinces. No exact particulars of theorganization of these forces are on record, but it would seem thatthe unit was a battalion divided into twenty-five companies, eachcompany consisting of five sections of five men per section, acompany being under the command of an officer whose rank wasmiyatsuko. *"August being, " a term of respect applied to the descendants of theKami. FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION No mention is made of such a thing as currency in prehistoric Japan. Commerce appears to have been conducted by barter only. In order toprocure funds for administrative and religious purposes, officers incommand of forces were despatched to various regions, and theinhabitants were required to contribute certain quantities of localproduce. Steps were also taken to cultivate useful plants and cerealsand to promote manufactures. The Kogo-shui states that a certainmikoto inaugurated the fashioning of gems in Izumo, and that hisdescendants continued the work from generation to generation, sendingannual tribute of articles to the Court every year. Another mikotowas sent to plant paper-mulberry and hemp in the province of Awa (awasignifies "hemp"), and a similar record is found in the same bookwith regard to the provinces of Kazusa and Shimosa, which were thencomprised in a region named Fusa-kuni. Other places owed their namesto similar causes. It is plain that, whatever may have been the case at the outset, thisassignment of whole regions to the control of officials whoseresponsibility was limited to the collection of taxes for the uses ofthe Court, could not but tend to create a provincial nobility andthus lay the foundations of a feudal system. The mythologicalaccounts of meetings of the Kami for purposes of consultation suggesta kind of commonwealth, and recall "the village assemblies ofprimitive times in many parts of the world, where the cleverness ofone and the general willingness to follow his suggestions fill theplace of the more definite organization of later times. "* But thoughthat may be true of the Yamato race in the region of its origin, theconditions found by it in Japan were not consistent with such asystem, for Chinese history shows that at about the beginning of theChristian era the Island Empire was in a very uncentralized state andthat the sway of the Yamato was still far from receiving generalrecognition. A great Japanese scholar** has contended that thecentralization which prevailed in later ages was wholly an imitationof Chinese bureaucracy, and that organized feudalism was the originalform of government in Japan. The annals appear to support that viewto a limited extent, but the subject will presently be discussed atgreater length. *B. H. Chamberlain. **Hirata Atsutane. RAIMENT In the use of clothing and the specialization of garments the earlyJapanese had reached a high level. We read in the ancient legends ofupper garments, skirts, trousers, anklets, and head-ornaments ofstones considered precious. * The principal material of wearingapparel was cloth woven from threads of hemp and mulberry bark. According to the annals, the arts of spinning, weaving, and dyeingwere known and practised from the earliest age. The Sun goddessherself is depicted as seated in the hall of the sacred loom, reelingsilk from cocoons held in her mouth, and at the ceremony of enticingher from her retirement, the weaving of blue-and-white stuffsconstituted an important adjunct. Terms are used (akarurtae andteru-tae) which show that colour and lustre were esteemed as much asquality. Ara-tae and nigi-tae were the names used to designate coarseand fine cloth respectively; striped stuff was called shidori, andthe name of a princess, Taku-hata-chiji, goes to show that corrugatedcloth was woven from the bark of the taku. Silken fabrics weremanufactured, but the device of boiling the cocoons had not yet beeninvented. They were held in the mouth for spinning purposes, and thethreads thus obtained being coarse and uneven, the loom could notproduce good results. Silk stuffs therefore did not find much favour:they were employed chiefly for making cushions, cloth woven fromcotton, hemp, or mulberry bark being preferred for raiment. Purewhite was the favourite colour; red, blue, and black being placed ina lower rank in that order. It has been conjectured that furs andskins were worn, but there is no explicit mention of anything of thekind. It would seem that their use was limited to making rugs andcovering utensils. ** Sewing is not explicitly referred to, but theneedle is; and in spite of an assertion to the contrary made by theChinese author of the Shan-hai-ching (written in the fourth centuryA. D. ) there is no valid reason to doubt that the process of sewingwas familiar. *B. H. Chamberlain. **In China the case was different. There, garments made of skins orcovered with feathers were worn in remote antiquity before the art ofweaving had become known. The Records recount that in the age of theKami "there came" (to Japan) "riding on the crest of the waves, akami dressed in skins of geese, " and this passage has been quoted asshowing that skins were used for garments in Japan. But it is pointedout by Japanese commentators that this Kami Sukuna-bikona isexplicitly stated to have come from a foreign country, and that ifthe passage warrants any inference, it is that the visitor's place ofdeparture had been China. As to the form of the garments worn, the principal were the hakamaand the koromo. The hakama was a species of divided skirt, used bymen and women alike. It has preserved its shape from age to age, andis to-day worn by school-girls throughout Japan. The koromo was atunic having tight sleeves reaching nearly to the knees. It wasfolded across the breast from right to left and secured by a belt ofcloth or silk tied round the loins. Veils also were used by bothsexes, one kind (the katsugi) having been voluminous enough to coverthe whole body. "Combs are mentioned, and it is evident that muchattention was devoted to the dressing of the hair. "* Men dividedtheirs in the middle and bound it up in two bunches, one over eachear. Youths tied theirs into a top-knot; girls wore their lockshanging down the back but bound together at the neck, and marriedladies "dressed theirs after a fashion which apparently combined thelast two methods. " Decoration of the head was carried far onceremonial occasions, gems, veils, and even coronets being used forthe purpose. "There is no mention in any of the old books of cuttingthe hair or beard except in token of disgrace; neither do we gatherthat the sexes, but for this matter of head-dress, were distinguishedby a diversity of apparel or ornamentation. "* *B. H. Chamberlain. FOOD AND DRINK Rice was the great staple of diet in ancient, as it is in modern, times. The importance attaching to it is shown by the fact that theSun goddess herself is represented as engaging in its cultivation andthat injuring a rice-field was among the greatest offences. Barley, millet, wheat, and beans are mentioned, but the evidence that theywere grown largely in remote antiquity is not conclusive. The fleshof animals and birds was eaten, venison and wild boar beingparticularly esteemed. Indeed, so extensively was the hunting of deerpractised that bows and arrows were often called kago-yumi andkago-ya (kago signifies "deer"). Fish, however, constituted a muchmore important staple of diet than flesh, and fishing in theabundantly stocked seas that surround the Japanese islands waslargely engaged in. Horses and cattle were not killed for food. It isrecorded in the Kogo-shui that the butchering of oxen to furnish meatfor workers in a rice-field roused the resentment of a Kami calledMitoshi. There does not appear to have been any religious orsuperstitious scruple connected with this abstention: the animalswere spared simply because of their usefulness. Vegetables occupied alarge space in the list of articles of food. There were the radish, the cabbage, the lotus, the melon, and the wild garlic, as well as asseveral kinds of seaweed. Salt was used for seasoning, the process ofits manufacture having been familiar from the earliest times. Onlyone kind of intoxicating liquor was ever known in Japan until theopening of intercourse with the Occident. It was a kind of beerbrewed* from rice and called sake. The process is said to have beentaught by Sukuna, who, as shown above, came to Japan from a foreigncountry--probably China--when the Kami, Okuni-nushi, was establishingorder in the Japanese islands. *The term for "brew" being kamu or kamosu, the former of which ishomonymous with the equivalent for "to chew, " some commentators havesupposed that sake was manufactured in early times by grinding ricewith the teeth. This is at once disproved by the term for "yeast, "namely, kabi-tachi (fermenting). COOKING AND TABLE EQUIPAGE From time immemorial there were among the officials at the ImperialCourt men called kashiwa-de, or oak-leaf hands. They had charge ofthe food and drink, and their appellation was derived from the factthat rice and other edibles were usually served on oak leaves. Earthenware utensils were used, but their surface, not being glazed, was not allowed to come into direct contact with the viands placed onthem. In this practice another example is seen of the love ofcleanliness that has always characterized and distinguished theJapanese nation. Edibles having been thus served, the vesselscontaining them were ranged on a table, one for each person, andchop-sticks were used. Everything was cooked, with the exception ofcertain vegetables and a few varieties of fish. Friction of wood uponwood provided fire, a fact attested by the name of the tree chieflyused for the purpose, hi-no-ki, or fire-tree. To this day the samemethod of obtaining a spark is practised at the principal religiousceremonials. Striking metal upon stone was another device for thesame purpose, and there is no record in Japan, as there is in China, of any age when food was not cooked. Various vessels of unglazedpottery are mentioned in the Records, as bowls, plates, jars, and wine-holders, the last being often made of metal. Thesewere all included in the term suemono, which may be translated"table-utensils. " ARMS, ARMOUR, AND GEMS It has already been stated that archaeological research shows theYamato race to have been in possession of iron swords and spears, aswell as metal armour and shields, from a very early period, probablythe date of these colonists' first coming to Japan. They also usedsaddles, stirrups, bridles, and bits for horses, so that a Yamatowarrior in full mail and with complete equipment was perhaps asformidable a fighting man as any contemporary nation could produce. Bows and arrows were also in use. The latter, tipped with iron orstone and feathered, were carried in a quiver. The swords employed bymen were originally double-edged. Their names* show that they wereused alike for cutting and thrusting, and that they varied in lengthfrom ten "hands" to five. There was also a small single-edged sword**carried by women and fastened inside the robe. The value attached tothe sword is attested by numerous appellations given to blades ofspecial quality. In later times the two-edged sword virtually fellout of use, being replaced by the single-edged. *Tsurugi (to pierce) and tachi (to cut). **This was originally called himo-kala-ha, which literally means"cord single edge. " subsequently kala-ha became katana, by which termall Japanese swords are now known. Sometimes a spear was decorated with gems. It is curious that gemsshould have been profusely used for personal adornment in ancienttimes by people who subsequently eschewed the custom well-nighaltogether, as the Japanese did. The subject has already beenreferred to in the archaeological section, but it may be added herethat there were guilds of gem-makers (Tama-tsukuri-be) in severalprovinces, and that, apart from imported minerals, the materials withwhich they worked were coral, quartz, amber, gold, silver, andcertain pebbles found in Izumo. AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY It appears that when the Yamato immigrants reached Japan, the coastlands were overgrown with reeds and the greater part of the islandwas covered with primeval forests. Fabulous accounts are given ofmonster trees. Thus, in the Tsukushi Fudoki we read of an oak inChikugo which towered to a height of 9700 feet, its branches shadingthe peaks of Hizen in the morning and the mountains of Higo in theevening. The Konjaku Monogatari tells of another oak with a stemmeasuring 3000 feet in circumference and casting its shadow overTamba at dawn and on Ise at sunset. In the Fudoki of other provincesreference is made to forest giants in Harima, Bungo, Hitachi, etc. , and when full allowance has been made for the exaggerations oftradition, there remains enough to indicate that the aboriginalinhabitants did not attempt any work of reclamation. Over regions measuring scores of miles perpetual darkness reigned, and large districts were often submerged by the overflow of rivers. There is no mention, however, of a deluge, and Professor Chamberlainhas called attention to the remarkable fact that a so-called "Altaicmyth" finds no place in the traditions of "the oldest of theundoubtedly Altaic nations. " The annals are eloquent in their accounts of the peopling of theforests by wild and fierce animals and the infesting of the valliesby noxious reptiles. The Nihongi, several of the Fudoki, the KonjakuMonogatari, etc. , speak of an eight-headed snake in Izumo, of ahorned serpent in Hitachi, and of big snakes in Yamato, Mimasaka, Bungo, and other provinces; while the Nihon Bummei Shiryaku tells ofwolves, bears, monkeys, monster centipedes, whales, etc. , in Harima, Hida, Izumo, Oki, Tajima, and Kaga. In some cases these giganticserpents were probably bandit chiefs transfigured into reptiles bytradition, but of the broad fact that the country was, for the mostpart, in a state of natural wilderness there can be little doubt. Under the sway of the Yamato, however, a great change was graduallyeffected. Frequent allusions are made to the encouragement ofagriculture and even its direct pursuit by the Kami. The Sun goddessis represented as having obtained seeds of the five cereals from thefemale Kami, Ukemochi, * and as having appointed a village chief tosuperintend their culture. She had three regions of her own speciallydevoted to rice growing, and her unruly brother, Susanoo, had asimilar number, but the latter proved barren. The same goddessinaugurated sericulture, and entrusted the care of it to a princess, who caused mulberry trees to be planted and was able to present silkfabrics to Amaterasu. In the reign of Jimmu, hemp is said to havebeen cultivated, and Susanoo, after his reformation, became theguardian of forests, one of his functions being to fix the uses ofthe various trees, as pine and hinoki (ground-cypress) for housebuilding, maki (podocarpus Chinensis) for coffin making, andcamphor-wood for constructing boats. He also planted various kinds offruit-trees. Thenceforth successive sovereigns encouragedagriculture, so that the face of the country was materially changed. *The Sun goddess, Amaterasu, and the goddess of Food (Ukemochi noKami) are the two deities now worshipped at the great shrine of Ise. In the matter of farming implements, however, neither archaeology norhistory indicates anything more than iron spades, wooden hoes shodwith bronze or iron, hand-ploughs, and axes. As to manufacturingindustries, there were spinners and weavers of cotton and silk, makers of kitchen utensils, polishers of gems, workers in gold, silver, copper, and iron, forgers of arms and armour, potters ofornamental vessels, and dressers of leather. In later eras thepersons skilled in these various enterprises formed themselves intoguilds (be), each of which carried on its own industry fromgeneration to generation. The fact that there must have been an exchange of goods between thesevarious groups is almost the only indication furnished by the annalsas to trade or commerce. In the name of a daughter of Susa (PrincessKamu-o-ichi) we find a suggestion that markets (ichi) existed, andaccording to the Wei Records (A. D. 211-265) there were, at that time, "in each province of Japan markets where the people exchanged theirsuperfluous produce for articles of which they were in need. " ButJapanese history is silent on this subject. About the be, however, a great deal is heard. It may be described asa corporated association having for purpose the securing ofefficiency by specialization. Its members seem to have been at theoutset men who independently pursued some branch of industry. Thesebeing ultimately formed into a guild, carried on the same pursuitfrom generation to generation under a chief officially appointed. "Potters, makers of stone coffins, of shields, of arrows, of swords, of mirrors, saddlers, painters, weavers, seamstresses, localrecorders, scribes, farmers, fleshers, horse-keepers, bird-feeders, the mibu who provided wet-nurses for Imperial princes, palaceattendants, and reciters (katari) were organized into be underspecial chiefs who were probably responsible for their efficientservices. It would appear, however, that 'chief of be' was sometimesa title bestowed for exceptional service and that it was occasionallyposthumous. "* *Munro. Be were also organized for the purpose of commemorating a name quiteirrespective of industrial pursuits. "The religious be were forgeneral or special purposes. For instance, there was a be ofsun-worshippers, while the Imibe, a body of abstainers, were obligedto avoid ritual contamination or impurity. They carried out atechnique of spiritual aseptics, both in their persons and throughthe utensils which they employed, much as a modern surgeon guardsagainst infection of his patient. Thus they were prepared to performsacred functions. "* *Munro. NAVIGATION AND FISHING No information is obtainable as to the nature of the boats used invery early times, but it may reasonably be inferred that the Yamatoand other immigrant races possessed craft of some capacity. Severalnames of boats are incidentally mentioned. They evidently refer tothe speed of the craft--as bird-boat (tori-fune), pigeon-boat(hato-fune)--or to the material employed, as "rock-camphor boat"(iwa-kusu-bune). "The presence of neolithic remains on the islandsaround Japan proves that the boats of the primitive people were largeenough to traverse fifty miles, or more, of open sea. "* Only onedistinct reference to sailing occurs, however, in the ancient annals. On the occasion of the alleged expedition to Korea (A. D. 200) underthe Empress Jingo, the Chronicles say, "Sail was set from the harbourof Wani. " At a date nearly three centuries earlier, there appears tohave been a marked deficiency of coasting vessels, for the Chroniclesquote an Imperial decree issued B. C. 81, which says: "Ships are ofcardinal importance to the Empire. At present the people of thecoast, not having ships, suffer grievously by land transport. Therefore let every province be caused to have ships built;"* and itis related that, a few months later, the building of ships was begun. Again, in A. D. 274, a vessel (the Karano) one hundred feet in length, was constructed in the province of Izu, and twenty-six years later, according to the Chronicles, the Emperor issued this order: "TheGovernment ship named Karano was sent as tribute by the Lord of Izu. It is rotten and unfit for use. It has, however, been in theGovernment use for a long time, and its services should not beforgotten. Shall we not keep the name of that ship from being lostand hand it down to after ages?" The Karano was then broken and hertimbers being employed as firewood for roasting salt, the latter wasgiven to the various provinces, which, in return, were caused tobuild ships for the State, the result being a fleet of five hundredvessels. *Aston's Nihongi. It would seem that there was always an abundance of fishing-boats, for fishing by traps, hooks, and nets was industriously carried on. Apassage in the Records speaks of a thousand-fathom rope ofpaper-mulberry which was used to draw the net in perch fishing. Spearing was also practised by fishermen, and in the riverscormorants were used just as they are to-day. MARRIAGE It does not appear that the marriage tie possessed any gravesignificance in ancient Japan, or that any wedding ceremony wasperformed; unless, indeed, the three circuits made by Izanagi andIzanami prior to cohabitation round a "heavenly august pillar" beinterpreted as the circumambulatory rite observed in certainprimitive societies. Pouring water over a bride seems, however, tohave been practised and is still customary in some provinces, thoughas to its antiquity nothing can be said. An exchange of presents isthe only fact made clear by the annals. There did not exist in Japan, as in China, a veto on marriages between people of the same tribe, but this difference does not signify any reproach to Japan: theinterdict was purely political in China's case, and correspondingconditions did not exist in Japan. On the other hand, the Japanese system permitted a degree of licencewhich in the Occident is called incest: brothers and sisters mightintermarry provided that they had not been brought up together. Tounderstand this condition it is necessary to observe that a bridegenerally continued to live in her family dwelling where she receivedher husband's visits, and since there was nothing to prevent ahusband from contracting many such alliances, it was possible for himto have several groups of children, the members of each group beingaltogether unknown to the members of all the rest. In a later, butnot definitely ascertained era, it became customary for a husband totake his wife to his own home, and thereafter the veto upon suchunions soon became imperative, so that a Prince Imperial in the fifthcentury who cohabited with his sister forfeited the succession andhad to commit suicide, his conduct being described in the Chroniclesas "a barbarous outrage. " In all eras sisters might marry the same man, and polygamy wascommon. A Chinese book, compiled in the early years of the Christianepoch, speaks of women being so numerous in Japan that nobles hadfour or five wives and commoners two or three. Of course, the reasonassigned for this custom is incorrect: not plenitude of females butdesire of abundant progeny was primarily the cause. It is notablethat although the line between nobles and commoners was strictlydrawn and rigidly observed, it did not extend to marriage in onesense: a nobleman could always take a wife or a concubine from thefamily of an inferior. In fact, orders were commonly issued to thisor that province to furnish so many ladies-in-waiting (uneme)--a termhaving deeper significance than it suggests--and several instancesare recorded of sovereigns summoning to court girls famed for beauty. That no distinction was made between wives and concubines has beenalleged, but is not confirmed by the annals. Differentiation by rankappears to have been always practised, and the offspring wascertainly thus distinguished. BIRTH AND EDUCATION A child in ancient Japan was born under considerable difficulties:its mother had to segregate herself in a parturition hut (ubuya), whence even light was excluded and where she was cut off from allattendance. This strange custom was an outcome of the Shinto canon ofpurity. Soon after birth, a child received from its mother a namegenerally containing some appropriate personal reference. In themost ancient times each person (so far as we can judge) bore onename, or rather one string of words compounded together into a sortof personal designation. But already at the dawn of the historicalepoch we are met by the mention of surnames and of "gentile namesbestowed by the sovereign as a recompense for some noteworthy deed. "*These names constantly occur. The principal of them are suzerain(atae), departmental suzerain (agata-no-atae), departmental lord(agata-no-nushi), Court noble (ason), territorial lord (inaki), lord(iratsuko), lady (iratsume), duke (kimi), ruler (miyatsuko), chief(muraji), grandee (omi), noble (sukune), and lord (wake). In the caseof the Emperors there are also canonical names, which were applied ata comparatively late date in imitation of Chinese usages, and whichmay be said to have completely replaced the names borne during life. Thus, the Emperor known to posterity as Jimmu was called Iware inlife, the Emperor named Homuda while he sat on the throne is nowdesignated Ojin, and the Emperor who ruled as Osazaki is rememberedas Nintoku. In the Imperial family, and doubtless in the householdsof the nobility, wet-nurses were employed, if necessary, as also werebathing-women, washing-women, and rice-chewers. ** *B. H. Chamberlain. **"Rice, which is mainly carbohydrate, is transformed into grape-sugarby the action of the saliva. This practice is still common in Chinaand used to be so in Japan where it is now rarely met with. It wasemployed only until dentition was complete. " (Munro. ) "To what we should call education, whether mental or physical, thereis absolutely no reference made in the histories. All that can beinferred is that, when old enough to do so; the boys began to followone of the callings of hunter or fisherman, while the girls stayed athome weaving the garments of the family. There was a great deal offighting, generally of a treacherous kind, in the intervals of whichthe warriors occupied themselves in cultivating patches of ground. "* *B. H. Chamberlain. BURIAL OF THE DEAD Burial rites were important ceremonials. The house hitherto tenantedby the deceased was abandoned--a custom exemplified in the removal ofthe capital to a new site at the commencement of each reign--and thebody was transferred to a specially erected mourning-hut drapedinside with fine, white cloth. The relatives and friends thenassembled, and for several days performed a ceremony which resembledan Irish wake, food and sake being offered to the spirit of the dead, prayers put up, and the intervals devoted to weird singing and solemndancing. Wooden coffins appear to have been used until the beginningof the Christian era, when stone is said to have come into vogue. At the obsequies of nobles there was considerable organization. Men(mike-hito) were duly told off to take charge of the offerings offood and liquor; others (kisari-mochi) were appointed to carry theviands; others (hahaki-mochi) carried brooms to sweep the cemetery;there were females (usu-me) who pounded rice, and females (naki-me)who sung dirges interspersed with eulogies of the deceased. TheRecords mention that at the burial of Prince Waka a number of birdswere used instead of these female threnodists. It appears, further, that those following a funeral walked round the coffin wavingblue-and-red banners, carrying lighted torches, and playing music. In the sepulchres the arms, utensils, and ornaments used daily by thedeceased were interred, and it was customary to bury alive around thetombs of Imperial personages and great nobles a number of thedeceased's principal retainers. The latter inhuman habit wasnominally abandoned at the close of the last century before Christ, images of baked clay being substituted for human sacrifices, but thespirit which informed the habit survived, and even down to moderntimes there were instances of men and women committing suicide forthe purpose of rejoining the deceased beyond the grave. As to thenature of the tombs raised over the dead, the main facts have beenstated in Chapter VI. TEETH BLACKENING AND FACE PAINTING The habit of blackening the teeth has long prevailed among marriedwomen in Japan, but the Yamato tombs have thus far furnished only oneexample of the practice, and no mention occurs in the ancient annals. Face painting, however, would seem to have been indulged in by bothsexes. Several of the pottery images (haniwa) taken from the tombsindicate that red pigment was freely and invariably used for thatpurpose. It was applied in broad streaks or large patches, the formerencircling the face or forming bands across it; the latter, coveringthe eyes or triangulating the cheeks. It is probable that thisbizarre decoration was used only on ceremonial occasions and that itappears in a greatly accentuated form on the haniwa. AMUSEMENTS As to amusements in prehistoric times little information isfurnished. Hunting the boar and the stag was the principal pastime, and hawking is described as having been practised in the fourthcentury of the Christian era. Music and dancing seem to have been invogue from time immemorial, but there is nothing to tell what kind ofmusical instruments were in the hands of the early Yamato. The koto, a kind of horizontal lute, and the flute are spoken of in theChronicles, but the date of their introduction is not indicated. Wrestling, cockfighting (with metal spurs), picnics, a kind ofdrafts, gambling with dice, and football are all referred to, andwere probably indulged in from a very early date. SLAVERY The institution of slavery existed among the Yamato. It will bepresently spoken of. POSITION OF WOMEN There is evidence to show that in the prehistoric age a high positionwas accorded to women and that their rights received largerecognition. The facts that the first place in the Japanese pantheonwas assigned to a goddess; that the throne was frequently occupied byEmpresses; that females were chiefs of tribes and led armies oncampaign; that jealous wives turned their backs upon faithlesshusbands; that mothers chose names for their children and often hadcomplete charge of their upbringing--all these things go to show thatthe self-effacing rank taken by Japanese women in later ages was aradical departure from the original canon of society. It is not to beinferred, however, that fidelity to the nuptial tie imposed any checkon extra-marital relations in the case of men: it had no such effect. ENGRAVING: "IKEBANA" FLOWER ARRANGEMENT ENGRAVING: ENTRANCE TO THE TOMB OF THE EMPEROR JIMMU IN UNEBI-YAMA CHAPTER IX THE PREHISTORIC SOVEREIGNS JIMMU IT is held by eminent Japanese historians that the Emperor Jimmu, when he set out for Yamato, did not contemplate an armed campaign butmerely intended to change his capital from the extreme south to thecentre of the country. This theory is based on the words of theaddress he made to his elder brothers and his sons when inviting themto accompany him on the expedition "Why should we not proceed toYamato and make it the capital?"--and on the fact that, on arrivingin the Kibi district, namely, the region now divided into the threeprovinces of Bizen, Bitchu, and Bingo, he made a stay of three yearsfor the purpose of amassing an army and provisioning it, theperception that he would have to fight having been realized for thefirst time. Subsequently he encountered strongest resistance at thehands of Prince Nagasune, whose title of Hiko (Child of the Sun)showed that he belonged to the Yamato race, and who exercisedmilitary control under the authority of Nigihayahi, elder brother ofJimmu's father. This Nigihayahi had been despatched from thecontinental realm of the Yamato--wherever that may have been--at adate prior to the despatch of his younger brother, Ninigi, for thepurpose of subjugating the "land of fair rice-ears and fertile reedplains, " but of the incidents of his expedition history takes nonotice: it merely shows him as ruling in Yamato at the time ofJimmu's arrival there, and describes how Nigihayahi, having beenconvinced by a comparison of weapons of war that Jimmu was of his ownlineage, surrendered the authority to him and caused, Prince Nagasuneto be put to death. From a chronological point of view it is difficult to imagine theco-existence of Jimmu and his great-granduncle, but the story mayperhaps be accepted in so far as it confirms the tradition that, inprosecuting his Yamato campaign, Jimmu received the submission ofseveral chieftains (Kami) belonging to the same race as himself. Reference to these facts is essential to an understanding of theclass distinctions found in the Japanese social system. All thechieftains who led the expedition from Kyushu were subsequentlydesignated Tenshin--a term which may be conveniently rendered "Kamiof the descent"--and all those who, like Nigihayahi, had previouslybeen in occupation of the country, were styled kum-tsu-Kami, or "territorial Kami. " Another method of distinguishing wasto include the former in the Kwobetsu and the latter in theShimbetsu--distinctions which will be more fully explainedhereafter--and after apotheosis the members of these two classesbecame respectively "deities of heaven" and "deities of earth, " adistinction possessing historical rather than qualificatory force. As for subdivisions, the head of a Kwobetsu family had the title ofomi (grandee) and the head of a Shimbetsu family that of muraji(chief). Thus, the organization of the State depended primarily onthe principle of ancestor worship. The sceptre descended by divineright without any regard to its holder's competence, while theadministrative posts were filled by men of the same race with asimilar hereditary title. Aliens like the Yezo, the Tsuchi-gumo, andthe Kumaso were either exterminated or made slaves (nuhi). THE TERM "YAMATO" As to the term "Yamato, " it appears that, in the earliest times, thewhole country now called Japan was known as Yamato, and thatsubsequently the designation became restricted to the province whichbecame the seat of government. The Chinese, when they first tookcognizance of the islands lying on their east, seem to have appliedthe name Wado--pronounced "Yamato" by the Japanese--to the tribesinhabiting the western shores of Japan, namely, the Kumaso or theTsuchi-gumo, and in writing the word they used ideographs conveying asense of contempt. The Japanese, not unnaturally, changed theseideographs to others having the same sounds but signifying "greatpeace. " At a later time the Chinese or the Koreans began to designatethese eastern islands, Jih-pen, or "Sunrise Island, " a term which, inthe fifteenth century, was perverted by the Dutch into Japan. THE FIRST NINE EMPERORS In attempting to construct coherent annals out of the somewhatfragmentary Japanese histories of remote ages, the student isimmediately confronted by chronological difficulties. Apart from thebroad fact that the average age of the first seventeen Emperors fromJimmu downwards is 109 years, while the average age of the nextseventeen is only sixty-one and a half years, there areirreconcilable discrepancies in some of the dates themselves. Thus, according to the Records, the eighth Emperor, Kogen, died atfifty-seven, but according to the Chronicles he ascended the throneat fifty-nine and reigned fifty-six years. Again, whereas the ninthsovereign, Kaikwa, is by the Records given a life of only sixty-threeyears, the Chronicles make him assume the sceptre at fifty-one andwield it for fifty-nine years. Such conflicts of evidence are fatalto confidence. Nor do they disappear wholly until the beginning ofthe fifth century, at which time, moreover, the incidents of Japanesehistory receive their first confirmation from the history of Chinaand Korea. It is therefore not extravagant to conclude that the first ten and ahalf centuries covered by Japanese annals must be regarded asprehistoric. On the other hand, the incidents attributed to this longinterval are not by any means of such a nature as to suggestdeliberate fabrication. An annalist who was also a courtier, applyinghimself to construct the story of his sovereign's ancestors, wouldnaturally be disposed to embellish his pages with narratives of greatexploits and brilliant achievements. Neither the Records nor theChronicles can be said to display such a propensity in any markeddegree. The Chronicles do, indeed, draw upon the resources of Chinesehistory to construct ethical codes and scholarly diction for theirImperial figures, but the Records show no traces of adventitiouscolour nor make an attempt to minimize the evil and magnify the good. Thus, while it is evident that to consolidate Jimmu's conquest and toestablish order among the heterogeneous elements of his empire hemust have been followed by rulers of character and prowess, theannals show nothing of the kind. On the contrary, the reigns of hiseight immediate successors are barren of all striking incident. Theclosing chapter of Jimmu himself is devoted chiefly to his amours, and the opening page in the life of his immediate successor, Suisei, shows that the latter reached the throne by assassinating his elderbrother. For the rest, the annals of the eight sovereigns who reignedduring the interval between 561 and 98 B. C. Recount mainly thepolygamous habits of these rulers and give long genealogies of thenoble families founded by their offspring--a dearth of romance whichbears strong witness to the self-restraint of the compilers. We learnincidentally that on his accession each sovereign changed the site ofhis palace, seldom passing, however, beyond the limits of theprovince of Yamato, and we learn, also, that the principle ofprimogeniture, though generally observed, was often violated. HSU FUH A Japanese tradition assigns to the seventy-second year of the reignof Korei the advent of a Chinese Taoist, by name Hsu Fuh. Korei, seventh in descent from Jimmu, held the sceptre from 290 to 215 B. C. , and the seventy-second year of his reign fell, therefore, in 219 B. C. Now, to the east of the town of Shingu in Kii province, at a place onthe seashore in the vicinity of the site of an ancient castle, therestands a tomb bearing the inscription "Grave of Hsu Fuh from China, "and near it are seven tumuli said to be the burial-places of Hsu'scompanions. Chinese history states that Hsu Fuh was a learned man whoserved the first Emperor of the Chin dynasty (255-206 B. C. ), and thathe obtained his sovereign's permission to sail to the islands of theeast in search of the elixir of life. Setting out from Yentai (thepresent Chefoo) in his native province of Shantung, Hsu landed atKumano in the Kii promontory, and failing to find the elixir, preferred to pass his life in Japan rather than to returnunsuccessful to the Court of the tyranical Chin sovereign, burner ofthe books and builder of the Great Wall. A poem composed in the Sungdynasty (A. D. 960-1280) says that when Hsu Fuh set out, the books hadnot been burned, and that a hundred volumes thus survived in hiskeeping. Of course, the date assigned by Japanese tradition to thecoming of Hsu may have been adapted to Chinese history, and ittherefore furnishes no evidence as to the accuracy of the Chronicles'chronology. But the existence of the tomb may be regarded as provingthat some communication took place between China and Japan at thatremote epoch. * *The route taken by Hsu Fuh namely, from Chefoo down the China Seaand round the south of Japan is difficult to understand. THE TENTH EMPEROR, SUJIN The reign of this sovereign (97-30 B. C. ) is the first eventful periodsince the death of Jimmu. It is memorable for the reorganization ofreligious rites; for the extension of the effective sway of theThrone, and for the encouragement of agriculture. When the firstEmperor installed the sacred insignia in the palace where he himselfdwelt, the instinct of filial piety and the principle of ancestorworship were scarcely distinguishable. But as time passed and as theage of the Kami became more remote, a feeling of awe began to pervadethe rites more strongly than a sense of family affection, and theidea of residing and worshipping in the same place assumed acharacter of sacrilege. This may have been directly suggested by apestilence which, decimating the nation, was interpreted as implyingthe need of greater purity. A replica of the sacred mirror wasmanufactured, and the grandson of the great worker in metalMahitotsu, the "One-eyed" was ordered to forge an imitation of thesacred sword. These imitations, together with the sacred jewel, werekept in the palace, but the originals were transferred to Kasanui inYamato, where a shrine for the worship of the Sun goddess had beenbuilt. But though the pestilence was stayed, it brought an aftermathof lawlessness and produced much unrest in the regions remote fromYamato. Sujin therefore organized a great military movement, thecampaign of the Shido shogun, or "Generalissimo of the fourCircuits. "* *The term "do" indicates a group of provinces. The leaders chosen for this task were all members of the Imperialfamily--a great-uncle, an uncle, a younger brother, and a firstcousin of the Emperor--and the fields of operation assigned to themwere: first, to the west along the northern shore of the Inland Sea;secondly, to the northwest into Tamba, Tango, and Tajima; thirdly, tothe north along the sea of Japan, and finally to the east along theroute now known as the Tokaido. No attempt is made by the writers ofeither the Records or the Chronicles to describe the preparations forthis extensive campaign. Tradition seems to have preserved the barefact only. One interesting interlude is described, however. Before the firstbody of troops had passed beyond range of easy communication withMizugaki in Yamato, where the Court resided, the prince in commandheard a girl singing by the wayside, and the burden of her songseemed to imply that, while foes at home menaced the capital, foesabroad should not be attacked. The prince, halting his forces, returned to Mizugaki to take counsel, and the Emperor's auntinterpreted the song to signify that his Majesty's half-brother, Haniyasu, who governed the adjacent province of Yamato, was plottingtreason. Then all the troops having been recalled, preparations toguard the capital were made, and soon afterwards, news came thatHaniyasu, at the head of an army, was advancing from the direction ofYamashiro, while his wife, Ata, was leading another force from Osaka, the plan being to unite the two armies for the attack on Yamato. TheEmperor's generals at once assumed the offensive. They moved firstagainst Princess Ata, killed her and exterminated her forces; afterwhich they dealt similarly with Haniyasu. This chapter of historyillustrates the important part taken by women in affairs of State atthat epoch, and incidentally confirms the fact that armour was wornby men in battle. The four Imperial generals were now able to resume their temporarilyinterrupted campaigns. According to the Chronicles they completed thetasks assigned to them and returned to the capital within six months. But such chronology cannot be reconciled with facts. For it isrelated that the generals sent northward by the western seaboard andthe eastern seaboard, respectively, came together at Aizu, * onereaching that place via Hitachi, the other via Echigo. Thus, it wouldresult that Yamato armies at that remote epoch marched hundreds ofmiles through country in the face of an enemy within a few months. Further, to bring the aboriginal tribes into subjugation, an isolatedcampaign would have been quite inadequate. Some kind of permanentcontrol was essential, and there is collateral evidence that thedescendants of the four princely generals, during many generations, occupied the position of provincial magnates and exercised virtuallydespotic sway within the localities under their jurisdiction. Thus inthe provinces of Omi, of Suruga, of Mutsu, of Iwashiro, of Iwaki, ofEchigo, of Etchu, of Echizen, of Bizen, of Bitchu, of Bingo, ofHarima, of Tamba, and elsewhere, there are found in later ages noblefamilies all tracing their descent to one or another of the Shidoshoguns despatched on the task of pacifying the country in the daysof the Emperor Sujin. The genealogies which fill pages of the Recordsfrom the days of Jimmu downwards point clearly to the growth of apowerful feudal aristocracy, for the younger sons born to successivesovereigns bear, for the most part, names indicative of territoriallordship; but it seems justifiable to conclude that the first greatimpetus to that kind of decentralization was given by Sujin'sdespatch of the Shido shoguns. *Hence the term "Aizu, " form, signifies "to meet. " AGRICULTURE AND TAXATION The digging of reservoirs and tunnels for irrigating rice-fieldsreceived unprecedented attention in the reign of this Emperor, andmention is for the first time made of taxes--tributes of "bow-notchesand of finger-tips, " in other words, the produce of the chase and theproducts of the loom. A census was taken for taxation purposes, butunhappily the results are nowhere recorded. The Court gave itselfsome concern about maritime transport also. A rescript ordered thatships should be built by every province, but nothing is stated as totheir dimensions or nature. In this rescript it is mentioned that"the people of the coast not having ships, suffer grievously by landtransport. " What they suffered may be inferred from a description inthe Chronicles where we read that at the building of the tomb of aprincess, "the people, standing close to each other, passed thestones from hand to hand, and thus transported them from Osaka toYamato. " FOREIGN INTERCOURSE Korea, when Japanese history is first explicitly concerned with it, was peopled by a number of semi-independent tribes, and the part ofthe peninsula lying southward of the Han River--that is to say, southward of the present Seoul--comprised three kingdoms. Of theseMa-Han occupied the whole of the western half of the peninsula alongthe coast of the Yellow Sea; while Sin-Han and Pyong-Han formed theeastern half, lying along the shore of the Sea of Japan. The threewere collectively spoken of as Sam-Han (the three Han). But Japan'srelations with the peninsula did not always involve these majordivisions. Her annals speak of Shiragi (or Sinra), Kara, Kudara, andKoma. Shiragi and Kara were principalities carved respectively out ofthe southeast and south of Pyong-Han. Thus, they lay nearest toJapan, the Korea Strait alone intervening, and the Korea Strait wasalmost bridged by islands. Kudara constituted the modern Seoul andits vicinity; Koma, (called also Korai and in Korea, Kokuli), themodern Pyong-yang and its district. These two places were renderedspecially accessible by the rivers Han and Tadong which flowedthrough them to the Yellow Sea; but of course in this respect theycould not compare with Shiragi (Sinra) and Kara, of which latterplace the Japanese usually spoke as Mimana. There can scarcely be any doubt that the Korean peninsula was largelypermeated with Chinese influences from a very early date, but theprocesses which produced that result need not be detailed here. Ithas been also shown above that, in the era prior to Jimmu, indications are found of intercourse between Japan and Korea, andeven that Susanoo and his son held sway in Shiragi. But the firstdirect reference made by Japanese annals to Korea occurs in the reignof Sujin, 33 B. C. When an envoy from Kara arrived at the MizugakiCourt, praying that a Japanese general might be sent to compose aquarrel which had long raged between Kara and Shiragi, and to takethe former under Japan's protection. It appears that this envoy hadtravelled by a very circuitous route. He originally made the port ofAnato (modern Nagato), but Prince Itsutsu, who ruled there, claimedto be the sole monarch of Japan and refused to allow the envoy toproceed, so that the latter had to travel north and enter Japan viaKehi-no-ura (now Tsuruga. ) Incidentally this narrative corroborates a statement made in Chinesehistory (compiled in the Later Han era, A. D. 25-220) to the effectthat many Japanese provinces claimed to be under hereditary rulerswho exercised sovereign rights. Such, doubtless, was the attitudeassumed by several of the Imperial descendants who had obtainedprovincial estates. The Emperor Sujin received the envoy courteouslyand seemed disposed to grant his request, but his Majesty's death (30B. C. ) intervened, and not until two years later was the envoy able toreturn. His mission had proved abortive, but the Emperor Suinin, Sujin's successor, gave him some red-silk fabrics to carry home andconferred on his country the name Mimana, in memory of Sujin, whoseappellation during life had been Mimaki. These details furnish an index to the relations that existed in thatera between the neighbouring states of the Far East. The specialinterest of the incident lies, however, in the fact that it furnishesthe first opportunity of comparing Japanese history with Korean. Thelatter has two claims to credence. The first is that it assigns noincredible ages to the sovereigns whose reigns it records. Accordingto Japanese annals there were only seven accessions to the throne ofYamato during the first four centuries of the Christian era. According to Korean annals, the three peninsular principalities hadsixteen, seventeen, and sixteen accessions, respectively, in the sameinterval. The second claim is that, during the same four centuries, the histories of China and Korea agree in ten dates and differ in twoonly. * On the whole, therefore, Korean annals deserve to be credited. But whereas Japanese history represents warfare as existing betweenKara and Shiragi in 33 B. C. , Korean history represents the conflictas having broken out in A. D. 77. There is a difference of just 110years, and the strong probability of accuracy is on the Korean side. *For a masterly analysis of this subject see a paper on EarlyJapanese History by Mr. W. G. Aston in Vol. XVI of the "Translationsof the Asiatic Society of Japan. " THE ELEVENTH SOVEREIGN, SUININ (29 B. C. --A. D. 70) Suinin, second son of his predecessor, obtained the throne by aprocess which frankly ignored the principle of primogeniture. ForSujin, having an equal affection for his two sons, confessed himselfunable to choose which of them should be his successor and wastherefore guided by a comparison of their dreams, the result beingthat the younger was declared Prince Imperial, and the elder becameduke of the provinces of Kamitsuke (now Kotsuke) and Shimotsuke. Suinin, like all the monarchs of that age, had many consorts: nineare catalogued in the Records and their offspring numbered sixteen, many of whom received local titles and had estates conferred in theprovinces. In fact, this process of ramifying the Imperial familywent on continuously from reign to reign. There are in the story of this sovereign some very pathetic elements. Prince Saho, elder brother of the Empress, plotted to usurp thethrone. Having cajoled his sister into an admission that her brotherwas dearer than her husband, he bade her prove it by killing theEmperor in his sleep. But when an opportunity offered to perpetratethe deed as the sovereign lay sleeping with her knees as pillow, herheart melted, and her tears, falling on the Emperor's face, disturbedhis slumber. He sought the cause of her distress, and learning it, sent a force to seize the rebel. Remorse drove the Empress to diewith Prince Saho. Carrying her little son, she entered the fort whereher brother with his followers had taken refuge. The Imperial troopsset fire to the fort--which is described as having been built withrice-bags piled up--and the Empress emerged with the child in herarms; but having thus provided for its safety, she fled again to thefort and perished with her brother. This terrible scene appears tohave given the child such a shock that he lost the use of speech, andthe Records devote large space to describing the means employed forthe amusement of the child, the long chase and final capture of aswan whose cry, as it flew overhead, had first moved the youth tospeech, and the cure ultimately effected by building a shrine for theworship of the deity of Izumo, who, in a previous age, had beencompelled to abdicate the sovereignty of the country in favour of alater descendant of the Sun goddess, and whose resentment wasthereafter often responsible for calamities overtaking the Court orthe people of Japan. THE ISE SHRINE AND THE PRACTICE OF JUNSHI Two events specially memorable in this reign were the transfer of theshrine of the Sun goddess to Ise, where it has remained ever since, and the abolition of the custom of junshi, or following in death. Thelatter shocking usage, a common rite of animistic religion, was inpart voluntary, in part compulsory. In its latter aspect it camevividly under the notice of the Emperor Suinin when the tomb of hisyounger brother, Yamato, having been built within earshot of thepalace, the cries of his personal attendants, buried alive around hisgrave, were heard, day and night, until death brought silence. In thefollowing year (A. D. 3), the Empress having died, a courtier, Nomi-no-Sukune, advised the substitution of clay figures for thevictims hitherto sacrificed. Nominally, the practice of compulsoryjunshi ceased from that date, * but voluntary junshi continued to findoccasional observance until modern times. *Of course it is to be remembered that the dates given by Japanesehistorians prior to the fifth century A. D. Are very apocryphal. WRESTLING The name of Nomi-no-Sukune is associated with the first mention ofwrestling in Japanese history. By the Chronicles a brief account isgiven of a match between Nomi and Taema-no-Kuehaya. The latter wasrepresented to be so strong that he could break horns and straightenhooks. His frequently expressed desire was to find a worthycompetitor. Nomi-no-Sukune, summoned from Izumo by the Emperor, metKuehaya in the lists of the palace of Tamaki and kicked him to death. Wrestling thereafter became a national pastime, but its methodsunderwent radical change, kicking being abolished altogether. FOREIGN INTERCOURSE It is believed by Japanese historians that during the reign of Suinina local government station (chinju-fu) was established in Anraprovince of Mimana, and that this station, subsequently known asNippon-fu, was transferred to Tsukushi (Kyushu) and named Dazai-fuwhen Japan's influence in Mimana waned. The first general (shoguri)of the chinju-fu was Prince Shihotari, and the term kishi--which inKorea signified headman--was thenceforth incorporated into his familyname. To the members of that family in later generations wasentrusted the conduct of the Empire's foreign affairs. But it doesnot appear that the Imperial Court in Yamato paid much attention tooversea countries in early eras. Intercourse with these wasconducted, for the most part, by the local magnates who held sway inthe western regions of Japan. It was during the reign of Suinin, if Japanese chronology beaccepted, that notices of Japan began to appear in Chinese history--ahistory which justly claims to be reliable from 145 B. C. Under theLater Han dynasty (A. D. 25-220), great progress was made inliterature and art by the people of the Middle Kingdom, and thisprogress naturally extended, not only to Korea, which had beenconquered by the Chinese sovereign, Wu-Ti, in the second centurybefore Christ and was still partly under the rule of Chinesegovernors, but also to the maritime regions of Japan, whence theshores of Korea were almost within sight. China in those ages wasincomparably the greatest and most enlightened country in the Orient, and it had become the custom with adjacent States to send emissariesto her Court, bearing gifts which she handsomely requited; so thatwhile, from one point of view, the envoys might be regarded astribute-carriers, from another, the ceremony presented the characterof a mere interchange of neighbourly civilities. In Japan, again, administrative centralization was still imperfect. Some of the localmagnates had not yet been brought fully under the sway of the Yamatoinvaders, and some, as scions of the Imperial family, arrogated aconsiderable measure of independence. Thus it resulted that severalof these provincial dukes--or "kings, " as not a few of them werecalled--maintained relations with Korea, and through her despatchedtribute missions to the Chinese Court from time to time. In these circumstances it is not surprising to find the Chinesehistorians of the first century A. D. Writing: "The Wa (Japanese)dwell southeast of Han* (Korea) on a mountainous island in midocean. Their country is divided into more than one hundred provinces. Sincethe time when Wu-Ti (140-86 B. C. ) overthrew Korea, they (theJapanese) have communicated with the Han (Korean) authorities bymeans of a postal service. There are thirty-two provinces which doso, all of which style their rulers 'kings' who are hereditary. Thesovereign of Great Wa resides in Yamato, distant 12, 000 li (4000miles) from the frontier of the province of Yolang (the modernPyong-yang in Korea). In the second year of Chung-yuan (A. D. 57), inthe reign of Kwang-wu, the Ito** country sent an envoy with tribute, who styled himself Ta-fu. He came from the most western part of theWa country. Kwang-wu presented him with a seal and ribbon. " [Aston'stranslation. ] *It is necessary to distinguish carefully between the Han dynasty ofChina and the term "Han" as a designation of Korea. **The ideographs composing this word were pronounced "I-to" at thetime when they were written by the Hou-Han historians, but theysubsequently received the sound of "Wo-nu" or "wa-do. " These passages have provoked much discussion, but Japanese annalistsare for the most part agreed that "Ito" should be read "I-no-na, "which corresponds with the ancient Na-no-Agata, the present Naka-goriin Chikuzen, an identification consistent with etymology andsupported by the fact that, in 1764, a gold seal supposed to be theoriginal of the one mentioned above, was dug out of the ground inthat region. In short, Na-no-Agata is identical with the ancientWatazumi-no-Kuni, which was one of the countries of Japan'sintercourse. Further, the Yamato of the Hou-Han historians is not tobe regarded as the province of that name in central Japan, but as oneof the western districts, whether Yamato in Higo, or Yamato inChikugo. It has been shrewdly suggested* that the example of Koreahad much influence in inducing the local rulers in the western andsouthern provinces to obtain the Chinese Court's recognition of theiradministrative status, but, whatever may have been the dominantmotive, it seems certain that frequent intercourse took place betweenJapan and China via Korea immediately before and after the beginningof the Christian era. Again, that Koreans came freely to Japan andsettled there is attested by the case of a son of the King of Shiragiwho, coming to the Tajima region, took a Japanese wife andestablished himself there, founding a distinguished family. Theclosing episode of the Emperor Suinin's life was the despatch ofTajima Mori, this immigrant's descendant, to the country of Tokoyo, nominally for the purpose of obtaining orange-seeds, but probablywith the ulterior motive of exploration. *By Dr. Ariga, an eminent Japanese authority. The reader is already familiar with this Tokoyo-no-Kuni (EternalLand). We hear of it first as the home of "long-singing birds"summoned to take part in enticing the Sun goddess from her cave. Thenit figures as the final retreat of Sukuna-hikona, the Aescalapius ofthe mythological age. Then we find one of Jimmu's elder brotherstreading on the waves to reach it. Then we hear of it as thebirthplace of the billows that make Ise their bourne, and now it isdescribed by Tajima Mori in his death-song as the "mysterious realmof gods and genii, " so distant that ten years were needed to reach itand return. It appears in fact to have been an epithet for China ingeneral, and the destination of Tajima Mori is believed to have beenShantung, to reach which place by sea from Japan was a great feat ofnavigation in those primitive days. Tajima Mori returned to find theEmperor dead, and in despair he committed suicide. AGRICULTURE AND ADMINISTRATION The reclamation of land for purposes of rice cultivation went onvigorously during Suinin's reign. More than eight hundred ponds andaqueducts are said to have been constructed by order of the sovereignfor irrigation uses throughout the provinces. It would seem, too, that the practice of formally consulting Court officials aboutadministrative problems had its origin at this time. No definiteorganization for the purpose was yet created, but it became customaryto convene distinguished scions of the Imperial line and heads ofgreat subject-families to discuss and report upon affairs of State. Another innovation referred to in this era was the offering ofweapons of war at the shrines. We read of as many as a thousandswords being forged to form part of the sacred treasures at theshrine of Ise-no-Kami, and the occasion was seized to organize anumber of hereditary corporations (be) of arm-makers and armourers. These were placed under the control of Prince Inishiki, another ofthe captains of the Imperial life-guards (mononobe-no-Obito). It isthus evident that something more than a religious rite was involvedin these measures. THE TWELFTH EMPEROR, KEIKO (A. D. 71--130) According to the Records, Keiko was ten feet two inches high, and hisshank measured four feet one inch. His nomination as Prince Imperialwas an even more arbitrary violation of the right of primogeniturethan the case of his predecessor had been, for he was chosen inpreference to his elder brother merely because, when the two youthswere casually questioned as to what they wished for, the elder said, "a bow and arrows, " and the younger, "the empire. " The delusivenature of the Nihongi's chronology in these prehistoric epochs isexemplified in the annals of this sovereign, for he is represented ashaving been in his eighty-third year when he ascended the throne, yet, in the third year of his reign, he took a consort who bore himthirteen children, and altogether his progeny numbered eighty sonsand daughters by seven wives. His plan of providing for thesenumerous scions constituted the first systematization of a customwhich had been observed in a fitful manner by several of hispredecessors. They had given to their sons local titles and estatesbut had not required them to leave the capital. Keiko, however, appointed his sons, with three exceptions, to the position ofprovincial or district viceroy, preserving their Imperial connexionby calling them wake, or branch families. This subject will presentitself for further notice during the reign of Keiko's successor. One of the most memorable events in this epoch was the Emperor'smilitary expedition in person to quell the rebellious Kumaso (q. V. )in Kyushu. There had not been any instance of the sovereign takingthe field in person since Jimmu's time, and the importance attachingto the insurrection is thus shown. Allowance has to be made, however, for the fact that the territory held by these Kumaso in the south ofKyushu was protected by a natural rampart of stupendous mountainranges which rendered military access arduous, and which, in afterages, enabled a great feudatory to defy the Central Government forcenturies. In connexion with this expedition a noteworthy fact isthat female chieftains were found ruling in the provinces of Suwo andBingo. They were not aliens, but belonged to the Yamato race, andtheir existence goes far to account for the appellation, "Queens'Country, " applied by Chinese historians to the only part of Japanwith which the people of the Middle Kingdom were familiar, namely, Kyushu and the west-coast provinces. Keiko's reign is remarkablechiefly for this expedition to the south, which involved a residenceof six years in Hyuga, and for the campaigns of one of the greatestof Japan's heroes, Prince Yamato-dake. The military prowess of thesovereign, the fighting genius of Yamato-dake, and the administrativeability of Takenouchi-no-Sukune, the first "prime minister" mentionedin Japanese history, combined to give signal eclat to the reign ofKeiko. Arriving at this stage of the annals, we are able to perceive what aninfluence was exercised on the fortunes of the country by itstopographical features. The southwestern sections of the islands arecomparatively accessible from the centre (Chogoku or Kinai), whetherby sea or by land, but the northeastern are guarded by mountainchains which can be crossed only by arduous and easily defendedpasses. It was, therefore, in these northeastern provinces that theYemishi maintained their independence until their strength was brokenby the splendid campaign of Yamato-dake; it was in these northeasternprovinces that the bushi, noblest product of Japanese civilization, was nurtured; it was in the same provinces that the Taira family madeits brilliant debut, and it was by abandoning these provinces for thesweets of Kyoto that the Taira fell; it was in the north-easternprovinces that Minamoto Yoritomo, the father of military feudalism, established himself, to be followed in succession by the Hojo, theAshikaga, and the Tokugawa, and it is in the northeastern provincesthat the Meiji Government has its seat of power. We can not wonder, therefore, that modern historiographers havedevoted much labour to tracing the route followed by Yamato-dake'stroops and rationalizing the figurative or miraculous features of thenarratives told in the Kojiki and the Nihongi. It is enough to know, however, that he overran the whole region stretching from theprovinces along the Eastern Sea as far as Iwaki; crossed westwardthrough Iwashiro to Echigo on the west coast, and turning southward, made his way through Shinano and Mino to Owari, whence, sufferingfrom a wound caused by a poisoned arrow, he struggled on to Ise anddied there. This campaign seems to have occupied ten years, andYamato-dake was only thirty at the time of his death. He had marchedagainst the Kumaso in the south at the age of sixteen. The Chroniclesrelate that when crossing the Usui Pass and looking down on the seawhere his loved consort had cast herself into the waves to quelltheir fury, the great warrior sighed thrice and exclaimed, "My wife, my wife, my wife!" (Ago, tsuma haya), whereafter the provinces eastof the mountain were designated Azuma. It was imagined until quite recent times that the pass referred towas the well-known Usui Toge on the Nakasendo road; but Dr. Kume hasshown that such a supposition is inconsistent with any rationalitinerary of Yamato-dake's march, and that the sea in question cannotbe seen from that defile. The pass mentioned in the Chronicles isanother of the same name not far from the Hakone region, and the term"Azuma" "had always been used to designate the Eastern Provinces. "Throughout the Records and the Chronicles frequent instances occur ofattempts to derive place-names from appropriate legends, but probablyin many cases the legend was suggested by the name. In connexion withYamato-dake's career, a circumstance is recorded which indirectlypoints to the absence of history at that period. In order toimmortalize the memory of the hero, hereditary corporations (be)called after him were created. These Take-be gave their names to thedistricts where they lived, in Ise, Izumo, Mimasaka, and Bizen. FEMALE HOSTAGES Another custom inaugurated by this sovereign was to require that therulers of provinces should send to the Yamato Court female hostages. The first example of this practice took place on the occasion of anImperial visit to the regions overrun by Yamato-dake's forces. Eachof twelve kuni-yatsuko (provincial rulers) was required to send onedamsel for the purpose of serving in the culinary department of thepalace. They were called makura-ko (pillow-child) and they seem tohave been ultimately drafted into the ranks of the uneme(ladies-in-waiting). Japanese historians hold that the makura-ko weredaughters of the local magnates by whom they were sent, though thefact of that relationship is not clearly stated in either the Recordsor the Chronicles. TABE AND MIYAKE In the annals of Suinin's reign brief reference is made to granaries(miyake) erected by order of the Court. The number of these wasincreased in Keiko's time, and it is further mentioned that ahereditary corporation of rice-field cultivators (tabe) wereorganized for service on the Imperial estates. The miyake were atonce storehouse and offices for administering agricultural affairs. THE THIRTEENTH EMPEROR, SEIMU (A. D. 131--190) The thirteenth Emperor, Seimu, occupied the throne for fifty-nineyears, according to the Chronicles, but the only noteworthy featureof his reign was the organization of local government, and thedetails of his system are so vaguely stated as to be incomprehensiblewithout much reference and some hypotheses. Speaking broadly, thefacts are these: Imperial princes who had distinguished themselves byevidences of ability or courage were despatched to places of specialimportance in the provinces, under the name of wake, a term conveyingthe signification of "branch of the Imperial family. " There is reasonto think that these appointments were designed to extend the prestigeof the Court rather than to facilitate the administration ofprovincial affairs. The latter duty was entrusted to officials calledkuni-no-miyatsuko and agata-nushi, which may be translated"provincial governor" and "district headman. " The word miyatsukoliterally signifies "honourable (mi) servant (yatsuko or yakko). " In the most ancient times all subjects were yakko, but subsequentlythose holding office at Court were distinguished as omi (grandee). Persons eligible for the post of provincial governor seem to havebeen chosen from among men of merit, or Imperial princes, or chiefsof aboriginal tribes. There was little exclusiveness in this respect. The rate of expansion of the area under Imperial sway may be inferredfrom the fact that whereas there were nine provinces (kuni) inJimmu's time, one was added by Kaikwa, eleven by Sujin, seven byKeiko, and sixty-three by Seimu, making a total of ninety-one. Yet, though by the time of the last named sovereign almost the whole ofthe southern and central regions were included in the administrativecircle, the northern provinces, some of the western, and certainregions in the south (Kyushu) were not yet fully wrested from theYemishi and the Kumaso. In subsequent reigns the rate of growth wasas follows: Chuai (A. D. 192-200), two provinces; Ojin (270-310), twenty-one; Nintoku (313-399), seven; Hansho (406-411) and Inkyo(412-453), one each; Yuryaku (457-459), three; Keitai (507-531), one;and eight others at untraceable periods, the total being one hundredthirty-five. The agata was a division smaller than a province (kuni). Itcorresponded to the modern kori or gun, and its nearest Englishequivalent is "district. " A distinction must be made, however, between agata and mi-agata. The latter were Imperial domains whencethe Court derived its resources, and their dimensions varied greatly. A smaller administrative district than the agata was the inagi. * Thiswe learn from a Chinese book--the Japanese annals being silent on thesubject--consisted of eighty houses, and ten inagi constituted akuni. The terra inagi was also applied to the chief local official ofthe region, who may be designated "Mayor. " *Supposed to be derived from ine (rice) and oki (store). THE FOURTEENTH EMPEROR, CHUAI (A. D. 192--200) AND THE EMPRESS JINGO(A. D. 201--269) Were the Records our sole guide, the early incidents of Chuai's reignwould be wrapped in obscurity. For when we first meet him in thepages of the Kojiki, he is in a palace on the northern shores of theShimonoseki Strait, whence he soon crosses to the Kashii palace inKyushu. His predecessors, while invariably changing their residenceson mounting the throne, had always chosen a site for the new palacein Yamato or a neighbouring province, but the Records, without anyexplanation, carry Chuai to the far south after his accession. TheChronicles are more explicit. From them we gather that Chuai--who wasthe second son of Yamato-dake and is described as having been tenfeet high with "a countenance of perfect beauty"--was a remarkablyactive sovereign. He commenced his reign by a progress to Tsuruga(then called Tsunuga) on the west coast of the mainland, and, a monthlater, he made an expedition to Kii on the opposite shore. While inthe latter province he received news of a revolt of the Kumaso, andat once taking ship, he went by sea to Shimonoseki, whither hesummoned the Empress from Tsuruga. An expedition against the Kumasowas then organized and partially carried out, but the Emperor's forcewas beaten and he himself received a fatal arrow-wound. Both theRecords and the Chronicles relate that, on the eve of this disastrousmove against the Kumaso, the Empress had a revelation urging theEmperor to turn his arms against Korea as the Kumaso were not worthyof his steel. But Chuai rejected the advice with scorn, and theKojiki alleges that the outraged deities punished him with death, though doubtless a Kumaso arrow was the instrument. His demise wascarefully concealed, and the Empress, mustering the troops, tookvengeance upon the Kumaso. Thereafter her Majesty became the central figure in a page ofhistory--or romance--which has provoked more controversy than anyincident in Japanese annals. A descendant of the Korean prince, Ama-no-Hihoko, who settled in the province of Tajima during the reignof the Emperor Suinin, she must have possessed traditional knowledgeof Shiragi, whence her ancestor had emigrated. She was the thirdconsort of Chuai. His first had borne him two sons who were of adultage when, in the second year of his reign, he married Jingo, * a lady"intelligent, shrewd, and with a countenance of such bloomingloveliness that her father wondered at it. " To this appreciation ofher character must be added the attributes of boundless ambition andbrave resourcefulness. The annals represent her as bent from theoutset on the conquest of Korea and as receiving the support andencouragement of Takenouchi-no-Sukune, who had served her husband andhis predecessor as prime minister. A military expedition oversea ledby a sovereign in person had not been heard of since the days ofJimmu, and to reconcile officials and troops to such an undertakingthe element of divine revelation had to be introduced. At every stagesigns and portents were vouchsafed by the guardian deities. By theirintervention the Empress was shown to be possessed of miraculousprowess, and at their instance troops and ships assembledspontaneously. The armada sailed under divine guidance, a gentlespirit protecting the Empress, and a warlike spirit leading the vanof her forces. The god of the wind sent a strong breeze; the god ofthe sea ruled the waves favourably; all the great fishes accompaniedthe squadron, and an unprecendented tide bore the ships far inland. Fighting became unnecessary. The King of Shiragi did homage at onceand promised tribute and allegiance forever, and the other monarchsof the peninsula followed his example. In short, Korea was conqueredand incorporated with the dominions of Japan. *It should be clearly understood that the names by which thesovereigns are called in these pages, are the posthumous appellationsgiven to them in later times when Chinese ideographs came into useand Chinese customs began to be followed in such matters. Theposthumous was compiled with reference to the character orachievements of the sovereign, Thus Jingo signifies "divine merit, "on account of her conquests; "Chuai" means "lamentable second son, "with reference to his evil fate, and "Keiko" implies "great deeds. "These three sovereigns were called during life, Okinaga-Tarashi, Tarashi-Nakatsu, and 0-Tarashi, respectively. CRITICISM OF THE ALLEGED CONQUEST OF KOREA By some learned historiographers the whole of the above account ispronounced a fiction. There was no such invasion of Korea, they say, nor does the narrative deserve more credit than the legend of theArgonauts or the tale of Troy. But that is probably too drastic aview. There can indeed be little doubt that the compilers of theNihongi embellished the bald tradition with imaginary details; usednames which did not exist until centuries after the epoch referredto; drew upon the resources of Chinese history for the utterancesthey ascribe to the Empress and for the weapons they assign to hersoldiers, and were guilty of at least two serious anachronisms. But none of these faults disfigures the story as told in the pages ofthe Kojiki, which was written before the Nihongi. It has always to beremembered that the compilers of the latter essayed the impossibletask of adjusting a new chronology to events extending over manycenturies, and that the resulting discrepancies of dates does notnecessarily discredit the events themselves. It has also to beremembered that the same compilers were required to robe their factsin Chinese costume and that the consequent ill-fits andartificialities do not of necessity vitiate the facts. In theparticular case under consideration did the Kojiki stand alone, little doubt would ever have been entertained about the reality of anarmed expedition to Korea, under the Empress Jingo. The sober andunexaggerated narrative of that history would have been accepted, less only the miraculous portents which accompany it. As to the date of the invasion, however, it must have remainedobscure: the Kojiki's narrative furnishes one clue. According toKorean history, an apparently unimportant descent upon Sinra(Shiragi) took place in A. D. 219; a more serious one in 233, when theJapanese ships were burned and their crews massacred, and a stillmore formidable one in 249, when a Sinra statesman who had brought onthe invasion by using insulting language towards the sovereign ofJapan in presence of a Japanese ambassador, gave himself up to theJapanese in the hope of appeasing their anger. They burnt him, andproceeded to besiege Keumsyong, the Sinra capital, but wereultimately beaten off. "No less than twenty-five descents by Japaneseon the Sinra coast are mentioned in Korean history in the first fivecenturies of the Christian era, but it is impossible to identify anyone of them with Jingo's expedition. " [Aston. ] Nevertheless, modernJapanese historians are disposed to assign the Jingo invasion to theyear 364, when Nai-mul ruled Shiragi, from which monarch's eratribute seems to have been regularly sent to Yamato. Indeed the pagesof the Nihongi which deal with the last sixty years of Jingo's reignare devoted almost entirely to descriptions of incidents connectedwith the receipt of tribute and the advent or despatch of envoys. Thechronology is certainly erroneous. In no less than four several casesevents obviously the same are attributed by the Korean annals todates differing from those of the Nihongi by exactly two cycles; andin one important instance the Japanese work assigns to A. D. 205 anoccurrence which the Tongkan* puts in the year 418. *Korean history. Its full title is Tong-kuk-lhong-kan. Whichever annals be correct--and the balance sways in favour of theKorean so far as those protohistoric eras are concerned--"there canbe no doubt that Japan, at an early period, formed an alliance withPaikche" (spoken of in Japan as "Kudara, " namely, the regionssurrounding the modern Seoul), "and laid the foundation of acontrolling power over the territory known as Imna (or Mimana), whichlasted for several centuries. " [Aston. ] One evidence of this controlis furnished in the establishment of an office called uchi-tsu-miyakein addition to the chinju-fu already spoken of. From early times ithad been customary in Japan that whenever any lands were acquired, aportion of them was included in the Imperial domain, the producebeing thenceforth stored and the affairs of the estate managed at amiyake presided over by a mikoto-mochi. Thus, on the inclusion ofcertain Korean districts in Japan's dominions, this usage wasobserved, and the new miyake had the syllables uchi-tsu ("of theinterior") prefixed to distinguish it as a part of Japan. It is onrecord that a mikoto-mochi was stationed in Shiragi, and in the daysof Jingo's son (Ojin) the great statesman, Takenouchi-no-Sukune, tookup his residence for a time in Tsukushi to assist this mikoto-mochiand the chinju-fu, should occasion arise. Modern Japanese historiansdescribe this era as the first period of Japanese nationaldevelopment, for an almost immediate result of the oversea relationsthus established was that silk and cotton fabrics of greatly improvedquality, gold, silver, iron, implements, arts, and literature wereimported in increasing quantities to the great benefit ofcivilization. SHIFTING OF POLITICAL INFLUENCE An important change dates from the reign of Jingo. It has been shownabove that, from a period prior to the death of Suinin, the power andinfluence of the Imperial princes and nobles was a constantly growingquantity. But the political situation developed a new phase when theSukune family appeared upon the scene. The first evidence of this wasmanifested in a striking incident. When the Emperor Chuai died, hisconsort, Jingo, was enceinte* But the Emperor left two sons by aprevious marriage, and clearly one of them should have succeeded tothe throne. Nevertheless, the prime minister, Takenouchi-no-Sukune, contrived to have the unborn child recognized as Prince Imperial. **Naturally the deceased Emperor's two elder sons refused to bearbitrarily set aside in favour of a baby step-brother. The principleof primogeniture did not possess binding force in those days, but ithad never previously been violated except by the deliberate andostensibly reasonable choice of an Emperor. The two princes, therefore, called their partisans to arms and prepared to resist thereturn of Jingo to Yamato. Here again Takenouchi-no-Sukune acted agreat part. He carried the child by the outer sea to a place ofsafety in Kii, while the forces of the Empress sailed up the InlandSea to meet the brothers at Naniwa (modern Osaka). Moreover, when thefinal combat took place, this same Takenouchi devised a strategywhich won the day, and in every great event during the reign of theEmpress his figure stands prominent. Finally, his granddaughterbecame the consort of the Emperor Nintoku (313-399), an alliancewhich opened a channel for exercising direct influence upon theThrone and also furnished a precedent adopted freely in subsequenttimes by other noble families harbouring similarly ambitious aims. Inshort, from the accession of the Empress Jingo a large part of thesovereign power began to pass into the hands of the prime minister. *As illustrating the confused chronology of the Nihongi, it may benoted that, calculated by the incident of Chuai's career, he musthave been fully one hundred years old when he begot this child. Thatis marvellous enough, but to add to the perplexity the Nihongi saysthat Chuai died at fifty-two. **The legend says of this child that its birth was artificiallydelayed until the return of the empress from the Korean expedition, but the fact seems to be that the Emperor died at the end of June andthe Empress' accouchement took place in the following April. ENGRAVING: DEVIL WITH DRAGON HEAD (Sculptured Wood Figure in theMuseum at Kyoto) ENGRAVING: HORSE RACE IN OLD JAPAN CHAPTER X THE PREHISTORIC SOVEREIGNS (Continued) THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AT the beginning of the previous chapter brief reference was made tothe three great divisions of the inhabitants of Japan; namely, theShimbetsu (Kami class) the Kwobetsu (Imperial class) and the Bambetsu(aboriginal class). The Shimbetsu comprised three sub-classes;namely, first, the Tenjin, a term used to designate the descendantsof the great primeval trinity and of the other Kami prior to the Sungoddess; secondly, the Tenson, or descendants of the Sun goddess toJimmu's father (Ugaya-fukiaezu), and thirdly, the Chigi, anappellation applied to the chiefs found in Izumo by the envoys of theSun goddess and in Yamato by Jimmu--chiefs who, though deprived ofpower, were recognized to be of the same lineage as their conquerors. It is plain that few genealogical trees could be actually tracedfurther back than the Chigi. Hence, for all practical purposes, theShimbetsu consisted of the descendants of vanquished chiefs, and thefact was tacitly acknowledged by assigning to this class the secondplace in the social scale, though the inclusion of the Tenjin and theTenson should have assured its precedence. The Kwobetsu comprised allEmperors and Imperial princes from Jimmu downwards. This was thepremier class. The heads of all its families possessed as abirthright the title of omi (grandee), while the head of a Shimbetsufamily was a muraji (group-chief). The Bambetsu ranked incomparablybelow either the Kwobetsu or the Shimbetsu. It consisted offoreigners who had immigrated from China or Korea and of aboriginaltribes alien to the Yamato race. Members of the Ban class weredesignated yakko (or yatsuko), a term signifying "subject" or"servant. " THE UJI In addition to the above three-class distribution, the whole Yamatonation was divided into uji, or families. An uji founded by one ofthe Tenson took precedence of all others, the next in rank being onewith an Imperial prince for ancestor, and after the latter came thefamilies of the Tenjin and Chigi. All that could not thus trace theirgenealogy were attached to the various uji in a subordinate capacity. It is not to be supposed that one of these families consisted simplyof a husband and wife, children, and servants. There were great ujiand small uji, the former comprising many of the latter, and thesmall uji including several households. In fact, the small uji(ko-uji) may be described as a congeries of from fifty to ninetyblood relations. In the uji the principle of primogeniture was paramount. A successorto the headship of an uji must be the eldest son of an eldest son. Thus qualified, he became the master of the household, ruled thewhole family, and controlled its entire property. The chief of anordinary uji (uji no Kami) governed all the households constitutingit, and the chief of a great uji (o-uji no Kami) controlled all thesmall uji of which it was composed. In addition to the members of afamily, each uji, small and great alike, had a number of dependants(kakibe or tomobe). In colloquial language, an o-uji was the originalfamily; a ko-uji, a branch family. For example, if the Abe family beconsidered, Abe-uji is a great uji (o-uji), while such names as Abeno Shii, Abe no Osada, Abe no Mutsu, etc. , designate small uji(ko-uji). If a great uji was threatened with extinction through lackof heir, the proper Kami of a small uji succeeded to the vacantplace. As for the kakibe or tomobe, they were spoken of as "so and soof such and such an uji:" they had no uji of their own. All complications of minor importance were dealt with by the Kami* ofthe uji in which they occurred, consultation being held with the Kamiof the appropriate o-uji in great cases. Reference was not made tothe Imperial Court except in serious matters. On the other hand, commands from the sovereign were conveyed through the head of ano-uji, so that the chain of responsibility was well defined. Aninteresting feature of this ancient organization was that nearlyevery uji had a fixed occupation which was hereditary, the name ofthe occupation being prefixed to that of the uji. Thus, the uji ofgem-polishers was designated Tamatsukuri-uji, and that of boatbuilders, Fune-uji. *An uji no Kami was called uji no choja in later ages. There were also uji whose members, from generation to generation, acted as governors of provinces (kuni no miyatsuko) or headmen ofdistricts (agata-nushi). In these cases the name of the region wasprefixed to the uji; as Munakata-uji, Izumo-uji, etc. Finally, therewere uji that carried designations given by the sovereign inrecognition of meritorious deeds. These designations took the form oftitles. Thus the captor of a crane, at sight of which a dumb princerecovered his speech, was called Totori no Miyatsuko (thebird-catching governor), and Nomi-no-Sukune, who devised thesubstitution of clay figures (haniwa) for human sacrifices atImperial obsequies, was designated as Hashi no Omi (the PotteryGrandee). THE TOMOBE The tomobe (attendants)--called also mure (the herd) or kakibe(domestics)--constituted an important element of the people. Theywere, in fact, serfs. We find them first spoken of in an active roleas being sent to the provinces to provide foodstuffs for the Imperialhousehold, and in that capacity they went by the name of provincialImibe. Perhaps the most intelligible description of them is that theyconstituted the peasant and artisan class, and that they wereattached to the uji in subordinate positions for purposes of manuallabour. By degrees, when various kinds of productive operations cameto be engaged in as hereditary pursuits, the tomobe were groupedaccording to the specialty of the uji to which they wore attached, and we hear of Kanuchibe, or the corporation of blacksmiths; Yumibe, or the corporation of bow-makers; Oribe, or the corporation ofweavers, and so on. It is not to be supposed, however, that all the tomobe were thusorganized as special classes. Such was the case only when theuji to which they belonged pursued some definite branch ofproductive work. Moreover, there were corporations institutedfor purposes quite independent of industry; namely, to perpetuatethe memory of an Imperial or princely personage who had died withoutissue or without attaining ancestral rank. Such tomobe werecollectively known as nashiro (namesakes) or koshiro (childsubstitutes). For example, when Prince Itoshi, son of the EmperorSuinin, died without leaving a son to perpetuate his name, theItoshibe was established for that purpose; and when PrinceYamato-dake perished without ascending the throne, the Takebe wasformed to preserve the memory of his achievements. A be thusorganized on behalf of an Emperor had the title of toneri(chamberlain) suffixed. Thus, for the Emperor Ohatsuse (known inhistory as Yuryaku) the Hatsuse-be-no-toneri was formed; and forthe Emperor Shiraga (Seinei), the Shiraga-be-no-toneri. There can belittle doubt that underlying the creation of these nashiro was theaim of extending the Imperial estates, as well as the number ofsubjects over whom the control of the Throne could be exercisedwithout the intervention of an uji no Kami. For it is to be observedthat the sovereign himself was an o-uji no Kami, and all tomobecreated for nashiro purposes or to discharge some other functionsin connexion with the Court were attached to the Imperial uji. TAMIBE Another kind of be consisted of aliens who had been naturalized inJapan or presented to the Japanese Throne by foreign potentates. These were formed into tamibe (corporations of people). They becamedirectly dependent upon the Court, and they devoted themselves tomanufacturing articles for the use of the Imperial household. Thesenaturalized persons were distinguished, in many cases, by technicalskill or literary attainments. Hence they received treatmentdifferent from that given to ordinary tomobe, some of them beingallowed to assume the title and enjoy the privilege of uji, distinguished, however, as uji of the Bambetsu. Thus, the descendantsof the seamstresses, E-hime and Oto-hime, and of the weavers, Kure-hatori and Ana-hatori, who were presented to the Yamato Court byan Emperor of the Wu dynasty in China, were allowed to organizethemselves into Kinu-nui-uji (uji of Silk-robe makers); and that aHata-uji (Weavers' uji) was similarly organized is proved by apassage in the records of the Emperor Ojin (A. D. 284) which relatesthat the members of the Hata-uji had become scattered about thecountry and were carrying on their manufacturing work in variousjurisdictions. This fact having been related to the Throne, stepswere taken to bring together all these weavers into the Hata-uji, andto make them settle at villages to which the name of Kachibe wasgiven in commemoration of the weavers' ancestor, Kachi. The recordsshow that during the first four centuries of the Christian era thepeople presented to the Yamato Court by the sovereigns of the Wudynasty and of Korea must have been very numerous, for no less than710 uji were formed by them in consideration of their skill in thearts and crafts. SLAVES The institution of slavery (nuhi) existed in ancient Japan as in somany other countries. The slaves consisted of prisoners taken in warand of persons who, having committed some serious offence, werehanded over to be the property of those that they had injured. Thefirst recorded instance of the former practice was when Yamato-dakepresented to the Ise shrine the Yemishi chiefs who had surrendered tohim in the sequel of his invasion of the eastern provinces. The samefate seems to have befallen numerous captives made in the campaignagainst the Kumaso, and doubtless wholesale acts of self-destructioncommitted by Tsuchi-gumo and Kumaso when overtaken by defeat wereprompted by preference of death to slavery. The story of Japan'srelations with Korea includes many references to Korean prisoners whobecame the property of their captors, and that a victorious general'sspoils should comprise some slaves may be described as a recognizedcustom. Of slavery as a consequence of crime there is also frequentmention, and it would appear that even men of rank might be overtakenby that fate, for when (A. D. 278) Takenouchi-no-Sukune's youngerbrother was convicted of slandering him, the culprit's punishmenttook the form of degradation and assignment to a life of slavery. Thewhole family of such an offender shared his fate. There is noevidence, however, that the treatment of the nuhi was inhuman or evenharsh: they appear to have fared much as did the tomobe in general. THE LAND There are two kinds of territorial rights, and these, though nowclearly differentiated, were more or less confounded in ancientJapan. One is the ruler's right--that is to say, competence to imposetaxes; to enact rules governing possession; to appropriate privatelands for public purposes, and to treat as crown estates land notprivately owned. The second is the right of possession; namely, theright to occupy definite areas of land and to apply them to one's ownends. At present those two rights are distinct. A landowner has nocompetence to issue public orders with regard to it, and a lessee ofland has to discharge certain responsibilities towards the lessor. Itwas not so in old Japan. As the Emperor's right to rule the peoplewas not exercised over an individual direct but through the uji noKami who controlled that individual, so the sovereign's right overthe land was exercised through the territorial owner, who was usuallythe uji no Kami. The latter, being the owner of the land, leased apart of it to the members of the uji, collected a percentage of theproduce, and presented a portion to the Court when occasion demanded. Hence, so long as the sovereign's influence was powerful, the uji noKami and other territorial magnates, respecting his orders, refrainedfrom levying taxes and duly paid their appointed contributions to theCourt. But in later times, when the Throne's means of enforcing its ordersceased to bear any sensible ratio to the puissance of the uji no Kamiand other local lords, the Imperial authority received scantyrecognition, and the tillers of the soil were required to pay heavytaxes to their landlords. It is a fallacy to suppose that the Emperorin ancient times not only ruled the land but also owned it. The onlyland held in direct possession by the Throne was that constitutingthe Imperial household's estates and that belonging to members of theImperial family. The private lands of the Imperial family were calledmi-agata. * The province of Yamato contained six of these estates, andtheir produce was wholly devoted to the support of the Court. Landscultivated for purposes of State revenue were called miyake. ** Theyexisted in several provinces, the custom being that when land wasnewly acquired, a miyake was at once established and the remainderwas assigned to princes or Court nobles (asomi or asori). Thecultivators of miyake were designated ta-be (rustic corporation); theoverseers were termed ta-zukasa (or mi-ta no tsukasa), and theofficials in charge of the stores were mi-agata no obito. *The prefix mi (honourable) was and is still used for purposes ofcourtesy. **In ancient Japan, officials and their offices were often designatedalike. Thus, miyake signified a public estate or the store forkeeping the produce, just as tsukasa was applied alike to an overseerand to his place of transacting business. As far back as 3 B. C. , according to Japanese chronology, we read ofthe establishment of a miyake, and doubtless that was not the first. Thenceforth there are numerous examples of a similar measure. Confiscated lands also formed a not unimportant part of the Court'sestates. Comparatively trifling offences were sometimes thusexpiated. Thus, in A. D. 350, Aganoko, suzerain of the Saegi, beingconvicted of purloining jewels from the person of a princess whom hehad been ordered to execute, escaped capital punishment only bysurrendering all his lands; and, in A. D. 534, a provincial ruler who, being in mortal terror, had intruded into the ladies' apartments inthe palace, had to present his landed property for the use of theEmpress. These facts show incidentally that the land of the country, though governed by the sovereign, was not owned by him. Lands in aconquered country were naturally regarded as State property, butsufficient allusion has already been made to that custom. THE SPHERE OF THE SOVEREIGN'S RULE It is related in the Records that, in prehistoric days, the last ofthe chieftains sent by Amaterasu to wrest Japan from its then holdersaddressed the leaders of the latter in these terms, "The central landof reed plains owned (ushi-haku) by you is the country to be governed(shirasu) by my son. " Japanese historiographers attach importance tothe different words here used. Ushi-haku signifies "to hold inintimate lordship"--as one wears a garment--whereas shirasu means "toexercise public rights as head of a State. " A Japanese Emperoroccupied both positions towards mi-nashiro (q. V. ), toward naturalizedor conquered folks, towards mi-agata, miyake, and confiscatedestates, but his functions with regard to the people and the land ingeneral were limited to governing (shirasu). If the ancient prerogatives of the sovereign be tabulated, they standthus: (1) to conduct the worship of the national deities as general head ofall the uji; (2) to declare war against foreign countries and to make peace withthem, as representative of the uji, and (3) to establish or abolishuji, to nominate uji no Kami, and to adjudicate disputes betweenthem. The first of these prerogatives remains unaltered to thepresent day. The second was partly delegated in medieval times to themilitary class, but has now been restored to the Throne. As for thethird, its exercise is to-day limited to the office of the hereditarynobility, the Constitution having replaced the Crown in otherrespects. Two thousand years have seen no change in the Emperor's function ofofficiating as the high priest of the nation. It was the sovereignwho made offerings to the deities of heaven and earth at the greatreligious festivals. It was the sovereign who prayed for the aid ofthe gods when the country was confronted by any emergency or when thepeople suffered from pestilence. In short, though the powers of theEmperor over the land and the people were limited by the interventionof the uji, the whole nation was directly subservient to the Thronein matters relating to religion. From the earliest eras, too, warmight not be declared without an Imperial rescript, and to theEmperor was reserved the duty of giving audience to foreign envoysand receiving tribute. By foreign countries, China and Korea weregenerally understood, but the Kumaso, the Yemishi, and the Sushenwere also included in the category of aliens. It would seem that theobligation of serving the country in arms was universal, for in thereign of Sujin, when an oversea expedition was contemplated, thepeople were numbered according to their ages, and the routine ofservice was laid down. Contributions, too, had to be made, as isproved by the fact that a command of the same sovereign required thevarious districts to manufacture arms and store them in the shrines. THE THRONE AND THE UJI The sovereign's competence to adjudicate questions relating to theuji is illustrated by a notable incident referred to the year A. D. 415, during the reign of Inkyo. Centuries had then passed since theinauguration of the uji, and families originally small with clearlydefined genealogies had multiplied to the dimensions of large clans, so that much confusion of lineage existed, and there was awide-spread disposition to assert claims to spurious rank. It wastherefore commanded by the Emperor that, on a fixed day, all the ujino Kami should assemble, and having performed the rite ofpurification, should submit to the ordeal of boiling water(kuga-dachi). Numerous cauldrons were erected for the purpose, and itwas solemnly proclaimed that only the guilty would be scalded by thetest. At the last moment, those whose claims were willingly falseabsconded, and the genealogies were finally rectified. Instances of uji created by the sovereign to reward merit, orabolished to punish offences, are numerously recorded. Thus, when(A. D. 413) the future consort of the Emperor Inkyo was walking in thegarden with her mother, a provincial ruler (miyatsuko), riding by, peremptorily called to her for a branch of orchid. She asked what heneeded the orchid for and he answered, "To beat away mosquitoes whenI travel mountain roads. " "Oh, honourable sir, I shall not forget, "said the lady. When she became Empress, she caused the nobleman to besought for, and had him deprived of his rank in lieu of execution. There is also an instance of the killing of all the members of an ujito expiate the offence of the uji no Kami. This happened in A. D. 463, when Yuryaku sat on the throne. It was reported to the Court thatSakitsuya, Kami of the Shimotsumichi-uji, indulged in pastimesdeliberately contrived to insult the occupant of the throne. Thus hewould match a little girl to combat against a grown woman, callingthe girl the Emperor and killing her if she won; or would set alittle cock with clipped wings and plucked feathers to represent thesovereign in a fight with a big, lusty cock, which he likened tohimself, and if the small bird won, he would slaughter it with hisown sword. The Emperor sent a company of soldiers, and Sakitsuya withall the seventy members of his uji were put to death. ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION The administrative organization in ancient Japan was simply acombination of the uji. It was purely Japanese. Not until the seventhcentury of the Christian era were any foreign elements introduced. From ministers and generals of the highest class down to pettyfunctionaries, all offices were discharged by uji no Kami, and as thelatter had the general name of kabane root of the uji the system wassimilarly termed. In effect, the kabane was an order of nobility. Offices were hereditary and equal. The first distribution of poststook place when five chiefs, attached to the person of the Tenson atthe time of his descent upon Japan, were ordered to discharge at hisCourt the same duties as those which had devolved on them in thecountry of their origin. The uji they formed were those of theShimbetsu, * the official title of the Kami being muraji (group chief)in the case of an ordinary uji, and o-muraji (great muraji) in thecase of an o-uji, as already stated. These were the men who renderedmost assistance originally in the organization of the State, but asthey were merely adherents of the Tenson, the latter's directdescendants counted themselves superior and sought always to assertthat superiority. *The distinction of Shimbetsu and Kwobetsu was not nominallyrecognized until the fourth century, but it undoubtedly existed inpractice at an early date. Thus, the title omi (grandee) held by the Kami of a Kwobetsu-uji wasdeemed higher than that of muraji (chief) held by the Kami of aShimbetsu-uji. The blood relations of sovereigns either assisted atCourt in the administration of State affairs or went to the provincesin the capacity of governors. They received various titles inaddition to that of omi, for example sukune (noble), ason or asomi(Court noble), kimi (duke), wake (lord), etc. History gives no evidence of a fixed official organization in ancienttimes. The method pursued by the sovereign was to summon such omi andmuraji as were notably influential or competent, and to entrust tothem the duty of discharging functions or dealing with a specialsituation. Those so summoned were termed mae-isu-gimi (dukes of thePresence). The highest honour bestowed on a subject in those daysfell to the noble, Takenouchi, who, in consideration of his services, was named O-mae-tsu-gimi (great duke of the Presence) by the EmperorSeimu (A. D. 133). Among the omi and muraji, those conspicuouslypowerful were charged with the superintendence of several uji, andwere distinguished as o-omi and o-muraji. It became customary toappoint an o-omi and an o-muraji at the Court, just as in later daysthere was a sa-daijin (minister of the Left) and an u-daijin(minister of the Right). The o-omi supervised all members of theKwobetsu-uji occupying administrative posts at Court, and theo-muraji discharged a similar function in the case of members ofShimbetsu-uji. Outside the capital local affairs were administered bykuni-no-miyatsuko or tomo-no-miyatsuko* Among the former, the headsof Kwobetsu-uji predominated among the latter, those ofShimbetsu-uji. *Tomo is an abbreviation of tomo-be. VALUE OF LINEAGE It will be seen from the above that in old Japan lineage countedabove everything, alike officially and socially. The offices, thehonours and the lands were all in the hands of the lineal descendantsof the original Yamato chiefs. Nevertheless the omi and the murajistood higher in national esteem than the kuni-no-miyatsuko or thetomo-no-miyatsuko; the o-omi and the o-muraji, still higher; and thesovereign, at the apex of all. That much deference was paid tofunctions. Things remained unaltered in this respect until the sixthcentury when the force of foreign example began to make itself felt. ENGRAVING: FISHERMAN'S BOAT AND NET CHAPTER XI THE PREHISTORIC SOVEREIGNS (Continued) THE FIFTEENTH SOVEREIGN, OJIN (A. D. 270-310) The fifteenth Sovereign, Ojin, came to the throne at the age ofseventy, according to the Chronicles, and occupied it for fortyyears. Like a majority of the sovereigns in that epoch he had manyconsorts and many children--three of the former (including twoyounger sisters of the Emperor) and twenty of the latter. Comparisonwith Korean history goes to indicate that the reign is antedated byjust 120 years, or two of the sexagenary cycles, but of course such acorrection cannot be applied to every incident of the era. MARITIME AFFAIRS One of the interesting features of Ojin's reign is that maritimeaffairs receive notice for the first time. It is stated that thefishermen of various places raised a commotion, refused to obey theImperial commands, and were not quieted until a noble, Ohama, wassent to deal with them. Nothing is stated as to the cause of thiscomplication, but it is doubtless connected with requisitions of fishfor the Court, and probably the fishing folk of Japan had alreadydeveloped the fine physique and stalwart disposition that distinguishtheir modern representatives. Two years later, instructions wereissued that hereditary corporations (be) of fishermen should beestablished in the provinces, and, shortly afterwards, the duty ofconstructing a boat one hundred feet in length was imposed upon thepeople of Izu, a peninsular province so remote from Yamato that itschoice for such a purpose is difficult to explain. There was noquestion of recompensing the builders of this boat: the product oftheir labour was regarded as "tribute. " Twenty-six years later the Karano, as this vessel was called, havingbecome unserviceable, the Emperor ordered a new Karano to be built, so as to perpetuate her name. A curious procedure is then recorded, illustrating the arbitrary methods of government in those days. Thetimbers of the superannuated ship were used as fuel for roastingsalt, five hundred baskets of which were sent throughout the maritimeprovinces, with orders that by each body of recipients a ship shouldbe constructed. Five hundred Karanos thus came into existence, andthere was assembled at Hyogo such a fleet as had never previouslybeen seen in Japanese waters. A number of these new vessels weredestroyed almost immediately by a conflagration which broke out inthe lodgings of Korean envoys from Sinra (Shiragi), and the envoysbeing held responsible, their sovereign hastened to send a body ofskilled shipmakers by way of atonement, who were thereafter organizedinto a hereditary guild of marine architects, and we thus learnincidentally that the Koreans had already developed the shipbuildingskill destined to save their country in later ages. IDEALISM OF THE THIRD CENTURY In connexion with the Karano incident, Japanese historians record atale which materially helps our appreciation of the men of thatremote age. A portion of the Karano's timber having emerged unscathedfrom the salt-pans, its indestructibility seemed curious enough towarrant special treatment. It was accordingly made into a lute(koto), * and it justified that use by developing "a ringing note thatcould be heard from afar off. " The Emperor composed a song on thesubject: "The ship Karano "Was burned for salt: "Of the remainder "A koto was made. "When it is placed on "One hears the saya-saya "Of the summer trees, "Brushing against, as they stand, "The rocks of the mid-harbour, "The harbour of Yura. " [Aston. ] *The Japanese lute, otherwise called the Azuma koto, was aninstrument five or six feet long and having six strings. Historyfirst alludes to it in the reign of Jingo, and such as it was then, such it has remained until to-day. LAW, INDUSTRY, LOYALTY Five facts are already deducible from the annals of this epoch: thefirst, that there was no written law, unless the prohibitions in theRituals may be so regarded; the second, that there was no form ofjudicial trial, unless ordeal or torture may be so regarded; thethird, that the death penalty might be inflicted on purely ex-parteevidence; the fourth, that a man's whole family had to suffer thepenalty of his crimes, and the fifth, that already in those remotetimes the code of splendid loyalty which has distinguished theJapanese race through all ages had begun to find disciples. An incident of Ojin's reign illustrates all these things. Takenouchi, the sukune (noble) who had served Ojin's mother so ably, and who hadsaved Ojin's life in the latter's childhood, was despatched toTsukushi (Kyushu) on State business. During his absence his youngerbrother accused him of designs upon the Emperor. At once, withoutfurther inquiry, Ojin sent men to kill the illustrious minister. ButManeko, suzerain (atae) of Iki, who bore a strong resemblance toTakenouchi, personified him, and committing suicide, deceived thesoldiers who would have taken the sukune's life, so that the latterwas enabled to return to Yamato. Arriving at Court, he protested hisinnocence and the ordeal of boiling water was employed. It took placeon the bank of the Shiki River. Takenouchi proving victorious; hisbrother with all his family were condemned to become tomo-be of thesuzerain of Kii. THE GRACE OF LIFE Side by side with these primitive conditions stands a romantic storyof Ojin's self-denial in ceding to his son, Osazaki, a beautiful girlwhom the sovereign has destined to be his own consort. Discoveringthat the prince loved her, Ojin invited him to a banquet in thepalace, and, summoning the girl, made known by the aid of poetry hisintention of surrendering her to his son, who, in turn, expressed hisgratitude in verse. It is true that the character of this act ofrenunciation is marred when we observe that Ojin was eighty years oldat the time; nevertheless the graces of life were evidently notwanting in old-time Japan, nor did her historians deem them unworthyof prominent place in their pages. If at one moment they tell us ofslanders and cruelty, at another they describe how a favouriteconsort of Ojin, gazing with him at a fair landscape from a hightower, was moved to tears by the memory of her parents whom she hadnot seen for years, and how the Emperor, sympathizing with her filialaffection, made provision for her return home and took leave of herin verse: "Thou Island of Awaji "With thy double ranges; "Thou Island of Azuki "With thy double ranges "Ye good islands, "Ye have seen face to face "My spouse of Kibi. " FOREIGN INTERCOURSE The most important feature of the Ojin era was the intercourse theninaugurated with China. It may be that after the establishment of theYamato race in Japan, emigrants from the neighbouring continentsettled, from early times, in islands so favoured by nature. If so, they probably belonged to the lowest orders, for it was not until thethird and fourth centuries that men of erudition and skilled artisansbegan to arrive. Modern Japanese historians seem disposed toattribute this movement to the benign administration of the EmperorOjin and to the repute thus earned by Japan abroad. Withoutaltogether questioning that theory, it may be pointed out that muchprobably depended on the conditions existing in China herself. LiuFang, founder of the Han dynasty (202 B. C. ), inaugurated the systemof competitive examinations for civil appointments, and hissuccessors, Wen-Ti, Wu-Ti, and Kwang-wu, "developed literature, commerce, arts, and good government to a degree unknown beforeanywhere in Asia. " It was Wu-Ti (140-86 B. C. ) who conquered Korea, and unquestionably the Koreans then received many object lessons incivilization. The Han dynasty fell in A. D. 190, and there ensued oneof the most troubled periods of Chinese history. Many fugitives fromthe evils of that epoch probably made their way to Korea and even toJapan. Then followed the after-Han dynasty (A. D. 211-265) when Chinawas divided into three principalities; one of which, since it ruledthe littoral regions directly opposite to Japan, represented China inJapanese eyes, and its name, Wu, came to be synonymous with China inJapanese years. It was, however, in the days of the Tsin dynasty (A. D. 265-317) andin those of the Eastern Tsin (A. D. 317-420) that under the pressureof the Hun inroads and of domestic commotions, numbers of emigrantsfound their way from China to Korea and thence to Japan. The EasternTsin occupied virtually the same regions as those held by the Wudynasty: they, too, had their capital at Nanking, having movedthither from Loh-yang, and thus the name Wu was perpetuated for theJapanese. In the year A. D. 283, according to Japanese chronology, Koreans and Chinese skilled in useful arts began to immigrate toJapan. The first to come was a girl called Maketsu. She is said tohave been sent by the monarch of Kudara, the region corresponding tothe metropolitan province of modern Korea. It may be inferred thatshe was Chinese, but as to her nationality history is silent. Shesettled permanently in Japan, and her descendants were known as thekinu-nui (silk-clothiers) of Kume in Yamato. In the same year (A. D. 283), Yuzu (called Yutsuki by some authorities), a Chinese Imperialprince, came from Korea and memorialized the Yamato Throne in thesense that he was a descendant of the first Tsin sovereign and that, having migrated to Korea at the head of the inhabitants of 120districts, he had desired to conduct them to Japan, but was unable toaccomplish his purpose owing to obstruction offered by the people ofSinra (Shiragi). Ojin sent two embassies--the second accompanied bytroops--to procure the release of these people, and in A. D. 285 theyreached Japan, where they received a hearty welcome, and for the sakeof their skill in sericulture and silk weaving, they were honoured byorganization into an uji--Hata-uji (hata in modern Japanese signifies"loom, " but in ancient days it designated silk fabrics of all kinds). An idea of the dimensions of this Chinese addition to the populationof Japan is furnished by the fact that, 175 years later, the Hata-ujihaving been dispersed and reduced to ninety-two groups, steps weretaken to reassemble and reorganize them, with the result that 18, 670persons were brought together. Again, in A. D. 289, a sometime subjectof the after-Han dynasty, accompanied by his son, emigrated to Japan. The names of these Chinese are given as Achi and Tsuka, and theformer is described as a great-grandson of the Emperor Ling of theafter-Han dynasty, who reigned from A. D. 168 to 190. Like Yuzu he hadescaped to Korea during the troublous time at the close of the Hansway, and, like Yuzu, he had been followed to the peninsula by alarge body of Chinese, who, at his request, were subsequentlyescorted by Japanese envoys to Japan. These immigrants also wereallowed to assume the status of an uji, and in the fifth century thetitle of Aya no atae (suzerain of Aya) was given to Achi'sdescendants in consideration of the skill of their followers indesigning and manufacturing figured fabrics (for which the generalterm was aya). When Achi had resided seventeen years in Japan, he and his son weresent to Wu (China) for the purpose of engaging women versed in makingdress materials. The title of omi (chief ambassador) seems to havebeen then conferred on the two men, as envoys sent abroad werehabitually so designated. They did not attempt to go by sea. Thestate of navigation was still such that ocean-going voyages were notseriously thought of. Achi and his son proceeded in the firstinstance to Koma (the modern Pyong-yang) and there obtained guidesfor the overland journey round the shore of the Gulf of Pechili. Theyare said to have made their way to Loh-yang where the Tsin sovereignsthen had their capital (A. D. 306). Four women were given to them, whom they carried back to Japan, there to become the ancestresses ofan uji known as Kure no kinu-nui and Kaya no kinu-nui (clothiers ofKure and of Kaya), appellations which imply Korean origin, but wereprobably suggested by the fact that Korea had been the lastcontinental station on their route. The journey to and from Loh-yangoccupied four years. This page of history shows not only thebeginning of Japan's useful intercourse with foreign countries, butalso her readiness to learn what they had to teach and her liberaltreatment of alien settlers. THE ART OF WRITING It is not infrequently stated that a knowledge of Chinese ideographswas acquired by the Japanese for the first time during the reign ofOjin. The basis of this belief are that, in A. D. 284, according tothe Japanese chronology--a date to which must be added two sexagenarycycles, bringing it to A. D. 404--the King of Kudara sent two finehorses to the Yamato sovereign, and the man who accompanied them, Atogi by name, showed himself a competent reader of the Chineseclassics and was appointed tutor to the Prince Imperial. By Atogi'sadvice a still abler scholar, Wani (Wang-in), was subsequentlyinvited from Kudara to take Atogi's place, and it is added that thelatter received the title of fumi-bito (scribe), which he transmittedto his descendants in Japan. But close scrutiny does not support theinference that Chinese script had remained unknown to Japan until theabove incidents. What is proved is merely that the Chinese classicsthen for the first time became an open book in Japan. As for the ideographs themselves, they must have been long familiar, though doubtless to a very limited circle. Chinese history affordsconclusive evidence. Thus, in the records of the later Han (A. D. 25-220) we read that from the time when Wu-Ti (140-86 B. C. ) overthrewKorea, the Japanese of thirty-two provinces communicated with theChinese authorities in the peninsula by means of a postal service. The Wei annals (A. D. 220-265) state that in A. D. 238, the Chinesesovereign sent a written reply to a communication from the "Queen ofJapan"--Jingo was then on the throne. In the same year, the JapaneseCourt addressed a written answer to a Chinese rescript forwarded toYamato by the governor of Thepang--the modern Namwon in Chollado--andin A. D. 247, a despatch was sent by the Chinese authoritiesadmonishing the Japanese to desist from internecine quarrels. Thesereferences indicate that the use of the ideographs was known in Japanlong before the reign of Ojin, whether we take the Japanese or thecorrected date for the latter. It will probably be just to assume, however, that the study of the ideographs had scarcely any vogue inJapan until the coming of Atogi and Wani, nor does it appear to haveattracted much attention outside Court circles even subsequently tothat date, for the records show that, in the reign of the EmperorBidatsu (A. D. 572-585), a memorial sent by Korea to the Yamato Courtwas illegible to all the officials except one man, by nameWang-sin-i, who seems to have been a descendant of the Paikcheemigrant, Wan-i. Buddhism, introduced into Japan in A. D. 552, doubtless supplied thechief incentive to the acquisition of knowledge. But had the Japanesea script of their own at any period of their history? The two oldestmanuscripts which contain a reference to this subject are theKogo-shui, compiled by Hironari in A. D. 808, and a memorial (kammori)presented to the Throne in A. D. 901 by Miyoshi Kiyotsura. Bothexplicitly state that in remote antiquity there were no letters, andthat all events or discourses had to be transmitted orally. Not untilthe thirteenth century does the theory of a purely Japanese scriptseem to have been conceived, and its author* had no basis for thehypothesis other than the idea that, as divination was practised inthe age of the Kami, letters of some kind must have been in use. Since then the matter has been much discussed. Caves used in ancienttimes as habitations or sepulchres and old shrines occasionally offerevidence in the form of symbols which, since they bear someresemblance to the letters of the Korean alphabet (onmuri), have beenimagined to be at once the origin of the latter and the script of theKami-no-yo (Age of the Kami). But such fancies are no longerseriously entertained. It is agreed that the so-called "letters" arenothing more than copies of marks produced by the action of fire uponbones used in divination. The Japanese cleverly adapted the Chineseideographs to syllabic purposes, but they never devised a script oftheir own. *Kanekata, who wrote the Shaku Nihongi in the era 1264--1274. ETHICAL EFFECTS OF THE INTRODUCTION OF CHINESE LITERATURE A generally accepted belief is that the study of the Chinese classicsexercised a marked ethical influence upon the Japanese nation. Thatis a conclusion which may be profitably contrasted with the views ofJapan's most distinguished historians. Mr. Abe Kozo says:"Acquaintance with the Chinese classics may be supposed to haveproduced a considerable moral effect on the people of Japan. Nothingof the kind seems to have been the case. The practical civilizationof China was accepted, but not her ethical code. For any palpablemoral influence the arrival of Buddhism had to be awaited. Alreadythe principles of loyalty and obedience, propriety, and righteousnesswere recognized in Japan though not embodied in any written code. "Dr. Ariga writes: "Our countrymen did not acquire anything speciallynew in the way of moral tenets. They must have been surprised to findthat in China men did not respect the occupants of the throne. Asubject might murder his sovereign and succeed him without incurringthe odium of the people. " Rai Sanyo says: "Moral principles are likethe sun and the moon; they cannot be monopolized by any one country. In every land there are parents and children, rulers and ruled, husbands and wives. Where these relations exist, there also filialpiety and affection, loyalty and righteousness may naturally befound. In our country we lack the precise terminology of theclassics, but it does not follow that we lack the principlesexpressed. What the Japanese acquired from the classics was themethod of formulating the thought, not the thought itself. " THE SIXTEENTH SOVEREIGN, NINTOKU (A. D. 313-399) This sovereign is represented by the Chronicles as having reignedeighty-six years, and by the Records as having died at the age ofeighty-three. The same Chronicles make him the lover of a girl whomhis father, also her lover, generously ceded to him. This eventhappened in A. D. 282. Assuming that Nintoku was then sixteen, hecannot have been less than 133 at the time of his death. It is thusseen that the chronology of this period, also, is untrustworthy. Nintoku's reign is remembered chiefly on account of the strangecircumstances in which he came to the throne, his benevolent charity, and the slights he suffered at the hands of a jealous consort. Hisfather, Ojin, by an exercise of caprice not uncommon on the part ofJapan's ancient sovereigns, had nominated a younger son, Waka-iratsuko, to be his heir. But this prince showed invinciblereluctance to assume the sceptre after Ojin's death. He assertedhimself stoutly by killing one of his elder brothers who conspiredagainst him, though he resolutely declined to take precedence of theother brother, and the latter, proving equally diffident, the throneremained unoccupied for three years when Waka-iratsuko solved theproblem by committing suicide. Such are the simplest outlines of the story. But its details, whenfilled in by critical Japanese historians of later ages, suggest adifferent impression. When Ojin died his eldest two sons were livingrespectively in Naniwa (Osaka) and Yamato, and the Crown Prince, Waka-iratsuko, was at Uji. They were thus excellently situated forsetting up independent claims. From the time of Nintoku's birth, theprime minister, head of the great Takenouchi family, had taken aspecial interest in the child, and when the lad grew up he marriedthis Takenouchi's granddaughter, who became the mother of threeEmperors. Presently the representatives of all branches of theTakenouchi family came into possession of influential positions atCourt, among others that of o-omi, so that in this reign were laidthe foundations of the controlling power subsequently vested in thehands of the Heguri, Katsuragi, and Soga houses. In short, this epochsaw the beginning of a state of affairs destined to leave its markpermanently on Japanese history, the relegation of the sovereign tothe place of a fainéant and the usurpation of the administrativeauthority by a group of great nobles. Nintoku had the active support of the Takenouchi magnates, andalthough the Crown Prince may have desired to assert the titleconferred on him by his father, he found himself helpless in the faceof obstructions offered by the prime minister and his numerouspartisans. These suffered him to deal effectively with that one ofhis elder brothers who did not find a place in their ambitiousdesigns, but they created for Waka-iratsuko a situation sointolerable that suicide became his only resource. Nintoku's firstact on ascending the throne explains the ideographs chosen for hisposthumous name by the authors of the Chronicles, since nin signifies"benevolence" and toku, "virtue. " He made Naniwa (Osaka) his capital, but instead of levying taxes and requisitioning forced labour tobuild his palace of Takatsu, he remitted all such burdens for threeyears on observing from a tower that no smoke ascended from the roofsof the houses and construing this to indicate a state of poverty. During those three years the palace fell into a condition ofpractical ruin, and tradition describes its inmates as beingcompelled to move from room to room to avoid the leaking rain. * *Doubts have been thrown on the reality of this incident because apoem, attributed to Nintoku on the occasion, is couched in obviouslyanachronistic language. But the poem does not appear in either theRecords or the Chronicles: it was evidently an invention of laterages. Under Nintoku's sway riparian works and irrigation improvements tookplace on a large scale, and thus the eminent historian, Rai Sanyo, may not be without warrant for attributing to this ruler thesentiment quoted in the Chronicles: "A sovereign lives for hispeople. Their prosperity is his enrichment; their poverty, his loss. "Yet it is in connexion with Nintoku's repairs of the Manda river-bankthat we find the first mention of a heinous custom occasionallypractised in subsequent ages--the custom of sacrificing human life toexpedite the progress or secure the success of some public work. At the same time, that habits indicating a higher civilization hadalready begun to gain ground is proved by an incident which occurredto one of the Imperial princes during a hunting expedition. Lookingdown over a moor from a mountain, he observed a pit, and, on inquiry, was informed by the local headman that it was an "ice-pit. " Theprince, asking how the ice was stored and for what it was used, received this answer: "The ground is excavated to a depth of over tenfeet. The top is then covered with a roof of thatch. A thick layer ofreed-grass is then spread, upon which the ice is laid. The months ofsummer have passed and yet it is not melted. As to its use--when thehot months come it is placed in water or sake and thus used. "[Aston's Nihongi. ] Thenceforth the custom of storing ice was adoptedat the Court. It was in Nintoku's era that the pastime of hawking, afterward widely practised, became known for the first time in Japan. Korea was the place of origin, and it is recorded that the falcon hada soft leather strap fastened to one leg and a small bell to thetail. Pheasants were the quarry of the first hawk flown on the moorof Mozu. Light is also thrown in Nintoku's annals on the method ofboatbuilding practised by the Japanese in the fourth century. Theyused dug-outs. The provincial governor* of Totomi is represented asreporting that a huge tree had floated down the river Oi and hadstopped at a bend. It was a single stem forked at one end, and thesuzerain of Yamato was ordered to make a boat of it. The craft wasthen brought round by sea to Naniwa, "where it was enrolled among theImperial vessels. " Evidently from the days of Ojin and the Karano afleet formed part of the Imperial possessions. This two-forked boatfigures in the reign of Nintoku's successor, Richu, when the latterand his concubine went on board and feasted separately, each in onefork. *This term, "provincial governor, " appears now for the first timewritten with the ideographs "kokushi. " Hitherto it has been written"kuni-no-miyatsuko. " Much is heard of the koushi in later times. Theyare the embryo of the daimyo, the central figures of militaryfeudalism. THE FAMILY OF TAKENOUCHI-NO-SUKUNE For the better understanding of Japanese history at this stage, aword must be said about a family of nobles (sukune) who, from thedays of Nintoku, exercised potent sway in the councils of State. It will have been observed that, in the annals of the EmperorKeiko's reign, prominence is given to an official designatedTakenouchi-no-Sukune, who thereafter seems to have served sovereignafter sovereign until his death in the year 368, when he must havebeen from two hundred to three hundred years old. This chronologicaldifficulty has provoked much scepticism. Dr. Kume, an eminentJapanese historian, explains, however, that Takenouchi was the namenot of a person but of a family, and that it was borne by differentscions in succeeding reigns. The first was a grandson of the EmperorKogen (B. C. 214-158), and the representatives of the family inNintoku's era had seven sons, all possessing the title sukune. Theywere Hata no Yashiro, Koze no Ogara, Soga no Ishikawa, Heguri noTsuku, Ki no Tsunu, Katsuragi no Sotsu, and Wakugo. From these were descended the five uji of Koze, Soga, Heguri, Ki, andKatsuragi. Although its founder was an Emperor's grandson andtherefore entitled to be called "Imperial Prince" (O), the familyconnexion with the Throne naturally became more remote as timepassed, and from the reign of Ojin we find its members classed amongsubjects. Nevertheless, the Empress Iwa, whose jealousy harrassedNintoku so greatly, was a daughter of Katsuragi no Sotsu, and, aswith the sole exception of the Emperor Shomu, every occupant of thethrone had taken for his Empress a lady of Imperial blood, it may beassumed that the relationship between the Imperial and the Takenouchifamilies was recognized at that time. The roles which the five ujimentioned above acted in subsequent history deserve to be studied, and will therefore be briefly set down here. THE KOZE-UJI This uji had for founder Koze no Ogara. The representative of thefourth generation, Koze no Ohito, held the post of o-omi during thereign of the Emperor Keitai (A. D. 507-531), and his great-grandsonwas minister of the Left under Kotoku (A. D. 545-654). Thereafter, theheads of the uji occupied prominent positions under successivesovereigns. THE SOGA-UJI Soga no Ishikawa founded this uji. His son, Machi, shared theadministrative power with Heguri no Tsuku in the reign of Richu (A. D. 400-405), and Machi's great-grandson, Iname, immortalized himself bypromoting the introduction of Buddhism in the reign of Kimmei (A. D. 540-571). Iname's son, Umako, and the latter's son, Yemishi, will bemuch heard of hereafter. No family, indeed, affected the course ofJapanese history in early days more than did the Soga-uji. THE HEGURI-UJI During the reign of the Emperor Richu (A. D. 400-405), Heguri noTsuku, founder of this uji, shared in the administration with Soga noMachi. His son, Heguri no Matori, was minister under Yuryaku (A. D. 457-459), and the fate which he and his son, Shibi, brought upontheir family is one of the salient incidents of Japanese history. THE KI-UJI The representatives of this uji, from the days of its founder, Kino Tsunu, took a prominent share in the empire's foreign affairs, but served also in the capacity of provincial governor andcommander-in-chief. THE KATSURAGI-UJI Nintoku's Empress, Iwa, was a daughter of the ancestor of this uji, Katsuragi no Sotsu, and the latter's great-granddaughter, Hae, wasthe mother of two sovereigns, Kenso (A. D. 485-487) and Ninken (A. D. 488-498). ENGRAVING: TOBACCO PIPE AND POUCH ENGRAVING: HINOMI YAGURA (FIRE WATCH TOWER) CHAPTER XII THE PROTOHISTORIC SOVEREIGNS The 17th Sovereign, Richu A. D. 400-405 " 18th " Hansho " 406-411 " 19th " Inkyo " 412-453 " 20th " Anko " 454-456 " 21st " Yuryaku " 457-479 RICHU'S REIGN THE prehistoric era may be said to terminate with the accession ofRichu. Thenceforth the lives and reigns of successive sovereignscease to extend to incredible lengths, and though the chronologyadopted by the writers of the Nihongi may not yet be implicitlyaccepted, its general accuracy is not open to dispute. The era of thefive sovereigns standing at the head of this chapter--an era offifty-nine years--inherited as legacies from the immediate past: awell-furnished treasury, a nation in the enjoyment of peace, a firmlyestablished throne, and a satisfactory state of foreign relations. These comfortable conditions seem to have exercised demoralizinginfluence. The bonds of discipline grew slack; fierce quarrels onaccount of women involved fratricide among the princes of the blood, and finally the life of an Emperor was sacrificed--the only instanceof such a catastrophe in Japanese history. Immediately after Nintoku's death this evil state of affairs wasinaugurated by Prince Nakatsu, younger brother of the heir to thethrone, who had not yet assumed the sceptre. Sent by the Crown Prince(Richu) to make arrangements for the latter's nuptials with the ladyKuro, a daughter of the Takenouchi family, Nakatsu personified Richu, debauched the girl, and to avoid the consequences of the act, soughtto take the life of the man he had betrayed. It does not redound tothe credit of the era that the debaucher found support and wasenabled to hold his own for a time, though his treachery ultimatelymet with its merited fate. At this crisis of his life, Richu receivedloyal assistance from a younger brother, and his gratitude inducedhim to confer on the latter the title of Crown Prince. In thusacting, Richu may have been influenced by the fact that thealternative was to bequeath the throne to a baby, but none the lesshe stands responsible for an innovation which greatly impaired thestability of the succession. It should be noted, as illustrating theinfluence of the Takenouchi family that, in spite of the shame shehad suffered, the lady Kuro became the Emperor's concubine. In fact, among the four nobles who administered the affairs of the empireduring Richu's reign, not the least powerful were Heguri no Tsuku andSoga no Machi. Moreover, Richu, as has been stated already, was a sonof Iwa, a lady of the same great family, and his two successors, Hansho and Inkyo, were his brothers by the same mother. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS The annals of Richu's reign confirm a principle which received itsfirst illustration when the Emperor Keiko put to death for parricidethe daughter of a Kumaso chief, though she had betrayed her father inthe interest of Keiko himself. Similar deference to the spirit ofloyalty led to the execution of Sashihire in the time of Richu. Aretainer of the rebellious Prince Nakatsu, Sashihire, assassinatedthat prince at the instance of Prince Mizuha, who promised largereward. But after the deed had been accomplished, Heguri no Tsukuadvised his nephew, Mizuha, saying, "Sashihire has killed his ownlord for the sake of another, and although for us he has done a greatservice, yet towards his own lord his conduct has been heartless inthe extreme. " Sashihire was therefore put to death. That thisprinciple was always observed in Japan cannot be asserted, but thatit was always respected is certain. In Richu's reign there is found the first clear proof that tattooingwas not practised in Japan for ornamental purposes. Tattooing isfirst mentioned as a custom of the Yemishi when their country wasinspected by Takenouchi at Keiko's orders. But in Richu's time it wasemployed to punish the muraji of Atsumi, who had joined the rebellionof Prince Nakatsu. He was "inked" on the face. It appears also thatthe same practice had hitherto been employed to distinguishhorse-keepers, but the custom was finally abandoned in deference toan alleged revelation from Izanagi, the deity of Awaji, on theoccasion of a visit by Richu to that island. In the context of thisrevelation it is noticeable that belief in the malign influence ofoffended deities was gaining ground. Thus, on the occasion of thesudden death of Princess Kuro, the voice of the wind was heard toutter mysterious words in the "great void" immediately before thecoming of a messenger to announce the event, and the Emperorattributed the calamity to the misconduct of an official who hadremoved certain persons from serving at a shrine. The annals of this reign are noteworthy as containing the earliestreference to the compilation of books. It is stated that in the yearA. D. 403 "local recorders were appointed for the first time in thevarious provinces, who noted down statements and communicated thewritings of the four quarters. " An eminent critic--Mr. W. G. Aston--regards this as an anachronism, since the coming of the Koreanscholar, Wani (vide sup. ), did not take place until the year 405, which date probably preceded by many years the appointment ofrecorders. But it has been shown above that the innovation due toWani was, not the art of writing, but, in all probability, aknowledge of the Chinese classics. Another institution established during this era was a treasury (A. D. 405), and the two learned Koreans who had come from Paikche (Kudara)were appointed to keep the accounts. A work of later date than theChronicles or Records--the Shokuin-rei--says that in this treasurywere stored "gold and silver, jewels, precious utensils, brocade andsatin, saicenet, rugs and mattresses, and the rare objects sent astribute by the various barbarians. " HANSHO The Emperor Hansho's short reign of five years is not remarkable foranything except an indirect evidence that Chinese customs werebeginning to be adopted at the Japanese Court. In the earliest eras, the ladies who enjoyed the sovereign's favour were classed simply as"Empress" or "consort. " But from the days of Hansho we find threeranks of concubines. INKYO Inkyo was a younger brother of his predecessor, Hansho, as the latterhad been of Richu. No formal nomination of Inkyo as Prince Imperialhad taken place, and thus for the first time the sceptre was foundwithout any legalized heir or any son of the deceased sovereign totake it. In these circumstances, the ministers held a council andagreed to offer the throne to Inkyo, the elder of two surviving sonsof Nintoku. Inkyo was suffering from a disease supposed to beincurable, and, distrusting his own competence, he persistentlyrefused to accept the responsibility. The incident responsible forhis ultimate consent was the intervention of a concubine, Onakatsu, afterwards Empress. Under pretext of carrying water for the princeshe entered his chamber, and when he turned his back on her entreatythat he would comply with the ministers' desire, she remainedstanding in the bitter cold of a stormy day of January, until thewater, which she had spilled over her arm, became frozen and she fellin a faint. Then the prince yielded. A year later envoys were sent toseek medical assistance in Korea, which was evidently regarded as thehome of the healing science as well as of many other arts borrowedfrom China. A physician arrived from Sinra, and Inkyo's malady wascured. In this reign took place a celebrated incident, already referred to, when the lineage of the nobles was corrected by recourse to theordeal of boiling water. But a much larger space in the annals isoccupied with the story of an affair, important only as illustratingthe manners and customs of the time. From an early period it had beenusual that Japanese ladies on festive occasions should go through thegraceful performance of "woven paces and waving hands, " whichconstituted dancing, and, in the era now occupying our attention, there prevailed in the highest circles a custom that the danseuseshould offer a maiden to the most honoured among the guests. Onewinter's day, at the opening of a new palace, the Empress Onakatsudanced to the music of the Emperor's lute. Onakatsu had a youngersister, Oto, of extraordinary beauty, and the Emperor, fain topossess the girl but fearful of offending the Empress, had plannedthis dance so that Onakatsu, in compliance with the recognized usage, might be constrained to place her sister at his disposal. It fell outas Inkyo wished, but there then ensued a chapter of incidents inwhich the dignity of the Crown fared ill. Again and again thebeautiful Oto refused to obey her sovereign's summons, and when atlength, by an unworthy ruse, she was induced to repair to the palace, it was found impossible to make her an inmate of it in defiance ofthe Empress' jealousy. She had to be housed elsewhere, and still theImperial lover was baffled, for he dared not brave the elder sister'sresentment by visiting the younger. Finally he took advantage of theEmpress' confinement to pay the long-deferred visit, but, on learningof the event, the outraged wife set fire to the parturition house andattempted to commit suicide. "Many years have passed, " she isrecorded to have said to the Emperor, "since I first bound up my hairand became thy companion in the inner palace. It is too cruel ofthee, O Emperor! Wherefore just on this night when I am in childbirthand hanging between life and death, must thou go to Fujiwara?" Inkyohad the grace to be "greatly shocked" and to "soothe the mind of theEmpress with explanations, " but he did not mend his infidelity. AtOto's request he built a residence for her at Chinu in theneighbouring province of Kawachi, and thereafter the compilers of theChronicles, with fine irony, confine their record of threeconsecutive years' events to a repetition of the single phrase, "theEmperor made a progress to Chinu. " It is not, perhaps, extravagant to surmise that the publicityattending this sovereign's amours and the atmosphere of loosemorality thus created were in part responsible for a crime committedby his elder son, the Crown Prince Karu. Marriage between children ofthe same father had always been permitted in Japan provided themother was different, but marriage between children of the samemother was incest. Prince Karu was guilty of this offence with hissister, Oiratsume, and so severely did the nation judge him that hewas driven into exile and finally obliged to commit suicide. Withsuch records is the reign of Inkyo associated. It is perplexing thatthe posthumous name chosen for him by historians should signify"sincerely courteous. " Incidentally, four facts presentthemselves--that men wore wristbands and garters to which grelotswere attached; that a high value was set on pearls; that metal wasused for the construction of great men's gates, and that the firstearthquake is said to have been experienced in A. D. 416. ANKO The records of this sovereign's reign make a discreditable page ofJapanese history. Anko, having ascended the throne after an armedcontest with his elder brother, which ended in the latter's suicide, desired to arrange a marriage between his younger brother, Ohatsuse, and a sister of his uncle, Okusaka. He despatched Ne no Omi, atrusted envoy, to confer with the latter, who gladly consented, and, in token of approval, handed to Ne no Omi a richly jewelled coronetfor conveyance to the Emperor. But Ne no Omi, covetous of the gems, secreted the coronet, and told the Emperor that Okusaka had rejectedthe proposal with scorn. Anko took no steps to investigate the truthof this statement. It has been already seen that such investigationswere not customary in those days. Soldiers were at once sent toslaughter Okusaka; his wife, Nakashi, was taken to be the Emperor'sconsort, and his sister, Hatahi, was married to Prince Ohatsuse. Now, at the time of his death, Okusaka had a son, Mayuwa, seven yearsold. One day, the Emperor, having drunk heavily, confessed to theEmpress, Nakashi, that he entertained some apprehension lest this boymight one day seek to avenge his father's execution. The childoverheard this remark, and creeping to the side of his step-father, who lay asleep with his head in Nakashi's lap, killed him with hisown sword. Such is the tale narrated in the Chronicles and theRecords. But its incredible features are salient. A deed of the kindwould never have been conceived or committed by a child, and theEmpress must have been a conniving party. To what quarter, then, is the instigation to be traced? An answerseems to be furnished by the conduct of Prince Ohatsuse. Between thisprince and the throne five lives intervened; those of the EmperorAnko, of the latter's two brothers, Yatsuri no Shiro and Sakai noKuro, both older than Ohatsuse, and of two sons of the late EmperorRichu, Ichinobe no Oshiwa and Mima. Every one of these was removedfrom the scene in the space of a few days. Immediately after Anko'sassassination, Ohatsuse, simulating suspicion of his two elderbrothers, killed the o-omi, who refused to give them up. Ohatsusethen turned his attention to his grand-uncles, the two sons of Richu. He sent a military force to destroy one of them without any pretenceof cause; the other he invited to a hunting expedition andtreacherously shot. If Ohatsuse did not contrive the murder of Anko, as he contrived the deaths of all others standing between himself andthe throne, a great injustice has been done to his memory. LOYALTY These shocking incidents are not without a relieving feature. Theyfurnished opportunities for the display of fine devotion. When PrinceOkusaka died for a crime of which he was wholly innocent, two of hisretainers, Naniwa no Hikaga, father and son, committed suicide invindication of his memory. When Prince Sakai no Kuro and Mayuwa tookrefuge in the house of the o-omi Tsubura, the latter deliberatelychose death rather than surrender the fugitives. When Prince Kuroperished, Nie-no-Sukune took the corpse in his arms and was burnedwith it. When Prince Ichinobe no Oshiwa fell under the treacherousarrow of Prince Ohatsuse, one of the former's servants embraced thedead body and fell into such a paroxysm of grief that Ohatsuseordered him to be despatched. And during this reign of Yuryaku, whenLord Otomo was killed in a fatal engagement with the Sinra troops, hishenchman, Tsumaro, crying, "My master has fallen; what avails that Ialone should remain unhurt?" threw himself into the ranks of theenemy and perished. Loyalty to the death characterized the Japanesein every age. YURYAKU This sovereign was the Ohatsuse of whose unscrupulous ambition somuch has just been heard. Some historians have described him as anaustere man, but few readers of his annals will be disposed toendorse such a lenient verdict. He ordered that a girl, whose onlyfault was misplaced affection, should have her four limbs stretchedon a tree and be roasted to death; he slew one of his stewards at ahunt, because the man did not understand how to cut up the meat of ananimal; he removed a high official--Tasa, omi of Kibi--to a distantpost in order to possess himself of the man's wife (Waka), and hearbitrarily and capriciously killed so many men and women that thepeople called him the "Emperor of great wickedness. " One act ofjustice stands to his credit. The slanderer, Ne no Omi, who for thesake of a jewelled coronet had caused the death of Prince Okusaka, asrelated above, had the temerity to wear the coronet, sixteen yearssubsequently, when he presided at a banquet given in honour of envoysfrom China; and the beauty of the bauble having thus been noisedabroad, Ne no Omi was required to show it at the palace. It wasimmediately recognized by the Empress, sister of the ill-starredprince, and Ne no Omi, having confessed his crime, was put to death, all the members of his uji being reduced to the rank of serfs. Onemoiety of them was formed into a hereditary corporation which wasorganized under the name of Okusakabe, in memory of Prince Okusaka. ARTS AND CRAFTS The reign of Yuryaku is partially saved from the reproach of selfishdespotism by the encouragement given to the arts and crafts. It hasalready been related that the members of the Hata-uji, which had beenconstituted originally with artisans from China, gradually becamedispersed throughout the provinces and were suffering some hardshipswhen Yuryaku issued orders for their reassembly and reorganization. Subsequently the sovereign gave much encouragement to sericulture, and, inspired doubtless by the legend of the Sun goddess, inaugurateda custom which thereafter prevailed in Japan through all ages, thecultivation of silkworms by the Empress herself. At a later date, learning from a Korean handicraftsman (tebito)--whose name has beenhanded down as Kwan-in Chiri--that Korea abounded in experts ofsuperior skill, Yuryaku commissioned this man to carry to the King ofKudara (Paikche) an autograph letter asking for the services ofseveral of these experts. This request was complied with, and thenewcomers were assigned dwellings at the village of Tsuno in Yamato;*but as the place proved unhealthy, they were afterwards distributedamong several localities. *There were potters, saddlers, brocade-weavers, and interpreters. It is also recorded that, about this time, there came from China aman called An Kiko, a descendant of one of the Wu sovereigns. Hesettled in Japan, and his son, Ryu afterwards--named Shinki--isreputed to have been the first exponent of Chinese pictorial art inJapan. In the year A. D. 470, there was another arrival of artisans, this time from Wu (China), including weavers and clothiers. Theylanded in the province of Settsu, and to commemorate their coming aroad called the "Kure-saka" (Wu acclivity) was constructed from thatport to the Shihatsu highway. The descendants of these immigrantswere organized into two hereditary corporations (be) ofsilk-clothiers, the Asuka no Kinu-nui-be and the Ise no Kinu-nui-be. Two years later (472), orders were issued for the cultivation ofmulberry trees in all suitable provinces, and at the same time thepreviously reassembled members of the Hata-uji were once moredistributed to various localities with the object of widening theirsphere of instruction. In the year 473 a very interesting event is recorded. The muraji ofthe Hanishi was ordered to furnish craftsmen to manufacture "pureutensils" for serving viands daily in the palace. These Hanishi arefirst spoken of as having been employed at the suggestion ofNomi-no-Sukune, in the days of the Emperor Suinin (A. D. 3), to makeclay substitutes for the human beings thitherto inhumed at thesepulchres of notables. In response to this order the muraji summonedhis own tami-be (private hereditary corporation) then located atseven villages in the provinces of Settsu, Yamashiro, Ise, Tamba, Tajima, and Inaba. They were organized into the Nie no Hanishibe, orhereditary corporation of potters of table-utensils. Ceramists hadpreviously come from Kudara (Paikche), and there can be no doubt thatsome progress was made in the art from the fifth century onwards. Butthere does not appear to be sufficient ground for a conclusion formedby some historians that the "pure utensils" mentioned above were ofglazed pottery. The art of applying glaze to ceramic manufactures wasnot discovered until a much later period. RELATIONS WITH KOREA When Yuryaku ascended the throne, Japan still enjoyed her originalfriendship with Paikche (Kudara), whence ladies-in-waiting were sentperiodically to the Yamato Court. She also retained her military postat Mimana (Imna) and kept a governor there, but her relations withShiragi (Sinra) were somewhat strained, owing to harsh treatment ofthe latter's special envoys who had come to convey their sovereign'scondolences on the death of the Emperor Inkyo (453). From the time ofYuryaku's accession, Shiragi ceased altogether to send the usualgifts to the Emperor of Japan. In the year 463, Yuryaku, desiring topossess himself of the wife of a high official, Tasa, sent him to begovernor of Mimana, and in his absence debauched the lady. Tasa, learning how he had been dishonoured, raised the standard of revoltand sought aid of the Shiragi people. Then Yuryaku, withcharacteristic refinement of cruelty, ordered Tasa's son, Oto, tolead a force against his father. Oto seemingly complied, but, onreaching the peninsula, opened communication with his father, and itwas agreed that while Tasa should hold Imna, breaking off allrelations with Japan, Oto should adopt a similar course with regardto Paikche. This plot was frustrated by Oto's wife, Kusu, a woman toopatriotic to connive at treason in any circumstances. She killed herhusband, and the Court of Yamato was informed of these events. From that time, however, Japan's hold upon the peninsula was shaken. Yuryaku sent four expeditions thither, but they accomplished nothingpermanent. The power of Koma in the north increased steadily, and ithad the support of China. Yuryaku's attempts to establish closerelations with the latter--the Sung were then on the throne--seem tohave been inspired by a desire to isolate Korea. He failed, andultimately Kudara was overrun by Koma, as will be seen by and by. Itis scarcely too much to say that Japan lost her paramount status inKorea because of Yuryaku's illicit passion for the wife of one of hissubjects. CHRONOLOGY The first absolute agreement between the dates given in Japanesehistory and those given in Korean occurs in this reign, namely, theyear A. D. 475. The severest critics therefore consent to admit thetrustworthiness of the Japanese annals from the third quarter of thefifth century. TREASURIES In the record of Richu's reign, brief mention has been made of theestablishment of a Government treasury. In early days, when religiousrites and administrative functions were not differentiated, articlesneeded for both purposes were kept in the same store, under thecharge of the Imibe-uji. But as the Court grew richer, owing toreceipt of domestic taxes and foreign "tribute, " the necessity ofestablishing separate treasuries, was felt and a "domestic store"(Uchi-kura) was formed during Richu's reign, the Koreans, Achi andWani, being appointed to keep the accounts. In Yuryaku's time a thirdtreasury had to be added, owing to greatly increased production oftextile fabrics and other manufactures. This was called the Okura, aterm still applied to the Imperial treasury, and there were thusthree stores, Okura, Uchi-kura, and Imi-kura. Soga no Machi wasplaced in supreme charge of all three, and the power of the Sogafamily grew proportionately. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS It is observable that at this epoch the sovereigns of Japan had notyet begun to affect the sacred seclusion which, in later ages, becamecharacteristic of them. It is true that, after ascending the throne, they no longer led their troops in war, though they did so asImperial princes. But in other respects they lived the lives ofordinary men--joining in the chase, taking part in banquets, andmixing freely with the people. As illustrating this last fact astrange incident may be cited. One day the Emperor Yuryaku visitedthe place where some carpenters were at work and observed that one ofthem, Mane, in shaping timber with an axe, used a stone for ruler butnever touched it with the axe. "Dost thou never make a mistake andstrike the stone?" asked the monarch. "I never make a mistake, "replied the carpenter. Then, to disturb the man's sang-froid, Yuryakucaused the ladies-in-waiting (uneme) to dance, wearing onlywaist-cloths. Mane watched the spectacle for a while, and on resuminghis work, his accuracy of aim was momentarily at fault. The Emperorrebuked him for having made an unwarranted boast and handed him overto the monono-be for execution. After the unfortunate man had beenled away, one of his comrades chanted an impromptu couplet lamentinghis fate, whereat the Emperor, relenting, bade a messenger gallop offon "a black horse of Kai" to stay the execution. The mandate of mercyarrived just in time, and when Mane's bonds were loosed, he, too, improvised a verse: "Black as the night "Was the horse of Kai. "Had they waited to "Saddle him, my life were lost "O, horse of Kai!" The whole incident is full of instruction. A sovereign concerninghimself about trivialities as petty as this pretext on which he sendsa man to death; the shameful indignity put upon the ladies-in-waitingto minister to a momentary whim; the composition of poetry by commoncarpenters, and the ride for life on a horse which there is not timeto saddle. It is an instructive picture of the ways of Yuryaku'sCourt. In truth, this couplet-composing proclivity is one of the strangestfeatures of the Yamato race as portrayed in the pages of the Recordsand the Chronicles. From the time when the fierce Kami, Susanoo, puthis thoughts into verse as he sought for a place to celebrate hismarriage, great crises and little crises in the careers of men andwomen respectively inspire couplets. We find an Emperor addressing anode to a dragon-fly which avenges him on a gad-fly; we find a princereciting impromptu stanzas while he lays siege to the place whitherhis brother has fled for refuge; we find a heartbroken lady singing averselet as for the last time she ties the garters of her lord goingto his death, and we find a sovereign corresponding in verse with hisconsort whose consent to his own dishonour he seeks to win. Yet in the lives of all these men and women of old, there are notmany other traces of corresponding refinement or romance. We areconstrained to conjecture that many of the verses quoted in theRecords and the Chronicles were fitted in after ages to the eventsthey commemorate. Another striking feature in the lives of theseearly sovereigns is that while on the one hand their residences arespoken of as muro, a term generally applied to dwellings partiallyunderground, on the other, we find more than one reference to hightowers. Thus Yuryaku is shown as "ordering commissioners to erect alofty pavilion in which he assumes the Imperial dignity, " and theEmperor Nintoku is represented as "ascending a lofty tower andlooking far and wide" on the occasion of his celebrated sympathy withthe people's poverty. ENGRAVING: ANCIENT ACROBATIC PERFORMANCE ENGRAVING: DAIRISAMA (KINO) AND OKUSAMA (QUEEN) OF THE FEAST OF THEDOLLS CHAPTER XIII THE PROTOHISTORIC SOVEREIGNS (Continued) The 22nd Sovereign, Seinei A. D. 480-484 " 23rd " Kenso " 485-487 " 24th " Ninken " 488-498 " 25th " Muretsu " 499-506 " 26th " Keitai " 507-531 " 27th " Ankan " 534-535 " 28th " Senkwa " 536-539 DISPUTE ABOUT THE SUCCESSION THE Emperor Yuryaku's evil act in robbing Tasa of his wife, Waka, entailed serious consequences. He selected to succeed to the thronehis son Seinei, by Princess Kara, who belonged to the Katsuragibranch of the great Takenouchi family. But Princess Waka conspired tosecure the dignity for the younger of her own two sons, Iwaki andHoshikawa, who were both older than Seinei. She urged Hoshikawa toassert his claim by seizing the Imperial treasury, and she herselfwith Prince Iwaki and others accompanied him thither. Theyunderestimated the power of the Katsuragi family. Siege was laid tothe treasury and all its inmates were burned, with the exception ofone minor official to whom mercy was extended and who, in token ofgratitude, presented twenty-five acres of rice-land to the o-muraji, Lord Otomo, commander of the investing force. THE FUGITIVE PRINCES The Emperor Seinei had no offspring, and for a time it seemed thatthe succession in the direct line would be interrupted. For this lackof heirs the responsibility ultimately rested with Yuryaku. In hisfierce ambition to sweep away every obstacle, actual or potential, that barred his ascent to the throne, he inveigled Prince Oshiwa, eldest son of the Emperor Richu, to accompany him on a huntingexpedition, and slew him mercilessly on the moor of Kaya. Oshiwa hadtwo sons, Oke and Woke, mere children at the time of their father'smurder. They fled, under the care of Omi, a muraji, who, with hisson, Adahiko, secreted them in the remote province of Inaba. Omiultimately committed suicide in order to avoid the risk of captureand interrogation under torture, and the two little princes, stillaccompanied by Adahiko, calling themselves "the urchins of Tamba, "became menials in the service of the obito of the Shijimi granariesin the province of Harima. Twenty-four years had been passed in that seclusion when it chancedthat Odate, governor of the province, visited the obito on anoccasion when the latter was holding a revel to celebrate thebuilding of a new house, it fell to the lot of the two princes to actas torch-bearers, the lowest role that could be assigned to them, andthe younger counselled his brother that the time had come to declarethemselves, for death was preferable to such a life. Tradition saysthat, being invited to dance "when the night had become profound, when the revel was at its height and when every one else had dancedin turn, " the Prince Woke, accompanying his movements with versesextemporized for the occasion, danced so gracefully that the governortwice asked him to continue, and at length he announced the rank andlineage of his brother and himself. The governor, astonished, "maderepeated obeisance to the youths, built a palace for their temporaryaccommodation, and going up to the capital, disclosed the wholeaffair to the Emperor, who expressed profound satisfaction. " Oke, the elder of the two, was made Prince Imperial, and should haveascended the throne on the death of Seinei, a few months later. Arguing, however, that to his younger brother, Woke it was entirelydue that they had emerged from a state of abject misery, Okeannounced his determination to cede the honour to Woke, who, in turn, declined to take precedence of his elder brother. This dispute ofmutual deference continued for a whole year, during a part of whichtime the administration was carried on by Princess Awo, elder sisterof Woke. At length the latter yielded and assumed the sceptre. Hisfirst care was to collect the bones of his father, Prince Oshiwa, who had been murdered and buried unceremoniously on the moor of Kayain Omi province. It was long before the place of interment could bediscovered, but at length an old woman served as guide, and the bonesof the prince were found mingled in inextricable confusion with thoseof his loyal vassal, Nakachiko, who had shared his fate. The ethics of that remote age are illustrated vividly in this page ofthe record. A double sepulchre was erected in memory of the murderedprince and his faithful follower and the old woman who had pointedout the place of their unhonoured grave was given a house in thevicinity of the palace, a rope with a bell attached being stretchedbetween the two residences to serve as a support for her infirm feetand as a means of announcing her coming when she visited the palace. But the same benevolent sovereign who directed these gracious doingswas with difficulty dissuaded from demolishing the tomb andscattering to the winds of heaven the bones of the Emperor Yuryaku, under whose hand Prince Oshiwa had fallen. THE VENDETTA In connexion with this, the introduction of the principle of thevendetta has to be noted. Its first practical application isgenerally referred to the act of the boy-prince, Mayuwa, who stabbedhis father's slayer, the Emperor Anko (A. D. 456). But the details ofAnko's fate are involved in some mystery, and it is not until thetime (A. D. 486) of Kenso that we find a definite enunciation of theConfucian doctrine, afterwards rigidly obeyed in Japan, "A man shouldnot live under the same heaven with his father's enemy. " Historyalleges that, by his brother's counsels, the Emperor Kenso wasinduced to abandon his intention of desecrating Yuryaku's tomb, butthe condition of the tomb to-day suggests that these counsels werenot entirely effective. BANQUETS The annals of this epoch refer more than once to banquets at thepalace. Towards the close of Seinei's reign we read of "a nationaldrinking-festival which lasted five days, " and when Kenso ascendedthe throne he "went to the park, where he held revel by the windingstreams, " the high officials in great numbers being his guests. Onthis latter occasion the ministers are said to have "utteredreiterated cries of 'banzai'"*, which has come into vogue once more inmodern times as the equivalent of "hurrah. " *Banzai means literally "ten thousand years, " and thus corresponds toviva. THE EMPEROR NINKEN The twenty-fourth sovereign, Ninken, was the elder of the twobrothers, Oke and Woke, whose escape from the murderous ambition ofthe Emperor Yuryaku and their ultimate restoration to princely rankhave been already described. He succeeded to the throne after thedeath of his younger brother, and occupied it for ten years of a mostuneventful reign. Apart from the fact that tanners were invited fromKorea to improve the process followed in Japan, the records containnothing worthy of attention. One incident, however, deserves to benoted as showing the paramount importance attached in those earlydays to all the formalities of etiquette. The Empress dowagercommitted suicide, dreading lest she should be put to death for abreach of politeness committed towards Ninken during the life of hispredecessor, Kenso. At a banquet in the palace she had twiceneglected to kneel when presenting, first, a knife and, secondly, acup of wine to Ninken, then Prince Imperial. It has already beenrelated that the Empress Onakatsu, consort of Inkyo, was disposed toinflict the death penalty on a high official who had slighted herunwittingly prior to her husband's accession. There can be no doubtthat differences of rank received most rigid recognition in earlyJapan. THE EMPEROR MURETSU This sovereign was the eldest son of his predecessor, Ninken. According to the Chronicles, his reign opened with a rebellion by thegreat Heguri family, whose representative, Matori, attempted to usurpthe Imperial dignity while his son, Shibi, defiantly wooed and wonfor himself the object of the Emperor's affections. Matori had beenYuryaku's minister, and his power as well as his family influencewere very great, but the military nobles adhered to the sovereign'scause and the Heguri were annihilated. In the Records this event isattributed to the reign of Seinei in a much abbreviated form, but theaccount given in the Chronicles commands the greater credence. TheChronicles, however, represent Muretsu as a monster of cruelty, theNero of Japanese history, who plucked out men's nails and made themdig up yams with their mutilated fingers; who pulled out people'shair; who made them ascend trees which were then cut down, and whoperpetrated other hideous excesses. Here again the Records, aswell as other ancient authorities are absolutely silent, and thestory in the Chronicles has attracted keen analyses by modernhistoriographers. Their almost unanimous conclusion is that theannals of King Multa of Kudara have been confused with those of theEmperor Muretsu. This Korean sovereign, contemporary with Muretsu, committed all kinds of atrocities and was finally deposed by hispeople. There are evidences that the compilers of the Chronicles drewlargely on the pages of Korean writers, and it is not difficult toimagine accidental intermixing such as that suggested by the criticsin this case. KEITAI The death of the Emperor Muretsu left the throne without anysuccessor in the direct line of descent, and for the first time sincethe foundation of the Empire, it became necessary for the greatofficials to make a selection among the scions of the remote Imperialfamilies. Their choice fell primarily on the representative of thefifth generation of the Emperor Chuai's descendants. But as theirmethod of announcing their decision was to despatch a strong force ofarmed troops to the provincial residence of the chosen man, henaturally misinterpreted the demonstration and sought safety inflight. Then the o-omi and the o-muraji turned to Prince Odo, fifthin descent from the Emperor Ojin on his father's side and eighth indescent from the Emperor Suinin on his mother's. Arako, head of thehorse-keepers, had secretly informed the prince of the ministers'intentions, and thus the sudden apparition of a military forceinspired no alarm in Odo's bosom. He did, indeed, show seemlyhesitation, but finally he accepted the insignia and ascended thethrone, confirming all the high dignitaries of State in theirprevious offices. From the point of view of domestic affairs hisreign was uneventful, but the empire's relations with Korea continuedto be much disturbed, as will be presently explained. ANKAN The Emperor Keitai had a large family, but only one son was by theEmpress, and as he was too young to ascend the throne immediatelyafter his father's death, he was preceded by his two brothers, Ankanand Senkwa, sons of the senior concubine. This complication seems tohave caused some difficulty, for whereas Keitai died in 531, Ankan'sreign did not commence until 534. The most noteworthy feature of hisera was the establishment of State granaries in great numbers, aproof that the Imperial power found large extension throughout theprovinces. In connexion with this, the o-muraji, Kanamura, is quotedas having laid down, by command of the Emperor, the followingimportant doctrine, "Of the entire surface of the soil, there is nopart which is not a royal grant in fee; under the wide heavens thereis no place which is not royal territory. " The annals show, also, that the custom of accepting tracts of land or other property inexpiation of offences was obtaining increased vogue. SENKWA Senkwa was the younger brother of Ankan. He reigned only three yearsand the period of his sway was uneventful, if we except the growth ofcomplications with Korea, and the storing of large quantities ofgrain in Tsukushi, as a "provision against extraordinary occasions, "and "for the cordial entertainment of our good guests" from "thecountries beyond the sea. " RELATIONS WITH KOREA With whatever scepticism the details of the Empress Jingo'sexpedition be regarded, it appears to be certain that at a very earlydate, Japan effected lodgement on the south coast of Korea at Mimana, and established there a permanent station (chinju-fu) which wasgoverned by one of her own officials. It is also apparent that, during several centuries, the eminent military strength of Yamatoreceived practical recognition from the principalities into which thepeninsula was divided; that they sent to the Court of Japan annualpresents which partook of the nature of tribute, and that theytreated her suggestions, for the most part, with deferentialattention. This state of affairs received a rude shock in the days ofYuryaku, when that sovereign, in order to possess himself of the wifeof a high official named Tasa, sent the latter to distant Mimana asgovernor, and seized the lady in his absence. Tasa revolted, and fromthat time Japan's position in the peninsula was compromised. TheKoreans perceived that her strength might be paralyzed by the sins ofher sovereigns and the disaffection of her soldiers. Shiragi (Sinra), whose frontier was conterminous with that of the Japanese settlementon the north, had always been restive in the proximity of a foreignaggressor. From the time of Yuryaku's accession she ceased to conveythe usual tokens of respect to the Yamato Court, and, on the otherhand, she cultivated the friendship of Koma as an ally in the day ofretribution. It may be broadly stated that Korea was then divided into threeprincipalities: Shiragi in the south and east; Kudara in the centreand west, with its capital at the modern Seoul, and Koma in thenorth, having Pyong-yang for chief city. This last had recentlypushed its frontier into Manchuria as far as the Liao River, and wasalready beginning to project its shadow over the southern regions ofthe peninsula, destined ultimately to fall altogether under its sway. In response to Shiragi's overtures, the King of Koma sent a body oftroops to assist in protecting that principality against anyretaliatory essay on the part of the Japanese in Mimana. But the menof Shiragi, betrayed into imagining that these soldiers were destinedto be the van of an invading army, massacred them, and besoughtJapanese succour against Koma's vengeance. The Japanese acceded, andShiragi was saved for a time, but at the cost of incurring, forherself and for Japan alike, the lasting enmity of Koma. Shiragiappears to have concluded, however, that she had more to fear fromKoma than from Japan, for she still withheld her tribute to thelatter, and invaded the territory of Kudara, which had alwaysmaintained most friendly relations with Yamato. The Emperor Yuryakusent two expeditions to punish this contumacy, but the result beinginconclusive, he resolved to take the exceptional step of personallyleading an army to the peninsula. This design, which, had it matured, might have radically changed thehistory of the Far East, was checked by an oracle, and Yuryakuappointed three of his powerful nobles to go in his stead. TheShiragi men fought with desperate tenacity. One wing of their armywas broken, but the other held its ground, and two of the Japanesegenerals fell in essaying to dislodge it. Neither side could claim adecisive victory, but both were too much exhausted to renew thecombat. This was not the limit of Japan's misfortunes. A feud brokeout among the leaders of the expedition, and one of them, Oiwa, shothis comrade as they were en route for the Court of the Kudaramonarch, who had invited them in the hope of composing theirdissensions, since the existence of his own kingdom depended onJapan's intervention between Koma and Shiragi. Owing to this feud among her generals, Japan's hold on Mimana becamemore precarious than ever while her prestige in the peninsuladeclined perceptibly. Nevertheless her great military name stillretained much of its potency. Thus, ten years later (A. D. 477), whenthe King of Koma invaded Kudara and held the land at his mercy, hedeclined to follow his generals' counsels of extermination indeference to Kudara's long friendship with Yamato. It is relatedthat, after this disaster, the Japanese Emperor gave the town ofUng-chhon (Japanese, Kumanari) to the remnant of the Kudara people, and the latter's capital was then transferred from its old site inthe centre of the peninsula--a place no longer tenable--to theneighbourhood of Mimana. Thenceforth Yuryaku aided Kudara zealously. He not only despatched a force of five hundred men to guard thepalace of the King, but also sent (480) a flotilla of war-vessels toattack Koma from the west coast. The issue of this attempt is notrecorded, and the silence of the annals may be construed asindicating failure. Koma maintained at that epoch relations ofintimate friendship with the powerful Chinese dynasty of the EasternWei, and Yuryaku's essays against such a combination were futile, though he prosecuted them with considerable vigour. After his death the efficiency of Japan's operations in Korea wasgreatly impaired by factors hitherto happily unknown in her foreignaffairs--treason and corruption. Lord Oiwa, whose shooting of hisfellow general, Karako, has already been noted, retained his post asgovernor of Mimana for twenty-one years, and then (487), ambitious ofwider sway, opened relations with Koma for the joint invasion ofKudara, in order that he himself might ascend the throne of thelatter. A desperate struggle ensued. Several battles were fought, inall of which the victory is historically assigned to Oiwa, but if hereally did achieve any success, it was purely ephemeral, for heultimately abandoned the campaign and returned to Japan, givinganother shock to his country's waning reputation in the peninsula. Ifthe Yamato Court took any steps to punish this act of lawlessambition, there is no record in that sense. The event occurred in thelast year of Kenso's reign, and neither that monarch nor hissuccessor, Ninken, seems to have devoted any special attention toKorean affairs. Nothing notable took place until 509, when Keitai was on the throne. In that year, a section of the Kudara people, who, in 477, had beendriven from their country by the Koma invaders and had taken refugewithin the Japanese dominion of Mimana, were restored to their homeswith Japanese co-operation and with renewal of the friendly relationswhich had long existed between the Courts of Yamato and Kudara. Threeyears later (512), Kudara preferred a singular request. She askedthat four regions, forming an integral part of the Yamato domain ofMimana, should be handed over to her, apparently as an act of purebenevolence. Japan consented. There is no explanation of hercomplaisance except that she deemed it wise policy to strengthenKudara against the growing might of Shiragi, Yamato's perennial foe. The two officials by whose advice the throne made this sacrifice werethe o-muraji, Kanamura, and the governor of Mimana, an omi calledOshiyama. They went down in the pages of history as corrupt statesmenwho, in consideration of bribes from the Kudara Court, surrenderedterritory which Japan had won by force of arms and held for fivecenturies. In the following year (513) the Kudara Court again utilized theservices of Oshiyama to procure possession of another district, Imun(Japanese, Komom), which lay on the northeast frontier of Mimana. Kudara falsely represented that this region had been wrested from herby Habe, one of the petty principalities in the peninsula, and theYamato Court, acting at the counsels of the same o-muraji (Kanamura)who had previously espoused Kudara's cause, credited Kudara's story. This proved an ill-judged policy. It is true that Japan's prestige inthe peninsula received signal recognition on the occasion ofpromulgating the Imperial decree which sanctioned the transfer of thedisputed territory. All the parties to the dispute, Kudara, Shiragi, and Habe, were required to send envoys to the Yamato Court for thepurpose of hearing the rescript read, and thus Japan's pre-eminencewas constructively acknowledged. But her order provoked keenresentment in Shiragi and Habe. The general whom she sent with fivehundred warships to escort the Kudara envoys was ignominiouslydefeated by the men of Habe, while Shiragi seized the opportunity toinvade Mimana and to occupy a large area of its territory. For several years the Yamato Court made no attempt to re-assertitself, but in 527 an expedition of unprecedented magnitude wasorganized. It consisted of sixty thousand soldiers under the commandof Keno no Omi, and its object was to chastise Shiragi and tore-establish Mimana in its original integrity. But here anunforeseeable obstacle presented itself. For all communication withthe Korean peninsula, Tsukushi (Kyushu) was an indispensable basis, and it happened that, just at this time, Kyushu had for ruler(miyatsuko) a nobleman called Iwai, who is said to have longentertained treasonable designs. A knowledge of his mood was conveyedto Shiragi, and tempting proposals were made to him from that placeconditionally on his frustrating the expedition under Keno no Omi. Iwai thereupon occupied the four provinces of Higo, Hizen, Bungo, andBuzen, thus effectually placing his hand on the neck of thecommunications with Korea and preventing the embarkation of Keno noOmi's army. He established a pseudo-Court in Tsukushi and there gaveaudience to tribute-bearing envoys from Koma, Kudara and Shiragi. For the space of a twelvemonth this rebel remained master of thesituation, but, in A. D. 528, the o-muraji, Arakahi, crushed him aftera desperate conflict in the province of Chikugo. * Iwai effected hisescape to Buzen and died by his own hand in a secluded valley. Although, however, this formidable rebellion was thus successfullyquelled, the great expedition did not mature. Keno, its intendedleader, did indeed proceed to Mimana and assume there the duties ofgovernor, but he proved at once arrogant and incompetent, employingto an extravagant degree the ordeal of boiling water, so that manyinnocent people suffered fatally, and putting to death children ofmixed Korean and Japanese parentage instead of encouraging unionswhich would have tended to bring the two countries closer together. *In the Chikugo Fudoki a minute description is given of Iwai'ssepulchre, built during his lifetime but presumably never occupied byhis body. The remarkable feature of the tomb was a number of stoneimages, several representing grave-guards, and one group beingapparently designed to represent the judicial trial of a poacher. In all her relations with Korea at this epoch, Japan showed moreloyalty than sagacity. She was invariably ready to accede toproposals from her old friend, Kudara, and the latter, taking astuteadvantage of this mood, secured her endorsement of territorialtransfers which brought to the Yamato Court nothing but the enmity ofKudara's rivals. By these errors of statesmanship and by themisgovernment of officials like Keno, conditions were created which, as will be seen hereafter, proved ultimately fatal to Japan's sway inthe peninsula. Meanwhile, every student of Japanese ancient annalscannot but be struck by the large space devoted to recording herrelations with Korea. As the eminent historian, Rai Sanyo, said inlater times, her soldiers were wearied by constant campaigns oversea, and her agriculturists were exhausted by frequent requisitions forsupplies. During the epoch of Jingo and Ojin, Japan was palpablyinferior to her peninsular neighbour in civilization, in wealth, andin population. But in one respect the superiority was largely on herside; namely, in the quality of her soldiers. Therefore, she utilizedher military strength for campaigns which cost comparatively littleand produced much. The peninsula, at that time, verified the termcommonly applied to it, Uchi-tsurmiyake, or the "Granary of theHome-land. " But as the material development of Japan and hercivilization progressed, she stood constantly to lose more and gainless by despatching expeditions to a land which squandered much ofits resources on internecine quarrels and was deteriorating bycomparison. The task of maintaining Mimana and succouring Kudara thenbecame an obligation of prestige which gradually ceased to interestthe nation. FINANCE In the period now under consideration no system of land taxation hadyet come into existence. The requirements of the Court were met bythe produce of the mi-agata (Imperial domains), and rice for publicuse was grown in the miyake districts, being there stored and devotedto the administrative needs of the region. Occasionally the contentsof several miyake were collected into one district, as, for example, when (A. D. 536) the Emperor Senkwa ordered a concentration offoodstuffs in Tsukushi. The miyake were the property of the Crown, aswere also a number of hereditary corporations (be), whose membersdischarged duties, from building and repairing palaces--no lighttask, seeing that the site of the palace was changed with each changeof occupant--to sericulture, weaving, tailoring, cooking, and artsand handicrafts of all descriptions, each be exercising its ownfunction from generation to generation, and being superintended byits own head-man (obito or atae). Any insufficiency in the supplies furnished by the sovereign's ownpeople was made good by levying on the tomo-no-miyatsuko. It will beseen that there was no annual tax regularly imposed on the people ingeneral, though universal requisitions were occasionally made to meetthe requirements of public works, festivals or military operations. Hence when it is said that the Emperor Nintoku remitted all taxes forthe space of three years until the people's burdens were lightened, reference is made only to the be and tomobe belonging to the Throneitself. Doubtless this special feature of Yamato finance was due inpart to the fact that all the land and all the people, except thoseappertaining to the Crown, were in the possession of the uji, withoutwhose co-operation no general fiscal measure could be adopted. Whenrecourse to the nation at large was necessitated to meet someexceptional purpose, orders had to be given, first, to the o-omi ando-muraji; next, by these to the Kami of the several o-uji; then, bythe latter to the Kami of the various ko-uji, and, finally, by theselast to every household. The machinery was thorough, but to set it in motion required aneffort which constituted an automatic obstacle to extortion. Thelands and people of the uji were governed by the Emperor but were notdirectly controlled by him. On the other hand, to refuse arequisition made by the Throne was counted contumelious and liable topunishment. Thus when (A. D. 534) the Emperor Ankan desired to includea certain area of arable land in a miyake established for the purposeof commemorating the name of the Empress, and when Ajihari, suzerain(atae) of the region, sought to evade the requisition bymisrepresenting the quality of the land, he was reprimanded and hadto make atonement by surrendering a portion of his private property. There can be no doubt, however, that as the population increased andas uncultivated areas grew less frequent, the arbitrary establishmentof koshiro or of nashiro became more and more irksome, and the pagesof history indicate that from the time of Keitai (A. D. 507-531) thispractice was gradually abandoned. CRIMINAL LAW Although the use of the ideographic script became well known from thefifth century, everything goes to show that no written law existed atthat time, or, indeed, for many years afterwards. Neither are thereany traces of Korean or Chinese influence in this realm. Customprescribed punishments, and the solemnity of a judicial trial foundno better representative than the boiling-water ordeal. If a man tookoath to the deities of his innocence and was prepared to thrust hisarm into boiling mud or water, or to lay a red-hot axe on the palm ofhis hand, he was held to have complied with all the requirements. Thefamiliar Occidental doctrine, "the King can do no wrong, " receivedimperative recognition in Japan, and seems to have been extended tothe Crown Prince also. There were no other exemptions. If a mancommitted a crime, punishment extended to every member of his family. On the other hand, offences might generally be expiated by presentinglands or other valuables to the Throne. As for the duty of executingsentences, it devolved on the mononobe, who may be described as themilitary corporation. Death or exile were common forms of punishment, but degradation was still more frequent. It often meant that afamily, noble and opulent to-day, saw all its members handed overto-morrow to be the serfs or slaves of some uji in whose be they wereenrolled to serve thenceforth, themselves and their children, throughall generations in some menial position, --it might be assepulchre-guards, it might be as scullions. Tattooing on the face was another form of penalty. The first mentionof it occurs in A. D. 400 when Richu condemned the muraji, Hamako, tobe thus branded, but whether the practice originated then or datedfrom an earlier period, the annals do not show. It was variouslycalled hitae-kizamu (slicing the brow), me-saku (splitting the eyes), and so on, but these terms signified nothing worse than tattooing onthe forehead or round the eyes. The Emperor Richu deemed that suchnotoriety was sufficient penalty for high treason, but Yuryakuinflicted tattooing on a man whose dog had killed one of hisMajesty's fowls. Death at the stake appears to have been very uncommon. This terribleform of punishment seems to have been revived by Yuryaku. He causedit to be inflicted on one of the ladies-in-waiting and her paramour, who had forestalled him in the girl's affections. The first instanceis mentioned in the annals of the Empress Jingo, but the victim was aKorean and the incident happened in war. To Yuryaku was reserved theinfamy of employing such a penalty in the case of a woman. Highlyplaced personages were often allowed to expiate an offence byperforming the religious rite of harai (purification), the offenderdefraying all expenses. ARCHITECTURE As Chinese literature became familiar and as the arts of the MiddleKingdom and Korea were imported into Japan, the latter's customsnaturally underwent some changes. This was noticeable in the case ofarchitecture. Lofty buildings, as has been already stated, began totake the place of the partially subterranean muro. The annals make nospecial reference to the authors of this innovation, but it ismentioned that among the descendants of the Chinese, Achi, and theKorean, Tsuka, there were men who practised carpentry. Apparently thefashion of high buildings was established in the reign of Anko when(A. D. 456) the term ro or takadono (lofty edifice) is, for the firsttime, applied to the palace of Anko in Yamato. A few years later(468), we find mention of two carpenters, * Tsuguno and Mita, who, especially the latter, were famous experts in Korean architecture, and who received orders from Yuryaku to erect high buildings. Itappears further that silk curtains (tsumugi-kaki) came into use inthis age for partitioning rooms, and that a species of straw mat(tatsu-gomo) served for carpet when people were hunting, travelling, or campaigning. *It should be remembered that as all Japanese edifices were made oftimber, the carpenter and the architect were one and the same. SHIPS Occasional references have been made already to the art ofshipbuilding in Japan, and the facts elicited may be summed up verybriefly. They are that the first instance of naming a ship isrecorded in the year A. D. 274, when the Karano (one hundred feetlong) was built to order of the Emperor Ojin by the carpenters of Izupromontory, which place was famed for skill in this respect; that thegeneral method of building was to hollow out tree-trunks, * and thatthe arrival of naval architects from Shiragi (A. D. 300) inaugurated asuperior method of construction, differing little from that employedin later ages. *Such dug-outs were named maruki-bune, a distinguishing term whichproves that some other method of building was also employed. VEHICLES A palanquin (koshi) used by the Emperor Ojin (A. D. 270-310) waspreserved in the Kyoto palace until the year 1219, when aconflagration consumed it. The records give no description of it, butthey say that Yuryaku and his Empress returned from a huntingexpedition on a cart (kuruma), and tradition relates that a man namedIsa, a descendant in the eighth generation of the Emperor Sujin, built a covered cart which was the very one used by Yuryaku. It is, indeed, more than probable that a vehicle which had been in use inChina for a long time must have become familiar to the Japanese at anearly epoch. MEDICAL ART For relief in sickness supplication to the gods and the performanceof religious rites were chiefly relied on. But it is alleged* thatmedicines for internal and external use were in existence and thatrecourse to thermal springs was commonly practised from remote times. *By the Nihon Bummei Shiryaku. PICTORIAL ART While Yuryaku was on the throne, Korea and China sent pictorialexperts to Japan. The Korean was named Isuraka, and the Chinese, Shinki. The latter is said to have been a descendant of the EmperorWen of the Wei dynasty. His work attracted much attention in thereign of Muretsu, who bestowed on him the uji title of Ooka no Obito. His descendants practised their art with success in Japan, and fromthe time of the Emperor Tenchi (668-671) they were distinguished asYamato no eshi (painters of Yamato). POETRY If we credit the annals, the composition of poetry commenced in theearliest ages and was developed independently of foreign influences. From the sovereign down to the lowest subject, everyone composedverses. These were not rhymed; the structure of the Japanese languagedoes not lend itself to rhyme. Their differentiation from proseconsisted solely in the numerical regularity of the syllables inconsecutive lines; the alternation of phrases of five and sevensyllables each. A tanka (short song) consisted of thirty-onesyllables arranged thus, 5, 7, 5, 7, and 7; and a naga-uta (longsong) consisted of an unlimited number of lines, all fulfilling thesame conditions as to number of syllables and alternation of phrases. No parallel to this kind of versification has been found yet in theliterature of any other nation. The Chronicles and the Records aboundwith tanka and naga-uta, many of which have been ascribed by skepticsto an age not very remote from the time when those books werecompiled. But the Japanese themselves think differently. They connectthe poems directly with the events that inspired them. Furtherreference to the subject will be made hereafter. Here it will sufficeto note that the composing of such verselets was a feature of everyage in Japan. UTA-GAKI A favourite pastime during the early historic period was known asuta-gaki or uta-kai. In cities, in the country, in fields, and onhills, youths and maidens assembled in springtime or in autumn andenjoyed themselves by singing and dancing. Promises of marriage wereexchanged, the man sending some gifts as a token, and the woman, ifher father or elder brother approved, despatching her head-ornament(oshiki no tamakatsura) to her lover. On the wedding day it wascustomary for the bride to present "table-articles" (tsukue-shiro) tothe bridegroom in the form of food and drink. There were placesspecially associated in the public mind with uta-gaki--TsukubaMountain in Hitachi, Kijima-yama in Hizen, and Utagaki-yama inSettsu. Sometimes men of noble birth took part in this pastime, butit was usually confined to the lower middle classes. The greatfestival of bon-odori, which will be spoken of by and by, is said tobe an outgrowth of the uta-gaki. SUPERSTITIONS No influences of alien character affected the religious beliefs ofthe Japanese during the period we are now considering (fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries). The most characteristic feature of the time wasa belief in the supernatural power of reptiles and animals. Thiscredulity was not limited to the uneducated masses. The Throne itselfshared it. Yuryaku, having expressed a desire to see the incarnatedform of the Kami of Mimoro Mountain, was shown a serpent seventy feetlong. In the same year a group of snakes harrassed a man who wasreclaiming a marsh, so that he had to take arms against them andenter into a compact of limitations and of shrine building. Otherrecords of maleficent deities in serpent shape were current, andmonkeys and dragons inspired similar terror. Of this superstitionthere was born an evil custom, the sacrifice of human beings toappease the hostile spirits. The Kami of Chusan in Mimasaka provincewas believed to be a giant ape, and the Kami of Koya, a big reptile. The people of these two districts took it in turn to offer a girl atthe shrines of those Kami, and in the province of Hida anothercolossal monkey was similarly appeased. There were further cases ofextravagant superstition. ARTS AND CRAFTS Of the development of sericulture and of the arts of weaving andceramics in this era enough has already been written; but, as showingthe growth of refinement, it may be noted that among the articlesordered by the Emperor Yuryaku were a silk hat and a sashiha, orround fan with a long handle. The colour of the fan was purple, andit is said to have been hung up as an ornament in the palace. FORM OF GOVERNMENT The original form of government under the Yamato seems to have beenfeudal. The heads of uji were practically feudal chiefs. Even ordersfrom the Throne had to pass through the uji no Kami in order to reachthe people. But from the time of Nintoku (313-349) to that of Yuryaku(457-479), the Court wielded much power, and the greatest among theuji chiefs found no opportunity to interfere with the exercise of thesovereign's rights. Gradually, however, and mainly owing to theintrusion of love affairs or of lust, the Imperial household fellinto disorder, which prompted the revolt of Heguri, the o-omi of theKwobetsu (Imperial families); a revolt subdued by the loyalty of theo-muraji of the Shimbetsu (Kami families). From the days of the Emperor Muretsu (499-506), direct heirs tosucceed to the sceptre were wanting in more than one instance, and aunique opportunity thus offered for traitrous essays. There was none. Men's minds were still deeply imbued with the conviction that by theTenjin alone might the Throne be occupied. But with the introductionof Buddhism (A. D. 552), that conviction received a shock. That theBuddha directed and controlled man's destiny was a doctrineinconsistent with the traditional faith in the divine authority ofthe "son of heaven. " Hence from the sixth century the prestige of theCrown began to decline, and the puissance of the great uji grew toexceed that of the sovereign. During a short period (645-670) theauthority of the Throne was reasserted, owing to the adoption of theTang systems of China; but thereafter the great Fujiwara-uji becameparamount and practically administered the empire. For the sake, therefore, of an intelligent sequence of conception, there is evidently much importance in determining whether, in remoteantiquity, the prevailing system was feudal, or prefectural, or amixture of both. Unfortunately the materials for accuratedifferentiation are wanting. Much depends on a knowledge of thefunctions discharged by the kuni-no-miyatsuko, who were hereditaryofficials, and the kuni-no-tsukasa (or kokushi) who were appointed bythe Throne. The closest research fails to elucidate these things withabsolute clearness. It is not known even at what date the office ofkokushi was established. The first mention of these officials is madein the year A. D. 374, during the reign of Nintoku, but there can belittle doubt that they had existed from an earlier date. They were, however, few in number, whereas the miyatsuko were numerous, and thiscomparison probably furnishes a tolerably just basis for estimatingthe respective prevalence of the prefectural and the feudal systems. In short, the method of government inaugurated at the foundation ofthe empire appears to have been essentially feudal in practice, though theoretically no such term was recognized; and at a laterperiod--apparently about the time of Nintoku--when the power of thehereditary miyatsuko threatened to grow inconveniently formidable, the device of reasserting the Throne's authority by appointingtemporary provincial governors was resorted to, so that theprefectural organization came into existence side by side with thefeudal, and the administration preserved this dual form until themiddle of the seventh century. There will be occasion to refer to thematter again at a later date. ANNALS OF THE UJI It is essential to an intelligent appreciation of Japanese historythat some knowledge should be acquired of the annals of the greatuji. From the time of Nintoku (A. D. 313-399) until the introduction ofBuddhism (A. D. 552), there were four uji whose chiefs participatedconspicuously in the government of the country. The first was that ofHeguri. It belonged to the Imperial class (Kwobetsu) and wasdescended from the celebrated Takenouchi-no-Sukune. In the days ofthe Emperor Muretsu (499-506), the chief of this uji attempted tousurp the throne and was crushed. The second was the Otomo. This ujibelonged to the Kami class (Shimbetsu) and had for ancestor Michi noOmi, the most distinguished general in the service of the firstEmperor Jimmu. The chiefs of the Otomo-uji filled the post of generalfrom age to age, and its members guarded the palace gates. During thereign of Yuryaku the office of o-muraji was bestowed upon Moroya, then chief of this uji, and the influence he wielded may be inferredfrom the language of an Imperial rescript where it is said that "thetami-be of the o-muraji fill the country. " His son, Kanamura, succeeded him. By his sword the rebellion of Heguri no Matori wasquelled, and by his advice Keitai was called to the Throne. He servedalso under Ankan, Senkwa, and Kimmei, but the miscarriage of Japan'srelations with Korea was attributed to him, and the title of o-murajiwas not conferred on any of his descendants. The uji of Mononobe next calls for notice. "Monono-be" literallysignifies, when expanded, a group (be) of soldiers (tsuwamono). Inlater times a warrior in Japan was called mono-no-fu (or bushi), which is written with the ideographs mono-be. This uji also belongedto the Kami class, and its progenitor was Umashimade, who surrenderedYamato to Jimmu on the ground of consanguinity. Thenceforth themembers of the uji formed the Imperial guards (uchi-tsu-mononobe) andits chiefs commanded them. Among all the uji of the Kami class theMononobe and the Otomo ranked first, and after the latter's failurein connexion with Korea, the Mononobe stood alone. During the reignof Yuryaku, the uji's chief became o-muraji, as did his grandson, Okoshi, and the latter's son, Moriya, was destroyed by the o-omi, Soga no Umako, in the tumult on the accession of Sushun (A. D. 588). The fourth of the great uji was the Soga, descended fromTakenouchi-no-Sukune. After the ruin of the Heguri, this uji stood atthe head of all the Imperial class. In the reign of Senkwa (536-539), Iname, chief of the Soga, was appointed o-omi, and his son, Umako, who held the same rank, occupies an important place in connexion withthe introduction of Buddhism. It will be observed that among thesefour uji, Heguri and Soga served as civil officials and Otomo andMononobe as military. There are also three other uji which figure prominently on the stageof Japanese history. They are the Nakotomi, the Imibe, and the Kume. The Nakatomi discharged the functions of religious supplication anddivination, standing, for those purposes, between (Naka) the Throneand the deities. The Imibe had charge of everything relating toreligious festivals; an office which required that they shouldabstain (imi suru) from all things unclean. The Kume were descendedfrom Amatsu Kume no Mikoto, and their duties were to act aschamberlains and as guards of the Court. Finally, there was the Oga-uji, descended from Okuninushi, whichmakes the eighth of the great uji. From the time of the Emperor Jimmuto that of the Empress Suiko (A. D. 593-628), the nobles who served inministerial capacities numbered forty and of that total the Mononobefurnished sixteen; the Otomo, six; the o-omi houses (i. E. TheKwobetsu), nine; the Imibe, one; the Nakatomi, six; and the Oga, two. Thus, the military uji of Mononobe and Otomo gave to the Statetwenty-two ministers out of forty during a space of some twelvecenturies. ENGRAVING: PROFESSIONAL STORY-TELLER ENGRAVING: SHIGURETEI AND KASA-NO-CHAYA IN THE KODAIJI (Examples ofAncient Tea Houses) CHAPTER XIV FROM THE 29TH TO THE 35TH SOVEREIGN The 29th Sovereign, Kimmei A. D. 540-571 " 30th " Bidatsu " 572-585 " 31st " Yomei " 586-587 " 32nd " Sushun " 588-592 " 33rd " Suiko " 593-628 " 34th " Jomei " 629-641 " 35th " Kogyoku " 642-645 THE seven reigns five Emperors and two Empresses commencing with theEmperor Kimmei and ending with the Empress Kogyoku, covered a periodof 105 years, from 540 to 645, and are memorable on three accounts:the introduction of Buddhism; the usurpation of the great uji, andthe loss of Japan's possessions in Korea. THE INTRODUCTION OF BUDDHISM During the reign of the Emperor Ming of the Hou-Han dynasty, in theyear AD. 65, a mission was sent from China to procure the BuddhistSutras as well as some teachers of the Indian faith. More than threecenturies elapsed before, in the year 372, the creed obtained afooting in Korea; and not for another century and a half did it findits way (522) to Japan. It encountered no obstacles in Korea. Theanimistic belief of the early Koreans has never been clearly studied, but whatever its exact nature may have been, it certainly evinced nobigotry in the presence of the foreign faith, for within three yearsof the arrival of the first image of Sakiya Muni in Koma, two largemonasteries had been built, and the King and his Court were allconverts. No such reception awaited Buddhism in Japan when, in 522, a Chinesebonze, Shiba Tachito, arrived, erected a temple on the Sakata plainin Yamato, enshrined an image, of Buddha there, and endeavoured topropagate the faith. At that time, Wu, the first Emperor of the Liangdynasty in China, was employing all his influence to popularize theIndian creed. Tradition says that Shiba Tachito came from Liang, andin all probability he took the overland route via the Koreanpeninsula, but the facts are obscure. No sensible impression seems tohave been produced in Japan by this essay. Buddhism was made known toa few, but the Japanese showed no disposition to worship a foreigngod. Twenty-three years later (545), the subject attracted attentionagain. Song Wang Myong, King of Kudara, menaced by a crushing attackon the part of Koma and Shiragi in co-operation, made an image of theBuddha, sixteen feet high, and petitioned the Court of Yamato in thesense that as all good things were promised in the sequel of such aneffort, protection should be extended to him by Japan. Tradition saysthat although Buddhism had not yet secured a footing in Yamato, thisimage must be regarded as the pioneer of many similar objectssubsequently set up in Japanese temples. Nevertheless, A. D. 552 is usually spoken of as the date of Buddhism'sintroduction into Japan. In that year the same King of Kudarapresented direct to the Yamato Court a copper image of Buddha platedwith gold; several canopies (tengai), and some volumes of the sacredbooks, by the hands of Tori Shichi (Korean pronunciation, NoriSachhi) and others. The envoys carried also a memorial which said:"This doctrine is, among all, most excellent. But it is difficult toexplain and difficult to understand. Even the Duke Chou and Confuciusdid not attain to comprehension. It can produce fortune andretribution, immeasurable, illimitable. It can transform a man into aBodhi. Imagine a treasure capable of satisfying all desires inproportion as it is used. Such a treasure is this wonderful doctrine. Every earnest supplication is fulfilled and nothing is wanting. Moreover, from farthest India to the three Han, all have embraced thedoctrine, and there is none that does not receive it with reverencewherever it is preached. Therefore thy servant, Myong, in allsincerity, sends his retainer, Nori Sachhi, to transmit it to theImperial country, that it may be diffused abroad throughout the homeprovinces, * so as to fulfil the recorded saying of the Buddha, 'Mylaw shall spread to the East. '"** It is highly probable that in theeffort to win the Yamato Court to Buddhism, King Myong was influencedas much by political as by moral motives. He sought to use theforeign faith as a link to bind Japan to his country, so that hemight count on his oversea neighbour's powerful aid against theattacks of Koma and Shiragi. *That is to say, the Kinai, or five provinces, of which Yamato is thecentre. **The memorial is held by some critics to be of doubtfulauthenticity, though the compilers of the Chronicles may haveinserted it in good faith. A more interesting question, however, is the aspect under which thenew faith presented itself to the Japanese when it first arrivedamong them as a rival of Shinto and Confucianism. There can be nodoubt that the form in which it became known at the outset was theHinayana, or Exoteric, as distinguished from the Mahayana, orEsoteric. But how did the Japanese converts reconcile its acceptancewith their allegiance to the traditional faith, Shinto? The clearestavailable answer to this question is contained in a book calledTaishiden Hochu, where, in reply to a query from his father, Yomei, who professed inability to believe foreign doctrines at variance withthose handed down from the age of the Kami, Prince Shotoku isrecorded to have replied: "Your Majesty has considered only one aspect of the matter. I amyoung and ignorant, but I have carefully studied the teachings ofConfucius and the doctrine of the Kami. I find that there is a plaindistinction. Shinto, since its roots spring from the Kami, came intoexistence simultaneously with the heaven and the earth, and thusexpounds the origin of human beings. Confucianism, being a system ofmoral principles, is coeval with the people and deals with the middlestage of humanity. Buddhism, the fruit of principles, arose when thehuman intellect matured. It explains the last stage of man. To likeor dislike Buddhism without any reason is simply an individualprejudice. Heaven commands us to obey reason. The individual cannotcontend against heaven. Recognizing that impossibility, neverthelessto rely on the individual is not the act of a wise man or anintelligent. Whether the Emperor desire to encourage this creed is amatter within his own will. Should he desire to reject it, let him doso; it will arise one generation later. Should he desire to adopt it, let him do so; it will arise one generation earlier. A generation isas one moment in heaven's eyes. Heaven is eternal. The Emperor'sreign is limited to a generation; heaven is boundless andillimitable. How can the Emperor struggle against heaven? How canheaven be concerned about a loss of time?" The eminent modern Japanese historiographer, Dr. Ariga, is disposedto regard the above as the composition of some one of later date thanthe illustrious Shotoku, but he considers that it rightly representsthe relation assigned to the three doctrines by the Japanese of thesixth and seventh centuries. "Shinto teaches about the origin of thecountry but does not deal with the present or the future. Confucianism discusses the present and has no concern with the pastor the future. Buddhism, alone, preaches about the future. That lifeends with the present cannot be believed by all. Many men think ofthe future, and it was therefore inevitable that many should embraceBuddhism. " But at the moment when the memorial of King Myong was presented tothe Emperor Kimmei, the latter was unprepared to make a definitereply. The image, indeed, he found to be full of dignity, but he lefthis ministers to decide whether it should be worshipped or not. Adivision of opinion resulted. The o-omi, Iname, of the Soga family, advised that, as Buddhism had won worship from all the nations on theWest, Japan should not be singular. But the o-muraji, Okoshi, of theMononobe-uji, and Kamako, muraji of the Nakatomi-uji, counselled thatto bow down to foreign deities would be to incur the anger of thenational gods. In a word, the civil officials advocated the adoptionof the Indian creed; the military and ecclesiastical officialsopposed it. That the head of the Mononobe-uji should have adoptedthis attitude was natural: it is always the disposition of soldiersto be conservative, and that is notably true of the Japanese soldier(bushi). In the case of the Nakatomi, also, we have to remember thatthey were, in a sense, the guardians of the Shinto ceremonials: thus, their aversion to the acceptance of a strange faith is explained. What is to be said, however, of the apparently radical policy of theSoga chief? Why should he have advocated so readily the introductionof a foreign creed? There are two apparent reasons. One is that theHata and Aya groups of Korean and Chinese artisans were under thecontrol of the Soga-uji, and that the latter were therefore disposedto welcome all innovations coming from the Asiatic continent. Theother is that between the o-muraji of the Kami class (Shimbetsu) andthe o-omi of the Imperial class (Kwobetsu) there had existed for sometime a political rivalry which began to be acute at about the periodof the coming of Buddhism, and which was destined to culminate, fortyyears later, in a great catastrophe. The Emperor himself steered amiddle course. He neither opposed nor approved but entrusted theimage to the keeping of the Soga noble. Probably his Majesty was notunwilling to submit the experiment to a practical test vicariously, for it is to be noted that, in those days, the influence of the Kamifor good or for evil was believed to be freely exercised in humanaffairs. This last consideration does not seem to have influenced Soga noIname at all. He must have been singularly free from thesuperstitions of his age, for he not only received the image withpleasure but also enshrined it with all solemnity in his Mukuhararesidence, which he converted wholly into a temple. Very shortly afterwards, however, the country was visited by apestilence, and the calamity being regarded as an expression of theKami's resentment, the o-muraji of the Mononobe and the muraji of theNakatomi urged the Emperor to cast out the emblems of a foreignfaith. Accordingly, the statue of the Buddha was thrown into theNaniwa canal and the temple was burned to the ground. Necessarilythese events sharply accentuated the enmity between the Soga and theMononobe. Twenty-five years passed, however, without any attempt torestore the worship of the Buddha. Iname, the o-omi of the Soga, died; Okoshi, the o-muraji of the Mononobe, died, and they weresucceeded in these high offices by their sons, Umako and Moriya, respectively. When the Emperor Bidatsu ascended the throne in A. D. 572, thepolitical stage was practically occupied by these two ministers only;they had no competitors of equal rank. In 577, the King of Kudaramade a second attempt to introduce Buddhism into Japan. He sent tothe Yamato Court two hundred volumes of sacred books; an ascetic; ayogi (meditative monk); a nun; a reciter of mantras (magic spells); amaker of images, and a temple architect. If any excitement was causedby this event, the annals say nothing of the fact. It is brieflyrelated that ultimately a temple was built for the new-comers inNaniwa (modern Osaka). Two years later, Shiragi also sent a Buddhisteidolon, and in 584--just sixty-two years after the coming of ShibaTachito from Liang and thirty-two years after Soga no Iname's attemptto popularize the Indian faith--two Japanese high officials returnedfrom Korea, carrying with them a bronze image of Buddha and a stoneimage of Miroku. * These two images were handed over, at his request, to the o-omi, Umako, who had inherited his father's ideas aboutBuddhism. He invited Shiba Tachito, then a village mayor, toaccompany one Hida on a search throughout the provinces for Buddhistdevotees. They found a man called Eben, a Korean who had originallybeen a priest, and he, having resumed the stole, consecrated thetwelve-year-old daughter of Shiba Tachito, together with two othergirls, as nuns. The o-omi now built a temple, where the image ofMiroku was enshrined, and a pagoda on the top of whose central pillarwas deposited a Buddhist relic which had shown miraculous powers. *The Sanskrit Maitreya, the expected Messiah of the Buddhist. Thus, once more the creed of Sakiya Muni seemed to have found afooting in Japan. But again the old superstitions prevailed. Theplague of small-pox broke out once more. This fell disease had beencarried from Cochin China by the troops of General Ma Yuan during theHan dynasty, and it reached Japan almost simultaneously with theimportation of Buddhism. The physicians of the East had no skill intreating it, and its ravages were terrible, those that escaped withtheir lives having generally to lament the loss of their eyes. Sosoon as the malady made its second appearance in the immediate sequelof the new honours paid to Buddhism, men began to cry out that theKami were punishing the nation's apostacy, and the o-muraji, Moriya, urged the Emperor (Bidatsu) to authorize the suppression of the alienreligion. Bidatsu, who at heart had always been hostile to theinnovation, consented readily, and the o-muraji, taking upon himselfthe duty of directing the work of iconoclasm, caused the pagoda andthe temple to be razed and burned, threw the image into the canal, and flogged the nuns. But the pestilence was not stayed. Its ravagesgrew more unsparing. The Emperor himself, as well as the o-omi, Umako, were attacked, and now the popular outcry took another tone:men ascribed the plague to the wrath of Buddha. Umako, in turn, pleaded with the Emperor, and was permitted to rebuild the temple andreinstate the nuns, on condition that no efforts were made toproselytize. Thus Buddhism recovered its footing, but the enmity between theo-muraji and the o-omi grew more implacable than ever. They insultedeach other, even at the obsequies of the sovereign, and an occasionalone was needed to convert their anger into an appeal to arms. DISPUTES ABOUT THE ACCESSION When the Emperor Bidatsu died (A. D. 585) no nomination of a PrinceImperial had taken place, and the feud known to exist between theo-omi and the o-muraji increased the danger of the situation. Thefollowing genealogical table will serve to elucidate the relation inwhich the Soga-uji stood to the Imperial Family, as well as therelation between the members of the latter: \ | Prince Shotoku****** / Emperor Yomei** > (married to a daughter / \ | (originally Prince Oe)| of Soga no Umako) |Princess Kitashi| | / |(consort of >< Empress Suiko***** |Emperor Kimmei* | | (originally consort | / | of Emperor Bidatsu***Soga | \ no < |Emperor Kimmei) | | Emperor Sushun**** | / \ | |Omako-Emishi-Iruka \ *The Emperor Kimmei was the elder brother-in-law of Soga no Umako. **The Emperor Yomei was the nephew of Soga no Umako. ***The Emperor Bidatsu was a nephew of Umako. ****The Emperor Sushun was a nephew of Umako. *****The Empress Suiko was a niece of Umako. ******Prince Shotoku was son-in-law of Umako. *******Prince Anahobe was a nephew of Umako. It is thus seen that the great uji of Soga was closely related to allthe Imperial personages who figured prominently on the stage at thisperiod of Japanese history. THE EMPEROR YOMEI The Emperor Yomei was the fourth son of the Emperor Kimmei and anephew of the o-omi, Umako. The Chronicles say that he "believed inthe law of Buddha and reverenced Shinto" which term now makes itsfirst appearance on the page of Japanese history, the Kami alonehaving been spoken of hitherto. Yomei's accession was opposed by hisyounger brother, Prince Anahobe (vide above genealogical table), whohad the support of the o-muraji, Moriya; but the Soga influence wasexerted in Yomei's behalf. Anahobe did not suffer his discomfiturepatiently. He attempted to procure admission to the mourning chamberof the deceased Emperor for some unexplained purpose, and beingresisted by Miwa Sako, who commanded the palace guards, he laid aformal complaint before the o-omi and the o-muraji. In the sequelSako was killed by the troops of the o-muraji, though he meritedrather the latter's protection as a brave soldier who had merely donehis duty, who opposed Buddhism, and who enjoyed the confidence of theEmpress Dowager. To Umako, predicting that this deed of undeservedviolence would prove the beginning of serious trouble, Moriyainsultingly retorted that small-minded men did not understand suchmatters. Moriya's mind was of the rough military type. He did notfathom the subtle unscrupulous intellect of an adversary like Umako, and was destined to learn the truth by a bitter process. SHOTOKU TAISHI Umayado, eldest son of the Emperor Yomei, is one of the mostdistinguished figures in the annals of Japan. He has been well called"the Constantine of Buddhism. " In proof of his extraordinarysagacity, the Chronicles relate that in a lawsuit he could hear theevidence of ten men without confusing them. From his earliest youthhe evinced a remarkable disposition for study. A learned man wasinvited from China to teach him the classics, and priests werebrought from Koma to expound the doctrine of Buddhism, in which faithhe ultimately became a profound believer. In fact, to his influence, more than to any other single factor, may be ascribed the finaladoption of the Indian creed by Japan. He never actually ascended thethrone, but as regent under the Empress Suiko he wielded Imperialauthority. In history he is known as Shotoku Taishi (Prince Shotoku). FINAL STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE MONONOBE AND THE SOGA In the second year of his reign, the Emperor Yomei was seized withthe malady which had killed his father. In his extremity he desiredto be received into the Buddhist faith to which he had alwaysinclined, and he ordered the leading officials to consider thematter. A council was held. Moriya, o-muraji of the Mononobe, andKatsumi, muraji of the Nakatomi, objected resolutely. They asked whythe Kami of the country should be abandoned in a moment of crisis. But Umako, o-omi of the Soga, said: "It is our duty to obey theImperial commands and to give relief to his Majesty. Who will dare tosuggest contumely?" Buddhist priests were then summoned to thepalace. It was a moment of extreme tension. Prince Umayado (Shotoku)grasped the hands of the o-omi and exclaimed, "If the minister hadnot believed in Buddhism, who would have ventured to give suchcounsel?" Umako's answer is said to have been: "Your ImperialHighness will work for the propagation of the faith. I, a humblesubject, will maintain it to the death. " Moriya, the o-muraji, madeno attempt to hide his resentment, but recognizing that his adherentsin the palace were comparatively few, he withdrew to a safe place andthere concentrated his forces, endeavouring, at the same time, toenlist by magic rites the assistance of the Kami against thedisciples of the foreign faith. Meanwhile the Emperor's malady endedfatally. His reign had lasted only one year. At the point of death hewas comforted by an assurance that the son of Shiba Tachito wouldrenounce the world to revere his Majesty's memory and would make animage of the Buddha sixteen feet high. Buddhism had now gained a firm footing at the Yamato Court, but itsopponents were still active. Their leader, the o-muraji, thought thathis best chance of success was to contrive the accession of PrinceAnahobe, whose attempt to take precedence of his elder brother, theEmperor Yomei, has been already noted. The conspiracy was discovered, and the Soga forces, acting under the nominal authority of thedeceased Emperor's consort, Umako's niece, moved against Anahobe andMoriya, who had not been able to combine their strength. Thedestruction of Prince Anahobe was easily effected, but the work ofdealing with the o-muraji taxed the resources of the Soga to theutmost. Moriya himself ascended a tree and by skill of archery heldhis assailants long at bay. Archery had been practised assiduously bythe Yamato warrior from time immemorial, and arrows possessingremarkable power of penetration had been devised. During the reign ofNintoku, when envoys from Koma presented to the Court iron shieldsand iron targets, a Japanese archer, Tatebito, was able to piercethem; and in the time of Yuryaku, a rebel named Iratsuko shot a shaftwhich, passing through his adversary's shield and twofold armour, entered the flesh of his body to the depth of an inch. There was anarchery hall within the enclosure of the palace; whenever envoys orfunctionaries from foreign countries visited Yamato they were invitedto shoot there; frequent trials of skill took place, and when overseasovereigns applied for military aid, it was not unusual to send somebundles of arrows in lieu of soldiers. Thus, the general of the Mononobe, perched among the branches of atree, with an unlimited supply of shafts and with highly trainedskill as a bowman, was a formidable adversary. Moriya and his largefollowing of born soldiers drove back the Soga forces three times. Success seemed to be in sight for the champion of the Kami. At thisdesperate stage Prince Shotoku--then a lad of sixteen--fastened tohis helmet images of the "Four Guardian Kings of Heaven"* and vowedto build a temple in their honour if victory was vouchsafed to hisarms. At the same time, the o-omi, Umako, took oath to dedicatetemples and propagate Buddhism. The combat had now assumed adistinctly religious character. Shotoku and Umako advanced again tothe attack; Moriya was shot down; his family and followers fled, wereput to the sword or sent into slavery, and all his property wasconfiscated. *The "Four Guardian Kings" (Shi-Tenno) are the warriors who guard theworld against the attacks of demons. An incident of this campaign illustrates the character of theJapanese soldier as revealed in the pages of subsequent history: acharacter whose prominent traits were dauntless courage and romanticsympathy. Yorozu, a dependent of the o-muraji, was reduced to thelast straits after a desperate fight. The Chronicles say: "Then hetook the sword which he wore, cut his bow into three pieces, andbending his sword, flung it into the river. With a dagger which hehad besides, he stabbed himself in the throat and died. The governorof Kawachi having reported the circumstances of Yorozu's death to theCourt, the latter gave an order by a stamp* that his body should becut into eight pieces and distributed among the eight provinces. "**In accordance with this order the governor was about to dismember thecorpse when thunder pealed and a great rain fell. "Now there was awhite dog which had been kept by Yorozu. Looking up and looking down, it went round, howling beside the body, and at last, taking up thehead in its mouth, it placed it on an ancient mound, lay down closeby, and starved to death. When this was reported to the Court, thelatter, moved by profound pity, issued an order that the dog'sconduct should be handed down to after ages, and that the kindred ofYorozu should be allowed to construct a tomb and bury his remains. " *A stamp in red or black on the palm of the hand. **This custom of dismembering and distributing the remains waspractised in Korea until the time, at the close of the nineteenthcentury, when the peninsula came under Japanese protection. It wasnever customary in Japan. BUILDING OF TEMPLES After order had been restored, Prince Shotoku fulfilled his vow bybuilding in the province of Settsu a temple dedicated to the FourGuardian Kings of Heaven (Shitenno-ji), and by way of endowment therewere handed over to it one-half of the servants of the o-muraji, together with his house and a quantity of other property. The o-omi, Umako, also erected a temple called Hoko-ji in Asuka near Kara. Ithas been shown above that Soga no Iname converted one of his housesinto a temple to receive the Buddhist image sent by Myong in 552, andthat his son, Umako, erected a temple on the east of his residence toenshrine a stone image of Miroku, in 584. But these two edificespartook largely of the nature of private worship. The first publictemples for the service of Buddhism were Shotoku's Shitenno-ji andUmako's Hoko-ji erected in 587. AMOUNT OF THE O-MURAJI'S PROPERTY In the Annals of Prince Shotoku (Taishi-deri) it is recorded that theparts of the o-muraji's estate with which the temple of the FourKings was endowed were 273 members of his family and household; histhree houses and movable property, together with his domain measuring186, 890 shiro, and consisting of two areas of 128, 640 shiro and58, 250 shiro in Kawachi and Settsu, respectively. The shiro isvariously reckoned at from 5% to 7. 12 tsubo (1 tsubo = 36 squarefeet). Taking the shiro as 6 tsubo, the above three areas total 1000acres approximately. That this represented a part only of theo-muraji's property is held by historians, who point to the fact thatthe o-omi's wife, a younger sister of the o-muraji, incited herhusband to destroy Moriya for the sake of getting possession of hiswealth. THE EMPEROR SUSHUN The deaths of Prince Anahobe and Moriya left the Governmentcompletely in the hands of Soga no Umako. There was no o-muraji; theo-omi was supreme. At his instance the crown was placed upon the headof his youngest nephew, Sushun. But Sushun entertained no friendshipfor Umako nor any feeling of gratitude for the latter's action incontriving his succession to the throne. Active, daring, and astute, he judged the o-omi to be swayed solely by personal ambition, and heplaced no faith in the sincerity of the great official's Buddhistpropaganda. Meanwhile, the fortunes of the new faith prospered. Whenthe dying Emperor, Yomei, asked to be qualified for Nirvana, priestswere summoned from Kudara. They came in 588, the first year ofSushun's reign, carrying relics (sarira), and they were accompaniedby ascetics, temple-architects, metal-founders, potters, and apictorial artist. The Indian creed now began to present itself to the Japanese people, not merely as a vehicle for securing insensibility to suffering inthis life and happiness in the next, but also as a great protagonistof refined progress, gorgeous in paraphernalia, impressive in rites, eminently practical in teachings, and substituting a vivid rainbow ofpositive hope for the negative pallor of Shinto. Men began to adoptthe stole; women to take the veil, and people to visit the hills insearch of timbers suited for the frames of massive temples. Soga noUmako, the ostensible leader of this great movement, grew more andmore arrogant and arbitrary. The youthful Emperor unbosomed himselfto Prince Shotoku, avowing his aversion to the o-omi and hisuncontrollable desire to be freed from the incubus of such aminister. Shotoku counselled patience, but Sushun's impetuosity couldnot brook delay, nor did he reflect that he was surrounded bypartisans of the Soga. A Court lady betrayed his designs to the o-omi, and the latterdecided that the Emperor must be destroyed. An assassin was found inthe person of Koma, a naturalized Chinese, suzerain of the Aya uji, and, being introduced into the palace by the o-omi under pretence ofoffering textile fabrics from the eastern provinces, he killed theEmperor. So omnipotent was the Soga chief that his murderous envoywas not even questioned. He received open thanks from his employerand might have risen to high office had he not debauched a daughterof the o-omi. Then Umako caused him to be hung from a tree and made atarget of his body, charging him with having taken the Emperor'slife. "I knew only that there was an o-omi, " retorted the man. "I didnot know there was an Emperor. " Many others shared Koma's comparativeignorance when the Soga were in power. At the Emperor Yomei's death, only one person honoured his memory by entering the Buddhistpriesthood. When Soga no Umako died, a thousand men received thetonsure. The unfortunate Sushun was interred on the day of hismurder, an extreme indignity, yet no one ventured to protest; andeven Prince Shotoku, while predicting that the assassin wouldultimately suffer retribution, justified the assassination on theground that previous misdeeds had deserved it. Shotoku's conduct on this occasion has inspired much censure andsurprise when contrasted with his conspicuous respect for virtue inall other cases. But the history of the time requires intelligentexpansion. Cursory reading suggests that Umako's resolve to killSushun was taken suddenly in consequence of discovering the latter'sangry mood. The truth seems to be that Sushun was doomed from themoment of his accession. His elder brother had perished at the handsof Umako's troops, and if he himself did not meet the same fate, absence of plausible pretext alone saved him. To suffer him to reign, harbouring, as he must have harboured, bitter resentment against hisbrother's slayer, would have been a weakness inconsistent withUmako's character. Sushun was placed on the throne as a concession toappearance, but, at the same time, he was surrounded with creaturesof the o-omi, so that the latter had constant cognizance of thesovereign's every word and act. When the o-omi judged the time fitting, he proposed to the Emperorthat an expedition should be despatched to recover Mimana, which hadbeen lost to Japan some time previously. An army of twenty thousandmen, commanded by a majority of the omi and muraji, was sent toTsukushi, and all potential opponents of the Soga chief having beenthus removed, he proceeded to carry out his design against theEmperor's life. The very indignity done to Sushun's remains testifiesthe thoroughness of the Soga plot. It has been shown that in earlydays the erection of a tomb for an Imperial personage was a heavytask, involving much time and labour. Pending the completion of thework, the corpse was put into a coffin and guarded day and night, forwhich purpose a separate palace was* erected. When the sepulchre hadbeen fully prepared, the remains were transferred thither withelaborate ceremonials, ** and the tomb was thenceforth under the careof guardians (rioko). *Called Araki-no-miya, or the "rough palace. " The interval duringwhich time the coffin remained there was termed kari-mo-gari, or"temporary mourning. " **Known as kakushi-matsuri, or the "rite of hiding. " It would seemthat the term of one year's mourning prescribed in the case of aparent had its origin in the above arrangement. All these observances were dispensed with in the case of the EmperorSushun. His remains did not receive even the measure of respect thatwould have been paid to the corpse of the commonest among hissubjects. Nothing could indicate more vividly the omnipotence of theo-omi; everything had been prepared so that his partisans could burythe body almost before it was cold. Had Prince Shotoku protested, hewould have been guilty of the futility described by a Chinese proverbas "spitting at the sky. " Besides, Shotoku and Umako were alliesotherwise. The Soga minister, in his struggle with the militaryparty, had needed the assistance of Shotoku, and had secured it bycommunity of allegiance to Buddhism. The prince, in his projectedstruggle against the uji system, needed the assistance of Buddhistdisciples in general, and in his effort to reach the throne, neededthe assistance of Umako in particular. In short, he was building theedifice of a great reform, and to have pitted himself, at the age ofnineteen, against the mature strength of the o-omi would have been toperish on the threshold of his purpose. THE EMPRESS SUIKO By the contrivance of Umako, the consort of the Emperor Bidatsu wasnow placed on the throne, Prince Shotoku being nominated PrinceImperial and regent. The Soga-uji held absolute power in everydepartment of State affairs. THE CONSTITUTION OF SHOTOKU One of the most remarkable documents in Japanese annals is theJushichi Kempo, or Seventeen-Article Constitution, compiled byShotoku Taishi in A. D. 604. It is commonly spoken of as the firstwritten law of Japan. But it is not a body of laws in the propersense of the term. There are no penal provisions, nor is there anyevidence of promulgation with Imperial sanction. The seventeenarticles are simply moral maxims, based on the teachings of Buddhismand Confucianism, and appealing to the sanctions of conscience. Prince Shotoku, in his capacity of regent, compiled them and issuedthem to officials in the guise of "instructions. " I. Harmony is to be valued, and the avoidance of wanton oppositionhonoured. All men are swayed by class feeling and few areintelligent. Hence some disobey their lords and fathers or maintainfeuds with neighbouring villages. But when the high are harmoniousand the low friendly, and when there is concord in the discussion ofaffairs, right views spontaneously find acceptance. What is therethat cannot be then accomplished? II. Reverence sincerely the Three Treasures--Buddha, the Law, and thePriesthood--for these are the final refuge of the Four GeneratedBeings* and the supreme objects of faith in all countries. What manin what age can fail to revere this law? Few are utterly bad: theymay be taught to follow it. But if they turn not to the ThreeTreasures, wherewithal shall their crookedness be made straight? *Beings produced in transmigration by the four processes of beingborn from eggs, from a womb, from fermentation, or frommetamorphosis. III. When you receive the Imperial Commands fail not to obeyscrupulously. The lord is Heaven; the vassal, Earth. Heavenoverspreads; Earth upbears. When this is so, the four seasons followtheir due course, and the powers of Nature develop their efficiency. If the Earth attempt to overspread, Heaven falls in ruin. Hence whenthe lord speaks, the vassal hearkens; when the superior acts, theinferior yields compliance. When, therefore, you receive an ImperialCommand, fail not to carry it out scrupulously. If there be want orcare in this respect, a catastrophe naturally ensues. IV. Ministers and functionaries should make decorous behavior theirguiding principle, for decorous behavior is the main factor ingoverning the people. If superiors do not behave with decorum, inferiors are disorderly; if inferiors are wanting in properbehaviour, offences are inevitable. Thus it is that when lord andvassal behave with propriety, the distinctions of rank are notconfused; and when the people behave with propriety, the governmentof the State proceeds of itself. V. Refraining from gluttony and abandoning covetous desires, dealimpartially with the suits brought before you. Of complaintspreferred by the people there are a thousand in one day: how many, then, will there be in a series of years? Should he that decidessuits at law make gain his ordinary motive and hear causes with aview to receiving bribes, then will the suits of the rich man be likea stone flung into water, * while the plaints of the poor willresemble water cast on a stone. In such circumstances, the poor manwill not know whither to betake himself, and the duty of a ministerwill not be discharged. *That is to say, they will encounter no opposition. VI. Chastise that which is evil and encourage that which is good. This was the excellent rule of antiquity. Conceal not, therefore, thegood qualities of others, and fail not to correct that which is wrongwhen you see it. Flatterers and deceivers are a sharp weapon for theoverthrow of the State, and a pointed sword for the destruction ofthe people. Sycophants are also fond, when they meet, of dilating totheir superiors on the errors of their inferiors; to their inferiors, they censure the faults of their superiors. Men of this kind are allwanting in fidelity to their lord, and in benevolence towards thepeople. From such an origin great civil disturbances arise. VII. Let every man have his own charge, and let not the spheres ofduty be confused. When wise men are entrusted with office, the soundof praise arises. If unprincipled men hold office, disasters andtumults are multiplied. In this world, few are born with knowledge:wisdom is the product of earnest meditation. In all things, whethergreat or small, find the right man, and they will surely be wellmanaged: on all occasions, be they urgent or the reverse, meet withbut a wise man and they will of themselves be amenable. In this waywill the State be eternal and the Temples of the Earth and of Grain*will be free from danger. Therefore did the wise sovereigns ofantiquity seek the man to fill the office, and not the office for thesake of the man. *A Chinese expression for the Imperial house. VIII. Let the ministers and functionaries attend the Court early inthe morning, and retire late. The business of the State does notadmit of remissness, and the whole day is hardly enough for itsaccomplishment. If, therefore, the attendance at Court is late, emergencies cannot be met: if officials retire soon, the work cannotbe completed. IX. Good faith is the foundation of right. In everything let there begood faith, for in it there surely consists the good and the bad, success and failure. If the lord and the vassal observe good faithone with another, what is there which cannot be accomplished? If thelord and the vassal do not observe good faith towards one another, everything without exception ends in failure. X. Let us cease from wrath, and refrain from angry looks. Nor let usbe resentful when others differ from us. For all men have hearts, andeach heart has its own leanings. Their right is our wrong, and ourright is their wrong. We are not unquestionably sages nor are theyunquestionably fools. Both of us are simply ordinary men. How cananyone lay down a rule by which to distinguish right from wrong? Forwe are all, one with another, wise and foolish like a ring which hasno end. Therefore, although others give way to anger, let us, on thecontrary, dread our own faults, and though we alone may be in theright, let us follow the multitude and act like them. XI. Give clear appreciation to merit and demerit, and deal out toeach its sure reward or punishment. In these days, reward does notattend upon merit, nor punishment upon crime. Ye high functionarieswho have charge of public affairs, let it be your task to make clearrewards and punishments. XII. Let not the provincial authorities or the kuni no miyatsuko levyexactions on the people. In a country there are not two lords; thepeople have not two masters. The sovereign is the master of thepeople of the whole country. The officials to whom he gives chargeare all his vassals. How can they, as well as the Government, presumeto levy taxes on the people? XIII. Let all persons entrusted with office attend equally to theirfunctions. Owing to illness or despatch on missions their work maysometimes be neglected. But whenever they are able to attend tobusiness, let them be as accommodating as though they had cognizanceof it from before, and let them not hinder public affairs on thescore of not having had to do with them. XIV. Ministers and functionaries, be not envious. If we envy others, they, in turn, will envy us. The evils of envy know no limit. Ifothers excel us in intelligence, it gives us no pleasure; if theysurpass us in ability, we are envious. Therefore it is not untilafter the lapse of five hundred years that we at last meet with awise man, and even in a thousand years we hardly obtain one sage. Butif wise men and sages be not found, how shall the country begoverned? XV. To turn away from that which is private and to set one's facetowards that which is public this is the path of a minister. If a manis influenced by private motives, he will assuredly feel resentment;if he is influenced by resentment, he will assuredly fail to actharmoniously with others; if he fails to act harmoniously withothers, he will assuredly sacrifice the public interest to hisprivate feelings. When resentment arises, it interferes with orderand is subversive of law. Therefore, in the first clause it was saidthat superiors and inferiors should agree together. The purport isthe same as this. XVI. Let the employment of the people in forced labour be atseasonable times. This is an ancient and excellent rule. Let them beemployed, therefore, in the winter months when they have leisure. Butfrom spring to autumn, when they are engaged in agriculture or withthe mulberry trees, the people should not be employed. For if they donot attend to agriculture, what will they have to eat? If they do notattend to the mulberry trees, what will they do for clothing? XVII. Decisions on important matters should not be rendered by oneperson alone: they should be discussed by many. But small mattersbeing of less consequence, need not be consulted about by a number ofpeople. It is only in the discussion of weighty affairs, when thereis an apprehension of miscarriage, that matters should be arranged inconcert with others so as to arrive at the right conclusion. * *The above is taken almost verbatim from Aston's translation of theNihongi. For a document compiled at the beginning of the seventh century theseseventeen ethical precepts merit much approbation. With the exceptionof the doctrine of expediency, enunciated at the close of the tentharticle, the code of Shotoku might be taken for guide by anycommunity in any age. But the prince as a moral reformer* cannot becredited with originality; his merit consists in having studiedConfucianism and Buddhism intelligently. The political purport of hiscode is more remarkable. In the whole seventeen articles there isnothing to inculcate worship of the Kami or observance of Shintorites. Again, whereas, according to the Japanese creed, the sovereignpower is derived from the Imperial ancestor, the latter is nowherealluded to. The seventh article makes the eternity of the State andthe security of the Imperial house depend upon wise administration bywell-selected officials, but says nothing of hereditary rights. Howis such a vital omission to be interpreted, except on the suppositionthat Shotoku, who had witnessed the worst abuses incidental to thehereditary system of the uji, intended by this code to enter a solemnprotest against that system? *It is a curious fact that tradition represents this prince as havingbeen born at the door of a stable. Hence his original name, Umayado(Stable-door). Further, the importance attached to the people* is a very prominentfeature of the code. Thus, in Article IV, it is stated that "when thepeople behave with propriety the government of the State proceeds ofitself;" Article V speaks of "complaints preferred by the people;"Article VI refers to "the overthrow of the State" and "thedestruction of the people;" Article VII emphasises "the eternity ofthe State;" that "the sovereign is the master of the people of thewhole country;" that "the officials to whom he gives charge are allhis vassals, " and that these officials, whether miyatsuko orprovincial authorities, must not "presume, as well as the Government, to levy taxes on the people. " All those expressions amount to adistinct condemnation of the uji system, under which the only peopledirectly subject to the sovereign were those of the minashiro, andthose who had been naturalized or otherwise specially assigned, allthe rest being practically the property of the uji, and the onlylands paying direct taxes to the Throne were the domains of themiyake. *The word used is hyakusho, which ultimately came to be applied tofarmers only. Forty-two years later (A. D. 646), the abolition of private propertyin persons and lands was destined to become the policy of the State, but its foundations seem to have been laid in Shotoku's time. Itwould be an error to suppose that the neglect of Shinto suggested bythe above code was by any means a distinct feature of the era, oreven a practice of the prince himself. Thus, an Imperial edict, published in the year 607, enjoined that there must be no remissnessin the worship of the Kami, and that they should be sincerelyreverenced by all officials, In the sequel of this edict PrinceShotoku himself, the o-omi, and a number of functionaries worshippedthe Kami of heaven and of earth. In fact, Shotoku, for all hisenthusiasm in the cause of Buddhism, seems to have shrunk fromanything like bigoted exclusiveness. He is quoted* as saying: "Themanagement of State affairs cannot be achieved unless it is based onknowledge, and the sources of knowledge are Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shinto. "** He who inclines to one of these three, must study theother two also; for what one knows seems reasonable, but that ofwhich one is ignorant appears unreasonable. Therefore anadministrator of public affairs should make himself acquainted withall three and should not affect one only, for such partialitysignifies maladministration. *In the Sankyo-ron. **The order of this enumeration is significant. DEATH OF SHOTOKU TAISHI Prince Shotoku died in the year 621. The Records do not relateanything of his illness: they say merely that he foresaw the day andhour of his own death, and they say also that when the Buddhistpriest, Hyecha of Koma, who had instructed the prince in the "innerdoctrine, " learned of his decease, he also announced hisdetermination to die on the same day of the same month in thefollowing year so as "to meet the prince in the Pure Land and, together with him, pass through the metempsychosis of all livingcreatures. " The last months of Shotoku's life were devoted to compiling, inconcert with the o-omi Umako, "a history of the Emperors; a historyof the country, and the original record of the omi, the muraji, thetomo no miyatsuko, the kuni no miyatsuko, the 180 be, and the freesubjects. " This, the first Japanese historical work, was completed inthe year 620. It was known afterwards as the Kujihongi, andtwenty-five years later (645) when--as will presently be seen--theexecution of the Soga chief took place, the book was partiallyconsumed by fire. Yet that it had not suffered beyond the possibilityof reconstruction, and that it survived in the Ko-jiki was neverdoubted until the days (1730-1801) of "the prince of Japaneseliterati, " Motoori Norinaga. The question of authenticity is stillunsettled. Shotoku's name is further connected with calendar making, though noparticulars of his work in that line are on record. Japanesehistorians speak of him as the father of his country's civilization. They say that he breathed life into the nation; that he raised thestatus of the Empire; that he laid the foundations of Japaneselearning; that he fixed the laws of decorum; that he imparted a newcharacter to foreign relations, and that he was an incarnation of theBuddha, specially sent to convert Japan. The Chronicles say that athis death nobles and commoners alike, "the old, as if they had lost adear child, the young, as if they had lost a beloved parent, filledthe ways with the sound of their lamenting. " THE SPREAD OF BUDDHISM AND THE CONTROL OF ITS PRIESTS The roots of Japanese Buddhism were watered with blood, as have beenthe roots of so many religions in so many countries. From the day ofthe destruction of the military party under the o-muraji Moriya, theforeign faith flourished. Then--as has been shown--were built thefirst two great temples, and then, for the first time, a Buddhistplace of worship was endowed* with rich estates and an ample numberof serfs to till them. Thenceforth the annals abound with referencesto the advent of Buddhist priests from Korea, bearing relics orimages. The omi and the muraji vied with each other in erectingshrines, and in 605, we find the Empress Suiko commanding all highdignitaries of State to make 16-foot images of copper** and ofembroidery. Buddhist festivals were instituted in 606, and theirmagnificence, as compared with the extreme simplicity of the Shintorites, must have deeply impressed the people. In a few decadesBuddhism became a great social power, and since its priests and nunswere outside the sphere of ordinary administration, the question oftheir control soon presented itself. It became pressing in 623 when apriest killed his grandfather with an axe. The Empress Suiko, who wasthen on the throne, would have subjected the whole body of priestsand nuns to judicial examination, a terrible ordeal in those days oftorture; but at the instance of a Korean priest, officialscorresponding to bishops (sojo), high priests (sozu) and abbots(hotto) were appointed from the ranks of Buddhism, and the duty ofprescribing law and order was entrusted to them. This involvedregistration of all the priesthood, and it was thus found (623) thatthe temples numbered 46; the priests 816, and the nuns 569. *The endowment of religious edifices was not new in Japan. Aconspicuous instance was in A. D. 487, when rice-fields were dedicatedto the Moon god and to the ancestor of the Sun goddess. **The metal employed was of gold and copper; in the proportion of onepart of the former to 430 of the latter. It is related that whenthese images were completed, the temple door proved too low to admitthem, and the artisan--Tori the Saddle-maker--whose ingenuityovercame the difficulty without pulling down the door, received largehonour and reward. INTERCOURSE WITH CHINA That not a few Chinese migrated to Japan in remote times is clear. The Records show that in the year A. D. 540, during the reign ofKimmei, immigrants from Tsin and Han were assembled and registered, when their number was found to be 7053 households. The terms "Tsin"and "Han" refer to Chinese dynasties of those names, whose swaycovered the period between 255 B. C. And A. D. 419. Hence theexpression is too vague to suggest any definite idea of the advent ofthose settlers; but the story of some, who came through Korea, hasalready been traced. It was in A. D. 552, during the reign of thissame Kimmei, that Buddhism may be said to have found a home in Japan. China was then under the sceptre of the Liang dynasty, whose firstsovereign, Wu, had been such an enthusiastic Buddhist that heabandoned the throne for a monastery.. Yet China took no direct partin introducing the Indian faith to Japan, nor does it appear thatfrom the fourth century A. D. Down to the days of Shotoku Taishi, Japan thought seriously of having recourse to China as thefountain-head of the arts, the crafts, the literature, and the moralcodes which she borrowed during the period from Korea. Something of this want of enterprise may have been attributable tothe unsettled state of China's domestic politics; something to thewell-nigh perpetual troubles between Japan and Korea--troubles whichnot only taxed Japan's resources but also blocked the sole route bywhich China was then accessible, namely, the route through Korea. Butwhen the Sui dynasty (A. D. 589-619) came to the Chinese throne, itsfounder, the Emperor Wen, on the one hand, devoted himself toencouraging literature and commerce; and on the other, threw Koreaand Japan into a ferment by invading the former country at the headof a huge army. * This happened when Shotoku Taishi was in hissixteenth year, and though the great expedition proved abortive foraggressive purposes, it brought China into vivid prominence, and whennews reached Japan of extensions of the Middle Kingdom's territoriesunder Wen's successor, the Japanese Crown Prince determined to opendirect intercourse with the Sui Court; not only for literary andreligious purposes, but also to study the form of civilization whichthe whole Orient then revered. This resolve found practicalexpression in the year 607, when the omi Imoko was sent as envoy tothe Sui Court, a Chinese of the Saddlers' Corporation, by nameFukuri, being attached to him in the capacity of interpreter. Chinareceived these men hospitably and sent an envoy of her own, with asuite of twelve persons, to the Yamato sovereign in the followingyear. *Reputed to have mustered 300, 000 strong. The annals contain an instructive description of the ceremonyconnected with the reception of this envoy in Japan. He was met inTsukushi (Kyushu) by commissioners of welcome, and was conductedthence by sea to Naniwa (now Osaka), where, at the mouth of theriver, thirty "gaily-decked" boats awaited him, and he and his suitewere conducted to a residence newly built for the occasion. Six weekslater they entered the capital, after a message of welcome had beendelivered to them by a muraji. Seventy-five fully caparisoned horseswere placed at their disposal, and after a further rest of nine days, the envoy's official audience took place. He did not see the Empress'face. Her Majesty was secluded in the hall of audience to which onlythe principal ministers were admitted. Hence the ceremony may be saidto have taken place in the court-yard. There the gifts brought by theenvoy were ranged, and the envoy himself, introduced by two highofficials, advanced to the front of the court, made obeisance twice, and, kneeling, declared the purport of his mission. The despatchcarried by him ran as follows: The Emperor greets the sovereign of Wa. * Your envoy and his suitehave arrived and have given us full information. We, by the grace ofheaven, rule over the universe. It is Our desire to diffuse abroadour civilizing influence so as to cover all living things, and Oursentiment of loving nurture knows no distinction of distance. Now Welearn that Your Majesty, dwelling separately beyond the sea, bestowsthe blessings of peace on Your subjects; that there is tranquillitywithin Your borders, and that the customs and manners are mild. Withthe most profound loyalty You have sent Us tribute from afar, and Weare delighted at this admirable token of Your sincerity. Our healthis as usual, notwithstanding the increasing heat of the weather. Therefore We have sent Pei Shieh-ching, Official Entertainer of theDepartment charged with the Ceremonial for the Reception of ForeignAmbassadors, and his suite, to notify to you the preceding. We alsotransmit to you the products of which a list is given separately. ** *It has already been stated that Japan was generally known in Chinaand Korea by the term "Wa, " which, being written with an ideographsignifying "dwarf" or "subservient, " was disliked by the Japanese. The envoy sent from Yamato in 607 was instructed to ask for thesubstitution of Nippon (Place of Sunrise), but the Sui sovereigndeclined to make the change and Japan did not receive the designation"Nippon" in China until the period Wu Teh (A. D. 618-626) of the Tangdynasty. It is not certain at what time exactly the Japanesethemselves adopted this nomenclature, but it certainly was before theseventh century. **Translated by Aston in the Nihongi. When the reading of the document was concluded, a high noble steppedforward, took it from the envoy's hands and advanced with it towardsthe audience-hall, from which another noble came out to meet him, received the letter, deposited it on a table before the chiefentrance, and then reported the facts to the Empress. This ended theceremony. The haughty condescension of the Chinese despatch does notappear to have offended the Japanese, nor did they cavil at theomission of one important ideograph from the title applied to theirEmpress. China's greatness seems to have been fully recognized. When, a month later, the envoy took his departure, the same Imoko wasdeputed to accompany him, bearing a despatch* in which, to China'ssimple "greeting, " Japan returned a "respectful address;" to China'sexpression of ineffable superiority Japan replied that the coming ofthe embassy had "dissolved her long-harboured cares;" and to China'sgrandiloquent prolixity Japan made answer with half a dozen brieflines. Imoko was now accompanied by eight students four of literatureand four of religion. Thus was established, and for long afterwardsmaintained, a bridge over which the literature, arts, ethics, andphilosophies of China were copiously imported into Japan. *In this despatch Japan called herself "the place where the sun comesforth, " and designated China as "the place where the sun sets. " Theidea, doubtless, was merely to distinguish between east and west, butthe Sui sovereign resented the diction of this "barbarian letter. " RANKS It will be recognized by considering the uji system that while manytitles existed in Japan, there was practically no promotion. A manmight be raised to uji rank. Several instances of that kind have beennoted, especially in the case of foreign artists or artisansmigrating to the island from Korea or China. But nothing higher waswithin reach, and for the hereditary Kami of an uji no reward offeredexcept a gift of land, whatever services he might render to theState. Such a system could not but tend to perfunctoriness in thedischarge of duty. Perception of this defect induced the regent, Shotoku, to import from China (A. D. 603) the method of officialpromotion in vogue under the Sui dynasty and to employ caps asinsignia of rank. * Twelve of such grades were instituted, and theterminology applied to them was based on the names of six moralqualities--virtue, benevolence, propriety, faith, justice, andknowledge--each comprising two degrees, "greater" and "lesser. " Thecaps were made of sarcenet, a distinctive colour for each grade, thecap being gathered upon the crown in the shape of a bag with a borderattached. The three highest ranks of all were not included in thiscategory. *In China to-day the distinguishing mark is a button of varyingmaterial fastened on the top of the cap. THE EMPEROR JOMEI AND THE EMPRESS KOGYOKU In the year 626, the omnipotent Soga chief, the o-omi Umako, died. His brief eulogy in the Chronicles is that he had "a talent formilitary tactics, " was "gifted with eloquence, " and deeply reverenced"the Three Precious Things" (Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha). In thecourt-yard of his residence a pond was dug with a miniature island inthe centre, and so much attention did this innovation attract thatthe great minister was popularly called Shima (island) no o-omi. Hisoffice of o-omi was conferred on his son, Emishi, who behaved witheven greater arrogance and arbitrariness than his father had shown. The Empress Suiko died in 628, and the question of the accession atonce became acute. Two princes were eligible; Tamura, grandson of theEmperor Bidatsu, and Yamashiro, son of Shotoku Taishi. PrinceYamashiro was a calm, virtuous, and faithful man. He statedexplicitly that the Empress, on the eve of her demise, had nominatedhim to be her successor. But Prince Tamura had the support of theo-omi, Emishi, whose daughter he admired. No one ventured to opposethe will of the Soga chieftain except Sakaibe no Marise, and he withhis son were ruthlessly slain by the orders of the o-omi. Prince Tamura then (629) ascended the throne--he is known in historyas Jomei--but Soga no Emishi virtually ruled the empire. Jomei diedin 641, after a reign of twelve years, and by the contrivance ofEmishi the sceptre was placed in the hands of an Empress, Kogyoku, agreat-granddaughter of the Emperor Bidatsu, the claims of the son ofShotoku Taishi being again ignored. One of the first acts of the newsovereign was to raise Emishi to the rank held by his father, therank of o-omi, and there then came into prominence Emishi's son, Iruka, who soon wielded power greater than even that possessed by hisfather. Iruka's administration, however, does not appear to have beenaltogether unwholesome. The Chronicles say that "thieves and robberswere in dread of him, and that things dropped on the highway were notpicked up. " But Emishi rendered himself conspicuous chiefly by apingImperial state. He erected an ancestral temple; organizedperformances of a Chinese dance (yatsura) which was essentially anImperial pageant; levied imposts on the people at large for theconstruction of tombs--one for himself, another for his son, Iruka--which were openly designated misasagi (Imperial sepulchres);called his private residence mikado (sacred gate); conferred on hischildren the title of miko (august child), and exacted forced labourfrom all the people of the Kamutsumiya estate, which belonged to theShotoku family. This last outrage provoked a remonstrance from Shotoku Taishi'sdaughter, and she was thenceforth reckoned among the enemies of theSoga. One year later (643), this feud ended in bloodshed. Emishi'susurpation of Imperial authority was carried so far that he did nothesitate to confer the rank of o-omi on his son, Iruka, and upon thelatter's younger brother also. Iruka now conceived the design ofplacing upon the throne Prince Furubito, a son of the Emperor Jomei. It will be remembered that the Soga chief, Emishi, had lent hisomnipotent influence to secure the sceptre for Jomei, because of thelatter's affection for Emishi's daughter. This lady, having becomeone of Jomei's consorts, had borne to him Prince Furubito, who wasconsequently Iruka's uncle. Iruka determined that the prince shouldsucceed the Empress Kogyoku. To that end it was necessary to removethe Shotoku family, against which, as shown above, the Soga had alsoa special grudge. Not even the form of devising a protest wasobserved. Orders were simply issued to a military force that theShotoku house should be extirpated. Its representative was PrinceYamashiro, the same who had effaced himself so magnanimously at thetime of Jomei's accession. He behaved with ever greater nobility onthis occasion. Having by a ruse escaped from the Soga troops, he wasurged by his followers to flee to the eastern provinces, and thereraising an army, to march back to the attack of the Soga. There is reason to think that this policy would have succeeded. Butthe prince replied: "I do not wish it to be said by after generationsthat, for my sake, anyone has mourned the loss of a father or amother. Is it only when one has conquered in battle that one is to becalled a hero? Is he not also a hero who has made firm his country atthe expense of his own life?" He then returned to the temple atIkaruga, which his father had built, and being presently besiegedthere by the Soga forces, he and the members of his family, twenty-three in all, committed suicide. This tragedy shocked evenEmishi. He warned Iruka against the peril of such extreme measures. ENGRAVING: FUJIWARA KAMATAKI There now appears a statesman destined to leave his name indeliblywritten on the pages of Japanese history, Kamatari, muraji of theNakatomi-uji. The Nakatomi's functions were specially connected withShinto rites, and Kamatari must be supposed to have entertainedlittle good-will towards the Soga, who were the leaders of theBuddhist faction, and whose feud with the military party sixty-sevenyears previously had involved the violent death of Katsumi, then(587) muraji of the Nakatomi. Moreover, Kamatari makes his firstappearance in the annals as chief Shinto official. Nevertheless, itis not apparent that religious zeal or personal resentment wasprimarily responsible for Kamatari's determination to compass theruin of the Soga. Essentially an upright man and a loyal subject, heseems to have been inspired by a frank resolve to protect the Throneagainst schemes of lawless ambitions, unconscious that his ownfamily, the Fujiwara, were destined to repeat on a still larger scalethe same abuses. The succession may be said to have had three aspirants at that time:first, Prince Karu, younger brother of the Empress Kogyoku; secondly, Prince Naka, her son, and thirdly, Prince Furubito, uncle of Soga noIruka. The last was, of course, excluded from Kamatari'scalculations, and as between the first two he judged it wiser thatPrince Karu should have precedence in the succession, Prince Naka notbeing old enough. The conspiracy that ensued presents no speciallyremarkable feature. Kamatari and Prince Naka became acquaintedthrough an incident at the game of football, when the prince, havingaccidently kicked off his shoe, Kamatari picked it up and restored itto him on bended knee. The two men, in order to find secretopportunities for maturing their plans, became fellow students of thedoctrines of Chow and Confucius under the priest Shoan, who had beenamong the eight students that accompanied the Sui envoy on his returnto China in the year 608. Intimate relations were cemented with a section of the Soga throughKurayamada, whose daughter Prince Naka married, and trustworthyfollowers having been attached to the prince, the conspiratorswatched for an occasion. It was not easy to find one. The Sogamansion, on the eastern slope of Mount Unebi, was a species offortress, surrounded by a moat and provided with an armoury havingample supply of bows and arrows. Emishi, the o-omi, always had aguard of fifty soldiers when he went abroad, and Iruka, his son, worea sword "day and night. " Nothing offered except to convert the palaceitself into a place of execution. On the twelfth day of the sixthmonth, 645, the Empress held a Court in the great hall of audience toreceive memorials and tribute from the three kingdoms of Korea. Allpresent, except her Majesty and Iruka, were privy to the plot. Irukahaving been beguiled into laying aside his sword, the reading of thememorials was commenced by Kurayamada, and Prince Naka ordered thetwelve gates to be closed simultaneously. At that signal, twoswordsmen should have advanced and fallen upon Iruka; but they showedthemselves so timorous that Prince Naka himself had to lead them tothe attack. Iruka, severely wounded, struggled to the throne andimplored for succour and justice; but when her Majesty in terrorasked what was meant, Prince Naka charged Iruka with attempting tousurp the sovereignty. The Empress, seeing that her own son led theassassins, withdrew at once, and the work of slaughtering Iruka wascompleted, his corpse being thrown into the court-yard, where it laycovered with straw matting. Prince Naka and Karaatari had not been so incautious as to take awide circle of persons into their confidence. But they wereimmediately joined by practically all the nobility and highofficials, and the o-omi's troops having dispersed without striking ablow, Emishi and his people were all executed. The Empress Kogyoku atonce abdicated in favour of her brother, Prince Kara, her son, PrinceNaka, being nominated Prince Imperial. Her Majesty had worn thepurple for only three years. All this was in accord with Kamatari'scarefully devised plans. They were epoch making. RELATIONS WITH KOREA DURING THE SEVEN REIGNS FROM KIMMEI TO KOGYOKU(A. D. 540-645) The story of Japan's relations with Korea throughout the period ofover a century, from the accession of Kimmei (540) to the abdicationof Kogyoku (645), is a series of monotonously similar chapters, theresult for Japan being that she finally lost her position at Mimana. There was almost perpetual fighting between the petty kingdoms whichstruggled for mastery in the peninsula, and Kudara, always nominallyfriendly to Japan, never hesitated to seek the latter's assistanceagainst Shiragi and Koma. To these appeals the Yamato Court lent anot-unready ear, partly because they pleased the nation's vanity, butmainly because Kudara craftily suggested danger to Mimana unlessJapan asserted herself with arms. But when it came to actuallyrendering material aid, Japan did nothing commensurate with hergracious demeanour. She seems to have been getting weary of expensiveinterference, and possibly it may also have occurred to her that novery profound sympathy was merited by a sovereign who, like the Kingof Kudara, preferred to rely on armed aid from abroad rather thanrisk the loss of his principality to his own countrymen. At all events, in answer to often iterated entreaties from Kudara, the Yamato Court did not make any practical response until the year551, when it sent five thousand koku of barley-seed (?), followed, two years later, by two horses, two ships, fifty bows with arrows, and--a promise. Kudara was then ruled by a very enterprising prince(Yo-chang). Resolving to strike separately at his enemies, Koma andShiragi, he threw himself with all his forces against Koma and gaineda signal victory (553). Then, at length, Japan was induced to assist. An omi was despatched (554) to the peninsula with a thousandsoldiers, as many horses and forty ships. Shiragi became at once theobjective of the united forces of Kudara and Japan. A disastrousdefeat resulted for the assailants. The Kudara army suffered almostcomplete extermination, losing nearly thirty thousand men, andhistory is silent as to the fate of the omi's contingent. Nevertheless the fear of Japanese vengeance induced Shiragi to holdits hand, and, in the year 561, an attempt was made twice to renewfriendly relations with the Yamato Court by means of tribute-bearingenvoys. Japan did not repel these overtures, but she treated theenvoy of the victorious Shiragi with less respect than that extendedto the envoy of the vanquished Kudara. In the spring of the following year (562), Shiragi invaded Mimana, destroyed the Japanese station there and overran the whole region(ten provinces). No warning had reached Japan. She was taken entirelyunawares, and she regarded it as an act of treachery on Shiragi'spart to have transformed itself suddenly from a tribute-bearingfriend into an active enemy. Strangely enough, the King of Shiragidoes not appear to have considered that his act precluded acontinuance of friendly relations with the Yamato Court. Six monthsafter his invasion of Mimana he renewed the despatch of envoys toJapan, and it was not until their arrival in Yamato that they learnedJapan's mood. Much to the credit of the Yamato Court, it did notwreak vengeance on these untimely envoys, but immediately afterwardsan armed expedition was despatched to call Shiragi to account. Theforces were divided into two corps, one being ordered to march underKi no Omaro northwest from Mimana and effect a junction with Kudara;the other, under Kawabe no Nie, was to move eastward against Shiragi. This scheme became known to the Shiragi generals owing to the seizureof a despatch intended for Kudara. They attempted to interceptOmaro's corps, but were signally defeated. The movement under Kawabe no Nie fared differently. Japanese annalsattempt to palliate his discomfiture by a story about the abuse of aflag of truce, but the fact seems to have been that Kawabe no Nie wasan incompetent and pusillanimous captain. He and his men were allkilled or taken prisoners, the only redeeming feature being theintrepidity of a Japanese officer, Tsugi no Ikina, who, with his wifeand son, endured to be tortured and killed rather than utter aninsult against their country. It is difficult to interpret the sequence of events after thiscatastrophe. Japan immediately despatched a strong army--from thirtyto forty thousand men--but instead of directing it against Shiragi, sent it to the attack of Koma, under advice of the King of Kudara. Possibly the idea may have been to crush Koma, and having thusisolated Shiragi, to deal with the latter subsequently. If so, theplan never matured. Koma, indeed, suffered a signal defeat at thehands of the Japanese, Satehiko, muraji of the Otomo, but Shiragiremained unmolested, and nothing accrued to Japan except someattractive spoils--curtains of seven-fold woof, an iron house, twosuits of armour, two gold-mounted swords, three copper belts withchasings, two variously coloured flags, and two beautiful women. Evenas to the ultimate movements of Satehiko and his army the annals aresilent. Things remained thus for nine years. Tribute-bearing envoys arrivedat intervals from Koma, but with Shiragi there was no communication. At last, in 571, an official was sent to demand from Shiragi anexplanation of the reasons for the destruction of Mimana. Theintention may have been to follow up this formality with thedespatch of an effective force, but within a month the EmperorKimmei died. On his death-bed he is said to have taken the PrinceImperial--Bidatsu--by the hand and said: "That which comes afterdevolves on thee. Thou must make war on Shiragi and establish Mimanaas a feudal dependency, renewing a relationship like that of husbandand wife, just as it was in former days. If this be done, in my graveI shall rest content. " Twelve years passed before Bidatsu took any step to comply with thisdying injunction. During that long interval there were repeatedenvoys from Koma, now a comparatively feeble principality, andShiragi made three unsuccessful overtures to renew amicablerelations. At length, in 583, the Emperor announced his intention ofcarrying out the last testament of his predecessor. To that end hisMajesty desired to consult with a Japanese, Nichira, who had servedfor many years at the Kudara Court and was thoroughly familiar withthe conditions existing in Korea. Nichira came to Japan, but theannals indicate that his counsels were directed wholly againstKudara, which was ostensibly on the friendliest terms with Japan, andnot at all against Shiragi, whose punishment was alone in question. Besides, instead of advising an appeal to arms, he urged thenecessity of developing Japan's material resources, so that herneighbours might learn to count her formidable and her people mightacquire ardour in her cause. Whether the wisdom of this adviceappealed to Bidatsu, or whether the disputes consequent upon theintroduction of Buddhism paralyzed his capacity for overseaenterprise, he made no further attempt to resolve the Korean problem. In the year 591, the ill-fated Emperor Sushun conceived the idea ofsending a large army to re-establish his country's prestige in thepeninsula, but his own assassination intervened, and for the space ofnine years the subject was not publicly revived. Then, in 600, theEmpress Suiko being on the throne, a unique opportunity presenteditself. War broke out between Shiragi and Mimana. The Yamato Court atonce despatched a force of ten thousand men to Mimana's aid, andShiragi, having suffered a signal defeat, made act of abjectsubmission, restoring to Mimana six of its original provinces andpromising solemnly to abstain from future hostilities. The Japanesecommitted the error of crediting Shiragi's sincerity. They withdrewtheir forces, but no sooner had their ships passed below the horizonthan Shiragi once more invaded Mimana. It seemed at this juncture asthough the stars in their courses fought against Japan. Something, indeed, must be ascribed to her own methods of warfare which appearto have been overmerciful for the age. Thus, with the bitterexperience of Shiragi's treachery fresh in her recollection, she didnot execute a Shiragi spy seized in Tsushima, but merely banished himto the province of Kozuke. Still, she must be said to have been thevictim of special ill-fortune when an army of twenty-five thousandmen, assembled in Tsukushi for the invasion of Shiragi, was twiceprevented from sailing by unforseeable causes, one being the death ofPrince Kume, its commander-in-chief; the other, the death of theconsort of his successor, Prince Taema. * *Early Japanese history furnishes several examples showing that wivesoften accompanied their husbands on campaigns. These things happened in the year 603, and for the next five yearsall relations with Korea seem to have been severed. Then (608) abrief paragraph in the Chronicles records that "many persons fromShiragi came to settle in Japan. " It is certainly eloquent of theYamato Court's magnanimity that it should have welcomed immigrantsfrom a country with which it was virtually at war. Two years later(610), Shiragi and Mimana, acting in concert, sent envoys who werereceived with all the pomp and ceremony prescribed by ShotokuTaishi's code of decorum. Apparently this embassy was allowed toserve as a renewal of friendly relations, but it is not on recordthat the subject of former dispute was alluded to in any way, nor wasthe old-time habit of annual tribute-bearing envoys revived. Visitorsfrom Korea were, indeed, few and far-between, as when, in 616, Shiragi sent a golden image of Buddha, two feet high, whoseeffulgence worked wonders; or in 618, when an envoy from Koreaconveyed the important tidings that the invasion of the peninsula bythe Sui sovereign, Yang, at the head of three hundred thousand men, had been beaten back. This envoy carried to Yamato presents in theform of two captive Chinese, a camel, and a number of flutes, cross-bows, and catapults (of which instruments of war mention isthus made for the first time in Japanese history). The Yamato Court had evidently now abandoned all idea of punishingShiragi or restoring the station at Mimana; while Shiragi, on herside, was inclined to maintain friendly relations though she did notseek frequent intercourse. After an interval of five years'aloofness, she presented (621) a memorial on an unrecorded subject, and in the following year, she presented, once more, a gold image ofBuddha, a gold pagoda, and a number of baptismal flags. * But Shiragiwas nothing if not treacherous, and, even while making these valuablepresents to the Yamato Court, and while despatching envoys in companywith those from Mimana, she was planning another invasion of thelatter. It took place that very year (622). When the news reachedJapan, the Empress Suiko would have sent an envoy against Shiragi, but it was deemed wiser to employ diplomacy in the first place, forthe principalities of Korea were now in close relations with thegreat Tang dynasty of China and might even count on the latter'sprotection in case of emergency. *"The Buddhist baptism consists in washing the top of the head withperfumed water. The baptismal flags were so called because they hadthe same efficiency, raising those who passed under them, first, tothe rank of Tchakra Radja, and, ultimately, to that of a Buddha. "(Aston. ) Two plenipotentiaries were therefore sent from Japan. Their missionproved very simple. Shiragi acquiesced in all their proposals andpledged herself once for all to recognize Mimana as a dependency ofJapan. But after the despatch of these plenipotentiaries, thewar-party in Japan had gained the ascendancy, and just as theplenipotentiaries, accompanied by tribute-bearing envoys from Shiragiand Mimana, were about to embark for Japan, they were astounded bythe apparition of a great flotilla carrying thousands of armed men. The exact dimensions of this force are not on record: it is merelydescribed as having consisted of "several tens of thousands of men, "but as it was commanded by two generals of the first rank and sevenof the second, it must have been a very formidable army, and nothingis more remarkable about it than that it was assembled and embarkedin the space of a few weeks. Shiragi did not attempt to resist. TheKing tendered his submission and it was accepted without a blowhaving been struck. But there were no tangible results. Japan did notattempt to re-establish her miyake in Mimana, and Shiragi refrainedfrom sending envoys to Yamato except on special occasions. Friendly, though not intimate, relations were still maintained with the threekingdoms of Korea, mainly because the peninsula long continued to bethe avenue by which the literature, arts, and crafts of China under, the Tang dynasty found their way to Japan. Since, however, the officein Mimana no longer existed to transact business connected with thisintercourse, and since Yamato was too distant from the port ofdeparture and arrival--Anato, now Nagato--a new office wasestablished in Tsukushi (Kyushu) under the name of the Dazai-fu. LESSONS TAUGHT BY THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN JAPAN AND KOREA The record of Japan's relations with Korea, so far as it has beencarried above--namely, to the close of the Empress Kogyoku's reign(A. D. 645)--discloses in the Korean people a race prone toself-seeking feuds, never reluctant to import foreign aid intodomestic quarrels, and careless of the obligations of good faith. Inthe Japanese we see a nation magnanimous and trustful but ofaggressive tendencies. IMPORTATION OF CHINESE CIVILIZATION Although Japan's military influence on the neighbouring continentwaned perceptibly from the reign of Kimmei (540-571) onwards, astream of Chinese civilization flowed steadily into the Island Empirefrom the west, partly coming direct from the fountain head; partlyfiltering, in a more or less impure form, through Korean channels. Many of the propagandists of this civilization remained permanentlyin Japan, where they received a courteous welcome, being promoted topositions of trust and admitted to the ranks of the nobility. Thus abook (the Seishi-roku), published in 814, which has been aptly termedthe "peerage of Japan, " shows that, at that time, nearly one-third ofthe Japanese nobility traced their descent to Chinese or Koreanancestors in something like equal proportions. The numbers are, China, 162 families; Kudara, 104; Koma, 50; Mimana, 9; Shiragi, 9;doubtful, 47. Total, 381 Chinese and Korean families out of a grandaggregate of 1177. But many of the visitors returned home afterhaving sojourned for a time as teachers of literature, art, orindustrial science. This system of brief residence for purposes of instruction seems tohave been inaugurated during the reign of Keitai, in the year 513, when Tan Yang-i, a Chinese expounder of the five classics, wasbrought to Yamato by envoys from Kudara as a gift valued enough topurchase political intervention for the restoration of lostterritory; and when, three years later, a second embassy from thesame place, coming to render thanks for effective assistance in thematter of the territory, asked that Tan might be allowed to return inexchange for another Chinese pundit, Ko An-mu. The incident suggestshow great was the value attached to erudition even in those remotedays. Yet this promising precedent was not followed for nearly fortyyears, partly owing to the unsettled nature of Japan's relations. With Korea. After the advent of Buddhism (552), however, Chinese culture foundnew expansion eastward. In 554, there arrived from Kudara anotherChinese literatus, and, by desire of the Emperor, Kimmei, a party ofexperts followed shortly afterwards, including a man learned in thecalendar, a professor of divination, a physician, two herbalists, andfour musicians. The record says that these men, who, with theexception of the Chinese doctor of literature, were all Koreans, tookthe place of an equal number of their countrymen who had resided inJapan for some years. Thenceforth such incidents were frequent. Yet, at first, a thorough knowledge of the ideographic script seems tohave spread very slowly in Japan, for in 572, when the EmperorBidatsu sought an interpretation of a memorial presented by the Komasovereign, only one man among all the scribes (fumi-bito), and he(Wang Sin-i) of Chinese origin, was found capable of reading thedocument. But from the accession of the Empress Suiko (593), the influence ofShotoku Taishi made itself felt in every branch of learning, andthenceforth China and Japan may be said to have stood towards eachother in the relation of teacher and pupil. Literature, theideographic script, * calendar compiling, astronomy, geography, divination, magic, painting, sculpture, architecture, tile-making, ceramics, the casting of metal, and other crafts were all cultivatedassiduously under Chinese and Korean instruction. In architecture, all substantial progress must be attributed to Buddhism, forit was by building temples and pagodas that Japanese ideas ofdwelling-houses were finally raised above the semi-subterranean type, and to the same influence must be attributed signal and rapidprogress in the art of interior decoration. The style of architectureadopted in temples was a mixture of the Chinese and the Indian. Indeed, it is characteristic of this early epoch that traces of thearchitectural and glyptic fashions of the land where Buddhism wasborn showed themselves much more conspicuously than they did in latereras; a fact which illustrates Japan's constant tendency to breakaway from originals by modifying them in accordance with her ownideals. *The oldest ideographic inscription extant in Japan is carved on astone in Iyo province dating from A. D. 596. Next in point ofantiquity is an inscription on the back of an image of Yakushi whichstands in the temple Horyu-ji. It is ascribed to the year A. D. 607. ENGRAVING: THE KONDO, HALL or THE HORYU-JI TEMPLE (Ji means temple) None of the religious edifices then constructed has survived in itsintegrity to the present day. One, however, --the Horyu-ji, atNara--since all its restorations have been in strict accord withtheir originals, is believed to be a true representative of the mostancient type. It was founded by Shotoku Taishi and completed in 607. At the time of its construction, this Horyu-ji was the chief academyof Buddhist teaching, and it therefore received the name ofGakumon-ji (Temple of Learning). Among its treasures is an image ofcopper and gold which was cast by the Korean artist, Tori--commonlycalled Tori Busshi, or Tori the image-maker--to order of Shotoku; andthere is mural decoration from the brush of a Korean priest, Doncho. This building shows that already in the seventh century an imposingtype of wooden edifice had been elaborated--an edifice differing fromthose of later epochs in only a few features; as, slight inequalityin the scantling of its massive pillars; comparatively gentle pitchof roof; abnormally overhanging eaves, and shortness of distancebetween each storey of the pagoda. These sacred buildings were roofedwith tiles, and were therefore called kawara-ya (tiled house) by wayof distinction, for all private dwellings, the Imperial palace notexcepted, continued to have thatched roofs in the period now underconsideration, * or at best roofs covered with boards. The annals showthat when the Empress Kogyoku built the Asuka palace, timber wasobtained from several provinces; labour was requisitioned throughouta district extending from Omi in the east to Aki in the west; thefloor of the "great hall"** was paved with tiles; there were twelvegates, three on each of the four sides, and the whole was in thearchitectural style of the Tang dynasty. Yet for the roofs, boardsalone were used. *Down to A. D. 645. 1 **It was here that the assassination of Soga no Iruka took place. PAINTING Little is recorded about the progress of painting in this epoch. Ithas been shown above that during Yuryaku's reign pictorial expertscrossed to Japan from Korea and from China. The Chronicles add that, in A. D. 604, when the Empress Suiko occupied the throne, two schoolsof painters were established, namely, the Kibumi and the Yamashiro. It is elsewhere explained that the business of those artists was topaint Buddhist pictures, the special task of the Kibumi men being toilluminate scrolls of the Sutras. We read also that, in 603, on theoccasion of the dedication of the temple of Hachioka, Prince Shotokupainted banners as offerings. These had probably the same designs asthose spoken of a century later (710) when, at a ceremony in thegreat hall of the palace, there were set up flags emblazoned with acrow, * the sun, an azure dragon, a red bird, and the moon, all whichdesigns were of Chinese origin. Shotoku Taishi himself istraditionally reported to have been a skilled painter and sculptor, and several of his alleged masterpieces are preserved to this day, but their authenticity is disputed. *The three-legged crow of the sun. AGRICULTURE In the field of agriculture this epoch offers nothing more remarkablethan the construction of nine reservoirs for irrigation purposes andthe digging of a large canal in Yamashiro province. It is alsothought worthy of historical notice that a Korean princeunsuccessfully attempted to domesticate bees on a Japanese mountain. COMMERCE Considerable progress seems to have been made in tradal matters. Markets were opened at several places in the interior, and coastwisecommerce developed so much that, in A. D. 553, it was found expedientto appoint an official for the purpose of numbering and registeringthe vessels thus employed. The Chinese settler, Wang Sin-i, who hasalready been spoken of as the only person able to decipher a Koreanmemorial, was given the office of fune no osa (chief of the shippingbureau) and granted the title of fune no fubito (registrar ofvessels). Subsequently, during the reign of Jomei (629-641), anakinai-osa (chief of trade) was appointed in the person of Munemaro, whose father, Kuhi, had brought scales and weights from China duringthe reign of Sushun (558-592), and this system was formally adoptedin the days of Jomei (629-641). There had not apparently been anyofficially recognized weights and measures in remote antiquity. Thewidth of the hand (ta or tsuka) and the spread of the arms (hiro)were the only dimensions employed. By and by the Korean shaku (foot), which corresponds to 1. 17 shaku of the present day, came into use. InKenso's time (485-487) there is mention of a measure of rice beingsold for a piece of silver, and the Emperor Kimmei (540-571) isrecorded to have given 1000 koku of seed-barley to the King ofKudara. But it is supposed that the writer of the Chronicles, inmaking these entries, projected the terminology of his own time intothe previous centuries. There were neither coins nor koku in thoseeras. COSTUME AND COIFFURE Up to the time (A. D. 603) of the institution of caps as marks ofrank, men were in the habit of dividing their hair in the centre andtying it above the ears in a style called mizura. But such a fashiondid not accord with the wearing of caps which were gathered up on thecrown in the shape of a bag. Hence men of rank took to binding thehair in a queue on the top of the head. The old style was continued, however, by men having no rank and by youths. A child's hair waslooped on the temples in imitation of the flower of a gourd--hencecalled hisago-bana--and women wore their tresses hanging free. Theinstitution of caps interfered also with the use of hairpins, whichwere often made of gold and very elaborate. These now came to bethrust, not directly into the hair, but through the cord employed totie the cap above. It is recorded that, in the year 611, when theEmpress Suiko and her Court went on a picnic, the colour of theministers' garments agreed with that of their official caps, and thateach wore hair-ornaments which, in the case of the two highestfunctionaries, were made of gold; in the case of the next two, ofleopards' tails; and in the case of lower ranks, of birds' tails. On a more ceremonious occasion, namely, the reception of the Chineseenvoys from the Sui Court, the Chronicles state that Japanese princesand ministers "all wore gold hair-ornaments, * and their garments wereof brocade, purple, and embroidery, with thin silk stuffs of variouscolours and patterns. " Costume had become thus gorgeous after theinstitution of Buddhism and the establishment of intercourse directwith the Sui, and, subsequently, the Tang dynasty. Even in the mannerof folding the garments over the breast--not from right to left butfrom left to right--the imported fashion was followed. Waddedgarments are incidently mentioned in the year A. D. 643. *These were called usu. They were, in fact, hairpins, generallyshaped like a flower. MUSIC AND AMUSEMENTS It has already been recorded that, in the middle of the sixthcentury, musicians were sent from the Kudara Court to the Yamato, andsince these are said to have taken the place of others thensojourning in Japan, the fact is established that such a visit wasnot then without precedent. Music, indeed, may be said to havebenefitted largely by the advent of Buddhism, for the services of thelatter required a special kind of music. The first foreign teacher ofthe art was a Korean, Mimashi, who went to Japan in A. D. 612, afterhaving studied both music and dancing for some years in China. Adwelling was assigned to him at Sakurai (in Yamato) and he trainedpupils. At the instance of Prince Shotoku and for the betterperformance of Buddhist services, various privileges were granted tothe professors of the art. They were exempted from the discharge ofofficial duties and their occupation became hereditary. Severalancient Japanese books contain reference to music and dancing, and inone work* illustrations are given of the wooden masks worn by dancersand the instruments used by musicians of the Wu (Chinese) school. These masks were introduced by Mimashi and are still preserved in thetemple Horyu-ji. *The Horyu-ji Shizai-cho, composed in A. D. 747. In the matter of pastimes, a favourite practice, first mentioned inthe reign of the Empress Suiko, was a species of picnic called"medicine hunting" (kusuri-kari). It took place on the fifth day ofthe fifth month. The Empress, her ladies, and the high functionaries, all donned gala costumes and went to hunt stags, for the purpose ofprocuring the young antlers, and to search for "deer-fungus"(shika-take), the horns and the vegetables being supposed to havemedical properties. All the amusements mentioned in previous sectionscontinued to be followed in this era, and football is spoken of ashaving inaugurated the afterwards epoch-making friendship betweenPrince Naka and Kamatari. It was not played in the Occidental manner, however. The game consisted in kicking a ball from player to playerwithout letting it fall. This was apparently a Chinese innovation. Here, also, mention may be made of thermal springs. Their sanitaryproperties were recognized, and visits were paid to them by invalids. The most noted were those of Dogo, in Iyo, and Arima, in Settsu. TheEmperor Jomei spent several months at each of these, and PrinceShotoku caused to be erected at Dogo a stone monument bearing aninscription to attest the curative virtues of the water. CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE That Buddhism obtained a firm footing among the upper classes duringthe first century after its introduction must be attributed in nosmall measure to the fact that the throne was twice occupied byEmpresses in that interval. The highly decorative aspects of thecreed appealing to the emotional side of woman's nature, theseImperial ladies encouraged Buddhist propagandism with earnestmunificence. But the mass of the people remained, for the most part, outside the pale. They continued to believe in the Kami and toworship them. Thus, when a terribly destructive earthquake* occuredin 599, it was to the Kami of earthquakes that prayers were offeredat his seven shrines in the seven home provinces (Kinai), and not tothe Merciful Buddha, though the saving grace of the latter had thenbeen preached for nearly a cycle. The first appeal to the foreigndeity in connexion with natural calamity was in the opening year(642) of the Empress Kogyoku's reign when, in the presence of adevastating drought, sacrifices of horses and cattle to the ShintoKami, changes of the market-places, ** and prayers to the river godshaving all failed to bring relief, an imposing Buddhist service washeld in the south court of the Great Temple. "The images of Buddha, of the bosatsu, and of the Four Heavenly Kings were magnificentlyadorned; a multitude of priests read the Mahayana Sutra, and theo-omi, Soga no Emishi, held a censer, burned incense, and prayed. "But there was no success; and not until the Empress herself had madea progress to the source of a river and worshipped towards the fourquarters, did abundant rain fall. *Only three earthquakes are recorded up to the year A. D. 645, and thesecond alone (A. D. 599) is described as destructive. **This was a Chinese custom, as was also the sacrificial ritementioned in the same context. Such an incident cannot have contributed to popularize the Indiancreed. The people at large adhered to their traditional cult and wereeasily swayed by superstitions. The first half of the seventh centurywas marked by abnormal occurrences well calculated to disturb men'sminds. There were comets (twice); there was a meteor of largedimensions; there were eclipses of the sun and moon; there wereoccultations of Venus; there was snow in July and hail "as large aspeaches" in May, and there was a famine (621) when old people ateroots of herbs and died by the wayside, when infants at the breastperished with their mothers, and when thieves and robbers defiedauthority. It is not, perhaps, surprising in such circumstances, andwhen witches and wizards abounded, that people fell into strangemoods, and were persuaded to regard a caterpillar as the "insect ofthe everlasting world, " to worship it, and to throw away theirvaluables in the belief that riches and perpetual youth would be thuswon. A miyatsuko, by name Kawakatsu, had the courage to kill thedesigning preacher of this extravagance, and the moral epidemic wasthus stayed. ENGRAVING: ONE OF THE STATUES OF "SHITENNO" IN THE KAIDAN-IN, TODAIJI(Tembyo Sculpture, Eighth Century) ENGRAVING: UTENSILS USED IN THE TEA CEREMONY (CHA-NO-YU) CHAPTER XV THE DAIKA REFORMS THE THIRTY-SIXTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR KOTOKU (A. D. 645-654) AFTER the fall of the Soga and the abdication of the Empress Kogyoku, her son, Prince Naka, would have been the natural successor, and suchwas her own expressed wish. But the prince's procedure was largelyregulated by Kamatari, who, alike in the prelude and in the sequel ofthis crisis, proved himself one of the greatest statesmen Japan everproduced. He saw that the Soga influence, though broken, was notwholly shattered, and he understood that the great administrativereform which he contemplated might be imperilled were the throneimmediately occupied by a prince on whose hands the blood of the Sogachief was still warm. Therefore he advised Prince Naka to stand asidein favour of his maternal uncle, Prince Karu, who could be trusted toco-operate loyally in the work of reform and whose connexion with theSoga overthrow had been less conspicuous. But to reach Prince Karu itwas necessary to pass over the head of another prince, Furubito, Naka's half-brother, who had the full sympathy of the remnant of theSoga clan, his mother having been a daughter of the great Umako. Thethrone was therefore offered to him. But since the offer followed, instead of preceding the Empress' approval of Prince Karu, Furubitorecognized the farce, and knowing that, though he might rule indefiance of the Kamatari faction, he could not hope to rule with itsconsent, he threw away his sword and declared his intention ofentering religion. Very soon the Buddhist monastery at Yoshino, where he received thetonsure, became a rallying point for the Soga partisans, and a warfor the succession seemed imminent. Naka, however, now PrinceImperial, was not a man to dally with such obstacles. He promptlysent to Yoshino a force of soldiers who killed Furubito with hischildren and permitted his consorts to strangle themselves. PrinceNaka's name must go down to all generations as that of a greatreformer, but it is also associated with a terrible injustice. Tooreadily crediting a slanderous charge brought against hisfather-in-law, Kurayamada, who had stood at his right hand in thegreat coup d'etat of 645, he despatched a force to seize the allegedtraitor. Kurayamada fled to a temple, and there, declaring that hewould "leave the world, still cherishing fidelity in his bosom, " hecommitted suicide, his wife and seven children sharing his fate. Subsequent examination of his effects established his innocence, andhis daughter, consort of Prince Naka, died of grief. THE DAIKA, OR "GREAT CHANGE" Not for these things, however, but for sweeping reforms in theadministration of the empire is the reign of Kotoku memorable. PrinceNaka and Kamatari, during the long period of their intimateintercourse prior to the deed of blood in the great hall of audience, had fully matured their estimates of the Sui and Tang civilization asrevealed in documents and information carried to Japan by priests, literati, and students, who, since the establishment of Buddhism, hadpaid many visits to China. They appreciated that the systemprevailing in their own country from time immemorial had developedabuses which were sapping the strength of the nation, and in sweepingthe Soga from the path to the throne, their ambition had been to gainan eminence from which the new civilization might be authoritativelyproclaimed. Speaking broadly, their main objects were to abolish the system ofhereditary office-holders; to differentiate aristocratic titles fromofficial ranks; to bring the whole mass of the people into directsubjection to the Throne, and to establish the Imperial right ofownership in all the land throughout the empire. What these changessignified and with what tact and wisdom the reformers proceeded, willbe clearly understood as the story unfolds itself. Spectacular effectwas enlisted as the first ally. A coronation ceremony ofunprecedented magnificence took place. High officials, girt withgolden quivers, stood on either side of the dais forming the throne, and all the great functionaries--omi, muraji, and miyatsuko--togetherwith representatives of the 180 hereditary corporations (be) filedpast, making obeisance. The title of "Empress Dowager" was conferredfor the first time on Kogyoku, who had abdicated; Prince Naka wasmade Prince Imperial; the head of the great uji of Abe was nominatedminister of the Left (sa-daijiri); Kurayamada, of the Soga-uji, whohad shared the dangers of the conspiracy against Emishi and Iruka, became minister of the Right (u-daijiri), and Kamatari himselfreceived the post of minister of the Interior (nai-daijin), beinginvested with the right to be consulted on all matters whether ofstatecraft or of official personnel. These designations, "minister of the Left"*, "minister of the Right, "and "minister of the Interior, " were new in Japan. ** Hitherto, therehad been o-omi and o-muraji, who stood between the Throne and the twogreat classes of uji, the o-omi and the o-muraji receivinginstructions direct from the sovereign, and the two classes of ujiacknowledging no control except that of the o-omi and the o-muraji. But whereas the personal status of Kurayamada was only omi (noto-omi), and the personal status of Kamatari, only muraji (noto-muraji), neither was required, in his new capacity, to takeinstructions from any save the Emperor, nor did any one of the threehigh dignitaries nominally represent this or that congeries of uji. Asimultaneous innovation was the appointment of a Buddhist priest, Bin, and a literatus, Kuromaro, to be "national doctors. " These menhad spent some years at the Tang Court and were well versed inChinese systems. *The left takes precedence of the right in Japan. **The offices were borrowed from the Tang system of China a remarkwhich applies to nearly all the innovations of the epoch. The next step taken was to assemble the ministers under a patriarchaltree, and, in the presence of the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, andthe Prince Imperial, to pronounce, in the names of the Kami of heavenand the Kami of earth--the Tenshin and the Chigi--a solemnimprecation on rulers who attempted double-hearted methods ofgovernment, and on vassals guilty of treachery in the service oftheir sovereign. This amounted to a formal denunciation of the Sogaas well as a pledge on the part of the new Emperor. The Chinesemethod of reckoning time by year-periods was then adopted, and theyear A. D. 645 became the first of the Daika era. But beforeproceeding to really radical innovations, two further precautionswere taken. In order to display reverence for the foundations of theState, the sovereign publicly declared that "the empire should beruled by following the footsteps of the Emperors of antiquity, " andin order to win the sympathy of the lower orders, his Majestydirected that inquiry should be made as to the best method ofalleviating the hardships of forced labour. Further, a solemnceremony of Shinto worship was held by way of preface. Then the reformers commenced their work in earnest. Governors(kokushi) were appointed to all the eastern provinces. Theseofficials were not a wholly novel institution. It has been shown thatthey existed previously to the Daika era, but in a fitful anduncertain way, whereas, under the system now adopted, they became anintegral part of the administrative machinery. That meant that thegovernment of the provinces, instead of being administered byhereditary officials, altogether irrespective of their competence, was entrusted for a fixed term to men chosen on account of specialaptitude. The eastern provinces were selected for inaugurating thisexperiment, because their distance from the capital rendered thechange less conspicuous. Moreover, the appointments were given, asfar as possible, to the former miyatsuko or mikotomochi. An ordinancewas now issued for placing a petition-box in the Court and hanging abell near it. The box was intended to serve as a receptacle forcomplaints and representations. Anyone had a right to present suchdocuments. They were to be collected and conveyed to the Emperorevery morning, and if a reply was tardy, the bell was to be struck. Side by side with these measures for bettering the people's lot, precautions against any danger of disturbance were adopted by takingall weapons of war out of the hands of private individuals andstoring them in arsenals specially constructed on waste lands. Thenfollowed a measure which seems to have been greatly needed. It hasbeen already explained that a not inconsiderable element of thepopulation was composed of slaves, and that these consisted of twomain classes, namely, aborigines or Koreans taken prisoners in war, and members of an uji whose Kami had been implicated in crime. Astime passed, there resulted from intercourse between these slaves andtheir owners a number of persons whose status was confused, parentsasserting the manumission of their children and masters insisting onthe permanence of the bond. To correct these complications the wholenation was now divided into freemen (ryomin) and bondmen (senmin), and a law was enacted that, since among slaves no marriage tie wasofficially recognized, a child of mixed parentage must always beregarded as a bondman. On that basis a census was ordered to betaken, and in it were included not only the people of all classes, but also the area of cultivated and throughout the empire. At the same time stringent regulations were enacted for the controland guidance of the provincial governors. They were to take counselwith the people in dividing the profits of agriculture. They were notto act as judges in criminal cases or to accept bribes from suitorsin civil ones; their staff, when visiting the capital, was strictlylimited, and the use of public-service horses* as well as theconsumption of State provisions was vetoed unless they weretravelling on public business. Finally, they were enjoined toinvestigate carefully all claims to titles and all alleged rights ofland tenure. The next step was the most drastic and far-reaching ofall. Hereditary corporations were entirely abolished, alike thoseestablished to commemorate the name of a sovereign or a prince andthose employed by the nobles to cultivate their estates. The estatesthemselves were escheated. Thus, at one stroke, the lands and titlesof the hereditary aristocracy were annulled, just as was destined tobe the case in the Meiji era, twelve centuries later. *Everyone having a right to use public-service horses was required tocarry a token of his right in the shape of a small bronze bell, orgroup of bells, indicating by their shape and number how many horsesthe bearer was entitled to. This reform involved a radical change in the system and method oftaxation, but the consideration of that phase of the question isdeferred for a moment in order to explain the nature and the amountof the new fiscal burdens. Two kinds of taxes were thenceforthimposed, namely, ordinary taxes and commuted taxes. The ordinaryconsisted of twenty sheaves of rice per cho* (equivalent to abouteight sheaves per acre), and the commuted tax--in lieu of forcedlabour--was fixed at a piece of silk fabric forty feet in length bytwo and a half feet in breadth per cho, being approximately a lengthof sixteen feet per acre. The dimensions of the fabric were doubledin the case of coarse silk, and quadrupled in the case of cloth wovenfrom hemp or from the fibre of the inner bark of the paper-mulberry. A commuted tax was levied on houses also, namely, a twelve-footlength of the above cloth per house. No currency existed in that age. All payments were made in kind. There is, therefore, no method ofcalculating accurately the monetary equivalent of a sheaf of rice. But in the case of fabrics we have some guide. Thus, in addition tothe above imposts, every two townships--a township was a group offifty houses--had to contribute one horse of medium quality (or oneof superior quality per two hundred houses) for public service; andsince a horse was regarded as the equivalent of a total of twelvefeet of cloth per house, it would follow, estimating a horse ofmedium quality at Ł5, ($25. ), that the commuted tax in the case ofland was above 5s. 4d. , ($1. 30) per acre. Finally, each homestead wasrequired to provide one labourer as well as rations for his support;and every two homesteads had to furnish one palace waiting-woman(uneme), who must be good-looking, the daughter or sister of adistrict official of high rank, and must have one male and two femaleservants to attend on her--these also being supported by the twohomesteads. In every homestead there was an alderman who kept theregister, directed agricultural operations, enforced taxes, and tookmeasures to prevent crime as well as to judge it. *The cho was two and a half acres approximately. Thus it is seen that a regular system of national taxation wasintroduced and that the land throughout the whole empire wasconsidered to be the property of the Crown. As for the nobles whowere deprived of their estates, sustenance gifts were given to them, but there is no record of the bases upon which these gifts wereassessed. With regard to the people's share in the land, the planpursued was that for every male or female over five years of age twotan (about half an acre) should be given to the former and one-thirdless to the latter, these grants being made for a period of sixyears, at the end of which time a general restoration was to beeffected. A very striking evidence of the people's condition is thatevery adult male had to contribute a sword, armour, a bow and arrows, and a drum. This impost may well have outweighed all the others. SEPULCHRES Another important reform regulated the dimensions of burial mounds. The construction of these on the grand scale adopted for manysovereigns, princes, and nobles had long harrassed the people, whowere compelled to give their toil gratis for such a purpose. Whatsuch exactions had entailed may be gathered from Kotoku's edict, which said, "Of late the poverty of our people is absolutely due tothe construction of tombs. " Nevertheless, he did not undertake tolimit the size of Imperial tombs. The rescript dealt only with thosefrom princes downwards. Of these, the greatest tumulus permitted wasa square mound with a side of forty-five feet at the base and aheight of twenty-five feet, measured along the slope, a furtherrestriction being that the work must not occupy more than onethousand men for seven days. The maximum dimensions were similarlyprescribed in every case, down to a minor official, whose grave mustnot give employment to more than fifty men for one day. When ordinarypeople died, it was directed that they should be buried in the groundwithout a day's delay, and, except in the case of an Emperor or anEmpress, the custom of temporary interment was strictly vetoed. Cemeteries were ordered to be constructed for the first time, andperemptory injunctions were issued against self-destruction toaccompany the dead; against strangling men or women by way ofsacrifice; against killing the deceased's horse, and against cuttingthe hair or stabbing the thighs by way of showing grief. It must beassumed that all these customs existed. ABUSES Other evil practices are incidentally referred to in the context ofthe Daika reforms. Thus it appears that slaves occasionally lefttheir lawful owners owing to the latter's poverty and entered theservice of rich men, who thereafter refused to give them up; thatwhen a divorced wife or concubine married into another family, herformer husband, after the lapse of years, often preferred claimsagainst her new husband's property; that men, relying on their power, demanded people's daughters in marriage, and in the event of the girlentering another house, levied heavy toll on both families; that whena widow, of ten or twenty years' standing, married again, or when agirl entered into wedlock, the people of the vicinity insisted on thenewly wedded couple performing the Shinto rite of harai (purgation), which was perverted into a device for compelling offerings of goodsand wine; that the compulsory performance of this ceremony had becomeso onerous as to make poor men shrink from giving burial to eventheir own brothers who had died at a distance from home, or hesitateto extend aid to them in mortal peril, and that when a forcedlabourer cooked his food by the roadside or borrowed a pot to boilhis rice, he was often obliged to perform expensive purgation. OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION At the head of all officials were the sa-daijin (minister of theLeft), the u-daijin (minister of the Right) and the nai-daijin(minister of the Interior), and after them came the heads ofdepartments, of which eight were established, after the modelof the Tang Court in China. They were the Central Department(Nakatsukasa-sho); the Department of Ceremonies (Shikibu-sho); theDepartment of Civil Government (Jibu-sho); the Department of CivilAffairs (Mimbu-sho); the Department of War (Hyobu-sho); theDepartment of Justice (Gyobu-sho); the Treasury (Okura-sho), and theHousehold Department (Kunai-sho). These departments comprised anumber of bureaux. All officials of high rank had to assemble at thesouth gate of the palace in time to enter at sunrise, and theyremained there until some time between 11 A. M. And 1 P. M. In a province the senior official was the governor, and under himwere heads of districts, aldermen of homesteads (fifty houses), elders of five households--all the houses being divided into groupsof five for purposes of protection--and market commissioners whosuperintended the currency (in kind), commerce, the genuineness ofwares, the justness of weights and measures, the prices ofcommodities, and the observance of prohibitions. Since to allofficial posts men of merit were appointed without regard to lineage, the cap-ranks inaugurated by Prince Shotoku were abolished, inasmuchas they designated personal status by inherited right only, and theywere replaced by new cap-grades, nineteen in all, which weredistinguished partly by their borders, partly by their colours, andpartly by their materials and embroidery. Hair-ornaments were also amark of rank. They were cicada-shaped, of gold and silver for thehighest grades, of silver for the medium grades, and of copper forthe low grades. The caps indicated official status without anyreference to hereditary titles. RATIONALE OF THE NEW SYSTEM The radical changes outlined above were all effected in the shortspace of eight years. If it be asked what motive inspired thereformers, the obvious answer is that experience, culminating in theusurpations of the Soga, had fully displayed the abuses incidental tothe old system. Nothing more memorable than this flood of reforms hasleft its mark upon Japan's ancient history. During the first thirteencenturies of the empire's existence--if we accept the traditionalchronology--the family was the basis of the State's organization. Each unit of the population either was a member of an uji or belongedto the tomobe of an uji, and each uji was governed by its own omi ormuraji, while all the uji of the Kwobetsu class were under the o-omiand all those of the Shimbetsu class, under the o-muraji. Finally, itwas through the o-omi and the o-muraji alone that the Emperorcommunicated his will. In other words, the Japanese at large were notrecognized as public people, the only section that bore thatcharacter being the units of the hereditary corporations institutedin memory of some Imperial personage and the folk that cultivated themiyake (State domains). All these facts, though already familiar to the reader, find afitting place in the context of the great political development ofthe Daika era. For the main features of that development were thatthe entire nation became the public people of the realm and the wholeof the land became the property of the Crown, the hereditary noblesbeing relegated to the rank of State pensioners. This metamorphosisentailed taking an accurate census of the population; making a surveyof the land; fixing the boundaries of provinces, districts, andvillages; appointing officials to administer the affairs of theselocal divisions, and organizing the central government with boardsand bureaux. The system of taxation also had to be changed, and theland had to be apportioned to the people. In former days, the onlycharges levied by the State on the produce of the land were thoseconnected with religious observances and military operations, andeven in imposing these the intervention of the heads of uji had to beemployed. But by the Daika reforms the interest of the hereditarynobility in the taxes Avas limited to realizing their sustenanceallowances; while as for the land, it was removed entirely beyondtheir control and partitioned among the people, in the proportionalready noted, on leases terminable at the end of six years. Of course, whatever political exigency may have dictated thisshort-tenure system, it was economically unsound and could not remainlong in practice. The measures adopted to soften the aspect of thesewholesale changes in the eyes of the hereditary nobility whom they sogreatly affected, have been partly noted above. It may here be added, however, that not only was the office of district governor--whoranked next to the provincial governor (kokushi)--filled as far aspossible by former kuni no miyatsuko, but also these latter wereentrusted with the duty of observing and reporting upon the conductof the new officials as to assiduity and integrity, to which dutythere were also nominated special officials called choshu-shi. By theaid of these and other tactful devices, the operation of the newsystem was guaranteed against disturbance. Nothing was deemed tootrivial to assist in promoting that end. Even such a petty incidentas the appearance of a white pheasant was magnified into a specialindication of heaven's approval, and a grand Court ceremony havingbeen held in honour of the bird, the Emperor proclaimed a generalamnesty and ordered that the name of the period should be changed toHaku-chi (White Pheasant). Something of this may be set down franklyto the superstitious spirit of the time. But much is evidentlyattributable to the statecraft of the Emperor's advisers, who soughtto persuade the nation that this breaking away from all its venerableold traditions had supernatural approval. There was, indeed, one defect in the theory of the new system. Fromtime immemorial the polity of the empire had been based on the familyrelation. The sovereign reigned in virtue of his lineage, and thehereditary nobles owed their high positions and administrativecompetence equally to descent. To discredit the title of the nobleswas to disturb the foundation of the Throne itself, and to affirmthat want of virtue constituted a valid reason for depriving thescions of the gods of their inherited functions, was to declareconstructively that the descendant of Amaterasu also held his titleby right of personal worthiness. That was the Chinese theory. Theirhistory shows plainly that they recognized the right of men like Tangor Wu to overturn tyrants like Chieh of the Hsia dynasty, and Chou ofthe Yen dynasty. The two Japanese Emperors, Kotoku and Tenchi(668-671), seem to have partially endorsed a cognate principle. Butnothing could be at greater variance with the cardinal tenet of theJapanese polity, which holds that "the King can do no wrong" and thatthe Imperial line must remain unbroken to all eternity. ENVOYS TO CHINA The importance attached to intercourse with China during the reign ofKotoku was illustrated by the dimensions of the embassies sent to theTang Court and by the quality of the envoys. Two embassies were sentin 653, one consisting of 121 persons and the other of 120. * Theformer included seventeen student-priests, and among them was theeldest son of Kamatari himself. Another embassy was despatched in654, and the records show incidently that the sea route was taken, for after a voyage lasting some months and therefore presumably of acoasting character, the envoys landed at Laichou in Shantung. Theyfinally reached Changan, the Tang capital, and were most hospitablyreceived by the Emperor Kao-sung. The hardships of the journey areattested by the fact that three of the student-priests died at sea. One remained in China for thirty-six years, and Joye, Kamatari's son, did not return to Japan for twelve years. *The ship carrying the embassy was wrecked off the south coast ofJapan, and out of 120 persons only five escaped. In short, when these students left their country in search ofliterary, religious, and political lore, they had no assurance ofever thereafter finding an opportunity to see their homes again. Theoverland journey was almost impossible without guides and guards, andcommunication by sea seems to have been fitful and uncertain. Thelast of the above three embassies was led by no less a person thanthe renowned scholar, Kuromaro, who had been associated with thepriest, Bin, in modelling the new administrative system of Japan. Kuromaro never returned from China; he died there. A few monthsbefore the despatch of Kuromaro as envoy, his illustrious coadjutor, Bin, expired in the temple of Azumi. The Emperor repaired in personto the sick priest's chamber, and said, "If you die to-day, I willfollow you to-morrow. " So great was the reverence showed towardslearning and piety in that era. Thus, hazardous and wearisome as wasthe voyage to China over stormy waters in a rude sailing boat, itssuccessful accomplishment established a title to official prefermentand high honour. It will be seen by and by that similar treatment wasextended in the nineteenth century to men who visited Europe andAmerica in the pursuit of knowledge. THE THIRTY-SEVENTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPRESS SAIMEI (A. D. 655-661) On the demise of Kotoku, in 654, his natural successor would havebeen Prince Naka, who, ten years previously, had chosen to reform theempire rather than to rule it. But the prince deemed that the courseof progress still claimed his undivided attention, and therefore theEmpress Kogyoku was again raised to the throne under the name of*Saimei--the first instance of a second accession in Japanese history. She reigned nearly seven years, and the era is remarkable chiefly forexpeditions against the Yemishi and for complications with Korea. Tothe former chapter of history sufficient reference had already beenmade, but the latter claims a moment's attention. *It is scarcely necessary to remind the reader that allthe names given in these pages to Japanese sovereigns areposthumous. Thus Saimei, during her lifetime, was calledAme-toyo-takara-ikashi-hi-tarashi-hime. RELATIONS WITH KOREA It has been shown how, in A. D. 562, the Japanese settlement in Mimanawas exterminated; how the Emperor Kimmei's dying behest to hissuccessor was that this disgrace must be removed; how subsequentattempts to carry out his testament ended in failure, owing largelyto Japan's weak habit of trusting the promises of Shiragi, and how, in 618, the Sui Emperor, Yang, at the head of a great army, failed tomake any impression on Korea. Thereafter, intercourse between Japan and the peninsula was of afitful character unmarked by any noteworthy event until, in thesecond year (651) of the "White Pheasant" era, the Yamato Courtessayed to assert itself in a futile fashion by refusing to giveaudience to Shiragi envoys because they wore costumes after the Tangfashion without offering any excuse for such a caprice. Kotoku wasthen upon the Japanese throne, and Japan herself was busily occupiedimporting and assimilating Tang institutions. That she should havetaken umbrage at similar imitation on Shiragi's part seemscapricious. Shiragi sent no more envoys, and presently (655), findingherself seriously menaced by a coalition between Koma and Kudara, sheapplied to the Tang Court for assistance. The application produced nopractical response, but Shiragi, who for some time had been able todefy the other two principalities, now saw and seized an opportunityoffered by the debauchery and misrule of the King of Kudara. Shecollected an army to attack her neighbour and once more supplicatedTang's aid. This was in the year 660. The second appeal produced apowerful response. Kao-sung, then the Tang Emperor, despatched ageneral, Su Ting-fang, at the head of an army of two hundred thousandmen. There was now no long and tedious overland march round thelittoral of the Gulf of Pechili and across Liaotung. Su embarked hisforces at Chengshan, on the east of the Shantung promontory, andcrossed direct to Mishi-no-tsu--the modern Chemulpo--thus attackingKudara from the west while Shiragi moved against it from the east. Kudara was crushed. It lost ten thousand men, and all its prominentpersonages, from the debauched King downwards, were sent as prisonersto Tang. But one great captain, Pok-sin, saved the situation. Collecting the fugitive troops of Kudara he fell suddenly on Shiragiand drove her back, thereafter appealing for Japanese aid. At the Yamato Court Shiragi was now regarded as a traditional enemy. It had played fast and loose again and again about Mimana, and in theyear 657 it had refused safe conduct for a Japanese embassy to theTang Court. The Empress Saimei decided that Kudara must be succoured. Living in Japan at that time was Phung-chang, * a younger brother ofthe deposed King of Kudara. It was resolved that he should be sent tothe peninsula accompanied by a sufficient force to place him on thethrone. But Saimei died before the necessary preparations werecompleted, and the task of carrying out a design which had alreadyreceived his endorsement devolved upon Prince Naka, the greatreformer. A fleet of 170 ships carrying an army of thirty-seventhousand men escorted Phung-chang from Tsukushi, and the kingdom ofKudara was restored. But the conclusive battle had still to befought. It took place in September, 662, at Paik-chhon-ku (Ung-jin), between the Chinese under Liu Jen-kuei, a Tang general, and theJapanese under Atsumi no Hirafu. The forces were about equal on eachside, and it was the first signal trial of strength between Chineseand Japanese. No particulars have been handed down by history. Nothing is known except that the Japanese squadron drove straightahead, and that the Chinese attacked from both flanks. The result wasa crushing defeat for the Japanese. They were shattered beyond thepower of rallying, and only a remnant found its way back to Tsukushi. Kudara and Koma fell, and Japan lost her last footing in a regionwhere her prestige had stood so high for centuries. *He was a hostage. The constant residence of Korean hostages in Japanspeaks eloquently of the relations existing between the twocountries. There were no Japanese hostages in Korea. Shiragi continued during more than a hundred years to maintain asemblance of deferential intercourse, but her conduct becameultimately so unruly that, in the reign of Nimmyo (834-850), herpeople were prohibited from visiting Japan. From Kudara, however, after its overthrow by China, there migrated almost continuously forsome time a number of inhabitants who became naturalized in Japan. They were distributed chiefly in the provinces of Omi and Musashi, Son-Kwang, a brother of the former King of Kudara, being required tolive in Naniwa (Osaka) for the purpose of controlling them. Koma, also, when it fell into Chinese hands, sent many settlers to Japan, and during the reign of the Empress Gemmyo (708-715), they weretransferred from the six provinces of Suruga, Kai, Sagami, Kazusa, Shimosa, and Hitachi to Musashi, where the district inhabited by themwas thenceforth called Koma-gori. Thus, Japan extended herhospitality to the men whose independence she had not been able toassert. Her relations with her peninsular neighbour ended humanelythough not gloriously. They had cost her heavily in life andtreasure, but she had been repaid fully with the civilization whichKorea helped her to import. THE THIRTY-EIGHTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR TENCHI (A. D. 668-671) It will be observed that although the thirty-seventh sovereign, theEmpress Saimei, died in the year 661, the reign of her successor, Tenchi, did not commence historically until 668. There thus appearsto have been an interregnum of seven years. The explanation is thatthe Crown Prince, Naka, while taking the sceptre, did not actuallywield it. He entrusted the administrative functions to his youngerbrother, Oama, and continued to devote himself to the great work ofreform. He had stood aside in favour of Kotoku sixteen yearspreviously and in favour of the Empress Saimei six years previously, and now, for seven years longer, he refrained from identifyinghimself with the Throne until the fate of his innovations was known. Having assumed the task of eradicating abuses which, for a thousandyears, had been growing unchecked, he shrank from associating theCrown directly with risks of failure. But in the year 668, judgingthat his reforms had been sufficiently assimilated to warrantconfidence, he formally ascended the throne and is known in historyas Tenchi (Heavenly Intelligence). Only four years of life remained to him, and almost immediately afterhis accession he lost his great coadjutor, Kamatari. Of the four menwho had worked out the "Daika restoration, " Kuromaro, the student, died in China a year (654) after the demise of the illustriouspriest, Bin; Kamatari barely survived until success came in sight, and Prince Naka (Tenchi) was taken two years later (671). It isrelated that in the days when the prince and Kamatari planned theoutlines of their great scheme, they were accustomed to meet forpurposes of conference in a remote valley on the east of the capital, where an aged wistaria happened to be in bloom at the most criticalof their consultations. Kamatari therefore desired to change his ujiname from Nakatomi to Fujiwara (wistaria), and the prince, onascending the throne, gave effect to this request. There thus cameinto existence a family, the most famous in Japanese history. Thesecluded valley where the momentous meetings took place received thename of Tamu* no Mine, and a shrine stands there now in memory ofKamatari. The Emperor would fain have attended Kamatari's obsequiesin person, but his ministers dissuaded him on the ground that such acourse would be unprecedented. His Majesty confined himself thereforeto conferring on the deceased statesman posthumous official rank, thefirst instance of a practice destined to became habitual in Japan. *"Tamu" signifies to converse about military affairs. THE OMI STATUES AND THE CENSUS REGISTER During the reign of Tenchi no rescript embodying signaladministrative changes was issued, though the reforms previouslyinaugurated seem to have made steady progress. But by a legislativeoffice specially organized for the purpose there was enacted a bodyof twenty-two laws called the Omi Ritsu-ryo (the Omi Statutes), Omi, on the shore of Lake Biwa, being then the seat of the Imperial Court. Shotoku Taishi's Jushichi Kempo, though often spoken of as alegislative ordinance, was really an ethical code, but the OmiRitsu-ryo had the character of genuine laws, the first of their kindin Japan. Unfortunately this valuable document did not survive. Ourknowledge of it is confined to a statement in the Memoirs of Kamatarithat it was compiled in the year 667. Two years later--that is tosay, in the year after Tenchi's actual accession--the censusregister, which had formed an important feature of the Daika reforms, became an accomplished fact. Thenceforth there was no furtheroccasion to appeal to the barbarous ordeal of boiling water(kuga-dachi) when questions of lineage had to be determined. THE THIRTY-NINTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR KOBUN (A. D. 672-672) Among four "palace ladies" (uneme) upon whom the Emperor Tenchilooked with favour, one, Yaka of Iga province, bore him a son knownin his boyhood days as Prince Iga but afterwards called Prince Otomo. For this lad his father conceived a strong affection, and woulddoubtless have named him heir apparent had he not been deterred bythe consideration that during his own abstention from actuallyoccupying the throne, administrative duties would have to beentrusted mainly to the hands of a Prince Imperial, and Otomo, beingonly thirteen years of age, could not undertake such a task. Thus, onTenchi's younger brother, Oama, the dignity of Crown Prince wasconferred, and he became the Emperor's locum tenens, in whichposition he won universal applause by sagacity and energy. But duringthese seven years of nominal interregnum, the fame of Prince Otomoalso grew upon men's lips. An ancient book speaks of him as "wise andintelligent; an able administrator alike of civil and of militaryaffairs; commanding respect and esteem; sage of speech, and rich inlearning. " When the Emperor actually ascended the throne, Otomo hadreached his twentieth year, and four years later (671) the sovereignappointed him prime minister (dajo daijin), an office then createdfor the first time. Thenceforth the question of Tenchi's successor began to bedisquieting. The technical right was on Oama's side, but the paternalsympathy was with Otomo. Tradition has handed down a tale about acertain Princess Nukata, who, having bestowed her affectionsoriginally on Prince Oama, was afterwards constrained to yield to theaddresses of the Emperor Tenchi, and thus the two brothers becameenemies. But that story does not accord with facts. It is alsorelated that during a banquet at the palace on the occasion ofTenchi's accession, Prince Oama thrust a spear through the floor frombelow, and the Emperor would have punished the outrage with death hadnot Kamatari interceded for the prince. These narratives are cited toprove that the Emperor Tenchi's purpose was to leave the throne toOtomo, not Oama. There is, however, no valid reason to infer any suchintention. What actually occurred was that when, within a few monthsof Otomo's appointment as dajo daijin, the sovereign found himselfmortally sick, he summoned Oama and named him to succeed But Oama, having been warned of a powerful conspiracy to place Otomo on thethrone, and not unsuspicious that it had the Emperor's sympathy, declined the honour and announced his intention of entering religion, which he did by retiring to the monastery at Yoshino. Theconspirators, at whose head were the minister of the Left, Soga noAkae, and the minister of the Right, Nakatomi no Kane, aimed atreverting to the times when, by placing on the throne a prince oftheir own choice, one or two great uji had grasped the wholepolitical power. The prime mover was Kane, muraji of the Nakatomi. Immediately after Tenchi's death, which took place at the close of671, and after the accession of Prince Otomo--known in history as theEmperor Kobun--the conspirators began to concert measures for thedestruction of Prince Oama, whom they regarded as a fatal obstacle tothe achievement of their purpose. But the Emperor Kobun's consort, Toichi, was a daughter of Prince Oama, and two sons of the latter, Takaichi and Otsu, were also in the Court at Omi. By these threepersons Yoshino was kept fully informed of everything happening atOmi. Oama fled precipitately. He did not even wait for a palanquin ora horse. His course was shaped eastward, for two reasons: the first, that his domains as Prince Imperial had been in Ise and Mino; thesecond, that since in the eastern provinces the Daika reforms hadbeen first put into operation, in the eastern provinces, also, conservatism might be expected to rebel with least reluctance. The struggle that ensued was the fiercest Japan had witnessed sincethe foundation of the empire. For twenty days there was almostcontinuous fighting. The prince's first measure was to block thepasses on the eastward high-roads, so that the Omi forces could notreach him till he was fully ready to receive them. Thousands flockedto his standard, and he was soon able to assume the offensive. On theother hand, those whom the Omi Court summoned to arms declined forthe most part to respond. The nation evidently regarded Prince Oamaas the champion of the old against the new. The crowning contest tookplace at the Long Bridge of Seta, which spans the waters of Lake Biwaat the place where they narrow to form the Seta River. Deserted bymen who had sworn to support him, his army shattered, and he himselfa fugitive, the Emperor fled to Yamazaki and there committed suicide. His principal instigator, muraji of the Nakatomi and minister of theRight, with eight other high officials, suffered the extreme penalty;Akae, omi of the Soga and minister of the Left, had to go into exile, but the rest of Kobun's followers were pardoned. Not because of itsmagnitude alone but because its sequel was the dethronement andsuicide of a legitimate Emperor, this struggle presents a shockingaspect to Japanese eyes. It is known in history as the "Jinshindisturbance, " so called after the cyclical designation of the year(672) when it occurred. THE FORTIETH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR TEMMU (A. D. 673-686) Prince Oama succeeded to the throne and is known in history as thefortieth Sovereign, Temmu. During the fourteen years of his reign hecompleted the administrative systems of the Daika era, and assertedthe dignity and authority of the Court to an unprecedented degree. Among the men who espoused his cause in the Jinshin struggle thereare found many names of aristocrats who boasted high titles and ownedhereditary estates. Whatever hopes these conservatives entertained ofa reversion to the old-time-order of things, they were signallydisappointed. The Daika reformers had invariably contrived thatconciliation should march hand in hand with innovation. Temmu reliedon coercion. He himself administered State affairs with littlerecourse to ministerial aid but always with military assistance inthe background. He was especially careful not to sow the seeds of theabuses which his immediate predecessors had worked to eradicate. Thus, while he did not fail to recognize the services of those thathad stood by him in the Jinshin tumult, he studiously refrained fromrewarding them with official posts, and confined himself to bestowingtitles of a purely personal character together with posthumous rankin special cases. It has been shown that in the so-called "code" of Shotoku Taishiprominent attention was directed to the obligations of decorum. Thisprinciple received much elaboration in Temmu's reign. A law, comprising no less than ninety-two articles, was enacted for guidancein Court ceremonials, the demeanour and salutation of each grade ofofficials being explicitly set forth. It is worthy of note that aveto was imposed on the former custom of kneeling to make obeisanceand advancing or retreating in the presence of a superior on theknees and hands; all salutations were ordered to be made standing. Further, the clear differentiation of official functions, which hadbeen commenced under the sway of Tenchi, was completed in this reign. But, though relying on military force in the last resort, Temmu didnot neglect appeals to religion and devices to win popularity. On theone hand, we find him establishing a War-Office (Heisei-kan) andmaking it second in grade and importance to the Privy Council(Dajo-kwan) alone; on the other, he is seen endowing shrines, erecting temples, and organizing religious fetes on a sumptuousscale. If, again, all persons in official position were required tosupport armed men; if the provincials were ordered to practisemilitary exercises, and if arms were distributed to the people in thehome provinces (Kinai), at the same time taxes were freely remitted, and amnesties were readily granted. Further, if much attention waspaid to archery, and if drastic measures were adopted to crush thepartisans of the Omi Court who still occasionally raised the standardof revolt, the sovereign devoted not less care to the discharge ofthe administrative functions, and his legislation extended even tothe realm of fishery, where stake-nets and other methods of aninjurious nature were strictly interdicted. The eating of flesh wasprohibited, but whether this veto was issued in deference to Buddhismor from motives of economy, there is no evidence to show. One very noteworthy feature of Temmu's administration was that henever appointed to posts in the Government men who did not givepromise of competence. All those who possessed a claim on hisgratitude were nominated chamberlains (toneri), and having been thusbrought under observation, were subsequently entrusted with officialfunctions commensurate with their proved ability. The same plan waspursued in the case of females. With regard to the titles conferredby this sovereign in recognition of meritorious services, they weredesigned to replace the old-time kabane (or sei), in that whereas thekabane had always been hereditary, and was generally associated withan office, the new sei was obtained by special grant, and, though itthereafter became hereditary, it was never an indication of officebearing. Eight of these new titles were instituted by Temmu, namely, mahito, asomi, sukune, imiki, michi-no-shi, omi, muraji, and inagi, and their nearest English equivalents are, perhaps, duke, marquis, count, lord, viscount, baron, and baronet. It is unnecessary to giveany etymological analysis of these terms; their order alone isimportant. But two points have to be noted. The first is that thetitle imiki was generally that chosen for bestowal on naturalizedforeigners; the second, that a conspicuously low place in the list isgiven to the revered old titles, ami and muraji. This latter featureis significant. The new peerage was, in fact, designed not only tosupplant, but also to discredit, the old. Thus, in the first place, the system was abolished under which alluji having the title of omi were controlled by the o-omi, and allhaving the title of muraji by the o-muraji; and in the second, thoughthe above eight sei were established, not every uji was necessarilygranted a title. Only the most important received that distinction, and even these found themselves relegated to a comparatively lowplace on the list. All the rest, however, were permitted to use theirold, but now depreciated kabane, and no change was made in thetraditional custom of entrusting the management of each uji's affairsto its own Kami. But, in order to guard against the abuses of thehereditary right, an uji no Kami ceased in certain cases to succeedby birthright and became elective, the election requiring Imperialendorsement. The effect of these measures was almost revolutionary. They changedthe whole fabric of the Japanese polity. But in spite of all Temmu'sprecautions to accomplish the centralization of power, success wasmenaced by a factor which could scarcely have been controlled. Thearable lands in the home provinces at that time probably did notexceed 130, 000 acres, and the food stuffs produced cannot havesufficed for more than a million persons. As for the forests, theircapacities were ill developed, and thus it fell out that thesustenance fiefs granted to omi and muraji of the lower grades didnot exceed a few acres. Gradually, as families multiplied, theconditions of life became too straightened in such circumstances, andrelief began to be sought in provincial appointments, which furnishedopportunities for getting possession of land. It was in this way thatlocal magnates had their origin and the seeds of genuine feudalismwere sown. Another direction in which success fell short of purposewas in the matter of the hereditary guilds (be). The Daika reformshad aimed at converting everyone in the empire into a veritable unitof the nation, not a mere member of an uji or a tomobe. But it provedimpossible to carry out this system in the case of the tomobe (calledalso kakibe), or labouring element of the uji, and the yakabe, ordomestic servants of a family. To these their old status had to beleft. THE FORTY-FIRST SOVEREIGN, THE EMPRESS JITO (A. D. 690-697) The Emperor Temmu died in 686, and the throne remained nominallyunoccupied until 690. A similar interregnum had separated theaccession of Tenchi from the death of his predecessor, the EmpressSaimei, and both events were due to a cognate cause. Tenchi did notwish that his reforms should be directly associated with the Throneuntil their success was assured; Temmu desired that the additionsmade by him to the Daika system should be consolidated by the geniusof his wife before the sceptre passed finally into the hands of hisson. Jito had stood by her husband's side when, as Prince Oama, hehad barely escaped the menaces of the Omi Court, and there is reasonto think that she had subsequently shared his administrativeconfidence as she had assisted at his military councils. The heir tothe throne, Prince Kusakabe, was then in his twenty-fifth year, buthe quietly endorsed the paternal behest that his mother should directState affairs. The arrangement was doubtless intended to betemporary, but Kusakabe died three years later, and yielding to thesolicitations of her ministers, Jito then (690) finally ascended thethrone. Her reign, however, was not entirely free from the family strifewhich too often accompanied a change of sovereigns in Japan's earlydays. In addition to his legitimate offspring, Kusakabe, the EmperorTemmu left several sons by secondary consorts, and the eldestsurvivor of these, Prince Otsu, listening to the counsels of the OmiCourt's partisans and prompted by his own well-deserved popularityand military prowess, intrigued to seize the throne. He was executedin his house, and his fate is memorable for two reasons: the first, that his young wife, Princess Yamanobe, "hastened thither with herhair dishevelled and her feet bare and joined him in death;" thesecond, that all his followers, over thirty in number, werepardoned--rare clemency in those days. Prince Otsu is said to haveinaugurated a pastime which afterwards became very popular--thecomposition of Chinese verses. SLAVES The most important legislation of the Empress Jito's reign related toslaves. * In the year of her accession (690), she issued an edictordering that interest on all debts contracted prior to, or duringthe year (685) prior to Temmu's death should be cancelled. Temmuhimself had created the precedent for this. When stricken by mortalillness, he had proclaimed remission of all obligations, "whether inrice or in valuables, " incurred on or before the last day of thepreceding year. But Jito's edict had a special feature. It providedthat anyone already in servitude on account of a debt should berelieved from serving any longer on account of the interest. Thus itis seen that the practice of pledging the service of one's body indischarge of debt was in vogue at that epoch, and that it receivedofficial recognition with the proviso that the obligation must notextend to interest. Debts, therefore, had become instruments forswelling the ranks of the slave class. *The senmin, or slave class, was divided into two groups, namely, public slaves (kwanko ryoko, and ko-nuhi), and private slaves (keninand shi-nuhi). But while sanctioning this evil custom, the tendency of the law wasto minimize its results. In another edict of the same reign it waslaid down that, when a younger brother of the common people(hyakusei) was sold by his elder brother, the former should still beclassed as a freeman (ryomin), but a child sold by its father becamea serf (senmin); that service rendered to one of the senmin class bya freeman in payment of a debt must not affect the status of thefreeman, and that the children of freemen so serving, even thoughborn of a union with a slave, should be reckoned as freemen. It hasbeen shown already that degradation to slavery was a commonpunishment or expiation of a crime, and the annals of the periodunder consideration indicate that men and women of the slave classwere bought and sold like any other chattels. Documents certainly notof more recent date than the ninth century, show particulars of someof these transactions. One runs as follows: Men (nu) 3 Women (hi) 3 -- Total 6 2 at 10000 bundles of rice each 2 at 800 bundles of rice each. 1 at 700 bundles of rice. 1 at 600 bundles of rice. ----- Total 4900 bundles 1 man (nu) named Kokatsu; age 34; with a mole under the left eye Price 1000 bundles of rice. The above are slaves of Kannawo Oba of Okambe in Yamagata district. Comparison of several similar vouchers indicates that the usual priceof an able-bodied slave was one thousand bundles of rice, and as onebundle gave five sho of unhulled rice, one thousand bundlesrepresented fifty koku, which, in the modern market, would sell forabout six hundred yen. It is not to be inferred, however, that thesale of freemen into slavery was sanctioned by law. During the reignof the Emperor Temmu, a farmer of Shimotsuke province wished to sellhis child on account of a bad harvest, but his application forpermission was refused, though forwarded by the provincial governor. In fact, sales or purchases of the junior members of a family by theseniors were not publicly permitted, although such transactionsevidently took place. Even the manumission of a slave requiredofficial sanction. Thus it is recorded that, in the reign of theEmpress Jito, Komaro, an asomi, asked and obtained the Court'spermission to grant their freedom to six hundred slaves in hispossession. Another rule enacted in Jito's time was that the slavesof an uji, when once manumitted, could not be again placed on theslaves' register at the request of a subsequent uji no Kami. Finallythis same sovereign enacted that yellow-coloured garments should beworn by freemen and black by slaves. History shows that the sale andpurchase of human beings in Japan, subject to the above limitations, was not finally forbidden until the year 1699. THE MILITARY SYSTEM It has been seen that the Emperors Kotoku and Temmu attached muchimportance to the development of military efficiency and that theyissued orders with reference to the training of provincials, thearmed equipment of the people, the storage of weapons of war, and themaintenance of men-at-arms by officials. Compulsory service, however, does not appear to have been inaugurated until the reign of theEmpress Jito, when (689) her Majesty instructed the local governorsthat one-fourth of the able-bodied men in each province should betrained every year in warlike exercises. This was the beginning ofthe conscription system in Japan. THE ORDER OF SUCCESSION OF THE THRONE That the throne should be occupied by members of the Imperial familyonly had been a recognized principle of the Japanese polity fromremotest epochs. But there had been an early departure from the ruleof primogeniture, and since the time of Nintoku the eligibility ofbrothers also had been acknowledged in practice. To this latitude ofchoice many disturbances were attributable, notably the fell Jinshinstruggle, and the terrors of that year were still fresh in men'sminds when, during Jito's reign, the deaths of two Crown Princes insuccession brought up the dangerous problem again for solution. Theprinces were Kusakabe and Takaichi. The former had been nominated byhis father, Temmu, but was instructed to leave the reins of power inthe hands of his mother, Jito, for a time. He died in the year 689, while Jito was still regent, and Takaichi, another of Temmu's sons, who had distinguished himself as commander of a division of troops inthe Jinshin campaign, was made Prince Imperial. But he too died in696, and it thus fell out that the only surviving and legitimateoffspring of an Emperor who had actually reigned was Prince Kuzuno, son of Kobun. To his accession, however, there was this great objection that hisfather, though wielding the sceptre for a few months, had borne armsin the Jinshin disturbance against Temmu and Jito, and was held tohave forfeited his title by defeat and suicide. His assumption of thesceptre would have created a most embarrassing situation, and hisenforced disqualification might have led to trouble. In this dilemma, the Empress convened a State council, Prince Kuzuno also beingpresent, and submitted the question for their decision. But nonereplied until Kuzuno himself, coming forward, declared that unlessthe principle of primogeniture were strictly followed, endlesscomplications would be inevitable. This involved the sacrifice of hisown claim and the recognition of Karu, eldest son of the lateKusakabe. The 14th of March, 696, when this patriotic declaration wasmade, is memorable in Japanese history as the date when the principleof primogeniture first received official approval. Six monthsafterwards, the Empress abdicated in favour of Prince Karu, known inhistory as forty-second sovereign, Mommu. She herself was honoured byher successor with the title of Dajo-Tenno (Great Superior). ENGRAVING: ONE OF THE ORNAMENTAL GATES USED IN JAPANESE GARDENS ENGRAVING: SWORDS CHAPTER XVI THE DAIHO LAWS AND THE YORO LAWS THE FORTY-SECOND SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR MOMMU (A. D. 697-707) THE Emperor Mommu took for consort a daughter of Fuhito, representative of the Fujiwara family and son of the great Kamatari. She did not receive the title of Empress, that distinction havingbeen hitherto strictly confined to spouses chosen from a Kwobetsufamily, whereas the Fujiwara belonged to the Shimbetsu. But thisunion proved the first step towards a practice which soon becamehabitual and which produced a marked effect on the history of Japan, the practice of supplying Imperial consorts from the Fujiwara family. THE DAIHO LEGISLATION On Mommu's accession the year-period took his name, that being thenthe custom unless some special reason suggested a different epithet. Such a reason was the discovery of gold in Tsushima in 701, and inconsequence the year-name was altered to Daiho (Great Treasure). Itis a period memorable for legislative activity. The reader is awarethat, during the reign of Tenchi, a body of statutes in twenty-twovolumes was compiled under the name of Omi Ritsu-ryo, or the "Codeand Penal Law of Omi, " so called because the Court then resided atShiga in Omi. History further relates that these statutes wererevised by the Emperor Mommu, who commenced the task in 681 and that, eleven years later, when the Empress Jito occupied the throne, thisrevised code was promulgated. But neither in its original nor in its revised form has it survived, and the inference is that in practice it was found in need of asecond revision, which took place in the years 700 and 701 underinstructions from the Emperor Mommu, the revisers being a committeeof ten, headed by Fuhito of the Fujiwara family, and by Mahito (Duke)Awada. There resulted eleven volumes of the Code (ryo) and six of thePenal Law (ritsu), and these were at once promulgated, expert juristsbeing despatched, at the same time, to various quarters to expoundthe new legislation. Yet again, seventeen years later (718), by orderof the Empress Gensho, revision was carried out by another committeeheaded by the same Fujiwara Fuhito, now prime minister, and theamended volumes, ten of the Code and ten of the Law, were knownthenceforth as the "New Statutes, " or the "Code and Law of the YoroPeriod. " They were supplemented by a body of official rules (kyaku)and operative regulations (shiki), the whole forming a very elaborateassemblage of laws. The nature and scope of the code will be sufficiently understood fromthe titles of its various sections: (1) Official Titles; (2) Dutiesof Officials; (3) Duties of Officials of the Empress' Household; (4)Duties of Officials in the Household of the Heir Apparent; (5) Dutiesof Officials in the Households of Officers of High Rank; (6) Servicesto the Gods; (7) Buddhist Priests; (8) the Family; (9) the Land; (10)Taxation; (11) Learning; (12) Official Ranks and Titles; (13) TheDescent of the Crown and Dignities of Imperial Persons; (14)Meritorious Discharge of Official Duties; (15) Salaries; (16) CourtGuards; (17) Army and Frontier Defences; (18) Ceremonies; (19)Official Costumes; (20) Public Works; (21) Mode of addressing Personsof Rank; (22) Stores of Rice and other Grain; (23) Stables andFodder; (24) Duties of Medical Officers attached to the Court; (25)Official Vacations; (26) Funerals and Mourning; (27) Watch and Wardand Markets; (28) Arrest of Criminals; (29) Jails, and (30)Miscellaneous, including Bailment, Finding of Lost Goods, etc. * This "Code and the Penal Law" accompanying it went into fulloperation from the Daiho era and remained in force thereafter, subject to the revisions above indicated. There is no reason to doubtthat the highly artificial organization of society which suchstatutes indicate, existed, in outline at all events, from the reignof Kotoku, but its plainly legalized reality dates, so far as historyis concerned, from the Daiho era. As for the rules (kyaku) andregulations (shiki), they were re-drafted: first, in the Konin era(810-824) by a commission under the direction of the grandcouncillor, * Fujiwara Fuyutsugu; next, in the Jokwan era (859-877) byFujiwara Ujimune and others, and finally in the Engi era (901-923) bya committee with Fujiwara Tadahira for president. These three sets ofprovisions were spoken of in subsequent ages as the "Rules andRegulations of the Three Generations" (Sandai-kyaku-shiki). It willbe observed that just as this remarkable body of enactments owed itsinception in Japan to Kamatari, the great founder of the Fujiwarafamily, so every subsequent revision was presided over by one of hisdescendants. The thirty sections of the code comprise 949 articles, which are all extant, but of the penal laws in twelve sections thereremain only 322 articles. *Tarring, in the "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. " It may be broadly stated that the Daika reformation, which formed thebasis of this legislation, was a transition from the Japanese systemof heredity to the Chinese system of morality. The penal law (ritsu), although its Chinese original has not survived for purposes ofcomparison, was undoubtedly copied from the work of the Tanglegislators, the only modification being in degrees of punishment;but the code, though it, too, was partially exotic in character, evidently underwent sweeping alterations so as to bring it intoconformity with Japanese customs and traditions. Each of therevisions recorded above must be assumed to have extended thisadaptation. The basic principle of the Daiho code was that the people at large, without regard to rank or pedigree, owed equal duty to the State;that only those having special claims on public benevolence wereentitled to fixed exemptions, and that not noble birth butintellectual capacity and attainments constituted a qualification foroffice. Nevertheless Japanese legislators did not find it possible toapply fully these excellent principles. Habits of a millennium'sgrowth could not be so lightly eradicated. Traces of the old obtrudethemselves plainly from between the lines of the new. Thus the "Lawof Descent" (Keishi-ryo), which formed the thirteenth section of thecode, was a special embodiment of Japanese social institutions, having no parallel in the Tang statutes, and further, while declaringerudition and intelligence to be the unique qualifications foroffice, no adequate steps were taken to establish schools forimparting the former or developing the latter. In short, the noblesstill retained a large part of their old power, and the senmin(slave) class still continued to labour under various disabilities. That several important provisions of the Land Code (Den-ryo) shouldhave fallen quickly into disuse will be easily comprehended when wecome presently to examine that system in detail, but for the neglectof portions of the Military Code (Gumbo-ryo), of the Code of OfficialRanks and Titles, and of the Code relating to the MeritoriousDischarge of Official Duties, it is necessary to lay theresponsibility on the shoulders of the hereditary nobles, whoseinfluence out-weighed the force of laws. It may indeed be broadlystated that the potency of the Daiho code varied in the direct ratioof the centralization of administrative authority. Whenever feudalismprevailed, the code lost its binding force. In the realm of criminallaw it is only consistent with the teaching of all experience to findthat mitigation of penalties was provided according to the rank ofthe culprit. There were eight major crimes (hachi-gyaku), all in thenature of offences against the State, the Court, and the family, andthe order of their gravity was: (1) high treason (against the State);(2) high treason (against the Crown); (3) treason; (4) parricide, fratricide, etc. ; (5) offences against humanity; (6) lése majesté;(7) unfilial conduct, and (8) crimes against society. But there werealso six mitigations (roku-gi), all enacted with the object oflightening punishments according to the rank, official position, orpublic services of an offender. As for slaves, being merely a part oftheir proprietor's property like any other goods and chattels, thelaw took no cognizance of them. OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION Under the Daiho code a more elaborate system of administrativeorganization was effected than that conceived by the Daika reformers. In the Central Government there were two boards, eight departments, and one office, namely: (1). The Jingi-kwan, or Board of Religion(Shinto). This stood at the head of all, in recognition of the divineorigin of the Imperial family. A Japanese work (Nihon KodaihoShakugi) explains the fundamental tenet of the nation's creed thus:"If a State has its origin in military prowess, which is essentiallyhuman, then by human agencies also a State may be overthrown. To besecure against such vicissitudes a throne must be based uponsomething superior to man's potentialities. Divine authority alonefulfils that definition, and it is because the throne of Japan had asuperhuman foundation that its existence is perennial. Therefore theJingi-kwan stands above all others in the State. " In another, book(Jingi-ryo) we find it stated: "All the deities* of heaven and earthare worshipped in the Jingi-kwan. On the day of the coronation theNakatomi performs service to the deities of heaven and the Imibemakes offerings of three kinds of sacred articles. " *The eight Kami specially worshipped in the Jingi-kwan wereTaka-mi-musubi, Kammi-musubi, Tamatsume-musubi, Iku-musubi, Taru-musubi, Omiya no me, Miketsu, and Koto-shiro-nushi. Thus, though the models for the Daiho system were taken from China, they were adapted to Japanese customs and traditions, as is proved bythe premier place given to the Jingi-kwan. Worship and religiousceremonial have always taken precedence of secular business in theCourt of Japan. Not only at the central seat of government did theyear commence with worship, but in the provinces, also, the firstthing recorded by a newly appointed governor was his visit to theShinto shrines, and on the opening day of each month he repairedthither to offer the gohei. * Religious rites, in short, were theprime function of government, and therefore, whereas the officecharged with these duties ranked low in the Tang system, it wasplaced at the head of all in Japan. *Angular bunches of white paper stripes, representing the clothofferings originally tied to branches of the sacred cleyera tree atfestival time. (2). The Daijo-kwan (called also Dajo-kwari), or Board of PrivyCouncil. This office ranked next to the Board of Religion and had theduty of superintending the eight State departments. Its personnelconsisted of the prime minister (daijo-daijin or dajo-daijin), theminister of the Left (sa-daijiri), and the minister of the Right(u-daijiri). (3). The Nakatsukasa-sho, or Central Department of State (literally, "Intermediate Transacting Department"), which was not an executiveoffice, its chief duties being to transmit the sovereign's decrees tothe authorities concerned and the memorials of the latter to theformer, as well as to discharge consultative functions. (4). The Shikibu-sho, or Department of Ceremonies. This office had toconsider and determine the promotion and degradation of officialsaccording to their competence and character. (5). The Jibu-sho, or Department of Civil Government, which examinedand determined everything concerning the position of noblemen, andadministered affairs relating to priests, nuns, and members of theBambetsu, * that is to say, men of foreign nationality residing inJapan. *The reader is already familiar with the terms "Kwobetsu" and"Shimbetsu. " All aliens were classed as Bambetsu. (6). The Mimbu-sho, or Department of Civil Affairs. An office whichmanaged affairs relating to the land and the people, to taxes and toforced services. (7). The Gyobu-sho, or Department of Justice. (8). The Okura-sho, or Department of Finance. (9). The Kunai-sho, or Imperial Household Department. (10). The Hyobu-sho, or Department of War. (11). The Danjo-dai, or Office of Censorship, This office had theduty of correcting civil customs and punishing and conduct on thepart of officials. In the year 799, Kwammu being then on the throne, a law was enacted for the Danjo-dai. It consisted of eighty-threearticles, and it had the effect of greatly augmenting the powers ofthe office. But in the period 810-829, it was found necessary toorganize a special bureau of kebiishi, or executive police, to whichthe functions of the Danjo-dai subsequently passed, as did also thoseof the Gyobu-sho in great part. These two boards, eight departments, and one office all had their locations within the palace enclosure, so that the Imperial Court and the Administration were notdifferentiated. LOCAL ADMINISTRATIVE MACHINERY For administrative purposes the capital was divided into twosections, the Eastern and the Western, which were controlled by aLeft Metropolitan Office and a Right Metropolitan Office, respectively. In Naniwa (Osaka) also, which ranked as a city ofspecial importance, there was an executive office called theSettsu-shoku--Settsu being the name of the province in which the townstood--and in Chikuzen province there was the Dazai-fu (GreatAdministrative Office), which had charge of foreign relations inaddition to being the seat of the governor-generalship of the wholeisland of Kyushu. In spite of its importance as an administrativepost, the Dazai-fu, owing to its distance from the capital, came tobe regarded as a place of exile for high officials who had fallen outof Imperial favour. The empire was divided into provinces (kuni) of four classes--great, superior, medium, and inferior, --and each province was subdividedinto districts (kori) of five classes--great, superior, medium, inferior, and small. The term "province" had existed from remoteantiquity, but it represented at the outset a comparatively smallarea, for in the time of the Emperor Keitai (A. D. 507-531), therewere 144 kuni. This number was largely reduced in the sequel ofsurveys and re-adjustments of boundaries during the Daika era(645-650), and after the Daiho reforms (701-704) it stood atfifty-eight, but subsequently, at an uncertain date, it grew tosixty-six and remained permanently thus. The kori (district) of theDaika and Daiho reforms had originally been called agata (literally"arable land"), and had been subdivided into inaki (granary) and mura(village). A miyatsuko had administered the affairs of the kuni, holding the office by hereditary right, and the agata of which therewere about 590, a frequently changing total as well as the inaki andthe mura had been under officials called nushi. But according to theDaika and Daiho systems, each kuni was placed under a governor(kokushi), chosen on account of competence and appointed for a termof four years; each district (kori) was administered by a cho(chief). MILITARY INSTITUTIONS In the capital there were three bodies of guards; namely, the emon-fu(gate guards); the sa-eji-fu and the u-eji-fu (Left and Rightwatches). There was also the sa-ma-ryo and the u-ma-ryo (cavalry ofthe Left and of the Right), and the sa-hyogo-ryo and the u-hyogo-ryo(Left and Right Departments of Supply). These divisions into "left"and "right, " and the precedence given to the left, were derived fromChina, but it has to be observed in Japan's case that the metropolisitself was similarly divided into left and right quarters. Outsidethe capital each province had an army corps (gundan), and one-thirdof all the able-bodied men (seitei), from the age of twenty to thatof sixty, were required to serve with the colours of an army corpsfor a fixed period each year. From these provincial troops draftswere taken every year for a twelve-month's duty as palace guards(eji) in the metropolis, and others were detached for three-years'service as frontier guards (saki-mori) in the provinces lying alongthe western sea board. The army corps differed numerically according to the extent of theprovince where they had their headquarters, but for each thousand menthere were one colonel (taiki) and two lieutenant-colonels (shoki);for every five hundred men, one major (gunki); for every two hundred, one captain (koi); for every one hundred, a lieutenant (ryosui), andfor every fifty, a sergeant-major (taisei). As for the privates, theywere organized in groups of five (go); ten (kwa), and fifty (tai). Those who could draw a bow and manage a horse were enrolled in thecavalry, the rest being infantry. From each tai two specially robustmen were selected as archers, and for each kwa there were sixpack-horses. The equipment of a soldier on campaign included a largesword (tachi) and a small sword (katana or sashi-zoe) together with aquiver (yanagui or ebira); but in time of peace these were kept instore, the daily exercises being confined to the use of the spear, the catapult (ishi-yumi) and the bow, and to the practice ofhorsemanship. When several army corps were massed to the number often thousand or more, their staff consisted of a general (shogun), two lieutenant-generals (fuku-shogun), two army-inspectors (gunkan), four secretaries (rokuji), and four sergeants (gunso). If more thanone such force took the field, the whole was commanded by ageneral-in-chief. APPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION The law provided that appointment to office and promotion shoulddepend, not upon rank, but upon knowledge and capacity. Youths whohad graduated at the university were divided into three categories:namely, those of eminent talent (shusai); those having extensiveknowledge of the Chinese classics (meikei), and those advanced inknowledge (shinshi). Official vacancies were filled from these threeclasses in the order here set down, and promotion subsequentlydepended on proficiency. But though thus apparently independent ofinherited rank, the law was not so liberal in reality. For admissionto the portals of the university was barred to all except nobles orthe sons and grandsons of literati. Scions of noble families down tothe fifth rank had the right of entry, and scions of nobles of thesixth, seventh, and eighth ranks were admitted by nomination. OFFICIAL EMOLUMENT Remuneration to officials took the form of revenue derived from landsand houses, but this subject can be treated more intelligently whenwe come to speak of the land. THE PEOPLE According to the Daiho laws one family constituted a household. Butthe number of a family was not limited: it included brothers andtheir wives and children, as well as male and female servants, sothat it might comprise as many as one hundred persons. The eldestlegitimate son was the head of the household, and its representativein the eyes of the law. A very minute census was kept. Children up tothree years of age were classed as "yellow" (kwo); those betweenthree and sixteen, as "little" (sho); those members of the householdbetween sixteen and twenty, as "middling" (chu); those between twentyand sixty, as "able-bodied" (tei), and those above sixty as "old" or"invalids, " so as to secure their exemption from forced labour(kayaku or buyaku). The census was revised every six years, twocopies of the revised document being sent to the privy council(Daijo-kwan) and one kept in the district concerned. It wascustomary, however, to preserve permanently the census of everythirtieth year* for purposes of record, and moreover the census takenin the ninth year of Tenchi's reign (670)** was also kept as areference for personal names. To facilitate the preservation of goodorder and morality, each group of five households was formed into an"association of five" (goho or gonin-gumi) with a recognized head(hocho); and fifty households constituted a village (sato or mura), which was the smallest administrative unit. The village had a mayor(richo), whose functions were to keep a record of the number ofpersons in each household; to encourage diligence in agriculture andsericulture; to reprove, and, if necessary, to report all evilconduct, and to stimulate the discharge of public service. Thus thedistrict chief (guncho or gunryo) had practically little to do beyondsuperintending the richo. *This was called gohi-seki; i. E. , comparative record for a period offive times six years. **It was designated the Kogoanen-seki, from the cyclical name of theyear. THE LAND The land laws of the Daiho era, like those of the Daika, were basedon the hypothesis that all land throughout the country was theproperty of the Crown, and that upon the latter devolved theresponsibility of equitable distribution among the people. Rice beingthe chief staple of diet and also the standard of exchange, rice-lands--that is to say, irrigated fields--were regarded as mostimportant. The law--already referred to in connexion with the Daikaera but here cited again for the sake of clearness--enacted that allpersons, on attaining the age of five, became entitled to two tan ofsuch land, females receiving two-thirds of that amount. Land thusallotted was called kubun-den, or "sustenance land" (literally, "mouth-share land"). The tan was taken for unit, because itrepresented 360 bu (or ho), and as the rice produced on one buconstituted one day's ration for an adult male, a tan yielded enoughfor one year (the year being 360 days). * *The bu in early times represented 5 shaku square, or 25 square shaku(1 seki = 1 foot very nearly); but as the shaku (10 sun) thenmeasured 2 sun (1 sun = 1. 2 inch) more than the shaku of later ages, the modern bu (or tsubo) is a square of 6 shaku side, or 36 squareshaku, though in actual dimensions the ancient and the modern areequal. The theory of distribution was that the produce of one tan served forfood, while with the produce of the second tan the cost of clothesand so forth was defrayed. The Daika and Daiho legislators alike laiddown the principle that rice-fields thus allotted should be held fora period of six years only, after which they were to revert to theCrown for redistribution, and various detailed regulations werecompiled to meet contingencies that might arise in carrying out thesystem. But, of course, it proved quite unpracticable, and thoughthat lesson obviously remained unlearned during the cycle thatseparated the Daika and the Daiho periods, there is good reason tothink that these particular provisions of the land law (Den-ryo) soonbecame a dead letter. A different method was pursued, however, in the case of uplands (asdistinguished from wet fields). These--called onchi*--were parcelledout among the families residing in a district, without distinctionof age or sex, and were held in perpetuity, never reverting to theCrown unless a family became extinct. Such land might be bought orsold--except to a Buddhist temple--but its tenure was conditionalupon planting from one hundred to three hundred mulberry trees(for purposes of sericulture) and from forty to one hundredlacquer trees, according to the grade of the tenant family. Ownership of building-land (takuchi) was equally in perpetuity, though its transfer required official approval, but dwellings orwarehouses--which in Japan have always been regarded as distinct fromthe land on which they stand--might be disposed of at pleasure. Itis not to be inferred from the above that all the land throughoutthe Empire was divided among the people. Considerable tractswere reserved for special purposes. Thus, in five home provinces(Go-Kinai) two tracts of seventy-five acres each were kept for theCourt in Yamato and Settsu, and two tracts of thirty acres each inKawachi and Yamashiro, such land being known as kwanden (officialfields), and being under the direct control of the Imperial HouseholdDepartment. *Called also yenchi--These uplands were regarded as of little valuecompared with rice-fields. There were also three other kinds of special estates, namely, iden, or lands granted to mark official ranks; shokubunden, or lands givenas salary to office-holders; and koden, or lands bestowed inrecognition of merit. As to the iden, persons of the four Imperialranks received from one hundred to two hundred acres, and personsbelonging to any of the five official grades--in each of which therewere two classes--were given from twenty to two hundred, femalesreceiving two-thirds of a male's allotment. Coming to salary lands, we find a distinction between officials serving in the capital(zaikyo) and those serving in the provinces (zaige). Among theformer, the principal were the prime minister (one hundred acres), the ministers of the Left and Right (seventy-five acres each) and thegreat councillor (fifty acres). As for provincial officials, thehighest, namely, the governor of Kyushu (who had his seat at theDazai-fu), received twenty-five acres, and the lowest, one and a halfacres. Governors of provinces--which were divided into four classes(great, superior, medium, and inferior)--received from four acres tosix and a half acres; an official (dai-hanji), corresponding to achief-justice, had five acres; a puisne justice (sho-hanji), fouracres; an officer in command of an army corps, four acres, and aliterary professor (hakushi), four acres. Grants of land as salariesfor official duties were made even to post-towns for the purpose ofdefraying the expense of coolies and horses for official use. Finally, there were koden, or lands bestowed in recognition ofdistinguished public services. Of such services four grades weredifferentiated: namely, "great merit" (taiko), for which the grantwas made in perpetuity; "superior merit" (joko), which was rewardedwith land held for three generations; "medium merit" (chuko), inwhich case the land-title had validity to the second generation only, and "inferior merit" (geko), where the land did not descend beyond ason or a daughter. It is worthy of note that in determining the orderof eligibility for grants of sustenance land (kubunden), preferencewas given to the poor above the rich, and that the officials in aprovince were allowed to cultivate unoccupied land for their ownprofit. TAXATION There were three kinds of imposts; namely, tax (so), forced service(yo or kayaku) and tribute (cho). The tax was three per cent, of thegross produce of the land--namely, three sheaves of rice out of everyhundred in the case of a male, and two out of sixty-six in the caseof a female. The tribute was much more important, for it meant thatevery able-bodied male had to pay a fixed quantity of silk-fabric, pongee, raw-silk, raw-cotton, indigo (675 grains troy), rouge (thesame quantity), copper (two and a quarter lbs. ), and, if in anImperial domain, an additional piece of cotton cloth, thirteen feetlong. Finally, the forced service meant thirty days' labour annuallyfor each able-bodied male and fifteen days for a minor. Sometimesthis compulsory service might be commuted at the rate of two and ahalf feet of cotton cloth for each day's work. Exemption from forcedlabour was granted to persons of and above the grade of official rankand to their families through three generations; to persons of andabove the fifth grade and to their families for two generations; tomen of the Imperial blood; to the sick, the infirm, the deformed, females, and slaves. Forced labourers were allowed to rest from noonto 4 P. M. In July and August. They were not required to work atnight. If they fell sick so as to be unable to labour out of doors, they were allowed only half rations. If they were taken ill on theirway to their place of work, they were left to the care of the localauthorities and fed at public charge. If they died, a coffin wasfurnished out of the public funds, and the corpse, unless claimed, was cremated, the ashes being buried by the wayside and a mark setup. Precise rules as to inheritance were laid down. A mother and astep-mother ranked equally with the eldest son for that purpose, eachreceiving two parts; younger sons received one part, and concubinesand female children received one-half of a part. There were alsostrict rules as to the measure of relief from taxation granted in theevent of crop-failure. IMPORTANCE OF DAIHO LAWS What has been set down above constitutes only a petty fraction of theDaiho legislation, but it will suffice to furnish an idea of Japanesecivilization in the eighth century of the Christian era acivilization which shared with that of China the credit of being themost advanced in the world at that time. ENGRAVING: HATSUNE-NO-TANA (A Gold-lacquered Stand or Cabinet) ENGRAVING: STATUES OF SHAKA AND TWO BOSATSUS IN THE KONDO OF THEHORYU-JI CHAPTER XVII THE NARA EPOCH THE FORTY-THIRD SOVEREIGN, THE EMPRESS GEMMYO (A. D. 708-715) THE Empress Gemmyo, fourth daughter of the Emperor Tenchi and consortof Prince Kusakabe, was the mother of the Emperor Mommu, whoseaccession had been the occasion of the first formal declaration ofthe right of primogeniture (vide Chapter XV). Mommu, dying, willedthat the throne should be occupied by his mother in trust for hisinfant son--afterwards Emperor Shomu. REMOVAL OF THE CAPITAL TO NARA In ancient times it was customary to change the locality of theImperial capital with each change of sovereign. This custom, dictatedby the Shinto conception of impurity attaching to sickness and death, exercised a baleful influence on architectural development, andconstituted a heavy burden upon the people, whose forced labour waslargely requisitioned for the building of the new palace. Kotoku, when he promulgated his system of centralized administration, conceived the idea of a fixed capital and selected Naniwa. But theEmperor Tenchi moved to Omi, Temmu to Asuka (in Yamato) and theEmpress Jito to Fujiwara (in Yamato). Mommu remained at the latterplace until the closing year (707) of his reign, when, finding thesite inconvenient, he gave orders for the selection of another. Buthis death interrupted the project, and it was not until the secondyear of the Empress Gemmyo's reign that the Court finally removed toNara, where it remained for seventy-five years, throughout the reignsof seven sovereigns. Nara, in the province of Yamato, lies nearly duesouth of Kyoto at a distance of twenty-six miles from the latter. History does not say why it was selected, nor have any details of itsplan been transmitted. To-day it is celebrated for scenic beauties--aspacious park with noble trees and softly contoured hills, slopingdown to a fair expanse of lake, and enshrining in their dales ancienttemples, wherein are preserved many fine specimens of Japanese art, glyptic and pictorial, of the seventh and eighth centuries. Nothingremains of the palace where the Court resided throughout a cycle anda half, nearly twelve hundred years ago, but one building, astorehouse called Shoso-in, survives in its primitive form andconstitutes a landmark in the annals of Japanese civilization, for itcontains specimens of all the articles that were in daily use by thesovereigns of the Nara epoch. JAPANESE COINS There is obscurity about the production of the precious metals in oldJapan. That gold, silver, and copper were known and used is certain, for in the dolmens, --which ceased to be built from about the close ofthe sixth century (A. D. )--copper ear-rings plated with gold arefound, and gold-copper images of Buddha were made in the reign of theEmpress Suiko (605), while history says that silver was discovered inthe island of Tsushima in the second year of the Emperor Temmu'sreign (674). From the same island, gold also is recorded to have comein 701, but in the case of the yellow and the white metal alike, thesupply obtained was insignificant, and indeed modern historians aredisposed to doubt whether the alleged Tsushima gold was not inreality brought from Korea via that island. On the whole, theevidence tends to show that, during the first seven centuries of theChristian era, Japan relied on Korea mainly, and on China partially, for her supply of the precious metals. Yet neither gold, silver, norcopper coins seem to have been in anything like general use until theWado era (708-715). Coined money had already been a feature of Chinese civilization sincethe fourth century before Christ, and when Japan began to take modelsfrom her great neighbour during the Sui and Tang dynasties, shecannot have failed to appreciate the advantages of artificial mediaof exchange. The annals allege that in A. D. 677 the first mint wasestablished, and that in 683 an ordinance prescribed that the silvercoins struck there should be superseded by copper. But this rule didnot remain long in force, nor have there survived any coins, whetherof silver or of copper, certainly identifiable as antecedent to theWado era. It was in the year of the Empress Gemmyo's accession (708)that deposits of copper were found in the Chichibu district ofMusashi province, and the event seemed sufficiently important to callfor a change of year-name to Wado (refined copper). Thenceforth, coins of copper--or more correctly, bronze--were regularly minted andgradually took the place of rice or cotton cloth as units of value. It would seem that, from the close of the seventh century, a wave ofmining industry swept over Japan. Silver was procured from theprovinces of Iyo and Kii; copper from Inaba and Suo, and tin fromIse, Tamba, and Iyo. All this happened between the years 690 and 708, but the discovery of copper in the latter year in Chichibu was oncomparatively the largest scale, and may be said to have given thefirst really substantial impetus to coining. For some unrecordedreason silver pieces were struck first and were followed by copper afew months later. Both were of precisely the same form--round with asquare hole in the middle to facilitate threading on a string--bothwere of the same denomination (one won), and both bore the samesuperscription (Wado Kaiho, or "opening treasure of refined copper"), the shape, the denomination, and the legend being taken from a coinof the Tang dynasty struck eighty-eight years previously. It wasordered that in using these pieces silver should be paid in the caseof sums of or above four mon, and copper in the case of sums of orbelow three won, the value of the silver coin being four times thatof the copper. But the silver tokens soon ceased to be current andcopper mainly occupied the field, a position which it held for 250years, from 708 to 958. During that interval, twelve forms of sen*were struck. They deteriorated steadily in quality, owing to growingscarcity of the supply of copper; and, partly to compensate for theincreased cost of the metal, partly to minister to official greed, the new issues were declared, on several occasions, to have a valueten times as great as their immediate predecessors. Concerning thatvalue, the annals state that in 711 the purchasing power of the mon(i. E. , of the one-sen token) was sixty go of rice, and as the dailyration for a full-grown man is five go, it follows that one senoriginally sufficed for twelve days' sustenance. ** *The ideograph sen signified originally a "fountain, " and itsemployment to designate a coin seems to have been suggested by anidea analogous to that underlying the English word "currency. " **"At the present time the wages of a carpenter are almost a yen aday. Now the yen is equal to 1000 mon of the smaller sen and to 500mon of the larger ones, so that he could have provided himself withrice, if we count only 500 mon to the yen, for sixteen years on thewages which he receives for one day's labour in 1900. " (Munro's Coinsof Japan. ) Much difficulty was experienced in weaning the people from their oldcustom of barter and inducing them to use coins. The Government seemsto have recognized that there could not be any effective spirit ofeconomy so long as perishable goods represented the standard ofvalue, and in order to popularize the use of the new tokens as wellas to encourage thrift, it was decreed that grades of rank would bebestowed upon men who had saved certain sums in coin. At that time(711), official salaries had already been fixed in terms of the Wadosen. The highest received thirty pieces of cloth, one hundred hanksof silk and two thousand mon, while in the case of an eighth-classofficial the corresponding figures were one piece of cloth and twentymon. * The edict for promoting economy embodied a schedule accordingto which, broadly speaking, two steps of executive rank could begained by amassing twenty thousand mon and one step by saving fivethousand. *These figures sound ludicrously small if translated into present-daymoney, for 1000 mon go to the yen, and the latter being theequivalent of two shillings, 20 mon represents less then ahalf-penny. But of course the true calculation is that 20 monrepresented 240 days' rations of rice in the Wado schedule of values. Observing that the fundamental principle of a sound token of exchangewas wholly disregarded in these Wado sen, since their intrinsic valuebore no appreciable ratio to their purchasing power, and consideringalso the crudeness of their manufacture, it is not surprising to findthat within a few months of their appearance they were extensivelyforged. What is much more notable is that the Wado sen remained incirculation for fifty years. The extraordinary ratio, however, bywhich copper and silver were linked together originally, namely, 4 to1, did not survive; in 721 it was changed to 25 to 10, and in thefollowing year to 50 to 10. Altogether, as was not unnatural, theearly treatment of this coinage question by Japanese statesmen showedno trace of scientific perception. The practice, pursued almostinvariably, of multiplying by ten the purchasing power of each newissue of sen, proved, of course, enormously profitable to theissuers, but could not fail to distress the people and to renderunpopular such arbitrarily varying tokens. The Government spared no effort to correct the latter result, andsome of the devices employed were genuinely progressive. In thatepoch travellers had to carry their own provisions, and notuncommonly the supply ran short before they reached theirdestination, the result sometimes being death from starvation on theroadside. It was therefore ordered that in every district (korf) acertain portion of rice should be stored at a convenient place forsale to wayfarers, and these were advised to provide themselves witha few sen before setting out. It is evident that, since one of theWado coins sufficed to buy rice for twelve days' rations, a travellerwas not obliged to burden himself with many of these tokens. Wealthypersons in the provinces were also admonished to set up roadsideshops for the sale of rice, and anyone who thus disposed of onehundred koku in a year was to be reported to the Court for specialreward. Moreover, no district governor (gunryo), however competent, was counted eligible for promotion unless he had saved six thousandsen, and it was enacted that all taxes might be paid in copper coin. In spite of all this, however, the use of metallic media was limitedfor a long time to the upper classes and to the inhabitants of thefive home provinces. Elsewhere the old habit of barter continued. THE FORTY-FOURTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPRESS GENSHO (A. D. 715-723) In the year 715, the Empress Gemmyo, after a reign of seven years, abdicated in favour of her daughter, Gensho. This is the onlyinstance in Japanese history of an Empress succeeding an Empress. HISTORICAL COMPILATION The reigns of these two Empresses are memorable for the compilationof the two oldest Japanese histories which have been handed down tothe present epoch, the Kojiki and the Nihongi; but as thecircumstances in which these works, as well as the Fudoki (Records ofNatural Features), were written have been sufficiently describedalready (vide Chapter I), it remains only to refer to a custominaugurated by Gemmyo in the year (721) after the compilation of theNihongi, the custom of summoning to Court learned men (hakase) andrequiring them to deliver lectures on that work. Subsequentgenerations of sovereigns followed this example, and to this day oneof the features of the New Year's observances is a historicaldiscourse in the palace. The writing of history became thenceforth animperially patronized occupation. Six works, covering the period from697 to 887, appeared in succession and were known through all ages asthe Six National Histories. It is noticeable that in the compilationof all these a leading part was taken by one or another of the greatFujiwara ministers, and that the fifth numbered among its authors theillustrious Sugawara Michizane. THE FORTY-FIFTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR SHOMU (A. D. 724-748) When the Emperor Mommu died (707), his son, the Prince Imperial, wastoo young to succeed. Therefore the sceptre came into the hands ofMommu's mother, who, after a reign of seven years, abdicated infavour of her daughter, the Empress Gensho, and, eight years later, the latter in turn abdicated in favour of her nephew, Shomu, who hadnow reached man's estate. Shomu's mother, Higami, was a daughter ofFujiwara Fuhito, and as the Fujiwara family did not belong to theKwobetsu class, she had not attained the rank of Empress, but hadremained simply Mommu's consort (fujiri). Her son, the Emperor Shomu, married another daughter of the same Fujiwara Fuhito by a differentmother; that is to say, he took for consort his own mother'shalf-sister, Asuka. This lady, Asuka, laboured under the samedisadvantage of lineage and could not properly be recognized asEmpress. It is necessary to note these details for they constitutethe preface to a remarkable page of Japanese history. Of FujiwaraFuhito's two daughters, one, Higami, was the mother of the reigningEmperor, Shomu, and the other, Asuka, was his consort. The bloodrelationship of the Fujiwara family to the Court could scarcely havebeen more marked, but its public recognition was impeded by thedefect in the family's lineage. THE FUJIWARA CONSPIRACY Immediately after Shomu's accession, his mother, Higami, received thetitle of Kwo-taifujin (Imperial Great Lady). But the ambition of herfamily was to have her named Kwo-taiko (Empress Dowager). The Emperoralso desired to raise his consort, Asuka, to the position of Empress. Consulting his ministers on the subject, he encountered oppositionfrom Prince Nagaya, minister of the Left. This prince, agreat-grandson of the Emperor Temmu, enjoyed high reputation as ascholar, was looked up to as a statesman of great wisdom, andpossessed much influence owing to his exalted official position. Heurged that neither precedent nor law sanctioned nomination of a ladyof the Shimbetsu class to the rank of Empress. The Daiho code wasindeed very explicit on the subject. In China, whither the draftersof the code went for models, no restrictions were imposed on asovereign's choice of wife. But the Japanese legislators clearlyenacted that an Empress must be taken from among Imperial princesses. Prince Nagaya, in his position as minister of the Left, opposed anydeparture from that law and thus thwarted the designs of theFujiwara. The lady Asuka bore a son to the Emperor three years after hisaccession. His Majesty was profoundly pleased. He caused a generalamnesty to be proclaimed, presented gratuities to officials, andgranted gifts to all children born on the same day. When only twomonths old, the child was created Prince Imperial, but in hiseleventh month he fell ill. Buddhist images were cast; BuddhistSutras were copied; offerings were made to the Kami, and an amnestywas proclaimed. Nothing availed. The child died, and the Emperor wasdistraught with grief. In this incident the partisans of the Fujiwarasaw their opportunity. They caused it to be laid to Prince Nagaya'scharge that he had compassed the death of the infant prince by charmsand incantations. Two of the Fujiwara nobles were appointed toinvestigate the accusation, and they condemned the prince to die byhis own hand. He committed suicide, and his wife and children diedwith him. The travesty of justice was carefully acted throughout. Aproclamation was issued promising capital punishment to any one, ofwhatever rank or position, who compassed the death or injury ofanother by spells or incantations, and, six months later, the ladyAsuka was formally proclaimed Empress. In one respect the Fujiwara conspirators showed themselves clumsy. The rescript justified Asuka's elevation by reference to the case ofIwa, a daughter of the Takenouchi, whom the Emperor Nintoku had madehis Empress. But the Takenouchi family belonged to the Kwobetsuclass, and the publication of a special edict in justification couldbe read as self-condemnation only. Nevertheless, the Fujiwara hadcompassed their purpose. Thenceforth they wielded the power of theState through the agency of their daughters. They furnished Empressesand consorts to the reigning sovereigns, and took their own wivesfrom the Minamoto family, itself of Imperial lineage. To such anextent was the former practice followed that on two occasions threeFujiwara ladies served simultaneously in the palace. This happenedwhen Go-Reizei (1222-1232) had a Fujiwara Empress, Kwanko, and twoFujiwara consorts, Fumi and Hiro. At one moment it had seemed asthough fate would interfere to thwart these astute plans. An epidemicof small-pox, originating (735) in Kyushu, spread over the wholecountry, and carried off the four sons of Fuhito--Muchimaro, Fusazaki, Umakai, and Maro--leaving the family's fortunes in thehands of juniors, who occupied only minor official positions. But theFujiwara genius rose superior to all vicissitudes. The elevation ofthe lady Asuka to be Empress Komyo marks an epoch in Japanesehistory. COMMUNICATIONS WITH CHINA In spite of the length and perils of a voyage from Japan to China inthe seventh and eighth centuries--one embassy which sailed fromNaniwa in the late summer of 659 did not reach China for 107days--the journey was frequently made by Japanese students ofreligion and literature, just as the Chinese, on their side, travelled often to India in search of Buddhist enlightenment. Thisaccess to the refinement and civilization of the Tang Courtcontributed largely to Japan's progress, both material and moral, andis frankly acknowledged by her historians as a main factor in heradvance. When Shomu reigned at Nara, the Court in Changan had enteredthe phase of luxury and epicurism which usually preludes the ruin ofa State. Famous literati thronged its portals; great poets andpainters enjoyed its patronage, and annalists descanted on itsmagnificence. Some of the works of these famous men were carried toJapan and remained with her as models and treasures. She herselfshowed that she had competence to win some laurels even amid such agalaxy. In the year 716, Nakamaro, a member of the great Abe family, accompanied the Japanese ambassador to Tang and remained in Chinauntil his death in 770. He was known in China as Chao Heng, and thegreat poet, Li Pai, composed a poem in his memory, while the Tangsovereign conferred on him the posthumous title of "viceroy ofLuchou. " Not less celebrated was Makibi, * who went to China at thesame time as Nakamaro, and after twenty years' close study ofConfucius, returned in 735, having earned such a reputation forprofound knowledge of history, the five classics, jurisprudence, mathematics, philosophy, calendar making, and other sciences that theChinese parted with him reluctantly. In Japan he was raised to thehigh rank of asomi, and ultimately became minister of the Rightduring the reign of Shotoku. *Generally spoken of as "Kibi no Mabi, " and credited by traditionwith the invention of the katakana syllabary. Such incidents speak eloquently of the respect paid in Japan tomental attainments and of the enlightened hospitality of China. Inthe realm of Buddhism perhaps even more than in that of secularscience, this close intercourse made its influence felt. Priests wentfrom Japan to study in China, and priests came from China to preachin Japan. During the Nara era, three of these men attained to specialeminence. They were Doji, Gembo, and Kanshin. Doji was the greatpropagandist of the Sanron sect, whose tenets he had studied in Chinafor sixteen years (701-717). From plans prepared by him and takenfrom the monastery of Hsi-ming in China, the temple Daian-ji wasbuilt under the auspices of the Emperor Shomu, and having been richlyendowed, was placed in Doji's charge as lord-abbot. Gembo, during asojourn of two years at the Tang Court, studied the tenets of theHosso sect, which, like the Sanron, constituted one of the five sectsoriginally introduced into Japan. Returning in 736, he presented tothe Emperor Shomu five thousand volumes of the Sutras, together witha number of Buddhist images, and he was appointed abbot of thecelebrated temple, Kofuku-ji. The third of the above three religiouscelebrities was a Chinese missionary named Kanshin. He went to Japanaccompanied by fourteen priests, three nuns, and twenty-four laymen, and the mission carried with it many Buddhist relics, images, andSutras. Summoned to Nara in 754, he was treated with profoundreverence, and on a platform specially erected before the templeTodai-ji, where stood the colossal image of Buddha--to be presentlyspoken of--the sovereign and many illustrious personages performedthe most solemn rite of Buddhism under the ministration of Kanshin. He established a further claim on the gratitude of the Empress bycuring her of an obstinate malady, and her Majesty would fain haveraised him to the highest rank (dai-sojo) of the Buddhist priesthood. But he declined the honour. Subsequently, the former palace of PrinceNittabe was given to him as a residence and he built there the templeof Shodai-ji, which still exists. RELIGION AND POLITICS The great Confucianist, Makibi, and the Buddhist prelate, Gembo, metwith misfortune and became the victims of an unjust accusationbecause they attempted to assert the Imperial authority as superiorto the growing influence of the Fujiwara. Makibi held the post ofchamberlain of the Empress' household, and Gembo officiated at the"Interior monastery" (Nai-dojo) where the members of the Imperialfamily worshipped Buddha. The Emperor's mother, Higami, who on herson's accession had received the title of "Imperial Great Lady" (videsup. ), fell into a state of melancholia and invited Gembo toprescribe for her, which he did successfully. Thus, his influence inthe palace became very great, and was augmented by the piety of theEmpress, who frequently listened to discourses by the learnedprelate. Makibi naturally worked in union with Gembo in considerationof their similar antecedents. Fujiwara Hirotsugu was then governor ofYamato. Witnessing this state of affairs with uneasiness, heimpeached Gembo. But the Emperor credited the priest's assertions, and removed Hirotsugu to the remote post of Dazai-fu in Chikuzen. There he raised the standard of revolt and was with some difficultycaptured and executed. The Fujiwara did not tamely endure this check. They exerted their influence to procure the removal of Makibi andGembo from the capital, both being sent to Tsukushi (Kyushu), Makibiin the capacity of governor, and Gembo to build the templeKwannon-ji. Gembo died a year later, and it was commonly reportedthat the spirit of Hirotsugu had compassed his destruction, whilemore than one book, professing to be historical, alleged that hisprime offence was immoral relations with the "Imperial Great Lady, "who was then some sixty years of age! There can be little doubt thatthe two illustrious scholars suffered for their fame rather than fortheir faults, and that their chief offences were overshadowing renownand independence of Fujiwara patronage. BUDDHISM IN THE NARA EPOCH From what has been related above of the priests Kanshin and Gembo, itwill have been observed that the Emperor Shomu was an earnestdisciple of Buddhism. The heritage of administrative reformsbequeathed to him by Tenchi and Temmu should have engrossed hisattention, but he subserved everything to religion, and thus thegreat national work, begun in the Daika era and carried nearly tocompletion in the Daiho, suffered its first check. Some annalistshave pleaded in Shomu's behalf that he trusted religious influence toconsolidate the system introduced by his predecessors. However thatmay be, history records as the most memorable event of his reign hisabdication of the throne in order to enter religion, thusinaugurating a practice which was followed by several subsequentsovereigns and which materially helped the Fujiwara family to usurpthe reality of administrative power. Shomu, on receiving the tonsure, changed his name to Shoman, and thenceforth took no part in secularaffairs. In all this, however, his procedure marked a climax rather than adeparture. In fact, never did any foreign creed receive a warmerwelcome than that accorded to Buddhism by the Japanese after itsfirst struggle for tolerance. Emperor after Emperor worshipped theBuddha. Even Tenchi, who profoundly admired the Confucian philosophyand whose experience of the Soga nobles' treason might well haveprejudiced him against the faith they championed; and even Temmu, whose ideals took the forms of frugality and militarism, were lavishin their offerings at Buddhist ceremonials. The Emperor Mommu enacteda law for the better control of priests and nuns, yet he erected thetemple Kwannon-ji. The great Fujiwara statesmen, as Kamatari, Fuhito, and the rest, though they belonged to a family (the Nakatomi) closelyassociated with Shinto worship, were reverent followers of the Indianfaith. Kamatari approved of his eldest son, Joye, entering thepriesthood, and sent him to China to study the Sutras. He also gaveup his residence at Yamashina for conversion into a monastery. Fujiwara Fuhito built the Kofuku-ji, and his son, Muchimaro, whengovernor of Omi, repaired temples in the provinces, protected theirdomains, and erected the Jingu-ji. That among the occupants of the throne during 165 years, from 593 to758, no less than seven were females could not but contribute to thespread of a religion which owed so much to spectacular effect. Everyone of these sovereigns lent earnest aid to the propagation ofBuddhism, and the tendency of the age culminated in the fanaticism ofShomu, re-enforced as it was by the devotion of his consort, Komyo. Tradition has woven into a beautiful legend the nation's impressionof this lady's piety. In an access of humility she vowed to wash thebodies of a thousand beggars. Nine hundred and ninety-nine had beencompleted when the last presented himself in the form of a loathsomeleper. Without a sign of repugnance the Empress continued her task, and no sooner was the ablution concluded than the mendicant ascendedheavenwards, a glory of light radiating from his body. It is alsotold of her that, having received in a dream a miniature golden imageof the goddess of Mercy (Kwannon) holding a baby in her arms, sheconceived a daughter who ultimately reigned as the Empress Koken. * *The resemblance between the legend and the Buddhist account of theIncarnation is plain. It has to be remembered that Nestorians hadcarried Christianity to the Tang Court long before the days of Komyo. In spite, however, of all this zeal for Buddhism, the nation did notentirely abandon its traditional faith. The original cult had beenancestor worship. Each great family had its uji no Kami, to whom itmade offerings and presented supplications. These deities were nowsupplemented, not supplanted. They were grafted upon a Buddhist stem, and shrines of the uji no Kami became uji-tera, or "uji temples. "*Thenceforth the temple (tera) took precedence of the shrine(yashiro). When spoken of together they became ji-sha. This was thebeginning of Ryobu Shinto, or mixed Shinto, which found fullexpression when Buddhist teachers, obedient to a spirit of tolerationborn of their belief in the doctrines of metempsychosis and universalperfectibility, asserted the creed that the Shinto Kami were avatars(incarnations) of the numerous Buddhas. *Thus, Kofukuji, built by Kamatari and Fuhito was called O-Nakatomino uji-tera; Onjo-ji, erected by Otomo Suguri, was known as Otomo nouji-tera, and so forth. The Nara epoch has not bequeathed to posterity many relics of thegreat religious edifices that came into existence under Imperialpatronage during its seventy-five years. Built almost wholly of wood, these temples were gradually destroyed by fire. One object, however, defied the agent of destruction. It is a bronze Buddha of hugeproportions, known now to all the world as the "Nara Daibutsu. " Onthe fifteenth day of the tenth month of the fifteenth year ofTembyo--7th of November, 743--the Emperor Shomu proclaimed hisintention of undertaking this work. The rescript making theannouncement is extant. It sets out by declaring that "through theinfluence and authority of Buddha the country enjoys tranquillity, "and while warning the provincial and district governors against inany way constraining the people to take part in the project, itpromises that every contributor shall be welcome, even though hebring no more than a twig to feed the furnace or a handful of clayfor the mould. The actual work of casting began in 747 and wascompleted in three years, after seven failures. The image was notcast in its entirety; it was built up with bronze plates solderedtogether. A sitting presentment of the Buddha, it had a height offifty-three and a half feet and the face was sixteen feet long, whileon either side was an attendant bosatsu standing thirty feet high. For the image, 986, 030, 000 lbs. Of copper were needed, and on thegilding of its surface 870 lbs. Of refined gold were used. These figures represented a vast fortune in the eighth century. Indeed it seemed likely that a sufficiency of gold would not beprocurable, but fortunately in the year 749 the yellow metal wasfound in the province of Mutsu, and people regarded the timelydiscovery as a special dispensation of Buddha. The great hall inwhich the image stood had a height of 120 feet and a width of 290feet from east to west, and beside it two pagodas rose to a height of230 feet each. Throughout the ten years occupied in the task ofcollecting materials and casting this Daibutsu, the Emperor solemnlyworshipped Rushana Buddha three times daily, and on its completion hetook the tonsure. It was not until the year 752, however, that thefinal ceremony of unveiling took place technically called "openingthe eyes" (kaigan). On that occasion the Empress Koken, attended byall the great civil and military dignitaries, held a magnificentfete, and in the following year the temple--Todai-ji--was endowedwith the taxes of five thousand households and the revenue fromtwenty-five thousand acres of rice-fields. PROVINCIAL TEMPLES While all this religious fervour was finding costly expression amongthe aristocrats in Nara, the propagandists and patrons of Buddhismdid not neglect the masses. In the year 741, provincial temples wereofficially declared essential to the State's well-being. Theseedifices had their origin at an earlier date. During the reign ofTemmu (673-686) an Imperial rescript ordered that throughout thewhole country every household should provide itself with a Buddhistshrine and place therein a sacred image. When the pious Empress Jitooccupied the throne (690-696), the first proselytizing mission wasdespatched to the Ezo, among whom many converts were won; and, laterin the same reign, another rescript directed that a certainSutra--the Konkwo myo-kyo, or Sutra of Golden Effulgence--should beread during the first month of every year in each province, the feesof the officiating priests and other expenses being defrayed out ofthe local official exchequers. ENGRAVING: PAGODA OF YAKUSHI-JI, NARA During Mommu's time (697-707), Buddhist hierarchs (kokushi) wereappointed to the provinces. Their chief functions were to expound theSutra and to offer prayers. The devout Shomu not only distributednumerous copies of the Sutras, but also carried his zeal to thelength of commanding that every province should erect a sixteen-footimage of Shaka with attendant bosatsu (Bodhisattva), and, a few yearslater, he issued another command that each province must provideitself with a pagoda seven storeys high. By this last rescript theprovincial temples (kokubun-ji) were called into official existence, and presently their number was increased to two in each province, onefor priests and one for nuns. The kokushi attached to these templeslaboured in the cause of propagandism and religious education side byside with the provincial pundits (kunihakase), whose duty was toinstruct the people in law and literature; but it is on record thatthe results of the former's labours were much more conspicuous thanthose of the latter. GYOGI It is said to have been mainly at the instance of the Empress Komyothat the great image of Todai-ji was constructed and the provincialtemples were established. But undoubtedly the original impulse camefrom a priest, Gyogi. He was one of those men who seem to have beenspecially designed by fate for the work they undertake. Gyogi, saidto have been of Korean extraction, had no learning like that whichwon respect for Kanshin and Gembo. But he was amply gifted with thepersonal magnetism which has always distinguished notably successfulpropagandists of religion. Wherever he preached and prayed, thousandsof priests and laymen flocked to hear him, and so supreme was hisinfluence that under his direction the people gladly undertookextensive works of bridge building and road making. Like ShotokuTaishi, his name is associated by tradition with achievements notproperly assignable to him, as the invention of the potter'swheel--though it had been in use for centuries before his time--andthe production of various works of art which can scarcely haveoccupied the attention of a religious zealot. By order of the EmpressGensho, Gyogi was thrown into prison for a time, such a disturbingeffect did his propagandism produce on men's pursuit of ordinarybread winning; but he soon emerged from durance and was taken intoreverent favour by the Emperor Shomu, who attached four hundredpriests as his disciples and conferred on him the titles of Dai-Sojo(Great Hierarch) and Dai-Bosatsu (Great Bodhisattva). The enigma of the people's patience under the stupendous burdensimposed on them by the fanatic piety of Shomu and his consort, Komyo, finds a solution in the co-operation of Gyogi, whose speech andpresence exercised more influence than a hundred Imperial edicts. Itis recorded that, by way of corollary to the task of reconciling thenation to the Nara Court's pious extravagance, Gyogi compassed theerection of no less than forty-nine temples. But perhaps the mostmemorable event in his career was the part he took in reconciling theindigenous faith and the imported. However fervent Shomu's belief inBuddhism, the country he ruled was the country of the Kami, and ondescent from the Kami his own title to the throne rested. Thus, qualms of conscience may well have visited him when he remembered thecomparatively neglected shrine of the Sun goddess at Ise. Gyogiundertook to consult the will of the goddess, and carried back arevelation which he interpreted in the sense that Amaterasu should beregarded as an incarnation of the Buddha. The Emperor then despatchedto Ise a minister of State who obtained an oracle capable of similarinterpretation, and, on the night after receipt of this utterance, the goddess, appearing to his Majesty in a vision, told him that thesun was Birushana (Vairotchana Tathagata); or Dainishi (Great Sun)Nyorai. Thus was originated a theory which enabled Buddhism and Shinto towalk hand in hand for a thousand years, the theory that the ShintoKami are avatars of the Buddha. Some historians contend that thisidea must have been evolved and accepted before the maturity of theproject for casting the colossal image at Nara, and that the creditprobably belongs to Gembo; others attribute it to the immortal priestKukai (Kobo Daishi), who is said to have elaborated the doctrine inthe early years of the ninth century. Both seem wrong. SUPERSTITIONS Side by side with the vigorous Buddhism of the Nara epoch, strangesuperstitions obtained currency and credence. Two may be mentioned asillustrating the mood of the age. One related to an ascetic, En noUbasoku, who was worshipped by the people of Kinai under the name ofEn no Gyoja (En the anchorite). He lived in a cave on Katsuragi Mountfor forty years, wore garments made of wistaria bark, and ate onlypine leaves steeped in spring water. During the night he compelleddemons to draw water and gather firewood, and during the day he rodeupon clouds of five colours. The Kami Hitokotonushi, having beenthreatened by him for neglecting his orders, inspired a man to accusehim of treasonable designs, and the Emperor Mommu sent soldiers toarrest him. But as he was able to evade them by recourse to his artof flying, they apprehended his mother in his stead, whereupon he atonce gave himself up. In consideration of his filial piety hispunishment was commuted to exile on an island off the Izu coast, andin deference to the Imperial orders he remained there quietlythroughout the day, but devoted the night to flying to the summit ofMount Fuji or gliding over the sea. This En no Gyoja was the founderof a sect of priests calling themselves Yamabushi. The second superstition relates to one of the genii named Kume. Bythe practice of asceticism he obtained supernatural power, and whileriding one day upon a cloud, he passed above a beautiful girl washingclothes in a river, and became so enamoured of her that he lost hissuperhuman capacities and fell at her feet. She became his wife. Years afterwards it chanced that he was called out for forced labour, and, being taunted by the officials as a pseudo-genius, he fasted andprayed for seven days and seven nights. On the eighth morning athunder-storm visited the scene, and after it, a quantity of heavytimber was found to have been moved, without any human effort, fromthe forest to the site of the projected building. The Emperor, hearing of this, granted him forty-five acres, on which he built thetemple of Kume-dera. Such tales found credence in the Nara epoch, and indeed all throughthe annals of early Japan there runs a well-marked thread ofsuperstition which owed something of its obtrusiveness to intercoursewith Korea and China, whence came professors of the arts ofinvisibility and magic. A thunder deity making his occasional abodein lofty trees is gravely spoken of in the context of a campaign, andif at one moment a river is inhabited by a semi-human monster, atanother a fish formed like a child is caught in the sea. There is, ofcourse, an herb of longevity--"a plant resembling coral in shape, with clustering leaves and branches; some red, others purple, othersblack, others golden coloured, and some changing their colours in thefour seasons. " In the reign of the Empress Kogyoku, witches andwizards betray the people into all sorts of extravagances; and aKorean acolyte has for friend a tiger which teaches him all manner ofwonderful arts, among others that of healing any disease with a magicneedle. Later on, these and cognate creations of credulity take theirappropriate places in the realm of folk-lore, but they rank withsober history in the ancient annals. In this respect Japan did notdiffer from other early peoples. THE FORTY-SIXTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPRESS KOKEN (A. D. 749-758) In July, 749, the Emperor Shomu abdicated in favour of his daughter, Princess Abe, known in history as Koken. Her mother was thecelebrated Princess Asuka, who, in spite of the Shimbetsu lineage ofher Fujiwara family, had been made Shomu's Empress, and whose namehad been changed to Komyo (Refulgence) in token of her illustriouspiety. The daughter inherited all the mother's romance, but in hercase it often degenerated into a passion more elementary thanreligious ecstasy. Shomu, having no son, made his daughter heir tothe throne. Japanese history furnished no precedent for such a step. The custom had always been that a reign ceased on the death of asovereign unless the Crown Prince had not yet reached maturity, inwhich event his mother, or some other nearly related princess, occupied the throne until he came of age and then surrendered thereigns of government to his hands. Such had been the practice in thecase of the Empresses Jito, Gemmyo, and Gensho. Shomu, however, notonly bequeathed the throne to a princess, but while himself still inthe prime of life, abdicated in her favour. Thereafter, at the recognized instance of the all-powerful Fujiwarafamily, Emperors often surrendered the sceptre to their heirs, themselves retiring into religious life with the secular title ofDa-joko (Great ex-Emperor) and the ecclesiastical designation of Ho-o(pontiff). Shomu was the originator of this practice, but the annalsare silent as to the motive that inspired him. It will be presentlyseen that under the skilful manipulation of the Fujiwara nobles, thisdevice of abdication became a potent aid to their usurpation ofadministrative power, and from that point of view the obviousinference is that Shomu's unprecedented step was taken at theirsuggestion. But the Buddhist propagandists, also, were profoundlyinterested. That the sovereign himself should take the tonsure couldnot fail to confer marked prestige on the Church. It is probable, therefore, that Shomu was swayed by both influences--that of theBuddhists, who worked frankly in the cause of their creed, and thatof the Fujiwara, who desired to see a lady of their own lineage uponthe throne. KOKEN AND NAKAMARO The fanaticism of the Emperor Shomu and his consort, Komyo, borefruit during the reign of Koken. In the third year after Shomu'sabdication, a decree was issued prohibiting the taking of life in anyform. This imposed upon the State the responsibility of makingdonations of rice to support the fishermen, whose source oflivelihood was cut off by the decree. Further, at the ceremony ofopening the public worship of the great image of Buddha, the Empressin person led the vast procession of military, civil, and religiousdignitaries to the temple Todai-ji. It was a fete of unparalleleddimensions. All officials of the fifth grade and upwards wore fulluniform, and all of lesser grades wore robes of the colourappropriate to their rank. Ten thousand Buddhist priests officiated, and the Imperial musicians were re-enforced by those from all thetemples throughout the home provinces. Buddhism in Japan had neverpreviously received such splendid homage. In the evening, the Empress visited the residence of the grandcouncillor, Fujiwara no Nakamaro. Fourteen hundred years had elapsed, according to Japanese history, since the first of the Yamatosovereigns set up his Court, and never had the Imperial houseincurred such disgrace as now befell it. Fujiwara no Nakamaro was agrandson of the great Kamatari. He held the rank of dainagon and wasat once a learned man and an able administrator. From the time ofthat visit to the Tamura-no-tei (Tamura mansion), as his residencewas called, the Empress repaired thither frequently, and finally madeit a detached palace under the name of Tamura-no-miya. Those thattried to put an end to the liaison were themselves driven fromoffice, and Nakamaro's influence became daily stronger. THE FORTY-SEVENTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR JUNNIN (758-764 A. D. ) In August, 758, the Empress, after a reign of four years, nominallyabdicated in favour of the Crown Prince, Junnin, but continued todischarge all the functions of government herself. Her infatuationfor Nakamaro seemed to increase daily. She bestowed on him titles ofadmiration and endearment under the guise of homonymous ideographs, and she also bestowed on him in perpetuity the revenue from 3000households and 250 acres of land. But Koken's caprice took a newturn. She became a nun and transferred her affection to a priest, Yuge no Dokyo. Nakamaro did not tamely endure to be thus discarded. He raised the standard of revolt and found that the nun could be asrelentless as the Empress had been gracious. The rebellion--known byirony of fate as that of Oshikatsu (the Conqueror), which was one ofthe names bestowed on him by Koken in the season of herfavour--proved a brief struggle. Nakamaro fell in battle and hishead, together with those of his wife, his children, and his devotedfollowers to the number of thirty-four, was despatched to Nara. Thetumult had a more serious sequel. It was mainly through Nakamaro'sinfluence that Junnin had been crowned six years previously, and hisMajesty naturally made no secret of his aversion for the newfavourite. The Dowager Empress--so Koken had called herself--did nothesitate a moment. In the very month following Nakamaro'sdestruction, she charged that the Emperor was in collusion with therebel; despatched a force of troops to surround the palace; dethronedJunnin; degraded him to the rank of a prince, and sent him and hismother into exile, where the conditions of confinement were made sointolerable that the ex-Emperor attempted to escape, was captured andkilled. ENGRAVING: THE KASUGA JINJA SHRINE AT KARA THE FORTY-EIGHTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPRESS SHOTOKU (765-770 A. D. ) The nun Koken now abandoned the veil and re-ascended the throne underthe name of Shotoku. Her affection for Dokyo had been augmented byhis constant ministrations during her illness while on a visit to the"detatched palace" at Omi, and she conferred on him a priestly titlewhich made him rank equally with the prime minister. All the civiland military magnates had to pay homage to him at the festival of theNew Year in his exalted capacity. Yet her Majesty was not satisfied. Another step of promotion was possible. In the year after her secondascent of the throne she named him Ho-o (pontiff), a title neverpreviously borne by any save her father, the ex-Emperor Shomu. Dokyorose fully to the level of the occasion. He modelled his life inevery respect on that of a sovereign and assumed complete control ofthe administration of the empire. He not only fared sumptuously butalso built many temples, and as the Empress was not less extravagant, the burden of taxation became painfully heavy. But the priestlyfavourite, who seems to have now conceived the ambition of ascendingthe throne, abated nothing of his pomp. Whether at his instigation orbecause his favour had become of paramount importance to all men ofambition, Asomaro, governor of the Dazai-fu, informed the Empressthat, according to an oracle delivered by the god of War (Hachiman)at Usa, the nation would enjoy tranquillity and prosperity if Dokyowere its ruler. The Empress had profound reverence for Hachiman, as, indeed, was wellknown to Asomaro and to Dokyo. Yet she hesitated to take this extremestep without fuller assurance. She ordered Wake no Kiyomaro toproceed to Usa and consult the deity once more. Kiyomaro was afearless patriot. That Shotoku's choice fell on him at this juncturemight well have been regarded by his countrymen as an intervention ofheaven. Before setting out he had unequivocal evidence of what was tobe expected at Dokyo's hands by the bearer of a favourable revelationfrom Hachiman. Yet the answer carried back by him from the Usa shrinewas explicitly fatal to Dokyo's hope. "Since the establishment of theState the distinction of sovereign and subject has been observed. There is no instance of a subject becoming sovereign. The successorof the throne must be of the Imperial family and a usurper is to berejected. " Dokyo's wrath was extreme. He ordered that Kiyomaro's nameshould be changed to Kegaremaro, which was equivalent to substituting"foul" for "fair;" he banished him to Osumi in the extreme south ofKyushu, and he sent emissaries whose attempt to assassinate him wasbalked by a thunder-storm. But before he could bring any fresh designto maturity, the Empress died. Dokyo and Asomaro were banished, andKiyomaro was recalled from exile. Historians have been much perplexed to account for the strangelyapathetic demeanour of the high dignitaries of State in the presenceof such disgraceful doings as those of the Empress and her favourite. They specially blame Kibi no Makibi, the great scholar. He hadrecovered from his temporary eclipse in connexion with the revolt ofFujiwara Hirotsugu, and he held the office of minister of the Rightduring a great part of Koken's reign. Yet it is not on record that heoffered any remonstrance. The same criticism, however, seems to applywith not less justice to his immediate predecessors in the post ofministers of the Right, Tachibana no Moroe and Fujiwara no Toyonari;to the minister of the Left, Fujiwara no Nagate; to the secondcouncillor, Fujiwara no Matate, and to the privy councillors, Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu, Fujiwara no Momokawa, and Fujiwara no Uwona. It was with the Fujiwara families that the responsibility restedchiefly, and the general conduct of the Fujiwara at that period ofhistory forbids us to construe their apparent indifference in awholly bad sense. Probably the simplest explanation is the true one:Koken herself was a Fujiwara. STATE OF THE PROVINCES In the days of Shomu and Koken administrative abuses were not limitedto the capital, they extended to the provinces also. Among the Daikaand Daiho laws, the first that proved to be a failure was thatrelating to provincial governors. At the outset men of ability werechosen for these important posts, and their term of service waslimited to four years. Soon, however, they began to petition forreappointment, and under the sway of the Empress Koken a via mediawas found by extending the period of office to six years. Moreover, whereas at first a newly appointed governor was supposed to live inthe official residence of his predecessor, it quickly became thecustom to build a new mansion for the incoming dignitary and leavethe outgoing undisturbed. What that involved is plain when we observe that such edifices wereall constructed by forced labour. These governors usually possessedlarge domains, acquired during their period of office. The Courtendeavoured to check them by despatching inspectors (ansatsu-shi) toexamine and report on current conditions; but that device availedlittle. Moreover, the provincial governors exercised the power ofappointing and dismissing the district governors (gunshi) in theirprovinces, although this evil system had been prohibited in the timeof Gemmyo. In connexion, too, with the rice collected for publicpurposes, there were abuses. This rice, so long as it lay in theofficial storehouses, represented so much idle capital. Theprovincial governors utilized it by lending the grain to the farmersin the spring, partly for seed purposes and partly for food, oncondition that it should be paid back in the autumn with fifty percent, increment. Subsequently this exorbitant figure was reduced tothirty per cent. But the result was ruin for many farmers. They hadto hand over their fields and houses or sell themselves into bondage. Thus, outlaws, living by plunder, became a common feature of thetime, and there arose a need for guards more capable than thosesupplied by the system of partial conscription. Hence, in the reignof Shomu, the sons and brothers of district governors (gunshi)proficient in archery and equestrianism were summoned from Omi, Ise, Mino, and Echizen, and to them was assigned the duty of guarding thepublic storehouses in the provinces. At the same time many men ofprominence and influence began to organize guards for their privateprotection. This was contrary to law, but the condition of the timeseemed to warrant it, and the authorities were powerless to preventit. The ultimate supremacy of the military class had its origin inthese circumstances. The Government itself was constrained toorganize special corps for dealing with the brigands and pirates whoinfested the country and the coasts. It has been well said by a Japanese historian that the fortunes ofthe Yamato were at their zenith during the reigns of the threeEmperors Jimmu, Temmu, and Mommu. From the beginning of the eighthcentury they began to decline. For that decline, Buddhism was largelyresponsible. Buddhism gave to Japan a noble creed in the place of acolourless cult; gave to her art and refinement, but gave to her alsosomething like financial ruin. The Indian faith spread with wonderfulrapidity among all classes and betrayed them into fanaticalextravagance. Anyone who did not erect or contribute largely to theerection of a temple or a pagoda was not admitted to the ranks ofhumanity. Men readily sacrificed their estates to form temple domainsor to purchase serfs (tera-yakko) to till them. The sublimity ofthese edifices; the solemn grandeur of the images enshrined there;the dazzling and exquisite art lavished on their decoration; thestrange splendour of the whole display might well suggest to theJapanese the work of some supernatural agencies. In the Nara epoch, the Government spent fully one-half of its totalincome on works of piety. No country except in time of war everdevoted so much to unproductive expenditures. The enormous quantitiesof copper used for casting images not only exhausted the produce ofthe mines but also made large inroads upon the currency, hundreds ofthousands of cash being thrown into the melting-pot. In 760 it wasfound that the volume of privately coined cash exceeded one-half ofthe State income, and under pretext that to suspend the circulationof such a quantity would embarrass the people, the Government strucka new coin--the mannen tsuho--which, while not differing appreciablyfrom the old cash in intrinsic value, was arbitrarily invested withten times the latter's purchasing power. The profit to the treasurywas enormous; the disturbance of values and the dislocation of tradewere proportionately great. Twelve years later (772), anotherrescript ordered that the new coin should circulate at par with theold. Such unstable legislation implies a very crude conception offinancial requirements. RECLAIMED UPLANDS It has been shown that the Daika reforms regarded all "wet fields" asthe property of the Crown, while imposing no restriction on theownership of uplands, these being counted as belonging to theirreclaimers. Thus, large estates began to fall into privatepossession; conspicuously in the case of provincial and districtgovernors, who were in a position to employ forced labour, and whofrequently abused their powers in defiance of the Daika code anddecrees, where it was enacted that all profits from reclaimed landsmust be shared with the farmers. * So flagrant did these practicesbecome that, in 767, reclamation was declared to constitutethereafter no title of ownership. Apparently, however, this vetoproved unpractical, for five years later (772), it was rescinded, theonly condition now attached being that the farmers must not bedistressed. Yet again, in 784, another change of policy has to berecorded. A decree declared that governors must confine theiragricultural enterprise to public lands, on penalty of being punishedcriminally. If the language of this decree be read literally, a veryevil state of affairs would seem to have existed, for the governorsare denounced as wholly indifferent to public rights or interests, and as neglecting no means of exploiting the farmers. Finally, in806, the pursuit of productive enterprise by governors in theprovinces was once more sanctioned. *The term "farmers, " as used in the times now under consideration, must not be interpreted strictly in the modern sense of the word. Itmeant, rather, the untitled and the unofficial classes in theprovinces. Thus, between 650 and 806, no less than five radical changes ofpolicy are recorded. It resulted that this vascillating legislationreceived very little practical attention. Great landed estates(shoen) accumulated in private hands throughout the empire, someowned by nobles, some by temples; and in order to protect theirtitles against the interference of the Central Government, theholders of these estates formed alliances with the great Court noblesin the capital, so that, in the course of time, a large part of theland throughout the provinces fell under the control of a fewdominant families. In the capital (Nara), on the other hand, the enormous sumssquandered upon the building of temples, the casting or carving ofimages, and the performance of costly religious ceremonials graduallyproduced such a state of impecuniosity that, in 775, a decree wasissued ordering that twenty-five per cent, of the revenues of thepublic lands (kugaideri) should be appropriated to increase theemoluments of the metropolitan officials. This decree spoke of thelatter officials as not having sufficient to stave off cold orhunger, whereas their provincial confreres were living in opulence, and added that even men of high rank were not ashamed to apply forremoval to provincial posts. As illustrating the straits to which themetropolitans were reduced and the price they had to pay for relief, it is instructive to examine a note found among the contents of theShoso-in at Nara. STATEMENT OF MON (COPPER CASH) LENT Total, 1700 Mon. Monthly interest, 15 per hundred. Debtors Sums lent Amounts to be returned Tata no Mushimaro 500 mon 605 mon, on the 6th of the 11th month; namely, original debt, 500 mon, and interest for 1 month and 12 days, 105 mon Ayabe no Samimaro 700 mon 840 mon, on the 6th of the 11th month; namely, original debt, 700 mon, and interest for 1 month and 10 days, 140 mon Kiyono no Hitotari 500 mon 605 mon, on the 6th of the 11th month; namely, original debt, 500 mon, and interest for 1 month and 12 days, 105 mon The above to be paid back when the debtors receive their salaries. Dated the 22nd of the 9th month of the 4th year of the Hoki era. (October 13, 773. ) Another note shows a loan of 1000 mon carrying interest at the rateof 130 mon monthly. The price of accommodation being so onerous, itis not difficult to infer the costliness of the necessaries of life. When the Daika reforms were undertaken, the metropolitan magnateslooked down upon their provincial brethren as an inferior order ofbeings, but in the closing days of the Nara epoch the situations werereversed, and the ultimate transfer of administrative power from theCourt to the provincials began to be foreshadowed. THE FUJIWARA FAMILY The religious fanaticism of the Emperor Shomu and his consort, Komyo, brought disorder into the affairs of the Imperial Court, and gaverise to an abuse not previously recorded, namely, favouritism withits natural outcome, treasonable ambition. It began to be doubtfulwhether the personal administration of the sovereign might not beproductive of danger to the State. Thus, patriotic politiciansconceived a desire not to transfer the sceptre to outside hands butto find among the scions of the Imperial family some one competent tosave the situation, even though the selection involved violation ofthe principle of primogeniture. The death of the Empress Shotokuwithout issue and the consequent extinction of the Emperor Temmu'sline furnished an opportunity to these loyal statesmen, and theyavailed themselves of it to set Konin upon the throne, as will bepresently described. In this crisis of the empire's fortunes, the Fujiwara family acted aleading part. Fuhito, son of the illustrious Kamatari, havingassisted in the compilation of the Daika code and laws, and havingserved throughout four reigns--Jito, Mommu, Gemmyo, and Gensho--diedat sixty-two in the post of minister of the Right, and left foursons, Muchimaro, Fusazaki, Umakai, and Maro. These, establishingthemselves independently, founded the "four houses" of the Fujiwara. Muchimaro's home, being in the south (nan) of the capital, was calledNan-ke; Fusazaki's, being in the north (hoku), was termed Hoku-ke;Umakai's was spoken of as Shiki-ke, since he presided over theDepartment of Ceremonies (Shiki), and Maro's went by the name ofKyo-ke, this term also having reference to his office. Thedescendants of the four houses are shown in the following table: / / | Toyonari--Tsugunawa | Muchimaro < Nakamaro (Emi no Oshikatsu) | (Nan-ke) | Otomaro--Korekimi | \ | | / / | | Nagate | Nagayoshi (Mototsune) | Fusazaki < Matate--Uchimaro--Fuyutsugu < adopted | (Hoku-ke) | Kiyokawa | Yoshifusa--Mototsune-+ | \ \ | | | | / | | | Hirotsugu | | Umakai < Yoshitsugu--Tanetsugu-- / Nakanari | | (Shiki-ke) | --Kiyonari \ Kusuko | | | Momokawa--Otsugu |Kamatari- | \ |Fuhito < | | +-----------------------------------------------------+ | Maro | | (Kyo-ke) | Tokihira / | Miyako | Nakahira / | Koretada | (Consort | | Saneyori | Kanemichi | of Mommu) | Tadahira < Morosuke-- < Kaneiye ----+ | | | Morotada | Tamemitsu | | \ \ | Kinsuye | | \ | | Asuka | | (Empress | | of Shomu) | \ | | +----------------------------------------------------+ | | / Korechika | Michitaka < | \ Takaiye | Michikane | / Yorimichi--Morozane--Moromichi -------+ | Michinaga < | \ \ Norimichi | | | +----------------------------------------------------+ | | / Tadamichi | Tadazane < | \ Yorinaga \ It has already been related how the four heads of these families alldied in one year (736) during an epidemic of small-pox, but it may bedoubted whether this apparent calamity did not ultimately provefortunate, for had these men lived, they would have occupiedcommanding positions during the scandalous reign of the Empress Koken(afterwards Shotoku), and might have supported the ruinous disloyaltyof Nakamaro or the impetuous patriotism of Hirotsugu. However thatmay be, the Fujiwara subsequently took the lead in contriving theselection and enthronement of a monarch competent to stem the eviltendency of the time, and when the story of the Fujiwara usurpationscomes to be written, we should always remember that it had a longpreface of loyal service, a preface extending to four generations. THE FORTY-NINTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR KONIN (A. D. 770-781) When the Empress Shotoku died, no successor had been designated, andit seemed not unlikely that the country would be thrown into a stateof civil war. The ablest among the princes of the blood wasShirakabe, grandson of the Emperor Tenchi. He was in his sixty-secondyear, had held the post of nagon, and unquestionably possessederudition and administrative competence. Fujiwara Momokawa warmlyespoused his cause, but for unrecorded reason Kibi no Makibi offeredopposition. Makibi being then minister of the Right and Momokawa onlya councillor, the former's views must have prevailed had not Momokawaenlisted the aid of his brother, Yoshitsugu, and of his cousin, Fujiwara Nagate, minister of the Left. By their united efforts PrinceShirakabe was proclaimed and became the Emperor Konin, his youngestson, Osabe, being appointed Prince Imperial. Konin justified the zeal of his supporters, but his benevolent andupright reign has been sullied by historical romanticists, whorepresent him as party to an unnatural intrigue based on the allegedlicentiousness and shamelessness of his consort, Princess Inokami, alady then in her fifty-sixth year with a hitherto blameless record. Much space has been given to this strange tale by certain annalists, but its only apparent basis of fact would seem to be that Momokawa, wishing to secure the succession to Prince Yamabe--afterwards EmperorKwammu--compassed the deaths of the Empress Inokami and her son, Osabe, the heir apparent. They were probably poisoned on the sameday, and stories injurious to the lady's reputation--stories going sofar as to accuse her of attempting the life of the Emperor byincantation--were circulated in justification of the murder. Certainit is, however, that to Momokawa's exertions the Emperor Kwammu owedhis accession, as had his father, Konin. Kwammu, known in his days ofpriesthood as Yamabe, was Konin's eldest son, and would have beennamed Prince Imperial on his father's ascent of the throne had nothis mother, Takano, been deficient in qualifications of lineage. Hehad held the posts of president of the University and minister of theCentral Department, and his career, alike in office and on thethrone, bore witness to the wisdom of his supporters. As illustrating the religious faith of the age, it is noteworthy thatMomokawa, by way of promoting Prince Yamabe's interests, caused astatue to be made in his likeness, and, enshrining it in the templeBonshaku-ji, ordered the priests to offer supplications in itsbehalf. The chronicle further relates that after the deaths of theEmpress (Inokami) and her son (Osabe), Momokawa and Emperor Koninwere much troubled by the spirits of the deceased. That kind ofbelief in the maleficent as well as in the beneficent powers of thedead became very prevalent in later times. Momokawa died before theaccession of Kwammu, but to him was largely due the great influencesubsequently wielded by the Fujiwara at Court. It is on record thatKwammu, speaking in after years to Momokawa's son, Otsugu, recalledhis father's memory with tears, and said that but for Momokawa hewould never have reigned over the empire. The fact is that the Fujiwara were a natural outcome of thesituation. The Tang systems, which Kamatari, the great founder of thefamily, had been chiefly instrumental in introducing, placed in thehands of the sovereign powers much too extensive to be safelyentrusted to a monarch qualified only by heredity. Comprehending thelogic of their organization, the Chinese made their monarchs' tenureof authority depend upon the verdict of the nation. But in Japan thetitle to the crown being divinely bequeathed, there could be noquestion of appeal to a popular tribunal. So long as men like Kotoku, Tenchi, and Temmu occupied the throne, the Tang polity showed noflagrant defects. But when the exercise of almost unlimited authorityfell into the hands of a religious fanatic like Shomu, or alicentious lady like Koken, it became necessary either that theprinciple of heredity should be set aside altogether, or that somemethod of limited selection should be employed. It was then that the Fujiwara became a species of electoral college, not possessing, indeed, any recognized mandate from the nation, yetacting in the nation's behalf to secure worthy occupants for thethrone. For a time this system worked satisfactorily, but ultimatelyit inosculated itself with the views it was designed to nullify, andthe Fujiwara became flagrant abusers of the power handed down tothem. Momokawa's immediate followers were worthy to wear his mantle. Tanetsugu, Korekimi, Tsugunawa--these are names that deserve to beprinted in letters of gold on the pages of Japan's annals. Theyeither prompted or presided over the reforms and retrenchments thatmarked Kwammu's reign, and personal ambition was never allowed tointerfere with their duty to the State. IMPERIAL PRINCES Contemporaneously with the rise of the Fujiwara to the highest placeswithin reach of a subject, an important alteration took place in thestatus of Imperial princes. There was no relation of cause and effectbetween the two things, but in subsequent times events connected themintimately. According to the Daika legislation, not only sons ofsovereigns but also their descendants to the fifth generation wereclassed as members of the Imperial family and inherited the title of"Prince" (0). Ranks (hon-i) were granted to them and they oftenparticipated in the management of State affairs. But no salaries weregiven to them; they had to support themselves with the proceeds ofsustenance fiefs. The Emperor Kwammu was the first to break away fromthis time-honoured usage. He reduced two of his own sons, born of anon-Imperial lady, from the Kwobetsu class to the Shimbetsu, conferring on them the uji names of Nagaoka and Yoshimine, and hefollowed the same course with several of the Imperial grandsons, giving them the name of Taira. Thenceforth, whenever a sovereign's offspring was numerous, it becamecustomary to group them with the subject class under a family name. Aprince thus reduced received the sixth official rank (roku-i), andwas appointed to a corresponding office in the capital or a province, promotion following according to his ability and on successfullypassing the examination prescribed for Court officials. Nevertheless, to be divested of the title of "Prince" did not mean less of princelyprestige. Such nobles were always primi inter pares. The principaluji thus created were Nagaoka, Yoshimine, Ariwara, Taira, andMinamoto. THE TAIRA FAMILY Prince Katsurabara was the fifth son of the Emperor Kwammu. Intelligent, reserved, and a keen student, he is said to haveunderstood the warnings of history as clearly as its incentives. Hepetitioned the Throne that the title of should be exchanged in hischildren's case for that of Taira no Asomi (Marquis of Taira). Thisrequest, though several times repeated, was not granted until thetime (889) of his grandson, Takamochi, who became the first Taira noAsomi and governor of Kazusa province. He was the grandfather ofMasakado and great-grandfather of Tadamori, names celebrated inJapanese history. For generations the Taira asomi were appointedgenerals of the Imperial guards conjointly with the Minamoto, to bepresently spoken of. The name of Taira was conferred also on threeother sons of Kwammu, the Princes Mamta, Kaya, and Nakano, so thatthere were four Tairahouses just as there were four Fujiwara. THE MINAMOTO FAMILY The Emperor Saga (810) had fifty children. From the sixth sondownwards they were grouped under the uji of Minamoto. All receivedappointments to important offices. This precedent was even moredrastically followed in the days of the Emperor Seiwa (859-876). Toall his Majesty's sons, except the Crown Prince, the uji of Minamotowas given. The best known among these early Minamoto was Tsunemoto, commonly called Prince Rokuson. He was a grandson of the EmperorSeiwa, celebrated for two very dissimilar attainments, which, nevertheless, were often combined in Japan--the art of composingcouplets and the science of commanding troops. Appointed in theShohyo era (931-937) to be governor of Musashi, the metropolitanprovince of modern Japan, his descendants constituted the principalamong fourteen Minamoto houses. They were called the Seiwa Genji, andnext in importance came the Saga Genji and the Murakami Genji. * *That is to say, descended from the Emperor Murakami (947-967). Genis the Chinese sound of Minamoto and ji (jshi) represents uji. TheMinamoto are alluded to in history as either the Genji or theMinamoto. Similarly, hei being the Chinese pronunciation of Taira, the latter are indiscriminately spoken of Taira or Heike (ke =house). Both names are often combined into Gen-pei. UJI NO CHOJA AND GAKU-IN NO BETTO The imperially descended uji spoken of above, each consisting ofseveral houses, were grouped according to their names, and each groupwas under the supervision of a chief, called uji no choja or uji nocho. Usually, as has been already stated, the corresponding positionin an ordinary uji was called uji no Kami and belonged to thefirst-born of the principal house, irrespective of his official rank. But in the case of the imperially descended uji, the chief wasselected and nominated by the sovereign with regard to hisadministrative post. With the appointment was generally combined thatof Gaku-in no betto, or commissioner of the academies established forthe youths of the uji. The principal of these academies was theKwangaku-in of the Fujiwara. Founded by Fujiwara Fuyutsugu, minister of the Left, in the year 821, and endowed with a substantialpart of his estate in order to afford educational advantages for thepoorer members of the great family, this institution rivalled eventhe Imperial University, to be presently spoken of. It was under thesuperintendence of a special commissioner (benkwari). Next in importance was the Shogaku-in of the Minamoto, established byAriwara Yukihira in the year 881. Ariwara being a grandson of theEmperor Saga, a member of the Saga Genji received the nomination ofchief commissioner; but in the year 1140, the minister of the Right, Masasada, a member of the Murakami Genji, was appointed to theoffice, and thenceforth it remained in the hands of that house. Twoother educational institutions were the Junna-in of the O-uji and theGakukwan-in of the Tachibana-iyt, the former dating from the year 834and the latter from 820. It is not on record that there existed anyspecial school under Taira auspices. AGRICULTURE One of the principal duties of local governors from the time of theDaika reforms was to encourage agriculture. A rescript issued by theEmpress Gensho in the year 715 declared that to enrich the people wasto make the country prosperous, and went on to condemn the practiceof devoting attention to rice culture only and neglecting uplandcrops, so that, in the event of a failure of the former, the latterdid not constitute a substitute. It was therefore ordered that barleyand millet should be assiduously grown, and each farmer was requiredto lay down two tan (2/3 acre) annually of these upland cereals. Repeated proclamations during the eighth century bear witness toofficial solicitude in this matter, and in 723 there is recorded adistribution of two koku (nearly ten bushels) of seeds, ten feet ofcotton cloth, and a hoe (kuwa) to each agriculturist throughout theempire. Such largesse suggests a colossal operation, but, in fact, itmeant little more than the remission of about a year's taxes. Necessarily, as the population increased, corresponding extension ofthe cultivated area became desirable, and already, in the year 722, awork of reclamation on a grand scale was officially undertaken byorganizing a body of peasants and sending them to bring under culturea million cho (two and a half million acres) of new land. Thisinteresting measure is recorded without any details whatever. Private initiative was also liberally encouraged. An Imperialrescript promised that any farmer harvesting three thousand koku(fifteen thousand bushels) of cereals from land reclaimed by himselfshould receive the sixth class order of merit (kun roku-to), while acrop of over a thousand koku and less than three thousand would carrylifelong exemption from forced labour. The Daika principle that theland was wholly the property of the Crown had thus to yield partiallyto the urgency of the situation, and during the third decade of theeighth century it was enacted that, if a man reclaimed land byutilizing aqueducts and reservoirs already in existence, the landshould belong to him for his lifetime, while if the reservoirs andaqueducts were of his own construction, the right of property shouldbe valid for three generations. * From the operation of this law theprovincial governors were excepted; the usufruct of lands reclaimedby them was limited to the term of their tenure of office, though, asrelated already, legislation in their case varied greatly from timeto time. *This system was called Sansei-isshin no ho. It is, perhaps, advisable to note that the Daika system of dividing the land forsustenance purposes applied only to land already under cultivation. For a certain period the system of "three generations, or one life"worked smoothly enough; but subsequently it was found that as thelimit of time approached, farmers neglected to till the land andsuffered it to lie waste. Therefore, in the year 743, the Governmentenacted that all reclaimed land should be counted the perpetualproperty of the reclaimer, with one proviso, namely, that three yearsof neglect to cultivate should involve confiscation. The recognitionof private ownership was not unlimited. An area of five hundred cho(1250 acres) was fixed as the superior limit, applicable only to thecase of a "First Class" prince, the quantities being thereafter on asliding scale down to ten cho (twenty-five acres). Any excessresulting from previous accretions was to revert to the State. Evidently the effective operation of such a system predicatedaccurate surveys and strict supervision. Neither of these conditionsexisted in Japan at that remote period. The prime purpose of thelegislators was achieved, since the people devoted themselvesassiduously to land reclamation; but by free recourse to their powerof commanding labour, the great families acquired estates largely inexcess of the legal limit. A feature of the Nara epoch was theendowment of the Buddhist temples with land by men of all classes, and the sho-en, or temple domain, thus came into existence. STOCK FARMING Information on the subject of stock farming is scanty and indirect, but in the year 713 we find a rescript ordering the provincials ofYamashiro to provide and maintain fifty milch-cows, and in 734, permission was given that all the districts in the Tokai-do, theTosan-do, and the Sanin-do might trade freely in cattle and horses. Seven years later (741), when Shomu occupied the throne, and whenBuddhism spread its protecting mantle over all forms of life, anedict appeared condemning anyone who killed a horse or an ox to beflogged with a hundred strokes and to be fined heavily. Only oneother reference to stock farming appears in the annals of the Naraepoch: the abolition of the two pastures at Osumi and Himeshima inthe province of Settsu was decreed in 771, but no reason is recorded. SERICULTURE From the remotest times sericulture was assiduously practised inJapan, the ladies of the Imperial Court, from the Empress downwards, taking an active part in the pursuit. The wave of Buddhist zeal whichswept over Japan in the eighth century gave a marked impulse to thisbranch of industry, for the rich robes of the priests constituted aspecial market. ORANGES It is recorded in the Chronicles that Tajimamori, a Korean emigrantof royal descent, was sent to the "Eternal Land" by the EmperorSuinin, in the year A. D. 61, to obtain "the fragrant fruit that growsout of season;" that, after a year's absence, he returned, andfinding the Emperor dead, committed suicide at his tomb. The"fragrant fruit" is understood to have been the orange, then calledtachibana (Citrus nobilis). If the orange really reached Japan atthat remote date, it does not appear to have been cultivated there, for the importation of orange trees from China is specially mentionedas an incident of the early Nara epoch. INDUSTRIES One of the unequivocal benefits bestowed on Japan by Buddhism was astrong industrial and artistic impulse. Architecture made notableprogress owing to the construction of numerous massive andmagnificent temples and pagodas. One of the latter, erected duringthe reign of Temmu, had a height of thirteen storeys. The arts ofcasting and of sculpture, both in metal and in wood, received greatdevelopment, as did also the lacquer industry. Vermilion lacquer wasinvented in the time of Temmu, and soon five different colours couldbe produced, while to the Nara artisans belongs the inception oflacquer strewn with makie. Lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl wasanother beautiful concept of the Nara epoch. A special tint of redwas obtained with powdered coral, and gold and silver were freelyused in leaf or in plates. As yet, history does not find any Japanesepainter worthy of record. Chinese and Korean masters remained supremein that branch of art. TRADE Commerce with China and Korea was specially active throughout theeighth century, and domestic trade also nourished. In the capitalthere were two markets where people assembled at noon and dispersedat sunset. Men and women occupied different sections, and it wouldseem that transactions were subject to strict surveillance. Thus, ifany articles of defective quality or adulterated were offered forsale, they were liable to be confiscated officially, and if a buyerfound that short measure had been given, he was entitled to returnhis purchase. Market-rates had to be conformed with, and purchaserswere required to pay promptly. It appears that trees were planted toserve as shelter or ornament, for we read of "trees in the Market ofthe East" and "orange trees in the market of Kaika. " HABITATIONS The Buddhist temple, lofty, spacious, with towering tiled roof, massive pillars and rich decoration of sculpture and painting, couldnot fail to impart an impetus to Japanese domestic architecture, especially as this impressive apparition was not evolved graduallyunder the eyes of the nation but was presented to them suddenly inits complete magnificence. Thus it is recorded that towards the closeof the seventh century, tiled roofs and greater solidity of structurebegan to distinguish official buildings, as has been already noted. But habitations in general remained insignificant and simple. A poemcomposed by the Dowager Empress Gensho (724) with reference to thedwelling of Prince Nagaya is instructive: "Hata susuki" (Thatched with miscanthus) "Obana sakafuki" (And eularia) "Kuro-ki mochi" (Of ebon timbers built, a house) "Tsukureru yado wa" (Will live a myriad years. ) "Yorozu yo made ni. " This picture of a nobleman's dwelling in the eighth century is notimposing. In the very same year the Emperor Shomu, responding to anappeal from the council of State, issued an edict that officials ofthe fifth rank and upwards and wealthy commoners should buildresidences with tiled roofs and walls plastered in red. Thisinjunction was only partly obeyed: tiles came into more general use, but red walls offended the artistic instinct of the Japanese. Nearlyfifty years later, when (767-769) the shrine of Kasuga was erected atNara in memory of Kamatari, founder of the Fujiwara family, itspillars were painted in vermilion, and the fashion inaugurated foundfrequent imitation in later years. Of furniture the houses had very little as compared with Westerncustoms. Neither chairs nor bedsteads existed; people sat and slepton the floor, separated from it only by mats made of rice-straw, bycushions or by woollen carpets, and in aristocratic houses there wasa kind of stool to support the arm of the sitter, a lectern, and adais for sitting on. Viands were served on tables a few inches high, and people sat while eating. From the middle of the seventh century aclepsydra of Chinese origin was used to mark the hours. The first of these instruments is recorded to have been made in A. D. 660, and tradition does not tell what device had previously servedthe purpose. When temple bells came into existence, the hours werestruck on them for public information, and there is collateralevidence that some similar system of marking time had been resortedto from early eras. But the whole story is vague. It seems, however, that the method of counting the hours was influenced by the manner ofstriking them. Whether bronze bell or wooden clapper was used, threepreliminary strokes were given by way of warning, and it thereforebecame inexpedient to designate any of the hours "one, " "two, " or"three. " Accordingly the initial number was four, and the day beingdivided into six hours, instead of twelve, the highest number becamenine, which corresponded to the Occidental twelve. * *There were no subdivisions into minutes and seconds in old Japan. The only fraction of an hour was one-half. BELLS Concerning the bells here mentioned, they are one of the unexplainedachievements of Japanese casters. In Europe the method of producing areally fine-toned bell was evolved by "ages of empirical trials, " butin Japan bells of huge size and exquisite note were cast in apparentdefiance of all the rules elaborated with so much difficulty in theWest. One of the most remarkable hangs in the belfry of Todai-ji atNara. It was cast in the year 732 when Shomu occupied the throne; itis 12 feet 9 inches high; 8 feet 10 inches in diameter; 10 inchesthick, and weighs 49 tons. There are great bells also in the templesat Osaka and Kyoto, and it is to be noted that early Japanese bronzework was largely tributary and subsidiary to temple worship. Templebells, vases, gongs, mirrors and lanterns are the principal items inthis class of metal-working, until a much later period with itssmaller ornaments. Very few references to road making are found in the ancient annals, but the reign of the Empress Gensho (715-723) is distinguished as thetime when the Nakasen-do, or Central Mountain road, was constructed. It runs from Nara to Kyoto and thence to the modern Tokyo, traversingsix provinces en route. Neither history nor tradition tells whetherit was wholly made in the days of Gensho or whether, as seems moreprobable, it was only commenced then and carried to completion in thereign of Shomu (724-748), when a large force of troops had to be sentnorthward against the rebellious Yemishi. Doubtless the custom ofchanging the capital on the accession of each sovereign had theeffect of calling many roads into existence, but these were ofinsignificant length compared with a great trunk highway like theNakasen-do. Along these roads the lower classes travelled on foot; the higher onhorseback, and the highest in carts drawn by bullocks. Forequestrians who carried official permits, relays of horses couldalways be obtained at posting stations. Among the ox-carts whichserved for carriages, there was a curious type, distinguished by thefact that between the shafts immediately in front of the dashboardstood a figure whose outstretched arm perpetually pointed south. Thiscompass-cart, known as the "south-pointing chariot, " was introducedfrom China in the year 658. There was also a "cloud-chariot, " butthis served for war purposes only, being a movable erection foroverlooking an enemy's defensive work, corresponding to the turris ofRoman warfare. Borrowed also from China was a battering engine whichmoved on four wheels, and, like the cloud-chariot, dated from 661, when a Tang army invaded Korea. HABILIMENTS A reader of the Chronicles is struck by the fact that from the closeof the seventh century much official attention seems to have beenbestowed on the subject of costume. Thus, during the last five yearsof the Emperor Temmu's reign--namely, from 681--we find no less thannine sumptuary regulations issued. The first was an edict, containingninety-two articles, of which the prologue alone survives, "Thecostumes of all, from the princes of the Blood down to the commonpeople, and the wearing of gold and silver, pearls and jewels, purple, brocade, embroidery, fine silks, together with woollencarpets, head-dresses, and girdles, as well as all kinds of colouredstuffs, are regulated according to a scale, the details of which aregiven in the written edict. " In the next year (682), another edictforbids the wearing of caps of rank, aprons, broad girdles, andleggings by princes or public functionaries, as well as the use ofshoulder-straps or mantillas by palace stewards or ladies-in-waiting. The shoulder-strap was a mark of manual labour, and its use in thepresence of a superior has always been counted as rude in Japan. A few days later, this meticulous monarch is found commanding men andwomen to tie up their hair, eight months being granted to make thechange, and, at the same time, the practice of women riding astrideon horseback came into vogue, showing that female costume had much incommon with male. Caps of varnished gauze, after the Chinese type, began to be worn by both sexes simultaneously with the tying-up ofthe hair. Two years later, women of forty years or upwards were giventhe option of tying up their hair or letting it hang loose, and ofriding astride or side-saddle as they pleased. At the same time, toboth sexes, except on State occasions, liberty of choice was accordedin the matter of wearing sleeveless jackets fastened in front withsilk cords and tassels, though in the matter of trousers, men had togather theirs in at the bottom with a lace. By and by, the tying upof the hair by women was forbidden in its turn; the wearing ofleggings was sanctioned, and the colours of Court costumes werestrictly determined according to the rank of the wearer red, deeppurple, light purple, dark green, light green, deep grape-colour andlight grape-colour being the order from above downwards. All this attention to costume is suggestive of much refinement. Fromthe eighth century even greater care was devoted to the subject. Wefind three kinds of habiliments prescribed--full dress (reifuku), Court dress (chofuku) and uniform (seifuku)--with many minordistinctions according to the rank of the wearer. Broadly speaking, the principal garments were a paletot, trousers, and a narrow girdletied in front. The sleeves of the paletot were studiously regulated. A nobleman wore them long enough to cover his hands, and theirwidth--which in after ages became remarkable--was limited in the Naraepoch to one foot. The manner of folding the paletot over the breastseems to have perplexed the legislators for a time. At first theyprescribed that the right should be folded over the left (hidarimae), but subsequently (719) an Imperial decree ordered that the leftshould be laid across the right (migimae), and since that day, nearlytwelve hundred years ago, there has not been any departure from thelatter rule. Court officials carried a baton (shaku), that, too, being a habit borrowed from China. FOOD When the influence of Buddhism became supreme in Court circles, alltaking of life for purposes of food was interdicted. The firstprohibitory decree in that sense was issued by Temmu (673-686), andthe veto was renewed in more peremptory terms by Shomu (724-748), while the Empress Shotoku (765-770) went so far as to forbid thekeeping of dogs, falcons, or cormorants for hunting or fishing atShinto ceremonials. But such vetoes were never effectually enforced. The great staple of diet was rice, steamed or boiled, and next inimportance came millet, barley, fish of various kinds (fresh orsalted), seaweed, vegetables, fruit (pears, chestnuts, etc. ), and theflesh of fowl, deer, and wild boar. Salt, bean-sauce, and vinegarwere used for seasoning. There were many kinds of dishes; among thecommonest being soup (atsumono) and a preparation of raw fish invinegar (namasu). In the reign of Kotoku (645-654), a Korean namedZena presented a milch cow to the Court, and from that time milk wasrecognized as specially hygienic diet. Thus, when the Daiho laws werepublished at the beginning of the eighth century, dairies wereattached to the medical department, and certain provinces receivedorders to present butter (gyuraku) for the Court's use. MARRIAGES AND FUNERALS Very little is known of the marriage ceremony in old Japan. Thatthere was a nuptial hut is attested by very early annals, and fromthe time of the Emperor Richu (400-405) wedding presents arerecorded. But for the rest, history is silent, and it is impossibleto fix the epoch when a set ceremonial began to be observed. As to funerals, there is fuller but not complete information. That amortuary chamber was provided for the corpse pending the preparationof the tomb is shown by the earliest annals, and from an account, partly allegorical, contained in the records of the prehistoric age, we learn that dirges were sung for eight days and eight nights, andthat in the burial procession were marshalled bearers of viands to beoffered at the grave, bearers of brooms to sweep the path, women whoprepared the viands, and a body of hired mourners. But the Kojiki, describing the same ceremony, speaks of "making merry" with theobject of recalling the dead to life, as the Sun goddess had beenenticed from her cave. From the days of the Emperor Bidatsu(572-585), we find the first mention of funeral orations, andalthough the contents of tombs bear witness to the fact that articlesother than food were offered to the deceased, it is not until theburial of the Emperor's consort, Katachi, (612) that explicit mentionis made of such a custom. On that occasion Tori, omi of the Abe-uji, offered to the spirit of the dead "sacred utensils and sacredgarments, fifteen thousand kinds in all. " Fifty years later, white ismentioned as the mourning colour, but when next (683) we hear offunerals, it is evident that their realm had been invaded by Chinesecustoms, for it is recorded that "officials of the third rank wereallowed at their funerals one hearse, forty drums, twenty greathorns, forty little horns, two hundred flags, one metal gong, and onehand-bell, with lamentation for one day. " At Temmu's obsequies (687)mention is made of an "ornamented chaplet, " the first reference tothe use of flowers, which constitute such a prominent feature ofBuddhist obsequies. But there is no evidence that Buddhist rites were employed atfunerals until the death of the retired Emperor Shomu (756). Thereafter, the practice became common. It was also to a Buddhistpriest, Dosho, that Japan owed the inception of cremation. Dying inthe year 700, Dosho ordered his disciples to cremate his body atKurihara, and, two years later, the Dowager Empress Jito willed thather corpse should be similarly disposed of. From the megalithic tombsof old Japan to the little urn that holds the handful of ashesrepresenting a cremated body, the transition is immense. It has beenshown that one of the signal reforms of the Daika era was the settingof limits to the size of sepulchres, a measure which afforded to thelower classes much relief from forced labour. But an edict issued in706 shows that the tendance of the resting place of the dead wasstill regarded as a sacred duty, for the edict ordered that, alike atthe ancestral tombs of the uji and in the residential quarter of thecommon people, trees should be planted. Not yet, however, does the custom of erecting monuments withinscriptions seem to have come into vogue. The Empress Gemmyo (d. 721) appears to have inaugurated that feature, for she willed notonly that evergreens should be planted at her grave but also that atablet should be set up there. Some historians hold that the donningof special garments by way of mourning had its origin at that time, and that it was borrowed from the Tang code of etiquette. But theChronicles state that in the year A. D. 312, when the Prince Imperialcommitted suicide rather than occupy the throne, his brother, Osasagi, "put on plain unbleached garments and began mourning forhim. " White ultimately became the mourning colour, but in the eighthcentury it was dark, * and mourning habiliments were calledfuji-koromo, because they were made from the bark of the wisteria(fuji). Among the Daiho statutes was one providing that periods ofmourning should be of five grades, the longest being one year and theshortest seven days. *"On the death of the Emperor Inkyo (A. D. 453), the Korean Court senteighty musicians robed in black, who marched in procession to theYamato palace, playing and singing a dirge as they went. " PASTIMES Foremost among the pastimes of the Japanese people in all epochs wasdancing. We hear of it in the prehistoric age when the "monkeyfemale" (Sarume) performed a pantominic dance before the rock cave ofthe Sun goddess; we hear of it in protohistoric times when Inkyo'sconsort was betrayed into an offer that wrecked her happiness, and wehear of it in the historic epoch when the future Emperor Kenso dancedin the disguise of a horse-boy. But as the discussion of this subjectbelongs more intelligently to the era following the Nara, we confineourselves here to noting that even the religious fanatic Shomu isrecorded as having repaired to the Shujaku gate of the palace towitness a performance of song and dance (utagaki) in which 240persons, men and women, took part; and that, in the same year (734), 230 members of six great uji performed similarly, all robed in bluegarments fastened in front with long red cords and tassels. The tendency of the Japanese has always been to accompany theirfeasting and merry-making with music, versifying, and dancing. At thetime now under consideration there was the "winding-water fete"(kyoku-sui no en), when princes, high officials, courtiers, and nobleladies seated themselves by the banks of a rivulet meandering gentlythrough some fair park, and launched tiny cups of mulled wine uponthe current, each composing a stanza as the little messenger reachedhim, or drinking its contents by way of penalty for lack of poeticinspiration. There were also the flower festivals--that for the plumblossoms, that for the iris, and that for the lotus, all of whichwere instituted in this same Nara epoch--when the composition ofcouplets was quite as important as the viewing of the flowers. Therewas, further, the grand New Year's banquet in the Hall ofTranquillity at the Court, when all officials from the sixth gradedownwards sang a stanza of loyal gratitude, accompanying themselveson the lute (koto). It was an era of refined effeminate amusements. Wrestling had now become the pursuit of professionals. Aristocratsengaged in no rougher pastime than equestrian archery, a species offootball, hawking, and hunting. Everybody gambled. It was in vainthat edicts were issued against dicing (chobo and sugoroku). The vicedefied official restraint. LITERATURE AND POETRY Having no books of her own, Japan naturally borrowed freely from therich mine of Chinese literature. By the tutors of the Imperialfamily, at the colleges of the capital, and in the provincial schoolsthe classics constituted virtually the whole curriculum. Theadvantages of education were, however, enjoyed by a comparativelysmall element of the population. During the Nara epoch, it does notappear that there were more than five thousand students attending theschools and colleges at one time. The aim of instruction was toprepare men for official posts rather than to impart general cultureor to encourage scientific research. Students were therefore selectedfrom the aristocrats or the official classes only. There were noprinted books; everything had to be laboriously copied by hand, andthus the difficulties of learning were much enhanced. To be able toadapt the Chinese ideographs skilfully to the purposes of writtenJapanese was a feat achieved by comparatively few. What the taskinvolved has been roughly described in the opening chapter of thisvolume, and with what measure of success it was achieved may beestimated from the preface to the Records (Kojiki), written by OnoYasumaro, from the Chronicles (Nihon Shoki) and from the DaihoRitsu-ryo, which three works may be called the sole surviving proseessays of the epoch. Much richer, however, is the realm of poetry. It was during the Naraepoch that the first Japanese anthology, the Manyo-shu (Collection ofa Myriad Leaves), was compiled. It remains to this day a reveredclassic and "a whole mountain of commentary has been devoted to theelucidation of its obscurities. " [Chamberlain. ] In the Myriad Leavesare to be found poems dating nominally from the reigns of Yuryaku andNintoku, as well as from the days of Shotoku Taishi, but much morenumerous are those of Jomei's era (629-641) and especially those ofthe Nara epoch. The compiler's name is not known certainly; he isbelieved to have been either Tachibana no Moroe or Otomo noYakamochi. Old manuscripts and popular memory were the sources, andthe verselets total 4496, in twenty volumes. Some make love theirtheme; some deal with sorrow; some are allegorical; some draw theirinspiration from nature's beauties, and some have miscellaneousmotives. Hitomaru, who flourished during the reign of the EmpressJito (690-697), and several of whose verses are to be found in theMyriad Leaves, has been counted by all generations the greatest ofJapanese poets. Not far below him in fame is Akahito, who wrote inthe days of Shomu (724-749). To the same century--the eighth--as theManyo-shu, belongs the Kiraifu-so, & volume containing 120 poems inChinese style, composed by sixty-four poets during the reigns ofTemmu, Jito, and Mommu, that is to say, between 673 and 707. Hereagain the compiler's name is unknown, but the date of compilation isclear, November, 751. From the fact that, while bequeathing to posterity only two nationalhistories and a few provincial records (the Fudo-ki), the Nara epochhas left two anthologies, it will be inferred readily that thewriting of poetry was a favourite pursuit in that age. Such, indeed, was the case. The taste developed almost into a mania. Guests biddento a banquet were furnished with writing materials and invited tospend hours composing versicles on themes set by their hosts. Butskill in writing verse was not merely a social gift; it came near tobeing a test of fitness for office. "In their poetry above everything the Japanese have remainedimpervious to alien influences. It owes this conservation to itsprosody. Without rhyme, without variety of metre, without elasticityof dimensions, it is also without known counterpart. To alter it inany way would be to deprive it of all distinguishing characteristics. At some remote date a Japanese maker of songs seems to havediscovered that a peculiar and very fascinating rhythm is produced bylines containing 5 syllables and 7 syllables alternately. That isJapanese poetry (uta or tanka). There are generally five lines: thefirst and third consisting of 5 syllables, the second, fourth andfifth of 7, making a total of 31 in all. The number of lines is notcompulsory: sometimes they may reach to thirty, forty or even more, but the alternation of 5 and 7 syllables is compulsory. The mostattenuated form of all is the hokku (or haikai) which consists ofonly three lines, namely, 17 syllables. Necessarily the ideasembodied in such a narrow vehicle must be fragmentary. Thus itresults that Japanese poems are, for the most part, impressionist;they suggest a great deal more than they actually express. Here is anexample: Momiji-ha wo Kaze ni makasete Miru yori mo Hakanaki mono wa Inochi nari keri This may be translated: More fleeting than the glint of withered leaf wind-blown, the thingcalled life. "* *See Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, article "Japan. " The sketchy nature of Japanese poetry, especially in this five-linestanza, may be illustrated further by two poems quoted by Prof. B. H. Chamberlain in his "Things Japanese" (pp. 375-376), The first: Hototogisu Nakitsuru kata wo Nagamureba-- Tada ari-ake no Tsuki zo nokoreru is literally translated by Professor Chamberlain as follows: "When I gaze towards the place where the cuckoo has been singing, nought remains but the moon in the early dawn. " And the conventional and pictorial character of the literary form isillustrated again in the lines: Shira-kumo ni Hane uchi-kawashi Tobu kari no Kazu sae miyuru Aki no yo no tsuki! which the same eminent scholar translates: "The moon on an autumnnight making visible the very number of the wild-geese that fly pastwith wings intercrossed in the white clouds. " It is to be noted thatthis last is, to Occidental notions, a mere poetic phrase and not aunit. Of course, the very exigencies of the case make the three-line stanza(or hokku), containing only 17 syllables, even more sketchy--hardlymore indeed than a tour de force composed of a limited number ofbrush strokes! The Western critic, with his totally differentliterary conventions, has difficulty in bringing himself to regardJapanese verse as a literary form or in thinking of it otherwise thanas an exercise in ingenuity, an Oriental puzzle; and this notion isheightened by the prevalence of the couplet-composing contests, whichdid much to heighten the artificiality of the genre. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES There was probably no more shocking sexual vice or irregularity inthe Nara epoch than there had been before nor than there wasafterwards. The only evidence adduced to prove that there wasanything of the sort is the fact that laws were promulgated lookingto the restraint of illicit intercourse. These laws seem to haveaccomplished little or nothing and the existence of the laws arguesrather a growing sense of the seriousness of the evil than any suddenincrease in the prevalence of the evil itself. There can be noquestion, however, of the wide diffusion of concubinage in thisperiod. Not morals nor repute nor public opinion, but the wealth andwishes of each man limited him in his amours of this sort. Theessential of a virtuous woman was that she be faithful to her husbandor lover; no such faithfulness was expected of him. And neither inthe case of man nor woman did the conventions of the period depend atall on the nature of the relationship between the two. Wives nolonger lived in their fathers' homes after marriage, but thenewly-wedded husband built new rooms for his wife's especial use, sothat, by a fiction such as the Oriental delights in and Occidentallaw is not entirely ignorant of, her home was still not his. Beforebetrothal, girls were not allowed to call themselves by a familyname. At the betrothal her affianced first bound up in a fillet thehair that she had formerly worn loose around her face. Even moresymbolical was the custom upon lovers' parting of tying to thewoman's undergarment a string from the man's; this knot was to beunloosed only when they met again. THE SHOSO-IN At Nara, in Yamato province, near the temple of Todai-ji, a storehouse built of wood and called the Shoso-in was constructed in theNara epoch, and it still stands housing a remarkable collection offurniture and ornaments from the Imperial palace. There is somequestion whether this collection is truly typical of the period, oreven of the palace of the period; but the presence of many utensilsfrom China, some from India (often with traces of Greek influence), and a few from Persia certainly shows the degree of cosmopolitanculture and elegance there was in the palace at Nara. At the presentday, strangers may visit the collection only by special permissionand only on two days each year; and the museum has always had amingled imperial and sacred character. When the power of theshogunate was at its height, the Shoso-in was never opened except byorders of the Emperor. Among the contents of this museum are:polished mirrors with repousse backs, kept in cases lined withbrocaded silk; bronze vases; bronze censers; hicense-boxes made ofPaulownia wood or of Chinese ware; two-edged swords, which were tiedto the girdle, instead of being thrust through it; narrow leatherbelts with silver or jade decoration; bamboo flutes; lacquerwriting-cases, etc. ENGRAVING: OUTLINE SKETCH OF THE SHOSO-IN AT NARA REFORM OF LOCAL ADMINISTRATIONS To the Emperor Konin belongs the credit of correcting some flagrantabuses in provincial administration. There was an inconvenientoutcome of the religious mania which pervaded the upper classesduring the reigns of Shomu and Koken. To meet the expense of buildingtemples and casting images, men of substance in the provinces wereurged to make contributions of money, cereals, or land, and in returnfor this liberality they were granted official posts. It resultedthat no less than thirty-one supernumerary provincial governors wereborne on the roll at one time, and since all these regarded office asa means of recouping the cost of nomination, taxpayers and personsliable to the corvée fared ill. In 774, Koken issued an edict thatprovincial governors who had held office for five years or upwardsshould be dismissed at once, those of shorter terms being allowed tocomplete five years and then removed. Another evil, inaugurated during the reign of Shomu, when faith inthe potency of supernatural influences obsessed men's minds, wasseverely dealt with by Konin. Office-seekers resorted to the deviceof contriving conflagrations of official property, rewarding theincendiaries with the plunder, and circulating rumours that thesecalamities were visitations of heaven to punish the malpractices ofthe provincial governors in whose jurisdictions they occurred. It ison record that, in several cases, these stories led to the dismissalof governors and their replacement by their traducers. Konin decreedthat such crimes should be punished by the death of all concerned. These reforms, supplemented by the removal of many superfluousofficials, earned for Konin such popularity that for the first timein Japan's history, the sovereign's birthday became a festival*, thereafter celebrated through all ages. *Called Tenchosetsu. THE MILITARY SYSTEM It has been shown that compulsory military service was introduced in689, during the reign of the Empress Jito, one-fourth of all theable-bodied men in each province being required to serve a fixed timewith the colours. It has also been noted that under the Daiholegislation the number was increased to one-third. This meant that nodistinction existed between soldier and peasant. The plan worked ill. No sufficient provision of officers being made, the troops remainedwithout training, and it frequently happened that, instead ofmilitary exercises, they were required to labour for the enrichmentof a provincial governor. The system, being thus discredited, fell into abeyance in the year739, but that it was not abolished is shown by the fact that, in 780, we find the privy council memorializing the Throne in a senseunfavourable to the drafting of peasants into the ranks. The memorialalleged that the men lacked training; that they were physicallyunfit; that they busied themselves devising pretexts for evasion;that their chief function was to perform fatigue-duty for localgovernors, and that to send such men into the field of battle wouldbe to throw away their lives fruitlessly. The council recommendedthat indiscriminate conscription of peasants should be replaced by asystem of selection, the choice being limited to men with someprevious training; that the number taken should be in proportion tothe size of the province, and that those not physically robust shouldbe left to till the land. These recommendations were approved. Theyconstituted the first step towards complete abolishment of compulsoryservice and towards the glorifying of the profession of arms abovethat of agriculture. Experience quickly proved, however, that somemore efficient management was necessary in the maritime provinces, and in 792, Kwammu being then on the throne, an edict abolished theprovincial troops in all regions except those which, by theirproximity to the continent of Asia, were exposed to danger, namely, Dazai-fu in Kyushu, and in Mutsu, Dewa, and Sado in the north. Somespecially organized force was needed also for extraordinary serviceand for guarding official storehouses, offices, and places wherepost-bells (suzu) were kept. To that end the system previouslypractised during the reign of Shomu (724-749) was reverted to; thatis to say, the most robust among the sons and younger brothers ofprovincial governors and local officials were enrolled in corps ofstrength varying with the duties to be performed. These were calledkondei or kenji. We learn from the edict that the abuse of employingsoldiers as labourers was still practised, but of course this did notapply to the kondei. The tendency of the time was against imposing military service on thelower classes. During the period 810-820, the forces under theDazai-fu jurisdiction, that is to say, in the six provinces ofChikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, and Bungo, were reduced from17, 100 to 9000. Dazai-fu and Mutsu being littoral regions, theconscription system still existed there, but in Mutsu there were notonly heishi, that is to say, local militiamen of the ordinary typeand kenji or kondei, but also chimpei, or guards who were required toserve at a distance from home. Small farmers, upon whom this dutydevolved, had no choice but to take their wives and children withthem, the family subsisting on the pittance given as rations eked outby money realized from sales of chattels and garments. Thus, on theexpiration of their service they returned to their native place in awholly destitute condition, and sometimes perished of hunger on theway. In consideration of the hardships of such a system, it wasabolished, and thus the distinction between the soldier and thepeasant received further accentuation. There is no record as to the exact dimensions of Japan's standingarmy in the ninth century, but if we observe that troops were raisedin the eight littoral provinces only--six in the south and two in thenorth--and in the island of Sado, and that the total number in thesix southern provinces was only nine thousand, it would seemreasonable to conclude that the aggregate did not exceed thirtythousand. There were also the kondei (or kenji), but these, sincethey served solely as guards or for special purposes, can scarcely becounted a part of the standing army. The inference is that whateverthe Yamato race may have been when it set out upon its originalcareer of conquest, or when, in later eras, it sent great armies tothe Asiatic continent, the close of the fifth cycle after the comingof Buddhism found the country reduced to a condition of comparativemilitary weakness. As to that, however, clearer judgment may beformed in the context of the campaign--to be now spoken of--conductedby the Yamato against the Yemishi tribes throughout a great part ofthe eighth century and the early years of the ninth. REVOLT OF THE YEMISHI It has been shown that the close of the third decade of the eighthcentury saw the capital established at Nara amid conditions of greatrefinement, and saw the Court and the aristocracy absorbed inreligious observances, while the provincial governments were, in manycases, corrupt and inefficient. In the year 724, Nara received newsof an event which illustrated the danger of such a state of affairs. The Yemishi of the east had risen in arms and killed Koyamaro, wardenof Mutsu. At that time the term "Mutsu" represented a much wider areathan the modern region of the same name: it comprised the fiveprovinces now distinguished as Iwaki, Iwashiro, Rikuzen, Rikuchu, andMutsu--in other words, the whole of the northeastern and northernlittoral of the main island. Similarly, the provinces now called Ugoand Uzen, which form the northwestern littoral, were comprised in thesingle term "Dewa. " Nature has separated these two regions, Mutsu andDewa, by a formidable chain of mountains, constituting the backboneof northern Japan. Within Dewa, Mutsu, and the island of Yezo, theaboriginal Yemishi had been held since Yamato-dake's signal campaignin the second century A. D. , and though not so effectually quelled asto preclude all danger of insurrection, their potentialities causedlittle uneasiness to the Central Government. But there was no paltering with the situation which arose in 724. Recourse was immediately had to the Fujiwara, whose position at theImperial Court was paramount, and Umakai, grandson of the renownedKamatari, set out at the head of thirty thousand men, levied from theeight Bands provinces, by which term Sagami, Musashi, Awa, Kazusa, Shimosa, Hitachi, Kotsuke, and Shimotsuke were designated. Theexpanded system of conscription established under the Daiho code wasthen in force, and thus a large body of troops could easily beassembled. Umakai's army did not experience any serious resistance. But neither did it achieve anything signal. Marching by two routes, it converged on the castle of Taga, a fortress just constructed byOno Azumahito, the lord warden of the Eastern Marches. The planpursued by the Yamato commanders was to build castles and barriersalong the course of rivers giving access to the interior, as well asalong the coast line. Taga Castle was the first of such works, and, by the year 767, the programme had been carried in Mutsu as far asthe upper reaches of the Kitakami River, * and in Dewa as far asAkita. *A monument still stands on the site of the old Taga Castle. It wasput up in A. D. 762, and it records that the castle stood fifty milesfrom the island of Yezo. History has nothing further to tell about the Yemishi until the year774, when they again took up arms, captured one (Mono) of theJapanese forts and drove out its garrison. Again the eight Bandoprovinces were ordered to send levies, and at the head of the armythus raised a Japanese general penetrated far into Mutsu anddestroyed the Yemishi's chief stronghold. This success was followedby an aggressive policy on the part of the lord-warden, Ki noHirozumi. He extended the chain of forts to Kabe in Dewa, and toIsawa in Mutsu. This was in 780. But there ensued a strong movementof reprisal on the part of the Yemishi. Led by Iharu no Atamaro, theyoverwhelmed Hirozumi's army, killed the lord-warden himself, andpushed on to Taga Castle, which they burned, destroying vast storesof arms and provisions. It was precisely at this time that the Statecouncil, as related above, memorialized the Throne, denouncing theincompetency of the provincial conscripts and complaining that theprovincial authorities, instead of training the soldiers, used themfor forced labour. The overthrow of the army in Mutsu and thedestruction of Taga Castle justified this memorial. The Court appointed Fujiwara Tsugunawa to take command of a punitiveexpedition, and once again Bando levies converged on the site of thedismantled castle of Taga. But beyond that point no advance wasessayed, in spite of bitter reproaches from Nara. "In summer, " wrotethe Emperor (Konin), "you plead that the grass is too dry; in winteryou allege that bran is too scant. You discourse adroitly but you getno nearer to the foe. " Konin's death followed shortly afterwards, buthis successor, Kwammu, zealously undertook the pursuit of thecampaign. Notice was sent (783) to the provincial authoritiesdirecting them to make preparations and to instruct the people thatan armed expedition was inevitable. News had just been received offresh outrages in Dewa. The Yemishi had completely dispersed anddespoiled the inhabitants of two districts, so that it was foundnecessary to allot lands to them elsewhere and to erect houses fortheir shelter. The Emperor said in his decree that the barbarian tribes, whenpursued, fled like birds; when unmolested, gathered like ants; thatthe conscripts from the Bando provinces were reported to be weak andunfit for campaigning, and that those skilled in archery andphysically robust stood aloof from military service, forgetting thatthey all owed a common duty to their country and their sovereign. Therefore, his Majesty directed that the sons and younger brothers ofall local officials or provincial magnates should be examined with aview to the selection of those suited for military service, whoshould be enrolled and drilled, to the number of not less than fivehundred and not more than two thousand per province according to itssize. Thus, the eight Bando provinces must have furnished a force offrom four to sixteen thousand men, all belonging to the aristocraticclass. These formed the nucleus of the army. They were supplementedby 52, 800 men, infantry and cavalry, collected from the provincesalong the Eastern Sea (Tokai) and the Eastern Mountains (Tosan). Sothat the total force must have aggregated sixty thousand. The commandin chief was conferred on Ki no Kosami, thirteenth in descent fromthe renowned Takenouchi-no-Sukune, who had been second in command ofthe Fujiwara Tsugunawa expedition nine years previously. A sword wasconferred on him by the Emperor, and he received authority to act onhis own discretion without seeking instructions from the Throne. Meanwhile, the province of Mutsu had been ordered to send 35, 000 koku(175, 000 bushels) of hulled rice to Taga Castle, and the otherprovinces adjacent were required to store 23, 000 koku (115, 000bushels) of hoshi-i (rice boiled and dried) and salt at the sameplace. The troops were to be massed at Taga, and all the provisionsand munitions were collected there by April, 789. These figures aresuggestive of the light in which the Government regarded the affair. Kosami moved out of Taga at the appointed time and pushed northward. But with every forward movement the difficulties multiplied. Snow inthose regions lies many feet deep until the end of May, and the thawensuing brings down from the mountains heavy floods which convert therivers into raging torrents and the roads into quagmires. On reachingthe bank of the Koromo River, forty-five miles north of Taga, thetroops halted. Their delay provoked much censure in the capital wherethe climatic conditions do not appear to have been fully understoodor the transport difficulties appreciated. Urged by the Court to pushon rapidly, Kosami resumed his march in June; failed to preserveefficient connexion between the parts of his army; had his vanambushed; fled precipitately himself, and suffered a heavy defeat, though only 2500 of his big army had come into action. His casualtieswere 25 killed, 245 wounded, and 1036 drowned. A truce was effectedand the forces withdrew to Taga, while, as for Kosami, though heattempted to deceive the Court by a bombastic despatch, he wasrecalled and degraded together with all the senior officers of hisarmy. It would seem as though this disaster to one comparatively smallsection of a force aggregating from fifty to sixty thousand men neednot have finally interrupted the campaign, especially when the enemyconsisted of semi-civilized aborigines. The Government thoughtdifferently, however. There was no idea of abandoning the struggle, but the programme for its renewal assumed large dimensions, andevents in the capital were not propitious for immediate action. Thetraining of picked soldiers commenced at once, and the provision ofarms and horses. Kosami's discomfiture took place in 789, and duringthe next two years orders were issued for the manufacture of 2000suits of leather armour and 3000 of iron armour; the making of 34, 500arms, and the preparation of 1 10, 000 bushels of hoshi-i. To thecommand-in-chief the Emperor (Kwammu) appointed Saka-no-ye noTamuramaro. This selection illustrates a conclusion already proved by the annals, namely, that racial prejudice had no weight in ancient Japan. ForTamuramaro was a direct descendant of that Achi no Omi who, asalready related, crossed from China during the Han dynasty and becamenaturalized in Japan. His father, Karitamaro, distinguished himselfby reporting the Dokyo intrigue, in the year 770, and received thepost of chief of the palace guards, in which corps his son, Tamuramaro, thereafter served. Tradition has assigned supernaturalcapacities to Tamuramaro, and certainly in respect of personalprowess no less than strategical talent he was highly gifted. InJune, 794, he invaded Mutsu at the head of a great army and, by aseries of rapidly delivered blows, effectually crushed theaborigines, taking 457 heads, 100 prisoners, and 85 horses, anddestroying the strongholds of 75 tribes. Thereafter, until the yearof his death (811), he effectually held in check the spirit ofrevolt, crushing two other insurrections--in 801 and 804--andvirtually annihilating the insurgents. He transferred the garrisonheadquarters from Taga to Isawa, where he erected a castle, organizing a body of four thousand militia (tonden-hei) to guard it;and in the following year (803), he built the castle of Shiba at apoint still further north. NATIONALITY OF THE INSURGENTS Annals of historical repute are confined to the above account. Thereis, however, one unexplained feature, which reveals itself to even acasual reader. In their early opposition to Yamato aggression, theYemishi--or Ainu, or Yezo, by whatever name they be called--displayedno fighting qualities that could be called formidable. Yet now, inthe eighth century, they suddenly show themselves men of such prowessthat the task of subduing them taxes the resources of the Yamato tothe fullest. Some annalists are disposed to seek an explanation ofthis discrepancy in climatic and topographical difficulties. Kosami, in his despatch referring to the Koromo-gawa campaign, explains that12, 440 men had to be constantly employed in transporting provisionsand that the quantity carried by them in twenty-four days did notexceed eleven days' rations for the troops. The hardship ofcampaigning in a country where means of communication were sodefective is easily conjectured, and it has also to be noted thatduring only a brief period in summer did the climate of Mutsu permittaking the field. But these conditions existed equally in the eras ofYamato-dake and Hirafu. Whatever obstacles they presented in theeighth century must have been equally potent in the second and in theseventh. Two explanations are offered. They are more or less conjectural. Oneis that the Yemishi of Mutsu were led by chieftains of Yamato origin, men who had migrated to the northeast in search of fortune orimpelled by disaffection. It seems scarcely credible, however, that afact so special would have eluded historical reference, whereas onlyone passing allusion is made to it and that, too, in a book not fullycredible. The other explanation is that the Yemishi were in leaguewith hordes of Tatars who had crossed from the mainland of Asia, ortravelled south by the islands of Saghalien and Yezo. The mainevidence in support of this theory is furnished by the names of theinsurgent leaders Akuro-o, Akagashira, and Akahige. Ideographistspoint out that the character aku is frequently pronounced o, and withthat reading the name "Akuro-o" becomes "Oro-o, " which was the termused for "Russian. " As for "Akagashira" and "Akahige, " they franklysignify "red head" and "red beard, " common Japanese names forforeigners. In a shrine at Suzuka-yama in Ise, to which point theinsurgents pushed southward before Tamuramaro took the field, thereused to be preserved a box, obviously of foreign construction, saidto have been left there by the "Eastern Barbarians;" and in theTsugaru district of the modern Mutsu province, relics exist of anextensive fortress presenting features not Japanese, which isconjectured to have been the basis of the Tatar invaders. But allthese inferences rest on little more than hypothesis. RISE OF MILITARY HOUSES What is certain, however, is that a collateral result of thesedisturbances was to discredit the great Court nobles--the Otomo, theTachibana, the Ki, and the Fujiwara--as leaders of armies, and to laythe foundation of the military houses (buke) which were destined tobecome feudal rulers of Japan in after ages. Ki no Hirozumi, Ki noKosami, Otomo Yakamochi, Fujiwara Umakai, and Fujiwara Tsugunawahaving all failed, the Court was compelled to have recourse to therepresentatives of a Chinese immigrant family, the Saka-no-ye. Bythose who trace the ringer of fate in earthly happenings, it has beencalled a dispensation that, at this particular juncture, a descendantof Achi no Omi should have been a warrior with a height of six feetnine inches, * eyes of a falcon, a beard like plaited gold-wire, afrown that terrified wild animals, and a smile that attractedchildren. For such is the traditional description of Tamuramaro. Another incidental issue of the situation was that conspicuous creditfor fighting qualities attached to the troops specially organized inthe Bando (Kwanto) provinces with the sons and younger brothers oflocal officials. These became the nucleus of a military class whichultimately monopolized the profession of arms. *The height recorded is five feet eight inches, but as that would bea normal stature, there can be little doubt that "great" (dai)measure is referred to and that the figures indicate six feet nineinches. RELATIONS WITH KOREA During the eighth century relations of friendship were once moreestablished with Koma. A Manchurian tribe, migrating from the valleyof the Sungali River (then called the Sumo), settled on the east ofthe modern province of Shengking, and was there joined by a remnantof the Koma subjects after the fall of the latter kingdom. Ultimatelyreceiving investiture at the hands of the Tang Court, the sovereignof the colony took the name of Tsuying, King of Pohai, and his son, Wu-i, sent an envoy to Japan in 727, when Shomu was on the throne. Where the embassy embarked there is no record, but, being blown outof their course, the boats finally made the coast of Dewa, whereseveral of the envoy's suite were killed by the Yemishi. The envoyhimself reached Nara safely, and, representing his sovereign as thesuccessor of the Koma dynasty, was hospitably received, the usualinterchange of gifts taking place. Twenty-five years later (752), another envoy arrived. The EmpressKoken then reigned at Nara, and her ministers insisted that, in thedocument presented by the ambassador, Pohai must distinctly occupytowards Japan the relation of vassal to suzerain, such having beenthe invariable custom observed by Koma in former times. Thedifficulty seems to have been met by substituting the name "Koma" for"Pohai, " thus, by implication, admitting that the new kingdom heldtowards Japan the same status as that formerly held by Koma. Throughout the whole of her subsequent intercourse with the Pohaikingdom, intercourse which, though exceedingly fitful, lasted fornearly a century and a half, Japan uniformly insisted upon themaintenance of that attitude. ENGRAVING: EMPEROR KWAMMU CHAPTER XVIII THE HEIAN EPOCH THE FIFTIETH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR KWAMMU (A. D. 782-805) JAPANESE history divides itself readily into epochs, and among themnot the least sharply defined is the period of 398 years separatingthe transfer of the Imperial palace from Nara to Kyoto (794) and theestablishment of an administrative capital at Kamakura (1192). It iscalled the Heian epoch, the term "Heian-jo" (Castle of Peace) havingbeen given to Kyoto soon after that city became the residence of theMikado. The first ruler in the epoch was Kwammu. This monarch, asalready shown, was specially selected by his father, Konin, at theinstance of Fujiwara Momokawa, who observed in the young princequalities essential to a ruler of men. Whether Kwammu's career asEmperor reached the full standard of his promise as prince, historians are not agreed. Konin receives a larger meed of praise. His reforms of local abusesshowed at once courage and zeal But he did not reach the root of theevil, nor did his son Kwammu, though in the matter of intention andardour there was nothing to choose between the two. The basic troublewas arbitrary and unjust oppression of the lower classes by theupper. These latter, probably educated in part by the be system, which tended to reduce the worker with his hands to a position ofmarked subservience, had learned to regard their own hereditaryprivileges as practically unlimited, and to conclude that well nighany measure of forced labour was due to them from their inferiors. Konin could not correct this conception, and neither could Kwammu. Indeed, in the latter's case, the Throne was specially disqualifiedas a source of remonstrance, for the sovereign himself had to makeextravagant demands upon the working classes on account of thetransfer of the capital from Nara to Kyoto. Thus, although Kwammu'swarnings and exhortations were earnest, and his dismissals anddegradations of provincial officials frequent, he failed to achieveanything radical. TRANSFER OF THE CAPITAL TO KYOTO The reign of Kwammu is remarkable for two things: the conquest of theeastern Yemishi by Tamuramaro and the transfer of the capital fromNara to Kyoto. Nara is in the province of Yamato; Kyoto, in theneighbouring province of Yamashiro, * and the two places lie twentymiles apart as the crow flies. It has been stated that to change thesite of the capital on the accession of a sovereign was a commoncustom in Japan prior to the eighth century. In those early days theterm "miyako, " though used in the sense of "metropolis, " bore chieflythe meaning "Imperial residence, " and to alter its locality did notoriginally suggest a national effort. But when Kwammu ascended thethrone, Nara had been the capital during eight reigns, covering aperiod of seventy-five years, and had grown into a great city, acentre alike of religion and of trade. To transfer it involved acorrespondingly signal sacrifice. What was Kwammu's motive? Some haveconjectured a desire to shake off the priestly influences whichpermeated the atmosphere of Nara; others, that he found the Yamatocity too small to satisfy his ambitious views or to suit the quicklydeveloping dimensions and prosperity of the nation. Probably bothexplanations are correct. Looking back only a few years, a ruler ofKwammu's sagacity must have appreciated that religious fanaticism, aspractised at Nara, threatened to overshadow even the Imperial Court, and that the influence of the foreign creed tended to undermine theShinto cult, which constituted the main bulwark of the Throne. *Previously to becoming the metropolitan province, Yamashiro waswritten with ideographs signifying "behind the mountain" (yama noushiro), but these were afterwards changed to "mountain castle"(yamashiro). We shall presently see how this latter danger was averted at Kyoto, and it certainly does not appear extravagant to credit Kwammu withhaving promoted that result. At all events, he was not tempted by thesuperior advantages of any other site in particular. In 784, when headopted the resolve to found a new capital, it was necessary todetermine the place by sending out a search party under his mosttrusted minister, Fujiwara Tanetsugu. The choice of Tanetsugu fell, not upon Kyoto, but upon Nagaoka in the same province. There was nohesitation. The Emperor trusted Tanetsugu implicitly and appointedhim chief commissioner of the building, which was commenced at once, a decree being issued that all taxes for the year should be paid atNagaoka where also forced labourers were required to assemble andmaterials were collected. The Records state that the area of the sitefor the new palace measured 152 acres, for which the owners receivedcompensation amounting to the equivalent of Ł2580 ($12, 550); or anaverage of Ł17 ($82) per acre. The number of people employed is putat 314, 000, * and the fund appropriated, at 680, 000 sheaves of rice, having a value of about Ł40, 800 ($200, 000) according to modernprices. *This does not mean that 314, 000 persons were employedsimultaneously, but only that the number of workmen multiplied by thenumber of days of work equalled 314, 000. The palace was never finished. While it was still uncompleted, theEmperor took up his abode there, in the fall of 784, and efforts tohasten the work were redoubled. But a shocking incident occurred. TheCrown Prince, Sagara, procured the elevation of a member of the Saekifamily to the high post of State councillor (sangi), and having beenimpeached for this unprecedented act by Fujiwara Tanetsugu, wasdeprived of his title to the throne. Shortly afterwards, the Emperorrepaired to Nara, and during the absence of the Court from Nagaoka, Prince Sagara compassed the assassination of Tanetsugu. Kwammuexacted stern vengeance for his favourite minister. He disgraced theprince and sent him into exile in the island of Awaji, which place hedid not reach alive, as was perhaps designed. ENGRAVING: COURTYARD OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE, AT KYOTO These occurrences moved the Emperor so profoundly that Nagaoka becameintolerable to him. Gradually the work of building was abandoned, and, in 792, a new site was selected by Wake no Kiyomaro at Uda inthe same province. So many attractions were claimed for this villagethat failure to choose it originally becomes difficult to understand. Imperial decrees eulogized its mountains and rivers, and peoplerecalled a prediction uttered 170 years previously by Prince Shotokuthat the place would ultimately be selected for the perpetual capitalof the empire. The Tang metropolis, Changan, was taken for model. Commenced in April, 794, the new metropolis was finished in December, 805. The city was laid out with mathematical exactness in the form of arectangle, nearly three and one-half miles long, from north to south, and about three miles wide, from east to west. In each direction werenine principal thoroughfares, those running east and west crossingthe north and south streets at right angles. The east and weststreets were numbered from 1 to 9, and, although the regularity ofstructure and plan of the city has been altered by fire and othercauses in eleven hundred years, traces of this early system ofnomenclature are still found in the streets of Kyoto. * Running northfrom the centre of the south side was a great avenue, two hundred andeighty feet wide, which divided the city into two parts, the eastern, called "the left metropolis" (later Tokyo, "eastern capital"), and"the right metropolis" (or Saikyo, "western capital"), --the left, asalways in Japan, having precedence over the right, and the directionbeing taken not from the southern entrance gate but from the Imperialpalace, to which this great avenue led and which was on the northernlimits of the city and, as the reader will see, at the very centre ofthe north wall. Grouped around the palace were government buildingsof the different administrative departments and assembly and audiencehalls. *The Kyoto of today is only a remnant of the ancient city; it wasalmost wholly destroyed by fire in the Onin war of 1467. The main streets, which have already been mentioned as connecting thegates in opposite walls, varied in width from 80 feet to 170 feet. They divided the city into nine districts, all of the same areaexcept the ones immediately east of the palace. The subdivisions wereas formal and precise. Each of the nine districts contained fourdivisions. Each division was made up of four streets. A street wasmade up of four rows, each row containing eight "house-units. " Thehouse-unit was 50 by 100 feet. The main streets in either directionwere crossed at regular intervals by lanes or minor streets, allmeeting at right angles. The Imperial citadel in the north central part of the city was 4600feet long (from north to south) and 3840 feet wide, and wassurrounded by a fence roofed with tiles and pierced with three gateson either side. The palace was roofed with green tiles of Chinesemanufacture and a few private dwellings had roofs made ofslate-coloured tiles, but most of them were shingled. In the earlierperiod, it is to be remembered, tiles were used almost exclusivelyfor temple roofs. The architecture of the new city was in generalvery simple and unpretentious. The old canons of Shinto templearchitecture had some influence even in this city built on a Chinesemodel. Whatever display or ornament there was, appeared not on theexterior but in inner rooms, especially those giving on inner courtyards. That these resources were severely taxed, however, cannot bedoubted, especially when we remember that the campaign against theYemishi was simultaneously conducted. History relates thatthree-fifths of the national revenues were appropriated for thebuilding. INTERCOURSE WITH CHINA AND BUDDHIST PROPAGANDISM The fact that the metropolis at Changan was taken for model inbuilding Kyoto prepares us to find that intercourse with the MiddleKingdom was frequent and intimate. But although China under the Tangdynasty in the ninth century presented many industrial, artistic, andsocial features of an inspiring and attractive nature, heradministrative methods had begun to fall into disorder, whichdiscredited them in Japanese eyes. We find, therefore, that althoughrenowned religionists went from Japan during the reign of Kwammu andfamiliarized themselves thoroughly with the Tang civilization, theydid not, on their return, attempt to popularize the political systemof China, but praised only her art, her literature, and certain formsand conceptions of Buddhism which they found at Changan. ENGRAVING: PRIEST SAICHO, AFTERWARD KNOWN AS DENGYO DAISHI The most celebrated of these religionists were Saicho andKukai--immortalized under their posthumous names of Dengyo Daishi andKobo Daishi, respectively. The former went to Changan in the train ofthe ambassador, Sugawara Kiyokimi, in 802, and the latter accompaniedFujiwara Kuzunomaro, two years later. Saicho was specially sent toChina by his sovereign to study Buddhism, in order that, on hisreturn, he might become lord-abbot of a monastery which his Majestyhad caused to be built on Hie-no-yama--subsequently known asHiei-zan--a hill on the northeast of the new palace in Kyoto. AJapanese superstition regarded the northeast as the "Demon's Gate, "where a barrier must be erected against the ingress of evilinfluences. Saicho also brought from China many religious books. Down to that time the Buddhist doctrine preached in Japan had been ofa very dispiriting nature. It taught that salvation could not bereached except by efforts continued through three immeasurableperiods of time. But Saicho acquired a new doctrine in China. Fromthe monastery of Tientai (Japanese, Tendai) he carried back toHiei-zan a creed founded on the "Lotus of the Good Law"--a creed thatsalvation is at once attainable by a knowledge of the Buddha nature, and that such knowledge may be acquired by meditation and wisdom. That was the basic conception, but it underwent some modification atJapanese hands. It became "a system of Japanese eclecticism, fittingthe disciplinary and meditative methods of the Chinese sage to thepre-existing foundations of earlier sects. "* This is not the place todiscuss details of religious doctrine, but the introduction of theTendai belief has historical importance. In the first place, itillustrates a fact which may be read between the lines of allJapanese annals, namely, that the Japanese are never blind borrowersfrom foreign systems: their habit is "to adapt what they borrow so asto fit it to what they possess. " In the second place, the Tendaisystem became the parent of nearly all the great sects subsequentlyborn in Japan. In the third place, the Buddhas of Contemplation, bywhose aid the meditation of absolute truth is rendered possible, suggested the idea that they had frequently been incarnated for thewelfare of mankind, and from that theory it was but a short step tothe conviction that "the ancient gods whom the Japanese worshippedare but manifestations of these same mystical beings, and that theBuddhist faith had come, not to destroy the native Shinto, but toembody It into a higher and more universal system. From that momentthe triumph of Buddhism was secured. "** It is thus seen that thevisit of Saicho (Dengyo Daishi) to China at the beginning of theninth century and the introduction of the Tendai creed into Japanconstitute landmarks in Japanese history. *Developments of Japanese Buddhism, by the Rev. A. Lloyd. M. A. **The doctrines that the Shinto deities were incarnations of theBuddhas of Contemplation (Dhyani) had already been enunciated byGyogi but its general acceptance dates from the days of DengyoDaishi. The doctrine was called honchi-suishaku. ENGRAVING: PRIEST KOKAI, AFTERWARD KNOWN AS KOBO DAISHI KOBO DAISHI Contemporary with and even greater in the eyes of his countrymen thanDengyo Daishi, was Kobo Daishi (known as Kukai during his lifetime). He, too, visited China as a student of Buddhism, especially to learnthe interpretation of a Sutra which had fallen into his hands inJapan, and on his return he founded the system of the True Word(Shingori), which has been practically identified with the Gnosticismof early Christian days. Kobo Daishi is the most famous of allJapanese Buddhist teachers; famous alike as a saint, as an artist, and as a calligraphist. His influence on the intellectual history ofhis country was marked, for he not only founded a religious systemwhich to this day has a multitude of disciples, but he is also saidto have invented, or at any rate to have materially improved, theJapanese syllabary (hira-gana). THE SUBSERVIENCE OF SHINTO That the disciples of the Shinto cult so readily endorsed a doctrinewhich relegated their creed to a subordinate place has suggestedvarious explanations, but the simplest is the most convincing, namely, that Shinto possessed no intrinsic power to assert itself inthe presence of a religion like Buddhism. At no period has Shintoproduced a great propagandist. No Japanese sovereign ever thought ofexchanging the tumultuous life of the Throne for the quiet of aShinto shrine, nor did Shinto ever become a vehicle for thetransmission of useful knowledge. ENGRAVING: OKUNO-IN (Kobo Daishi's shrine) AT MT. KOYASAN With Buddhism, the record is very different. Many of its followerswere inspired by the prospect of using it as a stepping-stone topreferment rather than as a route to Nirvana. Official posts beingpractically monopolized by the aristocratic classes, those born inlowlier families found little opportunity to win honour andemoluments. But by embracing a religious career, a man might aspireto become an abbot or even a tutor to a prince or sovereign. Thus, learned and clever youths flocked to the portals of the priesthood, and the Emperor Saga is said to have lamented that the Court nobilitypossessed few great and able men, whereas the cloisters abounded inthem. On the other hand, it has been observed with much reason thatas troublers of the people the Buddhist priests were not far behindthe provincial governors. In fact, it fared with Buddhism as itcommonly fares with all human institutions--success begot abuses. Theexample of Dokyo exercised a demoralizing influence. The tonsurebecame a means of escaping official exactions in the shape of taxesor forced labour, and the building of temples a device to acquireproperty and wealth as well as to evade fiscal burdens. Sometimes theBuddhist priests lent themselves to the deception of becoming nominalowners of large estates in order to enable the real owners to escapetaxation. Buddhism in Japan ultimately became a great militant power, ready at all times to appeal to force. THE FIFTY-FIRST SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR HEIJO (A. D. 806-809) Heijo, the fifty-first sovereign, was the eldest son of Kwammu. Thelatter, warned by the distress that his own great expenditures onaccount of the new capital had produced, and fully sensible of theabuses practised by the provincial officials, urged upon the CrownPrince the imperative necessity of retrenchment, and Heijo, onascending the throne, showed much resolution in dischargingsuperfluous officials, curtailing all unneeded outlays, andsimplifying administrative procedure. But physical weakness--he was aconfirmed invalid--and the influence of an ambitious woman wreckedhis career. While still Crown Prince, he fixed his affections onKusu, daughter of Fujiwara Tanetsugu, who had been assassinated byPrince Sagara during Kwammu's reign, and when Heijo ascended thethrone, this lady's influence made itself felt within and without thepalace, while her brother, Nakanari, a haughty, headstrong man, trading on his relationship to her, usurped almost Imperialauthority. Heijo's ill-health, however, compelled him to abdicate after a reignof only three years. He retired to the old palace at Nara, entrustingthe sceptre to his brother, Saga. This step was profoundlydisappointing to Kusu and her brother. The former aimed at becomingEmpress--she possessed only the title of consort--and FujiwaraNakanari looked for the post of prime minister. They persuaded theex-Emperor to intimate a desire of reascending the throne. Sagaacquiesced and would have handed over the sceptre, but at theeleventh hour, Heijo's conscientious scruples, or his prudence, caused a delay, whereupon Kusu and her brother, becoming desperate, publicly proclaimed that Heijo wished to transfer the capital toNara. Before they could consummate this programme, however, Sagasecured the assistance of Tamuramaro, famous as the conqueror of theYemishi, and by his aid Fujiwara Nakanari was seized and thrown intoprison, the lady Kusu being deprived of her rank as consort andcondemned to be banished from Court. Heijo might have bowed toNakanari's fate, but Kusu's sentence of degradation and exileovertaxed his patience. He raised an army and attempted to move tothe eastern provinces. In Mino, his route was intercepted by a forceunder Tamuramaro, and the ex-Emperor's troops being shattered, norecourse offered except to retreat to Nara. Then the Jo-o (Heijo)took the tonsure, and his consort Kusu committed suicide. Those whohad rallied to the ex-Emperor's standard were banished. THE FIRST JAPANESE THAT ENTERED INDIA When Heijo ceded the throne to Saga, the former's son, Takaoka, wasnominated Crown Prince, though Saga had sons of his own. Evidentlythat step was taken for the purpose of averting precisely suchincidents as those subsequently precipitated by the conspiracy torestore Heijo. Therefore on the day following Heijo's adoption of thetonsure, Takaoka was deprived of his rank. * Entering the priesthood, he called himself Shinnyo, retired to Higashi-dera and studied thedoctrine of the True Word (Shingori). In 836, he proceeded to Chinato prosecute his religious researches, and ultimately made his way toIndia (in his eighty-first year), where he was killed by a tiger inthe district now known as the Laos States of Siam. This prince isbelieved to have been the first Japanese that travelled to India. Hisfather, the ex-Emperor Heijo, was a student of the same Buddhistdoctrine (Shingon) and received instruction in it from Kukai. Heijodied in 824, at the age of fifty-one. *His family was struck off the roll of princes and given the uji ofAriwara Asomi. THE FIFTY-SECOND SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR SAGA (A. D. 810-823) It is memorable in the history of the ninth century that threebrothers occupied the throne in succession, Heijo, Saga, and Junna. Heijo's abdication was certainly due in part to weak health, but hissubsequent career proves that this reason was not imperative. Saga, after a most useful reign of thirteen years, stepped down frankly infavour of his younger brother. There is no valid reason to endorsethe view of some historians that these acts of self-effacement wereinspired by an indolent distaste for the cares of kingship. NeitherHeijo nor Saga shrank from duty in any form. During his brief tenureof power the former unflinchingly effected reforms of the mostdistasteful kind, as the dismissal of superfluous officials and thecurtailing of expenses; and the latter's reign was distinguished bymuch useful legislation and organization. Heijo's abdication seems tohave been due to genuine solicitude for the good of the State, andSaga's to a sense of reluctance to be outdone in magnanimity. Reciprocity of moral obligation (giri) has been a canon of Japaneseconduct in all ages. SANGI AND KURANDO One of the earliest acts of Saga's reign was to establish the officeof Court councillor (sangi) definitely and to determine the number ofthese officials at eight. The post of sangi had been instituted morethan a century previously, but its occupants had neither fixedfunction, rank, nor number: they merely gave fortuitous advice aboutpolitical affairs. Another office, dating from the same time (810), was that of kurando (called also kurodo). This seems to have beenmainly a product of the political situation. At the palace of theretired Emperor in Nara--the Inchu, as it was called--the ambitiousFujiwara Nakanari and the Imperial consort, Kusu, were arrogating alarge share of administrative and judicial business, and wereflagrantly abusing their usurped authority. Saga did not know whom totrust. He feared that the council of State (Dajo-kwan) might includesome traitors to his cause, and he therefore instituted a specialoffice to be the depository of all secret documents, to adjudicatesuits at law, to promulgate Imperial rescripts and decrees, to act asa kind of palace cabinet, and to have charge of all supplies for theCourt. Ultimately this last function became the most important of thekurando's duties. KEBIISHI AND TSUIHOSHI It has already been explained that the Daiho legislators, at thebeginning of the eighth century, having enacted a code (ryo) and apenal law (ritsu), supplemented these with a body of official rules(kyaku) and operative regulations (shiki). The necessity of revisingthese rules and regulations was appreciated by the Emperor Kwammu, but he did not live to witness the completion of the work, which hehad entrusted to the sa-daijin, Fujiwara Uchimaro, and others. Thetask was therefore re-approached by a committee of which thedainagon, Fujiwara Fuyutsugu, was president, under orders from theEmperor Saga. Ten volumes of the rules and forty of the regulationswere issued in 819, the former being a collection of all rescriptsand decrees issued since the first year of Daiho (701), and thelatter a synopsis of instructions given by various high officials andproved by practice since the same date. Here, then, was asufficiently precise and comprehensive body of administrative guides. But men competent to utilize them were not readily forthcoming. Theprovincial governors and even the metropolitan officials, chosen fromamong men whose qualifications were generally limited to literaryability or aristocratic influence, showed themselves incapable ofdealing with the lawless conditions existing in their districts. This state of affairs had been noticeable ever since the reign ofShomu (724-749), but not until the time of Saga was a remedy devised. It took the form of organizing a body of men called kebiishi, uponwhom devolved the duty of pursuing and arresting lawbreakers. Atfirst this measure was on a small scale and of a tentative character. But its results proved so satisfactory that the system was extendedfrom the capital to the provinces, and, in 830, a Kebiishi-cho (Boardof Kebiishi) was duly formed, the number and duties of its staffbeing definitely fixed four years later. The importance attaching tothe post of chief of this board is attested by the fact that only theemon no Kami or the hyoye no Kami* was eligible originally, the bushi(military men) in the hereditary service of these high dignitariesbeing entrusted--under the name of tsuiho-shi--with the duty ofenforcing the law against all violators. Ultimately the judicialfunctions hitherto discharged by the Efu (Guard Office), theDanjo-dai (Police Board) and the Gyobu-sho (Department of Justice)were all transferred to the Kebiishi-cho, and the latter's ordersranked next to Imperial decrees. *Three corps of military guards formed part of the organization. Thesenior corps were the Imperial guards (konoe): then came the militaryguards (hyoye) and then the gate-guards (yemon). Each was dividedinto two battalions; a battalion of the Left and a battalion of theRight. Then there were the sa-konye and the u-konye, the sa-hyoye andthe u-hyoye, the sa-yemon and the u-yemon. These six offices wereknown as roku-yefu, and the officer in chief command of each corpswas a kami. These kebiishi and tsuiho-shi have historical importance. Theyrepresent the unequivocal beginning of the military class which wasdestined ultimately to impose its sway over the whole of Japan. Theirinstitution was also a distinct step towards transferring the conductof affairs, both military and civil, from the direct control of thesovereign to the hands of officialdom. The Emperor's power now beganto cease to be initiative and to be limited to sanction or veto. TheKurando-dokoro was the precursor of the kwampaku; the Kebiishi-cho, of the so-tsuihoshi. FUJIWARA FUYUTSUGU Fujiwara Fuyutsugu, who, as mentioned above, took such an importantpart in the legislation of his era, may be adduced as illustratingthe error of the too common assertion that because the Fujiwaranobles abused their opportunities in the later centuries of the Heianepoch, the great family's services to its country were small. Fujiwara Fuyutsugu was at once a statesman, a legislator, anhistorian, and a soldier. Serving the State loyally and assiduously, he reached the rank of first minister (sa-daijiri) though he died atthe early age of fifty-two, and it is beyond question that to hisability must be attributed a large measure of the success achieved byhis Imperial master, Saga. The story of his private life may begathered from the fact that he established and richly endowed anasylum for the relief of his indigent relatives; a college (theKwangaku-iri) for the education of Fujiwara youths, and an uji-tera(Nanyen-do) at Nara for soliciting heaven's blessing on all that borehis name. THE JAPANESE PEERAGE An interesting episode of Saga's reign was the compilation of arecord of all the uji (family names). Originally the right to use afamily name had been guarded as carefully as is a title of nobilityin Europe. The uji was, in truth, a hereditary title. But, as hasbeen occasionally noted in these pages, an uji was from time to timebestowed on families of aliens, and thus, in the course of ages, confusion gradually arose. From the middle of the eighth century, efforts to compile a trustworthy record were made, and in Kwammu'sreign a genealogical bureau (kankei-jo) was actually organized, itslabours resulting in a catalogue of titles (seishi mokuroku). Thisproved defective, however, as did a subsequent effort in Heijo'stime. Finally, the Emperor Saga entrusted the task to Prince Mamta, who, with a large staff of assistants, laboured for ten years, and, in 814, produced the Seishi-roku (Record of Uji) in thirty volumes. Though not absolutely exhaustive, this great work remained a classicdown to modern times. It divided into three classes the whole body ofuji--1182--enrolled in its pages: namely, Kwobetsu, or those ofImperial lineage; Shimbetsu, or those descended from the Kami, andBambetsu, or those of alien origin (Chinese or Korean). A few whocould not be clearly traced were placed in a "miscellaneous list. "This paragraph of history suggests the quality of Japanesecivilization in the ninth century. ENGRAVING: HYO-NO-MA ROOM IN THE KOHOAN OF DAITOKU-JI, AT KYOTO THE FIFTY-THIRD SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR JUNNA (A. D. 824-833) Junna was Kwammu's third son. He ascended the throne on theabdication of his elder brother, Saga, and he himself abdicated infavour of the latter's son, Nimmyo, nine years later. Junna's reignis not remarkable for any achievement. No special legislation wasinaugurated nor any campaign against abuses undertaken. The threebrothers, Heijo, Saga, and Junna, may be said to have devotedparamount attention to the study of Chinese literature. Historyrefuses, however, to connect this industry with a desire for ethicalinstruction. Their efforts are said to have been limited to thetracing of ideographs and the composition of verselets. A perfectlyformed ideograph possesses in Japanese eyes many of the qualitiesthat commend a pictorial masterpiece to Western appreciation. Sagaachieved the distinction of being reckoned among the "Three Penmen"of his era, * and he carried his enthusiasm so far as to require thatall the scions of the aristocracy should be instructed in the Chineseclassics. Junna had less ability, but his admiration was not lessprofound for a fine specimen of script or a deftly turned couplet. Itis, nevertheless, difficult to believe that these enthusiastsconfined themselves to the superficialities of Chinese learning. Theillustrations of altruism which they furnished by abdicating in oneanother's favour may well have been inspired by perusing the writingsof Confucius. ** However that may be, the reign of Junna, though notsubjectively distinguished, forms a landmark in Japanese history asthe period which closed the independent exercise of sovereignauthority. When Junna laid down the sceptre, it may be said, as weshall presently see, to have been taken up by the Fujiwara. *The other two were Kobo Daishi, and Tachibana Hayanari. **Vide the remarks of the Chinese sage on Tai-pei, Chou-kung, Wen-wang, and Wu-wang. ENGRAVING: "SHAKUHACHI, " FLUTES MADE OF BAMBOO ENGRAVING: "KARAMON" GATE OF NISHI HONGWAN-JI TEMPLE, AT KYOTO CHAPTER XIX THE HEIAN EPOCH (Continued) 54th Sovereign, Nimmyo A. D. 834-850 55th " Montoku 851-858 56th " Seiwa 859-876 57th " Yozei 877-884 58th " Koko 885-887 59th " Uda 888-897 60th " Daigo 898-930 BEGINNING OF FUJIWARA SUPREMACY THE events that now occurred require to be prefaced by a table: / | Heijo | | Saga--Nimmyo (m. Jun, / Prince Michiyasu | daughter of < (Emperor Montoku) Kwammu < Fujiwara Fuyutsugu) \ | | / | Junna (m. Masa, < Prince Tsunesada | daughter of Saga) \ \ In the year 834, Junna abdicated in favour of his elder brotherSaga's second son, who is known in history as Emperor Nimmyo. Thelatter was married to Jun, daughter of Fujiwara Fuyutsugu, and had ason, Prince Michiyasu. But, in consideration of the fact that Junnahad handed over the sceptre to Nimmyo, Nimmyo, in turn, set aside theclaim of his own son, Michiyasu, and conferred the dignity of PrinceImperial on Prince Tsunesada, Junna's son. A double debt of gratitudewas thus paid, for Tsunesada was not only Junna's son but also Saga'sgrandson, and thus the abdications of Saga and Junna were bothcompensated. The new Prince Imperial, however, being a man of muchsagacity, foresaw trouble if he consented to supplant Nimmyo's son. He struggled to avoid the nomination, but finally yielded to thewishes of his father and his grandfather. While these two ex-Emperors lived, things moved smoothly, to allappearances. On their demise trouble arose immediately. The Fujiwarafamily perceived its opportunity and decided to profit by it. Fujiwara Fuyutsugu had died, and it chanced that his son Yoshifusawas a man of boundless ambition. By him and his partisans a slanderwas framed to the effect that the Crown Prince, Tsunesada, harbouredrebellious designs, and the Emperor, believing the story--having, itis said, a disposition to believe it--pronounced sentence of exileagainst Prince Tsunesada, as well as his friends, the celebratedscholar, Tachibana no Hayanari, and the able statesman, Tomo noKowamine, together with a number of others. It is recorded that thesympathy of the people was with the exiles. These things happened in the year 843. The Fujiwara sought aprecedent in the action of their renowned ancestor, Momokawa, who, in772, contrived the degradation and death of the Crown Prince Osabe ona charge of sorcery But Momokawa acted from motives of purepatriotism, whereas Yoshifusa worked in the Fujiwara interests only. This, in fact, was the first step towards the transfer ofadministrative power from the Throne to the Fujiwara. FRESH COMPLICATIONS ABOUT THE SUCCESSION Another table may be consulted with advantage: \ Emperor Heijo--Prince Aho--Ariwara no Narihira | > / | | Aritsune--a daughter | | / Ki no Natora < \ | Shizu--a daughter | \ | > Prince Koretaka Emperor Montoku | / \ Emperor Montoku | | \ > Prince Korehito Fujiwara Yoshifusa | | (Emperor Seiwa) Princess Kiyo > Aki (Empress Somedono) | (daughter of Saga) | / / In the year 851, the Emperor Montoku ascended the throne, andFujiwara Yoshifusa was appointed minister of the Right. Yoshifusamarried Princess Kiyo, daughter of the Emperor Saga. She had beengiven the uji of Minamoto in order to legalize this union, and shebore to Yoshifusa a daughter who became Montoku's Empress under thename of Somedono. By her, Montoku had a son, Prince Korehito, whosechance of succeeding to the crown should have been very slender sincehe had three half-brothers, the oldest of whom, Prince Koretaka, hadalready attained his fourth year at the time of Korehito's birth, andwas his father's favourite. In fact, Montoku would certainly havenominated Koretaka to be Prince Imperial had he not feared to offendthe Fujiwara. These let it be seen very plainly what they designed. The baby, Korehito, was taken from the palace into Yoshifusa'smansion, and when only nine months old was nominated Crown Prince. The event enriched Japanese literature. For Montoku's first born, Prince Koretaka, seeing himself deprived of his birthright, went intoseclusion in Ono at the foot of Mount Hiei, and there, in the shadowof the great Tendai monastery, devoted his days to composingverselets. In that pastime he was frequently joined by Ariwara noNarihira, who, as a grandson of the Emperor Heijo, possessed a titleto the succession more valid than even that of the disappointedKoretaka. In the celebrated Japanese anthology, the Kokin-shu, compiled at the beginning of the tenth century, there are foundseveral couplets from the pens of Koretaka and Narihira. THE FUJIWARA REGENCY It was in the days of Fujiwara Yoshifusa that the descendants ofKamatari first assumed the role of kingmakers. Yoshifusa obtained theposition of minister of the Right on the accession of Montoku (851), and, six years later, he was appointed chancellor of the empire (dajodaijin) in the sequel of the intrigues which had procured for his owngrandson (Korehito) the nomination of Prince Imperial. The latter, known in history as the Emperor Seiwa, ascended the throne in theyear 859. He was then a child of nine, and naturally the whole dutyof administration devolved upon the chancellor. This situation fellshort of the Fujiwara leader's ideal in nomenclature only. There hadbeen many "chancellors" but few "regents" (sessho). In fact, theoffice of regent had always been practically confined to princes ofthe Blood, and the qualifications for holding it were prescribed invery high terms by the Daiho statutes. Yoshifusa did not possess anyof the qualifications, but he wielded power sufficient to dispensewith them, and, in the year 866, he celebrated the Emperor'sattainment of his majority by having himself named sessho. Theappointment carried with it a sustenance fief of three thousandhouses; the privilege of being constantly attended by squadrons ofthe Right and Left Imperial guards, and the honour of receiving theallowances and the treatment of the Sangu, that is to say, of anEmpress, a Dowager Empress, or a Grand Dowager Empress. Husband of anEmpress, father of an Empress Dowager, grandfather of a reigningEmperor, chancellor of the empire, and a regent--a subject couldclimb no higher. Yoshifusa died in 872 at the age of sixty-eight. Having no son of his own, he adopted his nephew, Mototsune, son ofFujiwara Nagara. SEIWA'S EMPRESS Seiwa abdicated in 876, at the age of twenty-seven. Some historiansascribe his abdication to a sentiment of remorse. He had ascended thethrone in despite of the superior claims of his elder brother, Koretaka, and the usurpation weighed heavily on his conscience. It isat least credible that since, in taking the sceptre he obeyed thedictates of the Fujiwara, so in laying it down he followed the sameguidance. We cannot be sure as to the exact date when the greatfamily's policy of boy-sovereigns first took definite shape, but theannals seem to show that Yoshifusa conceived the programme and thathis adopted son, Mototsune, carried it out. A halo rests on Seiwa'shead for the sake of his memorable descendants, the Minamoto chiefs, Yoritomo, Takauji, and Ieyasu. Heaven is supposed to have compensatedthe brevity of his own tenure of power by the overwhelming share thathis posterity enjoyed in the administration of the empire. But Seiwa was undoubtedly a good man as well as a zealous sovereign. One episode in his career deserves attention as illustrating thecustoms of the era. Mention has already been made of Ariwara noNarihira, a grandson of the Emperor Heijo and one of the mostrenowned among Japanese poets. He was a man of singular beauty, andhis literary attainments, combined with the melancholy that markedhis life of ignored rights, made him a specially interesting figure. He won the love of Taka, younger sister of Fujiwara Mototsune andniece of Yoshifusa. Their liaison was not hidden. But Yoshifusa, indefault of a child of his own, was just then seeking some Fujiwaramaiden suitable to be the consort of the young Emperor, Seiwa, inpursuance of the newly conceived policy of building the Fujiwarapower on the influence of the ladies' apartments in the palace. Takapossessed all the necessary qualifications. In another age theobstacle of her blemished purity must have proved fatal. Yoshifusa'saudacity, however, was as limitless as his authority. He ordered thepoet prince to cut his hair and go eastward in expiation of the crimeof seeking to win Taka's affections, and having thus officiallyrehabilitated her reputation, he introduced her into the household ofthe Empress Dowager, his own daughter, through whose connivance thelady soon found her way to the young Emperor's chamber and became themother of his successor, Yozei. Nor was this all. Though only a Fujiwara, and a soiled Fujiwara atthat, Taka was subsequently raised to the rank of Empress. Ultimately, when Empress Dowager, her name was coupled with that ofthe priest Zenyu of Toko-ji, as the Empress Koken's had been withthat of Dokyo, a hundred years previously, and she suffereddeprivation of Imperial rank. As for Narihira, after a few years hewas allowed to return from exile, but finding that all his hopes ofpreferment were vain, he abandoned himself to a life of indolence anddebauchery. His name, however, will always stand next to those ofHitomaro and Akahito on the roll of Japanese poets. ENGRAVING: FUJIWARA SEIWA YOZEI, UDA, AND THE KWAMPAKU The fifty-seventh sovereign was Yozei, offspring of the EmperorSeiwa's union with the lady Taka. He ascended the throne in the year877, at the age of ten, and Fujiwara Mototsune--Yoshifusa had diedfive years previously--became regent (sessho), holding also the postof chancellor (dajo-daijin). When Yozei was approaching hisseventeenth year he was overtaken by an illness which left him alunatic. It is related that he behaved in an extraordinary manner. Heset dogs and monkeys to fight and then slaughtered them; he fed toadsto snakes, and finally compelling a man lo ascend a tree, he stabbedhim among the branches. The regent decided that he must be dethroned, and a council of State was convened to consider the matter. There hadnever been an example of an act so sacrilegious as the deposition ofan Emperor at the dictate of his subjects. The ministers hesitated. Then one of the Fujiwara magnates (Morokuzu) loudly proclaimedthat anyone dissenting from the chancellor's proposal would haveto answer for his contumacy. Thereafter, no one hesitated--soovershadowing was the power of the Fujiwara. When carried to aspecial palace--thenceforth called Yozei-in--and informed that hehad been dethroned for killing a man, the young Emperor burst into aflood of tears. No hesitation was shown in appointing Yozei's successor. PrinceTokiyasu, son of the Emperor Nimmyo, satisfied all the requirements. His mother, a daughter of Fujiwara Tsugunawa, was Mototsune'smaternal aunt, and the Prince himself, already in his fifty-fifthyear, had a son, Sadami, who was married to the daughter of FujiwaraTakafuji, a close relation to Mototsune. There can be no doubt thatthe latter had the whole programme in view when he proposed thedethronement of Yozei. Shortly after his accession, PrinceTokiyasu--known in history as the Emperor Koko--fell ill, and atMototsune's instance the sovereign's third son (Sadami) was nominatedPrince Imperial. He succeeded to the throne as Emperor Uda on thedeath of his father, which occurred (887) after a reign of two years. This event saw fresh extension of the Fujiwara's power. Uda wastwenty-two years of age when he received the sceptre, but recognizingthat he owed his elevation to Mototsune's influence and that hisprospects of a peaceful reign depended upon retaining the Fujiwara'sfavour, his first act was to decree that the administration should becarried on wholly by the chancellor, the latter merely reporting tothe Throne. This involved the exercise of power hithertounprecedented. To meet the situation a new office had to be created, namely, that of kwampaku. The actual duties of this post were thoseof regent to a sovereign who had attained his majority, whereassessho signified regent to a minor. Hence the kwampaku was obviouslythe more honourable office, since its incumbent officiated in lieu ofan Emperor of mature years. Accordingly, the kwampaku--or mayor ofthe palace, as the term is usually translated--took precedence of allother officials. A subject could rise no higher without ceasing toyield allegiance. As Mototsune was the first kwampaku, he has beencalled the most ambitious and the least scrupulous of the Fujiwara. But Mototsune merely stood at the pinnacle of an edifice, to thebuilding of which many had contributed, and among those builders nota few fully deserved all they achieved. The names of such members ofthe Fujiwara family as Mimori, Otsugu, Yoshino, Sadanushi, Nagara, Yoshisuke, and Yasunori, who wrought and ruled in the period fromHeijo and Saga to Montoku and Seiwa, might justly stand high in anyrecord. * *The office of Kwampaku was continued from the time of its creation, 882, to 1868. THE AKO INCIDENT The Emperor Uda, as already stated, owed everything to the Fujiwara. He himself did not possess even the claim of primogeniture, since hewas the third among several sons, and he had stepped out of the ranksof the Imperial princes by accepting a family name. His decreeconferring administrative autocracy on Mototsune was thus a naturalexpression of gratitude. Yet this very document proved a source of serious trouble. It wasdrafted by Tachibana Hiromi, a ripe scholar, whose family stood ashigh on the aristocratic roll as did that of the Fujiwara themselves. At that time literary attainments conferred immense prestige inKyoto. To be skilled in calligraphy; to be well versed in theclassics; to be capable of composing a sonorous decree or devising agraceful couplet--such accomplishments constituted a passport notonly to high office but even to the love of women. Tachibana Hiromiwas one of the leading literati of his era. He rendered into mostacademical terms the Emperor's intentions towards Mototsune. Fromtime immemorial it has always been a canon of Japanese etiquette notto receive anything with avidity. Mototsune declined the rescript;the Emperor directed Hiromi to re-write it. Thus far the procedurehad been normal. But Hiromi's second draft ran thus: "You have toiledfor the welfare of the country. You have aided me in accordance withthe late sovereign's will. You are the chief servant of the empire, not my vassal. You will henceforth discharge the duties of ako. " Thisterm "ako" occurs in Chinese history. It signifies "reliance onequity, " a name given by an early Emperor to the administration ofthe sage, I Yin. Hiromi inserted it solely to impart a classicalflavour to the decree and in all good faith. But Fujiwara Sukeyo, a rival literatus who possessed the confidenceof Mototsune, persuaded the latter that the epithet "ako" could notapply to the discharge of active duties. What followed wascharacteristic. Mototsune caused a number of horses to be let loosein the city, his explanation being that, as he had no officialfunctions to discharge, neither had he any need of horses. Naturallya number of horses running wild in the streets of the capital causedconfusion which soon came to the notice of the palace. The Emperor atonce convoked a meeting of literati to discuss the matter, but thesehesitated so long between their scholarly convictions and theirpolitical apprehensions that, for several months, a state ofadministrative anarchy prevailed, and the Emperor recorded in hisdiary a lament over the corruption of the age. At last, by the adviceof the minister of the Left, Minamoto Toru, his Majesty sacrificedHiromi. A third decree was drafted, laying the blame on Hiromi'sshoulders, and Mototsune graciously consented to resume the duties ofthe first subject in the empire. Just forty-five years previously, Hayanari, another illustrious scholar of the Tachibana family, hadbeen among the victims of the false charge preferred against theCrown Prince, Tsunesada, by the Fujiwara partisans. Mototsune maywell have been desirous of removing from the immediate neighbourhoodof the throne the representative of a family having such a cause ofumbrage against the Fujiwara. At the same time, it is only just to note that he found readycoadjutors among the jealous schoolmen of the time. Rival colleges, rival academies, and rival literati quarrelled with all the rancourof medieval Europe. The great luminaries of the era were SugawaraMichizane, Ki no Haseo, Koze no Fumio, Miyoshi Kiyotsura, andTachibana Hiromi. There was little mutual recognition of talent. Kiyotsura abused Haseo as a pundit inferior to any of hispredecessors. Michizane ridiculed Fumio's panegyric of Kiyotsura, Thepupils of these men endorsed their teachers' verdicts. Ajnong themall, Tachibana Hiromi occupied the most important position until theday of his downfall. He practically managed the affairs of the Courtunder Yozei, Koko, and Uda. Fujiwara Sukeyo, a greatly inferiorscholar, served as his subordinate, and was the willing tool incontriving his degradation. It did not cause the Fujiwara any seriousconcern that in compassing the ruin of Hiromi, they effectuallyalienated the sympathies of the sovereign. CESSATION OF EMBASSIES TO CHINA It may be supposed that in an era when Chinese literati attracted somuch attention, visits to the Middle Kingdom were frequent. But fromthe closing years of the eighth century, the great Tang dynasty beganto fall into disorder, and the embassies sent from Japan reported adiscouraging state of affairs. The last of these embassies(kento-shi) was in the year 838. It had long ceased to take theoverland route via Liaoyang; the envoys' vessels were obliged to goby long sea, and the dangers were so great that to be named for thisduty was regarded with consternation. In Uda's reign a project wasformed to appoint Sugawara Michizane as kento-shi, and Ki no Haseo ashis lieutenant. There is reason to think that this suggestion camefrom Michizane's enemies who wished to remove him from a scene wherehis presence threatened to become embarrassing. The course Michizaneadopted at this crisis showed moral courage, whatever may be thoughtof its expediency. He memorialized the Throne in the sense that thedangers of the journey were not compensated by its results. Thememorial was approved. Since the days of the Empress Suiko, when thefirst kento-shi was despatched by Prince Shotoku, 294 years hadelapsed, and by some critics the abandonment of the custom has beencondemned. But it is certain that China in the ninth century hadlittle to teach Japan in the matter of either material or moralcivilization. THE AFFAIR OF THE ENGI ERA The Emperor Uda not only possessed great literary knowledge but wasalso deeply sensible of the abuse that had grown out of the virtualusurpation of administrative authority by one family. As illustratinghis desire to extend the circle of the Throne's servants and toenlist erudite men into the service of the State, it is recorded thathe caused the interior of the palace to be decorated* with portraitsof renowned statesmen and literati from the annals of China. Fateseemed disposed to assist his design, for, in the year 891, theall-powerful Fujiwara Mototsune died, leaving three sons, Tokihira, Nakahira, and Tadahira, the eldest of whom was only twenty-one. During the life of Mototsune, to whom the Emperor owed everything, itwould not have been politically or morally possible to contrive anyradical change of system, and even after his death, the Fujiwarafamily's claim to the Throne's gratitude precluded any direct attempton Uda's part to supplant them. Therefore, he formed the plan ofabdicating in favour of his son, as soon as the latter should attaina suitable age--a plan inspired in some degree by his own feeblehealth and by a keen desire to pass the closing years of his life incomparative retirement. He carried out this design in the year 897, and was thenceforth known as Uda-in. ** *It is on this occasion that we hear of Koze no Kanaoka, the firstJapanese artist of great repute. **The suffix in was now first used for the names of retired Emperors. His son, Daigo, who now ascended the throne, was thirteen years old, but no Fujiwara regent was appointed, Tokihira, the one personeligible in respect of lineage, being precluded by youth. Thereforethe office of minister of the Left was conferred on Tokihira, andSugawara Michizane (called also Kwanko) became minister of the Right. It was to this Michizane that the ex-Emperor looked for materialassistance in the prosecution of his design. The Sugawara familytraced its descent to Nomi no Sukune, the champion wrestler of thelast century before Christ and the originator of clay substitutes forhuman sacrifices at burials, though the name "Sugawara" did notbelong to the family until eight hundred years later, when theEmperor Konin bestowed it on the then representative in recognitionof his great scholarship. Thenceforth, the name was borne by asuccession of renowned literati, the most erudite and the most famousof all being Michizane. The ex-Emperor, on the accession of his thirteen-year-old son, Daigo, handed to the latter an autograph document known in history as theCounsels of the Kwampei Era. Its gist was: "Be just. Do not be swayedby love or hate. Study to think impartially. Control your emotion andnever let it be externally visible. The sa-daijin, Fujiwara Tokihira, is the descendant of meritorious servants of the Crown. Though stillyoung, he is already well versed in the administration of Stateaffairs. Some years ago, he sinned with a woman, * but I have nolonger any memory of the event. You will consult him and be guided byhis counsels. The u-daijin, Sugawara Michizane, is a man of profoundliterary knowledge. He is also acquainted with politics. Frequently Ihave profited by his admonitions. When I was elected Crown Prince Ihad but Michizane to advise me. Not only has he been a loyal servantto me, but he will be a loyal servant to my successor also. " Plainlythe intention of the document was to place Michizane on a footing atleast equal to that of Tokihira. Michizane understood the perils ofsuch preferment. He knew that the scion of a comparatively obscurefamily would not be tolerated as a rival by the Fujiwara. Three timeshe declined the high post offered to him. In his second refusal hecompared himself to a man walking on thin ice, and in the third hesaid: "If I myself am astounded at my promotion, how must othersregard it? The end will come like a flash of lightning. " But theEmperor and the ex-Emperor had laid their plans, and Michizane was anindispensable factor. *A liaison with his uncle's wife. Events moved rapidly. Two years later (900), the Emperor, in concertwith the cloistered sovereign, proposed to raise Michizane to thepost of chancellor and to entrust the whole administration to him. This was the signal for the Fujiwara to take action. One opportunityfor slandering Michizane offered; his daughter had been married toPrince Tokiyo, the Emperor's younger brother. A rumour was busilycirculated that this meant a plot for the dethronement of Daigo infavour of Tokiyo. Miyoshi Kiyotsura, an eminent scholar, actingsubtly at the instance of the Fujiwara, addressed a seeminglyfriendly letter to Michizane, warning him that his career had becomedangerously rapid and explaining that the stars presaged a revolutionin the following year. At the same time, Minamoto Hikaru, son of theEmperor Nimmyo; Fujiwara Sadakuni, father-in-law of Daigo, andseveral others who were jealous of Michizane's preferment or of hisscholarship, separately or jointly memorialized the Throne, impeaching Michizane as a traitor who plotted against his sovereign. ENGRAVING: SUGAWARA MICHIZANE Supplemented by Miyoshi's "friendly" notice of a star-predicatedcataclysm, this cumulative evidence convinced, and doubtless thenumber and rank of the accusers alarmed the Emperor, then only in hisseventeenth year. Michizane was not invited to defend himself. In thefirst year (901) of the Engi era, a decree went out stripping him ofall his high offices, and banishing him to Dazai-fu in Kyushu asvice-governor. Many other officials were degraded as his partisans. The ex-Emperor, to whose pity he pleaded in a plaintive couplet, madea resolute attempt to aid him. His Majesty repaired to the palace forthe purpose of remonstrating with his son, Daigo. Had a meeting takenplace, Michizane's innocence would doubtless have been established. But the Fujiwara had provided against such an obvious miscarriage oftheir design. The palace guards refused to admit the ex-Emperor, and, after waiting throughout a winter's day seated on a straw mat beforethe gate, Uda went away in the evening, sorehearted and profoundlyhumiliated. Michizane's twenty-three children were banished to fiveplaces, and he himself, having only a nominal post, did not receiveemoluments sufficient to support him in comfort. Even oil for anight-lamp was often unprocurable, and after spending twenty-fivemonths in voluntary confinement with only the society of his sorrows, he expired (903) at the age of fifty-eight, and was buried in thetemple Anraku-ji in Chikuzen. ENGRAVING: SHRINE OF SUGAWARA MICHIZANE AT KITANO, KYOTO No figure in Japanese history has received such an abundant share ofnational sympathy. His unjust fate and the idea that he suffered forhis sovereign appealed powerfully to popular imagination. Moreover, lightning struck the palace in Kyoto, and the three principalcontrivers of Michizane's disgrace, Fujiwara Tokihira, FujiwaraSugane, and Minamoto Hikaru, all expired within a few years'interval. At that epoch a wide-spread belief existed in the powers ofdisembodied spirits for evil or for good. Such a creed grew logicallyout of the cult of ancestor worship. It began to be whispered abroadthat Michizane's spirit was taking vengeance upon his enemies. TheEmperor was the first to act upon this superstition. He restoredMichizane's titles, raised him to the first grade of the second rank, and caused all the documents relating to his exile to be burned. Retribution did not stop there. Forty-five years after Michizane'sdeath, the people of Kyoto erected to his memory the shrine of TemmanTenjin, * and in the year 1004, the Emperor Ichijo not only conferredon him the posthumous office of chancellor with the unprecedentedhonour of first grade of the first rank, but also repaired in personto worship at the shrine. In later times, memorial shrines were builtin various places, and to this day he is fervently worshipped as thedeity of calligraphy, so high was he elevated by the Fujiwara'sattempt to drag him down. *Michizane was apotheosized under the name of Tenjin. He is knownalso as Kan Shojo, and Temmangu. ENGRAVING: SAMISEN (A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT) ENGRAVING: SANJU-SANGEN-DO TEMPLE AT KYOTO CHAPTER XX THE HEIAN EPOCH (Continued) 60th Sovereign, Daigo (Continued)61st " Emperor Shujaku A. D. 931-946 THE ENGI ERA (A. D. 901-923) In the year 909, Fujiwara Tokihira died and was followed to thegrave, in 913, by Minamoto Hikaru. For an interval of some years nominister of State was nominated; the Emperor Daigo himselfadministered affairs. For this interregnum in the sway of theFujiwara, the Engi era is memorable. It is memorable for other things also; notably for the compilation ofdocuments which throw much light on the conditions then existing inJapan. The Emperor, in 914, called upon the Court officials to submitmemorials which should supply materials for administrative reforms. The great scholar, Miyoshi Kiyotsura, responded with ability soconspicuous that posterity has been disposed to question the justiceof the charges against him in connexion with Michizane's fate. He setout by stating that, in the early times, the national sentiment hadbeen kind and simple; the people loyal to the Throne and obedient toparents; the taxes moderate. But, thereafter, customs had graduallydeteriorated. Laws and regulations were promulgated with bewilderingrapidity. Taxes and forced labour grew heavier day by day. Cultivatedlands were suffered to lie fallow. Buddhism established such a holdupon men's minds that people of all classes impoverished themselvesto build places of worship and to cast images. Upon the erection ofthe provincial temples (Kokubun-ji) five-tenths of the national taxeswere expended; and in connexion with the removal of the capital toKyoto and the building of new palaces, a further sum of three-tenthswas paid out. Again, the Emperor Nimmyo's (834-850) love of luxuryand display led to architectural extravagance entirely unprecedented, and involved the squandering of yet another tenth of the remainingincome of the State. Thereafter, in the Jokwan era (859-876), frequent conflagrations destroyed the Imperial edifice, and itsrestoration cost a tenth of the remaining revenue, so that onlyone-twentieth was ultimately available for general expenses. As illustrating the state of the rural regions, the memorialistinstanced the case of Bitchu, a province on the Inland Sea, where heheld an official appointment in the year 893. The local records(Fudoki) showed that a levy made there about the middle of theseventh century had produced twenty thousand able-bodied soldiers, *whereas a century later, there were found only nineteen hundred; yetanother century afterwards, only seventy; at the close of the ninthcentury, nine, and in the year 911, not one. To such a state ofdesolation had the district been reduced in the space of 250 years, and its story might be taken as typical. *The district was consequently named Nima, an abbreviation of ni(two) man (ten thousand). Passing to the question of religion, the memorialist declared thatthe Shinto ceremonials to secure good harvests had lost allsincerity. The officials behaved as though there were no such thingas deities. They used the offerings for their own private purposes, sold the sacred horses, and recited the rituals without the leastshow of reverence. As for Buddhist priests, before asking them topray for the welfare of their parishioners, they must be asked topurge themselves of their own sins. The priests who ministered at theprovincial temples had lost all sense of shame. They had wives, builthouses, cultivated lands, and engaged in trade. Was it to be supposedthat heaven would hearken to the intervention of such sinners? Meanwhile, luxury and extravagance had reached an extreme degree. Onone suit of clothes a patrimony was expended, and sometimes a year'sincome barely sufficed for a single banquet. At funeral services allclasses launched into flagrant excesses. Feasts were prepared on sucha scale that the trays of viands covered the entire floor of atemple. Thousands of pieces of gold were paid to the officiatingpriests, and a ceremony, begun in mourning, ended in revelry. Corresponding disorder existed with regard to the land. The originaldistribution into kubunden, as we saw, had been partly for purposesof taxation. But now these allotments were illegally appropriated, sothat they neither paid imposts nor furnished labourers; and whilegovernors held worthless regions, wealthy magnates annexed greattracts of fertile land. Another abuse, prevalent according to MiyoshiKiyotsura's testimony, was that accusations were falsely preferred byofficials against their seniors. Provincial governors were said tohave frequently indulged in this treacherous practice and to havebeen themselves at times the victims of similar attacks. The Court, on receipt of such charges, seldom scrutinized them closely, but atonce despatched officers to deal with the incriminated persons, andin the sequel, men occupying exalted positions were obliged to pleadon an equal footing with officials of low grade or even commonpeople. Self-respecting persons chose to stand aside altogether fromofficial life rather than to encounter such risks. This was an almost inevitable result of the exceptional facilitiesgiven to petitioners under the Daika and Daiho systems. MiyoshiKiyotsura urged that all petitioning and all resulting inquiries byspecially appointed officials should be interdicted, except inmatters relating to political crime, and that all offenders should behanded over to the duly constituted administrators of justice. As tothese latter, he spoke very plainly. The kebiishi, he wrote, who, being appointed to the various provinces, have to preserve law andorder within their jurisdictions, should be men specially versed inlaw, whereas a majority of those serving in that capacity areignorant and incompetent persons who have purchased their offices. Toillustrate further the want of discrimination shown in selectingofficials, he refers to the experts appointed in the maritimeprovinces for manufacturing catapults, and declares that many ofthese so-called "experts" had never seen a catapult. ENGRAVING: FAMILY LIFE OF NOBLES, HEIAN EPOCH, A. D. 782-1192 It is against the Buddhist priests and the soldiers of the six guardsthat he inveighs most vehemently, however. He calls them "vicious andferocious, " Those who take the tonsure, he says, number from two tothree thousand yearly, and about one-half of that total are wickedmen--low fellows who, desiring to evade taxation and forced labour, have shaved their heads and donned priests vestments, aggregatetwo-thirds of the population. They marry, eat animal food, practiserobbery, and carry on coining operations without any fear ofpunishment. If a provincial governor attempts to restrain them, theyflock together and have recourse to violence. It was by bandits underthe command of wicked priests that Fujiwara Tokiyoshi, governor ofAki, and Tachibana Kinkado, governor of Kii, were waylaid andplundered. As for the soldiers of the guards, instead of taking their monthlyterm of duty at the palace, they are scattered over the country, andbeing strong and audacious, they treat the people violently and theprovincial governors with contumacy, sometimes even forming leaguesto rob the latter and escaping to the capital when they are hardpressed. (These guardsmen had arms and horses of their own and calledthemselves bushi, a term destined to have wide vogue in Japan. ) It isinteresting to note that they make their historical debut thusunfavourably introduced. Miyoshi Kiyotsura says that instead of being"metropolitan tigers" to guard the palace, they were "rural wolves"to despoil the provinces. APPRECIATIONS OF THE MIYOSHI MEMORIAL This celebrated document consisted of twelve articles and containedfive thousand ideographs, so that nothing was wanting in the matterof voluminousness. The writer did not confine himself to enumeratingabuses: he also suggested remedies. Thus he urged that no man, havingbecome an equerry (toneri) of the six corps of guards, should beallowed to return to his province during his term of service; thatthe spurious priests should be all unfrocked and punished; that theoffice of kebiishi should be restricted to men having legalknowledge; that the upper classes should set an example of economy incostumes and observances; that the ranks of the Buddhist priesthoodshould be purged of open violators of the laws of their creed, and soforth. Historians have justly eulogized the courage of a memorialistwho thus openly attacked wide-spread and powerful abuses. But theyhave also noted that the document shows some reservations. Forgenerations the Fujiwara family had virtually usurped the governingpower; had dethroned Emperors and chosen Empresses; had consultedtheir own will alone in the administrations of justice and in theappointment and removal of officials. Yet of these things MiyoshiKiyotsura says nothing whatever. The sole hope of their redress layin Michizane; but instead of supporting that ill-starred statesman, Miyoshi had contributed to his downfall. Could a reformer with such arecord be regarded as altogether sincere? ADMINISTRATION OF THE EMPEROR DAIGO The Emperor Daigo, who ruled thirty-two years--from 898 to 930--isbrought very close to us by the statement of a contemporary historianthat he was "wise, intelligent, and kind-hearted, " and that he alwayswore a smiling face, his own explanation of the latter habit beingthat he found it much easier to converse with men familiarly thansolemnly. A celebrated incident of his career is that one winter'snight he took off his wadded silk garment to evince sympathy with thepoor who possessed no such protection against the cold. Partlybecause of his debonair manner and charitable impulses he ispopularly remembered as "the wise Emperor of the Engi era. " But closereaders of the annals do not fully endorse that tribute. They notethat Daigo's treatment of his father, Uda, on the celebrated occasionof the latter's visit to the palace to intercede for Michizane, wasmarkedly unfilial; that his Majesty believed and acted upon slanderswhich touched the honour of his father no less than that of hiswell-proved servant, and that he made no resolute effort to correctthe abuses of his time, even when they had been clearly pointed outby Miyoshi Kiyotsura. The usurpations of the Fujiwara; theprostitution of Buddhism to evil ends; the growth of luxurious anddissipated habits, and the subordination of practical ability topedantic scholarship--these four malignant growths upon the nationallife found no healing treatment at Daigo's hands. THE CLASSICAL AGE OF LITERATURE The Engi era and the intervals of three or four decades before andafter it may be regarded as the classical age of literature in Japan. Prose composition of a certain class was wholly in Chinese. All worksof a historical, scientific, legal, or theological nature were inthat language, and it cannot be said that they reached a very highlevel. Yet their authors had much honour. During the reigns of Udaand Daigo (888-930), Sugawara Michizane, Miyoshi Kiyotsura, Ki noHaseo, and Koze no Fumio, formed a quartet of famous masters ofChinese literature. From one point of view, Michizane's overthrow byFujiwara Tokihira may be regarded as a collision between theConfucian doctrines which informed the polity of the Daika epoch andthe power of aristocratic heredity. Kibi no Makibi and Sugawara noMichizane were the only two Japanese subjects that attained to beministers of State solely in recognition of their learning, butseveral littérateurs reached high office, as chief chamberlain, councillor of State, minister of Education, and so forth. MiyoshiKiyotsura ranks next to Michizane among the scholars of that age. Hewas profoundly versed in jurisprudence, mathematics (such as theywere at the time), the Chinese classics, and history. But whereasMichizane bequeathed to posterity ten volumes of poems and twohundred volumes of a valuable historical work, no production ofKiyotsura's pen has survived except his celebrated memorial referredto above. He received the post of minister of the Household in 917and died in the following year. It must be understood that the work of these scholars appealed toonly a very limited number of their countrymen. The ako incident (pp. 239-240) illustrates this; the rescript penned by Tachibana no Hiromiwas not clearly comprehended outside a narrow circle of scholars. Official notices and enactments were intelligible by few men of thetrading classes and by no women. But a different record is found inthe realm of high literature. Here there is much wealth. The Naraepoch gave to Japan the famous Manyo-shu (Myriad Leaves), and theEngi era gave her the scarcely less celebrated Kokin-shu, ananthology of over eleven hundred poems, ancient and modern. Asbetween the two books, the advantage is with the former, though notby any means in a marked degree, but in the abundance and excellenceof its prose writings--pure Japanese writings apart from the Chineseworks referred to above--"the Heian epoch leaves the Nara far behind. The language had now attained to its full development. With its richsystem of terminations and particles it was a pliant instrument inthe writer's hands, and the vocabulary was varied and copious to adegree which is astonishing when we remember that it was drawn almostexclusively from native sources. The few words of Chinese originwhich it contains seem to have found their way in through the spokenlanguage and are not taken straight from Chinese books, as at a laterstage when Japanese authors loaded their periods with alienvocables. " This Heian literature "reflects the pleasure-loving and effeminate, but cultured and refined, character of the class of Japanese whoproduced it. It has no serious masculine qualities and may bedescribed in one word as belles-lettres--poetry, fiction, diaries, and essays of a desultory kind. The lower classes of the people hadno share in the literary activity of the time. Culture had not as yetpenetrated beyond a very narrow circle. Both writers and readersbelonged exclusively to the official caste. It is remarkable that avery large and important part of the best literature which Japan hasproduced was written by women. A good share of the Nara poetry is offeminine authorship, and, in the Heian period, women took a stillmore conspicuous part in maintaining the honour of the nativeliterature. The two greatest works which have come down from Heiantime are both by women. * This was no doubt partly due to theabsorption of the masculine intellect in Chinese studies. But therewas a still more effective cause. The position of women in ancientJapan was very different from what it afterwards became when Chineseideals were in the ascendant. The Japanese of this early period didnot share the feeling common to most Eastern countries that womenshould be kept in subjection and as far as possible in seclusion. Though the morality which the Heian literature reveals is anythingbut strait-laced, the language is uniformly refined and decent, inthis respect resembling the best literature of China. "** *The Genji Monogatari by Murasaki Shikibu, and the Makura Soshi bySei Shonagon. **Japanese Literature, by W. G. Aston. With the Heian epoch is connected the wide use of the phonetic scriptknown as kana, which may be described as a syllabary of forty-sevensymbols formed from abbreviated Chinese ideographs. There are twovarieties of the kana--the kata-kana and the hiragana* The former issaid to have been devised by Makibi, the latter by Kobo Daishi(Kukai), but doubts have been cast on the accuracy of that record, and nothing can be certainly affirmed except that both were knownbefore the close of the ninth century, though they do not seem tohave been largely used until the Heian epoch, and even then almostentirely by women. *Katakana means "side kana" because its symbols are fragments (sides)of Chinese forms of whole ideographs. ENGRAVING: MURASAKI SHIKIBU (COURT LADY AND POETESS) "Much of the poetry of this time was the outcome of poeticaltournaments at which themes were proposed to the competitors byjudges who examined each phrase and word with the minutest criticalcare before pronouncing their verdict. As might be expected, thepoetry produced in those circumstances is of a more or lessartificial type, and is wanting in the spontaneous vigour of theearlier essays of the Japanese muse. Conceits, acrostics, anduntranslatable word-plays hold much too prominent a place, but forperfection of form the poems of this time are unrivalled. It is nodoubt to this quality that the great popularity of the Kokin-shu isdue. Sei Shonagon, writing in the early years of the eleventhcentury, sums up a young lady's education as consisting of writing, music, and the twenty volumes of the Kokin-shu. "* *Japanese Literature, by W. G. Aston. The first notable specimen of prose in Japanese style (wabun) was thepreface to the Kokin-shu, written by Ki no Tsurayuki, who contended, and his own composition proved, that the introduction of Chinesewords might well be dispensed with in writing Japanese. But what maybe called the classical form of Japanese prose was fixed by theTaketori Monogatari, * an anonymous work which appeared at thebeginning of the Engi era (901), ** and was quickly followed byothers. Still, the honour in which the ideograph was held neverdiminished. When Tsurayuki composed the Tosa Nikki (Tosa Diary), hegave it out as the work of a woman, so reluctant was he to identifyhimself with a book written in the kana syllabary; and the EmperorSaga, Kobo Daishi, and Tachibana Hayanari will be remembered foreverin Japan as the "Three Calligraphists" (Sampitsu). *The expression "monogatari" finds its nearest English equivalent in"narrative. " **An excellent translation of this has been made by Mr. F. V. Dickinsin the "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, " Jan. , 1887. In short, an extraordinary love of literature and of all thatpertained to it swayed the minds of Japan throughout the Nara and theHeian epochs. The ninth and tenth centuries produced such poets asAriwara no Yukihira and his younger brother, Narihira; Otomo noKuronushi, Ochikochi no Mitsune, Sojo Henjo, and the poetess Ono noKomachi; gave us three anthologies (Sandai-shu), the Kokin-shu, theGosen-shu, and the Shui-shu, as well as five of the Six NationalHistories (Roku Kokushi), the Zoku Nihonki, the Nihon Koki, the ZokuNihon Koki, the Montoku Jitsuroku, and the Sandai Jitsuroku; and sawa bureau of poetry (W aka-dokoro) established in Kyoto. Fine art alsowas cultivated, and it is significant that calligraphy and paintingwere coupled together in the current expression (shogwa) for productsof pictorial art. Kudara no Kawanari and Koze no Kanaoka, the firstJapanese painters to achieve great renown, flourished in the ninthand tenth centuries, as did also a famous architect, Hida no Takumi. INTERVAL BETWEEN THE CAPITAL AND THE PROVINCES Thus, in the capital, Kyoto, where the Fujiwara family constitutedthe power behind the Throne, refinements and luxury were constantlydeveloped, and men as well as women amused themselves composingChinese and Japanese poems, playing on musical instruments, dancing, and making picnics to view the blossoms of the four seasons. But inthe provincial districts very different conditions existed. There, men, being virtually without any knowledge of the ideographic script, found the literature and the laws of the capital a sealed book tothem, and as for paying periodical visits to Kyoto, what thatinvolved may be gathered from the fact that the poet Tsurayuki'sreturn to the capital from the province of Tosa, where he had servedas acting governor, occupied one hundred days, as shown in his TosaNikki (Diary of a Journey from Tosa), and that thirteen days wereneeded to get from the mouth of the Yodo to the city. The pageant ofmetropolitan civilization and magnificence never presented itself toprovincial eyes. ORIGIN OF THE SHOEN Much has already been said on the subject of land tenure; but as thisproblem is responsible for some cardinal phases of Japanese history, a brief resume will be useful here. There were four chief causes forthe existence of shoen, or manors. The first was reclamation. In theyear 723, it was decreed that persons who reclaimed land shouldacquire a de facto title of tenure for three generations, and, twentyyears later, the tenure of title was made perpetual, limits of areabeing fixed, however--1250 acres for princes and nobles of the firstrank, and thereafter by various gradations, to twenty-five acres fora commoner. But these limits were not enforced, and in the year 767it became necessary to issue a decree prohibiting furtherreclamation, which was followed, seventeen years later, by a rescriptforbidding provincial governors to exact forced labour for tillingtheir manors. That this did not check the evil is proved by an official record, compiled in 797, from which it appears that princes and influentialnobles possessed manors of great extent; that they appointedintendants to manage them; that these intendants themselves engagedin operations of reclamation; that they abused their power bydespoiling the peasants, and that dishonest farmers made a practiceof evading taxes and tribute by settling within the bounds of amanor. These abuses reached their acme during the reigns of Uda andDaigo (888-930), when people living in the vicinity of a manor wereruthlessly robbed and plundered by the intendant and his servants, and when it became habitual to elude the payment of taxes by makingspurious assignments of lands to influential officials in thecapital. In vain was the ownership of lands by powerful noblesinterdicted, and in vain its purchase by provincial governors: themetropolis had no power to enforce its vetoes in the provinces, andthe provincials ignored them. Thus the shoen grew in number andextent. The second factor which contributed to the extension of manors wasthe bestowal of estates in perpetuity on persons of conspicuousability, and afterwards on men who enjoyed Imperial favour. Land thusgranted was called shiden and enjoyed immunity from taxation. Thenthere were tracts given in recognition of public merit. These kodenwere originally of limited tenure, but that condition soon ceased tobe observed, and the koden fell into the same category with manors(shoen). Finally we have the jiden, or temple lands. These, too, were at theoutset granted for fixed terms, but when Buddhism became powerful thelimitation ceased to be operative, and moreover, in defiance of thelaw, private persons presented tracts, large or small, to the templeswhere the mortuary tablets of their families were preserved, and thetemples, oh their own account, acquired estates by purchase or byreclamation. The jiden, like the other three kinds of land enumeratedabove, were exempt from taxation. Owned by powerful nobles orinfluential families, the shoen were largely cultivated by forcedlabour, and as in many cases it paid the farmers better to rent suchland; and thus escape all fiscal obligations, than to till their ownfields, the latter were deserted pan passu with the development ofthe manor system, and thus the State revenues suffered dualreduction. During the last quarter of the tenth century peremptory edicts wereissued to check this state of affairs, but the power of the Court toexact obedience had then dwindled almost to cipher. History recordsthat during the Ho-en era (1135-1140), the regent FujiwaraTadamichi's manor of Shimazu comprised one-fourth of the province ofOsumi. On these great manors, alike of nobles and of temples, armedforces soon began to be maintained for purposes nominally of policeprotection but ultimately of military aggression. This was especiallythe case on the shoen of the puissant families of Taira and Minamoto. Thus, Minamoto Yoshitomo came to own fifteen of the easternprovinces, and in the tumult of the Heiji era (1159-1160), he lostall these to Taira no Kiyomori, who, supplementing them with his ownalready large manors and with the shoen of many other nobles andtemples, became owner of five hundred districts comprising aboutone-half of the empire. Subsequently, when the Minamoto crushed theTaira (1185), the whole of the latter's estates were distributed bythe former among the nobles who had fought under the Minamotostandard. In that age the holders of manors were variously called ryoshu, ryoke, shoya, or honjo, and the intendants were termed shocho, shoji, kengyo, betto, or yoryudo, a diversity of nomenclature that is oftenvery perplexing. In many cases reclaimed lands went by the name ofthe person who had reclaimed them. Such manors were spoken of asmyoden (name-land), and those owning large tracts were designateddaimyo (great name), while smaller holders were termed shomyo. Yetanother term for the intendants of these lands was nanushi-shoku. It will be readily seen that in the presence of such a system thelands paying taxes to the Central Government became steadily less andless. Thus, in the reign of the Emperor Toba (1108-1123), the Statedomains administered by the provincial governors are recorded to havebeen only one per cent, of the area of the provinces. In thesecircumstances, the governors deemed it unnecessary to proceedthemselves to their posts; they remained in Kyoto and despatcheddeputies to the provinces, a course which conspired to reduce theauthority of the Crown. For the sake of intelligent sequence of ideas, the above synopsismakes some departure from the chronological order of these pages. Returning to the early part of the tenth century, the historian mayaffirm that the salient features of the era were virtual abrogationof the Daiho laws imposing restrictions upon the area and period ofland-ownership; rapid growth of tax-free manors and consequentimpoverishment of the Court in Kyoto; the appearance of provincialmagnates who yielded scant obedience to the Crown, and theorganization of military classes which acknowledged the authority oftheir own leaders only. REVOLT OF TAIRA NO MASAKADO The above state of affairs soon bore practical fruit. In the year930, the Emperor Daigo died and was succeeded by his son Shujaku, achild of eight, whose mother was a daughter of Fujiwara Mototsune. Inaccordance with the system now fully established, Fujiwara Tadahirabecame regent. History depicts this Tadahira as an effeminatedilettante, one of whose foibles was to have a cuckoo painted on hisfan and to imitate the cry of the bird whenever he opened it. But asrepresentative of the chief aristocratic family in an age when to bea Fujiwara was to possess a title superior to that conferred byability in any form and however conspicuous, his right to administerthe government in the capacity of regent obtained universalrecognition. It had become the custom at that time for the provincial magnates tosend their sons to Kyoto, where they served in the corps of guards, became acquainted with refined life, and established relations offriendship with the Taira and the Minamoto, the former descended fromthe Emperor Kwammu, the latter from the Emperor Seiwa. Thus, at thetime of Daigo's death, a scion of the Taira, by name Masakado, wasserving under Tadahira in the capital. Believing himself endowed withhigh military capacity, Masakado aspired to be appointed kebiishi ofhis native province, Shimosa. But his archery, his horsemanship, andhis fencing elicited no applause in Kyoto, whereas a relative, Sadabumi, attracted admiration by a licentious life. Masakado finally retired to Shimosa in an angry mood. At first, however, the idea of revolt does not seem to have occurred to him. Onthe contrary, the evidence is against such a hypothesis. For hismilitary career began with family feuds, and after he had killed oneof his uncles on account of a dispute about the boundaries of amanor, and sacked the residence of another in consequence of atrouble about a woman, he did not hesitate to obey a summons to Kyototo answer for his acts of violence. Such quarrels were indeed of notuncommon occurrence in the provinces, as is shown by the memorial ofMiyoshi Kiyotsura, and the capital appears to have left them severelyalone, so far as practical interference was concerned, though thepretence of jurisdiction might be preserved. Thus, Masakado wasacquitted after the formality of investigation had been satisfied. Naturally this judgment did not prove a deterrent; on the contrary, it amounted to a mandate. On his return to Kwanto, Masakado was soon found once more in thearena. The details of his campaign have little interest except asindicating that the provincial officials followed the example ofKyoto in suffering local disturbances to settle themselves, and thatthe abuses catalogued in the Miyoshi memorial were true to fact. Araid that Masakado made into Musashi province is memorable as theoccasion of the first collision between the Taira and the Minamoto, *which great families were destined ultimately to convert all Japaninto a battlefield. Finally, Masakado carried his raids so far thathe allowed himself to be persuaded of the hopelessness of pardon. Itwas then that he resolved to revolt. Overrunning the whole eightprovinces of the Kwanto, he appointed his own partisans to all postsof importance and set up a court after the Kyoto model. A letterwritten by him at this time to the regent Tadahira affords aninteresting guide to the ethics of the era: "The genealogy of my house shows that I am the fifth in descent fromthe Emperor Kwammu. Therefore, though I hold one-half of a province, that cannot be attributed to mere good fortune. In the history ofancient times there are occasions where a whole country wasappropriated by force of arms. Nature has endowed me with militarytalent. None, I presume, excels me in that respect. You, however, hadno praise to bestow on me. Rather was I frequently reprimanded when Iserved in the capital, so that my shame was unendurable, whereas yoursympathy would have delighted me. While Masakado was still a youth heserved Tadahira, the prime minister, for tens of years, and whenTadahira became regent, Masakado never entertained his presentproject. I have no words to express my regret. Though I haveconspired to revolt, I will not forget my old master, and I hope thathe will make allowances for the circumstances in which I am placed. " *The vice-governor of Musashi, Minamoto Tsunemoto, was at feud withthe governor, Prince Okiyo, and Masakado espoused the latter's cause. Had it rested with Kyoto to subdue this revolt, Masakado might haveattained his goal. But chance and the curious spirit of the timefought for the Court. A trifling breach of etiquette on the part ofMasakado--not pausing to bind up his hair before receiving avisitor--forfeited the co-operation of a great soldier, FujiwaraHidesato, (afterwards known as Tawara Toda), and the latter, joiningforces with Taira Sadamori, whose father Masakado had killed, attacked the rebels in a moment of elated carelessness, shatteredthem completely, and sent Masakado's head to the capital. The wholeaffair teaches that the Fujiwara aristocrats, ruling in Kyoto, hadneither power nor inclination to meddle with provincialadministration, and that the districts distant from the metropoliswore practically under the sway of military magnates in whose eyesmight constituted right. This was especially notable in the case ofthe Kwanto, that is to say the eight provinces surrounding thepresent Tokyo Bay, extending north to the Nikko Mountains. Musashi, indeed, was so infested with law-breakers that, from the days of theEmperor Seiwa (859-876), it became customary to appoint one kebiishiin each of its districts, whereas elsewhere the establishment was oneto each province. The kebiishi represented the really puissant arm ofthe law, the provincial governors, originally so powerful, having nowdegenerated into weaklings. THE REVOLT OF FUJIWARA SUMITOMO Another event, characteristic of the time, occurred in Nankai-do (thefour provinces of the island of Shikoku) contemporaneously with therevolt of Masakado. During the Shohei era (931-937) the ravages ofpirates became so frequent in those waters that Fujiwara no Sumitomowas specially despatched from Kyoto to restrain them. This heeffected without difficulty. But instead of returning to the capital, he collected a number of armed men together with a squadron ofvessels, and conducted a campaign of spoliation and outrage in thewaters of the Inland Sea as well as the channels of Kii and Bungo. Masakado's death, in 939, relieved the Court from the pressure in theeast, and an expedition was despatched against Sumitomo under thecommand of Ono no Yoshifuru, general of the guards. Yoshifuru mustered only two hundred ships whereas Sumitomo hadfifteen hundred. The issue might have been foretold had not thepirate chief's lieutenant gone over to the Imperial forces. Sumitomo, after an obstinate resistance and after one signal success, wasfinally routed and killed. Some historians* have contended thatMasakado and Sumitomo, when they were together in Kyoto, conspired asimultaneous revolt in the east and the south; but such a conclusionis inconsistent with the established fact that Masakado's treason wasnot premeditated. *Notably the authors of the Okagami and the Nihon Gwaishi. That the two events synchronized is attributable wholly to theconditions of the time. We have seen what was the state of affairs inKwanto, and that of Kyushu and Shikoku is clearly set forth in amemorial presented (946) by Ono Yoshifuru on his return from theSumitomo campaign. In that document he says: "My information is thatthose who pursue irregular courses are not necessarily sons ofprovincial governors alone. Many others make lawless use of power andauthority; form confederacies; engage daily in military exercises;collect and maintain men and horses under pretext of hunting game;menace the district governors; plunder the common people; violatetheir wives and daughters, and steal their beasts of burden andemploy them for their own purposes, thus interrupting agriculturaloperations. Yesterday, they were outcasts, with barely sufficientclothes to cover their nakedness; to-day, they ride on horseback anddon rich raiment. Meanwhile the country falls into a state of decay, and the homesteads are desolate. My appeal is that, with theexception of provincial governors' envoys, any who enter a provinceat the head of parties carrying bows and arrows, intimidate theinhabitants, and rob them of their property, shall be recognized ascommon bandits and thrown into prison on apprehension. " In a word, the aristocratic officialdom in Kyoto, headed by theFujiwara, though holding all the high administrative posts, wieldedno real power outside the capital, nor were they competent topreserve order even within its precincts, for the palace itself wasnot secure against incendiarism and depredation. When the heads ofthe Minamoto and the Taira families were appointed provincialgovernors in the Kwanto, they trained their servants in the use ofarms, calling them iye-no-ko (house-boys) or rodo (retainers), andother local magnates purchased freedom from molestation by doinghomage and obeying their behests. Taira Masakado, Minamoto Tsunemoto, Fujiwara Hidesato, and Taira Sadamori, who figure in the abovenarrative, were all alike provincial chiefs, possessing privateestates and keeping armed retinues which they used for protection orfor plunder. The Imperial Court, when confronted with any crisis, wasconstrained to borrow the aid of these magnates, and thus there cameinto existence the buke, or military houses, as distinguished fromthe kuge, or Court houses. ENGRAVING: UMBRELLAS ENGRAVING: KINKAKU-JI, AT KYOTO CHAPTER XXI THE CAPITAL AND THE PROVINCES RELATIONS BETWEEN THE COURT AND THE FUJIWARA We now arrive at a period of Japanese history in which the relationsof the Fujiwara family to the Throne are so complicated as greatly toperplex even the most careful reader. But as it is not possible toconstruct a genealogical table of a really helpful character, thefacts will be set down here in their simplest form. THE SIXTY-SECOND SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR MURAKAMI (A. D. 947-967) Murakami, son of Daigo by the daughter of the regent, FujiwaraMototsune, ascended the throne in succession to Shujaku, and FujiwaraTadahira held the post of regent, as he had done in Shujaku's time, his three sons, Saneyori, Morosuke, and Morotada, giving theirdaughters; one, Morosuke's offspring, to be Empress, the other two tobe consorts of the sovereign. Moreover, Morosuke's second daughterwas married to the Emperor's younger brother, Prince Takaaki, whoafterwards descended from princely rank to take the family name ofMinamoto. Saneyori, Morosuke, and Takaaki took a prominent part inthe administration of State affairs, and thus indirectly by femaleinfluence at Court, or by their own direct activity, the Fujiwaraheld a supreme place. Murakami has a high position among Japan'smodel sovereigns. He showed keen and intelligent interest inpolitics; he sought to employ able officials; he endeavoured to checkluxury, and he solicited frank guidance from his elders. Thus latergenerations learned to indicate Engi (901-923), when Daigo reigned, and Tenryaku (947-957), when Murakami reigned, as essentially eras ofbenevolent administration. But whatever may have been the personalqualities of Murakami, however conspicuous his poetical ability andhowever sincere his solicitude for the welfare of his subjects, hefailed signally to correct the effeminate tendency of Kyoto societyor to protect the lives and property of his people. Bandits raidedthe capital, broke into the palace itself, set fire to it, andcommitted frequent depredations unrestrained. An age when themachinery for preserving law and order was practically paralyzedscarcely deserves the eulogies of posterity. THE SUCCESSION The lady with whom Murakami first consorted was a daughter ofFujiwara Motokata, who represented a comparatively obscure branch ofthe great family, and had attained the office of chief councillor ofState (dainagori) only. She bore to his Majesty a son, Hirohira, andthe boy's grandfather confidently looked to see him named PrinceImperial. But presently the daughter of Fujiwara Morosuke, ministerof the Right, entered the palace, and although her Court rank was notat first superior to that of the dainagon's daughter, her child hadbarely reached its third month when, through Morosuke's irresistibleinfluence, it was nominated heir to the throne. Motokata'sdisappointment proved so keen that his health became impaired and hefinally died--of chagrin, the people said. In those days men believedin the power of disembodied spirits for evil or for good. The spiritof the ill-fated Sugawara Michizane was appeased by building shrinesto his memory, and a similar resource exorcised the angry ghost ofthe rebel, Masakado; but no such prevention having been adopted inthe case of Motokata, his spirit was supposed to have compassed theearly deaths of his grandson's supplanter, Reizei, and of thelatter's successors, Kwazan and Sanjo, whose three united reignstotalled only five years. A more substantial calamity resulted, however, from the habit ofignoring the right of primogeniture in favour of arbitrary selection. Murakami, seeing that the Crown Prince (Reizei) had an exceedinglyfeeble physique, deemed it expedient to transfer the succession tohis younger brother, Tamehira. But the latter, having married intothe Minamoto family, had thus become ineligible for the throne inFujiwara eyes. The Emperor hesitated, therefore, to give openexpression to his views, and while he waited, he himself fellmortally ill. On his death-bed he issued the necessary instruction, but the Fujiwara deliberately ignored it, being determined that aconsort of their own blood must be the leading lady in every Imperialhousehold. Then the indignation of the other great families, theMinamoto and the Taira, blazed out. Mitsunaka, representing theformer, and Shigenobu the latter, entered into a conspiracy tocollect an army in the Kwanto and march against Kyoto with the soleobject of compelling obedience to Murakami's dying behest. The plotwas divulged by Minamoto Mitsunaka in the sequel of a quarrel withTaira no Shigenobu; the plotters were all exiled, and Takaaki, youngest son of the Emperor Daigo, though wholly ignorant of theconspiracy, was falsely accused to the Throne by Fujiwara Morotada, deprived of his post of minister of the Left, to which his accuserwas nominated, and sent to that retreat for disgraced officials, theDazai-fu. Another instance is here furnished of the readiness withwhich political rivals slandered one another in old Japan, andanother instance, also, of the sway exercised over the sovereign byhis Fujiwara ministers. THE SIXTY-THIRD SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR REIZEI (A. D. 968-969) THE SIXTY-FOURTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR ENYU (A. D. 970-984) The reigns of Reizei and Enyu are remarkable for quarrels among themembers of the Fujiwara family--quarrels which, to be followedintelligently, require frequent reference to the genealogical table(page 203). Fujiwara Morosuke had five sons, Koretada, Kanemichi, Kaneiye, Tamemitsu, and Kinsuye. Two of these, Koretada and Kaneiye, presented one each of their daughters to the Emperor Reizei, andKoretada's daughter gave birth to Prince Morosada, who afterwardsreigned as Kwazan, while Kaneiye's daughter bore Okisada, subsequently the Emperor Sanjo. After one year's reign, Reizei, whosuffered from brain disease, abdicated in favour of his youngerbrother, Enyu, then only in his eleventh year. Fujiwara Saneyoriacted as regent, but, dying shortly afterwards, was succeeded in thatoffice by his nephew, Koretada, who also had to resign on account ofillness. Between this latter's two brothers, Kanemichi and Kaneiye, keencompetition for the regency now sprang up. Kanemichi's eldestdaughter was the Empress of Enyu, but his Majesty favoured Kaneiye, who thus attained much higher rank than his elder brother. Kanemichi, however, had another source of influence. His sister was Murakami'sEmpress and mother of the reigning sovereign, Enyu. This Imperiallady, writing to his Majesty Enyu at Kanemichi's dictation, conjuredthe Emperor to be guided by primogeniture in appointing a regent, andEnyu, though he bitterly disliked Kanemichi, could not gainsay hismother. Thus Kanemichi became chancellor and acting regent. Thestruggle was not concluded, however. It ended in the palace itself, whither the two brothers repaired almost simultaneously, Kanemichirising from his sick-bed for the purpose. In the presence of the boyEmperor, Kanemichi arbitrarily transferred his own office of kwampakuto Fujiwara Yoritada and degraded his brother, Kaneiye, to acomparatively insignificant post. The sovereign acquiesced; he had nochoice. A few months later, this dictator died. It is related of himthat his residence was more gorgeous than the palace and his mannerof life more sumptuous than the sovereign's. The men of his time werewont to say, "A tiger's mouth is less fatal than the frown of theregent, Kanemichi. " THE SIXTY-FIFTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR KWAZAN (A. D. 985-986) THE SIXTY-SIXTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR ICHIJO (A. D. 987-1011) Eldest son of the Emperor Reizei, Kwazan ascended the throne in 985. His mother was a daughter of Fujiwara Koretada, and Yoritada, whoseappointment as regent has just been described, continued to act inthat capacity. Kaneiye's opportunity had now come. Kwazan havingsucceeded Enyu, nominated the latter's son to be Crown Prince, instead of conferring the position on his own brother, Prince Okisada(afterwards Sanjo). Now the Crown Prince was the son of Kaneiye'sdaughter, and that ambitious noble determined to compass thesovereign's abdication without delay. Kwazan, originally a ficklelover, had ultimately conceived an absorbing passion for the ladyTsuneko. He could not be induced to part with her even at the time ofher pregnancy, and as there was no proper provision in the palace forsuch an event, Tsuneko died in labour. Kwazan, distraught with grief, was approached by Kaneiye's son, Michikane, who urged him to retirefrom the world and seek in Buddhism the perfect peace thus aloneattainable. Michikane declared his own intention of entering the"path, " and on a moonlight night the two men, leaving the palace, repaired to the temple Gwangyo-ji to take the tonsure. There, Michikane, pretending he wished to bid final farewell to his family, departed to return no more, and the Emperor understood that he hadbeen deceived. Retreat was now impossible, however. He abdicated in favour ofIchijo, a child of seven, and Kaneiye became regent and chancellor. He emulated the magnificence of his deceased brother and rival, Kanemichi, and his residence at Higashi-Sanjo in Kyoto was builtafter the model of the "hall of freshness" in the palace. He had fivesons, the most remarkable of whom were Michitaka, Michikane, andMichinaga. It will be presently seen that in the hands of the lastthe power of the Fujiwara reached its zenith. On the death of Kaneiyethe office of kwampaku fell to his eldest son, Michitaka, and, in993, the latter being seriously ill, his son, Korechika, looked to behis successor. But the honour fell to Michitaka's brother, Michikane. Seven days after his nomination, Michikane died, and, as a matter ofcourse, men said that he had been done to death by the incantationsof his ambitious nephew. Again, however, the latter was disappointed. Kaneiye's third son, Michinaga, succeeded to the regency. Almost immediately, the new regent seems to have determined that hisdaughter should be Empress. But the daughter of his elder brother, the late Michitaka, already held that position. This, however, constituted no sort of obstacle in the eyes of the omnipotentMichinaga. He induced--"required" would probably be a more accurateexpression--the Empress to abandon the world, shave her head, andremove to a secluded palace, (the Kokideri); where-after he causedhis own daughter to become the Imperial consort under the title ofchugu, * her residence being fixed in the Fujitsubo, which was therecognized palace of the Empress. *A lady on introduction to the palace received the title of jokwan. If the daughter of a minister of State, she was called nyogo. Chuguwas a still higher title devised specially for Michinaga's purpose, and naturally it became a precedent. It is not to be imagined that with such a despotic regent, theEmperor himself exercised any real authority. The annals show thatIchijo was of benevolent disposition; that he sympathized with hispeople; that he excelled in prose composition and possessed muchskill in music. Further, during his reign of twenty-four years manyable men graced the era. But neither their capacity nor his own foundopportunity for exercise in the presence of Michinaga's proteges, and, while profoundly disliking the Fujiwara autocrat, Ichijo wasconstrained to suffer him. THE SIXTY-SEVENTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR SANJO (A. D. 1012-1017) THE SIXTY-EIGHTH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR GO-ICHIJO (A. D. 1017-1036) Prince Okisada, younger brother of the Emperor Kwazan, ascended thethrone at the age of thirty-six, on the abdication of Ichijo, and isknown in history as Sanjo. Before his accession he had married thedaughter of Fujiwara Naritoki, to whom he was much attached, but withthe crown he had to accept the second daughter of Michinaga as chugu, his former consort becoming Empress. His Majesty had to acquiesce inanother arbitrary arrangement also. It has been shown above thatMichinaga's eldest daughter had been given the title of chugu in thepalace of Ichijo, to whom she bore two sons, Atsunari and Atsunaga. Neither of these had any right to be nominated Crown Prince inpreference to Sanjo's offspring. Michinaga, however, caused Atsunarito be appointed Prince Imperial, ignoring Sanjo's son, since hismother belonged to an inferior branch of the Fujiwara. Further, itdid not suit the regent's convenience that a ruler of mature ageshould occupy the throne. An eye disease from which Sanjo sufferedbecame the pretext for pressing him to abdicate, and, in 1017, Atsunari, then in his ninth year, took the sceptre as EmperorGo-Ichijo, or Ichijo II. Michinaga continued to act as regent, holding, at the same time, the office of minister of the Left, but hesubsequently handed over the regency to his son, Yorimichi, becominghimself chancellor. Go-Ichijo was constrained to endure at Michinaga's hands the samedespotic treatment as that previously meted out to Sanjo. Thelegitimate claim of his offspring to the throne was ignored in favourof his brother, Atsunaga, who received for consort the fourthdaughter of Michinaga. Thus, this imperious noble had controlled theadministration for thirty years; had given his daughters to threeEmperors; had appointed his son to be regent in his place, and hadthe Crown Prince for grandson. Truly, as his historians say, he heldthe empire in the hollow of his hand. His estates far exceeded thoseof the Crown; the presents offered to him by all ranks reached anenormous total; he built for himself a splendid mansion (Jotomon)with forced labour requisitioned from the provinces, and for his wifea scarcely less magnificent residence (Kyogoku) was erected at thecharges of the Emperor Go-Ichijo. At the approach of illness he tookrefuge in Buddhism, but even here the gorgeous ostentation of hislife was not abated. He planned the building of a monastery whichshould prove a worthy retreat for his declining years, and it is onrecord that his order to the provincial governor was, "though youneglect your official duties, do not neglect to furnish materials andlabour for the building of Hojo-ji. " Even from the palace itselfstones were taken for this monastery, and the sums lavished upon itwere so enormous that they dwarfed Michinaga's previousextravagances. Michinaga retired there to die, and on his death-bedhe received a visit from the Emperor, who ordered three months' Courtmourning on his decease. There is a celebrated work entitled EigwaMonogatari (Tales of Splendour), wherein is depicted the fortunes andthe foibles of the Fujiwara family from the days (889) of the EmperorUda to those (1092) of the Emperor Horikawa. Specially minute is thechronicle when it treats of the Mido kwampaku, as Michinaga wascalled after he set himself to build the monastery Hojo-ji. Loyal Japanese historians shrink from describing this era, when theoccupants of the throne were virtually puppets in the hands of theFujiwara. There was, however, one redeeming feature: amid this luxuryand refinement literature flourished vigorously, so that the era ofTenryaku (947-957) lives in the memory of the nation as vividly asthat of Engi (901-923). Oye Tomotsuna, Sugawara Fumitoki, MinamotoShitago--these were famous littérateurs, and Minamoto Hiromasa, grandson of the Emperor Uda, attained celebrity as a musical genius. Coming to the reigns of Kwazan, Enyu, and Ichijo (985-1011), we findthe immortal group of female writers, Murasaki Shikibu, IzumiShikibu, Sei Shonagon, and Akazome Emon; we find also in the Imperialfamily, Princes Kaneakira and Tomohira; we find three famous scribes, Fujiwara Yukinari, Fujiwara Sari, and Ono no Tofu, and, finally the"Four Nagon" (Shi-nagori), Fujiwara Yukinari, Fujiwara Kinto. Minamoto Narinobu, and Minamoto Toshikata. It is observable that in this necessarily brief summary the name"Minamoto" occurs several times, as does that of "Fujiwara" also. Butthat the scions of either family confined themselves to the arts ofpeace, is not to be inferred. There were Fujiwara among the militarymagnates in the provinces, and we shall presently see the Minamototaking the lead in the science of war. Already, indeed, the Fujiwarain the capital were beginning to recognize the power of the Minamoto. It has been related above that one of the rebel Masakado's earliestopponents was a Minamoto, vice-governor of Musashi. His son, Mitsunaka, a redoubtable warrior, assisted the Fujiwara in Kyoto, andMitsunaka's sons, Yorimitsu and Yorinobu, contributed materially tothe autocracy of the regent Michinaga. Yorimitsu was appointed by theregent to command the cavalry of the guard, and he is said to havebrought that corps to a state of great efficiency. There was, indeed, much need of a strong hand. One had only to emergefrom the palace gates to find oneself among the haunts of bandits. The names of such robber chiefs as Hakamadare no Yasusuke, Kidomaru, Oeyama Shutendoji, and Ibaraki-doji have been handed down as theheroes in many a strange adventure and the perpetrators of manyheinous crimes. Even the Fujiwara residences were not secure againstthe torches of these plunderers, and during the reign of Ichijo thepalace itself was frequently fired by them. In Go-Ichijo's tune, anedict was issued forbidding men to carry bows and arrows in thestreets, but had there been power to enforce such a veto, itsenactment would not have been necessary. Its immediate sequel wasthat the bandits broke into Government offices and murdered officialsthere. THE INVASION OF JAPAN BY THE TOI In the spring of 1019, when Go-Ichijo occupied the throne, a largehost of invaders suddenly poured into the island of Tsushima. Therehad not been any warning. Tsushima lies half-way between the south ofKorea and the northeast of Kyushu, distant about sixty miles fromeither coast. Since the earliest times, its fine harbours had servedas a military station for ships plying between Japan and Korea, butsuch intercourse had long been interrupted when this invasion tookplace. The invaders were the Toi, originally called Sushen or Moho, underthe former of which names they make their appearance in Japanesehistory in the middle of the sixth century. They inhabited that partof the Asiatic continent which lies opposite to the island of Ezo, but there is nothing to show what impulse they obeyed in making thissudden descent upon Japan. Their fleet comprised some fifty vesselsonly, each from forty to sixty feet long and propelled by thirty orforty oars, but of how many fighting men the whole force consisted, no record has been preserved. As to arms, they carried swords, bows, spears, and shields, and in their tactical formation spearmenoccupied the front rank, then came swordsmen, and finally bowmen. Every man had a shield. Their arrows were short, measuring littleover a foot, but their bows were powerful, and they seem to havefought with fierce courage. At first they carried everything before them. The governor ofTsushima, being without any means of defence, fled to the Dazai-fu inKyushu, and the inhabitants were left to the mercy of the invaders, who then pushed on to the island of Iki. There the governor, FujiwaraMasatada, made a desperate resistance, losing his own life in thebattle. It is said that of all the inhabitants, one only, a Buddhistpriest, escaped to tell the story. Ten days after their first appearance off Tsushima, the Toi effecteda landing in Chikuzen and marched towards Hakata, plundering, burning, massacring old folks and children, making prisoners ofadults, and slaughtering cattle and horses for food. It happened, fortunately, that Takaiye, younger brother of Fujiwara Korechika, wasin command at the Dazai-fu, whither he had repaired partly out ofpique, partly to undergo treatment for eye disease at the hands of aChinese doctor. He met the crisis with the utmost coolness, and madesuch skilful dispositions for defence that, after three days'fighting, in which the Japanese lost heavily, Hakata remaineduncaptured. High winds and rough seas now held the invaders at bay, and in thatinterval the coast defences were repaired and garrisoned, and a fleetof thirty-eight boats having been assembled, the Japanese assumed theoffensive, ultimately driving the Toi to put to sea. A final attemptwas made to effect a landing at Matsuura in the neighbouring provinceof Hizen, but, after fierce fighting, the invaders had to withdrawaltogether. The whole affair had lasted sixteen days, and theJapanese losses were 382 killed and 1280 taken prisoners. Two hundredand eighty of the latter--60 men and 220 women--were subsequentlyreturned. They were brought over from Koma six months later by a Komaenvoy, Chong Cha-ryang, to whom the Court presented three hundredpieces of gold. Kyoto's attitude towards this incident was most instructive. When thefirst tidings of the invasion reached the capital, the protection ofheaven was at once invoked by services at Ise and ten other shrines. But when, on receipt of news that the danger had been averted, thequestion of rewarding the victors came up for discussion, a majorityof the leading statesmen contended that, as the affair had beensettled before the arrival of an Imperial mandate at the Dazai-fu, noofficial cognizance could be taken of it. This view was ultimatelyoverruled since the peril had been national, but the rewardssubsequently given were insignificant, and the event clearlyillustrates the policy of the Central Government--a policy alreadynoted in connexion with the revolt of Masakado--namely, that anyemergency dealt with prior to the receipt of an Imperial rescriptmust be regarded as private, whatever its nature, and thereforebeyond the purview of the law. A more effective method of decentralization could not have beendevised. It was inevitable that, under such a system, the provincialmagnates should settle matters to their own liking without referenceto Kyoto, and that, the better to enforce their will, they shouldequip themselves with armed retinues. In truth, it is not too much tosay that, from the tenth century, Japan outside the capital became anarena of excursions and alarms, the preservation of peace beingwholly dependent on the ambitions of local magnates. A history of all these happenings would be intolerably long andtedious. Therefore only those that have a national bearing will behere set down. Prominent among such is the struggle between the Tairaand the Minamoto in the Kwanto. The origin of these two families hasalready been recounted. Some historians have sought to differentiatethe metropolitan section of the Minamoto from the provincialsection--that is to say, the men of luxury and literature whofrequented the capital, from the men of sword and bow who ruled inthe provinces. Such differentiation is of little practical value. Similar lines of demarcation might be drawn in the case of the Tairaand Fujiwara themselves. If there were great captains in each ofthese famous families, there were also great courtiers. To the formercategory belonged Taira Tadatsune. For generations his family hadruled in the province of Shimosa and had commanded the allegiance ofall the bushi of the region. Tadatsune held at one time the post ofvice-governor of the neighbouring province of Kazusa, where heacquired large manors (shoen). In the year 1028, he seized the chieftown of the latter province, and pushing on into Awa, killed thegovernor and obtained complete control of the province. * The Court, on receiving news of these events, ordered Minamoto Yorinobu, governor of Kai, and several other provincial governors to attack theTaira chief. *Murdoch, in his History of Japan, says that in three yearsTadatsune's aggressions "reduced the Kwanto to a tangled wilderness. Thus, in the province of Shimosa, in 1027, there had been as much as58, 000 acres under cultivation; but in 1031 this had shrunk toforty-five acres. " Yorinobu did not wait for his associates. Setting out with his son, Yoriyoshi, in 1031, he moved at once against Tadatsune's castle, which stood on the seashore of Shimosa, protected by moats andpalisades, and supposed to be unapproachable from the sea except byboats, of which Tadatsune had taken care that there should not be anysupply available. But the Minamoto general learned that the shoresloped very slowly on the castle front, and marching his men boldlythrough the water, he delivered a crushing attack. For this exploit, which won loud plaudits, he was appointedcommandant of the local government office, a post held by hisgrandfather, Tsunemoto, whom we have seen as vice-governor of Musashiin the days of Masakado; by his father, Mitsunaka, one of the pillarsof the Minamoto family, and by his elder brother, Yorimitsu, whocommanded the cavalry of the guards in Kyoto. The same post wassubsequently bestowed on Yorinobu's son, Yoriyoshi, and on thelatter's son, Yoshiiye, known by posterity as "Hachiman Taro, "Japan's most renowned archer, to whom the pre-eminence of theMinamoto family was mainly due. Tadatsune had another son, Tsunemasa, who was appointed vice-governor of Shimosa and who is generallyspoken of as Chiba-no-suke. The chief importance of these events isthat they laid the foundation of the Minamoto family's supremacy inthe Kwanto, and thus permanently influenced the course of Japanesehistory. THE CAMPAIGN OF ZEN-KUNEN It is advisable at this stage to make closer acquaintance with theJapanese bushi (soldier), who has been cursorily alluded to more thanonce in these pages, and who, from the tenth century, acts aprominent role on the Japanese stage. History is silent as to theexact date when the term "bushi" came into use, but from a very earlyera its Japanese equivalent, "monono-fu, " was applied to the guardsof the sovereign's palace, and when great provincial magnates began, about the tenth century, to support a number of armed retainers, these gradually came to be distinguished as bushi. In modern timesthe ethics of the bushi have been analysed under the name "bushido"(the way of the warrior), but of course no such term or any suchcomplete code existed in ancient days. The conduct most appropriateto a bushi was never embodied in a written code. It derived itssanctions from the practice of recognized models, and only byobserving those models can we reach a clear conception of the thingitself. ENGRAVING: HALL OF BYODOIN TEMPLE (1052), AT UJI To that end, brief study may be given to the principal campaigns ofthe eleventh century, namely, the century immediately preceding theestablishment of military feudalism. It must be premised, however, that although the bushi figured mainly on the provincial stage, heacted an important part in the capital also. There, the Throne andits Fujiwara entourage were constrained to enlist the co-operation ofthe military nobles for the purpose of controlling the lawlesselements of the population. The Minamoto family were conspicuous inthat respect. Minamoto Mitsunaka--called also Manchu--served at theCourt of four consecutive sovereigns from Murakami downwards, wasappointed governor of several provinces, and finally becamecommandant of the local Government office. Yorimitsu, his son, astill greater strategist, was a prominent figure at five Courts, fromthe days of Enyu, and his brothers, Yorichika and Yorinobu, renderedmaterial assistance in securing the supremacy of the great Fujiwarachief, Michinaga. Indeed, the Minamoto were commonly spoken of as the"claws" of the Fujiwara. It was this Yorinobu who won such fame byescalading the castle of Taira Tadatsune and who established hisfamily's footing in the Kwanto. His uncle, Yoshimitsu, had a largeestate at Tada in Settsu, and this branch of the family was known asTada Genji. * Then there were: The Yamato Genji descended from Yorichika " Suruga " " " Mitsumasa " Shinano " " " Mitsunaka " Uda " of Omi, called also the Sasaki family " Saga " of Settsu " " " Watanabe " Hizen " of Hizen " " " Matsuura The Taira family became famous from the time of Sadamori, who quelledthe insurrection of Masakado. Of this clan, there were thesebranches: The Daijo-uji of Hitachi, so called because for generations they heldthe office of daijo in Hitachi. The Ise-Heishi of Ise, descended from Korehira, son of Sadamori. " Shiro-uji of Mutsu, Dewa, Shinano, and Echigo, descended fromShigemori and Koremochi " Nishina-uji " " " " " " " " " Iwaki-uji " " " " " " " " " Miura-no-suke of Musashi, Kazusa, and Shimosa, descendants ofTaira no Yoshibumi " Chiba-no-suke " " " " " " Chichibu-uji " " " " " Soma family, who succeeded to the domains of Masakado. *"Gen" is the alternative pronunciation of "Minamoto" as "Hei" is of"Taira. " The two great families who occupy such a large space in thepages of Japanese history are spoken of together as "Gen-Pei, " andindependently as "Genji" and "Heishi, " or "Minamoto" and The Fujiwara also had many provincial representatives, descendedmainly from Hidesato, (called also Tawara Toda), who distinguishedhimself in the Masakado crisis. There were the Sano-uji ofShimotsuke, Mutsu, and Dewa; and there were the Kondo, the Muto, theKoyama, and the Yuki, all in different parts of the Kwanto. In fact, the empire outside the capital was practically divided between theMinamoto, the Taira, and the Fujiwara families, so that anything likea feud could scarcely fail to have wide ramifications. The eleventh century may be said to have been the beginning of suchtumults. Not long after the affair of Taira Tadatsune, there occurredthe much larger campaign known as Zen-kunen no Sodo, or the "PriorNine Years' Commotion. " The scene of this struggle was the vastprovince of Mutsu in the extreme north of the main island. Forseveral generations the Abe family had exercised sway there, and itsrepresentative in the middle of the eleventh century extended hisrule over six districts and defied the authority of the provincialgovernors. The Court deputed Minamoto Yoriyoshi to restore order. TheAbe magnate was killed by a stray arrow at an early stage of thecampaign, but his son, Sadato, made a splendid resistance. In December, 1057, Yoriyoshi, at the head of eighteen hundred men, led a desperate assault on the castle of Kawasaki, garrisoned bySadato with four thousand picked soldiers. The attack was deliveredduring a heavy snow-storm, and in its sequel the Minamoto generalfound his force reduced to six men. Among these six, however, was hiseldest son, Yoshiiye, one of the most skilful bowmen Japan everproduced. Yoshiiye's mother was a Taira. When she became enceinte herhusband dreamed that the sacred sword of the war deity, Hachiman, hadbeen given to him, and the boy came to be called Hachiman Taro. Thisname grew to be a terror to the enemy, and it was mainly through hisprowess that his father and their scanty remnant of troops escapedover roads where the snow lay several feet deep. On a subsequent occasion in the same campaign, Yoshiiye had Sadato athis mercy and, while fixing an arrow to shoot him, composed the firstline of a couplet, "The surcoat's warp at last is torn. " Sadato, without a moment's hesitation, capped the line, "The threads at lastare frayed and worn, "* and Yoshiiye, charmed by such a display ofready wit, lowered his bow. Nine years were needed to finish thecampaign, and, in its sequel, Yoriyoshi was appointed governor ofIyo, and Yoshiiye, governor of Mutsu, while Kiyowara Takenori, without whose timely aid Sadato could scarcely have been subdued, received the high post of chinju-fu shogun (commandant of the localGovernment office). Yoshiiye's magnanimity towards Sadato at thefortress of Koromo-gawa has always been held worthy of a true bushi. *The point of this couplet is altogether lost in English. It turnsupon the fact that the word tate used by Yoshiiye means either afortress or the vertical threads in woven stuff, and that koromo wasthe name of the fortress where the encounter took place and had alsothe significance of "surcoat. " Sadato was ultimately killed, but his younger brother Muneto had theaffection and full confidence of Yoshiiye. Muneto, however, remembered his brother's fate and cherished a desire to takevengeance on Yoshiiye, which mood also was recognized as becoming toa model bushi. One night, the two men went out together, and Munetodecided that the opportunity for vengeance had come. Drawing hissword, he looked into the ox-carriage containing Yoshiiye and foundhim sound asleep. The idea of behaving treacherously in the face ofsuch trust was unendurable, and thereafter Muneto served Yoshiiyewith faith and friendship. The confidence that the Minamoto heroreposed in the brother of his old enemy and the way it wasrequited--these, too, are claimed as traits of the bushi. Yet another canon is furnished by Yoshiiye's career--the canon ofhumility. Oye no Masafusa was overheard remarking that Yoshiiye hadsome high qualities but was unfortunately ignorant of strategy. Thisbeing repeated to Yoshiiye, he showed no resentment but begged tobecome Masafusa's pupil. Yet he was already conqueror of the Abe andgovernor of Dewa. THE GO-SANNEN CAMPAIGN Thereafter the provinces of Mutsu and Dewa were again the scene ofanother fierce struggle which, since it began in the third year(1089) of the Kwanji era and ended in the fifth year (1091), wascalled the "After Three-years War. " With regard to the nature of thiscommotion, no enumeration of names is necessary. It was a familyquarrel between the scions of Kiyowara Takenori, a magnate of Mutsuwho had rendered conclusive assistance to Yoshiiye in the Nine-years'War; and as a great landowner of Dewa, Kimiko Hidetake, took part, the whole north of Japan may be said to have been involved. It fellto Yoshiiye, as governor of Mutsu, to quell the disturbance, and verydifficult the task proved, so difficult that the issue might havebeen different had not Fujiwara Kiyohira--who will be presentlyspoken of--espoused the Minamoto cause. When news of the struggle reached Kyoto, Yoshiiye's younger brother, Yoshimitsu, who held the much coveted post of kebiishi, applied forpermission to proceed at once to his brother's assistance. The Courtrefused his application, whereupon he resigned his office and, like atrue bushi, hastened to the war. Yoshimitsu was a skilled performerupon a musical instrument called the sho. He had studied under acelebrated master, Toyohara Tokimoto, now no more, and, on settingout for the field of battle in the far north, he became apprehensivelest the secrets imparted to him by his teacher should die with him. He therefore invited Tokimoto's son, Tokiaki, to bear him companyduring the first part of his journey, and to him he conveyed all theknowledge he possessed. The spectacle of this renowned soldier givinginstruction in the art of music to the son of his deceased teacher onmoonlit nights as he travelled towards the battlefield, has alwaysappealed strongly to Japanese conception of a perfect samurai, andhas been the motive of many a picture. This Go-sannen struggle furnished also another topic for frequentpictorial representation. When about to attack the fortress ofKanazawa, to which the approaches were very difficult, Yoshiiyeobserved a flock of geese rising in confusion, and rightly inferredan ambuscade of the enemy. His comment was, "Had not Oye Masafusataught me strategy, many brave men had been killed to-night. " Yet onemore typical bushi may be mentioned in connexion with this war. Kamakura Gongoro, a youth of sixteen, always fought in the van ofYoshiiye's forces and did great execution. A general on the enemy'sside succeeded in discharging a shaft which entered the boy's eye. Gongoro, breaking the arrow, rode straight at the archer and cut himdown. A shrine in Kamakura was erected to the memory of this intrepidlad. When Yoshiiye reported to the Throne the issue of this sanguinarystruggle, Kyoto replied that the war had been a private feud and thatno reward or distinctions would be conferred. Yoshiiye thereforedevoted the greater part of his own manors to recompensing those thathad followed his standard. He thus won universal respect throughoutthe Kwanto. Men competed to place their sons and younger brothers askenin (retainers) in his service and the name of Hachiman-ko was onall lips. But Yoshiiye died (1108) in a comparatively low rank. It iseasy to comprehend that in the Kwanto it became a common saying, "Better serve the Minamoto than the sovereign. " THE FUJIWARA OF THE NORTH Fujiwara Kiyohira, who is mentioned above as having espoused thecause of the Minamoto in the Go-sannen, was descended from Hidesato, the conqueror of Masakado. After the Go-sannen outbreak he succeededto the six districts of Mutsu which had been held by the insurgentchiefs. This vast domain descended to his son Motohira, and to thelatter's son, Hidehira, whose name we shall presently find in largeletters on a page of Japanese history. The Mutsu branch of the Fujiwara wielded paramount sway in the northfor several generations. Near Hiraizumi, in the province of Rikuchu, may still be seen four buildings forming the monastery Chuson-ji. Inone of these edifices repose the remains of Kiyohira, Motohira, andHidehira. The ceiling, floor and four walls of this Konjiki-do(golden hall) were originally covered with powdered gold, and itsinterior pillars are inlaid with mother-of-pearl on which are tracedthe outlines of twelve Arhats. In the days of Kiyohira the monasteryconsisted of forty buildings and was inhabited by three hundredpriests. ENGRAVING: A CONJUROR ENGRAVING: SIDE VIEW OF THE "KOHO-AN" OF DAITOKU-JI, AT KYOTO CHAPTER XXII RECOVERY OF ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY BY THE THRONE The 69th Sovereign, the Emperor Go-Shujaku A. D. 1037-1045 70th " " Go-Reizei 1046-1068 71st " " Go-Sanjo 1069-1072 72nd " " Shirakawa 1073-1086 73rd " " Horikawa 1087-1107 74th " " Toba 1108-1123 75th " " Sutoku 1124-1141 76th " " Konoe 1142-1155 77th " " Go-Shirakawa 1156-1158 DECADENCE OF FUJIWARA AUTOCRACY During two centuries the administrative power remained in the handsof the Fujiwara. They lost it by their own timidity rather thanthrough the machinations of their enemies. When the EmperorGo-Shujaku was mortally ill, he appointed his eldest son, Go-Reizei, to be his successor, and signified his desire that the latter'shalf-brother, Takahito, should be nominated Crown Prince. FujiwaraYorimichi was then regent (kwampaku). To him, also, the dyingsovereign made known his wishes. Now Takahito had not been born of aFujiwara mother. The regent, therefore, while complying at once inGo-Reizei's case, said that the matter of the Crown Prince might bedeferred, his purpose being to wait until a Fujiwara lady should beara son to Go-Reizei. In thus acting, Yorimichi obeyed the policy from which his family hadnever swerved through many generations, and which had now become anunwritten law of the State. But his brother, Yoshinobu, read thesigns of the times in a sinister light. He argued that the real powerhad passed to the military magnates, and that by attempting to stemthe current the Fujiwara might be swept away altogether. He thereforerepaired to the palace, and simulating ignorance of what had passedbetween the late sovereign and the kwampaku, inquired whether it wasintended that Prince Takahito should enter a monastery. Go-Reizeireplied emphatically in the negative and related the facts, whereuponYoshinobu declared that the prince should be nominated forthwith. Itwas done, and thus for the first time in a long series of years asuccessor to the throne was proclaimed who had not the qualificationof a Fujiwara mother. There remained to the kwampaku only one way of expressing hisdissent. During many years it had been customary that the PrinceImperial, on his nomination, should receive from the Fujiwara regenta famous sword called Tsubo-kiri (Jar-cutter). Yorimichi declined tomake the presentation in the case of Prince Takahito on the groundthat he was not of Fujiwara lineage. The prince--afterwardsGo-Sanjo--had the courage to deride this omission. "Of what serviceis the sword to me?" he said. "I have no need of it. " Such an attitude was very significant of the changing times. Duringmore than twenty years of probation as Crown Prince, this sovereign, Go-Sanjo, had ample opportunity of observing the arbitrary conduct ofthe Fujiwara, and when he held the sceptre he neglected no means ofasserting the authority of the Crown, one conspicuous step being totake a daughter of Go-Ichijo into the palace as chugu, a positioncreated for a Fujiwara and never previously occupied by any save aFujiwara. Altogether, Go-Sanjo stands an imposing figure in the annals of hiscountry. Erudition he possessed in no small degree, and it wassupplemented by diligence, high moral courage and a sincere love ofjustice. He also set to his people an example of frugality. It isrelated that, observing as he passed through the streets one day, anox-carriage with gold mountings, he stopped his cortege and causedthe gold to be stripped off. Side by side with this record may beplaced his solicitude about the system of measures, which had falleninto disorder. With his own hands he fashioned a standard which wasknown to later generations as the senshi-masu of the Enkyu era(1069-1074). The question of tax-free manors (shoen) also receivedmuch attention. During the reign of Go-Shujaku, decrees werefrequently issued forbidding the creation of these estates. TheFujiwara shoen were conspicuous. Michinaga possessed wide manorseverywhere, and Yorimichi, his son, was not less insatiable. NeitherGo-Shujaku nor Go-Reizei could check the abuse. But Go-Sanjo resortedto a really practical measure. He established a legislative officewhere all titles to shoen had to be examined and recorded, the Daihosystem of State ownership being restored, so that all rights ofprivate property required official sanction, the Court also becomingthe judge in all disputes as to validity of tenure. These orders came like a clap of thunder in a blue sky. Many greatpersonages had acquired vast manorial tracts by processes that couldnot endure the scrutiny of the Kiroku-jo (registrar's office). Yorimichi, the kwampaku, was a conspicuous example. On receipt of theorder to register, he could only reply that he had succeeded to hisestates as they stood and that no documentary evidence was available. Nevertheless, he frankly added that, if his titles were foundinvalid, he was prepared to surrender his estates, since the positionhe occupied required him to be an administrator of law, not anobstacle to its administration. This was the same noble who hadrefused to present the sword, Tsubo-kiri, to Go-Sanjo when the latterwas nominated Crown Prince. The Emperor might now have exacted heavyreparation. But his Majesty shrank from anything like spoliation. Aspecial decree was issued exempting from proof of title all manorsheld by chancellors, regents, or their descendants. SALE OF OFFICES AND RANKS Another abuse with which Go-Sanjo sought to deal drastically was thesale of offices and ranks. This was an evil of old standing. Wheneverspecial funds were required for temple building or palaceconstruction, it had become customary to invite contributions fromlocal magnates, who, in return, received, or were renewed in theirtenure of, the post of provincial governor. Official ranks weresimilarly disposed of. At what time this practice had its origin therecords do not show, but during the reign of Kwammu (782-805, ) thebestowal of rank in return for a money payment was interdicted, andMiyoshi Kiyotsura, in his celebrated memorial to Daigo (898-930), urged that the important office of kebiishi should never be conferredin consideration of money. But in the days of Ichijo, the acquisitionof tax-free manors increased rapidly and the treasury's incomediminished correspondingly, so that it became inevitable, in times ofState need, that recourse should be had to private contributions, thecontributors being held to have shown "merit" entitling them to rankor office or both. Go-Sanjo strictly interdicted all such transactions. But this actionbrought him into sharp collision with the then kwampaku, FujiwaraNorimichi. The latter built within the enclosure of Kofuku-ji at Naraan octagonal edifice containing two colossal images of Kwannon. Onthis nanen-do the regent spent a large sum, part of which wascontributed by the governor of the province. Norimichi thereforeapplied to the Emperor for an extension of the governor's term ofoffice. Go-Sanjo refused his assent. But Norimichi insisted. Finallythe Emperor, growing indignant, declared that the kwampaku's soletitle to respect being derived from his maternal relationship to thesovereign, he deserved no consideration at the hands of an Emperorwhose mother was not a Fujiwara. It was a supreme moment in thefortunes of the Fujiwara. Norimichi angrily swept out of thepresence, crying aloud: "The divine influence of Kasuga Daimyojin*ceases from to-day. Let every Fujiwara official follow me. " Thereatall the Fujiwara courtiers flocked out of the palace, and the Emperorhad no choice but to yield. Victory rested with the Fujiwara, but itwas purchased at the loss of some prestige. *Titulary deity of the Fujiwara-uji. CAMERA SOVEREIGNTY Their obviously selfish device of seating a minor on the throne andreplacing him as soon as he reached years of discretion, had beengradually invested by the Fujiwara with an element of spuriousaltruism. They had suggested the principle that the tenure ofsovereign power should not be exercised exclusively. Go-Sanjo held, however, that such a system not only impaired the Imperial authoritybut also was unnatural. No father, he argued, could be content todivest himself of all practical interest in the affairs of hisfamily, and to condemn the occupant of the throne to sit with foldedhands was to reduce him to the rank of a puppet. Therefore, eventhough a sovereign abdicated, he should continue to take an activepart in the administration of State affairs. This was, in short, Go-Sanjo's plan for rendering the regent a superfluity. He proposedto substitute camera government (Insei) for control by a kwampaku. But fate willed that he should not carry his project into practice. He abdicated, owing to ill health, in 1073, and died the followingyear. SHIRAKAWA Go-Sanjo was succeeded by his eldest son, Shirakawa. He had taken forconsort the daughter of Fujiwara Yorimichi. This lady, Kenko, hadbeen adopted into the family of Fujiwara Morozane, and it is recordedthat Yorimichi and Morozane shed tears of delight when they heard ofher selection by the Crown Prince--so greatly had the influence ofthe Fujiwara declined. Shirakawa modelled himself on his father. Hepersonally administered affairs of State, displaying assiduity andability but not justice. Unlike his father he allowed himself to beswayed by favour and affection, arbitrarily ignored time-honouredrules, and was guilty of great extravagance in matters of religion. But he carried into full effect the camera (or cloistered) system ofgovernment, thereafter known as Insei. For, in 1086, after thirteenyears' reign, he resigned the sceptre to an eight-year-old boy, Horikawa, his son by the chugu, Kenko. The untimely death of thelatter, for whom he entertained a strong affection, was the proximatecause of Shirakawa's abdication, but there can be little doubt thathe had always contemplated such a step. He took the tonsure and thereligious title of Ho-o (pontiff), but in the Toba palace, his newresidence, he organized an administrative machine on the exact linesof that of the Court. ENGRAVING: KO-NO-MA (ROOM) NISHI (WEST) HONGWAN-JI TEMPLE, AT KYOTO(An example of "Shoinzukuri" building) Thenceforth the functions of Imperialism were limited to matters ofetiquette and ceremony, all important State business being transactedby the Ho-o and his camera entourage. If the decrees of the Courtclashed with those of the cloister, as was occasionally inevitable, the former had to give way. Thus, it can scarcely be said that therewas any division of authority. But neither was there any progress. The earnest efforts made by Go-Sanjo to check the abuse of sales ofrank and office as well as the alienation of State lands into privatemanors, were rendered wholly abortive under the sway of Shirakawa. The cloistered Emperor was a slave of superstition. He caused no lessthan six temples* to be built of special grandeur, and to theprincipal of these (Hosho-ji) he made frequent visits in state, onwhich occasions gorgeous ceremonies were performed. He erected theTemple of the 33, 333 Images of Kwannon (the Sanjusangen-do) in Kyoto;he made four progresses to the monastery at Koya and eight to that atKumano; he commissioned artists to paint 5470 Buddhist pictures, sculptors to cast 127 statues each sixteen feet high; 3150 life-size, and 2930 of three feet or less, and he raised twenty-one largepagodas and 446, 630 small ones. *These were designated Roku-sho-ji, or "six excellent temples. " His respect for Buddhism was so extreme that he strictly interdictedthe taking of life in any form, a veto which involved the destructionof eight thousand fishing nets and the loss of their means ofsustenance to innumerable fishermen, as well as the release of allfalcons kept for hawking. It has even been suggested that Shirakawa'spiety amounted to a species of insanity, for, on one occasion, whenrain prevented a contemplated progress to Hosho-ji, he sentenced therain to imprisonment and caused a quantity to be confined in avessel. * To the nation, however, all this meant something very muchmore than a mere freak. It meant that the treasury was depleted andthat revenue had to be obtained by recourse to the abuses whichGo-Sanjo had struggled so earnestly to check, the sale of offices andranks, even in perpetuity, and the inclusion of great tracts of Stateland in private manors. *This silliness was spoken of by the people as ame-kingoku (theincarceration of the rain). TOBA Horikawa died in 1107, after a reign of twenty years, and wassucceeded by his son Toba, a child of five. Affairs of Statecontinued to be directed by the cloistered sovereign, and he chosefor his grandson's consort Taiken-mon-in, who bore to him a son, thefuture Emperor Sutoku. Toba abdicated, after a reign of fifteenyears, on the very day of Sutoku's nomination as heir apparent, and, six years later, Shirakawa died (1128), having administered theempire from the cloister during a space of forty-three years. As a device to wrest the governing power from the grasp of theFujiwara, Go-Sanjo's plan was certainly successful, and had he livedto put it into operation himself, the results must have beendifferent. But in the greatly inferior hands of Shirakawa this newdivision of Imperial authority and the segregation of its sourceundoubtedly conspired to prepare the path for military feudalism andfor curtained Emperors. Toba, with the title of Ho-o, took the tonsure and administered fromthe cloister after Shirakawa's death. One of his first acts afterabdication was to take another consort, a daughter of FujiwaraTadazane, whom he made Empress under the name of Kaya-no-in; but asshe bore him no offspring, he placed in the Toba palace a secondFujiwara lady, Bifuku-mon-in, daughter of Nagazane. By her he had(1139) a son whom he caused to be adopted by the Empress, preparatoryto placing him on the throne as Emperor Konoe, at the age of three. Thus, the cloistered sovereigns followed faithfully in the footstepsof the Fujiwara. SOLDIER-PRIESTS A phenomenon which became conspicuous during the reign of Shirakawawas recourse to violence by Buddhist priests. This abuse had itsorigin in the acquisition of large manors by temples and theconsequent employment of soldiers to act as guards. Ultimately, greatmonasteries like Kofuku-ji, Onjo-ji, and Enryaku-ji came to possessthousands of these armed men, and consequently wielded temporalpower. Shirakawa's absorbing belief in Buddhism created opportunitiesfor the exercise of this influence. Keenly anxious that a son shouldbe born of his union with Kenko, the daughter of Fujiwara Yorimichi, his Majesty bespoke the prayers of Raigo, lord-abbot of Onjo-ji. Ithappened that unsuccessful application had frequently been made bythe Onjo-ji monks for an important religious privilege. Raigoinformed the Emperor that, if this favour were promised, the prayerfor a prince would certainly be heard. Shirakawa made the promise, and Kenko gave birth to Prince Atsubumi. But when the Emperor wouldhave fulfilled his pledge, the priests of Enryaku-ji (Hiei-zan), jealous that a privilege which they alone possessed should be grantedto priests of another monastery, repaired to the Court en masse toprotest. Shirakuwu yielded to this representation and despatched Oyeno Masafusa to placate Raigo. But the abbot refused to listen. Hestarved himself to death, passing day and night in devotion, andshortly after his demise the little prince, born in answer to hisprayers, died of small-pox. In an age when superstition prevailed widely the death of the childwas, of course, attributed to the incantations of the abbot. Fromthat time a fierce feud raged between Onjo-ji and Enryaku-ji. In theyear 1081, the priest-soldiers of the latter set the torch to theformer, and, flocking to Kyoto in thousands, threw the capital intodisorder. Order was with difficulty restored through the exertions ofthe kebiishi and the two Minamoto magnates, Yoshiiye and Yoshitsuna, but it was deemed expedient to guard the palace and the person ofthe Emperor with bushi. Twelve years later (1093), thousands ofcenobites, carrying the sacred tree of the Kasuga shrine, marchedfrom Nara to Kyoto, clamouring for vengeance on the governor ofOmi, whom they charged with arresting and killing the officialsof the shrine. This became a precedent. Thereafter, whenever thepriests had a grievance, they flocked to the palace carrying thesacred tree of some temple or shrine. The soldier cenobites ofEnryaku-ji--yama-hoshi, as they were called--showed themselvesnotably turbulent. They inaugurated the device of replacing thesacred tree with the "divine car, " against which none dare raise ahand or shoot an arrow. If their petition were rejected, they wouldabandon the car in the streets of the capital, thus placing the cityunder a curse. A notable instance occurred, in 1095, when these yama-hoshi ofHiyoshi preferred a charge of blood-guiltiness against MinamotoYoshitsuna, governor of Mino. They flocked to the palace in atruculent mob, but the bushi on duty, being under the command of aMinamoto, did not hesitate to use their bows. Thereupon theyama-hoshi discarded the divine car, hastened back to the temple, andassembling all the priests, held a solemn service invoking the wrathof heaven on the State. In an age of profound superstition suchaction threw the Court into consternation, and infinite pains weretaken to persuade Shinto officials of an independent shrine to carrythe divine car back to Hiei-zan. Instances of such turbulence were not infrequent, and they account inpart for the reckless prodigality shown by Shirakawa in building andfurnishing temples. The cenobites did not confine themselves todemonstrations at the palace; they had their own quarrels also. Kofuku-ji's hand was against Kimbusen and Todai-ji, and not a fewpriests doffed the stole and cassock to engage in temporarybrigandage. The great Taira leader, Tadamori, and his son, Kiyomori--one of the most prominent figures on the stage of medievalJapan--dealt strongly with the Shinto communities at Hiyoshi andGion, and drove the Kofuku-ji priests out of the streets of Kyoto, the result being that this great military family became an object ofexecration at Kofuku-ji and Enryaku-ji alike. With difficulty theCourt kept peace between them. It is related of Shirakawa Ho-o thatthe three things which he declared to defy his control were thewaters of the Kamo River, the fall of the dice, and the yama-hoshi. ENGRAVING: PLAYING BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK (From a painting) CHAPTER XXIII MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE HEIAN EPOCH GENERAL SUMMARY THE period we are considering is a long one which owes its unity tothe sole fact that the capitol was at Kyoto. It is, therefore, unsafeto generalize on its manners and customs. But we may say with adegree of accuracy that the epoch was marked by an increasing luxuryand artificiality, due largely to the adoption of Chinese customs. The capital city was built on a Chinese pattern and the salientcharacteristics of the Court during the period named from the newcapital are on the Chinese pattern too. The Chinese idea of a civilservice in which worth was tested by examinations was carried to apedantic extreme both in administration and in society. In theseexaminations the important paper was in Chinese prose composition, which was much as if Latin prose were the main subject to prove thefitness of a candidate for an English or American administrativepost! And the tests of social standing and the means of gaining fameat Court were skill in verse-writing, in music and dancing, incalligraphy and other forms of drawing, and in taste in landscapegardening. Ichijo was famed as a musician and a prose writer, and Saga as acalligraphist. The Ako incident (see p. 240) illustrates the lengthsto which pedantry was carried in matters of administration. And thestory of the ill-success at the capital of the young soldier TairaMasakado, contrasted with the popularity of his showily viciouskinsman Sadabumi (see p. 253), illustrate what Murdoch means when hesays that the early emperors of the Heian epoch had an "unbalancedcraze for Chinese fashions, for Chinese manners, and above all forChinese literature. " Remarkable though the power of the Japanesepeople always seems to have been to assimilate foreign culture inlarge doses and speedily, it is hardly to be expected that at thisperiod, any more than at a later one when there came in a suddenflood of European civilization, the nation should not have sufferedsomewhat--that it should not have had the defects of its qualities. LUXURY OF THE COURT Of Nimmyo's luxury and architectural extravagance we have alreadyspoken, and of the arraignment of prodigality in dress, banquets, andfunerals in the famous report of Miyoshi Kiyotsura (see p. 246). Indeed, we might almost cite the madness of the Emperor Yozei asbeing a typical, though extreme, case of the hysteria of the youngand affected court nobles. Two of the Fujiwara have been pilloried innative records for ostentation: one for carrying inside his clotheshot rice-dumplings to keep himself warm, and, more important, tofling them away one after another as they got cold; and the other forcarrying a fan decorated with a painting of a cuckoo and forimitating the cuckoo's cry whenever he opened the fan. CONVENTION AND MORALITY If the men of the period were effeminate and emotional, the womenseem to have sunk to a lower stage of morals than in any other era, and sexual morality and wifely fidelity to have been abnormally badand lightly esteemed. The story of Ariwara Narihira, prince, poet, painter and Don Juan, and of Taka and her rise to power (see p. 238)has already been told; and it is to be noted that the Fujiwaraworking for the control of the Throne through Imperial consortsinduced, even forced, the Emperors to set a bad example in suchmatters. But over all this vice there was a veneer of elaborateetiquette. Even in the field a breach of etiquette was a deadlyinsult: as we have seen (p. 254) Taira Masakado lost the aid of agreat lieutenant in his revolt because he forgot to bind up his hairproperly before he received a visitor. At Court, etiquette andceremony became the only functions of the nominal monarch after thecamera government of the cloistered ex-Emperors had begun. Andaristocratic women, though they might be notoriously unfaithful, keptup a show of modesty, covering their faces in public, refusing tospeak to a stranger, going abroad in closed carriages or heavilyveiled with hoods, and talking to men with their faces hid by a fan, a screen, or a sliding door, these degrees of intimacy being nicelyadjusted to the rank and station of the person addressed. Love-makingand wooing were governed by strict and conventional etiquette, and aninterchange of letters of a very literary and artificial type and ofpoems usually took the place of personal meetings. Indeed, literaryskill and appreciation of Chinese poetry and art were the main thingssought for in a wife. ENGRAVING: ARIWARA NARIHARA (Poet and Painter) AMUSEMENTS The pastimes of Court society in these years differed not so much inkind as in degree from those of the Nara epoch. In amusement, as inall else, there was extravagance and elaboration. What has alreadybeen said of the passion for literature would lead us to expect tofind in the period an extreme development of the couplet-tournament(uta awase) which had had a certain vogue in the Nara epoch and wasnow a furore at Court. The Emperor Koko and other Emperors in thefirst half of the Heian epoch gave splendid verse-making parties, when the palace was richly decorated, often with beautiful flowers. In this earlier part of the period the gentlemen and ladies of theCourt were separated, sitting on opposite sides of the room in whichthe party was held. Later in the Heian epoch the composition of loveletters was a favorite competitive amusement, and although canons ofelegant phraseology were implicitly followed, the actual contents ofthese fictitious letters were frankly indecent. Other literary pastimes were: "incense-comparing, " a combination ofpoetical dilletantism and skill in recognizing the fragrance ofdifferent kinds of incense burned separately or in differentcombinations; supplying famous stanzas of which only a word or so wasgiven; making riddles in verse; writing verse or drawing pictures onfans, --testing literary and artistic skill; and making up lists ofrelated ideographs. The love of flowers was carried to extravagantlengths. The camera Court in particular organized magnificent picnicsto see the cherry-trees of Hosho-ji and the snowy forest at Koya. There were spring festivals of sunrise at Sagano and autumn moonlightexcursions to the Oi River. The taste of the time was typified insuch vagaries as covering trees with artificial flowers in winter andin piling up snow so that some traces of snowy landscapes might stillbe seen in spring or summer. Such excess reminds the student ofdecadent Rome as portrayed by the great Latin satirists. Other favorite amusements at Court were: gathering sweet-flag insummer and comparing the length of its roots, hawking, fan-lotteries, a kind of backgammon called sugoroku, and different forms ofgambling. Football was played, a Chinese game in which the winner washe who kicked the ball highest and kept it longest from touching theground. Another rage was keeping animals as pets, especially cats and dogs, which received human names and official titles and, when they died, elaborate funerals. Kittens born at the palace at the close of thetenth century were treated with consideration comparable to thatbestowed on Imperial infants. To the cat-mother the courtiers sentthe ceremonial presents after childbirth, and one of theladies-in-waiting was honoured by an appointment as guardian to theyoung kittens. ENGRAVING: SKETCH OF "SHINDENZUKUBI" (Style of Dwelling House ofNobles in the Heian Epoch) MUSIC AND DANCING With the growth of luxury in the Heian epoch and the increase ofextravagant entertainment and amusement, there was a remarkabledevelopment of music and the dance. Besides the six-stringed harp orwagon, much more complex harps or lutes of thirteen or twenty-fivestrings were used, and in general there was a great increase in thenumber and variety of instruments. Indeed, we may list as many astwenty kinds of musical instruments and three or four times as manyvarieties of dance in the Heian epoch. Most of the dances wereforeign in their origin, some being Hindu, more Korean, and stillmore Chinese, according to the usual classification. But importeddances, adaptations of foreign dances, and the older native styleswere all more or less pantomimic. ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE GARDENING Except in the new capital city with its formal plan there were nogreat innovations in architecture. Parks around large houses andwillows and cherry-trees planted along the streets of Kyoto relievedthis stiffness of the great city. Landscape-gardening became an art. Gardens were laid out in front of the row of buildings that made upthe home of each noble or Court official. Convention was nearly as rigid here as it was in Court etiquette. Inthe centre of this formal garden was a miniature lake with bridgesleading to an island; there was a waterfall feeding the lake, usuallyat its southern end; and at the eastern and western limits of thegarden, respectively, a grotto for angling and a "hermitage of springwater"--a sort of picnic ground frequented on summer evenings. Thegreat artist, Kanaoka, of the end of the ninth century worked atlaying out these rockeries and tiny parks. A native school ofarchitects, or more correctly carpenters, had arisen in the provinceof Hida. There was less temple building than in the Nara epoch andmore attention was given to the construction of elegant palaces forcourt officials and nobles. But these were built of wood and were farfrom being massive or imposing. As in other periods of Japanesearchitecture, the exterior was sacrificed to the interior where therewere choice woodworking and joinery in beautiful woods, andoccasionally screen-or wall-painting as decoration. There was stilllittle house-furnishing. Mats (tatami), fitted together so as tocover the floor evenly, were not used until the very close of theperiod; and then, too, sliding doors began to be used as partitions. The coverings of these doors, silk or paper, were the "walls" forJapanese mural paintings of the period. As the tatami came into moregeneral use, the bedstead of the earlier period, which was itself alow dais covered with mats and with posts on which curtains and netsmight be hung, went out of use, being replaced by silken quiltsspread on the floor-mats. Cushions and arm-rests were the only otherimportant pieces of furniture. COSTUME In the Heian epoch, Court costume was marked by the twocharacteristics that we have seen elsewhere in theperiod--extravagance and convention. Indeed, it may be said thatChinese dress and etiquette, introduced after the time of Kwammu werethe main source of the luxury of the period. Costume was extreme, notalone in being rich and costly, but in amount of material used. Princely and military head-dresses were costly, jewelled, andenormously tall, and women wore their hair, if possible, so that ittrailed below their elaborate skirts. Men's sleeves and trousers werecut absurdly large and full; and women's dress was not merely baggybut voluminous. At a palace fete in 1117 the extreme of elegance wasreached by ladies each wearing a score or so of different colouredrobes. In this period the use of costly and gorgeous brocades andsilks with beautiful patterns and splendid embroideries began. Women at Court, and the Court dandies who imitated them, paintedartificial eye-brows high on the forehead, shaving or plucking outthe real brows, powdered and rouged their faces and stained theirteeth black. ART Ceramics did not advance in the Heian epoch, but in all otherbranches of art there were rapid strides forward. The development ofinterior decoration in temples, monasteries, and palaces was due toprogress on the part of lacquerers and painters. Gold lacquer, lacquer with a gold-dust surface (called nashi-ji), and lacquerinlaid with mother-of-pearl were increasingly used. Thanks in part tothe painters' bureau (E-dokoro) in the palace, Japanese paintersbegan to be ranked with their Chinese teachers. Koze Kanaoka was thefirst to be thus honored, and it is on record that he was engaged topaint figures of arhats on the sliding doors of the palace. The epochalso boasted Fujiwara Tameuji, founder of the Takuma family ofartists, and Fujiwara Motomitsu, founder of the Tosa academy. Thesculpture of the time showed greater skill, but less grandeur ofconception, than the work of the Nara masters. Sculpture in wood wasimportant, dating especially from the 11th century. Jocho, possiblythe greatest of the workers in this medium, followed Chinese models, and carved a famous Buddha for Michinaga's temple of Hosho-ji (1022). Jocho's descendant Unkei was the ancestor of many busshi or sculptorsof Buddhist statues; and Kwaikei, a pupil of Unkei's brother Jokaku, is supposed to have collaborated with Unkei on the greatgate-guardians of the Todai-ji temple. It is important to note that, especially in the latter half of the Heian epoch, painters andsculptors were usually men of good family. Art had becomefashionable. Two minor forms of sculpture call for special attention. Thedecoration of armour reached a high pitch of elaboration; and thebeautiful armour of Minamoto Yoshitsune is still preserved at Kasuga, Nara. And masks to be used in mimetic dances, such as the No, received attention from many great glyptic artists. ENGRAVING: RAKAN (BUDDHIST DISCIPLE) (Carving in Stone at Horiuji) AGRICULTURE In the year 799, cotton-seed, carried by an Indian junk which driftedto the coast of Mikawa, was sown in the provinces of Nankai-do andSaikai-do, and fifteen years later, when Saga reigned, tea plantswere brought from overseas and were set out in several provinces. TheEmperor Nimmyo (834-850) had buckwheat sown in the home provinces(Kinai), and the same sovereign encouraged the cultivation ofsorghum, panic-grass, barley, wheat, large white beans, small redbeans, and sesame. It was at this time that the ina-hata (paddy-loom)was devised for drying sheaves of rice before winnowing. Although itwas a very simple implement, it nevertheless proved of such greatvalue that an Imperial command was issued urging its wide use. Inshort, in the early years of the Heian epoch, the Throne took anactive part in promoting agriculture, but this wholesome interestgradually declined in proportion to the extension of tax-free manors(shoen). TRADE The story of trade resembled that of agriculture prosperousdevelopment at the beginning of the era, followed by stagnation anddecline. Under Kwummu (782-805) and his immediate successors, canalsand roads were opened, irrigation works were undertaken, and coinswere frequently cast. But coins were slow in finding their way intocirculation, and taxes were generally paid in kind. Nevertheless, forpurposes of trade, prices of staples were fixed in terms of coin. Thus in the year 996, a koku (about 5 bushels) of rice was theequivalent of 1000 cash (ik-kan-mon); a koku of barley was valued at2500 cash, and a hiki (25 yards) of silk at 2000 cash. Yet in actualpractice, commodities were often assessed in terms of silk or rice. Goods were packed in stores (kura) or disposed on shelves in shops(machi-ya), and at ports where merchantmen assembled there werehouses called tsuya (afterwards toiya) where wholesale transactionswere conducted on the commission system. The city of Kyoto was divided into two parts, an eastern capital(Tokyo) and a western capital (Saikyo). During the first half ofevery month all commercial transactions were conducted in the easterncapital, where fifty-one kinds of commodities were sold in fifty-oneshops; and during the second half the western capital alone wasfrequented, with its thirty-three shops and thirty-three classes ofgoods. After the abolition of embassies to China, at the close of theninth century, oversea trade declined for a time. But the inhabitantsof Tsukushi and Naniwa, which were favourably located for voyages, continued to visit China and Korea, whence they are reported to haveobtained articles of value. Other ports frequented by foreign-goingships were Kanzaki, Eguchi, Kaya, Otsu, and Hakata. SUPERSTITION Turning to the inner life of the people in the Heian epoch, we maysay with little fear of exaggeration that the most notable thing wasthe increase of superstition. This was due in part at least to thegrowth in Japan of the power of Buddhism, and, be it understood, ofBuddhism of a degraded and debased form. The effort to combineBuddhism and Shinto probably robbed the latter of any power it mightotherwise have had to withstand superstition. Although men of thegreatest ability went into the Buddhist monasteries, including manyImperial princes, their eminence did not make them better leaders andguides of the people, but rather aided them in misleading andbefooling the laity. Murdoch in speaking of the beginning of the 12thcentury says: "At this date, Buddhism in Japan from a moral point ofview was in not a whit better case than was the Church of Romebetween the death of Sylvester II and the election of Leo IX. " Aninteresting parallel might be drawn between Japanese and Europeansuperstition, as each was consequent on the low standards of theclergy of the times. The famous report of Miyoshi Kiyotsura, to whichwe have so often alluded, spoke in no measured terms of the greed andvice of the Buddhist priests. And the character of these hirelingshepherds goes far to explain the gross superstition of the tune. Wehave told (p. 274) the story of the abbot Raigo and how the Court wasforced to purchase from him intercessory prayers for the birth of anheir, --and of the death of the heir in apparent consequence ofRaigo's displeasure. Near the end of the ninth century one Emperormade a gift of 500, 000 yen for prayers that seemed to have saved thelife of a favourite minister. Prayers for rain, for prolonged life, for victory over an enemy, were implicitly believed to be efficient, and priests received large bribes to make these prayers. Or theyreceived other rewards: the privilege of coming to Court in acarriage was granted to one priest for bringing rain after a longdrought and to another for saving the life of a sick prince in 981. As men got along in years they had masses said for the prolongationof their lives, --with an increase in the premium each year for suchlife insurance. Thus, at forty, a man had masses said in fortyshrines, but ten years later at fifty shrines in all. In this matter, as in others, the influence of the Fujiwara wasgreat. They were in a close alliance with the priests, and theycontrolled the Throne through consorts and kept the people in checkthrough priests and superstitions. With the widespread belief in the power of priestly prayer there wasprevalent a fear of spirits and demons. Oda received a promise in adream that he would become Emperor. In the next generation theEmperor Daigo exiled Sugawara Michizane to Kyusml, where the exiledied in two years. Soon afterwards the Emperor fell sick; and this, the disaster of 930 when a thunderstorm killed many nobles in theImperial palace, and the sudden death of Michizane's accusers and ofthe Crown Prince were explained as due to the ill-will of the injuredman's spirit. His titles were restored and everything possible wasdone to placate the ghost (see p. 244). To an earlier period belongsthe similar story of Kwammu and his efforts to placate the spirit ofhis younger brother whom he had exiled and killed. Kwammu, fearingthat death was coming upon him, built a temple to the shade of thisbrother. A cloud over the palace of another Emperor was interpretedas a portentous monster, half monkey and half snake, and one of theMinamoto warriors won fame for his daring in shooting an arrow at thecloud, which then vanished. Equally foolhardy and marvellous was thedeed of Fujiwara Michinaga, who alone of a band of courtiers in thepalace dared one dark night to go unattended and without lights fromone end of the palace to the other. When the new city of Kyoto was built, a Buddhist temple was put nearthe northeast gate to protect the capital from demons, since thenortheast quarter of the sky belonged to the demons; and on a hill aclay statue was erected, eight feet high and armed with bow, arrowsand cuirass, to guard the city. So implicit was the belief in thepower of this colossal charm that it was said that it moved andshouted to warn the city of danger. ENGRAVING: EARTHEN-WARE HOUSE FOR ORNAMENT EDUCATION There was, of course, no organized system of schools in this period, but education was not neglected. A university was established in thenewly built capital, and there were five family schools or academiesfor the youth of the separate uji. A school and hospital, founded byFujiwara Fuyutsugu in 825, received an Imperial endowment. At almostexactly the same time (823) the Bunsho-in was founded by Sugawara. The Sogaku-in was founded in 831 by Arihara Yukihara. In 850 theconsort of the emperor Saga built the Gakkwan-in for the Tachibanafamily; and in 841 the palace of Junna became a school. And there wasone quasi-public school, opened in 828, in the Toji monastery southof the capital, which was not limited to any family and was open tocommoners. ENGRAVING: NETSUKE (Hand-carvings in Ivory) ENGRAVING: ARCHERY IN OLD JAPAN CHAPTER XXIV THE EPOCH OF THE GEN (MINAMOTO) AND THE HEI (TAIRA) SUPREMACY OF THE MILITARY CLASS DESCRIBED superficially, the salient distinction between the epochsof the Fujiwara and the Gen-pei was that during the former theadministrative power lay in the hands of the Court nobles in Kyoto, whereas, during the latter, it lay in the hands of the militarymagnates in the provinces. The processes by which this change wasevolved have already been explained in part and will be furtherelucidated as we advance. Here, however, it is advisable to note thatthis transfer of authority was, in one sense, a substitution ofnative civilization for foreign, and, in another, a reversion to theconditions that had existed at the time of the Yamato conquest. Itwas a substitution of native civilization for foreign, because theexotic culture imported from China and Korea had found its chieffield of growth in the capital and had never extended largely to theprovinces; and it was a reversion to the conditions existing at thetime of the Yamato conquest, because at that time the sword and thesceptre had been one. The Mononobe and the Otomo families constituted the pillars of theState under the early Emperors. Their respective ancestors wereUmashimade no Mikoto and Michi no Omi no Mikoto. The Japanese termmonobe (or mononofu) was expressed by Chinese ideographs having thesound, bushi. Thus, though it is not possible to fix the exact datewhen the expression, bushi, came into general use, it is possible tobe sure that the thing itself existed from time immemorial. When theYamato sovereign undertook his eastward expedition, Umashimade withhis monobe subdued the central districts, and Michi no Omi with hisotomo and Okume-be consolidated these conquests. Thereafter themonobe were organized into the konoe-fu (palace guards) and the otomointo the emon-fu (gate guards). Not military matters alone, but alsocriminal jurisdiction, belonged to the functions of these two. THE BUSHI The earliest type of the Yamato race having thus been military, itbecomes important to inquire what tenets constituted the soldier'scode in old Japan. Our first guide is the celebrated anthology, Manyo-shu, compiled in the ninth century and containing some poemsthat date from the sixth. From this we learn that the Yamatomonono-fu believed himself to have inherited the duty of dying forhis sovereign if occasion required. In that cause he must be preparedat all times to find a grave, whether upon the desolate moor or inthe stormy sea. The dictates of filial piety ranked next in theethical scale. The soldier was required to remember that his body hadbeen given to him by his parents, and that he must never bringdisgrace upon his family name or ever disregard the dictates ofhonour. Loyalty to the Throne, however, took precedence among moralobligations. Parent, wife, and child must all be abandoned at thecall of patriotism. Such, as revealed in the pages of the MyriadLeaves, were the simple ethics of the early Japanese soldier. And itwas largely from the Mononobe and Otomo families that high officialsand responsible administrators were chosen at the outset. When Buddhism arrived in the sixth century, we have seen that itencountered resolute opposition at the hands of Moriya, the o-murajiof the Mononobe family. That was natural. The elevation of an aliendeity to a pedestal above the head of the ancestral Kami seemedspecially shocking to the soldier class. But the tendency of the timewas against conservatism. The Mononobe and the Otomo forfeited theirposition, and the Soga stepped into their place, only to be succeededin turn by the Fujiwara. These last, earnest disciples of Chinesecivilization, looked down on the soldier, and delegated to him alonethe use of brute force and control of the criminal classes, reservingfor themselves the management of civil government and the pursuit ofliterature, and even leaving politics and law in the hands of theschoolmen. In these circumstances the military families of Minamoto (Gen) andTaira (Hei), performing the duties of guards and of police, graduallyacquired influence; were trusted by the Court on all occasionsdemanding an appeal to force, and spared no pains to develop thequalities that distinguished them--the qualities of the bushi. Thus, as we turn the pages of history, we find the ethics of the soldierdeveloping into a recognized code. His sword becomes an object ofprofound veneration from the days of Minamoto Mitsunaka, who summonsa skilled swordsmith to the capital and entrusts to him the task offorging two blades, which, after seven days of fasting and prayer andsixty days of tempering, emerge so trenchant that they are thereafterhanded down from generation to generation of the Minamoto astreasured heirlooms. * *The swords were named "Knee-cutter" and "Beard-cutter, " because whentested for decapitating criminals, they severed not only the necksbut also the beard and the knees. That the bushi's word must be sacred and irrevocable is establishedby the conduct of Minamoto Yorinobu who, having promised to save thelife of a bandit if the latter restore a child taken as a hostage, refuses subsequently to inflict any punishment whatever on therobber. That a bushi must prefer death to surrender is a principleobserved in thousands of cases, and that his family name must becarefully guarded against every shadow of reproach is proved by hishabit of prefacing a duel on the battle-field with a recitation ofthe titles and deeds of his ancestors. To hold to his purpose inspite of evil report; to rise superior to poverty and hardship; notto rest until vengeance is exacted for wrong done to a benefactor ora relation; never to draw his sword except in deadly earnest--theseare all familiar features of the bushi's practice, though the orderand times of their evolution cannot be precisely traced. Even more characteristic is the quality called fudoshin, orimmobility of heart. That this existed in practice from an early eracannot be doubted, but its cultivation by a recognized system oftraining dates from the beginning of the thirteenth century, when theintrospective tenet (kwanshin-ho) of the Zen sect of Buddhism taughtbelievers to divest themselves wholly of passion and emotion and toeducate a mind unmoved by its environment, so that, in the storm andstress of battle, the bushi remains as calm and as self-possessed asin the quietude of the council chamber or the sacred stillness of thecloister. The crown of all his qualities was self-respect. He ratedhimself too high to descend to petty quarrels, or to make theacquisition of rank his purpose, or to have any regard for money. THE MILITARY ART As for tactics, individual prowess was the beginning and the end ofall contests, and strategy consisted mainly of deceptions, surprises, and ambushes. There were, indeed, certain recognized principlesderived from treatises compiled by Sung and 'Ng, * two Chinesegenerals of the third century A. D. These laid down that troops foroffensive operations in the field must be twice as numerous as theenemy; those for investing a fortress should be to the garrison asten to one, and those for escalade as five to one. Outflankingmethods were always to be pursued against an adversary holding highground, and the aim should be to sever the communications of an armyhaving a mountain or a river on its rear. When the enemy selected aposition involving victory or death, he was to be held, not attacked, and when it was possible to surround a foe, one avenue of escapeshould always be left to him, since desperate men fight fiercely. Incrossing a river, much space should separate the van from the rear ofthe crossing army, and an enemy crossing was not to be attacked untilhis forces had become well engaged in the operation. Birds soaring inalarm should suggest an ambush, and beasts breaking cover, anapproaching attack. There was much spying. A soldier who could winthe trust of the enemy, sojourn in his midst, and create dissensionsin his camp, was called a hero. *See Captain Calthrop's The Book of War. Judged by this code of precepts, the old-time soldier of the Easthas been denounced by some critics as representing the lowesttype of military ethics. But such a criticism is romantic. Thesecret-intelligence department of a twentieth-century army employsand creates opportunities just as zealously as did the disciples ofSung and 'Ng. It is not here that the defects in the bushi's ethicsmust be sought. The most prominent of those defects was indifferenceto the rights of the individual. Bushido taught a vassal to sacrificehis own interest and his own life on the altar of loyalty, but it didnot teach a ruler to recognize and respect the rights of the ruled. It taught a wife to efface herself for her husband's sake, but it didnot teach a husband any corresponding obligation towards a wife. In aword, it expounded the relation of the whole to its parts, but leftunexpounded the relation of the parts to one another. A correlated fault was excessive reverence for rank and rigidexclusiveness of class. There was practically no ladder for thecommoner, --the farmer, the artisan, and the merchant--to ascend intothe circle of the samurai. It resulted that, in the thirteenth andfourteenth centuries, gifted men of the despised grades sought in thecloister an arena for the exercise of their talents, and thus, whilethe bushi received no recruits, the commoners lost their betterelements, and Buddhism became a stage for secular ambition. It cannot be doubted that by closing the door of rank in the face of merit, bushido checked the development of the nation. Another defect in thebushido was indifference to intellectual investigation. The schoolmenof Kyoto, who alone received honour for their moral attainments, werenot investigators but imitators, not scientists but classicists. Hadnot Chinese conservatism been imported into Japan and had it notreceived the homage of the bushi, independent development of originalJapanese thought and of intellectual investigation might havedistinguished the Yamato race. By a learned Japanese philosopher (Dr. Inouye Tetsujiro) the ethics of the bushi are charged withinculcating the principles of private morality only and ignoringthose of public morality. MILITARY FAMILES AND THEIR RETAINERS It has been noticed that the disposition of the Central Governmentwas to leave the provincial nobles severely alone, treating theirfeuds and conflicts as wholly private affairs. Thus, these noblesbeing cast upon their own resources for the protection of their livesand properties, retained the services of bushi, arming them well anddrilling them assiduously, to serve as guards in time of peace and assoldiers in war. One result of this demand for military material wasthat the helots of former days were relieved from the badge ofslavery and became hereditary retainers of provincial nobles, nothingof their old bondage remaining except that their lives were at themercy of their masters. FIEFS AND TERRITORIAL NAMES As the provincial families grew in numbers and influence theynaturally extended their estates, so that the landed property of agreat sept sometimes stretched over parts, or even the whole, ofseveral provinces. In these circumstances it became convenient todistinguish branches of a sept by the names of their respectivelocalities and thus, in addition to the sept name (uji or sei), therecame into existence a territorial name (myoji or shi). For example, when the descendants of Minamoto no Yoshiiye acquired greatproperties at Nitta and Ashikaga in the provinces of Kotsuke andShimotsuke, they took the territorial names of Nitta and Ashikaga, remaining always Minamoto; and when the descendants of Yoshimitsu, younger brother of Yoshiiye, acquired estates in the province of Kai, they began to call themselves Takeda. It is unnecessary to pursue the subject further than to note that, while the names of the great septs (uji) were few, the territorialcognomens were very numerous; and that while the use of myoji (orshi) was common in the case of the Fujiwara, the Taira, and theMinamoto septs, the uji alone was employed by the Abe, the Ono, theTakahashi, the Kusakabe, the Ban, the Hata, and certain others. Itwill readily be conceived that although the territorial sections ofthe same sept sometimes quarrelled among themselves, the generalpractice was that all claiming common descent supported each other inwar. The Minamoto (Gen) bushi recognized as the principal family linethat of Tsunemoto from whom were descended the following illustriouschiefs: Minamoto (Gen) no Tsunemoto, commander-in-chief of local Governments | Mitsunaka | +---------+--------+ | | Yorimitsu Yorinobu | Yoriyoshi | Yoshiiye | +----------+------------+-----+-----+-----------+-----------+ | | | | | | Yoshimune Yoshichika Yoshikuni Yoshitada Yoshitoki Yoshitaka | Tameyoshi | +----------+------------+-----------+ | | | | Yoshitomo Yoshikata Tametomo Twenty others | | | Yoshinaka | (of Kiso) | +----------+---------+-----------+------------+ | | | | Yoritomo Noriyori Yoshitsune Six others A similar table for the Taira (Hei) runs thus: Taira (Hei) no Sadamori (quelled the Masakado revolt). | Korehira (of Ise province) | ------- | ------- | Masamori (governed Ise, Inaba, Sanuki, etc. ; | quelled the rebellion of Minamoto +----------+ Yoshichika). | | Tadamasa Tadamori (served the Emperors Shirakawa, | Horikawa, and Toba;* subdued the | pirates of Sanyo-do and Nankai-do) | Kiyomori (crushed the Minamoto and temporarily | established the supremacy of the Taira). | Shigemori In its attitude towards these two families the Court showedshort-sighted shrewdness. It pitted one against the other; If theTaira showed turbulence, the aid of the Minamoto was enlisted; andwhen a Minamoto rebelled, a Taira received a commission to deal withhim. Thus, the Throne purchased peace for a time at the cost ofsowing, between the two great military clans, seeds of discorddestined to shake even the Crown. In the capital the bushi served aspalace guards; in the provinces they were practically independent. Such was the state of affairs on the eve of a fierce struggle knownin history as the tumult of the Hogen and Heiji eras (1150-1160). *It is of this noble that history records an incident illustrative ofthe superstitions of the eleventh century. The cloistered EmperorShirakawa kept Tadamori constantly by his side. One night, Shirakawa, accompanied by Tadamori, went to visit a lady favourite in a detachedpalace near the shrine of Gion. Suddenly the two men saw anapparition of a demon covered with wirelike hair and having aluminous body. The Emperor ordered Tadamori to use his bow. ButTadamori advanced boldly and, seizing the demon, found that it was anold man wearing straw headgear as a protection against the rain, andcarrying a lamp to kindle the light at the shrine. This valiant deedon Tadamori's part elicited universal applause, as indeed it might inan era of such faith in the supernatural. THE HOGEN INSURRECTION It has been related in Chapter XXII that Taiken-mon-in, consort ofthe Emperor Toba, was chosen for the latter by his grandfather, thecloistered Emperor Shirakawa, and that she bore to Toba a son whoultimately ascended the throne as Sutoku. But, rightly or wrongly, Toba learned to suspect that before she became his wife, the lady'srelations with Shirakawa had been over-intimate and that Sutoku wasillegitimate. Therefore, immediately after Shirakawa's demise, Tobatook to himself an Empress, Kaya-no-in, daughter of FujiwaraTadazane; and failing offspring by her, chose another Fujiwara lady, Bifuku-mon-in, daughter of Nagazane. For this, his third consort, heconceived a strong affection, and when she bore to him a prince, Tobaplaced the latter on the throne at the age of three, compellingSutoku to resign. This happened in the year 1141, and there werethenceforth two cloistered Emperors, Toba and Sutoku, standing toeach other in the relation of grandfather and grandson. The babysovereign was called Konoe, and Fujiwara Tadamichi, brother ofBifu-ku-mon-in, became kwampaku. Between this Tadamichi and his younger brother, Yorinaga, who heldthe post of sa-daijin, there existed acute rivalry. The kwampaku hadthe knack of composing a deft couplet and tracing a gracefulideograph. The sa-daijin, a profound scholar and an able economist, ridiculed penmanship and poetry as mere ornament. Their father'ssympathies were wholly with Yorinaga, and he ultimately went so faras to depose Tadamichi from his hereditary position as o-uji of theFujiwara. Thus, the enmity between Tadamichi and Yorinaga needed onlyan opportunity to burst into flame, and that opportunity was soonfurnished. The Emperor Konoe died (1155) at the early age of seventeen, and thecloistered sovereign, Sutoku, sought to secure the throne for his sonShigehito, whom Toba's suspicions had disqualified. ButBifuku-mon-in, believing, or pretending to believe, that thepremature death of her son had been caused by Sutoku's incantations, persuaded the cloistered Emperor, Toba, in that sense, and havingsecured the co-operation of the kwampaku, Tadamichi, she set upon thethrone Toba's fourth son, under the name of Go-Shirakawa (1156-1158), the latter's son, Morihito, being nominated Crown Prince, to thecomplete exclusion of Sutoku's offspring. So long as Toba lived thearrangement remained undisturbed, but on his death in the followingyear (1156), Sutoku, supported by the sa-daijin, Yorinaga, planned toascend the throne again, and there ensued a desperate struggle. Stated thus briefly, the complication suggests merely a quarrel forthe succession, but, regarded more closely, it is seen to deriverancour chiefly from the jealousies of the Fujiwara brothers, Yorinaga and Tadamichi, and importance from the association of theMinamoto and the Taira families. For when Sutoku appealed to armsagainst the Go-Shirakawa faction, he was incited by Fujiwara Yorinagaand his father Tadazane, and supported by Taira Tadamasa as well asby jthe two Minamoto, Tameyoshi and Tametomo; while Go-Shirakawa'scause was espoused by Fujiwara Tadamichi, by Taira no Kiyomori, andby Minamoto Yoshitomo. Among this group of notables the most memorable in a historical senseare Minamoto Tametomo and Taira Kiyomori. Of the latter there willpresently be occasion to speak again. The former was one of thoseborn warriors illustrated by Yamato-dake, Saka-no-ye no Tamura-maro, and Minamoto no Yoshiiye. Eighth son of Minamoto Tameyoshi, he showedhimself so masterful, physically and morally, that his father deemedit wise to provide a distant field for the exercise of his energiesand to that end sent him to Bungo in the island of Kyushu. Tametomowas then only thirteen. In two years he had established his sway overnearly the whole island, and the ceaseless excursions and alarmscaused by his doings having attracted the attention of the Court, orders for his chastisement were issued to the Dazai-fu, inChikuzen--futile orders illustrating only Kyoto's ignorance. Tameyoshi, his father, was then removed from office as a punishmentfor his son's contumacy, and thereupon Tametomo, esteeming filialpiety as one of the bushi's first obligations, hastened to thecapital, taking with him only twenty-five of his principal retainers. His age was then seventeen; his height seven feet; his musculardevelopment enormous, and he could draw a bow eight feet nine inchesin length. His intention was to purchase his father's pardon by hisown surrender, but on reaching Kyoto he found the Hogen tumult justbreaking out, and, of course, he joined his father's party. The relationship of the opposing nobles deserves to be studied, asthis was probably one of the most unnatural struggles on record. CLOISTERED EMPEROR'S SIDE REIGNING EMPEROR'S SIDE Sutoku (the Jo-o) Go-Shirakawa, younger brother of Sutoku. Fujiwara Yorinaga Fujiwara Tadamichi, son of Tadazane and brother of Yorinaga. Fujiwara Tadazane Minamoto Tameyoshi Minamoto Yoshitomo, son of Tameyoshi and brother of Tametomo. Minamoto Tametomo Taira no Tadamasa Taira no Kiyomori, nephew of Tadamasa Sutoku's party occupied the Shirakawa palace. Unfortunately for theex-Emperor the conduct of the struggle was entrusted to FujiwaraYorinaga, and he, in defiance of Tametomo's advice, decided to remainon the defensive; an evil choice, since it entailed the tenure ofwooden buildings highly inflammable. Yoshitomo and Kiyomori took fulladvantage of this strategical error. They forced the Shirakawapalace, and after a desperate struggle, * the defenders took toflight. Thus far, except for the important issues involved and theunnatural division of the forces engaged, this Hogen tumult would nothave differed materially from many previous conflicts. But its sequelacquired terrible notoriety from the cruel conduct of the victors. Sutoku was exiled to Sanuki, and there, during three years, heapplied himself continuously to copying a Buddhist Sutra, using hisown blood for ink. The doctrine of the Zen sect had not yet prevailedin Japan, and to obtain compensation in future happiness for thepains he had suffered in life, it was essential that the exile'slaboriously traced Sutra should be solemnly offered to the Buddha. Hesent it to Kyoto, praying that the necessary step should be taken. But by the orders of his own brother, the Emperor, the request wasrefused, and the manuscript returned. Superstition ultimatelysucceeded where natural affection had failed; for the ex-Emperor, having inscribed maledictions on each of the five volumes of theSutra with blood obtained by biting his tongue, and having hastenedhis demise by self-inflicted privations, --he died (1164) eight yearsafter being sent into exile--the evils of the time were attributed tohis unquiet spirit and a shrine was built to his memory. *One incident of the fight has been admiringly handed down toposterity. The duty of holding the west gate of the Shirakawa palacefell to Tametomo and his handful of followers. The duty of attackingit happened to devolve on his brother, Yoshitomo. To avert such anunnatural conflict, Tametomo, having proclaimed his identity, as wasusual among bushi, drew his bow with such unerring aim that the arrowshore off an ornament from Yoshitomo's helmet without injuring him inany way. Yoshitomo withdrew, and the Taira took up the attack. Not less heartless was the treatment of the vanquished nobles. TheFujiwara alone escaped. Yorinaga had the good fortune to fall on thefield of battle, and his father, Tadazane, was saved by theintercession of his elder son, Tadamichi, of whose dislike he hadlong been a victim. But this was the sole spot of light on the sombrepage. By the Emperor's orders, the Taira chief, Kiyomori, executedhis uncle, Tadamasa; by the Emperor's orders, though not withoutprotest, the Minamoto chief, Yoshitomo, put to death his father, Tameyoshi; by the Emperor's orders all the relatives of Yorinaga weresent into exile; by the Emperor's orders his nephew, PrinceShigehito, was compelled to take the tonsure, and by the Emperor'sorders the sinews of Tametomo's bow-arm were cut and he was banishedto the Izu island. * In justice it has to be noted that Go-Shirakawadid not himself conceive these merciless measures. He was promptedthereto by Fujiwara Michinori, commonly known as Shinzei, whosecounsels were all-powerful at the Court in those days. *The celebrated littérateur, Bakin, adduced many proofs that Tametomoultimately made his way to Ryukyu and that his descendants ruled theisland. The great soldier himself died ultimately by his own hand inthe sequel of an unsuccessful engagement with the forces of thevice-governor of Izu. GO-SHIRAKAWA Go-Shirakawa, the seventy-seventh sovereign, occupied the throneduring two years only (1156-1158), but he made his influence feltfrom the cloister throughout the long period of thirty-four years(1158 to 1192), directing the administration from his "camera palace"(Inchu) during the reigns of five Emperors. Ambition impelled him totread in the footsteps of Go-Sanjo. He re-opened the Office ofRecords (Kiroku-jo), which that great sovereign had established forthe purpose of centralizing the powers of the State, and he sought torecover for the Throne its administrative functions. But hisindependence was purely nominal, for in everything he took counsel ofFujiwara Michinori (Shinzei) and obeyed that statesman's guidance. Michinori's character is not to be implicitly inferred from the cruelcourses suggested by him after the Hogen tumult. He was a man of keenintelligence and profound learning, as learning went in those days:that is to say, he knew the classics by heart, had an intimateacquaintance with Buddhism and astrology, and was able to act asinterpreter of the Chinese language. With his name is associated theorigin of the shirabyoshi, or "white measure-markers"--girls clad inwhite, who, by posture and gesture, beat time to music, and, in afterages, became the celebrated geisha of Japan. To the practice of sucharts and accomplishments Michinori devoted a great part of his life, and when, in 1140, that is to say, sixteen years before the Hogendisturbance, he received the tonsure, all prospect of an officialcareer seemed to be closed to him. But the accession of Go-Shirakawagave him an opportunity. The Emperor trusted him, and he abused thetrust to the further unhappiness of the nation. THE HEIJI TUMULT Go-Shirakawa's son, Morihito, ascended the throne in 1159 and isknown in history as Nijo, the seventy-eighth sovereign of Japan. Fromthe very outset he resented the ex-Emperor's attempt to interfere inthe administration of affairs, and the two Courts fell into a stateof discord, Fujiwara Shinzei inciting the cloistered Emperor toassert himself, and two other Fujiwara nobles, Tsunemune andKorekata, prompting Nijo to resist. These two, observing that anothernoble of their clan, Fujiwara Nobuyori; was on bad terms withShinzei, approached Nobuyori and proposed a union against theircommon enemy. Shinzei had committed one great error; he had alienatedthe Minamoto family. In the Hogen struggle, Yoshitomo, the Minamotochief, an able captain and a brave soldier, had suggested thestrategy which secured victory for Go-Shirakawa's forces. But in thesubsequent distribution of rewards, Yoshitomo's claims received scantconsideration, his merits being underrated by Shinzei. This had been followed by a still more painful slight. To Yoshitomo'sformal proposal of a marriage between his daughter and Shinzei's son, not only had a refusal been given, but also the nuptials of the youthwith the daughter of the Taira chief, Kiyomori, had been subsequentlycelebrated with much eclat. In short, Shinzei chose between the twogreat military clans, and though such discrimination was neitherinconsistent with the previous practice of the Fujiwara norill-judged so far as the relative strength of the Minamoto and theTaira was concerned for the moment, it erred egregiously in failingto recognize that the day had passed when the military clans could bethus employed as Fujiwara tools. Approached by Nobuyori, Yoshitomojoined hands with the plotters, and the Minamoto troops, forcingtheir way into the Sanjo palace, set fire to the edifice and killedShinzei (1159). The Taira chief, Kiyomori, happened to be then absentin Kumano, and Yoshitomo's plan was to attack him on his way back toKyoto before the Taira forces had mustered. But just as FujiwaraYorinaga had wrecked his cause in the Hogen tumult by ignoringMinamoto Tametomo's advice, so in the Heiji disturbance, FujiwaraNobuyori courted defeat by rejecting Minamoto Yoshitomo's strategy. The Taira, thus accorded leisure to assemble their troops, won such asignal victory that during many years the Minamoto disappeared almostcompletely from the political stage, and the Taira held the empire inthe hollow of their hands. Japanese historians regard Fujiwara Shinzei as chiefly responsiblefor these untoward events. Shinzei's record shows him to have beencruel, jealous, and self-seeking, but it has to be admitted that theconditions of the time were calculated to educate men of his type, asis shown by the story of the Hogen insurrection. For when Sutoku'spartisans assembled at the palace of Shirakawa, Minamoto Tametomoaddressed them thus: "I fought twenty battles and two hundred minorengagements to win Kyushu, and I say that when an enemy isoutnumbered, its best plan is a night attack. If we fire theTakamatsu palace on three sides to-night and assault it from thefourth, the foe will surely be broken. I see on the other side onlyone man worthy to be called an enemy. It is my brother Yoshitomo, andwith a single arrow I can lay him low. As for Taira Kiyomori, he willfall if I do but shake the sleeve of my armour. Before dawn we shallbe victors. " Fujiwara Yorinaga's reply to this counsel was: "Tametomo's method offighting is rustic. There are here two Emperors competing for thethrone, and the combat must be conducted in a fair and dignifiedmanner. " To such silliness the Minamoto hero made apt answer. "War, "he said, "is not an affair of official ceremony and decorum. Itsmanagement were better left to the bushi whose business it is. Mybrother Yoshitomo has eyes to see an opportunity. To-night, he willattack us. ". It is true that Tametomo afterwards refrained fromtaking his brother's life, but the above proves that he would nothave exercised any such forbearance had victory been attainable byruthlessness. History does not often repeat itself so exactly as itdid in these Hogen and Heiji struggles. Fujiwara Yorinaga's refusalto follow Tametomo's advice and Fujiwara Nobuyori's rejection ofYoshitomo's counsels were wholly responsible for the disasters thatensued, and were also illustrative of the contempt in which theFujiwara held the military magnates, who, in turn, were well aware ofthe impotence of the Court nobles on the battle-field. The manner of Yoshitomo's death, too, reveals something of the ethicsof the bushi in the twelfth century. Accompanied by Kamada Masaie anda few others, the Minamoto chief escaped from the fight and tookrefuge in the house of his concubine, Enju, at Awobaka in Owari. There they were surrounded and attacked by the Taira partisans. Theend seemed inevitable. Respite was obtained, however, by one of thoseheroic acts of self-sacrifice that stand so numerously to the creditof the Japanese samurai. Minamoto Shigenari, proclaiming himself tobe Yoshitomo, fought with desperate valour, killing ten of the enemy. Finally, hacking his own face so that it became unrecognizable, hecommitted suicide. Meanwhile, Yoshitomo had ridden away to the houseof Osada Tadamune, father of his comrade Masaie's wife. There hefound a hospitable reception. But when he would have pushed on atonce to the east, where the Minamoto had many partisans, Tadamune, pointing out that it was New Year's eve, persuaded him to remainuntil the 3d of the first month. Whether this was done of fell purpose or out of hospitality is not onrecord, but it is certain that Tadamune and his son, Kagemune, soondetermined to kill Yoshitomo, thus avoiding a charge of complicityand earning favour at Court. Their plan was to conceal three men in abathroom, whither Yoshitomo should be led after he had been pliedwith sake at a banquet. The scheme succeeded in part, but asYoshitomo's squire, Konno, a noted swordsman, accompanied his chiefto the bath, the assassins dared not attack. Presently, however, Konno went to seek a bath-robe, and thereupon the three men leapedout. Yoshitomo hurled one assailant from the room, but was stabbed todeath by the other two, who, in their turn, were slaughtered by thesquire. Meanwhile, Masaie was sitting, unsuspicious, at thewine-party in a distant chamber. Hearing the tumult he sprang to hisfeet, but was immediately cut down by Tadamune and Kagemune. At thisjuncture Masaie's wife ran in, and crying, "I am not faithless andevil like my father and my brother; my death shall show mysincerity, " seized her husband's sword and committed suicide, atwhich sight the dying man smiled contentedly. As for Konno, after afutile attempt to lay hands on Tadamune and Kagemune, he cut his waythrough their retainers and rode off safely. The heads of Yoshitomoand Masaie were carried to Kyoto by Tadamune and Kagemune, but theymade so much of their exploit and clamoured for such high reward thatKiyomori threatened to punish them for the murder of a closeconnexion--Kiyomori, be it observed, on whose hands the blood of hisuncle was still wet. Yoshitomo had many sons* but only four of them escaped from the Heijitumult. The eldest of these was Yoritomo, then only fourteen. Afterkilling two men who attempted to intercept his flight, he fell intothe hands of Taira Munekiyo, who, pitying his youth, inducedKiyomori's step-mother to intercede for his life, and he was finallybanished to Izu, whence, a few years later, he emerged to thedestruction of the Taira. A still younger son, Yoshitsune, wasdestined to prove the most renowned warrior Japan ever produced. Hismother, Tokiwa, one of Yoshitomo's mistresses, a woman of rarebeauty, fled from the Minamoto mansion during a snow-storm after theHeiji disaster, and, with her three children, succeeded in reaching avillage in Yamato, where she might have lain concealed had not hermother fallen into the hands of Kiyomori's agents. Tokiwa was thenrequired to choose between giving herself up and suffering her motherto be executed. Her beauty saved the situation. Kiyomori had nosooner seen her face than he offered to have mercy if she entered hishousehold and if she consented to have her three sons educated forthe priesthood. Thus, Yoshitsune survived, and in after ages peoplewere wont to say of Kiyomori's passion and its result that hisblissful dream of one night had brought ruin on his house. *One of these sons, Tomonaga, fell by his father's hand. AccompanyingYoshitomo's retreat, he had been severely wounded, and he asked hisfather to kill him rather than leave him at Awobake to fall into thehands of the Taira. Yoshitomo consented, though the lad was onlyfifteen years of age. THE TAIRA AND THE FUJIWARA In human affairs many events ascribed by onlookers to design arereally the outcome of accident or unforseen opportunity. Historians, tracing the career of Taira no Kiyomori, ascribe to him singularastuteness in creating occasions and marked promptness in utilizingthem. But Kiyomori was not a man of original or brilliantconceptions. He had not even the imperturbability essential tomilitary leadership. The most prominent features of his characterwere unbridled ambition, intolerance of opposition, and unscrupulouspursuit of visible ends. He did not initiate anything but was contentto follow in the footsteps of the Fujiwara. It has been recorded thatin 1158--after the Hogen tumult, but before that of Heiji--he marriedhis daughter to a son of Fujiwara Shinzoi. In that transaction, however, Shinzei's will dominated. Two years later, the Minamoto'spower having been shattered, Kiyomori gave another of his daughtersto be the mistress of the kwampaku, Fujiwara Motozane. There was nooffspring of this union, and when, in 1166, Motozane died, he left afive-year-old son, Motomichi, born of his wife, a Fujiwara lady. Thisboy was too young to succeed to the office of regent, and thereforehad no title to any of the property accruing to the holder of thatpost, who had always been recognized as de jure head of the Fujiwarafamily. Nevertheless, Kiyomori, having contrived that the childshould be entrusted to his daughter's care, asserted its claims sostrenuously that many of the Fujiwara manors and all the heirloomswere handed over to it, the result being a visible weakening of thegreat family's influence. * *See Murdoch's History of Japan. RESULTS OF THE HOGEN AND HEIJI INSURRECTIONS The most signal result of the Hogen and Heiji insurrections was totransfer the administrative power from the Court nobles to themilitary chiefs. In no country were class distinctions morescrupulously observed than in Japan. All officials of the fifth rankand upwards must belong to the families of the Court nobility, and nooffice carrying with it rank higher than the sixth might be occupiedby a military man. In all the history of the empire down to thetwelfth century there had been only one departure from this rule, andthat was in the case of the illustrious General Saka-no-ye noTamura-maro, who had been raised to the third rank and made dainagon. The social positions of the two groups were even more rigidlydifferentiated; those of the fifth rank and upwards being termedtenjo-bito, or men having the privilege of entree to the palace andto the Imperial presence; while the lower group (from the sixthdownwards) had no such privilege and were consequently termedchige-bito, or groundlings. The three highest offices (spoken of assan-ko) could not be held by any save members of the Fujiwara or Kugafamilies; and for offices carrying fifth rank upwards (designatedtaifu) the range of eligible families extended to only four others, the Ariwara, the Ki, the Oye, and the Kiyowara. All this was changedafter the Heiji commotion. The Fujiwara had used the military leadersfor their own ends; Kiyomori supplemented his military strength withFujiwara methods. He caused himself to be appointed sangi (councillorof State) and to be raised to the first grade of the third rank, andhe procured for his friends and relations posts as provincialgovernors, so that they were able to organize throughout the empiremilitary forces devoted to the Taira cause. These steps were mere preludes to his ambitious programme. He marriedhis wife's elder sister to the ex-Emperor, Go-Shirakawa, and thefruit of this union was a prince who subsequently ascended the throneas Takakura. The Emperor Nijo had died in 1166, after five years ofeffort, only partially successful, to restrain his father, Go-Shirakawa's, interference in the administration. Nijo wassucceeded by his son, Rokujo, a baby of two years; and, a few monthslater, Takakura, then in his seventh year, was proclaimed PrinceImperial. Rokujo (the seventy-ninth sovereign) was not given time tolearn the meaning of the title "Emperor. " In three years he wasdeposed by Go-Shirakawa with Kiyomori's co-operation, and Takakura(eightieth sovereign) ascended the throne in 1169, occupying it until1180. Thus, Kiyomori found himself uncle of an Emperor only ten yearsof age. Whatever may have been the Taira leader's defects, failure tomake the most of an opportunity was not among them. The influence heexercised in the palace through his sister-in-law was far moreexacting and imperious than that exercised by Go-Shirakawa himself, and the latter, while bitterly resenting this state of affairs, foundhimself powerless to correct it. Finally, to evince his discontent, he entered the priesthood, a demonstration which afforded Kiyomorimore pleasure than pain. On the nomination of Takakura to be CrownPrince the Taira leader was appointed--appointed himself would be amore accurate form of speech--to the office of nai-daijin, and withina very brief period he ascended to the chancellorship, overleapingthe two intervening posts of u-daijin and sa-daijin. This was in thefiftieth year of his life. At fifty-one, he fell seriously ill andtook the tonsure by way of soliciting heaven's aid. People spoke ofhim as Dajo Nyudo, or the "lay-priest chancellor. " Recovering, hedeveloped a mood of increased arrogance. His residence at Rokuharawas a magnificent pile of building, as architecture then went, standing in a park of great extent and beauty. There he administeredState affairs with all the pomp and circumstance of an Imperialcourt. He introduced his daughter, Toku, into the Household and verysoon she was made Empress, under the name of Kenrei-mon-in. Thus completely were the Fujiwara beaten at their own game and thetraditions of centuries set at naught. A majority of the highestposts were filled by Kiyomori's kinsmen. Fifteen of his family wereof, or above, the third rank, and thirty were tenjo-bito. "Akitsushima (Japan) was divided into sixty-six provinces. Of thesethirty were governed by Taira partisans. Their manors were to befound in five hundred places, and their fields were innumerable. Their mansions were full of splendid garments and rich robes likeflowers, and the spaces before their portals were so thronged withox-carriages and horses that markets were often held there. Not to bea Taira was not to be a man. "* *Gen-pei Seisuiki (Records of the Vicissitudes of the Minamoto andthe Taira). It is necessary to note, too, with regard to these manors, that manyof them were tax-free lands (koderi) granted in perpetuity. Suchgrants, as has been already shown, were not infrequent. But they hadbeen made, for the most part, to civilian officials, by whose serfsthey were farmed, the proceeds being forwarded to Kyoto for thesupport of their owners; whereas the koden bestowed on Taira officerswere, in effect, military fiefs. It is true that similar fiefsexisted in the north and in the south, but their number was sogreatly increased in the days of Taira ascendancy as almost toconstitute a new departure. Kiyomori was, in truth, one of the mostdespotic rulers that ever held sway in Japan. He organized a band ofthree hundred youths whose business was to go about Kyoto and listento the citizens' talk. If anyone was reported by these spies ashaving spoken ill of the Taira, he was seized and punished. One dayKiyomori's grandson, Sukemori, met the regent, Fujiwara Motofusa, andfailing to alight from his carriage, as etiquette required, wascompelled by the regent's retinue to do so. On learning of thisincident, Kiyomori ordered three hundred men to lie in wait for theregent, drag him from his car and cut off his cue. PLOTS AGAINST THE TAIRA: KIYOMORI'S LAST YEARS All these arbitrary acts provoked indignation among every class ofthe people. A conspiracy known in history as the "Shishi-ga-taniplot, " from the name of the place where the conspirators met toconsult, was organized in 1177, having for object a general uprisingagainst the Taira. At the Court of the cloistered Emperor the post ofgon-dainagon was filled by Fujiwara Narichika, who harbouredresentment against Kiyomori's two sons, Shigemori and Munemori, inasmuch as they held positions for which he had striven in vain, the Left and Right generals of the guards. There was also a bonze, Saiko, who enjoyed the full confidence of Go-Shirakawa. In those daysany cause was legitimized if its advocates could show an Imperialedict or point to the presence of the sovereign in their midst. Thus, in the Heiji insurrection, the Minamoto received their severestblow when Fujiwara Korekata contrived that, under cover of darkness, the Emperor, disguised as a maid-of-honour in the householdof the Empress, should be transported in her Majesty's suite, from the Kurodo palace to the Taira mansion at Rokuhara. TheMinamoto were thus transformed into rebels, and the Taira becamethe representatives of Imperial authority. Therefore, in theShishi-ga-tani plot the part assigned to the priest Saiko was toinduce Go-Shirakawa to take active interest in the conspiracy and toissue a mandate to the Minamoto bushi throughout the country. No suchmandate was issued, nor does it appear that the ex-Emperor attendedany of the meetings in Shishi-ga-tani, but there can be no doubtthat he had full cognizance of, and sympathized with, what was inprogress. The conspiracy never matured. It was betrayed by Minamoto Yukitsuna. Saiko and his two sons were beheaded; Narichika was exiled andsubsequently put to death, and all the rest were banished. The greatquestion was, how to deal with Go-Shirakawa. Kiyomori was for leadingtroops to arrest his Majesty, and to escort him as a prisoner to theToba palace or the Taira mansion. None of the despot's kinsmen oradherents ventured to gainsay this purpose until Kiyomori's eldestson, Shigemori, appeared upon the scene. Shigemori had contributedmuch to the signal success of the Taira. Dowered with all thestrategical skill and political sagacity which his father lacked, hehad won victories for the family arms, and again and again hadrestrained the rash exercise of Kiyomori's impetuous arrogance. TheTaira chief had learned to stand in awe of his son's reproaches, andwhen Shigemori declared that he would not survive any violence doneto Go-Shirakawa, Kiyomori left the council chamber, bidding Shigemorito manage the matter as he thought fit. * Thus, Go-Shirakawa escapedall the consequences of his association with the conspirators. ButKiyomori took care that a copy of the bonze Saiko's confession, extracted under torture and fully incriminating his Majesty, shouldcome into the Imperial hands. *It is recorded that, on this occasion, Kiyomori, learning of hisson's approach, attempted unsuccessfully to conceal under priestlyrobes the armour he had donned to go to the arrest of Go-Shirakawa. A final rupture between the ex-Emperor and the Taira leader becamedaily imminent. Two events contributed to precipitate it. One wasthat in the year following the Shishi-ga-tani conspiracy, Kiyomori'sdaughter, Toku, bore to Takakura a prince--the future Emperor Antoku(eighty-first sovereign). The Taira chief thus found himselfgrandfather of an heir to the throne, a fact which did not tend toabate his arrogance. The second was the death of Shigemori, whichtook place in 1179. Shigemori's record shows him to have been at once a statesman and ageneral. He never hesitated to check his father's extravagances, andit has to be recorded in Kiyomori's favour that, however, intolerantof advice or opposition he habitually showed himself, his eldestson's remonstrances were seldom ignored. Yet, though many untowardissues were thus averted, there was no sign that growingresponsibility brought to Kiyomori any access of circumspection. Fromfirst to last he remained the same short-sighted, passion-driven, impetuous despot and finally the evil possibilities of the situationweighed so heavily on Shigemori's nerves that he publicly repaired toa temple to pray for release from life. As though in answer to hisprayer he was attacked by a disease which carried him off at the ageof forty-two. There is a tradition that he installed forty-eightimages of Buddha in his mansion, and for their services employed manybeautiful women, so that sensual excesses contributed to thesemi-hysterical condition into which he eventually fell. That is notimpossible, but certainly a sense of impotence to save his father andhis family from the calamities he clearly saw approaching was theproximate cause of his breakdown. ENGRAVING: KIYOMIZU-DEKA TEMPLE, AT KYOTO Results soon became apparent. The ex-Emperor, who had truly estimatedShigemori's value as a pillar of Taira power, judged that anopportunity for revolt had now arrived, and the Taira chief, deprivedof his son's restraining influence, became less competent than everto manage the great machine which fortune had entrusted to hisdirection. The first challenge came from the ex-Emperor's side. Ithas been related above that one of Kiyomori's politic acts after theHeiji insurrection was to give his daughter to the regent; that, onthe latter's death, his child, Motomichi, by a Fujiwara, wasentrusted to the care of the Taira lady; that a large part of theFujiwara estates were diverted from the regent and settled uponMotomichi, and that the latter was taken into a Taira mansion. Theregent who suffered by this arbitrary procedure was FujiwaraMotofusa, the same noble whom, a few years later, Kiyomori caused tobe dragged from his car and docked of his queue because Motofusa hadinsisted on due observance of etiquette by Kiyomori's grandson. Naturally, Motofusa was ready to join hands with Go-Shirakawa in anyanti-Taira procedure. Therefore, in 1179, on the death of Kiyomori's daughter, to whosecare Motomichi had been entrusted in his childhood, the ex-Emperor, at the instance of Motofusa, appropriated all her manors and those ofMotomichi. Moreover, on the death of Shigemori shortly afterwards, the same course was pursued with his landed property, and further, Motomichi, though lawful head of the Fujiwara family, son-in-law ofKiyomori, and of full age, had been refused the post of chunagon, theclaim of a twelve year-old son of Motofusa being preferred. * Thesignificance of these doings was unmistakable. Kiyomori saw that thegauntlet had been thrown in his face. Hastening from his villa ofFukuhara, in Settsu, at the head of a large force of troops, heplaced the ex-Emperor in strict confinement in the Toba palace, segregating him completely from the official world and depriving himof all administrative functions; he banished the kwampaku, Motofusa, and the chancellor, Fujiwara Moronaga; he degraded and deprived oftheir posts thirty-nine high officials who had formed the entourageof Go-Shirakawa; he raised Motomichi to the office of kwampaku, andhe conferred on his son, Munemori, the function of guarding Kyoto, strong bodies of soldiers being posted in the two Taira mansions ofRokuhara on the north and south of the capital. *See Murdoch's History of Japan. THE YORIMASA CONSPIRACY In 1180, at the instance of Kiyomori and partly, no doubt, because ofthe difficult position in which he found himself placed with regardto his imprisoned father, the Emperor Takakura, then in his twentiethyear, resigned the throne in favour of Kiyomori's grandson, Antoku(eighty-first sovereign), a child of three. This was the culminationof the Taira's fortunes. There was at that time among the Kyotoofficials a Minamoto named Yorimasa, sixth in descent from MinamotoMitsunaka, who flourished in the tenth century and by whose order theheirloom swords, Hige-kiri and Hiza-kiri, were forged. This Yorimasawas an expert bowman, a skilled soldier, and an adept versifier, accomplishments not infrequently combined in one person during theHeian epoch. Go-Shirakawa, appreciating Yorimasa's abilities, nominated him director of the Imperial Estates Bureau (Kurando) andafterwards made him governor of Hyogo. But it was not until he had reached the age of seventy-five that, onKiyomori's recommendation, he received promotion, in 1178, to thesecond grade of the third rank (ju-sammi), thus for the first timeobtaining the privilege of access to the Imperial presence. Theexplanation of this tardy recognition is, perhaps, to be sought inYorimasa's preference of prudence to loyalty. In the year of Heiji, he held his little band of bushi in the leash until the issue of thebattle could be clearly forseen, and then he threw in his lot withthe Taira. Such shallow fealty seldom wins its way to high place. Mendid not forget Yorimasa's record. His belated admission to the ranksof the tenjo-bito provoked some derision and he was commonly spokenof as Gen-sammi (the Minamoto third rank). But even for one constitutionally so cautious, the pretensions of theTaira became intolerable. Yorimasa determined to strike a blow forthe Minamoto cause, and looking round for a figure-head, he fixedupon Prince Mochihito, elder brother of Takakura. This prince, beingthe son of a concubine, had never reached Imperial rank, though hewas thirty years of age, but he possessed some capacity, and a notedphysiognomist had recognized in him a future Emperor. In 1170, atYorimasa's instance, Prince Mochihito secretly sent to all theMinamoto families throughout the empire, especially to Yoritomo athis place of exile in Izu, a document impeaching the conduct of theTaira and exhorting the Minamoto to muster and attack them. Yorimasa's story shows that he would not have embarked upon thisenterprise had he not seen solid hope of success. But one of the aidshe counted on proved unsound. That aid was the Buddhist priesthood. Kiyomori had offended the great monasteries by bestowing specialfavour on the insignificant shrine of Itsukushima-Myojin. Arevelation received in a dream having persuaded him that his fortuneswere intimately connected with this shrine, he not only rebuilt it ona scale of much magnificence, but also persuaded Go-Shirakawa tomake three solemn progresses thither. This partiality reached itsacme at the time of Takakura's abdication (1180), for instead ofcomplying with the custom hitherto observed on such occasions--thecustom of worshipping at one or more shrines of the threegreat monasteries--Enryaku (Hiei-zan), Kofuku (Nara), or Onjo(Miidera)--Takakura, prompted by Kiyomori, proceeded to Itsukushima. * *See Murdoch's History of Japan. A monster demonstration on the part of the offended monasteries wastemporarily quieted, but deep umbrage rankled in the bosoms of thepriests, and Yorimasa counted on their co-operation with hisinsurrection. He forgot, however, that no bond could be trusted tohold them permanently together in the face of their habitual rivalry, and it was here that his scheme ultimately broke down. At an earlystage, some vague news of the plot reached Kiyomori's ears and hehastened from his Fukuhara villa to Kyoto. But it soon became evidentthat his information was incomplete. He knew, indeed, that PrinceMochihito was involved, but he suspected Go-Shirakawa also, and heentertained no conception of Yorimasa's complicity. Thus, whileremoving Go-Shirakawa to Rokuhara and despatching a force to seizeMochihito, he entrusted the direction of the latter measure toYorimasa's son, Kanetsuna, who, it need scarcely be said, failed toapprehend the prince or to elicit any information from his followers. Presently Kiyomori learned that the prince had escaped to Onjo-ji(Miidera). Thereupon secret negotiations were opened between Rokuharaand Enryaku-ji (Hiei-zan), not that the Taira chief suspected thelatter, but because he appreciated that if Hiei-zan joined Miidera, the situation would become formidable. Meanwhile, his trust inYorimasa remaining still unshaken, he sent him to attack Onjo-ji, which mission the old Minamoto warrior fulfilled by entering themonastery and joining forces with the prince. Yorimasa took this stepin the belief that immediate aid would be furnished from Hiei-zan. But before his appeal reached the latter, Kiyomori's overtures hadbeen accepted. Nothing now remained for Yorimasa and Mochihito exceptto make a desperate rush on Kyoto or to ride away south to Nara, where temporary refuge offered. The latter course was chosen, inspite of Yorimasa's advice. On the banks of the Uji River in a densefog they were overtaken by the Taira force, the latter numberingtwenty thousand, the fugitives three or four hundred. The Minamotomade a gallant and skilful resistance, and finally Yorimasa rode offwith a handful of followers, hoping to carry Mochihito to a place ofsafety. Before they passed out of range an arrow struck the oldwarrior. Struggling back to Byodo-in, where the fight was still inprogress, he seated himself on his iron war-fan and, having calmlycomposed his death-song, committed suicide. CHANGE OF CAPITAL AND DEATH OF KIYOMORI These things happened in May, 1180, and in the following monthKiyomori carried out a design entertained by him for some time. Hetransferred the capital from Kyoto to Fukuhara, in Settsu, where themodern town of Kobe stands. Originally the Taira mansions were at thetwo Fukuhara, one on the north of Kyoto, the other on the south, thecity being dominated from these positions. But Kiyomori seems to havethought that as the centres of Taira strength lay in the south andwest of the empire, the province of Settsu would be a more convenientcitadel than Kyoto. Hence he built at Fukuhara a spacious villa andtook various steps to improve the harbour--then called Muko--as wellas to provide maritime facilities, among which may be mentioned theopening of the strait, Ondo no Seto. But Fukuhara is fifty miles fromKyoto, and to reach the latter quickly from the former in anemergency was a serious task in the twelfth century. Moreover, Kyotowas devastated in 1177 by a conflagration which reduced one-third ofthe city to ashes, and in April of 1180 by a tornado of mostdestructive force, so that superstitious folk, who abounded in thatage, began to speak ominously of the city's doom. What weighed most with the Taira leader, however, was the propinquityof the three great monasteries; Hiei-zan on the north, Miidera on theeast, and Nara on the south. In fact, the city lay at the mercy ofthe soldier-priests. At any moment they might combine, descend uponthe capital, and burn it before adequate succour could be marshalled. That such a peril should have been dreaded from such a source seemsstrange; but the Buddhist priests had shown a very dangerous tempermore than once, and from Kiyomori's point of view the possibility oftheir rising to restore the fortunes of the Fujiwara was neverremote. Kiyomori carried with him to Fukuhara the boy-Emperor (Antoku), theex-Emperor (Takakura), the cloistered Emperor (Go-Shirakawa), thekwampaku (Motomichi), and all the high Court officials with rareexceptions. The work of construction at Fukuhara not being yetcomplete, Go-Shirakawa had to be lodged in a building thirty feetsquare, to which men gave the name of the "jail palace. " Kyoto, ofcourse, was thrown into a state of consternation. Remonstrances, petitions, and complaints poured into the Fukuhara mansion. Meanwhilethe Minamoto rose. In August of 1180, their white flag was hoisted, and though it looked very insignificant on the wide horizon of Tairapower, Kiyomori did not underrate its meaning. At the close of theyear, he decided to abandon the Fukuhara scheme and carry the Courtback to Kyoto. On the eve of his return he found an opportunity ofdealing a heavy blow to the monasteries of Miidera and Nara. For, ithaving been discovered that they were in collusion with the newlyrisen Minamoto, Kiyomori sent his sons, Tomomori and Shigehira, atthe head of a force which sacked and burned Onjo-ji, Todai-ji, andKofuku-ji. Thereafter a terrible time ensued for Kyoto, for the homeprovinces (Kinai), and for the west of the empire. During the greaterpart of three years, from 1180 to 1182 inclusive, the peoplesuffered, first from famine and afterwards from pestilence. Pitifulaccounts are given by contemporary writers. Men were reduced to thedirest straits. Hundreds perished of starvation in the streets ofKyoto, and as, in many cases, the corpses lay unburied, pestilence ofcourse ensued. It is stated that in Kyoto alone during two monthsthere were forty-two thousand deaths. The eastern and westernregions, however, enjoyed comparative immunity. By the priests andthe political enemies of the Taira these cruel calamities wereattributed to the evil deeds of Kiyomori and his fellow clansmen, sothat the once omnipotent family gradually became an object of popularexecration. Kiyomori, however, did not live to witness the ruin ofhis house. He expired at the age of sixty in March, 1181, just threemonths after the restoration of Kyoto to metropolitan rank. SinceAugust of the preceding year, the Minamoto had shown signs oftroublesome activity, but as yet it seemed hardly possible that theirpuny onsets should shake, still less pull down, the imposing edificeof power raised by the Taira during twenty years of unprecedentedsuccess. Nevertheless, Kiyomori, impatient of all reverses, bitterlyupbraided his sons and his officers for incompetence, and when, afterseven days' sickness, he saw the end approaching, his last commissionwas that neither tomb nor temple should be raised to his memory untilYoritomo's head had been placed on his grave. ENGRAVING: ARTIST'S SEAL ENGRAVING: SWORD-GUARDS (Tsuba) HAND-CARVED IN BRONZE CHAPTER XXV THE EPOCH OF THE GEN AND THE HEI (Continued) OPENING OF THE CONFLICT WHEN, after the great struggle of 1160, Yoritomo, the eldest ofYoshitomo's surviving sons, fell into the hands of Taira Munekiyo andwas carried by the latter to Kyoto, for execution, as all supposed, and as would have been in strict accord with the canons of the time, the lad, then in his fourteenth year, won the sympathy of Munekiyo byhis nobly calm demeanour in the presence of death, and still more byanswering, when asked whether he did not wish to live, "Yes, since Ialone remain to pray for the memories of my father and my elderbrothers. " Munekiyo then determined to save the boy if possible, andhe succeeded through the co-operation of Kiyomori's step-mother, whomhe persuaded that her own son, lost in his infancy, would have grownup to resemble closely Yoritomo. It was much to the credit of Kiyomori's heart but little to that ofhis head that he listened to such a plea, and historians have furthercensured his want of sagacity in choosing Izu for Yoritomo's place ofexile, seeing that the eastern regions were infested by Minamotokinsmen and partisans. But Kiyomori did not act blindly. He placedYoritomo in the keeping of two trusted wardens whose manors werepractically conterminous in the valley of the Kano stream on theimmediate west of Hakone Pass. These wardens were a Fujiwara, ItoSukechika, and a Taira, who, taking the name Hojo from the localityof his manor, called himself Hojo Tokimasa. The dispositions of thesetwo men did not agree with the suggestions of their lineage. Sukechika might have been expected to sympathize with his ward inconsideration of the sufferings of the Fujiwara at Kiyomori's hands. Tokimasa, as a Taira, should have been wholly antipathetic. Yet hadTokimasa shared Sukechika's mood, the Minamoto's sun would never haverisen over the Kwanto. The explanation is that Tokimasa belonged to a large group ofprovincial Taira who were at once discontented because their claimsto promotion had been ignored, and deeply resentful of indignitiesand ridicule to which their rustic manners and customs had exposedthem at the hands of their upstart kinsmen in Kyoto. Moreover, it isnot extravagant to suppose, in view of the extraordinary abilitiessubsequently shown by Tokimasa, that he presaged the instability ofthe Taira edifice long before any ominous symptoms became outwardlyvisible. At any rate, while remaining Yoritomo's ostensible warden, he became his confidant and abettor. This did not happen immediately, however. Yoritomo was placedoriginally under Sukechika's care, and during the latter's absence inKyoto a liaison was established between his daughter and the Minamotocaptive, with the result that a son was born. Sukechika, on hisreturn, caused the child to be thrown into a cataract, married itsmother to Ema Kotaro, and swore to have the life of his ward. ButYoritomo, warned of what was pending, effected his escape toTokimasa's manor. It is recorded that on the way thither he prayed atthe shrine of Hachiman, the tutelary deity of his family: "Grant meto become sei-i-shogun and to guard the Imperial Court. Or, if I maynot achieve so much, grant me to become governor of Izu, so that Imay be revenged on Sukechika. Or, if that may not be, grant medeath. " With Tokimasa he found security. But here again, though now aman over thirty, he established relations with Masa, his warden'seldest daughter. In all Yoritomo's career there is not one instanceof a sacrifice of expediency or ambition on the altar of sentiment oraffection. He was a cold, calculating man. No cruelty shocked him nordid he shrink from any severity dictated by policy. It is in the lastdegree improbable that he risked his political hopes for the sake ofa trivial amour. At any rate the event suggests crafty deliberationrather than a passing passion. For though Tokimasa simulatedignorance of the liaison and publicly proceeded with his previousengagement to wed Masa to Taira Kanetaka, lieutenant-governor of Izu, he privately connived at her flight and subsequent concealment. This incident is said to have determined Yoritomo. He disclosed allhis ambitions to Hojo Tokimasa, and found in him an able coadjutor. Yoritomo now began to open secret communications with several of themilitary families in Izu and the neighbouring provinces. In makingthese selections and approaches, the Minamoto exile was guided andassisted by Tokimasa. Confidences were not by any means confined tomen of Minamoto lineage. The kith and kin of the Fujiwara, and evenof the Taira themselves, were drawn into the conspiracy, and althoughthe struggle finally resolved itself into a duel ŕ l'outrance betweenthe Taira and the Minamoto, it had no such exclusive character at theoutset. In May, or June, 1180, the mandate of Prince Mochihito reachedYoritomo, carried by his uncle, Minamoto Yukiiye, whose figurethenceforth appears frequently upon the scene. Yoritomo showed themandate to Tokimasa, and the two men were taking measures to obeywhen they received intelligence of the deaths of Mochihito andYorimasa and of the fatal battle on the banks of the Uji. Yoritomo would probably have deferred conclusive action in suchcircumstances had there not reached him from Miyoshi Yasunobu inKyoto a warning that the Taira were planning to exterminate theremnant of the Minamoto and that Yoritomo's name stood first on theblack-list. Moreover, the advisability of taking the field at oncewas strongly and incessantly urged by a priest, Mongaku, who, after abrief acquaintance, had impressed Yoritomo favourably. This bonze hadbeen the leading figure in an extraordinary romance of real life. Originally Endo Morito, an officer of the guards in Kyoto, he fell inlove with his cousin, Kesa, * the wife of a comrade called MinamotoWataru. His addresses being resolutely rejected, he swore that ifKesa remained obdurate, he would kill her mother. From this dilemmathe brave woman determined that self-sacrifice offered the onlyeffective exit. She promised to marry Morito after he had killed herhusband, Wataru; to which end she engaged to ply Wataru with wineuntil he fell asleep. She would then wet his head, so that Morito, entering by an unfastened door and feeling for the damp hair, mightconsummate his purpose surely. Morito readily agreed, but Kesa, having dressed her own hair in male fashion and wet her head, laydown in her husband's place. *Generally spoken of as "Kesa Gozen, " but the latter word signifies"lady. " When Morito found that he had killed the object of his passionateaffection, he hastened to confess his crime and invited Wataru toslay him. But Wataru, sympathizing with his remorse, proposed thatthey should both enter religion and pray for the rest of Kesa'sspirit. It is related that one of the acts of penance performed byMongaku--the monastic name taken by Morito--was to stand fortwenty-one days under a waterfall in the depth of winter. Subsequently he devoted himself to collecting funds forreconstructing the temple of Takao, but his zeal having betrayed himinto a breach of etiquette at the palace of Go-Shirakawa, he wasbanished to Izu, where he obtained access to Yoritomo and counselledhim to put his fortune to the test. * *Tradition says that among the means employed by Mongaku to moveYoritomo was the exhibition of Yoshitomo's bones. THE FIRST STAGE OF THE STRUGGLE The campaign was opened by Hojo Tokimasa on the 8th of September, 1180. He attacked the residence of the lieutenant-governor of Izu, Taira Kanetaka, burned the mansion, and killed Kanetaka, whoseabortive nuptials with the lady Masa had been celebrated a few monthspreviously. Yoritomo himself at the head of a force of three hundredmen, crossed the Hakone Pass three days later en route for Sagami, and encamped at Ishibashi-yama. This first essay of the Minamotoshowed no military caution whatever. It was a march into space. Yoritomo left in his rear Ito Sukechika, who had slain his infant sonand sworn his own destruction, and he had in his front a Taira forceof three thousand under Oba Kagechika. It is true that many Tairamagnates of the Kwanto were pledged to draw the sword in the Minamotocause. They had found the selfish tyranny of Kiyomori not at all totheir taste or their profit. It is also true that the Oba brothershad fought staunchly on the side of Yoritomo's father, Yoshitomo, inthe Heiji war. Yoritomo may possibly have entertained some hope thatthe Oba army would not prove a serious menace. Whatever the explanation may be, the little Minamoto band wereattacked in front and rear simultaneously during a stormy night. Theysuffered a crushing defeat. It seemed as though the white flag* wasto be lowered permanently, ere it had been fully shaken out to thewind. The remnants of the Minamoto sought shelter in a cryptomeriagrove, where Yoritomo proved himself a powerful bowman. But when hehad tune to take stock of his followers, he found them reduced to sixmen. These, at the suggestion of Doi Sanehira, he ordered to scatterand seek safety in flight, while he himself with Sanehira hid in ahollow tree. Their hiding-place was discovered by Kajiwara Kagetoki, a member of the Oba family, whose sympathies were with the Minamoto. He placed himself before the tree and signalled that the fugitiveshad taken another direction. Presently, Oba Kagechika, riding up, thrust his bow into the hollow tree, and as two pigeons flew out, heconcluded that there was no human being within. *The Taira flew a red ensign; the Minamoto, a white. ENGRAVING: MINAMOTO YORITOMO From the time of this hairbreadth escape, Yoritomo's fortunes roserapidly. After some days of concealment among the Hakone mountains, he reached the shore of Yedo Bay, and crossing from Izu to Awa, wasjoined by Tokimasa and others. Manifestoes were then despatched inall directions, and sympathizers began to flock in. Entering Kazusa, the Minamoto leader secured the cooperation of Taira Hirotsune andChiba Tsunetane, while Tokimasa went to canvass in Kai. In short, eight provinces of the Kwanto responded like an echo to Yoritomo'scall, and, by the time he had made his circuit of Yedo Bay, sometwenty-five thousand men were marshalled under his standard. Kamakura, on the seacoast a few miles south of the present Yokohama, was chosen for headquarters, and one of the first steps taken was toestablish there, on the hill of Tsurugaoka, a grand shrine toHachiman, the god of War and tutelary deity of the Minamoto. Meanwhile, Tokimasa had secured the allegiance of the Takeda familyof Kai, and was about to send a strong force to join Yoritomo's army. But by this time the Taira were in motion. Kiyomori had despatched abody of fifty thousand men under Koremori, and Yoritomo had decidedto meet this army on the banks of the Fuji river. It becamenecessary, therefore, to remove all potential foes from the Minamotorear, and accordingly Hojo Tokimasa received orders to overrun Surugaand then to direct his movements with a view to concentration on theFuji. Thither Yoritomo marched from Kamakura, and by the beginning ofNovember, 1180, fifty thousand Taira troops were encamped on thesouth bank of the river and twenty-seven thousand Minamoto on thenorth. A decisive battle must be fought in the space of a few days. In fact, the 13th of November had been indicated as the probabledate. But the battle was never fought. The officer in command of theTaira van, Fujiwara no Tadakiyo, laboured under the disadvantage ofbeing a coward, and the Taira generals, Koremori and Tadamori, grandson and youngest brother, respectively, of Kiyomori, seem tohave been thrown into a state of nervous prostration by theunexpected magnitude of the Minamoto's uprising. They were debating, and had nearly recognized the propriety of falling back withoutchallenging a combat or venturing their heads further into thetiger's mouth, when something--a flight of water-birds, areconnaissance in force, a rumour, or what not--produced a panic, andbefore a blow had been struck, the Taira army was in full retreat forKyoto. YOSHITSUNE In the Minamoto camp there was some talk of pursuing the fugitiveTaira, and possibly the most rapid results would thus have beenattained. But it was ultimately decided that the allegiance of thewhole Kwanto must be definitely secured before denuding it of troopsfor the purpose of a western campaign. This attitude of cautionpointed specially to the provinces of Hitachi and Shimotsuke, wherethe powerful Minamoto families of Satake and Nitta, respectively, looked coldly upon the cause of their kinsman, Yoritomo. Thereforethe army was withdrawn to a more convenient position on the KisoRiver, and steps, ultimately successful, were taken to win over theNitta and the Satake. It was at this time that there arrived in Yoritomo's camp a youth oftwenty-one with about a score of followers. Of medium stature and offrame more remarkable for grace than for thews, he attractedattention chiefly by his piercing eyes and by the dignifiedintelligence of his countenance. This was Yoshitsune, the youngestson of Yoshitomo. His life, as already stated, had been saved in theHeiji disturbance, first, by the intrepidity of his mother, Tokiwa, and, afterwards, by the impression her dazzling beauty produced uponthe Taira leader. Placed in the monastery of Kurama, as stipulated byKiyomori, Yoshitsune had no sooner learned to think than he becameinspired with an absorbing desire to restore the fortunes of hisfamily. Tradition has surrounded the early days of this, the futureBayard of Japan, with many romantic legends, among which it isdifficult to distinguish the true from the false. What is certain, however, is that at the age of fifteen he managed to effect hisescape to the north of Japan. The agent of his flight was aniron-merchant who habitually visited the monastery on matters ofbusiness, and whose dealings took him occasionally to Mutsu. At the time of Yoshitsune's novitiate in the Kurama temple, thepolitical power in Japan may be said to have been divided between theTaira, the provincial Minamoto, the Buddhist priests, and theFujiwara, and of the last the only branch that had suffered noeclipse during the storms of Hogen and Heiji had been the Fujiwara ofMutsu. It has been shown in the story of the Three Years' War, andspecially in the paragraph entitled "The Fujiwara of the North, " thatthe troops of Fujiwara Kiyohira and Minamoto Yoshiiye had fought sideby side, and that, after the war, Kiyohira succeeded to the sixdistricts of Mutsu, which constituted the largest estate in the handsof any one Japanese noble. That estate was in the possession ofHidehira, grandson of Kiyohira, at the time when the Minamoto familysuffered its heavy reverses. Yoshitsune expected, therefore, that atleast an asylum would be assured, could he find his way to Mutsu. Hewas not mistaken. Hidehira received him with all hospitality, and asMutsu was practically beyond the control of Kyoto, the Minamotofugitive could lead there the life of a bushi, and openly studyeverything pertaining to military art. He made such excellent use ofthese opportunities that, by the time the Minamoto standard wasraised anew in Izu, Yoshitsune had earned the reputation of being thebest swordsman in the whole of northern Japan. This was the stripling who rode into Yoritomo's camp on a Novemberday in the year 1180. The brothers had never previously seen eachother's faces, and their meeting in such circumstances was a dramaticevent. Among Yoshitsune's score of followers there were several whosubsequently earned undying fame, but one deserves special mentionhere. Benkei, the giant halberdier, had turned his back upon thepriesthood, and, becoming a free lance, conceived the ambition offorcibly collecting a thousand swords from their wearers. He wieldedthe halberd with extraordinary skill, and such a huge weapon in thehand of a man with seven feet of stalwart stature constituted amenace before which a solitary wayfarer did not hesitate to surrenderhis sword. One evening, Benkei observed an armed acolyte approachingthe Gojo bridge in Kyoto. The acolyte was Yoshitsune, and the time, the eve of his departure for Mutsu. Benkei made light of disarming alad of tender years and seemingly slender strength. But already inhis acolyte days Yoshitsune had studied swordsmanship, and hesupplemented his knowledge by activity almost supernatural. The giantBenkei soon found himself praying for life and swearing allegiance tohis boy conqueror, an oath which he kept so faithfully as to becomethe type of soldierly fidelity for all subsequent generations of hiscountrymen. KISO YOSHINAKA Looking at the map of central Japan, it is seen that the sevenprovinces of Suruga, Izu, Awa, Kai, Sagami, Musashi, and Kazusa aregrouped approximately in the shape of a Japanese fan (uchiwa), havingIzu for the handle. Along the Pacific coast, eastward of this fan, lie the provinces of Shimosa and Hitachi, where the Nitta and theSatake, respectively, gave employment for some time to the diplomaticand military resources of the Minamoto. Running inland from thecircumference of the fan are Shinano and Kotsuke, in which twoprovinces, also, a powerful Minamoto resurrection synchronized with, but was independent of, the Yoritomo movement. The hero of the Shinano-Kotsuke drama was Minamoto no Yoshinaka, commonly called Kiso Yoshinaka, because his youth was passed amongthe mountains where the Kiso River has its source. In the year 1155, Yoshitomo's eldest son, Yoshihira, * was sent to Musashi to fightagainst his uncle, Yoshikata. The latter fell, and his son, Yoshinaka, a baby of two, was handed to Saito Sanemori to beexecuted; but the latter sent the child to Shinano, where it wasbrought up by Nakahara Kaneto, the husband of its nurse. Yoshinakaattained an immense stature as well as signal skill in archery andhorsemanship. Like Yoritomo and Yoshitsune, he brooded much on theevil fortunes of the Minamoto, and paid frequent visits to Kyoto toobserve the course of events. In the year 1180, the mandate of PrinceMochihito reached him, and learning that Yoritomo had taken thefield, he gathered a force in Shinano. Between the two leaders therecould be no final forgetfulness of the fact that Yoritomo's brotherhad killed Yoshinaka's father, and had ordered the slaying ofYoshinaka himself. But this evil memory did not obtrude itself at theoutset. They worked independently. Yoshinaka gained a signal victoryover the Taira forces marshalled against him by the governor ofShinano, and pushing thence eastward into Kotsuke, obtained theallegiance of the Ashikaga of Shimotsuke and of the Takeda of Kai. Thus, the year 1180 closed upon a disastrous state of affairs for theTaira, no less than ten provinces in the east having fallenpractically under Minamoto sway. *This Yoshihira was a giant in stature. He shares with Tametomo thefame of having exhibited the greatest prowess in the Hogen and Heijistruggles. It was he who offered to attack Kyoto from Kumano ameasure which, in all probability, would have reversed the result ofthe Heiji war. CONTINUATION OF THE CAMPAIGN Kiyomori expired in March, 1181, as already related. His last behest, that the head of Yoritomo should be laid on his grave, nerved hissuccessors to fresh efforts. But the stars in their courses seemed tobe fighting against the Taira. Kiyomori's son, Munemori, upon whomdevolved the direction of the great clan's affairs, was whollyincompetent for such a trust. One gleam of sunshine, however, illumined the fortunes of the Heike. Two months after Kiyomori'sdeath, a Taira army under Shigehira attacked Yukiiye, Yoritomo'suncle, who had pushed westward as far as Owari. This Yukiiye nevershowed any qualities of generalship. He was repeatedly defeated, theonly redeeming feature of his campaigns being that he himself alwaysescaped destruction. On this occasion he was driven out of Owari andforced to retire within the confines of the Kwanto. But now the home provinces and the west fell into the horrors offamine and pestilence, as described above; and in such circumstancesto place armies in the field and to maintain them there becameimpossible. The Taira had to desist from all warlike enterprisesuntil the summer of 1182, when a great effort was made to crush therapidly growing power of the Minamoto. Commissions of provincialgovernor were sent to Jo no Nagashige, a puissant Taira magnate ofEchigo; to Taira no Chikafusa, of Etchu, and to Fujiwara Hidehira, ofMutsu, who were all ordered to attack Yoritomo and Yoshinaka. Hidehira made no response, but Nagashige set in motion againstYoshinaka a strong force, swelled by a contingent from Kyoto underMichimori. The results were signal defeat for the Taira and thecarrying of the white flag by Yoshinaka into Echigo, Etchu, Noto, andKaga. DISSENSIONS AMONG THE MINAMOTO Meanwhile discord had declared itself between Yoritomo and Yoshinaka. It has been shown that the records of the two families afforded nobasis of mutual confidence, and it has also been shown that theTakeda clan of Kai province were among the earliest adherents of theMinamoto cause. In view of Yoshinaka's brilliant successes, TakedaNobumitsu proposed a marriage between his daughter and Yoshinaka'sson, Yoshitaka. This union was declined by Yoshinaka, whereuponNobumitsu suggested to Yoritomo that Yoshinaka's real purpose was toally his house with the Taira by marriage. Whether Nobumitsu believedthis, or whether his idea had its origin in pique, history does notindicate. But there can be no hesitation in concluding that a rupturebetween the two Minamoto chiefs was presaged by Yoritomo's entourage, who judged that two Richmonds could not remain permanently in thefield. Things gradually shaped themselves in accordance with that forecast. The malcontents in Yoritomo's camp or his discomfited opponents beganto transfer their allegiance to Yoshinaka; a tendency whichculminated when Yoritomo's uncle, Yukiiye, taking umbrage because aprovincial governorship was not given to him, rode off at the head ofa thousand cavalry to join Yoshinaka. The reception given byYoshinaka to these deserters was in itself sufficient to suggestdoubts of his motives. Early in the year 1183, Yoritomo sent a forceinto Shinano with orders to exterminate Yoshinaka. But the latterdeclined the combat. Quoting a popular saying that the worst enemiesof the Minamoto were their own dissensions, he directed his troops towithdraw into Echigo, leaving to Yoritomo a free hand in Shinano. When this was reported to Yoritomo, he recalled his troops fromShinano, and asked Yoshinaka to send a hostage. Yoshinaka replied bysending his son Yoshitaka, the same youth to whom Takeda Nobumitsuhad proposed to marry his daughter. He was now wedded to Yoritomo'sdaughter, and the two Minamoto chiefs seemed to have been effectuallyreconciled. ADVANCE OF YOSHINAKA ON KYOTO Yoshinaka's desire to avoid conflict with Yoritomo had been partlydue to the fact that the Taira leaders were known to be just thenstraining every nerve to beat back the westward-rolling tide ofMinamoto conquest. They had massed all their available forces inEchizen, and at that supreme moment Yoritomo's active hostility wouldhave completely marred Yoshinaka's great opportunity. In May, 1183, this decisive phase of the contest was opened; Koremori, Tamemori, and Tomonori being in supreme command of the Taira troops, which aresaid to have mustered one hundred thousand strong. At first, thingsfared badly with the Minamoto. They lost an important fortress atHiuchi-yama, and Yukiiye was driven from Kaga into Noto. But when themain army of the Minamoto came into action, the complexion of affairschanged at once. In a great battle fought at Tonami-yama in Echizen, Yoshinaka won a signal victory by the manoeuvre of launching at theTaira a herd of oxen having torches fastened to their horns. Thousands of the Taira perished, including many leaders. Other victories at Kurikara and Shinowara opened the road to Kyoto. Yoshinaka pushed on and, in August, reached Hiei-zan; while Yukiiye, the pressure on whose front in Noto had been relieved, moved towardsYamato; Minamoto no Yukitsuna occupied Settsu and Kawachi, andAshikaga Yoshikiyo advanced to Tamba. Thus, the capital lay at themercy of Yoshinaka's armies. The latter stages of the Minamoto marchhad been unopposed. Munemori, after a vain attempt to secure thealliance of the Hiei-zan monks, had recalled his generals and decidedto retire westward, abandoning Kyoto. He would have taken with himthe cloistered Emperor, but Go-Shirakawa secretly made his way toHiei-zan and placed himself under the protection of Yoshinaka, rejoicing at the opportunity to shake off the Taira yoke. RETREAT OF THE TAIRA On August 14, 1183, the evacuation of Kyoto took place. Munemori, refusing to listen to the counsels of the more resolute among hisofficers, applied the torch to the Taira mansions at northern andsouthern Rokuhara, and, taking with him the Emperor Antoku, then inhis sixth year, his Majesty's younger brother, and their mother, together with the regalia--the mirror, the sword, and thegem--retired westward, followed by the whole remnant of his clan. Arrived at Fukuhara, they devoted a night to praying, making sacredmusic, and reading Sutras at Kiyomori's tomb, whereafter they setfire to all the Taira palaces, mansions, and official buildings, andembarked for the Dazai-fu in Chikuzen. They reckoned on theallegiance of the whole of Kyushu and of at least one-half ofShikoku. EIGHTY-SECOND SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR GO-TOBA (A. D. 1184-1198) The Taira leaders having carried off the Emperor Antoku, there was noactually reigning sovereign in Kyoto, whither the cloistered Emperornow returned, an imposing guard of honour being furnished byYoshinaka. Go-Shirakawa therefore resumed the administration of Stateaffairs, Yoshinaka being given the privilege of access to thePresence and entrusted with the duty of guarding the capital. Thedistribution of rewards occupied attention in the first place. Out ofthe five hundred manors of the Taira, one hundred and fifty weregiven to Yoshinaka and Yukiiye, and over two hundred prominent Tairaofficials were stripped of their posts and their Court ranks. Yoritomo received more gracious treatment than Yoshinaka, althoughthe Kamakura chief could not yet venture to absent himself from theKwanto for the purpose of paying his respects at Court. For the rest, in spite of Yoshinaka's brilliant success, he was granted only thefifth official rank and the governorship of the province of Iyo. These things could not fail to engender some discontent, andpresently a much graver cause for dissatisfaction presented itself. Fujiwara Kanezane, minister of the Right, memorialized the Court inthe sense that, as Antoku had left the capital, another occupant tothe throne should be appointed, in spite of the absence of theregalia. He pointed out that a precedent for dispensing with thesetokens of Imperialism had been furnished in the case of the EmperorKeitai (507-531). No valid reason existed for such a precipitatestep. Antoku had not abdicated. His will had not been consulted atall by the Taira when they carried him off; nor would the will of achild of six have possessed any validity in such a matter. It isplain that the proposal made by the minister of the Right had formotive the convenience of the Minamoto, whose cause lacked legitimacyso long as the sovereign and the regalia were in the camp of theTaira. But the minister's advice had a disastrous sequel. Yoshinaka wasresolutely bent on securing the succession for the son of PrinceMochihito, who had been killed in the Yorimasa emeute. It waspractically to Mochihito that the Court owed its rescue from theTaira tyranny, and his son--now a youth of seventeen, known as PrinceHokuriku, because he had founded an asylum at a monastery inHokuriku-do after his father's death--had been conducted to Kyoto byYoshinaka, under a promise to secure the succession for him. ButGo-Shirakawa would not pay any attention to these representations. Heheld that Prince Hokuriku was ineligible, since his father had beenborn out of wedlock, and since the prince himself had taken thetonsure; the truth being that the ex-Emperor had determined to obtainthe crown for one of his own grandsons, younger brothers of Antoku. It is said that his Majesty's manner of choosing between the two ladswas most capricious. He had them brought into his presence, whereuponthe elder began to cry, the younger to laugh, and Go-Shirakawa atonce selected the latter, who thenceforth became the Emperor Go-Toba. FALL OF YOSHINAKA Yoshinaka's fortunes began to ebb from the time of his failure toobtain the nomination of Prince Hokuriku. A force despatched toBitchu with the object of arresting the abduction of Antoku andrecovering possession of the regalia, had the misfortune to beconfronted by Taira no Noritsune, one of the stoutest warriors on theside of the Heike. Ashikaga Yoshikiyo, who commanded the pursuers, was killed, and his men were driven back pele-mele. This eventimpaired the prestige of Yoshinaka's troops, while he himself and hisofficers found that their rustic ways and illiterate educationexposed them constantly to the thinly veiled sneers of the dilettantiand pundits who gave the tone to metropolitan society. The soldiersresented these insults with increasing roughness and recourse toviolence, so that the coming of Yoritomo began to be much desired. Go-Shirakawa sent two messages at a brief interval to invite theKamakura chief's presence in the capital. Yoritomo replied with amemorial which won for him golden opinions, but he showed no sign ofvisiting Kyoto. His absorbing purpose was to consolidate his base inthe east, and he had already begun to appreciate that the militaryand the Imperial capitals should be distinct. Naturally, when the fact of these pressing invitations to Yoritomoreached Yoshinaka's ears, he felt some resentment, and this wasreflected in the demeanour of his soldiers, outrages against thelives and properties of the citizens becoming more and more frequent. Even the private domains of the cloistered Emperor himself, to saynothing of the manors of the courtiers, were freely entered andplundered, so that public indignation reached a high pitch. Theumbrage thus engendered was accentuated by treachery. Driven fromKyushu, the Taira chiefs had obtained a footing in Shikoku and hadbuilt fortifications at Yashima in Sanuki, which became thenceforththeir headquarters. They had also collected on the opposite coast ofthe Inland Sea a following which seemed likely to grow in dimensions, and, with the idea of checking that result, it was proposed to sendtroops to the Sanyo-do under Minamoto Yukiiye, who had been namedgovernor of Bizen. Taught, however, by experience that disaster waslikely to be the outcome of Yukiiye's generalship, Yoshinakainterfered to prevent his appointment, and Yukiiye, resenting thisslight, became thenceforth a secret foe of Yoshinaka. In analyzing the factors that go to the making of this complicatedchapter of Japanese history, a place must be given to Yukiiye. Heseems to have been an unscrupulous schemer. Serving originally underYoritomo, who quickly took his measure, he concluded that nothingsubstantial was to be gained in that quarter. Therefore, he passedover to Yoshinaka, who welcomed him, not as an enemy of Yoritomo, butas a Minamoto. Thenceforth Yukiiye's aim was to cause a collisionbetween the two cousins and to raise his own house on the ruins ofboth. He contributed materially to the former result, but as to thelatter, the sixth year of his appearance upon the stage as PrinceMochihito's mandate-bearer saw his own head pilloried in Kyoto. Yoshinaka, however, had too frank a disposition to be suspicious. Hebelieved until the end that Yukiiye's heart was in the Minamotocause. Then, when it became necessary to choose, between takingstupendous risks in the west or making a timely withdrawal to theeast, he took Yukiiye into his confidence. That was the traitor'sopportunity. He secretly informed the ex-Emperor that Yoshinaka hadplanned a retreat to the east, carrying his Majesty with him, andthis information, at a time when the excesses committed byYoshinaka's troops had provoked much indignation, inducedGo-Shirakawa to obtain from Hiei-zan and Miidera armed monks to forma palace-guard under the command of the kebiishi, Taira Tomoyasu, adeclared enemy of Yoshinaka. At once Yoshinaka took a decisive step. He despatched a force to the palace; seized the persons ofGo-Shirakawa and Go-Toba; removed Motomichi from the regency, appointing Moroie, a boy of twelve, in his place, and dismissed anumber of Court officials. In this strait, Go-Shirakawa, whose record is one long series ofundignified manoeuvres to keep his own head above water, appliedhimself to placate Yoshinaka while privately relying on Yoritomo. HisMajesty granted to the former the control of all the domainspreviously held by the Taira; appointed him to the high office ofsei-i tai-shogun (barbarian-subduing generalissimo), and commissionedhim to attack Yoritomo while, at the same time, the latter wassecretly encouraged to destroy his cousin. At that moment (February, 1184), Yoritomo's two younger brothers, Yoshitsune and Noriyori, wereen route for Kyoto, where they had been ordered to convey the Kwantotaxes. They had a force of five hundred men only, but these werequickly transformed into the van of an army of fifty or sixtythousand, which Yoritomo, with extraordinary expedition, sent fromKamakura to attack Yoshinaka. The "Morning Sun shogun" (Asahi-shogun), as Yoshinaka was commonlycalled with reference to his brilliant career, now at last sawhimself confronted by the peril which had long disturbed histhoughts. At a distance of three hundred miles from his own base, with powerful foes on either flank and in a city whose population washostile to him, his situation seemed almost desperate. He took a stepdictated by dire necessity--made overtures to the Taira, asking thata daughter of the house of Kiyomori be given him for wife. Munemorirefused. The fortunes of the Taira at that moment appeared to beagain in the ascendant. They were once more supreme in Kyushu; thewest of the main island from coast to coast was in their hands; theyhad re-established themselves in Fukuhara, and at any moment theymight move against Kyoto. They could afford, therefore, to await theissue of the conflict pending between the Minamoto cousins, sure thatit must end in disaster for one side and temporary weakness for theother. In fact, the situation was almost hopeless for Yoshinaka. There hadnot been time to recall the main body of his troops which wereconfronting the Taira. All that he could do was to arrest momentarilythe tide of onset by planting handfuls of men to guard the chiefavenues at Uji and Seta where, four years previously, Yorimasa haddied for the Minamoto cause, and Seta, where a long bridge spans thewaters of Lake Biwa as they narrow to form the Setagawa. To the Ujibridge, Nenoi Yukichika was sent with three hundred men; to the Setabridge, Imai Kanehira with five hundred. The names of these men andof their brothers, Higuchi Kanemitsu and Tate Chikatada, are immortalin Japanese history. They were the four sons of Nakahara Kaneto, bywhom Yoshinaka had been reared, and their constant attendance on hisperson, their splendid devotion to him, and their military prowesscaused people to speak of them as Yoshinaka's Shi-tenno--the fourguardian deities of Buddhist temples. Their sister, Tomoe, is evenmore famous. Strong and brave as she was beautiful, she became theconsort of Yoshinaka, with whom she had been brought up, and sheaccompanied him in all his campaigns, fighting by his side andleading a body of troops in all his battles. She was with him when hemade his final retreat and she killed a gigantic warrior, UchidaIeyoshi, who attempted to seize her on that occasion. Yoshinakacompelled her to leave him at the supreme moment, being unwillingthat she should fall into the enemy's hands; and after his death shebecame a nun, devoting the rest of her days to prayers for hisspirit. But it is not to be supposed that Yoshinaka repaid this nobledevotion with equal sincerity. On the contrary, the closing scene ofhis career was disfigured by passion for another woman, daughter ofthe kwampaku, Fujiwara Motofusa. Attracted by rumours of her beautyafter his arrival in Kyoto, he compelled her to enter his household, and when news came that the armies of Yoshitsune and Noriyori wereapproaching the capital, this great captain, for such he certainlywas, instead of marshalling his forces and making dispositions fordefence, went to bid farewell to the beautiful girl who resided inhis Gojo mansion. Hours of invaluable time passed, and still Asahishogun remained by the lady's side. Finally, two of his faithfulcomrades, Echigo Chuta and Tsuwata Saburo, seated themselves in frontof the mansion and committed suicide to recall their leader to hissenses. Yoshinaka emerged, but it was too late. He could not mustermore than three hundred men, and in a short time Yoshitsune rode intothe city at the head of a large body of cavalry. Yoshitsune had approached by way of Uji. He was not at all deterredby the fact that the enemy had destroyed the bridge. His mountedbowmen dashed into the river* and crossed it with little loss. A fewhours brought them to Kyoto, where they made small account of thefeeble resistance that Yoshinaka was able to offer. Wounded and withlittle more than half a score of followers, Yoshinaka rode off, andreaching the plain Of Awazu, met Imai Kanehira with the remnant ofhis five hundred men who had gallantly resisted Noriyori's army ofthirty thousand. Imai counselled instant flight eastward. In Shinano, Yoshinaka would find safety and a dominion, while to cover hisretreat, Imai would sacrifice his own life. Such noble deeds were thenormal duty of every true bushi. Yoshinaka galloped away, but, ridinginto a marsh, disabled his horse and was shot down. Meanwhile Imai, in whose quiver there remained only eight arrows, had killed as manyof the pursuing horsemen, and then placing the point of his sword inhis mouth, had thrown himself headlong from his horse. One incident, shocking but not inconsistent with the canons of the time, remains tobe included in this chapter of Japanese history. It has been relatedthat Yoshinaka's son, Yoshitaka, was sent by his father to Kamakuraas a hostage, and was married to Yoritomo's daughter. After theevents above related Yoshitaka was put to death at Kamakura, apparently without Yoritomo's orders, and his widow, when pressed byher brother to marry again, committed suicide. *Japanese tradition loves to tell of a contest between SasakiTakatsuna and Kajiwara Kagesue as to which should cross the riverfirst. Kagesue was the son of that Kajiwara who had saved. Yoritomo'slife in the episode of the hollow tree. BATTLE OF ICHI-NO-TANI The victory of the armies led by Noriyori and Yoshitsune broughtKamakura and Fukuhara into direct conflict, and it was speedilydecided that these armies should at once move westward to attack theTaira. A notable feature of the military operations of that era wascelerity. Less than a month sufficed to mobilize an army of fiftythousand men and to march it from Kamakura to Kyoto, a distance ofthree hundred miles, and within ten days of the death of Yoshinakathis same army, augmented to seventy-six thousand, began to movewestward from Kyoto (March 19, 1184). The explanation of thisrapidity is furnished, in part, by simplicity of commisariat, and bythe fact that neither artillery nor heavy munitions of war had to betransported. Every man carried with him a supply of cooked rice, specially prepared so as to occupy little space while sufficing forseveral days' food, and this supply was constantly replenished byrequisitions levied upon the districts traversed. Moreover, every mancarried his own implements of war--bow and arrows, sword, spear, orhalberd--and the footgear consisted of straw sandals which never hurtthe feet, and in which a man could easily march twenty miles a daycontinuously. These remarks apply to all the fighting men of whatever part ofJapan, but as to the Kwanto bushi, their special characteristics arethus described by a writer of the twelfth century: "Their ponderousbows require three men or five to bend them. Their quivers, whichmatch these bows, hold fourteen or fifteen bundles of arrows. Theyare very quick in releasing their shafts, and each arrow kills orwounds two or three foemen, the impact being powerful enough topierce two or three thicknesses of armour at a time, and they neverfail to hit the mark. Every daimyo (owner of a great estate) has atleast twenty or thirty of such mounted archers, and even the owner ofa small barren estate has two or three. Their horses are veryexcellent, for they are carefully selected, while as yet in pasture, and then trained after their own peculiar fashion. With five or tensuch excellent mounts each, they go out hunting deer or foxes andgallop up and down mountains and forests. Trained in these wildmethods, they are all splendid horsemen who know how to ride butnever how to fall. It is the habit of the Kwanto bushi that if in thefield of battle a father be killed, the son will not retreat, or if ason be slain the father will not yield, but stepping over the dead, they will fight to the death. "* *Murdoch's History of Japan. The Taira, as noted above, had by this time largely recovered fromthe disasters suffered in their first encounters with Yoshinaka'sforces. In the western provinces of the main island, in Shikoku, andin Kyushu, scions of the clan had served as governors in formertimes, so that ties of close intimacy had been established with theinhabitants. Since the first flight to Kyushu in August, 1183, theirgenerals, Shigehira, Michimori, Noritsune, and others had defeatedthe forces of Yoshinaka at Mizushima and those of Yukiiye atMuroyama, so that no less than fourteen provinces of the Sanyo-do andthe Nankai-do owned Taira sway, and by the beginning of 1184 they hadre-occupied the Fukuhara district, establishing themselves at aposition of great natural strength called Ichi-no-tani in theprovince of Harima. Their lines extended several miles, over whichspace one hundred thousand men were distributed. They lay within asemi-circle of mountains supposed to be inaccessible from the north;their camp was washed on the south by the sea where a thousandwar-vessels were assembled; the east flank rested on a forest, andthe west was strongly fortified. On March 21, 1184, the Kamakura armies delivered their assault onthis position; Noriyori with fifty-six thousand men against the eastflank at Ikuta; Yoshitsune's lieutenants with twenty thousand menagainst the west at Suma. Little progress was made. Defence andattack were equally obstinate, and the advantage of position as wellas of numbers was with the former. But Yoshitsune himself hadforeseen this and had determined that the best, if not the only, hopeof victory lay in delivering an assault by descending the northernrampart of mountains at Hiyodori Pass. Access from that side beingcounted impracticable, no dispositions had been made by the Taira toguard the defile. Yoshitsune selected for the venture seventy-fivemen, among them being Benkei, Hatakeyama Shigetada, and others of hismost trusted comrades. They succeeded in riding down the steepdeclivity, and they rushed at the Taira position, setting fire toeverything inflammable. What ensued is soon told. Taken completely by surprise, the Tairaweakened, and the Minamoto, pouring in at either flank, completed therout which had already commenced. Munemori was among the first of thefugitives. He embarked with the Emperor Antoku and the regalia, andsteered for Yashima, whither he was quickly followed by the remnantsof his force. Shigehira, Kiyomori's fifth son, was taken prisoner. Michimori, Tadanori, and Atsumori were killed. Several illustrativeincidents marked this great fight. Michimori's wife threw herselfinto the sea when she heard of her husband's death. Tomoakira, theseventeen-year-old son of Tomomori, deliberately sacrificed himselfto save his father, and the latter, describing the incidentsubsequently to his brother, Munemori, said with tears: "A son diedto save his father; a father fled, leaving his son to die. Were itdone by another man, I should spit in his face. But I have done itmyself. What will the world call me?" This same Tomomori afterwardsproved himself the greatest general on the Taira side. OkabeTadazumi, a Minamoto captain, took the head of Tadanori but could notidentify it. In the lining of the helmet, however, was found a rollof poems and among them one signed "Tadanori:" Twilight upon my path, And for mine inn to-night The shadow of a tree, And for mine host, a flower. This little gem of thought has gleamed on Tadanori's memory throughall the centuries and has brought vicarious fame even to his slayer, Tadazumi. Still more profoundly is Japanese sympathy moved by theepisode of Taira no Atsumori and Kumagaye Naozane. Atsumori, astripling of fifteen, was seized by Naozane, a stalwart warrior onthe Minamoto side. When Naozane tore off the boy's helmet, preparatory to beheading him, and saw a young face vividly recallinghis own son who had perished early in the fight, he was moved withcompassion and would fain have stayed his hand. To have done so, however, would merely have been to reserve Atsumori for a cruellerdeath. He explained his scruples and his sorrows to the boy, whosubmitted to his fate with calm courage. But Naozane vowed never towield weapon again. He sent Atsumori's head and a flute found on hisperson to the youth's father, Tsunemori, and he himself entered thepriesthood, devoting the remaining years of his life to prayers forthe soul of the ill-fated lad. Such incidents do not find a usualplace in the pages of history, but they contribute to theinterpretation of a nation's character. BATTLE OF YASHIMA The battle of Ichi-no-tani was not by any means conclusive. It drovethe Taira out of Harima and the four provinces on the immediate westof the latter, but it did not disturb them in Shikoku or Kyushu, nordid it in any way cripple the great fleet which gave them a signaladvantage. In these newly won provinces Yoritomo placed militarygovernors and nominated to these posts Doi Sanehira and KajiwaraKagetoki, heroes, respectively, of the cryptomeria forest and thehollow tree. But this contributed little to the solution of the vitalproblem, how to get at the Taira in Shikoku and in Kyushu. Noriyorireturned to Kamakura to consult Yoritomo, but the latter and hismilitary advisers could not plan anything except the obvious courseof marching an army from Harima westward to the Strait ofShimonoseki, and thereafter collecting boats to carry it across toKyushu. That, however, was plainly defective strategy. It left theflank of the westward-marching troops constantly exposed to attackfrom the coast where the Taira fleet had full command of the sea; itinvited enterprises against the rear of the troops from the enemy'sposition at Yashima in Shikoku, and it assumed the possibility ofcrossing the Strait of Shimonoseki in the presence of a greatlysuperior naval force. Yet no other plan of operations suggested itself to the Kamakurastrategists. Yoshitsune was not consulted. He remained in Kyotoinstead of repairing to Kamakura, and he thereby roused the suspicionof Yoritomo, who began to see in him a second Yoshinaka. Hence, inpresenting a list of names for reward in connexion with the campaignagainst the "Morning Sun shogun, " Yoritomo made no mention ofYoshitsune, and the brilliant soldier would have remained entirelywithout recognition had not the cloistered Emperor speciallyappointed him to the post of kebiishi. Thus, when the largelyaugmented Minamoto force began to move westward from Harima inOctober, 1184, under the command of Noriyori, no part was assigned toYoshitsune. He remained unemployed in Kyoto. Noriyori pushed westward steadily, but not without difficulty. Hehalted for a time in the province of Suwo, and finally, in March, 1185, five months after moving out of Harima, he contrived totransfer the main part of his force across Shimonoseki Strait and tomarshall them in Bungo in the north of Kyushu. The position then wasthis: first, a Taira army strongly posted at Yashima in Sanuki(Shikoku), due east of Noriyori's van in Bungo, and threatening hisline of communications throughout its entire length from Harima tothe Strait of Shimonoseki; secondly, another Taira army stronglyposted on Hikoshima, an island west of Shimonoseki Strait, which armymenaced the communications between Noriyori's van across the water inBungo and his advanced base in Suwo, and thirdly, the command of thewhole Inland Sea in the hands of the Taira. Evidently, in such conditions, no advance into Kyushu could be madeby Noriyori without inviting capital risks. The key of the situationfor the Minamoto was to wrest the command of the sea from the Tairaand to drive them from Shikoku preparatory to the final assault uponKyushu. This was recognized after a time, and Kajiwara Kagetokireceived orders to collect or construct a fleet with all possibleexpedition, which orders he applied himself to carry out at Watanabe, in Settsu, near the eastern entrance to the Inland Sea. In justice toYoritomo's strategy it must be noted that these orders were givenalmost simultaneously with the departure of the Minamoto armywestward from Harima, so that by the time of Noriyori's arrival inBungo, the military governor, Kagetoki, had got together some fourhundred vessels at Watanabe. Meanwhile, Yoshitsune had been chafing in Kyoto. To a man of histemperament enforced passivity on the eve of such epoch-making eventsmust have been intolerable. He saw plainly that to drive the Tairafrom Shikoku was an essential preliminary to their ultimate defeat, and he saw, too, that for such an enterprise a larger measure ofresolution and daring was needed than Kajiwara Kagetoki seemeddisposed to employ. He therefore obtained from the cloistered Emperorthe commission of tai-shogun (great general) and hastened to Settsuto take command. Complications ensued at once. Kagetoki objected tobe relegated to a secondary place, and Go-Shirakawa was induced torecall Yoshitsune. But the latter refused to return to Kyoto, and, ofcourse, his relations with Kagetoki were not cordial. The situationwas complicated by an unpleasant incident. Kagetoki wished to equipthe war-junks with sakaro. Yoshitsune asked what that meant, andbeing informed that sakaro signified oars at the bow of a boat foruse in the event of going astern, he said that such a provision couldtend only to suggest a movement fatal to success. "Do you contemplate retiring?" he asked Kagetoki. "So far as I amconcerned, I desire only to be equipped for advancing. " Kagetokiindignantly replied: "A skilful general advances at the right momentand retires at the right moment. You know only the tactics of a wildboar. " Yoshitsune angrily retorted, "I know not whether I am a boaror whether I am a deer, but I do know that I take pleasure incrushing a foe by attacking him. " From that moment the relationsbetween the two generals were distinctly strained, and it willpresently be seen that the consequences of their estrangement becamehistorical. The 21st of March, 1185, was a day of tempest. Yoshitsune saw hisopportunity. He proposed to run over to the opposite coast and attackYashima under cover of the storm. Kagetoki objected that no vesselcould live in such weather. Yoshitsune then called for volunteers. About one hundred and fifty daring spirits responded. They embarkedin five war-junks, some of the sailors being ordered to choosebetween manning the vessels or dying by the sword. Sweeping over theHarima Nada with the storm astern, Yoshitsune and his little band ofheroic men landed safely on the Awa coast, and dashed at once to theassault of the Taira, who were taken wholly by surprise, neverimagining that any forces could have essayed such an enterprise insuch a tempest. Some fought resolutely, but ultimately all that hadnot perished under the swords of the Minamoto obeyed Munemori'sorders to embark, and the evening of the 23rd of March saw the Tairafleet congregated in Shido Bay and crowded with fugitives. There theywere attacked at dawn on the 24th by Yoshitsune, to whom there hadarrived on the previous evening a re-enforcement of thirty war-junks, sent, not by Kagetoki, but by a Minamoto supporter who had beendriven from the province of Iyo some time previously by the Taira. As usual, the impetuosity of Yoshitsune's onset carried everythingbefore it. Soon the Taira fleet was flying down the Inland Sea, andwhen Kajiwara Kagetoki, having at length completed his preparations, arrived off Yashima on the 25th of March with some four hundredwar-vessels, he found only the ashes of the Taira palaces andpalisades. Munemori, with the boy Emperor and all the survivors ofthe Taira, had fled by sea to join Tomomori at Hikoshima. Thisenterprise was even more brilliant and much more conclusive than thatof Ichi-no-tani. During three consecutive days, with a mere handfulof one hundred and fifty followers, Yoshitsune had engaged a powerfulTaira army on shore, and on the fourth day he had attacked and routedthem at sea, where the disparity of force must have been evident andwhere no adventitious natural aids were available. When every allowance is made for the incompetence of the Tairacommander, Munemori, and for the crippling necessity of securing thesafety of the child-sovereign, Antoku, the battle of Yashima stillremains one of the most extraordinary military feats on record. Amongthe incidents of the battle, it is recorded that Yoshitsune himselfwas in imminent peril at one time, and the details illustrate themanner of fighting in that era. He dropped his bow into the seaduring the naval engagement, and when he essayed to pick it up, someTaira soldiers hooked his armour with a grapnel. Yoshitsune severedthe haft of the grapnel with his sword and deliberately picked up thebow. Asked why he had imperilled his person for a mere bow, hereplied, "Had it been a bow such as my uncle Tametomo bent, itsfalling into the enemy's possession would not matter; but a weak bowlike mine would give them something to laugh at. " Observing thisincident, Noritsune, one of the best fighters and most skilledarchers among the Taira, made Yoshitsune the target of his shafts. But Sato Tsuginobu, member of the band of trusted comrades who hadaccompanied the Minamoto hero from Mutsu, interposed his body andreceived the arrow destined for Yoshitsune. Kikuo, Noritsune'ssquire, leaped from his boat to decapitate the wounded Tsuginobu, butwas shot down by the latter's younger brother. Yoshitsune pillowedTsuginobu's head on his knees and asked the dying man whether he hadany last message. The answer was: "To die for my lord is not death. Ihave longed for such an end ever since we took the field. My onlyregret is that I cannot live to see the annihilation of the Taira. "Yoshitsune, weeping, said, "To annihilate the Taira is a mere matterof days, but all time would not suffice to repay your devotion. " BATTLE OF DAN-NO-URA The fight at Yashima was followed by a month's interval ofcomparatively minor operations, undertaken for the purpose ofbringing Shikoku completely under Minamoto sway. During that time thetwo clans prepared for final action. The Taira would have withdrawnaltogether into Kyushu, but such a course must have been preceded bythe dislodging of Noriyori, with his army of thirty thousand men, from Bungo province, which they had occupied since the beginning ofMarch. It is true that Noriyori himself was unable to make anyfurther incursion into Kyushu so long as his maritime communicationswith his advanced base in Suwo remained at the mercy of the Tairafleet. But it is equally true that the Taira generals dared not enterKyushu so long as a strong Minamoto force was planted on the leftflank of their route. Thus, a peculiar situation existed at the beginning of April, 1185. Of the two provinces at the extreme south of the main island, one, the eastern (Suwo), was in Minamoto occupation; the other, thewestern (Nagato), was mainly held by the Taira; and of the threeprovinces forming the northern littoral of Kyushu, two, the western(Chikuzen and Buzen), were in Taira hands, and the third, the eastern(Bungo), was the camp of Noriyori with his thirty thousand men. Finally, the Strait of Shimonoseki between Chikuzen and Buzen was inTaira possession. Evidently the aim of the Taira must be to eliminateNoriyori from the battle now pending, and to that end they selectedfor arena Dan-no-ura, that is to say, the littoral of Nagato provinceimmediately east of the Shimonoseki Strait. We have seen that ever since the Ichi-no-tani fight, the Minamotogenerals, especially Kajiwara Kagetoki, had been actively engaged inbuilding, or otherwise acquiring, war-junks. By April, 1185, they hadbrought together a squadron of seven to eight hundred; whereas, inthe sequel of Yashima and minor engagements, the Taira fleet had beenreduced to some five hundred. The war-junk of those days was not acomplicated machine. Propelled by oars, it had no fighting capacitiesof its own, its main purpose being to carry its occupants withinbow-range or sword-reach of their adversaries. Naval tacticsconsisted solely in getting the wind-gage for archery purposes. By the 22nd of April, 1185, the whole of the Minamoto fleet hadassembled at Oshima, an island lying off the southeast of Suwo, theTaira vessels, with the exception of the Hikoshima contingent, beinganchored at Dan-no-ura. On that day, a strong squadron, sent out byYoshitsune for reconnoitring purposes, marshalled itself at adistance of about two miles from the Taira array, and this facthaving been signalled to the Taira general, Tomomori, at Hikoshima, he at once passed the strait and joined forces with the main fleet atDan-no-ura. Yoshitsune's design had been to deliver a general attackimmediately after the despatch of the reconnoitring squadron, butthis was prevented by a deluge of blinding rain which lasted untilthe night of the 24th. Thus, it was not until the 25th that the battle took place. Itcommenced with an inconclusive archery duel at long range, whereafterthe two fleets closed up and a desperate hand-to-hand struggleensued. Neither side could claim any decisive advantage until TaguchiShigeyoshi deserted from the Taira and passed over with all his shipsto the Minamoto. This Taguchi had been originally an influentialmagnate of Iyo in Shikoku, whence he had accompanied the Tairaretreat to Nagato, leaving his son with three thousand men to defendthe family manors in Iyo. The son was so generously treated by theMinamoto that he threw in his lot with them and sent letters urginghis father to adopt the same cause. Taguchi not only followed hisson's advice but also chose the moment most disastrous for the Taira. His defection was followed quickly by the complete rout of the Heike. A resolute attempt was made to defend the ship containing the youngEmperor, his mother, his grandmother, and several other Taira ladies;but the vessel finally passed into Minamoto possession. Not beforeshe had been the scene of a terrible tragedy, however. Kiyomori'swidow, the Ni-i-no-ama, grandmother of Antoku, took the six-year oldchild in her arms and jumped into the sea, followed by Antoku'smother, the Empress Dowager (Kenrei-mon-in), carrying the regalia, and by other court ladies. The Empress Dowager was rescued, as werealso the sacred mirror and the gem, but the sword was irrevocablylost. The Taira leader, Munemori, and his son, Kiyomune, were takenprisoner, but Tomomori, Noritsune, and seven other Taira generalswere drowned. Noritsune distinguished himself conspicuously. Hesingled out Yoshitsune for the object of his attack, but being unableto reach him, he seized two Minamoto bushi and sprang into the seawith them. Tomomori, Munemori's brother, who had proved himself amost able general, leaped overboard carrying an anchor. Yoshitsunespoke in strongly laudatory terms of Noritsune and ascribed to himmuch of the power hitherto wielded by the Taira. Munemori and his sonwere executed finally at Omi. Shigehira, in response to a petitionfrom the Nara priests whose fanes he had destroyed by Kiyomori'sorders, was handed over to the monks and put to death by them atNarasaka. But Kiyomori's brother, who had interceded for the life ofYoritomo after the Heiji emeule, was pardoned, his rank and propertybeing restored to him; and Taira no Munekiyo, who also had acted animportant part in saving Yoritomo at that time, was invited to visitKamakura where he would have been received with honour; but hedeclined the invitation, declaring that a change of allegiance atsuch a moment would be unworthy of a bushi. It may here be noted that, although several of the Taira leaders whotook the field against the Minamoto were killed in the campaign orexecuted or exiled after it, the punitory measures adopted byYoritomo were not by any means wholesale. To be a Taira did notnecessarily involve Kamakura's enmity. On the contrary, not only wasclemency extended to several prominent members of Kiyomori's kith andkin, but also many local magnates of Taira origin whose estates layin the Kwanto were from first to last staunch supporters and friendsof the Minamoto. After Dan-no-ura, the Heike's sun permanently ceasedto dominate the political firmament, but not a few Heike stars rosesubsequently from time to time above the horizon. MUNEMORI AND ANTOKU The record of Munemori, whose leadership proved fatal to the Tairacause, stamps him as something very rare among Japanese bushi--acoward. He was the first to fly from every battle-field, and atDan-no-ura he preferred surrender to death. Tradition alleges that inthis final fight Munemori's reputed mother, Ni-i-no-ama, beforethrowing herself into the sea with the Emperor in her arms, confessedthat Munemori was not her son. After she had borne Shigemori shebecame enceinte and her husband, Kiyomori, looked eagerly for thebirth of another boy. But a girl was born. Just at that time the wifeof a man who combined the occupations of bonze and umbrella-maker, bore a son, and the two children were surreptitiously exchanged. Thisstory does not rest upon infallible testimony. Nor does anothernarrative, with regard to the motives which induced Kiyomori's widowto drown the young Emperor. Those motives are said to have been two. One was to fix upon the Minamoto the heinous crime of having done asovereign to death, so that some avenger might rise in future years;the other was to hide the fact that Antoku was in reality a girlwhose sex had been concealed in the interest of the child's maternalgrandfather, Kiyomori. YOSHITSUNE'S FATE Yoshitsune's signal victories were at Ichi-no-tani and at Yashima. The fight at Dan-no-ura could not have made him famous, for its issuewas determined by defection in the enemy's ranks, not by anystrategical device or opportune coup on the side of the victors. YetJapan accords to Yoshitsune the first place among her great captains. Undoubtedly this estimate is influenced by sympathy. Pursued by therelentless anger of his own brother, whose cause he had so splendidlychampioned, he was forced to fly for refuge to the north, and wasultimately done to death. This most cruel return for glorious deedshas invested his memory with a mist of tears tending to obscure thetrue outlines of events, so that while Yoritomo is execrated as aninhuman, selfish tyrant, Yoshitsune is worshipped as a faultlesshero. Yet, when examined closely, the situation undergoes somemodifications. Yoritomo's keen insight discerned in hishalf-brother's attitude something more than mere rivalry. Hediscovered the possible establishment of special relations betweenthe Imperial Court and a section of the Minamoto. Yoshitsune's failure to repair to Kamakura after the battle ofIchi-no-tani inspired Yoritomo's first doubts. Japanese annals offerno explanation of Yoshitsune's procedure on that occasion. It wouldhave been in the reasonable sequence of events that the militarygenius which planned and carried out the great coup at Ichi-no-tanishould have been available at the subsequent council of strategistsin Kamakura, and it would have been natural that the younger brothershould have repaired, as did his elder brother, Noriyori, to theheadquarters of the clan's chief. Yet Yoshitsune remained at Kyoto, and that by so doing he should have suggested some suspicions toYoritomo was unavoidable. The secret of the Court nobles' ability toexclude the military magnates from any share in State administrationwas no secret in Yoritomo's eyes. He saw clearly that thisdifferentiation had been effected by playing off one military partyagainst the other, or by dividing the same party against itself; andhe saw clearly that opportunities for such measures had beenfurnished by subjecting the military leaders to constant contact withthe Court nobility. Therefore, he determined to keep two aims always in view. One was toestablish a military and executive capital entirely apart from, andindependent of, the Imperial and administrative metropolis; theother, to preserve the unity of the Minamoto clan in allcircumstances. Both of these aims seemed to be threatened withfailure when Yoshitsune preferred the Court in Kyoto to the camp inKamakura; still more so when he accepted from Go-Shirakawa rank andoffice for which Yoritomo had not recommended him, and yet furtherwhen he obtained from the ex-Emperor a commission to lead theMinamoto armies westward without any reference to, and in despite of, the obvious intention of the Minamoto chief at Kamakura. All these acts could scarcely fail to be interpreted by Yoritomo aspreluding the very results which he particularly desired to avert, namely, a house of Minamoto divided against itself and there-establishment of Court influence over a strong military party inKyoto. His apprehensions received confirmation from reports furnishedby Kajiwara Kagetoki. Yoritomo trusted this man implicitly. Neverforgetting that Kajiwara had saved his life in the affair of thehollow tree, he appointed him to the post of military governor and tothe command of the army destined to drive the Taira from Shikokuafter the battle of Ichi-no-tani. In that command Kajiwara had beensuperseded by Yoshitsune, and had moreover been brought into ridiculein connexion not only with the shipbuilding incident but also, and ina far more flagrant manner, with the great fight at Yashima. He seemsfrom the first to have entertained doubts of Yoshitsune's loyalty toYoritomo, and his own bitter experiences may well have helped toconvert those doubts into certainties. He warned Kamakura in verystrong terms against the brilliant young general who was then theidol of Kyoto, and thus, when Yoshitsune, in June, 1185, repaired toKamakura to hand over the prisoners taken in the battle of Dan-no-uraand to pay his respects to Yoritomo, he was met at Koshigoe, avillage in the vicinity, by Hojo Tokimasa, who conveyed to himYoritomo's veto against his entry to Kamakura. A letter addressed byYoshitsune to his brother on that occasion ran, in part, as follows: Here am I, weeping crimson tears in vain at thy displeasure. Well wasit said that good medicine tastes bitter in the mouth, and true wordsring harsh in the ear. This is why the slanders that men speak of meremain unproved, why I am kept out of Kamakura unable to lay bare myheart. These many days 1 have lain here and could not gaze upon mybrother's face. The bond of our blood-brotherhood is sundered. But a short season after I was born, my honoured sire passed toanother world, and I was left fatherless. Clasped in my mother'sbosom, I was carried down to Yamato, and since that day I have notknown a moment free from care and danger. Though it was but to dragout a useless life, we wandered round the capital suffering hardship, hid in all manner of rustic spots, dwelt in remote and distantprovinces, whose rough inhabitants did treat us with contumely. Butat last I was summoned to assist in overthrowing the Taira house, andin this conflict I first laid Kiso Yoshinaka low. Then, so that Imight demolish the Taira men, I spurred my steed on frowningprecipices. Careless of death in the face of the foe, I braved thedangers of wind and wave, not recking that my body might sink to thebottom of the sea, and be devoured by monsters of the deep. My pillowwas my harness, arms my trade. [Translated by W. G. Aston. ] This letter breathes the spirit of sincerity. But its perusal did notsoften Yoritomo, if it ever reached his eyes. He steadily refused tocancel his veto, and after an abortive sojourn of twenty days atKoshigoe, Yoshitsune returned to Kyoto where his conduct won for himincreasing popularity. Three months later, Yoritomo appointed himgovernor of Iyo. It is possible that had not the situation beencomplicated by a new factor, the feud between the brothers might haveended there. But Minamoto Yukiiye, learning of these strainedrelations, emerged from hiding and applied himself to win thefriendship of Yoshitsune, who received his advances graciously. Yoritomo, much incensed at this development, sent the son of KajiwaraKagetoki to Yoshitsune with a mandate for Yukiiye's execution. Such achoice of messenger was ill calculated to promote concord. Yoshitsune, pleading illness, declined to receive the envoy, and itwas determined at Kamakura that extreme measures must be employed. Volunteers were called for to make away with Yoshitsune, and, inresponse, a Nara bonze, Tosabo Shoshun, whose physical endowments hadbrought him into prominence at Kamakura, undertook the task oncondition that a substantial reward be given him beforehand. Shoshun did not waste any time. On the eighth night after hisdeparture from Kamakura, he, with sixty followers, attackedYoshitsune's mansion at Horikawa in Kyoto. By wholesale oaths, swornin the most solemn manner, he had endeavoured to disarm thesuspicions of his intended victim, and he so far succeeded that, whenthe attack was delivered, Yoshitsune had only seven men to hold themansion against sixty. But these seven were the trusty and stalwartcomrades who had accompanied Yoshitsune from Mutsu and had shared allthe vicissitudes of his career. They held their assailants at bayuntil Yukiiye, roused by the tumult, came to the rescue, and theissue of Shoshun's essay was that his own head appeared on thepillory in Kyoto. Yoshitsune was awakened and hastily armed on thisoccasion by his beautiful mistress, Shizuka, who, originally adanseuse of Kyoto, followed him for love's sake in weal and in woe. Tokiwa, Tomoe, Kesa, and Shizuka--these four heroines will alwaysoccupy a prominent place in Japanese history of the twelfth century. After this event there could be no concealments between the twobrothers. With difficulty and not without some menaces, Yoshitsuneobtained from Go-Shirakawa a formal commission to proceed againstYoritomo by force of arms. Matters now moved with great rapidity. Yoritomo, always prescient, had fully foreseen the course of events. Shoshun's abortive attack on the Horikawa mansion took place onNovember 10, 1185, and before the close of the month three strongcolumns of Kamakura troops were converging on Kyoto. In thatinterval, Yoshitsune, failing to muster any considerable force in thecapital or its environs, had decided to turn his back on Kyoto andproceed westward; he himself to Kyushu, and Yukiiye to Shikoku. Theyembarked on November 29th, but scarcely had they put to sea when theyencountered a gale which shattered their squadron. Yoshitsune andYukiiye both landed on the Izumi coast, each ignorant of the other'sfate. The latter was captured and beheaded a few months later, butthe former made his way to Yamato and found hiding-places among thevalleys and mountains of Yoshino. The hero of Ichi-no-tani andYashima was now a proscribed fugitive. Go-Shirakawa, whose fate wasalways to obey circumstances rather than to control them, had issueda new mandate on the arrival of Yoritomo's forces at Kyoto, andKamakura was now authorized to exterminate Yoshitsune with all hispartisans, wherever they could be found. Almost simultaneously with the capture of Yukiiye, whose fate excitesno pity, the fair girl, Shizuka, was apprehended and brought beforeHojo Tokimasa, who governed Kyoto as Yoritomo's lieutenant. Littlemore than a year had elapsed since she first met Yoshitsune after hisreturn from Dan-no-ura, and her separation from him now had beeninsisted on by him as the only means of saving her life. Indifferentto her own fate, she quickly fell into the hands of Tokimasa'semissaries and was by them subjected to a fruitless examination, repeated with equally abortive results on her arrival at Kamakura. There, in spite of her vehement resistance, she was constrained todance before Yoritomo and his wife, Masa, but instead of confiningherself to stereotyped formulae, she utilized the occasion to chantto the accompaniment of her dance a stanza of sorrow for separationfrom her lover. It is related that Yoritomo's wrath would haveinvolved serious consequences for Shizuka had not the lady Masaintervened. The beautiful danseuse, being enceinte at the time, waskept in prison until her confinement. She had the misfortune to givebirth to a son, and the child was killed by Yoritomo's order, themother being released. The slaughter of an innocent baby sounds veryshocking in modern ears, but it is just to remember that the Kamakurachief and his three younger brothers would all have been executed byKiyomori had not their escape been contrived by special agencies. TheConfucian doctrine, which had passed into the bushi's code, forbade aman to live under the same sky with his father's slayer. Deeds likethe killing of Yoshitsune's son were the natural consequence of thatdoctrine. Meanwhile, Yoshitsune had been passing from one place of concealmentto another in the three contiguous provinces of Izumi, Yamato, andKii. He escaped deadly peril in the Yoshino region through thedevotion of Sato Tadanobu, whose brother, Tsuginobu, had died to saveYoshitsune's life in the battle of Yashima. Attacked by the monks ofZo-o-do in overwhelming force, Yoshitsune had prepared to meet deathwhen Tadanobu offered to personify him and hold the position whileYoshitsune escaped. With much difficulty Yoshitsune was induced toconsent. Tadanobu not only succeeded in covering the retreat of hischief, but also managed himself to escape to Kyoto where, beingdiscovered, he died by his own hand. Finally, in the spring of 1187, Yoshitsune and his followers, disguised as mendicant friars, madetheir way up the west coast, and, after hairbreadth escapes, foundasylum in the domain of Fujiwara Hidehira, who had protectedYoshitsune in his youth. Hidehira owned and administered the whole ofthe two provinces of Mutsu and Dewa, which in those days covered somethirty thousand square miles and could easily furnish an army of ahundred thousand men. The attitude of this great fief had always been an object of keensolicitude to Yoritomo. At one time there were rumours that Hidehiraintended to throw in his lot with Yoshinaka; at another, that he wasabout to join hands with the Taira. Yoritomo could never be certainthat if the Kwanto were denuded of troops for some westwardexpedition, an overwhelming attack might not be delivered againstKamakura from the north. Thus, when he learned that Yoshitsune hadescaped to Mutsu, all his apprehensions were roused. By that timeHidehira had died, in his ninety-first year, but he had committed tohis son, Yasuhira, the duty of guarding Yoshitsune. Hence, when, inthe spring of 1188, Kamakura became aware of Yoshitsune's presence inMutsu, two consecutive messages were sent thither, one from Yoritomo, the other from the Court, ordering Yoshitsune's execution. Yasuhirapaid no attention, and Go-Shirakawa commissioned Yoritomo to punishthe northern chief's contumacy. Yasuhira now became alarmed. He senta large force to attack Yoshitsune at Koromo-gawa. Benkei and thelittle band of comrades who had followed Yoshitsune's fortunescontinuously during eight years, died to a man fighting for him, andYoshitsune, having killed his wife and children, committed suicide. His head was sent to Kamakura. But this did not satisfy Yoritomo. He wanted something more thanYoshitsune's head; he wanted the great northern fief, and he had noidea of losing his opportunity. Three armies soon marched northward. They are said to have aggregated 284, 000 of all arms. One moved upthe western littoral; another up the eastern, and the third, underYoritomo himself, marched by the inland route. The men of Mutsufought stoutly, but after a campaign of some two months, Yasuhira, finding himself in a hopeless position, opened negotiations forsurrender. His overtures being incontinently rejected, he appreciatedthe truth, namely, that Yoritomo was bent upon exterminating theFujiwara of the north and taking possession of their vast estates. Then Yasuhira fled to Ezo, where, shortly afterwards, one of his ownsoldiers assassinated him and carried his head to Yoritomo, who, instead of rewarding the man, beheaded him for treachery. Thus, from1189, Yoritomo's sway may be said to have extended throughout thelength and breadth of Japan. In the storehouses of the Fujiwara, who, since the days of Kiyohira had ruled for a hundred years in thenorth, there were found piles of gold, silver, and precious stuffswith which Yoritomo recompensed his troops. YORITOMO'S SYSTEM The system of government established by Yeritomo towards the close ofthe twelfth century and kept in continuous operation thereafter untilthe middle of the nineteenth, was known as the Bakufu, a wordliterally signifying "camp office, " and intended to convey the factthat the affairs of the empire were in the hands of the military. None of the great Japanese captains prior to Yoritomo recognized thatif their authority was to be permanent, it must be exercisedindependently of the Court and must be derived from some sourceoutside the Court. The Taira chief, in the zenith of his career, hadsufficient strength to do as Yoritomo did, and at one moment, that isto say, when he established his headquarters at Fukuhara, he appearsto have had a partial inspiration. But he never recognized thatwhatever share he obtained in the administration of State affairs wasderived solely from the nature of the office conferred on him by theCourt, and could never exceed the functions of that office or surviveits loss. The Fujiwara were astuter politicians. By their plan ofhereditary offices and by their device of supplying maidens of theirown blood to be Imperial consorts, they created a system having someelements of permanency and some measure of independence. ENGRAVING: HACHIMAN SHRINE AT KAMAKURA But it was reserved for Yoritomo to appreciate the problem in all itsbearings and to solve it radically. The selection of Kamakura forcapital was the first step towards solution. Kamakura certainly hastopographical advantages. It is surrounded by mountains except on oneface, which is washed by the sea. But this feature does not seem tohave counted so much in Yoritomo's eyes as the fact that his father, Yoshitomo, had chosen Kamakura as a place of residence when heexercised military sway in the Kwanto, and Yoritomo wished topreserve the tradition of Minamoto power. He wished, also, to selecta site so far from Kyoto that the debilitating and demoralizinginfluence of the Imperial metropolitan society might be powerless toreach the military capital. Kamakura was then only a fishing hamlet, but at the zenith of its prosperity it had grown to be a city of atleast a quarter of a million of inhabitants. During a period of onehundred and fifty years it remained the centre of military societyand the focus of a civilization radically different from that ofKyoto. The Taira had invited their own ruin by assimilating the waysof the Fujiwara and of the courtiers; the Minamoto aimed atpreserving and developing at Kamakura the special characteristics ofthe buke. POLICY TOWARDS RELIGION Yoritomo seems to have believed that the Taira had owed theirdownfall largely to divine wrath, in that they had warred against themonasteries and confiscated manors belonging to shrines and temples. He himself adopted the policy of extending the utmost considerationto religion, whether Shinto or Buddhism, and to its devotees andtheir possessions. At Kamakura, though it has well-nigh reverted toits original rank as a fishing hamlet, there exist to-day eloquentevidences of the Minamoto chief's reverent mood; among them being thetemple of Hachiman; a colossal bronze image of Buddha which, inmajesty of conception and execution, is not surpassed by any idol inthe world;* a temple of Kwannon, and several other religiousedifices, though the tomb of Yoritomo himself is "a modest littlemonument covered with creepers. " *This image was not actually erected by Yoritomo, but the project isattributed to him. YORITOMO'S MEMORIAL It has been stated above that, after the retreat of the Taira fromFukuhara, in 1183, Go-Shirakawa sent an envoy to Kamakura invitingYoritomo's presence in Kyoto. Restrained, however, by a sense ofinsecurity, * the Minamoto chief declined to leave Kamakura, and sentin his stead a memorial to the Throne. This document commenced with astatement that the ruin of the Taira had been due not to humanprowess but to divine anger against the plunderers of sacred lands. Therefore, all manors thus improperly acquired should be at oncerestored to their original owners. Passing on to the case of estatestaken by the Taira from princes, Court nobles, officials, and privateindividuals, Yoritomo urged that only by full restitution of thisproperty could a sense of security be imparted to the people. "If anyof these manors be now granted to us, the indignation roused by theTaira's doings will be transferred simultaneously with the estates. To change men's misery to happiness is to remove their resentment andrepining. Finally, " the memorial continued, "if there be any Tairapartisans who desire to submit, they should be liberally treated eventhough their offences deserve capital punishment. I myself wasformerly an offender, ** but having had the good fortune to bepardoned, I have been enabled to subdue the insurgents. Thus, evenmen who have been disloyal on the present occasion may serve a loyalpurpose at some future time. " *Kamakura was always exposed to pressure from the north. It had longbeen proverbial that white the eight provinces of the Kwanto coulddefy the whole empire, 0-U (Oshu and Ushu-Mutsu and Dewa) could defythe eight provinces. **In allusion to the fact that owing to the Emperor's presence in thecamp of the Taira during the emeule, the Minamoto occupied theposition of rebels. On receipt of this memorial, Go-Shirakawa ordered that the manorsheld by the Taira in the Tokai-do and Tosan-do should all be restoredto their original owners, the duty of adjudicating in each case beingdelegated to Yoritomo. How much of this admirably conceived documentwas inspired by political acumen we may not venture to judge, but itis proper to note that the principles enunciated in the memorialfound expression in the practice of Yoritomo himself. He alwaysextended clemency to a defeated enemy if he deemed the latter'ssubmission to be sincere, and throughout his whole career he showed astrong respect for justice. The men of his time ultimately gave himcredit for sincerity, and his memorial won universal approval andpopularity. POLITY OF THE KAMAKURA BAKUFU Under the Dadka (A. D. 645) system, various administrative organs werecreated in accordance with Tang models, and a polity at once imposingand elaborate came into existence. But when the capital was overtakenby an era of literary effeminacy and luxurious abandonment, theImperial exchequer fell into such a state of exhaustion thatadministrative posts began to be treated as State assets and boughtand sold like commercial chattels, the discharge of the functionsconnected with them becoming illusory, and the constant tendencybeing in the direction of multiplication of offices with acorresponding increase of red tape. Yoritomo and his councillorsappreciated the evils of such a system and were careful not toimitate it at Kamakura. They took brevity and simplicity for guidingprinciples, and constructed a polity in marked contrast with that ofKyoto. At the head of the whole stood the shogun, or commander-in-chief ofthe entire body of bushi, and then followed three sections. Theywere, first, the Samurai-dokoro, which term, according to its literalrendering, signified "samurai place" and may be appropriatelydesignated "Central Staff Office. " Established in 1180, its functionswere to promote or degrade military men; to form a council of war; todirect police duties so far as they concerned bushi', to punishcrime, and to select men for guards and escorts. The president(betto) obviously occupied a post of prime importance, as hepractically controlled all the retainers (keniri) of the Minamotoclan and its allied houses. Its first occupant was Wada Yoshimori, representative of a famous family in the Kwanto, who had greatlydistinguished himself in the Gen-Hei War. He held the post until theyear 1213, when, taking up arms against Hojo Yoshitoki, he wasdefeated and killed. Thereafter, it being deemed inadvisable that thefunctions of such an important office should be delegatedindependently, they were made supplementary to those of the militaryregent (shikken), to be presently spoken of. MAN-DOKORO The second of the three great sections of the Bakufu polity was theMandokoro (literally, "place of administration"), which, at the timeof its establishment in 1184, was designated Kumon-jo, the change ofname to Man-dokoro being made after Yoritomo's first visit to Kyoto(1190), when he was nominated gon-dainagon as well as general of theRight division of the guards (u-kon-e taisho). In fact, the officeMan-dokoro had long existed in the establishment of the civil regent(kwampaku) at the Imperial capital, and a concession to Kyoto usagesin the matter of nomenclature appealed to Yoritomo's taste forsimplicity. The Man-dokoro had to discharge the duties and generalbusiness of the Bakufu. Its president was called betto; itsvice-president, rei; there were secretaries, a manager (shitsuji), whose functions were mainly financial, and certain minor officials. Oye no Hiromoto was the first president, and the office of shitsujibecame hereditary in the Nikaido family. It will be seen that the betto of the Man-dokoro corresponded to theregent in the Kyoto polity, the only difference being that the formerofficiated in military government, the latter in civil. The betto ofthe Man-dokoro was, in fact, designated by the alternative name ofshikken (literally, "holder of authority") Thus there were tworegents, one in Kyoto, one in Kamakura. In succession to Oye noHiromoto, the military regency fell to Hojo Tokimasa, andsubsequently to his son Yoshitoki, who, as shown above, held the postof betto of the Samurai-dokoro. In short, both offices becamehereditary in the Hojo family, who thus acquired virtually all thepower of the Bakufu. The shikken, standing at the head of theSamurai-dokoro and the Man-dokoro simultaneously, came to wield suchauthority that even the appointment of the shogun depended upon hiswill, and though a subject of the Emperor, he administered functionsfar exceeding those of the Imperial Court. In the year 1225, areorganization of the Man-dokoro was effected. An administrativecouncil was added (Hyojoshu), the councillors, fifteen or sixteen innumber, being composed, in about equal parts, of men of science andmembers of the great clans. The regent (shikken) presided ex-officio. MONJU-DOKORO The third of the Bakufu offices was the Monju-dokoro, or "place forrecording judicial inquiries;" in other words, a high court ofjustice and State legislature. Suits at law were heard there and wereeither decided finally or transferred to other offices for approval. This office was established in 1184. Its president was calledshitsuji (manager), indicating that he ranked equally with theMan-dokoro official having the same appellation. The first occupantof the post was Miyoshi Yasunobu. He not only presided over theMonju-dokoro in a judicial capacity but also attended the meetings ofthe Man-dokoro council (Hyojoshu) ex-officio. This Miyoshi Yasunobu, * as well as the representative of the Nikaidowho occupied the post of shitsuji in the Man-dokoro; the Oye family, who furnished the president of the latter, and the Nakahara, whoserved as the secretaries, were all men of erudition whom Yoritomoinvited from Kyoto to fill posts in his administrative system atKamakura. In these unquiet and aristocratically exclusive times, official promotion in the Imperial capital had largely ceased to bewithin reach of scholastic attainments, and Yoritomo saw anopportunity to attract to Kamakura men of learning and of competence. He offered to them careers which were not open in Kyoto, and theirready response to his invitations was a principal cause of thesuccess and efficacy that attended the operation of the Bakufu systemin the early days. *Miyoshi Yasunobu held the office of chugu no sakan in Kyoto. He waspersonally known to Yoritomo, and he was instrumental in securing theservices of the astute Oye no Hiromoto, whose younger brother, Chikayoshi, was governor of Aki at the time of receiving Yoritomo'sinvitation. His descendants received the uji of Nagai and Mori; thoseof Yasunobu, the uji of Ota and Machine, and those of Chikayoshi, theuji of Settsu and Otomo. HIGH CONSTABLES AND LAND-STEWARDS The most far-reaching change effected by Yoritomo was prompted by Oyeno Hiromoto, at the close of 1185, when, Yoshitsune and Yukiiyehaving gone westward from Kyoto, the Kamakura chief entertained anapprehension that they might succeed in raising a revolt in theSanyo-do, in Shikoku, and in Kyushu. He sought advice from the highofficials of the Bakufu as to the best preventive measures, and Oyeno Hiromoto presented a memorial urging that the Emperor's sanctionbe obtained for appointing in each province a high constable (shugo)and a land-steward (jito), these officials being nominated fromKamakura, while Yoritomo himself became chief land-steward (so-jito)and subsequently lord high constable (so-tsuihoshi) for the sixty-sixprovinces. The object of these appointments was to insure that thecontrol of local affairs should be everywhere in the hands of theBakufu, whose nominees would thus be in a position to check allhostile movements or preparations. Yoritomo recognized the important bearings of this project. He atonce sent Hojo Tokimasa to guard Kyoto and to submit to the Court astatement that it would be far more effective and economical toprevent acts of insurrection than to deal with them after their fulldevelopment, and that, to the former end, trustworthy local officialsshould be appointed, the necessary funds being obtained by levyingfrom the twenty-six provinces of the Go-Kinai, Sanin, Sanyo, Nankai, and Saikai a tax of five sho of rice per tan (two bushels per acre). Go-Shirakawa seems to have perceived the radical character of theproposed measure. He evinced much reluctance to sanction it. ButYoritomo was too strong to be defied. The Court agreed, and from thatmoment military feudalism may be said to have been established inJapan. It has been shown that the land system fixed by the Daiho-ryo hadfallen into confusion. Private manors existed everywhere, yieldingincomes to all classes from princes to soldiers. In the days of theFujiwara and the Taira more than one-half of the arable landthroughout the empire was absorbed into such estates, which paid notaxes to anyone except their direct owners. The provincial governorappointed by the Court gradually ceased to exercise control over theshoen in his district, unless he happened to be a military man with asufficient force of armed retainers (kenin) to assert his authority. Hence it became customary for provincial governors not to proceed inperson to the place of their function. They appointed deputies(mokudai), and these limited their duties to the collection of taxesfrom manors. Lands constituting the domains of great families wereunder the complete control of their holders, and there being no oneresponsible for the preservation of general peace and order, banditsand other lawbreakers abounded. This state of affairs was remedied by the appointment of highconstables and land-stewards. The high constable had to arrestinsurgents, assassins, and robbers wherever he found them, and tomuster the soldiers for service in the Kyoto guards. The land-stewardwas to collect taxes from all private manors. Soon, however, thesefunctions were extended, so that the high constables exercisedjudicial and administrative powers, and the land-stewards not onlycollected taxes, and, after deducting their own salaries, handed theremainder to those entitled to receive it, but also were responsiblefor the maintenance of peace and order within the manors entrusted totheir charge. High constables and land-stewards alike wereresponsible to Kamakura alone; they were beyond the jurisdiction ofthe Imperial Court. Thus, the sway of the Minamoto extendedthroughout the whole country. It may be stated at once here that thelandsteward system did not work altogether satisfactorily. The actsof these officials created friction in several quarters, and theywere soon withdrawn from all manors other than those owned oradministered by Taira. The high constables remained, however, andwere in full control of local military affairs, the Kamakura chiefcontrolling the whole in his capacity of lord high constable. EXEMPTION OF SHRINES AND TEMPLES FROM THE SHUGO SYSTEM In pursuance of his policy of special benevolence towards religiousinstitutions, Yoritomo exempted the manors of temples and shrinesfrom the jurisdiction of high constables. Thus military men were notpermitted to make an arrest within the enclosure of a fane, or totrespass in any way on its domains, these being tax-free. REFORM OF THE COURT Yoritomo did not confine himself to re-casting the system ofprovincial administration. He extended his reforms to the Court, also. Thrice within the short space of five years he had beenproscribed as a rebel by Imperial decree once at the instance of theTaira; once at the instance of Yoshinaka, and once at the instance ofYoshitsune. In short, the Court, being entirely without militarypower of its own, was constrained to bow to any display of force fromwithout. As a means of correcting this state of affairs, HojoTokimasa was despatched to the Imperial capital at the close of 1185, to officiate there as high constable and representative of theBakufu. A strong force of troops was placed at his disposal, andefficient means of speedy communications between the east and thewest were organized. Moreover, a new office, that of scrutator(nairari), was instituted, and to him were transferred some of thepowers hitherto wielded by the regent (kwampaku). Fujiwara Kanezanewas the first occupant of this post. Further, a body of twelvecouncillors (giso), headed by Kanezane, were organized in thecloistered Emperor's Court (Inchu), and to this council was entrustedthe duty of discussing and deciding all State affairs. Theseimportant steps were taken early in 1186. Simultaneously, a number of Court officials, including all that hadbeen connected with Yoshitsune and Yukiie, lost their posts, and, shortly afterwards, Kanezane, becoming regent (kwampaku) in place ofFujiwara Motomichi, co-operated with Oye no Hiromoto in effectingmany important changes, the latter operating at Kamakura, the formerat Kyoto. It may be noted here that Kanezane's descendants receivedthe name of Kujo, those of Motomichi being called Konoe, and thecustom of appointing the kwampaku alternately from these two familiescame into vogue from that time. All the above reforms having beeneffected during the year 1186, the Bakufu recalled Hojo Tokimasa andappointed Nakahara Chikayoshi to succeed him. But, as the latter wasnot a scion of a military family, the Court desired to have a Hojoappointed, and Yoritomo acceded by sending Hojo Tokisada. PALACES AND FANES Yoritomo maintained from first to last a reverential attitude towardsthe Throne and towards religion. It has already been shown howgenerously he legislated in the matter of estates belonging totemples and shrines, and we may add that his munificence in thatrespect was stimulated by a terrible earthquake which visited Kyotoin the autumn of 1185. While the city trembled under repeated shocks, the citizens told each other that this was the work of vengefulspirits of the Taira who, having fallen in the great sea-fight, werestill without full rites of sepulture. The Kamakura chief seems tohave accepted that view, for he not only gave substantialencouragement to the burning of incense and intoning of memorialSutras, but he also desisted largely from his pursuit of the Tairasurvivors. Two years later (1187), he sent Oye no Hiromoto to theImperial capital with authority and ample competence to repair thepalaces there. The city was then infested with bandits, a notunnatural product of the warlike era. Chiba Tsunetane, speciallydespatched from Kamakura, dealt drastically with this nuisance, andgood order was finally restored. YORITOMO VISITS KYOTO During the early years of his signal triumphs Yoritomo was invited toKyoto on several occasions. Various considerations deterred him. Hewished, in the first place, to dispel the popular illusion that theImperial capital was the centre of all dignity and power. People mustbe taught to recognize that, although Kyoto might be the ultimatesource of authority, Kamakura was its place of practical exercise. Hewished, in the second place, not to absent himself from Kamakurauntil he could be absolutely assured that his absence would notafford an opportunity to his enemies; which sense of security was notfully reached until the death of Yoshitsune and Fujiwara no Yasuhira, and the complete subjugation of the great northern fief of Oshti inthe year 1189. Finally, he wished to appear in Kyoto, not merely asthe representative of military power, but also as a benefactor whohad rebuilt the fanes and restored the palaces. On the 2nd of November, in the year 1190, he set out from Kamakuraand reached Kyoto on December 5th. His armies had shown that, for thepurpose of a campaign, the distance would be traversed in little morethan half of that time. But Yoritomo's journey was a kind of Imperialprogress. Attended by a retinue designed to surprise even thecitizens of the Imperial metropolis, he travelled at a leisurely paceand made a pause of some duration in Owari to worship at his father'stomb. The Court received him with all consideration. He had alreadybeen honoured with the first grade of the second rank, so that heenjoyed the right of access to the Presence, and the cloisteredEmperor held with him long conversations, sometimes lasting a wholeday. But Yoritomo did not achieve his purpose. It is true that hereceived the appointments of gon-dainagon and general of the Rightdivision of the guards. These posts, however, were more objectionableon account of their limitations than acceptable as marks of honour. Their bestowal was a mere formality, and Yoritomo resigned them in afew days, preferring to be nominated so-tsuihoshi. What he really desired, however, was the office of sei-i tai-shogun(barbarian-subduing great general). This high title had beenconferred more than once previously, but only for the purpose of somefinite and clearly indicated purpose, on the attainment of which theoffice had to be surrendered. The Kamakura chief's plan was to removethese limitations, and to make the appointment not only for life butalso general in the scope of its functions and hereditary in his ownfamily, reserving to the sovereign the formal right of investiturealone. Go-Shirakawa, however, appreciated the far-reaching effects ofsuch an arrangement and refused to sanction it. Thus, Yoritomo had tocontent himself with the post of lord high constable of the empire(so-tsuihoshi), an office of immense importance, but differingradically from that of sei-i tai-shogun in that, whereas the latterhad competence to adopt every measure he pleased without reference toany superior authority, the former was required to consult theImperial Court before taking any step of a serious nature. TheMinamoto chief returned quietly to Kamakura, but he left manypowerful friends to promote his interests in Kyoto, and whenGo-Shirakawa died, in 1192, his grandson and successor, Go-Toba, aboy of thirteen, had not occupied the throne more than three monthsbefore the commission of sei-i tai-shogun was conveyed to Yoritomo byspecial envoys. Thereafter it became the unwritten law of the empirethat the holder of this high post must be either the head of theprincipal Minamoto family or an Imperial prince. Never before had there been such encroachment upon the prerogativesof the Crown. We have seen that, in the centuries antecedent to theDaika (A. D. 645) reforms, the sovereign's contact with his subjectshad been solely through the medium of the o-omi or the o-muraji. Bythese, the Imperial commands were transmitted and enforced, with suchmodifications as circumstances might suggest, nor did the prerogativeof nominating the o-omi or the o-muraji belong practically to theThrone. The Daika reforms, copying the Tang polity called intoexistence a cabinet and a body of officials appointable or removableby the sovereign at will, each entrusted with definite functions. Butalmost before that centralized system had time to take root, theFujiwara grafted on it a modification which, in effect, substitutedtheir own family for the o-omi and the o-muraji of previous times. And now, finally, came the Minamoto with their separate capital andtheir sei-i tai-shogun, who exercised the military and administrativepowers of the empire with practically no reference to the Emperor. Yoritomo himself was always willing and even careful to envelop hisown personality in a shadow of profound reverence towards theoccupant of the throne, but he was equally careful to preserve forKamakura the substance of power. DEATH OF YORITOMO Yoritomo lived only seven years after he had reached the summit ofhis ambition. He received the commission of sei-i tai-shogun in thespring of 1192, and, early in 1199, he was thrown from his horse andkilled, at the age of fifty-three. He had proceeded to the pageant ofopening a new bridge over the Sagami River, and it was popularlyrumoured that he had fallen from his horse in a swoon caused by theapparition of Yoshitsune and Yukiiye on the Yamato plain and that ofthe Emperor Antoku at Inamura promontory. Just twenty years hadelapsed since he raised the Minamoto standard in Sagami. His careerwas short but meteoric, and he ranks among the three greateststatesmen Japan has ever produced, his compeers being Hideyoshi andIeyasu. YORITOMO's CHARACTER Japanese historians have written much about this illustrious man. Their views may be condensed into the following: Yoritomo was shortin stature with a disproportionately large head. He had a ringingvoice, gentle manners, an intrepid and magnanimous heart, profoundinsight, and extraordinary caution. The power of imposing his willupon others was one of his notable characteristics, as was alsomunificence to those that served him. Retainers of the Taira or ofthe Minamoto--he made no distinction. All that swore fealty to himwere frankly regarded as go-kenin of the Bakufu. Estates were givento them, whether restored or newly bestowed, and they were treatedmuch as were the hatamoto of the Yedo shogunate in later times. Hespared no pains to preserve Kamakura against the taint of Kyoto'sdemoralizing influences. The bushi of the Kwanto were made the centreof society; were encouraged to observe the canons of theircaste--frugality, loyalty, truth, valour, and generosity--canonsdaily becoming crystallized into inflexible laws. When Toshikane, lord of Chikugo, appeared at the Kamakura Court in a magnificentcostume, Yoritomo evinced his displeasure by slashing the sleeves ofthe nobleman's surcoat. Skill in archery or equestrianism was so muchvalued that it brought quick preferment and even secured pardon for acriminal. On the other hand, neglect of these arts, or conduct unbecoming asamurai, was mercilessly punished. When Hayama Muneyori retired tohis province without accompanying the army sent to attack O-U, he wasseverely censured and deprived of his estates. Cognate instancesmight be multiplied. In the year 1193, the first case of the vendettaoccurred in Japan. Yoritomo organized a grand hunting party on themoors at the southern base of Fuji-yama. Among those that accompaniedhim was Kudo Suketsune, who had done to death Soga no Sukeyasu. Thelatter's sons, Sukenari (commonly called Juro) and Tokimune (Goro), having sworn to avenge their father, broke into Yoritomo's camp andtook the head of their enemy. The elder was killed in the enterprise;the younger, captured and beheaded. Yoritomo would fain have savedGoro's life, though the youth declared his resolve not to survive hisbrother. But the Kamakura chief was constrained to yield to thedemands of Suketsune's son. He, however, marked his appreciation ofJuro and Goro's filial piety by carefully observing their lasttestament, and by exonerating the Soga estate from the duty of payingtaxes in order that funds might be available for religious rites onaccount of the spirits of the brothers. This encouragement of fidelity may well have been dictated by selfishpolicy rather than by moral conviction. Yet that Yoritomo took everyconspicuous opportunity of asserting the principle must be recorded. Thus, he publicly declared Yasuhira a traitor for having done todeath his guest, Yoshitsune, though in so doing Yasuhira obeyed theorders of Yoritomo himself; he executed the disloyal retainer whotook Yasuhira's head, though the latter was then a fugitive from thepursuit of the Kamakura armies, and he pardoned Yuri Hachiro, one ofYasuhira's officers, because he defended Yasuhira's reputation indefiance of Yoritomo's anger. Gratitude Yoritomo never failed to practise within the limit ofpolicy. Rumour said that he had fallen in his first battle atIshibashi-yama. Thereupon, Miura Yoshiaki, a man of eighty-nine, sentout all his sons to search for Yoritomo's body, and closing hiscastle in the face of the Taira forces, fell fighting. Yoritomorepaid this loyal service by appointing Yoshiaki's son, WadaYoshimori, to be betto of the Samurai-dokoro, one of the very highestposts in the gift of the Kamakura Government. Again, it will beremembered that when, as a boy of fourteen, Yoritomo had beencondemned to death by Kiyomori, the lad's life was saved through theintercession of Kiyomori's step-mother, Ike, who had been prompted byTaira no Munekiyo. After the fall of the Taira, Yoritomo prayed theCourt to release Ike's son, Yorimori, and to restore his rank andestates, while in Munekiyo's case he made similar offers but theywere rejected. Towards his own kith and kin, however, he showed himself implacable. In Yoshitsune's case it has been indicated that there was much toawaken Yoritomo's suspicions. But his brother Noriyori had noqualities at all likely to be dangerously exercised. A commonplace, simple-hearted man, he was living quietly on his estate in Izu whenfalse news came that Yoritomo had perished under the sword of theSoga brothers. Yoritomo's wife being prostrated by the intelligence, Noriyori bade her be reassured since he, Noriyori, survived. Whenthis came to Yoritomo's ears, doubtless in a very exaggerated form, he sent a band of assassins who killed Noriyori. Assassination was adevice from which the Kamakura chief did not shrink at all. It hasbeen shown how he sent Tosabo Shoshun to make away with Yoshitsune inKyoto, and we now see him employing a similar instrument againstNoriyori, as he did also against his half-brother, Zensei. It wouldseem to have been his deliberate policy to remove every potentialobstacle to the accession of his own sons. Many historians agree inascribing these cruelties to jealousy. But though Yoritomo might havebeen jealous of Yoshitsune, he could not possibly have experiencedany access of such a sentiment with regard to Noriyori or Zensei. Towards religion, it would seem that his attitude was sincere. Not inKyoto and Kamakura alone did he adopt drastic measures for therestoration or erection of temples and shrines, but also throughoutthe provinces he exerted his all-powerful influence in the samecause. He himself contributed large sums for the purpose, and at hisinstance the Courts of the Emperor and of the Bakufu granted specialrights and privileges to bonzes who went about the country collectingsubscriptions. Thus encouraged, the priests worked with conspicuouszeal, and by men like Mongaku, Jugen, Eisai, and their comrades notonly were many imposing fanes erected and many images cast, but alsoroads were opened, harbours constructed, and bridges built. Yoritomoknew what an important part religion had contributed in past ages tothe country's national development, and he did not neglect to utilizeits services in the interests, first, of the nation's prosperity and, secondly, of the Bakufu's popularity. Incidentally all this buildingof fanes and restoration of palaces promoted in no small degree thedevelopment of art, pure and applied. Experts in every line madetheir appearance, and many masterpieces of architecture and sculptureenriched the era. These reflected the change which the spirit of thenation was undergoing in its passage from the delicacy and weaknessof the Fujiwara type to the strength, directness, and dignity of thebushi's code. ENGRAVING: CANDLE-STICKS ENGRAVING: SAMURAI'S RESIDENCE IN THE KAMAKURA PERIOD CHAPTER XXVI THE KAMAKURA BAKUFU ABDICATION OF GO-TOBA IN the year 1198, the Emperor Go-Toba abdicated the throne in favourof his son, who reigned during twelve years (1199-1210) under thename of Tsuchi-mikado, eighty-third sovereign. Of Go-Toba much willbe said by and by. It will suffice to note here, however, that hisabdication was altogether voluntary. Ascending the throne in 1184, atthe age of four, he had passed the next eight years as a mere puppetmanipulated by his grandfather, Go-Shirakawa, the cloistered Emperor, and on the latter's death in 1192, Go-Toba fell into many of thefaults of youth. But at eighteen he became ambitious of governing infact as well as in name, and as he judged that this could beaccomplished better from the Inchu (retired palace) than from thethrone, he abdicated without consulting the Kamakura Bakufu. It ismore than probable that Yoritomo would have made his influence felton this occasion had any irregularity furnished a pretext. But theadvisers of the Kyoto Court were careful that everything should be inorder, and the Kamakura chief saw no reason to depart from hishabitually reverent attitude towards the Throne. YORIIYE, THE LADY MASA, AND HOJO TOKIMASA On the demise of Yoritomo (1199), his eldest son, Yoriiye, succeededto the compound office of lord high constable and chief land-steward(so-shugo-jito), his investiture as shogun being deferred untilKyoto's sanction could be obtained. Yoriiye was then in hiseighteenth year, and he had for chief adviser Hatakeyama Shigetada, appointed to the post by Yoritomo's will. He inherited nothing of hisfather's sagacity. On the contrary, he did not possess even averageability, and his thoughts were occupied almost uniquely with physicalpleasures. His mother, Masa, astute, crafty, resourceful, and heroic, well understood the deficiency of his moral endowments, but as hersecond son, Sanetomo, was only seven years old, Yoriiye's accessionpresented itself in the light of a necessity. She thereforedetermined to give him every possible aid. Even during her husband'slife she had wielded immense influence, and this was now greatlyaugmented by the situation. She shaved her head--after the manner ofthe cloistered Emperors--and taking the name of Ni-i-no-ama, virtually assumed charge of the Bakufu administration in associationwith her father, Hojo Tokimasa. Exactly what part this remarkable man acted in the episodes ofYoritomo's career, can never be known. He exerted his influence sosecretly that contemporary historians took little note of him; andwhile, in view of his final record, some see in him the spirit thatprompted Yoritomo's merciless extirpation of his own relatives, others decline to credit him with such far-seeing cruelty, and holdthat his ultimately attempted usurpations were inspired solely byfortuitous opportunity which owed nothing to his contrivance. Wherever the truth may lie as between these views, it is certain thatafter Yoritomo's death, Hojo Tokimasa conspired to remove theMinamoto from the scene and to replace them with the Hojo. THE DELIBERATIVE COUNCIL The whole coterie of illustrious men--legislators, administrators, and generals--whom Yoritomo had assembled at Kamakura, was formedinto a council of thirteen members to discuss the affairs of theBakufu after his death. This body of councillors included Tokimasaand his son, Yoshitoki; Oye no Hiromoto, Miyoshi Yasunobu; NakaharaChikayoshi, Miura Yoshizumi, Wada Yoshimori, Hiki Yoshikazu, and fiveothers. But though they deliberated, they did not decide. All finaldecision required the endorsement of the lady Masa and her father, Hojo Tokimasa. DEATH OF YORIIYE Yoriiye had been at the head of the Bakufu for three years before hiscommission of shogun came from Kyoto, and in the following year(1203), he was attacked by a malady which threatened to end fatally. The question of the succession thus acquired immediate importance. Yoriiye's eldest son, Ichiman, the natural heir, was only three yearsold, and Yoritomo's second son, Sanetomo, was in his eleventh year. In this balance of claims, Hojo Tokimasa saw his opportunity. Hewould divide the Minamoto power by way of preliminary to supplantingit. Marshalling arguments based chiefly on the advisability ofaverting an armed struggle, he persuaded the lady Masa to endorse acompromise, namely, that to Sanetomo should be given the office ofland-steward in thirty-eight provinces of the Kwansai; while toIchiman should be secured the title of shogun and the offices of lordhigh constable and land-steward in twenty-eight provinces of theKwanto. Now the maternal grandfather of Ichiman was Hiki Yoshikazu, a captainwho had won high renown in the days of Yoritomo. Learning of theprojected partition and appreciating the grave effect it must produceon the fortunes of his grandson, Hiki commissioned his daughter torelate the whole story to Yoriiye, and applied himself to organize aplot for the destruction of the Hojo. But the facts came to the ladyMasa's ears, and she lost no time in communicating them to Tokimasa, who, with characteristic promptitude, invited Hiki to a conferenceand had him assassinated. Thereupon, Hiki's son, Munetomo, assembledall his retainers and entrenched himself in Ichiman's mansion, where, being presently besieged by an overwhelming force of Tokimasa'spartisans, he set fire to the house and perished with the child, Ichiman, and with many brave soldiers. The death of his son, of hisfather-in-law, and of his brother-in-law profoundly affected Yoriiye. He attempted to take vengeance upon his grandfather, Tokimasa, buthis emissaries suffered a signal defeat, and he himself, being nowcompletely discredited, was constrained to follow his mother, Masa's, advice, namely, to take the tonsure and retire to the monasteryShuzen-ji in Izu. There he was followed and murdered by Tokimasa'sagents. It is apparent that throughout these intrigues the lady Masamade no resolute attempt to support her first-born. She recognized inhim a source of weakness rather than of strength to the Minamoto. SANETOMO After Yoriiye's retirement, in 1204, to the monastery in Izu, Masa, with the concurrence of her father, Tokimasa, decided on theaccession of her second son, Sanetomo, then in his twelfth year, andapplication for his appointment to the office of shogun having beenduly made, a favourable and speedy reply was received from Kyoto. Themost important feature of the arrangement was that Hojo Tokimasabecame shikken, or military regent, and thus wielded greater powersthan ever--powers which he quickly proceeded to abuse forrevolutionary purposes. His policy was to remove from his path, byany and every measure, all potential obstacles to the consummation ofhis ambition. Among these obstacles were the lady Masa and the new shogun, Sanetomo. So long as these two lived, the Yoritomo family could counton the allegiance of the Kwanto, and so long as that allegianceremained intact, the elevation of the Hojo to the seats of supremeauthority could not be compassed. Further, the substitution of Hojofor Minamoto must be gradual. Nothing abrupt would be tolerable. Nowthe Hojo chief's second wife, Maki, had borne to him a daughter whomarried Minamoto Tomomasa, governor of Musashi and lord constable ofKyoto, in which city he was serving when history first takesprominent notice of him. This lady Maki seems to have been of thesame type as her step-daughter, Masa. Both possessed high courage andintellectual endowments of an extraordinary order, and both wereprofoundly ambitious. Maki saw no reason why her husband, HojoTokimasa, should lend all his great influence to support thedegenerate scions of one of his family in preference to the able anddistinguished representative of the other branch. Tomomasa was bothable and distinguished. By a prompt and vigorous exercise of militarytalent he had crushed a Heike rising in Ise, which had threatened fora time to become perilously formidable. His mother may well havebelieved herself justified in representing to Hojo Tokimasa that sucha man would make a much better Minamoto shogun than the half-wittedlibertine, Yoriiye, or the untried boy, Sanetomo. It has beeninferred that her pleading was in Tokimasa's ears when he sent a bandof assassins to murder Yoriiye in the Shuzen-ji monastery. Howeverthat may be, there can be little doubt that the Hojo chief, in theclosing episodes of his career, favoured the progeny of his secondwife, Maki, in preference to that of his daughter, Masa. Having "removed" Yoriiye, he extended the same fate to HatakeyamaShigetada, one of the most loyal and trusted servants of Yoritomo. Shigetada would never have connived at any measure inimical to theinterests of his deceased master. Therefore, he was put out of theway. Then the conspirators fixed their eyes upon Sanetomo. Thetwelve-year-old boy was to be invited to Minamoto Tomomasa's mansionand there destroyed. This was the lady Maki's plan. The lady Masadiscovered it, and hastened to secure Sanetomo's safety by carryinghim to the house of her brother, Yoshitoki. The political career ofHojo Tokimasa ended here. He had to take the tonsure, surrender hispost of regent and go into exile in Izu, where he died, in 1215, after a decade of obscurity. As for Minamoto Tomomasa, he was killedin Kyoto by troops despatched for the purpose. This conflict in 1205, though Hojo Tokimasa and Minamoto Tomomasa figured so largely in it, is by some historians regarded as simply a conflict between theladies Maki and Masa. These two women certainly occupied a prominentplace on the stage of events, but the figure behind the scenes wasthe white-haired intriguer, Tokimasa. Had the lady Maki's son-in-lawsucceeded Sanetomo, the former would have been the next victim ofTokimasa's ambition, whereafter the field would have been open forthe grand climacteric, the supremacy of the Hojo. HOJO YOSHITOKI Crafty and astute as was Hojo Tokimasa, his son Yoshitoki excelledhim in both of those attributes as well as in prescience. It was tothe mansion of Yoshitoki that Sanetomo was carried for safety whenhis life was menaced by the wiles of Tokimasa. Yet in thus espousingthe cause of his sister, Masa, and his nephew, Sanetomo, against hisfather, Tokimasa, and his brother-in-law, Tomomasa, it is not to besupposed that Yoshitoki's motive was loyalty to the house ofYoritomo. On the contrary, everything goes to show that he would haveassociated himself with his father's conspiracy had he not deemed thetime premature and the method clumsy. He waited patiently, and whenthe occasion arrived, he "covered his tracks" with infinite skillwhile marching always towards the goal of Tokimasa's ambition. The first to be "removed" was Wada Yoshimori, whom Yoritomo hadgratefully appointed betto of the Samurai-dokoro. Yoritomo's eldestson, Yoriiye, had left two sons, Kugyo and Senju-maru. The former hadtaken the tonsure after his father's and elder brother's deaths, in1204, but the cause of the latter was espoused with arms by a Shinanomagnate, Izumi Chikahira, in 1213. On Wada Yoshimori, as betto of theSamurai-dokoro, devolved the duty of quelling this revolt. He did soeffectually, but in the disposition of the insurgents' property, theshikken, Yoshitoki, contrived to drive Wada to open rebellion. Heattacked the mansion of the shogun and the shikken, captured andburned the former, chiefly through the prowess of his giant son, Asahina Saburo; but was defeated and ultimately killed, Senju-maru, though only thirteen years old, being condemned to death on thepretext that his name had been used to foment the insurrection! Afterthis convenient episode, Yoshitoki supplemented his office of shikkenwith that of betto of the Samurai-dokoro, thus becoming supreme inmilitary and civil affairs alike. DEATH OF SANETOMO How far Sanetomo appreciated the situation thus created there is muchdifficulty in determining. The sentiment of pity evoked by his tragicfate has been projected too strongly upon the pages of his annals toleave them quite legible. He had seen his elder brother and two ofthe latter's three sons done to death. He had seen the "removal" ofseveral of his father's most trusted lieutenants. He had seen thegradual upbuilding of the Hojo power on this hecatomb of victims. That he perceived something of his own danger would seem to be anatural inference. Yet if he entertained such apprehensions, he nevercommunicated them to his mother, Masa, who, from her place of highprestige and commanding intellect, could have reshaped the issue. The fact would appear to be that Hojo Yoshitoki's intrigues were toosubtle for the perception of Sanetomo or even of the lady Masa. Yoshitoki had learned all the lessons of craft and cunning that hisfather could teach and had supplemented them from the resources ofhis own marvellously fertile mind. His uniformly successful practicewas to sacrifice the agents of his crimes in order to hide his ownconnexion with them, and never to seize an opportunity until itspossibilities were fully developed. Tokimasa had feigned ignorance ofhis daughter's liaison with Yoritomo, but had made it the occasion toraise an army which could be directed either against Yoritomo or inhis support, as events ordered. There are strong reasons to thinkthat the vendetta of the Soga brothers was instigated by Tokimasa andYoshitoki, and that Yoritomo was intended to be the ultimate victim. This was the beginning of a long series of intrigues which led to thedeaths of Yoriiye and two of his sons, of Hatakeyama Shigetada, ofMinamoto Tomomasa, of Wada Yoshimori, and of many a minor partisan ofthe Yoritomo family. In the pursuit of his sinister design, therecame a time when Yoshitoki had to choose between his father and hissister. He sacrificed the former unhesitatingly, and it is veryprobable that such a choice helped materially to hide from the ladyMasa the true purport of his doings. For that it did remain hiddenfrom her till the end is proved by her failure to guard the life ofSanetomo, her own son, and by her subsequent co-operation with hisslayer, Yoshitoki, her brother. A mother's heart would neverwittingly have prompted such a course. There is a tradition that Sanetomo provoked the resentment of Masaand Yoshitoki by accepting high offices conferred on him byKyoto--chunagon, and general of the Left division of the guards--indefiance of Yoritomo's motto, "Wield power in fact but never inname, " and contrary to remonstrances addressed to him through theagency of Oye no Hiromoto. There is also a tradition that, underpretense of visiting China in the company of a Chinese bonze, ChenHosiang, he planned escape to the Kinai or Chugoku (central Japan), there to organize armed resistance to the Hojo designs. But it isvery doubtful whether these pages of history, especially the latter, should not be regarded in the main as fiction. Sanetomo was too muchof a littérateur to be an astute politician, and what eluded theobservation of his lynx-eyed mother might well escape his perception. In 1217, Yoshitoki invited Kugyo from Kyoto and appointed him to bebetto of the shrine of Hachiman (the god of War) which stood on thehill of Tsurugaoka overlooking the town of Kamakura. Kugyo was thesecond and only remaining legitimate son of Yoriiye. He had seen hisfather and his two brothers done to death, and he himself had beenobliged to enter religion, all of which misfortunes he had beentaught by Yoshitoki's agents to ascribe to the partisans of hisuncle, Sanetomo. Longing for revenge, the young friar waited. Hisopportunity came early in 1219. Sanetomo, having been nominatedminister of the Left by the Kyoto Court, had to repair to theTsurugaoka shrine to render thanks to the patron deity of his family. The time was fixed for ten o 'clock on the night of February 12th. Oye no Hiromoto, who had cognizance of the plot, hid his guiltyknowledge by offering counsels of caution. He advised that thefunction should be deferred until daylight, or, at any rate, that theshogun should wear armour. Minamoto Nakaakira combatted bothproposals and they were rejected. Sanetomo had a vague presentimentof peril. He gave a lock of his hair to one of his squires andcomposed a couplet: Though I am forth and gone, And tenantless my home; Forget not thou the Spring, Oh! plum tree by the eaves. Then he set out, escorted by a thousand troopers, his sword of Stateborne by the regent, Yoshitoki. But at the entrance to the shrineYoshitoki turned back, pretending to be sick and giving the sword toNakaakira. Nothing untoward occurred until, the ceremony beingconcluded, Sanetomo had begun to descend a broad flight of stonesteps that led from the summit of the hill. Then suddenly Kugyosprang out, killed Sanetomo and Nakaakira, carrying off the head ofthe former, and, having announced himself as his father's avenger, succeeded in effecting his escape. But he had been the agent ofYoshitoki's crime, and his survival would have been inconvenient. Therefore, when he appealed to the Miura mansion for aid, emissarieswere sent by the regent's order to welcome and to slay him. Sanetomoperished in his twenty-eighth year. All accounts agree that he wasnot a mere poet--though his skill in that line was remarkable--butthat he also possessed administrative talent; that he stroveearnestly to live up, and make his officers live up, to the ideals ofhis father, Yoritomo, and that he never wittingly committed aninjustice. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HOJO REGENCY Thus, after three generations occupying a period of only forty years, the Minamoto family was ruined, and the reins of power wereeffectually transferred to Hojo hands. It would seem natural, in thesequence of events, that the office of shogun should now descend tothe Hojo. But Yoshitoki understood that such a measure would convicthim of having contrived the downfall of Yoritomo's progeny in Hojointerests. Therefore a step was taken, worthy of the sagacity of thelady Masa and her brother, the regent. The Bakufu petitioned theKyoto Court to appoint an Imperial prince to the post of shogun. Thatwould have invested the Kamakura Government with new dignity in theeyes of the nation. But the ex-Emperor, Go-Toba, upon whom itdevolved to decide the fate of this petition, rejected itincontinently. His Majesty, as will presently be seen, was seeking to contrive thedownfall of the Bakufu, and the idea of associating one of his ownsons with its fortunes must have revolted him. In the face of thisrebuff, nothing remained for the Bakufu except recourse to thedescendants of the Minamoto in the female line. Yoritomo's eldersister had married into the Fujiwara family, and her greatgrandson, Yoritsune, a child of two, was carried to Kamakura and installed asthe head of the Minamoto. Not until 1226, however, was he investedwith the title of shogun, and in that interval of seven years amomentous chapter was added to the history of Japan. THE SHOKYU STRUGGLE The Shokyu era (1219-1222) gave its name to a memorable conflictbetween Kyoto and Kamakura. Affairs in the Imperial capital wereruled at that time by the ex-Emperor, Go-Toba. We have seen how, in1198, he abdicated in favour of his eldest son, Tsuchimikado. It isnot impossible that the idea of rebelling, sooner or later, againstthe Bakufu had begun to germinate in the mind of Go-Toba at thatdate, but the probability is that, in laying aside the sceptre, hisdominant aim was to enjoy the sweets of power without itsresponsibilities, and to obtain leisure for pursuing politeaccomplishments in which he excelled. His procedure, however, constituted a slight to the Bakufu, for the change of sovereign wasaccomplished without any reference whatever to Kamakura. Tsuchimikadowas a baby of three at the time of his accession. He had been chosenby lot from among three sons of Go-Toba, but the choice displeasedthe latter, and in 1210, Tsuchimikado, then in his fifteenth year, was compelled to abdicate in favour of his younger brother, Juntoku, aged thirteen, the eighty-fourth occupant of the throne. Again, Kamakura was not consulted; but the neglect evoked no remonstrance, for Sanetomo held the post of shogun at the time, and Sanetomo alwaysmaintained an attitude of deference towards the Imperial Court whichhad nominated him to high office. Juntoku held the sceptre eleven years, and then (1221) he, too, abdicated at his father's request. Very different considerations, however, were operative on this occasion. Go-Toba had now definitelyresolved to try armed conclusions with the Bakufu, and he desired tohave the assistance of his favourite son, Juntoku. Thus threecloistered Emperors had their palaces in Kyoto simultaneously. Theywere distinguished as Hon-in (Go-Toba), Chu-in (Tsuchimikado) andShin-in* (Juntoku). As for the occupant of the throne, Chukyo(eighty-fifth sovereign) he was a boy of two, the son of Juntoku. Much has been written about Go-Toba by romanticists and little bysober historians. The pathos of his fate tends to obscure his truecharacter. That he was gifted with exceptional versatility isscarcely questionable; but that he lacked all the qualities makingfor greatness appears equally certain. That his instincts were socruel as to make him derive pleasure from scenes of human suffering, such as the torture of a prisoner, may have been due to a neuroticcondition induced by early excesses, but it must always stand to hisdiscredit that he had neither judgment to estimate opportunities norability to create them. *Shin-in signifies the "original recluse;" Chu-in, the "middlerecluse;" and Shin-in "the new recluse. " Briefly summarized, the conditions which contributed mainly to theShokyu struggle had their origin in the system of land supervisioninstituted by Yoritomo at the instance of Oye no Hiromoto. Theconstables and the stewards despatched by the Bakufu to the provincesinterfered irksomely with private rights of property, and thus therewas gradually engendered a sentiment of discontent, especially amongthose who owed their estates to Imperial benevolence. A well-knownrecord (Tai-hei-ki) says: "In early morn the stars that linger in thefirmament gradually lose their brilliancy, even though the sun hasnot yet appeared above the horizon. The military families did notwantonly show contempt towards the Court. But in some districts thestewards were more powerful than the owners of the estates, and theconstables were more respected than the provincial governors. Thusinsensibly the influence of the Court waned day by day and that ofthe military waxed. " There were other causes also at work. They are thus summarized by theKamakura Jidaishi: "The conditions of the time called two partiesinto existence: the Kyoto party and the military party. To the formerbelonged not only many officials of Shinto shrines, priests ofBuddhist temples, and managers of private manors, but also a fewnominal retainers of the Bakufu. These last included men who, havingoccupied posts in the Imperial capital for a long time, had learnedto regard the Court with gratitude; others who had special grievancesagainst the Bakufu, and yet others who, having lost their estates, were ready to adopt any means of recovering them. The family systemof the time paid no heed to primogeniture. Parents fixed thesuccession by favouritism, and made such divisions as seemedexpedient in their eyes. During a parent's lifetime there could be noappeal nor any remonstrance. But no sooner was a father's tombstoneabout to be erected, than his children engaged in disputes orappealed to the courts. Therefore the Bakufu, seeking to correct thisevil state of affairs, issued an order that the members of a familyshould be subservient to the directions of the eldest son; whichorder was followed, in 1202, by a law providing that disputes betweenbrothers must be compromised, and by another, in 1214, ruling thatapplications for official posts must have the approval of the membersof the applicants' family in conclave instead of being submitteddirect, as theretofore. Under such a system of family autocracy itfrequently happened that men were ousted from all share in theirpaternal estates, and these men, carrying their genealogical tablesconstantly in their pockets, were ready to join in any enterprisethat might better their circumstances. Hence the Shokyu struggle maybe said to have been, politically, a collision between the ImperialCourt and the Bakufu, and, socially, a protest against familyautocracy. " The murder of Sanetomo inspired the Court with strong hope that asuicidal feud had commenced at Kamakura, and when the Fujiwara baby, Yoritsune, was sent thither, peace-loving politicians entertained anidea that the civil and the military administration would soon befound co-operating. But neither event made any change in thesituation. The lady Masa and her brother remained as powerful as everand as careless of the Court's dignity. Two events now occurred which materially hastened a rupture. One wasconnected with an estate, in the province of Settsu, conferred byGo-Toba on a favourite--a shirabyoshi, "white measure-marker, " as adanseuse of those days was called. The land-steward of this estatetreated its new owner, Kamegiku, with contumely, and Go-Toba wassufficiently infatuated to lodge a protest, which elicited fromKamakura an unceremonious negative. One of the flagrant abuses of thetime was the sale of offices to Court ladies, and the Bakufu'sattitude in the affair of the Settsu estates amounted to an indirectcondemnation of such evil practices. But Go-Toba, profoundlyincensed, applied himself from that day to mustering soldiers andpractising military tactics. The second incident which precipitatedan appeal to arms was the confiscation of a manor owned by a bushinamed Nishina Morito, who, though a retainer (keriin) of the Bakufu, had taken service at the Imperial Court. Go-Toba asked that theestate should be restored, but Yoshitoki flatly refused. It was then(1221) that Go-Toba contrived the abdication of his son, Juntoku, ayoung man of twenty-four, possessing, apparently, all the qualitiesthat make for success in war, and thereafter an Imperial decreedeprived Yoshitoki of his offices and declared him a rebel. The diewas now cast. Troops were summoned from all parts of the Empire toattack Kamakura, and a motley crowd mustered in Kyoto. STEPS TAKEN BY THE BAKUFU It was on June 6, 1221, that the Imperial decree outlawing HojoYoshitoki appeared, and three days later Kamakura was informed of theevent. The lady Masa at once summoned the leading generals of theBakufu to her presence and addressed them thus: "To-day the time ofparting has come. You know well what kind of work the late shogun, myhusband, accomplished. But slanderers have misled the sovereign andare seeking to destroy the Kwanto institutions. If you have notforgotten the favours of the deceased shogun, you will join heartsand hands to punish the traducers and to preserve the old order. Butif any of you wish to proceed to the west, you are free to do so. " This astute appeal is said to have moved the generals greatly. Therewas not one instance of disaffection; a sufficiently notable factwhen we remember that the choice lay between the Throne and theBakufu. A military council was at once convened by Yoshitoki todiscuss a plan of campaign, and the view held by the great majoritywas that a defensive attitude should be adopted by guarding theAshigara and Hakone passes. Alone, Oye no Hiromoto opposed that programme. Regarding thesituation from a political, not a strategical, standpoint, he sawthat every day they remained unmolested must bring an access ofstrength to the Imperial forces, and he strenuously urged that a dashshould be made for Kyoto at once. Even the lady Masa did not rise toHiromoto's height of discernment; she advocated a delay until thearrival of the Musashi contingent. Another council was convened, butHiromoto remained inflexible. He went so far as to urge that theMusashi chief--Yoshitoki's eldest son, Yasutoki--ought to advancealone, trusting his troops to follow. Then the lady Masa summonedMiyoshi Yasunobu and asked his opinion. He said: "The fate of theKwanto is at stake. Strike at once. " Thereupon Hojo Yoshitoki orderedYasutoki, his son, to set out forthwith from Kamakura, though hisfollowing consisted of only eighteen troopers. Thereafter, other forces mustered in rapid succession. They are saidto have totalled 190, 000. Tokifusa, younger brother of Yasutoki, wasadjutant-general, and the army moved by three routes, the Tokai-do, the Tosan-do, and the Hokuriku-do, all converging upon the Imperialcapital. On the night of his departure from Kamakura, Yasutokigalloped back all alone and, hastening to his father's presence, said: "I have my orders for the disposition of the forces and fortheir destination. But if the Emperor in person commands the westernarmy, I have no orders to guide me. " Hojo Yoshitoki reflected for atime and then answered: "The sovereign cannot be opposed. If hisMajesty be in personal command, then strip off your armour, cut yourbow-strings, and assume the mien of low officials. But if the Emperorbe not in command, then fight to the death. Should you be defeated Iwill never see your face again. " THE STRUGGLE When they learned that a great army was advancing from the Kwanto, the courtiers in Kyoto lost heart at once. There was no talk ofGo-Toba or of Juntoku taking the field. Defensive measures were alonethought of. The Imperialist forces moved out to Mino, Owari, andEtchu. Their plan was to shatter the Bakufu columns separately, or, if that might not be, to fall back and cover the capital. It was amost unequal contest. The Kyoto troops were a mere mob withoutintelligence or coherence. They broke everywhere under the onset ofthe Kwanto veterans. At the river Uji, where their last stand wasmade, they fought gallantly and obstinately. But their efforts onlydeferred the result by a few hours. On the twenty-fifth day (July 6, 1221) after he had marched out of Kamakura, Yasutoki entered Kyoto. The Throne had no hesitation as to the course to be pursued in suchcircumstances. From the palace of the Shin-in a decree was issuedrestoring the official titles of the Hojo chief, and cancelling theedict for his destruction, while, through an envoy sent to meet him, he was informed that the campaign against the Bakufu had been thework of irresponsible subjects; that the sovereign did not sanctionit, and that any request preferred by Kamakura would be favourablyconsidered. Yasutoki received these gracious overtures with a silent obeisance, and taking up his quarters at Rokuhara, proceeded to arrest theleaders of the anti-Bakufu enterprise; to execute or exile thecourtiers that had participated in it, and to confiscate all theirestates. In thus acting, Yasutoki obeyed instructions from hisimplacable father in Kamakura. He himself evinced a disposition to bemerciful, especially in the case of the Court nobles. These he senteastward to the Bakufu capital, which place, however, very few ofthem reached alive, their deaths being variously compassed on theway. To the Imperial family no pity was shown. Even the baby Emperor* wasdethroned, and his place given to Go-Horikawa (1221-1232), theeighty-sixth sovereign, then a boy of ten, son of Morisada, Go-Toba'selder brother. Go-Toba, himself was banished to the island of Oki, and Juntoku to Sado, while Tsuchimikado, who had essayed to check themovement against the Bakufu, might have remained in Kyoto had not theexile of his father and brother rendered the city intolerable. At hisown request he was transferred, first, to Tosa, and then, to Awa. Thethree ex-Emperors died in exile. Go-Toba seems to have sufferedspecially from his reverse of fortunes. He lived in a thatched hutbarely impervious to rain, and his lot is said to have been pitiful, even from the point of view of the lower orders. *To this child, Kanenari, who lived a virtual prisoner in Kyoto forthirteen years subsequently, the Bakufu declined to give the title ofEmperor. Not until the Meiji Restoration (1870) was he enrolled inthe list of sovereigns under the name of Chukyo. YASUTOKI'S EXPLANATION There had not been any previous instance of such treatment of theImperial family by a subject, and public opinion was not unnaturallysomewhat shocked. No little interest attaches, therefore, to anexplanation given by Yasutoki himself and recorded in the Biographyof Saint Myoe (Myoe Shonin-deri). Visiting the temple after hisvictory, Yasutoki was thus addressed by Myoe: The ancients used to say, "When men are in multitude they mayovercome heaven for a moment, but heaven in the end triumphs. " Thougha country be subdued by military force, calamities will soon overtakeit unless it be virtuously governed. From time immemorial in bothJapan and China sway founded on force has never been permanent. Inthis country, since the Age of Deities down to the present reign, theImperial line has been unbroken through ninety generations. No princeof alien blood has ascended the throne. Everything in the realm isthe property of the Crown. Whatever the Throne may appropriate, thesubject must acquiesce. Even life must be sacrificed if the cause ofgood government demands it. But you have broken an Imperial army;destroyed Imperial palaces; seized the persons of sovereigns;banished them to remote regions, and exiled Empresses and princes ofthe Blood. Such acts are contrary to propriety. Heaven will inflictpunishment. These words are said to have profoundly moved Yasutoki. He replied: Idesire to express my sincere views. The late shogun (Yoritomo) brokethe power of the Heike; restored peace of mind to the Court; removedthe sufferings of the people, and rendered loyal service to thesovereign. Among those that served the shogun there was none that didnot reverence the Emperor. It seems that his Majesty recognized thesemeritorious deeds, for he bestowed ranks and titles. Yoritomo was notonly appointed dainagon and taisho, but also given the post ofso-tsuihoshi with powers extending to all parts of the empire. Whenever such honours were offered, he firmly declined to be theirrecipient, his contention being that not for personal reward but forthe sake of the Throne he had striven to subdue the insurgents and togovern the people mercifully. Pressed again and again, however, hehad been constrained finally to accede, and thus his relatives alsohad benefitted, as my grandfather, Tokimasa, and my father, Yoshitoki, who owed their prosperity to the beneficence of thecloistered Emperor. But after the demise of his Majesty and of the shogun, the Court'sadministration degenerated. The loyal and the faithful were notrecognized and often the innocent were punished. When it was reportedthat an Imperial army numbering tens of thousands was advancingagainst the Kwanto, my father, Yoshitoki, asked my views as todealing with it. I replied: "The Kwanto has been loyal and has erredin nothing. Yet we are now to be punished. Surely the Court is inerror? Still the whole country belongs to the sovereign. What is nowthreatened must take its course. There is nothing for us but to bowour heads, fold our hands, and supplicate for mercy. If, nevertheless, death be our portion, it will be lighter than to livedisloyal. If we be pardoned, we can end our lives in mountainforests. " My father, after reflecting for a space, answered: "Whatyou say may be right, but it applies only when the sovereign hasproperly administered the country. During the present reign, however, the provinces under Imperial sway are in confusion; the peace isdisturbed, and the people are in misery; whereas those under theBakufu are peaceful and prosperous. If the administration of theCourt be extended to all the land, misrule and unhappiness will beuniversal. I do not resist the mandate for selfish reasons. I resistit in the cause of the people. For them I sacrifice my life if heavenbe not propitious. There are precedents. Wu of Chou and Kao-tsu ofHan acted similarly, but, when victorious, they themselves ascendedthe throne, whereas if we succeed, we shall merely set up anotherprince of the same dynasty. Amaterasu and Hachiman will not reproachus. We will punish only the evil councillors who have led the Throneastray. You will set out with all expedition. " Thus instructed, I took the road to Kyoto. But before departing, Iwent to worship at the shrine of Hachiman. There I prayed that if mytaking the field was improper, I might be struck dead forthwith; butthat if my enterprise could in any wise aid the country, bring peaceto the people, and contribute to the prosperity of the shrines andtemples, then might I receive the pity and sympathy of heaven. I tookoath before the shrine of Mishima Myojin, also, that my purpose wasfree from all selfish ambition. Thus, having placed my life in thehand of heaven, I awaited my fate. If to this day I have survived allperil, may I not regard it as an answer to my prayer? A difference will be detected between the views here attributed toYoshitoki and his previously narrated instructions to his son, Yasutoki. There can be little doubt that the record in the MyoeShonin-den is the correct version. Yoshitoki obeyed the Chinesepolitical ethics; he held that a sovereign had to answer for hisdeeds at the bar of public opinion. Yasutoki's loyalty was of a muchmore whole-hearted type: he recognized the occupant of the throne asaltogether sacrosanct. If he obeyed his father's instructions indealing with the Court, he condemned himself to the constantcompanionship of regret, which was reflected in the excellence of hissubsequent administration. ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES By the Shokyu war the camera system of administration (Insei) at theCourt was destroyed, and a great change took place in the relationsof the Throne to the Bakufu. For, whereas the latter's authority inKyoto had hitherto been largely nominal, it now became a supremereality. Kamakura had been represented in the Imperial capital by ahigh constable only, whereas two special officials, called"inquisitors" (tandai) were now appointed, and the importanceattaching to the office becomes apparent when we observe that thefirst tandai were Yasutoki himself and his uncle, Tokifusa. Theypresided over administrative machinery at the two Rokuhara--in thenorthern and southern suburbs of the city--organized exactly on thelines of the Kamakura polity; namely, a Samurai-dokoro, a Man-dokoro, and a Monju-dokoro. Further, in spite of imposing arrangements inKyoto, no question was finally decided without previous reference toKamakura, which thus became, in very truth, the administrativemetropolis of the empire. THE SHIMPO-JITO When Yoritomo appointed retainers of his own to be land-stewards inthe various manors, these officials did not own the estates wherethey were stationed; they merely collected the taxes and exercisedgeneral supervision. After the Shokyu struggle, however, some threethousand manors, hitherto owned by courtiers hostile to the Bakufu, were confiscated by the latter and distributed among the Minamoto, the Hojo, and their partisans. The recipients of these estates wereappointed also to be their land-stewards, and thus there came intoexistence a new class of manor-holders, who were at once owners andjito, and who were designated shimpo-jito, or "newly appointedland-stewards, " to distinguish them from the hompo-jito, or"originally appointed. " These shimpo-jito, in whom were vested at once the rights ofownership and of management, were the first genuine feudal chiefs inJapan--prototypes of the future daimyo and shomyo. It should be herenoted that, in the distribution of these confiscated estates, theKamakura regent, Yoshitoki, did not benefit to the smallest extent;and that the grants made to the two tandai in Kyoto barely sufficedto defray the charges of their administrative posts. Yoshitoki is, intruth, one of the rare figures to whom history can assign the creditof coveting neither wealth nor station. Out of the three thousandmanors that came into his hands as spolia opima of the Shokyu war, hemight have transferred as many as he pleased to his own name; andwielding absolute authority in Kyoto, he could have obtained anytitle he desired. Yet he did not take a rood of land, and hisofficial status at the time of his death was no higher than thefourth rank. THE BUILDERS OF THE BAKUFU The great statesmen, legislators, and judges who contributed so muchto the creation of the Bakufu did not long survive the Shokyustruggle. Miyoshi Yasunobu, who presided over the Department ofJustice (Monju-dokoro) from the time of its establishment, had beenattacked by mortal sickness before the Imperial army commenced itsmarch eastward. His last advice was given to the lady Masa when hecounselled an immediate advance against Kyoto. Soon afterwards hedied at the age of eighty-two. The great Oye no Hiromoto, whocontributed more than any other man to the conception andorganization of the Kamakura system, and of whom history says thatwithout him the Minamoto had never risen to fame, survived hiscolleague by only four years, dying, in 1225, at the age ofseventy-eight. The lady Masa, one of the world's heroines, expired inthe same year, and 1224 had seen the sudden demise of the regent, Hojo Yoshitoki. Fortunately for the Bakufu, the regent's son, Yasutoki, proved himself a ruler of the highest ability, and hisimmediate successors were not less worthy of the exalted office theyfilled. ENGRAVING: SILK TASSEL ENGRAVING: ITSUKUSHIMA JINJA (SHRINE), AT MIYAJIMA CHAPTER XXVII THE HOJO THE HOJO IN KYOTO THERE was nothing perfunctory in the administration of the "TwoRokuhara" (Ryo-Rokuhara) in Kyoto. The northern and the southernoffices were presided over by the most prominent members of the Hojofamily, men destined to fill the post of regent (shikkeri)subsequently in Kamakura. Thus, when Hojo Yoshitoki died suddenly, in1224, his son, Yasutoki, returned at once to Kamakura to succeed tothe regency, transferring to his son, Tokiuji, the charge of northernRokuhara, and a short time afterwards the control of southernRokuhara was similarly transferred from Yoshitoki is brother, Tokifusa, to the latter's son, Tokimori. Nominally, the jurisdictionof the two Rokuhara was confined to military affairs, but in realitytheir influence extended to every sphere within Kyoto and to theKinai and the Saikai-do without. THE HYOJOSHU So long as the lady Masa lived, the administrative machinery atKamakura suggested no sense of deficiency. That great woman acceptedall the responsibility herself. But in the year (1225) of her death, Yasutoki, who had just succeeded to the regency, made an importantreform. He organized within the Man-dokoro a council of fifteen orsixteen members, which was called the Hyojo-shu, and which virtuallyconstituted the Bakufu cabinet. The Samurai-dokoro and theMonju-dokoro remained unchanged, but the political administrationpassed from the Monju-dokoro to the Hyojoshu, and the betto of theformer became in effect the finance minister of the shogun. THE GOOD ADMINISTRATION OF THE HOJO Commencing with Yasutoki (1225), down to the close of the thirteenthcentury, Japan was admirably ruled by a succession of Hojo regents. Among them, Yasutoki deserves the highest credit, for he establisheda standard with the aid of very few guiding precedents. When he cameinto power he found the people suffering grievously from theextortions of manorial chiefs. It was not an uncommon practice forthe owner of an estate to hold in custody the wives and daughters ofdefaulting tenants until the latter paid their rents, howeverexorbitant, and seldom indeed did the holder of a manor recognize anyduty of succouring the peasants in time of distress. The former cruelpractice was strictly forbidden by Yasutoki, and, to correct thelatter defect, he adopted the plan of setting a fine example himself. It is recorded that in the Kwanki era (1229-1232), when certainplaces were suffering from crop failure, the regent distributed ninethousand koku of rice (45, 000 bushels approximately) among theinhabitants and remitted all taxes throughout more than one thousanddistricts. In the Azuma Kagami, a contemporaneous history generally trustworthy, we find various anecdotes illustrative at once of the men and theethics of the time. Thus, it is related that the farmers of a villagecalled Hojo being in an embarrassed condition, seed-rice was lent tothem in the spring by the regent's order, they undertaking to repayit in the autumn. But a storm having devastated their fields, theywere unable to keep their pledge. Nothing seemed to offer exceptflight. When they were on the eve of decamping, however, theyreceived from Yasutoki an invitation to a feast at which their bondswere burned in their presence and every debtor was given half abushel of rice. Elsewhere, we read that the regent himself lived in ahouse so unpretentious that the interior was visible from thehighroad, owing to the rude nature of the surrounding fence. Urged tomake the fence solid, if only as a protection against fire, his replywas: "However economically a new wall and fence be constructed, theoutlay would be at the cost of the people. As for me, if I do my dutyto the State, my life and my house will be safe. If I fail, thestrongest fence will not avail. " In estimating what his bountiful assistance to the farmers meant, itis necessary to remember that he was very poor, The greater part ofthe comparatively small estates bequeathed to him by his father hedivided among his half-brothers by a Fujiwara mother, reserving tohimself only a little, for, said he: "I am the regent. What more do Idesire?" One day, while attending a meeting of the Hyojoshu, hereceived news that the house of his brother, Tomotoki, was attacked. Immediately he hastened to the rescue with a small band of followers. Subsequently, one of his principal retainers remonstrated with himfor risking his life in an affair so insignificant. Yasutokianswered: "How can you call an incident insignificant when mybrother's safety was concerned? To me it seemed as important as theShokyu struggle. If I had lost my brother, what consolation would myrank have furnished?" Yasutoki never made his rank a pretext for avoiding military service;he kept his watch in turn with the other guards, remaining up allnight and attending to all his duties. When he periodically visitedthe temple of Yoritomo, he always worshipped without ascending to theaisle, his reason being that, were the shogun, Yoritomo, alive, theregent would not venture to sit on the dais by his side. Thrifty andeminently practical, he ridiculed a priest who proposed totranquillize the nation by building fanes. "How can peace be broughtto the people, " he asked, "by tormenting them to subscribe for such apurpose?" He revered learning, regarded administration as a literaryart rather than a military, and set no store whatever by his ownability or competence. THE JOEI CODE The most memorable achievement during Yasutoki's regency was thecompilation of a code of law called the Joei Shikimoku* after thename of the era (Joei, 1232-1233) when it was promulgated. Whatrendered this legislation essentially necessary was that the Daihocode of the eighth century and all the laws founded on it wereinspired primarily by the purpose of centralizing the administrativepower and establishing the Throne's title of ownership in all theland throughout the realm, a system diametrically opposed to thespirit of feudalism. This incongruity had made itself felt inYoritomo's time, and had suggested the compilation of certain "Rulesfor Decisions" (Hanketsu-rei), which became the basis of the Joeicode in Yasutoki's days. Another objection to the Daiho code and itscorrelated enactments was that, being written with Chinese ideographssolely, they were unintelligible to the bulk of those they concerned. Confucius laid down as a fundamental maxim of government that menshould be taught to obey, not to understand, and that principle wasadopted by the Tokugawa in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. But in the thirteenth, the aim of Yasutoki and his fellow legislatorswas to render the laws intelligible to all, and with that object theywere indited mostly in the kana syllabary. *Called also the Kwanto Goseibai Shikimoku. The actual work of compilation was done by Hokkyo Enzen (a renownedbonze), but the idea originated with Hojo Yasutoki and MiyoshiYasutsura, and every provision was carefully scanned and debated bythe Bakufu's State council (Hyojoshu). There was no intention ofsuppressing the Daiho code. The latter was to remain operative in allregions to which the sway of the Kyoto Court extended direct. But inproportion as the influence of the Bakufu grew, the Joei lawsreceived new adherents and finally became universally effective. Agreat modern authority, Dr. Ariga, has opined that the motive of theBakufu legislation was not solely right for right's sake. He thinksthat political expediency figured in the business, the Kamakurarulers being shrewd enough to foresee that a reputation foradministering justice would prove a potent factor in extending theirinfluence. If so, the scheme was admirably worked out, for everymember of the council had to sign a pledge, inserted at the end ofthe Shikimoku, invoking* the vengeance of heaven on his head if hedeparted from the laws or violated their spirit in renderingjudgment. Nothing, indeed, stands more signally to the credit of theBakufu rulers from the days of Yoritomo and his wife, Masa, downwards, than their constant endeavour to do justice between manand man. *"This oath indicates, among other things, the deep sense of theimportance of unanimity, of a united front, of the individual sharingfully in the collective responsibility, that was cherished by theBakufu councillors. This was, indeed, one of the chief secrets of thewonderful stability and efficiency of the machine. " (Murdoch. ) NATURE OF THE CODE The Joei Shikimoku is not a voluminous document: it contains onlyfifty-one brief articles, which the poet Basho compares to theluminosity of the full moon. It has been excellently translated andannotated by Mr. Consul-General J. C. Hall in the "Transactions ofthe Asiatic Society of Japan" (Vol. XXXIV, Part I), and Mr. J. Murdoch, in his admirable History of Japan, summarizes its provisionslucidly. We learn that slavery still existed in the thirteenthcentury in Japan; but the farmer was guarded against cruel processesof tax-collecting and enjoyed freedom of domicile when his dues werepaid. Fiefs might not be sold, but a peasant might dispose of hisholding. "Village headmen, while held to a strict discharge of theirduties and severely punished for various malpractices, weresafeguarded against all aggression or undue interference on the partof the jito. The law of property was almost entirely synonymous withthat of fiefs. These, if originally conferred for public servicesrendered by the grantee, could not be sold. On the death of theholder it was not necessarily the eldest son--even thoughlegitimate--that succeeded. The only provision affecting the father'scomplete liberty of bequest or gift to his widow--or concubine, inone article--or children, was that a thoroughly deserving eldest son, whether of wife or concubine, could claim one-fifth of the estate. "Not only could women be dowered with, or inherit, fiefs, andtransmit a legal title to them to their own children, but a childlesswoman was even fully empowered to adopt an heir. Yoritomo had beenthe first to sanction this broadminded and liberal principle. InKamakura, an adulterer was stripped of half of his fief if he heldone; and if he had none, he was banished. For an adulteress thepunishment was no severer, except that if she possessed a fief, thewhole of it was confiscated. A good many sections of the code dealwith legal procedure and the conduct and duty of magistrates, thegreat objects being to make the administration of justice simple, prompt, and pure, while repressing everything in the shape ofpettifogging or factious litigation. "The penalties were neither cruel nor ferocious. Death for the worstoffences--among which theft is specially mentioned--confiscation offief, and banishment, these exhaust the list. The only otherpunishment mentioned is that of branding on the face, inflicted on acommoner for the crime of forgery, a bushi's punishment in this casebeing banishment, or simply confiscation of his fief, if possessed ofone. "Bakufu vassals were strictly forbidden directly to solicit theImperial Court for rank or office; they must be provided with aspecial recommendation from Kamakura. But once invested with Courtrank, they might be promoted in grade without any furtherrecommendation, while they were free to accept the position ofhebiishi. Analogous restrictions were placed on the Kwanto clergy, who were to be summarily removed from their benefices if foundappealing to Kyoto for promotion, the only exception being in favourof Zen-shu priests. In their case the erring brother guilty of suchan offence got off comparatively lightly--'an influential member ofthe same sect will be directed to administer a gentle admonition. 'The clergy within the Bakufu domains were to be kept strictly inhand; if they squandered the revenues of their incumbency andneglected the fabric and the established services therein, they wereto be displaced. As regards the monasteries and priests outside theBakufu domain, the case was entirely different; they were virtuallyindependent, and Kamakura interfered there only when instructed to doso by Imperial decree. "* *Murdoch's History of Japan. FURTHER LEGISLATION It is not to be supposed that the Joei Shikimoku represents the wholeoutcome of Kamakura legislation. Many additions were made to the codeduring the fourteenth century, but they were all in the nature ofamplifications or modifications. Kyoto also was busy with enactmentsin those times--busier, indeed, than Kamakura, but with smallerpractical results. FALL OF THE MIURA Yasutoki died in 1242, having held the regency (shikken) for eighteenyears. His two sons had preceded him to the grave, and therefore hisgrandson, Tsune-toki, became shikken. Tsunetoki resembled hisgrandfather in many respects, but, as he died in 1246, he had littleopportunity of distinguishing himself. Nevertheless, during his brieftenure of power, he took a step which had momentous consequences. Itwill be remembered that after the murder of Minamoto Sanetomo by hisnephew Kugyo, in 1219, some difficulty was experienced in persuadingthe Imperial Court to appoint a successor to the shogunate, andfinally the choice fell upon Fujiwara Yoritsune, then a child of two, who was not actually nominated shogun until 1226. This noble, when(1244) in the twenty-seventh year of his age and the eighteenth ofhis shogunate, was induced by the regent, Tsunetoki, to resign, thealleged reason being portents in the sky, and a successor was foundfor him in his son, Yoritsugu. Now, for many years past the Miura family had ranked next to the Hojoin power and above it in wealth, but the two had always been loyalfriends. Some umbrage was given to the Miura at this time, however, owing to the favours enjoyed at the regency by the Adachi family, oneof whose ladies was the mother of the two shikken, Tsunetoki andTokiyori. The situation thus created had its issue in a plot to killTokiyori, and to replace him by an uncle unconnected with the Adachi. Whether the Miura family were really involved in this plot, historygives no definite indication; but certainly the ex-shogun, Yoritsune, was involved, and his very marked friendship with Miura Mitsumuracould scarcely fail to bring the latter under suspicion. In the end, the Miura mansion was suddenly invested by a Hojo force. Mitsumuraand his elder brother, Yasumura, escaped to a temple where, after astubborn resistance, they and 270 of their vassals committed suicide. No mercy was shown. The Miura were hunted and slaughtered everywhere, their wide, landed estates being confiscated and divided among theBakufu, the fanes, and the courtiers at Kyoto. The terribly drastic sequel of this affair illustrates the vast powerwielded by the Hojo throughout the empire in the thirteenth century. Yoritomo's system of high constables and land-stewards brought almostevery part of the country under the effective sway of Kamakura. It isnot to be supposed, however, that these high constables andland-stewards were suffered to subject the people within theirjurisdiction to arbitrary or extortionate treatment. Not only couldcomplaints of any such abuses count on a fair hearing and promptredress at the hands of the Bakufu, but also inspectors weredespatched, periodically or at uncertain dates, to scrutinize withthe utmost vigilance the conduct of the shugo and jito, who, in theirturn, had a staff of specially trained men to examine the land surveyand adjust the assessment and incidence of taxation. ENGRAVING: HOJO TOKIYORI HOJO TOKIYORI Tokiyori, younger brother of Tsunetoki, held the post of shikken atthe time of the Miura tragedy. He had succeeded to the position, in1246, on the death of Tsunetoki, and he nominally abdicated in 1256, when, in the sequel of a severe illness, he took the tonsure. Azealous believer, from his youth upwards, in the doctrines of the Zensect of Buddhism, he built a temple called Saimyo-ji among the hillsof Kamakura, and retired thither to tend his health--entrusting theoffice of shikken to a relative, Nagatoki, as his own son, Tokimune, was still of tender age--but continuing himself to administermilitary and judicial affairs, especially when any criminal or civilcase of a complicated or difficult nature occurred. Thus, there was acloistered regent at Kamakura, just as there had so often been acloistered Emperor in Kyoto. Tradition has busied itself much withTokiyori's life. He carried to extreme lengths the virtue of economyso greatly extolled by his grandfather, Yasutoki. Such was thefrugality of his mode of life that we read of him searching forfragments of food among the remnants of a meal, so that he mightserve them to a friend, and we read, also, of his mother repairingwith her own hands the paper covering of a shoji in expectation of avisit from him. He is further said to have disguised himself as anitinerent bonze and to have travelled about the provinces, observingthe state of the people and learning their complaints. Hisexperiences, on this pilgrimage read like a romance. Lodging at onetime with an aged widow, he learns that she has been robbed of herestate and reduced to painful poverty, a wrong which Tokiyori hastensto redress; at another time his host is an old samurai whose loyalrecord comes thus to the knowledge of the shikken and is subsequentlyrecognized. But it must be confessed that these tales rest on very slenderevidence. Better attested is the story of Aoto Fujitsuna, whichillustrates at once the character of Tokiyori and the customs of thetime. This Fujitsuna was a man of humble origin but considerablelearning. One year, the country being visited by drought, Tokiyorigave rice and money to priests for religious services, and himselfworshipped at the shrine of Mishima. These measures were vehementlycriticized by Fujitsuna, who described them as enriching the wealthyto help the impoverished. When informed of this, Tokiyori, instead ofresenting it, sent for Fujitsuna and nominated him a member of theCourt of Recorders, * where he earned the reputation of being one ofJapan's greatest judges. ** It is related of him that he devoted hiswhole fortune to objects of charity, and that when Tokiyori, claiminga revelation from heaven, proposed to increase his endowments, hisanswer was, "Supposing heaven revealed to you that you should put meto death, would you obey?" *** *The Hikitsuke-shii, a body of men who kept the archives of theMan-dokoro and conducted preliminary judicial investigations. It wasorganized in Tokiyori's, time and from its members the Hyojoshu wasrecruited. **The other was Ooka Tadasuke of the Tokugawa period. ***It is related of this Aoto Fujitsuna that, having dropped a fewcash into the Namera River at night, he expended many times theamount in paying torch-bearers to recover the lost coins, hisargument being that the money thus expended was merely put intocirculation, whereas the dropped money would have been irrevocablylost. Tokiyori, as already related, though he nominally resigned andentered religion in 1256, really held the reins of power until hisdeath, in 1263. Thus the Insei (camera administration) came intobeing in Kamakura, as it had done previously in Kyoto. There werealtogether nine of the Hojo regents, as shown below: (1) Tokimasa 1203-1205 (2) Yoshitoki 1205-1224 (3) Yasutoki 1224-1242 (4) Tsunetoki 1242-1246 (5) Tokiyori 1246-1256 Retired in 1256, but ruled in camera till1263 (6) Tokimune 1256-1284 (7) Sadatoki 1284-1301 Retired in 1301, but ruled in camera till1311 (8) Morotoki 1301-1311 (9) Takatoki 1311-1333 The first six of these were men of genius, but neither Tokimasa norYoshitoki can be called really great administrators, if in thescience of administration its moral aspects be included. The nextfour, however, from Yasutoki down to Tokimune, are distinctlyentitled to a high place in the pages of history. Throughout thesixty years of their sway (1224-1284), the Japanese nation wasgoverned with justice* and clemency rarely found in the records ofany medieval State, and it is a strange fact that Japan's debt tothese Hojo rulers remained unrecognized until modern times. *It is recorded that the first half of every month in Kamakura wasdevoted to judicial proceedings, and that at the gate of the RecordOffice there was hung a bell, by striking which a suitor orpetitioner could count on immediate attention. THE SHOGUNS IN KAMAKURA In the Minamoto's original scheme of government the office of shogunwas an administrative reality. Its purpose was to invest the Bakufuchief with permanent authority to command all the military and navalforces throughout the empire for the defence and tranquillization ofthe country. In that light the shogunate was regarded while itremained in the hands of Yoritomo and his two sons, Yoriie andSanetomo. But with the death of Sanetomo, in 1219, and the politicalextinction of the Minamoto family, the shogunate assumed a differentcharacter in the eyes of the Minamoto's successors, the Hojo. Theselatter, not qualified to hold the office themselves, regarded it as alink between Kamakura and Kyoto, and even as a source from whichmight be derived lawful sanction for opposing the Throne shouldoccasion arise. Therefore they asked the Emperor Go-Toba to nominateone of his younger sons, and on receiving a refusal, they were fainto be content with a member of the Fujiwara family, who had long heldthe Court in the hollow of their hands. This nomination was neverintended to carry with it any real authority. The shoguns were merepuppets. During the interval of 114 years between the death ofSanetomo (1219) and the fall of the Hojo (1333), there were six ofthese fainéant officials: Age at Age at Appn't Depos'n Fujiwara Yoritsune, 1219-1244 2 27 Yoritsugu 1244-1252 5 13 Prince Munetaka, 1252-1266 10 24elder brother of Go-Fukakusa Prince Koreyasu, son of Munetaka 1266-1289 3 26 Prince Hisaakira, son of Go-Fukakusa 1289-1308 13 32 Prince Morikuni, son of Hisaakira 1308-1333 7 32 The record shows that all these officials were appointed at an agewhen independent thought had not yet become possible, and that theywere removed as soon as they began to think for themselves. It willbe observed that there is a palpable break in the uniformity of thelist. Yoritsugu alone was stripped of office while still in histeens. That was because his father, the ex-shogun, engaged in a plotto overthrow the Hojo. But the incident was also opportune. Itoccurred just at the time when other circumstances combined topromote the ambition of the Hojo in the matter of obtaining anImperial prince for shogun. The throne was then occupied byGo-Fukakusa (the eighty-ninth sovereign), a son of Go-Saga (theeighty-eighth sovereign), who, as we shall see, owed his elevation tothe influence exercised by Hojo Yasutoki after the Shokyu war. Now ithappened that, in 1252, a conspiracy against Go-Saga was found tohave been fomented by the head of that branch of the Fujiwara familyfrom which the Kamakura shoguns were taken. The conspiracy was athing of the past and so were its principal fomenters, but it servedas a conclusive reason for not creating another Fujiwara shogun. Prince Munetaka, an elder brother of the reigning Emperor, waschosen, and thus the last four Bakufu shoguns were all of Imperialblood. Their lineage, however, did not avail much as against Bakufuarbitrariness. The Hojo adopted towards the shoguns the samepolicy as that previously pursued by the Fujiwara towards thesovereigns--appointment during the years of childhood and removalon reaching full manhood. * But the shoguns were not unavenged. *It is related that when the regent, Sadatoki, in 1289, removedPrince Koreyasu from the office of shogun, he ordered that the bamboopalanquin in which the prince journeyed to Kyoto should be carriedwith the back in front. The people said that the prince was banishedto Kyoto. It was owing to the social influence exercised by their entouragethat the frugal and industrious habits of the bushi at Kamakura weregradually replaced by the effeminate pastimes and enervatingaccomplishments of the Imperial capital. For the personnel andequipage of a shogun's palace at Kamakura differed essentially fromthose of Hojo regents (shikken) like Yasutoki and his three immediatesuccessors. In the former were seen a multitude of highly paidofficials whose duties did not extend to anything more serious thanthe conservation of forms of etiquette; the custody of gates, doors, and shutters; the care of pavilions and villas; the practice andteaching of polite accomplishments, such as music and versification;dancing, handball, and football; the cultivation of refined archeryand equestrianism, and the guarding of the shogun's person. * *The officials of the shogun's court were collectively called banshu. At the regency, on the other hand, functions of the most arduouscharacter were continuously discharged by a small staff of earnest, unpretentious men, strangers to luxury or leisure and solicitous, primarily, to promote the cause of justice and to satisfy the canonsof efficiency. The contrast could not but be demoralizing. Notrapidly or without a struggle, but slowly and inevitably, the poisonof bad example permeated Kamakura society, and the sinecures in theshogun's household came to be coveted by the veterans of the Bakufu, who, throughout the peaceful times secured by Hojo rule, found nomeans of gaining honours or riches in the field, and who sawthemselves obliged to mortgage their estates in order to meet thecost of living, augmented by extravagant banquets, fine buildings, and rich garments. Eight times between 1252 and 1330, edicts wereissued by the Bakufu fixing the prices of commodities, vetoing costlyresidences, prohibiting expensive garments, censuring neglect ofmilitary arts, and ordering resumption of the old-time sports andexercises. These attempts to check the evil had only very partialsuccess. The vices spread, and "in the complex of factors that led tothe downfall of the Bakufu, the ultimate ascendancy of Kyoto's socialstandards in Kamakura must probably be regarded as the mostimportant. "* *Murdoch's History of Japan. THE TWO LINES OF EMPERORS It is necessary now to turn for a moment to the story of the Imperialcity, which, since the appearance of the Bakufu upon the scene, hasoccupied a very subordinate place in these pages, as it did in fact. Not that there was any outward or visible sign of diminishingimportance. All the old administrative machinery remained operative, the old codes of etiquette continued to claim strict observance, andthe old functions of government were discharged. But only the shadowof authority existed at Kyoto; the substance had passed effectuallyto Kamakura. As for the throne, its chiefly remarkable feature wasthe brevity of its occupation by successive sovereigns: Order of Succession Name Date 77th Sovereign Go-Shirakawa 1156-1158 78th " Nijo 1159-1166 79th " Rokuju 1166-1168 80th " Takakura 1169-1180 81st " Antoku 1181-1183 82nd " Go-Toba 1184-1198 83rd " Tsuchimikado 1199-1210 84th " Juntoku 1211-1221 85th " Chukyo 1221 86th " Go-Horikawa 1221-1232 87th " Shijo 1233-1242 88th " Go-Saga 1243-1246 Here are seen twelve consecutive Emperors whose united reigns covereda period of ninety-one years, being an average of seven and one-halfyears, approximately. It has been shown that Go-Horikawa received thepurple practically from the hands of the Hojo in the sequel of theShokyu disturbance, and the same is true of Go-Saga, he having beennominated from Kamakura in preference to a son of Juntoku, whosecomplicity in that disturbance had been notorious. Hence Go-Saga'sattitude towards Kamakura was always one of deference, increased bythe fact that his eldest son, Munetaka, went to Kamakura as shogun, in 1252. Vacating the throne in 1246, he named his second son, Go-Fukakusa, to succeed; and his third, Kameyama, to be PrinceImperial. The former was only three years old when (1246) he becamenominal sovereign, and, after a reign of thirteen years, he wascompelled (1259) to make way for his father's favourite, Kameyama, who reigned from 1259 to 1274. To understand what followed, a short genealogical table will assist: 88th Sovereign, Go-Saga (1243-1246) | +--------------+-------------+ | | 89th, Go-Fukakusa (1246-1259) 90th, Kameyama (1259-1274) | | 92nd, Fushimi (1287-1298) 91st, Go-Uda (1274-1287) | | +-----+----+ +-----+-----+ | | | | 93rd, 95th, 94th, 96th, Go-Fushimi Hanazono Go-Nijo Go-Daigo (1298-1301) (1307-1318) (1301-1307) (1318-1339) | | | | +-----+----+ +-----+-----+ | | Jimyo-in family Daikagu-ji Family (called afterwards Hoku-cho, (called afterwards Nan-cho, or the Northern Court) or the Southern Court) The cloistered Emperor, Go-Saga, abdicating after a reign of fouryears, conducted the administration according to the camera systemduring twenty-six years. It will be observed from the above tablethat he essayed to hold the balance equally between the families ofhis two sons, the occupant of the throne being chosen from eachalternately. But everything goes to show that he favoured theKameyama branch. Like Go-Toba, he cherished the hope of seeing theImperial Court released from the Bakufu shackles, and to that end thealert, enterprising Kameyama seemed better suited than the dull, resourceless Takakura, just as in Go-Toba's eyes Juntoku had appearedpreferable to Tsuchimikado. Dying in 1272, Go-Saga left a will with injunctions that it should beopened in fifty days. It contained provisions destined to havedisastrous consequences. One clause entrusted to the Bakufu the dutyof deciding whether the administrative power should be placed in thehands of the cloistered Emperor, Go-Fukakusa, or in those of thereigning sovereign, Kameyama. Another provided that a very largeproperty, known as the Chokodo estates, should be inherited by themonarch thus deposed from authority; while a comparatively smallbequest went to the depository of power. In framing this curiousinstrument, Go-Saga doubtless designed to gild the pill of permanentexclusion from the seats of power, believing confidently that theImperial succession would be secured to Kameyama and his directdescendants. This anticipation proved correct. The Bakufu hadrecourse to a Court lady to determine the trend of the deceasedsovereign's wishes, and the result was that Kameyama triumphed. In the normal order of things the cloistered Emperor Go-Fukakusawould have succeeded to the administrative place occupied by Go-Saga, and a large body of courtiers, whose chances of promotion andemolument depended upon that arrangement, bitterly resented theinnovation. The palace became divided into two parties, the Naiho(interior section) and the Inho (camera section), a division whichgrew more accentuated when Kameyama's son ascended the throne asGo-Uda, in 1274. Go-Fukakusa declared that he would leave his palaceand enter a monastery were such a wrong done to his children. Thereupon Kameyama--now cloistered Emperor--submitted the matter tothe Bakufu, who, after grave deliberation, decided that Go-Fukakusa'sson should be named Crown Prince and should reign in succession toGo-Uda. This ruler is known in history as Fushimi. Shortly after his accession a sensational event occurred. A banditmade his way during the night into the palace and seizing one of thecourt ladies, ordered her to disclose the Emperor's whereabouts. Thesagacious woman misdirected him, and then hastened to inform thesovereign, who disguised himself as a female and escaped. Arrested bythe guards, the bandit committed suicide with a sword which proved tobe a precious heirloom of the Sanjo family. Sanjo Sanemori, a formercouncillor of State, was arrested on suspicion, but his examinationdisclosed nothing. Then a grand councillor (dainagori) charged thecloistered Emperor, Kameyama, with being privy to the attempt, andFushimi showed a disposition to credit the charge. Kameyama, however, conveyed to the Bakufu a solemn oath of innocence, with which Fushimiwas fain to be ostensibly content. But his Majesty remainedunconvinced at heart. He sent to Kamakura a secret envoy withinstructions to attribute to Kameyama an abiding desire to avenge thewrongs of Go-Toba and wipe out the Shokyu humiliation. This vengefulmood might find practical expression at anytime, and Fushimi, warnedthe Bakufu to be on their guard. "As for me, " he concluded, "I leavemy descendants entirely in the hands of the Hojo. With Kamakura westand or fall. " How much of this was sincere, how much diplomatic, it is not possibleto determine. In Kamakura, however, it found credence. Sadatoki, thenregent (shikken), took prompt measures to have Fushimi's sonproclaimed Prince Imperial, and, in 1298, he was enthroned asGo-Fushimi. This evoked an indignant protest from the then cloisteredEmperor, Go-Uda, and after some consideration the Kamakura regent, Sadatoki, suggested--"directed" would perhaps be a more correct formof speech--that thenceforth the succession to the throne shouldalternate between the two families descended from Go-Fukakusa andKameyama, the length of a reign being limited to ten years. Nominally, this arrangement was a mark of deference to the testamentof Go-Saga, but in reality it was an astute device to weaken theauthority of the Court by dividing it into rival factions. Kamakura'sfiat received peaceful acquiescence at first. Go-Uda's eldest sontook the sceptre in 1301, under the name of Go-Nijo, and, after sevenyears, he was succeeded by Fushimi's son, Hanazono, who, in twelveyears, made way for Go-Uda's second son, Go-Daigo. The descendants of Kameyama were called the "Daigaku-ji family, " andthe descendants of Go-Fukakusa received the name of the "Jimyo-infamily. " When a member of the latter occupied the throne, the Courtenjoyed opulence, owing to its possession of the extensive Chokodoestates; but when the sovereign was of the Daigaku-ji linecomparative penury was experienced. There can be little doubt that, throughout the complications antecedent to this dual system, theFushimi princes acted practically as spies for the Bakufu. After all, the two Imperial families were descended from a common ancestor andshould have shrunk from the disgrace of publishing their rivalries. It is true, as we shall presently see, that the resultingcomplications involved the destruction of the Hojo; but it is alsotrue that they plunged the nation into a fifty years' war. THE FIVE REGENT FAMILIES It has already been related how, by Yoritomo's contrivance, the postof family--descended from Fujiwara Kanezane--and scions of the Konoefamily--descended from Fujiwara Motomichi. This system wassubsequently extended at the instance of the Hojo. The second andthird sons of Michiiye, grandson of Kanezane, founded the houses ofNijo and Ichijo, respectively; while Kanehira, the second of twograndsons of Motomichi, established the house of Takatsukasa. Thesefive families--Konoe, Kujo, Nijo, Ichijo, and Takatsukasa--werecollectively called Go-sekke (the Five Regent Houses) in recognitionof the fact that the regent in Kyoto was supposed to be taken fromthem in succession. The arrangement led to frequent strife withresulting weakness, thus excellently achieving the purpose of itscontrivers, the Hojo. THE FIRST MONGOL INVASION The rule of the Hojo synchronized with two events of prime importancethe invasion of Japan by a Mongolian army, first in 1274, andsubsequently in 1281. Early in the twelfth century, the Emperor ofChina, which was then under the sway of the Sung dynasty, invited theGolden Tatars to deal with the Khitan Tatars, who held Manchuria, andwho, in spite of heavy tribute paid annually by the Sung Court, continually raided northeastern China. The Golden Tatars responded tothe invitation by not only expelling the Khitans but also takingtheir place in Manchuria and subsequently overrunning China, wherethey established a dynasty of their own from 1115 to 1234. These struggles and dynastic changes did not sensibly affect Japan. Her intercourse with the Asiatic continent in those ages was confinedmainly to an interchange of visits by Buddhist priests, to industrialenterprise, and to a fitful exchange of commodities. It does notappear that any branch of the Tatars concerned themselves practicallyabout Japan or the Japanese. Ultimately, however, in the first partof the thirteenth century, the Mongols began to sweep down on theMiddle Kingdom under the leadership of Jenghiz Khan. They crushed theGolden Tatars, transferred (1264) the Mongol capital from centralAsia to Peking (Cambaluc), and, in 1279, under Kublai, completelyconquered China. Nearly thirty years before the transfer of thecapital to Peking, the Mongols invaded the Korean peninsula, andbrought it completely under their sway in 1263, receiving the finalsubmission of the kingdom of Koma, which alone had offered anystubborn resistance. It is probable that Kublai's ambition, whetted by extensiveconquests, would have turned in the direction of Japan sooner orlater, but tradition indicates that the idea of obtaining the homageof the Island Empire was suggested to the great Khan by a Koreantraveller in 1265. Kublai immediately acted on the suggestion. Hesent an embassy by way of Korea, ordering the Koma sovereign to makearrangements for the transport of the envoys and to re-enforce themwith a Korean colleague. A tempest interrupted this essay, and it wasnot repeated until 1268, when the Khan's messengers, accompanied by aKorean suite, crossed safely to Chikuzen and delivered to theDazai-fu a letter from Kublai with a covering despatch from theKorean King. The Korean sovereign's despatch was plainly inspired bya desire to avert responsibility from himself. He explained that intransporting the embassy he acted unavoidably, but that, in sendingit, the Khan was not actuated by any hostile feeling, his solepurpose being to include Japan in the circle of his friendlytributaries. In short, the Koma prince--he no longer could properly be called amonarch--would have been only too pleased to see Japan pass under theMongol yoke as his own kingdom had already done. Kublai's letter, however, though not deliberately arrogant, could not be construed inany sense except as a summons to send tribute-bearing envoys toPeking. He called himself "Emperor" and addressed the Japanese ruleras "King;" instanced, for fitting example, the relation between Chinaand Korea, which he described at once as that of lord and vassal andthat of parent and child, and predicated that refusal of intercoursewould "lead to war. " The Japanese interpreted this to be an offer of suzerainty orsubjugation. Two courses were advocated; one by Kyoto, the other byKamakura. The former favoured a policy of conciliation and delay; thelatter, an attitude of contemptuous silence. Kamakura, of course, triumphed. After six months' retention the envoys were sent awaywithout so much as a written acknowledgment. The records containnothing to show whether this bold course on the part of the Bakufuhad its origin in ignorance of the Mongol's might or in a convictionof the bushi's fighting superiority. Probably both factors wereoperative; for Japan's knowledge of Jenghiz and his resources reachedher chiefly through religious channels, and the fact that Koreanswere associated with Mongols in the mission must have tended to lowerthe affair in her estimation. Further, the Japanese had been taughtby experience the immense difficulties of conducting overseacampaigns, and if they understood anything about the Mongols, itshould have been the essentially non-maritime character of themid-Asian conquerors. By Kublai himself that defect was well appreciated. He saw that tocarry a body of troops to Japan, the seagoing resources of theKoreans must be requisitioned, and on the bootless return of hisfirst embassy, he immediately issued orders to the Koma King to buildone thousand ships and mobilize forty thousand troops. In vain therecipient of these orders pleaded inability to execute them. The Khaninsisted, and supplemented his first command with instructions thatagricultural operations should be undertaken on a large scale in thepeninsula to supply food for the projected army of invasion. Meanwhile he despatched embassy after embassy to Japan, evidentlybeing desirous of carrying his point by persuasion rather than byforce. The envoys invariably returned re infecta. On one occasion(1269), a Korean vessel carried off two Japanese from Tsushima andsent them to Peking. There, Kublai treated them kindly, showed themhis palace as well as a parade of his troops, and sent them home totell what they had seen. But the Japanese remained obdurate, andfinally the Khan sent an ultimatum, to which Tokimune, the Hojoregent, replied by dismissing the envoys forthwith. War was now inevitable. Kublai massed 25, 000 Mongol braves in Korea, supplemented them with 15, 000 Korean troops, and embarking them in aflotilla of 900 vessels manned by 8000 Koreans, launched this paltryarmy against Japan in November, 1274. The armada began by attackingTsushima and Iki, islands lying in the strait that separates theKorean peninsula from Japan. In Tsushima, the governor, So Sukekuni, *could not muster more than two hundred bushi. But these two hundredfought to the death, as did also the still smaller garrison of Iki. Before the passage of the narrow strait was achieved, the invadersmust have lost something of their faith in the whole enterprise. OnNovember 20th, they landed at Hako-zaki Gulf in the province ofChikuzen There they were immediately assailed by the troops of fiveKyushu chieftains. What force the latter represented there is norecord, but they were certainly less numerous than the enemy. Moreover, the Yuan army possessed a greatly superior tactical system. By a Japanese bushi the battle-field was regarded as an arena for thedisplay of individual prowess, not of combined force. The Mongols, onthe contrary, fought in solid co-operation, their movements directedby sound of drum from some eminence where the commander-in-chiefwatched the progress of the fight. If a Japanese approached to defyone of them to single combat, they enveloped and slew him. Further, at close quarters they used light arms dipped in poison, and forlong-range purposes they had powerful crossbows, which quiteoutclassed the Japanese weapons. They were equipped also withexplosives which they fired from metal tubes, inflicting heavy losson the Japanese, who were demoralized by such an unwonted weapon. Finally, they were incomparable horsemen, and in the early encountersthey put the Japanese cavalry out of action by raising with drums andgongs a din that terrified the latter's horses. But, in spite of allthese disadvantages, the Japanese fought stubbornly. Whenever theygot within striking distance of the foe, they struck desperately, andtowards evening they were able to retire in good order into cover"behind the primitive fortifications of Mizuki raised for TenchiTenno by Korean engineers six centuries before. " *Grandson of Taira no Tomomori, admiral of the Hei fleet in thebattle of Dan-no-ura. ENGRAVING: REPULSE OF THE MONGOL INVADERS (From a scroll painting inpossession of the Imperial Household) That night the west coast of Kyushu was menaced by one of thosefierce gales that rage from time to time in sub-tropical zones. TheKorean pilots knew that their ships could find safety in the open seaonly. But what was to be done with the troops which had debarked? Hadtheir commanders seen any certain hope of victory, they would nothave hesitated to part temporarily from the ships. The day'sfighting, however, appears to have inspired a new estimate of thebushi's combatant qualities. It was decided to embark the Yuan forcesand start out to sea. For the purpose of covering this movement, theHakozaki shrine and some adjacent hamlets were fired, and whenmorning dawned the invaders' flotilla was seen beating out of thebay. One of their vessels ran aground on Shiga spit at the north ofthe haven and several others foundered at sea, so that when a tallywas finally called, 13, 200 men did not answer to their names. As towhat the Japanese casualties were, there is no information. THE SECOND MONGOL INVASION Of course Kublai did not acknowledge this as a defeat at the hands ofthe Japanese. On the contrary, he seems to have imagined that thefight had struck terror into the hearts of the islanders bydisclosing their faulty tactics and inferior weapons. He thereforesent another embassy, which was charged to summon the King of Japanto Peking, there to do obeisance to the Yuan Emperor. Kamakura'sanswer was to decapitate the five leaders of the mission and topillory their heads outside the city. Nothing, indeed, is moreremarkable than the calm confidence shown at this crisis by theBakufu regent, Tokimune. His country's annalists ascribe that mood tofaith in the doctrines of the Zen sect of Buddhism; faith which heshared with his father, Tokiyori, during the latter's life. The Zenpriests taught an introspective philosophy. They preached that lifesprings from not-living, indestructibility from destruction, and thatexistence and non-existence are one in reality. No creed could betterinspire a soldier. It has been suggested that Tokimune was not guided in this mattersolely by religious instincts: he used the Zen-shu bonzes as achannel for obtaining information about China. Some plausibility isgiven to that theory by the fact that he sat, first, at the feet ofDoryu, originally a Chinese priest named Tao Lung, and that onDoryu's death he invited (1278) from China a famous bonze, Chu Yuan(Japanese, Sogen), for whose ministrations the afterwards celebratedtemple Yengaku-ji was erected. Sogen himself, when officiating at thetemple of Nengjen, in Wenchow, had barely escaped massacre at thehands of the Mongols, and he may not have been averse to acting as amedium of information between China and Kamakura. Tokimune's religious fervour, however, did not interfere with hissecular preparations. In 1280, he issued an injunction exhortinglocal officials and vassals (go-kenin) to compose all theirdissensions and work in unison. There could be no greater crime, thedocument declared, then to sacrifice the country's interests on thealtar of personal enmities at a time of national crisis. Loyalobedience on the part of vassals, and strict impartiality on the sideof high constables--these were the virtues which the safety of theState demanded, and any neglect to practise them should be punishedwith the utmost severity. This injunction was issued in 1280, andalready steps had been taken to construct defensive works at allplaces where the Mongols might effect a landing--at Hakozaki Bay inKyushu; at Nagato, on the northern side of the Shimonoseki Strait; atHarima, on the southern shore of the Inland Sea; and at Tsuruga, onthe northwest of the main island. Among these places, Hakozaki andNagato were judged to be the most menaced, and special offices, afterthe nature of the Kyoto tandai, were established there. ENGRAVING: HOJO TOKIMUNE Seven years separated the first invasion from the second. It was notof deliberate choice that Kublai allowed so long an interval toelapse. The subjugation of the last supporters of the Sung dynasty insouthern China had engrossed his attention, and with their fall heacquired new competence to prosecute this expedition to Japan, because while the Mongolian boats were fit only for plying on inlandwaters, the ships of the southern Chinese were large, ocean-goingcraft. It was arranged that an army of 100, 000 Chinese and Mongolsshould embark at a port in Fuhkien opposite the island of Formosa, and should ultimately form a junction in Tsushima Strait with anarmada of 1000 Korean ships, carrying, in addition to their crews, aforce of 50, 000 Mongols and 20, 000 Koreans. But before launching this formidable host, Kublai made a final effortto compass his end without fighting. In 1280, he sent another embassyto Japan, announcing the complete overthrow of the Sung dynasty, andsummoning the Island Empire to enter into friendly relations. Kamakura's answer was to order the execution of the envoys at theplace where they had landed, Hakata in Chikuzen. Nothing now remainedexcept an appeal to force. A weak point in the Yuan strategy was thatthe two armadas were not operated in unison. The Korean fleet sailednearly a month before that from China. It would seem that thetardiness of the latter was not due wholly to its larger dimensions, but must be attributed in part to its composition. A great portion ofthe troops transported from China were not Mongols, but Chinese, whohad been recently fighting against the Yuan, and whose despatch on aforeign campaign in the service of their victors suggested itself asa politic measure. These men were probably not averse to delay andcertainly cannot have been very enthusiastic. In May, 1281, the flotilla from Korea appeared off Tsushima. Unfortunately, the annals of medieval Japan are singularly reticentas to the details of battles. There are no materials for constructinga story of the events that occurred on the Tsushima shores, more thansix centuries ago. We do not even know what force the defenders ofthe island mustered. But that they were much more numerous than onthe previous occasion, seven years before, is certain. Already, in1280, Tokimune had obtained from Buddhist sources information of theMongol preparations--preparations so extensive that the felling oftimber to make ships inspired a Chinese poem in which the green hillswere depicted as mourning for their trees--and he would not havefailed to garrison strongly a position so cardinal as the midchannelisland of Tsushima. It was not reduced. The enemy were able to effecta lodgement, but could not overrun the island or put its defenders tothe sword, as had been done in 1274. The Korean ships remained atTsushima awaiting the arrival of the Chinese flotilla. They lostthree thousand men from sickness during this interval, and weretalking of retreat when the van of the southern armada hove in sight. A junction was effected off the coast of Iki island, and the garrisonof this little place having been destroyed on June 10th, the combinedforces stood over towards Kyushu and landed at various places alongthe coast of Chikuzen, making Hakozaki Bay their base. Such a choice of locality was bad, for it was precisely along theshores of this bay that the Japanese had erected fortifications. Theywere not very formidable fortifications, it is true. The bushi ofthese days knew nothing about bastions, curtains, glacis, or cognaterefinements of military engineering. They simply built a stone wallto block the foe's advance, and did not even adopt the precaution ofprotecting their flanks. But neither did they fall into the error ofacting entirely on the defensive. On the contrary, they attackedalike on shore and at sea. Their boats were much smaller than thoseof the invaders, but the advantage in dash and daring was all on theside of the Japanese. So furious were their onsets, and so deadly wasthe execution they wrought with their trenchant swords at closequarters, that the enemy were fain to lash their ships together andlay planks between them for purposes of speedy concentration. It ismost improbable that either the Korean or the Chinese elements of theinvading army had any heart for the work, whereas on the side of thedefenders there are records of whole families volunteering to serveat the front. During fifty-three days the campaign continued; that isto say, from June 23rd, when the first landing was effected, untilAugust 14th, when a tornado swept off the face of the sea the mainpart of the Yuan armada. No account has been preserved, either traditionally or historically, of the incidents or phases of the long fight. We know that theinvaders occupied the island of Hirado and landed in Hizen a strongforce intended to turn the flank of the Hakozaki Bay parapet. Weknow, inferentially, that they never succeeded in turning it. We knowthat, after nearly two months of incessant combat, the Yuan armieshad made no sensible impression on the Japanese resistance orestablished any footing upon Japanese soil. We know that, on Augustthe 14th and 15th, there burst on the shores of Kyushu a tempestwhich shattered nearly the whole of the Chinese flotilla. And we knowthat the brunt of the loss fell on the Chinese contingent, sometwelve thousand of whom were made slaves. But no such momentouschapter of history has ever been traced in rougher outlines. Theannalist is compelled to confine himself to marshalling generalresults. It was certainly a stupendous disaster for the Yuan arms. Yet Kublai was not content; he would have essayed the task again hadnot trouble nearer home diverted his attention from Japan. The IslandEmpire had thus the honour of being practically the only state in theOrient that did not present tribute to the all-conquering Mongols. But, by a strangely wayward fate, these victories over a foreigninvader brought embarrassment to the Hojo rulers rather than renown. In the first place, there could not be any relaxation of theextraordinary preparations which such incidents dictated. Kublai'ssuccessor, Timur, lost no time in countermanding all measures for arenewed attack on Japan, and even adopted the plan of commissioningBuddhist priests to persuade the Bakufu of China's pacificintentions. One of these emissaries, Nei-issan (Chinesepronunciation, Ning I-shan), settled permanently in Japan, and hisholy ministrations as a Zen-shu propagandist won universal respect. But the Bakufu did not relax their precautions, and for more than ascore of years a heavy burden of expense had to be borne on thisaccount. Further, when the wave of invasion broke on the shores of Kyushu, theCourt in Kyoto set the example of appealing to the assistance ofheaven. Prayers were offered, liturgies were chanted, and incense wasburned at many temples and shrines throughout the empire. Several ofthe priests did not hesitate to assert that their supplications hadelicited signs and portents indicating supernatural aid. Rich rewardswere bestowed in recognition of these services, whereas, on thecontrary, the recompense given to the soldiers who had fought sogallantly and doggedly to beat off a foreign foe was comparativelypetty. Means of recompensing them were scant. When Yoritomo overthrewthe Taira, the estates of the latter were divided among his followersand co-operators. After the Shokyu disturbance, the property of theCourt nobles served a similar purpose. But the repulse of the Mongolsbrought no access of wealth to the victors, and for the first timemilitary merit had to go unrequited while substantial grants weremade to the servants of religion. The Bakufu, fully conscious of thisdangerous discrepancy, saw no resource except to order that strictsurveys should be made of many of the great estates, with a view totheir delimitation and reduction, if possible. This, however, was aslow progress, and the umbrage that it caused was more thancommensurate with the results that accrued. Thus, to the Bakufu theconsequences of a war which should have strengthened allegiance andgratitude were, on the contrary, injurious and weakening. ENGRAVING: FIVE STRING BIWA (JAPANESE MANDOLIN) ENGRAVING: KOTO, 13-STRINGED HORIZONTAL HARP CHAPTER XXVIII ART, RELIGION, LITERATURE, CUSTOMS, AND COMMERCE IN THE KAMAKURAPERIOD ART From the establishment of the Bakufu, Japanese art separated into twoschools, that of Kamakura and that of Kyoto. The latter centered inthe Imperial Court, the former in the Court of the Hojo. Takenoriginally from Chinese masters of the Sui and Tang dynasties, theKyoto art ultimately developed into the Japanese national school, whereas the Kamakura art, borrowed from the academies of Sung andYuan, became the favourite of the literary classes and preserved itsChinese traditions. Speaking broadly, the art of Kyoto showed adecorative tendency, whereas that of Kamakura took landscape andseascape chiefly for motives, and, delighting in the melancholyaspects of nature, appealed most to the student and the cenobite. This distinction could be traced in calligraphy, painting, architecture, and horticulture. Hitherto penmanship in Kyoto hadtaken for models the style of Kobo Daishi and Ono no Tofu. This wascalled o-ie-fu (domestic fashion), and had a graceful and cursivecharacter. But the Kamakura calligraphists followed the pure Chinesemode (karayo), as exemplified by the Buddhist priests, Sogen (ChuYuan) and Ichinei (I Ning). In Kyoto, painting was represented by the schools of Koze, Kasuga, Sumiyoshi, and Tosa; in Kamakura, its masters were Ma Yuan, HsiaKwei, and Mu Hsi, who represented the pure Southern Academy of China, and who were followed by Sesshu, Kao, and Shubun. So, too, the art ofhorticulture, though there the change was a transition from the stiffand comparatively artificial fashion of the no-niwa (moor garden) tothe pure landscape park, ultimately developed into a Japanesespecialty. Tradition ascribes to a Chinese bonze, who called himselfNei-issan (or Ichinei), the planning of the first landscape garden, properly so designated in Japan. He arrived in Kyushu, under the nameof I Ning, as a delegate from Kublai Khan in the days of HojoSadatoki, and was banished, at first, to the province of Izu. Subsequently, however, the Bakufu invited him to Kamakura andassigned the temple Kencho-ji for his residence and place ofministrations. It was there that he designed the first landscapegarden, furnishing suggestions which are still regarded as models. LITERATURE The conservatism of the Imperial city is conspicuously illustrated inthe realm of literature. Careful perusal of the well-known work, Masukagami, shows that from year's end to year's end the samepastimes were enjoyed, the same studies pursued The composition ofpoetry took precedence of everything. Eminent among the poetasters ofthe twelfth century was the Emperor Go-Toba. The littérateurs of hisera looked up to him as the arbiter elegantiarum, especially in thedomain of Japanese versification. Even more renown attached toFujiwara no Toshinari, whose nom de plume was Shunzei, and who earnedthe title of the "Matchless Master. " His son, Sadaiye, was well-nighequally famous under the name of Teika. After the Shokyu disturbance (1221), the empire enjoyed a long spellof peace under the able and upright sway of the Hojo, and during thattime it became the custom to compile anthologies. The first to essaythat task was Teika. Grieving that the poets of his time had begun toprefer affectation and elegance to sincerity and simplicity, hewithdrew to a secluded villa on Mount Ogura, and there selected, ahundred poems by as many of the ancient authors. These he gave to theworld, calling the collection Hyakunin-isshu, and succeedinggenerations endorsed his choice so that the book remains a classic tothis day. Teika's son, Tameiye, won such favour in the eyes of theKamakura shogun, Sanetomo, that the latter conferred on him the manorof Hosokawa, in Harima. Dying, Tameiye bequeathed this property tohis son, Tamesuke, but he, being robbed of it by his step-brother, fell into a state of miserable poverty which was shared by hismother, herself well known as an authoress under the name ofAbutsu-ni. This intrepid lady, leaving her five sons in Kyoto, repaired to Kamakura to bring suit against the usurper, and thejournal she kept en route--the Izayoi-nikki--is still regarded as amodel of style and sentiment. It bears witness to the fact thatstudents of poetry in that era fell into two classes: one adhering tothe pure Japanese style of the Heian epoch; the others borrowingfreely from Chinese literature. Meanwhile, at Kamakura, the Bakufu regents, Yasutoki, Tokiyori andTokimune, earnest disciples of Buddhism, were building temples andassigning them to Chinese priests of the Sung and Yuan eras whoreached Japan as official envoys or as frank propagandists. Fivegreat temples thus came into existence in the Bakufu capital, and asthe Chinese bonzes planned and superintended their construction, these buildings and their surroundings reflected the art-canons atonce of China, of Japan, and of the priests themselves. The sameforeign influence made itself felt in the region of literature. Butwe should probably be wrong in assuming that either religion or artor literature for their own sakes constituted the sole motive of theHojo regents in thus acting. It has already been shown that theywelcomed the foreign priests as channels for obtaining informationabout the neighbouring empire's politics, and there is reason tothink that their astute programme included a desire to endow Kamakurawith an artistic and literary atmosphere of its own, whollyindependent of Kyoto and purged of the enervating elements thatpermeated the latter. This separation of the civilizations of the east (Kwanto) and thewest (Kyoto) resulted ultimately in producing asceticism andreligious reform. The former, because men of really noble instinctswere insensible to the ambition which alone absorbed a Kyotolittérateur--the ambition of figuring prominently in an approvedanthology--and had, at the same time, no inclination to follow thepurely military creed of Kamakura. Such recluses as Kamo Chomei, Saigyo Hoshi and Yoshida Kenko were an outcome of these conditions. Chomei has been called the "Wordsworth of Japan. " He is immortalizedby a little book of thirty pages, called Hojoki (Annals of a Cell. )It is a volume of reflections suggested by life in a hut measuringten feet square and seven feet high, built in a valley remote fromthe stir of life. The style is pellucid and absolutely unaffected;the ideas are instinct with humanity and love of nature. Such a work, so widely admired, reveals an author and an audience instinct withgraceful thoughts. In the career of Saigyo--"the reverend, " as his title "hoshi"signifies--there were episodes vividly illustrating the manners andcustoms of the tune. Originally an officer of the guards in Kyoto, heattained considerable skill in military science and archery, but hispoetic heart rebelling against such pursuits, he resigned office, took the tonsure, and turning his back upon his wife and children, became a wandering bard. Yoritomo encountered him one day, and was sostruck by his venerable appearance that he invited him to his mansionand would have had him remain there permanently. But Saigyo declined. On parting, the Minamoto chief gave him as souvenir a cat chiselledin silver, which the old ascetic held in such light esteem that hebestowed it on the first child he met. Yoshida Kenko, who became arecluse in 1324, is counted among the "four kings" of Japanesepoetry--Ton-a, Joben, Keiun, and Kenko. He has been called the"Horace of Japan. " In his celebrated prose work, Weeds of Tedium(Tsure-zure-gusa), he seems to reveal a lurking love for the vices hesatirizes. These three authors were all pessimistic. They reflectedthe tendency of the time. RELIGION The earliest Buddhist sect established in Japan was the Hosso. Itcrossed from China in A. D. 653, and its principal place of worshipwas the temple Kofuku-ji at Nara. Then (736) followed the Kegon sect, having its headquarters in the Todai-ji, where stands the colossalDaibutsu of Nara, Next in order was the Tendai, introduced from Chinaby Dengyo in 805, and established at Hiei-zan in the templeEnryaku-ji; while fourth and last in the early group of importantsects came the Shingon, brought from China in 809 by Kukai, andhaving its principal metropolitan place of worship at Gokoku-ji (orTo-ji) in Kyoto, and its principal provincial at Kongobo-ji onKoya-san. These four sects and some smaller ones were all introducedduring a period of 156 years. Thereafter, for a space of 387 years, there was no addition to the number: things remained stationary until1196, when Honen began to preach the doctrines of the Jodo sect, andin the space of fifty-six years, between 1196 and 1252, three othersects were established, namely, the Zen, the Shin, and the Nichiren. THE TWO GROUPS OF SECTS In what did the teachings of the early groups of sects differ fromthose of the later groups, and why did such a long interval separatethe two? Evidently the answers to these questions must have animportant bearing on Japanese moral culture. From the time of itsfirst introduction (A. D. 522) into Japan until the days of ShotokuTaishi (572-621), Japanese Buddhism followed the lines indicated inthe land of its provenance, Korea. Prince Shotoku was the first toappreciate China as the true source of religious learning, and by himpriests were sent across the sea to study. But the first sect of anyimportance--the Hosso--that resulted from this movement does not seemto have risen above the level of idolatry and polytheism. It was a"system built up on the worship of certain perfected human beingsconverted into personal gods; it affirmed the eternal permanence ofsuch beings in some state or other, and it gave them divineattributes. "* Some of these were companions and disciples of Shaka(Sakiya Muni); others, pure creations of fancy, or borrowed from themythological systems of India. It is unnecessary here to enter intoany enumeration of these deities further than to say that, as helpersof persons in trouble, as patrons of little children, as healers ofthe sick, and as dispensers of mercy, they acted an important part inthe life of the people. But they did little or nothing to improvemen's moral and spiritual condition, and the same is true of amultitude of arhats, devas, and other supernatural beings that go tomake up a numerous pantheon. *Lloyd's Developments of Japanese Buddhism, "Transactions of theAsiatic Society of Japan, " Vol. XXII; and Shinran and His Work, bythe same author. It was not until the end of the eighth century that Japanese Buddhismrose to a higher level, and the agent of its elevation was DengyoDaishi, whom the Emperor Kwammu sent to China to study the laterdevelopments of the Indian faith. Dengyo and his companions in 802found their way to the monastery of Tientai (Japanese, Tendai), andacquired there a perception of the true road to Saving Knowledge, amiddle route "which includes all and rejects none, and in which alonethe soul can be satisfied. " Meditation and wisdom were declared to bethe stepping-stones to this route, and to reach them various ruleshad to be followed, namely, "the accomplishment of externalmeans"--such as observing the precepts, regulating raiment and food, freedom from all worldly concerns and influences, promotion of allvirtuous desires, and so forth; "chiding of evil desires"--such asthe lust after beauty, the lust of sound, of perfumes, of taste, andof touch; "casting away hindrances;" "harmonizing the faculties, " and"meditating upon absolute truth. " Now first we meet with the Buddhas of Contemplation, and with a creedwhich seems to embody a Father, a Son, and a Holy Spirit. Such, inbriefest outline, was the doctrine taught at the close of the sixthcentury by a Chinese bonze at the monastery of Tientai, and carriedthence to Japan two hundred years later by Dengyo, who establishedthe Tendai sect on Mount Hiei near Kyoto. Dengyo did not borrowblindly; he adapted, and thus the Tendai creed, as taught atHiei-zan, became in reality "a system of Japanese education, fittingthe disciplinary and meditative methods of the Chinese propagandiston the pre-existing foundations of earlier sects. " "The comprehensiveness of the Tendai system caused it to be theparent of many schisms. Out of it came all the large sects, with theexception of the Shingon, " to be presently spoken of. "On the otherhand, this comprehensiveness ensured the success of the Tendai sect. With the conception of the Buddhas of Contemplation came the ideathat these personages had frequently been incarnated for the welfareof mankind; that the ancient gods whom the Japanese worshipped werebut manifestations of these same mystical beings, and that theBuddhist faith had come, not to destroy the native Shinto, but toembody it into a higher and more universal system. "* *"The Buddhists recognized that the Shinto gods were incarnations ofsome of the many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas brought from India andChina, and then the two faiths amalgamated and for centuriescomfortably shared the same places of worship. "--Every-Day Japan, byLloyd. THE SHINGON SECT It was not to Dengyo, however, that Japan owed her most mysteriousform of Buddhism, but to his contemporary, Kukai, remembered byposterity as Kobo Daishi. The traditions that have been handed downwith reference to this great teacher's life and personality revealone of those saints whose preaching and ministration have bestowed aperpetual blessing on humanity. Here, it must suffice to say that hefound no peace of mind until a visit to China brought comprehensionof a Sutra which he had vainly studied in Japan. On his return, in806, he appeared before the emperor and many bonzes, and astonishedall by his eloquence and his knowledge. There are three "vehicles" in Buddhism, but only two of them need bementioned here--the Hina-yana, or Small Vehicle, and the Maha-yana, or Great Vehicle. The term "vehicle" signifies a body of doctrine onwhich "a believer may ride to the perfect consummation of hishumanity. " The difference between these two requires many words toexplain fully, whereas only a few can be devoted to the purpose here. "The Hina-yana Sutra is intended for beginners; the Maha-yana forthose more advanced in the path of the law. " The teaching in theformer is negative; in the latter, positive. In the Hina-yana theperfect path is to abstain from four things--women, palaces, beautiful objects, and riches. In the Maha-yana perfect virtue is thepresence of four things--the spirit of wisdom, the love of virtue, patience and firmness, and the retired life. By the "spirit ofwisdom" is meant the constant desire for the truth; by the "loveof virtue" is signified the abhorrence of evil; by "patience andfirmness" are indicated perfect manliness as exhibited towardsthe weak; by "the retired life" is designated humility andself-effacement. "There is nothing in the world like the Chinese scriptures of theMaha-yana. The canon in China is seven hundred times the amount ofthe New Testament, " and, of course, this vast extent means that thereis a correspondingly wide field for eclecticism. "The Hina-yana didnot trouble itself with metaphysical speculation; that was reservedfor the Maha-yana, and Kukai was the greatest Japanese teacher of thearcana of Buddhism. How much of his system he owed to studiesconducted in China, how much to his own inspiration, research has notyet determined. An essentially esoteric system, it conceived a worldof ideas, " grouped logically and systematically according to generaand species, forming a planetary cosmos, the members of which, withtheir satellites, revolved not only on their own axes but also rounda central sun. This was the "world of golden effulgence"--a world permeated by thelight of truth. The sect was called the Shingon (True Word); and thecentral body was Dainichi (Great Sun), the Spirit of Truth, anteriorto Shaka and greater than him. "To reach the realization of the Truththat Dainichi is omnipresent and that everything exists only in him, a disciple must ascend by a double ladder, each half of which has tensteps, namely, the intellectual ladder and the moral ladder. " Theseladders constitute, in fact, a series of precepts, warnings, andexhortations; some easily comprehensible, others demanding profoundthought, and the whole calculated to educate an absorbing aspirationfor the "transcendental virtues, " to possess which is to attain toperfect Buddhahood. Unquestionably the offspring of a great mind, this Shingon system, with its mysterious possibilities and its loftymorality, appealed strongly to the educated and leisured classes inKyoto during the peaceful Heian epoch, while for the illiterate andthe lower orders the simpler canons of the Tendai had to suffice. THE JODO SECT It has been shown, however, that the preachers of these sects, oneand all, were readily prone to resort to violence and bloodshed inpursuit of worldly interests, not even the exponents of the exalted"True Word" creed being exempt from the reproach. Teachers of adoctrine having for cardinal tenet the sacredness of life, theinmates of the great monasteries nevertheless did not hesitate toappeal to arms, at any time, in defence of their temporal privilegesor in pursuit of their ambitious designs. Yet the discredit attachingto such a flagrant discrepancy between precept and practice might nothave produced very signal result had not the twelfth century broughtthe Gen-Hei struggle, which plunged the empire into a state ofturbulence and reduced the lower orders to a condition of pitiablemisery. For this distress neither the Tendai doctrines nor the Shingonconceptions were sufficiently simple to supply a remedy. Somethingmore tangible and less recondite was needed, and it came (1196), inthe sequel of twenty-five years' meditation and study, toGenku--posthumously called Honen Shonin--a priest of the Tendai sect. The leading characteristics of the Jodo (pure land) system introducedby him are easily stated. "Salvation is by faith, but it is a faithritually expressed. The virtue that saves comes, not from imitationof, and conformity to, the person and character of the saviour, Amida, but from blind trust in his efforts and from ceaselessrepetition of pious formulae. It does not necessitate any conversionor change of heart. It is really a religion of despair rather than ofhope. It says to the believer: 'The world is so very evil that youcan not possibly reach to Buddha-ship here. Your best plan, therefore, is to give up all such hope and simply set your mind uponbeing born in Amida's paradise after death. '"* *Lloyd's Development of Japanese Buddhism and Shinran and His Work. THE SHIN SECT An immediate offspring of the Jodo, though not directly following itin the chronological sequence of sects, was the Shin, established(1224) under the name of Jodo Shin-shu* (True Sect of Jodo), andowing its inception to Shinran, a pupil of Genku. It was even simplerand less exacting than its parent, the Jodo-shu, for it logicallyargued that if faith alone was necessary to salvation, the believerneed not trouble himself about metaphysical subtleties and profoundspeculations; nor need he perform acts of religion and devotion; norneed he keep a multitude of commandments; nor need he leave his home, renounce matrimony, or live by rule. Only he must not worship anysave Amida, or pray for anything that does not concern his salvation. As for the time of attaining salvation, the Jodo sect taught that ifthe mercy of Amida be called to remembrance, he would meet thebeliever at the hour of death and conduct him to paradise; whereasShin-shu preaches that the coming of Amida was present and immediate;in other words, that "Buddha dwelt in the heart now by faith. " *It is called also the Monto-shu. THE ZEN SECT In the Jodo and the Shin sects an ample spiritual rest was providedfor the weary in mind or body, for the illiterate, and for theoppressed. But there was for a time no creed which appealed speciallyto the military men; no body of doctrine which, while strengtheninghim for the fight, could bring to him peace of mind. The Zen-shuultimately satisfied that want. Zen is the Japanese equivalent of theIndian term dhyana, which signifies "meditation. " In fact, the Zen isa contemplative sect. Its disciples believe that, "knowledge can betransmitted from heart to heart without the intervention of words. "But though purely a contemplative rite at the time of itsintroduction into Japan, 1168, it was subsequently modified--from1223--by two teachers, in whose hands it took the form known as theSoto sect. This "joined scholarship and research to contemplation, "and taught that, when the highest wisdom and most perfectenlightenment are attained, all the elements of phenomenal existenceare seen to be empty, vain, and unreal. "Form does not differ fromspace or space from form; all things surrounding us are stripped oftheir qualities, so that in this highest state of enlightenment, there can be no longer birth or death, defilement or purity, additionor destruction. There is, therefore, no such thing as ignorance, andtherefore none of the miseries that result from it. If there is nomisery, decay, or death, there is no such thing as wisdom, and nosuch thing as attaining to happiness or rest. Hence, to arrive atperfect emancipation we must grasp the fact of utter and entirevoid. " Such a creed effectually fortified the heart of a soldier. Death ceased to have any terrors for him or the grave any reality. ENGRAVING: NICHIREN PREACHING IN THE STREET THE NICHIREN SECT This is the only one among Japanese sects of Buddhism that derivesits name from that of its founder. And justly so, for Nichiren'spersonality pervades it. The son of a fisherman, from youth heapplied himself to the study of Buddhism, became a bonze of theShingon sect, and took the name of Nichiren (lotus of the sun). He, too, studied originally at Hiei-zan under Tendai tutors, but heultimately followed an eclectic path of his own, which led him to the"Scripture of the Lotus of Good Law, " and he taught that salvationcould be attained merely by chaunting the formula, "namu myo ho rengekyo" ("hail to the Scripture of the Lotus of Good Law") withsufficient fervour and iteration. In fact, Nichiren's methods partookof those of the modern Salvation Army. He was distinguished, also, bythe fanatical character of his propagandism. Up to his time, JapaneseBuddhism had been nothing if not tolerant. The friars were quick totake up arms for temporal purposes, but sectarian aggressiveness wasvirtually unknown until Nichiren undertook to denounce everyonediffering from his views. * His favourite formula for denouncing othersects was, "nembutsu mugen, Zen temma, Shingon bokoku, Ritsukokuzoku" ("incantations are phantasms; the Zen is a demon; theShingon, national ruin; and the Ritsu, a rebel"). Nichiren gainedgreat credit for predicting, on the eve of the Mongol invasion, thata heavy calamity was about to fall upon the country, but owing to anaccusation of political intrigues, he was first condemned to bebeheaded, and then was banished to the island of Sado. His sentencewas soon revoked, however, by the regent Tokimune, who granted himwritten permission to propagate his doctrines. Thereafter the spreadof his sect was very rapid. *Out of some 72, 000 temples in Japan to-day, 20, 000, approximately, belong to the Shin sect; an equal number to the Zen; 13. 000 to theShingon; 8000 to the Jodo; and smaller numbers to the rest. THE PEOPLE With the decentralization of the administrative power there was acorresponding growth of the vassal class. Of course the Court nobleshad vassals in their households, but the power exercised over thesevassals had legal limits, whereas the vassals of the provincialchiefs were liable to imprisonment or even death by order of theirchiefs. One result was that the provinces came gradually intopossession of a large body of men skilled in arms and inadministration. Moreover, among these provincial vassals, menoriginally of humble origin, found themselves raised to the level ofhonoured subjects, and a man's status came to be determined by hisoccupation rather than by his lineage. The lines of this newdiscrimination were fourfold, namely, shi, no, ko, sho--that is tosay, military, agricultural, industrial, and commercial. Thetradesman stood at the bottom of the scale, and the farmer, as theprincipal taxpayer, ranked next to the military man. It will beobserved that this classification does not include any persons whoseoccupation involved pollution. This was a result of religiousprejudice. Degradation attended every profession that requiredcontact with the sick, the dead, or offal of any kind. Personspractising such callings were designated eta (men of manyimpurities). All belonging to the class inferior to tradesmen wereoriginally regarded as outlaws, but subsequently, when society wasreorganized on a military basis, an official was specially entrustedwith absolute control over persons excluded from the quadrupleclassification of soldier, farmer, mechanic, and merchant. Beggarsconstituted an important section of the outcasts (hiniri). Next tothem were professional caterers for amusement, from dog-trainers, snake-charmers, riddle-readers, acrobats, and trainers of animals, tobrothel-keepers and executioners. DWELLING-HOUSES During the two centuries from the middle of the twelfth, aristocraticdwellings in the capital underwent little change. Militaryresidences, however, developed some special features, though, ingeneral, their architecture was of the simplest character. They hadtwo enclosures, each surrounded by a boarded fence, and the whole wasencircled by a fosse crossed by outer and inner gates. There wereranges for archery and there were watch-towers, but the dwellingitself was small and plain. It consisted mainly of a hall, having adais with a lacquered chair for important visitors; an apartment forwomen; a servants' room, and a kitchen, heat being obtained from ahearth sunk in the floor. Austere simplicity was everywhere aimed at, and it is related that great provincial chiefs did not think theveranda too lowly for a sleeping-place. The use of the tatami wasgreatly extended after the twelfth century. No longer laid on thedais only, these mats were used to cover the whole of the floors, andpresently they were supplemented by cushions made of silk crepestuffed with cotton-wool. In the great majority of cases, roofs werecovered with boards. Only in the houses of magnates was recourse hadto tiles imported from China or slates of copper-bronze. In thebetter class of house, the roof-boards were held in place by girders, but humble folks used logs of timber, or stones, to preventwind-stripping, and these weights imparted an untidy, rude appearanceto the structure. COSTUME A notable feature of costume in this era was that the skirt of anofficial's outer garment had to be long in proportion to his rank. But military men did not observe this rule. It was followed only bythe comparatively effeminate Court nobles and civil officials, whoshaved their eyebrows, painted their cheeks, and blackened theirteeth, as women did. While the soldiers of the Kamakura period woretheir hair short and shaved the top of the head, --possibly forgreater comfort when they were accoutred in heavy helmets, --the Courtnoble and the exquisite of the day wore their hair long and gatheredin a queue which was bound with paper. As for women, long hair was counted a beauty, and when a lady of rankleft the house, her tresses were gathered in a box carried by anattendant who walked behind; and when she seated herself, thisattendant's duty was to spread the hair symmetrically on the groundlike a skirt. Girls in their teens had a pretty fashion of wearingtheir hair in three clearly distinguished lengths--a short fringeover the forehead, two cascades falling below the shoulders, and along lock behind. Women's hairdressing was simple in one respect:they wore no ornaments in the hair. Aristocratic ladies continued towear loose trousers, but robes with skirts began to form a part ofthe costume of the lower classes and of unmarried girls. The girdle, so characteristic of Japanese habiliments in later days, had not yetcome into use. Its predecessor was a narrow belt of silk encirclingthe waist and knotted in front, the outer garment being a longflowing robe, reaching from the neck to the heels and havingvoluminous sleeves. Female headgear was various. A woman walkingabroad wore a large hat like an inverted bowl, and when she rode onhorseback, she suspended from the rim of this hat a curtain fromthree to four feet long. There were other fashions, but only one of them need be mentioned, namely, a hood to envelop the face so that the eyes alone remainedvisible. In the city streets women of the town wore a distinctivecostume as courtesans did in certain parts of Europe in the MiddleAges. The badge in Japan was a spirally twisted pyramidal cap oflinen, about a foot and a half high. The materials of which clothingwere made varied from rich Chinese brocade to coarse homespun, but, in general, the use of brocade was forbidden except to persons whohad received it as a gift from the Court in Kyoto or Kamakura. Historical mention is first made of badges during the war of theMinamoto and the Taira. Their use was originally confined to purposesof distinction, and ultimately they came to be employed as a familycrest by military men. A chrysanthemum flower with sixteen petals anda bunch of Paulownia leaves and buds constituted the Imperial badges, the use of which was interdicted to all subjects. It is not to besupposed, however, that badges were necessarily a mark ofaristocracy: they might be woven or dyed on the garments oftradespeople or manufacturers. Footgear, also, offered opportunitiesfor embellishment. Common people wore brown-leather socks, but thoseof position used blue leather having decorative designs embroideredin white thread. BRAZIERS, ETC. Braziers now came into general use, and quickly became objects ofornament as well as of utility. Manufactured of brass or bronze, andsometimes even of silver, they had decorative designs repousse orchiselled, and sometimes they took the shape of a metal receptacleinserted in a case of finely grained or richly lacquered wood. Another important warming utensil was the kotatsu, a latticed woodenframe enclosing a brazier and covered by a quilt. Lanterns were alsoemployed. They consisted of a candle fixed in a skeleton frame onwhich an envelope of thin paper was stretched. Their introduction wasquickly followed by that of a kind of match which took the form of athin piece of wood tipped with sulphur. DIET The military class did not allow themselves to be influenced by anyreligious scruples in their choice of viands. They ate everythingexcept the flesh of oxen or horses. In serving meals, tables ofChinese form ceased altogether to be used, edibles being placed on atray which stood about four inches high. These trays and cups, andthe bowls and plates ranged on them, showed great refinement, richlacquer, silver, and gold being freely used in aristocraticdwellings. AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY Agriculture was, of course, greatly interrupted by the longcontinuance of military campaigns; but, on the other hand, itreceived every encouragement from the Minamoto and the Hojo. The mostimportant incident of the era in this context was the introduction ofthe tea-shrub from China in 1191. As for industrial pursuits, signalprogress took place in the art of tempering steel. The Japaneseswordsmith forged the most trenchant weapon ever produced by anynation. The ceramic industry, also, underwent great development fromthe thirteenth century onwards. It may be said to have owed itsartistic beginning to Kato Shirozaemon Kagemasa, who visited China atthat time, and "learned the art of applying glaze to pottery biscuit, a feat not previously achieved in Japan. " Another profession carriedto high excellence was the sculpturing of Buddhist images. Thisreached its acme in a celebrated bronze Buddha which was set up atKamakura, in 1252, and which remains to this day "one of the mostmajestic creations of art in any country. " SUMPTUARY EDICTS The laws enacted by the Hojo regents bear ample testimony to theirdesire of enforcing frugality. In the middle of the thirteenthcentury, they went so far as to interdict the brewing of sakethroughout the empire, and another ordinance vetoed the serving ofcakes at meals. Such interdicts could not possibly be strictlyenforced, but they undoubtedly exercised much influence, so that thesamurai limited themselves to two meals a day and partook only of thecoarsest fare. ENGRAVING: WRESTLERS ENGRAVING: DAIMYO'S GATE CHAPTER XXIX FALL OF THE HOJO AND RISE OF THE ASHIKAGA THE DAYS OF SADATOKI WITH the accession (1284) of the seventh Hojo regent, Sadatoki, theprosperous era of the Bakufu came to an end. Sadatoki himself seemsto have been a man of much ability and fine impulses. He succeededhis father, Tokimune, at the age of fourteen, and during nine yearshe remained under the tutelage of the prime minister, Taira noYoritsuna, thereafter taking the reins of government into his ownhands. The annals are unfortunately defective at this, period. Theyfail to explain the reason for Sadatoki's retirement and adoption ofreligion, in 1301, after eight years of active rule. It may be thatthe troubles of the time disgusted him. For alike politically andfinancially an evil state of affairs prevailed. In 1286, the Adachiclan, falling under suspicion of aiming at the shogunate, wasextirpated. A few years later, the same fate overtook Taira noYoritsuna, who had been the chief accuser of the Adachi, and who, being now charged by his own first-born with coveting the regency(shikken), was put to death with his second son and all hisretainers. Yet again, three years subsequently to this lattertragedy, Yoshimi, a scion of Yoritomo's brother, the unfortunateYoshinori, fell a victim to accusations of treachery, and it neededno great insight to appreciate that the Bakufu was becoming a housedivided against itself. It was at this time, also, that the military families of the Kwantoin general and of Kamakura in particular began to find their incomesdistressingly inadequate to meet the greatly increased and constantlyincreasing outlays that resulted from following the costly customs ofKyoto as reflected at the shogun's palace. Advantage was taken ofthis condition by professional money-lenders, by ambitious nobles, and even by wealthy farmers, who, supplying funds at exorbitant ratesof interest, obtained possession of valuable estates. The Bakufu madeseveral futile legislative essays to amend this state of affairs, andfinally, in the year 1297, they resorted to a ruinous device calledtokusei, or the "benevolent policy. " This consisted in enacting a lawwhich vetoed all suits for the recovery of interest, cancelled allmortgages, and interdicted the pledging of military men's property. Of course, such legislation proved disastrous. Whatever temporaryrelief it afforded to indigent and improvident debtors, was faroutweighed by the blow given to credit generally, and by theindignation excited among creditors. The Bakufu owed much of thestability of their influence to the frugality of their lives and totheir unsullied administration of justice. But now the Kwanto bushirivalled the Kyoto gallants in extravagance; the Kamakura tribunalsforfeited the confidence of the people, and the needy samurai beganto wish for the return of troublous times, when fortunes could be wonwith the sword. Amid such conditions Sadatoki took the tonsure in1300, and was succeeded nominally by his cousin Morotoki, who, however, administered affairs in consultation with the retiredregent. In 1303, a son was born to Sadatoki, and the latter, dying in1311, bequeathed the office of regent to this boy when he shouldreach years of discretion, entrusting him, meanwhile, to theguardianship of two officials, the more active of whom was a laypriest, Nagasaki Enki. An idea of the confusion existing at that time in Kamakura may begathered from the fact that, during the five years between the deathof Sadatoki and the accession of his son Takatoki (1316), no lessthan four members of the Hojo family held the regency in succession. Takatoki was destined to be the last of the Hojo regents. Coming intopower at the age of thirteen, his natural giddiness of character issaid to have been deliberately encouraged by his guardian, Nagasaki, but even had he been a stronger man it is doubtful whether he couldhave saved the situation. Corruption had eaten deeply into the heartof the Bakufu. In 1323, a question concerning right of succession tothe Ando estate was carried to Kamakura for adjudication, and thechief judge, Nagasaki Takasuke, son of the old lay priest mentionedabove, having taken bribes from both of the litigants, delivered aninscrutable opinion. Save for its sequel, this incident would merelyhave to be catalogued with many cognate injustices which disfiguredthe epoch. But the Ando family being one of the most powerful innorthern Japan, its rival representatives appealed to arms in supportof their respective claims, and the province of Oshu was thrown intosuch confusion that a force had to be sent from Kamakura to restoreorder. This expedition failed, and with its failure the prestige ofthe Hojo fell in a region where hitherto it had been untarnished--thearena of arms. The great Japanese historian, Rai Sanyo, compared theBakufu of that time to a tree beautiful outwardly but worm-eaten atthe core, and in the classical work, Taiheiki, the state of affairsis thus described: The Dengaku mime was then in vogue among all classes in Kyoto. Takatoki, hearing of this, summoned two rival troupes of Dengakuplayers to Kamakura and witnessed their performances without regardto the passage of time. He distributed the members of the troupesamong the noble families related to the Hojo, and made these noblescompete to furnish the performers with magnificent costumes. At abanquet when a Dengaku mime was acted, the regent and his guests viedwith one another in pulling off their robes and throwing them into aheap, to be redeemed afterwards for heavy sums which were given tothe actors. The custom thus inaugurated became perpetual. One day, anumber of dogs gathered in the garden of Takatoki's mansion and had afight. This so amused the regent that orders were despatched tocollect dogs by way of taxes, the result being that many people inthe provinces took steps to breed dogs and presented them by tens orscores to Kamakura, where they were fed on fish and fowl, kept inkennels having gold and silver ornaments, and carried in palanquinsto take the air. When these distinguished animals were borne alongthe public thoroughfares, people hastening hither and thither onbusiness had to dismount and kneel in obeisance, and farmers, insteadof cultivating the fields, had to act as bearers of the dogs'sedan-chairs. Thus, the city of Kamakura presented the curiousspectacle of a town filled with well-fed dogs, clothed in tinsel andbrocades, and totalling from four to five thousand. Twelve days inevery month used to be devoted to dog-fights, and on these occasions, the regent, the nobles, and the people inside and outside the mansionused to assemble as spectators, sitting on the verandas or theground. THE COURT IN KYOTO All these things were watched with keen interest in Kyoto. It hasbeen shown in Chapter XXVI that the Imperial family had been dividedinto two branches ever since the days of Go-Saga (1242-1246), onedescended from his elder son, Go-Fukakusa, the other from hisyounger, Kameyama. These two branches may be convenientlydistinguished as the senior and the junior, respectively. It has alsobeen shown that the princes of the senior branch uniformly relied onKamakura and kept the Bakufu informed of all intrigues devised inKyoto, whereas those of the junior branch constantly cherished thehope of reasserting the independence of the throne. A representativeof the junior branch, Go-Daigo (1318-1339), happened to be on thethrone when Takatoki, holding the regency at Kamakura, scandalizedthe nation by his excesses and discredited the Hojo by hisincompetence. Go-Daigo was an able sovereign. He dispensed justice scrupulously andmade the good of the country his prime aim. It appeared to him thatthe time had come for Kyoto to shake off the fetters of Kamakura. With that object he took into his confidence two Fujiwara nobles, Suketomo, a councillor of State, and Toshimoto, minister of Finance. These he despatched on a secret tour of inspection through theprovinces, instructing them at the same time to canvass for adherentsamong the local samurai. They met with considerable success. Amongthe provincial families there were some of Taira origin who cherishedtraditional hatred towards the Minamoto; there were some of Minamotoblood who chafed at the supremacy of the Hojo, and there were somewho, independently of lineage, longed for a struggle and itscontingent possibilities. Leading representatives of these classesbegan to hold conclaves in Kyoto. The meetings were marked bycomplete absence of ceremony, their object being to promote freeinterchange of ideas. Presently, suspicions were suggested toKamakura. The regent, Takatoki, who, though a careless libertine inhis habits, living in the society of his thirty concubines, histroops of dancing mimes, and his packs of fighting dogs, was capableof stern resolution on occasions, threatened to dethrone the Emperor. In this sore strait, Go-Daigo did not hesitate to make solemn avowalof the innocence of his purpose, and Kamakura refrained from anyharsh action towards the Throne. But it fared ill with thesovereign's chief confidant, Fujiwara no Suketomo. He was exiled toSado Island and there killed by Takatoki's instructions. Thishappened in 1325. Connected with it was an incident which illustratesthe temper of the bushi. In spite of his mother's tearfulremonstrances, Kunimitsu, the thirteen-year-old son of the exilednoble, set out from Kyoto for Sado to bid his father farewell. Thegovernor of the island was much moved by the boy's affection, but, fearful of Kamakura, he refused to sanction a meeting andcommissioned one Homma Saburo, a member of his family, to kill theprisoner. Kunimitsu determined to avenge his father, even at theexpense of his own life. During a stormy night, he effected an entryinto the governor's mansion, and, penetrating to Saburo's chamber, killed him. The child then turned his weapon against his own bosom. But, reflecting that he had his mother to care for, his sovereign toserve, and his father's will to carry out, he determined to escape ifpossible. The mansion was surrounded by a deep moat which he couldnot cross. But a bamboo grew on the margin, and climbing up this, hefound that it bent with his weight so as to form a bridge. He reachedKyoto in safety and ultimately attained the high post (chunagon)which his father had held. THE SUCCESSION TO THE THRONE The year 1326 witnessed the decease of the Crown Prince, Kuninaga, who represented the senior branch of the Imperial family. Thereupon, Go-Daigo conceived the project of appointing his own son, Morinaga, to be Prince Imperial. That would have given the sceptre twice insuccession to the junior branch, and the Bakufu regent, insistingthat the rule of alternate succession must be followed, proposed tonominate Prince Kazuhito, a son of the cloistered Emperor, Go-Fushimi, who belonged to the senior branch. The question wasvehemently discussed at Kamakura, Go-Daigo being represented byFujiwara no Fujifusa, and Go-Fushimi by another noble. The formercontended that never since the days of Jimmu had any subject dared toimpose his will on the Imperial family. Go-Saga's testament hadclearly provided the order of succession to the throne, yet theBakufu had ventured to set that testament aside and had dictated thesystem of alternate succession. Thus, the princes of the elder branchnot only became eligible for the throne, but also enjoyed greatrevenues from the Ghokodo estate, though it had been bequeathed as asolatium for exclusion from the succession; whereas the princes ofthe junior branch, when not occupying the throne, were without a footof land or the smallest source of income. Fujifusa was instructed toclaim that the usufruct of the Chokodo estate should alternate in thesame manner as the succession, or that the latter should beperpetually vested in the junior branch. To this just demand theregent, Takatoki, refused to accede. Kazuhito was named PrinceImperial, and thus the seeds of a sanguinary struggle were sown. CONSPIRACY IN KYOTO Go-Daigo now conspired actively for the overthrow of the Hojo. Hetook Prince Morinaga into his confidence, and, under the name Oto noMiya, made him lord-abbot of the great monastery of Hiei-zan, thussecuring at once a large force of soldier cenobites. To the same endother religious establishments were successfully approached. Duringthe space of five years this plot escaped Kamakura's attention. But, in 1331, the Bakufu, becoming suspicious, laid hands on several ofthe plotters and, subjecting them to judicial examination after themerciless fashion of the age, soon elicited a part, at any rate, ofthe truth. Yet Kamakura does not appear to have appreciated thesituation until, Go-Daigo having summoned the Enryaku monks to hisassistance, the cloistered Emperor of the senior branch, Go-Fushimi, despatched an urgent message to the Bakufu, declaring that unlessprompt action were taken the situation would elude control. Hasty council was now held in Kamakura. Nagasaki Takasuke, thecorrupt kwanryo, advised that Go-Daigo should be dethroned and sentinto exile, together with Oto no Miya, and that all implicated in theplot should be severely punished. This violent course was opposed byNikaido Sadafusa, who pleaded eloquently for the respect due to theThrone, and contended that without the sovereign's favour the Bakufucould not exist. But Takasuke's advice prevailed, re-enforced as itwas by reference to the Shokyu disturbance when vigorous daring hadwon the day. With all possible expedition an army under the commandof Sadafusa marched from Kamakura for Kyoto. Advised of these doings, Prince Morinaga persuaded the Emperor to change costumes withFujiwara Morokata; whereafter the latter, riding in the Imperialpalanquin, took ostensible refuge at Hiei-zan, and the sovereign, travelling in a Court lady's ox-car, made his way, first, to Nara andthence to Kasagi in Yamato, guarded by the troops of FujiwaraFujifusa. Rokuhara was then under the command of Hojo Nakatoki, andupon him devolved the duty of seizing the Emperor's person. Hedirected an army against Hiei-zan, where Go-Daigo was believed tohave found asylum. But Fujiwara Morokata, who personified thesovereign, managed to escape, as did also Prince Morinaga (Oto noMiya). Go-Daigo then sent to Kusunoki Masashige a mandate to raisetroops and move against the "rebels, " for to that category the Hojonow belonged in the absence of an Imperial commission. This Kusunoki Masashige (called Nanko) is one of Japan's ideal typesof loyalty and courage. He and Nitta Yoshisada are the centralfigures in the long campaign upon which Japan now entered. Masashigebelonged to the Tachibana family, which stood second among the fourgreat septs of Japan--the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, the Minamoto, andthe Taira--and Yoshisada claimed kinship with the Minamoto. ReceivingGo-Daigo's order, Kusunoki Masashige quickly collected a troop oflocal bushi and constructed entrenchments at Akasaka, a naturallystrong position in his native province of Kawachi. Takatoki nowcaused Prince Kazuhito to be proclaimed sovereign under the name ofKogon. But this monarch was not destined to find a place among therecognized occupants of the throne. For a time, indeed, fortunesmiled on the Hojo. Within a few days after Kogon's assumption of thesceptre, Go-Daigo's retreat at Kasagi became untenable, and he fled, still escorted by the faithful Fujiwara Fujifusa. It must berecognized that, whatever the Fujiwara family's usurpations in thepast, their loyalty to the Throne throughout this era of cruelvicissitudes redeems a multitude of sins. During his flight from Kasagi, the Emperor was without food for threedays, and had to sleep with a rock for pillow. Overtaken by theRokuhara troops, his Majesty was placed in a bamboo palanquin andcarried to the temple Byodoin, where, after the battle of the UjiBridge, the aged statesman and general, Yorimasa, had fallen by hisown hand, a century and a half previously. Here Go-Daigo received aperemptory order to surrender the Imperial insignia to the Hojonominee, Kogon. He refused. The mirror and gem, he alleged, had beenlost, and there remained only the sacred sword, which he kept todefend himself against the traitors when they fell upon him. The highcourage of this answer would have been finer had Go-Daigo's statementbeen true; but in reality the three insignia were intact. It was thenannounced to his Majesty that he should be removed to Rokuhara wherehe would be entirely in the power of the Hojo. Nevertheless, hemaintained his lofty bearing, and refused to make the journey unlessall appropriate forms of etiquette were observed. At Rokuhara thedemand for the insignia was repeated and the Emperor handed overduplicates, secretly retaining the genuine articles himself. Takatokinow issued orders for Go-Daigo to be removed to the island of Oki, sent all the members of his family into exile elsewhere, and banishedor killed his principal supporters. RAISING OF A LOYAL ARMY Kusunoki Masashige had but five hundred men under his command when heentrenched himself at Akasaka. There for twenty days he held outagainst the attacks of the greatly superior Hojo forces, untilfinally, no help arriving and his provisions being exhausted, hewould have committed suicide had he not realized that his lifebelonged to the Imperial cause. He contrived to escape through theenemy's lines, and thus the only organized loyal force that remainedin the field was that operating in Bingo under the command ofSakurayama Koretoshi. Thither a false rumour of Masashige's deathhaving been carried, Koretoshi's troops dispersed and he himselfcommitted suicide. Kojima Takanori, too, commonly known as Bingo noSaburo, was about to raise the banner of loyalty when the false newsof Masashige's death reached him. This Takanori is the hero of anincident which appeals strongly to the Japanese love of the romantic. Learning that the Emperor was being transported into exile in theisland of Oki, and having essayed to rescue him en route, he made hisway during the night into the enclosure of the inn where the Imperialparty had halted, and having scraped off part of the bark of a cherrytree, he inscribed on the trunk the couplet: Heaven destroy not Kou Chien, He is not without a Fan Li. This alluded to an old-time Chinese king (Kou Chien) who, aftertwenty years of exile, was restored to power by the efforts of avassal (Fan Li). The Emperor's guards, being too illiterate tocomprehend the reference, showed the writing to Go-Daigo, who thuslearned that friends were at hand. But Takanori could not accomplishanything more, and for a season the fortunes of the Throne were at avery low ebb, while at Kamakura the regent resumed his life ofdebauchery. Neither Prince Morinaga nor Masashige was idle, however. By skilful co-operation they recovered the entrenchments at Akasakaand overran the two provinces of Izumi and Kawachi, gaining manyadherents. The fall of 1332 saw Masashige strongly posted at theChihaya fortress on Kongo Mountain; his lieutenants holding Akasaka;Prince Morinaga in possession of Yoshino Castle, and AkamatsuNorimura of Harima blocking the two highways called the Sanindo andthe Sanyodo. In other words, the Imperialists held the group of provinces formingthe northern littoral of the Inland Sea and commanded the approachesfrom the south. But now again Kamakura put forth its strength. At theclose of February, 1333, a numerous force under the Hojo bannersattacked Yoshino and its fall became inevitable. Prince Morinaga, wounded in several places, had resolved to make the castle his"death-pillow, " when he was saved by one of those acts of heroicdevotion so frequently recorded in the annals of the Japanese bushi. Murakami Yoshiteru insisted on donning the prince's armour andpersonating him so as to cover his retreat. At the supreme moment, Yoshiteru ascended the tower of the entrenchments and loudlyproclaiming himself the prince, committed suicide. His son would fainhave shared his fate, but Yoshiteru bade him live for furtherservice. Subsequently, he fell fighting against Morinaga's pursuers, but the prince escaped safely to the great monastery of Koya inKishu. * The victorious Hojo then turned their arms against Akasaka, and having carried that position, attacked Chihaya where Masashigecommanded in person. But the great soldier held his foes successfullyat bay and inflicted heavy losses on them. Thus, the early months of1333 witnessed a brighter state of affairs for the Imperial cause. Itwas supported by Kusunoki Masashige, in Yamato, with Chihaya forheadquarters; Prince Morinaga, at Koya-san in Kishu; AkamatsuNorimura, in Harima and Settsu, whence his fortress of Maya menacedRokuhara, and by Doi Michiharu and Tokuno Michikoto, in Iyo, whence, crossing to Nagato, they had attacked and defeated Hojo Tokinao, thetandai of the province. *Yoshiteru's loyal sacrifice received official recognition, in 1908, on the occasion of military manoeuvres in the neighbourhood of thescene of the tragedy. The Emperor honoured his memory by bestowing onhim high posthumous rank. ESCAPE OF THE EMPEROR FROM OKI The Oki group of islands lie in the Sea of Japan forty miles from thecoast of the provinces Izumo and Hoki. Beppu, in Nishi-no-shima, oneof the smallest of the group, was Go-Daigo's place of exile. Byemploying the services of a fishing-boat, Prince Morinaga succeededin conveying to his Majesty some intelligence of the efforts thatwere being made in the Imperial cause. This was early in 1333, andwhen the news spread among the guards at Beppu, they began to talk ofthe duties of loyalty. Narita Kosaburo and the Nawa brothers, Yasunaga and Nagataka--the name of the last was afterwards changed bythe Emperor to Nagatoshi--thus became associated in a scheme forassisting the exile to recover his freedom. To remove him fromNishi-no-Shima was not difficult to contrive, but to traverse theprovinces of Izumo or Hoki en route for a safe asylum seemed at firstimpossible, for in Izumo not only the governor but also the chiefofficial of the great Shinto shrine were hostile, and in Hoki thestrictest watchfulness had been enjoined from Rokuhara. Nevertheless, it became necessary to make the attempt at once orrefrain altogether. On the 8th of April, 1333, the guards at Beppuwere given a quantity of sake on the plea that the accouchement of aCourt lady was imminent. Custom prescribed that in such a case thelady should be removed to a different house, and therefore when theguards had well drunk, a palanquin was carried out, bearingostensibly this lady only, but in reality freighted with thesovereign also. The night was passed in the village, and at daybreakthe little party, leaving the lady behind, set out on foot for thenearest seaport, Chiba. The Emperor could scarcely walk, but happilya man was encountered leading a pack-horse, and on this Go-Daigorode. The next three days were devoted to seeking a safe landing inIzumo and endeavouring to procure provisions. On one occasion, beingpursued by servants of the great shrine, they had to re-embark andput out to sea, the Emperor and his sole attendant, Tadaaki, lyinghid in the bottom of the boat beneath a quantity of seaweed and underthe feet of the sailors. Finally, on the 13th of April, they madeKatami port in the province of Hoki, and, being cordially welcomed byNawa Nagataka, Go-Daigo was ultimately taken to a mountain calledFunanoe, which offered excellent defensive facilities. It is recordedthat on the first stage of this journey from Nagataka's residence tothe mountain, the Emperor had to be carried on the back of Nagataka'sbrother, Nagashige, no palanquin being available. Very soon manybushi flocked to the Imperial standard and Funanoe was stronglyentrenched. It was on this occasion that Go-Daigo changed Nagataka'sname to Nagatoshi, and conferred on him the title of "captain of theLeft guards" (saemon-no-jo). DOWNFALL OF THE HOJO When the Emperor's escape from Oki became known, loyal samurai ingreat numbers espoused the Imperial cause, and a heavy blow was givento the prestige of the Hojo by Akamatsu Norimura who, after severalsuccessful engagements with the Rokuhara army in Settsu, pushednorthward from the fortress of Maya, where his forces were almostwithin sight of Kyoto. Takatoki, appreciating that a crisis had nowarisen in the fortunes of the Hojo, ordered Ashikaga Takauji to leada powerful army westward. Takauji represented a junior branch of theMinamoto family. He was descended from the great Yoshiiye, and whenYoritomo rose against the Taira, in 1180, he had been immediatelyjoined by the then Ashikaga chieftain, who was his brother-in-law. Takau ji, therefore, had ambitions of his own, and his mood towardsthe Hojo had been embittered by two recent events; the first, that, though in mourning for the death of his father, he had been requiredto join the attack on Masashige's fortress at Kasagi; the second, that his own illness after returning from that campaign had notavailed to save him from frequent summonses to conference withTakatoki. ENGRAVING: ASHIKAGA TAKAUJI Thus, this second order to take the field found him disposed to joinin the overthrow of the Hojo rather than in their support. Learningsomething of this mood, Takatoki demanded that the Ashikaga chief, before commencing his march, should hand in a written oath ofloyalty, and further, should leave his wife, his children, and hisbrother-in-law as hostages in Kamakura. Takauji, who shrunk from nosacrifice on the altar of his ambition, complied readily, and theconfidence of the Bakufu having thus been restored, a parting banquetwas given in his honour, at which the Hojo representative presentedhim with a steed, a suit of armour, a gold-mounted sword, and a whiteflag, this last being an heirloom from the time of Hachiman(Yoshiiye), transmitted through the hands of Yoritomo's spouse, Masa. All these things did not turn Takauji by a hair's-breadth from hispurpose. His army had not marched many miles westward before hedespatched a message to the entrenchments in Hoki offering hisservices to the Emperor, who welcomed this signal accession ofstrength and commissioned Takauji to attack the Bakufu forces. Entirely ignorant of these things, Hojo Takaiye, who commanded atRokuhara, made dispositions to move against the Hoki fortress inco-operation with Takauji. The plan of campaign was that Takaiye'sarmy should march southward through Settsu, and, having crushedAkamatsu Norimura, who occupied that province, should advance throughHarima and Mimasaka into Hoki; while Takauji, moving northward atfirst by the Tamba highway, should ultimately turn westward and reachHoki by the littoral road of the Japan Sea. In addition to these twoarmies, the Hojo had a powerful force engaged in beleaguering thefortress of Chihaya, in Yamato, where Kusunoki Masashige commanded inperson. It will thus be seen that, at this time (May, 1333), the Imperialistswere everywhere standing on the defensive, and the Bakufu armies wereattacking on the southeast, south, and north of Kyoto. Nothing seemedless probable than that the Imperial capital itself should become theobject of an assault by the partisans of Go-Daigo. But the unexpectedtook place. Hojo Takaiye was killed and his force shattered in thefirst collision with Norimura, who immediately set his troops inmotion towards Kyoto, intending to take advantage of Rokuhara'sdenuded condition. Meanwhile, Takauji, whose march into Tamba hadbeen very deliberate, learned the course events had taken in Settsu, and immediately proclaiming his allegiance to the Imperial cause, countermarched for Kyoto, his army receiving constant accessions ofstrength as it approached the city. Rokuhara, though taken bysurprise, fought stoutly. Attacked simultaneously from threedirections by the armies of Norimura, Takauji, and Minamoto Tadaaki, and in spite of the death of their commandant, Hojo Tokimasu, theyheld out until the evening, when Hojo Nakatoki escaped under cover ofdarkness, escorting the titular sovereign, Kogon, and the twoex-Emperors. Their idea was to flee to Kamakura, but taking an escorttoo large for rapid movement, they were overtaken; the three leaderstogether with four hundred men killed, and Kogon together with thetwo ex-Emperors seized and carried back to Kyoto. THE FALL OF KAMAKURA These things happened at the close of June, 1333, and immediatelyafter the fall of Rokuhara, Nitta Yoshisada raised the Imperialstandard in the province of Kotsuke. Yoshisada represented the tenthgeneration of the great Yoshiiye's family. Like Ashikaga Takauji hewas of pure Minamoto blood, though Takauji belonged to a juniorbranch. The Nitta estates were in the district of that name in theprovince of Kotsuke; that is to say, in the very heart of the Kwanto. Hitherto, the whole of the eastern region had remained loyal to theHojo; but the people were growing weary of the heavy taxes andrequisitions entailed by this three-years' struggle, and when NittaYoshisada declared against the Hojo, his ranks soon swelled toformidable dimensions. It has been stated by some historians thatYoshisada's resolve was first taken on receipt of news that Rokuharawas lost to the Hojo. But there can be no doubt that, like others ofhis sept, he had long resented the comparatively subordinate positionoccupied by Yoritomo's descendants, and the most trustworthy annalsshow that already while engaged in besieging Masashige in Chihayafortress, he conceived the idea of deserting the Hojo's cause. Through one of his officers, Funada Yoshimasa, he obtained a mandatefrom Prince Morinaga, and then, feigning sickness, he left the campin Yamato and returned to Kotsuke, where he lost no time in makingpreparations for revolt. This actual declaration did not come, however, until the arrival ofan officer from Kamakura, carrying a requisition for a great quantityof provisions to victual an army which the Hojo were hastilyequipping to recover Rokuhara. The officer was put to death, andYoshisada with his brother, Yoshisuke, set their forces in motion forKamakura. Menaced thus closely, the Hojo made a supreme effort. Theyput into the field an army said to have numbered one hundred thousandof all arms. But their ranks were perpetually reduced by defections, whereas those of the Imperialists received constant accessions. Thecampaign lasted only a fortnight. For the final attack Yoshisadadivided his army into three corps and advanced against Kamakura fromthe north, the east, and the west. The eastern column was repulsedand its general slain, but the western onset, commanded by Yoshisadahimself, succeeded. Taking advantage of a low tide, he led his menover the sands and round the base of a steep cliff, * and carried thecity by storm, setting fire to the buildings everywhere. The Hojotroops were shattered and slaughtered relentlessly. Takatokiretreated to his ancestral cemetery at the temple Tosho-ji, and therecommitted suicide with all the members of his family and some eighthundred officers and men of his army. Thus, Kamakura fell on the 5thof July, 1333, a century and a half after the establishment of theBakufu by Yoritomo. Many heroic incidents marked the catastrophe andshowed the spirit animating the bushi of that epoch. A few of themwill find a fitting place here. *This cliff--Inamura-ga-saki--may be seen at Kamakura to-day. Tradition says that Yoshisada threw his sword into the waves, supplicating the god of the Sea to roll back the water and open apath for the loyal army. At dawn on the following day the tide wasfound to have receded sufficiently. HEROIC DEATHS It has been related above that, when Ashikaga Takauji marchedwestward from Kamakura, he left his family and his brother-in-law ashostages in the hands of the Bakufu. Subsequently, on the occasion ofthe assault by Nitta Yoshisada, this brother-in-law (AkabashiMoritoki) resisted stoutly but was defeated at the pass of Kobukoro. He committed suicide, remarking calmly, "It is better to die trustedthan to live doubted. " Osaragi Sadanao, one of the Hojo generals, was in danger of defeat byOdate Muneuji at the defence of Kamakura, when Homma Saemon, aretainer of the former, who was under arrest for an offence, brokehis arrest and galloping into the field, restored the situation bykilling the enemy's general, Odate Muneuji. Carrying the head ofMuneuji, Saemon presented it to his chief and then disembowelledhimself in expiation of his disobedience. Sadanao, crying that hisfaithful follower should not go unaccompanied to the grave, dashedinto the enemy's ranks and fell, covered with wounds. Ando Shoshu, returning from the successful defence of the easternapproaches to Kamakura on the 5th of July, 1333, found the Governmentbuildings a mass of charred ruins, and being ignorant of themultitude of suicides that had taken place in the cemetery atTosho-ji, cried out: "The end of a hundred years! How is it that nonewas found to die the death of fidelity?" Dismounting he prepared totake his own life when a messenger arrived carrying a letter from hisniece, the wife of Nitta Yoshisada. This letter counselled surrender. Shoshu exclaimed furiously: "My niece is a samurai's daughter. Howcould she venture to insult me with words so shameless? And how wasit that Yoshisada allowed her to do such a thing?" Then, wrapping theletter round the hilt of his sword, he disembowelled himself. THE LAST SCENE The last act of the Hojo tragedy, which took place in the cemetery ofthe temple Tosho-ji, showed the fidelity of the samurai character atits best. Among the Kamakura warriors was one Takashige, son of thatNagasaki Takasuke who had made himself notorious by corruptadministration of justice. Takashige, a skilled soldier of enormousphysical power, returned from the battle when all hope of beatingback Nitta Yoshisada's army had disappeared, and having warned theregent, Takatoki, that the bushi's last resource alone remained, asked for a few moments' respite to strike a final stroke. Followedby a hundred desperate men, he plunged into the thick of the fightand had almost come within reach of Yoshisada when he was forcedback. Galloping to Tosho-ji, he found Takatoki and his comradesdrinking their farewell cup of sake. Takatoki handed the cup toTakashige, and he, after draining it thrice, as was the samurai'swont, passed it to Settsu Dojun, disembowelled himself, and tore outhis intestines. "That gives a fine relish to the wine, " cried Dojun, following Takashige's example. Takatoki, being of highest rank, wasthe last to kill himself. Eight hundred suicides bore witness to the strength of the creed heldby the Kamakura bushi. An eminent Japanese author* writes: "Yoritomo, convinced by observation and experience that the beautiful and thesplendid appeal most to human nature, made it his aim to inculcatefrugality, to promote military exercises, to encourage loyalty, andto dignify simplicity. Moral education he set before physical. Theprecepts of bushido he engraved on the heart of the nation and gaveto them the honour of a precious heirloom. The Hojo, by exaltingbushido, followed the invaluable teaching of the Genji, andsupplemented it with the doctrines of Shinto, Confucianism, andBuddhism. Thus every bushi came to believe that the country's fatedepended on the spirit of the samurai. " Another and more renownedannalist** wrote: "The Hojo, rising from a subordinate position, flourished for nine generations. Their success was due to observingfrugality, treating the people with kindness, meting out strictjustice, and faithfully obeying the ancestral behest to abstain fromseeking high titles. " They took the substance and discarded theshadow. The bushido that they developed became a model in later ages, especially in the sixteenth century. *Yamada Tesshu (modern). **Rai Sanyo (1780-1832). LAST HOJO ARMY When Kamakura fell the only Hojo force remaining in the field wasthat which had been engaged for months in the siege of Chihaya, whereKusunoki Masashige held his own stoutly. This army had retired toNara on receipt of the news of Rokuhara's capture, and when Kamakuramet with the same fate, the leaders of the last Hojo forcesurrendered at the summons of Ashikaga Takauji's emissaries. Subsequently, fifteen of these leaders were led out at midnight andbeheaded. THE RESTORATION OF THE KEMMU ERA The conditions that now resulted are spoken of in Japanese history as"the Restoration of the Kemmu era" (1334-1336). It will be presentlyseen that the term is partly misleading. After his escape from Oki, Go-Daigo remained for some time in the fortress of Funanoe, in Hoki. Kamakura fell on the 5th of July, and his Majesty entered Kyoto onthe 17th of that month. While in Hoki he issued various rescriptshaving special significance. They may be summarized as follows: From bushi down to priests, any man who performs meritorious deeds inbattle will be duly recompensed, in addition to being confirmed inthe possession of his previously held domain, and that possessionwill be continued in perpetuity to his descendants. In the case ofpersons killed in fight, suitable successors to their domains will beselected from their kith and kin. With regard to Court officials and bushi down to temple priests andfunctionaries of Shinto shrines, any that come immediately to jointhe Imperial forces will be rewarded, in addition to being confirmedin the tenure of their original estates. Similar consideration will be shown to all who, though unable to comein person, supply provisions or military necessaries, submitsuggestions with loyal intent, or otherwise work in the interests ofthe Imperial army. Men surrendering in battle will be pardoned fortheir previous offences, and will be rewarded for servicessubsequently rendered. The fate of the eastern outlaws (i. E. The Hojo) being sealed, theirdestruction is imminent. They have slain many innocent people;plundered the property of all classes, despoiled temples, burnedhouses, and conducted themselves with extreme wickedness. Unless theybe punished, public peace cannot be restored. Our army has to removethose evils, and therefore all in its ranks, while uniting to attackthe rebels, will be careful not to inflict any suffering on thepeople or to plunder them and will treat them with all benevolence. If prisoners be common soldiers, they shall be released at once, andif officers, they shall be held in custody pending Imperialinstructions. They shall not be punished without judgment. Nobuildings except the enemy's fortresses and castles shall be burned, unless the conditions of a battle dictate such a course, and it isstrictly forbidden to set fire to shrines and temples. When theImperial forces enter a city and have to be quartered in privatehouses, the owners of the latter shall be duly recompensed. If theseinjunctions be obeyed, the deities of heaven and earth and theancestral Kami will protect the virtuous army in its assault upon thewicked traitors. These edicts make it clear that in one most important respect, namely, the terms of land tenure, there was no idea of reverting tothe old-time system which recognized the right of property to bevested in the Throne and limited the period of occupation to thesovereign's will. THE NEW GOVERNMENT When Go-Daigo entered Kyoto on the 17th of July, 1333, it wassuggested by some of his advisers that a ceremony of coronationshould be again held. But the sa-daijin, Nijo Michihira, opposed thatcourse. He argued that although his Majesty had not resided in thecapital for some time, the sacred insignia had been always in hispossession, and that his re-entering the capital should be treated asreturning from a journey. This counsel was adopted. It involved theexclusion of Kogon from the roll of sovereigns, though the title of"retired Emperor" was accorded to him. There were thus three ex-Emperors at the same time. Go-Daigo assignedthe Chokodo estates for their support, retaining for himself only theprovincial taxes of Harima. The Bakufu no longer having any officialexistence, the machinery of the Government in Kyoto was organized onthe hypothesis of genuine administrative efficiency. There was nochancellor (dajo daijiri) or any regent (kwampaku). These weredispensed with, in deference to the "Restoration" theory, namely, that the Emperor himself should rule, as he had done in the eras ofEngi and Tenryaku (901-957). But for the rest, the old offices wereresuscitated and filled with men who had deserved well in the recentcrisis or who possessed hereditary claims. Prince Morinaga, thesometime lord-abbot of Hiei-zan, was nominated commander-in-chief(tai-shoguri), and for the sake of historical lucidity hereafter thefollowing appointments should be noted: Prince Narinaga to be governor-general (kwanryo) of the Kwanto, withhis headquarters at Kamakura, and with Ashikaga Tadayoshi (brother ofTakauji) for second in command. Prince Yoshinaga to be governor-general of O-U (Mutsu and Dewa), assisted by Kitabatake Chikafusa (an able statesman and a historian), and the latter's son, Akiiye, as well as by the renowned warrior, Yuki Munehiro. Nijo Michihira to be sa-daijin. Kuga Nagamichi to be u-daijin. Doin Kinkata to be nai-daijin. It is observable that the occupants of all these great offices wereCourt nobles. The creed of the Kemmu era was that the usurping buke(military families) had been crushed and that the kuge (Courtnobility) had come to their own again. As for the provinces, the mainpurpose kept in view by the new Government was to efface the tracesof the shugo system. Apparently the simplest method of achieving thatend would have been to appoint civilian governors (kokushi)everywhere. But in many cases civilian governors would have beenpowerless in the face of the conditions that had arisen undermilitary rule, and thus the newly nominated governors included Ashikaga Takauji, governor of Musashi, Hitachi, and Shimosa. Ashikaga Tadayoshi (brother of Takauji), governor of Totomi. Kusunoki Masashige, governor of Settsu, Kawachi, and Izumi. Nawa Nagatoshi, governor of Inaba and Hoki. Nitta Yoshisada, governor of Kotsuke and Harima. Nitta Yoshiaki (son of Yoshisada), governor of Echigo. Wakiya Yoshisuke (brother of Yoshisada), governor of Suruga. One name left out of this list was that of Akamatsu Norimura, who hadtaken the leading part in driving the Hojo from Rokuhara, and who hadbeen faithful to the Imperial cause throughout. He now became asimplacable an enemy as he had previously been a loyal friend. Thefact is significant. Money as money was despised by the bushi of theKamakura epoch. He was educated to despise it, and his natureprepared him to receive such education. But of power he was supremelyambitious--power represented by a formidable army of fully equippedfollowers, by fortified castles, and by widely recognized authority. The prime essential of all these things was an ample landed estate Tocommand the allegiance of the great military families without placingthem under an obligation by the grant of extensive manors would havebeen futile. On the other hand, to grant such manors in perpetuitymeant the creation of practically independent feudal chiefs. The trouble with the restored Government of Go-Daigo was that ithalted between these two alternatives. Appreciating that its returnto power had been due to the efforts of certain military magnates, itrewarded these in a measure; but imagining that its ownadministrative authority had been replaced on the ancient basis, itallowed itself to be guided, at the same time, by capriciousfavouritism. Even in recognizing the services of the militaryleaders, justice was not observed. The records clearly show that onthe roll of merit the first place, after Prince Morinaga, should havebeen given to Kusunoki Masashige's name. When Kasagi fell and whenthe Emperor was exiled, Masashige, alone among the feudatories ofsixty provinces, continued to fight stoutly at the head of a smallforce, thus setting an example of steadfast loyalty which ultimatelyproduced many imitators. Nitta Yoshisada ought to have stood next inorder; then Akamatsu Norimura; then Nawa Nagatoshi, and finallyAshikaga Takauji. * In the case of Takauji, there was comparativelylittle merit. He had taken up arms against the Imperial cause at theoutset, and even in the assault on Rokuhara he had been of littleservice. Yet to him the Crown allotted the greatest honour and therichest rewards. Some excuse may be found in Takauji's lineage, butin that respect he was inferior to Nitta Yoshisada. *Arai Hakuseki (1656-1725). Still more flagrant partiality was displayed in other directions. Relying on the promises of the Funanoe edicts epitomized above, thousands of military officers thronged the Court in Kyoto, clamouring for recognition of their services. Judges were appointedto examine their pleas, but that proved a tedious task, and in themeanwhile all the best lands had been given away by favour oraffection. Go-Daigo himself appropriated the manors of Hojo Takatoki;those of Hojo Yasuie were assigned to Prince Morinaga; thoseof Osaragi Sadanao went to the Imperial consort, Renko. Theimmediate attendants of the sovereign, priests, nuns, musicians, littérateurs--all obtained broad acres by the Imperial fiat, andwhen, in the tardy sequel of judicial procedure, awards were made tomilitary men, no spoil remained to be divided. Soon a cry went up, and gained constantly in volume and vehemence, a cry for therestoration of the military regime. As for Go-Daigo, whatever abilityhe had shown in misfortune seemed to desert him in prosperity. Heneglected his administrative duties, became luxurious and arrogant, and fell more and more under the influence of the lady Ren. OfFujiwara lineage, this lady had shared the Emperor's exile andassisted his escape from Oki. It had long been her ambition to haveher son, Tsunenaga, nominated Crown Prince, but as Prince Morinagawas older and had established a paramount title by his merits, hisremoval must precede the accomplishment of her purpose. Fatefurnished a powerful ally. Prince Morinaga, detecting that AshikagaTakauji concealed a treacherous purpose under a smooth demeanour, solicited the Emperor's mandate to deal with him. Go-Daigo refused, and thereafter the lady Ren and the Ashikaga chief, whose influenceincreased daily, entered into a league for the overthrow of PrinceMorinaga. It was at this time, when symptoms of disorder were growing more andmore apparent, that Fujiwara Fujifusa, a high dignitary of the Courtand one of the great statesmen of his era, addressed a solemn warningto Go-Daigo. The immediate occasion was curious. There had beenpresented to the Court by the governor of Izumo a horse ofextraordinary endurance, capable of travelling from Tomita, in thatprovince, to Kyoto, a distance of one hundred and sixty miles, between dawn and darkness. The courtiers welcomed the appearance ofthis horse as an omen of peace and prosperity, but Fujiwara Fujifusainterpreted it as indicating that occasion to solicit speedy aid fromremote provinces would soon arise. He plainly told the Emperor thatthe officials were steeped in debauchery; that whereas, in the earlydays of the restoration, the palace gates had been thronged withwarriors, to-day none could be seen, thousands upon thousands havingleft the capital disgusted and indignant to see Court favouritesenriched with the rewards which should have fallen to the military;that the already distressed people were subjected to further heavyexactions for building or beautifying Imperial palaces; that graveinjustice had been done to Akamatsu Norimura, and that unless thesovereign refrained from self-indulgence and sought to governbenevolently, a catastrophe could not be averted. But Go-Daigo wasnot moved, and finally, after repeating his admonition on severaloccasions, Fujifusa left the Court and took the tonsure. It says muchfor the nobility of the Emperor's disposition that he commissionedNobufusa, father of Fujifusa, to seek out the persistent critic andoffer him a greatly higher office if he would consent to return, andit says much for Fujifusa's sincerity that, hoping to give weight tohis counsels, he embraced the life of a recluse and was never seen inpublic again. DEATH OF PRINCE MORINAGA Things now went from bad to worse in Kyoto, while in the provincesthe remnants of the Hojo's partisans began to raise their heads. Theever-loyal Kusunoki Masashige and Nawa Nagatoshi entered the capitalto secure it against surprise; Ashikaga Takauji, ostensibly for thesame purpose, summoned large forces from the provinces, and PrinceMorinaga occupied Nawa with a strong army. Takauji saw that the timehad come to remove the prince, in whom he recognized the greatobstacle to the consummation of his ambitious designs. Securing theco-operation of the lady Ren by a promise that her son, Narinaga, should be named Crown Prince and commander-in-chief (shoguri) insuccession to Morinaga, he informed the Emperor that Prince Morinagawas plotting Go-Daigo's deposition and the elevation of his own sonto the throne. The Emperor credited the accusation, summoned theusurping Morinaga to the palace, and caused him to be arrested. Thishappened in November, 1334. Morinaga vehemently declared hisinnocence. In a memorial to the Throne he recounted the loyal servicehe had rendered to his sovereign and father, and concluded with thesewords: In spite of all this I have unwittingly offended. I would appeal toheaven, but the sun and moon have no favour for an unfilial son. Iwould bow my head and cry to the earth for help, but the mountainsand the rivers do not harbour a disloyal subject. The tie betweenfather and son is severed, and I am cast away. I have no longeranything to hope in the world. If I may be pardoned, stripped of myrank, and permitted to enter religion, there will be no cause forregret. In my deep sorrow I cannot say more. Had this piteous appeal reached Go-Daigo, he might have relented. Butjust as the memorial addressed by Yoshitsune to his brother, Yoritomo, was suppressed by Hiromoto, so the chamberlain to whomPrince Morinaga entrusted his protest feared to carry it to thesovereign. Before the close of the year, the prince was exiled toKamakura, and there placed in charge of Takauji's brother, Tadayoshi, who confined him in a cave dug for the purpose. He never emergedalive. Seven months later, Tadayoshi, on the eve of evacuatingKamakura before the attack of Hojo Tokiyuki, sent an emissary toassassinate Morinaga in the cave. The unfortunate prince was in histwenty-eighth year. His name must be added to the long list of noblemen who fell victims to slander in Japan. A Japanese annalist*contends that Morinaga owed his fate as much to his own tactlessnessas to the wiles of his enemies, and claims that in accusing Takaujito the throne, the prince forgot the Emperor's helplessness againstsuch a military magnate as the Ashikaga chief. However that may havebeen, subsequent events clearly justified the prince's suspicions ofTakauji's disloyalty. It must also be concluded that Go-Daigodeliberately contemplated his son's death when he placed him incharge of Takauji's brother. *Raj Sanyo. ASHIKAGA TAKAUJI OCCUPIES KAMAKURA The course of events has been somewhat anticipated above in order torelate the end of Prince Morinaga's career. It is necessary, now, torevert to the incident which precipitated his fate, namely, thecapture of Kamakura by Hojo Tokiyuki. This Tokiyuki was a son ofTakatoki. He escaped to Shinano province at the time of the Hojodownfall, and being joined there by many of his family's vassals, hefound himself strong enough to take the field openly in July, 1335, and sweeping away all opposition, he entered Kamakura in August. Ashikaga Takauji's brother was then in command at Kamakura. Itseemed, indeed, as though the Emperor deliberately contemplated therestoration of the old administrative machinery in the Kwanto, changing only the personnel; for his Majesty appointed his tenth son, Prince Narinaga, a boy of ten, to be shogun at Kamakura, and placedAshikaga Tadayoshi in a position amounting, in fact though not inname, to that of regent (shikken). Probably these measures weremerely intended to placate the Kwanto. Before there had been time totest their efficacy, the Hojo swept down on Kamakura, and Tadayoshiand the young shogun found themselves fugitives. Meanwhile, AshikagaTakauji in Kyoto had been secretly fanning the discontent of theunrecompensed bushi, and had assured himself that a reversion to themilitary system would be widely welcomed. He now applied for acommission to quell the Hojo insurrection, and on the eve of settingout for that purpose, he asked to be nominated shogun, which requestbeing rejected, he left the capital without paying final respects tothe Throne, an omission astutely calculated to attract partisans. The Hojo's resistance was feeble, and in a few weeks the Ashikagabanners were waving again over Kamakura. The question of returning toKyoto had now to be considered. Takauji's brother, Tadayoshi, strongly opposed such a step. He compared it to putting one's headinto a tiger's mouth, and in fact information had already reachedKamakura in the sense that the enemies of the Ashikaga were busilyslandering the victorious general. It may fairly be assumed, however, that Takauji had never intended to return to Kyoto except asdictator. He assumed the title of shogun; established his mansion onthe site of Yoritomo's old yashiki; undertook control of the wholeKwanto; confiscated manors of his enemies; recompensed meritoriousdeeds liberally, and granted pardons readily. In fact, he presentedto public gaze precisely the figure he desired to present, the strongruler who would unravel the perplexities of a distraught age. Fromall quarters the malcontent bushi flocked to his flag. TAKAUJI AND YOSHISADA A serious obstacle to the achievement of the Ashikaga chief's purposewas Nitta Yoshisada. Both men were of the Minamoto family, butYoshisada's kinship was the closer and his connexion with the Hojohad always been less intimate. Further, he had never borne armsagainst Go-Daigo's cause, as Takauji had done, and his unswervingloyalty made him an inconvenient rival. Therefore, the Ashikagaleader took an extreme step. He seized the domains of the Nittafamily in the Kwanto and distributed them among his own followers; hecaused his brother, Tadayoshi, to send letters inviting the adherenceof many bushi; he addressed to the Throne a memorial impeachingYoshisada on the ground that, whereas the latter's military successeshad been the outcome entirely of opportunities furnished by theprowess of the Ashikaga, he did not hesitate to slander Takauji tothe sovereign, and he asked for an Imperial commission to destroy theNitta leader, whom he dubbed a "national thief. " Yoshisada, when he learned of the presentation of this memorial, seized the Ashikaga manors within his jurisdiction and addressed tothe Throne a countermemorial in which he conclusively proved thefalsehood of Takauji's assertion with reference to military affairs;charged him with usurping the titles of governor-general of theKwanto, and shogun; declared that Prince Morinaga, the mainstay ofthe restoration, had become the victim of Takauji's slanders, andasked for an Imperial mandate to punish Takauji and his brother, Tadayoshi. It is significant that the leal and gallant Yoshisada didnot hesitate thus openly to assert the innocence and merits of PrinceMorinaga, though only a few months had elapsed since the Emperorhimself had credited his most unhappy son's guilt. While Go-Daigohesitated, news from various provinces disclosed the fact thatTakauji had been tampering with the bushi in his own interests. Thissettled the question. Takauji and Tadayoshi were proclaimed rebels, and to Nitta Yoshisada was entrusted the task of chastising themunder the nominal leadership of Prince Takanaga, the Emperor's secondson, to whom the title of shogun was granted. TAKAUJI ENTERS KYOTO In the beginning of November, 1335, the Imperial force movedeastward. It was divided into two armies. One, under Yoshisada'sdirect orders, marched by the Tokaido, or eastern littoral road; theother, under Yoshisada's brother, Wakiya Yoshisuke, with PrinceTakanaga for titular general, advanced along the Nakasen-do, orinland mountain-road. The littoral army, carrying everything beforeit, pushed on to the capital of Izu, and had it forced its attackhome at once, might have captured Kamakura. But the Nitta chiefdecided to await the arrival of the Nakasen-do army, and the respitethus afforded enabled the Ashikaga forces to rally. Tadayoshi reachedthe Hakone Pass and posted his troops on its western slopes in aposition of immense natural vantage, while Takauji himself occupiedthe routes on the north, his van being at Takenoshita. The Imperialists attacked both positions simultaneously. Takauji notonly held his ground, but also, being joined by a large contingent ofthe Kyoto men who, under the leadership of Enya Takasada, haddeserted in the thick of the fight, he shattered his opponents, andwhen this news reached Hakone on the following morning, a panicseized Yoshisada's troops so that they either fled or surrendered. The Nitta chieftain himself retired rapidly to Kyoto with a mereremnant of his army, and effected a union with the forces of theever-loyal Kusunoki Masashige and Nawa Nagatoshi, who had givenasylum to Go-Daigo at the time of the escape from Oki. The cenobitesof Hiei-zan also took the field in the Imperial cause. Meanwhile, Takauji and Tadayoshi, utilizing their victories, pushed rapidlytowards Kyoto. The heart of the samurai was with them, and theyconstantly received large accessions of strength. Fierce fighting nowtook place on the south and east of the capital. It lasted forseveral days and, though the advantage was with the Ashikaga, theirvictory was not decisive. An unlooked-for event turned the scale. It has been related abovethat, in the struggle which ended in the restoration of Go-Daigo, Akamatsu Norimura was chiefly instrumental in driving the Hojo fromRokuhara; and it has also been related that, in the subsequentdistribution of rewards, his name was omitted for the slight reasonthat he had, at one period, entered religion. He now moved up fromHarima at the head of a strong force and, attacking from the south, effected an entry into Kyoto, just as he had done three yearspreviously. Go-Daigo fled to Hiei, carrying the sacred insignia withhim, and on the 24th of February, 1336, the Ashikaga armies marchedinto the Imperial capital. TAKAUJI RETIRES TO KYUSHU At this stage succour arrived for the Imperialists from the extremenorth. In the arrangement of the local administration after Go-Daigore-occupied the throne, the two northern provinces of Mutsu and Dewahad been separated from the Kwanto and placed under the control ofPrince Yoshinaga, with Kitabatake Akiiye for lieutenant. The latter, a son of the renowned Chikafusa, was in his nineteenth year when theAshikaga revolted. He quickly organized a powerful army with theintention of joining Yoshisada's attack upon Kamakura, but not beingin time to carry out that programme, he changed the direction of hismarch and hastened towards Kyoto. He arrived there when the Ashikagatroops were laying siege to Hiei-zan, and effecting a union with theImperialists, he succeeded in raising the siege and recovering thecity. It is unnecessary to follow in detail the vicissitudes that ensued. Stratagems were frequent. At one time we find a number of Yoshisada'smen, officers and privates alike, disguising themselves, minglingwith the Ashikaga army, and turning their arms against the latter ata critical moment. At another, Kusunoki Masashige spreads a rumour ofYoshisada's death in battle, and having thus induced Takauji todetach large forces in pursuit of the deceased's troops, falls onhim, and drives him to Hyogo, where, after a heavy defeat, he has toflee to Bingo. Now, for a second time, the Ashikaga cause seemedhopeless when Akamatsu Norimura again played a most important role. He provided an asylum for Takauji and Tadayoshi; counselled them togo to the west for the purpose of mustering and equipping theirnumerous partisans; advised them to obtain secretly a mandate fromthe senior branch of the Imperial family so that they too, as well astheir opponents, might be entitled to fly the brocade banner, andhaving furnished them with means to effect their escape, returned toHarima and occupied the fortress of Shirahata with the object ofchecking pursuit. At this point there is a break in the unrelentingcontinuity of the operations. It should obviously have been the aimof the Imperialists to strike a conclusive blow before the Ashikagaleaders had time to assemble and organize their multitudinoussupporters in Shikoku, Kyushu, and the provinces on the north of theInland Sea. This must have been fully apparent to Kusunoki Masashige, an able strategist. Yet a delay of some weeks occurred. A quasi-historical record, the Taiheiki, ascribes this to Yoshinaga'sinfatuated reluctance to quit the company of a Court beauty whom theEmperor had bestowed on him. Probably the truth is that theImperialists were seriously in want of rest and that Yoshisada fellill with fever. Something must also be attributed to a clever ruse onthe part of Akamatsu Norimura. He sent to Yoshisada's headquarters amessage promising to give his support to the Imperialists if he wasappointed high constable of Harima. Ten days were needed to obtainthe commission from Kyoto, and Norimura utilized the interval toplace the defenses of Shirahata fortress in a thoroughly securecondition. Thus, when his patent of high constable arrived, herejected it with disdain, saying that he had already received apatent from the shogun, Takauji, and was in no need of an Imperialgrant which "could be altered as easily as turning one's hand. " Yoshisada, enraged at having been duped, laid siege to Shirahata butfound it almost invulnerable. It was on March 11, 1336, that Takaujiwent westward from Bingo; it was on the 2nd of April that Yoshisadainvested Shirahata, and it was on the 3rd of July that the siege wasraised. The Ashikaga brothers had enjoyed a respite of more thanthree months, and had utilized it vigorously. They were at theDazai-fu in Chikuzen in June when a message reached them thatShirahata could not hold out much longer. Immediately they set theirforces in motion, advancing by land and water with an army said tohave numbered twenty thousand and a fleet of transports and war-junkstotalling seven thousand. At the island, Itsukushima, they were metby a Buddhist priest, Kenshun, bearer of a mandate signed by theex-Emperor Kogon of the senior branch, and thus, in his finaladvance, the Ashikaga chief was able to fly the brocade banner. Inthe face of this formidable force the Imperialists fell back toHyogo--the present Kobe--and it became necessary to determine a lineof strategy. DEATH OF MASASHIGE Go-Daigo, in Kyoto, summoned Kusunoki Masashige to a conference. Thatable general spoke in definite tones. He declared it hopeless for theImperialists with their comparatively petty force of worn-outwarriors to make head against the great Ashikuga host of freshfighters. The only wise course was to suffer the enemy to enterKyoto, and then, while the sovereign took refuge at Hiei-zan, tomuster his Majesty's partisans in the home provinces for an unceasingwar upon the Ashikaga's long line of communications--a warculminating in an attack from the front and the rear simultaneously. Thus, out of temporary defeat, final victory would be wrested. All present at the conference, with one exception, endorsedMasashige's view as that of a proved strategist. The exception was acouncillor, Fujiwara Kiyotada. He showed himself a veritable exampleof "those whom the gods wish to destroy. " Declaring that all previoussuccesses had been achieved by divine aid, which took no count ofnumerical disparity, he urged that if the sovereign quitted thecapital before his troops had struck a blow, officers and men alikewould be disheartened; and if refuge was again taken at Hiei-zan, theImperial prestige would suffer. To these light words the Emperorhearkened. Masashige uttered no remonstrance. The time forcontroversy had passed. He hastened to the camp and bid farewell tohis son, Masatsura: "I do not think that I shall see you again inlife. If I fall to-day, the country will pass under the sway of theAshikaga. It will be for you to judge in which direction your realwelfare lies. Do not sully your father's loyalty by forgetting theright and remembering only the expedient. So long as a single memberof our family remains alive, or so much as one of our retainers, youwill defend the old castle of Kongo-zan and give your life for yournative land. " ENGRAVING: THE PARTING OF KUSONOKI MASASHIGE AND HIS SON MASATSURA He then handed to his son a sword which he himself had received fromthe Emperor. Passing thence to Hyogo, Masashige joined NittaYoshisada, and the two leaders devoted the night to a farewellbanquet. The issue of the next day's combat was a foregoneconclusion. Masashige had but seven hundred men under his command. Heposted this little band at Minato-gawa, near the modern Kobe, andwith desperate courage attacked the van of the Ashikaga army. Gradually he was enveloped, and being wounded in ten places he, withhis brother and sixty followers, entered the precincts of a templeand died by their own hands. * Takauji and his captains, lamenting thebrave bushi's death, sent his head to his family; and historyrecognizes that his example exercised an ennobling influence not onlyon the men of his era but also on subsequent generations. AfterMasashige's fall a similar fate must have overtaken Yoshisada, hadnot one of those sacrifices familiar on a Japanese field of battlebeen made for his sake. Oyamada Takaiye gave his horse to the Nittageneral and fell fighting in his stead, while Yoshisada rode away. Atfirst sight these sacrifices seem to debase the saved as much as theyexalt the saver. But, according to Japanese ethics, an institutionwas always more precious than the person of its representative, and aprinciple than the life of its exponent. Men sacrificed themselves inbattle not so much to save the life of a commanding officer, as toavert the loss his cause would suffer by his death. Parity ofreasoning dictated acceptance of the sacrifice. *Kusunoki Masashige is the Japanese type of a loyal and true soldier. He was forty-three at the time of his death. Three hundred andfifty-six years later (1692), Minamoto Mitsukuni, feudal chief ofMito, caused a monument to be erected to his memory at the place ofhis last fight. It bore the simple epitaph "The Tomb of Kusunoki, aloyal subject. " ENGRAVING: OSONAE (New Year Offering to Family Tutelary Deity) ENGRAVING: PALANQUINS (Used in Old Japan Only by the Nobility) CHAPTER XXX THE WAR OF THE DYNASTIES OCCUPATION OF KYOTO BY ASHIKAGA IN July, 1336, Takauji entered Kyoto and established his headquartersat the temple Higashi-dera. Go-Daigo had previously taken refuge atthe Hiei-zan monastery, the ex-Emperors, Hanazono and Kogon, remaining in the capital where they looked for the restoration oftheir branch of the Imperial family. The Ashikaga leader lost no timein despatching a force to attack Hiei-zan, but the Imperialists, supported by the cenobites, resisted stoutly, and no impression wasmade on the defences for a considerable time. In one of theengagements, however, Nawa Nagatoshi, who had harboured Go-Daigoafter the flight from Oki, met his death, and the Imperialist forcesgradually dwindled. Towards the close of August, Takauji causedPrince Yutahito (or Toyohito, according to gome authorities), youngerbrother of Kogon, to be proclaimed Emperor, and he is known as Komyo. Characteristic of the people's political ignorance at that time isthe fact that men spoke of the prince's good fortune since, withoutany special merit of his own, he had been granted the rank ofsovereign by the shogun. Meanwhile, the investment of the Hiei monastery made little progress, and Takauji had recourse to treachery. At the close of October heopened secret communications with Go-Daigo; assured him that theAshikaga did not entertain any disloyal purpose; declared that theirseemingly hostile attitude had been inspired by the enmity of theNitta brothers; begged Go-Daigo to return to Kyoto, and promised notonly that should all ideas of revenge be foregone, but also that theadministration should be handed over to the Court, and all theirranks and estates restored to the Emperor's followers. Go-Daigo ought surely to have distrusted these professions. He musthave learned from Takauji's original impeachment of Yoshisada howunscrupulous the Ashikaga leader could be on occasion, and he shouldhave well understood the impossibility of peace between these twomen. Yet his Majesty relied on Takauji's assurances. It was in vainthat Horiguchi Sadamitsu recounted Yoshisada's services, detailed theimmense sacrifices he had made in the Imperial cause, and declaredthat if the Emperor were determined to place himself in Takauji'shands, he should prepare his departure from Hiei-zan by summoning tohis presence Yoshisada with the other Nitta leaders and sentencingthem to death. Go-Daigo was not to be moved from his purpose. He gaveYoshisada fair words indeed: "I profoundly praise your loyalservices. My wish is to pacify the country by the assistance of yourfamily, but heaven has not yet vouchsafed its aid. Our troops areworn out and the hour is unpropitious. Therefore, I make peace forthe moment and bide my time. Do you repair to Echizen and use yourbest endeavours to promote the cause of the restoration. Lest you becalled a rebel after my return to Kyoto, I order the Crown Prince toaccompany you. " Thus Go-Daigo, truly faithful neither to the one side nor to theother, set out for the capital. That night, Yoshisada prayed at theshrine of Hiyoshi: "Look down on my loyalty and help me to perform myjourney safely so that I may raise an army to destroy the insurgents. If that is not to be, let one of my descendants achieve my aim. " Twohundred and six years later, there was born in Mikawa of the stock ofYoshisada one of the greatest generals and altogether the greatestruler that Japan has ever produced, Minamoto Ieyasu. Heaven answeredYoshisada's prayer tardily but signally. TAKAUJI'S FAITH Not one of Takauji's promises did he respect. He imprisoned Go-Daigo;he stripped all the courtiers of their ranks and titles; he placed inconfinement all the generals and officers of the Imperial forces, andhe ordered the transfer of the insignia to the sovereign of his ownnomination, Komyo. Tradition has it that Go-Daigo, victim of so manytreacheries, practised one successful deception himself: he reservedthe original of the sacred sword and seal and handed counterfeits toKomyo. This took place on November 12, 1336. Some two months later, January 23, 1337, Go-Daigo, disguised as a woman for the second timein his career, fled from his place of detention through a brokenfence, and reached Yoshino in Yamato, where he was received byMasatsura, son of Kusunoki Masashige, and by Kitabatake Chikafusa. Yoshino now became the rendez-vous of Imperialists from the homeprovinces, and Go-Daigo sent a rescript to Yoshisada in Echizen, authorizing him to work for the restoration. Thus commenced the War of the Dynasties, known in history as theConflict of the Northern and Southern Courts, terms borrowed from thefact that Yoshino, where Go-Daigo had his headquarters, lay to thesouth of Kyoto. Hereafter, then, the junior branch of the ImperialFamily will be designated the Southern Court and the senior branchwill be spoken of as the Northern Court. The struggle lasted from 1337 to 1392, a period of fifty-five years. Much has been written and said about the relative legitimacy of thetwo Courts. It does not appear that there is any substantial materialfor doubt. Go-Daigo never abdicated voluntarily, or ever surrenderedthe regalia. Before his time many occupants of the throne had steppeddown at the suggestion of a Fujiwara or a Hojo. But always thesemblance of free-will had been preserved. Moreover, the transfer ofthe true regalia constituted the very essence of legitimatesuccession. But these remained always in Go-Daigo's possession. Therefore, although in the matter of lineage no distinction could bejustly set up between the Northern and the Southern Courts, thecollaterals of legitimacy were all with the latter. Of course each complied with all the forms of Imperialism. Thus, whereas the Southern Court used the year-name Engen for 1336-1339, the North kept the year-name Kemmu for two years, and as there weredifferent nengo names for half a century, a new element of confusionwas added to the already perplexing chronology of Japan. Inadministrative methods there was a difference. The Northern Courtadhered to the camera system: that is to say, the actual occupant ofthe throne was a mere figurehead, the practical functions ofGovernment being discharged by the cloistered sovereign. In theSouthern Court the Emperor himself, nominally at all events, directedthe business of administration. Further, the office of shogun in theSouthern Court was held generally by an Imperial Prince, whereas inthe Northern Court its holder was an Ashikaga. In brief, thesupporters of the Northern Court followed the military polity of theBakufu while the Southern adopted Imperialism. NATURE OF THE WAR As the question at issue lay solely between two claimants to thesuccession, readers of history naturally expect to find the warresolve itself into a campaign, or a succession of campaigns, betweentwo armies. Such was by no means the case. Virtually the whole empirewas drawn into the turmoil, and independent fighting went on atseveral places simultaneously. The two Courts perpetually made Kyototheir objective. Regardless of its strategical disadvantages, theydeemed its possession cardinal. Takauji had been more highly laudedand more generously rewarded than Yoshisada, because the former hadrecovered Kyoto whereas the latter had only destroyed Kamakura. Thus, while Go-Daigo constantly struggled to capture Kyoto, Komyo'sabsorbing aim was to retain it. This obsession in favour of theImperial metropolis left its mark upon many campaigns; as when, inthe spring operations of 1336, Yoshisada, instead of being allowed topursue and annihilate Takauji, was recalled to guard Kyoto, and when, in July of the same year, Kusunoki Masashige was sent to his deathrather than temporarily vacate the capital. It must have been fullyapparent to the great captains of the fourteenth century that Kyotowas easy to take and hard to hold. Lake Biwa and the river Yodo arenatural bulwarks of Yamato, not of Yamashiro. Hiei-zan looks down onthe lake, and Kyoto lies on the great plain at the foot of the hill. If, during thirteen generations, the Ashikaga family struggled forKyoto, they maintained, the while, their ultimate base andrallying-place at Kamakura, and thus, even when shattered in thewest, they could recuperate in the east. The Southern Court had nosuch depot and recruiting-ground. They had, indeed, a tolerable placeof arms in the province of Kawachi, but in the end they succumbed totopographical disadvantages. DEATHS OF YOSHISADA AND AKIIYE In the fact that he possessed a number of sons, Go-Daigo had anadvantage over his fourteen-year-old rival, Komyo, for these Imperialprinces were sent out to various districts to stimulate the loyalefforts of local bushi. With Yoshisada to Echizen went the CrownPrince and his brother Takanaga. They entrenched themselves atKana-ga-saki, on the seacoast, whence Yoshisada's eldest son, Yoshiaki, was despatched to Echigo to collect troops, and a youngerbrother, Yoshisuke, to Soma-yama on a similar errand. Almostimmediately, Ashikaga Takatsune with an army of twenty thousand menlaid siege to Kanaga-saki. But Yoshiaki and Yoshisuke turned in theirtracks and delivered a rear attack which scattered the besiegers. This success, however, proved only temporary. The Ashikaga leader'sdeep resentment against Yoshisada inspired a supreme effort to crushhim, and the Kana-ga-saki fortress was soon invested by anoverwhelming force on sea and on shore. Famine necessitatedsurrender. Yoshiaki and Prince Takanaga committed suicide, the latterfollowing the former's example and using his blood-stained sword. TheCrown Prince was made prisoner and subsequently poisoned by Takauji'sorders. Yoshisada and his brother Yoshisuke escaped to Soma-yama andrallied their partisans to the number of three thousand. The fall of Kana-ga-saki occurred in April, 1338, and, two monthslater, Go-Daigo took the very exceptional course of sending anautograph letter to Yoshisada. The events which prompted his Majestywere of prime moment to the cause of the Southern Court. KitabatakeAkiiye, the youthful governor of Mutsu and son of the celebratedChikafusa, marched southward at the close of 1337, his daring projectbeing the capture, first, of Kamakura, and next, of Kyoto The natureof this gallant enterprise may be appreciated by observing that Mutsulies at the extreme north of the main island, is distant some fivehundred miles from Kyoto, and is separated from the latter by severalregions hostile to the cause which Akiiye represented. Nevertheless, the brilliant captain, then in his twenty-first year, seized Kamakurain January, 1338, and marched thence in February for Yoshino. Hegained three victories on the way, and had nearly reached hisobjective when, at Ishizu, he encountered a great army of Ashikagatroops under an able leader, Ko no Moronao, and after a fierceengagement the Southern forces were shattered, Akiiye himself fallingin the fight. This disaster occurred on June 11, 1338. A brave rallywas made by Akiiye's younger brother, Akinobu. He gathered theremnants of the Mutsu army and occupied Otokoyama, which commandsKyoto. It was at this stage of the campaign that Go-Daigo resorted to theexceptional measure of sending an autograph letter to Yoshisada, thenentrenched at Somayama, in Echizen. His Majesty conjured the Nittaleader to march to the assistance of Akinobu at Otoko-yama. Yoshisadaresponded at once. He despatched his brother, Yoshisuke, with twentythousand men, remaining himself to cover the rear of the expedition. But Otoko-yama surrendered before this succour reached it, and theNitta brothers then combined their forces to operate against theAshikaga. Nothing decisive resulted, and in September, 1338, Yoshisada fell in an insignificant combat near the fortress ofFujishima in Echizen. He caused a comrade to behead him and carry offthe head, but the enemy identified him by means of the Imperialletter found on his person. Yoshisada was only thirty-eight at the time of his death (September, 1338). Rai Sanyo (1780-1832), the great Japanese historian, says: "Isaw a letter written by Yoshisada with his own hand for the purposeof admonishing the members of his family. In it he wrote: 'An officerin command of an army should respect the sovereign; treat hissubordinates with clemency but decision; leave his fate in heaven'shands, and not blame others. ' Yoshisada is open to criticism for notpursuing the Ashikaga when they fled westward from Kyoto; yet it mustbe remembered that he had no firm base, being hurried from onequarter to another. The strategy he used was not his own free choicenor were the battles he fought contrived by himself. But his devotionto the Imperial cause, his unfailing loyalty, and his indifference toself-interest have kept his memory fresh and will always keep itfresh. If, two hundred years after his death, a chieftain was born ofhis blood to carry the Minamoto name to the pinnacle of glory, whoshall say that heaven did not thus answer the prayer put up byYoshisada at the shrine of Hiyoshi?" DEATH OF GO-DAIGO During these events, Go-Daigo sojourned at Yoshino, which wasprotected by Kusunoki Masatsura, Wada Masatomo, and others. At theclose of August, 1339, his Majesty falling ill, and feeling that hisend was near, resigned the throne to his twelve-year-old son, theCrown Prince Yoshinaga, whose historical name is Go-Murakami. Go-Daigo's will declared that his only regret in leaving the worldwas his failure to effect the restoration, and that though his bodywas buried at Yoshino, his spirit would always yearn for Kyoto. Tradition says that he expired holding a sword in his right hand, theHokke-kyo-sutra in his left, and that Kitabatake Chikafusa spoke ofthe event as a dream within a dream. It is recorded to Ashikaga Takauji's credit that, when the newsreached Kyoto, he ordered five days' mourning; that he himselfundertook to transcribe a sacred volume by way of supplication forthe repose of Go-Daigo's spirit, and that he caused a temple to bebuilt for the same purpose. Of course, these events cast a cloud overthe fortunes of the Southern Court, but its adherents did not abatetheir activities. Everywhere they mustered in greater or less force. The clearest conception of their strength may be obtained bytabulating the names of their families and of the latter'slocalities: FAMILIES PROVINCES Kitabatake Mutsu and Ise Nitta Musashi, Shimotsuke, Echizen Kusunoki Kawachi Kojima, Sakurayama, Arii, Yoshikawa Sanyo-do Nawa and Misumi Sanin-do Kikuchi, Matsura, Kusano Saikai-do Doi, Tokuno, Yuasa, Yamamoto Nankai-do Ii Totomi Neo Mino Shinto officials Atsuta This table suggests that partisans of the Southern Court existed inalmost every part of the empire. So, in truth, they did. But friendsof the Northern Court existed also, and thus it resulted that at notime throughout the fifty-five years of the struggle were theprovinces free from strife. It resulted also that frequent changes ofallegiance took place, for a family had often to choose between totalruin, on the one hand, and comparative prosperity at the sacrifice ofconstancy, on the other. Some historians have adduced the incidentsof this era as illustrating the shallowness of Japanese loyalty. Butit can scarcely be said that loyalty was ever seriously at stake. Inpoint of legitimacy there was nothing to choose between the rivalbranches of the Imperial family. A samurai might-pass from theservice of the one to that of the other without doing any violence tohis reverence for the Throne. What was certainly born of the troubled era, however, was a sentimentof contempt for central authority and a disposition to rely on one'sown right arm. It could not have been otherwise. In several provincesofficial nominees of both Courts administered simultaneously, and menwere requisitioned for aid, to-day, to the Northern cause, to-morrow, to the Southern. To be strong enough to resist one or the other wasthe only way to avoid ruinous exactions. From that to asserting one'sstrength at the expense of a neighbour who followed a different flagwas a short step, if not a duty, and thus purely selfishconsiderations dictated a fierce quarrel and inspired many an act ofunscrupulous spoliation. A few cases are on record of families whichresorted to the device of dividing themselves into two branches, eachdeclaring for a different cause and each warring nominally with theother. Thus the sept as a whole preserved its possessions, in part atany rate, whichever Court triumphed. But such double-faced schemeswere very rare. A much commoner outcome of the situation was thegrowth of powerful families which regulated their affairs by means ofa council of leading members without reference to Kamakura, Kyoto, orYoshino. At the same time, minor septs in the neighbourhood saw theadvantage of subscribing to the decisions of these councils anddeferring to their judgments. "This was an important step in the development of the feudal system. Another was the abolition of feudal fiefs, as well as of thesuccession of women to real estate, and a curtailment of theinheritance, not so much of younger sons, as of all sons except theone selected as lord of the clan. "* The shugo (high constables) alsobecame a salient element of feudalism. Originally liable to frequenttransfers of locality, some of them subsequently came to hold theiroffice hereditarily, and these, together with the great majority oftheir confreres who had been appointed by the Bakufu, espoused theAshikaga cause; a choice which impelled many of the military familiesin their jurisdiction to declare for the Southern Court. The Ashikagashugo ultimately became leading magnates, for they wielded twofoldauthority, namely, that derived from their power as owners of broadestates, and that derived from their commission as shogun's delegatesentitled to levy taxes locally. The provincial governors, at theoutset purely civil officials, occasionally developed militarycapacity and rivalled the hereditary shugo in armed influence, butsuch instances were rare. *Murdoch's History of Japan. THE COURSE OF THE WAR After the death of Kusunoki Masashige, of Nitta Yoshisada, and ofKitabatake Akiiye, the strategical direction of the war devolvedmainly upon Kitabatake Chikafusa, so far as the Southern Court wasconcerned. The greater part of the nation may be said to have been inarms, but only a small section took actual part in the main campaign, the troops in the distant provinces being occupied with localstruggles. Chikafusa's general plan was to menace Kyoto and Kamakurasimultaneously. Just as the eight provinces of the Kwanto formed thebase of the Ashikaga armies, so the eight provinces constituting theKii peninsula--Yamato, Kawachi, Izumi, Ise, Iga, Shima, Kii (inpart), and Omi (in part)--served as bases for the partisans of theSouth. To strike at Kyoto from this base required the previoussubjugation of Settsu, and, on the other hand, a strong army inSettsu menaced Yoshino. Chikafusa's plan, then, was to marshal in Kawachi force sufficient tothreaten, if not to overrun, Settsu, and then to push on into themetropolitan province from Omi and Iga, the Ashikaga having beenpreviously induced to uncover Kyoto by the necessity of guardingKamakura. From the Kii peninsula the obvious route to the Kwanto isby sea. Therefore, the Southerners established a naval base atShingu, on the east coast of the peninsula, and used it for thepurpose not only of despatching a force northward, but also ofmaintaining communications with Shikoku and Kyushu, where they hadmany partisans. Chikafusa himself led the oversea expedition to theKwanto, but the flotilla was wrecked by a storm, and he reached YedoBay with only a small following. Nevertheless, he established himselfat Oda, in Hitachi, and being there joined by many of the Ashikaga'senemies, he managed, not indeed to seriously menace Kamakura, but atall events to give occupation to a large force of the Northerners. Driven out at last (1343), after more than four years' operations, hereturned to Yoshino, where he found Kusunoki Masatsura, son ofMasashige, carrying on from Kawachi a vigorous campaign against theAshikaga in Settsu. After many minor engagements, in all of which he was successful, Masatsura inflicted such a severe defeat on his opponents atSumiyoshi that the Bakufu became alarmed, and mustering an army ofsixty thousand men, sent it under Ko Moronao and his brother, Moroyasu, to attack Masatsura. This was in December, 1347. ThenMasatsura and his younger brother, Masatoki, together with WadaKatahide and other bushi, to the number of 140, made oath to conquerin fight or to die. They repaired to Yoshino, and having taken leaveof the Emperor, Go-Murakami, they worshipped at the shrine of thelate sovereign, Go-Daigo, inscribed their names upon the wall, andwrote under them: We that our bows here Swear nevermore to slacken Till in the land of life we Cease to be counted, Our names now record. It was in February, 1348, that the battle took place at Shijo-nawatein Kawachi. Moronao had sixty thousand men at his disposal; Masatsuraonly three thousand. The combat raged during six hours, the Kusunokibrothers leading thirty charges, until finally they were both coveredwith wounds, and only fifty men remained out of the sworn band. Thenthis remnant committed suicide. Moronao, following up his victory, marched into Yamato, and set fire to the palace there. Go-Murakamiescaped to Kanao, and presently the Nitta family in the east and theKitabatake in the west showed such activity that the Southern causerecovered its vitality, a turn of events largely promoted bydissensions in the Northern camp and by the consequent return ofMoronao's forces to Kyoto. It is necessary, therefore, to direct oureyes for a moment to the course of affairs on the side of theAshikaga. THE ASHIKAGA POLITY Ashikaga Takauji's original idea was to follow the system of Yoritomoin everything. Kamakura was to be his capital and he assumed thetitle of shogun. This was in 1335. Three years later he received theshogunate in due form from the Northern sovereign, Komyo. But he nowdiscovered that Kyoto must be his headquarters so long as the War ofthe Dynasties lasted, and he therefore established the Bakufu atMuromachi in that city, modelling it on the lines of Yoritomo'sinstitution, but dispensing with a regent (shikkeri) and substitutingfor him a second shitsuji. The first two shitsuji at Muromachi wereKo Moronao, the great general, and Uesugi Tomosada, a connexion ofTakauji. Kamakura was not neglected, however. It became a secondarybasis, Takauji's eight-year-old son, Yoshiakira, being installedthere as governor-general (kwanryo) of the Kwanto under theguardianship of Uesugi Noriaki as shitsuji, and the oldadministrative machinery of the Hojo was revived in the main. Takauji's brother, Tadayoshi, became chief of the general staff inKyoto, and "several Kamakura literati--descendants of Oye, Nakahara, Miyoshi, and others--were brought up to fill positions on the variousboards, the services of some of the ablest priests of the time beingenlisted in the work of drafting laws and regulations. "* *Murdoch's History of Japan. To these priests and literati was entrusted the task of compiling acode based on the Joei Shikimoku of the Hojo regents, and thereresulted the Kemmu Shikimoku, promulgated in 1337. * This was not alaw, properly so called, but rather a body of precepts contained inseventeen articles. They have much interest as embodying the ethicsof the time in political circles. "Economy must be universallypractised. Drinking parties and wanton frolics must be suppressed. Crimes of violence and outrage must be quelled. The practice ofentering the private dwellings of the people and making inquisitionsinto their affairs must be given up. " Then follow two articlesdealing with the ownership of vacant plots and rebuilding of housesand fireproof godowns in the devastated sections of the capital. Thesubsequent paragraphs provide that men of special ability forgovernment work should be chosen for the office of shugo; that a stopmust be put to the practice of influential nobles and women of allsorts and Buddhist ecclesiastics making interested recommendations(to the sovereign); that persons holding public posts must be liableto reprimand for negligence and idleness; that bribery must be firmlyput down; that presents made from all quarters to those attached tothe palace, whether of the inside or outside service, must be sentback; that those who are to be in personal attendance on the rulersmust be selected for that duty; that ceremonial etiquette should bethe predominant principle; that men noted for probity and adherenceto high principle should be rewarded by more than ordinarydistinction; that the petitions and complaints of the poor and lowlyshould be heard and redress granted; that the petitions of templesand shrines should be dealt with on their merits, and that certainfixed days should be appointed for the rendering of decisions and theissue of government orders. ** *Kemmu was the Northern Court's name of the year-period 1334 to 1338:see p. 398. **The Kemmu Shikimoku by Mr. Consul-General Hall, in the"Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan;" epitomized byMurdoch. THE JINNO SHOTOKI Before proceeding with the history of this troubled era, it isadvisable to speak of a great political brochure which was compiledby Kitabatake Chikafusa during the period (1340-1343) of his attemptto harass the Ashikaga from the direction of Hitachi. This was a workdesigned to establish the divine claim of the sovereign of theSouthern Court. Hence the title of the treatise, Correct Genealogy(Shotoki) of the Divine Emperor (Jinno). The reader knows that when, in the eighth century, Japan went to Chinese sources forjurisprudential inspiration, she had to eliminate the Confucian andMencian doctrine that the sceptre may not be wielded by anyone whosevirtues do not qualify him for the task in the eyes of the nation. This same doctrine permeated by construction the commentaries thataccompanied the articles of the Kemmu Shikimoku as quoted above, andin that fact Chikafusa saw an opportunity of winning adherents forthe Southern Court by proclaiming its heaven-conferred rights. "Great Yamato, " Kitabatake wrote, "is a divine country. It is onlyour land whose foundations were first laid by the divine ancestor. Italone has been transmitted by the Sun goddess to a long line of herdescendants. There is nothing of this kind in foreign countries. Therefore it is called the divine land. . . It is only our countrywhich from the time when the heaven and earth were first unfolded, has preserved the succession to the throne intact in one singlefamily. Even when, as sometimes naturally happened, it descended to alateral branch, it was held according to just principles. This showsthat the oath of the gods (to preserve the succession) is everrenewed in a way which distinguishes Japan from all other countries.. . . It is the duty of every man born on the Imperial soil to yielddevoted loyalty to his sovereign, even to the sacrifice of his ownlife. Let no one suppose for a moment that there is any credit due tohim for doing so. Nevertheless, in order to stimulate the zeal ofthose who came after, and in loving memory of the dead, it is thebusiness of the ruler to grant rewards in such cases (to thechildren). Those who are in an inferior position should not enterinto rivalry with them. Still more should those who have done nospecially meritorious service abstain from inordinate ambitions. Ihave already touched on the principles of statesmanship. They arebased on justice and mercy, in the dispensing of which firm action isrequisite. Such is the clear instruction vouchsafed to us by the Sungoddess. "* *Aston's Japanese Literature. It is not to be supposed that these doctrines produced anywide-spread influence on public opinion at the time of theirpromulgation. In the first place they were not generally accessible;for not until the year 1649 was Kitabatake's brochure printed. Thatit remained in manuscript during three centuries after itscompilation is not attributable to technical difficulties. The art ofblockprinting came to Japan from China in very early times, and it ison record that, in 770, the Empress Shotoku caused a million Buddhistamulets to be printed. But the Jinno Shotoki did not fall on fruitfulsoil. Either its teaching was superfluous or men were too muchengrossed with fighting to listen to academical disquisitions. Chikafusa's work was destined to produce great and lasting effects infuture ages, but, for the moment, it accomplished little. DISCORD IN THE CAMP OF THE ASHIKAGA A prominent feature of the Ashikaga family's annals was continuity ofinternecine strife. The Hojo's era had been conspicuously free fromany such blemish; the Ashikaga's was markedly disfigured by it, somuch so that by the debilitating effects of this discord thesupremacy of the sept was long deferred. The first outwardindications of the trouble were seen in 1348, when the able general, Ko Moronao, instead of following up his victory over the SouthernCourt after the death of Kusunoki Masatsura, turned suddenlynorthward from Yamato and hastened back to Kyoto. His own safetydictated that step. For during his absence from the capital oncampaign, a plot to effect his overthrow had matured under theleadership of Ashikaga Tadayoshi and Uesugi Shigeyoshi. The latter held the office of shitsuji, and was therefore Moronao'scomrade, while Tadayoshi, as already stated, had the title ofcommander-in-chief of the general staff and virtually directedadministrative affairs, subject, of course, to Takauji's approval. Moronao undoubtedly possessed high strategical ability, and beingassisted by his almost equally competent brother, Moroyasu, renderedsterling military service to the Ashikaga cause. But the two brotherswere arrogant, dissipated, and passionate. It is recorded of Moronaothat he abducted the wife of Enya Takasada, and of Moroyasu that hedesecrated the grave of Sugawara in order to enclose its site withinhis mansion, both outrages being condoned by the shogun, Takauji, Intruth, even in the days of Taira overlordship, Kyoto was never socompletely under the heel of the military as it was in early Ashikagatimes. Rokuhara did not by any means arrogate such universal authority asdid Muromachi. The Court nobles in the middle of the fourteenthcentury had no functions except those of a ceremonial nature and werefrankly despised by the haughty bushi. It is on record that DokiYorito, meeting the cortege of the retired Emperor Kogon, pretendedto mistake the escorts' cry of "In" (camera sovereign) for "inu"(dog), and actually discharged an arrow at the Imperial vehicle. Yorito suffered capital punishment, but the incident illustrates thedemeanour of the military class. The two Ko brothers were conspicuously masterful and made manyenemies. But the proximate cause of the plot alluded to above wasjealousy on the part of Ashikaga Tadayoshi and Uesugi Shigeyoshi, whoresented the trust reposed by Takauji in Moronao and Moroyasu. Theconspirators underestimated Moronao's character. Reaching Kyoto byforced marches from Yamato, he laid siege to Tadayoshi's mansion, andpresently Tadayoshi had to save himself by taking the tonsure, whileShigeyoshi was exiled to Echizen, whither Moronao sent an assassin tomake away with him. The Ashikaga chief, whose trust in Moronao wasnot at all shaken by these events, summoned from Kamakura his eldestson, Yoshiakira, and entrusted to him the functions hithertodischarged by his uncle, Tadayoshi, replacing him in Kamakura by ayounger son, Motouji. Yoshiakira was not Takauji's eldest son; he was his eldest legitimateson. An illegitimate son, four years older, had been left in Kamakuraas a priest, but was recognized as the possessor of such abilitiesthat, although his father refused to meet him, his uncle, Tadayoshi, summoned him to Kyoto and procured for him the high office of tandaiof the west. This Tadafuyu was discharging his military duties inBingo when news reached him of Moronao's coup d'etat in Kyoto and ofhis own patron, Tadayoshi's discomfiture. At once Tadafuyu crossedthe sea to Higo in Kyushu, where a large number of discontentedsamurai rallied to his banner, and Shoni, the Ashikaga tandai ofKyushu, soon found himself vigorously attacked. The strugglepresently assumed such importance that Kyoto's attention wasattracted. The normal course would have been for Moronao to take thefield against Tadafuyu. But Moronao was looking always for anopportunity to compass the death of his enemy, Tadayoshi, andthinking that his chance had now come, he persuaded Takauji to takepersonal command of the expedition to Kyushu, the idea being tofinally dispose of Tadayoshi during the absence of the Ashikagashogun from Kyoto. Tadayoshi, however, obtained timely information ofthis design and escaping to Yamato, offered to surrender to theSouthern Court. This was in January, 1350. The advisers of the Emperor Go-Murakami differed radically in theircounsels, but it was finally decided that every effort should be madeto widen the rift in the Ashikaga lute, and the Court commissionedTadayoshi to attack Takauji and recover Kyoto. Thus was presented thespectacle of a father (Takauji) fighting against his son (Tadafuyu), and a brother (Tadayoshi) fighting against a brother (Takauji). Tadayoshi was joined by many men of note and puissance whom thearrogance of the two Ko, Moronao and Moroyasu, had offended. Adesperate struggle ensued, and the Ko generals had to retreat toHarima, where they joined with Takauji, the latter having abandonedhis expedition to Kyushu. Meanwhile, Yoshiakira, Takauji's eldestson, had escaped from Kyoto and entered his father's camp. After atime negotiations for peace were concluded (1351), one of theconditions being that Moronao and Moroyasu should lay down theiroffices and enter the priesthood. But the blood of the shitsuji, Uesugi Shigeyoshi, was still fresh on Moronao's hands. Shigeyoshi'sson, Akiyoshi, waylaid the two Ko on their route to Kyoto to take thetonsure, and Moronao and Moroyasu were both killed. YEAR-PERIODS AND COURTS Three years before the death of Moronao, that is to say, in 1348, thesovereign of the Northern Court, Komyo, abdicated in favour of Suko. Ever since 1332 there had been a dual year-period, outcome of thedivided Imperialism, and history was thus not a little complicated. It will be convenient here to tabulate, side by side, the lines ofthe two dynasties: SOUTHERN COURT NORTHERN COURT 96th Sovereign, Go-Daigo 1318-1339 Kogon 1332-1335 97th " Go-Murakami 1339-1368 Komyo 1335-1348 98th " Chokei 1368-1372 Suko 1348-1352 99th " Go-Kameyama 1372-1392 Go-Kogon 1352-1371 Go-Enyu 1371-1382 100th " Go-Komatsu 1392-1412 Go-Komatsu 1382-1412 It is observable that the average duration of a Southern sovereign'sreign was eighteen years, whereas that of a Northern sovereign wasonly thirteen years. DEATH OF TADAYOSHI The peace concluded between the Ashikaga chief and his brother, Tadayoshi, was of brief duration; their respective partisansdistrusted one another too much. The Nikki, the Hosokawa, the Doki, and the Sasaki, all followed Takauji, but the Ishido, the Uesugi, andthe Momonoi adhered to Tadayoshi. At last the situation became sostrained that Tadayoshi withdrew to Echizen and from thence made hisway to Kamakura. In these circumstances, Takauji desired to take thefield himself, but since to do so would have exposed Kyoto to dangerfrom the south, he attempted to delude the Court at Yoshino intocrediting his loyalty and his willingness to dethrone Suko by way ofpreliminary to welcoming the return of Go-Murakami to Kyoto. Takauji's professions were now appraised at their true value, however. The Court at Yoshino commissioned him to punish hisrebellious brother, but took steps, as will presently be seen, toturn the resulting situation to its own advantage. Takauji now placedhimself at the head of a strong army, and moving eastward, marched toKamakura practically unopposed. Tadayoshi escaped to Izu, where hetook poison, or was given it. Takauji remained in the Kwanto duringthe greater part of two years (1352-1353). The task of restoringorder and re-establishing the Ashikaga supremacy demanded all hisability and resources. "In the Kwanto alone, during these two years, more battles were fought--some of considerable magnitude--than duringthe thirty years between 1455 and 1485 in England. "* *Murdoch's History of Japan. THE SOUTHERN COURT IN KYOTO In this state of affairs the Southern Court found its opportunity. Inaccepting Takauji's overtures, Kitabatake Chikafusa, who directed thepolitics and strategy of the Southern Court, had designed to dethroneSuko, to adopt the year name, Shohei, solely, and to establish anadministrative council in Kyoto under his own presidency. He knewwell that Takauji's surrender had not been sincere, but he counted onan access of strength from the partisans of Tadayoshi, and he lookedfor some occasion capable of being turned to advantage. Yoshiakira, who ruled Kyoto in the absence of his father, Takauji, made nodifficulty about dethroning Suko and requesting the return of theSouthern sovereign, Go-Murakami. Neither did he hesitate to hand overthe false insignia which had been given by Go-Daigo to the NorthernCourt. In February, 1352, Go-Murakami paid a visit to Otoko-yama onthe southeast of Kyoto, and ordered a number of officials, underKitabatake Chikafusa and Kusunoki Masanori, to enter the capital andconduct affairs. But his Majesty did not trust his own person intothe city. He waited until his plans were mature, and then a strongforce of Southern troops was launched against Kyoto, while a powerfularmy of Kwanto bushi, led by the Nitta brothers, Yoshioki andYoshimune, as well as by Wakiya Yoshiharu, marched into Musashi anddefeated Takauji on the Kotesashi moor. The invaders actually got possession of Kamakura, but the superiorstrategy of the Ashikaga chief ultimately reversed the situation. Yoshimune had to fly to Echigo with a petty remnant of followers, andYoshioki and Yoshiharu, evacuating Kamakura, took refuge in theKawamura fortress. Meanwhile, in Kyoto, things had fared in asomewhat similar manner. The Southern generals carried everythingbefore them at the outset, and Yoshiakira had to fly to Omi. But, after a brief period of quiet, the Northern troops rallied andexpelled the Southern. Yoshiakira found himself again supreme. Astrange dilemma presented itself, however. There was no sovereign. The retired sovereigns, Kogon, Komyo, and Suko, had all been carriedto a place well within the Southern lines, and even the false regaliawere not available. Nevertheless, Yoshiakira, regardless of forms, raised to the throne the younger brother of Suko, who is known inhistory as Go-Kogon. Thenceforth, on the accession of a Northernsovereign a merely nominal ceremony of transferring the sacredregalia sufficed. As for the ex-Emperors Kogon and Komyo, they turnedtheir backs finally on the world and became priests of the Zen sectof Buddhism. CAPTURE AND RE-CAPTURE OF KYOTO In 1353, the Southern court received a signal accession of strengthin the allegiance of the Yamana family and of Tadafuyu. The latterhas already been spoken of as an illegitimate son of Takauji, who, through the influence of his uncle, Tadayoshi, was appointed tandaiof the western provinces. The death of his patron inclined this ablecaptain to join the Southern Court, and his inclination wastranslated into action early in 1353, owing to need of supportagainst the partisans of the Ashikaga in the island of Kyushu and thewestern provinces. As for the Yamana, they were of Minamoto lineage;their influence was supreme in Hoki and Inaba, and they faithfullyespoused the Ashikaga cause until an unfulfilled promise of a manoralienated their good-will. For to such considerations ofself-interest men not infrequently sacrificed their duty ofallegiance in the troublous times of the fourteenth century. Thus re-enforced, the Southern troops, under the supreme command ofTadafuyu, marched against Kyoto in July, 1353, and captured the city. Yoshiakira, guarding the young sovereign, Go-Kogon, effected hisescape, and the Southern Emperor, Go-Murakami, issued a decreedepriving of their official ranks and possessions all Court nobleswho had assisted at the ceremony of the fugitive monarch'scoronation. But the supremacy of the South did not last long. InAugust, Yoshiakira was strong enough to countermarch against thecapital and to drive out Tadafuyu. Moreover, Takauji himself nowfound it safe to leave the Kwanto. Placing his son Motouji in chargeat Kamakura, he returned to Kyoto accompanying the Emperor Go-Kogon, and thenceforth during nearly two years the supremacy of the Northwas practically undisputed. DEATH OF CHIKAFUSA Fate willed that while his enemies were thus triumphant, death shouldovertake the great statesman, strategist, and historian, KitabatakeChikafusa. He died in 1354, at the age of sixty-two. Japaneseannalists say of Chikafusa: "It was through his ability that theSouthern forces were co-ordinated and kept active in all parts of theempire. It was due to his clever strategy that Kyoto lay underconstant menace from the south. If the first great protagonists inthe struggle between the Northern and the Southern Courts were PrinceMorinaga and Takauji, and those of the next were Nitta Yoshisada andTakauji, the third couple was Kitabatake Chikafusa and Takauji. "Chikafusa was of wide erudition; he had a wonderful memory, and hisperpetual guides were justice and righteousness. After his death theSouthern Court fell into a state of division against itself; and itsspirit sensibly declined. DEATH OF TAKAUJI Takauji survived Chikafusa by only four years; he expired in 1358. Undoubtedly his figure is projected in very imposing dimensions onthe pages of his country's history, and as the high mountain in theChinese proverb is gilded by the sunbeams and beaten by the storm, socondemnation and eulogy have been poured upon his head by posterity. An annalist of his time says: "Yoritomo was impartial in bestowingrewards, but so severe in meting out punishments as to seem almostinhuman. Takauji, however, in addition to being humane and just, isstrong-minded, for no peril ever summons terror to his eye orbanishes the smile from his lip; merciful, for he knows no hatred andtreats his foes as his sons; magnanimous, for he counts gold andsilver as stones or sand, and generous, for he never compares thegift with the recipient, but gives away everything as it comes tohand. It is the custom for people to carry many presents to theshogun on the first day of the eighth month, but so freely are thosethings given away that nothing remains by the evening, I am told. " A later historian, Rai Sanyo (1780-1832), wrote: "There were as bravemen and as clever in the days of the Minamoto as in the days of theAshikaga. Why, then, did the former never dare to take up armsagainst the Bakufu, whereas the latter never ceased to assault theAshikaga? It was because the Minamoto and the Hojo understood theexpediency of not entrusting too much power to potential rivals, whereas the Ashikaga gave away lands so rashly that some families--asthe Akamatsu, the Hosokawa, and the Hatakeyama--came into thepossession of three or four provinces, and in an extreme case onefamily--that of Yamana--controlled ten provinces, or one-sixth of thewhole empire. These septs, finding themselves so powerful, becameunmanageable. Then the division of the Ashikaga into the Muromachimagnates and the Kamakura chiefs brought two sets of rulers upon thesame stage, and naturally intrigue and distrust were born, so that, in the end, Muromachi was shaken by Hosokawa, and Kamakura wasoverthrown by Uesugi. An animal with too ponderous a tail cannot wagit, and a stick too heavy at one end is apt to break. The Ashikagaangled with such valuable bait that they ultimately lost both fishand bait. During the thirteen generations of their sway there was norespite from struggle between family and family or between chief andvassal. " Takauji's record plainly shows that deception was one of hisweapons. He was absolutely unscrupulous. He knew also how to enticemen with gain, but he forgot that those who came for gain will goalso for gain. It would seem, too, that he sacrificed justice to thefear of alienating his supporters. Not otherwise can we account forhis leniency towards the Ko brothers, who were guilty of suchviolations of propriety. THE SECOND ASHIKAGA SHOGUN Takauji was succeeded in the shogunate by his eldest son, Yoshiakira, of whom so much has already been heard. The fortunes of the SouthernCourt were now at low ebb. During the year (1359) after Takauji'sdeath, Kamakura contributed materially to the support of the Ashikagacause. The Kwanto was then under the sway of Takauji's fourth son, Motouji, one of the ablest men of his time. He had just succeeded inquelling the defection of the Nitta family, and his military powerwas so great that his captains conceived the ambition of marching toKyoto and supplanting Yoshiakira by Motouji. But the latter, insteadof adopting this disloyal counsel, despatched a large army underHatakeyama Kunikiyo to attack the Southern Court. Marching by the twohighways of Settsu and Kawachi, this army attacked Yoshino and gainedsome important successes. But the fruits of these victories were notgathered. The Hatakeyama chief developed ambitions of his own, and, on returning to the Kwanto, was crushed by Motouji and deprived ofhis office of shitsuji, that post being given again to UesugiNoriaki, "who had been in exile since the death of Tadayoshi in 1352. At, or shortly after, this time, Kai and Izu and, later on, Mutsu, were put under Kamakura jurisdiction, and their peaceful and orderlycondition formed a marked contrast to the general state of the restof the empire. "* *Murdoch's History of Japan. The next event of cardinal importance in this much disturbed periodwas the defection of Hosokawa Kiyouji, one of the shitsuji in Kyoto. This powerful chief, disappointed in his expectations of reward, wentover to the Southern Court in 1361, and the result was that theAshikaga shogun had to flee from Kyoto, escorting Go-Kogon. Thesituation soon changed however. Hosokawa Kiyouji, returning to hisnative province, Awa, essayed to bring the whole of Shikoku intoallegiance to the Southern Court, but was signally worsted by hiscousin, Hosokawa Yoriyuki--afterwards very famous, --and scarcely amonth had elapsed before Yoshiakira was back in the capital. In thesame year (1362), the Northerners received a marked increase ofstrength by the accession of the Yamana family, which was at thattime supreme in the five central provinces of eastern Japan--namely, Tamba, Inaba, Bizen, Bitchu, and Mimasaka. During ten years thisfamily had supported the Southern Court, but its chief, Tokiuji, nowyielded to the persuasion of Yoshiakira's emissaries, and espousedthe Ashikaga cause on condition that he, Tokiuji, should be namedhigh constable of the above five provinces. Meanwhile, the partisans of the late Tadayoshi--the Kira, the Ishido, the Momonoi, the Nikki, and others--constituted a source of perpetualmenace, and even among the Ashikaga themselves there was a rebel(Takatsune). Yoshiakira became weary of the unceasing strife. Headdressed overtures to the Southern Court and they were accepted oncondition that he made formal act of surrender. This the shogunrefused to do, but he treated Go-Murakami's envoy with every mark ofrespect, and though the pourparlers proved finally abortive, they hadcontinued for five months, an evidence that both sides were anxiousto find a path to peace. Yoshiakira died in the same year, 1367. THE SOUTHERN COURT Previously to this event, a new trouble had occurred in the SouthernCourt. The Emperor Go-Murakami signified his desire to abdicate, andthereupon the Court nobles who had followed the three ex-Emperorsinto the Southern lines in 1352 fell into two cliques, eachadvocating the nomination of a different successor. This discordexercised a debilitating influence, and when Go-Murakami died (1368), the Southerners found themselves in a parlous condition. For his sonand successor, Chokei, failing to appreciate the situation, immediately planned an extensive campaign against Kyoto from the eastand the south simultaneously. Then Kusunoki Masanori passed into theNorthern camp. Few events have received wider historical comment inJapan. The Kusunoki family stood for everything loyal and devoted inthe bushi's record, and Masanori was a worthy chief of the sept. Soconspicuous were his virtues and so attractive was his personalitythat a samurai of the Akamatsu family, who had planned a vendettaagainst him, committed suicide himself rather than raise his hand toslay such a hero. How, then, are we to account for Masanori's infidelity to the causehe had embraced? The answer of his country's most credible annalistsis that his motive was to save the Southern Court. He saw that if theyoung Emperor. Chokei, persisted in his design of a general campaignagainst Kyoto, a crushing defeat must be the outcome, and since thesovereign would not pay heed to his remonstrances, he concluded thatthe only way to arrest the mad enterprise was his own defection, which would weaken the South too much to permit offensive action. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was then shogun at Muromachi. He had succeeded tothat office in 1367, at the age of nine, and his father, then withina year of death, had entrusted him to the care of Hosokawa Yoriyuki, one of the ablest men of his own or any generation. There are strongreasons for thinking that between this statesman and Masanori anunderstanding existed. So long as Yoriyuki remained in power therewas nothing worthy of the name of war between the two Courts, andwhen, after his retirement in 1379, the struggle re-opened under thedirection of his successor (a Yamana chief), Masanori returned to hisold allegiance and took the field once more in the Southern cause. His action in temporarily changing his allegiance had given tenyears' respite to the Southerners. PEACE BETWEEN THE TWO COURTS The Southern Emperor, Chokei, coming to the throne in 1368, abdicatedin 1372 in favour of his brother, known in history as Go-Kameyama. During his brief tenure of power Chokei's extensive plans for thecapture of Kyoto did not mature, but he had the satisfaction ofseeing the whole island of Kyushu wrested from Ashikaga hands. It istrue that under the able administration of Imagawa Sadayo (Ryoshun), a tandai appointed by the Ashikaga, this state of affairs was largelyremedied during the next ten years, but as the last substantialtriumph of the Yoshino arms the record of Chokei's reign ismemorable. It was, in truth, the final success. The decade ofcomparative quiet that ensued on the main island proved to be thecalm before the storm. The most prominent figures in the closing chapter of the greatdynastic struggle are Hosokawa Yoriyuki and Yamana Mitsuyuki. Whenthe second Ashikaga shogun, Yoshiakira, recognized that his days werenumbered, he summoned his trusted councillor, Hosokawa Yoriyuki, andhis son Yoshimitsu, and said to the latter, "I give you a father, "and to the former, "I give you a son. " Yoriyuki faithfully dischargedthe trust thus reposed in him. He surrounded his youthful charge withliterary and military experts, and secured to him every advantagethat education could confer. Moreover, this astute statesman seems tohave apprehended that if the cause of the Southern Court were notactually opposed, it would die of inanition, and he thereforeemployed all his influence to preserve peace. He endeavoured also toenforce strict obedience to the economical precepts of the Kemmucode, and altogether the ethics he favoured were out of harmony withthe social conditions of Kyoto at the time and with the naturalproclivities of the young shogun himself. In fine, he had to leavethe capital, too full of his enemies, and to retire to his nativeprovince, Awa. During ten years he remained in seclusion. But, in 1389, a journeymade by the shogun to Miya-jima revealed so many evidences ofYoriyuki's loyalty that he was invited to return to Kyoto, and withhis assistance the organization of the Ashikaga forces at Muromachiwas brought to a high state of efficiency, partly because the astuteYoriyuki foresaw trouble with the Yamana family, which was thensupreme in no less than ten provinces, or nearly one-sixth of allJapan. In 1391 Yamana Ujikiyo and his kinsman Mitsuyuki took thefield against Kyoto under the standard of the Southern Court. Hecommanded a great army, and there resulted a desperate struggle knownin history as the Meitoku War, after the name of the year-period whenit occurred. The Yamana leader was killed and his army completelyrouted. In the following year, the great Hosokawa Yoriyuki died. Hehad lived to see the ten provinces recovered from Yamana rule andpartitioned among the Muromachi generals. But he expired just before the final triumph to which his genius hadso materially contributed. For within a few months of his demise theWar of the Dynasties came at last to a close. The proximate cause wasthe fall of the Kusunoki stronghold, which had been built byMasashige, and during sixty years had remained unconquered. With itsreduction, preceded as it had been by the annihilation of the Yamana, the fortunes of the Southern Court had become hopeless, and overturescarried from Kyoto by one of the most distinguished of the Muromachigenerals, Ouchi Yoshihiro, were accepted. Go-Komatsu then occupiedthe Northern throne. He had succeeded Go-Enyu, in 1382, and thelatter, had succeeded Go-Kogon, in 1371. Go-Komatsu, having been onlysix years of age at the time of his accession, was in his sixteenthyear when the two Courts came to an agreement. For a time the terms proved very difficult of adjustment, butultimately it was decided that the Southern sovereign, Go-Kameyama, should abdicate in favour of the Northern, the former beingthenceforth treated as the latter's father. This compact having beenconcluded, the sacred insignia were transported from Yoshino to Kyotowith all solemnity. Six Court nobles accompanied them from the South;twenty went out from the North to receive them, and a numerous bodyof troops formed the escort. The retiring Emperor spent ten days atthe palace in Kyoto, throughout which time a magnificent banquet washeld to celebrate the conclusion of the fifty-five years' war. Yoshino and other districts were assigned for the support of theex-Emperor, and pensions or domains were conferred on the Courtnobles of the South, some of whom, however, declining to compromisetheir sense of honour by accepting favours from the North, withdrewto the provinces; and their exile was shared by several of themilitary leaders who had remained true to the South throughout. Therecan be little doubt that among these apparent implacables were someof a selfishly calculating disposition, who, anticipating a reversionto the system of alternate succession, as instituted by the Hojointerpreters of Go-Saga's testament, looked for greater personaladvantage when the Crown should come to the Southern branch thananything that could be hoped for by submitting to the Northern. Theywere mistaken. That testament, which had done so much mischief in itstime, was ignored from the close of the War of the Dynasties. It didnot fall into total abeyance, however, without some furtherbloodshed, and the facts may be interpolated here so as to disposefinally of the subject. In 1412, the abdication of Go-Komatsu should have been followed bythe accession of a Southern prince had the principle of alternationbeen pursued. It was not so followed. On the contrary, the sceptrefell to Shoko--101st sovereign--son of Go-Komatsu. Hence, in 1413, Date Yasumune, in Mutsu, and, in 1414, Kitabatake Mitsumasa, in Ise, made armed protests, gallant but ineffective. Again, in 1428, on thechildless death of Shoko, the claims of the Southern line weretacitly ignored in favour of Go-Hanazono, grandson of the thirdNorthern Emperor, Suko. The same Mitsumasa now took the field, aidedthis time by Masahide, head of the ever loyal house of Kusunoki, butsignal failure ensued. The last struggle in behalf of the Southernline took place in 1443, when "a band of determined men underKusunoki Jiro and the Court noble, Hino Arimitsu, suddenly assailedthe palace from two directions; all but succeeded in killing orcapturing the Emperor, and actually got possession of the regalia. They were soon driven out, however, and in their flight to Hiei-zan, where one body of them entrenched themselves, the mirror and thesword were dropped and recovered by the pursuers. The other body madegood their escape to the wilds of Odai-ga-hara, carrying with themthe seal; and it was not till a year later that it found its way backto Kyoto, when the rebels had been destroyed. "* *Murdoch's History of Japan. ENGRAVING: KOZUKA AND MENUKI (SWORD FURNITURE) CHAPTER XXXI THE FALL OF THE ASHIKAGA TWO BRANCHES OF THE ASHIKAGA THE Ashikaga family was divided into two main branches, bothdescended from Takauji. The representatives of one, the senior, branch had their headquarters at Muromachi in Kyoto and held theoffice of shogun as a hereditary right. There were fifteengenerations: Name Born Succeeded Abdicated Died (1) Takauji 1305 1338 .... 1358 (2) Yoshiakira 1330 1358 1367 1368 (3) Yoshimitsu 1358 1367 1395 1408 (4) Yoshimochi 1386 1395 1423 1428 (5) Yoshikazu 1407 1423 .... 1425 (6) Yoshinori 1394 1428 .... 1441 (7) Yoshikatsu 1433 1441 .... 1443 (8) Yoshimasa 1435 1443 1474 1490 (9) Yoshihisa 1465 1474 .... 1489 (10) Yoshitane (#1) 1465 1490 1493 .... (11) Yoshizumi 1478 1493 1508 1511 Yoshitane (#2) .... 1508 1521 1522 (12) Yoshiharu 1510 1521 1545 1550 (13) Yoshiteru 1535 1545 .... 1565 (14) Yoshihide 1565 1565 .... 1568 (15) Yoshiaki 1537 1568 1573 1597 The apparent clashing of dates in the case of the fourth and fifthshoguns, Yoshimochi and Yoshikazu, is due to the fact that on thedeath of the latter, in 1425, the former resumed the office and heldit until his own death, in 1428. THE KAMAKURA KWANRYO AND KUBO Born Died (1) Motouji 1340 1367 (2) Ujimitsu 1357 1398 (3) Mitsukane 1376 1409 (4) Mochiuji 1398 1439 (5) Shigeuji 1434 1497 (6) Masatomo .... 1491 (7) Takamoto .... .... (8) Haruuji .... 1560 (9) Yoshiuji .... .... The title "kwanryo, " as already stated, signifies "governor-general, "and the region governed was the eight provinces of the Kwanto, together with Izu and Kai. The first of the Ashikaga kwanryo, Motouji, was Takauji's youngest son, and the following eight names onthe above list were direct descendants. But not all had the title ofkwanryo or wielded the extensive power attached to that office. Onlythe first four were thus fortunate. From the days of the fifth, Shigeuji, evil times overtook the family. Driven out of Kamakura bythe Uesugi, who had hitherto served as manager (shitsuji), they wereobliged to change their domicile to Koga in Shimosa; their sphere ofjurisdiction was reduced to four provinces, namely, Shimosa, Shimotsuke, Kazusa, and Awa; their official title was altered togosho or kubo, and their former title of kwanryo passed to the Uesugifamily who also replaced them at Kamakura. These things fell out in1439, when Mochiuji died. To avoid confusion it is necessary to notethat the chief official in the shogun's court at Muromachi in Kyotowas also called kwanryo. He had originally been termed "manager"(shitsuji), but, in 1367, this was changed to "governor-general, " andthe corresponding functions were practically those discharged by theregent (shikken) in the polity of the old Bakufu. The first Muromachikwanryo was Shiba Yoshimasa, and it became the ultimate custom togive the post to a member of one of three families, the Shiba, theHosokawa, and the Hatakeyama. STATE OF THE PROVINCES When swords were sheathed after the long and wasting War of theDynasties, the Ashikaga found themselves in a strong position. Havingfull control of the Court, they could treat as a rebel anyoneopposing them by force of arms, and their partisans were so numerousin Kyoto and its vicinity that they could impose their will upon all. In the east, the Kwanto was effectually ruled by a branch of theirown family, and in the north as well as in the south they wererepresented by tandai, who governed stoutly and loyally. But troublebegan very soon. In Kyushu the office of tandai was held by ImagawaRyoshun, a man ever memorable in Japanese history as the author ofthe precept that military prowess without education is worse thanuseless. Ryoshun had been selected for service in Kyushu by the greatshitsuji of Muromachi, Hosokawa Yoriyuki, who saw that only by thestrongest hands could the turbulent families of the southern islandbe reduced to order--the Shimazu, the Otomo, the Shoni, and theKikuchi. Everything went to show that Imagawa would have succeededhad not that familiar weapon, slander, been utilized for hisoverthrow. The Otomo chief persuaded Ouchi Yoshihiro to traduceRyoshun, and since the Ouchi sept exercised great influence in thecentral provinces and had taken a prominent part in composing the Warof the Dynasties, the shogun, Yoshimitsu, could not choose but listento charges coming from such a source. Imagawa Ryoshun was recalled(1396), and thenceforth Kyushu became the scene of almost perpetualwarfare which the Muromachi authorities were powerless to check. THE OUCHI FAMILY It was to the same Ouchi family that the Muromachi shogun owed hisfirst serious trouble after the close of the War of the Dynasties. The ancestor of the family had been a Korean prince who migrated toJapan early in the seventh century, and whose descendants, five and ahalf centuries later, were admitted to the ranks of the samurai. Theoutbreak of the War of the Dynasties had found the Ouchi ranged onthe Southern side, but presently they espoused the Ashikaga cause, and distinguished themselves conspicuously against the Kikuchi inKyushu and, above all, in promoting the conclusion of the dynasticstruggle. These eminent services were recognized by Ouchi Yoshihiro'sappointment to administer no less than six provinces--Nagato, Suwo, Aki, Buzen, Kii, and Izumi. In fact he guarded the western andeastern entrances of the Inland Sea, and held the overlordship ofwestern Japan. At his castle in Sakai, near Osaka, he amassed wealthby foreign trade, and there he received and harboured representativesof the Kusunoki and Kikuchi families, while at the same time hecarried on friendly communications with the Doki, the Ikeda, and theYamana. In short, he grew too powerful to receive mandates fromMuromachi, especially when they came through a kwanryo of theHatakeyama family who had just risen to that distinction. Suddenly, in November, 1399, the Ouchi chief appeared in Izumi at thehead of a force of twenty-three thousand men, a force which receivedrapid and numerous accessions. His grounds of disaffection were thathe suspected the shogun of a design to deprive him of the twoprovinces of Kii and Izumi, which were far remote from the other fiveprovinces in his jurisdiction and which placed him within arm'slength of Kyoto, and, further, that no sufficient reward had beengiven to the family of his younger brother, who fell in battle. Therewere minor grievances, but evidently all were pretexts: the realobject was to overthrow Muromachi. The shogun, Yoshimitsu, acted withgreat promptitude. He placed Hatakeyama Mitsuiye at the head of apowerful army, and on January 18, 1400, Sakai fell and Yoshihirocommitted suicide. Thereafter the province of Kii was placed underthe jurisdiction of the Hatakeyama family, and Izumi under that ofHosokawa, while the Shiba ruled in Echizen, Owari, and Totomi. Inshort, these three families became the bulwarks of the Ashikaga. KAMAKURA AND MUROMACHI An important episode of the Ouchi struggle was that Mitsukane, thethird Kamakura kwanryo of the Ashikaga line, moved an army intoMusashi to render indirect assistance to the Ouchi cause. In truth, from an early period of Kamakura's tenure by an Ashikagagovernor-general of the Kwanto, there had been an ambition totransfer the office of shogun from the Kyoto to the Kamakura branchof the family. The matter was not mooted during Takauji's lifetime, but when, on his demise, the comparatively incompetent Yoshiakiracame into power at Muromachi, certain military magnates of theeastern provinces urged the Kamakura kwanryo, Motouji, to usurp hisbrother's position. Motouji, essentially as loyal as he was astute, spurned the proposition. But it was not so with his son andsuccessor, Ujimitsu. To him the ambition of winning the shogunatepresented itself strongly, and was only abandoned when UesugiNoriharu committed suicide to add weight to a protest against such anessay. Japanese annals contain many records of lives thus sacrificedon the altar of devotion and loyalty. From the outset the Uesugifamily were the pillars of the Ashikaga kwanryo in Kamakura. UesugiNoriaki served as shitsuji in the time of the first kwanryo, and thesame service was rendered by Noriaki's son, Yoshinori, and by thelatter's nephew, Tomomune, in the time of the second kwanryo, Ujimitsu. Confusing as are the multitude of names that confront theforeign student of Japanese history, it is necessary to note thatfrom the time of their appointment as shitsuji at Kamakura, Yoshinoritook the family name of Yamanouchi, and Tomomune that of Ogigayatsu. Balked in his design against Kyoto, Ujimitsu turned his hand againstthe Nitta, old enemies of his family, and crushing them, placed theAshikaga power on a very firm basis in the Kwanto. His son, Mitsukane, had the gift of handling troops with great skill, and inhis time the prestige of the Kamakura kwanryo reached its highestpoint. In the eyes of the military men of the eastern provinces, theshogun in distant Kyoto counted for little compared with thegovernor-general in adjacent Kamakura. The latter's mansion wascalled gosho (palace); its occupant was termed kubo, an epithethitherto applied to the shogun only, and the elder and youngerbranches of the Uesugi family, in which the office of kwanryo ofMuromachi was hereditary, were designated Ryo Uesugi (the TwoUesugi). Mitsukane, when he abetted the Ouchi's attempt to overthrowthe Kyoto shogun, persuaded himself that he was only carrying out hisfather's unachieved purpose, and the shogun, Yoshimitsu, took no stepto punish him, preferring to accept his overtures--made throughUesugi Tomomune. THE EXTRAVAGANCE OF YOSHIMITSU There is little question that whatever applause history can extend tothe administration of the third Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu, was wonfor him by his profoundly sagacious guardian and chief minister, Hosokawa Yoriyuki. After the latter's death, in 1392, many abuses andfew meritorious acts appear in the shogun's record. Alike, the wiseself-effacement and the admirable frugality which distinguished theHojo rule were wholly foreign to the mood of Yoshimitsu. He insistedon being raised to the post of chancellor of the empire, and heopenly spoke of himself as "king, " designating as Go-sekke (FiveRegent Houses) the families of Shiba, Hosokawa, Hatakeyama, Rokkaku, and Yumana. At the ceremony of his investiture as chancellor (dajodaijiri) he presented to the Throne a sword forged by Kunimitsu; onehundred pieces of white silk; one thousand silver coins; ten tigers'skins, and fifty pounds of dyed silk. To the ex-Emperor he gave athousand silver coins; fifty pieces of white silk, and a sword, andamong the Imperial princes and Court nobles he distributed tenthousand pieces of silver. Such was his parade of opulence. ENGRAVING: ASHIKAGA YOSHIMITSU The chief obstacle to conferring on him the title of chancellor hadbeen that the records contained only one instance of a military man'sappointment to that exalted post. That instance was Taira noKiyomori, whose example should have been deterrent to a Minamoto. Yoshimitsu overcame the difficulty by nominally transferring hismilitary functions to his son Yoshimochi (1423), and constitutinghimself the patron of literature. It was now that his love of luxuryand splendour assumed its full dimensions. He had already beautifiedhis Muromachi mansion by constructing there a park so spacious and sobrilliant at all seasons that it went by the name of Hana no Gosho(Palace of Flowers). This he now assigned as a residence for his sonand successor, Yoshimochi, transferring his own place of abode to thesite occupied by the Saionji family, to whom was given in exchange anextensive manor in Kawachi. Here the Ashikaga chancellor built apalace of such dimensions that sixteen superintendents and twentyassistant superintendents were required to oversee the work. Mostconspicuous was the Kinkaku-ji, or golden pavilion shrine, so calledbecause its interior was gilt, the gold foil being thickly superposedon lacquer varnish. On this edifice, on the adjacent palace, and on apark where deer roamed and noble pine trees hung over their ownshadows in a picturesque lake, immense sums were expended. Works ofart were collected from all quarters to enhance the charm of a palaceconcerning which the bonze Sekkei declared that it could not beexchanged for paradise. Yoshimitsu prayed the Emperor to visit this unprecedentedly beautifulretreat and Go-Komatsu complied. During twenty days a perpetual roundof pastimes was devised for the entertainment of the sovereign andthe Court nobles--couplet composing, music, football, boating, dancing, and feasting. All this was typical of the life Yoshimitsuled after his resignation of the shogun's office. Pleasure tripsengrossed his attention--trips to Ise, to Yamato, to Hyogo, toWakasa, and so forth. He set the example of luxury, and it foundfollowers on the part of all who aimed at being counted fashionable, with the inevitable result that the producing classes were taxedbeyond endurance. It has to be noted, too, that although Yoshimitsulived in nominal retirement at his Kita-yama palace, he reallycontinued to administer the affairs of the empire. INTERNATIONAL HUMILIATION It is not for arrogance, or yet for extravagance, that Japanesehistorians chiefly reproach Yoshimitsu. His unpardonable sin in theireyes is that he humiliated his country. From the accession of theMing dynasty (1368) China made friendly overtures to Japan, especially desiring the latter to check the raids of her corsairswho, as in the days of the Hojo after the repulse of the Mongolarmada, so also in the times of the Ashikaga, were a constant menaceto the coastwise population of the neighbouring continent. Upon theattitude of the shogun towards these remonstrances and overturesdepended the prosecution of commerce with the Middle Kingdom, and theprofits accruing from that commerce were too considerable to beneglected by a ruler like Yoshimitsu, whose extravagance requiredconstant accessions of revenue. Moreover, the Muromachi shogun was adisciple and patron of the Zen sect of Buddhism, and the priests ofthat sect always advocated peaceful intercourse with China, thesource of philosophic and literary learning. All these considerations induced the Ashikaga chief not only to issueorders for the restraint of the corsairs, but also to receive fromthe Chinese Court despatches in which he was plainly designated theking of a country tributary to China, and to make answer in languageunequivocally endorsing the propriety of such terminology. In onedespatch, dated February, 1403, Yoshimitsu described himself as a"subject of Ming" and, "prostrate, begged to present twenty horses, ten thousand catties of sulphur, thirty-two pieces of agate, threegold-foil folding screens, one thousand lances, one hundred swords, asuit of armour, and an ink-stone. " It is recorded that he evenhumbled himself so far as to ask for supplies of Chinese coins, andcertainly these comparatively pure copper tokens remained largely incirculation in Japan down to Tokugawa times, under the name ofEiraku-tsuho, Eiraku being the Japanese sound of the Chineseyear-period, Yunglo (1403-1422). DEATH OF YOSHIMITSU Yoshimitsu died in 1408. He was accorded by the Court the posthumousrank of Dajo Tenno (ex-Emperor), a proof of the extraordinaryconfusion of etiquette caused by his arrogant pretensions. TheChinese sovereign, Yunglo, sent a message of sympathy to the Japanesepotentate's son, Yoshimochi, in which the deceased was designated"Prince Kung-hsien, " but Yoshimochi, though not distinguished forability, had sufficient wisdom ultimately to adopt the advice of thekwanryo, Shiba Yoshimasa, and to decline the rank of Dajo Tenno, aswell as to break off relations with the Ming ruler. Yoshimochi alsohanded over the magnificent edifice at Kita-yama to the Buddhistpriesthood. THE EMPEROR SHOKO In 1412, the Emperor Go-Komatsu abdicated in favour of his son Shoko(101st sovereign), then twelve years old. This sovereign abandonedhimself to the profligacy of the era. It is doubtful whether hisreason was not unhinged. Some accounts say that he fell into a stateof lunacy; others, that he practised magic arts. At all events hedied childless in 1428, and was succeeded by a grandson of theEmperor Suko, Go-Hanazono, then in his tenth year. Thus, the claimsof the Southern dynasty were ignored twice consecutively, and itspartisans made armed protests in the provinces, as has been alreadynoted. But these struggles proved abortive, and thereafter history isno more troubled with such episodes. The Daikagu-ji line disappearsaltogether from view, and the throne is occupied solely byrepresentatives of the Jimyo-in. There can be very little doubt thatthe former was the legitimate branch; but fortune was against it. YOSHIMOCHI, YOSHIKAZU, AND YOSHINORI Yoshimochi, son of Yoshimitsu, became shogun (1395) at the age ofnine, and the administration was conducted by Hosokawa Mitsumoto, Shiba Yoshishige, and Hatakeyama Mitsuiye. Twenty-eight years later, that is to say, in 1423, he abdicated in favour of his son, Yoshikazu. The cause of that step deserves notice. Yoshimitsu hadintended to pass over Yoshimochi, his first-born, in favour of hissecond son, Yoshitsugu, but death prevented the consummation of thatdesign. Yoshimochi, however, knew that it had been entertained. Therefore, after the death of their father, he seized Yoshitsugu, threw him into prison, and ultimately caused him to be killed. Withthe blood of his younger brother on his hands he abdicated in favourof his own sixteen-year-old son, Yoshikazu. But the latter died--somehistorians say that dissipation destroyed him--in two years, andhaving no second son to succeed, Yoshimochi himself resumed theoffice of shogun, holding it until his death, in 1428. During his thirty-three years' tenure of power this ruler seems tohave aimed solely at enjoying the sweets of ease and tranquillity. Heleft the provinces severely alone and thought only of the peace ofthe metropolis. Turbulent displays on the part of self-appointedpartisans of the Southern Court; intrigues in the Kwanto; revoltsamong his own immediate followers--all these things were treated byYoshimochi with gloved hands so long as the atmosphere of Kyoto wasnot troubled. In 1428, he fell sick, and, the end being in sight, heordered his advisers to consult about his successor. Some advocatedthe appointment of his kinsman, Mochiuji, governor-general of theKwanto, and Mochiuji himself prayed that it should be so. But thechoice ultimately fell on Yoshimochi's younger brother, Gien, who hadembraced religion and was then serving as abbot of the templeShoren-in. This man, then in his thirty-fourth year, hesitated to accept thenomination, but was induced to do so. He changed his name toYoshinori, and assuming the office in 1428, showed high talents andgreat intrepidity. He was, in truth, a ruler as efficient as hispredecessor had been perfunctory. One of the most important events ofhis time was the ruin of the Ashikaga Bakufu at Kamakura. BetweenKamakura and Muromachi there had been friction from an early date. Wehave seen the second and third governors-general of the Kwanto, Ujimitsu and Mitsukane, plotting to supplant the elder branch oftheir family in Kyoto, and we have seen how the accession of thepriest, Yoshinori, had disappointed the ambition of the fourthgovernor-general, Mochiuji, who, if unable to become shogun himself, would fain have obtained that high office for his son, Yoshihisa. Several years previously, namely, in 1417, there had occurred a feudbetween the Yamanouchi and the Ogigayatsu branches of the Uesugifamily in the Kwanto, the former represented by Norimoto, the latterby Ujinori. The Uesugi stood next to the Ashikaga at Kamakura, theimportant office of manager (shitsuji) being invariably held by thehead of the former house. It would have been well-nigh impossibletherefore for the governor-general to view such a feud withindifference. Mochiuji, then in his twentieth year, sympathized withNorimoto, and in the sequel, Ujinori, with whom was allied Mochiuji'syounger brother, Mochinaka, took the field at the head of such aforce that the governor-general must have succumbed had not theshogun, Yoshimochi, rendered aid. This should have placed Kamakura under a heavy debt of gratitude toMuromachi. But Mochiuji was not subject to such emotions. He rebelledvehemently against the lenient treatment accorded to Ujinori's sonafter their father's death, and the shogun had difficulty inplacating him. So long, however, as Yoshimochi ruled in Kyoto, theKamakura kwanrya abstained from further intrigues; but on theaccession of the sometime bonze, Yoshinori, to the shogunate, allsense of restraint was removed. The governor-general now made noattempt to conceal his hostility to the Muromachi shogun. Certainfamily rights imperatively demanding reference to the shogun were notso referred, and Mochiuji not only spurned the remonstrances of themanager (shitsuji), Uesugi Norimoto, but even attempted to kill thelatter's son, Norizane. All efforts to reconcile the Kwanto and theshitsuji proved futile, and Norizane had to flee to Kotsuke. Nosooner did these things come to the ears of the shogun, Yoshinori, than he obtained an Imperial commission to quell the insurgents, andplacing an army under the orders of Mochifusa, a son of Ujinori, directed him to march against Kamakura. At first it seemed as if the Kamakura men would emerge victorious. Atthe easily defended passes of Hakone they inflicted severalsuccessive though not signal defeats upon Mochifusa's army. But theappearance of Norizane in the field quickly changed the complexion ofthe campaign. Very soon the Kamakura force was shattered, andMochiuji himself fled to the temple Shomyo-ji in Kanazawa, where hebegged to be allowed to retire from the world. But the shogundeclined to pardon him and remained obdurate in spite of earnest andrepeated petitions from Norizane, praying that Mochiuji should beforgiven and allowed to retire in favour of his son, Yoshihisa. Inthe end, Mochiuji, his son, his uncle, and many others all died bytheir own hands. These things happened in 1439. The redeeming featureof the sombre family feud was the fine loyalty of Norizane. Though ithad been against him chiefly that Mochiuji raged, and though hisdeath was certain had he fallen under the power of the Kamakurakwanryo, Mochiuji's fate caused him such remorse that he attempted tocommit suicide and finally became a priest. Thenceforth, the title ofgovernor-general of the Kwanto passed to the Uesugi, two of whom wereappointed to act simultaneously. As for the Kamakura Ashikaga, thethree remaining sons of Mochiuji fled to Koga in Shimosa, where twoof them were subsequently killed by a Kamakura army, and the third, Shigeuji, fared as has already been described. ASSASSINATION OF THE SHOGUN It has been shown that Akamatsu Norimura was among the captains whocontributed most to the triumph of the Ashikaga cause. In recognitionof his distinguished services the offices of high constable in thefive provinces of Settsu, Inaba, Harima, Mimasaka, and Bizen weregiven to his three sons. Mitsusuke, grandson of the eldest of these, administered three of the above provinces in the days of the fourthAshikaga shogun, Yoshimochi. A puny man of contemptible presence, Mitsusuke received little consideration at Muromachi, and the shogunwas induced to promise his office of high constable to a handsomekinsman, Mochisada. Enraged at such partiality, Mitsusuke set fire tohis mansion in Kyoto and withdrew to his castle at Shirahata inHarima. When, however, the shogun would have sent an army againsthim, none was found to take command, Mochisada having given universaloffence by his haughty arrogance. In the sequel, Mitsusuke had to bepardoned and Mochisada ordered to kill himself. After the death of the shogun, Yoshimochi, Mitsusuke fell into freshtrouble. The new shogun, Yoshinori, belonged to a very differentcategory of men from his immediate predecessors. He conquered theKitabatake family in Ise; repressed the remnants of the SouthernCourt league; crushed the military monks by capturing Nara andHiei-zan; put an end finally to Kamakura's intrigues; obtainedcontrol of the west, and quelled his enemies in all directions. Itnow became his task to bend to his will the overstrong andover-presumptuous among the concerted families of the Ashikaga. Foremost of these were the Akamatsu, their chief, a man whosepersonality invited contumely. The shogun disliked Mitsusuke, andfound it an agreeable occupation to slight him. Gradually theAkamatsu leader became bitterly estranged. Moreover, he saw hisyounger sister executed for disobedience though she was the shogun'smistress; he saw the nephew of his old enemy, Mochisada, treated withmarked favour by the Muromachi potentate, and he learned, truly oruntruly, that his own office of high constable was destined to bebestowed on this favourite. It was now the time when Kamakura's mischievous potentialities hadbeen finally destroyed, and to commemorate the event, entertainmentsin the shogun's honour were organized by the heads of the greatmilitary families. On the 6th of August, 1441, it fell to AkamatsuMitsusuke to act as his host. So soon as the shogun and his personalattendants had passed the portals of the Akamatsu mansion, the horsesin the stables were set free as though by accident; the gates wereclosed to prevent the escape of the animals; Yoshinori with his smallretinue, being thus caught in a trap, were butchered; the mansion wasfired, and Mitsusuke with seven hundred followers rode off in broaddaylight to his castle in Harima, whence, assisted by the monk, Gison, he sent circulars in all directions inciting to revolt. Thusmiserably perished a ruler whose strong hand, active brain, andfearless measures, had he been spared a few years longer, might havesaved his country from some of the terrible suffering she wasdestined to undergo in the century and a half subsequent to hisdeath. He did not live long enough to reach a high place in history. But all his measures were designed to make for the eradication ofimmorality and corruption, and for the restoration of law and orderthroughout the country. His fault seems to have been precipitancy. Somany suffered by his reforms, and in such quick succession, that thehatred he provoked could scarcely have been kept within control. Inthe matter of finance, too, he resorted, as will be presently seen, to devices quite irreconcilable with just administration. YOSHIKATSU AND YOSHIMASA The murder of Yoshinori left the shogun's office without anydesignate occupant, but the heads of the great military families lostno time in electing Yoshikatsu*, the eight-year-old son of Yoshinori, and at the latter's nominal instance the Emperor ordered him toattack his father's assassin. The three Yamana chiefs, Mochitoyo(called also Sozen, or the "Red Monk, " one of the ablest captains ofhis country), Noriyuki, and Norikiyo; the Hosokawa chief, Mochitsune;and Sadamura, representing the Akamatsu family, all joined forces forthe expedition, and presently an army of fifty thousand men sat downbefore Shirahata Castle. In October, 1441, the stronghold fell. Mitsusuke perished, and the three provinces he had administered weretransferred to the Yamana--Harima to Mochitoyo, Mimasaka to Norikiyo, and Bizen to Noriyuki. *To be distinguished from Yoshikazu (shogun 1423-1425), son ofYoshimochi. We have seen how, in 1392, the Yamana family was shattered in arevolt against the authority of the shogun, Yoshimitsu. We now seethe fortunes of the family thoroughly rehabilitated. The youngshogun, however, did not long survive the punishment of his father'smurderers. He died in 1443, at the age of ten, and was succeeded byhis brother Yoshimasa, then in his eighth year. During the latter'sminority, the administration fell into the hands of HatakeyamaMochikuni and Hosokawa Katsumoto, who held the office of Muromachikwanryo alternately. The country now began to experience theconsequences of Yoshinori's death before his plans to limit the powerof the great military septs had matured. Disorder became the normalcondition in the provinces. The island of Kyushu took the lead. Therethe Shoni, the Kikuchi, the Otomo, and the Shiba had always defied acentral authority, and now Norishige, a younger brother of theassassin, Akamatsu Mitsusuke; found among them supporters of a schemeto restore the fortunes of his house. In the Kwanto partisans of thelate kwanryo, Mochiuji, raised their heads. In the home provinces thewarrior-priests of Nara sought to avenge the chastisement they hadsuffered at Yoshinori's hands, and among the immediate entourage ofMuromachi, the Hosokawa, the Hatakeyama, the Shiba, and othersengaged in desperate struggles about questions of succession. ENGRAVING: ASHIKAGA YOSHIMASA THE TOKUSEI Even when he reached man's estate, Yoshimasa proved whollyincompetent to deal with these complications. He abandoned himself todissipation and left everything, great or small, to be managed by hiswife, Fujiwara Tomiko, and by his consort, Kasuga no Tsubone. Briberyand corruption were the motive forces of the time. The innocent werepunished; the unworthy rewarded. The shogun remained indifferenteven when his mandates were neglected or contravened. The buildingof splendid residences, the laying out of spacious parks, thegratification of luxurious tastes, and the procuring of funds todefray the cost of his vast extravagance--these things occupied hisentire attention. Associated with the Ashikaga shogunate is a financial device known inhistory as tokusei, a term signifying "virtuous administration. "Originally imported from China, the tokusei meant nothing more thana temporary remission of taxes in times of distress. But duringthe financial straits to which the country was reduced after theMongol invasion, the Hojo deemed it necessary to afford relief tolandowners who had mortgaged their property, and thus, in 1297, alaw--tokusei-rei--was enacted, providing that eviction for debt mustnot be enforced. Under the Ashikaga, the tokusei received a stillwider import. It was interpreted as including all debts and pecuniaryobligations of any kind. In other words, the promulgation of atokusei ordinance meant that all debtors, then and there, obtainedcomplete relief. The law was not construed exactly alike everywhere. Thus, in Nara a debtor must discharge one-third of his obligationbefore claiming exemption, and elsewhere a nominal sum had to be paidfor release. Naturally, legislation so opposed to the fundamentalprinciples of integrity led to flagrant abuses. Forced by riotousmobs, or constrained by his own needs, the Muromachi shogun issuedtokusei edicts again and again, incurring the hot indignation of thecreditor class and disturbing the whole economic basis of society. Yoshimasa was conspicuously reckless; he put the tokusei system intoforce thirteen times. EXTRAVAGANCE AND INCOMPETENCE OF YOSHIMASA It is stated in the records of the Onin era (1467-1469) thatYoshimasa subordinated his duties altogether to his pleasures, andthat his thoughts seemed to turn wholly on banquets and fetes. Hisfavourites, especially females, had the control of affairs and werethe final arbiters in all important matters. Thus, a domain which hadbeen in the undisputed possession of a family for generations mightbe alienated in favour of any claimant sufficiently unscrupulous andsufficiently rich to "commend" his title, and a judgment delivered bya court of law in the morning was liable to be reversed in theevening by the fiat of the ladies in the Muromachi "palace. "Stability of policy had no existence. In a period of twenty-fouryears (1444-1468), three sentences each of punishment and pardon werepronounced in the case of the Hatakeyama family, and in twenty years, Yoshikado and Yoshitoshi of the Shiba sept were each punished andpardoned three times. In Kyoto it became a current saying that loyalacts, not evil deeds, were penalized, and the truth of the commentfound confirmation in the case of an official, Kumagaya, who wasdismissed from his post and deprived of his property for venturing tomemorialize the shogun in a critical manner. These same records of the Onin year-period also make clear that oneof the factors chiefly responsible for the disturbance wasYoshimasa's curious lack of sympathy with the burdens of the people. Even one grand ceremony in the course of from five to six yearssufficed to empty the citizens' pockets. But in Yoshimasa's timethere Were nine of such fetes in five years, and four of them had nowarrant whatever except pleasure seeking--as a performance of theSarugaku mime on an immense scale; a flower-viewing party; anal-fresco entertainment, and a visit to the cherry blossoms. On eachof these occasions the court officials and the military men had topawn their estates and sell their heirlooms in order to supplythemselves with sufficiently gorgeous robes, and the sequel was theimposition of house taxes and land taxes so heavy that the provincialfarmers often found vagrancy more lucrative than agriculturalindustry. Pawnshops were mercilessly mulcted. In the days ofYoshimitsu, they were taxed at each of the four seasons; inYoshinori's time the same imposts were levied once a month, and underYoshimasa's rule the pawnbrokers had to pay nine times in November, 1466, and eight times in December of the same year. Even after full allowance has been made for exaggeration, natural inthe presence of such extravagance, there remains enough to convictYoshimasa of something like a mania for luxury. He built for himselfa residence so splendid that it went by the name of the Palace ofFlowers (Hana no Gosho) and of materials so costly that the outlaytotalled six hundred thousand strings of cash;* and he built for hismother, Shigeko, a mansion concerning which it is recorded that twoof the sliding doors for the interior cost twenty thousand strings. **Yet at times this same Yoshimasa was reduced to such straits formoney that we read of him borrowing five hundred "strings" on thesecurity of his armour, to pay for a parturition chamber. *Ł4, 500, 000--$22, 000, 000. **Ł150, 000--$7, 300, 000. The Palace of Flowers came into existence in 1459, just on the eve ofa period of natural calamities which culminated in famine andpestilence. In 1462, these conditions were at their worst. Fromvarious, provinces people flocked to the capital seeking food, anddeaths from starvation became frequent in the city. A Buddhistpriest, Gwana, constructed grass huts to which the famished suffererswere carried on bamboo stretchers to be fed with soft, boiled millet. It is recorded that, during the first two months of 1462, the numberof persons thus relieved totalled eighty-two thousand. AnotherBuddhist priest erected a monument to the dead found in the bed ofthe river below the bridge, Gojo. They aggregated twelve hundred. Scores of corpses received no burial, and the atmosphere of the citywas pervaded with a shocking effluvium. But even the presence of these horrors does not seem to have soberedthe Muromachi profligate. The costly edifices were pushed on and thepeople's resources continued to be squandered. Even the Emperor, Go-Hanazono, was sufficiently shocked to compose a couplet indirectlycensuring Yoshimasa, and a momentary sense of shame visited thesybarite. But only momentary. We find him presently constructing inthe mansion of his favourite retainer, Ise Sadachika, a bath-housewhich was the wonder of the time, a bath-house where the bathers wereexpected to come robed in the most magnificent costumes. One of theedifices that formed part of his palace after his retirement fromactive life, in 1474, was a "Silver Pavilion" intended to rival the"Golden Pavilion" of his ancestor, Yoshimitsu. During the lastsixteen years of his life--he died in 1490--he patronized art with adegree of liberality that atones for much of his previous profligacy. In the halls of the Jisho-ji monastery, constructed on a grand scaleas his retreat in old age, he collected chefs d'oeuvre of China andJapan, so that the district Higashi-yama where the building stoodbecame to all ages a synonym for choice specimens, and there, too, heinstituted the tea ceremonial whose votaries were thenceforthrecognized as the nation's arbitri elegantiarum. Landscape gardensalso occupied his attention. Wherever, in province or in capital, inshrine, in temple, in private house, or in official residence, anyquaintly shaped rock or picturesque tree was found, it wasimmediately requisitioned for the park of Higashi-yama-dono, as menthen called Yoshimasa, and under the direction of a trio of greatartists, So-ami, Gei-ami, and No-ami, there grew up a plaisance ofunprecedented beauty, concerning which a poet of the time wrote that"every breeze coming thence wafted the perfume of tea. " The pastimesof "listening to incense, " of floral arrangement, of the dramaticmime, and of the parlour farce were all practised with a zest whichprovoked the astonishment even of contemporary annalists. ENGRAVING: A PICNIC DURING THE FLOWER SEASON IN THE ASHIKAGA PERIOD All this contributed materially to educate the nation's artisticfaculties, but the cost was enormous and the burden of taxationcorrespondingly heavy. It was under this financial pressure thatYoshimasa approached the Ming emperor seeking pecuniary aid. Thricethe shogun's applications were successful, and the amounts thusobtained are said to have totalled three hundred thousand strings ofcash (equivalent of Ł450, 000, or $2, 200, 000). His requests are saidto have assumed the guise of appeals in behalf of famine-strickenpeople, but there is no evidence that any of the presents weredevoted to that purpose. Partial apologists for Yoshimasa'sinfatuation are not wanting. Thus, it is alleged that he was weary offailure to reform the administration; that the corruption andconfusion of society induced him to seek consolation in art; thatoutside the precincts of his palace he was restrained by theprovincial magnates, and inside he had to obey the dictation of hiswife, Tomi, of her brother, Katsumitsu, and of his own favouritepage, Ise Sadachika, so that only in his tea reunions and his privatetheatricals could a semblance of independence be obtained; that hisorders were not obeyed or his injunctions respected by any save theartists he had gathered around him, and that in gratifying hisluxurious tastes, he followed the example of his grandfather, Yoshimitsu. But such exculpations amount to saying that he was anessentially weak man, the slave of his surroundings. THE KWANTO TUMULT The lawlessness of the time and the indifference with which theshogun's mandates were treated find illustration in the story of theKwanto. When (1439) Mochiuji perished, the only member of his familythat survived was his five-year-old son, Shigeuji. This child placedhimself under the protection of Muromachi. It will be remembered thatUesugi Norizane, lamenting his unwilling share in Mochiuji'sdestruction, had entered religion. His son, Noritada, was thenappointed to act as manager (shitsuji) to Shigeuji, his colleaguebeing Uesugi Akifusa (Ogigayatsu Uesugi). But the Yuki family, whohad given shelter to two sons of Mochiuji, objected to bow theirheads to the Uesugi, and persuaded Shigeuji to have Noritada killed. Therefore, the partisans of the murdered man placed themselves underthe banner of his brother, Fusaaki, and having received a commissionfrom Muromachi as well as a powerful contingent of troops underImagawa Noritada, they marched in great force against Kamakura fromKotsuke, Kazusa, and Echigo. Kamakurawas well-nigh reduced to ruins, but Shigeuji retired to thefortress of Koga in Shimosa, and his cause against the Uesugi wasespoused by the eight families of Chiba, Koyama, Satomi, Satake, Oda, Yuki, Utsunomiya, and Nasu, thenceforth known as the "eight generals"of the Kwanto. Against such a league it was difficult to operatesuccessfully. Masatomo, a younger brother of Yoshimasa, built forhimself a fortress at Horigoe, in Izu, which was thereafter known asHorigoe Gosho (the Horigoe Palace), Shigeuji in his castle of Kogabeing designated Koga Kuba (the Koga shogun). Castle buildingacquired from this time greatly increased vogue. Uesugi Mochitomofortified Kawagoe in Musashi; Ota Sukenaga (called also Dokan), avassal of the Ogigayatsu Uesugi, built at Yedo a fort destined tohave world-wide celebrity, and his father, Sukekiyo, entrenchedIwatsuki in the same province of Musashi. Thus the Kwanto became thearena of warring factions. PREFACE TO THE ONIN WAR We now arrive at a chapter of Japanese history infinitely perplexingto the reader. It is generally called the Onin War because thestruggle described commenced in the year-period of that name, butwhereas the Onin period lasted only two years (1467-1469), the OninWar continued for eleven years and caused shocking destruction oflife and property. When war is spoken of, the mind naturallyconjectures a struggle between two or perhaps three powers for acause that is respectable from some points of view. But in the OninWar a score of combatants were engaged, and the motive was invariablypersonal ambition. It has been described above that when the Ashikagachief, Takauji, undertook to re-establish the Minamoto Bakufu, heessayed to overcome opposition by persuasion rather than by force. Pursuing that policy, he bestowed immense estates upon those thatyielded to him, so that in time there came into existence holders oflands more extensive than those belonging to the shogun himself. Thus, while the landed estates of the Muromachi shogun measured only15, 798 cho* there were no less than eight daimyo more richly endowed. They were: *A cho at that time represented 3 acres. It is now 2. 5 acres. Daimyo Area of Estates in cho (3 acres) (1) Yanada Takasuke 32, 083 (2) Uesugi Akisada 27, 239 (3) Ouchi Mochiyo 25, 435 (4) Hosokawa Katsumoto 24, 465 (5) Shiba Mochitane 23, 576 (6) Sasaki Takayori 16, 872 (7) Hatakeyama Yoshmari 16, 801 (8) Sasaki Mochikiyo 16, 725 If we examine the list still more minutely, we find no less thantwenty-two families, each of whose estates was equal to, or largerthan, one-half of the Muromachi manors. Some families consisted ofseveral branches whose aggregate properties represented an immensearea. This was notably the case of the Yamana; their five branchesheld lands totalling 45, 788 cho. The owners of such estates must notbe confounded with the high constables (shugo). Thus Yamana Sozen, asthe high constable of Harima province, held administrative authorityin fourteen districts covering an area of 10, 414 cho, and if to thisbe added the expanse of his fief, namely, 8016 cho, we get a totalnearly equal to the manors of Hosokawa Katsumoto. Again, ShibaYoshitoshi, in addition to owning 10, 816 cho, officiated as tandai ofKyushu, which gave him jurisdiction over another extent of 106, 553cho, though it is true that his authority was defied in the provincesof Satsuma and Osumi. The military owner of one of these greatestates levied a revenue on a scale which will be presentlydiscussed, but the high constable was nominally empowered to collectand transmit only such taxes as were payable to the Bakufu, namely, the "military dues" (buke-yaku) and the "farmers' dues"(hyakusho-yaku), whereof the former were originally assessed at twoper cent. , and subsequently raised to five per cent. , of a familyincome; and the latter varied from one to two per cent, of ahomestead's earnings. So long as a high constable or a tandai wasloyal to the Bakufu, the latter received the appointed quota ofimposts; but in times of insurrection, the shugo or tandaiappropriated to his own purposes the proceeds alike of the buke-yakuand the hyakusho-yaku. Not merely inequalities of wealth operated to produce politicalunrest. It has also to be noted that each great military familysupported a body of armed retainers whose services were at all timesavailable; further, we must remember that the long War of theDynasties had educated a wide-spread spirit of fighting, which thedebility of the Ashikaga Bakufu encouraged to action. The Onindisturbance had its origin in disputes about inheritance. It has beenrecorded that the high post of kwanryo (governor-general) in theMuromachi polity was filled by a member of one of three families, theHosokawa, the Hatakeyama, and the Shiba. The Hosokawa were the mostpowerful, and had for representative in the middle of the fifteenthcentury an administrator, Katsumoto, who to extensive erudition and aprofound knowledge of medicine added very exceptional gifts ofstatecraft and organizing ability. The Hatakeyama had for headMochikuni, called also Tokuhon, a man of parts; and it happened thatthe rival family of Yamana was led by Mochitoyo, or Sozen, who, onaccount of his powerful physique, shaved head, and peculiarcomplexion, sometimes received the name of the "Red Monk"(Aka-nyudo). Tokuhon being without a legitimate son, adopted his nephew, Masanaga, but subsequently desired to secure the succession to Yoshinari, a sonborne to him by a concubine. This change was not viewed withequanimity by all the vassals of Tokuhon, and to solve the problemthe latter appealed to the shogun, Yoshimasa, who authorized thedeath of Masanaga. Tokuhon, in his capacity of kwanryo, naturally hadmuch weight with the shogun, but Yoshimasa's conduct on that occasionmust be attributed mainly to a laisser-aller mood which he had thendeveloped, and which impelled him to follow the example set by theImperial Court in earlier times by leaving the military families inthe provinces to fight their own battles. Masanaga sought succourfrom Hosokawa Katsumoto, and that magnate, welcoming the opportunityof avenging an old injury at the hands of the Hatakeyama, laid siegeto the mansion of Tokuhon, who barely escaped with his life, his son, Yoshinari, fleeing to the fortress of Wakae, in Kawachi, whence hewas presently driven by the forces of Katsumoto and Sozen, thenacting in conjunction but destined afterwards to become bitterenemies. The shogun, true to his complacent policy, now recognized Masanaga ashead of the house of Hatakeyama, Tokuhon having just died (1455). ButYoshinari did not acquiesce. In 1456, he marched with a Kawachi armyagainst Masanaga, and a deadly struggle was barely prevented by theintervention of the shogun. Thenceforth, the Hatakeyama becamedivided into two families, Masanaga's branch being the more powerful, but Yoshinari obtaining favour at Muromachi and being nominatedkwanryo. Owing, however, to some petty causes, the shogun's good-willwas subsequently estranged, and Yoshinari had to flee from Kyoto, pursued by Masanaga, who now held a commission from Muromachi to killhim. A seven-years' fight (1460-1467) ensued in Kawachi and Yamato. Yoshinari displayed greatly superior skill as a strategist, andfinally Yamana Sozen, who had always entertained a good opinion ofhim even while opposing his succession at the outset, openly espousedYoshinari's cause. The immediate result was that Masanaga, who hadbeen named kwanryo in 1464, had to give way to SOzen's nominee, ShibaYoshikado, and found himself in deadly peril. It is necessary here to recall the murder of the shogun Yoshinori, in1441. That crime had resulted in the fall of the Akamatsu family, thedirect agent of its overthrow being the united forces of Hosokawa, Takeda, and Yamana. There were no bonds of genuine friendship betweenthe Hosokawa chief, Katsumoto, and Yamana Sozen. Their union wasprimarily due to Katsumoto's ambition. He desired to break the powerof Hatakeyama Tokuhon, and with that ultimate object he courted thealliance of Sozen, giving his own daughter to the latter in marriageand himself adopting Sozen's son, Koretoyo. Thus, the two chiefs weresubsequently found acting together against Tokuhon's attempt tosubstitute his son, albeit illegitimate, for his nephew, as heir tothe Hatakeyama estates. Neither Katsumoto nor Sozen cared anythingabout the succession itself. Their object was simply to crush theHatakeyama; and Sozen, who never relied on argument where force wasapplicable, lost no time in attacking Tokuhon and driving him fromhis burning mansion, as has been already stated. From the legalconsequences of that violence, Sozen was saved by Katsumoto'sintercession at Muromachi, and the alliance (1454) between theHosokawa and the Yamana seemed stronger than ever. But Sozen did notgreatly trust his crafty ally, with whose gifts of political strategyhe was well acquainted. He suspected Katsumoto of a design to restorethe fortunes of the once powerful Akamatsu family, and he began tomuster forces for the great struggle which he anticipated. Thereforeit was that, in 1467, as shown above, he not only espoused the causeof Hatakeyama Yoshinari, in whom he recognized an able captain, butalso championed Shiba Yoshikado. With regard to this latter, it is necessary to recognize that he alsofigured in a succession dispute. The great family of Shiba beingwithout a direct heir, a relative was appointed to the headship in1452. This successor, Yoshitoshi, attempting to enforce theacquiescence of one of his vassals, was defeated and became afugitive, a successor, Yoshikado, being nominated by the Shibavassals. But a sister of the fugitive subsequently married theshogun's favourite, Ise Sadachika, and through her influence theshogun was induced (1466) to recall Yoshitoshi and to declare himrightful head of the Shiba family. Yamana Sozen, who had given hisdaughter in marriage to Yoshitoshi's rival, Yoshikado, immediatelyset a powerful army in motion for Kyoto, and the alarmed shogun(Yoshimasa) not only recognized Yoshikado and drove out Yoshitoshi, but also nominated the former to be kwanryo. From this grievously complicated story the facts which emergeessentially and conspicuously are: first, that Yamana Sozen nowoccupied the position of champion to representatives of the two greatfamilies of Hatakeyama and Shiba; secondly, that the rival successorsof these families looked to Hosokawa Katsumoto for aid; thirdly, thatthe relations between Sozen and Katsumoto had become very strained, and fourthly, that the issue at stake in every case was never morelofty than personal ambition.. The succession to the shogunate alsowas in dispute. Yoshimasa, being childless, desired to adopt as hisheir his younger brother who had entered religion under the name ofGijin. The latter declined the honour until Yoshimasa swore that werea son subsequently born to him, it should be made a priest but nevera shogun. Gijin then took the name of Yoshimi, and was for a timerecognized as heir-apparent, Hosokawa Katsumoto being appointedmanager (shitsuji). Presently, however, the shogun's consort, Tomi, gave birth to a boy, Yoshihisa, and the mother persuaded Yoshimasa tocontrive that her son should supplant the sometime priest. Ofnecessity, the aid of Sozen was sought to accomplish this scheme, Katsumoto being already officially attached to Yoshimi. The Yamanachief readily assented, and thus the situation received its finalelement, a claimant whose right rested on a deliberately violatedoath. THE ONIN WAR By the close of 1466, the two great protagonists, Katsumoto andSozen, had quietly collected in Kyoto armies estimated at 160, 000 and110, 000 men, respectively. The shogun attempted to limit the area ofdisturbance by ordering that the various rival inheritors should beleft to fight their own battles, and by announcing that whoeverstruck the first blow in their behalf would be proclaimed a rebel. Such injunctions were powerless, however, to restrain men like Sozen. In February, 1467, his followers attacked the former kwanryo, Hatakeyama Masanaga, and drove him from the capital. Katsumoto madeno move, however; he remained on the watch, confident that thus thelegitimacy of his cause would obtain recognition. In fact, the shogunwas actually under guard of the Hosokawa troops, who, being encampedon the east and north of Muromachi, received the name of the EasternArmy; the Yamana forces, which were massed on the west and south, being distinguished as the Western Army. It was evident that if either side retreated, the other wouldperforce be acknowledged by the Bakufu, and both were reluctant toput their fortunes to the final test. At length, early in July, 1467, a petty skirmish precipitated a general engagement. It wasinconclusive, and the attitude of mutual observation was resumed. Twomonths later re-enforcements reached the Western Army, andthereafter, for nearly two years, victory rested with the Yamana. ButKatsumoto clung desperately to his position. Kyoto was reduced almostcompletely to ruins, the Imperial palace, Buddhist temples, and othermansions being laid in ashes, countless rare works of art beingdestroyed, and the Court nobles and other civil officials beingcompelled to flee to the provinces for shelter. A celebrated poet ofthe time said that the evening lark soared over moors where formerlythere had been palaces, and in the Onin Records it is stated that themetropolis became a den for foxes and wolves, and that Imperialmandates and religious doctrines were alike unheeded. At one time things looked as though the ultimate triumph must be withSozen. But what Katsumoto lacked in military ability he more thancompensated in statecraft. From the outset he took care to legalizehis cause by inducing the Emperor and the ex-Emperor to remove toMuromachi, where they were guarded by the Hosokawa troops, and thedefections to which this must ultimately expose Sozen's ranks weresupplemented by fomenting in the domains of the Yamana and theirallies intrigues which necessitated a diversion of strength from theKyoto campaign. Curious and intricate was the attitude of theHosokawa towards the rival aspirants to the shogunate. Sozen's aid, as related above, had originally been invoked and exercised in behalfof Yoshimasa, the shogun's son by the lady Tomi. Hence, it is not surprising to find the Yamana leader turning hisback upon the sometime bonze, Yoshimi, in October, 1469. But it issurprising to see him openly espouse this same Yoshimi's cause twomonths later. The fact was that Sozen might not choose. He had beenoutmanoeuvered by his astute opponent, who now held complete controlof the shogun, and who not only obtained an Imperial decree deprivingYoshimi of his offices, but also contrived that, early in 1469, thelady Tomi's four-year-old son, Yoshihisa, should be officiallydeclared heir to the shogunate. In this matter, Katsumoto'svolte-face had been nearly as signal as Sozen's, for the former wasYoshimi's champion at the beginning. Henceforth the war assumed thecharacter of a struggle for the succession to the shogunate. Thecrude diplomacy of the Yamana leader was unable to devise anyeffective reply to the spectacular pageant of two sovereigns, ashogun, and a duly-elected heir to the shogunate all marshalled onthe Hosokawa side. Nothing better was conceived than a revival of theSouthern dynasty, which had ceased to be an active factorseventy-eight years previously. But this farce did little service tothe cause of the Yamana. By degrees the hostile forces withdrew fromthe capital, of which the western half (called Saikyo) alone remainedintact, and the strategy of the hostile leaders became concernedchiefly about preserving their own commissariat or depriving theenemy of his. In 1472, a new feature was introduced: Hatakeyama joined the EasternArmy by order of the shogun, Yoshimasa. This was not merely a greataccession of numerical strength, it also opened the road to the northwhere the Hatakeyama estates lay, and thus the Eastern Army found asolution of the problem which dominated the situation at Kyoto--theproblem of provisions. The scale of success now swung in thedirection of Hosokawa and his allies. But still no crushing victorywas won, and meanwhile the war had continued seven years, withimmense loss of life and treasure. There is evidence that alikeKatsumoto and Sozen were fain to sheathe the sword in 1472, butduring the long struggle conditions had developed which renderedpeace difficult. In May, 1473, Sozen died and was followed to thegrave in less than a month by Katsumoto. Still the struggle went onin a desultory way until December, 1477, when the Yamana forcesburned their cantonments and withdrew, Yoshimi coming to terms withMuromachi and retiring to Mino. Peace at length dawned for Kyoto. Butnot yet for the provinces. There the sword was not immediatelysheathed. In Echizen, Owari, and Totomi the great Shiba family wassubjected to weakening onsets by the Asakura, the Oda, and theImagawa. In Kaga, the Togashi house was divided against itself. InKyushu there were bitter struggles between the Shimazu and the Ito, the Sagara and the Nawa, and the Otomo, the Shoni, and the Ouchi. Finally, Shinano, Suruga, and Mikawa were all more or less convulsed. YOSHIHISA In 1474, Yoshimasa retired from office and, at the close of the year, his nine-year-old son, Yoshihisa, succeeded him as shogun, thekwanryo being that Hatakeyama Yoshinari whose appearance in the fieldpractically terminated the Onin War. The shogun Yoshimasa was in histhirty-ninth year at the time of this abdication, and he survived forsixteen years, not the least dissipated of his life, in which heinstituted costly art reunions and carried self-indulgence to itsextreme. During these years Tomi and her younger brother, IseSadachika, acquired such influence as to interfere in theadministration, and under the pretext of procuring funds to rebuildthe palace destroyed during the Onin War, they restored thetoll-gates which had previously stood at the seven chief entrances toKyoto, appropriating all the proceeds. The young Yoshihisa could scarcely fail to be tainted by such anenvironment. Much to his credit, however, he showed sagacity anddiligence, eschewing his father's luxurious habits, studyingliterature and military art, and taking lessons in statecraft fromthe ex-regent, Ichijo Kaneyoshi. Very early he became familiar withscenes of violence, for, goaded to madness by the taxes exacted atthe seven toll-gates, a mob of the metropolitan citizens rose inarms, beat off the troops sent to quell them and threatened to sackthe city, when, they were appeased by the issue of a tokuseiordinance, which, as already explained, meant the remission of alldebts and the cancellation of all financial obligations. Socialism insuch a genial form appealed not only to the masses but also to bushiwho had pledged their property as security for loans to meet warlikeoutlays or the demands of luxurious extravagance. Alike in the home provinces and in distant Kaga, Noto, Etchu, and thesouth, tokusei riots took place. Notably incompatible with anyefficient exercise of Muromachi authority was the independence whichthe provincial magnates had now learned to display. They levied whattaxes they pleased; employed the proceeds as seemed good to them;enacted and administered their own laws; made war or peace as theywished, and granted estates or revenues to their vassals at will. Inshort, the bushi had gradually constructed for themselves a full suitof feudal garments, and to bring them once again under the effectivecontrol of the sovereign or the shogun was almost a hopeless task. Yoshihisa might perhaps have refrained from attempting it had theempire been at peace. But, in truth, the empire was on the thresholdof a century-long struggle compared with which the Onin War proved abagatelle. The mutterings of the coming storm made themselves veryaudible during the years of Yoshihisa's early manhood. The Uesugisepts, and the Hojo and the Satomi, were fighting in the Kwanto; thewestern provinces, the central provinces, and Kyushu were the scenesof constant conflicts, and no prospect of tranquillity presenteditself. Yoshihisa determined to undertake the work of subjugating thewhole country as Yoritomo had done effectually and as Takauji haddone partially. But he died in his twenty-fifth year when engaged inconducting a campaign against the Rokkaku branch of the Sasakifamily, in Omi province; a campaign which but for his death wouldcertainly have been successful. YOSHITANE Yoshihisa, whose death took place in 1489, left no son, and hisfather, the ex-shogun Yoshimasa, made tardy atonement to his brother, Yoshimi, the sometime priest, by obtaining the high office of shogunfor the latter's son, Yoshitane, a youth of twenty-five. In thefollowing year Yoshimasa died, and, two years later (1492), Yoshitaneplaced himself at the head of an army to resume the Omi campaignwhich Yoshihisa's death had interrupted. His opponent was of Minamotolineage, head of the Rokkaku branch of the Sasaki family, whoserepresentative in the days of the Kamakura Bakufu had been highconstable of four provinces, Omi, Izumo, Aki, and Iwami. That the shogun, Yoshihisa, and his successor, Yoshitane, turnedtheir weapons so resolutely against this magnate was due to a causeillustrative of the abuses of the era. From the outset the Ashikagasway over the provinces had been a vanishing quantity, and haddisappeared almost entirely during the Onin War. Not alone did thewrit of the sovereign or the shogun cease to run in regions outsideKyoto and its immediate vicinity, but also the taxes, though dulycollected, did not find their way to the coffers of either Muromachior the Court. Shugo there still existed, and jito and kokushi; butneither high constable nor land-steward nor civil governor acted aspractical representative of any Central Government: each functionedfor his own hand, swallowing up for his own use, or for inclusion insome local fief, the manors which had once been the property of theState or of the Court nobility. It was evidently of prime necessity from the Muromachi point of viewthat a state of affairs which crippled the shogun by impoverishinghim should be remedied. Sasaki Takayori, head of the Rokkaku house, was a conspicuous product of his time. He had seized the manors ofnearly fifty landowners in the province of Omi, and to punish hisaggressions signally would furnish a useful object lesson. That wasdone effectually by Yoshitane's generals, and Sasaki had to flee fromOmi. But the young shogun's triumph was short lived. He allowedhimself to be drawn by Hatakeyama Masanaga into a private feud. Wehave already seen this Masanaga engaged with Yoshinari in a strugglefor the Hatakeyama succession on the eve of the Onin War. Yoshinariwas no longer alive, but he had bequeathed to his son, Yoshitoyo, aheritage of resentment against Masanaga, and the latter, who now heldthe post of kwanryo for the fourth time, induced the shogun to orderan attack upon Yoshitoyo in the provinces of Kii and Kawachi. ButYoshitoyo managed to enlist the aid of the recently discomfitedSasaki, of the soldier-monks of Kofuku-ji, and, above all, ofHosokawa Masamoto, son of Hatakeyama Masanaga's old opponent, Hosokawa Katsumoto. With these co-operated the Yamana, the Isshiki, and other septs, so that Yoshitane found himself between two powerfularmies, one in Kyoto, the other in Kii. In the sequel, Masanagacommitted suicide, and the shogun, Yoshitane, escaped to Suwo. YOSHIZUMI AND YOSHIHARU Hosokawa Masamoto was now master of the situation in Kyoto. It wasfor him to nominate a new shogun in lieu of the fugitive Yoshitane. He went to the Kwanto for a candidate. In 1461, Masatomo, brother ofYoshimasa, had been nominated governor-general (kwanryo) of the eighteastern provinces. His son, Yoshizumi, was chosen by Hosokawa to ruleat Muromachi, and Hosokawa himself became kwanryo. The new shogunheld office in name only; all administrative power was usurped by thekwanryo and his nominees. Now, as Hosokawa Masamoto practisedasceticism for the better pursuit of necromancy, in which he was abeliever, he had no offspring. Therefore he adopted three sons: thefirst, Sumiyuki, being the child of the regent, Fujiwara Masamoto;the second and third, Sumimoto and Takakuni, being kinsmen of hisown. The first of these three was entrusted to Kasai Motochika; thelast two were placed in the care of Miyoshi Nagateru. These guardianswere Hosokawa's principal vassals in Shikoku, where they presentlybecame deadly rivals. Motochika, believing that Hosokawa's ultimateintention was to elevate Sumimoto to the shogunate, in which eventthe latter's guardian, Nagateru, would obtain a large access ofpower, compassed the murder of Hosokawa, the kwanryo, and proclaimedSumiyuki head of the Hosokawa house. Thereupon Miyoshi Nagateru movedup from Shikoku at the head of a strong army, and, after a fierceconflict, Motochika and Sumiyuki were killed, and Sumimoto, then inhis eleventh year, became chief of the Hosokawa family, receivingalso the office of kwanryo. The Motochika faction, however, though defeated, were not destroyed. They conceived the plan of reinstating the shogun, Yoshitane, then afugitive in the province of Suwo, and of securing the office ofkwanryo for Takakuni, third son (by adoption) of the late HosokawaMasamoto. The powerful Ouchi sept, which had its manors in Suwo, espoused the conspiracy, and escorted Yoshitane to Kyoto with a greatarmy, the result being that the shogun, Yoshizumi, had to flee toOmi; that Yoshitane took his place, and that Ouchi Yoshioki becamedeputy kwanryo. These things happened in 1508. Thenceforth, the great protagonists inthe Kyoto arena were the two factions of the Hosokawa house, led bySumimoto and Takakuni, respectively; the former championing the causeof the shogun, Yoshizumi, and in alliance with the Miyoshi; thelatter supporting the shogun, Yoshitane, and aided by the Ouchi. Onereverse befell the Yoshitane-Ouchi combination, but they quicklyrecovered from it, and from 1508 until 1518 a gleam of peace andprosperity shone once more in Kyoto under the administration of OuchiYoshioki, who governed with skill and impartiality, and whoseinfluence seemed likely to restore the best days of the Bakufu. But, in 1518, he was recalled to his province by an attack from the shugoof Izumo, and by financial embarrassment resulting from his owngenerosity in supplying funds to the Crown and the shogun. Hosokawa Takakuni now became kwanryo, exercising his authority with ahigh hand. Then the Sumimoto branch of the Hosokawa, taking advantageof Ouchi's absence, mustered a force in Shikoku and moved againstKyoto. Takakuni found himself in a difficult position. In the capitalhis overbearing conduct had alienated the shogun, Yoshitane, and fromthe south a hostile army was approaching. He chose Hyogo forbattle-field, and, after a stout fight, was discomfited and fled toOmi, the position of kwanryo being bestowed on his rival, Sumimoto, by the shogun. In a few months, however, Takakuni, in alliance withthe Rokkaku branch of the Sasaki family under Sadayori, marched intoKyoto in overwhelming force. Miyoshi Nagateru retired to Chion-in, where he committed suicide; Sumimoto fled to Awa, dying there a fewmonths later, and Yoshitane, after brief refuge in the island ofAwaji, died in Awa, in 1523. Thus, Hosokawa Takakuni found himselfsupreme in Kyoto, and he proceeded to appoint a shogun, withoutawaiting the demise of Yoshitane. Yoshizumi, the eleventh shogun, who, as related above, fled from Kyoto in 1508, dying three yearslater in exile, left two sons: Yoshiharu, whom he committed to thecharge of Akamatsu Yoshimura, and Yoshikore, whom he entrusted toHosokawa Sumimoto. In 1521, Takakuni invited Yoshiharu, then elevenyears old, to the capital and procured his nomination to theshogunate. ANARCHY From this time forward the confusion grows worse confounded. TheMiyoshi of Awa are found in co-operation with Yanamoto Kataharuespousing the cause of the shogun's younger brother, Yoshikore, andof Harumoto, a son of Hosokawa Sumimoto. We see this combinationexpelling Yoshiharu and Takakuni from Kyoto, and we see the fugitivesvainly essaying to reverse the situation. Thereafter, during severalyears, there is practically no government in the capital. Riot andinsurrection are daily features, and brigandage prevails unchecked. Kataharu, though not holding the office of kwanryo, usurps itsfunctions so ostentatiously that the assassin's dagger is turnedagainst him. Again the two Hosokawa chiefs, Takakuni and Harumoto, fight for power, and, in 1531, Takakuni is killed, Harumoto becomingsupreme. Soon the Miyoshi brothers, Motonaga and Masanaga, engage ina fierce quarrel about their inheritance, and the former, withYoshikore as candidate for the shogunate and Hatakeyama as auxiliary, raises the standard against Harumoto, who, aided by thesoldier-priests of Hongwan-ji, kills both Yoshitaka and Motonaga andtakes Yoshikore prisoner. Thereafter, Harumoto quarrels with theHongwan-ji bonzes, and being attacked by them, obtains the aid ofRokkaku Sadayori and the Nichiren priests, with the result that thesplendid fane of Hongwan-ji is reduced to ashes. A reconciliation isthen effected between Harumoto and the shogun, Yoshiharu, whileMiyoshi Masanaga is appointed to high office. Yet once more theuntiring Takakuni, aided by Miyoshi Norinaga, Motonaga's son, calledalso Chokei, drives Yoshiharu and Harumoto from the metropolis, andpresently a reconciliation is effected by the good offices of RokkakuSadayori, the real power of the kwanryo being thenceforth exercisedby the Miyoshi family. Japanese historians have well called it an ageof anarchy. YOSHITERU In 1545, the shogun, Yoshiharu, resigned in favour of his son, Yoshiteru. Two years of quiet ensued in Kyoto, and then the old feudbroke out once more. The Hosokawa, represented by Harumoto, and theMiyoshi, by Chokei, fought for supremacy. Victory rested with theMiyoshi. The Hosokawa's power was shattered, and Chokei ruled inKyoto through his vassal, Matsunaga Hisahide. The era is memorablefor the assassination of a shogun. Yoshiteru had become reconciledwith Chokei and was suffered to live quietly at Muromachi. But afterChokei's death (he was poisoned by Hisahide), Yoshiteru's cousin, Yoshihide, a son of Yoshikore, sought to be nominated successor tothe shogunate through the aid of Masanaga and Hisahide. In 1565, thisplot matured. Hisahide suddenly sent a force which attackedYoshiteru's palace and killed the shogun. Yoshihide replaced themurdered potentate, and the Matsunaga family succeeded to the powerpreviously wielded by the Miyoshi. Yoshiteru's younger brother, Yoshiaki, fled to Omi, but afterwards made his way to Owari, whereOda Nobunaga took him by the hand and ultimately placed him in theshogun's seat at Kyoto. REVIEW OF THE ASHIKAGA Among the fifteen representatives of the Ashikaga, two were slain bytheir own vassals, five died in exile, and one had to commit suicide. From the accession of Takauji, in 1338, to the death of Yoshiaki, in1597, a period of 259 years, there was not so much as one decade ofsignal success and efficient government. With justice the story ofthe time has been summed up in the epithet "ge-koku-jo, " or theoverthrow of the upper by the lower. The appreciation of the eminenthistorian, Rai Sanyo, is most faithful. Every great conflictthroughout the era was marked by similar features. It is a wearyrecord of broken promises, violated allegiances, and family feuds. Ifthe Hatakeyama, the Hosokawa, and the Miyoshi set their own interestsabove those of the shogun, the Ashikaga, in turn, sacrificed theinterests of the Throne on the altar of their own ambition. A rivercannot be purer than its source. If the Miyoshi vassals plottedagainst their chiefs, so did the latter against the Hosokawa; so didthe Hosokawa against the Ashikaga; so did the Ashikaga against theImperial family, and so did one branch of the Imperial family againstanother. Everywhere there was lack of loyalty. The loyalty wanting among masters was equally deficient amongservants. There is no more treacherous episode in the Middle Agesthan Matsunaga Hisahide's poisoning of his liege lord to compass thedownfall of the Miyoshi family and slaying the shogun, Yoshiteru, tooverthrow the Ashikaga, though he enjoyed the confidence of both. TheDai Nihon-rekishi (History of Great Japan) observes that the ethicalprimers, with which a literary education had formerly familiarizedthe nation, lost their influence in this military era. There was noinordinate desire for landed property until the Gen-Hei epoch, when amanor became the principal reward of a successful soldier. Thereafter, greed for domains acquired strength every year. Again, when Yoritomo became so-tsuihoshi (commander-in-chief) and so-jito(general steward) of the whole country, and his meritorious vassalswere appointed shugo and jito in each province, local authoritypassed from the Throne to the military families, and when, after theShokyu struggle, the shugo and the jito came into actual possessionof the estates they had previously administered, military feudalismwas practically established. The Hojo, by their just administrationand astute measures, brought this system into esteem, but under theAshikaga regime the reality of landed possession grew to be theunique aim of existence, and, to achieve it, sons forgot theirpaternal relation and vassals lost sight of fealty. The nationengaged in an armed scramble; individualism became paramount, andsocial obligations were ignored. This is the more noteworthy becauseloyalty is so typical a Japanese virtue. THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE ASHIKAGA The common saying that the Kamakura Bakufu brought the entire countryunder one administrative control requires modification. It was notuntil Tokugawa days in the seventeenth century that the whole sixtyprovinces passed under one feudal ruler. Still as between theKamakura Bakufu and the Muromachi, the latter, though its militarysupremacy was less complete, may be said to have extended itsinfluence theoretically over the whole of the lands throughout theempire except the Chokodo estates. In another respect, also, the advantage lay with the Muromachishogunate. During the Kamakura era, the Court magnates continued todespise the Bakufu adherents, and the distance between the capitaland Kamakura imparted to the latter an element of rusticity. But withthe establishment of the Muromachi shogunate a change took place. TheBakufu, the visible repository of power, stood side by side with theCourt, and opportunities for close relations existed constantly. Moreover, the Court nobles, notably antagonistic to the militaryregime, followed the fortunes of the Southern dynasty, those aloneremaining in the capital who were on more or less intimate terms withthe military. Such were the Nijo, the Saionji, the Hino, and soforth. These observed the behests of the Bakufu, sought to acquirethe latter's confidence, and always paid respect to the Hana noGosho, as the shogun was called. So close were the relations that forceremonial purposes at the Bakufu, it was customary to employ Courtofficials, and witty writers of the time discourse amusingly on theoften clumsy efforts made by the courtiers to ape the customs andacquire the dialects of the provincial soldiers. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CENTRAL BAKUFU The administrative power having been transferred from the Court tothe Bakufu, it may be said that the sei-i tai-shogun exercisedsupreme authority throughout the empire. But the shogun himself didnot actually discharge administrative duties. That was done by thekwanryo with the shogun's consent. Originally this official wascalled shitsuji (manager), and his functions were to look after theaffairs of a provincial magnate's establishment. During the Kamakuraera, the Ashikaga family occupied a high place. Of Minamoto origin, it was connected with the Hojo by marriage, and for generations itsshitsuji had been a member of the Ko family. Ashikaga Takaujimade Ko no Moronao his shitsuji, and a highly competent captainhe proved himself. Subsequently, in 1362, Shiba Yoshimasa wasappointed shitsuji, but soon his title was changed to kwanryo(governor-general), and it thenceforth became customary for thelatter position to be occupied by a member of one of the threefamilies, Shiba, Hosokawa, and Hatakeyama, in succession. Speaking broadly, the kwanryo corresponded to the skikken (regent) ofKamakura days. But whereas, the Kamakura shikken exercised virtuallyautocratic authority, the shogun being a minor, the Muromachikwanryo, nominally, at all events, was under the control of an adultshogun. In fact, the kwanryo in the Muromachi polity resembled thebetto of the Man-dokoro in Yoritomo's time. For the rest, theMuromachi Bakufu was organized on practically the same lines as itsKamakura prototype. There was a Man-dokoro, a Monju-dokoro, and aSamurai-dokoro, and the staff of these offices was taken originally, as far as possible, from the families of men who had distinguishedthemselves as legislators and administrators at Kamakura. There werealso officials called bugyo (commissioners) who directed theenforcement of laws and ordinances. These commissioners numberedthirty-six, and each had his own sphere of duties: as the shoninbugyo, who controlled judicial affairs; the tosen bugyo, who dealtwith affairs of foreign trade; the jisha bugyo, who superintendedtemples and shrines; the onsho bugyo, who had to do with officialrewards, etc. ORGANIZATION OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS At Kamakura, also, there was a kwanryo to guard the eastern provinces(Kwanto). In Takauji's time, his second son, Motouji, was appointedto this office, and it was thenceforth inherited for somegenerations, the Uesugi family furnishing a shitsuji. Ultimately theKamakura kwanryo became a powerful military satrap, hostile to theMuromachi shogun. The holder of the office then received the title ofkubo, and the hitherto shitsuji became kwanryo. In other respects theKamakura polity retained the form it had under Yoritomo: a Hyojo-shu(Council), a Hikitsuke-shu, a Monju-dokoro, a Samurai-dokoro, andvarious bugyo. In Kyushu and Dewa, the principal officer was calledshugo, that post being of special importance; while in the otherprovinces shugo and jito (high constables and land-stewards)continued to officiate as before. The jurisdiction of these high constables--great military magnates orrelatives of the shogun--extended to two or more provinces, and theshugo were then called kuni-mochi-shu (province-holder). A daimyo(great name, i. E. Feudal lord), in communicating with Muromachi, hadto make a kuni-mochi his medium. For the Kwanto and Shikoku, theHosokawa house was the kunimochi; for Shinano, Etchu, Echigo, andKaga, the Hatakeyama; for Ise, Kai, and Suruga, the Yamana; and forKyushu, the tandai. After the power of the tandai had declined, theOuchi family took its place. In the days of Yoshinori's shogunate, there were twenty-two shugo in the country, and seven of themadministered three provinces or more, each. The provincial governorsappointed by the Southern Court disappeared, for the most part, during the War of the Dynasties, and on the restoration of peace theonly one of these high officials that remained was Kitabatake of Ise. SHUGO AND JITO Originally appointed for administrative and fiscal purposes only, theshugo said jito acquired titles of land-ownership from the beginningof the Ashikaga era. To plunder and annex a neighbouring provincebecame thenceforth a common feat on the part of these officials. In1390, tracts of land measuring from one-half of a province to two orthree provinces are found to have been converted from the shugo'sjurisdictional areas into military domains. Such magnates as YamanaTokiuji held from five to eleven provinces. These puissant captainshad castles and armies of their own. At first, they respected therequisitions of the Bakufu. Thus, in 1463, when an elaborate Buddhistceremony had to be performed on the decease of Yoshimasa's mother, atax in the form of cotton cloth was levied from the shugo, a ruler ofthree provinces contributing ten thousand pieces; a ruler of twoprovinces, five thousand, and so on. * *A "piece" was 40 feet, approximately. When the castle of Edo wasbuilt in Tokugawa days--seventeenth century--each daimyo had tocontribute "aid" (otetsudai), after the Ashikaga custom. But after the Onin War (1467-1469), military magnates resided whollyon their own domains and paid no attention to requisitions from theBakufu. Further, these magnates compelled all jito and go-keninwithin their jurisdiction to serve as their vassals. Previously tothe Onin era the shugo had resided, for the most part, in Kyoto, delegating the discharge of their provincial functions to deputies(shugo-dai), chosen by the shugo and approved by the Bakufu. Presently, the process of selection was dispensed with, and theoffice became hereditary. Thus, Yusa of the Hatakeyama, Oda of theShiba, Uragami of the Akamatsu, and so forth are examples of deputieswho resided permanently in the provinces concerned and acquiredinfluence there superior even to that of their principals. Thedeputies, in turn, had their vice-deputies (ko-shugo-dai), to whomthe name daikwan (another term for "deputy") was often given. Thesedaikwan were selected from among the members or vassals of a shugo'sfamily to act provisionally as shugo-dai. As for the jito, from themiddle of the Kamakura epoch their posts became mere sinecures, theemoluments going to support their families, or being paid over to atemple or shrine. Occasionally the office was sold or pawned. Thecomparatively small areas of land within which the jito officiatedsoon came to be recognized as their private domains, but after theOnin commotion this system underwent a change, the jito becomingvassals of the shugo. Many, however, held their original positionuntil the middle of the sixteenth century. In the days of ToyotomiHideyoshi and Oda Nobunaga--namely, the second half of the sixteenthcentury--the name jito was given to the headman of a village ordistrict, who served as the immediate representative of authority. FINANCE Cultivated land (koden) was the great source of official revenue. Thearea under rice--the principal staple of production--in the middle ofthe fifteenth century was about a million of cho, * or two and a halfmillion acres; and this was owned by the Court, the Court nobles, themilitary magnates, the temples, and the shrines. From an uncertaindate, but probably the close of the Kamakura Bakufu, the area of adomain ceased to be calculated in terms of cho and tan and wasexpressed in kwan (one thousand cash, or mori). The use of thekwanior this purpose had reference to the military service leviableupon the land. Thus, when land of one hundred kwan-mon was mentioned, an area capable of supporting military service valued at one hundredkwan-mon was understood. The calculation was very simple: one tsubocorresponded to one mon, so that one kwan-mon represented onethousand tsubo for the purposes of this assessment. ** *The cho was equal to 10 tan, and the tan comprised 360 tsubo, thetsubo being a square of 6 feet side. At present the area undercultivation is some 3 millions of cho (7. 5 millions of acres). **In the Ashikaga era the unit of currency may be said to have beenthe copper cash of China--called Eiraku-sen after the name (Chinese, Yunglo) of the Chinese year period when it was issued. Gold andsilver coins were also in use; namely, the gold ryo, which wasequivalent to 10 silver ryo; but their circulation was comparativelysmall. The gold ryo was equal to 2000 mon of copper coins, and as 100mon purchased 1 to (one-tenth part of a koku) of rice, it followsthat the gold ryo represented 2 koku, or 30 yen of modern currency, the silver ryo representing 3 yen (1 yen=2 shillings-50 cents). Itfollows also that 10 strings of cash (one kwan) were worth a koku ofrice, or 15 yen. As for silk piece-goods, 1 roll (hiki = 48 yards) ofthe best kind was worth 45 yen, and the second and third-class kindsranged from 33 to 22. 5 yen. Finally, in the year 1498, the recordsshow that the daily wage of a labourer was some 16 sen of modernmoney (about 4 pence or 8 cents). From various documents it appears that the three grades ofland--best, medium, and inferior--were taxed at the rate of sixty, forty, and thirty per cent. , respectively, of the yield. In otherwords, the average land-tax was forty per cent, of the yield--calledshi-ko roku-min--or four parts to the Government and six to thefarmer. If we consider the rates between the current price of landand the tax, there is a record, dated 1418, which shows that the taxlevied by a temple--Myoko-ji--was twenty per cent, of the marketprice of the land. But it would seem that the ratio in the case ofGovernment taxation was much smaller, being only one and a half percent, of the market value. There were, however, other imposts, which, though not accurately stated, must have brought the land-tax to muchmore than forty per cent, of the yield. Turning to the Imperial Court, we find it supported by domainshereditarily held; by contributions from the seizei (expediencytaxes, that is to say, taxes set aside for extraordinary Staterequirements); by occasional presents, and by revenues from kugoden(private Imperial land). The Court nobles had their own domains, usually small. All these estates, those of the Crown, of princes, andof Court nobles, were subject to a system called hansai. That is tosay, one-half of their revenues were leviable for military purposes. Originally this impost was understood to be a loan to the Bakufu, butultimately it came to be regarded as a normal levy, though itspractical effect was to reduce the revenue from such domains byone-half. Moreover, as the arrogance of the military magnates in theprovinces grew more insistent, and as the Bakufu's ability to opposethem became less effective, the domain of the Court nobles sufferedfrequent encroachments. REVENUES OF THE BAKUFU One source of revenue for the Bakufu was its domains in variousplaces; another was the buke-yaku, or military-house dues. These wereat first two per cent, of the land-tax of the house concerned, butafterwards they increased to five per cent. Thus an estate paying onehundred koku in the form of land-tax, had to pay a further five kokuas buke-yaku, the latter proceeds being sent to Kyoto for the use ofthe shogun's household. Another important levy was the tansen, which, as its name implies, was a land-rate levied at so much per tan(one-quarter of an acre), the proceeds being devoted to specialpurposes, as, for example, to defray the cost of grand ceremonials orof new edifices. The records show one payment of tansen which worksout at fifty mon per tan. Another document indicates that the monthlyexpenses of the Man-dokoro were some sixty kwanmon and that they weredefrayed by levying taxes upon pawnbrokers and sake-dealers in Kyotoand in Omi province. The latter tax (shuko-zei) is shown to havebeen, on one occasion, two kwan eight hundred mon per house. TheBakufu collected dues on foreign commerce, also, and miscellaneousimposts of an irregular character made no small addition to itsincome. REVENUE OF SHRINES AND TEMPLES Temples and shrines derived part of their income from port-dues andbarrier-tolls. Thus, the Hachiman temple of Iwashimizu received tollsfrom all traffic passing the Yamazaki barrier; Kofuku-ji leviedduties on vessels entering Hyogo port, and Engaku-ji of Kamakuracollected tolls at the Hakone barrier (sekisho). Such taxes provingvery prolific and easy to levy, the number of barriers increasedrapidly, to the no small obstruction of trade and travel. Further, the priests were constantly enriched with donations of land andmoney, in addition to the rents and taxes obtained from their owndomains, and thus it resulted that several of the great monasteriespossessed much wealth. To that fact is to be attributed the numerousestablishments of soldier-priests maintained at Enryaku-ji, onHiei-zan, and at Kofuku-ji, in Nara. To that also is to be ascribedin part the signal development of literature among the friars, andthe influence wielded by the Shinto officials of Kitano and the bettoof Hachiman. REVENUE OF JITO A special tax levied by the jito was the hyakusho-yaku, or farmers'dues. These were one per cent, of the land-tax originally, but therate was subsequently doubled. Other heavy imposts were frequentlyand arbitrarily enacted, and there can be no doubt that financialdisorder contributed materially to bringing about the terriblecalamities of the Battle era (Sengoku Jidai), as the period of elevendecades ending in 1600 is called. For, if the fiscal system was thusdefective during the comparatively prosperous age of the Ashikaga, itfell into measureless confusion at a later date. It has been statedabove that the area under rice cultivation at the middle of thefifteenth century was about one million did; at the close of thatcentury the figure was found to have decreased by more than fiftythousands of cho. From such a result, opposed as it is to all recordsof normal development, the unhappy plight of the agricultural classesmay be inferred. TOKENS OF CURRENCY Minting operations also were discontinued under the Ashikaga. Cottoncloth and rice served as principal media of exchange. Fortunately, commerce with China in the days of the Ming rulers, and Yoshimasa'sundignified though practical requests, brought a large supply ofYunglo (Japanese, Eiraku) copper cash, which, with other Chinesecoins of the Tang and Sung dynasties, served the Japanese as media. This fortuitous element was conspicuous in all the domain of finance, especially after the Onin War, when the territorial magnates fixedthe taxes at their own convenience and without any thought ofuniformity. One of the only sincere and statesmanlike efforts ofreform was made, in 1491, by Hojo Soun. He reduced the rate thenruling, namely, equal parts to the tax-collector and to the taxpayer, and made it forty per cent, to the former and sixty to the latter, and he ordained that any jito collecting so much as a mon in excessof the official figure, should be severely punished. How the peoplefared elsewhere it is not possible to say accurately, but the recordsshow that extraordinary imposts were levied frequently, and that thetansen was exacted again and again, as also were taxes on trades. Asfor the Imperial household, such was its condition that it barelysubsisted on presents made by certain military magnates, so completewas the decentralization of the empire in this period. ATTITUDE OF THE ASHIKAGA TOWARDS THE THRONE The policy of the Ashikaga towards the Daikagu-ji line (the SouthernCourt) of the Imperial house was evidently one of completeelimination at the outset. But the impossibility of achieving such aprogramme soon came to be recognized and reconciliation wassubstituted. Thenceforth, in appearance at all events, therepresentatives of the Daikagu-ji line received due consideration andwere sufficiently provided with incomes, as witness the treatment ofthe ex-Emperor Go-Kameyama by Yoshimitsu. But subsequent and repeatedneglect of the claims of the Southern branch in regard to the vitalmatter of the succession betrayed the insincerity of the Ashikaga, and provoked frequent appeals to arms. The situation may be said to have been saved by the habit inauguratedat the close of the Heian epoch. From that time princes and nobleswho saw no prospect of secular distinction began to take the tonsure, and this retirement to the cloister was assiduously encouraged by theMuromachi shoguns. A similar policy commended itself in the case ofprinces of the Jimyo-in branch (the Northern Court). It is true that, from the first, the representatives of this line had relied on theBakufu, whether of Kamakura or of Muromachi. But in their hearts theydeeply resented the usurpation of the shogunate, and the latter, fully cognisant of that sentiment, guarded against its effectivedisplay by providing only meagre allowances for the support of theImperial household (Kinri) and the ex-Emperor's household (Sendo), and by contriving that only young and delicate princes should succeedto the throne. Thus, of seven sovereigns who reigned between 1336 and1464, the oldest was only sixteen at the time of his succession andthe youngest was six. When an Emperor reached maturity, it was usualthat he should abdicate and administer thenceforth from the Inchu. Thus the influence of the Court was divided between the Kinri and theSendo--the reigning sovereign and the retired. But the realdepository of power was the shikken (regent) of the Inchu, to whichoffice a member of the Hino family, maternal relatives of the Bakufu, was habitually appointed. When Yoshinori was shogun, he himself actedas shikken of the Inchu. As for the Court officials properly socalled, from the kwampaku downwards, they were mere figureheads. Holding their posts, indeed, as of old, they constituted, notadministrative actors, but an audience. YOSHIMITSU AND THE THRONE The shogun Yoshimitsu instituted the custom of inviting the sovereignto his mansion, and thenceforth such visits became a recognizedfeature of the relations between the Imperial and the MuromachiCourts. Yoshimitsu himself frequently repaired to the Kinri and theSendo, and frequently accompanied the Empresses and their ladies onsocial visits or pleasure excursions. He is said to have gone in andout at the Imperial palaces without the slightest reserve, and onmore than one occasion history accuses him of flagrantlytransgressing the limits of decency in his intercourse withSuken-mon-in, mother of the Emperor Go-Enyu. As a subverter of publicmorals, however, the palm belongs, not to Yoshimitsu, but to hisimmediate successor, Yoshimochi. He is said to have visited the Kinriand the Sendo six or seven times every month, and to have thereindulged in all kinds of licence. History says, indeed, that he wasoften unable to appear at Court owing to illness resulting fromintoxication. PRINCES AND PRIESTS As to the fact that, from the close of the Heian epoch, the cloisteroften proved a prison for Imperial princes whose ambition might havebeen troublesome had they remained at large, the following figuresare eloquent: Number entering religion Of 8 sons born to Emperor Fushimi (1287-1298) 7 9 " " " Emperor Go-Fushimi (1298-1301) 9 4 " " " Emperor Hanazono (1307-1318) 4 2 " " " Emperor Suko (1348-1352) 2 9 " " " Prince Sadatsune, 8 grandson of the Emperor Suko 14 " " " Emperor Go-Kogon (1352-1371) 14 Absolute accuracy is not claimed for these figures, but they arecertainly close approximations. In fact, under the Muromachi Bakufu, every son of a sovereign, except the Prince Imperial, was expected tobecome a monk. The Ashikaga adopted a similar system and applied itruthlessly in their own families. In truth, the Ashikaga epoch wasnotorious for neglect of the obligations of consanguinity. Father isfound pitted against son, uncle against nephew, and brother againstbrother. ENGRAVING: TILES OF THE DAIBUTSUDEN OF TODAI-JI ENGRAVING: DECORATION OF TOKONOMA (AN ALCOVE IN A JAPANESEPARLOUR)--Muromachi Period CHAPTER XXXII FOREIGN INTERCOURSE, LITERATURE, ART, RELIGION, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMSIN THE MUROMACHI EPOCH FOREIGN INTERCOURSE AFTER the Mongol invasion of Kyushu, Japan held no intercourse withthe outer world for several decades, nor does her friendship seem tohave been sought by any oversea nation. In the closing year of thethirteenth century, merchantmen flying the Yuan flag are reported tohave arrived, but the record is nebulous, and the same may be said ofa passing reference that, in 1341, Japanese vessels were sent toChina to procure articles manufactured there. We reach more solidground a year later (1342), when the Ashikaga chief, Takauji, beingengaged in building the temple Tenryu-ji, opened trade with China forthe purpose of obtaining apparatus, vestments, and works of art. Thenumber of vessels was limited to two annually, and the trade must notexceed five hundred kwan-mon (Ł750, or $3700). Some of the objectsthen carried to Japan survive to this day in the form of celadonvases known in Japan as Tenryuji-seiji. * Meanwhile, not a fewBuddhist priests crossed the sea from China to preach their faith, and it is certain that during the War of the Dynasties in Japan, whenthe south of the country was in a state of anarchy, privateering inKorean waters was freely resorted to by Japanese adventurers. AKorean envoy arrived at Fukuhara, in Settsu, in 1367, bearer of astrong protest against this marauding, and declaring that for adecade past assassination and plunder had been freely practised byJapanese subjects on the inhabitants of the Korean littoral. Chinaand Korea were then in a troubled condition. *The merchantmen received the name of Tenryuji-bune (bune signifies"ship") In the year (1368) after the arrival of this envoy, the Yuan dynastywent down in China before the Ming, and in Korea the kingdom of Komawas overthrown, the Yi dynasty rising on its ruins and calling thepeninsula Chosen. The Ming sovereign immediately attempted toestablish tradal intercourse with Japan, but the negotiations failed, and not until 1392 is there any record of oversea relations. Then, atlength, Korea's protest elicited a reply from Japan. The shogun, Yoshimitsu, sent to Chosen a despatch, signifying that piracy hadbeen interdicted, that all captives would be returned, and that hedesired to establish friendly relations. It appears that at that timeChina also suffered from the depredations of Japanese corsairs, forthe annals say that she repeatedly remonstrated, and that, in 1401, Yoshimitsu despatched to China an envoy carrying presents andescorting some Chinese subjects who had been cast away on theJapanese coast or carried captive thither. Another record suggeststhat the Chinese Emperor was perplexed between the two warring Courtsin Japan. At the time of his accession, a body of Mongol fugitivesestablished themselves in Shantung, where they received assistancefrom some Japanese adventurers. The Ming sovereign openedcommunications on the subject with Prince Kanenaga, who held Kyushuin the interests of the Southern Court, but the tone of the Chinesemonarch was so arrogant that Prince Kanenaga made no reply. ThenTaitsu employed a Buddhist priest, but the character of this bonzehaving been detected, he was thrown into prison. These things happened in 1380. In the following year Taitsudespatched a duly credited envoy who used menacing language and wassent back with a defiance from Prince Kanenaga. The priest, however, was set free in 1382, and having learned while in Japan that twoCourts were disputing the title to the Crown, he informed the Chinesesovereign in that sense, and the latter subsequently addressedhimself to Kyoto, with the result noted above, namely, thatYoshimitsu opened friendly relations (1401). It was to the Ouchifamily of Suwo that the management of intercourse with Chosen wasentrusted, the latter sending its envoys to Yamaguchi. Subsequently, after Ouchi Yoshihiro's disaffection and disaster, a Buddhist priestand well-known artist, Soami, acted as Muromachi's envoy to the MingCourt, being accompanied by a merchant, Koetomi, who is described asthoroughly conversant with Chinese conditions. By these two the firstcommercial treaty was negotiated. It provided that an envoy should besent by each of the contracting parties in every period of ten years, the suite of this envoy to be limited to two hundred, and any shipcarrying arms to be regarded as a pirate. The first envoy from the Ming Court under this treaty was met byYoshimitsu himself at Hyogo, and being escorted to Kyoto, washospitably lodged in a hotel there. Instructions were also issuedfrom Muromachi to the officials in Kyushu, peremptorily interdictingpiracy and ordering the arrest of any that contravened the veto. Further, the high constables in several provinces were enjoined toencourage trade with China by sending the best products of theirlocalities. In fact, Yoshimitsu showed himself thoroughly earnest inpromoting oversea commerce, and a considerable measure of successattended his efforts. Unfortunately, an interruption was caused in1419, when some seventeen thousand Koreans, Mongolians, and "southernbarbarians"--a name given promiscuously to aliens--in 227 ships, boredown on Tsushima one midsummer day and were not driven off until thegreat families of Kyushu--the Otomo, the Shoni, the Kikuchi, and theShiba--had joined forces to attack the invaders. The origin of thisincident is wrapped in mystery, but probably the prohibition ofJapanese pirates was not enforced for the protection of Chosen, andthe assault on Tsushima was a desperate attempt at retaliation. Yoshimochi, however, who was then shogun, seems to have associatedChina with the invasion, for a Ming envoy, arriving just at the timeof the contest, was indignantly refused audience. Thereafter, thetandai appointed from Muroinachi to administer the affairs of Kyushuwas driven out by the Shoni family, and the shogun's policy ofchecking piracy ceased to be enforced, so that the coasts of Chinaand Chosen were much harried, all legitimate commerce beingsuspended. When Yoshinori became shogun, however, this was one of thedirections in which he turned his reforming hand. A Buddhist priest, Doen, proceeded to the Ming Court as Muromachi's delegate, and theChinese sovereign agreed to restore the old relations, transmittingfor that purpose a hundred tallies to be carried by the merchantmen. These tallies were distributed to several high constables, to fivegreat temples, and to merchants in Hyogo and Sakai, the correspondingtallies* being entrusted to the Ouchi family, which, having nowrecovered its power, was charged with the duty of superintending thetrade with China. Meanwhile, So Sadamori of Tsushima had establishedcommercial relations with Chosen, and received from thence a yearlyconsignment of two hundred koku of soy beans, the vessel that carriedthe staple being guarded by boats known as Tsushima-bune. *The tallies were cards on which a line of ideographs were inscribed. The card was then cut along the line, and a moiety was given to thetrader, the corresponding moiety being kept by the superintendent. Thus, it fell out that the right of supervising the trade with Chinaand Korea came into the exclusive possession of the Ouchi and the So, respectively, and being liberally encouraged, brought great wealth tothem as well as to other territorial magnates of the central andsouthern provinces. The records show that large profits wererealized. Four or five hundred per cent, is spoken of, and, further, the Ming sovereign, in Yoshimasa's time, responded generously, as hasbeen already shown, to the shogun's appeal for supplies of coppercash. One Japanese fan could be exchanged for a copy of a valuablebook, and a sword costing one kwan-mon in Japan fetched five kwan-monin China. Such prices were paid, however, for rare goods only, notably for Japanese raw silk, fifty catties (sixty-seven lbs. ) ofwhich sold for ten kwan-mon (Ł15, or $75, approximately). Gold, too, was much more valuable in China than in Japan. Ten ryo of the yellowmetal could be obtained in Japan for from twenty to thirty kwan-monand sold in China for 130. Sealskins, swords, spears, pepper, sulphur, fans, lacquer, raw silk, etc. Were the chief staples ofexports; and velvet, musk, silk fabrics, porcelains, etc. , constituted the bulk of the imports. The metropolis being Kyoto, withits population of some 900, 000, Hyogo was the most important harbourfor the trade, and after it came Hakata, * in Chikuzen; Bonotsu, inSatsuma; Obi, in Hyuga, and Anotsu, in Ise. The customs duties atHyogo alone are said to have amounted to the equivalent of Ł15, 000, or $75, 000, annually. *Hakata's place was subsequently taken by Hirado. In China, Ningpo was the chief port. It had a mercantile-marineoffice and an inn for foreign guests. The tribute levied on the tradewas sent thence to Nanking. In size the vessels employed were from 50to 130 tons, greater dimensions being eschewed through fear of loss. An invoice shows that the goods carried by a ship in 1458 were:sulphur (410, 750 lbs. ); copper (206, 000 lbs. ); spears (11); fans(1250); swords (9500); lacquered wares (634 packages), and sapan-wood(141, 333 lbs. ). During the days of Yoshimasa's shogunate such profitswere realized that overtrading took place, and there resulted atemporary cessation. Fifty years later, when Yoshiharu ruled atMuromachi (1529), a Buddhist priest, Zuisa, sent by the shogun toChina, and an envoy, Sosetsu, despatched by the Ouchi family, cameinto collision at Ningpo. It was a mere question of precedence, butin the sequel Zuisa was seized, Ningpo was sacked, and its governorwas murdered. The arm of the shogun at that time could not reach theOuchi family, and a demand for the surrender of Sosetsu was in vainpreferred at Muromachi through the medium of the King of Ryukyu. Yoshiharu could only keep silence. The Ming sovereign subsequently (1531) attempted to exact redress bysending a squadron to Tsushima, but the deputy high constable of theOuchi compelled these ships to fly, defeated, and thereafter allfriendly intercourse between Japan and China was interrupted, piratical raids by the Japanese taking its place. This estrangementcontinued for seventeen years, until (1548) Ouchi Yoshitakare-established friendly relations with Chosen and, at the same time, made overtures to China, which, being seconded by the despatch of anenvoy--a Buddhist priest--Shuryo from Muromachi, evoked a favourableresponse. Once more tallies were issued, but the number of vesselsbeing limited to three and their crews to three hundred, theresulting commerce was comparatively small. Just at this epoch, too, Occidental merchantmen arrived in China, and the complexion of thelatter's oversea trade underwent alteration. Thereafter, the Ashikagafell, and their successor, Oda Nobunaga, made no attempt to re-opencommerce with China, while his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, plannedthe invasion of the Middle Kingdom, so that the sword was more inevidence than the soroban. JAPANESE PIRACY It is difficult to trace the beginnings of Japanese piracy in FarEastern waters, but certainly it dated from a remote past and reachedits extreme in the middle of the sixteenth century. The records showthat Murakami Yoshihiro, of Iyo province, obtained control of all thecorsairs in neighbouring seas and developed great puissance. Nor didany measure of opprobrium attach to his acts, for on his death he wassucceeded by Morokiyo, a scion of the illustrious Kitabatake family. Numbers flocked to his standard during the disordered era of the Warof the Dynasties, and from Korea in the north to Formosa and Amoy inthe south the whole littoral was raided by them. For purposes of protection the Ming rulers divided the coast intofive sections, Pehchihli, Shantung, Chekiang, Fuhkien, andLiangkwang, appointing a governor to each, building fortresses andenrolling soldiers. All this proving inefficacious, the EmperorTaitsu, as already stated, addressed to Ashikaga Yoshimitsu aremonstrance which moved the shogun to issue a strict injunctionagainst the marauders. It was a mere formality. Chinese annals showthat under its provisions some twenty pirates were handed over by theJapanese and were executed by boiling in kettles. No suchinternational refinement as extra-territorial jurisdiction existed inthose days, and the Japanese shogun felt no shame in delivering hiscountrymen to be punished by an alien State. It is not wonderful thatwhen Yoshimitsu died, the Chinese Emperor bestowed on him theposthumous title Kung-hsien-wang, or "the faithful and obedientking. " But boiling a score of the Wokou* in copper kettles did not atall intimidate the corsairs. On nearly all the main islands of theInland Sea and in the Kyushu waters they had their quarters. In fact, the governors of islands and a majority of the military magnateshaving littoral estates, took part in the profitable pursuit. No lessthan fourteen illustrious families were so engaged, and four of themopenly bore the title of kaizoku tai-shogun (commander-in-chief ofpirates). Moreover, they all obeyed the orders of the Ouchi family. It is on record that Ouchi Masahiro led them in an incursion intoChollado, the southern province of Korea, and exacted from thesovereign of Chosen a promise of yearly tribute to the Ouchi. Thiswas only one of several profitable raids. The goods appropriated inKorea were sometimes carried to China for sale, the pirates assuming, now the character of peaceful traders, now that of ruthlessplunderers. The apparition of these Pahan** ships seems to haveinspired the Chinese with consternation. They do not appear to havemade any effective resistance. The decade between 1553 and 1563 wasevidently their time of greatest suffering; and their annals of thatera repay perusal, not only for their direct interest but also fortheir collateral bearing on the story of the invasion of Korea at theclose of the century. "On the 23d of the fifth month of 1553, twenty-seven Japanese vesselsarrived at Lungwangtang. They looked like so many hills and theirwhite sails were as clouds in the sky. On the fifth day of the fourthmonth of 1554, there appeared on the horizon a large ship whichpresently reached Lungwang-tang. Her crew numbered 562. They blewconches after the manner of trumpets, marshalled themselves in battlearray, and surrounding the castle with flying banners, attacked it. On the fourth day of the ninth month of 1555, a two-masted shipcarrying a crew of some hundreds came to Kinshan-hai, and on the nextday she was followed by eight five-masted vessels with crewstotalling some thousands. They all went on shore and looted insuccession. On the 23d of the second month of 1556, pirate shipsarrived at the entrance to Kinshan-hai. Their masts were like a denseforest of bamboo. " *Yamato enemies. **Chinese pronunciation of the ideographs read by the Japanese"Hachiman" (god of War). The pirates inscribed on their sails thelegend Hachiman Dai-bosatsu. Further records show that in 1556 the pirates entered Yang-chou, looted and burned the city; that in 1559 they attacked Chekiang; thatin 1560, they made their way to Taitsang, and thence pushed ontowards Shanghai, Sungteh, etc. , looting towns almost daily. Therewas no effective resistance. We find also the following appreciationof Japanese ships: "The largest of the Japanese vessels can carry about three hundredmen; the medium-sized, from one to two hundred, and the smallest fromfifty to eighty. They are constructed low and narrow. Thus, when theymeet a big ship they have to look up to attack her. The sails are notrigged like those of our ships which can be navigated in any wind. But wicked people on the coast of Fuhkien sold their ships to theforeigners; and the buyers, having fitted them with double bottomsand keels shaped so as to cleave the waves, came to our shores inthem. " Evidently the Chinese were better skilled in the art of shipbuildingthan the Japanese. As for the defensive measures of the Chinese thefollowing is recorded: "The Government troops on sea and on land made every effort to keepoff the pirates. They flew banners at morn and eve and fired gunsseaward, so that the enemy, understanding by the flash and thedetonation that we were prepared to resist, abstained from landing. But when the pirates handled their swords skilfully, their attack wasfearful. Our countrymen when they saw these swordsmen, trembled andfled. Their fear of the Japanese was fear of the swords. The pirates'firearms were only guns such as men use in pursuit of game. They didnot range over one hundred paces. But their skill in using their gunswas such that they never missed. We could not defeat them. They riseearly in the morning and take their breakfast kneeling down. Afterwards their chief ascends an eminence and they gather below tohear his orders. He tells them off in detachments not exceedingthirty men, and attaching them to officers, sends them to lootplaces. The detachments operate at distances of from five hundred toa thousand yards, but unite at the sound of a conch. "To re-enforce a detachment in case of emergency, small sections ofthree or four swordsmen move about. At the sight of them our menflee. Towards dark the detachments return to headquarters and hand intheir loot, never making any concealment. It is then distributed. They always abduct women, and at night they indulge in drinking anddebauchery. They always advance in single rank at a slow pace, andthus their extension is miles long. For tens of days they can runwithout showing fatigue. In camping, they divide into many companies, and thus they can make a siege effective. Against our positions theybegin by sending a few men who by swift and deceptive movements causeour troops to exhaust all their projectiles fruitlessly, and then theassault is delivered. They are clever in using ambushes, and oftenwhen they seem to be worsted, their hidden forces spring up in ourrear and throw our army into a panic. " There is no reason to doubt the truth of these records, naive as aresome of the descriptions. Unquestionably the Wokou were a terriblescourge to the Chinese on the eastern littoral. INTERCOURSE WITH RYUKYU Japanese annals say that the royal family of Ryukyu was descendedfrom the hero Minamoto Tametomo who was banished to the island in1156, and certainly the inhabitants of the archipelago are a raceclosely allied to the Japanese. But in 1373, the then ruler, Chuzan, sent an envoy to the Ming Court and became a tributary of the latter. In 1416, however, an ambassador from the islands presented himself atthe Muromachi shogunate, and twenty-five years later (1441), theshogun Yoshinori, just before his death, bestowed Ryukyu on ShimazuTadakuni, lord of Satsuma, in recognition of meritorious services. Subsequently (1471) the shogun Yoshimasa, in compliance with arequest from the Shimazu family, forbade the sailing of any vessel toRyukyu without a Shimazu permit, and when, a few years later, MiyakeKunihide attempted to invade Ryukyu, the Shimazu received Muromachi's(Yoshitane's) commission to punish him. Historically, therefore, Ryukyu formed part of Japan, but its rulers maintained a tributaryattitude towards China until recent times, as will presently be seen. LITERATURE DURING THE MUROMACHI PERIOD Throughout the Muromachi period of two and a half centuries a groupof military men held the administration and reaped all rewards andemoluments of office so that literary pursuits ranked incomparatively small esteem. Some education was necessary, indeed, formen of position, but eminent scholars were exceptional. Noteworthyamong the latter were Nijo Yoshimoto, Ichijo Fuyuyoshi, Doin Kinsada, Sanjonishi Sanetaka, and Kiyowara Naritada. Most renowned was IchijoKaneyoshi. Equally versed in the classics of China and Japan, as wellas in Buddhism and Confucianism, he composed several works of highmerit. A feature of the period was the erudition of the priests. Gen-e, a bonze of the temple Hiei-zan, adopted the commentaries ofthe Sung savants, Chengtzu and Chutsu, rejecting those of the earlierHan and Tang writers. In other words, he adopted the eclectic systemof Buddhism and Confucianism as compounded by the scholars of theSung and the Yuan epochs, in preference to the system of earlierpundits. The Emperor Go-Daigo invited Gen-e to Court and directed himto expound the Sutras. Thereafter, the Sung philosophy obtained wideallegiance, being preached by the priests of the Five Great Templesin Kyoto, and by all their provincial branches. On the other hand, the hereditary schools of Oye and Sugawara, adhering to their olddogmas, fell behind the times and declined in influence. The feature of the age in point of learning was that scholarshipbecame a priestly specialty. From the Five Temples (Go-zari) studentsconstantly flocked to China, where they received instructions in theexoterics and esoterics of Buddhism, as modified by the creed ofConfucius, laying the foundations of systems upon which philosophersof later ages, as Kazan and Seiga, built fair edifices. These priestsof the Five Temples were more than religious propagandists: they wereministers of State, as Tenkai and Soden were in after times under theTokugawa, and they practically commanded the shoguns. One reasonoperating to produce this result was that, in an age when lineage ormilitary prowess was the sole secular step to fortune, men of civiltalent but humble birth had to choose between remaining in hopelessinsignificance or entering the priesthood where knowledge and virtuewere sure passports to distinction. It was thus that in nearly everymonastery there were found men of superior intellect and erudition. The fact was recognized. When Ashikaga Takauji desired to takecounsel of Muso Kokushi, he repaired to that renowned priest's templeand treated him as a respected parent; and Yoshimitsu, the third ofthe Ashikaga shoguns, showed equal respect towards Gido, Zekkai andJorin, whose advice he constantly sought. It was strange, indeed, that in an age when the sword was theparamount tribunal, the highest dignitaries in the land revered theexponents of ethics and literature. Takauji and his younger brother, Tadayoshi, sat at the feet of Gen-e as their preceptor. Yoshimitsuappointed Sugawara Hidenaga to be Court lecturer. Ujimitsu, theKamakura kwanryo, took Sugawara Toyonaga for preacher. Yoshimasa'slove of poetry impelled him to publish the Kinshudan. * Above all, Yoshihisa was an earnest scholar. He had a thorough knowledge ofChinese and Japanese classics; he was himself a poetaster of no meanability; he read canonical books even as he sat in his palanquin;under his patronage Ichijo Kaneyoshi wrote the Shodan-chiyo and** theBummei Ittoki; Fujiwara Noritane compiled the Teio-keizu; OtsukiMasabumi lectured on the analects and Urabe Kanetomo expounded thestandard literature of the East. *The Embroidered Brocade Discourse. **Rustic Ideals of Government. Yet, side by side with these patrons of learning stood a generalpublic too ignorant to write its own name. Military men, who formedthe bulk of the nation, were engrossed with the art of war and thescience of intrigue to the exclusion of all erudition. The priestswere always available to supply any need, and the priests utilizedthe occasion. Nevertheless, it stands to the credit of these bonzesthat they made no attempt to monopolize erudition. Their aim was topopularize it. They opened temple-seminaries (tera-koya) and exercisehalls (dojo) where youths of all classes could obtain instruction andwhere an excellent series of text-books was used, the Iroha-uta* theDoji-kyo, the Teikin-orai** and the Goseibai-shikimoku. *** TheDoji-kyo has been translated by Professor Chamberlain (in Vol. VIIIof the "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan"). A fewextracts will serve to show the nature of the ethical teaching givento Japanese children in medieval days: *A syllabary of moral precepts like the ethical copy-books ofOccidentals. **A model letter-writer. ***The criminal laws of Hojo Yasutoki. All these text-books remainedin use until the Meiji era. Let nothing lead thee into breaking faith with thy friend, and departnot from thy word. It is the tongue that is the root of misfortunes;if the mouth were made like unto the nose, a man would have notrouble till his life's end. In the house where virtue is accumulatedthere will surely be superabundant joy. No man is worthy of honourfrom his birth; 'tis the garnering-up of virtue that bringeth himwisdom and virtue; the rich man may not be worthy of honour. In thinraiment on a winter's night, brave the cold and be reading the wholenight through; with scanty fare on a summer's day, repel hunger andbe learning the whole day long. . . . A father's loving kindness ishigher than the mountains; a mother's bounty is deeper than the sea.. . . He that receiveth benefits and is not grateful is like unto thebirds that despoil the branches of the trees they perch on. . . . Above all things, men must practise charity; it is by almsgiving thatwisdom is fed; less than all things, men must grudge money; it is byriches that wisdom is hindered. . . . The merit of an alms given witha compassionate heart to one poor man is like unto the ocean; therecompense of alms given to a multitude for their own sake is likeunto a grain of poppy-seed. This text-book, the Doji-kyo, was compiled by a priest, Annen, wholived in the second half of the ninth century. Its origin belongs, therefore, to a much more remote era than that of the Muromachishoguns, but, in common with the other text-books enumerated above, its extensive use is first mentioned in the Ashikaga epoch. The FiveTemples of Kyoto--to be spoken of presently--were seats of learning;and many names of the littérateurs that flourished there have beenhanded down. Not the least celebrated were Gido and Zekkai, who paidseveral visits to China, the fountain-head of ideographic lore. Butthese conditions were not permanent. The Onin War created a seriousinterruption. Kyoto was laid in ruins, and rare books lay on theroadside, no one caring to pick them up. PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES Throughout the Ashikaga period the Kyoto university existed in nameonly, and students of Japanese literature in the provincesdisappeared. A few courtiers, as Nakahara, Dye, Sugawara, Miyoshi, etc. , still kept up the form of lecturing but they did not receivestudents at large. Nevertheless, a few military magnates, retainingsome appreciation of the value of erudition, established schools andlibraries. Among these, the Kanazawa-bunko and the Ashikaga-gakkowere the most famous. The former had its origin in the closing yearsof the Kamakura Bakufu. It was founded during the reign of Kameyama(1260-1274) by Sanetoki, grandson of Hojo Yoshitoki. A largecollection of Chinese and Japanese works filled its shelves, and alldesirous of studying had free access. Akitoki, son of Sanetoki, adopted Kanazawa as his family name and added largely to the library. He caused the ideographs Kanazawa-bunko to be stamped in black on allConfucian works, and in red on Buddhist. It is recorded in the Hojo Kudaiki that men of all classes, laymenand priests alike, were shut up daily in this library where theystudied gratis, and that Akitoki's son, Sadaaki, was as ardent astudent as his father, so that men spoke of him as well fitted to beregent (shikken), thus showing that literary skill was counted aqualification for high office. Fire, the destroyer of so many finerelics of Japanese civilization, visited this library more than once, but during the reign of Go-Hanazono (1429-1464) it was restored andextended by the Uesugi family, who also rebuilt and endowed schoolsfor the study of Japanese literature in the province of Kotsuke. Among these schools was the Ashikaga-gakko, under the presidency of apriest, Kaigen, in the day of whose ninth successor, Kyuka, thepupils attending the schools totalled three thousand. A few greatfamilies patronized literature without recourse to priests. This wasnotably the case with the Ouchi, whose tradal connexions gave themspecial access to Chinese books. Ouchi Yoshitaka, in particular, distinguished himself as an author. He established a library whichremained for many generations; he sent officials to China to procurerare volumes, and it is incidentally mentioned that he had severalmanuscripts printed in the Middle Kingdom, although the art ofblock-printing had been practised in Japan since the close of theeighth century. A composition which had its origin at this epoch wasthe yokyoku, a special kind of libretto for mimetic dances. Books onart also were inspired by the Higashiyama craze for choice specimensof painting, porcelain, and lacquer. Commentaries, too, made theirappearance, as did some histories, romances, and anthologies. PICTORIAL ART As Japan during the Ashikaga period sat at the feet of the Sungmasters in philosophy and literature, so it was in the realm of art. There is, indeed, a much closer relation between literature andpictorial art in China than in any Occidental country, for the twopursuits have a common starting-point--calligraphy. The ideograph isa picture, and to trace it in such a manner as to satisfy the highestcanons is a veritably artistic achievement. It has been shown abovethat in the Muromachi era the priests of Buddha were the channelsthrough which the literature and the philosophy of Sung reachedJapan, and it will presently be seen that the particular priests whoimported and interpreted this culture were those of the Zen sect. There is natural sequence, therefore, in the facts that these samepriests excelled in calligraphy and introduced Japan to the pictorialart of the immortal Sung painters. There were in China, at the time of the Ashikaga, two schools ofpainters: a Northern and a Southern. The term is misleading, for thedistinction was really not one of geography but one of method. Whatdistinguished the Southern school was delicacy of conception, directness of execution, and lightness of tone. To produce a maximumof effect with a minimum of effort; to suggest as much as to depict, and to avoid all recourse to heavy colours--these were the cardinaltenets of the Southern school. They were revealed to Japan by apriest named Kao, who, during the reign of Go-Daigo (1318-1339), passed ten years in China, and returning to Kyoto, opened a studio inthe temple Kennin-ji, where he taught the methods of Li Lungmin ofthe Sung dynasty and Yen Hui of the Yuan. He revolutionized Japaneseart. After him Mincho is eminent. Under the name of Cho Densu--theAbbot Cho--he acquired perpetual fame by his paintings of Buddhistsaints. But Mincho's religious pictures did not help to introduce the Sungacademy to Japan. That task was reserved for Josetsu--a priest ofChinese or Japanese origin--who, during the second half of thefourteenth century, became the teacher of many students at the templeShokoku-ji, in Kyoto. Among his pupils was Shubun, and the latter'sfollowers included such illustrious names as Sotan, Sesshu, Shinno;Masanbbu, and Motonobu. It is to this day a question whether Japanever produced greater artists than Sesshu and Motonobu. To the samegalaxy belongs Tosa no Mitsunobu, the founder of the Tosa school asMotonobu was of the Kano. That official patronage was extended tothese great men is proved by the fact that Mitsunobu was namedpresident of the E-dokoro, or Court Academy of Painting; and Motonobureceived the priestly rank of hogen. APPLIED ART Industries in general suffered from the continual wars of theAshikaga epoch, but the art of forging swords flourished beyond allprecedent. Already Awadaguchi, Bizen, Osafune, and others hadattained celebrity, but for Okazaki Masamune, of Kamakura, who workedduring the reign of Go-Daigo (1318-1339) was reserved the renown ofpeerlessness. His long travels to investigate the methods of othermasters so as to assimilate their best features, are historicallyrecorded, and at the head of the great trinity of Japaneseswordsmiths his name is placed by universal acclaim, his companionsbeing Go no Yoshihiro and Fujiwara Yoshimitsu. * In Muromachi days somuch depended on the sword that military men thought it worthy of allhonour. A present of a fine blade was counted more munificent than agift of a choice steed, and on the decoration of the scabbard, theguard, and the hilt extraordinary skill was expended. Towards theclose of the fifteenth century, a wonderful expert in metals, GotoYujo, devoted himself to the production of these ornaments, and hisdescendants perpetuated his fame down to the middle of the nineteenthcentury. The Gotos, however, constitute but a small section of thehost of masters who will always be remembered in this branch of art. In the Muromachi period alone we have such names as Aoki Kaneiye, Myochin Nobuiye, Umetada Akihisa and others. ** Armour making also wascarried to a point of high achievement during the epoch, especiallyby Nobuiye. *** *Chamberlain in Things Japanese says: "Japanese swords excel even thevaunted products of Damascus and Toledo. To cut through a pile ofcopper coins without nicking the blade is, or was, a common feat. History, tradition, and romance alike re-echo with the exploits ofthis wonderful weapon. " **For an exhaustive analysis see Brinkley's China and Japan. ***See Conder's History of Japanese Costume; Vol. IX. Of the"Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. " LACQUER It is generally conceded that the Japanese surpass all nations in theart of making lacquer. They not only developed the processes to adegree unknown to their original teacher, China, but they alsointroduced artistic features of great beauty. Unfortunately, historytransmits the names of Jew masters in this line. We can only say thatin the days of Yoshimasa's shogunate, that is, during the second halfof the fifteenth century, several choice varieties began to bemanufactured, as the nashiji, the togidashi, the negoro-nuri, thekonrinji-nuri, the shunkei-nuri, the tsuishu, and the tsuikoku. Choice specimens received from later generations the general epithetHigashiyama-mono, in reference to the fact that they owed so much tothe patronage of Yoshimasa in his mansion at Higashi-yama. PORCELAIN AND FAIENCE To the Muromachi epoch belongs also the first manufacture of faience, as distinguished from unglazed pottery, and of porcelain, asdistinguished from earthenware. The former innovation is ascribed--asalready noted--to Kato Shirozaemon, a native of Owari, who visitedChina in 1223 and studied under the Sung ceramists; the latter, toShonzui, who also repaired to China in 1510, and, on his return, setup a kiln at Arita, in Hizen, where he produced a small quantity ofporcelain, using materials obtained from China, as the existence ofJapanese supplies was not yet known. The faience industry found manyfollowers, but its products all bore the somewhat sombre impress ofthe cha-no-yu (tea ceremonial) canons. ARCHITECTURE The architectural feature of the time was the erection oftea-parlours according to the severe type of the cha-no-yu cult. Suchedifices were remarkable for simplicity and narrow dimensions. Theypartook of the nature of toys rather than of practical residences, being, in fact, nothing more than little chambers, entirelyundecorated, where a few devotees of the tea ceremonial could meetand forget the world. As for grand structures like the "SilverPavilion" of Yoshimasa and the "Golden Pavilion" of Yoshimitsu, theyshowed distinct traces of Ming influence, but with the exception ofelaborate interior decoration they do not call for special comment. A large part of the work of the Japanese architect consisted inselecting rare woods and uniquely grown timber, in exquisite joinery, and in fine plastering. Display and ornament in dwelling-houses werenot exterior but interior; and beginning with the twelfth century, interior decoration became an art which occupied the attention of thegreat schools of Japanese painters. The peculiar nature of Japaneseinterior division of the house with screens or light partitionsinstead of walls lent itself to a style of decoration which was quiteas different in its exigencies and character from Occidental muraldecorations as was Japanese architecture from Gothic or Renaissance. The first native school of decorative artists was the Yamato-ryu, founded in the eleventh century by Fujiwara Motomitsu and reachingthe height of its powers in the twelfth century. In the thirteenthcentury Fujiwara Tsunetaka, a great painter of this school, took thetitle of Tosa. Under him the Tosa-ryu became the successor of theYamato-ryu and carried on its work with more richness and charm. TheTosa school was to a degree replaced after the fifteenth century ininterior painting by the schools of Sesshu and Kano. RELIGION As one of Yoritomo's first acts when he organized the Kamakura Bakufuhad been to establish at Tsurugaoka a shrine to Hachiman (the god ofWar), patron deity of the Minamotos' great ancestor, Yoshiiye, sowhen Takauji, himself a Minamoto, organized the Muromachi Bakufu, heworshipped at the Iwashimizu shrine of Hachiman, and all hissuccessors in the shogunate followed his example. Of this shrineTanaka Harukiyo was named superintendent (betto), and with theAshikaga leader's assistance, he rebuilt the shrine on a sumptuousscale, departing conspicuously from the austere fashion of pureShinto. * It may, indeed, be affirmed that Shinto had never beenregarded as a religion in Japan until, in the days of the Nara Court, it was amalgamated with Buddhism to form what was calledRyobu-shinto. It derived a further character of religion from thetheory of Kitabatake Chikafusa, who contended that Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism were all capable of being welded into one whole. Moreover, in the Muromachi period, the eminent scholar, IchijoKaneyoshi (1402-81), wrote a thesis which gave some support to theviews of Chikafusa. *The shrine covered a space of 400 square yards and had a goldengutter, 80 feet long, 13 feet wide, and over 1 inch thick. But, during the reign of Go-Tsuchimikado (1465-1500), Urabe Kanetomo, professing to interpret his ancestor, Kanenobu, enunciated thedoctrine of Yuiitsu-shinto (unique Shinto), namely, that as betweenthree creeds, Shinto was the root; Confucianism, the branches, andBuddhism, the fruit. This was the first explicit differentiation ofShinto. It found favour, and its propounder's son, Yoshida, assertedthe principles still more strenuously. The fact is notable in thehistory of religion in Japan. Yoshida was the forerunner of Motoori, Hirata, and other comparatively modern philosophers who contended forthe revival of "Pure Shinto. " Many Japanese annalists allege thatShinto owes its religious character solely to the suggestions ofBuddhism, and point to the fact that the Shinto cult has never beenable to inspire a great exponent. ENGRAVING: BELL TOWER OF TODAI-JI BUDDHISM The attitude of the Ashikaga towards Buddhism was even morereverential. They honoured the Zen sect almost exclusively. Takaujibuilt the temple Tenryu-ji, in Kyoto, and planned to establish agroup of provincial temples under the name of Ankoku-ji. Therecan be little doubt that his animating purpose in thus actingwas to create a counterpoise to the overwhelming strength of themonasteries of Nara and Hiei-zan. The latter comprised three thousandbuildings--temples and seminaries--and housed a host of soldier-monkswho held Kyoto at their mercy and who had often terrorized the cityand the palace. In the eighth century, when the great temple, Todai-ji, was established at Nara, affiliated temples were builtthroughout the provinces, under the name of Kokubun-ji. It was in emulation of this system that Takauji erected the Tenryu-jiand planned a provincial net-work of Ankoku-ji. His zeal in thematter assumed striking dimensions. On the one hand, he levied heavyimposts to procure funds; on the other, he sent to China ships--hencecalled Tenryuji-bune--to obtain furniture and fittings. Thus, in thespace of five years, the great edifice was completed (1345), andthere remained a substantial sum in the Muromachi treasury. The monksof Enryaku-ji (Hiei-zan) fathomed Takauji's purpose. They flockeddown to the capital, halberd in hand and sacred car on shoulder, andtruculently demanded of the Emperor that Soseki, high priest of thenew monastery, should be exiled and the edifice destroyed. But theAshikaga leader stood firm. He announced that if the soldier-monkspersisted, their lord-abbot should be banished and their propertyconfiscated; before which evidently earnest menaces the mob of friarsturned their faces homeward. Thereafter, Takauji, and his brotherTadayoshi celebrated with great pomp the ceremony of opening the newtemple, and the Ashikaga leader addressed to the priest, Soseki, adocument pledging his own reverence and the reverence of all hissuccessors at Muromachi. But that part of his programme which relatedto the provincial branch temples was left incomplete. At no time, indeed, were the provinces sufficiently peaceful and sufficientlysubservient for the carrying out of such a plan by the Ashikaga. GREAT PRIESTS The priest Soseki--otherwise called "Muso Kokushi, " or "Muso, thenational teacher"--was one of the great bonzes in an age when manymonasteries were repositories of literature and statesmanship. Hispupils, Myoo and Chushin, enjoyed almost equal renown in the days ofthe third Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu, whose piety rivalled that ofTakauji. He assigned to them a residence in the Rokuon-ji, his ownfamily temple, and there he visited them to hear discourses onBuddhist doctrine and to consult about administrative affairs. Astill more illustrious bonze was Ryoken, of Nanzen-ji. It is relatedof him that he repaired, on one occasion, to the Kita-yama palace ofthe shogun Yosh mitsu, wearing a ragged garment. Yoshimitsu at oncechanged his own brocade surcoat for the abbot's torn vestment, andsubsequently, when conducting his visitor on a boating excursion, theshogun carried the priest's footgear. It is not possible for aJapanese to perform a lowlier act of obeisance towards another thanto be the bearer of the latter's sandals. Yoshimitsu was in aposition to dictate to the Emperor, yet he voluntarily performed amenial office for a friar. These four priests, Soseki, Myoo, Chushin, and Ryoken, all belongedto the Zen sect. The doctrines of that sect were absolutely paramountin Muromachi days, as they had been in the times of the KamakuraBakufu. A galaxy of distinguished names confronts us on the pages ofhistory--Myocho of Daitoku-ji; Gen-e of Myoshin-ji; Ikkyu Zenji ofDaitoku-ji, a descendant of the Emperor Go-Komatsu; Tokuso ofNanzen-ji; Shiren of Tofuku-ji; Shushin of Nanzen-ji; Juo ofMyoshin-ji; Tetsuo of Daitoku-ji, and Gazan of Soji-ji. All thesewere propagandists of Zen-shu doctrine. It has been well said thatthe torch of religion burns brightest among dark surroundings. Incircumstances of tumultuous disorder and sanguinary ambition, thesegreat divines preached a creed which taught that all worldly thingsare vain and valueless. Moreover, the priests themselves did notpractise the virtues they inculcated. They openly disregarded theirvow of chastity; bequeathed their temples and manors to theirchildren; employed hosts of stoled soldiers; engaged freely in thefights of the era, and waxed rich on the spoils of their arms. It is recorded of Kenju (called also Rennyo Shoniri), eighthsuccessor of Shinran, that his eloquence brought him not only a crowdof disciples but also wealth comparable with that of a greatterritorial magnate; that he employed a large force of armed men, andthat by dispensing with prohibitions he made his doctrine popular. This was at the close of the fifteenth century when Yoshimasapractised dilettanteism at Higashi-yama. It became in that age acommon habit that a man should shave his head and wear priest'svestments while still taking part in worldly affairs. The distinctionbetween bonze and layman disappeared. Some administrative officialsbecame monks; some daimyo fought wearing sacerdotal vestments overtheir armour, and some priests led troops into battle. If a bonzeearned a reputation for eloquence or piety, he often became thetarget of jealous violence at the hands of rival sectarians and hadto fly for his life from the ruins of a burning temple. Not until theadvent of Christianity, in the middle of the sixteenth century, didthese outrages cease. THE FIVE TEMPLES OF KYOTO The Zen sect had been almost equally popular during the epoch of theHojo. They built for it five great temples in Kamakura, and thatexample was followed by the Ashikaga in Kyoto. The five fanes in thecapital were called collectively, Go-zan. They were Kennin-ji, Tofuku-ji, Nanzen-ji, Tenryu-ji, and Shokoku-ji. After the conclusionof peace between the Northern and Southern Courts the templeShokoku-ji was destroyed by fire and it remained in ashes until thetime of Yoshimasa, when the priest, Chushin, persuaded the shogun toundertake the work of reconstruction. A heavy imposition of land-taxin the form of tansen, and extensive requisitions for timber andstones brought funds and materials sufficient not only to restore theedifice and to erect a pagoda 360 feet high, but also to replenishthe empty treasury of the shogun. Thus, temple-building enterpriseson the part of Japanese rulers were not prompted wholly by religiousmotives. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS The frugal austerity of life under the rule of the Hojo was changedto lavish extravagance under the Ashikaga. Yet things should havebeen otherwise, for in Takauji's time there was enacted andpromulgated the code of regulations already referred to as the KemmuShikimoku, wherein were strictly forbidden basara, debauchery, gambling, reunions for tea drinking and couplet composing, lotteries, and other excesses. Basara is a Sanskrit term for costly luxuries ofevery description, and the compilers of the code were doubtlesssincere in their desire to popularize frugality. But the Ashikagarulers themselves did not confirm their precepts by example. Theyseemed, indeed, to live principally for sensuous indulgence. A Japanese writer of the fifteenth century, in a rhapsodical accountof the Kyoto of his day, dwells on the wonderful majesty of the"sky-piercing roofs" and "cloud-topping balconies" of the Imperialpalace. And he points with evident pride to the fact that thissplendor--a splendor only a little less--was to be found besides inmany other elegant residences which displayed their owners' taste andwealth. The chronicler notes that even those who were not noble, including some who had made their money by fortune-telling or by thepractice of medicine, were sometimes able to make such display, tolive in pretentious houses and have many servants. So could theprovincial nobles, who it seems did not in other periods make much ofa showing at the capital. The dwellers in these mansions lived up to their environment. Thedegree of their refinement may be inferred from the fact that cookingbecame a science; they had two principal academies and numerous rulesto determine the sizes and shapes of every implement and utensil, aswell as the exact manner of manipulating them. The nomenclature wasnot less elaborate. In short, to become a master of politeaccomplishments and the cuisine in the military era of Japan demandedpatient and industrious study. MODE OF TRAVELLING The fashions of the Heian epoch in the manner of travelling underwentlittle change during the military age. The principal conveyancecontinued to be an ox-carriage or a palanquin. The only notableaddition made was the kago, a kind of palanquin slung on a singlepole instead of on two shafts. The kago accommodated one person andwas carried by two. Great pomp and elaborate organization attendedthe outgoing of a nobleman, and to interrupt a procession was counteda deadly crime, while all persons of lowly degree were required tokneel with their hands on the ground and their heads resting on themas a nobleman and his retinue passed. LANDSCAPE GARDENING Great progress was made in the art of landscape gardening during theMuromachi epoch, but this is a subject requiring a volume to itself. Here it will suffice to note that, although still trammelled by itsChinese origin, the art received signal extension, and was convertedinto something like an exact science, the pervading aim being toproduce landscapes and water-scapes within the limits of acomparatively small park without conveying any sense of unduerestriction. Buddhist monks developed signal skill in this branch ofesthetics, and nothing could exceed the delightful harmony which theyachieved between nature and art. It may be mentioned that the firsttreatise on the art of landscape gardening appeared from the pen ofGokyogoku Yoshitsune in the beginning of the thirteenth century. Ithas been well said that the chief difference between the parks ofJapan and the parks of Europe is that, whereas the latter are plannedsolely with reference to a geometrical scale of comeliness or in pureand faithful obedience to nature's indications, the former areintended to appeal to some particular mood or to evoke specialemotion, while, at the same time, preserving a likeness to thelandscapes and water-scapes of the world about us. MINIATURE LANDSCAPE GARDENING By observing the principles and practical rules of landscapegardening while reducing the scale of construction so that alandscape or a water-scape, complete in all details and perfectlybalanced as to its parts, is produced within an area of two or threesquare feet, the Japanese obtained a charming development of thegardener's art. Admirable, however, as are these miniaturereproductions of natural scenery and consummate as is the skilldisplayed in bringing all their parts into exact proportion with thescale of the design, they are usually marred by a suggestion oftriviality. In this respect, greater beauty is achieved on an evensmaller scale by dwarfing trees and shrubs so that, in every respectexcept in dimensions, they shall be an accurate facsimile of whatthey would have been had they grown for cycles unrestrained in theforest. The Japanese gardener "dwarfs trees so that they remainmeasurable only by inches after their age has reached scores, evenhundreds, of years, and the proportions of leaf, branch and stem arepreserved with fidelity. The pots in which these wonders of patientskill are grown have to be themselves fine specimens of thekeramist's craft, and as much as Ł200 is sometimes paid for a notablywell-trained tree. "* *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, article "Japan, " Brinkley. TEA CEREMONIAL The tea ceremonial (cha-no-yu) is essentially Japanese in itsdevelopments though its origin came from China. It has been welldescribed as "a mirror in which the extraordinary elaborations ofJapanese social etiquette may be seen vividly reflected. " In fact, the use of tea as a beverage had very little to do with the refinedamusement to which it was ultimately elevated. The term "tasting"would apply more accurately to the pastime than "drinking. " But eventhe two combined convey no idea of the labyrinth of observances whichconstituted the ceremonial. The development of the cha-no-yu ismainly due to Shuko, a priest of the Zen sect of Buddhism, who seemsto have conceived that tea drinking might be utilized to promote themoral conditions which he associated with its practice. Prof. H. B. Chamberlain notes that "It is still considered proper for teaenthusiasts to join the Zen sect of Buddhism, and it is fromthe abbot of Daitokuji at Kyoto that diplomas of proficiencyare obtained. " The bases of Shuko's system were the fourvirtues--urbanity, purity, courtesy, and imperturbability--and littleas such a cult seemed adapted to the practices of military men, itnevertheless received its full elaboration under the feudal system. But although this general description is easy enough to formulate, the etiquette and the canons of the cha-no-yu would require a wholevolume for an exhaustive description. INCENSE COMPARING The Muromachi epoch contributed to aristocratic pastimes the growthof another amusement known as ko-awase, "comparing of incense, " acontest which tested both the player's ability to recognize fromtheir odour different varieties of incense and his knowledge ofancient literature. As early as the seventh century the use ofincense had attained a wide vogue in Japan. But it was not until thebeginning of the sixteenth century that Shino Soshin converted thepastime into something like a philosophy. From his days no less thansixty-six distinct kinds of incense were recognized and distinguishedby names derived from literary allusions. This pastime is not soelaborate as the cha-no-yu, nor does it furnish, like the latter, aseries of criteria of art-objects. But it shows abundant evidence ofthe elaborate care bestowed upon it by generation after generation ofJapanese dilettanti. IKE-BANA The English language furnishes no accurate equivalent for what theJapanese call ike-bana. The literal meaning of the term is "livingflower, " and this name well explains the fundamental principle of theart, namely, the arrangement of flowers so as to suggest naturallife. In fact, the blossoms must look as though they were actuallygrowing and not as though they were cut from the stems. It is herethat the fundamental difference between the Occidental and theJapanese method of flower arrangement becomes apparent; the formerappeals solely to the sense of colour, whereas the latter holds thatthe beauty of a plant is not derived from the colour of its blossomsmore than from the manner of their growth. In fact, harmony of colourrather than symmetry of outline was the thing desired in a Japanesefloral composition. It might be said that Western art, in general, and more particularly the decorative art of India, Persia andGreece--the last coming to Japan through India and with certain Hindumodifications--all aim at symmetry of poise; but that Japanese floralarrangement and decorative art in general have for their fundamentalaim a symmetry by suggestion, --a balance, but a balance ofinequalities. The ike-bana as conceived and practised in Japan is ascience to which ladies, and gentlemen also, devote absorbingattention. OTHER PASTIMES It will be understood that to the pastimes mentioned above asoriginating in military times must be added others bequeathed fromprevious eras. Principal among these was "flower viewing" at allseasons; couplet composing; chess; draughts; football; mushroompicking, and maple-gathering parties, as well as other minorpursuits. Gambling, also, prevailed widely during the Muromachi epochand was carried sometimes to great excesses, so that samurai actuallystaked their arms and armour on a cast of the dice. It is said thatthis vice had the effect of encouraging robbery, for a gambler stakedthings not in his possession, pledging himself to steal the articlesif the dice went against him. SINGING AND DANCING One of the chief contributions of the military era to the art ofsinging was a musical recitative performed by blind men using thefour-stringed Chinese lute, the libretto being based on some episodeof military history. The performers were known as biwa-bozu, the name"bozu" (Buddhist priest) being derived from the fact that they shavedtheir heads after the manner of bonzes. These musicians developedremarkable skill of elocution, and simulated passion so that insucceeding ages they never lost their popularity. Sharing the vogueof the biwa-bozu, but differing from it in the nature of the storyrecited as well as in that of the instrument employed, was thejoruri, which derived its name from the fact that it was originallyfounded on the tragedy of Yoshitsune's favourite mistress, Joruri. Inthis the performer was generally a woman, and the instrument on whichshe accompanied herself was the samisen. These two dances may becalled pre-eminently the martial music of Japan, both by reason ofthe subject and the nature of the musical movement. The most aristocratic performance of all, however, was the yokyoku, which ultimately grew into the no. This was largely of dramaticcharacter and it owed its gravity and softness of tone to priestlyinfluence, for the monopoly of learning possessed in those ages bythe Buddhist friars necessarily made them pre-eminent in all literaryaccomplishments. The no, which is held in just as high esteem to-dayas it was in medieval times, was performed on a stage in the open airand its theme was largely historical. At the back of the stage wasseated a row of musicians who served as chorus, accompanying theperformance with various instruments, chiefly the flute and the drum, and from time to time intoning the words of the drama. An adjunct ofthe no was the kyogen. The no was solemn and stately; the kyogencomic and sprightly. In fact, the latter was designed to relieve theheaviness of the former, just as on modern stages the drama is oftenrelieved by the farce. It is a fact of sober history that the shogunYoshimasa officially invested the no dance with the character of aceremonious accomplishment of military men and that Hideyoshi himselfoften joined the dancers on the stage. ENGRAVING: FLOWER POTS AND DWARF TREE ENGRAVING: SWORDS PRESERVED AT SHOSO-IN TEMPLE, AT NARA CHAPTER XXXIII THE EPOCH OF WARS (Sengoku Jidai) LIST OF EMPERORS Order of Succession Name Date 97th Sovereign Go-Murakami A. D. 1339-1368 98th Chokei 1368-1372 99th Go-Kameyama 1372-1392 100th Go-Komatsu 1392-1412 101st Shoko 1412-1428 102d Go-Hanazono 1428-1465 103d Go-Tsuchimikado 1465-1500 104th Go-Kashiwabara 1500-1526 105th Go-Nara 1526-1557 106th Okimachi 1557-1586 107th Go-Yozei 1586-1611 THE sovereigns of the Northern Court, not being recognized aslegitimate by Japanese annalists, are excluded from the above list. Go-Komatsu, however, is made an exception. He reigned from 1382 to1392 as representing the Northern Court, and thereafter, the twoCourts having ceased their rivalry, he reigned undisputed until 1412. It has further to be noted that many histories make the number ofsovereigns greater by two than the figures recorded in the lists ofthis volume. That is because the histories in question count as twothe Empresses Kogyoku (642-645) and Saimei (655-661), although theyrepresent the same sovereign under different names, and because theyadopt a similar method of reckoning in the case of the EmpressesKoken (749-758) and Shotoku (765-770), whereas in this volume theactual number of sovereigns is alone recorded. THE COURT The interval between the close of the fifteenth century and the endof the sixteenth is set apart by Japanese annalists as the mostdisturbed period of the country's history and is distinguished by theterm Sengoku Jidai, or the Epoch of Wars. It would be more accurateto date the beginning of that evil time from the Onin year-period(1467-1469); for in the Onin era practical recognition was extendedto the principle that the right of succession to a family estatejustifies appeal to arms, and that such combats are beyond thepurview of the central authority. There ensued disturbancesconstantly increasing in area and intensity, and not only involvingfinally the ruin of the Ashikaga shogunate but also subverting alllaw, order, and morality. Sons turned their hand against fathers, brothers against brothers, and vassals against chiefs. Nevertheless, amid this subversion of ethics and supremacy of the sword, thereremained always some who reverenced the Throne and supported theinstitutions of the State; a noteworthy feature in the context of thefact that, except during brief intervals, the wielder of the sceptrein Japan never possessed competence to enforce his mandates but wasalways dependent in that respect on the voluntary co-operation ofinfluential subjects. In the Sengoku period the fortunes of the Imperial Court fell totheir lowest ebb. The Crown lands lay in the provinces of Noto, Kaga, Echizen, Tamba, Mino, and so forth, and when the wave of warfarespread over the country, these estates passed into the hands ofmilitary magnates who absorbed the taxes into their own treasuries, and the collectors sent by the Court could not obtain more than asmall percentage of the proper amount. The exchequer of the MuromachiBakufu suffered from a similar cause, and was further depleted byextravagance, so that no aid could be obtained from that source. Evenworse was the case with the provincial manors of the Court nobles, who were ultimately driven to leave the capital and establish directconnexion with their properties. Thus, the Ichijo family went toTosa; the Ane-no-koji to Hida, and when Ouchi Yoshioki retired toSuwo on resigning his office (kwanryo), many Court magnates who hadbenefitted by his generosity in Kyoto followed him southward. So impoverished was the Imperial exchequer that, in the year 1500, when the Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado died, the corpse lay for forty daysin a darkened room of the palace, funds to conduct the funeral ritesnot being available. Money was finally provided by Sasaki Takayori, and in recognition of his munificence he was authorized to use theImperial crest (chrysanthemum and Paulownia); was granted the rightof entree to the palace, and received an autographic volume from thepen of the Emperor Go-Kogon. If there was no money to buryGo-Tsuchimikado, neither were any funds available to perform thecoronation of his successor, Go-Kashiwabara. Muromachi made a futileattempt to levy contributions from the daimyo, and the kwanryo, Hosokawa Masamoto, is recorded to have brusquely said, in effect, that the country could be administered without crowning anysovereign. Twenty years passed before the ceremony could beperformed, and means were ultimately (1520) furnished by the Buddhistpriest Koken--son of the celebrated Rennyo Shonin, prelate of theShin sect--who, out of the abundant gifts of his disciples, placed atthe disposal of the Court a sum of ten thousand gold ryo, * beingmoved to that munificence by the urging of Fujiwara Sanetaka, aformer nai-daijin. In recognition of this service, Koken was raisedto high ecclesiastical rank. *Ł30, 000--$145, 000. It will be remembered that, early in this sixteenth century, Yoshioki, deputy kwanryo and head of the great Ouchi house, hadcontributed large sums to the Muromachi treasury; had contrived therestoration of several of the Court nobles' domains to theirimpoverished owners, and had assisted with open hand to relieve thepenury of the throne. The task exhausted his resources, and whenrecalled to his province by local troubles in 1518, the temporaryalleviation his generosity had brought was succeeded by hopelesspenury. From time immemorial it had been the universal rule torebuild the two great shrines at Ise every twentieth year, butnothing of the kind had been possible in the case of the Naigu (innershrine) since 1462, and in the case of the Gegu (outer shrine) since1434. Such neglect insulted the sanctity of the Throne; yet appealsto the Bakufu produced no result. In 1526, the Emperor Go-Kashiwabaradied. It is on record that his ashes were carried from thecrematorium in a box slung from the neck of a general officer, andthat the funeral train consisted of only twenty-six officials. Forthe purposes of the coronation ceremony of this sovereign'ssuccessor, subscriptions had to be solicited from the provincialmagnates, and it was not until 1536 that the repairs of the palacecould be undertaken, so that the Emperor Go-Nara was able to write inhis diary, "All that I desired to have done has been accomplished, and I am much gratified. " On this occasion the Ouchi family againshowed its generosity and its loyalty to the Throne. The extremity of distress was reached during the Kyoroku era(1528-1531), when the struggle between the two branches of theHosokawa family converted Kyoto once more into a battle-field andreduced a large part of the city to ashes. The Court nobles, withtheir wives and children, had to seek shelter and refuge within theImperial palace, the fences of which were broken down and thebuildings sadly dilapidated. A contemporary record tells with much detail the story of the decayof the capital and the pitiful plight of the Throne. The EmperorGo-Nara (1527-1557) was reduced to earning his own living. This hedid by his skill as a calligrapher--at least one instance ofsomething useful resulting from the penchant of the Court for theniceties of Chinese art and letters. Any one might leave at thepalace a few coins for payment and order a fair copy of this or thatexcerpt from a famous classic. The palace was overrun, the chroniclersays. Its garden became a resort for tea-drinking among the lowerclasses and children made it a play-ground. It was no longer walledin, but merely fenced with bamboo. The whole city was in a similardesolation, things having become worse and worse beginning with theOnin disturbance of 1467 and the general exodus of the samurai fromthe capital at that time. At this time the military nobles came tothe city only to fight, and the city's population melted away. Allwas disorder. The city was flooded and the dike which was built tocheck the flooded rivers came to be thought a fine residence place incomparison with lower parts of the town. It was at this time that men might be observed begging for rice inthe streets of the capital. They carried bags to receivecontributions which were designated kwampaku-ryo (regent's money). Some of the bags thus used are preserved by the noble family of Nijoto this day. Another record says that the stewardess of the Imperialhousehold service during this reign (Go-Nara), on being asked howsummer garments were to be supplied for the ladies-in-waiting, replied that winter robes with their wadded linings removed should beused. The annals go so far as to allege that deaths from cold andstarvation occurred among the courtiers. An important fact is thatone of the provincial magnates who contributed to the succour of theCourt at this period was Oda Nobuhide of Owari, father of thecelebrated Oda Nobunaga. ENGRAVING: SHINRAN SHONIN BUDDHIST VIOLENCE The decline of the Muromachi Bakufu's authority encouraged the monksas well as the samurai to become a law to themselves. Incidentalreferences have already been made to this subject, but the religiouscommotions of the Sengoku period invite special attention. TheBuddhists of the Shin sect, founded by Shinran Shonin (1184-1268), which had for headquarters the great temple Hongwan-ji in Kyoto, werefrom the outset hostile to the monks of Enryaku-ji. Religiousdoctrine was not so much concerned in this feud as rivalry. Shinranhad been educated in the Tendai tenets at Enryaku-ji. Therefore, fromthe latter's point of view he was a renegade, and while vehementlyattacking the creed of his youth, he had acquired power and influencethat placed the Hongwan-ji almost on a level with the great Hiei-zan. In the days of Kenju, popularly called Rennyo Shonin (1415-1479), seventh in descent from the founder, Shinran, the Ikko--by which namethe Shin sect was known--developed conspicuous strength. Kenjupossessed extraordinary eloquence. Extracts from his sermons wereprinted on an amulet and distributed among worshippers, who grew sonumerous and so zealous that the wealth of the sect became enormous, and its leaders did not hesitate to provide themselves with an armedfollowing. Finally the monks of Hiei-zan swept down on Hongwan-ji, applied the torch to the great temple, and compelled the abbot, Kenju, to fly for his life. It is significant of the time that this outrage received nopunishment. Kenju escaped through Omi to Echizen, where the highconstable, an Asakura, combining with the high constable, a Togashi, of the neighbouring province of Kaga, erected a temple for thefugitive abbot, whose favour was well worth courting. The Ikko-shu, however, had its own internal dissensions. In the province of Kaga, asub-sect, the Takata, endeavoured to oust the Hongwan disciples, andrising in their might, attacked (1488) the high constable; compelledhim to flee; drove out their Takata rivals; invaded Etchu; raidedNoto, routing the forces of the high constable, Hatakeyama Yoshizumi;seized the three provinces--Kaga, Noto, and Etchu--and attempted totake possession of Echizen. This wholesale campaign was spoken of asthe Ikko-ikki (revolt of Ikko). A few years later, the Shin believersin Echizen joined these revolters, and marched through the province, looting and burning wherever they passed. No measure of secularwarfare had been more ruthless than were the ways of these monks. Thehigh constable, Asakura Norikage, now took the field, and afterfierce fighting, drove back the fanatics, destroyed their temples, and expelled their priests. This was only one of several similar commotions. So turbulent did themonks show themselves under the influence of Shin-shu teachers thatthe Uesugi of Echigo, the Hojo of Izu, and other great daimyointerdicted the propagandism of that form of Buddhism altogether. Themost presumptuous insurrection of all stands to the credit of theOsaka priests. A great temple had been erected there to replace theHongwan-ji of Kyoto, and in, 1529, its lord-abbot, Kokyo, enteredKaga, calling himself the "son of heaven" (Emperor) and assigning tohis steward, Shimoma Yorihide, the title of shogun. This was calledthe "great revolt" (dai-ikki), and the movement of oppositionprovoked by it was termed the "small revolt" (sho-ikki). Againrecourse was had to the most cruel methods. Men's houses were robbedand burned simply because their inmates stood aloof from theinsurrection. Just at that time the septs of Hosokawa and Miyoshiwere engaged in a fierce struggle for supremacy. Kokyo threw in hislot with Hosokawa Harumoto, and, at the head of fifty thousandtroops, attacked and killed Miyoshi Motonaga. Very soon, however, theHosokawa chief fell out with his cassocked allies. But he did notventure to take the field against them single handed. The priests ofthe twenty-one Nichiren temples in Kyoto, old enemies of the Ikko, were incited to attack the Hongwan-ji in Osaka. This is known inhistory as the Hokke-ikki, Hokke-shu being the name of the Nichirensect. Hiei-zan was involved in the attack, but the warlike monks ofEnryaku-ji replied by pouring down into the capital, burning thetwenty-one temples of the Nichiren and butchering three thousand oftheir priests. Such were the ways of the Buddhists in the Sengokuperiod. THE KWANTO During the Sengoku period (1490-1600) the Japanese empire may becompared to a seething cauldron, the bubbles that unceasingly rose tothe surface disappearing almost as soon as they emerged, or unitinginto groups with more or less semblance of permanence. To follow indetail these superficial changes would be a task equally interminableand fruitless. They will therefore be traced here in the merestoutline, except in cases where large results or national effects areconcerned. The group of eight provinces called collectively Kwantofirst claims attention as the region where all the great captains andstatesmen of the age had their origin and found their chief sphere ofaction. It has been seen that the fifth Ashikaga kwanryo, Shigeuji, driven out of Kamakura, took refuge at Koga in Shimotsuke; that hewas thenceforth known as Koga Kubo; that the Muromachi shogun, Yoshimasa, then sent his younger brother, Masatomo, to rule in theKwanto; that he established his headquarters at Horigoe in Izu, andthat he was officially termed Horigoe Gosho. His chief retainers werethe two Uesugi families--distinguished as Ogigayatsu Uesugi andYamanouchi Uesugi, after the names of the palaces where theirmansions were situated--both of whom held the office of kwanryohereditarily. These Uesugi families soon engaged in hostile rivalry, and theOgigayatsu branch, being allied with Ota Dokwan, the founder of YedoCastle, gained the upper hand, until the assassination of Dokwan, when the Yamanouchi became powerful. It was at this time--close ofthe fifteenth century--that there occurred in the Horigoe house oneof those succession quarrels so common since the Onin era. AshikagaMasatomo, seeking to disinherit his eldest son, Chachamaru, in favourof his second son, Yoshimichi, was killed by the former, the lattertaking refuge with the Imagawa family in Suruga, by whom he wasescorted to the capital, where he became the Muromachi shogun underthe name of Yoshizumi. Parricides and fratricides were too common inthat disturbed age for Chachamaru's crime to cause any moralcommotion. But it chanced that among the rear vassals of the Imagawathere was one, Nagauji, who, during many years, had harboured designsof large ambition. Seizing the occasion offered by Chachamaru'scrime, he constituted himself Masatomo's avenger, and marching intoIzu, destroyed the Horigoe mansion, and killed Chachamaru. Then(1491) Nagauji quietly took possession of the province of Izu, building for himself a castle at Hojo. He had no legal authority ofany kind for the act, neither command from the Throne nor commissionfrom the shogun. ENGRAVING: HOJO SOUN It was an act of unqualified usurpation. Yet its perpetrator showedthat he had carefully studied all the essentials of stablegovernment--careful selection of official instruments; strictadministration of justice; benevolent treatment of the people, andthe practice of frugality. Being descended from the Taira of Ise andhaving occupied the domains long held by the Hojo, he adopted the ujiname of "Hojo, " and having extended his conquests to Sagami province, built a strong castle at Odawara. He is often spoken of as Soun, thename he adopted in taking the tonsure, which step did not in anydegree interfere with his secular activities. A profoundly skilledtactician, he never met with a military reverse, and his fameattracted adherents from many provinces. His instructions to his sonUjitsuna were characteristic. Side by side with an injunction to holdhimself in perpetual readiness for establishing the Hojo sway overthe whole of the Kwanto, as soon as the growing debility of theUesugi family offered favourable opportunity, stood a series of ruleselementary almost to affectation: to believe in the Kami; to riseearly in the morning; to go to bed while the night is still young, and other counsels of cognate simplicity formed the ethical thesaurusof a philosopher wise enough to formulate the astute maxim that aruler, in choosing his instruments, must remember that they, too, choose him. Ujitsuna proved himself a worthy son of Soun, but much had still tobe accomplished before the Kwanto was fully won. Among the eightprovinces, two, Awa and Kazusa, which looked across the sea toOdawara, were under the firm sway of the Satomi family--one of the"eight generals" of the Kwanto--and not until 1538 could the Hojochief find an opportunity to crush this strong sept. The fruits ofhis victory had hardly been gathered when death overtook him, in1543. His sword descended, however, to a still greater leader, hisson Ujiyasu, who pushed westward into Suruga; stood opposed to Kai inthe north, and threatened the Uesugi in the east. The two branches ofthe Uesugi had joined hands in the presence of the Hojo menace, and apowerful league including the Imagawa and the Ashikaga of Koga, hadbeen formed to attack the Hojo. So long did they hesitate in view ofthe might of Odawara, that the expression "Odawara-hyogi" passed intothe language as a synonym for reluctance; and when at length theymoved to the attack with eighty thousand men, Hojo Ujiyasu, at thehead of a mere fraction of that number, inflicted a defeat whichsettled the supremacy of the Kwanto. The name of Hojo Ujiyasu is enshrined in the hearts of Japanesebushi. He combined in an extraordinary degree gentleness and bravery, magnanimity and resolution, learning and martial spirit. It wascommonly said that from the age of sixteen he had scarcely doffed hisarmour; had never once showed his back to a foe, and had receivednine wounds all in front. * Before he died (1570) he had thesatisfaction of establishing a double link between the Hojo and thehouse of the great warrior, Takeda Shingen, a son and a daughter fromeach family marrying a daughter and a son of the other. ** *Thus a frontal wound came to be designated by his name. **The present Viscount Hojo is a descendant of Ujiyasu. THE TAKEDA AND THE UESUGI Descended (sixteenth generation) from Minamoto Yoshimitsu, TakedaHarunobu (1521-1573) took the field against his father, who hadplanned to disinherit him in favour of his younger brother. Gainingthe victory, Harunobu came into control of the province of Kai, whichhad long been the seat of the Takeda family. This daimyo, commonlyspoken of as Takeda Shingen, the latter being the name he took onreceiving the tonsure, ranks among Japan's six great captains of thesixteenth century, the roll reading thus: Takeda Shingen (1521-1573) Uesugi Kenshin (1530-1578) Hojo Ujimasa (1538-1590) Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) The second of the above, Uesugi Kenshin, was not member of the greatUesugi family which took such an important part in the affairs of theKwanto. He belonged to the Nagao, which originally stood in arelation of vassalage to the Yamanouchi branch of the Uesugi inEchigo, and his father attained an independent position. Kagetora, asKenshin was called in his youth, found himself engaged in histwenty-first year in a contest with his elder brother, whom hekilled, and, by way of penance for the fratricide, he took thetonsure under the name of Kenshin and would have retired from theworld had not his generals insisted on his remaining in command. Itwas at this time that Kenshin became a member of the Uesugi sept. In1505, the two branches of the Kwanto Uesugi joined hands againsttheir common enemy, Hojo Soun, and from that time the contest wascontinued until 1551, when Ujiyasu, grandson of Soun, drove UesugiNorimasa from his castle of Hirai in Kotsuke. The vanquished generalfled to Echigo to seek succour from his family's old-time vassal, Nagao Kagetora, already renowned under the name of Kenshin. Norimasabestowed the office of kwanryo as well as the uji of Uesugi onKenshin, who thenceforth became known as Uesugi Kenshin, and who thusconstituted himself the foe of the Hojo. At a somewhat earlier date, Kenshin had been similarly supplicated by Murakami Yoshikiyo, whosecastle was at Kuzuo in Shinano, whence he had been driven by TakedaShingen. ENGRAVING: UESUGI KENSHIN It thus fell out that Uesugi Kenshin had for enemies the two captainsof highest renown in his era, Hojo Ujimasa and Takeda Shingen. Thisorder of antagonism had far-reaching effects. For Kenshin's ambitionwas to become master of the whole Kwanto, under pretence ofre-establishing the original Uesugi, but his expansion southward fromEchigo was barred by Shingen in Shinano and Kai, and his expansioneastward by the Hojo in Sagami and Musashi. The place of the strugglebetween Shingen-and Kenshin was Kawanaka-jima, an arena oftenpictured by artists of later generations and viewed to-day bypilgrims to the venerable temple, Zenko-ji. There the two generals, recognized as the two greatest strategists of that epoch, met fourtimes in fierce strife, and though a Japanese historian compares thestruggle to the eruption of volcanoes or the blowing of gales ofblood, victory never rested on either standard. ENGRAVING: TAKEDA SHINGEN Peace having been at length restored for a moment, in 1558, Kenshinvisited Kyoto in the following year. There he was received withdistinction. The Emperor--Okimachi--bestowed on him a sword, and theshogun, Yoshiteru, entitled him to incorporate the ideograph "teru"in his name, which was thus changed from Kagetora to Terutora. He wasalso granted the office of kwanryo. On his return to Echigo, Kenshinproceeded to assert his new title. Mustering an army said to havebeen 110, 000 strong, he attacked the Hojo in Odawara. But Ujiyasuwould not be tempted into the open. He remained always behind theramparts, and, in the meanwhile incited Shingen to invade Echigo, sothat Kenshin had to raise the siege of Odawara and hasten to thedefence of his home province. There followed another indecisivebattle at Kawanaka-jima, and thereafter renewed attacks upon theHojo, whose expulsion from the Kwanto devolved on Kenshin as kwanryo. But the results were always vague: the Hojo refrained from finalresistance, and Shingen created a diversion. The chief sufferers werethe provinces of the Kwanto, a scene of perpetual battle. In the end, after Etchu and Kotsuke had been brought under Kenshin's sway, peacewas concluded between him and the Hojo, and he turned his fullstrength against his perennial foe, Shingen. But at this stage thesituation was entirely changed by the appearance of Oda Nobunaga onthe scene, as will be presently narrated. It is recorded that, on theeve of his death, Shingen advised his son to place himself and hisdomains in Kenshin's keeping, for, said he, "Kenshin now standsunrivalled, and Kenshin will never break faith with you;" and it isrecorded of Kenshin that when he heard of Shingen's death, he shedtears and exclaimed, "Would that the country had such another hero!"* *The present Count Uesugi is descended from Kenshin. THE IMAGAWA, THE KITABATAKE, THE SAITO, AND THE ODA FAMILIES The Imagawa, a branch of the Ashikaga, served as the latter's bulwarkin Suruga province during many generations. In the middle of thesixteenth century the head of the family was Yoshimoto. His swayextended over the three provinces of Suruga, Totomi, and Mikawa, which formed the littoral between Owari Bay and the Izu promontory. On the opposite side of Owari Bay lay Ise province, the site of theprincipal Shinto shrine and the original domain of the Taira family, where, too, the remnants of the Southern Court had their home. Itshereditary governor was a Kitabatake, and even after the union of thetwo Courts that great family, descendants of the immortal historianand philosopher, Chikafusa, continued to exercise sway. But, in 1560, discord among the chief retainers of the sept furnished a pretext forthe armed intervention of Oda Nobunaga, who invested his son, Nobukatsu, with the rights of government. On the northern littoral ofOwari Bay, and therefore separating Ise and Mikawa, was situated theprovince of Owari, which, in turn, opened on the north into Mino. Inthis latter province the Doki family was destroyed by the Saito, andthese in turn were crushed by the Oda, in 1561, who, from theirheadquarters in Owari, shattered the Imagawa of Mikawa and the Saitoin Mino, thereafter sweeping over Ise. THE ROKKAKU, THE ASAI, THE ASAKURA, AND THE HATAKEYAMA FAMILIES The province of Omi had special importance as commanding theapproaches to Kyoto from the east. Hence it became the scene of muchdisturbance, in which the Hosokawa, the Kyogoku, the Rokkaku, and theAsai families all took part. Finally, in the middle of the sixteenthcentury, the Asai gained the ascendancy by obtaining the assistanceof the Asakura of Echizen. This latter province, conterminous withthe north of Omi, was originally under the control of the Shibafamily, but the Asakura subsequently obtained the office of highconstable, and acquired a great access of power at the time of theIkko revolt by driving the turbulent priests from the province. Atthat era, or a little later, the provinces of Kii, Kawachi, Izumi, and Yamato were all the scenes of fierce fighting, but the pages ofhistory need not be burdened with details of the clash of purelyprivate ambitions. THE MORI AND THE AMAKO FAMILIES The Ouchi family was very powerfully situated. Descended from aKorean Crown Prince who migrated to Japan early in the seventhcentury, its representative, Yoshioki (1477-1528), controlled thesouthern provinces of the main island--Iwami, Aki, Suwo, andNagato--as well as the two northern provinces of Kyushu--Chikuzen andBuzen. This was the chieftain who, in 1508, marched to Kyoto at thehead of a great army, and restored the Ashikaga shogun Yoshitane, himself receiving the office of kwanryo. Eleven years later, on hisreturn to the south, he was followed by many nobles from Kyoto, andhis chief provincial town, Yamaguchi, on the Shimonoseki Strait, prospered greatly. But his son Yoshitaka proved a weakling, and beingdefeated by his vassal, Suye Harukata--called also Zenkyo--hecommitted suicide, having conjured another vassal, Mori Motonari, toavenge him. ENGRAVING: MORI MOTONARI The Mori family* had for ancestor the great statesman and legislatorof Yoritomo's time, Oye Hiromoto, and its representative, Motonari(1497-1571), had two sons scarcely inferior to himself in strategicalability, Kikkawa Motoharu and Kohayakawa Takakage. A commissionhaving been obtained from Kyoto, Motonari took the field in 1555, andwith only three thousand men succeeded, by a daring feat, inshattering Harukata with twenty thousand. Thus far, Mori Motonari hadobeyed the behest of his late chief. But thereafter he made noattempt to restore the Ouchi family. On the contrary, he relentlesslyprosecuted the campaign against Suye Harukata, with whom wasassociated Ouchi Yoshinaga, representing the Ouchi house by adoption, until ultimately Yoshinaga committed suicide and, the Ouchi familybecoming extinct, Motonari succeeded to all its domains. *Now represented by Prince Mori. At that time the province of Izumo, which is conterminous with Iwamialong its western frontier, was under the control of the highconstable, Amako Tsunehisa (1458-1540), who, profiting by the fall ofthe great Yamana sept, had obtained possession of the provinces Bingoand Hoki as well as of the Oki Islands. This daimyo was a puissantrival of the Ouchi family, and on the downfall of the latter he sooncame into collision with Mori Motonari. Tsunehisa's grandson, Yoshihisa (1545-1610), inherited this feud, which ended with theextinction of the Amako family and the absorption of its domains bythe Mori, the latter thus becoming supreme in no less than thirteenprovinces of the Sanyo-do and the Sanin-do. THE MIYOSHI, THE ICHIJO, THE CHOSOKABE, AND THE KONO FAMILIES With the island of Shikoku (four provinces) are connected the namesof the Hosokawa, the Miyoshi, the Ichijo, the Chosokabe, and the Konofamilies. Early in the fourteenth century, the celebrated HosokawaYoriyuki was banished to Sanuki, and in the middle of the fifteenthcentury we find nearly the whole of the island under the sway ofHosokawa Katsumoto. Then, in the Daiei era (1521-1528), the Miyoshi, vassals of the Hosokawa, came upon the scene in Awa. From 1470 to1573, the province of Tosa was governed by the Ichijo, but, in thelatter year, Motochika, head of the Chosokabe, one of the sevenvassal families of the Ichijo, usurped the province, and thenreceived orders from Oda Nobunaga to conquer the other threeprovinces of the island in the interests of Nobunaga's son. Motochikaobeyed, but on the death of Nobunaga and his son he constitutedhimself master of Shikoku until Hideyoshi deprived him of all saveTosa. From 1156 to 1581 the Kono family held the province of Iyo, butthere is nothing of historical interest in their career. THE DAIMYO IN KYUSHU Connected with Kyushu are the families of Shoni, Otomo, Ryuzoji, Kikuchi and Shimazu. The term "shoni" originally signifiedvice-governor. Its first bearer was Muto Sukeyori (Fujiwara), whoreceived the commission of Dazai no shoni from Minamoto Yoritomo. Subsequently it became a family name, and the Shoni are foundfighting against the Mongol invaders; stoutly supporting the SouthernCourt; passing over to the side of the Ashikaga, and losing theirplaces in history after the suicide of Tokihisa (1559), who hadsuffered repeated defeats at the hands of the Ryuzoji. The Otomo family was a branch of the Fujiwara. One of its members, Nakahara Chikayoshi, received from Minamoto Yoritomo the office ofhigh constable of the Dazai-fu, and to his son, Yoshinao, was giventhe uji of Otomo, which, as the reader knows, belonged originally toMichi no Omi, a general of the Emperor Jimmu. In Kyushu, the Otomoespoused the cause of the Northern Court, and made themselves mastersof Buzen, Bungo, Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, and Higo. In 1396, thehead of the family--Chikayo--held the office of tandai of Kyushu. Yoshishige, commonly called Sorin (1530-1587), fought successfullywith the Kikuchi and the Akizuki, and the closing years of his lifewere devoted to a futile struggle against the Shimazu, the Ryuzoji, and the Akizuki. He escaped disaster by obtaining succour fromHideyoshi, but the Otomo domain was reduced to the single province ofBungo. The Ryuzoji first appear in history as vassals of the Shoni, underwhose banner they fought against the Otomo, in 1506. Subsequentlythey became independent and established a stronghold in Hizen, whichprovince was granted to them in fief by Hideyoshi. The Kikuchi, a branch of the Fujiwara, held office in Kyushu from thetenth century. They are chiefly noteworthy for their gallant defenceof the cause of the Southern Court. After many vicissitudes thefamily disappeared from history in the middle of the sixteenthcentury. The ancestor of the Shimazu family was Tadahisa, an illegitimate sonof Minamoto Yoritomo. His mother, to escape the resentment ofYoritomo's wife, Masa, fled to Kyushu, and Tadahisa, having beennamed governor of Satsuma, proceeded thither, in 1196, and byconquest added to it the two provinces, Hyuga and Osumi. The Shimazufamily emerged victorious from all campaigns until Hideyoshi inperson took the field against them, as will be presently related. * *The family is now represented by Prince Shimazu. THE O-U REGION The 0-U region (Mutsu-Dewa) was the home of many septs which foughtamong themselves for supremacy. Of these the most influential werethe Mogami of Yamagata, the Date of Yonezawa, and the Ashina of Aizu. In the extreme north were the Nambu who, however, lived too remotefrom the political centres to occupy historical attention. The Datemaintained friendly relations with the Ashikaga, and Harumune wasnominated tandai of Oshu by the shogun Yoshiharu, of whose name oneideograph (haru) was given to the Date chief. The family attained itsgreater distinction in the time of Masamune (1566-1636), and wasfortunate in being able to stand aloof from some of the internecinestrife of the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, the region wassufficiently disturbed. Thus, the Tsugaru and the Nambu struggled inthe north, while the Date, further north, shattered the power of theNikaido, the Nihonmatsu, the Ashina, and the Tamura, or fought lessdecisively against the Satake (of Hitachi), and in Ushu (Dewa) theMogami were confronted by the Uesugi of Echigo. DATE MASAMUNE The most renowned of the Date family was Masamune, who to greatmilitary skill added artistic instincts and considerable poeticability. Tradition has handed down some incidents which illustratethe ethics of that time as well as the character of the man. It isstated that Masamune came into possession of a scroll on which wereinscribed a hundred selected poems copied by the celebrated FujiwaraIetaka. Of this anthology Masamune was much enamoured, for the sakealike of its contents and of its calligraphy. But learningaccidentally that the scroll had been pawned to the merchant fromwhom he had obtained it, he instituted inquiries as to its owner, andultimately restored the scroll to him with the addition of five goldryo. The owner was a knight-errant (ronin) named Imagawa Motome, whothereafter entered Masamune's service and ultimately rose to be ageneral of infantry (ashigaru). The sympathy which taught Masamune toestimate the pain with which the owner of the scroll must have partedwith it was a fine trait of character. Another incident in thisremarkable man's career happened at an entertainment where heaccidentally trod on the robe of one Kanematsu, a vassal of theTokugawa. Enraged by an act of carelessness which amounted almost toa deliberate insult, Kanematsu struck Masamune, A commotion at oncearose, the probable outcome being that Masamune would return the blowwith his sword. But he remained pertly cool, making no remark exceptthat he had been paid for his want of care, and that, at any rate, Kanematsu was not an adversary worthy of his resentment. THE FIVE CENTRES Among the welter of warring regions glanced at above, five sectionsdetach themselves as centres of disturbance. The first is the Courtin Kyoto and the Muromachi Bakufu, where the Hosokawa, the Miyoshi, and the Matsunaga deluged the streets with blood and reduced the cityto ashes. The second is the Hojo of Odawara, who compassed thedestruction of the kubo at Koga and of the two original Uesugifamilies. The third is Takeda of Kai, who struggled on one side withthe Uesugi of Echigo and on the other with the Imagawa of Suruga. Thefourth is Oda Nobunaga, who escorted the shogun to the capital. Andthe fifth is the great Mori family, who, after crushing the Ouchi andthe Amako, finally came into collision with the armies of Oda underthe leadership of Hideyoshi. ENGRAVING: "EMA" (Pictures Painted on Wood, Especially of Horses, Hung up in the Temple as Motive Offerings) ENGRAVING: ODA NOBUNAGA CHAPTER XXXIV NOBUNAGA, HIDEYOSHI, AND IEYASU ODA NOBUNAGA WHEN the Taira sept was shattered finally at Dan-no-ura, a babygrandson of Kiyomori was carried by its mother to the hamlet ofTsuda, in Omi province. Subsequently this child, Chikazane, wasadopted by a Shinto official of Oda, in Echizen, and thus acquiredthe name of Oda. For generations the family served uneventfully atthe shrine in Omi, but in the disturbed days of the Ashikaga shoguns, the representative of the eighth generation from Chikazane emergedfrom the obscurity of Shinto services and was appointed steward(karo) of the Shiba family, which appointment involved removal of hisresidence to Owari. From that time the fortunes of the family becamebrighter. Nobuhide, its representative at the beginning of thesixteenth century, acquired sufficient power to dispute the Imagawa'ssway over the province of Mikawa, and sufficient wealth to contributefunds to the exhausted coffers of the Court in Kyoto. This man's son was Nobunaga. Born in 1534, and destined to bequeathto his country a name that will never die, Nobunaga, as a boy, showedmuch of the eccentricity of genius. He totally despised the canons ofthe time as to costume and etiquette. One of his peculiarities was alove of long swords, and it is related that on a visit to Kyoto inhis youth he carried in his girdle a sword which trailed on theground as he walked. Rough and careless, without any apparentdignity, he caused so much solicitude to his tutor and guardian, Hirate Masahide, and showed so much indifference to the latter'sremonstrances, that finally Masahide had recourse to the faithfulvassal's last expedient--he committed suicide, leaving a letter inwhich the explanation of his act was accompanied by a stirring appealto the better instincts of his pupil and ward. This proved theturning-point in Nobunaga's career. He became as circumspect as hehad previously been careless, and he subsequently erected to thememory of his brave monitor a temple which may be seen to this day byvisitors to Nagoya. It is frequently said of Nobunaga that his indifference to detail andhis lack of patience were glaring defects in his moral endowment. Butthat accusation can scarcely be reconciled with facts. Thus, whenstill a young man, it is related of him that he summoned one of hisvassals to his presence but, giving no order, allowed the man toretire. This was repeated with two others, when the third, believingthat there must be something in need of care, looked aboutattentively before retiring, and observing a piece of torn paper onthe mats, took it up and carried it away. Nobunaga recalled him, eulogized his intelligence, and declared that men who waitedscrupulously for instructions would never accomplish much. Thefaculties of observation and initiation were not more valued byNobunaga than those of honesty and modesty. It is recorded that onone occasion he summoned all the officers of his staff, and showingthem a sword by a famous maker, promised to bestow it upon the manwho should guess most correctly the number of threads in the silkfrapping of the hilt. All the officers wrote down their guesses withone exception, that of Mori Rammaru. Asked for the reason of hisabstention, Mori replied that he happened to know the exact number ofthreads, having counted them on a previous occasion when admiring thesword. Nubunaga at once placed the weapon in his hands, thusrecognizing his honesty. Again, after the construction of the famouscastle at Azuchi, to which reference will be made hereafter, Nobunaga, desiring to have a record compiled in commemoration of theevent, asked a celebrated priest, Sakugen, to undertake thecomposition and penning of the document. Sakugen declared the task tobe beyond his literary ability, and recommended that it should beentrusted to his rival, Nankwa. Nobunaga had no recourse but to adoptthis counsel, and Nankwa performed the task admirably, as thedocument, which is still in existence, shows. In recognition of thissuccess, Nobunaga gave the compiler one hundred pieces of silver, butat the same time bestowed two hundred on Sakugen for his magnanimityin recommending a rival. Nobunaga unquestionably had the gift of endearing himself to hisretainers, though there are records which show that he was subject tooutbursts of fierce anger. Even his most trusted generals were notexempt from bitter words or even blows, and we shall presently seethat to this fault in his character was approximately due his tragicend. Nevertheless, he did not lack the faculty of pity. On theoccasion of a dispute between two of his vassals about the boundariesof a manor, the defeated litigant bribed one of Nobunaga's principalstaff-officers to appeal for reversal of the judgment. This officeradduced reasons of a sufficiently specious character, but Nobunagadetected their fallacy, and appeared about to take some precipitateaction when he happened to observe the wrinkles which time hadwritten on the suppliant's face. He recovered his sang-froid andcontented himself with sending the officer from his presence andsubsequently causing to be handed to him a couplet setting forth theevils of bribery and corruption. He forgave the guilty man inconsideration of his advanced age, and the incident is said to haveclosed with the suicide of the old officer. Frugality was anothertrait of Nobunaga's character. But he did not save money for money'ssake. He spent with lavish hand when the occasion called formunificence; as when he contributed a great sum for the rebuilding ofthe Ise shrines. Perhaps nothing constitutes a better clue to hisdisposition than the verses he habitually quoted: Life is short; the world is a mere dream to the idle. Only the fool fears death, for what is there of life that does Not die once, sooner or later? Man has to die once and once only; He should make his death glorious. It is recorded that Nobunaga's demeanour in battle truly reflectedthe spirit of these verses. ENGRAVING: TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI HIDEYOSHI Nobunaga certainly deserved the success he achieved, but that heachieved it must be attributed in part to accident. That accident washis association with Hideyoshi. * It has been sometimes said thatcircumstances beget the men to deal with them. Fallacious as such adoctrine is, it almost compels belief when we observe that the secondhalf of the sixteenth century in Japan produced three of the greatestmen the world has ever seen, and that they joined hands to accomplishthe stupendous task of restoring peace and order to an empire whichhad been almost continuously torn by war throughout five consecutivecenturies. These three men were born within an interval of eightyears: Nobunaga, in 1534; Hideyoshi, in 1536, and Ieyasu, in 1542. *To avoid needless difficulty the name "Hideyoshi" is used solelythroughout this history. But, as a matter of fact, the greatstatesman and general was called in his childhood Nakamura Hiyoshi;his adult name was Tokichi; afterwards he changed this to Hashiba andultimately, he was known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi. There are many stories about Hideyoshi's early days, but the detailsare obscured by a record called the Taikoki, which undoubtedly makesmany excursions into the region of romance. The plain facts appear tobe that Hideyoshi was the son of a humble farmer named KinoshitaYaemon, who lived in the Aichi district of Owari province, and whopreferred the life of a foot-soldier (ashigaru) to the pursuit ofagriculture. Yaemon served the Oda family, and died when Hideyoshiwas still a youth. In Owari province, at a homestead called Icho-murafrom the name of the tree (maiden-hair tree) that flourishes there inabundance, there stands a temple built in the year 1616 on the siteof the house where Hideyoshi was born. This temple is known asTaiko-zan--"Taiko" having been the title of Hideyoshi in the latteryears of his life--and in the grounds of the temple may be seen thewell from which water was drawn to wash the newly born baby. Thechild grew up to be a youth of dimunitive stature, monkey-like face, extraordinary precocity, and boundless ambition. Everything wasagainst him--personal appearance, obscurity of lineage, and absenceof scholarship. Yet he never seems to have doubted that a greatfuture lay before him. Many curious legends are grouped about his childhood. They are forthe most part clumsily constructed and unconvincing, though probablywe shall be justified in accepting the evidence they bear of a mindsingularly well ordered and resourceful. At the age of sixteen he wasemployed by a Buddhist priest to assist in distributing amulets, andby the agency of this priest he obtained an introduction toMatsushita Yukitsuna, commandant of the castle of Kuno at Hamamatsu, in Totomi province. This Matsushita was a vassal of ImagawaYoshimoto. He controlled the provinces of Mikawa, Totomi, and Suruga, which lie along the coast eastward of Owari, and he represented oneof the most powerful families in the country. Hideyoshi served in thecastle of Kuno for a period variously reckoned at from one year tofive. Tradition says that he abused the trust placed in him by hisemployer, and absconded with the sum of six ryo wherewith he had beencommissioned to purchase a new kind of armour which had recently comeinto vogue in Owari province. But though this alleged theft becomesin certain annals the basis of a picturesque story as to Hideyoshirepaying Matsushita a thousandfold in later years, the unadornedtruth seems to be that Hideyoshi was obliged to leave Kuno on accountof the jealousy of his fellow retainers, who slandered him toYukitsuna and procured his dismissal. Returning to Owari, he obtained admission to the ranks of OdaNobunaga in the humble capacity of sandal-bearer. He deliberatelychose Nobunaga through faith in the greatness of his destiny, andagain the reader of Japanese history is confronted by ingenious talesas to Hideyoshi's devices for obtaining admission to Nobunaga'shouse. But the most credible explanation is, at the same time, thesimplest, namely, that Hideyoshi's father, having been borne on themilitary roll of Nobunaga's father, little difficulty offered inobtaining a similar favour for Hideyoshi. Nobunaga was then on the threshold of his brilliant career. In thosedays of perpetual war and tumult, the supreme ambition of each greatterritorial baron in Japan was to fight his way to the capital, thereto obtain from the sovereign and the Muromachi Bakufu a commission tosubdue the whole country and to administer it as their lieutenant. Nobunaga seems to have cherished that hope from his early years, though several much more powerful military magnates would surelyoppose anything like his pre-eminence. Moreover, in addition tocomparative weakness, he was hampered by local inconvenience. Theprovince of Owari was guarded on the south by sea, but on the east itwas menaced directly by the Imagawa family and indirectly by thecelebrated Takeda Shingen, while on the north it was threatened bythe Saito and on the west by the Asai, the Sasaki, and theKitabatake. Any one of these puissant feudatories would have beenmore than a match for the Owari chieftain, and that Imagawa Yoshimotoharboured designs against Owari was well known to Nobunaga, for inthose days spying, slander, forgery, and deceit of every kind had theapproval of the Chinese writers on military ethics whose books wereregarded as classics by the Japanese. Hideyoshi himself figures atthis very time as the instigator and director of a series of acts ofextreme treachery, by which the death of one of the principal Imagawavassals was compassed; and the same Hideyoshi was the means ofdiscovering a plot by Imagawa emissaries to delay the repair of thecastle of Kiyosu, Nobunaga's headquarters, where a heavy fall of rainhad caused a landslide. Nobunaga did not venture to assume theoffensive against the Imagawa chief. He chose as a matter ofnecessity to stand on the defensive, and when it became certain thatImagawa Yoshimoto had taken the field, a general impression prevailedthat the destruction of the Oda family was unavoidable. BATTLE OF OKEHAZAMA In the month of June, 1560, Imagawa Yoshimoto crossed the border intoOwari at the head of a force stated by the annals to have beenforty-six thousand strong. Just two years had elapsed sinceHideyoshi's admission to the service of the Owari baron in the officeof sandal-bearer. Nevertheless, some generally credible records donot hesitate to represent Hideyoshi as taking a prominent part in thegreat battle against the Imagawa, and as openly advising Nobunagawith regard to the strategy best adapted to the situation. It isincredible that a private soldier, and a mere youth of twenty-two atthat, should have risen in such a short time to occupy a place ofequality with the great generals of Nobunaga's army. But thatHideyoshi contributed more or less to the result of the fight may beconfidently asserted. The battle itself, though the forces engaged were not large, must becounted one of the great combats of the world, for had not Nobunagaemerged victorious the whole course of Japanese history might havebeen changed. At the outset, no definite programme seems to have beenconceived on Nobunaga's side. He had no allies, and the numericalinferiority of his troops was overwhelming. The latter defect wasremedied in a very partial degree by the resourcefulness ofHideyoshi. In his boyhood he had served for some time under acelebrated chief of freebooters, by name Hachisuka Koroku, * and hepersuaded that chieftain with his fifteen hundred followers to marchto the aid of the Owari army, armour and weapons having beenfurnished by Sasaki Shotei, of Omi province. Sasaki regardedNobunaga's plight as too hopeless to warrant direct aid, but he waswilling to equip Hachisuka's men for the purpose, although theaddition of fifteen hundred soldiers could make very littledifference in the face of such a disparity as existed between thecombatants. *Ancestor of the present Marquis Hachisuka. Shortly before these events, Owari had been invaded from the west bythe Kitabatake baron, whose domain lay in Ise, and the invaders hadbeen beaten back by a bold offensive movement on Nobunaga's part. Theultimate result had not been conclusive, as Nobunaga advisedlyrefrained from carrying the war into Ise and thus leaving his ownterritory unguarded. But the affair had taught the superiority ofoffensive tactics, and thus Nobunaga's impulse was to attack the armyof Imagawa, instead of waiting to be crushed by preponderate force. His most trusted generals, Shibata Katsuiye, Sakuma Nobumori, andHayashi Mitsukatsu, strenuously opposed this plan. They saw noprospect whatever of success in assuming the offensive againststrength so superior, and they urged the advisability of yieldingtemporarily and awaiting an opportunity to recover independence. Here, Hideyoshi is reputed to have shown conspicuous wisdom at thecouncil-table. He pointed out that there could be no such thing astemporary surrender. The Imagawa would certainly insist on hostagessufficiently valuable to insure permanent good faith, and he furtherdeclared that it was a mistake to credit the Imagawa with possessingthe good-will of any of the other great feudatories, since they wereall equally jealous of one another. Finally, it was resolved that seven forts should be built andgarrisoned, and that five of them should be allowed to fall into theenemy's hands if resistance proved hopeless. In the remaining twoforts the garrisons were to be composed of the best troops in theOwari army, and over these strongholds were to be flown the flags ofNobunaga himself and of his chief general. It was hoped that by theirsuccess in five of the forts the Imagawa army would be at oncephysically wearied and morally encouraged to concentrate their entirestrength and attention on the capture of the last two fortresses. Meanwhile, Nobunaga himself, with a select body of troops, was tomarch by mountain roads to the rear of the invading forces anddeliver a furious attack when such a manoeuvre was least expected. The brave men who engaged in this perilous enterprise werestrengthened by worshipping at the shrine of Hachiman in the villageof Atsuta, and their prayers evoked appearances which wereinterpreted as manifestations of divine assistance. Most fortunatelyfor the Owari troops, their movements were shrouded by a heavyrainfall, and they succeeded in inflicting serious loss on theinvading army, driving it pele-mele across the border and killing itschief, Yoshimoto. No attempt was made to pursue the fugitives intoMikawa. Nobunaga was prudently content with his signal victory. Itraised him at once to a level with the greatest provincial barons inthe empire, and placed him in the foremost rank of the aspirants foran Imperial commission. ENGRAVING: TOKUGAWA IEYASU TOKUGAWA IEYASU The battle of Okehazama led to another incident of prime importancein Japanese history. It brought about an alliance between OdaNobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Among the small barons subject to theImagawa there was one called Matsudaira Motoyasu. He had taken thename, Motoyasu, by adopting one of the ideographs of Yoshimoto'sappellation. His family, long in alliance with the Imagawa, were at avariance with the Oda, and in the battle of Okehazama this Motoyasuhad captured one of the Owari forts. But on the defeat and death ofYoshimoto, the Matsudaira chieftain retired at once to his own castleof Okazaki, in the province of Mikawa. He had then to consider hisposition, for by the death of Yoshimoto, the headship of the Imagawafamily had fallen to his eldest son, Ujizane, a man altogetherinferior in intellect to his gifted father. Nobunaga himselfappreciated the character of the new ruler, and saw that the wisestplan would be to cement a union with Matsudaira Motoyasu. Accordinglyhe despatched an envoy to Okazaki Castle to consult the wishes ofMotoyasu. The latter agreed to the Owari chief's proposals, and inFebruary, 1562, proceeded to the castle of Kiyosu, where hecontracted with Oda Nobunaga an alliance which endured throughout thelatter's lifetime. In the following year, Motoyasu changed his nameto Ieyasu, and subsequently he took the uji of Tokugawa. The alliancewas strengthened by intermarriage, Nobuyasu, the eldest son ofIeyasu, being betrothed to a daughter of Nobunaga. NOBUNAGA'S POSITION It was at this time, according to Japanese annalists, that Nobunagaseriously conceived the ambition of making Kyoto his goal. Thesituation offered inducements. In the presence of a practicallyacknowledged conviction that no territorial baron of that era mightventure to engage in an enterprise which denuded his territory of aprotecting army, it was necessary to look around carefully beforeembarking upon the Kyoto project. Nobunaga had crushed the Imagawa, for though his victory had not been conclusive from a military pointof view, it had placed the Imagawa under incompetent leadership andhad thus freed Owari from all menace from the littoral provinces onthe east. Again, in the direction of Echigo and Shinano, the greatcaptain, Uesugi Kenshin, dared not strike at Nobunaga's provincewithout exposing himself to attack from Takeda Shingen. But Shingenwas not reciprocally hampered. His potentialities were always anunknown quality. He was universally recognized as the greateststrategist of his time, and if Nobunaga ventured to move westward, the Kai baron would probably seize the occasion to lay hands uponOwari. It is true that the alliance with Tokugawa Ieyasu constitutedsome protection. But Ieyasu was no match for Shingen in the field. Some other check must be devised, and Nobunaga found it in themarriage of his adopted daughter to Shingen's son, Katsuyori. THE COURT APPEALS TO NOBUNAGA In Kyoto, at this time, a state of great confusion existed. TheEmperor Okimachi had ascended the throne in 1557. But in the presenceof the violent usurpations of the Miyoshi and others, neither thesovereign nor the shogun could exercise any authority, and, as hasbeen shown already, the Throne was constantly in pecuniarilyembarassed circumstances. Nobunaga's father, Nobuhide, haddistinguished himself by subscribing liberally to aid the Courtfinancially, and this fact being now recalled in the context ofNobunaga's rapidly rising power, the Emperor, in the year 1562, despatched Tachiri Munetsugu nominally to worship at the shrine ofAtsuta, but in reality to convey to Nobunaga an Imperial messagedirecting him to restore order in the capital. The Owari baronreceived this envoy with marked respect. It is recorded that hesolemnly performed the ceremony of lustration and clothed himself inhitherto unworn garments on the occasion of his interview with theenvoy. It was not in his power, however, to make any definitearrangement as to time. He could only profess his humbledetermination to obey the Imperial behest, and promise the utmostexpedition. But there can be no doubt that the arrival of this envoydecided the question of a march to Kyoto, though some years weredestined to elapse before the project could be carried out. Two things were necessary, however, namely, a feasible route and aplausible pretext. Even in those times, when wars were oftenundertaken merely for the purpose of deciding personal supremacy, there remained sufficient public morality to condemn any baron whosuffered himself to be guided openly by ambition alone. Somereasonably decent cause had to be found. Now the Emperor, though, asabove stated, communicating his will verbally to Nobunaga, had notsent him any written commission. The necessary pretext was furnished, however, by the relations between the members of the Saito family ofMino province, which lay upon the immediate north of Owari, andconstituted the most convenient road to Kyoto. Hidetatsu, the head ofthat family, had fought against Nobunaga's father, Nobuhide, and oneof the conditions of peace had been that the daughter of Hidetatsushould become the wife of Nobunaga. Subsequently, the Saito household was disturbed by one of the familyfeuds so common during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries inJapan. Hidetatsu, desiring to disinherit his eldest son, Yoshitatsu, had been attacked and killed by the latter, and Nobunaga announcedhis intention of avenging the death of his father-in-law. But beforethis intention could be carried out, Yoshitatsu died (1561), and hisson, Tatsuoki, a man of little resource or ability, had to bear theonset from Owari. Nobunaga, at the head of a large force, crossed theKiso River into Mino. But he found that, even under the leadership ofTatsuoki, the Mino men were too strong for him, and he was ultimatelycompelled to adopt the device of erecting on the Mino side of theriver a fortress which should serve at once as a basis of militaryoperations and as a place for establishing relations with the minorfamilies in the province. The building of this fort proved a verydifficult task, but it was finally accomplished by a clever device onthe part of Hideyoshi, who, a master of intrigue as well as ofmilitary strategy, subsequently won over to Nobunaga's cause many ofthe principal vassals of the Saito family, among them being TakenakaShigeharu, who afterwards proved a most capable lieutenant toHideyoshi. These preliminaries arranged, Nobunaga once more crossed the Kiso(1564) at the head of a large army, and after many days of severefighting, captured the castle of Inaba-yama, which had been stronglyfortified by Yoshitatsu, and was deemed impregnable. Nobunagaestablished his headquarters at this castle, changing its name toGifu, and thus extending his dominion over the province of Mino aswell as Owari. He had now to consider whether he would push on atonce into the province of Omi, which alone lay between him and Kyoto, or whether he would first provide against the danger of a possibleattack on the western littoral of Owari from the direction of Ise. Hechose the latter course, and invaded Ise at the head of aconsiderable force. But he here met with a repulse at the hands ofKusunoki Masatomo, who to the courage and loyalty of his immortalancestor, Masashige, added no small measure of strategical ability. He succeeded in defending his castle of Yada against Nobunaga'sattacks, and finally the Owari general, deceived by a rumour to theeffect that Takeda Shingen had reached the neighbourhood of Gifu witha strong army, retired hurriedly from Ise. It may here be mentioned that three years later, in 1568, Hideyoshisucceeded in inducing all the territorial nobles of northern Ise, except Kusunoki Masatomo, to place themselves peacefully underNobunaga's sway. Hideyoshi's history shows him to have been aconstant believer in the theory that a conquered foe generallyremains an enemy, whereas a conciliated enemy often becomes a friend. Acting on this conviction and aided by an extraordinary gift ofpersuasive eloquence, he often won great victories without anybloodshed. Thus he succeeded in convincing the Ise barons thatNobunaga was not swayed by personal ambition, but that his rulingdesire was to put an end to the wars which had devastated Japancontinuously for more than a century. It is right to record that thefailures made by Nobunaga himself in his Ise campaign were in thesequel of measures taken in opposition to Hideyoshi's advice, andindeed the annals show that this was true of nearly all the disastersthat overtook Nobunaga throughout his career, whereas his many andbrilliant successes were generally the outcome of Hideyoshi'scounsels. ANOTHER SUMMONS FROM THE EMPEROR In November, 1567, the Emperor again sent Tachiri Munetsugu to inviteNobunaga's presence in Kyoto. His Majesty still refrained from thedangerous step of giving a written commission to Nobunaga, but heinstructed Munetsugu to carry to the Owari chieftain a suit of armourand a sword. Two years previously to this event, the tumult in Kyotohad culminated in an attack on the palace of the shogun Yoshiteru, the conflagration of the building, and the suicide of the shogun amidthe blazing ruins. Yoshiteru's younger brother, Yoshiaki, effectedhis escape from the capital, and wandered about the country duringthree years, supplicating one baron after another to take up hiscause. This was in 1568, just nine months after the Emperor's secondmessage to Nobunaga, and the latter, acting upon Hideyoshi's advice, determined to become Yoshiaki's champion, since by so doing he wouldrepresent not only the sovereign but also the shogun in the eyes ofthe nation. Meanwhile--and this step also was undertaken underHideyoshi's advice--a friendly contract had been concluded with AsaiNagamasa, the most powerful baron in Omi, and the agreement had beencemented by the marriage of Nobunaga's sister to Nagamasa. NOBUNAGA PROCEEDS TO KYOTO In October, 1568, Nobunaga set out for Kyoto at the head of an armysaid to have numbered thirty thousand. He did not encounter anyserious resistance on the way, but the coming of his troops threw thecity into consternation, the general apprehension being that theadvent of these provincial warriors would preface a series ofdepredations such as the people were only too well accustomed to. ButNobunaga lost no time in issuing reassuring proclamations, which, inthe sequel, his officers proved themselves thoroughly capable ofenforcing, and before the year closed peace and order were restoredin the capital, Yoshiaki being nominated shogun and all theceremonies of Court life being restored. Subsequently, the forces ofthe Miyoshi sept made armed attempts to recover the control of thecity, and the shogun asked Nobunaga to appoint one of his mosttrusted generals and ablest administrators to maintain peace. It wasfully expected that Nobunaga would respond to this appeal bynominating Shibata, Sakuma, or Niwa, who had served under his bannersfrom the outset, and in whose eyes Hideyoshi was a mere upstart. ButNobunaga selected Hideyoshi, and the result justified his choice, forduring Hideyoshi's sway Kyoto enjoyed such tranquillity as it had notknown for a century. Nobunaga omitted nothing that could make for the dignity and comfortof the new shogun. He caused a palace to be erected for him on thesite of the former Nijo Castle, contributions being levied for thepurpose on the five provinces of the Kinai as well as on six others;and Nobunaga himself personally supervised the work, which wascompleted in May, 1569. But it may fairly be doubted whether Nobunagaacted in all this matter with sincerity. At the outset his attitudetowards the shogun was so respectful and so considerate that Yoshiakilearned to regard and speak of him as a father. But presentlyNobunaga presented a memorial, charging the shogun with faults whichwere set forth in seventeen articles. In this impeachment, Yoshiakiwas accused of neglecting his duties at Court; of failing topropitiate the territorial nobles; of partiality in meting outrewards and punishments; of arbitrarily confiscating privateproperty; of squandering money on needless enterprises; of listeningto flatterers; of going abroad in the disguise of a private person, and so forth. It is claimed by some of Nobunaga's biographers that hewas perfectly honest in presenting this memorial, but others, whosejudgment appears to be more perspicacious, consider that his chiefobject was to discredit Yoshiaki and thus make room for his ownsubsequent succession to the shogunate. At all events Yoshiaki interpreted the memorial in that sense. Hebecame openly hostile to Nobunaga, and ultimately took up arms. Nobunaga made many attempts to conciliate him. He even sent Hideyoshito solicit Yoshiaki's return to Kyoto from Kawachi whither the shogunhad fled. But Yoshiaki, declining to be placated, placed himselfunder the protection of the Mori family, and thus from the year 1573, Nobunaga became actual wielder of the shogun's authority. Ten yearslater, Yoshiaki returned to the capital, took the tonsure and changedhis name to Shozan. At the suggestion of Hideyoshi a title and ayearly income of ten thousand koku were conferred on him. He died inOsaka and thus ended the Ashikaga shogunate. SAKAI One of the incidents connected with Hideyoshi's administration inKyoto illustrates the customs of his time. Within eight miles of thecity of Osaka lies Sakai, a great manufacturing mart. This lattertown, though originally forming part of the Ashikaga domain, nevertheless assisted the Miyoshi in their attack upon the shogunate. Nobunaga, much enraged at such action, proposed to sack the town, butHideyoshi asked to have the matter left in his hands. This requestbeing granted, he sent messengers to Sakai, who informed the citizensthat Nobunaga contemplated the destruction of the town by fire. Thereupon the citizens, preferring to die sword in hand rather thanto be cremated, built forts and made preparations for resistance. This was just what Hideyoshi designed. Disguising himself, herepaired to Sakai and asked to be informed as to the object of thesemilitary preparations. Learning the apprehensions of the people, heridiculed their fears; declared that Nobunaga had for prime objectthe safety and peace of the realm, and that by giving ear to suchwild rumours and assuming a defiant attitude, they had committed afault not to be lightly condoned. Delegates were then sent from Sakaiat Hideyoshi's suggestion to explain the facts to Nobunaga, who actedhis part in the drama by ordering the deputies to be thrown intoprison and promising to execute them as well as their fellowtownsmen. In this strait the people of Sakai appealed to a celebratedBuddhist priest named Kennyo, and through his intercession Hideyoshiagreed to ransom the town for a payment of twenty thousand ryo. Thefunds thus obtained were devoted to the repair of the palaces of theEmperor and the shogun, a measure which won for Nobunaga the applauseof the whole of Kyoto. NOBUNAGA'S SITUATION Oda Nobunaga was now in fact shogun. So far as concerned legalizedpower he had no equal in the empire, but his military strength was byno means proportionate. In the north, in the east, in the west, andin the south, there were great territorial nobles who could put intothe field armies much larger than all the Owari chief's troops. Takeda Shingen, in the Kwanto, was the most formidable of theseopponents. In the year 1570, when the events now to be relatedoccurred, the Hojo sept was under the rule of Ujimasa, and with himShingen had concluded an alliance which rendered the latter secureagainst attack on the rear in the event of movement against Kyoto. The better to ensure himself against Hojo designs, Shingen joinedhands with the Satomi family in Awa, and the Satake family inHitachi; while to provide against irruptions by the Uesugi family heenlisted the co-operation of the priests in Kaga, Echizen, and Noto. Shingen further established relations of friendship with MatsunagaHisahide in the far west. It was this baron that had attacked thepalace of Nijo when Yoshiteru, the shogun, had to commit suicide, andShingen's object in approaching him was to sow seeds of discordbetween the shogunate and Nobunaga. Most imminent of all perils, however, was the menace of the Asai family in Omi, and the Asakurafamily in Echizen. A glance at the map shows that the Asai were in aposition to sever Nobunaga's communications with his base in Mino, and that the Asakura were in a position to cut off his communicationswith Kyoto. In this perilous situation Nobunaga's sole resource layin Tokugawa Ieyasu and in the latter's alliance with the Uesugi, which compact the Owari chief spared no pains to solidify. But from amilitary point of view Ieyasu was incomparably weaker than Shingen. THE STRUGGLE WITH THE ASAKURA AND THE ASAI In 1570, Nobunaga determined to put his fortunes to a final test. Having concentrated a large body of troops in Kyoto, he declared waragainst Asakura Yoshikage, who had refused to recognize the newshogun. Success crowned the early efforts of the Owari forces in thiswar, but the whole situation was changed by Asai Nagamasa, whosuddenly marched out of Omi and threatened to attack Nobunaga's rear. It is true that before setting out for Kyoto originally, Nobunaga hadgiven his sister in marriage to Nagamasa, and had thus invited thelatter's friendship. But Nagamasa had always been on terms of closeamity with Yoshikage, and, indeed, had stipulated from the outsetthat Nobunaga should not make war against the latter. It cannot besaid, therefore, that Nagamasa's move constituted a surprise. Nobunaga should have been well prepared for such contingencies. Hewas not prepared, however, and the result was that he found himselfmenaced by Yoshikage's army in front and by Nagamasa's in rear. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had associated himself by invitation with thisexpedition into Echizen, advised Nobunaga to countermarch with allrapidity for Kyoto, and it was so determined. Hideyoshi was left withthree thousand men to hold Yoshikage's forces in some degree ofcheck. The situation at that moment was well-nigh desperate. There seemed tobe no hope for either Nobunaga or Hideyoshi. But Nobunaga was savedby the slowness of Nagamasa, who, had he moved with any rapidity, must have reached Kyoto in advance of Nobunaga's forces; andHideyoshi was saved by an exercise of the wonderful resourcefulnesswhich peril always awoke in this great man. Calculating thatYoshikage's army would reach Kanagasaki Castle at nightfall, Hideyoshi, by means of thousands of lanterns and banners gave to afew scores of men a semblance of a numerous army. Yoshikage, whobelieved that Nobunaga had retired, was visited by doubts at theaspect of this great array, and instead of advancing to attack atonce, he decided to await the morning. Meanwhile, Hideyoshi with hislittle band of troops, moved round Yoshikage's flank, and deliveringa fierce attack at midnight, completely defeated the Echizen forces. * *See A New Life of Toyolomi Hideyoshi, by W. Dening. This episode was, of course, not conclusive. It merely showed that solong as Nagamasa and Yoshikage worked in combination, Nobunaga'sposition in Kyoto and his communications with his base in Mino mustremain insecure. He himself would have directed his forces at onceagainst Nagamasa, but Hideyoshi contended that the wiser plan wouldbe to endeavour to win over some of the minor barons whosestrongholds lay on the confines of Omi and Mino. This was graduallyaccomplished, and after an unsuccessful attempt upon the part ofSasaki Shotei of Omi to capture a castle (Choko-ji) which was underthe command of Nobunaga's chief general, Katsuiye, the Owari forceswere put in motion against Nagamasa's principal strongholds, Otaniand Yoko-yama. The former was attacked first, Nobunaga being assistedby a contingent of five thousand men under the command of Ieyasu. Three days of repeated assaults failed to reduce the castle, andduring that interval Nagamasa and Yoshikage were able to enter thefield at the head of a force which greatly outnumbered the Owariarmy. In midsummer, 1570, there was fought, on the banks of the Ane-gawa, one of the great battles of Japanese history. It resulted in thecomplete discomfiture of the Echizen chieftains. The records say thatthree thousand of their followers were killed and that among themwere ten general officers. The castle of Otani, however, remained inNagamasa's hands. Nobunaga now retired to his headquarters in Gifu torest his forces. But he was quickly summoned again to the field by a revolt on thepart of the Buddhist priests in the province of Settsu, under thebanner of Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and Saito Tatsuoki. Nobunaga's attemptto quell this insurrection was unsuccessful, and immediately Nagamasaand Yoshikage seized the occasion to march upon Kyoto. The priests ofHiei-zan received them with open arms, and they occupied on themonastery's commanding site, a position well-nigh impregnable, fromwhich they constantly menaced the capital. It was now thecommencement of winter. For the invading troops to hold their ownupon Hiei-zan throughout the winter would have been even moredifficult than for Nobunaga's army to cut off their avenues ofretreat and supply. In these circumstances peace presented itself to both sides as themost feasible plan, and the forces of Nagamasa and Yoshikage wereallowed to march away unmolested to Omi and Echizen, respectively. This result was intensely mortifying to Hideyoshi, who had devotedhis whole energies to the destruction of these dangerous enemies. Butthe final issue was only postponed. By contrivances, which need notbe related in detail, Nagamasa was again induced to take the field, and, in 1573, the Owari forces found themselves once more confrontedby the allied armies of Echizen and Omi. By clever strategy theEchizen baron was induced to take the fatal step of separatinghimself from his Omi colleague, and at Tone-yama he sustained acrushing defeat, leaving two thousand of his men and twenty-three ofhis captains dead upon the field. He himself fled and for a timeremained concealed, but ultimately, being closely menaced withcapture, he committed suicide. Meanwhile, Nagamasa had withdrawn tohis stronghold of Otani, where he was besieged by Nobunaga. Thecastle ultimately fell, Nagamasa and his son dying by their ownhands. This year witnessed also the death of Takeda Shingen, and thusNobunaga not only established his sway over the whole of theprovinces of Omi and Echizen but also was relieved from the constantmenace of a formidable attack by a captain to whom public opinionjustly attributed the leading place among Japanese strategists. Thewhole of Nagamasa's estates, yielding an annual return of 180, 000koku, was given to Hideyoshi, and he was ordered to assume thecommand of Otani Castle, whence, however, he moved shortly afterwardsto Nagahama. HIEI-ZAN It was now possible for Nobunaga to devote his entire attention tothe soldier-priests who had allied themselves with his enemies. Ithas been shown that the monastery of Hiei-zan had afforded shelterand sustenance to the forces of Echizen and Omi during the winter of1570-1571, and it has been shown also that Nobunaga, underrating thestrength of the priests in the province of Settsu, sustained defeatat their hands. He now (1574) sent an army to hold the soldier-monksof Settsu in check while he himself dealt with Hiei-zan. This greatmonastery, as already shown, was erected in the ninth century inobedience to the Buddhist superstition that the northeastern quarterof the heavens is the "Demon's Gate, " and that a temple must beerected there to afford security against evil influences. The templeon Hiei-zan had received the munificent patronage of monarch aftermonarch, and had grown to be a huge monastery, containing some threethousand priests. This miniature city completely commanded Kyoto, andwas guarded in front by a great lake. But, above all, it wassanctified by the superstition of the people, and when Nobunagainvested it, he found the greatest reluctance on the part of hisgenerals to proceed to extremities. Nevertheless, he overcame thesescruples, and drawing a cordon of troops round the great monastery, he applied the torch to the buildings, burnt to death nearly all itsinmates, including women, confiscated its estates, and built, forpurposes of future prevention, a castle at Sakamoto, which was placedunder the command of Akechi Mitsuhide. When, in after years, thissame Mitsuhide treacherously compassed Nobunaga's death, men saidthat the opening of the Demon's Gate had entailed its due penalty. OTHER PRIESTLY DISTURBANCES It was not in Settsu and at Hiei-zan only that the Buddhist soldiersturned their weapons against Nobunaga. The Asai sept receivedassistance from no less than ten temples in Omi; the Asakura familyhad the ranks of its soldiers recruited from monasteries in Echizenand Kaga; the Saito clan received aid from the bonzes in Izumi andIga, and the priests of the great temple Hongwan-ji in Osaka were infriendly communication with the Mori sept in the west, with theTakeda in Kai, and with the Hojo in Sagami. In fact, the difficultiesencountered by Nobunaga in his attempts to bring the whole empireunder the affective sway of the Throne were incalculably accentuatedby the hostility of the great Shin sect of Buddhism. He dealteffectually with all except the monastery at Ishi-yama in Osaka. Theimmense natural strength of the position and the strategical abilityof its lord-abbot, Kosa, enabled it to defy all the assaults of theOwari chief, and it was not until 1588--six years after Nobunaga'sdeath--that, through the intervention of the Emperor, peace wasfinally restored. After eleven years of almost incessant struggle, his Majesty's envoy, Konoe Sakihisa, succeeded in inducing the Ikkopriests to lay down their arms. It will be presently seen that theinveterate hostility shown by the Buddhists to Nobunaga was largelyresponsible for his favourable attitude towards Christianity. THE CASTLE OF AZUCHI The lightness and flimsiness of construction in Japanese houses hasbeen noted already several times. Even though there was continualwarfare in the provinces of family against family, the character ofthe fighting and of the weapons used was such that there was littleneed for the building of elaborate defenses, and there waspractically nothing worthy the name of a castle. Watch-towers hadbeen built and roofs and walls were sometimes protected by puttingnails in the building points outward, --a sort of chevaux de frise. But a system of outlying defenses, ditch, earthen wall and woodenpalisade, was all that was used so long as fighting was eitherhand-to-hand or with missiles no more penetrating than arrows. Butwhen fire-arms were introduced in 1542, massively constructed castlesbegan to be built. These were in general patterned after Westernmodels, but with many minor modifications. The first of these fortresses was built at Azuchi, in Omi, under theauspices of Oda Nobunaga. Commenced in 1576, the work was completedin 1579. In the centre of the castle rose a tower ninety feet high, standing on a massive stone basement seventy-two feet in height, thewhole forming a structure absolutely without precedent in Japan. Thetower was of wood, and had, therefore, no capacity for resistingcannon. But, as a matter of fact, artillery can scarcely be said tohave been used in Japan until modern days. Nobunaga's castle isstated by some historians to have been partially attributable toChristianity, but this theory seems to rest solely upon the fact thatthe central tower was known as Tenshu-kaku, or the "tower of the lordof Heaven. " There were more numerous indications that the spirit ofBuddhism influenced the architect, for in one of the highest storeysof the tower, the four "guardian kings" were placed, and in the lowerchamber stood an effigy of Tamon (Ananda). The cost of constructingthis colossal edifice was very heavy, and funds had to be collectedfrom the whole of the eleven provinces then under Nobunaga's sway. NOBUNAGA AND IEYASU It has already been noted that Ieyasu was Nobunaga's sole ally in theeast of Japan at the time of the fall of the Imagawa clan. It hasalso been noted that Ujizane, the son of Imagawa Yoshimoto, was anegligible quantity. During many years, however, Ieyasu had to standconstantly on the defensive against Takeda Shingen. But, in 1572, Shingen and Ieyasu made a compact against the Imagawa, and this wasfollowed by a successful campaign on the part of the Tokugawa leaderagainst Ujizane. The agreement between Shingen and Ieyasu lasted onlya short time. In November, 1572, Shingen led a large force and seizedtwo of the Tokugawa castles, menacing the third and most important atHamamatsu, where Ieyasu himself was in command. Nobunaga thereupondespatched an army to succour his ally, and in January, 1573, aseries of bloody engagements took place outside Hamamatsu. Oneof Nobunaga's generals fled; another died in battle, and Ieyasubarely escaped into the castle, which he saved by a desperatedevice--leaving the gates open and thus suggesting to the enemy thatthey would be ambushed if they entered. This battle, known in historyas the War of Mikata-ga-hara, was the greatest calamity that everbefell Ieyasu, and that he would have suffered worse things at thehands of Takeda Shingen cannot be doubted, had not Shingen's deathtaken place in May, 1573. Various traditions have been handed down about the demise of thiscelebrated captain, undoubtedly one of the greatest strategists Japanever possessed. Some say that he was shot by a soldier of Ieyasu;others that he was hit by a stray bullet, but the best authoritiesagree that he died of illness. His son, Katsuyori, inherited none ofhis father's great qualities except his bravery. Immediately oncoming into power, he moved a large army against the castle ofNagashino in the province of Mikawa, one of Ieyasu's strongholds. This was in June, 1575, and on the news reaching Nobunaga, the latterlost no time in setting out to succour his ally. On the way a samurainamed Torii Suneemon arrived from the garrison of Nagashino with newsthat unless succour were speedily given the fortress could not holdout. This message reached Ieyasu, who was awaiting the arrival ofNobunaga before marching to the relief of the beleagured fortress. Ieyasu assured the messenger that help would come on the morrow, andurged Suneemon not to essay to re-enter the fortress. But the mandeclared that he must carry the tidings to his hard-set comrades. Hewas taken prisoner by the enemy and led into the presence ofKatsuyori, who assured him that his life would be spared if heinformed the inmates of the castle that no aid could be hoped for. Suneemon simulated consent. Despatched under escort to theneighbourhood of the fort, he was permitted to address the garrison, and in a loud voice he shouted to his comrades that within a shorttime they might look for succour. He was immediately killed by hisescort. This dramatic episode became a household tradition in Japan. Side byside with it may be set the fact that Hideyoshi, who accompaniedNobunaga in this campaign, employed successfully against the enemyone of the devices recommended by the Chinese strategists, whosebooks on the method of conducting warfare were closely studied inthose days by the Japanese. Sakuma Nobumori, one of Nobunaga'scaptains, was openly, and of set purpose, insulted and beaten byorders of his general, and thereafter he escaped to the camp of theTakeda army, pretending that the evil treatment he had undergone wastoo much for his loyalty. Katsuyori, the Takeda commander, receivedthe fugitive with open arms, and acting in accordance with hisadvice, disposed his troops in such a manner as to forfeit all theadvantages of the position. The battle that ensued is memorable asthe first historical instance of the use of firearms on anyconsiderable scale in a Japanese campaign. Nobunaga's men tookshelter themselves behind palisades and fusilladed the enemy so hotlythat the old-fashioned hand-to-hand fighting became almostimpossible. The losses of the Takeda men were enormous, and it may besaid that the tactics of the era underwent radical alteration fromthat time, so that the fight at Takinosawa is memorable in Japanesehistory. Hideyoshi urged the advisability of pushing on at once toKatsuyori's capital, but Nobunaga hesitated to make such a call uponthe energies of his troops, and the final overthrow of the Takedachief was postponed. MILITARY TACTICS The Mongol invasion should have taught to the Japanese the greatadvantages of co-operating military units, but individual prowesscontinued to be the guiding factor of field tactics in Japan down tothe second half of the sixteenth century, when the introduction offirearms inspired new methods. Japanese historians have not much tosay upon this subject. Indeed Rai Sanyo, in the Nihon-gwaishi, mayalmost be said to be the sole authority. He writes as follows: "Thegeneralship of Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin was something quitenew in the country at their time. Prior to their day the art ofmanoeuvring troops had been little studied. Armies met, but eachindividual that composed them relied on his personal prowess andstrength for victory. These two barons, however, made a special studyof strategy and military tactics, with the result that they becameauthorities on the various methods of handling troops. In referenceto the employment of cavalry, the Genji warriors and the first of theAshikaga shoguns made use of horses largely, but in later days theAshikaga did not move away from Kyoto and had no use for horses. Nobunaga, being near Kyoto, and most of the wars in which he engagedinvolving no very long marches, relied almost solely on infantry. Both Takeda and Uesugi were well supplied with mounted troops, butowing to the hilly nature of their territories, they made no specialstudy of cavalry exercises and, almost invariably, the soldiersemployed their horses solely for rapid movement from one place toanother; when a battle commenced they alighted and fought on foot. Itis therefore correct to say that at this time cavalry had gone out ofuse. Bows and arrows were, of course, superseded when firearms cameinto use. "Thenceforth, the gun and the long spear were the chief weaponsrelied on. Peasants did not rank as soldiers, but their services werevariously utilized in time of war. They were trained in the use ofmuskets, and of bows and arrows on hunting expeditions, and thus, when hostilities broke out, they were able to render considerableassistance in the defense of their houses. Highwaymen were frequentlyemployed as spies and scouts. Both Takeda and Uesugi sanctioned thispractice. These two generals also agreed in approving the followingtactical arrangement: the van-guard, consisting of musketeers, artillerymen, and archers, was followed by companies of infantryarmed with long spears. Then came the cavalry, and after them themain body, attached to which were drummers and conch-blowers. Thewhole army was divided into right and left wings, and a body of menwas kept in reserve. At the opening of the battle, the horsemendismounted and advanced on foot. This order was occasionally modifiedto suit altered circumstances, but as a rule, it was strictlyfollowed. "* *Quoted by W. Dening in A New Life of Hideyoshi. The artillery mentioned in the above quotation must be taken in astrictly limited sense. Indeed, it would be more correct to speak ofheavy muskets, for cannon, properly so called, may scarcely be saidto have formed any part of the equipment of a Japanese army untilmodern times. When the Portuguese discovered Japan, in 1542, theyintroduced the musket to the Japanese, and the weapon was long knownas Tanegashima, that being the name of the island where thePortuguese ship first touched. Thenceforth, the manufacture offirearms was carried on with more or less success at various places, especially Sakai in Izumi and Negoro in Kii. "Small guns" (kozutsu)and "large guns" (ozutsu) are mentioned in the annals of the time, but by ozutsuwe must understand muskets of large calibre rather thancannon. INVASION OF CHUGOKU. At this time nearly the whole of central Japan (Chugoku) was underthe sway of Mori Terumoto, who succeeded his grandfather, Motonari, head of the great Mori family and ancestor of the present PrinceMori. One of these central provinces, namely, Harima, had just beenthe scene of a revolt which Hideyoshi crushed by his wontedcombination of cajolery and conquest. The ease with which this featwas accomplished and the expediency of maintaining the sequence ofsuccesses induced Hideyoshi to propose that the subjugation of thewhole of central Japan should be entrusted to him and that he shouldbe allowed to adopt Nobunaga's second son, Hidekatsu, to whom therule of Chugoku should be entrusted, Hideyoshi keeping for himselfonly the outlying portions. Nobunaga readily agreed, and, in 1577, Hideyoshi set out on this important expedition, with a force of someten thousand men, all fully equipped and highly trained. It isnoteworthy that, before leaving Azuchi, Hideyoshi declared toNobunaga his intention of conquering Kyushu after the reduction ofChugoku, and thereafter he announced his purpose of crossing to Koreaand making that country the basis of a campaign against China. "Whenthat is effected, " Hideyoshi is quoted as saying, "the threecountries, China, Korea, and Japan, will be one. I shall do it all aseasily as a man rolls up a piece of matting and carries it under hisarm. " It is evident from these words that the project of invading Korea andChina was entertained by Hideyoshi nearly twenty years before--aswill presently be seen--he attempted to carry it into practice. Hideyoshi marched in the first place to Harima, where his operationswere so vigorous and so successful that Ukita Naoiye, who held theneighbouring provinces of Bizen and Mimasaka under the suzerainty ofMori Terumoto, espoused Nobunaga's cause without fighting. It isunnecessary to follow the details of the campaign that ensued. Itlasted for five years, and ended in the subjection of as manyprovinces, namely, Harima, Tamba, Tango, Tajima, and Inaba. Hideyoshithen returned to Azuchi and presented to Nobunaga an immense quantityof spolia opima which are said to have exceeded five thousand innumber and to have covered all the ground around the castle. DESTRUCTION OF THE TAKEDA Shortly before Hideyoshi's triumphant return from his first brilliantcampaign in the central provinces, a memorable event occurred in Kai. Nobunaga's eldest son, Nobutada, uniting his forces with those ofIeyasu, completely destroyed the army of Takeda Katsuyori atTemmoku-zan, in the province of Kai. So thorough was the victory thatKatsuyori and his son both committed suicide. Nobunaga then gave theprovince of Suruga to Ieyasu, and divided Shinano and Kotsuke intomanors, which were distributed among the Owari generals as rewards. Takigawa Kazumasu was nominated kwanryo of the Kwanto, chiefly inorder to watch and restrain the movements of the Hojo family, now theonly formidable enemy of Nobunaga in the east. RESUMPTION OF THE CHUGOKU CAMPAIGN After a brief rest, Hideyoshi again left Kyoto for the centralprovinces. He commenced operations on this second occasion byinvading the island of Awaji, and having reduced it, he passed on toBitchu, where he invested the important castle of Takamatsu, thenunder the command of Shimizu Muneharu. This stronghold was so wellplanned and had such great natural advantages that Hideyoshiabstained from any attempt to carry it by assault, and had recourseto the device of damming and banking a river so as to flood thefortress. About two miles and a half of embankment had to be made, and during the progress of the work, Mori Terumoto, who had beenconducting a campaign elsewhere, found time to march a strong army tothe relief of Takamatsu. But Terumoto, acting on the advice of hisbest generals, refrained from attacking Hideyoshi's army. He soughtrather to invite an onset from Hideyoshi, so that, during theprogress of the combat, the garrison might find an opportunity todestroy the embankment. Hideyoshi, however, was much too astute to betempted by such tactics. He saw that the fate of the castle must besealed in a few days, and he refrained from any offensive movement. But, in order to gratify Nobunaga by simulating need of hisassistance, a despatch was sent to Azuchi begging him to come andpersonally direct the capture of the fort and the shattering ofTerumoto's army. ASSASSINATION OF NOBUNAGA Among Nobunaga's vassal barons at that time was Akechi Mitsuhide. Ascion of the illustrious family of Seiwa Genji, Mitsuhide had servedunder several suzerains prior to 1566, when he repaired to Gifu andoffered his sword to Nobunaga. Five years afterwards he received afief of one hundred thousand koku and the title of Hyuga no Kami. This rapid promotion made him Nobunaga's debtor, but a shockingevent, which occurred in 1577, seems to have inspired him with thedeepest resentment against his patron. Mitsuhide, besieging thecastle of Yakami in Tamba province, promised quarter to the brothersHatano, who commanded its defence, and gave his own mother ashostage. But Nobunaga, disregarding this promise, put the Hatanobrothers to the sword, and the latter's adherents avenged themselvesby slaughtering Mitsuhide's mother. The best informed belief is thatthis incident converted Mitsuhide into Nobunaga's bitter enemy, andthat the spirit of revenge was fostered by insults to which Nobunaga, always passionate and rough, publicly subjected Mitsuhide. At allevents, when, as stated above, Hideyoshi's message of invitationreached Nobunaga at Azuchi, the latter gave orders for the despatchof a strong force to Takamatsu, one body, consisting of some thirtythousand men, being placed under the command of Mitsuhide. Nobunagahimself repaired to Kyoto and took up his quarters at the templeHonno-ji, whence he intended to follow his armies to the centralprovinces. Mitsuhide concluded that his opportunity had now come. He determinedto kill Nobunaga, and then to join hands with Mori Terumoto. He madeknown his design to a few of his retainers, and these attemptedfruitlessly to dissuade him, but, seeing that his resolution wasirrevocable, they agreed to assist him. The troops were dulyassembled and put in motion, but instead of taking the road westward, they received an unexpected intimation, "The enemy is in Honno-ji, "and their route was altered accordingly. Nobunaga defended himselfvaliantly. But being at last severely wounded and recognizing thehopelessness of resistance, he set fire to the temple and committedsuicide, his fourteen-year-old son, Katsunaga, perishing with him. His eldest son, Nobutada, who had just returned from the campaign inthe east, followed his father to Kyoto, and was sojourning in thetemple Myogaku-ji when news reached him of Mitsuhide's treachery. Heattempted to succour his father, but arrived too late. Then herepaired to the Nijo palace and, having entrusted his infant son tothe care of Maeda Gen-i with instructions to carry him to Kiyosu, hemade preparation for defence against Mitsuhide. Finally, overwhelmedby numbers, he killed himself, and his example was followed by ninetyof his retainers. Mitsuhide then proceeded to Azuchi and havingpillaged the castle, returned to Kyoto, where he was received inaudience by the Emperor, and he then took the title of shogun. AFTER THE ASSASSINATION Nobunaga was assassinated on the second day of the sixth month, according to Japanese reckoning. News of the event reached the campof the besiegers of Takamatsu almost immediately, but a messengersent by Mitsuhide to convey the intelligence to Mori and to solicithis alliance was intercepted by Hideyoshi's men. A great deal ofhistorical confusion envelops immediately subsequent events, but thefacts seem simple enough. Hideyoshi found himself in a position ofgreat difficulty. His presence in Kyoto was almost a necessity, yethe could not withdraw from Takamatsu without sacrificing all thefruits of the campaign in the west and exposing himself to a probablydisastrous attack by Mori's army. In this emergency he acted with hisusual talent. Summoning a famous priest, Ekei, of a temple in Aki, who enjoyed the confidence of all parties, he despatched him toMori's camp with proposals for peace and for the delimitation of thefrontiers of Mori and Nobunaga, on condition that the castle ofTakamatsu should be surrendered and the head of its commander, Shimizu Muneharu, presented to his conquerer. Mori was acting entirely by the advice of his two uncles, Kikkawa andKohayakawa, both men of profound insight. They fully admitted thedesirability of peace, since Hideyoshi's army effectually commandedthe communications between the eastern and western parts of Chugoku, but they resolutely rejected the notion of sacrificing the life ofShimizu on the altar of any compact. When the priest carried thisanswer to Hideyoshi, the latter suggested, as the only recourse, thatShimizu himself should be consulted. Ekei accordingly repaired to thecastle and explained the situation to its commandant. Shimizu had nota moment's hesitation. He declared himself more than willing to diefor the sake of his liege-lord and his comrades, and he asked onlythat fish and wine, to give the garrison the rare treat of a goodmeal, should be furnished. On the 5th of the sixth month thisagreement was carried into effect. Shimizu committed suicide, thecompact between Mori and Hideyoshi was signed, and the latter, striking his camp, prepared to set out for Kyoto. It was then for thefirst time that Mori and his generals learned of the death ofNobunaga. Immediately there was an outcry in favour of disregardingthe compact and falling upon the enemy in his retreat; but Kikkawaand Kohayakawa stubbornly opposed anything of the kind. They declaredthat such a course would disgrace the house of Mori, whereas, bykeeping faith, the friendship of Hideyoshi and his fellow baronswould be secured. Accordingly the withdrawal was allowed to takeplace unmolested. IEYASU The life of the Tokugawa chieftain was placed in great jeopardy bythe Mitsuhide incident. After being brilliantly received by Nobunagaat Azuchi, Ieyasu, at his host's suggestion, had made a sightseeingexcursion to Kyoto, whence he prolonged his journey to Osaka andfinally to Sakai. The news of the catastrophe reached him at thelast-named place, and his immediate impulse was to be avenged uponthe assassin. But it was pointed out to him that his following wasmuch too small for such an enterprise, and he therefore decided toset out for the east immediately. Mitsuhide, well aware of theTokugawa baron's unfriendliness, made strenuous efforts to waylayIeyasu on the way, and with great difficulty the journey eastward wasaccomplished by avoiding all the highroads. NOBUNAGA Nobunaga perished at the age of forty-nine. The great faults of hischaracter seem to have been want of discrimination in the treatmentof his allies and his retainers, and want of patience in the conductof affairs. In his eyes, a baron of high rank deserved no moreconsideration than a humble retainer, and he often gave offence whichdisturbed the achievement of his plans. As for his impetuousness, hischaracter has been well depicted side by side with that of Hideyoshiand Ieyasu in three couplets familiar to all Japanese. These coupletsrepresent Nobunaga as saying: Nakaneba korosu Hototogisu. (I'll kill the cuckoo If if it won't sing) By Hideyoshi the same idea is conveyed thus:-- Nakashite miyo Hototogisu. (I'll try to make the cuckoo sing. ) Whereas, Ieyasu puts the matter thus:-- Nakumade mato Hototogisu. (I'll wait till the cuckoo does sing. ) Nevertheless, whatever Nobunaga may have lost by these defects, thefact remains that in the three decades of his military career hebrought under his sway thirty-three provinces, or one-half of thewhole country, and at the time of his death he contemplated thefurther conquest of Shikoku, Chugoku, and Kyushu. To that end he hadappointed Hideyoshi to be Chikuzen no Kami; Kawajiri Shigeyoshi to beHizen no Kami, while his own son, Nobutaka, with Niwa Nagahide forchief of staff, had been sent to subdue Shikoku. Even admitting thathis ambition was self-aggrandizement in the first place, it isundeniable that he made the peace of the realm, the welfare of thepeople, and the stability of the throne his second purposes, and thathe pursued them with ardour. Thus, one of his earliest acts when heobtained the control in Kyoto was to appoint officials forimpartially administering justice, to reduce the citizens' taxes; tosuccour widows and orphans, and to extend to all the blessings ofsecurity and tranquillity. In 1572, we find him sending messengers tothe provinces with instructions to put in hand the making of roadshaving a width of from twenty-one to twelve feet; to set upmilestones and plant trees along these roads; to build bridges; toremove barriers, and generally to facilitate communications. Towards the Throne he adopted a demeanour emphatically loyal. In thisrespect, he followed the example of his father, Nobuhide, anddeparted radically from that of his predecessors, whether Fujiwara, Taira, or Ashikaga. As concrete examples may be cited the facts thathe restored the shrines of Ise, and reinstituted the custom ofrenovating them every twenty years; that, in the year following hisentry into the capital, he undertook extensive repairs of the palace;that he granted considerable estates for the support of the Imperialhousehold, and that he organized a commission to repurchase all theproperties which had been alienated from the Court. Finally, it is onrecord that when, in recognition of all this, the sovereign proposedto confer on him the rank of minister of the Left, he declined thehonour, and suggested that titles of lower grade should be given tothose of his subordinates who had shown conspicuous merit. DEATH OF MITSUHIDE It was plainly in Hideyoshi's interests that he should figurepublicly as the avenger of Nobunaga's murder, and to this end hisspeedy arrival in Kyoto was essential. He therefore set out at once, after the fall of Takamatsu, with only a small number of immediatefollowers. Mitsuhide attempted to destroy him on the way, and thedetails of this attempt have been magnified by tradition toincredible dimensions. All that can be said with certainty is thatHideyoshi was, for a moment, in extreme danger but that he escapedscathless. Immediately on arriving in Kyoto, he issued an appeal toall Nobunaga's vassal-barons, inviting them to join in exterminatingMitsuhide, whose heinous crime "provoked both heaven and earth. " But it was no part of Hideyoshi's policy to await the arrival ofthese barons. He had already at his command an army of some thirtythousand men, and with this he moved out, challenging Mitsuhide tofight on the plains of Yamazaki. Mitsuhide did not hesitate to puthis fortunes to the supreme test. He accepted Hideyoshi's challenge, and, on the 12th of June, a great battle was fought, the issue ofwhich was decided by two things; first, the defection of TsutsuiJunkei, who refrained from striking until the superior strength ofHideyoshi had been manifested, and secondly, the able strategy ofHideyoshi, who anticipated Mitsuhide's attempt to occupy the positionof Tenno-zan, which commanded the field. From the carnage that ensuedMitsuhide himself escaped, but while passing through a wood hereceived from a bamboo spear in the hands of a peasant a thrust whichdisabled him, and he presently committed suicide. Thus, on thethirteenth day after Nobunaga's death, the head of his assassin wasexposed in Kyoto in front of the temple of Honno-ji where the murderhad taken place, and Mitsuhide's name went down in history as the"Three days' shogun" (Mikkakubo). CONFERENCE AT KIYOSU By this time the principal of Nobunaga's vassal-barons were on theirway at the head of contingents to attack Mitsuhide. On learning ofthe assassin's death, these barons all directed their march toKiyosu, and in the castle from which Nobunaga had moved to his earlyconquests thirty years previously, a momentous council was held forthe purpose of determining his successor. The choice would havefallen naturally on Samboshi, eldest son of Nobunaga's first-born, Nobutada, who, as already described, met his death in the Mitsuhideaffair. But Hideyoshi was well understood to favour Samboshi'ssuccession, and this sufficed to array in opposition several of thebarons habitually hostile to Hideyoshi. Thus, in spite of the factthat both were illegitimate and had already been adopted into otherfamilies, Nobunaga's two sons, Nobukatsu and Nobutaka, were putforward as proper candidates, the former supported by Ikeda Nobuteruand Gamo Katahide; the latter, by Shibata Katsuiye and TakigawaKazumasu. At one moment it seemed as though this question would be solved by anappeal to violence, but ultimately, at the suggestion of TsutsuiJunkei, it was agreed that Samboshi should be nominated Nobunaga'ssuccessor; that Nobukatsu and Nobutaka should be appointed hisguardians, and that the administrative duties should be entrusted toa council consisting of Shibata Katsuiye, Niwa Nagahide, IkedaNobuteru, and Hideyoshi, each taking it in turn to discharge thesefunctions and each residing for that purpose in Kyoto three monthsduring the year. An income of one hundred thousand koku in theprovince of Omi was assigned to Samboshi pending the attainment ofhis majority, when he should be placed in possession of much largerestates, which were to be entrusted in the meanwhile to the keepingof one of the four barons mentioned above. Nobukatsu received theprovince of Owari, and Nobutaka that of Mino, the remainder ofNobunaga's dominions being apportioned to his generals, with theexception of Hideyoshi, to whom were assigned the provinces recentlyoverrun by him in the midlands--Tajima, Harima, Inaba, and Tamba. Such an arrangement had no elements of stability. The fourcouncillors could not possibly be expected to work in harmony, and itwas certain that Katsuiye, Sakuma Morimasa, and Takigawa Kazumasuwould lose no opportunity of quarrelling with Hideyoshi. Indeed, thatresult was averted solely by Hideyoshi's tact and long suffering, forwhen, a few days later, the barons again met at Kiyosu for thepurpose of discussing territorial questions, every possible effortwas made to find a pretext for killing him. But Hideyoshi'sastuteness and patience led him successfully through this maze ofintrigues and complications. He even went so far as to hand over hiscastle of Nagahama to Katsuiye, and to endure insults which inordinary circumstances must have been resented with the sword. Tradition describes a grand memorial ceremony organized in Kyoto byHideyoshi in honour of Nobunaga, and, on that occasion, incidents aresaid to have occurred which bear the impress of romance. It is, atall events, certain that the immediate issue of this dangerous timewas a large increase of Hideyoshi's authority, and his nomination bythe Court to the second grade of the fourth rank as well as to theposition of major-general. Moreover, the three barons who had beenappointed with Hideyoshi to administer affairs in Kyoto in turn, sawthat Hideyoshi's power was too great to permit the peaceful workingof such a programme. They therefore abandoned their functions, andHideyoshi remained in sole charge of the Imperial Court and of theadministration in the capital. DEATH OF SHIBATA KATSUIYE It has been already stated that Nobunaga's sons, Nobutaka andNobukatsu, were bitter enemies and that Nobutaka had the support ofTakigawa Kazumasu as well as of Shibata Katsuiye. Thus, Hideyoshi wasvirtually compelled to espouse the cause of Nobukatsu. In January, 1583, he took the field at the head of seventy-five thousand men, andmarched into Ise to attack Kazumasu, whom he besieged in his castleat Kuwana. The castle fell, but Kazumasu managed to effect hisescape, and in the mean while Katsuiye entered Omi in command of agreat body of troops, said to number sixty-five thousand. At the lastmoment, however, he had failed to secure the co-operation of MaedaToshiiye, an important ally, and his campaign therefore assumed adefensive character. Hideyoshi himself, on reconnoitring theposition, concluded that he had neither numerical preponderance norstrategical superiority sufficient to warrant immediate assumption ofthe offensive along the whole front. He therefore distributed hisarmy on a line of thirteen redoubts, keeping a reserve of fifteenthousand men under his own direct command, his object being to holdthe enemy's forces in check while he attacked Gifu, which place heassaulted with such vigour that the garrison made urgent appeals toKatsuiye for succour. In this situation it was imperative that some attempt should be madeto break the line of redoubts, but it was equally imperative thatthis attempt should not furnish to the enemy a point ofconcentration. Accordingly, having ascertained that the weakest pointin the line was at Shizugatake, where only fifteen hundred men wereposted, Katsuiye instructed his principal general, Sakuma Morimasa, to lead the reserve force of fifteen thousand men against thatposition, but instructed him at the same time to be content with anysuccess, however partial, and not to be betrayed into pushing anadvantage, since by so doing he would certainly furnish a fatalopportunity to the enemy. Morimasa neglected this caution. Havingsuccessfully surprised the detachment at Shizugatake, and havinginflicted heavy carnage on the defenders of the redoubt, who lostvirtually all their officers, he not only sat down to besiege theredoubt, whose decimated garrison held out bravely, but he alsoallowed his movements to be hampered by a small body of only twoscore men under Niwa Nagahide, who took up a position in theimmediate neighbourhood, and displaying their leader's flag, deceivedMorimasa into imagining that they had a powerful backing. Thesethings happened during the night of April 19, 1583. Katsuiye, onreceipt of the intelligence, sent repeated orders to Morimasarequiring him to withdraw forthwith; but Morimasa, elated by hispartial victory, neglected these orders. On the following day, the facts were communicated to Hideyoshi, atOgaki, distant about thirty miles from Shizugatake, who immediatelyappreciated the opportunity thus furnished. He set out at the head ofhis reserves, and in less than twenty-four hours his men crossedswords with Morimasa's force. The result was the practicalextermination of the latter, including three thousand men underKatsuiye's adopted son, Gonroku. The latter had been sent to insiststrenuously on Morimasa's retreat, but learning that Morimasa haddetermined to die fighting, Gonroku announced a similar intention onhis own part. This incident was characteristic of samurai canons. Hideyoshi's victory cost the enemy five thousand men, and demoralizedKatsuiye's army so completely that he subsequently found himself ableto muster a total force of three thousand only. Nothing remained butflight, and in order to withdraw from the field, Katsuiye was obligedto allow his chief retainer, Menju Shosuke, to impersonate him, afeat which, of course, cost Shosuke's life. Katsuiye's end is one of the most dramatic incidents in Japanesehistory. He decided to retire to his castle of Kitano-sho, and, onthe way thither, he visited his old friend, Maeda Toshiiye, at thelatter's castle of Fuchu, in Echizen. Thanking Toshiiye for all theassistance he had rendered, and urging him to cultivate friendshipwith Hideyoshi, he obtained a remount from Toshiiye's stable, and, followed by about a hundred samurai, pushed on to Kitano-sho. Arrivedthere, he sent away all who might be suspected of sympathizing withHideyoshi, and would also have sent away his wife and her threedaughters. This lady was a sister of Nobunaga. She had been given, asalready stated, to Asai Nagamasa, and to him she bore three children. But after Nagamasa's destruction she was married to Katsuiye, and wasliving at the latter's castle of Kitano-sho when the above incidentsoccurred. She declined to entertain the idea of leaving the castle, declaring that, as a samurai's daughter, she should have shared herfirst husband's fate, and that nothing would induce her to repeatthat error. Her three daughters were accordingly sent away, and sheherself joined in the night-long feast which Katsuiye and hisprincipal retainers held while Hideyoshi's forces were marching tothe attack. When the sun rose, the whole party, including the ladies, committed suicide, having first set fire to the castle. YODOGOMI One of the three daughters of Asai Nagamasa afterwards became theconcubine of Hideyoshi and bore to him a son, Hideyori, who, by heradvice, subsequently acted in defiance of Ieyasu, thus involving thefall of the house of Hideyoshi and unconsciously avenging the fate ofNobunaga. NOBUTAKA Nobunaga's son, Nobutaka, who had been allied with Katsuiye, escaped, at first, to Owari on the latter's downfall, but ultimately followedKatsuiye's example by committing suicide. As for Samboshi, Nobunaga'sgrandson and nominal heir, he attained his majority at this time, butproving to be a man of marked incompetence, the eminent position forwhich he had been destined was withheld. He took the name of OdaHidenobu, and with an income of three hundred thousand koku settleddown contentedly as Hideyoshi's vassal. OSAKA CASTLE Hideyoshi left behind him a striking monument of his greatness ofthought and power of execution. At Osaka where in 1532 the priests ofthe Hongwan-ji temple had built a castle which Nobunaga captured in1580 only after a long and severe siege, Hideyoshi built what iscalled The Castle of Osaka. It is a colossal fortress, which is stillused as military headquarters for garrison and arsenal, and thedimensions of which are still a wonder, though only a portion of thebuilding survives. Materials for the work were requisitioned fromthirty provinces, their principal components being immense graniterocks, many of which measured fourteen feet in length and breadth, and some were forty feet long and ten feet wide. These huge stoneshad to be carried by water from a distance of several miles. Theoutlying protection of this great castle consisted of triple moatsand escarpments. The moats were twenty feet deep, with six to tenfeet of water. The total enclosed space was about one hundred acres, but only one-eighth of this was the hominaru, or keep, inside thethird moat. It will be seen that the plan of the castle was to have it dividedinto spaces separately defensible, so that an enemy had to establishhis footing by a series of repeated efforts. And the second respect in which it was a novelty in Japanesedefensive warfare was that the castle donjon was heavily built andarmoured after a fashion. The three-storey donjon was framed in hugetimbers, quite unlike the flimsy structure of most Japanesebuildings, and the timbers were protected against fire by a heavycoat of plaster. Roof and gates were covered with a sort ofarmor-plate, for there was a copper covering to the roof and thegates were faced with iron sheets and studs. In earlier "castles"there had been a thin covering of plaster which a musket ball couldeasily penetrate; and stone had been used only in buildingfoundations. THE KOMAKI WAR After the suicide of his brother, Nobutaka, and when he saw that hisnephew, Samboshi (Hidenobu), was relegated to the place of a vassalof Hideyoshi, Nobukatsu seems to have concluded that the time hadcome to strike a final blow in assertion of the administrativesupremacy of the Oda family. He began, therefore, to plot with thatobject. Hideyoshi, who was well served by spies, soon learned ofthese plots, and thinking to persuade Nobukatsu of theirhopelessness, he established close relations with the latter's threemost trusted retainers. No sooner did this come to the cognizance ofNobukatsu than he caused these three retainers to be assassinated, and applied to Ieyasu for assistance, Ieyasu consented. This actionon the part of the Tokugawa baron has been much commented on andvariously interpreted by historians, but it has always to beremembered that Ieyasu had been Oda Nobunaga's ally; that the two hadfought more than once side by side, and that had the Tokugawa leaderrejected Nobukatsu's appeal, he would not only have suffered inpublic estimation, but would also have virtually accepted a positioninferior to that evidently claimed by Hideyoshi. The course of subsequent events seems to prove that Ieyasu, in takingthe field on this occasion, aimed simply at asserting his ownpotentiality and had no thought of plunging the empire into a newcivil war. In March, 1584, he set out from Hamamatsu and joinedNobukatsu at Kiyosu, in Owari. The scheme of campaign was extensive. Ieyasu placed himself in communication with Sasa Narimasa, inEchizen; with Chosokabe Motochika, in Shikoku, and with the militarymonks in the province of Kii. The programme was that Narimasa shouldraise his standard in Echizen and Kaga, and that Motochika, with themonks of Kii, should move to the attack of Osaka, so that Hideyoshiwould be compelled to carry on three wars at the same time. Hideyoshimet this combination with his usual astuteness. He commissionedUesugi Kagekatsu to attack the Sasa troops in rear while MaedaToshiiye menaced them from the front; he told off Hachisuka to opposethe soldier-monks of Kii; he posted Sengoku Hidehisa in Awaji to holdin check the forces of Chosokabe Motochika, and he stationed UkitaHideiye at Okayama to provide against the contingency of hostility onthe part of the Mori family. Fighting commenced in the province ofIse, and success at the outset crowned the arms of Hideyoshi'sgenerals. They captured two castles, and Ieyasu thereupon pushed hisvan to an isolated hill called Komaki-yama, nearly equidistant fromthe castles of Inu-yama and Kiyosu, in Owari, which he entrenchedstrongly, and there awaited the onset of the Osaka army. The war thuscame to be known as that of Komaki. Hideyoshi himself would have set out for the field on the 19th ofMarch, but he was obliged to postpone his departure for some days, until Kuroda and Hachisuka had broken the offensive strength of themonks of Kii. It thus fell out that he did not reach the province ofOwari until the 27th of March. His army is said to have numbered onehundred and twenty thousand men. It is commonly alleged that this wasthe only war between Ieyasu and Hideyoshi, and that the lattersuffered defeat at the hands of the former. But the fact is that twoof Hideyoshi's generals, Ikeda Nobuteru and Mori Nagayoshi, acted indirect contravention of his orders, and thus precipitated acatastrophe for which Hideyoshi cannot justly be held responsible. These two captains argued that as Ieyasu had massed a large force atKomaki and at the Obata entrenchments in the same district, he hadprobably left his base in Mikawa comparatively undefended. Theyproposed, therefore, to lead a force against Mikawa. Hideyoshi showedgreat reluctance to sanction this movement, but he allowed himself tobe at last persuaded, with the explicit reservation that no successobtained in Mikawa province should be followed up, and that whateverthe achievement of Nobukatsu's troops, they should at once rejoin themain army in Owari. Unquestionably Hideyoshi had in vivid recollection the disaster whichhad overtaken Katsuiye at Shizugatake. Ieyasu, fully cognizant of thesituation through the medium of a spy, knew the limitations set byHideyoshi. On April the 7th, Nobuteru attacked the fortress ofIwasaki, in Mikawa, killed its commandant, and captured the castle. But elated by this victory, he neglected Hideyoshi's caution, and thegenerals of Ieyasu, closing in on him, inflicted a crushing defeat ata place called Nagakude. It is thus evident that Hideyoshi's share inthe disaster was of a most indirect character. He immediatelyhastened to Nagakude, but only to find that Ieyasu had retired toObata, and subsequently, when Hideyoshi returned to his headquarters, Ieyasu placed a still longer interval between the two armies bymarching back to Komaki. The war thenceforth may be said to have consisted of a series ofmenaces and evasions. Each general sought to entice his opponent outof an entrenched position, and each general showed an equaldetermination not to be so enticed. At last, Hideyoshi pushed a forceinto Mino and captured several castles in that province. But eventhis failed to change Ieyasu's attitude. The Tokugawa leader enteredthe fortress of Kiyosu, and Nobukatsu repaired to that of Nagashima, in Ise. After eight months of this comparatively fruitlessmanoeuvring, a treaty was concluded, on December the 11th, betweenHideyoshi and Nobukatsu, and subsequently between Hideyoshi andIeyasu, the latter giving his son Ogimaru to be adopted by Hideyoshi. The boy was eleven years of age at the time. His name was changed toHashiba Hideyasu, and he received the appointment of governor ofMikawa province. The circumstances in which this treaty was concluded have provokedmuch historical discussion. Did the overtures come originally fromHideyoshi, or did they emanate from Ieyasu and Nobukatsu? Someannalists have endeavoured to prove that Hideyoshi assumed theattitude of a suppliant, while others have attributed that demeanourto the Tokugawa chieftain. The situation, however, presents onefeature which is very significant. It was not until the month ofNovember, 1584, that Chosokabe Motochika effectually brought theisland of Shikoku under his sway, and thus became free to lead astrong army, including the monks of Kii province, against Osaka. Thisformidable danger could not but influence Hideyoshi in the directionof clasping hands with his eastern foes, and it is therefore morethan probable that a statesman who had never previously allowedconsiderations of personal dignity to interfere with the prosecutionof a vital policy, did not hesitate to bow his head to Nobukatsu, inorder to recover the free use of the great army assembled in Owari, Mino, and Ise. Most fortunate was it for Japan that events took thisturn, for, had Ieyasu and Hideyoshi remained mutually hostile, thecountry would probably have been plunged into a repetition of theterrible struggle from which nothing enabled it to emerge except thecombined labours of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu. It was not, however, until the early summer of 1586 that Hideyoshi and Ieyasuestablished genuinely friendly relations. During a year and a halfsubsequent to the conclusion of the treaty which ended the KomakiWar, Ieyasu held severely aloof and refrained from visiting Kyoto. Finally, Hideyoshi despatched Asano Nagamasa to propose that Ieyasushould take into his household Hideyoshi's younger sister, and thatHideyoshi should send his mother as a hostage to Okazaki, to remainthere during a visit by Ieyasu to Kyoto. Four months were needed byIeyasu to consider this proposal, and in September, 1586, he repairedto Osaka and thence accompanied Hideyoshi to Kyoto. HIDEYOSHI BECOMES REGENT In May, 1583, after the downfall of Katsuiye, the Emperor appointedHideyoshi to be a councillor of State, and conferred on him thefourth order of rank. In November of the following year, he receivedanother step of rank and was nominated gon-dainagon. The EmperorOkimachi at that time contemplated abdication, but the palace whichhe would have occupied as ex-Emperor had fallen into such a state ofdisrepair as to be virtually uninhabitable. Hideyoshi signalized hisloyalty on this occasion by spending a large sum on the renovation ofthe palace, and in recognition of his services the Emperor raised himto the high post of nai-daijin. It was confidently expected that hewould then become sa-daijin, but, owing to complications which neednot be related here, the outcome of the matter was that he receivedthe still higher post of kwampaku (regent). There can be no doubtthat he himself had contemplated becoming shogun. In fact, it is onrecord that he made proposals in that sense to Yoshiaki, the last ofthe Ashikaga shoguns. But it had come by that time to be recognizedthat only a scion of the Minamoto family could be eligible for thepost of shogun, and thus Yoshiaki declined Hideyoshi's overtures, though to accept them would have materially altered the fallenfortunes of the Ashikaga sept. Hideyoshi ultimately became primeminister of State (dajo daijiri) and took the family name ofToyotomi. It is stated, but the evidence is not conclusive, that inorder to reach these high posts, he had to be adopted into the houseof a Fujiwara noble. He had been a Taira when he served underNobunaga, and to become a Fujiwara for courtly purposes was notlikely to cause him much compunction. THE MONKS, SHIKOKU, AND ETCHU Immediately on the termination of the Komaki War, Hideyoshi tooksteps to deal effectually with the three enemies by whom hismovements had been so much hampered, namely, the Buddhist priests ofKii, the Chosokabe clan in Shikoku, and the Sasa in Etchu. It hasalready been stated that the priests of Kii had their headquarters atNegoro, where there stood the great monastery of Dai-Dembo-In, belonging to the Shingon sect and enjoying almost the repute ofKoya-san. Scarcely less important was the monastery of Sawaga in thesame province. These two centres of religion had long been inpossession of large bodies of trained soldiers whose ranks were fromtime to time swelled by the accession of wandering samurai (ronin). The army despatched from Osaka in the spring of 1585 to deal withthese warlike monks speedily captured the two monasteries, and, forpurposes of intimidation, crucified a number of the leaders. For atime, Koya-san itself was in danger, several of the fugitive monkshaving taken refuge there. But finally Koya-san was spared inconsideration of surrendering estates yielding twenty-one thousandkoku of rice, which properties had been violently seized by themonasteries in former years. Three months later, Hideyoshi turned his arms against the Chosokabesept in Shikoku. This being an enterprise of large dimensions, heentrusted its conduct to five of his most competent generals, namely, Ukita Hideiye, Hachisuka Iemasa, Kuroda Nagamasa, Kikkawa Motoharu, and Kohayakawa Takakage. Hideyoshi himself would have assumed thedirect command, and had actually set out for that purpose from Osaka, when couriers met him with intelligence that less than one month'sfighting had brought the whole of the Island of the Four Provincesinto subjection. He therefore turned eastward, and entering Etchu, directed the operations, in progress there under the command of MaedaToshiiye against Sasa Narimasa. This campaign lasted seven days, andended in the surrender of Narimasa, to whom Hideyoshi showedremarkable clemency, inasmuch as he suffered him to remain inpossession of considerable estates in Etchu. THE UESUGI At this time Hideyoshi cemented relations of friendship with theUesugi family of Echigo, whose potentialities had always been asubject of apprehension to Nobunaga. The powerful sept was then ruledby Kagekatsu, nephew of the celebrated Kenshin. This daimyo had givenevidence of good-will towards Hideyoshi during the Komaki War, but itwas naturally a matter of great importance to establish reallycordial relations with so powerful a baron. History relates that, onthis occasion, Hideyoshi adopted a course which might well haveinvolved him in serious peril. He entered Echigo with a mere handfulof followers, and placed himself practically at the mercy ofKagekatsu, judging justly that such trustful fearlessness would winthe heart of the gallant Kagekatsu. Hideyoshi's insight was justifiedby the sequel. Several of the principal retainers of Kagekatsuadvised that advantage should be taken of Hideyoshi's rashness, andthat his victorious career should be finally terminated in Echigo. But this vindictive counsel was rejected by the Uesugi baron, andrelations of a warmly friendly character were established between thetwo great captains. INVASION OF KYUSHU There now remained only three really formidable enemies of Hideyoshi. These were Hojo Ujimasa, in the Kwanto; Date Masamime, in Dewa andMutsu, and Shimazu Yoshihisa, in Kyushu. Of these, the Shimazu septwas probably the most powerful, and Hideyoshi determined that Kyushushould be the scene of his next warlike enterprise. The Island of theNine Provinces was then under the rule of three great clans; theShimazu, in the south; the Otomo, in Bungo, and the Ryuzoji, inHizen. The most puissant of these had at one time been RyuzojiTakanobu, but his cruel methods had alienated the sympathy of many ofhis vassals, among them being Arima Yoshizumi, who threw off hisallegiance to Takanobu and joined hands with Shimazu Yoshihisa. Takanobu sent an army against Yoshizumi, but the Satsuma barondespatched Shimazu Masahisa to Yoshizumi's aid, and a sanguinaryengagement at Shimabara in 1585 resulted in the rout of Takanobu'sforces and his own death. Takanobu's son and successor, who was named Masaiye, being still aboy, advantage was taken of the fact by Otomo Yoshishige, who invadedHizen, so that Masaiye had to apply to the Shimazu family forsuccour. The Satsuma chieftain suggested that the matter might besettled by mutual withdrawal of forces, but Yoshishige declined thisoverture, and the result was a battle in which the Otomo troops werecompletely defeated. Otomo Yoshishige then (1586) had recourse toHideyoshi for assistance, thus furnishing the opportunity of whichOsaka was in search. Orders were immediately issued to Mori, Kikkawa, Kohayakawa, and Chosokabe Motochika to assemble their forces for anoversea expedition, and in the mean while, Sengoku Hidehisa wasdespatched to Kyushu bearing a letter in which Hideyoshi, writingover his title of kwampaku, censured the Shimazu baron for havingfailed to pay his respects to the Imperial Court in Kyoto, and calledupon him to do so without delay. This mandate was treated withcontempt. Shimazu Yoshihisa threw the document on the ground, declaring that his family had ruled in Satsuma for fourteengenerations; that only one man in Japan, namely Prince Konoe, hadcompetence to issue such an injunction, and that the head of thehouse of Shimazu would never kneel to a monkey-faced upstart. Hideyoshi had foreseen something of this kind, and had warned SengokuHidehisa in the sense that whatever might be the action of theSatsuma baron, no warlike measures were to be precipitatelycommenced. Hidehisa neglected this warning. Yielding to the anger ofthe moment, he directed the Otomo troops to attack the Satsumaforces, and the result was disastrous. When the fighting ended, theSatsuma baron had pushed into Bungo and taken sixteen forts there, sothat fully one-half of Kyushu was now under the sway of the Shimazu. Hideyoshi, on receiving news of these disasters, confiscated theestates of Sengoku Hidehisa, and issued orders to thirty-sevenprovinces to provide commissariat for three hundred thousand men andtwenty thousand horses for a period of one year. Soon an army of onehundred and fifty thousand men assembled at Osaka, and the van, numbering sixty thousand, embarked there on the 7th of January, 1587, and landed at Yunoshima in Bungo on the 19th of the same month--dateswhich convey some idea of the very defective system of maritimetransport then existing. In Bungo, the invading army was swelled bythirty thousand men under the leadership of Kohayakawa and Kikkawa, and the whole force, under the command-in-chief of Hidenaga, Hideyoshi's brother, moved to invest the castle of Takashiro. It is unnecessary to follow the fighting in all its details. Thesalient facts are that Hideyoshi left Osaka with the main army of onehundred and thirty thousand men on the 22d of January, 1587, and, travelling by land, reached the Strait of Akamagasaki--now calledShimonoseki--on the 17th of February. He marched through Chikuzen, making friends of the local chieftains by forbearance and diplomacy, and fighting the first great battle of the campaign at Oguchi on theSendai-gawa. The Satsuma baron's younger brother, Iehisa, after agallant resistance, surrendered to Hideyoshi, and was employed by thelatter to communicate direct with his chief, Yoshihisa. It wasgenerally supposed that Iehisa would never return from this mission, but would remain in the camp of Shimazu. He did return, however, hisword of honour being of more importance in his estimation than theopportunity of recovering his liberty. History states that Hideyoshi thereafter treated this noble man withthe greatest consideration, but it is difficult to reconcile thataccount with the fact that Hideyoshi subsequently pressed Iehisa toguide the Osaka army through the mountains and rivers whichconstituted natural defences for the fief of Satsuma. Iehisa, ofcourse, refused, and to Hideyoshi's credit it stands on record thathe did not press the matter with any violence. This difficulty ofinvading an unknown country without any maps or any guides, a countrycelebrated for its topographical perplexities, was ultimatelyovercome by sending Buddhist priests to act as spies in the dominionsof Shimazu. These spies were led by the abbot, Kennyo, with whosename the reader is already familiar, and as the Shimazu family weresincere believers in Buddhism, no obstacles were placed in the way ofthe treacherous monks. They were able ultimately to guide the Osakaarmy through the forests and mountains on the north of Kagoshima, andHideyoshi adopted the same strategy as that pursued in a similar casethree hundred years later, namely, sending a force of fifty thousandmen by sea with orders to advance against Kagoshima from the south. The Satsuma troops were completely defeated, and only the castle ofKagoshima remained in their hands. At this stage of the campaign Hideyoshi behaved with remarkablemagnanimity and foresight. Contrary to the advice of some of hisprincipal retainers, he refused to proceed to extremities against theShimazu clan, and agreed to make peace, on the basis that the clanshould be left in possession of the provinces of Satsuma, Osumi, andHyuga, the only further stipulation being that the then head of thehouse, Yoshihisa, should abdicate in favour of his younger brother, Yoshihiro. As for the Buddhist priests who had sacrificed theirhonour to their interests, those that had acted as guides to theinvading army were subsequently crucified by order of the Satsumabaron, and the Shin sect, to which they belonged, was interdictedthroughout the whole of the Shimazu fief. Yoshihiro was summoned toKyoto by Hideyoshi to answer for this action, but he pleaded thatsuch treachery amply deserved such punishment, and that he wasprepared to bow to Hideyoshi's judgment in the matter. The defencewas admitted by Hideyoshi, but the abbot Kennyo received such largerewards that he was able to erect the great temple Nishi Hongwan-ji, "which became the wonder of after-generations of men and which hasoften been erroneously referred to by foreign writers as a proof ofthe deep religious feelings of Buddhist converts three hundred yearsago. "* *A New Life of Hideyoshi, by W. Dening. THE HOJO From end to end of Japan there were now only two powerful baronswhose allegiance had not been formally rendered to Hideyoshi and tothe Emperor under the new regime. These were Date Masamune and HojoUjimasa. The origin and eminence of the Hojo family from the days ofits founder, Nagauji, have already been described in these pages, andit need only be added here that Ujimasa enjoyed a reputation secondto none of his predecessors. That he should stand aloof from all hisbrother barons seemed to the latter an intolerable evidence of pride, and they urged Hideyoshi to resort at once to extreme measures. Therecan be no doubt that this was the intention of Hideyoshi himself, butwith characteristic prudence he had recourse at the outset to pacificdevices. He therefore sent an envoy to the Hojo's stronghold atOdawara, urging Ujimasa to lose no time in paying his respects to theCourt at Kyoto. The Hojo chief's reply was that Sanada Masayuki hadencroached upon the Hojo estates in Numata, and that if thisencroachment were rectified, the desired obeisance to the Thronewould be made. Thereupon, Hideyoshi caused the restoration of Numata, but the Hojobaron, instead of carrying out his part of the agreement, made thisrestoration the pretext for an unwarrantable act of aggression. Whatever sympathy might have been felt in Kyoto with the Hojo familywas forfeited by this procedure, and in March, 1590, an army of overtwo hundred thousand men was set in motion for the Kwanto. Hideyoshi's troops moved in three columns. One, commanded by Ieyasu, marched by the seacoast road, the Tokaido; another, under UesugiKagekatsu and Maeda Toshiiye, marched by the mountain road, theTosando, and the third attacked from the sea. None of these armiesencountered any very serious resistance. The first approached Odawaraby the Hakone range and the second by way of the Usui pass. Thecastle at Odawara, however, was so strongly built and so stoutly heldthat its capture by storm seemed impossible, and Hideyoshi's forceswere obliged to have recourse to a regular siege which lasted nearlyfour months. During the latter part of that time, Hideyoshiencouraged his soldiers to indulge in all sorts of amusements, andthus the camp of the besiegers constantly echoed the notes of musicalperformances and the shouts of dancers and sake drinkers. Finally, inJuly, 1590, the great fortress surrendered, and the Hojo baron, Ujimasa, was put to death, his head being sent to Kyoto for exposure, but the life of his son, Ujinao, was spared on condition that heenter a monastery. HOJO UJINORI One incident of this struggle is very characteristic of the ethics ofthe era. During the interchange of messages that preceded recourse toarms, the Hojo baron sent his brother, Ujinori, to Kyoto as an envoyto discuss the situation with Hideyoshi. The latter received Ujinoriwith all courtesy and endeavoured to impress upon him the imperativenecessity of his chief's acquiescence. Ujinori promised to contributeto that end as far as lay in his power, but history describes him asadding: "Should my brother fail to comply with your commands, andshould it be necessary for you to send an army against the Kwanto, itmust be clearly understood that this visit of mine to your Excellencyshall not in any way prejudice my loyalty to my brother. On thecontrary, if the peace be broken, I shall probably have to commandthe van of my brother's forces, and in that event I may have to offerto your Excellency a flight of my rusty arrows. " Hideyoshi is narrated to have laughingly replied that the peace wasin no danger of being broken and that he trusted Ujinori to use hisbest endeavours to avert war. On his return to the Kwanto, Ujinoriwas ordered to defend the castle of Nira-yama with seven thousandmen, and he soon found himself attacked by fifty thousand under sevenof Hideyoshi's generals. Ujinori reminded his comrades that Nira-yamahad been the birthplace of the founder of the Hojo family, andtherefore it would be an eternal shame if even one of theentrenchments were lost. Not one was lost. Again and again assaultswere delivered, but they were unsuccessful, and throughout the wholeof the Kwanto, Nira-yama alone remained flying the Hojo flag to theend. Ujinori surrendered in obedience to Ujimasa's instructions afterthe fall of Odawara, but Hideyoshi, instead of punishing him for theheavy losses he had inflicted on the Osaka army, lauded his fidelityand bravery, and presented him with an estate of ten thousand koku. DATE MASAMUNE When news reached Date Masamune of the fall of all the Hojo'soutlying forts and of the final investment of Odawara, he recognized, from his place in Mutsu and Dewa, that an attitude of aloofness couldno longer be maintained with safety. Accordingly, bravingconsiderable danger, he made his way with a small retinue to Odawaraand signified his willingness to comply with any terms imposed byHideyoshi. Thus, for the first time since the middle of the fifteenthcentury, the whole of the empire was pacified. YEDO It is historically related that, during the siege of Odawara, Hideyoshi invited Ieyasu to the former's headquarters on IshigakiHill, whence an uninterrupted view of the interior of the castlecould be had. The Tokugawa baron was then asked whether, if the eightprovinces of the Kwanto were handed over to him, he would chooseOdawara for central stronghold. He replied in the affirmative. Hideyoshi pointed out the superior advantages of Yedo from astrategical and commercial point of view, and ultimately when heconferred the Kwanto on Ieyasu, he chose Yedo for the latter'scapital, the accompanying revenue being about two and a half millionkoku. Hideyoshi further proposed to appoint Oda Nobukatsu to thelordship of the five provinces which had hitherto constituted thedomain of Ieyasu, namely, Suruga, Totomi, Mikawa, Kai, and Shinano. Nobukatsu, however, alleging that he did not desire any large domain, asked to be allowed to retain his old estates in Owari and Ise. This attitude angered Hideyoshi for reasons which will presently beapparent. He assigned to Nobukatsu a comparatively insignificant fiefat Akita, in the remote province of Dewa, and gave the estates inOwari and Ise to Hidetsugu, the nephew and adopted successor ofHideyoshi, while the five provinces hitherto under the sway of Ieyasuwere divided among Hideyoshi's generals and retainers. In September, 1590, Ieyasu entered Yedo, and subdivided his extensive domain amonghis followers in order of merit, thus establishing the Tokugawasystem of hereditary daimyo and founding a new Bakufu. All this wasvery significant. In such matters, Hideyoshi had repeatedly shownhimself to be a man of great magnanimity, and had allowed even hisenemies to retain possession of lands which would certainly have beentaken from them by other conquerors. Thus, in the case of the Morisept, fully half of the midland counties was left in theiroccupation, and, in the case of the Shimazu family, they weresuffered to retain two and a half provinces. With regard to Ieyasu, however, Hideyoshi behaved with markedcaution. By granting to the Tokugawa chieftain the whole of theKwanto, Hideyoshi made it appear as though he were conferring asignal favour; but in reality his object was to remove Ieyasu out ofthe zone of potential danger to Kyoto. Ieyasu fully recognized thismanoeuvre, but bowed to it as the less of two evils. As a furthermeasure of precaution, Hideyoshi interposed one of his own family, Hidetsugu, between the Kwanto and Kyoto, and with the object ofmenacing the rear of Ieyasu and restraining the movements of theDate, he placed Gamo Ujisato at Aizu in Oshu. He further postedIshida Katsushige at Sawa-yama (now called Hikone) in the province ofOmi, to cover the principal route to Kyoto, and for similar reasonswith regard to the Yamato and Tamba roads he assigned to his brother, Hidenaga, the castle of Kori-yama, which commanded Izumi and Kii, andto his adopted son, Hidekatsu, the castle at Fukuchi-yama in Tamba. This plan of distributing their domains, so that the daimyo should bemutually repressive, was followed with still greater care by Ieyasuwhen he, in turn, became supreme. HIDEYOSHI AND BUDDHISM There are evidences that, from his childhood, Hideyoshi had littlereverence for the Buddhist faith. When only twelve years of age he issaid to have beaten and smashed an image of Amida because it remainedalways insensible to the offerings of food placed daily before it. Again, when on his way to Kyoto to avenge the assassination ofNobunaga, he saw an idol floating on a stream, and seizing the effigyhe cut it into two pieces, saying that the deity Daikoku, havingcompetence to succour one thousand persons only, could be of littleuse to him at such a crisis as he was now required to meet. Finally, on the occasion of his expedition against the Hojo of Odawara, whenthe sailors of Mishima, in Sagami, objected to carrying war-horses intheir boats on the plea that the god of the sea, Ryujin, hatedeverything equine, Hideyoshi did not hesitate to remove thesescruples by addressing a despatch to the deity with orders to watchover the safety of the steeds. Yet this same Hideyoshi evidently recognized that the Buddhist faithhad great potentialities in Japan, and that its encouragement madefor the peace and progress of the country. Buddhism suffered terriblyat the hands of Nobunaga. The great monastery of Enryaku-ji was amass of blackened ruins at the time of the Oda baron's death, and ithas been shown that the monasteries of Kii and Osaka fared almostequally badly at the hands of Hideyoshi. Nevertheless the latter hadno sooner grasped the supreme administrative power than he showedhimself a protector and promotor of Buddhism. Scattered throughoutthe empire and apparently crippled for all time, the monks ofHiei-zan very soon gave evidence of the vitality of their faith bycommencing a vigorous propaganda for the restoration of the greatmonastery. Many renowned priests, as Zenso, Gosei, and others, headedthis movement; Prince Takatomo, adopted son of the Emperor Okimachi, agreed to become lord-abbot of the sect (Tendai), and the ImperialCourt issued a proclamation exhorting the people to subscribe for thepious purpose. Hideyoshi, Ieyasu, and other great barons addressedtheir vassals in a similar sense, and in Hideyoshi's proclamation theimperative necessity of Enryaku-ji as a barrier at the "Demon's Gate"was distinctly stated. Under such auspices the monastery quickly rosefrom its ashes, though in point of size and magnificence it wasinferior to its predecessor. At the same time Hideyoshi steadilypursued the policy of checking the military tendencies of the monks, and it may be said that, from his era, the soldier-priest ceased tobe a factor in the political situation. THE KYOTO DAIBUTSU The erection of a colossal image of the Buddha at Nara, in the eighthcentury, and at Kamakura, in the thirteenth century, marked theconsummation of great political programmes in which religiousinfluence acted a strong part. Hideyoshi determined to set up a stillmore imposing effigy in Kyoto, and, in 1586, the work was commencedunder the superintendence of Maeda Gen-i. All the principalidol-makers were summoned to the capital, and among them were said tohave been some Chinese experts. Hideyoshi declared that whereas theNara Daibutsu had taken twenty-seven years to build, the Kyoto imageshould be finished in five. He kept his word. No less than twenty-oneprovinces were placed under requisition for labour and materials. Theenclosure of the temple containing the image measured 260 yards by274, and the great hall had dimensions of 110 yards by 74. The original intention had been to make the idol of copper; but asthe statue was to have a height of 160 feet, the quantity of metalrequired could not have been obtained within the time fixed, andlacquered wood was therefore substituted for copper. It is relatedthat timbers of sufficient scantling could not be found anywhereexcept in the forests at the base of Fuji-yama, and Ieyasu employedfifty thousand labourers at a cost of a one thousand ryo in gold, forthe purpose of felling the trees and transporting them to Kyoto. Theoperations furnished evidence of the curiously arbitrary methodspractised officially in that age. Thus, when the building wasinterrupted owing to a lack of large stones for constructing thepedestal, messengers were sent to appropriate rocks standing inprivate gardens, without consulting the convenience of the owners, and many beautiful parks were thus deprived of their most picturesqueelements. Moreover, on the plea of obtaining iron to make nails, clamps, and so forth, a proclamation was issued calling upon thecivilian section of the population at large to throw their swords, their spears, their muskets, and their armour into the melting-pot. This proclamation, though couched in terms of simulated benevolence, amounted in reality to a peremptory order. The people were told thatthey only wasted their substance and were impeded in the payment oftheir taxes by spending money upon weapons of war, whereas by givingthese for a religious purpose, they would invoke the blessings ofheaven and promote their own prosperity. But, at the foot of thesespecious arguments, there was placed a brief command that the weaponsmust be surrendered and that those concerned should take due note oftheir duty in the matter. The import of such an injunction was notlost on the people, and general disarming of the agricultural and theartisan classes marked the success of Hideyoshi's policy. It is onrecord that he himself actually joined in the manual labour ofdragging stones and timbers into position, and that, clad in hempengarments, he led the labourers' chorus of "Kiyari. " THE JURAKU-TEI In the year 1586, the Emperor Okimachi resigned the throne to hisgrandson, Go-Yozei. Like Nobunaga, Hideyoshi was essentially loyal tothe Imperial Court. He not only provided for the renovation of theshrines of Ise, but also built a palace for the retiring Emperor'suse. On the 11th of the seventh month of 1585, he was appointedregant (kwampaku), and on the 13th of the same month he proceeded tothe Court to render thanks. He himself, however, was without aresidence in the capital, and to remedy that deficiency he built apalace called Juraku-tei (Mansion of Pleasure) which, according tothe accounts transmitted by historians, was an edifice of exceptionalmagnificence. Thus, the Taikoki (Annals of the Taiko) speak of "gatesguarded by iron pillars and copper doors; of high towers which shonelike stars in the sky; of roof-tiles which roared in the wind, and ofgolden dragons which sang songs among the clouds. " Nothing nowremains of all this grandeur except some of the gates and otherdecorative parts of the structure, which were given to the buildersof the temples of Hongwan-ji after the destruction of the Juraku-teiwhen Hidetsugu and his whole family died under the sword as traitors. There can be no doubt, however, that the edifice represented everypossible feature of magnificence and refinement characteristic of theera. Hideyoshi took up his abode there in 1587, and at the ensuing NewYear's festival he prayed to be honoured by a visit from the Emperor. This request was complied with during the month of May in the sameyear. All the details of the ceremony were ordered in conformity withprecedents set in the times of the Ashikaga shoguns, Yoshimitsu andYoshimasa, but the greatly superior resources of Hideyoshi wereenlisted to give eclat to the fete. The ceremonies were spread overfive days. They included singing, dancing, couplet composing, andpresent giving. The last was on a scale of unprecedented dimensions. The presents to the Imperial household and to the Court Nobles Variedfrom three hundred koku of rice to 5530 ryo of silver, and in thecase of the Court ladies, the lowest was fifty koku and the highestthree hundred. The occasion was utilized by Hideyoshi for an important ceremony, which amounted to a public recognition of his own supremacy. Awritten oath was signed and sealed by six great barons, of whom thefirst four represented the Toyotomi (Hideyoshi's) family and the lasttwo were Ieyasu and Nobukatsu. The signatories of this oath solemnlybound themselves to respect eternally the estates and possessions ofthe members of the Imperial house, of the Court nobles, and of theImperial princes, and further to obey faithfully all commands issuedby the regent. This obligation was guaranteed by invoking the curseof all the guardian deities of the empire on the head of anyoneviolating the engagement. A similar solemn pledge in writing wassigned by twenty-two of the great military barons. THE KITANO FETE The esoterics of the tea ceremonial and the vogue it obtained in thedays of the shogun Yoshimasa, have already been described. But notemust be taken here of the extraordinary zeal displayed by Hideyoshiin this matter. Some claim that his motive was mainly political;others that he was influenced by purely esthetic sentiments, andothers, again, that both feelings were responsible in an equaldegree. There is no material for an exact analysis. He doubtlessappreciated the point of view of the historian who wrote that"between flogging a war-steed along the way to death and discussingesthetic canons over a cup of tea in a little chamber nine feetsquare, there was a radical difference. " But it must also haveappealed keenly to his fancy that he, a veritable upstart, by birth aplebeian and by habit a soldier, should ultimately set the lead inartistic fashions to the greatest aristocrats in the empire in a cultessentially pacific. However these things may have been, the fact remains that on the 1stof November, 1587, there was organized by his orders on the PinePlain (Matsubara) of Kitano a cha-no-yu fete of unprecedentedmagnitude. The date of the fete was placarded in Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Sakai, and other towns of importance more than a month in advance;all lovers of the tea cult were invited, whether plebeian orpatrician, whether rich or poor; frugality was enjoined, and theproclamations promised that the choicest among the objects of artcollected by Hideyoshi during many decades should be exhibited. It isrecorded that over 360 persons attended the fete. Some erected simpleedifices under the pine trees; some set up a monster umbrella for aroof, and some brought portable pavilions. These various edifices aresaid to have occupied a space of six square miles. Three pavilionswere devoted to Hideyoshi's art-objects, and he himself served teaand exhibited his esthetic treasures to Ieyasu, Nobukatsu, Toshiiye, and other distinguished personages. HIDEYOSHI'S LARGESSE Hideyoshi's love of ostentation when political ends could be servedthereby was strikingly illustrated by a colossal distribution of goldand silver. One morning in June, 1589, the space within the main gateof the Juraku palace was seen to be occupied throughout a length ofnearly three hundred yards with gold and silver coins heaped up ontrays each containing one hundred and fifty pieces. Immediatelywithin the gate sat Hideyoshi, and beside him was the Emperor'syounger brother, Prince Roku. The mass of glittering treasure wasguarded by officials under the superintendence of Maeda Gen-i, andpresently the names of the personages who were to be recipients ofHideyoshi's largesse were read aloud, whereupon each of thoseindicated advanced and received a varying number of the precioustrays. The members of Hideyoshi's family were specially favoured inthis distribution. His mother received 3000 ryo of gold and 10, 000ryo of silver; his brother, Hidenaga, 3000 ryo of gold and 20, 000 ofsilver; and his nephew, Hidetsugu, 3000 of gold and 10, 000 of silver. To Nobukatsu, to Ieyasu, to Mori Terumoto, to Uesugi Kagekatsu, andto Maeda Toshiiye, great sums were given, varying from 3000 ryo ofgold and 10, 000 of silver to 1000 of gold and 10, 000 of silver. It issaid that the total of the coins thus bestowed amounted to 365, 000ryo, a vast sum in that era. A history of the time observes that thechief recipients of Hideyoshi's generosity were the members of hisown family, and that he would have shown better taste had he madethese donations privately. Perhaps the deepest impression produced bythis grand display was a sense of the vast treasure amassed byHideyoshi; and possibly he contemplated something of the kind. ENGRAVING: SNOW IMAGE OF DHARMA ENGRAVING: A FENCING OUTFIT CHAPTER XXXV THE INVASION OF KOREA CAUSES HAVING brought the whole of Japan under his control, Hideyoshiconceived the project of conquering China. That appears to be thesimplest explanation of his action. His motive, however, has beenvariously interpreted. Some historians maintain that his primepurpose was to find occupation for the vast host of soldiers who hadbeen called into existence in Japan by four centuries of almostcontinuous warfare. Others do not hesitate to allege that thisoversea campaign was designed for the purpose of assisting toexterminate the Christian converts. Others, again, attempt to provethat personal ambition was Hideyoshi's sole incentive. It does notseem necessary to estimate the relative truth of these analyses, especially as the evidence adduced by their several supporters ismore or less conjectural. As to the idea that Hideyoshi wasinfluenced by anti-Christian sentiment, it is sufficient to observethat out of nearly a quarter of a million of Japanese soldiers wholanded in Korea during the course of the campaign, not so much as tenper cent, were Christians, and with regard to the question ofpersonal ambition, it may be conceded at once that if Hideyoshi'scharacter lays him open to such a charge, his well-proven statecraftexonerates him from any suspicion of having acted without thought forhis country's good. One fact which does not seem to have been sufficiently considered byannalists is that during the sixteenth century the taste for foreignadventure had grown largely in Japan. Many persons had gone abroad inquest of fortune and had found it. It is on record that emigrantsfrom the province of Hizen had established themselves in considerablenumbers in China, and that their success induced their feudal lord, Nabeshima, to seek the Central Government's permission for returninghis province to the latter and taking, in lieu, the district nearNingpo, where his vassals had settled. Hideyoshi doubtless shared thegeneral belief that in oversea countries Japanese enterprise couldfind many profitable opportunities, and it is easy to believe thatthe weakened condition of China towards the close of the Ming dynastyled him to form a not very flattering estimate of that country'spower of resistance. The conquest of Korea had not in itself any special temptation. Heregarded the peninsula simply as a basis for an attack upon China, and he made it quite clear to the Korean sovereign that, if thelatter suffered his territories to be converted into a stepping-stonefor that purpose, friendship with Japan might be confidentlyanticipated. Korea, at that time, was under the sway of a singleruler, whose dynasty enjoyed the protection of the Chinese Court, andbetween the two sovereigns embassies were regularly exchanged. It hasalready been stated in these pages that towards the middle of thefifteenth century Japanese settlers in Korea had been assigned threeplaces of residence, but owing to the exactions suffered at the handsof the local authorities, these settlers had risen in revolt and hadfinally been expelled from Korea until the year 1572, when aconcession was once more set apart for Japanese use at Fusan. Nolonger, however, were envoys sent from Korea to Japan, and evidenceof the outrages committed from time to time by Japanese pirates isfurnished by a decree of the Korean Government that a Japanesesubject landing anywhere except at Fusan would be treated as acorsair. Such were the existing conditions when, in 1587, Hideyoshi calledupon the Korean monarch to explain the cessation of the old-timecustom of exchanging envoys. To this the King of Korea replied thathe would willingly renew the ancient relations provided that theJapanese authorities seized and handed over a number of Koreanrenegades, who had been acting as guides to Japanese pirates indescents on the Korean coast. This stipulation having been compliedwith, a Korean embassy was duly despatched by Kyoto, and after somedelay its members were received by Hideyoshi in the hall of audience. What happened on this occasion is described in Korean annals, translated as follows by Mr. Aston*: *Hideyoshi's Invasion of Korea, by Aston. "Transactions of theAsiatic Society of Japan, " Vol. VI. The ambassadors were allowed to enter the palace gate borne in theirpalanquins. They were preceded the whole way by a band of music. Theyascended into the hall, where they performed their obeisances. Hideyoshi is a mean and ignoble-looking man; his complexion is dark, and his features are wanting in distinction. But his eyeballs sendout fire in flashes--enough to pierce one through. He sat upon athreefold cushion with his face to the south. He wore a gauze hat anda dark-coloured robe of State. His officers were ranged round him, each in his proper place. When the ambassadors were introduced andhad taken their seats, the refreshments offered them were of the mostfrugal description. A tray was set before each, on which was one dishcontaining steamed mochi (rice-cake), and sake of an inferior qualitywas handed round a few times in earthenware cups and in a veryunceremonious way. The civility of drinking to one another was notobserved. After a short interval, Hideyoshi retired behind a curtain, but allhis officers remained in their places. Soon after, a man came outdressed in ordinary clothes, with a baby in his arms, and strolledabout the hall. This was no other than Hideyoshi himself, andeveryone present bowed down his head to the ground. Looking outbetween the pillars of the hall, Hideyoshi espied the Koreanmusicians. He commanded them to strike up all together as loud asthey could, and was listening to their music when he was remindedthat babies could despise ceremonies as much as princes, andlaughingly called one of his attendants to take the child and bringhim a change of clothing. He seemed to do exactly as he pleased, andwas as unconcerned as if nobody else were present. The ambassadors, having made their obeisance, retired, and this audience was the onlyoccasion on which they were admitted to Hideyoshi's presence. After long delay Hideyoshi replied to the letter carried by the aboveenvoys, and his language is important as clearly indicating the partwhich he designed for Korea in the pending war. The document is thustranslated by Mr. Aston: This empire has of late years been brought to ruin by internaldissensions which allowed no opportunity for laying aside armour. This state of things roused me to indignation, and in a few years Irestored peace to the country. I am the only remaining scion of ahumble stock, but my mother once had a dream in which she saw the sunenter her bosom, after which she gave birth to me. There was then asoothsayer who said: "Wherever the sun shines, there will be no placewhich shall not be subject to him. It may not be doubted that one dayhis power will overspread the empire. " It has therefore been my boastto lose no favourable opportunity, and taking wings like a dragon, Ihave subdued the east, chastised the west, punished the south, andsmitten the north. Speedy and great success has attended my career, which has been like the rising sun illuminating the whole earth. When I reflect that the life of man is less than one hundred years, why should I spend my days in sorrow for one thing only? I willassemble a mighty host, and, invading the country of the great Ming, I will fill with the hoar-frost from my sword the whole sky over thefour hundred provinces. Should I carry out this purpose, I hope thatKorea will be my vanguard. Let her not fail to do so, for myfriendship with your honourable country depends solely on yourconduct when I lead my army against China. The Korean envoys entrusted with the delivery of the above despatchwere accompanied by one of the chief vassals of the Tsushima baron, and a monk, named Genso, who acted in the capacity of interpreter. Bythese two Japanese the Korean Government was clearly informed thatnothing was required of Korea beyond throwing open the roads toChina, and that she would not be asked to give any other assistancewhatever in the war against her northern neighbour. In the context ofthis explanation, the Seoul Government was reminded that, threecenturies previously, Korea had permitted her territory to be made abasis of Mongolian operations against Japan, and therefore thepeninsula might well allow itself to be now used as a basis ofJapanese operations against China. From Korean annals we learn thatthe following despatch was ultimately sent by the Korean sovereign toHideyoshi*: *Hulbert's History of Korea. Two letters have already passed between us, and the matter has beensufficiently discussed. What talk is this of our joining you againstChina? From the earliest times we have followed law and right. Fromwithin and from without all lands are subject to China. If you havedesired to send your envoys to China, how much more should we? Whenwe have been unfortunate she has helped us. The relations whichsubsist between us are those of parent and child. This you know well. Can we desert both Emperor and parent and join with you? Youdoubtless will be angry at this, and it is because you have not beenadmitted to the Court of China. Why is it that you are not willing toadmit the suzerainty of the Emperor, instead of harbouring suchhostile intents against him? This truly passes our comprehension. The bitterness of this language was intensified by a comment made tothe Japanese envoys when handing them the above despatch. His Majestysaid that Japan's programme of conquering China resembled an attemptto bail out the ocean with a cockle-shell. From Korea's point of viewher attitude was perfectly justifiable. The dynasty by which thepeninsula was then ruled owed its very existence to China's aid, andduring two centuries the peninsula had enjoyed peace and a certainmeasure of prosperity under that dynasty. On the other hand, Koreawas not in a position to think of resisting Japan on thebattle-field. The only army which the former could boast ofpossessing consisted of men who were too indigent to purchaseexemption from service with the colours, and thus she may be said tohave been practically without any efficient military organization. Moreover, her troops were not equipped with either artillery ormatch-locks. The only advantage which she possessed may be said tohave been exceedingly difficult topographical features, which werepractically unknown to the Japanese. Japan had not at that time eventhe elements of the organization which she was ultimately destined tocarry to such a high point of perfection. She had no secret-serviceagents or any cartographers to furnish her generals with informationessential to the success of an invasion, and from the moment that hertroops landed in Korea, their environment would be absolutelystrange. JAPAN'S PREPARATIONS These considerations did not, however, deter Hideyoshi. Immediatelyon receipt of the above despatch from the Korean Court, preparationswere commenced for an oversea expedition on a colossal scale. Nagoya, in the province of Hizen, was chosen for the home-basis ofoperations. It has been observed by several critics that ifHideyoshi, instead of moving by Korea, had struck at China directoversea, he would in all probability have seen his flag waving overPeking in a few months, and the whole history of the Orient wouldhave been altered. That may possibly be true. But we have to rememberthat the Korean peninsula lies almost within sight of the shores ofJapan, whereas to reach China direct by water involves a voyage ofseveral hundred miles over seas proverbially tempestuous anddangerous. Even in modern times, when maritime transport has been sogreatly developed, a general might well hesitate between the choiceof the Korean and the ocean routes to China from Japan, were herequired to make a choice. In the face of the certainty of Koreanhostility, however, Hideyoshi's selection was certainly open tocriticism. Nevertheless, the event showed that he did not err in hiscalculations so far as the operations on shore were concerned. He himself remained in Japan throughout the whole war. He went toNagoya towards the close of 1592 and stayed there until the beginningof 1594, and it was generally understood that he intended ultimatelyto assume direct command of the oversea armies. In fact, at a councilheld to consider this matter, he proposed to cross the water at thehead of one hundred and fifty thousand men, handing over theadministration of affairs in Japan to Ieyasu. On that occasion, oneof his most trusted followers, Asano Nagamasa, provoked a violentoutburst of temper on Hideyoshi's part by declaring that such ascheme would be an act of lunacy, since Hideyoshi's presence alonesecured the empire against recurrence of domestic strife. The annalsare not very clear at this point, but everything seems to indicatethat Hideyoshi's purpose of leading the armies in person would havebeen carried into practice had it not become certain that theinvasion of China would have to be abandoned. The time and the mannerin which this failure became clear will be seen as we proceed. CONDITIONS FROM THE INVADER'S POINT OF VIEW The sea which separates Japan from the Korean peninsula narrows onthe south to a strait divided by the island of Tsushima into twochannels of nearly equal width. Tsushima had, for centuries, been theJapanese outpost in this part of the empire. To reach the island fromthe Japanese side was always an easy and safe task, but in thefifty-six-mile channel that separates Tsushima from the peninsula ofKorea an invading flotilla had to run the risk of an attack by Koreanwarships. * The army assembled at Nagoya totalled over three hundredthousand men, whereof some seventy thousand constituted the firstfighting line and eighty-seven thousand the second, the remainderforming a reserve to meet contingencies. The question of maritimetransport presented some difficulty, but was solved by the expedientof ordering each maritime feudatory to furnish two large ships forevery hundred thousand koku of the fief's assessment, and their crewswere obtained by compelling each fishing village to furnish tensailors for every hundred houses it contained. These were notfighting vessels but mere transports. Fighting men to the number ofninety-two hundred were, however, distributed among the ships, andwere armed with match-locks, bows, and swords. The problem ofcommissariat was very formidable. This part of the enterprise wasentrusted solely to Asano Nagamasa, minister of Justice, one of thefive bugyo, --that is to say, five officials called administrators, inwhose intelligence and competence Hideyoshi placed signal reliance. In the records of the Asano family it is stated that an immensequantity of rice was shipped at the outset, but that on landing inKorea the army found ample supplies of grain in every castlethroughout the peninsula. Nevertheless, the problem of provisionsultimately became exceedingly difficult, as might well have beenpredicted. *See the Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. PLAN OF CAMPAIGN As for the plan of campaign, it was precisely in accord with theprinciples of modern strategy. The van, consisting of three armycorps, was to cross rapidly to Fusan on the south coast of thepeninsula, whence a movement northward, towards the capital, Seoul, was to be immediately commenced, one corps marching by the easterncoast-road, one by the central route, and one by the western. "Thereafter the other four corps, which formed the first fightingline, together with the corps under the direct orders of thecommander-in-chief, Ukita Hideiye, were to cross for the purpose ofeffectually subduing the regions through which the van had passed;and, finally, the two remaining corps of the second line were to betransported by sea up the west coast of the peninsula, to form ajunction with the van which, by that time, should be preparing topass into China over the northern boundary of Korea, namely, the YaluRiver. For the landing-place of these re-enforcements the town ofPyong-yang was adopted, being easily accessible by the Tadong Riverfrom the coast. In later ages, Japanese armies were destined to movetwice over these same regions, once to the invasion of China [in1894], once to the attack of Russia [in 1904], and they adoptedalmost the same strategical plan as that mapped out by Hideyoshi inthe year 1592. The forecast was that the Koreans would offer theirchief resistance, first, at the capital, Seoul; next at Pyong-yang, and finally at the Yalu, as the approaches to all these placesconstituted positions capable of being utilized to great advantagefor defensive purposes. "* *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. THE MARCH TO SEOUL On the 24th of May, 1592, the first army corps (18, 700 men), underthe command of Konishi Yukinaga, crossed unmolested to the peninsula. So little did the Koreans anticipate an invasion that the earliestintelligence they had of the advent of the invaders was furnished bythe commandant of Fusan, who happened that day to be hunting on DeerIsland at the entrance to the harbour, and who sighted the approachof the hostile flotilla. On the 25th, Konishi's troops carried thecastle of Fusan by storm, after a brave resistance by the garrison, and, on the 27th, the same fate befell another and stronger fortresslying three miles inland and garrisoned by twenty thousand pickedsoldiers. Four days after the landing of Konishi's army, the secondcorps (20, 800 strong), under Kato Kiyomasa, reached Fusan, andimmediately took the east-coast road, according to the programme ofcampaign. Thenceforth, however, it was really a race between the two armies asto which should form the van. At the pass of Cho-ryung a reunion waseffected. This position offered exceptional facilities for defence, but owing to some unexplained reason no attempt was made by theKoreans to hold it. A few miles further north stood a castle reckonedthe strongest fortress in the peninsula. Konishi and Kato continuedthe combination of their forces as they approached this position, but, contrary to expectation, the Koreans fought in the open and thecastle fell without difficulty. Thereafter, the two corps separated, Kato taking the westerly road and Konishi the direct route to Seoul. In short, although the two generals have been accused of cripplingthemselves by jealous competition, the facts indicate that theyco-operated effectively as far as the river Imjin, where a strenuouseffort to check them was expected to be made by the Koreans. From the landing place at Fusan to the gates of Seoul the distance is267 miles. Konishi's corps covered that interval in nineteen days, storming two forts, carrying two positions, and fighting one pitchedbattle on the way. Kato's corps, travelling by a circuitous and morearduous road but not meeting with so much resistance, traversed thedistance between Fusan and the capital in four days less. At Seoul, with its thirty thousand battlements and three times as manyembrasures, requiring a garrison ninety thousand strong, only seventhousand were available, and nothing offered except flight, a coursewhich the Royal Court adopted without hesitation, leaving the city tobe looted and partially destroyed, not by the Japanese invaders butby the Korean inhabitants themselves. The King did not halt until he had placed the Imjin River betweenhimself and the enemy. Moreover, as soon as he there received news ofthe sack of the city, he renewed his flight northward and took up hisquarters at Pyong-yang. It was on the 12th of June that the Koreancapital fell, and by the 16th four army corps had assembled there, while four others had effected a landing at Fusan. After a rest offifteen days, the northern advance was resumed from Seoul, with theexpectation that a great struggle would take place on the banks ofthe Imjin. The conditions were eminently favourable for defence, inasmuch as the approach to the river from the south was only by onenarrow gulch, whereas, on the northern side, lay a long, sandystretch where troops could easily be deployed. Moreover the Japanesehad no boats wherewith to negotiate a broad and swiftly flowingriver. During ten days the invaders remained helpless on the southernbank. Then the Koreans allowed themselves to be betrayed by thecommon device of a simulated retreat. They crossed in exultantpursuit, only to find that they had been trapped into an ambush. Konishi and Kato now again separated, the former continuing thedirect advance northward, and the latter taking the northeasternroute, which he ultimately followed along the whole of the coast asfar as Kyong-sang, whence he turned inland and finally reachedHai-ryong, a place destined to acquire much importance in moderntimes as the point of junction of the Kilin-Korean railways. The distance from Seoul to Pyong-yang on the Tadong is 130 miles, andit was traversed by the Japanese in eighteen days, ten of which hadbeen occupied in forcing the passage of the Imjin. On the southernbank of the Tadong, the invaders found themselves in a position evenmore difficult than that which had confronted them at the Imjin. Theyhad to pass a wide rapid river with a walled city of great strengthon its northern bank and with all the boats in the possession of theKorean garrison, which was believed to be very numerous. Someparleying took place, and the issue of the situation seemed verydoubtful when the Koreans lost patience and crossed the river, hopingto destroy the Japanese by a night attack. They miscalculated thetime required for this operation, and daylight compelled them toabandon the enterprise when its only result had been to disclose tothe invaders the whereabouts of the fords. Then ensued a disorderlyretreat on the part of the Koreans, and there being no time for thelatter to fire the town, storehouses full of grain fell into thehands of the invaders. The Korean Court resumed its flight as far asWi-ju, a few miles south of the Yalu River, whence messengers weresent to China to solicit succour. THE COMMAND OF THE SEA Thus far, everything had marched in perfect accord with the Japaneseprogramme. A force of nearly two hundred thousand men had beencarried over the sea and had overrun practically the whole of Korea. "At this point, however, the invasion suffered a check owing to acause which in modern times has received much attention, though inHideyoshi's days it had been little considered; the Japanese lost thecommand of the sea. The Japanese idea of sea fighting in those timeswas to use open boats propelled chiefly by oars. They closed asquickly as possible with the enemy and then fell on with thetrenchant swords which they used so skilfully. Now, during thefifteenth century and part of the sixteenth, the Chinese had been soharassed by Japanese piratical raids that their inventive genius, quickened by suffering, suggested a device for coping with theseformidable adversaries. Once allow the Japanese swordsman to come toclose quarters and he carried all before him. To keep him at adistance, then, was the great desideratum, and the Chinese compassedthis in maritime warfare by completely covering their boats withroofs of solid timber, so that those within were protected againstmissiles or other weapons, while loop-holes and ports enabled them topour bullets and arrows on a foe. "The Koreans learned this device from the Chinese and were the firstto employ it in actual warfare. Their own history alleges that theyimproved upon the Chinese model by nailing sheet iron over the roofsand sides of the 'turtle-shell' craft and studding the whole surfacewith chevaux de frise, but Japanese annals indicate that in the greatmajority of cases timber alone was used. It seems strange that theJapanese should have been without any clear perception of the immensefighting superiority possessed by such protected war-vessels oversmall open boats. But certainly they were either ignorant orindifferent. The fleet which they provided to hold the command ofKorean waters did not include one vessel of any magnitude; itconsisted simply of some hundreds of row-boats manned by seventhousand men. Hideyoshi himself was perhaps not without misgivings. Six years previously, he had endeavoured to obtain two war-galleonsfrom the Portuguese, and had he succeeded, the history of the FarEast might have been radically different. Evidently, however, hecommitted a blunder which his countrymen in modern times haveconspicuously avoided; he drew the sword without having fullyinvestigated his adversary's resources. "Just about the time when the van of the Japanese army was enteringSeoul, the Korean admiral, Yi Sun-sin, at the head of a fleet ofeighty vessels, attacked the Japanese squadron which lay at anchornear the entrance to Fusan harbour, set twenty-six of the vessels onfire, and dispersed the rest. Four other engagements ensued in rapidsuccession. The last and most important took place shortly after theJapanese troops had seized Pyong-yang. It resulted in the sinking ofover seventy Japanese vessels, transports and fighting shipscombined, which formed the main part of a flotilla carryingreinforcements by sea to the van of the invading army. This despatchof troops and supplies by water had been a leading feature ofHideyoshi's plan of campaign, and the destruction of the flotilla towhich the duty was entrusted may be said to have sealed the fate ofthe war by isolating the army in Korea from its home base. "It is true that Konishi Yukinaga, who commanded the first division, desired to continue his northward march from Pyong-yang withoutdelay. He argued that China was wholly unprepared, and that the besthope of ultimate victory lay in not giving her time to collect herforces. But the commander-in-chief, Ukita Hideiye, refused to endorsethis plan. He took the view that since the Korean provinces werestill offering desperate resistance, supplies could not be drawn fromthem, neither could the troops engaged in subjugating them be freedfor service at the front. Therefore it was essential to await theconsummation of the second phase of Hideyoshi's plan, namely, thedespatch of re-enforcements and munitions by water to Pyong-yang. Thereader has seen how that second phase fared. The Japanese commanderat Pyong-yang never received any accession of strength. His forcesuffered constant diminution from casualties, and the question ofcommissariat became daily more difficult. . . . Japanese historiansthemselves admit the fact that no wise effort was made to conciliatethe Korean people. They were treated so harshly that even the humblepeasant took up arms, and thus the peninsula, instead of serving as abasis of supplies, had to be garrisoned perpetually by a strongarmy. "* Korean historians give long and minute accounts of thedevelopment and exploits of guerilla bands, which, though they didnot obtain any signal victory over the invaders, harassed the latterperpetually, and compelled them to devote a large part of their forceto guarding the lines of communication. *Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " by Brinkley. CHINESE INTERFERENCE Having suffered for their loyalty to China, the Koreans naturallylooked to her for succour. Peking should have understood thesituation thoroughly. Even without any direct communication fromJapan, the Peking Court had cognizance of Hideyoshi's intentions. Aletter addressed by him in the year 1591 to the King of Ryukyu statedclearly his intention of extending Japanese sovereignty throughoutthe whole Orient, and the ruler of Ryukyu had lost no time in makingthis fact known to Peking. * Yet it does not appear that the Chinesehad any just appreciation of the situation. Their first response toKorea's appeal was to mobilize a force of five thousand men in theLiaotung peninsula, which force crossed the Yalu and moved againstPyong-yang, where the Japanese van had been lying idle for over twomonths. This occurred early in October, 1592. The incidentillustrated China's confidence in her own superiority. "The whole ofthe Korean forces had been driven northward throughout the entirelength of the peninsula by Japanese armies, yet Peking consideredthat five thousand Chinese braves would suffice to roll back thistide of invasion. " *There is still extant a letter addressed by Hideypshi in June, 1592, to Hidetsugu, his nephew, and then nominal successor. In thisdocument it is distinctly stated that the attention of the Emperor ofJapan should be directed to the Chinese capital, inasmuch as theJapanese Court would pay a visit to Peking in 1594, on which occasionthe ten provinces surrounding the Chinese capital would be presentedto his Majesty, and out of this territory the Court nobles wouldreceive estates. The result was a foregone conclusion. Three thousand of the Chinesewere killed, and the rest fled pele-mele across the Yalu. China nowbegan to be seriously alarmed. She despatched to Pyong-yang an envoynamed Chen Weiching--known in Japanese history as Chin Ikei--who wasinstructed not to conclude peace but only to make such overtures asmight induce the Japanese to agree to an armistice, thus enabling theChinese authorities to mobilize a sufficient force. Konishi Yukinagafell into this trap. He agreed to an armistice of fifty days, duringwhich the Japanese pledged themselves not to advance more than threemiles northward of Pyong-yang while Chen proceeded to Peking toarrange terms of peace. It is very evident that had the Japanese seenany certain prospect of proceeding to the invasion of China, theywould not have agreed to such an arrangement as this--an arrangementwhich guaranteed nothing except leisure for the mobilization of astrong Chinese army. It had, indeed, become plain to the Japanesecommanders, after six months of operations in the peninsula, that thewisest course for them was to arrange a satisfactory peace. The second force put in the field by China is estimated by theJesuits and the Japanese at 200, 000 men and at 51, 000 by Koreanhistory. Probably the truth lies midway between the two extremes. This powerful army moved across Manchuria in the dead of winter andhurled itself against Pyong-yang during the first week of February, 1593. The Japanese garrison at that place cannot have greatlyexceeded twenty thousand men, for nearly one-half of its originalnumber had been detached to hold a line of forts guarding thecommunications with Seoul. Neither Chinese nor Japanese historycomments on the instructive fact that the arrival of this army underthe walls of Pyong-yang was China's answer to her envoy's promise ofa satisfactory peace, nor does it appear that any discredit attachedto Chen Weiching for the deception he had practised; his competenceas a negotiator was subsequently admitted without cavil. The Chinese, though their swords were much inferior to the Japanese weapon, possessed great superiority in field artillery and cavalry, as wellas in the fact that their troopers wore iron mail which defied thekeenest blade. Thus, after a severe fight which cost the Japanesetwenty-three hundred men, they had to evacuate Pyong-yang and retreattowards Seoul, the army under Kato Kiyomasa retiring at the same timefrom the northeast and fighting its way back to the central route. Orders were then issued by the commander-in-chief, Ukita, for thewhole of the Japanese forces in the north of the peninsula toconcentrate in Seoul, but Kohayakawa, one of Hideyoshi's most trustedgenerals, whose name has occurred more than once in these annals, conducted a splendid covering movement at a place a few milesnorthward of Seoul, the result of which was that the Chinese fled inhaste over the Injin, losing ten thousand men in their retreat. But, though the Japanese had thus shaken off the pursuit, it wasimpossible for them to continue in occupation of Seoul. Theconditions existing there were shocking. Widespread famine menaced, with its usual concomitant, pestilence. According to Korean history, the streets of the city and the roads in the suburbs were piled withcorpses to a height of ten feet above the wall. The Japanese, therefore, made proposals of peace, and the Chinese agreed, oncondition that the Japanese gave up two Korean princes held captiveby them, and retired to the south coast of the peninsula. These termswere accepted, and on May 9, 1593, that is to say, 360 days after thelanding of the invaders' van at Fusan, the evacuation of the Koreancapital took place. The Chinese commanders showed great lack ofenterprise. They failed to utilize the situation, and in October ofthe same year they withdrew from the peninsula all their troopsexcept ten thousand men. Negotiations for permanent peace nowcommenced between the Governments of Japan and China, but while thepourparlers were in progress the most sanguinary incident of thewhole war took place. During the early part of the campaign aJapanese attack had been beaten back from Chinju, which was reckonedthe strongest fortress in Korea. Hideyoshi now ordered that theJapanese troops, before sailing for home, should rehabilitate theirreputation by capturing this place, where the Koreans had mustered astrong army. The order was obeyed. Continuous assaults were deliveredagainst the fortress during the space of nine days, and when itpassed into Japanese possession the Koreans are said to have lostbetween sixty and seventy thousand men and the casualties on theJapanese side must have been almost as numerous. THE NEGOTIATIONS After the fall of Chinju, all the Japanese troops, with the exceptionof Konishi's corps, were withdrawn from Korea, and the Japaneseconfined their operations to holding a cordon of twelve fortifiedcamps along the southern coast of the peninsula. These camps werenothing more than bluffs overlooking the sea on the south, andprotected on the land side by moats and earthworks. The action atChinju had created some suspicion as to the integrity of Japan'sdesigns, but mainly through the persistence and tact of the Chineseenvoy, Chen Weiching, terms were agreed upon, and on October 21, 1596, a Chinese mission reached Japan and proceeded to Osaka. Theisland had just then been visited by a series of uniquely disastrousearthquakes, which had either overthrown or rendered uninhabitableall the great edifices in and around Kyoto. One corner of OsakaCastle alone remained intact, and there the mission was received. Hideyoshi refused to give audience to the Korean members of themission, and welcomed the Chinese members only, from whom he expectedto receive a document placing him on a royal pinnacle at least ashigh as that occupied by the Emperor of China. The document actuallytransmitted to him was of a very different significance as thefollowing extract shows: The Emperor, who respects and obeys heaven and is favoured byProvidence, commands that he be honoured and loved wherever theheavens overhang and the earth upbears. The Imperial command isuniversal; even as far as the bounds of ocean where the sun rises, there are none who do not obey it. In ancient times our Imperialancestors bestowed their favours on many lands: the Tortoise Knotsand the Dragon Writing were sent to the limits of far Japan; the purealabaster and the great-seal character were granted to the monarchsof the submissive country. Thereafter came billowy times whencommunications were interrupted, but an auspicious opportunity hasnow arrived when it has pleased us again to address you. You, Toyotomi Taira Hideyoshi, having established an Island kingdom andknowing the reverence due to the Central Land, sent to the west anenvoy, and with gladness and affection offered your allegiance. Onthe north you knocked at the barrier of ten thousand li, andearnestly requested to be admitted within our dominions. Your mind isalready confirmed in reverent submissiveness. How can we grudge ourfavour to so great meekness? We do, therefore, specially invest youwith the dignity of "King of Japan, " and to that intent issue thisour commission. Treasure it carefully. As a mark of our specialfavour towards you, we send you over the sea a robe and crowncontained in a costly case, so that you may follow our ancient customas respects dress. Faithfully defend the frontier of our empire; letit be your study to act worthily of your position as our minister;practice moderation and self-restraint; cherish gratitude for theImperial favour so bountifully bestowed upon you; change not yourfidelity; be humbly guided by our admonitions; continue always tofollow our instructions. * *Quoted by W. Dening in A New Life of Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi had already donned the robe and crown mentioned in theabove despatch, his belief being that they represented hisinvestiture as sovereign of Ming. On learning the truth, he tore offthe insignia and flung them on the ground in a fit of ungovernablewrath at the arrogance of the Chinese Emperor's tone. It had neverbeen distinctly explained how this extraordinary misunderstandingarose, but the most credible solution of the problem is that Naito, baron of Tamba, who had proceeded to Peking for the purpose ofnegotiating peace, was so overawed by the majesty and magnificence ofthe Chinese Court that, instead of demanding Hideyoshi's investitureas monarch of China, he stated that nothing was needed except China'sformal acknowledgement of the kwampaku's real rank. Hideyoshi, in hisnatural anger, ordered the Chinese ambassadors to be dismissedwithout any written answer and without any of the gifts usual on suchoccasions according to the diplomatic custom of the Orient. He was, however, induced not to prosecute his quarrel with the MiddleKingdom, and he turned his anger entirely against Korea. Accordingly, on March 19, 1597, nine fresh corps were mobilized for overseaservice, and these being thrown into Korea, brought the Japaneseforces in that country to a total of 141, 000 men. But the campaignwas not at first resumed with activity proportionate to this greatarmy. The Japanese commanders seem to have waited for some practicalassurances that the command of the sea would not be again wrestedfrom them; a natural precaution seeing that, after five years' war, Korea herself was no longer in a position to make any contributionsto the commissariat of the invaders. It is a very interesting factthat, on this occasion, the Japanese victories at sea were as signalas their defeats had been in 1592. The Korean navy comprised the samevessels which were supposed to have proved so formidable five yearspreviously, but the Japanese naval architects had risen to the levelof the occasion, and the Korean fleet was well-nigh annihilated. Meanwhile, the Chinese had sent a powerful army to southern Korea, and against these fresh forces the Japanese attacks were directed. Everywhere the invaders were victorious, and very soon the threesouthern provinces of the peninsula had been captured. No actualreverse was met with throughout, but an indecisive victory nearChiksan, in the north of the metropolitan province, rendered itimpossible for the Japanese to establish themselves in Seoul beforethe advent of winter, and they therefore judged it advisable toretire to their seaboard chain of entrenched camps. Early in 1598, afresh army of forty thousand men reached Seoul from China, and for amoment the situation seemed to threaten disaster for the Japanese. Their strategy and desperate valour proved invincible, however, andthe Kagoshima samurai won, on October 30, 1598, a victory so signalthat the ears and noses of thirty-seven thousand Chinese heads weresent to Japan and buried under a tumulus near the temple of Daibutsuin Kyoto, where this terrible record, called Mimizuka (Mound ofEars), may be seen to-day. Just about this time, intelligence of the death of Hideyoshi reachedthe Japanese commanders in Korea, and immediately an armistice wasarranged. The withdrawal of the invading forces followed, not withoutsome serious difficulties, and thus the six years' campaignterminated without any direct results except an immense loss of lifeand treasure and the reduction of the Korean peninsula to a state ofdesolation. It has been repeatedly pleaded for the whollyunprogressive state into which Korea thenceforth fell. But toconclude that a nation could be reduced by a six-years' war to threecenturies of hopelessness and helplessness is to credit that nationwith a very small measure of resilient capacity. INDIRECT RESULTS The war was not altogether without indirect results of some value toJapan. Among these may be cited the fact that, a few decades later, when the Tsing dynasty destroyed the Ming in China, subjugated Korea, and assumed a position analogous to that previously held by the Yuan, no attempt was made to defy Japan. The memory of her soldiers'achievements on the Korean battle-fields sufficed to protect heragainst foreign aggression. Another material result was that, incompliance with Hideyoshi's orders, the returning Japanese generalsbrought back many Korean art-artisans who contributed largely to thedevelopment of the ceramic industry. On no less than seven differentkinds of now well-known porcelain and pottery in Japan did theseexperts exercise marked influence, and their efforts were speciallytimely in view of the great vogue then enjoyed by all utensils usedin connexion with the tea ceremonial. It is not to be supposed, however, that these Korean artisans showed any superiority to theJapanese as artists. The improvements they introduced were almostentirely of a technical character. Another benefit derived by Japanfrom her contact with Korea at this time was the introduction ofmovable type. Up to this time the art of printing had been in a veryprimitive condition in Japan, and the first book printed with movabletype made its appearance in the Bunroku era (1592-1595). ENGRAVING: SIGNATURE OF TAKEDA SHINGEN ENGRAVING: NAGOYA CASTLE CHAPTER XXXVI THE MOMO-YAMA EPOCH MOMO-YAMA THE epochs of Japanese history from the eighth century until the fallof the Ashikaga shogunate are generally divided into the Nara, theHeian, the Kamakura, the Muromachi, and the Higashi-yama. To thesehas now to be added the Momo-yama (Peach Hill), a term derived fromthe name of a palatial residence built by Hideyoshi in the Fushimisuburb of Kyoto. The project was conceived in 1593, that is to say, during the course of the Korean campaign, and the business ofcollecting materials was managed on such a colossal scale that thefoundations could be laid by September in the same year. Two monthssufficed not only to construct a mansion of extraordinarymagnificence and most elaborate interior decoration, but also tosurround it with a spacious park presenting all the choicest featuresof Japanese landscape gardens. The annals state that fifty thousandmen were engaged on the work, and the assertion ceases to seemextravagant when we consider the nature of the task and thesingularly brief period devoted to its completion. It was Hideyoshi'sfoible to surpass all his predecessors and contemporaries alike inthe magnitude of his designs and in the celerity of theirachievement. Even his pastimes were conceived on the same stupendousscale. Thus, in 1594, at the very time when his armies in Korea wereconducting an oversea campaign of unprecedented magnitude, he planneda flower-viewing fete which will live in the pages of history as moresumptuous and more magnificent than the hitherto unrivalledfestivities of Yoshimasa. The places visited were the cherry-cladhills of Yoshino and the venerable monastery of Koya, and some ideaof the scale of the fete may be gathered from the fact that to ashrine on Koya-san, dedicated to the memory of his mother, Hideyoshipresented a sum equivalent to Ł14, 000 or $68, 000. Still more lavish was a party organized four years later to visit thecherry blossoms at Daigo in the suburbs of Kyoto. This involved therebuilding of a large Buddhist temple (Sambo-in) to accommodateHideyoshi and his party as a temporary resting-place, and involvedalso the complete enclosing of the roads from Momo-yama to Daigo, aswell as of a wide space surrounding the slopes of the cherry-cladhills, with fences festooned in silk curtains. Numerous tea pavilionswere erected, and Hideyoshi, having sent home all his male guests andattendants, remained himself among a multitude of gorgeouslyapparelled ladies, and passed from pavilion to pavilion, listening tomusic, witnessing dancing, and viewing works of art. HIDEYOSHI'S FAMILY A conspicuous figure at the Daigo fete was Hideyori, thefive-year-old son of Hideyoshi. Fate treated Hideyoshi harshly in thematter of a successor. His younger brother, Hidenaga, perished on thethreshold of a career that promised to be illustrious; his infantson, Tsurumatsu, passed away in September, 1591, and Hideyoshi, beingthen in his fifty-fourth year, saw little prospect of becoming againa father. He therefore adopted his nephew, Hidetsugu, ceding to himthe office of regent (kwampaku), and thus himself taking the title ofTaiko, which by usage attached to an ex-regent. * Hidetsugu, then inhis twenty-fourth year, had literary gifts and polite accomplishmentsmuch above the average. But traditions--of somewhat doubtfulveracity, it must be admitted--attributed to him an inhuman love oftaking life, and tell of the indulgence of that mood in shockingways. On the other hand, if credence be due to these tales, it seemsstrange that they were not included in the accusations preferredfinally against Hidetsugu by the Taiko, when the former's overthrowbecame advisable in the latter's eyes. For it did so become. Withinless than two years of Hidetsugu's elevation to the post of regent, another son was born to Hideyoshi by the same lady, Yodo, the demiseof whose child, Tsurumatsu, had caused Hideyoshi to despair of beingsucceeded by an heir of his own lineage. A niece of Oda Nobunaga, this lady was the eldest of three daughters whose mother shared thesuicide of her husband, the great general, Shibata Katsuiye. Hideyoshi placed her among his consorts, bestowing upon her thecastle of Yodo, hence her name, Yodogimi. Her rare beauty captivatedthe veteran statesman and soldier, and won for her suggestions ameasure of deference which they did not intrinsically deserve. Soonthe court became divided into two cliques, distinguished as the"civil" and the "military. " At the head of the latter stoodHideyoshi's wife, Yae, a lady gifted with large discernment, who hadshared all the vicissitudes of her husband's fortunes, and acted ashis shrewd and loyal adviser on many occasions. With her were KatoKiyomasa and other generals and nobles of distinction. The civilparty espoused the cause of the lady Yodo, and among its followerswas Ishida Katsushige, to whom chiefly the ultimate catastrophe isattributed by history. *It is by this title, "Taiko, " that Hideyoshi is most frequentlyspoken of in History. The birth of Hideyori on August 29, 1593, immediately actuated thedissensions among these two cliques. Ishida Katsushige, acting inHideyori's interests, set himself to convince the Taiko thatHidetsugu harboured treacherous designs, and Hideyoshi, too readilyallowing himself to credit tales which promised to remove the oneobstacle to his son's succession, ordered Hidetsugu to commitsuicide, and at the same time (August 8, 1595), sentenced hisconcubines to be executed in the dry bed of the river Sanjo. Theirheads, together with that of Hidetsugu himself, were buried in thesame grave, over which was set a tablet bearing the inscription, "Tomb of the Traitor, Hidetsugu. " To this day, historians remainuncertain as to Hidetsugu's guilt. If the evidence sufficed toconvict him, it does not appear to have been transmitted toposterity. The Taiko was not by nature a cruel man. Occasionally fitsof passion betrayed him to deeds of great violence. Thus, on oneoccasion he ordered the crucifixion of twenty youths whose soleoffence consisted in scribbling on the gate-posts of the Jurakupalace. But in cold blood he always showed himself forebearing, andletters written by his own hand to his mother, his wife, and othersdisclose an affectionate and sympathetic disposition. It would beunjust to assume that without full testimony such a man sentenced awhole family of his own relatives to be executed. ENGRAVING: MAEDA TOSHIIYE HIDEYOSHI'S DEATH A few months after the Daigo fete, Hideyoshi was overtaken by mortalsickness. His last days were tormented by the thought that all hisskill as an organizer and all his power as a ruler were incompetentto devise a system such as would secure the succession to his child. In June, 1596, he had procured the investiture of Hideyori, thenthree years old, with the title of regent, and when, just two yearslater, his own sickness began to develop alarming features, heresolved to place all his trust in Ieyasu. After much thought threeboards were ordered to be formed: one consisted of five seniorministers (dairo), its personnel being Tokugawa Ieyasu, MoriTerumoto, Ukita Hideiye, Maeda Toshiiye, and Uesugi Kagekatsu. Bythese five statesmen the great affairs of the empire were to bemanaged. The second board was formed with three nobles of lessernote. They were designated the "middle ministers" (churo), whose dutywas to arbitrate between the board of senior ministers and the thirdboard, namely that of five "administrators" (bugyo). This third boardhad been originally organized by Hideyoshi in 1585, but it had not, of course, been associated with the other two boards which came intoexistence after Hideyoshi's death, though its personnel and itsfunctions remained throughout the same as they had been originally. Again and again, with almost pitiable iteration, the Taiko conjuredthe thirteen nobles forming these boards to protect Hideyori and toensure to him the heirship of his father's great fortunes. Each wasrequired to subscribe a written oath of eight articles: (1) That they would serve Hideyori with the same single-mindedloyalty they had shown to his father. (2) That the rules of Hideyoshi's house were not to be altered; andthat if, in the administration of public affairs, the five bugyo wereunable to determine a course of action, they should consult Hideyorithrough Ieyasu and Toshiie; or, if necessary before taking action, the Emperor was to be consulted. (3) That there were to be no factions among them, personalconsiderations and partiality of every kind being excluded from theircouncils. (4) That they must endeavour to work together in the discharge oftheir duties, suppressing all petty jealousies and differences. (5) That, in settling matters, the opinion of the majority wasusually to be followed, but, at the same time, if the opinion of theminority showed no sign of being dictated by personal interests, itshould be duly considered. That without permission from Hideyori noadministrator should dispose of any of his (the administrator's)territory to another person. (6) That all accounts were to be kept in a manner above suspicion;that there were to be no irregularities and no pursuing of personalinterests; that no questions concerning landed estates should bedealt with during the minority of Hideyori; that no petitions shouldbe presented to him, and that Ieyasu himself would neither ask forchanges to be made in the matter of land-ownership nor accept anygift of land from Hideyori during the latter's minority. (7) That whatever Hideyori desired to have kept secret, whetherconnected with his private life or with the Government, must on noaccount be allowed to leak out. (8) That if any of the administrators or their subordinates foundthat they had unwittingly acted contrary to orders, they should atonce report the fact to their superiors, who would then dealleniently with them. The above document was solemnly endorsed, the gods being called uponto punish any one violating its provisions. It was further orderedthat Hidetada, son of Ieyasu, should give his daughter in marriage toHideyori; that Ieyasu, residing in the Fushimi palace, should act asregent until Hideyori reached the age of fifteen, and that MaedaToshiiye, governing the castle of Osaka, should act as guardian ofHideyori. It is recorded by some historians that the taiko conferredon Ieyasu discretionary power in the matter of Hideyori's succession, authorizing the Tokugawa baron to be guided by his own estimate ofHideyori's character as to whether the latter might be safely trustedto discharge the high duties that would devolve on him when hereached his majority. But the truth of this allegation is open todoubt. It may well have been invented, subsequently, by apologistsfor the line adopted by Ieyasu. Hideyoshi died on September 18, 1598. His last thoughts were directed to the troops in Korea. He is said tohave addressed to Asano Nagamasa and Ishida Katsushige orders to goin person to the peninsula, and to provide that "the spirits of onehundred thousand Japanese soldiers serving there should not becomedisembodied in a foreign land. " For a time the death of the greatstatesman was kept secret, but within three months the newly createdboards found themselves strong enough to cope with the situation, andthe remains of Hideyoshi were publicly interred at the shrine ofAmida-ga-mine, near Kyoto. HIDEYOSHI'S CHARACTER In modern times many distinguished Japanese historians haveundertaken to analyze Hideyoshi's character and attainments. They aredivided in their estimate of his literary capacity. Some point to hisletters, which, while they display a not inconsiderable familiaritywith Chinese ideographs, show also some flagrant neglect of the usesof that script. Others refer to his alleged fondness for composingJapanese poems and adduce a verselet said to have been written by himon his death-bed: Ah! as the dew I fall, As the dew I vanish. Even Osaka fortress Is a dream within a dream. It is not certain, however, that Hideyoshi composed this couplet, andprobably the truth is that his labours as a soldier and a statesmanprevented him from paying more than transitory attention toliterature. But there can be no question that he possessed an almostmarvellous power of reading character, and that in devising the bestexit from serious dilemmas and the wisest means of utilizing greatoccasions, he has had few equals in the history of the world. He knewwell, also, how to employ pomp and circumstance and when to dispensewith all formalities. Above all, in his choice of agents he neverallowed himself to be trammelled by questions of birth or lineage, but chose his officers solely for the sake of their ability andattainments, and neither tradition nor convention had any influenceon the appointments he made. He was passionate but not resentful, andhe possessed the noble quality of not shrinking from confession oferror. As for his military genius and his statecraft, it is onlynecessary to consider his achievements. They entitle him to stand inthe very front of the world's greatest men. Turning to hislegislation, we find much that illustrates the ethics of the time. Itwas in 1585 that he organized the board of five administrators, andthe gist of the regulations issued in the following year for theirguidance was as follows: (1) No subordinate shall leave his liege lord without the latter'spermission, nor shall anyone give employment to a violator of thisrule. (2) Farmers must remain on the land assigned to them and must neverleave it untilled. On the other hand, landowners should visit theirtenants and should investigate in company with the latter the actualamount of the harvest reaped. One-third of this should be left to thefarmer and two-thirds should go to the owner of the land. (3) If owing to natural calamity the harvest be less than two bushelsper acre, the whole of the yield shall go to the farmer. But if theharvest exceed that figure, it shall be divided in the proportionsindicated in (2). (4) No farmer shall move away from his holding to avoid the land-taxor to escape forced labour. Anyone harbouring a violator of this ruleshall expose to punishment not only himself but also the inhabitantsof the entire village where he resides. (5) The lord of a fief must issue such instructions as shallguarantee his agricultural vassals against trouble or annoyance, andshall himself investigate local affairs instead of entrusting thatduty to a substitute. Landowners who issue unreasonable orders tofarmers shall be punished. (6) In calculating cubic contents, the regulated unit of measureshall be used, and two per cent, shall be the maximum allowance forshortage. (7) Embankments injured by floods and other mischief wrought bynatural calamities must be repaired during the first month of theyear when agriculturists are at leisure. In the case, however, ofdamage which exceeds the farmers' capacity to repair, the factsshould be reported to the taiko who will grant necessary assistance. There follow various sumptuary regulations. We have next a series ofinteresting instructions known as "wall-writings" of the castle ofOsaka: (1) Intermarriages between daimyo's families require the previousconsent of the Taiko. (2) Neither daimyo nor shomyo is permitted to enter into secretengagements or to exchange written oaths, or to give or takehostages. (3) In a quarrel the one who forebears shall be recognized as havingreason. (4) No man, whatever his income, should keep a large number ofconcubines. (5) The amount of sake imbibed should be limited to one's capacity. (6) The use of sedan-chairs shall be confined to Ieyasu, Toshiie, Kagekatsu, Terumoto, Takakage, the court nobles, and high priests. Even a daimyo, when young, should ride on horseback. Those over fiftyyears of age may use a sedan-chair when they have to travel adistance of over one ri (two and a half miles). Priests are exemptedfrom this veto. Very interesting, too, is the Taiko Shikimoku, consisting ofseventy-three articles, of which thirteen are translated as follows: (1) Free yourself from the thraldom of passion. (2) Avoid heavy drinking. (3) Be on your guard against women. (4) Be not contentious or disputatious. (5) Rise early. (6) Beware of practical jokes. (7) Think of your own future. (8) Do not tire of things. (9) Beware of thoughtless people. (10) Beware of fire. (11) Stand in awe of the law. (12) Set up fences in your hearts against wandering or extravagantthoughts. (13) Hold nobody in contempt. The sumptuary rules referred to above were that, so far as a man'smeans permitted, all garments except those worn in winter should belined with silk, and that this exception did not apply to the membersof the Toyotomi family a strange provision showing that Hideyoshi didnot expect his own kith and kin to set an example of economy, howeverdesirable that virtue might be in the case of society at large. Further, it was provided that no wadded garment should be worn afterthe 1st of April--corresponding to about the 1st of May in theGregorian calendar; that pantaloons and socks must not be lined; thatmen of inferior position must not wear leather socks, and thatsamurai must use only half-foot sandals, a specially inexpensive kindof footgear. Finally, no one was permitted to employ a crest composedwith the chrysanthemum and the Paulownia imperialis unless speciallypermitted by the Taiko, who used this design himself, thoughoriginally it was limited to the members of the Imperial family. Sostrict was this injunction that even in the case of renovating agarment which carried the kiku-kiri crest by permission, the badgemight not be repeated on the restored garment. Supplementaryregulations enjoined members of the priesthood, whether Buddhist orShinto, to devote themselves to the study of literature and science, and to practise what they preached. Moreover, men of small means wereurged not to keep more than one concubine, and to assign for eventhis one a separate house. It was strictly forbidden that anyoneshould go about with face concealed, a custom which had prevailedlargely in previous eras. MOTIVES OF LEGISLATION The 7th of August, 1595, was the day of the Hidetsugu tragedy, andthe above regulations and instructions were promulgated for the mostpart early in September of the same year. It is not difficult totrace a connexion. The provision against secret alliances andunsanctioned marriages between great families; the veto againstpassing from the service of one feudal chief to that of anotherwithout special permission, and the injunction against keeping manyconcubines were obviously inspired with the purpose of averting arepetition of the Hidetsugu catastrophe. Indirectly, the spirit ofsuch legislation suggests that the signatories of theselaws--Takakage, Terumoto, Toshiiye, Hideiye, and Ieyasu--attachedsome measure of credence to the indictment of treason preferredagainst Hidetsugu. AGRARIAN LAWS The agrarian legislation of Hideyoshi is worthy of special attention. It shows a marked departure from the days when the unit of ricemeasurement was a "handful" and when thirty-six handfuls made a"sheaf, " the latter being the tenth part of the produce of a tan. InHideyoshi's system, all cubic measurements were made by means of abox of accurately fixed capacity--10 go, which was the tenth part ofa koku (5. 13 bushels)--the allowance for short measure was limited totwo per cent. , and the rule of 360 tsubo to the tan (a quarter of anacre) was changed to 300 tsubo. At the same time (1583), land surveyors (kendenshi) were appointed tocompile a map of the entire country. A similar step had been taken bythe Ashikaga shogun, Yoshiteru, in 1553, but the processes adopted onthat occasion were not by any means so accurate or scientific asthose prescribed by the Taiko. The latter entrusted the work ofsurvey to Nazuka Masaiye, with whom was associated the bestmathematician of the era, Zejobo, and it is recorded that owing tothe minute measures pursued by these surveyors and to the system oftaking two-thirds of the produce for the landlord instead of one-halfor even less, and owing, finally, to estimating the tan at 300 tsuboinstead of at 360 without altering its taxable liability, theofficial revenue derived from the land throughout the empire showed atotal increase of eight million koku, equivalent to about Ł11, 000, 000or $54, 000, 000. Hideyoshi has been charged with extortion on account of theseinnovations. Certainly, there is a striking contrast between thesystem of Tenchi and that of Toyotomi. The former, genuinelysocialistic, divided the whole of the land throughout the empire inequal portions among the units of the nation, and imposed a land-taxnot in any case exceeding five per cent, of the gross produce. Thelatter, frankly feudalistic, parcelled out the land into greatestates held by feudal chiefs, who allotted it in small areas tofarmers on condition that the latter paid sixty-six per cent, of thecrops to the lord of the soil. But in justice to Hideyoshi, it mustbe owned that he did not devise this system. He was not even theoriginator of its new methods, namely, the abbreviation of the tanand the expansion of the rate. Both had already been put intopractice by other daimyo. It must further be noted that Hideyoshi'sera was essentially one of war. The outlays that he was obliged tomake were enormous and perpetual. He became accustomed, as did hiscontemporary barons, to look lightly at vast expenditure. Nototherwise can we account for the fact that, within the brief periodof eleven years, he undertook and completed five great worksinvolving enormous cost. These works were the Osaka Castle, in 1583;a palace for the retiring Emperor Okimachi, in 1586; the palace ofJuraku, in 1587; the Kyoto Daibutsu, in 1586, and the Momo-yamaPalace, in 1594. What sum these outlays aggregated no attempt hasbeen made to calculate accurately, but the figure must have beenimmense. In fact, when Hideyoshi's financial measures are considered, it should always be in the context of his achievements and hisnecessities. COINS Another important feature of Hideyoshi's era was the use of coins. During the time of the Ashikaga shogunate, two kinds of gold coinswere minted, and both were called after the name of the era when theyfirst went into circulation; they were known as the Shocho koban(1428-1429) and the Tembun koban (1532-1555). But these coins were sorare that they can scarcely be said to have been current. As tokensof exchange, copper coins were imported from China, and were known inJapan as Eiraku-sen, Eiraku being the Japanese pronunciation of theChinese era, Yunglo. These were of pure metal, and side by side withthem were circulated an essentially inferior iron coin struck inJapan and known as bita-sen. Oda Nobunaga, appreciating thedisastrous effects produced by such currency confusion, had plannedremedial measures when death overtook him, and the task thus devolvedupon Hideyoshi. Fortunately, the production of gold and silver inJapan increased greatly at this epoch, owing to the introduction ofscientific metallurgical methods from Europe. The gold mines of Sadoand the silver mines of Ikuno quadrupled or quintupled their output, and Hideyoshi caused an unprecedented quantity of gold and silvercoins to be struck; the former known as the Tensho koban and theTensho oban, * and the latter as the silver bu (ichibu-giri) and thesilver half-bu (nishu-gin. ) *The oban was an oval plate measuring 7 inches by 4, and weighing 53ounces. It contained 63. 84 per cent, of gold and 20 per cent, ofsilver. The koban was one-tenth of the value of the oban. Gold and silver thenceforth became the standards of value, and as themines at Sado and Ikuno belonged to the Government, that is to say, to Hideyoshi, his wealth suddenly received a conspicuous increase. That he did possess great riches is proved by the fact that when, inSeptember, 1596, a terrible earthquake overthrew Momo-yama Castle andwrecked all the great structures referred to above, involving forHideyoshi a loss of "three million pieces of gold, " he is describedas having treated the incident with the utmost indifference, merelydirecting that works of reparation should be taken in hand forthwith. The records say that Osaka Castle, which had suffered seriously andbeen rendered quite uninhabitable, was put in order and sumptuouslyfitted up within the short space of six weeks. Of course, much of theresulting expense had to be borne by the great feudatories, but theshare of Hideyoshi himself cannot have been inconsiderable. LITERATURE, ART, AND COMMERCE It has already been shown that in spite of the disorder and unrestwhich marked the military era, that era saw the birth of a great artmovement under the Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimasa. It has now to be notedthat this movement was rapidly developed under the Taiko. "The latterit was whose practical genius did most to popularize art. Althoughhis early training and the occupations of his life until a lateperiod were not calculated to educate esthetic taste, he devoted tothe cause of art a considerable portion of the sovereign power thathis great gifts as a military leader and a politician had broughthim. " His earnest patronage of the tea ceremonial involved thecultivation of literature, and although he himself did not excel inthat line, he did much to promote the taste for it in others. In thefield of industrial art, however, his influence was much more marked. Not only did he bestow munificent allowances on skilled artists andart artisans, but also he conferred on them distinctions which provedstronger incentives than any pecuniary remuneration, and when hebuilt the celebrated mansions of Juraku and Momo-yama, so vast werethe sums that he lavished on their decoration, and such a certainpassport to his favour did artistic merit confer, that the littletown of Fushimi quickly became the art capital of the empire, andmany of the most skilful painters, lacquerers, metal-workers, andwood-carvers within the Four Seas congregated there. Historians speak with profound regret of the dismantling anddestruction of these splendid edifices a few years after the Taiko'sdeath; but it is more than probable that the permanent possession ofeven such monuments of applied art could not have benefited thecountry nearly as much as did their destruction. For the immediateresult was an exodus of all the experts who, settling at Fushimi, hadbecome famous for the sake of their Momo-yama work. They scatteredamong the fiefs of the most powerful provincial nobles, who receivedthem hospitably and granted them liberal revenues. From that time, namely, the close of the sixteenth century, there sprang up aninter-fief rivalry of artistic production which materially promotedthe development of every branch of art and encouraged refinement oflife and manners. Not less noteworthy in the history of this militaryepoch is the improvement that took place in the social status of themerchant during the sixteenth century. Much was due to the liberalviews of the Taiko. He encouraged commercial voyages by hiscountrymen to Macao and to Cambodia, to Annam, and to other places. Nine ships engaged in this trade every year. They carried licencesbearing the Taiko's vermilion stamp, and the ports of departure wereNagasaki, Osaka, and Sakai. ENGRAVING: SIGNATURE OF TOKUGAWA IEYASU ENGRAVING: MOUNTAIN "KAGO" CHAPTER XXXVII CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN DISCOVERY OF JAPAN BY EUROPEANS THE Portuguese discovered Japan in 1542 or 1543--the precise date isnot known. Three of them, travelling by junk from Spain to Macao, were driven from their course and landed at Tanegashima, a smallisland off the south of Kyushu. The strangers were hospitablyreceived by the Japanese, and great interest was excited by theirarquebuses, the first firearms ever seen in Japan. It was, of course, out of the question to hold any oral direct conversation, but aChinese member of the junk's crew, by tracing ideographs upon thesand, explained the circumstances of the case. Ultimately, the junkwas piloted to a convenient port, and very soon the armourers of thelocal feudatory were busily engaged manufacturing arquebuses. News ofthe discovery of Japan circulated quickly, and several expeditionswere fitted out by Portuguese settlements in the Orient to exploitthe new market. All steered for Kyushu, and thus the Island of theNine Provinces became the principal stage for European intercourseduring the second half of the sixteenth century. THE JESUITS There were, at that time, not a few Jesuits at Macao, Goa, and otheroutposts of Western commerce in the Far East. But not until 1549 wasany attempt made to proselytize Japan. On August 15th of that year, Francis Xavier, a Jesuit priest, landed at Kagoshima. Before hiscoming, the Portuguese traders had penetrated as far as Kyoto, whichthey reported to be a city of some ninety-six thousand houses, andtheir experience of the people had been very favourable, especiallywith regard to receptivity of instruction. Xavier was weary ofattempting to convert the Indians, whom he had found "barbarous, vicious, and without inclination to virtue, " and his mind had beenturned towards Japan by a message from a Japanese daimyo (whoseidentity and reasons for inviting him have never been explained), andby a personal appeal from a Japanese, whose name appears inPortuguese annals as "Anjiro, " and who, having committed a seriouscrime in Japan, had taken refuge in a Portuguese vessel, whose masteradvised him to repair to Malacca and confess his sins to Xavier. This man, Anjiro, already possessed some knowledge of the Portugueselanguage, and he soon became sufficiently proficient in it to act asinterpreter, thus constituting a valuable aid to the Portuguesepropagandists. Xavier, with two fellow countrymen and Anjiro, repaired to Kagoshima, where the Satsuma baron gave them unqualifiedpermission to preach their doctrine. Not that he had any sympathywith Christianity, about which he knew nothing, but solely because hewished to secure a share in the oversea commerce which had brought somuch wealth to his fellow barons on the main island. He thought, inshort, that the Jesuits would be followed by merchant ships, and whenPortuguese trading vessels did actually appear in the Satsuma waters, but, instead of making any stay there, passed on to the comparativelypetty principality of Hirado, Xavier and his comrades were quicklyordered to leave Kagoshima. It seems, also, that Xavier's zeal hadoutrun his discretion. The Buddhist priests in Kagoshima were readyat first to listen respectfully to his doctrines, but were quicklyalienated by his aggressive intolerance. They urged upon the Satsumabaron the dangers that attended such propagandism, and he, alreadysmarting from commercial disappointment, issued an edict, in 1550, declaring it a capital offence to embrace Christianity. The edict wasnot retrospective. About one hundred and fifty converts whom Xavier, aided by Anjiro, had won during his two years' sojourn, were notmolested, but Xavier himself passed on to the island of Hirado, wherehe was received by salvos of artillery from Portuguese vessels lyingin harbour. Matsuura, the Hirado baron, had already been captivatedby the commerce of the newcomers, and seeing the marked reverenceextended by them to Xavier, the baron issued orders that respectfulattention should be paid to the teaching of the foreign propagandist. Doubtless owing in large part to these orders, one hundred convertswere made during the first ten days of Xavier's residence in Hirado. It was, in fact, evident that the attitude of the official classestowards the new-comers was mainly influenced by the prospect oftrade, and that the attitude of the non-official classes towards theforeign religion depended largely on the mood of their superiors. Xavier argued that "if the favour of such a small prince was sopotent for the conversion of his subjects, it would be quite anotherthing if he (Xavier) could have the protection of the Emperor. " Hetherefore, resolved to visit Kyoto. His journey took him in the firstplace to Yamaguchi, capital of the Choshu fief. This town lay on thenorthern shore of Shimonoseki Strait, and had long been the principalemporium of trade with China and Korea. But the ruler of the fief, though courteous to the new-comers, evinced no disposition to showany special cordiality towards humble missionaries unconnected withcommerce. Therefore, finding that their preaching produced littleeffect, Xavier and his companion, Fernandez, continued their journeyto Kyoto, which they reached after travelling for nearly two monthson foot in the depth of winter. It happened, however, that thecapital was then suffering sharply from the effects of internecinestrife, and the two missionaries failed to obtain access to eitherthe sovereign or the shogun. Nothing remained, therefore, but recourse to street preaching, andfor this they were ill equipped, for Xavier, constitutionally a badlinguist, knew very little of the Japanese language, and hiscompanion, Fernandez, even less, while as for Anjiro, he had remainedin Kagoshima. After devoting a few days to this unproductive task, Xavier returned to Yamaguchi. He had not made any converts in Kyoto, but he had learned a useful lesson, namely, that religiouspropagandism, to be successful in Japan, must be countenanced by theruling classes. He therefore caused his canonicals to be sent to himfrom Hirado, together with his credentials from the viceroy of India, the governor of Malacca, and the bishop of Goa. These documents hesubmitted to the Choshu baron, accompanying them with certain rareobjects of European manufacture, including a clock and a harpsicord. A permit to preach Christianity was now obtained without difficulty, and the Yamaguchi officials went so far as to issue a proclamationexpressing approval of the Western religion and granting entireliberty to embrace it. An empty Buddhist monastery was assigned as aresidence for Xavier and his companions, and the fact is certainly aneloquent testimony to the magnanimity of the Buddhist priests. Many converts were now made, and fresh proof was obtained that theroad to success lay in associating propagandism with commerce. It wasnearly a decade since the Portuguese had effected their first landingon Tanegashima, and throughout that interval trade had flourished intheir hands. They had not sought any new markets on the main island;first, because their ignorance of the coasts rendered navigationrisky; and, secondly, because internecine war raged throughout almostthe whole of the main island, whereas Kyushu enjoyed comparativetranquillity. Xavier now took advantage of a Portuguese vessel whichcalled at Yamaguchi en route for Bungo, a province on the easternlittoral of Kyushu. His intention was to return for a time to theIndies, but on reaching Bungo he learned that its ruler, Otomo, wielded exceptional power and showed a disposition to welcome theJesuit father. This Otomo was destined ultimately to act a leading part on the stageof Christianity in Japan. Xavier now had recourse to methodssuggested by his recent experiences. On a visit to Otomo he causedhimself to be escorted by a large number of the Portuguese crew, whowore rich garments, carried arms, and flaunted banners. Thisprocedure seems to have weighed cogently with Otomo, who was keenlydesirous of attracting foreign traders and obtaining from them notonly wealth but also novel and effective weapons of war. Seeing thatXavier was almost deified by the Portuguese, Otomo naturally appliedhimself to win the good-will of the Jesuits, and for that purpose notonly accorded to them entire liberty to teach and to preach, but alsodespatched a messenger to his younger brother (who had just succeededto the lordship of Yamaguchi), advising him to protect the twoJesuits then residing there, namely, Torres and Fernandez. Xavierremained four months in Bungo and then set sail for Goa in February, 1552. He died in December of the same year, and thus his intention ofreturning to Japan was defeated. His stay in Japan had lastedtwenty-seven months, and in that interval he and his comrades had wonsome 760 converts. RESULTS OF PROPAGANDISM It is worth while to recapitulate here the main events during thisfirst epoch of Christian propagandism in Japan. It has been shownthat in more than a year's labours in Kagoshima, Xavier, with theassistance of Anjiro as an interpreter, obtained 150 believers. Now, "no language lends itself with greater difficulty than Japanese tothe discussion of theological questions. The terms necessary for sucha purpose are not current among laymen, and only by special study, which, it need scarcely be said, must be preluded by accurateacquaintance with the tongue itself, can a man hope to become dulyequipped for the task of exposition and dissertation. It is open tograve doubt whether any foreigner has ever attained the requisiteproficiency. Leaving Anjiro in Kagoshima, to care for the convertsmade there, Xavier pushed on to Hirado, where he baptized a hundredJapanese in a few days. Now, we have it on the authority of Xavierhimself that, in this Hirado campaign, 'none of us knew Japanese. 'How, then, did they proceed? 'By reciting a semi-japanese volume' (atranslation made by Anjiro of a treatise from Xavier's pen) 'and bydelivering sermons, we brought several over to the Christian cult. ' "Sermons preached in Portuguese or Latin to a Japanese audience onthe island of Hirado in the year 1550 can scarcely have attractedintelligent interest. On his first visit to Yamaguchi, Xavier's meansof access to the understanding of his hearers was confined to therudimentary knowledge of Japanese which Fernandez had been able toacquire in fourteen months, a period of study which, in modern timeswith all the aids now procurable, would not suffice to carry astudent beyond the margin of the colloquial. No converts were won. The people of Yamaguchi probably admired the splendid faith anddevotion of these over-sea philosophers, but as for their doctrine, it was unintelligible. In Kyoto, the same experience was repeatedwith an addition of much physical hardship. But, when the Jesuitsreturned to Yamaguchi in the early autumn of 1551, they baptized fivehundred persons, including several members of the military class. Still Fernandez with his broken Japanese was the only medium forcommunicating the profound doctrines of Christianity. It must beconcluded that the teachings of the missionaries produced much lesseffect than the attitude of the local chieftain. "* *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. But the Jesuits have not left any misgivings on record. They relatethat during Xavier's sojourn in Bungo he had numerous publicdebates--one continuing for five days--with Buddhist priests, buteven Fernandez not being available as an interpreter, these debatesmust have been either farcical or imaginary, though brilliant resultsare claimed for them by the Church historians. That Xavier himselfwas not satisfied is proved by his determination to transfer hisministrations to China, for he said, "if the Chinese adopt theChristian religion, the Japanese also will abandon the religions theyhave introduced from China. " SECOND PERIOD OF PROPAGANDISM Torres and Fernandez remained in Japan after Xavier's departure andwere there joined soon afterwards by three others. The new-comerslanded at Kagoshima and found that the Satsuma baron was as keen asever in welcoming foreign trade, although his attitude towards thealien religion continued antipathetic. Bungo now became theheadquarters of the Jesuits in Japan. Local disturbances hadcompelled them to leave Yamaguchi, where their disputes with Buddhistpriests had become so violent that an official proscription of theWestern religion was pronounced. In Funai, the capital of theprovince of Bungo, they built their first church in Japan and also ahospital. From that place, too, they began to send yearly reportsknown as the Annual Letters to their generals in Rome, and theseLetters give an interesting insight into the conditions then existingin Japan. The writers "describe a state of abject poverty among thelower orders--poverty so cruel that the destruction of children bytheir famishing parents was an every-day occurrence. " This terriblestate of affairs was due to the civil wars which had entered theirmost violent phase in the Onin era (1467-1468), and had continuedwithout intermission ever since. The trade carried on by thePortuguese did not, however, suffer any interruption. Their vesselsrepaired to Hirado as well as to Funai, and the masters and seamen ofthe ships appear to have treated the missionaries with suchscrupulous respect that the Japanese formed an almost exaggeratedconception of the civil influence wielded by the religionists. Itfurther appears that in those early days the Portuguese seamenrefrained from the riotous excesses which had already won for them amost unenviable reputation in China. In fact, their good conduct constituted an object lesson in theinterests of Christianity. We learn, incidentally that, in 1557, twoof the fathers, visiting Hirado at the instance of some Portuguesesailors who felt in want of religious ministrations, organized a kindof propagandism which anticipated the methods of the Salvation Army. They "sent brothers to parade the streets, ringing bells, andchaunting litanies; they organized bands of boys for the samepurpose; they caused the converts, and even children, to flagellatethemselves at a model of Mount Calvary, and they worked miracles, healing the sick by contact with scourges or with a booklet in whichXavier had written litanies and prayers. It may well be imagined thatsuch doings attracted surprised attention in Japan. They weresupplemented by even more striking practices. For a sub-feudatory ofthe Hirado chief, having been converted, showed his zeal bydestroying Buddhist temples and throwing down the idols, thusinaugurating a campaign of violence destined to mark the progress ofChristianity throughout the greater part of its history in Japan. There followed the overthrowing of a cross in the Christian cemetery, the burning of a temple in the town of Hirado, and a street riot, thesequel being that the Jesuit fathers were compelled to return oncemore to Bungo. "* *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. All this conveys an idea of the guise under which Christianity waspresented originally to the Japanese. Meanwhile, the Portuguesetraders did not allow their commerce to be interrupted by anymisfortunes which overtook the Jesuits. Hirado continued to befrequented by Portuguese merchantmen, and news of the value of theirtrade induced Sumitada, feudatory of Omura, to invite the Jesuits inBungo to his fief, offering them a free port for ten years, anextensive tract of land, a residence for the missionaries, and otherprivileges. This induced the Hirado feudatory to revoke the edictwhich he had issued against the Jesuits, and they were preparing totake advantage of his renewed hospitality when a Portuguesemerchantman entered Hirado. Its appearance convinced the localchieftain that trade could be had without the accompaniment ofreligion, towards which he renewed his hostility. When, however, thischange of demeanour was communicated to Funai, the Jesuit leader, Torres, hastened thence to Hirado, and induced the master of themerchantman to leave the port on the ground that he could not remainin a country where they maltreated those who professed the samereligion as himself. Thereafter, for some years, Hirado remainedoutside the pale of foreign trade. But ultimately three merchantvessels appeared in the offing and announced their willingness to putin provided that the anti-Christian ban was removed. Thisremonstrance proved effective. A parallel case occurred a few yearslater in the island of Amakusa. There a petty baron, avowedly for thepurpose of attracting foreign trade, embraced Christianity andrequired all his vassals to follow his example. But when noPortuguese ship arrived, he apostatized; ordered his vassals toreturn to their old faith, and expelled the missionaries. "In fact, the competition for the patronage of Portuguese traders wasso keen that the Hirado feudatory attempted to burn several of theirvessels because they frequented the territorial waters of hisneighbour and rival, Sumitada. The latter became a most stalwartChristian when his wish was gratified. He set himself to eradicateidolatry throughout his fief with the strong arm, and his fierceintolerance provoked revolts which ended in the destruction of theChristian town at the newly opened free port. Sumitada, however, quickly reasserted his authority, and five years later (1567), hetook a step which had far-reaching consequences, namely, the buildingof a church at Nagasaki, in order that Portuguese commerce might havea centre and the Christians an assured asylum. Nagasaki was then alittle fishing village. In five years it grew to be a town of thirtythousand inhabitants, and Sumitada became one of the richest of theKyushu feudatories. "* *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. This baron appears to have been sincere in his adoption of theforeign religion. "When in 1573, successful conflicts withneighbouring fiefs brought him an access of territory, he declaredthat he owed these victories to the influence of the Christian God, and shortly afterwards he proclaimed banishment for all who would notaccept the foreign faith. There were then no Jesuits by his side, butimmediately two hastened to join him, and 'these accompanied by astrong guard, but yet not without danger of their lives, went roundcausing the churches of the Gentiles, with their idols, to be throwndown to the ground, while three Japanese Christians went preachingthe law of God everywhere. '" They further record that three fatherswho were in the neighbouring fief "all withdrew therefrom to work inthis abundant harvest, and in the space of seven months twentythousand persons were baptized, including the bonzes of about sixtymonasteries. "* The Jesuit vice-provincial (Francis Cabral), relatingthese events, speaks with marked satisfaction of the abasement of theBuddhist priests, and adds, "That these should now come to such ahumility that they throw themselves on the ground before two raggedmembers of the Company is one of the miracles worked by the DivineMajesty. " *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. In Funai things were by no means so satisfactory. The Jesuits, asstated above, had a hospital there, which had been built at thecharges of a devout Portuguese. But Francis Cabral, writing fromBungo, in 1576, said: "Down to this hour the Christians have been soabject and vile that they have shown no desire to acknowledgethemselves, partly from being few in the midst of so many Gentiles, partly because the said Christianity began in the hospital where wecure the people of low condition and those suffering from contagiousdiseases, like the French evil and such others. Whence the Gospelcame to be of such little reputation that no man of position woulddare to accept it (although it seemed good and true to him) merelylest he should be confounded with this rabble (con quella plebe). Andalthough we gave much edification with such works, the thingnevertheless was a great obstacle to the spread of the holy faith. And thus, during the twenty years we have had a residence in Funai, one gentleman became a Christian, and this after having been cured ofthe said evil in his house; but as soon as he was cured he afterwardsthought it shame to acknowledge his Christianity in the presence ofothers. " This most disheartening record underwent a complete change in 1576, when the son of the Bungo feudatory, a youth of some sixteen years, and, two years later, the feudatory himself, Otomo, embraced theChristian faith. In the first Annual Letter sent to Rome after theseevents a striking admission is made: "It is Otomo, next to God, whomthe Jesuits have to thank for their success in Japan. " Thisappreciation looks somewhat exaggerated when placed side by side withthe incidents that occurred in Sumitada's fief, as related above. Nevertheless, Otomo certainly did render powerful aid, not within hisown fief alone but also through his influence elsewhere. Thus, he didnot hesitate to have recourse to arms in order to obtain for theJesuits access to the island of Amakusa, where one of the localbarons, tempted originally by tradal prospects and afterwards urgedby his wife, called upon his vassals to choose between conversion orexile, and issued an order that any Buddhist priests refusing toaccept Christianity would have their property confiscated and theirpersons banished. Practically the whole population became converts under the pressureof these edicts, and it is thus seen that Christianity owed much ofits success in Kyushu to methods which recall Islam and theInquisition. Another illustration of this is furnished by the Arimafief, which adjoined that of Omura where Sumitada ruled. The heads ofthese two fiefs were brothers, and thus when Sumitada embracedChristianity the Jesuits received an invitation to visit Arima at theports of Kuchinotsu and Shimabara, where from that time Portugueseships repaired frequently. In 1576, the Arima baron, seeing theprosperity and power which had followed the conversion of his brotherSumitada, accepted baptism and became the "Prince Andrew" ofmissionary records. In those records we read that "the first thingPrince Andrew did after his baptism was to convert the chief templeof his capital into a church, its revenues being assigned for themaintenance of the building and the support of the missionaries. Hethen took measures to have the same thing done in the other towns ofhis fief, and he seconded the preachers of the Gospel so well ineverything else that he could flatter himself that he soon would nothave one single idolater in his states. " This fanatical "PrinceAndrew" survived his baptism by two years only, but during that timetwenty thousand converts were made in Arima. His successor, however, was a believer in Buddhism. He caused the Christian churches to bedestroyed and the crosses to be thrown down; he ordered the Jesuitsto quit his dominions, and he required the converts to return toBuddhism. Under this pressure about one-half of the convertsapostatized, but the rest threatened to leave Kuchinotsu en masse. However this would have meant the loss of foreign trade, and as aresult of this circumstance the anti-Christian edicts were radicallymodified. Just at that time, also, a fortunate incident occurred. It had becomethe custom for a large vessel from Macao to visit Japan every year, and the advent of this ship had great importance from a commercialpoint of view. It chanced that she made the port of Kuchinotsu herplace of call in 1578, and her presence suggested such a pleasingoutcome that the feudatory embraced Christianity and allowed hisvassals to do the same. By this "great ship from Macao" the Jesuitvice-general, Valegnani was a passenger. A statesman as well as apreacher, this astute politician made such a clever use of theopportunity that, in 1580, "all the city was made Christian, and thepeople burned their idols and destroyed forty temples, reserving somematerials to build churches. " RESULTS OF THE FIRST THREE DECADES OF PROPAGANDISM The record achieved by the Christian propagandists up to this timewas distinctly satisfactory. In the Annual Letter of 1582 we find itstated that, at the close of 1581, that is to say, thirty-two yearsafter Xavier's landing in Japan there were about 150, 000 converts. Ofthese some 125, 000 were in Kyushu; the remainder in Yamaguchi, Kyoto, and the vicinity of the latter city. As for the Jesuits in Japan, they then numbered seventy-five, but down to the year 1563 there hadnever been more than nine. "The harvest was certainly great inproportion to the number of sowers. But it was a harvest mainly ofartificial growth, forced by despotic insistence of feudal chiefs whopossessed the power of life and death over their vassals, and wereinfluenced by a desire to attract foreign trade. " BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY "To the Buddhist priests this movement of Christian propagandism hadbrought an experience hitherto almost unknown in Japan--persecutionsolely on account of creed. They had suffered for interfering inpolitics, but the cruel vehemence of the Christian fanatic may besaid to have now become known for the first time to men themselvesusually conspicuous for tolerance of heresy and for receptivity ofinstruction. They had had little previous experience of humanity inthe garb of an Otomo of Bungo, who, in the words of Crasset, Svent tothe chase of the bonzes as to that of wild beasts, and made it hissingular pleasure to exterminate them from his states. '"* *Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " by Brinkley. JAPANESE EMBASSY TO EUROPE Another important result of the coming of Valegnani to Japan wasthat, in 1582, an embassy sailed from Nagasaki for Europe. Itconsisted of four young men, representing the fiefs of Arima, Omura, and Bungo, and it is related that at Lisbon, Madrid, and Rome theywere received with an elaborate show of dazzling magnificence, sothat they carried back to their island home a vivid impression of themight and wealth of Western countries. KYOTO AND CHRISTIANITY It has already been shown that the visit to Kyoto by Xavier andFernandez was wholly unsuccessful. Such was not the case, however, when another visit was made to the same city by Vilela, in the year1559. This eminent missionary had been invited to Kyoto by the abbotof the celebrated Buddhist monastery of Hiei-zan, who desired toinvestigate the Christian doctrine. It is to be noted that, at thistime, Christian propagandism in Kyushu had not yet begun to bedisfigured by acts of violence. Vilela carried letters ofintroduction from the Bungo feudatory, but before he reached thecapital the Buddhist abbot of Hiei-zan had died, and his successordid not show the same liberal spirit of inquiry. Still, Vilela waspermitted to expound his doctrines in the presence of a gathering ofpriests in the great monastery, and afterwards the good offices ofone of these bonzes, supplemented by the letter of the Bungofeudatory, procured for the Jesuit father the honour of beingreceived by the shogun, Yoshiteru, who treated him with muchconsideration and assigned a house for his residence. Vilela does not seem to have allowed himself to be influenced in anydegree by the aid that he received on this occasion from his Buddhistfriend, who is described as "one of the most respected men in thecity. " The Jesuit father seized the first opportunity to denounceBuddhism and its followers in unmeasured terms, and soon the bonzesbegan to intrigue with corresponding vehemence for the expulsion ofthe foreign propagandists. But the shogun extended his protection toVilela, by issuing a decree which made it a capital punishment toinjure the missionaries or obstruct their work. The times, however, were very troublous, so that Vilela and his fellow workers had toencounter much difficulty and no little danger. Nothing, however, damped their ardour, and five years after their arrival in Kyoto theyhad not only obtained many converts but had organized churches infive towns within a radius of fifty miles from the capital. Twoincidents may be specially mentioned illustrating the loyal spiritwith which the Japanese of that time approached controversy. AmongVilela's converts were two Buddhist priests who had been nominatedofficially to investigate and report upon the novel doctrines, andwho, in the sequel of their investigation, openly embracedChristianity though they had originally been vehemently opposed toit. The second incident was the conversion of a petty feudatory, Takayama, whose fief lay at Takatsuki in the vicinity of the capital. He challenged Vilela to a public discussion of the merits of the twocreeds, and being vanquished, he frankly acknowledged his defeat, adopted Christianity, and invited his vassals as well as his familyto follow his example. His son, Yusho, became one of the most loyalsupporters of Christianity in all Japan. He is the "Don JustoUkondono" of the Jesuits' annals. NOBUNAGA AND CHRISTIANITY At the time of Vilela's visit to Kyoto civil war was raging. It ledto the death of the shogun, Yoshiteru, and to the issue of anImperial decree proscribing Christianity, Vilela and his two comradeswere obliged to take refuge in the town of Sakai, and they remainedthere during three years, when they were invited to an interview withOda Nobunaga, who, at this time, had risen almost to the pinnacle ofhis immense power. Had Nobunaga shown himself hostile toChristianity, the latter's fate in Japan would have been quicklysealed; but not only was he a man of wide and liberal views, but alsohe harboured a strong antipathy against the Buddhists, whose armedinterference in politics had caused him much embarrassment. Hewelcomed Christianity largely as an opponent of Buddhism, and whenTakayama conducted Froez from Sakai to Nobunaga's presence, theJesuit received a cordial welcome. Thenceforth, during the fourteenremaining years of his life, Nobunaga steadily befriended themissionaries in particular and foreign visitors to Japan in general. He stood between the Jesuits and the Throne when, in reply to anappeal from Buddhist priests, the Emperor Okimachi, for the secondtime, issued an anti-Christian decree (1568); he granted a site for achurch and a residence at Azuchi on Lake Biwa, where his new castlestood; he addressed to various powerful feudatories letterssignifying a desire for the spread of Christianity; he frequentlymade handsome presents to the fathers, and whenever they visited himhe showed himself accessible and gracious. The Jesuits said of him:"This man seems to have been chosen by God to open and prepare theway for our faith. In proportion to the intensity of his enmity tothe bonzes and their sects is his good-will towards our fathers whopreach the law of God, whence he has shown them so many favours thathis subjects are amazed and unable to divine what he is aiming at inthis. I will only say that, humanly speaking, what has above allgiven great credit and reputation to the fathers is the great favourNobunaga has shown for the Company. " It is not to be supposed, however, that Nobunaga's attitude towards the Jesuits signified anybelief in their doctrines. In 1579, he took a step which showedplainly that policy as a statesman ranked much higher in hisestimation than duty towards religion. For, in order to ensure thearmed assistance of a certain feudatory, a professing Christian, Nobunaga seized the Jesuits in Kyoto, and threatened to ban theirreligion altogether unless they persuaded the feudatory to adoptNobunaga's side. Nevertheless, that Christianity benefited much byhis patronage there can be no dissentient opinion. HIDEYOSHI AND CHRISTIANITY After Nobunaga's death, in 1582, the supreme power fell into thehands of Hideyoshi, and had he chosen to exercise it, he could haveeasily undone the whole work hitherto achieved by the Jesuits at thecost of much effort and devotion. But, at first, Hideyoshi followedNobunaga's example. He not only accorded a friendly audience toFather Organtino, as representative of the fathers, but also he wentin person to assign to the Company a site for a church and aresidence in Osaka. At this time, "many Christian converts wereserving in high positions, and in 1584, the Jesuits placed it onrecord that 'Hideyoshi was not only not opposed to the things of God, but he even showed that he made much account of them (the fathers)and preferred them to all the sects of the bonzes. . . He isentrusting to Christians his treasures, his secrets, and hisfortresses of most importance, and he shows himself well pleased thatthe sons of the great lords about him should adopt our customs andour law. ' Two years later in Osaka he received with every mark ofcordiality and favour a Jesuit mission which had come from Nagasakiseeking audience, and on that occasion his visitors recorded that hespoke of an intention of christianizing one half of Japan. " Nor didhe confine himself to licensing the missionaries to preach throughoutall Japan: he exempted not only churches from the billeting ofsoldiers but also the priests themselves from local burdens. "This was in 1586, on the eve of his great military enterprise, theinvasion of Kyushu. . . He carried that difficult campaign tocompletion by the middle of 1587, and throughout its course hemaintained a uniformly friendly demeanour toward the Jesuits. Butsuddenly, when on the return journey he reached Hakata in the northof the island, his policy underwent a radical metamorphosis. Fivequestions were by his orders propounded to the vice-provincial of theJesuits: 'Why and by what authority he and his fellow propagandistshad constrained Japanese subjects to become Christians? Why they hadinduced their disciples and their sectaries to overthrow temples? Whythey persecuted the bonzes? Why they and other Portuguese ate animalsuseful to men, such as oxen and cows? Why the vice-provincial allowedmerchants of his nation to buy Japanese and make slaves of them inthe Indies?' To these queries Coelho, the vice-provincial, madeanswer that the missionaries had never themselves resorted, orincited, to violence in their propagandism, or persecuted bonzes;that if their eating of beef was considered inadvisable, they wouldgive up the practice, and that they were powerless to prevent orrestrain the outrages perpetrated by their countrymen. Hideyoshi readthe vice-provincial's reply and, without comment, sent him word toretire to Hirado, assemble all his followers there, and quit thecountry within six months. On the next day (July 25, 1587) thefollowing edict was published: 'Having learned from our faithful councillors that foreign priestshave come into our estates, where they preach a law contrary to thatof Japan, and that they have even had the audacity to destroy templesdedicated to our Kami and Hotoke; although the outrage merits themost extreme punishment, wishing nevertheless to show them mercy, weorder them under pain of death to quit Japan within twenty days. During that space no harm or hurt will be done, to them. But at theexpiration of that term, we order that if any of them be found in ourestates, they should be seized and punished as the greatestcriminals. As for the Portuguese merchants, we permit them to enterour ports, there to continue their accustomed trade, and to remain inour estates provided our affairs need this. But we forbid them tobring any foreign priests into the country, under the penalty of theconfiscation of their ships and goods. '"* *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. How are we to account for this seemingly rapid change of mood onHideyoshi's part? A comparison of dates furnishes some assistance inreplying to that question. The Kyushu campaign took place in 1587, and it was in 1586 that Hideyoshi commenced the construction of thecolossal image of Buddha in Kyoto. The Taiko was by no means areligious man. That is amply shown by the stories told in theprevious pages. But his political sagacity taught him that tocontinue Nobunaga's crusade against Buddhism would not be wisestatesmanship, and that if the bonzes could be disarmed and divertedfrom military pursuits, they would become useful agents ofintellectual and moral progress. His idea of setting up a giganticidol in the capital marked his final substitution of a conciliatoryprogramme for the fiercely destructive methods of Nobunaga. Ofnecessity he had, then, to reconsider his demeanour towardsChristianity, and it is on record that before leaving Osaka forKyushu he publicly stated, "I fear much that all the virtue of theEuropean priests is merely a mask of hypocrisy and serves only toconceal pernicious designs against the empire. " Then, in Kyushu, twothings influenced him strongly. One was that he now saw with his owneyes what militant Christianity really meant--ruined temples, overthrown idols, and coerced converts. Such excesses had notdisgraced Christian propagandism in Kyoto or in the metropolitanprovinces, but in Kyushu the unsightly story was forced uponHideyoshi's attention. The second special feature of the situation inKyushu was that relations of an altogether exceptional character wereestablished between Hideyoshi and Kennyo, abbot of the Shin sect. Bythe contrivance of that prelate, Hideyoshi's troops were enabled tofollow a secret road to the stronghold of the Satsuma baron, and inreturn for such valuable services Hideyoshi may well have beenpersuaded to proscribe Christianity. Some importance, though probably of a less degree, attaches also tothe last of the five questions propounded by Hideyoshi to thevice-provincial--why the priests allowed merchants of their nation tobuy Japanese subjects and carry them into slavery in the Indies. Itwas in Kyushu only that these abuses were perpetrated. With respectto this matter the following passage appears in the archives of theAcademy of History at Madrid: "Even the Lascars and scullions of thePortuguese purchase and carry slaves away. Hence it happens that manyof them die on the voyage, because they are heaped up one upon theother, and if their master fall sick (these masters are sometimesKaffirs and the negroes of the Portuguese), the slaves are not caredfor. It even often happens that the Kaffirs cannot procure thenecessary food for them. I here omit the excesses committed in thelands of pagans where the Portuguese spread themselves to recruityouth and girls, and where they live in such a fashion that thepagans themselves are stupefied at it. " Nevertheless, the fact thatthe Taiko specially exempted the Portuguese merchants from his decreeof banishment indicates that he did not attach cardinal importance totheir evil doings in the matter of slaves. It seems rather to havebeen against the Jesuits that his resentment was directed, for he didnot fail to perceive that, whereas they could and did exact theutmost deference from their country's sailors and traders when theends of Christian propagandism were served thereby, they professedthemselves powerless to dissuade these same traders and sailors fromoutrages which would have disgraced any religion. He cannot but haveconcluded that if these Portuguese merchants and seamen were to beregarded as specimens of the products of Christianity, then, indeed, that creed had not much to recommend it. All these things seem amplysufficient to account for the change that manifested itself inHideyoshi's attitude towards Christianity at the close of the Kyushucampaign. SEQUEL OF THE EDICT OF BANISHMENT The Jesuits, of whom it must be said that they never consulted theirown safety when the cause of their faith could be advanced byself-sacrifice, paid no attention to the Taiko's edict. They didindeed assemble at Hirado to the number of 120, but when theyreceived orders to embark at once, they decided that only thoseneeded for service in China should leave Japan. The rest remained andcontinued to perform their religious duties as usual, under theprotection of the converted feudatories. The latter also appear tohave concluded that it was not necessary to follow Hideyoshi'sinjunctions strictly concerning the expulsion of the priests. Itseemed, at first, as though nothing short of extermination wascontemplated by the Taiko. He caused all the churches in Kyoto, Osaka, and Sakai to be pulled down, and he sent troops to raze theChristian places of worship in Kyushu. But the troops accepted giftsoffered to them by the feudatories and left the churches standing, while Hideyoshi not only failed to enforce his edict, but alsoallowed himself in the following year, 1588, to be convinced by aPortuguese envoy that unless the missionaries were suffered toremain, oversea trade could not possibly be carried on in a peacefuland orderly manner. For the sake of that trade, Hideyoshi agreed totolerate the Christian propagandists, and, for a time, the foreignfaith continued to flourish in Kyushu and found a favourable fieldeven in Kyoto. At this time, in response to a message from the Jesuits, the viceroyof the Indies sent an ambassador to thank Hideyoshi for the favourshe had hitherto bestowed upon the missionaries, and in the train ofthis nominally secular embassy came a number of fresh Jesuits tolabour in the Japanese field. The ambassador was Valegnani, a man ofprofound tact. Acting upon the Taiko's unequivocal hints, Valegnanicaused the missionaries to divest their work of all ostentatiousfeatures and to comport themselves with the utmost circumspection, sothat official attention should not be attracted by any salientevidences of Christian propagandism. Indeed, at this very time, asstated above, Hideyoshi took a step which plainly showed that hevalued the continuance of trade much more highly than the extirpationof Christianity. "Being assured that Portuguese merchants could notfrequent Japan unless they found Christian priests there, heconsented to sanction the presence of a limited number of Jesuits, "though he was far too shrewd to imagine that their services could belimited to men of their own nationality, and too clever to forgetthat these very Portuguese, who professed to attach so muchimportance to religious ministrations, were the same men whoseflagrant outrages the fathers declared themselves powerless to check. If any further evidence were needed of Hideyoshi's discriminationbetween trade and religion, it is furnished by his despatches to theviceroy of the Indies written in 1591:-- The fathers of the Company, as they are called, have come to theseislands to teach another religion here; but as that of the Kami istoo surely founded to be abolished, this new law can serve only tointroduce into Japan a diversity of cults prejudicial to the welfareof the State. It is for this reason that, by Imperial edict, I haveforbidden these foreign doctors to continue to preach their doctrine. I have even ordered them to quit Japan, and I am resolved no longerto allow any one of them to come here to spread new opinions. Inevertheless desire that trade between you and us should always be onthe same footing [as before]. I shall have every care that the waysare free by sea and land: I have freed them from all pirates andbrigands. The Portuguese will be able to traffic with my subjects, and I will in no wise suffer any one to do them the least wrong. The statistics of 1595 showed that there were then in Japan 137Jesuit fathers with 300, 000 native converts, including seventeenfeudal chiefs and not a few bonzes. HIDEYOSHI'S FINAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS CHRISTIANITY For ten years after the issue of his anti-Christian decree at Hakata, Hideyoshi maintained a tolerant demeanour. But in 1597, hisforbearance was changed to a mood of uncompromising severity. Variousexplanations have been given of this change, but the reasons areobscure. "Up to 1593 the Portuguese had possessed a monopoly ofreligious propagandism and oversea commerce in Japan. The privilegewas secured to them by agreement between Spain and Portugal and by apapal bull. But the Spaniards in Manila had long looked with somewhatjealous eyes on this Jesuit reservation, and when news of theanti-Christian decree of 1587 reached the Philippines, the Dominicansand Franciscans residing there were fired with zeal to enter an arenawhere the crown of martyrdom seemed to be the least reward withinreach. The papal bull, however, demanded obedience, and to overcomethat difficulty a ruse was necessary: the governor of Manila agreedto send a party of Franciscans as ambassadors to Hideyoshi. In thatguise, the friars, being neither traders nor propagandists, considered that they did not violate either the treaty or the bull. It was a technical subterfuge very unworthy of the objectcontemplated, and the friars supplemented it by swearing to Hideyoshithat the Philippines would submit to his sway. Thus they obtainedpermission to visit Kyoto, Osaka, and Fushimi, but with the explicitproviso that they must not preach. "* *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. How far they observed the terms and the spirit of this arrangementmay be gathered from the facts that "very soon they had built achurch in Kyoto, consecrated it with the utmost pomp, and werepreaching sermons and chaunting litanies there in flagrant defianceof Hideyoshi's veto. Presently, their number received an access ofthree friars who came bearing gifts from the governor of Manila, andnow they not only established a convent in Osaka, but also seized aJesuit church in Nagasaki and converted the circumspect worshiphitherto conducted there by the fathers into services of the mostpublic character. Officially checked in Nagasaki, they charged theJesuits in Kyoto with having intrigued to impede them, and theyfurther vaunted the courageous openness of their own ministrations ascompared with the clandestine timidity of the methods which wiseprudence had induced the Jesuits to adopt. Retribution would havefollowed quickly had not Hideyoshi's attention been engrossed by anattempt to invade China through Korea. At this stage, however, amemorable incident occurred. Driven out of her course by a storm, agreat and richly laden Spanish galleon, bound for Acapulco fromManila, drifted to the coast of Tosa province, and running--or beingpurposely run--on a sand-bank as she was towed into port by Japaneseboats, broke her back. She carried goods to the value of some sixhundred thousand crowns, and certain officials urged Hideyoshi toconfiscate her as derelict, conveying to him, at the same time, adetailed account of the doings of the Franciscans and their openflouting of his orders. Hideyoshi, much incensed, commanded thearrest of the Franciscans and despatched officers to Tosa toconfiscate the San Felipe. The pilot of the galleon sought tointimidate these officers by showing them, on a map of the world, thevast extent of Spain's dominions, and being asked how one country hadacquired such wide sway, replied, * 'Our kings begin by sending intothe countries they wish to conquer missionaries who induce the peopleto embrace our religion, and when they have made considerableprogress, troops are sent who combine with the new Christians, andthen our kings have not much trouble in accomplishing the rest. '"** *Charlevoix, referring to this incident, says, "This unfortunatestatement inflicted a wound on religion which is bleeding still aftera century and a half. " **Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYRS IN JAPAN The words of the San Felipe's master were immediately reported toHideyoshi. They roused him to hot anger. He is reported to havecried: "What! my States are filled with traitors, and their numbersincrease every day. I have proscribed the foreign doctors, but out ofcompassion for the age and infirmity of some among them, I haveallowed their remaining in Japan. I shut my eyes to the presence ofseveral others because I fancied them to be quiet and incapable offorming bad designs, and they are serpents I have been cherishing inmy bosom. The traitors are entirely employed in making me enemiesamong my own subjects and perhaps in my own family. But they willlearn what it is to play with me... I am not anxious for myself. Solong as the breath of life remains, I defy all the powers of theearth to attack me. But I am perhaps to leave the empire to a child, and how can he maintain himself against so many foes, domestic andforeign, if I do not provide for everything incessantly?" Then, finally, the Franciscans were arrested and condemned to havetheir noses and ears cut off;* to be promenaded through Kyoto, Osaka, and Sakai, and to be crucified at Nagasaki. "I have ordered theseforeigners to be treated thus, " Hideyoshi is recorded to have stated, "because they have come from the Philippines to Japan, callingthemselves ambassadors, although they were not so; because they haveremained here for long without my permission; because in defiance ofmy prohibition they have built churches, preached their religion, andcaused disorders. " These men were the first martyrs in Japan. *The mutilation was confined to the lobe of one ear. They numbered twenty-six, namely, six Franciscans, three Jesuits, andseventeen native Christians who were chiefly domestic servants of theFranciscans. They met their fate with noble fortitude. Hideyoshi didnot stop there. He took measures to have his edict of 1587 convertedinto a stern reality. The governor of Nagasaki received orders tosend away all the Jesuits, permitting only two or three to remain forthe service of Portuguese merchants. The Jesuits, however, were not to be deterred by personal peril. There were 125 of them in Japan at that time, and of these onlyeleven left Nagasaki by sea in October, 1597, though the same vesselcarried a number of pretended Jesuits who were, in reality, disguisedsailors. This deception was necessarily known to the localauthorities; but their sympathies being with the Jesuits, they keptsilence until early the following year, when, owing to a rumour thatHideyoshi himself contemplated a visit to Kyushu, they took reallyefficient measures to expel all the fathers. No less than 137churches throughout Kyushu were thrown down, as well as severalseminaries and residences of the fathers, and, at Nagasaki, all theJesuits in Japan were assembled for deportation to Macao in thefollowing year when the "great ship" was expected to visit that port. But before her arrival Hideyoshi died, and a respite was thus gainedfor the Jesuits. FOREIGN POLICY OF THE TOKUGAWA FAMILY It has been confidently stated that Tokugawa Ieyasu regardedChristian nations and Christian propagandists with distrust not lessprofound than that harboured by Hideyoshi. But facts are opposed tothat view. Within less than three months of the Taiko's death, theTokugawa chief had his first interview with a Christian priest. Theman was a Franciscan, by name Jerome de Jesus. He had been a memberof the fictitious embassy from Manila, and his story illustrates thezeal and courage that inspired the Christian fathers in those days. "Barely escaping the doom of crucifixion which overtook hiscompanions, he had been deported from Japan to Manila at a time whendeath seem to be the certain penalty of remaining. But no sooner hadhe been landed in Manila than he took passage in a Chinese junk, and, returning to Nagasaki, made his way secretly from the far south ofJapan to the province of Kii. There arrested, he was brought into thepresence of Ieyasu, and his own record of what ensued is given in aletter subsequently sent to Manila: "'When the Prince saw me he asked how I managed to escape the previouspersecution. I answered him that at that date God had delivered me inorder that I might go to Manila and bring back new colleagues fromthere--preachers of the divine law--and that I had returned fromManila to encourage the Christians, cherishing the desire to die onthe cross in order to go to enjoy eternal glory like my formercolleagues. On hearing these words the Emperor began to smile, whether in his quality of a pagan of the sect of Shaka which teachesthat there is no future life, or whether from the thought that I wasfrightened at having to be put to death. Then, looking at me kindly, he said, "Be no longer afraid and no longer conceal yourself and nolonger change your habit, for I wish you well; and as for theChristians who every year pass within sight of Kwanto where mydomains are, when they go to Mexico with their ships, I have a keendesire for them to visit the harbours of this island, to refreshthemselves there, and to take what they wish, to trade with myvassals, and to teach them how to develop silver mines; and that myintentions may be accomplished before my death, I wish you toindicate to me the means to take to realize them. " "'I answered that it was necessary that Spanish pilots should take thesoundings of his harbours, so that ships might not be lost in futureas the San Felipe had been, and that he should solicit this servicefrom the governor of the Philippines. The Prince approved of myadvice, and accordingly he has sent a Japanese gentleman, a native ofSakai, the bearer of this message.... It is essential to oppose noobstacle to the complete liberty offered by the Emperor to theSpaniards and to our holy order, for the preaching of the holygospel. ... The same Prince (who is about to visit the Kwanto)invites me to accompany him to make choice of a house, and to visitthe harbour which he promises to open to us; his desires in thisrespect are keener than I can express. '"* *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. Subsequent events confirm the accuracy of the above story. FatherJerome was allowed to build the first Christian church in Yedo and toofficiate there. Moreover, Ieyasu sent "three embassies in successionto the Philippines, proposing reciprocal freedom of commerce, offering to open ports in the Kwanto, and asking for competent navalarchitects. " These architects never came, and the trade that resultedfrom the Tokugawa chief's overtures was paltry in comparison with thenumber of friars that accompanied it to Japan. It has been suggestedthat Ieyasu designed these Spanish monks to serve as a counterpoiseto the influence of the Jesuits. For he must have known that theFranciscans opened their mission in Yedo by "declaiming with violenceagainst the fathers of the Company of Jesus, " and he must haveunderstood that the Spanish monks assumed towards the Jesuits inJapan the same intolerent and abusive tone that the Jesuitsthemselves had previously assumed towards Buddhism. ENGRAVING: ANJIN-ZUKA, NEAR YOKOSUKA, THE TOMB OF WILL ADAMS WILL ADAMS At about this time a Dutch merchant ship named the Liefde arrived inJapan. In 1598, a squadron of five ships sailed from Holland toexploit the sources of Portuguese commerce in the Orient, and of thefive vessels only one, the Liefde, was ever heard of again. Shereached Japan in the spring of 1600, with only four and twentysurvivors of her original crew, numbering 110. Towed into the harbourof Funai, she was visited by Jesuits, who, on discovering hernationality, denounced her to the local authorities as a pirate. Onboard the Liefde, serving in the capacity of pilot major was anEnglishman, Will Adams, of Gillingham in Kent. Ieyasu summoned him toOsaka, and between the rough English sailor and the Tokugawa chiefthere commenced a curiously friendly intercourse which was notinterrupted until the death of Adams, twenty years later. "The Englishman became master-shipbuilder to the Yedo Government; wasemployed as diplomatic agent when other traders from his own countryand from Holland arrived in Japan, received in perpetual gift asubstantial estate, and from first to last possessed the implicitconfidence of the shogun. Ieyasu quickly discerned the man's honesty;perceived that whatever benefits foreign commerce might confer wouldbe increased by encouraging competition among the foreigners, andrealized that English and Dutch trade presented the wholesome featureof complete dissociation from religious propagandism. On the otherhand, he showed no intolerance to either Spaniards or Portuguese. Heissued (1601) two official patents sanctioning the residence of thefathers in Kyoto, Osaka, and Nagasaki; he employed Father Rodriguezas interpreter at the Court in Yedo, and, in 1603 he gave munificentsuccour to the Jesuits who were reduced to dire straits owing to thecapture of the great ship from Macao by the Dutch and the consequentloss of several years' supplies for the mission in Japan. "* *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. ULTIMATE ATTITUDE OF IEYASU TOWARDS CHRISTIANITY AND FOREIGNINTERCOURSE From what has been written above it will have been evident that eachof Japan's great trio of sixteenth century statesmen--Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu--adopted originally a tolerant demeanourtowards Christianity, and an emphatically favourable attitude towardsforeign commerce. The causes of Hideyoshi's change of mood aretolerably clear, but it is not possible to analyse the case of Ieyasuwith certainty. That the Tokugawa baron strongly patronized Buddhismmight be regarded as a sufficient explanation of his ultimatehostility to the foreign faith, but cannot be reconciled with hisamicable attitude at the outset. The more credible explanation isthat he was guided by intelligence obtained direct from Europe. Hesent thither at the end of the sixteenth century an emissary whoseinstructions were to observe closely the social and politicalconditions in the home of Christianity. The better to accomplish hispurpose this envoy embraced the Christian faith, and was thus enabledto carry on his observations from within as well as from without. It may be easily conceived that the state of affairs in Europe atthat time, when recounted to Ieyasu, could scarcely fail to shock andastonish the ruler of a country where freedom of conscience may besaid to have always existed. The Inquisition and the stake; wholesaleaggressions in the name of the Cross; a head of the Church whoseauthority extended to confiscation of the realms of hereticalsovereigns; religious wars, and profound fanaticism--these were theelements of the story told to Ieyasu by his returned envoy. Thedetails could not fail to produce an evil impression. Already his ownobservation had disclosed to the Tokugawa chief abundant evidence ofthe spirit of strife engendered by Christian dogma in those times. Nosooner had the Franciscans and the Dominicans arrived in Japan than afierce quarrel broke out between them and the Jesuits--a quarrelwhich even community of suffering could not compose. "Not lessrepellent was an attempt on the part of the Spaniards to dictate toIeyasu the expulsion of all Hollanders from Japan, and an attempt onthe part of the Jesuits to dictate the expulsion of the Spaniards. The former proposal, couched almost in the form of a demand, wastwice formulated, and accompanied on the second occasion by ascarcely less insulting offer, namely, that Spanish men-of-war wouldbe sent to Japan to burn all Dutch ships found in the ports of theempire. If in the face of proposals so contumelious of his authorityIeyasu preserved a calm and dignified mein, merely replying that hiscountry was open to all comers, and that, if other nations hadquarrels among themselves, they must not take Japan forbattle-ground, it is nevertheless unimaginable that he did notstrongly resent such interference with his own independent foreignpolicy, and that he did not interpret it as foreshadowing adisturbance of the realm's peace by sectarian quarrels amongChristians. "* *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. The repellent aspects under which Christianity thus presented itselfto Ieyasu were supplemented by an act of fraud and forgeryperpetrated in the interest of a Christian feudatory by a trustedofficial, himself a Christian. This experience persuaded the Tokugawaruler that it was unsafe to employ Christians at his Court. He notonly dismissed all those so employed, but also banished them fromYedo and forbade any feudal chief to harbour them. Another incident, not without influence, was connected with the survey of the Japanesecoast by a Spanish mariner and a Franciscan friar. An envoy from NewSpain (Mexico) had obtained permission for this survey, but "when themariner (Sebastian) and the friar (Sotelo) hastened to carry out theproject, Ieyasu asked Will Adams to explain this display of industry. The Englishman replied that such a proceeding would be regarded inEurope as an act of hostility, especially on the part of theSpaniards or Portuguese, whose aggressions were notorious. He added, in reply to further questions, that 'the Roman priesthood had beenexpelled from many parts of Germany, from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, and England, and that, although his own country preservedthe pure form of the Christian faith from which Spain and Portugalhad deviated, yet neither English nor Dutch considered that that factafforded them any reason to war with, or to annex, States which werenot Christian solely for the reason that they were non-Christian. '"*Hearing these things from Will Adams, Ieyasu is said to haveremarked, "If the sovereigns of Europe do not tolerate these priests, I do them no wrong if I refuse to tolerate them. " *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. Another incident, too complicated to describe in detail, may besummed up by saying that some Japanese Christians were discovered tohave conspired for the overthrow of the Tokugawa Government by theaid of foreign troops. It was not an extensive plot, but it helped todemonstrate that the sympathy of the priests and their converts wasplainly with the enemies of Tokugawa's supremacy. Ieyasu, however, abstained from extreme measures in the case of any of the foreignpriests, and he might have been equally tolerant towards nativeChristians, also, had not the Tokugawa authority been openly defiedin Yedo itself by a Franciscan father--the Sotelo mentioned above. "Then (1613) the first execution of Japanese converts took place, though the monk himself was released after a short incarceration. Atthat time... Insignificant differences of custom sometimes inducedserious misconceptions. A Christian who had violated a secular lawwas crucified in Nagasaki. Many of his fellow-believers kneeledaround his cross and prayed for the peace of his soul. A party ofconverts were afterwards burnt to death in the same place forrefusing to apostatize, and their Christian friends crowded to carryoff portions of their bodies as holy relics. When these things werereported to Ieyasu, he said, 'Without doubt that must be a diabolicfaith which persuades people not only to worship criminals condemnedto death for their crimes, but also to honour those who have beenburned or cut to pieces by the order of their lord. '"* *Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " by Brinkley. SUPPRESSION OF CHRISTIANITY The first prohibition of Christianity was issued by Ieyasu inSeptember, 1612, and was followed by another in April, 1613; but bothbore the character of warnings rather than of punitive regulations. It was on the 27th of January, 1614--that is to say, fifty-four yearsand five months after the landing of Xavier at Kagoshima--that anedict appeared ordering that all the foreign priests should becollected in Nagasaki preparatory to removal from Japan; that allchurches should be pulled down, and that all converts should becompelled to abjure Christianity. There were then in Japan 156ministers of Christianity, namely, 122 Jesuits, 14 Franciscans, 9Dominicans, 4 Augustinians, and 7 secular priests. It is virtuallycertain that if these men had obeyed the orders of the JapaneseGovernment by leaving the country finally, not so much as oneforeigner would have suffered for his faith in Japan, except the sixFranciscans executed on the "Martyrs' Mount" at Nagasaki byHideyoshi's order, in 1597. But the missionaries did not obey. Suffering or even death counted for nothing with these men as againstthe possibility of saving souls. "Forty-seven of them evaded theedict, some by concealing themselves at the time of its issue, therest by leaving their ships when the latter had passed out of sightof the shore of Japan, and returning by boats to the scene of theirformer labours. Moreover, in a few months, those that had actuallycrossed the sea re-crossed it in various disguises. "* The JapaneseGovernment had then to consider whether it would suffer its authorityto be thus defied by foreign visitors or whether it would resort toextreme measures. *Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan, " by Brinkley. PERIOD SUBSEQUENT TO 1613 Throughout a period of two years immediately following the issue ofthe anti-Christian edict of 1614, the attention of Ieyasu, and indeedof the whole Japanese nation, was concentrated on the struggle whichtook place between the adherents of the Tokugawa and the supportersof Hideyori. That struggle culminated in an assault on the castle ofOsaka, and fresh fuel was added to the fire of anti-Christianresentment inasmuch as many Christian converts espoused Hideyori'scause, and in one part of the field the troops of Ieyasu had to fightagainst a foe whose banners were emblazoned with a cross and withimages of Christ and of St. James, the patron saint of Spain. Nevertheless, the Christian converts possessed the sympathy of somany of the feudal chiefs that much reluctance was shown to inflictthe extreme penalty of the law on men and women whose only crime wasthe adoption of an alien religion. Some of the feudal chiefs, even atthe risk of losing their estates, gave asylum to the converts; othersfalsely reported a complete absence of Christians in their dominions, and some endeavoured earnestly to protect the fanatics; while, as tothe people at large, their liberal spirit is shown in the fact thatfive priests who were in Osaka Castle at the time of its capture wereable to make their way to distant refuges without any risk ofbetrayal. ENGRAVING: GREEN-ROOM OF A THEATRE (In the Middle of the TokugawaPeriod) On the other hand, there were not wanting feudatories who, judgingthat zeal in obeying the edict would prove a passport to officialreward, acted on that conviction. Notably was this true of Hasegawa, who received the fief of Arima by way of recompense for barbarouscruelty towards the Christians. Yet it is on record that when thisbaron sent out a mixed force of Hizen and Satsuma troops to harry theconverts, these samurai warned the Christians to flee and thenreported that they were not to be found anywhere. During these eventsthe death of Ieyasu took place (June 1, 1616), and pending thededication of his mausoleum the anti-Christian crusade was virtuallysuspended. ENGLISH AND DUTCH INTRIGUES AGAINST SPANIARDS AND PORTUGUESE It has been frequently alleged that if the Spaniards and thePortuguese endeavoured to bring the Hollanders into bad odour, theEnglish and the Dutch intrigued equally against the Portuguese andthe Spaniards. The accusation cannot be rebutted. Cocks, the factorof the English commercial mission to Japan, has himself left it onrecord that, being at the Yedo Court in the fall of 1616, "I enformedthe two secretaries that yf they lookt out well about these twoSpanish shipps in Xaxama [Satsuma] full of men and treasure, theywould fynd that they were sent off purpose by the king of Spaine, having knowledge of the death of the ould Emperour [Ieyasu], thinkingsom papisticall tono [daimyo] might rise and rebell and so draw allthe papists to flock to them and take part, by which means they mighton a sudden seaz upon som strong place and keepe it till more succorscame, they not wanting money nor men for thackomplishing such astrattgin. " The two vessels in question were "greate shipps arrivedout of New Spaine, bound, as they said, for the Philippines, butdriven into that place per contrary wynd, both shipps being full ofsouldiers, with great store of treasure, as it is said, above fivemillions of pezos. " It is true that a Spanish captain sent from thesevessels to pay respects to the Court in Yedo "gave it out that ourshipps and the Hollanders which were at Firando [Hirado] had takenand robbed all the China junks, which was the occasion that very fewor non came into Japan this yeare, " and therefore Cocks was somewhatjustified in saying "so in this sort I cried quittance with theSpaniards. " It appears, however, that the Spaniards were notbelieved, whereas the Englishman could boast, "which speeches of mynewrought so far that the Emperour sent to stay them, and had not thegreate shipp cut her cable in the hawse so as to escape, she had beenarrested. " It was this same Cocks who told a Japanese "admirall" that"My opinion was he might doe better to put it into the Emperour'smynd to make a conquest of the Manillas, and drive those small crewof Spaniards from thence. " In fact, none of the four Occidental nationalities then in Japan hadany monopoly of slandering its rivals. The accusation preferred byCocks, however, must have possessed special significance, confirming, as it did, what the pilot of the San Felipe had said twenty yearspreviously as to the political uses to which the propagandists ofChristianity were put by the King of Spain, and what Will Adams hadsaid four years earlier as to the Imperial doctrine of Spain andPortugal that the annexation of a non-Christian country was alwaysjustifiable. The "greate shipps out of New Spaine, " laden withsoldiers and treasure and under orders to combine with any Christianconverts willing to revolt against the Yedo Government, were concreteevidence of the truth of the Spanish sailor's revelation and of theEnglish exile's charge. It has always to be remembered, too, thatKyushu, the headquarters of Christianity in Japan, did not owe to theTokugawa shoguns the same degree of allegiance that it had beenforced to render to Hideyoshi. A colossal campaign such as the latterhad conducted against the southern island, in 1587, never commendeditself to the ambition of Ieyasu or to that of his comparativelyfeeble successor, Hidetada. Hence, the presence of Spanish orPortuguese ships in Satsuma suggested danger of an exceptionaldegree. In the very month (September, 1616) when Cocks "cried quittance withthe Spaniards, " a new anti-Christian edict was promulgated byHidetada, son and successor of Ieyasu. It pronounced sentence ofexile against all Christian priests, not excluding even those whosepresence had been sanctioned for the purpose of ministering to thePortuguese merchants; it forbade the Japanese, under penalty of beingburned alive and having all their property confiscated, to connectthemselves in any way with the Christian propagandists or with theirco-operators or servants, and above all, to show them anyhospitality. The same penalties were extended to women and children, and to the five neighbours on both sides of a convert's abode, unlessthese became informers. Every feudal chief was forbidden to keepChristians in his service, and the edict was promulgated with morethan usual severity, although its enforcement was deferred until thenext year on account of the obsequies of Ieyasu. This edict of 1616differed from that issued by Ieyasu in 1614, since the latter did notexplicitly prescribe the death-penalty for converts refusing toapostatize. But both agreed in indicating expulsion as the solemanner of dealing with the foreign priests. It, is also noteworthythat, just as the edict of Ieyasu was immediately preceded bystatements from Will Adams about the claim of Spain and Portugal toabsorb all non-Christian countries, so the edict of Hidetada had forpreface Cock's attribution of aggressive designs to the Spanish shipsat Kagoshima in conjunction with Christian converts. Not withoutjustice, therefore, have the English been charged with some share ofresponsibility for the terrible things that ultimately befell thepropagandists and the professors of Christianity in Japan. As for theshogun, Hidetada, and his advisers, it is probable that they did notforesee much occasion for actual recourse to violence. They knew thata great majority of the converts had joined the Christian Church atthe instance, or by the command, of their local rulers, and nothingcan have seemed less likely than that a creed thus lightly embracedwould be adhered to in defiance of torture and death. The foreignpropagandists also might have escaped all peril by obeying theofficial edict and leaving Japan. They suffered because they defiedthe laws of the land. Some fifty of them happened to be in Nagasaki at the time ofHidetada's edict. Several of these were apprehended and deported, buta number returned almost immediately. This happened under thejurisdiction of Omura, who had been specially charged with the dutyof sending away the bateren (padres). He seems to have concluded thata striking example must be furnished, and he therefore ordered theseizure and decapitation of two fathers, De l'Assumpcion and Machado. The result completely falsified his calculations, for so far fromproving a deterrent, the fate of the two fathers appealed widely tothe people's sense of heroism. Multitudes flocked to the grave inwhich the two coffins were buried. The sick were carried thither tobe restored to health, and the Christian converts derived new couragefrom the example of these martyrs. Numerous conversions and numerousreturns of apostates took place everywhere. While this enthusiasm was at its height, Navarette, vice-provincialof the Dominicans, and Ayala, vice-provincial of the Augustins, emerged from hiding, and robed in their full canonicals, commenced anopen propaganda, heralding their approach by a letter addressed toOmura and couched in the most defiant terms. Thus challenged, Omurawas obliged to act promptly, especially as Navarette declared that he(Navarette) did not recognize the Emperor of Japan but only theEmperor of Heaven. The two fanatics were seized, conveyed secretly tothe island of Takashima, and there decapitated; their coffins beingweighted with big stones and sunk in the sea, so as to prevent arepetition of the scenes witnessed at the tomb of the fathersmentioned above. Thereupon, the newly elected superior of theDominicans at once sent three of his priests to preach in Omura'sterritories, and two of them, having been seized, were cast intoprison where they remained for five years. Even more directly defiantwas the attitude of the next martyred priest, an old Franciscan monk, Juan de Santa Martha. He had for three years suffered all the horrorsof a medieval Japanese prison, yet when it was proposed to releasehim and deport him to New Spain, his answer was that, if released, hewould stay in Japan and preach there. He laid his head on the blockin August, 1618. Throughout the next four years, however, no other foreign missionarywas capitally punished in Japan, though many arrived and continuedtheir propagandism. During that interval, also, there occurredanother incident calculated to fix upon the Christians still deepersuspicion of political designs. In a Portuguese ship, captured by theDutch, a letter was found instigating Japanese converts to revolt, and promising that, when the number of disaffected became sufficient, men-of-war would be sent from Portugal to aid them. Another factortending to invest the converts with political potentialities was thewriting of pamphlets by apostates, attributing the zeal of foreignpropagandists solely to traitorous motives. Further, the Spanish andPortuguese propagandists were indicted in a despatch addressed to thesecond Tokugawa shogun, in 1620, by the admiral in command of theBritish and Dutch fleet of defence, then cruising in Oriental waters. The admiral unreservedly charged the friars with treacherousmachinations, and warned the shogun against the aggressive designs ofPhilip of Spain. This cumulative evidence dispelled the last doubts of the Japanese, and a time of sharp suffering ensued for the fathers and theirconverts. There were many shocking episodes. Among them may bementioned the case of Zufliga, son of the marquis of Villamanrica. Hevisited Japan as a Dominican in 1618, but the governor of Nagasakipersuaded him to withdraw. Yielding for the moment, he returned twoyears later, accompanied by Father Flores. They travelled in a vesselcommanded by a Japanese Christian, and off Formosa she was overhauledby an English warship, which took off the two priests and handed themover to the Dutch at Hirado. There they were tortured and held inprison for sixteen months, when an armed attempt made by someJapanese Christians to rescue them precipitated their fate. By orderfrom Yedo, Zuniga, Flores, and the Japanese master of the vesselwhich had carried them, were roasted to death in Nagasaki on August19, 1622. Thus the measures adopted against the missionaries are seento have gradually increased in severity. The first two fathers put todeath, De l'Assumpcion and Machado, were beheaded in 1617, not by thecommon executioner but by one of the principal officers of thedaimyo. The next two, Navarette and Ayala, were decapitated by theexecutioner. Then, in 1618, Juan de Santa Martha was executed like acommon criminal, his body being dismembered and his head exposed. Finally, in 1622, Zuniga and Flores were burned alive. The same year was marked by the "great martyrdom" at Nagasaki, whennine foreign priests went to the stake together with nineteenJapanese converts. Apprehension of a foreign invasion seems to havegreatly troubled the shogun at this time. He had sent an envoy toEurope who, after seven years abroad, returned on the eve of the"great martyrdom, " and made a report thoroughly unfavourable toChristianity. Hidetada therefore refused to give audience to thePhilippine embassy in 1624, and ordered that all Spaniards should bedeported from Japan. It was further decreed that no JapaneseChristians should thenceforth be allowed to go to sea in search ofcommerce, and that although non-Christians or men who had apostatizedmight travel freely, they must not visit the Philippines. Thus ended all intercourse between Japan and Spain. The two countrieshad been on friendly terms for thirty-two years, and during that timea widespread conviction that Christianity was an instrument ofSpanish aggression had been engendered. Iemitsu, son of Hidetada, nowruled in Yedo, though Hidetada himself remained "the power behind thethrone. " The year (1623) of the former's accession to the shogunatehad seen the re-issue of anti-Christian decrees and the martyrdom ofsome five hundred Christians within the Tokugawa domains, whither thetide of persecution now flowed for the first time. From that periodonwards official attempts to eradicate Christianity in Japan wereunceasing. Conspicuously active in this cause were two governors ofNagasaki, by name Mizuno and Takenaka, and the feudal chief ofShimabara, by name Matsukura. To this last is to be credited theterrible device of throwing converts into the solfataras at Unzen, and under him, also, the punishment of the "fosse" was resorted to. It consisted in suspension by the feet, head downwards in a pit untildeath ensued. By many this latter torture was heroically endured tothe end, but in the case of a few the pains proved unendurable. It is on record that the menace of a Spanish invasion seemed soimminent to Matsukura and Takenaka that they proposed an attack onthe Philippines so as to deprive the Spaniards of their base in theEast. This bold measure failed to obtain approval in Yedo. Inproportion as the Christian converts proved invincible, the severityof the repressive measures increased. There are no accuratestatistics showing the number of victims. Some annalists allege thattwo hundred and eighty thousand perished up to the year 1635, butthat figure is probably exaggerated, for the converts do not seem tohave aggregated more than three hundred thousand at any time, and itis probable that a majority of these, having embraced the alien creedfor light reasons, discarded it readily under menace of destruction. "Every opportunity was given for apostatizing and for escaping death. Immunity could be secured by pointing out a fellow convert, and whenit is observed that among the seven or eight feudatories who embracedChristianity only two or three died in that faith, we must concludethat not a few cases of recanting occurred among the vassals. Remarkable fortitude, however, is said to have been displayed. "Caron, one of the Dutch traders of Hirado, writing in 1636, says: At first the believers in Christ were only beheaded and afterwardsattached to a cross, which was considered as a sufficiently heavypunishment. But when many of them were seen to die with emotions ofjoy and pleasure, some even to go singing to the place of execution;and when although thirty and sometimes one hundred were put to deathat a time, and it was found that their numbers did not appear todiminish, it was then determined to use every exertion to changetheir joy into grief and their songs into tears and groans of misery. To effect this they were tied to stakes and burned alive; werebroiled on wooden gridirons, and thousands were thus wretchedlydestroyed. But as the number of Christians was not perceptiblylessened by these cruel punishments, they became tired of puttingthem to death, and attempts were then made to make the Christiansabandon their faith by the infliction of the most dreadful tormentswhich the most diabolical invention could suggest. The JapaneseChristians, however, endured these persecutions with a great deal ofsteadiness and courage; very few, in comparison with those whoremained steadfast in the faith, were the number of those who faintedunder the trials and abjured their religion. It is true that thesepeople possess, on such occasions, a stoicism and an intrepidity ofwhich no examples are to be met with in the bulk of other nations. Neither men nor women are afraid of death. Yet an uncommonsteadfastness in the faith must, at the same time, be requisite tocontinue in these trying circumstances. The intrepidity of the native converts was rivalled by the courage oftheir foreign teachers. Again and again these latter defied theJapanese authorities by visiting Japan--not for the first time butoccasionally even after having been deported. Contrary to the ordersof the governors of Macao and Manila, nay of the King of Spainhimself, the priests arrived, year after year, with the certainty ofbeing apprehended and sent to the stake after brief periods ofpropagandism. In 1626, when the campaign of persecution was at itsheight, more than three thousand converts were baptized by thesebrave priests, of whom none is known to have escaped death exceptthose that apostatized under torture, and they were very few, although not only could life be saved by abandoning the faith butalso ample allowances of money could be obtained from theauthorities. Anyone denouncing a propagandist received large reward, and the people were required to prove their orthodoxy by tramplingupon a picture of Christ. CONTINUATION OF THE FEUDS BETWEEN THE DUTCH AND THE PORTUGUESE While the above events were in progress, the disputes between theDutch, the Portuguese, and the Spaniards went on without cessation. In 1636, the Dutch discovered in a captured Portuguese vessel areport written by the governor of Macao, describing a festival whichhad just been held there in honour of Vieyra, who had been martyredin Japan. The Dutch transmitted this document to the Japanese "inorder that his Majesty may see more clearly what great honour thePortuguese pay to those he had forbidden his realm as traitors to theState and to his crown. " It does not appear that this accusationadded much to the resentment and distrust against the Portuguese. Atany rate, the Bakufu in Yedo took no step distinctly hostile toPortuguese laymen until the following year (1637), when an edict wasissued forbidding "any foreigners to travel in the empire lestPortuguese with passports bearing Dutch names might enter. " THE SHIMABARA REVOLT At the close of 1637, there occurred a rebellion, historically knownas the "Christian Revolt of Shimabara, " which put an end to Japan'sforeign intercourse for over two hundred years. The Gulf of Nagasakiis bounded on the west by the island of Amakusa and by the promontoryof Shimabara. In the early years of Jesuit propagandism in Japan, Shimabara and Amakusa had been the two most thoroughly Christianizedregions, and in later days they were naturally the scene of theseverest persecutions. Nevertheless, the people might have sufferedin silence, as did their fellow believers elsewhere, had they notbeen taxed beyond endurance to supply funds for an extravagantfeudatory. Japanese annalists, however, relegate the taxationgrievance to an altogether secondary place, and attribute the revoltsolely to the instigation of five samurai who led a roving life toavoid persecution for their adherence to Christianity. Whicheverversion be correct, it is certain that the outbreak attracted all theChristians from the surrounding regions, and was officially regardedas a Christian rising. The Amakusa insurgents passed over from thatisland to Shimabara, and on the 27th of January, 1638, the wholebody--numbering, according to some authorities, twenty thousandfighting men with thirteen thousand women and children; according toothers, little more than one-half of these figures--took possessionof the dilapidated castle of Kara, which stood on a plateau withthree sides descending one hundred feet perpendicularly to the seaand with a swamp on the fourth side. The insurgents fought under flags inscribed with red crosses andtheir battle cries were "Jesus, " "Maria, " and "St. Iago. " Theydefended the castle successfully against repeated assaults until the12th of April, when, their provisions and their ammunition alikebeing exhausted, they were overwhelmed and put to the sword, with theexception of 105 prisoners. During this siege the Dutch gavepractical proof of their enmity to the Christianity of the Spaniardsand Portuguese. For, the guns in the possession of the besiegersbeing too light to accomplish anything effective, application wasmade to Koeckebacker, the Dutch factor at Hirado, to lend shipscarrying heavier metal. He complied by despatching the De Ryp, andher twenty guns threw 426 shots into the castle in fifteen days. There has been handed down a letter carried by an arrow from thecastle to the besiegers. It was not an appeal for mercy but a simpleenumeration of reasons:-- "For the sake of our people we have now resorted to this castle. Youwill no doubt think that we have done this with the hope of takinglands and houses. Such is by no means the case. It is simply becauseChristianity is not tolerated as a distinct sect, which is well knownto you. Frequent prohibitions have been published by the shogun, toour great distress. Some among us there are who consider the hope offuture life as of the highest importance. For these there is noescape. Because they will not change their religion they incurvarious kinds of severe punishments, being inhumanly subjected toshame and extensive suffering, till at last for their devotion to theLord of Heaven, they are tortured to death. Others, even men ofresolution, solicitous for the sensitive body and dreading thetorture, have, while hiding their grief, obeyed the royal will andrecanted. Things continuing in this state, all the people have unitedin an uprising in an unaccountable and miraculous manner. Should wecontinue to live as heretofore and the above laws not be repealed, wemust incur all sorts of punishments hard to be endured; we must, ourbodies being weak and sensitive, sin against the infinite Lord ofHeaven and from solicitude for our brief lives incur the loss of whatwe highly esteem. These things fill us with grief beyond endurance. Hence we are in our present condition. It is not the result of acorrupt doctrine. " It seems probable that of the remaining Japanese Christians the greatbulk perished at the massacre of Kara. Thenceforth there were fewmartyrs, and though Christianity was not entirely extirpated inJapan, it survived only in remote places and by stealth. ENGRAVING: NANBAN BELL ENGRAVING: THE "KAIYO KWAN, " THE FIRST WARSHIP OF JAPAN (Built inHolland for the Tokugawa Feudal Government) CHAPTER XXXVIII THE TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE THE Tokugawa family traced its descent from Nitta Yoshishige of theMinamoto sept (the Seiwa Genji) who flourished at the beginning ofthe thirteenth century. His son's place of residence was at thevillage of Tokugawa in Kotsuke province: hence the name, Tokugawa. After a few generations, Chikauji, the then representative of thefamily, had to fly to the village of Matsudaira in Mikawa province, taking the name of Matsudaira. Gradually the family acquiredpossession of about one-half of Mikawa province, and in the seventhgeneration from Chikauji, the head of the house, Hirotada, crossingswords with Oda Nobuhide, father of Nobunaga, sought succour from theImagawa family, to which he sent his son, Ieyasu, with fifty otheryoung samurai as hostages. This was in 1547, Ieyasu being then in hisfifth year. On the way from Okazaki, which was the stronghold of Hirotada, theparty fell into the hands of Nobuhide's officers, and Ieyasu wasconfined in a temple where he remained until 1559, when he obtainedpermission to return to Okazaki, being then a vassal of the Imagawafamily. But when (1569) the Imagawa suffered defeat in the battle ofOkehazama, at the hands of Oda Nobunaga, Ieyasu allied himself withthe latter. In 1570, he removed to Hamamatsu, having subjugated theprovinces of Mikawa and Totomi. He was forty years old at the time ofNobunaga's murder, and it has been shown above that he espoused thecause of the Oda family in the campaign of Komak-yama. At forty-ninehe became master of the Kwanto and was in his fifty-sixth year whenHideyoshi died. Ieyasu had nine sons: (1) Nobuyasu; (2) Hideyasu(daimyo of Echizen); (3) Hidetada (second shoguri); (4) Tadayoshi(daimyo of Kiyosu); (5) Nobuyoshi (daimyo of Mito); (6) Tadateru(daimyo of Echigo); (7) Yoshinao (daimyo of Owari); (8) Yorinobu(daimyo of Kii), and (9) Yorifusa (daimyo of Mito). He had also threedaughters; the first married to Okudaira Masanobu; the second toIkeda Terumasa, and the third to Asano Nagaakira. EVENTS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE BATTLE OF SEKIGAHARA The political complications that followed the death of the Taiko areextremely difficult to unravel, and the result is not commensuratewith the trouble. Several annalists have sought to prove that Ieyasustrenuously endeavoured to observe faithfully the oath of loyaltymade by him to Hideyoshi on the latter's death-bed. They claim forhim that until his hands were forced he steadfastly and faithfullyworked in the interests of Hideyoshi. But his acts do not lendthemselves to any such interpretation. The best that can be said ofhim is that he believed himself to have been entrusted by the Taikowith discretionary power to determine the expediency of Hideyori'ssuccession, and that he exercised that power in the interests of theTokugawa family, not of the Toyotomi. Circumstances helped him as they do generally help great men. Fromthe time of the birth of the lady Yodo's second son, the officialworld in Kyoto had been divided into two factions. The Hidetsugucatastrophe accentuated the lines of division, and the Koreancampaign had a similar effect by affording a field for bitter rivalrybetween the forces of Konishi Yukinaga, who belonged to the Yodofaction, and Kato Kiyomasa, who was a protege of Hideyoshi's wife, Yae. Further fuel was added to this fire of antagonism when the orderwent forth that the army should leave Korea, for the Kato factionprotested against surrendering all the fruits of the campaign withoutany tangible recompense, and the Konishi party insisted that theTaiko's dying words must be obeyed implicitly. In this dispute, Ishida Katsushige, the chief actor in the Hidetsugu tragedy, took aprominent part. For, when in their capacity as belonging to the Boardof Five Administrators, Ishida and Asano Nagamasa were sent to Kyushuto superintend the evacuation of the Korean peninsula, they, too, fell into a controversy on the same subject. Ieyasu stood aloof fromboth parties. His policy was to let the feud develop and to step inhimself at the supreme moment. On the other hand, it was the aim of Ishida Katsushige to involve theTokugawa chief, thus compassing his downfall and opening an avenuefor the ascension of Ishida himself to the place of dictator. Alliedwith Ishida in this plot was his colleague on the Board of FiveAdministrators, Masuda Nagamori. Their method was to create enmitybetween Ieyasu and Maeda Toshiiye, to whom the Taiko had entrustedthe guardianship of Hideyori and of the Osaka Castle. This design wasbarely thwarted by the intervention of Hosokawa Tadaoki (ancestor ofthe present Marquis Hosokawa). Ieyasu was well informed as toIshida's schemes on two other occasions; the first immediatelybefore, the second just after, the death of the Taiko. In each caserumours of an armed outbreak were suddenly circulated in Fushimi forthe purpose of creating confusion such as might furnish anopportunity to strike suddenly at Ieyasu. These essays failed in bothinstances, and the Tokugawa chief, instead of retaliating by directimpeachment of Ishida, applied himself to cementing close relationswith certain great daimyo by matrimonial alliances. Such unions hadbeen implicitly interdicted by the Taiko, and the procedure of Ieyasuelicited a written protest from the boards of the Five SeniorMinisters and the Five Administrators. They threatened Ieyasu withdismissal from the former board unless he furnished a satisfactoryexplanation. This he declined to do and for some time a very strainedsituation existed in Kyoto, an armed struggle being ultimatelyaverted by the good offices of the Three Middle Ministers. It was evident, however, that the circumstances had become critical, and it was further evident that, as long as Ishida Katsushige'sintrigues continued, a catastrophe might at any moment beprecipitated. Sensible of these things, a party of loyal men, spokenof in history as the "seven generals"--Ikeda Terumasa (ancestor ofthe present Marquis Ikeda); Kato Kiyomasa; Kuroda Nagamasa (son ofKuroda Yoshitaka, and ancestor of the present Marquis Kuroda);Fukushima Masanori, Asano Yukinaga (son of Asano Nagamasa andancestor of the present Marquis Asano); Hosokawa Tadaoki, and KatoYoshiaki (ancestor of the present Viscount Kato)--vowed to takeIshida's life, while he was still in Osaka Castle, whither he hadgone (1599) to attend the death-bed of his friend, Maeda Toshiiye. Ishida, finding himself powerless to resist such a combination afterthe death of Maeda, took an extraordinary step; he appealed to theprotection of Ieyasu--that is to say, to the protection of the veryman against whom all his plots had been directed. And Ieyasuprotected him. We are here confronted by a riddle which has never been clearlyinterpreted. Why did Ishida seek asylum from Ieyasu whom he hadpersistently intrigued to overthrow, and why did Ieyasu, having fullknowledge of these intrigues, grant asylum? Possibly an answer to theformer question can be furnished by the fact that Ishida was in sorestraits. Attending Maeda Toshiiye's death-bed, he had seen thepartisans of the deceased baron transfer their allegiance to Ieyasuthrough the intervention of Hosokawa Tadaoki, and he had learned thathis own life was immediately threatened by the seven generals. Evenif he succeeded (which was very problematical) in escaping from Osakato his own castle of Sawa-yama, in Omi province, the respite couldhave been but brief and such a step would have been equivalent toabandoning the political arena. Only a very strong arm could savehim, and with consummate insight he may have appreciated the Tokugawachief's unreadiness to precipitate a crucial struggle by consentingto his death. But what is to be said of Ieyasu? Unwilling to admit that hisastuteness could ever have been at fault, some historians allege thatthe Tokugawa chief saved Ishida's life with the deliberate purpose ofletting him discredit himself and his partisans by continuedintrigues. These annalists allege, in fact, that Ieyasu, acting onthe advice of Honda Masanobu, by whose profound shrewdness he waslargely guided, saved the life of Ishida in order that the latter'ssubsequent intrigues might furnish a pretext for destroying Hideyori. That, however, is scarcely conceivable, for Ishida had many powerfulconfederates, and the direct outcome of the leniency shown by Ieyasuon that occasion was an armed struggle from which he barely emergedvictorious. The truth seems to be that, for all his profound wisdom, Ieyasu erred in this instance. Ishida Kotsushige outwitted him. For, during the very days of his asylum in Fushimi, under the protectionof Ieyasu, Ishida opened secret communication with Uesugi Kagekatsuand invited him to strike at the Tokugawa. Uesugi consented. It mustbe observed that the character of Ishida has been portrayed forposterity mainly by historians who were under Tokugawa influence. Modern and impartial annalists are by no means so condemnatory intheir judgment of the man. In whatever arts of deception Ishidaexcelled, Ieyasu was at least his equal; while in the matter ofloyalty to the Toyotomi family, Ishida's conduct compares favourablywith that of the Tokugawa leader; and if we look at the men whoattached themselves to Ishida's cause and fought by his side, we areobliged to admit that he must have been highly esteemed by hiscontemporaries, or, at any rate, that they recognized in him thechampion of Hideyori, at whose father's hands they had received suchbenefits. ORGANIZATION OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE AT THE CLOSE OF THE SIXTEENTHCENTURY The realm of Japan was then held by 214 feudatories, each having anannual income of at least 10, 000 koku (omitting minor landowners). These 214 estates yielded to their holders a total income of nearlynineteen million koku, and of that aggregate the domains of the fivenoblemen forming the Board of Senior Statesmen constituted one-third. Tokugawa Ieyasu was the wealthiest. His domains in the eightprovinces forming the Kwanto yielded an income of 2, 557, 000 koku. Next on the list came Mori Terumoto with 2, 205, 000 koku, and UesugiKagekatsu with 1, 200, 000 koku. The latter two were partisans ofIshida. But direct communication between their forces was difficult, for while the Mori domains covered the nine provinces on the extremewest of the main island, Uesugi's lay on the north of the Kwanto, whence they stretched to the shore of the Japan Sea. Fourth and fifthon the Board of Senior Statesmen were Maeda Toshiiye, whose fief(835, 000 koku) occupied Kaga and Etchu; and Ukita Hideiye (574, 000koku), whose castle stood at Oka-yama, in Bizen. All these, exceptMaeda embraced the anti-Tokugawa cause of Ishida Katsushige, and itthus becomes easy to understand the desire of Ishida to win overMaeda Toshinaga, son of Toshiiye, to his camp. On the side ofIeyasu's foes were also marshalled Shimazu Yoshihisa, feudal chief ofSatsuma (700, 000 koku); Satake Yoshinobu of Hitachi province (545, 700koku); Konishi Yukinaga in Higo (200, 000 koku), who was counted oneof the greatest captains of the era, and, nominally, KohayakawaHideaki in Chikuzen (522, 500 koku). With Ieyasu were the powerfuldaimyo: Date Masamune of Sendai (580, 000 koku); Kato Kiyomasa ofKumamoto (250, 000 koku); Hosokawa Tadaoki of Tango (230, 000 koku);Ikeda Terumasa of Mikawa (152, 000 koku), and Kuroda Nagamasa ofChikuzen (250, 000 koku). This analysis omits minor names. BATTLE OF SEKIGAHARA The plan of campaign formed by Ishida and his confederates was thatUesugi and Satake should attack the Kwanto from the north and theeast simultaneously, while Mori and Ukita should move against Fushimiand occupy Kyoto. In May, 1600, Ieyasu went through the form ofrequiring Uesugi to repair to Kyoto and explain his obviouslydisaffected preparations. The reply sent by Uesugi was defiant. Therefore, the Tokugawa chief proceeded to mobilize his own and hisallies' forces. He seems to have clearly foreseen that if he himselfmoved eastward to Yedo, Momo-yama would be assaulted in his absence. But it being necessary to simulate trust in Mori and Ukita, thennominally his supporters, he placed in Momo-yama Castle a garrison ofonly two thousand men under his old and staunch friend, ToriiMototada. Ieyasu planned that Uesugi should be attackedsimultaneously from five directions; namely from Sendai by Date; fromKaga by Maeda; from Dewa by Mogami; from Echigo by Hori, and fromHitachi by Satake. But among these five armies that of Satakedeclared for Ishida, while those of Maeda and Hori were constrainedto adopt a defensive attitude by the menace of hostile barons intheir vicinity, and thus it fell out that Date and Mogami aloneoperated effectively in the cause of Ieyasu. The Tokugawa chief himself lost no time in putting his troops inmotion for Yedo, where, at the head of some sixty thousand men, hearrived in August, 1600, his second in command being his third son, Hidetada. Thence he pushed rapidly northward with the intention ofattacking Uesugi. But at Oyama in Shimotsuke news reached him thatIshida and his partisans had drawn the sword in the west, and hadseized Osaka, together with the wives and families of several of thecaptains who were with Ieyasu's army. A council was immediately heldand these captains were given the option of continuing to serve underIeyasu or retiring to join the western army and thus ensuring thesafety of their own families. They chose the former, and the councilfurther decided that, leaving Date and Mogami to deal with Uesugi andSatake, and posting for the same purpose at Utsunomiya, Hideyasu, second son of Ieyasu, the main army should countermarch to meet thewestern forces at some point remote from Yedo. The Tokugawa battalions, following two routes--the Tokaido and theNakasendo--made rapid progress westward, and on September 21st, thevan of the division under Fukushima and Ikeda reached Kiyosu. But theNakasendo column of thirty-eight thousand men under Hidetadaencountered such desperate resistance before the castle of Ueda, atthe hands of Sanada Masayuki, that it did not reach Sekigahara untilthe great battle was over. Meanwhile, the western army had pushedsteadily eastward. Its first exploit was to capture and burn theMomo-yama castle, which was splendidly defended by the veteran ToriiMototada, then in his sixty-second year. With a garrison of only twothousand men he held at bay during eleven days an investing force offorty thousand. The torch was set to the castle on the 8th ofSeptember by traitors in the garrison, and Mototada committedsuicide. Thereafter, the van of the western army advanced to Gifualong the Nakasendo, and the main body, making a detour through Ise, ultimately pushed forward into Mino. With this army were no less than forty-three generals of renown, andthe number of feudal barons, great and small, who sent troops toswell its ranks was thirty-one. Undoubtedly these barons werepartially influenced by the conception generally prevalent that thefortunes of the two great families of Toyotomi and Tokugawa dependedon the issue of this struggle. But it must also be admitted that hadIshida Katsushige been as black as the Tokugawa historians paint him, he could never have served for the central figure of such an array. He is seen inciting the besiegers of Momo-yama Castle to theirsupreme and successful effort. He is seen winning over to theToyotomi cause baron after baron. He is seen leading the advance ofthe western army's van. And he is seen fighting to the end in thegreat battle which closed the campaign. Some heroic qualities musthave accompanied his gift of statesmanship. The nominal leader of thewestern army, which mustered 128, 000 strong, was Mori Terumoto, andunder him were ranged Ukita Hideiye, Mori Hidemoto, ShimazuYoshihiro, Konishi Yukinaga, and many other captains of repute. Underthe Tokugawa banners there marched 75, 000 men, their van led by IiNaomasa and Honda Tadakatsu. On October 21, 1600, the great battle of Sekigahara was fought. Thestrategy on the side of the western forces was excellent. Their unitswere disposed along a crescent-shaped line recessed from the enemy, so that an attacking army, unless its numerical strength was greatlysuperior, had to incur the risk of being enveloped from bothflanks--a risk much accentuated by the fact that these flankingtroops occupied high ground. But on the side of the western armythere was a feature of weakness which no strategy could remove: allthe battalions constituting the right wing were pledged to espousethe cause of Ieyasu at the crisis of the struggle. There were six ofthese battalions, large or small, and they were commanded by Akakura, Ogawa, Kuchiki, Wakizaka, Kohayakawa, and Kikkawa. Thus, not onlywere the eastern troops able to deliver their attack in full forceagainst the centre and left of their foes, but also the latter wereexposed to the most demoralizing of all eventualities, treachery. After a fierce fight the western army was completely defeated. Someaccounts put its losses at 35, 000 men; others, with greaterprobability, estimating that only 100, 000 men were actually engagedon both sides--namely, 60, 000 on the Tokugawa side, and 40, 000 on theToyotomi--conclude that the losses were 6000 and 9000, respectively. Shimazu of Satsuma, at the head of a handful of samurai, cut his waythrough the lines of Ieyasu, and reaching Osaka, embarked hastily forKyushu. Ishida Katsushige lay concealed in a cave for a few days, butwas ultimately seized and beheaded, in company with Konishi Yukinagaand Ankokuji Ekei, at the execution ground in Kyoto. This one battleended the struggle: there was no rally. Punishment followed quicklyfor the feudatories who had fought against the Tokugawa. Thus MoriTerumoto's domain, originally covering eight provinces and yielding arevenue of 1, 205, 000 koku, was reduced to the two provinces of Suwoand Nagato, yielding 300, 000 koku. The three provinces of UkitaHideiye were entirely forfeited, and he himself was banished to theisland Hachijoshima. Oda Hidenobu, grandson of Nobunaga, MasudaNagamori, and Sanada Masayuki, with his son, were ordered to take thetonsure and retire to the monastery of Koya-san. The fief of UesugiKagekatsu was reduced from 1, 200, 000 koku in Aizu to 300, 000 koku inYonezawa; and the 800, 000 koku of the Satake family in Hitachi wereexchanged for 200, 000 koku in Akita. Only the Shimazu family ofSatsuma remained without loss. Secured by inaccessibility, itcontinued to hold the provinces of Satsuma, Osumi, and Hyuga, with arevenue of 700, 000 koku. REDISTRIBUTION OF THE FIEFS These measures represented only a fraction of the readjustments theneffected. Ieyasu, following the example, set on a small scale by theTaiko, parcelled out the country in such a manner as to providesecurity against future trouble. Dividing the feudatories intohereditary vassals (fudai no kerai) and exterior nobles (tozama), heassigned to the former small but greatly increased estates situatedso as to command the main highways as well as the great cities ofcentral Japan, and he located the exterior nobles--many of them withlargely reduced domains--in districts remote not only from Yedo andKyoto but also from each other, wherever such method of distributionwas possible. Moreover, in the most important places--as Osaka, Fushimi, Sakai, Nagasaki, Yamada (in Ise), and Sado (the gold mines), there were appointed administrators (bugyo), direct nominees of theTokugawa; while Kyoto was put under the sway of a deputy of theshogun (shoshidai). Again, although the tozama daimyo receivedtolerably munificent treatment in the matter of estates, theirresources were seriously crippled by the imposition of costly publicworks. These works consisted mainly of restoring dilapidated castlesor building new ones on a scale so colossal as to be exceeded by onlythe stronghold at Osaka. It is recorded that when Fukushima Masanori, lord of Kiyosu in Owari, complained of the crippling effects of thesesevere requisitions, Kato Kiyomasa told him that there was noalternative except to retire to his castle and defy Yedo. The mostcostly of the edifices that came into existence in thesecircumstances was the castle of Nagoya, which is still one of thewonders of Japan. Twenty great barons took part in erecting it; theleading artists of the time were engaged in its interior decoration, and the roof of its donjon was crowned with, two gold dolphins, measuring nearly nine feet in height. IEYASU BECOMES SHOGUN On the 28th of March, 1603, the Emperor nominated Ieyasu to beminister of the Right and sei-i tai-shogun, presenting to him at thesame time the conventional ox-chariot and military baton. Nine dayslater, the Tokugawa chief repaired to the palace to return thanks forthese honours. The Emperor with his own hands gave him thedrinking-cup and expressed profound gratification that through hismilitary skill the wars which had convulsed the nation were ended, and the foundations of the empire's peace securely laid. Ieyasu wasthen in his sixty-second year. In the following May, Hideyori wasmade nai-daijin, and in the same month a marriage was contractedbetween him, then in his eleventh year, and Tenju-in, theseven-year-old daughter of Hidetada, son and successor of Ieyasu. YEDO AND KYOTO Ieyasu now took up his residence at Momo-yama Castle and Hidetada wasordered to live in Yedo. But the former made it a custom to goeastward every autumn on the pretext of enjoying the sport offalconry, and to remain in Yedo until the next spring. In February, 1605, the Tokugawa chief's return to Kyoto from the Kwanto capitalwas made the occasion of a great military display. Both Ieyasu andHidetada travelled at the same time with a following of 170, 000soldiers, who were encamped outside the city whence they marched in, ten thousand daily, during seventeen consecutive days. This martialparade is said to have produced a great effect upon the nobles of theKinai and the western provinces. But Ieyasu did not long retain theoffice of shogun. In 1605, he conveyed to the Imperial Court hisdesire to be relieved of military functions, in favour of his sonHidetada, and the Emperor at once consented, so that Hidetadasucceeded to all the offices of his father, and Ieyasu retired to thecastle of Sumpu, the capital of Suruga. His income was thenceforthreduced to 120, 000 koku annually, derived from estates in theprovinces of Mino, Ise, and Omi. But this retirement was in formrather than in fact. All administrative affairs, great or small, weremanaged in Sumpu, the shogun in Yedo exercising merely the power ofsanction. Ieyasu made, frequent journeys to Yedo under the pretext ofhawking but in reality for government purposes. THE YEDO BAKUFU It was on the 30th of August, 1590, that Ieyasu made his first formalentry into Yedo from Sumpu. Yedo Castle had previously been occupiedby an agent of the Hojo clan. It was very small, and its surroundingsconsisted of barren plains and a few fishing villages. On thenorthwest was the moor of Musashi, and on the southeast a forest ofreeds marked the littoral of Yedo Bay. The first task that devolvedupon Ieyasu was the reclamation of land for building purposes. Somesubstantial work was done, yet the place did not suggest any fitnessfor the purpose of an administrative centre, and not until the battleof Sekigahara placed him in command of immense resources, did Ieyasudecide to make Yedo his capital. He then had large recourse to labourrequisitioned from the feudatories. By these means hills werelevelled, swamps reclaimed, and embankments built, so that the wholeaspect of the region was changed, and sites were provided for theresidences of various barons and for the establishment of shops andstores whose owners flocked to the new city from Osaka, Kyoto, andother towns. Thereafter, a castle of colossal dimensions, exceedingeven the Osaka fortress in magnitude and magnificence, was rapidlyconstructed, the feudatories being required to supply labour andmaterials in a measure which almost overtaxed their resources. Historians differ as to the exact date of the establishment of theYedo Bakufu, but the best authorities are agreed that the event shouldbe reckoned from the battle of Sekigahara, since then, for the firsttime, the administrative power came into the hand of the Tokugawabaron, he having previously been simply the head of a boardinstituted by the Taiko. There can be no doubt, that in choosing Yedofor his capital, Ieyasu was largely guided by the example of Yoritomoand by the experience of the Ashikaga. Kamakura had been a success assignal as Muromachi had been a failure. In the former, Ieyasu hadmuch to imitate; in the latter, much to avoid. We have seen that hedistributed the estates of the feudatories so as to create a systemautomatically unfavourable to disturbance, in which contrivance heborrowed and extended the ideas of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi. It remainsto note that what Hojo Tokimasa and Oye Hiromoto were to MinamotoYoritomo as advisers and organizers, and what Ashikaga Tadayoshi andKono Moronao were to Ashikaga Takauji in the same roles, such, also, were Honda Masanobu and Honda Masazumi to Tokugawa Ieyasu. HIDEYORI AND IEYASU In May, 1605, Hideyori was nominated u-daijin. At that time thenation was divided pretty evenly into two factors; one obedient tothe Tokugawa, the other disposed to await Hideyori's coming of age, which event was expected to restore the authority of the Toyotomifamily. Fukushima Masanori and Kato Kiyomasa were the mostenthusiastic believers in the latter forecast. Up to that time Ieyasuhad not given any definite indication of the attitude he intended toassume towards the Taiko's heir. It was not till the year 1611 thathe found an opportunity of forming a first-hand estimate ofHideyori's character. He then had a meeting with the latter at NijoCastle, and is said to have been much struck with the bearing andintelligence of Hideyori. In fact, whereas common report had spokenin very disparaging terms of the young man's capacities--Hideyori wasthen seventeen years old--the Tokugawa chief found a dignified andalert lad whose aspect suggested that if he was suffered to remain inpossession of Osaka a few years longer, Yedo would run the risk ofbeing relegated to a secondary place. Ieyasu after that interview is said to have felt like "a man who, having still a long distance to travel, finds himself enveloped indarkness. " He saw that the time for considering justice and humanityhad passed, and he summoned Honda Masanobu to whom he said: "I seethat Hideyori is grown up to be a son worthy of his father. By and byit will be difficult for such a man to remain subservient toanother. " Masanobu, whom history describes as the "Tokugawa'sstorehouse of wisdom, " is recorded to have replied: "So I, too, think, but there is no cause for anxiety. I have an idea. " What thisidea was events soon disclosed. Summoning one of the officials in theservice of Hideyori's wife--Hidetada's daughter--Masanobu spoke asfollows: "Hideyori is the only son of the late Taiko and it is thedesire of the O-gosho" (the title given to Ieyasu after hisretirement from the shogunate) "that he, Hideyori, should have anumerous and thriving family. Therefore, if any woman takes hisfancy, she must be enrolled among his attendants to whatever classshe may belong. Moreover, if there be among these ladies any who showjealousies or make disturbances, no complaint need be preferred tothe O-gosho. I will undertake to settle the matter. " From that time Hideyori lived among women. A word may here be saidabout the marriage between Hideyori and the granddaughter of Ieyasu, the bride and the bridegroom alike being mere children. According toa recognized historical authority, writing in the Tokugawa Jidaishi, such marriages were inspired by one or more of the following motives:(1) that the bride or bridegroom should serve as a hostage; (2) thatthe wedding should contribute to cement an alliance between thefamilies of the bride and the bridegroom; (3) that the wedding shouldbecome a means of spying into the affairs of one of the families; (4)that it should be an instrument for sowing seeds of enmity betweenthe two families. The objects of Ieyasu in wedding his granddaughterat seven years of age to Hideyori at eleven were doubtless of thenature indicated in the third and fourth of the above definitions. Onthe one hand, he seemed to the Osaka party to be conforming to thewill of the Taiko; on the other, he was able to introduce into thehousehold of Hideyori an unlimited number of spies among the retinueof his granddaughter. KATAGIRI KATSUMOTO Just before his death, Hideyoshi specially conjured Koide Hidemasaand Katagiri Katsumoto to labour for the safety of the Toyotomifamily. Hidemasa soon followed his patron to the grave, and the dutyof managing the affairs of the family devolved entirely uponKatsumoto in his capacity of administrator (bugyo). He devotedhimself to the task with the utmost sincerity and earnestness, and hemade it the basic principle of his policy to preserve harmony betweenthe Tokugawa and the Toyotomi. His belief was that Ieyasu had notmany years more to live, and that on his demise the administrativepower would revert wholly to Hideyori as a natural consequence. Hencethe wisest course was to avoid any collision in the meanwhile. THE OATH OF FEALTY On the 14th of May, 1601, that is to say, shortly after the battle ofSekigahara, all the feudatories were invited to subscribe a writtenoath of loyalty to the Tokugawa. This oath consisted of threearticles. The first was a promise to observe strictly allinstructions issued by the Bakufu in Yedo. The second was anengagement not to harbour or protect any person who had eitherviolated or opposed the will of the shogun. The third was a pledgenot to give employment to any samurai reported to be a traitor or anassassin. By these stipulations the signatories swore to abidestrictly, and declared that any violation of the provisions of theoath would render the violator liable to severe punishment. Among thesignatories there were not found any members of the Osaka party. These put forward the last will of the Taiko as a reason for refusingto sign, and from that time it became evident that the situation mustterminate in an armed struggle. ONO HARUNAGA Among the Osaka partisans was one called Ono Harunaga, the son of thelady Yodo's nurse. This youth led a life of great profligacy, andalthough not wanting in any of the attributes of the samurai, healtogether lacked political insight. Thus, his relations withKatsumoto were strained, and Harunaga constantly essayed to undermineKatsumoto's influence. Hideyori himself did not want for ability, butacting by the advice of his mother, Yodo, and of his friend, Harunaga, he adopted a false policy of opposition to Ieyasu. STATE OF OSAKA The fact that the feudatories who called themselves friends of theOsaka party had refused to sign the oath of fealty, and the fact thatthe lady Yodo and Harunaga threw their influence into theanti-Tokugawa scale, had the effect of isolating Osaka so far as thelaws of the Bakufu were concerned. Men who had broken those laws orotherwise offended against the shogun took refuge in Osaka. Such wasthe case with the son of Hosokawa Tadaoki; with Goto Matabei, chiefvassal of Kuroda Nagamasa, and with Nambu Saemon, principal retainerof Nambu Nobunao. These three and many others repaired to the castleof Osaka, and being there secure against any unarmed attempt of theTokugawa to arrest them, they virtually defied Ieyasu's control. Bydegrees a constant stream of ronin, or free-lances, flowed into thatcity, and a conspicuous element among its inhabitants consisted ofChristian feudatories, who, regardless of the edicts of the Bakufu, openly preached their faith and were in no wise checked by theToyotomi rulers. Even the Buddhist and Shinto priests in Osaka andits territories were independent of the Bakufu authority, and therewere cases of boundary disputes in which the Tokugawa officialsdeclined to give judgment since they were not in a position toenforce it. It may well be supposed that this state of affairs grewsteadily more obnoxious to the Tokugawa. Ieyasu only awaited apretext to assert the supremacy of his authority. INSCRIPTION ON THE BELL It has already been stated that, in the year 1586, a colossal imageof Buddha was erected by Hideyoshi at the Hoko-ji in Kyoto. This idolwas made of wood, and the great earthquake of 1596 destroyed it. Subsequently, Ieyasu advised Hideyori to replace the wooden idol witha bronze one. Ono Harunaga stood opposed to this idea, but KatagiriKatsumoto, constant to his policy of placating Ieyasu, threw hisinfluence into the other scale. It is impossible to tell whether, inmaking this proposal, Ieyasu had already conceived the extraordinaryscheme which he ultimately carried out. It would appear moreprobable, however, that his original policy was merely to impoverishthe Toyotomi family by imposing upon it the heavy outlay necessaryfor constructing a huge bronze Buddha. Many thousands of ryo had tobe spent, and the money was obtained by converting into coin a numberof gold ingots in the form of horses, which Hideyoshi had stored inthe treasury of the Osaka castle as a war fund. Five years later, that is to say, in 1614, the great image was completed and animposing ceremony of dedication was organized. A thousand priestswere to take part, and all the people in the capital, as well as manyfrom the surrounding provinces, assembled to witness the magnificentfete. Suddenly an order was issued in the name of Ieyasu, interdicting the consummation of the ceremony on the ground that theinscription carried by the bell for the idol's temple was designedlytreasonable to the Tokugawa. This inscription had been composed andwritten by a high Buddhist prelate, Seikan, reputed to be one of thegreatest scholars and most skilful calligraphists of his time. It was inconceivable that such a man should err flagrantly in the useof the ideographic script. Ieyasu, however, despatched to Kyoto tworival prelates, Soden and Tengai, with instructions to convoke ameeting of the priests of the Five Temples and invite them to expressan opinion about the inscription. Soden held the post ofadministrator of temples. This placed him officially at the head ofall the other priests, and thus the opinions he expressed at theinstance of Ieyasu possessed special weight. It was in vain thatSeikan repudiated all intention of disrespect and pointed out thatthe inscription did not for a moment lend itself to theinterpretation read into it by the Tokugawa chief. Only one priest, Kaizan of Myoshin-ji, had sufficient courage to oppose Soden's view, and the cause of the Tokugawa chief triumphed. Without a full knowledge of the Chinese ideographic script it isimpossible to clearly understand either the charges preferred by theTokugawa or the arguments employed in rebuttal. Western readers may, however, confidently accept the unanimous verdict of all modernscholars, that the interpretation assigned to the inscription in thefirst place by the Tokugawa officials, and in the second by HayashiDoshun, representing the Confucianists, and Soden and Tengai, representing the Buddhists, was grossly unreasonable. That manyexperts should be found to range themselves on the side of a ruler sopowerful as Ieyasu was not wonderful, but it says little for themoral independence of the men of the time that only one Buddhistpriest among many thousand had the courage to withhold his consent toa judgment which outraged truth and justice. Naturally the news of the decision threw Osaka into a state of greatexcitement. Lady Yodo hastened to despatch to Sumpu her principallady-in-waiting, Okura-no-Tsubone, accompanied by another dame of thechamber. These two were received by Acha-no-Tsubone at the court ofIeyasu, and through her they conveyed fervent apologies to theTokugawa chief. Ieyasu treated the whole matter lightly. He grantedan interview to the two ladies from Osaka and sent them on to Yedo tovisit the wife of Hidetada, the lady Yodo's younger sister. The Osakadeputies naturally drew favourable inferences from this courteousmood, and taking an opportunity to refer to the affair of theinscription on the bell, elicited from Ieyasu an assurance that thematter need not be regarded with concern. Not for a moment suspecting any deception, Okura-no-Tsubone and hercompanion took their way to Osaka. On the other hand, Honda Masanobuand the priest, Tengai, were instructed to inform Katsumoto that theumbrage of Ieyasu was deeply roused, and that some very strongmeasure would be necessary to restore the Bakufu's confidence inHideyori. Katsumoto vainly sought some definite statement as to thenature of the reparation required. He was merely told to answer thequestion himself. He accordingly proposed one of three courses, namely, that the lady Yodo should be sent to Yedo as a hostage; thatHideyori should leave Osaka and settle at some other castle; or, finally, that he should acknowledge himself a vassal of the Tokugawa. To these proposals the only reply that could be elicited from Ieyasuwas that Yodo and her son should choose whichever course theypleased, and, bearing that answer, the disquieting import of which hewell understood, Katsumoto set out from Sumpu for Osaka. Travellingrapidly, he soon overtook Okwra-no-Tsubone and explained to her theevents and their import. But the lady was incredulous. She was moreready to suspect Katsumoto's sincerity than to believe that Ieyasuhad meant to deceive her. Had Katsumoto been free to continue his journey to Osaka, reaching itin advance of Okura-no-Tsubone's party, the result might have beendifferent. But Ieyasu did not contemplate any such sequence ofevents. He instructed Itakura Katsushige to invite Katsumoto to callat Kyoto on the way to Osaka with the object of discussing animportant affair. Katsumoto had no choice but to delay his journey, and Katsushige took care that the delay should be long enough toafford time for Okura-no-Tsubone's party to reach Osaka, and topresent their report, together with their suspicions of Katsumoto'sdisloyalty. Lady Yodo was incensed when she learned the terms that Katsumoto hadoffered. "I am Hideyori's mother, " she is reported to have cried. "Iwill never bend my knee to the Kwanto. Rather will I and my son makethis castle our death-pillow. " Then, with Ono Harunaga, she formed aplot to kill Katsumoto and to draw the sword against the Tokugawa. Subsequently, when Katsumoto returned to Osaka and reported theresult of his mission, he stated his conviction that the only exitfrom the dilemma was one of the three courses indicated above. Yodogimi, on being informed of this opinion, intimated her desire tosee Katsumoto. But when the day named for the meeting came andKatsumoto was on the point of leaving his residence for the purposeof repairing to the conference, he received information that theintention was to kill him en route. He therefore fled to his domainin the remote province of Ibaraki. It is recorded that Katsumoto'splan was to offer to send Yodo as a hostage to Yedo. Then thequestion would arise as to a place of residence for her in theeastern capital, and the processes of preparing a site and building ahouse were to be supplemented by accidental conflagrations, so thatthe septuagenarian, Ieyasu, might easily pass away before the actualtransfer of the hostage took place. Such was Katsumoto's device, buthe had to flee from Osaka before he could carry it into effect. THE SIEGE OF OSAKA CASTLE In the year 1614, Ieyasu issued orders for the attack of OsakaCastle, on the ground that Katsumoto's promise had not beenfulfilled. The Tokugawa chief set out from Sumpu and his son, Hidetada, from Yedo. Their armies, combined with the forces ofseveral of the feudatories, are said to have aggregated one hundredand fifty thousand men. In Osaka, also, a great host was assembled, and among its leaders were several renowned warriors, includingSanada Yukimura, Goto Matabei, Hanawa Naotsugu, and others, who, although not originally vassals of the Toyotomi, supported Hideyoriloyally. As for the castle, its enormous strength rendered itwell-nigh impregnable, and after weeks of effort the Tokugawa forceshad nothing to show for their repeated attacks except a long list ofcasualties. Ieyasu now had recourse to intrigue. The mother of Kyogoku Takatsugu, daimyo of Obama, in Wakasa, was the younger sister of the lady Yodo. Ieyasu induced her to open communications with Yodo, and to representto the latter the advisability of concluding peace with the Tokugawainstead of remaining perpetually beleaguered in a fortress, thusmerely postponing an end which could not be finally averted. Acouncil was convened in the castle to consider this advice. Opinionswere divided. Some held that Ieyasu could not be believed, and thatif the struggle were maintained for a few years, the face of affairsmight change radically. Others urged that the loyalty of the garrisonwas not above suspicion, and that if the fight went on much longer, treachery might be practised, to which risk a speedy peace, even atsome cost, would be preferable. Ono Harunaga was among the advocatesof surrender, but Hideyori himself showed that his character had notbeen mistaken by Ieyasu. He indignantly reminded Harunaga and thelatter's fellow thinkers that arms had been taken up by their adviceand in opposition to the loyal efforts of Katsumoto in the cause ofpeace. Lady Yodo, however, threw her influence into the scale with OnoHarunaga, and finally peace was concluded on terms highly favourableto the Toyotomi. It was agreed that Hideyori should remain in thepossession of the castle and of all his domains, and that thegarrison, as well as the unattached samurai who formed part of it, should not be punished but should be provided for subsequently. Itmight have occurred to the leaders of the Osaka party that theselenient conditions covered some occult designs; nothing was lesslikely than that a statesman like Ieyasu would be content with sosignal a failure. But a short-sighted sentiment of confidence seemsto have obscured the judgment of the Osaka folks. They actually gaveheed to Ieyasu's complaint that he, the o-gosho, and his son, theshogun, must not be allowed to have taken so much trouble fornothing; that it was customary to give hostages to an army whichagreed to raise a siege, and that at least a portion of the castle'sdefences should be destroyed. As to the last point, the Tokugawachief was kind enough to say that the work of demolition should notcost the garrison anything, since labour would be supplied gratis bythe shoguni. After considerable correspondence it was agreed that Harunaga's sonshould go to Yedo as a hostage, and that a portion of the outer moatof Osaka Castle should be filled up. Ieyasu did not lose a moment ingiving effect to this latter provision. He ordered some of the fudaidaimyo of the Kwanto to proceed to Osaka with several thousands ofmen, who should go to work forthwith to tear down the parapets andfill up the moats of the castle. These orders were implicitly obeyed, and as Ieyasu had omitted to indicate any limit for the work ofdestruction, it went on without check, and presently the second lineof parapets began to follow the first. The Osaka leaders protestedand essayed to stay the destruction. But the officers who were incommand of the operation said that without a direct message fromHonda Masazumi, who represented Ieyasu, they could not suspend theirtask. Efforts were then made to approach Honda, but he wasconveniently absent "on account of his health, " and the ensuingcorrespondence occupied several days, during which the pulling-downand filling-up went on by day and by night. More than one-half of thesecond moat had disappeared before Masazumi could be found. Hisanswer was that he had been merely told to fill up the moat. Possiblyhe had mistaken the scope of his instructions and he would refer thematter to Ieyasu. This involved further delay and more filling, until, finally, Masazumi acknowledged that he had made a mistake, declared himself prepared to undergo punishment, and withdrew his mento Fushimi. Ieyasu supplied the sequel of the farce. When complaint was madeagainst Masazumi, the Tokugawa leader simulated astonishment, expressed much regret, and said that he would condemn Masazumi tocommit suicide were it permissible to mar this happy occasion by anycapital sentence. "Peace, " declared the astute old statesman, "hasnow been fortunately concluded. Let us not talk any more about thecastle's moats or parapets. " Against such an attitude the Osaka mencould not enter any protest, and the farce ended there. Had the Osakaleaders possessed any measure of the wisdom that marked all thedoings of Ieyasu, they would not have suffered matters to rest atsuch a stage. But they foolishly imagined that some retaliation mightbe effected by calling upon the Tokugawa to supplement that part ofthe peace provisions which related to allowances for the samurai whohad fought on the side of the garrison. A demand in that sense waspreferred to Ieyasu. But he had now laid aside his transient suavity. The Osaka people were brusquely informed that they must look to theToyotomi family for recompense, and that as for rewarding unattachedsamurai who had drawn the sword against the shogun, the Osaka people, were they obedient to the dictates of loyalty, would of their ownaccount peremptorily reject such an unwarranted proposition, eventhough Ieyasu himself were disposed to consent to it. Of course this answer profoundly enraged the Osaka party. Theyappreciated for the first time that they had been deceivedthroughout, and that by a series of adroit manoeuvres they had beenremoved from an almost impregnable position to a practically helplessplight. Not a few turned their backs on the castle, but a greatmajority determined to renew the conflict and to die at their posts. The circumstances, however, had now undergone a radical change. Thecastle had been converted from the strongest fortress in Japan into amere semblance of strength, and no garrison, however brave andhowever resolute, could have defended it successfully against theforces that the Tokugawa were able to marshal. As for Ieyasu, he knew that his task had been immensely lightened. Onthe 3rd of May, 1615, he started from Sumpu for Osaka at the head ofan army numbering scarcely one-third of the force previously ledagainst the castle. Nevertheless, one contingency presented itself ina dangerous light. It was always possible that Hideyori himselfshould make a sortie from the fortress, and, in that event, theprestige attaching to the memory of his father, Hideyoshi, might havedemoralized a large section of the Tokugawa troops. To avert thisdanger, Ieyasu had recourse to his wonted methods of deception. Ithas been shown that he held Harunaga's son, as a hostage. This youthwas required to write a letter to his father stating that collusionexisted between parties within and without the fortress, and that thetraitors had plotted to induce Hideyori to make a sortie, whereuponthe castle would be given up and Hideyori would be delivered into thehands of his enemies. Harunaga does not appear to have entertainedany doubt as to the trustworthiness of this letter. He carried ithastily to Hideyori, who was in the act of preparing to sally out ofthe castle and throw himself upon the beleaguering forces. The receipt of the letter naturally led to a change of plan, andalthough desperate fighting subsequently took place, the castle wasfinally set on fire by traitors and its fate was seen to be hopeless. Hideyori's wife, granddaughter of Ieyasu, repaired to the Tokugawaheadquarters to plead for the life of her husband and his mother. ButIeyasu was inexorable. He granted asylum to his granddaughter, butreplied to her prayer by ordering a renewal of the attack upon thecastle. On June 4th, Hideyori committed suicide, and his mother, Yodo, was killed by one of his retainers. Some thirty men and womenkilled themselves at the same time. Men spoke of the first fruitless assault upon the castle as the"Winter Campaign, " and of the second and successful assault asthe "Summer Campaign. " But the two operations were radicallydifferent in their character. For, whereas in the first assault thegarrison--numbering something like one hundred and eighty thousandmen--stood strictly on the defensive, wisely relying on the immensestrength of the fortress, on the second occasion most of the fightingtook place outside the walls, the garrison preferring to rely uponstrategy and courage rather than on ruined parapets and half-filledmoats. Thus, the details of the second campaign occupy a large spacein Japanese histories, but these tedious features of strategy andtactics are abbreviated here. There can be no doubt that Ieyasu, sofar from seeking to save Hideyori's life, deliberately planned hisdestruction. Moreover, when it became known that an illegitimate sonof Hideyori, called Kunimatsu, had been carried from the castle bysome common soldiers and secreted at a farmhouse in Fushimi, Ieyasucaused this child of six to be seized and beheaded by a commonexecutioner at Sanjo-kawara in Kyoto. This episode reflects no creditwhatever on the Tokugawa leader. That he should extirpate every scionof the Toyotomi family was not inconsistent with the canons of thetune or with the interests of his own security. But death at thehands of a common executioner ought never to have been decreed forthe son of the u-daijin, and the cruelty of the order finds noexcuse. No tenet of bushido can be reconciled with such inhumanity. To this chapter of history belongs the attitude of Ieyasu towards thememory of his old friend and benefactor, Hideyoshi. He caused to belevelled with the ground the temple of Toyokuni Daimyo-jin, where thespirit of Hideyoshi was worshipped, and he ordered the removal of thetomb of the Taiko from Amidagamine to a remote corner of the Daibutsuenclosure. Finally, he sought and obtained the Emperor's sanction torevoke the sacred title conferred posthumously on Hideyoshi. Onelooks in vain for any fragment of magnanimity among such acts. Ieyasuis reported to have avowedly adopted for guidance the precept, "Before taking any step propound to your heart the query, how aboutjustice?" He certainly did not put any such query to his ownconscience in connexion with the castle of Osaka or its inmates. THE GENNA YEAR-PERIOD (1615-1623) The battle of Sekigahara is often spoken of as the last greatinternecine campaign in Japanese history, but this is hardly borneout by the facts. Indeed, from what has been said above, it will beseen that Sekigahara was merely a prelude to Osaka, and that theformer stood to the latter almost in the relation of a preliminaryskirmish. It is from August, 1615, that we must date the commencementof the long period of peace with which Japan was blessed underTokugawa rule. The year-name was then changed to Genna. DEATH OF IEYASU In February, 1616, Ieyasu fell sick, and in April the Emperor sent anenvoy to confer on him the title of dajo daijin. He expired a fewdays afterwards at the age of seventy-five and was apotheosized asTosho Dai-Gongen (Light of the East and Great Incarnation). He wasburied on the summit of Mount Kuno in Suruga, and ultimately hisashes were carried to Nikko for interment. It is recorded, though noton independent authority, that when his end was drawing near he spoketo those at his side in the folio whig terms: "My death is now insight, but happily the country is at peace, and Hidetada has alreadydischarged the duties of shogun for several years. I have, therefore, no cause for anxiety. If, after I am gone, Hidetada should make anyfailure in his administration of public affairs, or if he should losecontrol of the people, any one of you to whom the Imperial order maybe addressed, should assume the functions of shogun, for, as you wellknow, that post is not the property of this or that person inparticular, nor will my rest in the grave be disturbed though such anevent occurs. " Another record, however, represents Ieyasu as following the exampleof the Taiko and conjuring his most trusted retainers to devote theirstrength to the support of the Tokugawa family. To Hidetada he issaid to have suggested the advisability of compelling the daimyo toremain in Yedo for three full years after his (Ieyasu's) demise, inorder to test thoroughly their attitude. Hidetada replied that whilemost unwilling to reject his father's advice, his intention was toallow the feudatories to leave Yedo at once, and if any one of themevinced hostile feeling by shutting himself up in his castle, he, Hidetada, would follow him thither and level his parapets with theground. Such an object lesson was, in his opinion, the beststepping-stone to supremacy. Ieyasu is reported to have received thisanswer with profound satisfaction, and to have declared that he wasnow assured of the permanence of peace. He then had all his sonscalled to his side and enjoined upon them the duty of serving theshogun faithfully. To his grandson, Iemitsu, he specially addressedhimself, saying: "It will fall to your lot, some day, to govern thecountry. On that day remember that benevolence should be the firstprinciple of a ruler. " CHARACTER OF IEYASU Frugality is one of the virtues which Ieyasu certainly possessed. Striking example of its display is connected with Yedo Castle. Thisfortress, as built originally by Ota Dokwan, was not of imposingdimensions even as a military stronghold, and the dwelling-house inthe keep presented most homely features, having a thatched roof and aporch of rough boat-planks. Yet Ieyasu was content to make thisedifice his palace, and while he devoted much care to strengtheningthe fortifications, he bestowed none on the enlargement and adornmentof the dwelling. The system he adopted to populate the city may besaid to have been colonial. He encouraged his vassals to settlethere, giving them lands to cultivate and breeding-grounds forhorses, so that within a brief time the city obtained numerousinhabitants and developed a prosperous condition. It was in planningthe details of all enterprises that he particularly excelled. Toeverything he brought an almost infinite capacity of patient studyand minute examination; his principle being that to achieve successthe first desideratum is to avoid mistakes. Doubtless he owed thisfaculty of profound painstaking to the vicissitudes of his earlylife. The years that he passed under the control of the Imagawa andafterwards under that of Oda taught him patience and self-restraint, and made the study of literature obligatory for him, at the same timebegetting in his mind a feeling of reverence for the Buddhist faith. Japanese historians generally credit him with the virtues ofhumanity, magnanimity, justice, and affability. That he was alwayspleased to receive advice from others and that he set an example ofcourtesy and zeal, there can be no doubt. Neither will anyone denythat his resourcefulness amounted to genius. On the other hand, hisrecord shows that he was unscrupulous in utilizing opportunities, whether created by himself or made accessible by fortune, and fromthe same record we are compelled to infer that he could be cruel andimplacable on occasion. His favourite sayings afford perhaps the bestindex that we possess to his disposition:-- Man's life is like a long journey toiling under a heavy burden. Never be in a hurry. He that regards destitution as his habitual lot will never feel the pressure of want. When the spirit of ambition arises in your bosom, recall the days of your distress. To forbear is the source of harmlessness and the road to success. Regard anger as an enemy. He that knows how to win only and does not know how to lose, will achieve nothing useful. Blame yourself and acquit others. To fall short is better than to exceed. ENGRAVING: SIGNATURE OF ASHIKAGA TAKAUJI ENGRAVING: THEATRICAL PLAY OF OLD JAPAN CHAPTER XXXIX FIRST PERIOD OF THE TOKUGAWA BAKUFU; FROM THE FIRST TOKUGAWA SHOGUN, IEYASU, TO THE FOURTH, IETSUNA (1603-1680) LEGISLATION THE Tokugawa family having brought the whole empire under its sway, Ieyasu applied himself to legislative work with a degree ofthoroughness and earnestness that far exceeded anything in thehistory of his predecessors. The terms of the oath of allegiance thathe dictated to the feudatories after the battle of Sekigahara havebeen already referred to. Ten years later, that is to say, in 1611, he required all the provincial governors to subscribe this same oath, and, in 1613, he enacted a law for the Court nobles (kugeshu-hatto), to which the Imperial assent was obtained. This was the firstinstance of a military man legislating for the nobles of the capital;but it must be noted that the latter by their own misconductfurnished an opportunity for such interference. A Court scandalassumed such dimensions, in 1607, that the Emperor ordered the Bakufuto investigate the matter and to inflict suitable punishment. Ieyasusummoned a number of the offenders to Sumpu, where he subjectedfourteen of them to severe examination. Ultimately some weresentenced to exile and others were deprived of their ranks, while theprincipal malefactor, Inokuma, general of the Left, was condemned todeath. This affair demonstrated that the effective power was in thehands of the military, and throughout the Tokugawa rule they neverfailed to exercise it. In September of the year that witnessed thefall of Osaka Castle, Ieyasu and Hidetada summoned all the provincialgovernors to Momo-yama, and handed to them a body of rules entitledthe "Laws of the Military Houses. " These laws ran as follows:-* *The translation of these laws is taken from a paper read by Mr. Consul-General J. C. Hall and recorded in the "Transactions of theAsiatic Society of Japan" for 1911. "(1) Literature, arms, archery, and horsemanship are, systematically, to be the favourite pursuits. "Literature first, and arms next was the rule of the ancients. Theymust both be cultivated concurrently. Archery and horsemanship arethe more essential for the military houses. Weapons of warfare areill-omened words to utter; the use of them, however, is anunavoidable necessity. In times of peace and good order we must notforget that disturbance may arise. Dare we omit to practise ourwarlike exercise and drill?" Although this provision ostensibly encouraged the pursuit of literaryand military arts, those who read the law too implicitly and devotedthemselves too earnestly to the pursuit of arms quickly found thatthey were not in touch with the time or with the intention of thelegislators. In fact, the purpose of the latter was to bracketliterature and the art of war together, giving no preference toeither. "(2) Drinking parties and gaming amusements must be kept within duebounds. "In our Instructions it is laid down that strict moderation in theserespects is to be observed. To be addicted to venery and to make apursuit of gambling is the first step towards the loss of one'sdomain. " This rule may be said to define what is known in Europe as "conductunbecoming an officer. " Not to know how to order one's tongue was asgrave an offence as debauchery, according to the canons of thesamurai. "(3) Offenders against the law are not to be harboured in feudaldomains. "Law is the very foundation of ceremonial decorum and of social order. To infringe the law in the name of reason is as bad as to outragereason in the name of law. To disregard the law (laid down by us) isan offence which will not be treated with leniency. " This provision was directly suggested by the Government's desire tosuppress Christianity. "(4) Throughout the domains whether of the greater or lesser barons(daimyo and shomyo) or of the holders of minor benefits, if any ofthe gentry or soldiers (shi and sotsu) in their service be guilty ofrebellion or murder, such offenders must be at once expelled fromtheir domain. "Fellows of savage disposition (being retainers) are an apt weapon foroverthrowing the domain or the family employing them, and a deadlyinstrument for cutting off the common people. How can such betolerated?" In the early days of the Yedo Bakufu it was not uncommon for afeudatory to enrol among his vassals refugee samurai who had blood ontheir hands. These would often be pursued into the fiefs where theyhad taken refuge, and much disorder resulted. The above provisionremoved these murderers from the protection of the feudatory in whoseservice they had enlisted. "(5) Henceforth no social intercourse is to be permitted outside ofone's own domain with the people (gentry and commoners) of anotherdomain. "In general, the customs of the various domains are all different fromone another, each having its own peculiarities. To divulge thesecrets of one's own domain is a sure indication of an intent tocurry favour. " It has been shown that by the Chinese masters of strategy whose workswere studied in Japan the art of espionage was placed on a highpinnacle. This teaching appears to have produced such evil resultsthat the Tokugawa legislated against it. "(6) The residential castles in the domains may be repaired; but thematter must invariably be reported. Still more imperative is it thatthe planning of structural innovations of any kind must be absolutelyavoided. "A castle with a parapet exceeding three thousand feet by ten is abane to a domain. Crenelated walls and deep moats (of castles) arecauses of anarchy. " This provision was important as a means of enfeebling the barons. They were not at liberty to repair even a fence of the mostinsignificant character or to dredge a moat, much more to erect aparapet, without previous sanction from the Bakufu. "(7) If, in a neighbouring domain, innovations are being hatched orcliques being formed, the fact is to be reported without delay. "Men are always forming groups; whilst, on the other hand, few evercome to anything. On this account, they fail to follow their lords orfathers, and soon come into collision with those of neighbouringvillages. If the ancient prohibitions are not maintained, somehow orother innovating schemes will be formed. " Everything in the form of combination, whether nominally for good orfor evil, was regarded with suspicion by the Bakufu, and all unionswere therefore interdicted. Of course, the most important incidentwhich the law was intended to prevent took the form of alliancesbetween barons of adjacent provinces. "(8) Marriages must not be contracted at private convenience. "Now, the marriage union is a result of the harmonious blending of theIn and Yo (i. E. The Yin and Yang of Chinese metaphysics, the femaleand male principles of nature). It is therefore not a matter to belightly undertaken. It is said in the 'Scowling' passage of the(Chow) Book of Changes, 'Not being enemies they unite in marriage. 'Whilst (the elders are) thinking of making advances to the opponent(family), the proper time (for the marriage of the young couple) isallowed to slip by. In the 'Peach Young' poem of the Book of Odes itis said, 'If the man and woman, duly observing what is correct, marryat the proper time of life, there will be no widows in the land. ' Toform cliques (political parties) by means of matrimonial connexionsis a source of pernicious stratagems. " This provision was, in fact, a codification of the veto pronounced byHideyoshi on his death-bed against marriages between the families ofdifferent daimyo. Ieyasu himself had been the first to violate theveto, and he was the first to place it subsequently on the statutebook. The third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, extended the restriction byordering that even families having estates of only three thousandkoku should not intermarry without Yedo's previous consent. "(9) As to the rule that the daimyo shall come (to the shogun's courtat Yedo) to do service:-- "In the Shoku Nihongi (The Continuation of the Chronicles of Japan) itis recorded amongst the enactments, "'Except when entrusted with some official duty to assemble, no one(dignitary) is allowed at his own pleasure to assemble his tribewithin the limits of the capital, no one is to go about attended bymore than twenty horsemen, etc. ' "Hence it is not permissible to lead about a large force of soldiers. For daimyo whose revenues range from 1, 000, 000 koko down to 200, 000koku, the number of twenty horsemen is not to be exceeded. For thosewhose revenues are 100, 000 koku and under, the number is to be in thesame proportion. "On occasions of official service, however (i. E. In time of warfare), the number of followers is to be in proportion to the social standingof each daimyo. " The above rule of repairing to the capital to pay respects(go-sankin) was an old fashion, and barons were accustomed to go withlarge retinues. Thus, it often happened that collisions occurredbetween the corteges of hostile feudatories, and it was to preventthese sanguinary encounters that the Tokugawa set strict limits tothe number of samurai accompanying a military chief. "(10) There must be no confusion in respect of dress uniforms, asregards the materials thereof. "The distinction between lord and vassal, between superior andinferior, must be clearly marked by the apparel. Retainersmay not, except in rare cases by special favour of their lords, indiscriminately wear silk stuffs, such as shiro-aya (undyed silkwith woven patterns), shiro-kosode (white wadded silk coats), murasaki-awase (purple silk coats, lined), murasaki-ura (silk coatslined with purple); nori (white gloss silk), mumon (silk coat withoutthe wearer's badge dyed on it), kosode (a coloured silk-wadded coat). In recent times, retainers and henchmen (soldiers) have taken towearing rich damasks and silk brocade. This elaborate display was notallowed by the ancient laws and it must be severely kept withinbounds. " "(11) Miscellaneous persons are not at their pleasure to ride inpalanquins. "There are families who for special reasons from of old have(inherited) the privilege of riding in palanquins without permissionfrom the authorities: and there are others who by permission of theauthorities exercise that privilege. But, latterly, even sub-vassalsand henchmen of no rank have taken to so riding. This is a flagrantimpertinence. Henceforward the daimyo of the provinces, and such oftheir kinsfolk as are men of distinction subordinate to them, mayride without applying for Government permission. Besides those, thefollowing have permission, viz. , vassals and retainers of highposition about their lords; doctors and astrologers; persons of oversixty years of age, and sick persons and invalids. If ordinaryretainers, or inferior henchmen (sotsu) are allowed to ride inpalanquins, it will be considered to be the fault of their lords. "This proviso, however, does not apply to Court nobles, abbots, orecclesiastics in general. "(12) The samurai throughout the provinces are to practise frugality. "Those who are rich like to make a display, whilst those who are poorare ashamed of not being on a par with the others. There is no otherinfluence so pernicious to social observances as this; and it must bestrictly kept in check. " Frugality always occupied a prominent place in the Bakufu's list ofessentials. Frequent and strenuous efforts were made by successiveshoguns to encourage people in this virtue, but with the long peaceenjoyed by the country under Tokugawa rule, a tendency to increasingluxury constantly prevailed, and the Government's aims in thisrespect were not realized except for brief periods. During theadministration of the first three Tokugawa shoguns, and under theeighth shogun (Yoshimune), some success attended official injunctionsof economy, but on the whole a steady growth of extravagancecharacterized the era. "(13) The lords of domain (kokushu, masters of provinces) must selectmen of capacity for office. "The way to govern is to get hold of the proper men. The merits anddemerits (of retainers) should be closely scanned, and reward orreproof unflinchingly distributed accordingly. If there be capablemen in the administration, that domain is sure to flourish; if therebe not capable men, then the domain is sure to go to ruin. This is anadmonition which the wise ones of antiquity all agree in givingforth. " "The tenor of the foregoing rules must be obeyed. "Keicho, 20th year, 7th month (September 23, 1615). " The above body of laws may be regarded as the Tokugawa Constitution. They were re-enacted by each shogun in succession on assuming office. The custom was to summon all the daimyo to Yedo, and to require theirattendance at the Tokugawa palace, where, in the presence of theincoming shogun, they listened with faces bowed on the mats to thereading of the laws. Modifications and additions were, of course, made on each occasion, but the provisions quoted above remainedunaltered in their essentials. Up to the time of the third shogun(Iemitsu), the duty of reading aloud the laws at the solemnceremonial of the new shogun's investiture devolved on a highBuddhist priest, but it was thereafter transferred to therepresentative of the Hayashi family (to be presently spokenof). Any infraction of the laws was punished mercilessly, andas their occasionally loose phraseology left room for arbitraryinterpretation, the provisions were sometimes utilized in theinterest of the shogun and at the expense of his enemies. RULES FOR THE IMPERIAL COURT AND COURT NOBLES In the same month of the same year there was promulgated a body oflaws called the "Rules of the Imperial Court, and the Court Nobles"(Kinchu narabi ni Kugeshu Sho-hatto). This enactment bore thesignatures of the kwampaku and the shogun and had the Imperialsanction. It consisted of seventeen articles, but only five of themhad any special importance: "(1) Learning is the most essential of all accomplishments. Not tostudy is to be ignorant of the doctrines of the ancient sages, and anignorant ruler has never governed a nation peacefully. " This specious precept was not intended to be literally obeyed. Theshoguns had no desire for an erudite Emperor. Their conception oflearning on the part of the sovereign was limited to the compositionof Japanese verselets. A close study of the doctrines of the ancientChinese sages might have exposed the illegitimacy of the Bakufuadministration. Therefore, Yedo would have been content that theMikado should think only of spring flowers and autumn moonlight, andshould not torment his mind by too close attention to the classics. "(2) A man lacking in ability must not be appointed to the post ofregent or minister of State even though he belong to the Go-sekke(Five Designated Families), and it is needless to say that none but amember of those families may serve in such a position. " "(3) A man of ability, even though he be old, shall not be allowed toresign the post of regent or minister of State in favour of another. If he attempts to resign, his resignation should be refused again andagain. " The above two provisions practically conferred on the Bakufu thepower of not only appointing the regent and ministers of State butalso of keeping them in office. For, as the law had been framed inYedo, in Yedo also was vested competence to judge the ability ordisability of a candidate. Hence, when the Emperor proposed toappoint a regent or a minister, the Bakufu had merely to intimatewant of confidence in the nominee's ability; and similarly, if thesovereign desired to dismiss one of those high officials, the shoguncould interfere effectually by reference to the letter of the law. Thus, the power of appointing and dismissing the great officials inKyoto, which is one of the important prerogatives of the crown, waspractically usurped by the shogun. "(4) An adopted son shall always be chosen from the family of hisadopter; and a female shall never be adopted to be the head of afamily, no such custom having existed in Japan at any time. " This provision had two main objects. The first was to avert adoptionshaving the effect of combinations; the second, to prevent adoption ofImperial princes into other families. The Bakufu sought, as far aspossible, to bring about the taking of the tonsure by all princes ofthe Blood who were not in the direct line of the succession, and tokeep these princes from attaining to the posts of regents orministers of State. "(5) All reports shall be submitted to the Emperor by the regent, thedenso, or an administrator (bugyo). Any other person who, indisregard of this rule, attempts to address the Throne direct, shallbe sent into exile, whatever his rank. " The denso mentioned in this provision was an official appointed bythe Bakufu for that special purpose. The whole arrangement as tocommunication with the Throne constituted a powerful buttress ofBakufu influence. Generally, the latter could contrive, as has beenshown above, to control the appointment and continuance in office ofa regent or a minister, while as for the administrators (bugyo), theywere nominees of Yedo. It thus resulted that the Throne wasapproachable through the channel of the Bakufu only. LAWS WITH REFERENCE TO BUDDHISM The above laws remained unchanged throughout the Tokugawa era. Aspecial law was also enacted with reference to Buddhist sects and theprincipal Buddhist temples. Ieyasu secured to these temples thepossession of their manors by granting title-deeds bearing what wascalled the "go-shuinji, " or "vermilion signature. " The term was notreally applicable in the case of Ieyasu. It is true that Hideyoshi, doubtless in imitation of Chinese custom, stamped a vermilion sealupon documents of this character; but the Tokugawa shoguns employed ablack signature written with a pen. Nevertheless, the term"go-shuinji" continued to be used from the time of the Taikodownwards. It was an outcome of Ieyasu's astuteness that the greatHongwan temple was divided into two branches, eastern and western, bywhich process its influence was prevented from becoming excessive. During the administration of the third shogun, every daimyo wasrequired to adhere to a definite sect of Buddhism, and to theBuddhist and Shinto temples was entrusted the duty of keeping anaccurate census of their parishioners. The direct purpose of theselatter laws was to facilitate the extermination of Christianity. Anyone whose name was not enrolled on one of the above lists fellunder suspicion of embracing the foreign faith. A JAPANESE HISTORIAN'S OPINION Referring to the above laws the Tokugawa Jidaishi says: "The above laws and regulations were the Constitution of the TokugawaBakufu. By the aid of their provisions the influence of Yedo wasextended to every part of the nation from the Imperial Court to theworld of religion. No such codes had ever previously existed inJapan. Any unit of the nation, whether a Court noble, a greatfeudatory, a priest, or a common samurai, had to yield implicitobedience or to suffer condign punishment. Thus, it fell out thateverybody being anxious to conform with the rules, the universaltendency was to share in preserving the peace. From the point of viewof this system, Ieyasu was eminently above all modern and ancientheroes. Hideyoshi won brilliant victories in war, but he saw nobetter method of maintaining peace at home than to send the country'sarmies to fight abroad. He seems to have conceived a hope that hisgenerals would find goals for their ambition in Korea or China, andwould exhaust their strength in endeavouring to realize their dreams. But his plan brought about the contrary result; for the generalsformed fresh enmities among themselves, and thus the harvest that wassubsequently reaped at Sekigahara found hands to sow it. "Ieyasu, however, prized literature above militarism. He himselfbecame a pioneer of learning, and employed many scholars to assist inconstructing a solid framework of peace. The territorial nobles hadto follow his example. Even Kato Kiyomasa, Asano Yukinaga, and KurodaNagamasa, each of whom during his lifetime was counted a divinelyinspired general, found themselves constrained to study the Chineseclassics under the guidance of Funabashi Hidekata and FujiwaraSeigwa. How much more cogent, then, was the similar necessity underwhich lesser men laboured. Thus, Ieyasu's love of literature may beregarded as a cause of the peace that prevailed under the Tokugawafor 260 years. " REVIVAL OF LEARNING Ieyasu employed four instruments for educational purposes--theestablishment of schools, the engagement of professors, thecollection of ancient literary works, and the printing of books. Inaccordance with his last will his son Yoshinao, daimyo of Owari, built, in 1636, the Daiseiden College beside the temple of Kiyomizuin Ueno Park, near the villa of Hayashi Kazan, the celebratedConfucian scholar; but, in 1691, the college was moved to the slopecalled Shohei-zaka, where a bridge--Shohei-bashi--was thrown acrossthe river. "Shohei" is the Japanese pronunciation of "Changping, "Confucius's birthplace, and the school was known as the Shohei-ko. Itreceived uniform patronage at the hands of the Tokugawa, whosekinsmen and vassals were required to study there, their proficiency, as determined by its examinations, being counted a passport tooffice. Yoshinao laid the foundation of a great library at the schooland the number of volumes was constantly increased. During the lifetime of Ieyasu, one of the most noted scholars wasFujiwara Seigwa. By the invitation of the Tokugawa chief he lecturedon the classics in Kyoto, and it is recorded that Ieyasu, who hadjust (1600) arrived in that city, attended one of these lectures, wearing his ordinary garments. Seigwa is related to have fixed hiseyes on Ieyasu and addressed him as follows: "The greatest work ofConfucius teaches that to order oneself is the most essential ofachievements. How shall a man who does not order himself be able toorder his country? I am lecturing on ethics to one who behaves in adisorderly and discourteous manner. I believe that I preach in vain. "Ieyasu immediately changed his costume, and the event contributedmaterially to the reputation alike of the intrepid teacher and of themagnanimous student, as well as to the popularity of Seigwa'sdoctrines. Hayashi Kazan was a disciple of Seigwa whose reputation as a scholarhe rivalled. Ieyasu employed him extensively in drafting laws; andmany of his disciples subsequently served as teachers of the Chineseclassics. The scripture of Hayashi's school of ethics was Chu Hi'scommentary on the "Great Learning" of Confucius. In this system, ethics become a branch of natural philosophy. "Corresponding to theregular change of the seasons in nature is right action in man (whois the crown of nature), in the relation of sovereign and subject, parent and child, elder brother and younger brother, husband andwife, friend and friend. To his sovereign, or lord, he is bound to befaithful; to his parents, dutiful, and to his elder brother, respectful. Affection should characterize the relations of husbandand wife and trust those of friend with friend. " A moment's consideration of this ethical system shows that it cannotbe reconciled with such a form of administration as that existingunder the Bakufu. Genuine loyalty to the sovereign found no place inthe practical code of Tokugawa. Whether Ieyasu appreciated that factor whether he ignored it in consideration of the civilizing andtranquillizing influences of Confucianism, there is nothing to show. Ultimately, however, it was to the ethics of the Chinese sage thatthe Tokugawa downfall became indirectly attributable. Ieyasu showed much earnestness in searching for and collectingancient books. Before and after the war of Osaka, he orderedpriests to copy old books and records preserved in Buddhisttemples and noblemen's houses. Subsequently, during the Kwaneiera--1621-1643--there was built within the castle of Yedo a librarycalled Momijiyama Bunko where the books were stored. He was alsoinstrumental in causing the compilation and publication of manyvolumes whose contents contribute materially to our historicalknowledge. The writing of history in the Imperial Court had beenabandoned for many years, and the scholars employed by Ieyasu hadrecourse to private diaries for materials. Hayashi Kazan (Doshuri)was entrusted with the duty of distinguishing between the true andthe false in using these records, and there resulted two memorableworks. The second of these consisted in the main of genealogicaltables. It extended to 372 volumes and subsequently became the KwaneiShoke Keizu-den. The first, a national history, was originally calledthe Honcho Hennen-roku. Before its compilation Kazan (Doshun) died, and the book was concluded by his son, Harukatsu, in the year 1635. It consisted of three hundred volumes in all, and covered the periodfrom the age of the Gods to the year 1610. It is now known as theHoncho Tsugan. The two works having been published to the order andunder the patronage of the Bakufu, their contents were by no meansfree from the stain of favour and affection, but they neverthelesspossess inestimable historical value. THE SECOND TOKUGAWA SHOGUN, HIDETADA Hidetada, third son of Ieyasu, was born in 1579; succeeded to theshogunate in 1605; abdicated in 1622, and died in 1632. Hisappearance on the historical stage was not very glorious, for, asalready shown, when marching to join his father's army before thebattle of Sekigahara, he allowed himself to be detained so long atthe siege of Ueda Castle that he failed to be present at the greatcombat, and Ieyasu, as a mark of displeasure, refused to meet himuntil Honda Masazumi pleaded Hidetada's cause. During the firsteleven years of his shogunate he exercised little real authority, theadministration being conducted by Ieyasu himself from his nominalplace of retirement in Sumpu. Thus, the period of Hidetada'sindependent sway extended over six years only. But during the tensubsequent years he continued to exercise much camera influence overthe Government, though his power was inferior to that which had beenwielded by Ieyasu in nominal retirement. Honda Masazumi, who hadbefriended him at the critical time mentioned above, occupied thehighest post in the administration, the second place being assignedto Sakai Tadayo, while in Kyoto the Tokugawa interests were guardedby Itakura Katsushige and Matsudaira Masatsuna. The era of Hidetada was essentially one of organization, and by theexercise of sincerity and justice he contributed much to thestability of the Tokugawa rule. Not the least memorable step taken byhim related to the fortress of Yedo. In the year following hissuccession, he ordered the feudatories of the east to construct thecastle which remains to this day one of the marvels of the world. "Around it stretched a triple line of moats, the outermost measuringnine and a half miles in length, the innermost one and a half, theirscarps constructed with blocks of granite nearly as colossal as thoseof the Osaka stronghold, though in the case of the Yedo fortificationevery stone had to be carried hundreds of miles over the sea. Thegates were proportionately as huge as those at Osaka, well-nigh themost stupendous works ever undertaken, not excepting even thePyramids of Egypt. There is not to be found elsewhere a more strikingmonument of military power, nor can anyone considering such a work, as well as its immediate predecessor, the Taiko's stronghold atOsaka, and its numerous contemporaries of lesser but still strikingproportions in the principal fiefs, refuse to credit the Japanesewith capacity for large conceptions and competence to carry them intopractice. " CONJUGAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE IMPERIAL FAMILY AND THE TOKUGAWA It had been one of the most cherished wishes of Ieyasu to follow theFujiwara precedent by establishing conjugal relations between theImperial family and the Tokugawa. But the ex-Emperor, Go-Yozei, turned a deaf ear to this proposal on the ground that a lady born ina military house had never been chosen consort of a sovereign. Ieyasu, however, did not abandon his purpose. He entrusted itsprosecution to Todo Takatora, and in 1616, the year of Ieyasu'sdeath, Todo induced Konoe Nobuhiro, minister of the Right, to promotethis undertaking. Nobuhiro, being the Emperor's younger brother, wasable to exert much influence, and finally the ex-Emperor gave hisconsent. In June, 1620, Kazuko, daughter of Hidetada, became firstlady-in-waiting, and ultimately Empress under the name ofTofuku-mon-in. It is recorded that 1180 chests were required to carryher trousseau from Yedo, and that the costs of her outfit and of herjourney to Kyoto aggregated more than a million sterling. She gavebirth to two princes and five princesses, and the house of Konoe, which had been instrumental in procuring her summons to the Court, became the leader of the Go-sekke. DEATH OF HIDETADA AND HIS CHARACTER After resigning the shogunate in 1622, Hidetada retired to the innercastle (Nishi Maru) in Yedo and there continued to direct affairs. Hedied ten years later, at the age of fifty-eight, and was interred atthe temple Zojo-ji, in the Shiba district of the eastern capital. Japanese historians agree that Hidetada's character was adapted forthe work of consolidation that fell to his lot. He resembled hisfather, Ieyasu, in decision and perseverance; he never dealt lightlywith any affair, and while outwardly gentle and considerate, he wasat heart subtle and uncompromising. An interesting illustration ofthe administrative canons of the time is afforded in the advice saidto have been given by Hosokawa Tadaoki when consulted by Hidetada. "There is an old proverb, " Tadaoki replied, "that if a round lid beput on a square vessel, those within will have ease; but if a squarelid be used to cover a square vessel, there will result a feeling ofdistress. " Asked for a standard by which to judge qualifications forsuccess, the same nobleman answered that an oyster shell found on theAkashi shore is the best type of a man qualified to succeed, for theshell has been deprived of all its angles by the beating of thewaves. Of Hidetada himself there is told an anecdote which shows himto have been remarkably free from superstition. A comet made itsappearance and was regarded with anxiety by the astrologists ofKyoto, who associated its advent with certain misfortune. Hidetadaridiculed these fears. "What can we tell, " he said, "about thesituation of a solitary star in the wide universe, and how can weknow that it has anything to do with this little world?" THE THIRD SHOGUN, IEMITSU Iemitsu, son of Hidetada, was born in 1603; succeeded to theshogunate in 1622, and held that post until his death, in 1651. Hisprincipal ministers were Ii Naotaka (who had occupied the post ofpremier since the days of Ieyasu), Matsudaira Nobutsuna, and AbeTadaaki, one of the ablest officers that served the Tokugawa. Hedevoted himself to consolidating the system founded by hisgrandfather, Ieyasu, and he achieved remarkable success by theexercise of exceptional sagacity and determination. In 1626, heproceeded to Kyoto at the head of a large army, simply for thepurpose of conveying to the feudal nobles a significant intimationthat he intended to enforce his authority without hesitation. Up tothat, time the feudal chiefs were not officially required to residein Yedo for any fixed time or at any fixed interval. But now it wasclearly enacted that the feudatories of the east and those of thewest should repair to the Bakufu capital, at different seasons in theyear; should remain there a twelvemonth, --in the case of feudal lordsfrom the Kwanto only six months--and should leave their wives andfamilies as hostages during the alternate period of their own absencefrom the shogun's city, which they spent in the provinces. This system was technically called sankin kotai, that is "alternateresidence in capital. " From the point of view of the Tokugawa theplan was eminently wise, for it bound the feudal chiefs closer to theshogun, keeping them under his eye half the time and giving hostagesfor their good behaviour the other half; and it helped the growth ofYedo both in financial and political power, by bringing money into itand by making it more than before an administrative headquarters. Onthe other hand there was a corresponding drain on the provinces, allthe greater since the standard of living at Yedo was higher than inrural districts and country nobles thus learned extravagance. Toprevent other families from growing too rich and powerful seems tohave been a part of Ieyasu's definite plan for holding in checkpossible rivals of the Tokugawa, so that it is not impossible that heforesaw this very result. At any rate it is known that in theinstructions for government which he handed down to his successors heurged them to keep strict surveillance over their feudal lords and ifany one of them seemed to be growing rich to impose upon him such aburden of public works as would cripple him. In 1632, Iemitsu made another military demonstration at Kyoto, and onthis occasion the Emperor would have conferred on him the post ofprime minister (dajo daijiri). But he refused to accept it. Thisrefusal was subsequently explained as a hint to the feudal chiefsthat inordinate ambition should be banished from their bosoms; but inreality Iemitsu was influenced by the traditional principle that theThrone had no higher gift to bestow on a subject than the shogunate. PROMINENT FEATURES OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF IEMITSU The prominent feature of this able ruler's administration was that hethoroughly consolidated the systems introduced by his grandfather andconfirmed by his father. From the time of Iemitsu downwards, cardinalforms were never changed, alterations being confined tonon-essentials. On his death-bed he desired that his prime minister, Hotta Masamori, and several other notables should accompany him tothe tomb, and on the night of the 10th of June, 1651, Hotta Masamori(aged forty-six), Abe Shigetsugu (aged fifty-two), Uchida Masanobu(aged thirty-three), Masamori's mother (aged sixty-three), SaegusaMoriyoshi, and Okuyama Yasushige all committed suicide. Their tombsstand to this day in Nikko. THE NIKKO SHRINE AND THE KWANEI TEMPLE It has been related how largely Ieysau was aided against the Osakaparty by Tengai, abbot of Enryaku-ji. This priest it was that devisedthe singular accusation connected with the inscription on a bell atHoko-ji. He received from Ieyasu the diocese of Nikko in Shimotsukeprovince, where he built a temple which ultimately served as theshrine of Ieyasu. But the first Tokugawa shogun, faithful to hisfrugal habits, willed that the shrine should be simple andinexpensive, and when Hidetada died, his mausoleum (mitamaya) at thetemple Zojo-ji in Yedo presented by its magnificence such a contrastto the unpretending tomb at Nikko, that Iemitsu ordered AkimotoYasutomo to rebuild the latter, and issued instructions to variousfeudal chiefs to furnish labour and materials. The assistance of evenKorea, Ryukyu, and Holland was requisitioned, and the Bakufu treasurypresented 700, 000 ryo of gold. The shrine was finished in 1636 on ascale of grandeur and artistic beauty almost unsurpassed in any othercountry. The same priest, Tengai, was instrumental in building thetemple known as Kwanei-ji, and at his suggestion, Hidetada asked theImperial Court to appoint a prince to the post of abbot (monsu). This system already existed in the case of Enryaku-ji on Hiei-zan inKyoto, and it was Tengai's ambition that his sect, the Tendai, shouldpossess in Yedo a temple qualified to compete with the greatmonastery of the Imperial capital. Thus, Ueno hill on which the Yedostructure stood was designated "Toei-zan, " as the site of the Kyotomonastery was designated "Hiei-zan, " and just as the temple on thelatter received the name of "Enryaku-ji, " after the era of itsconstruction (Enryaku), so that in Yedo was named "Kwanei-ji, " thename of the year period of its foundation being Kwanei. Finally, theKwanei-ji was intended to guard the "Demon's Gate" of the Bakufu cityas the Enryaku-ji guarded the Imperial capital. Doubtless, infurthering this plan, Iemitsu had for ultimate motive the associationof an Imperial prince with the Tokugawa family, so that in nocircumstances could the latter be stigmatized as "rebels. " Not untilthe day of the Tokugawa's downfall did this intention receivepractical application, when the priest-prince of Ueno (PrinceKitashirakawa) was set up as their leader by the remnants of theBakufu army. ISE AND NIKKO Through many centuries it had been the custom of the Imperial Courtto worship at the great shrine of Ise and to offer suitable gifts. This ceremony was long suspended, however, on account of continuouswars as well as the impecunious condition of the Court. Under thesway of the Oda and the Toyotomi, fitful efforts were made to renewthe custom, but it was left for the Tokugawa to re-establish it. Thethird shogun, Iemitsu, petitioned the Court in that sense, andassigned an estate in Yamashiro as a means of defraying the necessaryexpenses, the Fujinami family being appointed to perform the ceremonyhereditarily. At the same time Iemitsu petitioned that the Courtshould send an envoy to worship at Nikko every year on theanniversary of the death of Ieyasu, and this request having beengranted, Nikko thenceforth became to the Tokugawa what Ise was to theImperial Court. BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY It has been shown that the Shimabara revolt finally induced theBakufu Government to adopt the policy of international seclusion andto extirpate Christianity. In carrying out the latter purpose, extensive recourse was had to the aid of Buddhism. The chief templeof each sect of that religion was officially fixed, as were also thebranch temples forming the parish of the sect; every unit of thenation was required to register his name in the archives of a temple, and the Government ordered that the priests should keep accuratelists of births and deaths. Anyone whose name did not appear on theselists was assumed to belong to the alien faith. This organization wascompleted in the time of Iemitsu. THE FOURTH SHOGUN, IETSUNA Ietsuna, the fourth Tokugawa shogun, eldest son of Iemitsu, was bornin 1642 and succeeded to the office in 1651, holding it until hisdeath in 1680. In bequeathing the administrative power to a youth inhis tenth year, Iemitsu clearly foresaw that trouble was likely toarise. He therefore instructed his younger brother, Hoshina Masayuki, baron of Aizu, to render every assistance to his nephew, and heappointed Ii Naotaka to be prime minister, associating with him SakaiTadakatsu, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Abe Tadaaki, and other statesmen ofproved ability. These precautions were soon seen to be necessary, forthe partisans of the Toyotomi seized the occasion to attempt a coup. The country at that time swarmed with ronin (wave-men); that is tosay, samurai who were, for various reasons, roving free-lances. Thereseems to have been a large admixture of something very like Europeanchivalry in the make up of these ronin, for some of them seem to havewandered about merely to right wrongs and defend the helpless. Otherssought adventure for adventure's sake and for glory's, challengingthe best swordsman in each place to which they came. Many seem tohave taken up the lives of wanderers out of a notion of loyalty; thefeudal lords to whom they had owed allegiance had been crushed by theTokugawa and they refused to enter the service of the shogun. The last-named reason seems to have been what prompted the revolt of1651, when Ietsuna, aged ten, had just succeeded in the shogunate hisfather Iemitsu who had exalted the power of the Tokugawa at theexpense of their military houses. The ronin headed by Yui Shosetsuand Marubashi Chuya plotted to set fire to the city of Yedo and takethe shogun's castle. The plot was discovered. Shosetsu committedsuicide, and Chuya was crucified. In the following year (1652)another intrigue was formed under the leadership of Bekki Shoetnon, also a ronin. On this occasion the plan was to murder Ii Naotaka, thefirst minister of State, as well as his colleagues, and then to setfire to the temple Zojo-ji on the occasion of a religious ceremony. But this plot, also, was discovered before it matured, and it provedto be the last attempt that was made to overthrow the Bakufu by forceuntil more than two hundred years had passed. THE LEGISLATION OF IEMITSU AND IETSUNA On the 5th of August, 1635, a body of laws was issued by Iemitsuunder the title of Buke Sho-hatto, and these laws were againpromulgated on June 28, 1665, by the fourth shogun, Ietsuna, with afew alterations. The gist of the code of Iemitsu was as follows: Thatliterature and arms were to be the chief object of cultivation; thatthe great and small barons were to do service by turns in Yedo, strict limits being set to the number of their retainers; that allwork on new castles was strictly interdicted, and that all repairs ofexisting castles must not be undertaken without sanction from theYedo administration; that in the event of any unwonted occurrence, all barons present at the scene must remain and await the shogun'sorders; that no person other than the officials in charge might bepresent at an execution; that there must be no scheming innovations, forming of parties, or taking of oaths; that private quarrels werestrictly interdicted, and that all matters difficult of arrangementmust be reported to the Yedo administration; that barons having anincome of ten thousand koku or more, and their chief officials, mustnot form matrimonial alliances without the shogun's permission; thatgreater simplicity and economy must be obeyed in social observances, such as visits of ceremony, giving and receiving presents, celebrating marriages, entertaining at banquets, building residences, and general striving after elegance; that there must be noindiscriminate intermingling (of ranks); that, as regards thematerials of dress, undyed silk with woven patterns (shiro aya) mustbe worn only by Court nobles (kuge) and others of the highest ranks;that wadded coats of undyed silk might be worn by daimyo and othersof higher rank; that lined coats of purple silk, silk coats with thelining of purple, white gloss silk, and coloured silk coats withoutthe badge were not to be worn at random; that coming down toretainers, henchmen, and men-at-arms, the wearing by such persons ofornamental dresses such as silks, damask, brocade, or embroiderieswas quite unknown to the ancient laws, and a stop must be put to it;that all the old restrictions as to riding in palanquins must beobserved; that retainers who had a disagreement with their originallord were not to be taken into employment by other daimyo; that ifany such was reported as having been guilty of rebellion or homicide, he was to be sent back (to his former lord); that any who manifests arefractory disposition must either be sent back or expelled; thatwhere the hostages given by sub-vassals to their mesne lords hadcommitted an offence requiring punishment by banishment or death, areport in writing of the circumstances must be made to theadministrators' office and their decision awaited; that in case thecircumstances were such as to necessitate or justify the instantcutting-down of the offender, a personal account of the matter mustbe given to the administrator; that lesser feudatories must honestlydischarge the duties of their position and refrain from givingunlawful or arbitrary orders (to the people of their fiefs); thatthey must take care not to impair the resources or well-being of theprovince or district in which they are; that roads, relays ofpost-horses, boats, ferries, and bridges must be carefully attendedto, so as to ensure that there should be no delays or impediments toquick communication; that no private toll-bars might be erected orany existing ferry discontinued; that no vessels of over five hundredkoku burden were to be built; that the glebe lands of shrines andtemples scattered throughout the provinces, having been attached tothem from ancient times to the present day, were not to be taken fromthem; that the Christian sect was to be strictly prohibited in allthe provinces and in all places; that in case of any unfilial conductthe offender should be dealt with under the penal law; that in allmatters the example set by the laws of Yedo was to be followed in allthe provinces and places. As has been noted above, this same body of laws was re-enacted underthe authority of Ietsuna, with the following slight alterations, namely, that the veto was removed from the wearing of costlyornamented dresses by retainers, henchmen, and men-at-arms, and thatthe restriction as to size should not apply to a cargo vessel. At thesame time a prohibition of junshi (following in death) was issued inthese terms: "That the custom of following a master in death is wrong andunprofitable is a caution which has been at times given from of old;but owing to the fact that it has not actually been prohibited, thenumber of those who cut their belly to follow their lord on hisdecease has become very great. For the future, to those retainers whomay be animated by such an idea, their respective lords shouldintimate, constantly and in very strong terms, their disapproval ofthe custom. If, notwithstanding this warning, any instance of thepractice should occur, it will be deemed that the deceased lord wasto blame for unreadiness. Henceforward, moreover, his son andsuccessor will be held blameworthy for incompetence, as not havingprevented the suicides. "* *From a paper read by Mr. Consul-General J. C. Hall and recorded inthe "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan" for 1911. RELEASE OF HOSTAGES Another memorable step was taken during the administrative period ofIetsuna. It had been the custom to require that all the great noblesshould send a number of their chief retainers or the latter'sfathers, brothers, and sons to Yedo, where they were held as hostagesfor the peaceful conduct of their feudal chiefs. But when the systemof sankin kotai had been in operation for some time, and when thepower of the Tokugawa Bakufu had been fully consolidated, thispractice of exacting hostages became superfluous and vexatious. Itwas therefore abandoned in the year 1665 and the hostages were allsuffered to leave Yedo. THE MING DYNASTY The fall of the Ming dynasty in China took place in the thirteenthyear of Ietsuna's succession, and for a moment it seemed that Japanmight possibly take the field against the conquering Tatars. AChinese immigrant who had settled in the island of Hirado, in Hizen, married the daughter of a Japanese farmer, and had a son by her. Theimmigrant's name was Cheng Chi-lung, and when the partisans of theMing dynasty made their last stand at Foochaw, they chose Cheng forgeneral, through him soliciting aid from the Yedo Bakufu. Theirrequest was earnestly discussed in Yedo, and it is possible that hadthe Ming officers held out a little longer, Japan might have sent anexpedition across the sea. Cheng Chi-lung's son, Cheng Cheng-kung, resisted to the last, and when he fell fighting at Macao, hisJapanese mother committed suicide. Other fugitives from China, notably an able scholar named Chu Chi-yu, settled in Japan at thistime, and contributed not a little to the promotion of art andliterature. YEDO The influence of the sankin kotai system upon the prosperity of Yedo, as well as upon the efficiency of the Tokugawa administration, hasalready been noticed. Indeed, Yedo in the middle of the seventeenthcentury was one of the most populous and prosperous cities in theworld. But very little intelligence had been exercised in planningit. The streets were narrow and there were no bridges across the mainriver. Thus, in 1657, a fire broke out which, being fanned by aviolent wind, burned for two days, destroying the greater part of thecity together with the residences of nearly all the daimyo. Thecalamity occurred in the month of February and was accompanied by aviolent snowstorm, which greatly increased the sufferings of thecitizens. Tradition says that 108, 000 persons lost their lives, butthat number is probably an exaggeration. In the following year, another similar catastrophe occurred on almost the same scale, and itseemed as though Yedo could never rise from its ashes. Yet the resultof these calamities was salutary. The Bakufu selected suitablesituations for the residences of the daimyo, and issued a lawrequiring that the main thoroughfares must have a width of sixty feetand even the by-streets must not be narrower than from thirty tothirty-six feet. Moreover, three bridges, namely, the Ryogoku, theEitai, and the Shin-o, were thrown across the Sumida. This river, which formed the eastern boundary of the city, had hitherto been leftunbridged for military reasons, and the result was that on theoccasion of the great conflagration thousands of people, caughtbetween the flames and the river bank, had to choose death by burningor by drowning. Nevertheless, some officials opposed the building ofbridges, and were only silenced by the astute remark of SakaiTadakatsu that if Yedo was ever to be a great city, the convenienceof its inhabitants must be first consulted, for, after all, thepeople themselves constituted the best stronghold. This may beregarded as an evidence of the deference that was beginning then tobe paid to the non-military classes by the samurai. It was at this time (1658), also, that the city of Yedo obtained itsfirst supply of good water. There was already an aquaduct fromInokashira Lake to the Kanda district of the city, but it carriedonly a very small volume of water, and the idea of harnessing theTama-gawa to supply the town was due to two citizens, Shoemon andSeiemon, who subsequently received the family name of Tamagawa. TheBakufu granted a sum of 7500 ryo towards the expense, and on thecompletion of the work within two years, gifts of 300 ryo were madeto the two projectors. The water had to be carried through a distanceof over thirty miles, and the enterprise did high credit to theengineering skill of the men of the time. DECADENCE OF THE BAKUFU ADMINISTRATION The era of this fourth Tokugawa shogun, Ietsuna, was remarkable forthings other than the lawlessness of the "wave-men. " From that timethe Tokugawa began to fare as nearly all great families of previousages had fared: the substance of the administrative power passed intothe hands of a minister, its shadow alone remaining to the shogun. Sakai Tadakiyo was the chief author of this change. Secluded fromcontact with the outer world, Ietsuna saw and heard mainly throughthe eyes and ears of the ladies of his household. But Tadakiyo causedan order to be issued forbidding all access to the Court ladiesexcept by ministerial permit, and thenceforth the shogun becamepractically deaf and dumb so far as events outside the castle wereconcerned. Some Japanese historians describe this event as an accessof "weariness" on the shogun's part towards the duties ofadministration. This is a euphemism which can be interpreted by whathas been set down above. From 1666, when he became prime minister inYedo, Sakai Tadakiyo seems to have deliberately planned therelegation of his master to the position of a fainéant and thesuccession of the shogun's son to supreme power. Tadakiyo's lust ofauthority was equalled only by his cupidity. Everything went to thehighest bidder. It had gradually become the fashion that the daimyoshould invite to their Yedo residences all the leading administratorsof the Bakufu. On these entertainments great sums were squandered andvaluable presents were a feature of the fetes. It also becamefashionable to pay constant visits at the mansions of the chiefofficials and these visits were always accompanied with costly gifts. It is recorded that the mansion of Tadakiyo was invariably so crowdedby persons waiting to pay their respects that a man repairing thitherat daybreak could scarcely count on obtaining access by evening-fall. The depraved state of affairs brought the administration of theTokugawa into wide disrepute, and loyal vassals of the family sadlycontrasted the evil time with the days of Ieyasu, seventy yearspreviously. THE COURTS OF KYOTO AND OF YEDO The great financial straits to which the Imperial Court was reducedduring the time of the Muromachi shoguns have been already described. Both Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi made some endeavours tocorrect this evil state of affairs, and when Tokugawa Ieyasu cameinto power he adopted still more liberal methods. In 1604, heincreased the revenue of the Court by 10, 000 koku annually, and inthe course of the next few years he caused the palace to be rebuilton a scale of considerable grandeur. The same policy was pursued bythe second shogun, Hidetada, who assigned to the ex-Emperor an incomeof 3000 koku and made various allowances to princes and other membersof the Imperial family. The recipients of these allowances totalled140, and it is on record that, in the year 1706, the revenues of theImperial Court aggregated 29, 000 koku; those of the ex-Emperor15, 000; those of the princes and Court nobles, 44, 000; those of theMonzeki* temples, 19, 000; those of the Court ladies and Imperialnuns, 7500, and those of the Court officials 2300, the whole making atotal of about 120, 000 koku. The income of the retired shogun aloneequalled that amount, and it was enormously surpassed by the revenuesof many of the daimyo. It must be noted, however, that although therice provided for the above purposes was made a charge upon the Kinaiprovinces as well as upon Tamba and Omi, neither to the Emperor norto the Imperial princes nor to the Court nobles were estates granteddirectly. These incomes were collected and transmitted by officialsof the Bakufu, but not a tsubo of land was under the control ofeither sovereign or prince. *Temples governed by Imperial princes. Military affairs, civil administration, financial management, including the casting of coins, judicial and legislative affairs, thesuperintendence of temples, and so forth, were all in the hands ofthe Bakufu in Yedo or of provincial officials nominated by theshogun. Nothing could have been more complete than the exclusion ofthe Kyoto Court from the whole realm of practical government; norcould any system have contrasted more flagrantly with the theory ofthe Daika reforms, according to which every acre of land throughoutthe length and breadth of the empire was the property of thesovereign. It might have been expected that the Tokugawa shogunswould at least have endeavoured to soften this administrativeeffacement by pecuniary generosity; but so little of that quality didthey display that the Emperor and the ex-Emperor were perpetually ina state of financial embarrassment. As for the Court nobles, theirincomes did not always suffice even for the needs of every-day life, and they were obliged to have recourse to various devices, such asmarrying their daughters to provincial governors or sellingprofessional diplomas, the right of conferring which was vested intheir families. THE SEKKE, DENSO, AND SHOSHIDAI The sole functions left to the Imperial Court were those ofappointing the shogun--which of course was only formal--conferringranks, fixing the name of year-periods, ordering the calendar, takingpart in ceremonials, nominating priests and officials, andsanctioning the building of temples. Thus, the regent (kwampaku) wasthe sovereign's appointee. He had to be chosen in succession from oneof the five families--Konoe, Takatsukasa, Kujo, Nijo, and Ichijo, towhich the general name Go-sekke (the Five Regent Families) was given. But the regent was practically without power of any kind. Verydifferent was the case of the denso, who had direct access to theThrone. Appointed by the shogun from one of seventeen familiesclosely related to the Tokugawa, a denso, before entering upon theduties of his office, was obliged to swear that he would minutely andunreservedly report to the Bakufu everything coming to his knowledge. His principal duty was to communicate direct with the Throne. Therewas also another Bakufu nominee called the giso, who administered theaffairs of the Imperial Court, and who held, in addition, the post ofdai-nagon, chu-nagon, or sho-nagon, which offices were reserved formembers of the Tokugawa family. Yet another official representing theBakufu was the shoshidai, who managed all matters connected with theguarding of the Imperial Court and the Court nobles, at the same timetransacting financial business. In the event of any disturbanceoccurring in Court circles in Kyoto, it was reported, first, to theshoshidai and, then, by him, to the senior officials in Yedo, whileany disturbance occurring in Yedo was equally reported, first to theshoshidai and afterwards by the latter to the sovereign. Theshoshidai was in fact a governor-general, with powers far superior tothose of any Court noble, and his sway extended to the eightprovinces in the neighbourhood of Kyoto. By means of the shoshidaiall circumstances of the Imperial Court were fully conveyed to theBakufu in Yedo and complete control was exercised over the Imperialcapital and its environs. The Bakufu were careful to choose for thispost a man whose loyalty and ability stood beyond question. Finally, reference may be made to the administrator of the reigningsovereign's Court (Kinri-zuki bugyo) and the administrator of theex-Emperor's court (Sendo-zuki bugyo), both of whom were Bakufunominees. THE 107TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR GO-YOZEI (A. D. 1586-1611) This Emperor held the sceptre throughout the memorable epoch from thedeath of Nobunaga till that of Ieyasu, and he continued to exercisepower during six years after his abdication. It was he that conferredthe post of shogun on Ieyasu and gave him his posthumous title ofTosho Gongen. His Majesty was the eldest son of the Emperor Okimachi. He surrendered the throne to his third son in 1611, dying at the ageof forty-seven in 1617. THE 108TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR GO-MIZU-NO-O (A. D. 1611-1629) This sovereign had for consort a daughter of the shogun Hidetada, asalready described. The wedding took place in the year 1620, and itsmagnificence offered a theme for enthusiastic comment by contemporaryhistorians. The shogun was careful to surround the Imperial bridewith officials of his own choosing, and these, joining hands with theshoshidai and the denso, constituted an entourage which orderedeverything at Kyoto in strict accordance with the interests of theTokugawa. The new Empress was dowered with an estate much larger thanthat of the Emperor himself, although the latter's allowance wasincreased by ten thousand koku. It is related that his Majesty'simpecuniosity compelled the curtailment of various ceremonies andprevented the giving of presents in the ordinary routine of socialconventions, so that it became necessary to replenish the Imperialpurse by lending rice and money to the citizens at high rates ofinterest. A serious collision occurred during Go-Mizu-no-o's reign between theCourts of Kyoto and Yedo. The Emperor, who inclined to literature andreligion, conceived a profound reverence for two Buddhist prelates ofgreat learning and conspicuously holy lives. To these priests, Takuanand Gyokushitsu, his Majesty presented purple robes, a mark of thehighest distinction, in apparently unwitting violation of theecclesiastical laws promulgated by Ieyasu, which forbade the givingof such robes to any bonzes except those of Kennin-ji. On learning ofthe incident, the Bakufu summoned these prelates to Yedo, deprivedthem of the robes, and sent them into banishment. The Emperor, naturally much offended, declared that he would no longer occupy thethrone, and in 1629, the year of the two priests' transportation, hecarried out his threat, abdicating in favour of the Imperialprincess, Oki, his eldest daughter by the Tokugawa Empress. THE 109TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPRESS MYOSHO (A. D. 1629-1643) The Princess Oki, eldest daughter of Tokufu-mon-in and the EmperorGo-Mizu-no-o, was only seven years of age when thus called on tooccupy the throne. During eight hundred years no female had wieldedthe sceptre of Japan, and the princess was not without a brotherolder than herself, though born of a different mother. Thus, theannouncement of the Emperor's intention created profound astonishmentin the Imperial Court. The partisans of the Bakufu supported theproject, but the friends of the Imperial family denounced itstrenuously. Nothing moved the Emperor, however. His Majesty appearsto have thought that to bestow the princess' hand on a subject and toelevate her elder brother to the throne would surely be productive ofserious mischief, since the husband of the princess, supported by theBakufu, would prove an invincible power in the State. As for the Tokugawa statesmen, some accounts allege that theyobjected to the Emperor's project, but others say that when thematter was reported in Yedo, the shogun signified that his Majestymight consult his own judgment. What is certain is that the Bakufusent to Kyoto the prime minister, Sakai Tadakiyo, with three otherrepresentatives, and that shortly after their arrival in the Imperialcapital, arrangements were completed for the proposed change. TheImperial consort, Tofuku-mon-in, was declared ex-Empress with arevenue of 10, 000 koku, and the little princess, who is known inhistory as Myosho, received an income of 20, 000 koku; while to theex-Emperor, Go-Mizu-no-o, only 3000 koku were allotted. Not until1634, on the occasion of a visit made by Iemitsu, was this glaringcontrast corrected: the shogun then increased the ex-Emperor'sallowance to 7000 koku, and his Majesty continued to administerpublic affairs from his place of retirement until 1680, when he diedhi his eighty-fifth year. THE 110TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR GO-KOMYO (A. D. 1643-1654) This sovereign was a brother of the Empress Myosho but of a differentmother. He was brought up by Tofuku-mon-in as though he were her realchild, until he succeeded to the throne at the age of eleven, occupying it for eleven years. Form his earliest youth he showedsagacity, magnanimity, and benevolence. His love of literature wasabsorbing, and he studied earnestly, taking the priests of the FiveTemples as his teachers. He is said to have arrived at the conclusionthat a sovereign should never study any useless branch of learning, and as he failed to see the utility of Buddhism, he turned toConfucianism in preference. Moreover, dissatisfied with the oldcommentaries of the Han and Tang dynasties, he chose in their steadthe new classics composed by Chengtsz and Chutsz; and as for Japaneseliterature, he condemned as grossly misleading works like the GenjiMonogatari and the Ise Monogatari. There can be no doubt that this sovereign conceived the ambition ofrecovering the administrative authority. His reign extended from thetwenty-second year of Iemitsu's sway to the fifth of Ietsuna's, andin the troubles of that period he thought that he saw hisopportunity. It is related that he devoted much attention to swordexercise, and the shoshidai Itakura Shigemune warned him that thestudy of military matters did not become the Imperial Court and wouldprobably provoke a remonstrance from Yedo should the fact becomeknown there. The Emperor taking no notice of this suggestion, Shigemune went so far as to declare his intention of committingsuicide unless the fencing lessons were discontinued. Thereupon theyoung Emperor calmly observed: "I have never seen a military man killhimself, and the spectacle will be interesting. You had better have aplatform erected in the palace grounds so that your exploit may beclearly witnessed. " When this incident was reported by the shoshidaito Yedo, the Bakufu concluded that some decisive measure must betaken, but before their resolve had materialized and before thesovereign's plans had matured, he died of small-pox, in 1654, at theage of twenty-two, having accomplished nothing except the restorationand improvement of certain Court ceremonials, the enactment of a fewsumptuary laws, and the abandonment of cremation in the case ofImperial personages. THE 111TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR GO-SAIEN (A. D. 1654-1663) ANDTHE 112TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR REIGEN (A. D. 1663-1686) Go-Saien was the sixth son of the Emperor Go-Mizu-no-o. His reign isremarkable in connexion with the attitude of the Yedo Bakufu towardsthe Throne. In 1657, as already related, Yedo was visited by aterrible conflagration, and another of scarcely less destructiveviolence occurred in the same city the following year, while, in1661, the Imperial palace itself was burned to the ground, the samefate overtaking the principal Shinto shrine in Ise, and nearly everyprovince suffering more or less from a similar cause. Moreover, in1662, a series of earthquakes disturbed the country throughout awhole month, and the nation became almost demoralized in the face ofthese numerous calamities. Then the Bakufu took an extraordinarystep. They declared that such visitations must be referred to thesovereign's want of virtue and that the only remedy lay in hisabdication. The shogun, Ietsuna, was now ruling in Yedo. He sentenvoys to Kyoto conveying an order for the dethronement of theEmperor, and although his Majesty was ostensibly allowed to abdicateof his own will, there could be no doubt as to the real circumstancesof the case. His brother, Reigen, succeeded him, and after holdingthe sceptre for twenty-four years, continued to administer affairsfrom his place of retirement until his death, in 1732. SANKE AND SANKYO When Ieyasu, after the battle of Sekigahara, distributed the fiefsthroughout the Empire, he gave four important estates to his ownsons, namely, Echizen to Hideyasu; Owari to Tadayoshi; Mito toNobuyoshi, and Echigo to Tadateru. Subsequently, after the deaths ofTadayoshi and Nobuyoshi, he assigned Owari to his sixth son, Yoshinao, and appointed his seventh son, Yorinobu, to the Kii fief, while to his eighth son, Yorifusa, Mito was given. These last threewere called the Sanke (the Three Families). From them the successorto the shogunate was chosen in the event of failure of issue in thedirect line. Afterwards this system was extended by the addition ofthree branch-families (Sankyo), namely those of Tayasu andHitotsubashi by Munetake and Munetada, respectively, sons of theshogun Yoshimune, and that of Shimizu by Shigeyoshi, son of theshogun Ieshige. It was enacted that if no suitable heir to theshogunate was furnished by the Sanke, the privilege of supplying oneshould devolve on the Sankyo, always, however, in default of an heirin the direct line. The representatives of the Sanke had theirestates and castles, but no fiefs were assigned to the Sankyo; theyresided in Yedo close to the shogun's palace, and received each anannual allowance from the Bakufu treasury. THE FEUDAL SYSTEM OF THE TOKUGAWA It has been shown that in distributing the fiefs Ieyasu aimed atparalyzing the power of the tozama daimyo and vitalizing that of thefudai barons. This he effected, as far as concerned the tozamafeudatories, by isolating them from each other, or by placing thoseof equal strength in juxtaposition, so that they might become rivals;while in the case of fudai barons, he established an effective systemof communications between them, so that co-operation andconcentration of forces were facilitated. Broadly speaking, thismethod had for result the planting of the tozama daimyo in the westand of the fudai barons in the east, as well as along the main roadsbetween the two capitals. The plan worked admirably during 270 years, but at the Restoration, in 1867, the western daimyo combined tooverthrow the shogunate. Very noticeable were the steps taken to provide facilities forcommunication between Yedo and Kyoto. No less than fifty-threeposting stations were established along the road from the Bakufucapital to the Imperial city, and at several places barriers were setup. Among these latter, Hakone was considered specially important. The duty of guarding the barrier there was assigned to the Okubofamily, who enjoyed the full confidence of the Tokugawa and who hadtheir castle in Odawara. No one could pass this barrier without apermit. Women were examined with signal strictness, they beingregarded as part of the system which required that the wives of thedaimyo should live in Yedo as hostages. Thus, whereas a man wasgranted ingress or egress if he carried a passport signed by his ownfeudal chief and addressed to the guards at the barrier, a womanmight not pass unless she was provided with an order signed by aBakufu official. Moreover, female searchers were constantly on dutywhose business it was to subject women travellers to a scrutiny ofthe strictest character, involving, even, the loosening of thecoiffure. All these precautions formed part of the sankin kotaisystem, which proved one of the strongest buttresses of Tokugawapower. But, from the days of Ietsuna, the wives and children of thedaimyo were allowed to return to their provinces, and under theeighth shogun, Yoshimune, the system of sankin kotai ceased to bebinding. This was because the Tokugawa found themselves sufficientlypowerful to dispense with such artificial aids. THE FIEFS There were certain general divisions of the feudatories. Everyonepossessing a fief of 10, 000 koku or upwards was called a daimyo. Thetitle included the Sanke, the Sankyo, the gokemon (governor ofEchizen), the fudai (hereditary vassals), and the tozama. These wereagain subdivided into three classes according to the sizes of theirfiefs. In the first class stood the kokushu (called also kuni-mochi, or provincial barons) who possessed revenues of at least 300, 000koku. The second class consisted of the joshu (called alsoshiro-mochi, or castle-owning barons) whose incomes ranged between100, 000 and 300, 000 koku. Finally, the third class was composed ofthe ryoshu (sometimes known as shiro-nashi, or castleless barons), whose revenues ranged from 10, 000 to 100, 000 koku. These feudatoriesmight be recommended by the shogun for Court rank in Kyoto, but thehighest office thus conferred was that of dainagon (greatcouncillor), from which fact the attitude of the feudatories towardsimperially conferred distinctions can be easily appreciated. Nevertheless, the rules of etiquette were strictly observed byprovincial magnates attending Court functions. They had to conformcarefully to the order of their precedence and with the sumptuaryrules as to colour and quality of garments, and any departure fromthese conventions was severely punished. SUCCESSION If a feudatory committed some crime or died childless, the lawrequired that he should be transferred to another province, or thathis successor should suffer a considerable reduction of revenue. Experience showed, however, that as many of the feudatories diedchildless, there were numerous losses of fiefs, and ultimately it wasenacted that a baron might adopt a successor by way of precaution, unless he deferred that step until he lay dying or sought permissionto take it before he reached the age of seventeen. This meant that ifany feudal chief died before reaching his seventeenth year, hisestate was lost to his family. By way of correcting such a hardship, the adoption of an heir was afterwards sanctioned without referenceto the age of the adopter, and it was further decided that a man offifty or upwards might adopt a son even on his death-bed. Finally, inthe year 1704, all these restrictions were virtually abolished, andespecially the rule that an adopted son must necessarily belong tothe family of his adopter. SEVERITY OF THE TOKUGAWA TOWARDS THE FEUDATORIES Although Ieyasu and his successors in the shogunate did not fail toprovide large estates for their own kith and kin, they never showedany leniency in dealing with the latter's offences. Ieyasu professedto believe in the potency of justice above all administrativeinstruments, and certainly he himself as well as his successorsobeyed that doctrine unswervingly in so far as the treatment of theirown families was concerned. They did not hesitate to confiscatefiefs, to pronounce sentence of exile, or even to condemn to death. Thus, in the year of Ieyasu's decease, his sixth son, MatsudairaTadateru, was deprived of his fief--610, 000 koku--and removed fromEchigo to Asama, in Ise. Tadateru's offence was that he had unjustlydone a vassal of the shogun to death, and had not moved to theassistance of the Tokugawa in the Osaka War. Moreover, when his elderbrother, the shogun Hidetada, repaired to the Imperial palace, Tadateru had pretended to be too ill to accompany him, though inreality he was engaged in a hunting expedition. This was the firstinstance of the Bakufu punishing one of their own relatives. Another example was furnished in 1623 when Matsudaira Tadanao, lordof Echizen, was sentenced to confinement in his own house and wasordered to hand over his fief of 750, 000 koku to his heir. ThisTadanao was a grandson of Ieyasu, and had shown himself a strongsoldier in the Osaka War. But subsequently he fell into habits ofviolence and lawlessness, culminating in neglect of the sankin kotaisystem. His uncle, the shogun Hidetada, sentenced him as abovedescribed. Under the administration of Iemitsu this unflinchingattitude towards wrongdoers was maintained more relentlessly thanever. The dai nagon, Tadanaga, lord of Suruga and younger brother ofIemitsu by the same mother, received (1618) in Kai province a fief of180, 000 koku, and, seven years later, this was increased by Surugaand Totomi, bringing the whole estate up to 500, 000 koku. He residedin the castle of Sumpu and led an evil life, paying no attentionwhatever to the remonstrances of his vassals. In 1632, Iemitsuconfiscated his fief and exiled him to Takasaki in Kotsuke, where hewas compelled to undergo confinement in the Yashiki of AndoShigenaga. Fourteen months later, sentence of death was pronouncedagainst him at the early age of twenty-eight. Other instances might be quoted showing how little mercy the Tokugawashoguns extended to wrongdoers among their own relatives. It needhardly be said that outside clans fared no better. Anyone who gavetrouble was promptly punished. Thus, in 1614, Okubo Tadachika, whohad rendered good service to the Bakufu in early days, and whoenjoyed the full confidence of the shogun, was deprived of his castleat Odawara and sentenced to confinement for the comparativelytrifling offence of contracting a private marriage. Again, in 1622, the prime minister, Honda Masazumi, lord of Utsunomiya, lost his fiefof 150, 000 koku and was exiled to Dawe for the sin of rebuilding hiscastle without due permission, and killing a soldier of the Bakufu. To persons criticising this latter sentence as too severe, DoiToshikatsu is recorded to have replied that any weakness shown atthis early stage of the Tokugawa rule must ultimately prove fatal tothe permanence of the Bakufu, and he expressed the conviction thatnone would approve the punishment more readily than Masazumi's deadfather, Masanobu, were he still living to pass judgment. Doubtless political expediency, not the dictates of justice, largelyinspired the conduct of the Bakufu in these matters, for inproportion as the material influence of the Tokugawa increased, thatof the Toyotomi diminished. In 1632, when the second shogun, Hidetada, died, it is related that the feudal barons observed theconduct of his successor, Iemitsu, with close attention, and that afeeling of some uneasiness prevailed. Iemitsu, whether obeying hisown instinct or in deference to the advice of his ministers, SakaiTadakatsu and Matsudaira Nobutsuna, summoned the feudal chiefs to hiscastle in Yedo and addressed them as follows: "My father and mygrandfather, with your assistance and after much hardship, achievedtheir great enterprise to which I, who have followed the professionof arms since my childhood, now succeed. It is my purpose to treatyou all without distinction as my hereditary vassals. If any of youobject to be so treated, let him return to his province and take theconsequences. " Date Masamune assumed the duty of replying to that very explicitstatement. "There is none here, " he said, "that is not grateful forthe benevolence he has received at the hands of the Tokugawa. Ifthere be such a thankless and disloyal person, and if he conceivetreacherous designs, I, Masamune, will be the first to attack him andstrike him down. The shogun need not move so much as one soldier. "With this spirited reply all the assembled daimyo expressed theirconcurrence, and Iemitsu proceeded to distribute his father'slegacies to the various barons and their vassals. Very soon after hisaccession he had to order the execution of his own brother, Tadanaga, and the banishment of Kato Tadahiro, son of the celebrated KatoKiyomasa. The latter was punished on the ground that he sent away hisfamily from Yedo during the time of mourning for the late shogun, Hidetada. He was deprived of his estate at Kumamoto in Higo and wasexiled to Dewa province. The punishment of these two barons is said to have been in the sequelof a device planned by Iemitsu and carried out by Doi Toshikatsu. Thelatter, being accused of a simulated crime, was sentenced toconfinement in his mansion. Thence he addressed to all the daimyo asecret circular, urging them to revolt and undertaking to makeTadanaga shogun instead of Iemitsu. With two exceptions every baronto whose hands this circular came forwarded it to the Bakufu in Yedo. The exceptions were Tadanaga and Tadahiro, who consequently fellunder the shogun's suspicion. Thereafter, it is related that some ofthe barons set themselves to deceive the Bakufu by various wiles. Thus, Maeda Toshinaga had recourse to the manoeuvre of allowing thehair in his nostrils to grow long, a practice which speedily earnedfor him the reputation of insanity, and Date Masamune conceived thedevice of carrying a sword with a wooden blade. The apprehensions ofwhich such acts were indicative cannot be considered surprising inview of the severe discipline exercised by the Bakufu. Thus, duringthe shogunate of Hidetada, no less than forty changes are recorded tohave been made among the feudatories, and in the time of Iemitsuthere were thirty-five of such incidents. History relates that to betransferred from one fief to another, even without nominal loss ofrevenue, was regarded as a calamity of ten years' duration. All thiswas partly prompted by the Bakufu's policy of weakening thefeudatories. To the same motive must be assigned constant orders forcarrying out some costly public work. ENGRAVING: FANS ENGRAVING: "THE BUGAKU, " ANCIENT DANCING AND MUSIC CHAPTER XL MIDDLE PERIOD OF THE TOKUGAWA BAKUFU; FROM THE FIFTH SHOGUN, TSUNAYOSHI, TO THE TENTH SHOGUN, IEHARU (1680-1786) ACCESSION OF TSUNAYOSHI IN 1680, the fourth shogun, Ietsuna, fell dangerously ill, and acouncil of the chief Bakufu officials was held to decide upon hissuccessor. The Bakufu prime minister, Sakai Tadakiyo, proposed thatthe example of Kamakura should be followed, and that an Imperialprince should be invited to assume the office of shogun. ThereuponHotta Masatoshi, one of the junior ministers, vehementlyremonstrated. "Is the prime minister jesting?" he is reported to haveasked. "There is no question whatever as to the succession. Thatdignity falls to Tsunayoshi and to Tsunayoshi alone. He is thelegitimate son of the late shogun, Iemitsu, and the only brother ofthe present shogun, Ietsuna. If the minister is not jesting, hisproposition is inexplicable. " This bold utterance was received withprofound silence, and after a few moments Sakai Tadakiyo retired fromthe council chamber. It has to be remembered in connexion with this incident, thatTadakiyo exercised almost complete sway in the Bakufu Court at thattime, and the fact that he yielded quietly to Hotta Masatoshi'sremonstrance goes far to acquit him of any sinister design such assecuring the whole administrative power for himself by setting up anImperial prince as a mere figurehead. The more probable explanationis that as one of the consorts of the shogun Ietsuna was enceinte atthat time, the Bakufu prime minister desired to postpone any familydecision until the birth of her child, since to dispense with anImperial prince would be as easy to procure one, whereas if one ofthe shogun's lineage were nominated, he would be difficult todisplace. There had been born to Iemitsu five sons, of whom theeldest, Ietsuna, had succeeded to the shogunate, and three others haddied, the only one remaining alive being Tsunayoshi, who, having beenborn in 1646, was now (1680) in his thirty-fourth year. HOTTA MASATOSHI On Tsunayoshi's accession the prime minister, Sakai Tadakiyo, wasreleased from office, and Hotta Masatoshi became his successor. Naturally, as Masatoshi had been instrumental in obtaining thesuccession for Tsunayoshi, his influence with the latter was verygreat. But there can be no question that he deserves to rank as oneof Japan's leading statesmen in any age, and that he devoted hissignal abilities to the cause of progress and administrative purity. The result of his strenuous services was to check the corruptionwhich had come to pervade every department of State in the closingyears of the fourth shogun's sway, and to infuse the duties ofgovernment with an atmosphere of diligence and uprightness. THE ECHIGO COMPLICATION For several years prior to the accession of Tsunayoshi, the provinceof Echigo had been disturbed by an intrigue in the family ofMatsudaira Mitsunaga. It is unnecessary to enter into furtherdetails. The incident was typical of the conditions existing in manyof the barons' households, and the history of Japan furnishesnumerous parallel cases. But connected with this particular exampleis the remarkable fact that the shogun himself finally undertook inthe hall of justice to decide the issue, and that the rendering ofjustice by the chief of the Bakufu became thenceforth a notinfrequently practised habit. Instructed by his prime minister, theshogun swept aside all the obstacles placed in the path of justice bycorruption and prejudice; sentenced the principal intriguer to death;confiscated the Mitsunaga family's estate of 250, 000 koku on theground of its chief's incompetence, and severely punished all theBakufu officials who had been parties to the plot. THE ATAKA MARU Another act of Tsunayoshi stands to the credit of his acumen. Although the third shogun, Iemitsu, had vetoed the building of anyvessels exceeding five hundred koku capacity, his object being toprevent oversea enterprise, he caused to be constructed for the useof the Bakufu a great ship called the Ataka Maru, which required acrew several hundred strong and involved a yearly outlay figuring inthe official accounts at one hundred thousand koku. One ofTsunayoshi's first orders was that this huge vessel should be brokenup, and when his ministers remonstrated on the ground that she wouldbe invaluable in case of emergency, he replied that if aninsurrection could not be suppressed without such extraordinaryinstruments, the Bakufu might step down at once from the seats ofpower. "As for me, " he added, "I have no desire to preserve such anevidence of constant apprehension and at such a charge on the coffersof the State. " ENCOURAGEMENT OF VIRTUE Tsunayoshi also instructed his officials to search throughout theempire for persons of conspicuous filial piety and women of notedchastity. To these he caused to be distributed presents of money orpensions, and he directed the littérateurs of the Hayashi family towrite the biographies of the recipients of such rewards. In fact, theearly years of the shogun's administration constitute one of thebrightest periods in the history of the Tokugawa Bakufu. ASSASSINATION OF HOTTA MASATOSHI On the 8th of October, 1684, the Bakufu prime minister, HottaMasatoshi, was assassinated in the shogun's palace by one of thejunior ministers, Inaba Masayasu, who met his death immediately atthe hands of the bystanders. This extraordinary affair remainsshrouded in mystery until the present day. Hotta Masatoshi was thethird son of Masamori, who died by his own hand to follow his master, Iemitsu, to the grave. Masatoshi, inheriting a part of his father'sdomain, received the title of Bitchu no Kami, and resided in thecastle of Koga, ultimately (1680) becoming prime minister (dairo)with an annual revenue of 130, 000 koku. His high qualities arerecorded above, but everything goes to show that he had more than theordinary reformer's stubbornness, and that tolerance of asubordinate's errors was wholly foreign to his disposition. Even tothe shogun himself he never yielded in the smallest degree, and bythe majority of those under him he was cordially detested. Therecords say that on one occasion, when remonstrated with by hisfriend, the daimyo of Hirado, who warned him that his hardness andseverity might involve him in trouble, Masatoshi replied, "I thankyou for your advice, but so long as I am endeavouring to reform thecountry, I have no time to think of myself. " It is easy to understand that a man of such methods had enemiessufficiently numerous and sufficiently resolute to compass his death. On the other hand, Masayasu, his assassin, was related to him bymarriage, and possessed an estate of 25, 000 koku, as well as holdingthe position of junior minister of State. It is extremely unlikelythat a man in such a position would have resorted to such a desperateact without great provocation or ample sanction. The question is, wasthe shogun himself privy to the deed? It is recorded that there wasfound on Masayasu's person a document expressing deep gratitude forthe favours he had received at the hands of the shogun, and declaringthat only by taking the life of Masatoshi could any adequate returnbe made. It is further recorded that the steward of the Bakufu, addressing the corpse of Masayasu, declared that the deceased hadshown unparallelled loyalty. Again, history says that Mitsukuni, daimyo of Mito, repaired to the Inaba mansion after the incident, andexpressed to Masayasu's mother his condolences and his applause. Finally, after Masatoshi's death, his son was degraded in rank andremoved to a greatly reduced estate. All these things are difficultto explain except on the supposition that the shogun himself wasprivy to the assassination. ENCOURAGEMENT OF CONFUCIANISM The third shogun, Iemitsu, addressing the mother of his son, Tsimayoshi, is said to have expressed profound regret that his owneducation had been confined to military science. "That is to me, " heis reported to have said, "a source of perpetual sorrow, and careshould be taken that Tsunayoshi, who seems to be a clever lad, shouldreceive full instruction in literature. " In compliance with thisadvice, steps were taken to interest Tsunayoshi in letters, and hebecame so attached to this class of study that even when sick hefound solace in his books. The doctrines of Confucius attracted himabove all other systems of ethics. He fell into the habit ofdelivering lectures on the classics, and to show his reverence forthe Chinese sages, he made it a rule to wear full dress on theseoccasions, and to worship after the manner of all Confucianists. Ithas already been related that a shrine of Confucius was built in UenoPark by the Tokugawa daimyo of Owari, and that the third shogun, Iemitsu, visited this shrine in 1633 to offer prayer. Fifty yearslater, the fifth shogun, Tsunayoshi, followed that example, and alsolistened to lectures on the classics by Hayashi Nobuatsu. Subsequently (1691), a new shrine was erected at Yushima in the Kongodistrict of Yedo, and was endowed with an estate of one thousand kokuto meet the expenses of the spring and autumn festivals. Further, thedaimyo were required to contribute for the erection of a school inthe vicinity of the shrine. At this school youths of ability, selected from among the sons of the Bakufu officials and of thedaimyo, were educated, the doctrines of Confucius being thus renderedmore and more popular. Under Tsunayoshi's auspices, also, many books were published whichremain to this day standard works of their kind. Another step takenby the shogun was to obtain from the Court in Kyoto the rank ofjunior fifth class for Hayashi Nobuatsu, the great Confucian scholar, who was also nominated minister of Education and chief instructor atKongo College. Up to that time it had been the habit of Confucianistsand of medical men to shave their heads and use titles correspondingto those of Buddhist priests. In these circumstances neitherConfucianists nor physicians could be treated as samurai, and theywere thus excluded from all State honours. The distinction conferredupon Hayashi Nobuatsu by the Imperial Court effectually changed theseconditions. The Confucianists ceased to shave their heads and becameeligible for official posts. Thereafter, ten of Hayashi's discipleswere nominated among the shogun's retainers, and were required todeliver lectures periodically at the court of the Bakufu. In short, in whatever related to learning, Tsunayoshi stands easily at the headof all the Tokugawa shoguns. CHANGE OF CALENDAR A noteworthy incident of Tsunayoshi's administration was a change ofcalendar, effected in the year 1683. The credit of this achievementbelongs to a mathematician called Shibukawa Shunkai. A profoundstudent, his researches had convinced him that the Hsuan-mingcalendar, borrowed originally from China and used in Japan ever sincethe year A. D. 861, was defective. He pointed out some of its errorsin a memorial addressed to the Bakufu under the sway of the fourthshogun, but the then prime minister, Sakai Tadakiyo, paid noattention to the document. Shunkai, however, did not desist. In 1683, an eclipse of the moon took place, and he demonstrated that it waserroneously calculated in the Chinese calendar. The fifth shogun, Tsunayoshi, was then in power, and the era of his reforming spirithad not yet passed away. He adopted Shunkai's suggestion and obtainedthe Imperial sanction for a change of calendar so that the Husan-mingsystem went out of force after 822 years of use in Japan. JAPANESE LITERATURE Tsunayoshi did not confine his patronage to Chinese literature; hedevoted much energy to the encouragement of Japanese classicalstudies, also. Thus, in 1689, he invited to Yedo Kitamura Kigin andhis son Shuncho and bestowed upon the former the title of Hointogether with a revenue of five hundred koku. This marked thecommencement of a vigorous revival of Japanese literature in theBakufu capital. Moreover, in Osaka a scholar named Keichu Ajaripublished striking annotations of the celebrated anthologies, theManyo-shu and the Kokin-shu, which attracted the admiration ofTokugawa Mitsukuni, baron of Mito. He invited Keichu to his castleand treated him with marked consideration. These littérateurs werethe predecessors of the celebrated Kamo and Motoori, of whom therewill be occasion to speak by and by. FINE ARTS Tsunayoshi's patronage extended also to the field of the fine arts. The Tokugawa Bakufu had hitherto encouraged the Kano School onlywhereas the Tosa Academy was patronized by the Court at Kyoto. Thispartiality was corrected by Tsunayoshi. , He invited SumiyoshiGukei--also called Hirozumi--the most distinguished pupil of TosaMitsuoki, bestowed on him a revenue of two hundred koku, and gave himthe official position of chief artist of the Tosa-ryu, placing him onan equal footing with the chief of the Kano-ryu. It was at this timealso that the ukiyoe (genre picture) may be said to have won popularfavour. Contemporaneously there appeared some dramatic authors ofhigh ability, and as the ukiyoe and the drama appealed mainly to themiddle and lower classes, the domain of literature and the fine artsreceived wide extension. Thus, Chikamatsu Monzaemon, of Osaka, thegreatest dramatist that his country ever possessed, composed playswhich have earned for him the title of the "Shakespeare of Japan;"and as for the light literature of the era, though it was disfiguredby erotic features, it faithfully reflected in other respects thesocial conditions and sentiments of the time. THE MERCANTILE CLASS From the commencement of Japanese history down to the second half ofthe seventeenth century, the canons and customs were dictated solelyby the upper class, and neither merchants nor artisans wererecognized as possessing any social or literary influence whatever. But in the middle period of the Tokugawa Bakufu--the Genroku period, as it is commonly called--the tradesman became a comparativelyconspicuous figure. For example, in the realm of poetry, hithertostrictly reserved for the upper classes, the classic verse calledrenga (linked song) was considered to be sullied by the introductionof any common or every-day word, and therefore could be composed onlyby highly educated persons. This now found a substitute in thehaikai, which admitted language taken from purely Japanese sourcesand could thus be produced without any exercise of specialscholarship. Afterwards, by the addition of the hokku, anabbreviation of the already brief renga and haikai, which adapteditself to the capacities of anyone possessing a nimble wit or asparkling thought, without any preparation of literary study, therange of poetry was still further extended. Matsuo Basho Was thefather of the haikai and the hokku, and his mantle descended uponKikaku, Ransetsu, Kyoriku, and other celebrities. They travelledround the country popularizing their art and immensely expanding thefield of literature. The craft of penmanship flourished equally, andwas graced by such masters as Hosoi Kotaku and Kitamura Sessan. Yedo, the metropolis of wealth and fashion, became also the capital ofliterature and the fine arts, and a characteristic of the era was thedisappearance of charlatans, whether laymen or bonzes, who professedto teach the arcana of special accomplishments. In short, everybranch of study passed out of the exclusive control of one or twomasters and became common property, to the great advantage oforiginal developments. REMOVAL OF THE ROJU What has thus far been written depicts the bright side ofTsunayoshi's administration. It is necessary now to look at thereverse of the picture. There we are first confronted by an importantchange of procedure. It had been the custom ever since the days ofIeyasu to conduct the debates of the council of ministers (Roju) in achamber adjoining the shogun's sitting-room, so that he could hearevery word of the discussion, and thus keep himself au courant ofpolitical issues. After the assassination of Hotta Masatoshi thisarrangement was changed. The council chamber was removed to adistance, and guards were placed in the room where it had originallyassembled, special officials being appointed for the purpose ofmaintaining communications between the shogun and the Roju. Thisinnovation was nominally prompted by solicitude for the shogun'ssafety, but as its obvious result was to narrow his sources ofinformation and to bring him under the direct influence of the newlyappointed officials, there is strong reason to believe that themeasure was a reversion to the evil schemes of Sakai Tadakiyo, whoplotted to usurp the shogun's authority. YANAGISAWA YASUAKI Tsunayoshi had at that time a favourite attendant on whom heconferred the rank of Dewa no Kami with an estate at Kawagoe whichyielded 100, 000 koku annually. The friendship of the shogun for thismost corrupt official had its origin in community of literary taste. Tsunayoshi lectured upon the "Doctrine of the Mean, " and Yasuaki onthe Confucian "Analects, " and after these learned discourses aSarugaku play, or some other form of light entertainment, wasorganized. The shogun was a misogynist, and Yasuaki understood wellthat men who profess to hate women become the slave of the fair sexwhen their alleged repugnance is overcome. He therefore set himselfto lead the shogun into licentious habits, and the lecture-meetingsultimately changed their complexion. Tsunayoshi, giving an ideographfrom his name to Yasuaki, called him Yoshiyasu, and authorized him toassume the family name of Matsudaira, conferring upon him at the sametime a new domain in the province of Kai yielding 150, 000 koku. Thenceforth, the administration fell entirely into the hands of thisschemer. No prime minister (dairo) was appointed after theassassination of Hotta Masatoshi; the council of ministers became amere echo of Yoahiyasu's will and the affairs of the Bakufu weremanaged by one man alone. DOG MANIA Tsunayoshi lost his only son in childhood and no other being born tohim, he invited a high Buddhist priest to pray for an heir to theshogunate. This priest, Ryuko by name, informed Tsunayoshi that hischildless condition was a punishment for taking animal life in aprevious state of existence, and that if he wished to be relieved ofthe curse, he must show mercy, particularly to dogs, as he had beenborn in the year whose zodiacal sign was that of the "Dog. " It seemsstrange that such an earnest believer in the Confucian doctrineshould have had recourse to Buddhism in this matter. But here alsothe influence of Yoshiyasu is discernible. At his suggestion theshogun built in Yedo two large temples, Gokoku-ji and Goji-in, andRyuko was the prelate of the former. An order was accordingly issuedagainst slaughtering dogs or taking life in any form, the resultbeing that all wild animals multiplied enormously and wrought greatdamage to crops. Thereupon the Bakufu issued a further notice to theeffect that in case wild animals committed ravages, they might bedriven away by noise, or even by firing blank cartridges, providedthat an oath were made not to kill them. Should these means provedefective, instructions must be sought from the judicial department. Moreover, if any animal's life was taken under proper sanction, thecarcass must be buried without removing any part of its flesh orskin. Violations of this order were to be severely punished, and itwas enacted that an accurate register must be kept of all dogs ownedby the people, strict investigations being made in the event of thedisappearance of a registered dog, and the officials were speciallywarned against permitting one animal to be substituted for another. Strange dogs were to be well fed, and any person neglecting thisobligation was to be reported to the authorities. At first these orders were not very seriously regarded, but by andby, when many persons had been banished to Hachijo-jima for killingdogs; when several others had been reproved publicly for not givingfood to homeless animals, and when officials of the supreme courtwere condemned to confinement for having taken no steps to preventdog-fights, the citizens began to appreciate that the shogun was ingrim earnest. A huge kennel was then constructed in the Nakano suburbof Yedo as a shelter for homeless dogs. It covered an area of about138 acres, furnished accommodation for a thousand dogs, and was underthe management of duly appointed officials, while the citizens had tocontribute to a dog-fund, concerning which it was said that a dog'sration for a day would suffice a man for a day and a half. Tsunayoshi came to be spoken of as Inu-kubo (Dog-shogun), but all hismeasures did not bring him a son; neither did their failure shake hissuperstitious credulity. Solemn prayers were offered again and againwith stately pomp and profuse circumstance, and temple after templewas built or endowed at enormous cost, while the laws against takinganimal life continued in force more vigorously than ever. Birds andeven shell-fish were included in the provisions, and thus not onlywere the nation's foodstuffs diminished, but also its crops lay atthe mercy of destructive animals and birds. It is recorded that apeasant was exiled for throwing a stone at a pigeon, and that one manwas put to death for catching fish with hook and line, while anothermet the same fate for injuring a dog, the head of the criminal beingexposed on the public execution ground and a neighbour who hadreported the offence being rewarded with thirty ryo. We read, also, of officials sentenced to transportation for clipping a horse orfurnishing bad provender. The annals relate a curious story connectedwith these legislative excesses. The Tokugawa baron of Mito, known inhistory as Komon Mitsukuni, on receiving evidence as to themonstrous severity with which the law protecting animals wasadministered, collected a large number of men and organized a huntingexpedition on a grand scale. Out of the animals killed, twenty dogsof remarkable size were selected, and their skins having beendressed, were packed in a case for transmission to YanagisawaYoshiyasu, whom people regarded as chiefly responsible for theshogun's delirium. The messengers to whom the box was entrusted wereordered to travel with all speed, and, on arriving in Yedo, to repairforthwith to the Yanagisawa mansion, there handing over the skinswith a written statement that the Mito baron, having found sucharticles useful in the cold season, availed himself of thisopportunity to submit his experience together with a parcel ofdressed hides to the shogun through Yoshiyasu. It is said that therecipient of this sarcastic gift conceived a suspicion of the Mitobaron's sanity and sent a special envoy to examine his condition. FINANCE In the sequel of this corrupt administration, this constant buildingof temples, and this profusion of costly ceremonials, the shogun'sGovernment found itself seriously embarrassed for money. Ieyasu hadalways made frugality and economy his leading principles. He hadescaped the heavy outlays to which his fellow barons were condemnedin connexion with the Korean campaign, since his share in the affairdid not extend beyond collecting a force in the province of Hizen. Throughout his life he devoted much attention to amassing a reservefund, and it is said that when he resigned the shogunate to his son, he left 150, 000 gold oban (one and a half million ryo), and nearlytwo million ounces (troy) of silver in the treasury. Further, duringhis retirement at Sumpu, he saved a sum of one million ryo. The sameeconomy was practised by the second shogun, although he was compelledto spend large sums in connexion with his daughter's promotion to bethe Emperor's consort, as well as on the repairs of Yedo Castle andon his several progresses to Kyoto. On the occasion of theseprogresses, Hidetada is said to have distributed a total of 4. 217, 400ryo of gold and 182, 000 ryo of silver among the barons throughout theempire. The third shogun, Iemitsu, was open handed. We find himmaking frequent donations of 5000 kwamme of silver to the citizens ofKyoto and Yedo; constructing the inner castle at Yedo twice; buildinga huge warship; entertaining the Korean ambassadors with much pomp;disbursing 400, 000 ryo on account of the Shimabara insurrection, anddevoting a million ryo to the construction and embellishment of themausolea at Nikko. Nevertheless, on the whole Iemitsu must beregarded as an economical ruler. As for his successor, Ietsuna, he had to deal with several calamitousoccurrences. After the great fire in Yedo, he contributed 160, 000 ryofor the relief of the sufferers; he rebuilt Yedo Castle, and hereconstructed the Imperial palace of Kyoto twice. In the Empo era(1673-1680), the country was visited by repeated famines, which hadthe effect of reducing the yield of the taxes and calling for largemeasures of relief. In these circumstances, a proposal was formallysubmitted recommending the debasement of the gold coinage, but itfailed to obtain official consent. It may be mentioned that, in theyear 1659, the treasury was reduced to ashes, and a quantity of goldcoin contained therein was melted. With this bullion a number of goldpieces not intended for ordinary circulation were cast, and stampedupon them were the words, "To be used only in cases of nationalemergency. " The metal thus reserved is said to have amounted to160, 000 ryo. The register shows that when the fifth shogun succeededto power, there were 3, 850, 000 gold ryo in the treasury. But thisenormous sum did not long survive the extravagance of Tsunayoshi. After the assassination of Hotta Masatoshi, the administrative powerfell entirely into the hands of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, and the exampleset by him for those under his guidance, and by his master, theshogun, soon found followers among all classes of the people. As aninstance of ludicrous luxury it may be mentioned that the timbersintended for the repair of the castle in Yedo were wrapped in waddedquilts when transported to the city from the forest. Finally, thetreasury became so empty that, when the shogun desired to repair tothe mausolea at Nikko, which would have involved a journey of tendays at the most, he was compelled to abandon the idea, as theofficials of the treasury declared themselves unable to find thenecessary funds. That sum was calculated at 100, 000 ryo, or about asmany pounds sterling, which fact is alone sufficient to convey anidea of the extravagance practised in everything connected with theGovernment. The immediate outcome of this incident was the summoning of a councilto discuss the financial situation, and after much thought thesuggestion of Hagiwara Shigehide, chief of the Treasury, wasaccepted, namely, wholesale debasement of the gold, silver, andcopper coins. The old pieces, distinguished as "Keicho coins, " thatbeing the name of the year period (1596-1614) when they were minted, were replaced by greatly inferior "Genroku coins" (1688-1703), withthe natural results--appreciation of commodities and much forging ofcounterfeit coins. Presently the Government is found levying a taxupon 27, 200 sake brewers within the Kwanto, and, in 1703, freshexpedients became necessary to meet outlays incurred owing to a greatearthquake and conflagration which destroyed a large part of YedoCastle and of the daimyo's mansions. Further debasement of thecurrency was resorted to, the new coins being distinguished by theterm "Hoei, " after the name of the year-period when they wereminted. About this time several of the feudatories found themselves in suchstraits that they began to issue paper currency within theirdominions, and this practice having been interdicted by the Bakufu, the daimyo fell back upon the expedient of levying forced loans fromwealthy merchants in Osaka. Meanwhile, the crime of forgery became soprevalent that, in the interval between 1688 and 1715, no less than541 counterfeiters were crucified within the districts under thedirect control of the Bakufu. , The feudatory of Satsuma is creditedwith having justly remarked that the victims of this cruel fatesuffered for their social status rather than for their offenceagainst the law, the real counterfeiters being Yanagisawa andHagiwara, who were engaged continuously in uttering debased coins. It must be admitted in behalf of the financiers of that era thattheir difficulties were much accentuated by natural calamities. Thedestructive earthquake of 1703 was followed, in 1707, by an eruptionof Fuji, with the result that in the three provinces of Musashi, Sagami, and Suruga, considerable districts were buried in ashes tothe depth of ten feet, so that three years and a heavy expenditureof, money were required to restore normal conditions. Thenceforth thestate of the Bakufu treasury went from bad to worse. Once againHagiwara Shigehide had recourse to adulteration of the coinage. Thistime he tampered mainly with the copper tokens, but owing to theunwieldy and impure character of these coins, very great difficultywas experienced in putting them into circulation, and the Bakufufinanciers finally were obliged to fall back upon the reserve of goldkept in the treasury for special contingencies. There can be no doubtthat Japan's foreign trade contributed materially to her financialembarrassment, but this subject will be subsequently dealt with. TSUNAYOSHI'S FAVOURITE When Tsunayoshi became shogun, Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu occupied theposition of a low-class squire in the shogun's household and was inreceipt of a salary of three hundred koku yearly. Four years later, he received the title of Dewa no Kami and his revenue was increasedto 100, 000 koku. Finally, in 1703, he was appointed daimyo of Kaiprovince and came into the enjoyment of a total income of 150, 000koku. This was the more remarkable inasmuch as, owing to thestrategical importance of Kai, it had been reserved as a fief for oneof the Tokugawa family, and its bestowal on a complete outsider wasequivalent to the admission of the latter into the Tokugawa circle. This remarkable promotion in rank and income shows how completely theshogun had fallen under the influence of his favourite, Yoshiyasu, who exhibited wonderful skill in appealing at once to the passionsand to the intellect of his master. Some historians of the timerelate that the shogun's infatuation betrayed him into promising toraise Yoshiyasu's revenue to a million koku, and to nominate assuccessor to the shogunate a son borne by Yoshiyasu's wife toTsunayoshi; but according to tradition, these crowning extravaganceswere averted on the very night preceding the day of their intendedconsummation, the shogun being stabbed to death by his wife, whoimmediately committed suicide. This tale, however, has been shown tobe an invention with no stronger foundation than the fact thatTsunayoshi's death took place very suddenly at a highly criticaltime. It is not to be doubted that many of the excesses andadministrative blunders committed by the fifth Tokugawa shogun weredue to the pernicious influence of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu. DECLINE OF THE SAMURAI SPIRIT The no dance was among the indulgences which Tsunayoshi affected andamong the accomplishments in which he himself excelled. He took intohis service a number of skilled dancers of the no, and treated themas hereditary vassals, setting aside the chamber of the Paulownia fortheir use. These performers, whatever their origin, received thetreatment of samurai, and their dainty posturing in the dance becamea model for the lords of the Bakufu Court, so that the simpledemeanour of military canons was replaced by a mincing andmeretricious mien. Another favourite dance in Yedo Castle was thefuryu. A book of the period describes the latter performance in theseterms: "Sixteen youths made their appearance; they all worewide-sleeved robes and purple figured silk with embroidery of oakleaves in gold and silver threads. They carried two swords with goldmountings and scarlet tassels, so that when they danced in harmonywith the flutes and drums the spectacle presented was one of dazzlingbrilliancy. " Thenceforth this "Genroku dance, " as it came to becalled, obtained wide vogue. The same is true of the joruri, which isone of the most emotional forms of chant. Hitherto the samisen hadbeen regarded as a vulgar instrument, and its use had never receivedthe sanction of aristocratic circles. But it now came into favourwith all classes of women from the highest to the lowest, and thesinging of the joruri was counted a far more important accomplishmentthan any kind of domestic education. Such an appeal to the emotional side of human nature could not failto undermine the stoicism of the samurai and the morality of societyin general. The practice of the military arts went out of fashion, and it became an object with the bushi not only to have his swordhighly ornamented, but also to adapt its dimensions to the fashion ofthe moment, thus sacrificing utility to elegance. In short, theGenroku era (1688-1703) was essentially a time of luxury andextravagance, its literature abounding in theatrical plays, songs, verses, and joruri, and its ideals involving the sacrifice of thenoble to the elegant. Men were promoted in rank not merely becausethey could dance gracefully, but also because they made themselvesconspicuous for kindness to dogs, in obedience to the shogun'sfoible, and as many of these men had not learned to ride on horsebackthey petitioned for permission to use palanquins. This marked asignal departure from the severe rules of former days. Streetpalanquins (machi-kago) ultimately came into use by all who couldafford the luxury. In short, the ancient order of educationalprecedence was reversed, and polite accomplishments took the place ofmilitary science. ENGRAVING: FORTY-SEVEN RONIN THE AKO VENDETTA Nevertheless, this degenerate era produced one of the most remarkableacts of self-sacrificing loyalty that stand to the credit of Japanesesamurai. On the 7th of February, 1703, forty-seven bushi, under theleadership of Oishi Yoshio, forced their way into the mansion of KiraYoshihide; killed him in order to avenge the death of their feudalchief, Asano Naganori, daimyo of Ako; and then surrendered themselvesto justice. Under the title of The Forty-seven Ronins, this story hasbeen told in history, on the stage, and in all forms of literature, so that its details need not be repeated here. It will suffice to saythat, under great provocation, the Ako feudatory drew his sword inthe precincts of Yedo Castle and cut down Kira Yoshihide, for whichbreach of court etiquette rather than for the deed of violence, theAko baron was condemned to commit suicide and his estates wereconfiscated. Thereupon, forty-seven of his principal vassals pledgedthemselves to wreak vengeance, and, after nearly two years ofplanning and watching, they finally succeeded in achieving theirpurpose. Degenerate as was the spirit of the time, this bold deedaroused universal admiration. The vendetta was not illegal in Japan. It had been practised from medieval times and often with directsanction of the authorities. But in no circumstances was itofficially permissible within the cities of Kyoto, Yedo, Osaka, andSumpu, or in the vicinity of the shogun's shrines. The forty-sevenronins had therefore committed a capital crime. Yet they had onlyobeyed the doctrine of Confucius, and the shogun thereforeendeavoured to save their lives. More than a year was spentdiscussing the issue, and it is recorded that Tsunayoshi appealed tothe prince-abbot of Ueno in order to secure his intervention in thecause of leniency. The day was ultimately carried by the advocates ofstern justice, and the forty-seven ronins were ordered to commitsuicide. They obeyed without a murmur. One of them, Terasaka Kichiemon byname, had been sent to carry the news to Ako immediately after theperpetration of the deed of vengeance. He returned when his comradeswere condemned and gave himself up to the authorities, but theydeclined to punish him on the ground that the case had already beendisposed of. The eminent Confucian scholar, Hayashi Nobuatsu, petitioned for the pardon of the ronins, and the scarcely lesscelebrated Muro Kyuso compiled a book describing the incident; but, for some reason never fully explained, the noteworthy scholar, OgyuSorai, took the opposite side. One act of the authorities is eloquentas to the sentiment prevailing at the time. They condemnedYoshihide's son, Yoshikata, to be deprived of his ancestral domainfor not having died in company with his father. As for the feeling ofthe nation at large, it was abundantly manifested by many of thegreat feudatories, who vied with one another in conferring officesand revenues on the sons and grandsons of the "Forty-seven. " YAMAGA SOKO The affair of the forty-seven ronins helped to bring into eminencethe name of Yamaga Soko, a firm believer in Confucianism and anardent follower of military science. Amid an environment ofunfavourable conditions Soko preached the cult of bushido, and wasthe first to embody that philosophy in a written system. Hisbooks--the Shi-do (Way of the Warrior) and Bukyo Shogaku (MilitaryPrimer)--contain minute instructions as to the practice and themorale of the samurai. Soko rejected the Chutsz interpretation, thenin vogue, of the Chinese classics, and insisted on the pure doctrineof the ancient sages, so that he found himself out of touch with theeducational spirit of the time. Thus, falling under the displeasureof the Bakufu, he was charged with propagating heterodox views andwas sent to Ako to be kept in custody by Asano Naganori, who treatedhim throughout with courtesy and respect. In return, Soko devoted hiswhole energy during nineteen years to the education of the Akovassals, and the most prominent of the Forty-seven Ronins was amonghis pupils. THE SIXTH SHOGUN, IENOBU Tsunayoshi died of small-pox in 1709, after a brief illness. He hadno son, and: five years previously, his nephew Ienobu (third son ofhis deceased elder brother, Tsunashige) had been declared heir to theshogunate. Having been born in 1662, Ienobu was in his forty-seventhyear when he succeeded to the office of shogun. His first act was toabolish Tsunayoshi's legislation for the protection of animals. He issaid to have offered the following explanation at the tomb of thedeceased shogun: "You desired to protect living animals and strictlyinterdicted the slaughter of any such. You willed that even afteryour death the prohibition should be observed. But hundreds ofthousands of human beings are suffering from the operation of yourlaw. To repeal it is the only way of bringing peace to the nation. " ARAI HAKUSEKI Ienobu gave evidence of his sagacity by dismissing YanagisawaYoshiyasu, the corrupt favourite of the late shogun; by appointing inhis stead Manabe Norifusa to the office of personal assistant (sobayoniri), and by reposing full confidence in Arai Hakuseki. This lastis recognized by posterity as the most distinguished among JapaneseConfucianists. He studied the literature of both the Tang and theSung dynasties, and he laboured to apply the precepts of Chinesephilosophy to the practical needs of his own country. Moreover, hedevoted exceptional attention to the conditions existing inOccidental States, and he embodied his thoughts and researches on thelatter subject in a book called Sairan Igen, the first treatise ofits kind published in Japan. A practical illustration of his knowledge was furnished in connexionwith the reception of Korean envoys. It had been customary to conveyto these officials an imposing conception of Japanese magnificence bytreating them with lavish hospitality. Hakuseki was able to detectthat the conduct of the envoys violated in many respects the rules ofChinese etiquette, and having obtained the shogun's nomination toreceive the envoy, Cho, he convinced the latter that there must be nomore neglect of due formalities. He then memorialized the shogun inthe sense that these Korean ambassadors were merely Chinese spies, and that instead of receiving a lavish welcome, they should berequired to limit their journey to the island of Tsushima, where onlya very restricted ceremonial should be performed in their honour. This shrewd, though somewhat conservative, suggestion elicitedgeneral approval, but was not carried into effect until the time ofthe eleventh shogun. ENGRAVING: ARAI HAKUSEKI ADJUSTMENT OF THE FINANCES It has been shown above that the fifth shogun bequeathed to hissuccessor a much embarrassed treasury. In this realm, also, theadvice of Arai Hakuseki proved invaluable. In his volume ofreminiscences there is an interesting statement connected withfinance. It quotes Hagiwara Shigehide, commissioner of the Treasury, as saying that the shogun's estate at that time yielded four millionkoku annually, in addition to which there accrued from 760, 000 ryo to770, 000 ryo in money, representing the proceeds of dues and taxes. Inthis latter sum was included 40, 000 ryo, customs duties collected atNagasaki, and 6000 ryo yielded by a tax on sake. The same reportmentions that a sum of 160, 000 ryo had been expended in clearing awaythe volcanic ashes which fell in the three provinces of Musashi, Sagami, and Suruga after the great eruption of Fujisan. Arai Hakusekiwas able to prove the erroneous character of this report, but hisdemonstration did not impugn any of the above figures. Incidentallyit is mentioned in Arai's comments that 700, 000 ryo were allotted forbuilding an addition to Yedo Castle, and 200, 000 ryo for theconstruction of the deceased shogun's mausoleum, out of which totalHakuseki explicitly charges the officials, high and low alike, withdiverting large sums to their own pockets in collusion with thecontractors and tradesmen employed on the works. Another interestinginvestigation made by Arai Hakuseki is in connexion with thecountry's foreign trade. He showed that the amount of coins exportedfrom Nagasaki alone, during one year, totalled 6, 192, 800 ryo of gold;1, 122, 687 kwamme of silver and 228, 000, 000 kin of copper. * He allegedthat the greater part of this large outflow of specie producednothing except luxuries with which the nation could very welldispense, and he therefore advised that the foreign trade of Nagasakishould be limited to thirteen Chinese junks and two Dutch vesselsannually, while stringent measures should be adopted to preventsmuggling. *One kin equals 1. 25 lbs. The ordinance based upon this advice consisted of two hundredarticles, and is known in history as the "New Nagasaki Trade Rules ofthe Shotoku Era" (1711-1715). One portion of the document ran asfollows: "During the Jokyo era (1684-1687), the trade with Chinesemerchants was limited to 6000 kwamme of silver, and that with Dutchtraders to 50, 000 ryo of gold, while the number of Chinese vesselswas not allowed to exceed seventy per annum. After a few years, however, copper coins came into use as media of exchange in additionto silver, and moreover there was much smuggling of foreign goods. Thus, it resulted that gold, silver, and copper flowed out of thecountry in great quantities. Comparing the aggregate thus exportedduring the 107 years since the Keicho era with the amount coined inJapan during the same interval, it is found that one-quarter of thegold coins and three-quarters of the silver left the country. If thatstate of affairs continue, it is obvious that after a hundred yearsfrom the present time one-half of the empire's gold will be carriedaway and there will be no silver at all left. As for copper, the sumremaining in the country is insufficient, not only for purposes oftrade but also for the needs of everyday life. It is most regrettablethat the nation's treasure should thus be squandered upon foreignluxuries. The amount of currency needed at home and the amountproduced by the mines should be investigated so as to obtain a basisfor limiting the foreign trade at the open ports of Nagasaki, Tsushima, and Satsuma, and for fixing the maximum number of foreignvessels visiting those places. " IMPEACHMENT OF HAGIWARA SHIGEHIDE In connexion with Arai Hakuseki's impeachment of the Treasurycommissioner, Hagiwara Shigehide, it was insisted that an auditor'soffice must be re-established, and it was pointed out that the yieldof rice from the shogun's estates had fallen to 28. 9 per cent, of thetotal produce instead of being forty per cent. , as fixed by law. Nevertheless, the condition of the farmers was by no means improved, and the inevitable inference was that the difference went into thepockets of the local officials. Similarly, enormous expenses wereincurred for the repair of river banks without any correspondingdiminution of floods, and hundreds of thousands of bags of rice wentnominally to the bottom of the sea without ever having been shipped. During the year that followed the reconstruction of the auditor'soffice, the yield of the estates increased by 433, 400 bags of rice, and the cost of riparian works decreased by 38, 000 ryo of gold, while, at the same time, the item of shipwrecked cereals disappearedalmost completely from the ledgers. In consequence of these chargesthe commissioner, Shigehide, was dismissed. History says thatalthough his regular salary was only 3000 koku annually, he embezzled260, 000 ryo of gold by his debasement of the currency, and thatultimately he starved himself to death in token of repentance. Ienobu and his able adviser, Hakuseki, desired to restore thecurrency to the system pursued in the Keicho era (1596-1614), buttheir purpose was thwarted by insufficiency of the precious metals. They were obliged to be content with improving the quality of thecoins while decreasing their weight by one half. These new tokenswere called kenji-kin, as they bore on the reverse the ideograph ken, signifying "great original. " The issue of the new coins took placein the year 1710, and at the same time the daimyo were strictlyforbidden to issue paper currency, which veto also was imposed at thesuggestion of Arai Hakuseki. THE SEVENTH SHOGUN, IETSUGU The seventh Tokugawa shogun, Ietsugu, son of his predecessor, Ienobu, was born in 1709, succeeded to the shogunate in April, 1713, and diedin 1716. His father, Ienobu, died on the 13th of November, 1712, sothat there was an interval of five months between the demise of thesixth shogun and the accession of the seventh. Of course, a child offour years who held the office of shogun for the brief period ofthree years could not take any part in the administration or have anyvoice in the appointment or dismissal of officials. Thus, AraiHakuseki's tenure of office depended upon his relations with theother ministers, and as all of these did not approve his drasticreforms, he was obliged to retire, but Manabe Norifusa remained inoffice. ENGRAVING: TOKUGAWA YOSHIMUNE THE EIGHTH SHOGUN, YOSHIMUNE By the death of Ietsugu, in 1716, the Hidetada line of the Tokugawafamily became extinct, and a successor to the shogunate had to besought from the Tokugawa of Kii province in the person of Yoshimune, grandson of Yorinobu and great-grandson of Ieyasu. Born in 1677, Yoshimune, the eighth Tokugawa shogun, succeeded to office in 1716, at the age of thirty-nine. The son of a concubine, he had beenobliged to subsist on the proceeds of a very small estate, and hetherefore well understood the uses of economy and the condition ofthe people. His habits were simple and plain, and he attached as muchimportance as Ieyasu himself had done to military arts and literarypursuits. It had become a custom on the occasion of each shogun'ssuccession to issue a decree confirming, expanding, or altering thesystems of the previous potentate. Yoshimune's first decree placedspecial emphasis on the necessity of diligence in the discharge ofadministrative functions and the eschewing of extravagance. Always hemade it his unflagging aim to restore the martial spirit which hadbegun to fade from the samurai's bosom, and in the forefront ofimportant reforms he placed frugality. The Bakufu had fallen into thehabit of modelling their systems and their procedure after Kyotoexamples. In fact, they aimed at converting Yedo into a replica ofthe Imperial capital. This, Yoshimune recognized as disadvantageousto the Bakufu themselves and an obstacle to the resuscitation ofbushido. Therefore, he set himself to restore all the manners andcustoms of former days, and it became his habit to preface decreesand ordinances with the phrase "In pursuance of the methods, fixedby Gongen" (Ieyasu). His idea was that only the decadence of bushidocould result from imitating the habits of the Imperial Court, and asManabe Norifusa did not endorse that view with sufficient zeal, theshogun relieved him of his office of minister of the Treasury. One of Yoshimune's measures was to remodel the female department ofthe palace on the lines of simplicity and economy. All theladies-in-waiting were required to furnish a written oath againstextravagance and irregular conduct of every kind, and in the sixthyear after his accession the shogun ordered that a list should befurnished setting forth the names and ages of such of these ladies aswere, conspicuously beautiful. Fifty were deemed worthy ofinscription, and quite a tremor of joyful excitement was caused, themeasure being regarded as prefacing the shogun's choice of consorts. But Yoshimune's purpose was very different. He discharged all thesefair-faced ladies and kept only the ill-favoured ones, his assignedreason being that as ugly females find a difficulty in gettinghusbands, it would be only charitable to retain their services. He revived the sport of hawking, after the manner of Ieyasu, for hecounted it particularly suitable to soldiers; and he pursued thepastime so ardently that men gave him the name of the Taka-shogun(Falcon shogun). He also inaugurated a new game called uma-gari(horse-hunting); and it is on record that he required the samurai topractise swimming in the sea. By way of giving point to hisordinances inculcating frugality, he himself made a habit of wearingcotton garments in winter and hempen in summer--a custom habituallypractised by the lower orders only. The very detailed nature of hiseconomical measures is illustrated by an incident which hasindependent interest. Observing that the fences erected on the scarpof Yedo Castle were virtually useless for purposes of defence andvery costly to keep in repair, he caused them all to be pulled downand replaced by pine trees. This happened in 1721, and the result wasthat the battlements of this great castle were soon overhung by nobletrees, which softened and beautified the military aspect of thecolossal fortress. To the same shogun Yedo owes the cherry and plumgroves of Asuka-yama, of the Sumida-gawa, and of Koganei. Thesaplings of these trees were taken from the Fukiage park, whichremains to-day one of the most attractive landscape gardens in theworld. ENGRAVING: VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS OF WOMEN, KYOHO ERA OTHER MEASURES For the purpose of acquiring accurate information about the conditionof the people, Yoshimune appointed officials who went by the name ofniwa-ban (garden watchmen). They moved about among the lower ordersand reported everything constituting knowledge useful foradministrative purposes. Moreover, to facilitate the ends of justice, the shogun revived the ancient device of petition-boxes(meyasu-bako), which were suspended in front of the courthouse inorder that men might lodge there a written statement of allcomplaints. It was by Yoshimune, also, that the celebrated OokaTadasuke, the "Solomon of Japan, " was invited from Yamada andappointed chief justice in Yedo. The judgments delivered by him inthat capacity will be famous as long as Japan exists. It has to benoted, however, that the progressive spirit awakened by Yoshimune'sadministration was not without untoward results. Extremists fell intothe error of believing that everything pertaining to the canons ofthe immediate past must be abandoned, and they carried thisconception into the realm of foreign trade, so that the restrictionsimposed in the Shotoku era (1711-1715) were neglected. It becamenecessary to issue a special decree ordering the enforcement of theseregulations, although, as will presently be seen, Yoshimune'sdisposition towards the civilization of the Occident was essentiallyliberal. CODES OF LAW By this time the miscarriages of justice liable to occur when the lawis administered with regard to precedent only or mainly, began to beplainly observable, and the shogun, appreciating the necessity forwritten codes, appointed a commission to collect and collate the lawsin operation from ancient times; to embody them in codes, and toillustrate them by precedents. Matsudaira Norimura, one of theministers of State, was appointed chief commissioner, and thereresulted, after four years of labour, the first genuine Japanese code(Oshioki Ojomoku). This body of laws was subsequently revised byMatsudaira Sadanobu, and under the name of Osadame Hyakkajo ("HundredArticles of Law"), it remained long in practice. LITERATURE Yoshimune was not behind any of his ancestors in appreciation oflearning. In 1721, when his administrative reforms were still intheir infancy, he invited to Yedo Kinoshita Torasuke (son of thecelebrated Kinoshita Junan), Muro Nawokiyo, and other eminent men ofletters, and appointed them to give periodical lectures. Nawokiyo wasnamed "adviser to the shogun, " who consulted him about administrativeaffairs, just as Arai Hakuseki had been consulted by Ienobu. In fact, it was by the advice of Arai Hakuseki that Nawokiyo (whose literaryname was Kyuso), entered the service of Yoshimune. Contemporaneouswith these littérateurs was the renowned Ogyu Sorai, whose profoundknowledge of finance and of administrative affairs in general madehim of great value to the Bakufu. He compiled a book called Seidan(Talks on Government) which, immediately became a classic. Specialfavour was shown to the renowned Confucianist, Hayashi Nobuatsu. Heand his son were asked to deliver regular lectures at the ShoheiCollege, and these lectures were the occasion of a most importantinnovation, namely, the admission of all classes of people, whereaspreviously the audience at such discourses had been strictly limitedto military men. It is to be observed that in the days of Yoshimune's shogunate thephilosophy of Chutsz (Shu-shi) was preferred to all others. Itreceived the official imprimatur, the philosophy of Wang Yang-ming (OYo-mei) being set aside. One consequence of this selection was thatthe Hayashi family came to be regarded as the sole depositories oftrue Confucianism. Yoshimune himself, however, was not disposed toset any dogmatic limits to the usefulness of men of learning. Heassumed an absolutely impartial attitude towards all schools;adopting the good wherever it was found, and employing talent towhatever school it belonged. Thus when Kwanno Chqkuyo established aplace of education in Yedo, and Nakai Seishi did the same in Osaka, liberal grants of land were made by the Bakufu to both men. Anotherstep taken by the shogun was to institute a search for old booksthroughout the country, and to collect manuscripts which had beenkept in various families for generations. By causing these to becopied or printed, many works which would otherwise have beendestroyed or forgotten were preserved. It is notable that all this admirable industry had one untowardresult: Japanese literature came into vogue in the Imperial capital, and was accompanied by the development of a theory that loyalty tothe sovereign was inconsistent with the administration of the Bakufu. The far-reaching consequences of this conception will be dealt within a later chapter. Here, it is sufficient to say that one of thegreatest and most truly patriotic of the Tokugawa shoguns himselfunwittingly sowed the seeds of disaffection destined to prove fatalto his own family. ADOPTION OF WESTERN LEARNING Yoshimune was fond of astronomy. He erected a telescope in theobservatory at Kanda, a sun-dial in the palace park, and a rain-gaugeat the same place. By his orders a mathematician named Nakane Genkeitranslated the Gregorian calendar into Japanese, and Yoshimune, convinced of the superior accuracy of the foreign system, would havesubstituted it for the Chinese then used in Japan, had not hispurpose excited such opposition that he judged it prudent to desist. It was at this time that the well-informed Nishikawa Masayasu andShibukawa Noriyasu were appointed Government astronomers. Previously the only sources of information about foreign affairs hadbeen the masters of the Dutch ships, the Dutch merchants, and theJapanese interpreters at Nagasaki. The importation of books from theOccident having been strictly forbidden by the third shogun, Iemitsu, Yoshimune appreciated the disadvantage of such a restriction, andbeing convinced of the benefits to be derived from the study offoreign science and art, he rescinded the veto except in the case ofbooks relating to Christianity. Thus, for the first time, Japanesestudents were brought into direct contact with the products ofWestern intelligence. In 1744, Aoki Konyo received official orders toproceed to Nagasaki for the purpose of seeking instruction in Dutchfrom Dutch teachers. Shibukawa and Aoki are regarded as the pioneersof Occidental learning in Japan, and, in the year 1907, posthumoushonours were conferred on them by the reigning Emperor of theircountry. THE SANKIN KOTAI It has already been stated that the financial embarrassment of theBakufu in Yoshimune's time was as serious as it had been in hispredecessor's days. Moreover, in 1718, the country was swept by aterrible tornado, and in 1720 and 1721, conflagrations reduced largesections of Yedo to ashes. Funds to succour the distressed peoplebeing imperatively needed, the shogun called upon all the feudatoriesto subscribe one hundred koku of rice for every ten thousand koku oftheir estates. By way of compensation for this levy he reduced tohalf a year the time that each feudal chief had to reside in Yedo. This meant, of course, a substantial lessening of the great expensesentailed upon the feudatories by the sankin kotai system, and therelief thus afforded proved most welcome to the daimyo and the shomyoalike. Yoshimune intended to extend this indulgence ultimately byreleasing the barons from the necessity of coming to Yedo more thanonce in from three to five years, and, in return, he contemplated acorresponding increase of the special levy of rice. But his ministersopposed the project on the ground that it would dangerously loosenthe ties between the feudatories and the Bakufu, and inasmuch asevents proved that this result threatened to accrue from even themoderate indulgence granted by the shogun, not only was no extensionmade but also, in 1731, the system of sankin kotai was restored toits original form. The experiment, indeed proved far fromsatisfactory. The feudatories did not confine themselves toassertions of independence; they also followed the example of theBakufu by remitting some of the duties devolving on their retainersand requiring the latter to show their gratitude for the remissionsby monetary payments. Nominally, these payments took the form ofloans, but in reality the amount was deducted from the salaries ofvassals. This pernicious habit remained in vogue among a section ofthe feudatories, even after the sankin kotai had been restored to itsoriginal form. OFFICIAL SALARIES From ancient times it had been the habit of the Bakufu to assignimportant offices to men who were in enjoyment of large hereditaryincomes. This was mainly for financial reasons. Salaries were paid inthe form of additions to the hereditary estates in other words, theemoluments of office became permanent, and the charge upon the Bakufubeing correspondingly increased, it was obviously expedient to fillhigh administrative posts with men already in possession of ampleincomes. This system was radically changed by Yoshimune. He enactedthat a clear distinction should be made between temporary salary andhereditary income. Thenceforth, salary was to be received only duringthe tenure of office and was to cease on laying down officialfunctions. This reform had the effect not only of lightening theburden upon the Bakufu income, but also of opening high offices toable men without regard to their private fortunes. ENGRAVING: VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS OF WOMEN, KYOHO EHA THE CURRENCY From the first day of assuming administrative power, Yoshimune gaveearnest thought to reform of the currency. His ambition was torestore the gold and silver coins to the quality and sizes existingin the Keicho era. This he effected, though not on a sufficientlylarge scale. Each of the new coins was equal in intrinsic value totwo of the corresponding kenji coins, and the circulation of thelatter was suspended, the new coins being called Kyoho-kin after theyear-name of the era (1716-1735) when they made their appearance. Itwas a thoroughly wholesome measure, but the quality of the preciousmetals available did not suffice. Thus, whereas the gold coins struckduring ten years of the Kyoho era totalled only 8, 290, 000 ryo, acensus taken in 1732 showed a total population of 26, 921, 816. Therefore, the old coins could not be wholly withdrawn fromcirculation, and people developed a tendency to hoard the new andmore valuable tokens. Other untoward effects also were produced. The shogun paid muchattention to promoting agriculture and encouraging land reclamation, so that the yield of rice increased appreciably. But this proved byno means an unmixed blessing. Side by side with an increase in thequantity of rice appearing in the market, the operation of the newcurrency tended to depreciate prices, until a measure of grain whichcould not have been bought at one time for less than two ryo becamepurchasable for one. In fact, the records show that a producerconsidered himself fortunate if he obtained half a ryo of gold for akoku of rice. This meant an almost intolerable state of affairs forthe samurai who received his salary in grain and for the pettyfarmer. Thus, a man whose income was three rations of rice annually, and who consequently had to live on 5. 4 koku for a whole year, foundthat when he set aside from three to four koku for food, thereremained little more than one ryo of assets to pay for salt, fuel, clothes, and all the other necessaries of life. So acute was the suffering of the samurai that a rice-exchange wasestablished at Dojima, in Osaka, for the purpose of imparting somemeasure of stability to the price of the cereal. Just at this time(1732), the central and western provinces were visited by a faminewhich caused seventeen thousand deaths and reduced multitudes to theverge of starvation. The Bakufu rendered aid on a munificent scale, but the price of rice naturally appreciated, and although thisbrought relief to the military class, it was misconstrued by thelower orders as a result of speculation on 'Change. Riots resulted, and rice-merchants fearing to make purchases, the market price of thecereal fell again, so that farmers and samurai alike were plungedinto their old difficulties. Ultimately, in 1735, the Bakufu inaugurated a system of officiallyfixed prices (osadame-soba), according to which 1. 4 koku of rice hadto be exchanged for one ryo of gold in Yedo, the Osaka rate beingfixed at forty-two momme of silver for the same quantity of thecereal. Anyone violating this rule was fined ten momme of silver foreach koku of rice purchased or sold by him. It is related that theosadame-soba was operative in name only, and that the merchantssecretly dealt in the cereal at much lower prices than thoseofficially fixed. The Yedo financiers now concluded that the quantityof currency in circulation was insufficient and its quality too good. Accordingly, the gold and silver coins were once more reminted, smaller and less pure tokens being issued under the name of bunji-kinwith reference to the Genbun era (1736-1740) of their issue. Thus, the reform of the currency, achieved with so much difficulty in theearly years of Yoshimune's administration, had to be abandoned, andthings reverted to their old plight. If this difficulty operated so acutely under a ruler of Yoshimune'stalent, the confusion and disorder experienced when he withdrew hisable hand from the helm of State may be imagined. The feudatorieswere constantly distressed to find funds for supporting their Yedomansions, as well as for carrying out the public works imposed onthem from time to time, and for providing the costly presents whichhad become a recognized feature of ordinary and extraordinaryintercourse. As an example of the luxury of the age, it may bementioned that when the fifth shogun visited the Kaga baron, thelatter had to find a sum of a million ryo to cover the expensesincidental to receiving such a guest. In these circumstances, therearose among the feudatories a habit of levying monetary contributionsfrom wealthy persons in their fiefs, the accommodation thus affordedbeing repaid by permission to carry swords or by promotion in rank. The poorer classes of samurai being increasingly distressed, they, too, borrowed money at high rates of interest from merchants andwealthy farmers, which loans they were generally unable to repay. Ultimately, the Bakufu solved the situation partially by decreeingthat no lawsuit for the recovery of borrowed money should beentertained--a reversion to the tokusei system of the Ashikagashoguns. Of course, credit was completely undermined by the issue of thisdecree. It is strange that such conditions should have existed undersuch a ruler as Yoshimune. But even his strenuous influence did notsuffice to stem the current of the time. The mercantile instinctpervaded all the transactions of every-day life. If a man desired toadopt a son, he attached much less importance to the latter's socialstatus or personality than to the dimensions of his fortune, and thusit came about that the family names of petty feudatories were freelybought and sold. Yoshimune strictly interdicted this practice, buthis veto had no efficiency; wealthy farmers or merchants freelypurchased their way into titled families. From this abuse toextortion of money by threats the interval was not long, and theoutcome, where farmers were victims, took the form of agrarian riots. It was to the merchants, who stood between the farmers and thesamurai, that fortune offered conspicuously favourable opportunitiesin these circumstances. The tradesmen of the era became the centre ofextravagance and luxury, so that in a certain sense the history ofthe Yedo Bakufu may be said to be the history of mercantiledevelopment. INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS Yoshimune devoted much attention to the encouragement of industrialprogress. Deeming that a large import of drugs and sugar caused aruinous drain of specie, he sent experts hither and thither throughthe country to encourage the domestic production of these staples aswell as of vegetable wax. The feudatories, in compliance with hissuggestion, took similar steps, and from this time tobacco growing inSagami and Satsuma; the weaving industry in Kotsuke and Shimotsuke;sericulture in Kotsuke, Shinano, Mutsu, and Dewa; indigo cultivationin Awa; orange growing in Kii, and the curing of bonito in Tosa andSatsuma--all these began to flourish. Another feature of the time wasthe cultivation of the sweet potato at the suggestion of Aoki Konyo, who saw in this vegetable a unique provision against famine. Irrigation and drainage works also received official attention, asdid the reclamation of rice-growing areas and the storing of cereals. THE NINTH SHOGUN, IESHIGE In 1745, Yoshimune resigned his office to his son, Ieshige, who, having been born in 1702, was now in his forty-third year. Yoshimunehad three sons, Ieshige, Munetake, and Munetada. Of these the mostpromising was the second, Munetake, whose taste for literature andmilitary art almost equalled his father's. Matsudaira Norimura, primeminister, recognizing that Ieshige, who was weak, passionate, andself-willed, would not be able to fill worthily the high office ofshogun, suggested to Yoshimune the advisability of nominatingMunetake. But Yoshimune had his own programme. Ieshige's son, Ieharu, was a very gifted youth, and Yoshimune reckoned on himself retainingthe direction of affairs for some years, so that Ieshige's functionswould be merely nominal until Ieharu became old enough to succeed tothe shogunate. Meanwhile, to prevent complications and avert dangerous rivalry, Yoshimune assigned to Munetake and Munetada residences within theTayasu and Hitotsubashi gates of the castle, respectively, gave thenames of these gates as family titles, and bestowed on each a revenueof one hundred thousand koku, together with the privilege ofsupplying an heir to the shogunate in the event of failure of issuein the principal house of Tokugawa or in one of the "Three Families. "The shogun, Ieshige, followed the same plan with his son, Yoshishige, and as the latter's residence was fixed within the Shimizu gate, there came into existence "Three Branch Families" called the Sankyo, in supplement of the already existing Sanke. * *The present Princes Tokugawa are the representatives of the mainline of the shogun; the Marquises Tokugawa, representatives of theSanke, and the Counts Tokugawa, of the Sankyo. Of course, the addition of the Shimizu family had the approval ofYoshimune. In fact, the whole arrangement as to the Sankyo was anillustration of his faithful imitation of the institutions of Ieyasu. The latter had created the Sanke, and Yoshimune created the Sankyo;Ieyasu had resigned in favour of his son and had continued toadminister affairs from Sumpu, calling himself 0-gosho; Yoshimunefollowed his great ancestor's example in all these respects exceptthat he substituted the western part of Yedo Castle for Sumpu. Ieshige's most salient characteristic was a passionate disposition. Men called him the "short-tempered shogun" (kanshaku kubo). He gavehimself up to debauchery, and being of delicate physique, hisself-indulgence quickly undermined his constitution. So long asYoshimune lived, his strong hand held things straight, but after hisdeath, in 1751, the incompetence of his son became very marked. Heallowed himself to fall completely under the sway of his immediateattendants, and, among these, Tanuma Okitsugu succeeded inmonopolizing the evil opportunity thus offered. During nearly tenyears the reforms effected by Yoshimune steadily ceased to beoperative, and when Ieshige resigned in 1760, the country had falleninto many of the bad customs of the Genroku era. THE TENTH SHOGUN, IEHARU After his abdication in 1760, Ieshige survived only fourteen months, dying, in 1761, at the age of fifty-one. He was succeeded, in 1760, by his son, Ieharu, who, having been born in 1737, was twenty-threeyears old when he began to administer the country's affairs. One ofhis first acts was to appoint Tanuma Okitsugu to be prime minister, bestowing on him a fief of fifty-seven thousand koku in the provinceof Totomi, and ordering him to construct a fortress there. At thesame time Okitsugu's son, Okitomo, received the rank of Yamato noKami and the office of junior minister. These two men becamethenceforth the central figures in an era of maladministration andcorruption. So powerful and all-reaching was their influence thatpeople were wont to say, "Even a bird on the wing could not escapethe Tanuma. " The shogun was not morally incapable, but hisintelligence was completely overshadowed by the devices of Okitsugu, who took care that Ieharu should remain entirely ignorant of popularsentiment. Anyone attempting to let light into this state of darknesswas immediately dismissed. It is related of a vassal of Okitsugu thathe was found one day with three high officials of the shogun's courtbusily engaged in applying a moxa to his foot. The three officialsknew that their places depended on currying favour with this vassal;how much more, then, with his master, Okitsugu! Everything went bybribery. Justice and injustice were openly bought and sold. TanumaOkitsugu was wont to say that human life was not so precious as goldand silver; that by the liberality of a man's gifts his sinceritymight truly be gauged, and that the best solace for the trouble ofconducting State affairs was for their administrator to find hishouse always full of presents. Ieharu, however, knew nothing of all this, or anything of the naturalcalamities that befell the country under his sway--the eruption ofthe Mihara volcano, in 1779, when twenty feet of ashes were piledover the adjacent country through an area of several miles; thevolcanic disturbance at Sakura-jima, in Osumi, which took place aboutthe same time and ended in the creation of several new islands; theoutbreak of the Asama crater, in 1783, when half the provinces of theKwanto were covered with ashes; and the loss of forty thousand livesby a flood in the Tone-gawa. Of all these visitations the shogunremained uninformed, and, in spite of them, luxury and extravagancemarked the lives of the upper classes. Many, however, wereconstrained to seek loans from wealthy merchants in Osaka, and thesetradesmen, admonished by past incidents, refused to lend anything. Atlast the intolerable situation culminated in a deed of violence. InApril, 1784, Sano Masakoto, a hereditary vassal of the shogun, drewhis sword upon Okitsugu within the precincts of the castle in Yedoand wounded him severely. Masakoto was seized and sentenced to commitsuicide, but the justice of his attempt being recognized, theinfluence of Okitsugu and his son began to decline. Two years later(1786), there appeared a decree in the name of the Bakufu, orderingthat the temples in all the provinces, the farmers, the artisans, andthe merchants should send their gold and silver every spring to theCentral Government, to the end that the latter might lend thistreasure to the feudatories, who would pledge themselves to pay itback after five years. * *The funds thus obtained were called yuzu-kin (accommodation money). There is reason to believe that the shogun himself knew nothing ofthis ordinance until a multitude of complaints and remonstrancesfound their way, in part, to his ears. At all events, theextraordinary decree proved to be the last act of Okitsugu's officiallife. He was dismissed from office, though whether the credit of thatstep belongs to the Sanke and the elder officials or to the shogun, is not certain, for Ieharu is said to have died just before the finaldisgrace of the corrupt statesman was consummated. The Yedo uponwhich he closed his eyes in October, 1786, presented features ofdemoralization unsurpassed in any previous era. In fact, during theperiod of forty-one years between the accession of the ninth shogun, Ieshige, in 1745, and the death of the tenth, Ieharu, in 1786, themanners and customs of the citizens developed along very evil lines. It was in this time that the city Phryne (machi-geisha) made herappearance; it was in this time that the theatre, which had hithertobeen closed to the better classes, began to be frequented by them; itwas in this time that gambling became universal; it was in this timethat parents learned to think it an honour to see their daughterswinning favour as dancing girls, and it was in this time that thesamurai's noble contempt for money gave place to the omnipotence ofgold in military and civil circles alike. THE IMPERIAL COURT. THE 113TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR HIGASHIYAMA(A. D. 1687-1710) In 1687, the Emperor Reigen abdicated in favour of Higashiyama, thena boy of thirteen, Reigen continuing to administer affairs frombehind the curtain as was usual. Tsunayoshi was then the shogun inYedo. He showed great consideration for the interests of the ImperialCourt. Thus, he increased his Majesty's allowance by ten thousandkoku of rice annually, and he granted an income of three thousandkoku to the ex-Emperor. Moreover, all the Court ceremonies, which hadbeen interrupted for want of funds, were resumed, and steps weretaken to repair or rebuild the sepulchres of the sovereignsthroughout the empire. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE FEUDATORIES AND THE COURT NOBLES According to a rule made in the beginning of the Tokugawa dynasty, alady of Tokugawa lineage was forbidden to marry a Court noble, butthe shogun himself was expected to take a consort from one of thenoble houses in the Imperial capital. From the days of Iemitsu thislatter custom was steadily maintained, and gradually the feudatoriescame to follow the shogun's example, so that marriages betweenmilitary magnates and noble ladies of Kyoto Were frequent. To theseunions the Court nobles were impelled by financial reasons and themilitary men by ambition. The result was the gradual formation of anImperial party and of a Bakufu party in Kyoto, and at times thereensued sharp rivalry between the two cliques. In the days of theseventh shogun, Ietsugu, the Emperor Reigen would have given hisdaughter Yaso to be the shogun's consort for the purpose of restoringreal friendship between the two Courts, but the death of the shogunin his boyhood interrupted the project. THE 114TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR NAKANOMIKADO (A. D. 1710-1735) Higashiyama abdicated (1710) in favour of Nakanomikado, who reignedfor twenty-five years. This reign is remarkable for a change in thesystem hitherto uniformly pursued, namely, that all Imperial princeswith the exception of the direct heir should become Buddhist priests(ho-shinnd), and all princesses except those chosen as consorts ofthe shoguns, should become Buddhist nuns (bikuni-gosho). It hasalready been shown that this custom found many followers in the daysof Ashikaga administration, and it was observed with almost equalstrictness under the Tokugawa, who certainly aimed at the gradualweakening of the Imperial household's influence. Arai Hakusekiremonstrated with the shogun, Ienobu, on the subject. He contendedthat however humble a man's lot may be, his natural desire is to seehis children prosper, whereas in the case of Imperial princes, theywere condemned to the ascetic career of Buddhist priests. Hedenounced such a system as opposed to the instincts of humanity, andhe advised not only that certain princes should be allowed to formfamilies of their own, but also that Imperial princesses should marryinto branches of the Tokugawa. Ienobu is said to have acknowledgedthe wisdom of this advice, and its immediate result was theestablishment of the princely house of Kanin, which, with the housesof Fushimi, Kyogoku (afterwards Katsura), and Arisugawa, became thefour Shinnoke. Among other privileges these were designated tofurnish an heir to the throne in the event of the failure of directissue. When Yoshimune succeeded to the headship of the Bakufu, andafter Arai Hakuseki was no longer in office, this far-seeing policywas gradually abandoned, and all the relations between the ImperialCourt and the Bakufu became somewhat strained. THE 115TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR SAKURAMACHI (A. D, 1732-1735), ANDTHE 116TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR MOMOZONO (A. D. 1735-1762) After the death of the ex-Emperor Reigen (1732), the EmperorNakanomikado administered affairs himself during three years, andthen abdicated in 1735 in favour of Sakuramachi, who was sixteenyears of age, and who reigned until 1747, when he abdicated in favourof Momozono, then seven years of age. It was in this reign that thereappeared an eminent scholar, Yamazaki Ansai, who, with his scarcelyless famous pupil, Takenouchi Shikibu, expounded the Chinese classicsaccording to the interpretation of Chutsz. They sought to combine thecults of Confucianism and Shinto, and to demonstrate that the Mikadoswere descendants of gods; that everything possessed by a subjectbelonged primarily to the sovereign, and that anyone opposing hisMajesty's will must be killed, though his brothers or his parentswere his slayers. The obvious effect of such doctrines was todiscredit the Bakufu shoguns, and information having ultimately beenlodged in Yedo through an enemy of Takenouchi, seventeen Court noblestogether with others were arrested and punished, some capitally andsome by exile. Among those executed the most remarkable was YamagataDaini, a master of military science, who, having endured the torturewithout confession, was finally put to death on the ground that inteaching the method of attacking a fortress he used drawings of YedoCastle. This incident is remarkable as indicating the first potentappearance of a doctrine to the prevalence of which the fall of theTokugawa Bakufu was ultimately referable. THE 117TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPRESS GO-SAKURAMACHI (A. D. 1762-1770), ANDTHE 118TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR GO-MOMOZONO (A. D. 1770-1780) The Emperor Momozono died in 1762 after having administered theGovernment for sixteen years. His eldest son, Prince Hidehito, beinga mere baby, it was decided that Princess Tomo, Momozono's eldersister, should occupy the throne, Prince Hidehito becoming the CrownPrince. Her Majesty is known in history as Go-Sakuramachi. Her reignlasted only eight years, and in 1770 she abdicated in favour of hernephew, Hidehito, who ascended the throne as the Emperor Go-Momozonoand died after a reign of nine years. This exhausted the linealdescendants of the Emperor Nakanomikado. THE 119TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR KOKAKU (A. D. 1780-1816) In default of a direct heir it became necessary to have recourse toone of the "Four Princely Families, " and the choice fell upon PrinceTomohito, representing the Kanin house. He succeeded as Kokaku, and aJapanese historian remarks with regard to the event and to the growthof the spirit fostered by Yamazaki Ansai, Takenouchi Shikibu, andYamagata Daini, that "the first string of the Meiji Restoration lyrevibrated at this time in Japan. " Kokaku's reign will be referred toagain later on. ENGRAVING: (Keyari) SPEAR CARRIER (One of a Daimyo's Procession) ENGRAVING: PICKING TEA LEAVES IN UJI, A CELEBRATED TEA DISTRICT CHAPTER XLI THE LATE PERIOD OF THE TOKUGAWA BAKUFU. THE ELEVENTH SHOGUN, IENARI. (1786-1838) NATURAL CALAMITIES THE misgovernment of Tanuma and his son was not the only calamitythat befell the country during the closing years of the tenth shogun, Ieharu's, administration. The land was also visited by famine andpestilence of unparallelled dimensions. The evil period began in 1783and lasted almost without intermission for four years. It is recordedthat when the famine was at its height, rice could not be obtained insome parts of the country for less than forty ryo a koku. Sanguinaryriots took place in Yedo, Kyoto, Osaka, and elsewhere. The stores ofrice-merchants and the residences of wealthy folks were plunderedand, in many cases, destroyed. To such extremities were people driventhat cakes made from pine-tree bark served as almost the sole meansof subsistence in some districts, and the Government is found gravelyproclaiming that cakes made of straw were more nutritious. There arerecords of men deserting their families, wandering into otherprovinces in search of food and dying by thousands on the way. Anofficial who had been sent to Matsumae, in the province of Mutsu, toobserve the state of affairs, reported that the villages to the eastof Nambu had been practically depopulated and the once fertile fieldsconverted into barren plains. "Although farmhouses stood in thehamlets, not a solitary person was to be seen on the road; not ahuman voice was to be heard. Looking through a window, one saw deadbodies lying without anyone to bury them, and sometimes skeletonscovered with quilts reposed on the mats, while among the weedscountless corpses were scattered. " THE ELEVENTH SHOGUN, IENARI Among these terrible conditions the tenth shogun, Ieharu died, in1786, and was succeeded by Ienari, a son of Hitotsubashi Harunari anda great-grandson of Yoshimune. Ienari was in his fifteenth year, and, of course, at such a tender age he could not possibly deal with thefinancial, economic, and administrative problems that presentedthemselves at this, the darkest period of Tokugawa sway. Fortunatelya man of genius was found to grapple with the situation. MatsudairaSadanobu, son of Tayasu Munetake and grandson of Yoshimune, provedhimself one of the most capable administrators Japan had hithertoproduced. In 1788, he was appointed prime minister, assisted by acouncil of State comprising the heads of the three Tokugawa familiesof Mito, Kii, and Owari. Sadanobu was in his thirtieth year, a man ofboundless energy, great insight, and unflinching courage. His firststep was to exorcise the spectre of famine by which the nation wasobsessed. For that purpose he issued rules with regard to the storingof grain, and as fairly good harvests were reaped during the next fewyears, confidence was in a measure restored. The men who served theBakufu during its middle period in the capacity of ministers had beentaken almost entirely from the families of Ii, Sakai, and Hotta, butnone of them had shown any marked ability; they had allowed theirfunctions to be usurped by the personal attendants of the shogun. This abuse was remedied by the appointment of the heads of the threeTokugawa families to the post of ministers, and for a time Sadanobureceived loyal and efficient support from his colleagues. CONFLAGRATION IN KYOTO The series of calamities which commenced with the tempests, floods, and famines of 1788 culminated in a fire such as never previously hadswept Kyoto. It reduced to ashes the Imperial palace, Nijo Castle, 220 Shinto shrines, 128 Buddhist temples, and 183, 000 houses. Theloss of life (2600) was not by any means as severe as that in thegreat fire of Yedo, but the Imperial city was practically destroyed. Ishikawa Jinshiro, who commanded at Nijo Castle, immediatelydistributed a thousand koku of rice from the Government's store torelieve the distressed citizens. He acted in this matter withoutwaiting to seek sanction from the Bakufu, and his discretion wasrewarded by appointment to the high office of inspector-general ofpolice (o-metsuke). The problem of restoring the palace presented much difficulty in theimpoverished state of the country, but the Bakufu did not hesitate totake the task in hand, and to issue the necessary requisitions to thefeudatories of the home provinces. Sadanobu himself repaired to Kyototo superintend the work, and took the opportunity to travelthroughout a large part of the country. During his tour all that hadany grievances were invited to present petitions, and munificentrewards were bestowed on persons who had distinguished themselves byacts of filial piety or by lives of chastity. Such administrativemeasures presented a vivid contrast with the corrupt oppressionpractised by the Tanuma family, and it is recorded that men and womenkneeled on the road as Sadanobu passed and blessed him with tears. ENGRAVING: SANNO FESTIVAL OF TOKYO IN EARLY DAYS SUMPTUARY REGULATIONS Convinced that the most important step towards economic improvementwas the practice of frugality, Sadanobu caused rules to be compiledand issued which dealt with almost every form of expenditure. Hehimself made a practice of attending at the castle wearing garmentsof the coarsest possible materials, and the minute character of hisordinances against extravagance almost taxes credulity. Thus, he forbade the custom of exchanging presents between officialcolleagues; ordered that everyone possessing an income of less thanten thousand koku should refrain from purchasing anything new, whether clothing, utensils, or furniture; interdicted the wearing ofwhite robes except on occasions of ceremony; ordained that weddingpresents should henceforth be reduced by one-half, advised that driedlobsters should be substituted for fresh fish in making presents;prohibited the wearing of brocade or embroidered silk by ladies notof the highest class; enjoined simplicity in costumes for the nodance, in children's toys, in women's pipes, or tobacco-pouches, andin ladies' hairpins or hairdress; forbade gold lacquer in any formexcept to delineate family crests; limited the size of dolls; vetoedbanquets, musical entertainments, and all idle pleasures except suchas were justified by social status, and actually went to the lengthof ordering women to dress their own hair, dispensing entirely withprofessional Hairdressers, who were bade to change their occupationfor tailoring or laundry work. This remarkable statesman laboured for the ethical improvement of hiscountrymen as well as for their frugality of life. In 1789, we findhim legislating against the multiplication of brothels, and, twoyears later, he vetoed mixed bathing of men and women. One of thefashions of the time was that vassals left in charge of their lords'mansions in Yedo used to organize mutual entertainments by way ofpromoting good-fellowship, but in reality for purposes ofdissipation. These gatherings were strictly interdicted. Simultaneously with the issue of this mass of negative legislation, Sadanobu took care to bestow rewards and publish eulogies. Whoeverdistinguished himself by diligent service, by chastity, by filialpiety, or by loyalty, could count on honourable notice. THE KWANSEI VAGABONDS During the Kwansei era (1789-1800), Yedo was infested by vagabonds, who, having been deprived of their livelihood by the famine duringthe years immediately previous, made a habit of going about the townin groups of from three to five men committing deeds of theft orincendiarism. Sadanobu, acting on the advice of the judicialofficials, dealt with this evil by establishing a house of correctionon Ishikawa Island. There homeless vagrants were detained andprovided with work, those ignorant of any handicraft being employedas labourers. The inmates were fed and clothed by the Government, andset free after three years, their savings being handed to them toserve as capital for some occupation. The institution was placedunder the care of Hasegawa Heizo, five hundred bags of rice and fivehundred ryo being granted annually by the Bakufu for its support. ADOPTION It has been stated above that one of the abuses which came into largepractice from the middle period of the Tokugawa Bakufu was theadoption of children of ignoble birth into samurai families inconsideration of monetary payments by their parents. This mercenarycustom was strictly interdicted by the Matsudaira regent, who justlysaw in it a danger to the solidity of the military class. But it doesnot appear that his veto received full observance. EDUCATION Since the shogun Tsunayoshi (1680-1709) appointed Hayashi Nobuatsu aschief of Education in Yedo, and entrusted to him the conduct of thecollege called Seido, Hayashi's descendants succeeded to that post byhereditary right. They steadily followed the principles ofConfucianism as interpreted by Chutsz, a Chinese philosopher who diedin the year 1200, but in accordance with the inevitable fate of allhereditary offices, the lapse of generations brought inferiority ofzeal and talent. During the first half of the seventeenth century, there appeared in the field of Japanese philosophy Nakaye Toju, whoadopted the interpretation of Confucianism given by a later Chinesephilosopher, Wang Yang-ming (1472-1529). At a subsequent date YamagaSoko, Ito Jinsai, and Ogyu Sorai (called also Butsu Sorai) assertedthe superiority of the ancient Chinese teaching; and finallyKinoshita Junan preached the rule of adopting whatever was good, without distinction of Tang or Sung. These four schools engaged in vehement controversy, and showed suchpassion in their statements and such intolerance in theircontradictions, that they seemed to have altogether forgotten theethical principles underlying their own doctrines. In the lastquarter of the eighteenth century, other schools came into being, onecalling itself the "eclectic school, " another the "inductive school, "and so forth, so that in the end one and the same passage of theConfucian Analects received some twenty different interpretations, all advanced with more or less abuse and injury to the spirit ofpoliteness. In these circumstances the educational chief in Yedo lost control ofthe situation. Even among his own students there were some whorejected the teachings of Chutsz, and Confucianism threatened tobecome a stumbling-block rather than an aid to ethics. The primeminister, Sadanobu, now appointed four philosophers of note to assistthe Hayashi family, and these famous teachers attended in turn at theSeido to lecture, commoners as well as samurai being allowed toattend. Sadanobu further directed that the heads of Governmentdepartments should send in a list of those best educated among theirsubordinates, and the men thus recommended were promoted afterexamination. Moreover, the prime minister himself, attended by hiscolleagues and the administrators, made a habit of inspectingpersonally, from time to time, the manner of teaching at the college, and finally, in 1795, the Seido was definitely invested with thecharacter of a Government college, a yearly grant of 1130 koku beingapportioned to meet the expenses, and an income of 1500 koku beingbestowed upon the Hayashi family. In the same year, it was decreed that no one should be eligible for apost in the civil service unless he was an avowed follower of theChutsz philosophy. This bigoted measure, spoken of as the"prohibition of heterodoxy, " did not produce the desired effect. Ittended rather to accentuate the differences between the variousschools, and a petition was presented to the Bakufu urging that theinvidious veto should be rescinded. The petitioners contended thatalthough the schools differed from each other, their differences werenot material, since all stood on common foundations, namely, thedoctrines of Confucius and Mencius, and all agreed in inculcating thevirtues of filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, humanity, righteousness, politeness, and general tranquillity. THE PHILOSOPHIES OF CHUTSZ AND WANG YANG-MING It will be interesting to pause here a moment in order to inquirebriefly the nature of the philosophies which occupied Japanesethought throughout the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries. Weneed not go beyond the schools of Chutsz and Wang Yang-ming, for thethird, or "ancient, " school adopted the teachings of Confucius andMencius in their purity, rejecting all subsequent deductions from theactual words used by these sages. These two schools have been welldistinguished as follows by a modern philosopher, Dr. InouyeTetsujiro: "(1) Chutsz maintained that it is necessary to make an extensiveinvestigation of the world and its laws before determining what isthe moral law. Wang held that man's knowledge of moral law precedesall study and that a man's knowledge of himself is the very highestkind of learning. Chutsz's method may be said to be inductive;Wang's, deductive. "(2) The cosmogony of Chutsz was dualistic. All nature owed itsexistence to the Ri and Ki, the determining principle and the vitalforce of primordial aura that produces and modifies motion. Wang heldthat these two were inseparable. His teaching was therefore monistic. "(3) Chutsz taught that the primary principle, Ri, and the mind ofman were quite separate, and that the latter was attached to the Ki. Wang held that the mind of man and the principle of the universe wereone and the same, and argued that no study of external nature wasrequired in order to find out nature's laws. To discover these, manhad only to look within his own heart. He that understands his ownheart understands nature, says Wang. "(4) Chutsz's system makes experience necessary in order tounderstand the laws of the universe, but Wang's idealism dispenseswith it altogether as a teacher. "(5) Chutsz taught that knowledge must come first and right conductafter. Wang contended that knowledge and conduct cannot be separated. One is part of the other. Chutsz may be said to exalt learnedtheories and principles, and Wang to extol practice. "The moral results of the systems briefly stated were as follows:Chutsz 'a teaching produced many learned men in this country, but notinfrequently these men were inferior, being narrow-minded, prejudiced, and behind the age. Wang's doctrines, on the other hand, while they cannot escape the charge of shallowness on all occasions, serve the moral purpose for which they were propagated better thanthose of the rival school. Though in the ranks of the Japanesefollowers of Chutsz there were numbers of insignificant, bigotedtraditionalists, the same cannot be said of those who adopted Wang'sviews. They were as a class fine specimens of humanity, abreast, ifnot ahead, of the age in which they lived. No system of teaching hasproduced anything approaching such a number of remarkable men. If atree is to be judged by its fruit, Wang's philosophy in Japan must bepronounced one of the greatest benefits that she received from theneighbouring continent, though not a little of its power in thiscountry is to be traced to the personality of the man who was thefirst to make it thoroughly known to his fellow countrymen, NakayeToju. "* *See Professor Walter Dening's brochure on Confucian Philosophy inJapan. Dr. Inouye adds: "By exclusive attention to the dictates ofconscience and by sheer force of will the Wang school of philosopherssucceeded in reaching a standard of attainment that served to makethem models for posterity. The integrity of heart preached by hisfollowers in Japan has become a national heritage of which allJapanese are proud. In the West, ethics has become too exclusively asubject of intellectual inquiry, a question as to which of rivaltheories is the most logical. By the Japanese, practical virtue hasbeen exalted to the pedestal of the highest honour. " The same authority, discussing the merits of the Chutsz school, says:"To the question which has so often been asked during the past fewyears, whence comes the Japanese fine ethical standard, the answer isthat it undoubtedly originated with the teaching of Chutsz asexplained, modified, and carried into practice in Japan. The moralphilosophy of the Chutsz school in Japan compared with that of theother two schools was moderate in tone, free from eccentricities, andpractical in a rare degree. In the enormous importance it attached toself-culture and what is known in modern terminology asself-realization, the teaching of the Chutsz school of Japanesemoralists differed in no material respects from the doctrines of theNew Kantians in England. " RETIREMENT OF SADANOBU After six years of most enlightened service, Matsudaira Sadanoburesigned office in 1793 to the surprise and consternation of alltruly patriotic Japanese. History is uncertain as to the exact causeof his retirement, but the explanation seems to be, first, that hisuncompromising zeal of reform had earned him many enemies who watchedconstantly for an opportunity to attack him, and found it during hisabsence on a visit to inspect the coasts of the empire with a view toenforcing the veto against foreign trade; and secondly, that aquestion of prime importance having arisen between the Courts ofKyoto and Yedo, Sadanobu's influence was exercised in a manner deeplyresented by the sovereign as well as by the loyalists throughout theempire. This important incident will be presently referred to indetail. Here it will suffice to state that Sadanobu did not retire indisgrace. He was promoted to the rank of general of the Left, whichhonour was supplemented by an invitation to attend at the castle onState occasions. He chose, however, to live in retirement, devotinghimself to the administration of his own domain and to literarypursuits. The author of several well-known books, he is remembered byhis pen-name, Rakuo, almost as constantly as by his historical, Sadanobu. He died in 1829, at the age of seventy-two. HITOTSUBASHI HARUNARI After Sadanobu's resignation of the post of prime minister, theshogun's father, Hitotsubashi Harunari, moved into the westerncitadel of Yedo Castle, and thenceforth the great reforms whichSadanobu had effected by the force of genius and unflaggingassiduity, were quickly replaced by an age of retrogression, so thatposterity learned to speak of the prodigality of the Bunka and Bunseieras (1804-1829), instead of the frugality of the Kwansei(1789-1800). As for the shogun, Ienari, he received from the Thronethe highest rank attainable by a subject, together with the office ofdaijo-daijin. Such honour was without precedent since the time ofIeyasu. Ienari had more than fifty daughters, all born of differentmothers, from which fact the dimensions of his harem may be inferred. THE 119TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR KOKAKU (A. D. 1780-1816) The Emperor Kokaku ascended the throne in 1780 and abdicated in 1816. He was undoubtedly a wise sovereign and as a classical scholar he wonconsiderable renown. After reigning for thirty-six years, headministered State affairs from the Palace of Retirement duringtwenty-four, and throughout that long interval of sixty years, thecountry enjoyed profound peace. The period of Sadanobu's service asprime minister of the Bakufu coincided with the middle of Kokaku'sreign, and in those days of happiness and prosperity men were wont tosay that with a wise sovereign in the west a wise subject hadappeared in the east. Up to that time the relations between Kyoto andYedo were excellent, but Sadanobu's resignation and the cause thatled to it produced between the two Courts a breach which contributedmaterially, though indirectly, to the ultimate fall of the Tokugawa. REBUILDING OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE It has already been noted that after the great fire of 1788, theBakufu, acting, of course, at the instance of their prime minister, ordered Sadanobu to supervise the work of reconstructing the Imperialpalace. Since the days of Oda and Toyotomi, the palace had beenrebuilt or extensively repaired on several occasions, but always theplans had been too small for the requirements of the orthodoxceremonials. Sadanobu determined to correct this fault. He called forplans and elevations upon the bases of those of the tenth century, and from the gates to the roofs he took care that everything shouldbe modelled on the old lines. The edifices are said to have been atonce chaste and magnificent, the internal decorations being from thebrushes of the best artists of the Tosa and Sumiyoshi Academies. Sealed estimates had been required from several leading architects, and Sadanobu surprised his colleagues by awarding the work to thehighest bidder, on the ground that cheapness could not consist withtrue merit in such a case, and that any thought of cost would evincea want of reverence towards the Imperial Court. The buildings werefinished in two years, and the two Emperors, the reigning and theretired, took up their residence there. His Majesty Kokaku rewardedthe shogun with an autograph letter of thanks as well as a verse ofpoetry composed by himself, and on Sadanobu he conferred a sword andan album of poems. The shogun Ienari is said to have been profoundlygratified by this mark of Imperial favour. He openly attributed it toSadanobu's exertions, and he presented to the latter a facsimile ofthe autograph letter. THE TITLE TROUBLE In the very year (1791) following the Emperor's entry into the newpalace, a most untoward incident occurred. Up to that time therelations between the Courts of Kyoto and Yedo had left nothing to bedesired, but now a permanent breach of amity took place. Thesovereign was the son of Prince Tsunehito, head of the Kanin family. This prince, in spite of his high title, was required by Courtetiquette to sit below the ministers of State on ceremonial occasionsin the palace. Such an order of precedence offended the sovereign, and his Majesty proposed that the rank of dajo tenno should be givento his father, thus placing him in the position of a retired Emperor. Of course it was within the prerogative of the Emperor to confertitles. The normal procedure would have been to give the desired rankto Prince Tsunehito, and then to inform the Bakufu of theaccomplished fact. But, in consideration of the very friendlyrelations existing between the two Courts, the sovereign seems tohave been unwilling to act on his own initiative in a matter of suchimportance. Yedo was consulted, and to the surprise of Kyoto, the Bakufu primeminister assumed an attitude hostile to the Court's desire. Theexplanation of this singular act on Sadanobu's part was that aprecisely analogous problem perplexed Yedo simultaneously. WhenIenari was nominated shogun, his father, Hitotsubashi Harunari, fullyexpected to be appointed guardian of the new potentate, and beingdisappointed in that hope, he expressed his desire to receive thetitle of o-gosho (retired shogun), so that he might enter the westerncitadel of Yedo Castle and thence administer affairs as had been doneby ex-Emperors in Kyoto for hundreds of years, and by ex-shoguns onseveral occasions under the Tokugawa. Disappointed in thisaspiration, Harunari, after some hesitation, invited the attention ofthe shogun to the fact that filial piety is the basis of all moralvirtues, and that, whereas the shogun's duty required him to set agood example to the people, he subjected his own father to unbecominghumiliation, Ienari referred the matter to the State council, but thecouncillors hesitated to establish the precedent of conferring therank of o-gosho on the head of one of the Sankyo families--Tayasu, Shimizu, and Hitotsubashi--who had never discharged the duties ofshogun. The prime minister, Sadanobu, however, had not a moment's hesitationin opposing Harunari's project. He did, indeed, order a well-knownConfucian scholar to search the annals in order to find whether anyprecedent existed for the proposed procedure, either in Japan or inChina, but he himself declared that if such an example were set inthe shogun's family, it might be the cause of grave inconvenienceamong the people. In other words, a man whose son had been adoptedinto another family might claim to be regarded as the head of thatfamily in the event of the death of the foster-father. It is certain, however, that other and stronger reasons influenced the Bakufu primeminister. Hitotsubashi Harunari was generally known as WagamamaIrikyo (the Wayward Recluse*). His most intimate friends were theshogun's father-in-law, Shimazu Ei-O, and Ikeda Isshinsai. The lattertwo were also inkyo and shared the tastes and foibles of Harunari. One of their greatest pleasures was to startle society. Thus, whenSadanobu was legislating with infinite care against prodigality ofany kind, the above three old gentlemen loved to organize parties onan ostentatiously extravagant scale, and Sadanobu naturally shrankfrom seeing the title of o-gosho conferred on such a character, thusinvesting him with competence to interfere arbitrarily in the conductof State affairs. *It has always been a common custom in Japan for the head of a familyto retire nominally from active life after he attains his fiftiethyear. He is thenceforth known as inkyo (or recluse). The same is trueof women. Just at this time, the Court in Kyoto preferred its application, andSadanobu at once appreciated that if the rank of dajo tenno wereconferred on Prince Tsunehito, it would be impossible to withholdthat of o-gosho from Harunari. Consequently the Bakufu prime ministerwrote privately to the Kyoto prime minister, Takatsukasa Sukehira, pointing out the inadvisability of the proposed step. This letter, though not actually an official communication, had the effect ofshelving the matter for a time, but, in 1791, the Emperor re-openedthe question, and summoned a council in the palace to discuss it. Theresult was that sixty-five officials, headed by the prime ministerand the minister of the Right, supported the sovereign's views, butthe ex-premier, Takatsukasa Sukehira, and his son, the minister ofthe Left, with a few others, opposed them. The proceedings of this council with an autograph covering-letterfrom the sovereign were sent to the Bakufu, in 1792, but for a longtime no answer was given. Meanwhile Prince Tsunehito, already an oldman, showed signs of declining health, and the Imperial Court pressedYedo to reply. Ultimately the Bakufu officially disapproved theproject. No statement of reasons accompanied the refusal, but it wassoftened by a suggestion that an increase of revenue might beconferred on the sovereign's father. This already sufficientlycontumelious act was supplemented by a request from the Bakufu thatthe Imperial Court should send to Yedo the high secretary and thechief of the Household. Unwillingly the Court complied, and afterhearing the arguments advanced by these two officials, Sadanobusentenced them to be placed in confinement for a hundred days, andfifty days, respectively, which sentence was carried out at thetemple Seisho-ji in Yedo, and the two high officials were thereaftersent back to Kyoto under police escort. Ultimately they were bothdismissed from office, and all the Court dignitaries who hadsupported the sovereign's wishes were cautioned not to associatethemselves again with such "rash and unbecoming acts. " It canscarcely be denied that Sadanobu exercised his power in an extremeand unwise manner on this occasion. A little recourse to tact mighthave settled the matter with equal facility and without opendisrespect to the Throne. But the Bakufu prime minister behaved afterthe manner of the deer-stalker of the Japanese proverb who does notsee the mountain, and he thus placed in the hands of the Imperialistparty a weapon which contributed materially to the overthrow of theBakufu seventy years later. ENGRAVING: YO-MEI-MON GATE, AT NIKKO CHAPTER XLII ORGANIZATION, CENTRAL AND LOCAL; CURRENCY AND THE LAWS OF THETOKUGAWA BAKAFU THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOKUGAWA BAKUFU THE organization of the Tokugawa Bakufu cannot be referred to anyearlier period than that of the third shogun, Iemitsu. Thefoundations indeed were laid after the battle of Sekigahara, when theadministrative functions came into the hands of Ieyasu. By him ashoshidai (governor) was established in Kyoto together with municipaladministrators (machi bugyo). But it was reserved for Iemitsu todevelop these initial creations into a competent and consistentwhole. There was, first, what may be regarded as a cabinet, thoughthe name of its members (roju, or seniors) does not suggest thefunctions generally discharged by ministers of State. One of the rojuwas appointed to the post of dairo (great senior). He corresponded tothe prime minister in a Western Cabinet, and the other roju may becounted as ministers. Then there were junior ministers, and afterthem came administrators of accounts, inspectors, administrators ofshrines and temples, and municipal administrators. The place whereState business was discharged went by the name of Go-Yo-beya. There, the senior and junior ministers assembled to transact affairs, andthe chamber being situated in the immediate vicinity of the shogun'ssitting-room, he was able to keep himself au courant of importantadministrative affairs. During the time of the fifth shogun, however, as already related, this useful arrangement underwent radicalalteration. As for judicial business, there did not originally existany special place for its transaction. A chamber in the officialresidence was temporarily assigned for the purpose, but at a laterdate a court of justice (Hyojo-sho) was established at Tatsunokuchiin Yedo. This organization, though carried within sight of completionin the days of the third shogun, required to be supplemented by theeighth, and was not actually perfected until the time of theeleventh. THE DAIRO The duties of the dairo--sometimes called karo or o-doshiyori--wereto preside over the roju and to handle important administrativeaffairs. In many respects his functions resembled those discharged bythe regent (shikken) of the Kamakura Bakufu. To the office of dairo aspecially distinguished member of the roju was appointed, and if noone possessing the necessary qualifications was available, that posthad to be left vacant. Generally the Ii, the Hotta, or the Sakaifamily supplied candidates for the office. THE ROJU The roju or senior ministers--called also toshiyori--discharged theadministration. They resembled the kwanryo of the MuromachiGovernment. There were five of these ministers and they exercisedcontrol over all matters relating to the Imperial palace, the palaceof the ex-Emperor (Sendo), the Imperial princes, the princely abbots(monzeki) and all the daimyo. It was customary to choose the rojufrom among officials who had previously served as governors of Osakaor Kyoto or as soshaban, who will be presently spoken of at greaterlength. THE WAKA-DOSHIYORI There were five junior ministers (waka-doshiyori) whose principalfunctions were to exercise jurisdiction over the hatamoto and thekenin. These latter names have already been alluded to, but for thesake of clearness it may be well to explain that whereas the fudaidaimyo consisted of the one hundred and seventy-six barons who joinedthe standard of Ieyasu before the battle of Sekigahara, the hatamoto(bannerets), while equally direct vassals of the shogun, were lowerthan the daimyo though higher than the go-kenin, who comprised thebulk of the Tokugawa samurai. Members of the waka-doshiyori might atany time be promoted to the post of roju. Their functions were wideas well as numerous, and resembled those performed by the Hyojo-shuand the hikitsuke-shu of the Kamakura and Muromachi Governments. Ajunior minister must previously have occupied the post ofadministrator of temples and shrines (jisha-bugyo) or that ofchamberlain (o-soba-shu) or that of chief guard (o-ban). The officesof minister and junior minister were necessarily filled by daimyo whowere hereditary vassals of the shogun. SECRETARIES There were two secretariats, the oku-yuhitsu (domestic secretariat)and the omote-yuhitsu (external secretariat). They discharged, onaccount of the senior ministers, the duties of scribes, and werepresided over by a todori, who, in later days, wielded largeinfluence. THE JISHA-BUGYO The jisha-bugyo, as their name suggests, supervised all affairsrelating to shrines, temples, Shinto officials, bonzes, and nuns aswell as persons residing within the domains of shrines and temples. They also discharged judicial functions in the case of these variousclasses. The number of these administrators of shrines and templeswas originally three, but afterwards it was increased to four, whotransacted business for a month at a time in succession. Thesoshaban, who were entitled to make direct reports to the shogun, hadto fill the office of jisha-bugyo in addition to their otherfunctions, which were connected with the management of mattersrelating to ceremony and etiquette. At first there were only two of these soshaban, but subsequentlytheir number was increased to twenty-four, and it became customaryfor one of them to keep watch in the castle at night. They weregenerally ex-governors of Osaka and Fushimi, and they werenecessarily daimyo who had the qualification of direct vassalage tothe shogun. The jisha-bugyo performed their judicial functions intheir own residences, each administrator employing his own vassalsfor subordinate purposes, and these vassals, when so employed, weredistinguished as jisha-yaku or toritsugi. Further, officiatingin conjunction with the jisha-bugyo f were chief inspectors(daikenshi), and assistant inspectors (shokenshi) whose dutiesrequire no description. The classes of people to whom thejisha-bugyo's jurisdiction extended were numerous: they embraced thecemetery-keepers at Momiji-yama, the bonzes, the fire-watchmen, themusicians, the Shinto officials, the poets, the players at go orchess, and so forth. THE MACHI-BUGYO The municipal administrator (machi-bugyo) controlled affairs relatingto the citizens in general. This was among the oldest institutions ofthe Tokugawa, and existed also in the Toyotomi organization. At firstthere were three machi-bugyo, but when the Tokugawa moved to Yedo, the number was decreased to one, and subsequently increased again totwo in the days of Iemitsu. Judicial business occupied the major partof the machi-bugyo's time. His law-court was in his own residence, and under his direction constables (yoriki or doshiri) patrolled thecity. He also transacted business relating to prisons and themunicipal elders of Yedo (machi-doshiyori) referred to him allquestions of a difficult or serious nature. THE KANJO-BUGYO The financial administrator (kanjo-bugyo) received also theappellation of kitchen administrator (daidokoro-bugyo), and hisduties embraced everything relating to the finance of the Bakufu, including, of course, their estates and the persons residing on thoseestates. The eight provinces of the Kwanto were under the directcontrol of this bugyo, but other districts were administered by adaikwan (deputy). There were two kinds of kanjo-bugyo, namely, thekuji-kata and the katte-kata (public and private), the latter of whomhad to adjudicate all financial questions directly affecting theBakufu, and the former had to perform a similar function in caseswhere outsiders were concerned. Various officials served assubordinates of these important bugyo, who were usually taken fromthe roju or the waka-doshiyori, and, in the days of the sixth shogun, it was found necessary to appoint an auditor of accounts(kanjo-gimmiyaku), who, although nominally of the same rank as thekanjo-bugyo, really acted in a supervisory capacity. The Bakufu courtof law was the Hyojo-sho. Suits involving issues that lay entirelywithin the jurisdiction of one bugyo were tried by him in his ownresidence, but where wider interests were concerned the three bugyohad to conduct the case at the Hyojo-sho, where they formed acollegiate court. On such occasions the presence of the censors wascompulsory. Sometimes, also, the three bugyo met at the Hyojo-shomerely for purposes of consultation. THE CENSORS An important figure in the Tokugawa organization was the censor(metsuke), especially the great censor (o-metsuke). The holder of thelatter office served as the eyes and ears of the roju and supervisedthe feudal barons. There were four or five great censors. One of themheld the additional office of administrator of roads (dochu-bugyo), and had to oversee matters relating to the villages, the towns, andthe postal stations along the five principal highways. Another had toinspect matters relating to religious sects and firearms--a strangecombination. Under the great censors were placed administrators ofconfiscated estates. The ordinary censors had to exercisesurveillance over the samurai of the hatamoto and were under thejurisdiction of the waka-doshiyori. There were altogether sixtymetsuke, and they travelled constantly throughout the empireobtaining materials for reports which were submitted to thewaka-doshiyori. Among them are found censors who performed the dutiesof coroners. * *The employment of censors by the Bakufu has been severely criticizedas indicating a system of espionage. It scarcely seems necessary toobserve that the same criticism applies to all highly organizedOccidental Governments with their secret services, their detectivesand their inquiry agencies. THE CHAMBERLAINS Even more important than the censors were the chamberlains (sobayonin) who had to communicate to the shogun all reports submitted bythe roju, and to offer advice as to the manner of dealing with them. They also noted the shogun's decisions and appended them todocuments. The exercise of these functions afforded opportunities forinterfering in administrative affairs, and such opportunities werefully utilized, to the great detriment of public interest. There werealso pages (kosho); castle accountants (nando); literati to theshogun (oku-jusha), and physicians (oku-isha). MASTERS OF CEREMONIES The duty of transmitting messages from the shogun to the Emperor andof regulating all matters of ceremony connected with the castle wasdischarged by fifteen masters of ceremonies (koke) presided over byfour chiefs (the office of chief being hereditary in such families asthe Osawa and the Kira) who, although their fiefs were comparativelysmall, possessed influence not inferior to that of the daimyo. A kokewas usually on watch in the castle by day. These masters ofceremonies are not to be confounded with the chamberlains (soshaban)already spoken of. The latter numbered twenty-four. They regulatedaffairs connected with ceremonies in which all Government officialswere concerned, and they kept watch at the castle by night. Subordinate to the koke and the chamberlains were various officialswho conveyed presents from the feudal lords to the shogun; directedmatters of decoration and furniture; had charge of miscellaneousworks in the castle, and supervised all persons, male or female, entering or leaving the shogun's harem. Officials of this last classwere under the command of a functionary called o-rusui who hadgeneral charge of the business of the harem; directed the issue ofpassports to men and women of the samurai class or to commoners, andhad the care of all military stores in the castle. The name rusuisignifies a person in charge during the absence of his master, andwas applied in this case since the o-rusui had to guard the castlewhen the shogun was not present. The multifarious duties entrusted toofficials over whom the o-rusui presided required a large number anda great variety of persons to discharge them, but these need not beenumerated in detail here. THE TAMARIZUME Characteristic of the elaborate etiquette observed at the shogun'scastle was the existence of semi-officials called tamarizume, whosechief duty in ordinary times was to repair to the castle once everyfive days, and to inquire through the roju as to the state of theshogun's health. On occasions of emergency they participated in theadministration, taking precedence of the roju and the otherfeudatories. The Matsudaira of Aizu, Takamatsu, and Matsuyama; the Iiof Hikone, and the Sakai of Himeji--these were the families whichperformed the functions of tamarizume as a hereditary right. It isunnecessary to describe the organization and duties of the militaryguards to whom the safety of the castle was entrusted, but the facthas to be noted that both men and officers were invariably taken fromthe hatamoto class. THE WOMEN'S APARTMENTS In the o-oku, or innermost buildings of the shogun's castle, the harem was situated. Its chief official was a woman calledthe o-toshiyori (great elder), under whom were a number ofladies-in-waiting, namely, the toshiyori, the rojo, the churo, thekojoro, and others. There were also ladies who attended solely tovisitors; others who kept the keys; others who carried messages topublic officers, and others who acted as secretaries. All this partof the organization would take pages to describe in detail, * and isnecessarily abbreviated here. We may add, however, that there wereofficial falconers, sailors, grooms, gardeners, and every kind ofartist or mechanician. *For fuller particulars of the manner of daily life at the shogun'scourt, see Chapter 1. Vol. IV, of Brinkley's "Oriental Series. " THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM In organizing a system of local government the Tokugawa Bakufu beganby appointing a shoshidai in Kyoto to guard the Imperial palace, tosupervise Court officials, and to oversee financial measures as wellas to hear suits-at-law, and to have control over temples andshrines. The shoshidai enjoyed a high measure of respect. He had tovisit Yedo once in every five or six years for the purpose of makinga report to the shogun in person. The municipal administrator ofKyoto and the administrators of Nara and Fushimi, the Kyoto deputy(daikwan), and all the officials of the Nijo palace were under thejurisdiction of the shoshidai. To qualify for this high office a manmust have served as governor of Osaka. In the Imperial city themunicipal administrator heard suits-at-law presented by citizens, managed the affairs of temples and shrines, and was responsible forcollecting the taxes in the home provinces. There were two of theseofficials in Kyoto and, like their namesakes in Yedo, they had aforce of constables (yoriki) and policemen (doshin) under theircommand. THE JODAI Regarded with scarcely less importance than that attaching to theshoshidai was an official called the jodai of Osaka, on whom devolvedthe responsibility of guarding the Kwansei. For this office ahereditary daimyo of the Tokugawa family was selected, and he mustpreviously have occupied the offices of soshaban and jisha-bugyo. Theroutine of promotion was from the jodai of Osaka to the shoshidai ofKyoto and from thence to the roju. Originally there were six jodaibut their number was ultimately reduced to one. Sumpu also had ajodai, who discharged duties similar to those devolving on his Osakanamesake. In Nagasaki, Sado, Hakodate, Niigata, and other importantlocalities, bugyo were stationed, and in districts under the directcontrol of the Bakufu the chief official was the daikwan. ADMINISTRATION IN FIEFS The governmental system in the fiefs closely resembled the system ofthe Bakufu. The daimyo exercised almost unlimited power, and thebusiness of their fiefs was transacted by factors (karo). Twenty-oneprovinces consisted entirely of fiefs, and in the remaining provincespublic and private estates were intermixed. LOCAL AUTONOMY Both the Bakufu and the feudatories were careful to allow a maximumof autonomy to the lower classes. Thus the farmers elected a villagechief--called nanushi or shoya--who held his post for life or for oneyear, and who exercised powers scarcely inferior to those of agovernor. There were also heads of guilds (kumi-gashira) andrepresentatives of farmers (hyakushodai) who participated inadministering the affairs of a village. Cities and towns hadmunicipal elders (machi-doshiyori), under whom also nanushiofficiated. The guilds constituted a most important feature of thislocal autonomic system. They consisted of five householders each, being therefore called gonin-gumi, and their main functions were torender mutual aid in all times of distress, and to see that therewere no evasions of the taxes or violations of the law. In fact, theBakufu interfered as little as possible in the administrative systemsof the agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial classes, and thefeudatories followed the same rule. FINANCE The subject of finance in the Bakufu days is exceedingly complicated, and a very bare outline will suffice. It has already been noted thatthe unit of land-measurement varied from time to time and was neveruniform throughout the empire. That topic need not be furtherdiscussed. Rice-fields were divided into five classes, in accordancewith which division the rates of taxation were fixed. Further, indetermining the amount of the land-tax, two methods were followed;one by inspection, the other by average. In the case of the former, the daikwan repaired in the fall of each year to the localityconcerned, and having ascertained the nature of the crop harvested, proceeded to determine the rate of tax. This arrangement lent itselfso readily to abuse that the system of averages was substituted asfar as possible. That is to say, the average yield of crops for thepreceding ten or twenty years served as a standard. The miscellaneous taxes were numerous. Thus, there were taxes onbusiness; taxes for post-horses and post-carriers; taxes in the formof labour, which were generally fixed at the rate of fifty men perhundred koku, the object in view being work on river banks, roads, and other public institutions; taxes to meet the cost of collectingtaxes, and taxes to cover defalcations. Sometimes the above taxeswere levied in kind or in actual labour, and sometimes they werecollected in money. To facilitate collection in cities, merchantswere required to form guilds according to their respectivebusinesses, and the head of each guild had to collect the tax payableby the members. Thus, upon a guild of sake-brewers a tax of athousand gold ryo was imposed, and a guild of wholesale dealers incotton had to pay five hundred ryo. There was a house-tax which wasassessed by measuring the area of the land on which a building stood, and there was a tax on expert labour such as that of carpenters andmatmakers. In order to facilitate the levy of this last-named taxthe citizens were required to locate themselves according to thenature of their employment, and thus such names were found as"Carpenter's street, " "Matmaker's street, " and so forth. Originallythese imposts were defrayed by actual labour, but afterwards moneycame to be substituted. An important feature of the taxation system was the imposition ofbuke-yaku, (military dues). For these the feudatories were liable, and as the amount was arbitrarily fixed by the Bakufu, though alwayswith due regard to the value of the fief, such dues were often veryonerous. The same is true in an even more marked degree as to taxesin labour, materials, or money, which were levied upon thefeudatories for the purposes of any great work projected by theBakufu. These imposts were called aids (otetsudai). MANNER OF PAYING TAXES The manner of paying taxes varied accordingly to localities. Thus, inthe Kwanto, payment was generally made in rice for wet fields and inmoney for uplands, at the rate of one gold ryo per two and a halfkoku of rice. In the Kinai and western provinces as well as in theNankai-do, on the other hand, the total tax on wet fields and uplandswas divided into three parts, two of which were paid with rice andone with money, the value of a koku of rice being fixed atforty-eight mon of silver (four-fifths of a gold ryo). As a generalrule, taxes imposed on estates under the direct control of the Bakufuwere levied in rice, which was handed over to the daikwan of eachprovince, and by him transported to Yedo, Kyoto, or Osaka, where itwas placed in stores under the control of store-administrators(kura-bugyo). In the case of cash payments the money was transported to the castleof Yedo or Osaka, where it came under the care of the financeadministrator (kane-bugyo). Finally, the accounts connected with suchreceipts of cash were compiled and rendered by the administrator ofaccounts (kane-bugyo), and were subsequently audited by officialsnamed katte-kata, over which office a member of the roju orwaka-doshiyori presided. Statistics compiled in 1836 show that therevenue annually collected from the Tokugawa estates in rice andmoney amounted to 807, 068 koku and 93, 961 gold ryo respectively. Asfor the rate of the land-tax, it varied in different parts of theprovinces, from seventy per cent, for the landlord and thirty for thetenant to thirty for the landlord and seventy for the tenant. CURRENCY It has been shown above that, from the time of the fifth shogun, debasement of the coins of the realm took place frequently. Indeed itmay be said that whenever the State fell into financial difficulty, debasement of the current coins was regarded as a legitimate device. Much confusion was caused among the people by repeated changes in thequality of the coins. Thus, in the days of the eighth shogun, no lessthan four varieties of a single silver token were in circulation. When the country renewed its foreign intercourse in the middle of thenineteenth century, there were no less than eight kinds of gold coinin circulation, nine of silver, and four of copper or iron. Thelimits within which the intrinsic value of gold coins varied will beunderstood when we say that whereas the gold oban of the Keicho era(1596-1614) contained, approximately, 29. 5 parts of gold to 13 ofsilver and was worth about seventy-five yen. The corresponding coinof the Man-en era (1860) contained 10. 33 parts of pure gold to 19. 25of silver, and was worth only twenty-eight yen. PAPER CURRENCY The earliest existing record of the use of paper currency dates from1661, when the feudal chief of Echizen obtained permission from theBakufu to employ this medium of exchange, provided that itscirculation was limited to the fief where the issue took place. Thesepaper tokens were called hansatsu (fief notes), and one result oftheir issue was that moneys accruing from the sale of cereals andother products of a fief were preserved within that fief. The exampleof Echizen in this matter found several followers, but the systemnever became universal. JUDICIAL PROCEDURE The administration of justice in the Tokugawa days was based solelyon ethical principles. Laws were not promulgated for prospectiveapplication. They were compiled whenever an occasion arose, and intheir drafting the prime aim was always to make their provisionsconsonant with the dictates of humanity. Once, indeed, during thetime of the second shogun, Hidetada, a municipal administrator, Shimada Yuya, having held the office for more than twenty years, andhaving come to be regarded as conspicuously expert in renderingjustice, it was proposed to the shogun that the judgments deliveredby this administrator should be recorded for the guidance of futurejudges. Hidetada, however, objected that human affairs change soradically as to render it impossible to establish universallyrecognizable precedents, and that if the judgments delivered in anyparticular era were transmitted as guides for future generations, theresult would probably be slavish sacrifice of ethical principles onthe altar of stereotyped practice. In 1631, when the third shogun, Iemitsu, ruled in Yedo, a publiccourthouse (Hyojo-sho) was for the first time established. Up to thattime the shogun himself had served as a court of appeal in importantcases. These were first brought before a bugyo, and subsequently, ifspecially vital issues were at stake, the shogun personally sat asjudge, the duty of executing his judgments being entrusted to thebugyo and other officials. Thenceforth, the custom came to be this: Where comparatively minorinterests were involved and where the matter lay wholly within thejurisdiction of one administrator, that official sat as judge in achamber of his own mansion; but in graver cases and where theinterests concerned were not limited to one jurisdiction, theHyojo-sho became the judicial court, and the three administrators, the roju, together with the censors, formed a collegiate tribunal. There were fixed days each month for holding this collegiate court, and there were also days when the three administrators alone met atone of their residences for purposes of private conference. Thehearing by the shogun was the last recourse, and before submission tohim the facts had to be investigated by the chamberlains (sobashu), who thus exercised great influence. A lawsuit instituted by aplebeian had to be submitted to the feudatory of the region, or tothe administrator, or to the deputy (daikwari), but might never bemade the subject of a direct petition to the shogun. If the feudatoryor the deputy Were held to be acting contrary to the dictates ofintegrity and reason, the suitor might change his domicile for thepurpose of submitting a petition to the authorities in Yedo; and thelaw provided that no obstruction should be placed in the way of suchchange. LAW As stated above, the original principle of the Bakufu was to avoidcompiling any written criminal code. But from the days of the sixthand the seventh shoguns, Ienobu and Ietsugu, such provisions ofcriminal law as related to ordinary offences came to be written inthe most intelligible style and placarded throughout the city of Yedoand provincial towns or villages. On such a placard (kosatsu) postedup, in the year 1711, at seven places in Yedo, it was enjoined onparents, sons, daughters, brothers, husbands, wives, and otherrelatives that they must maintain intimate and friendly relationsamong themselves; and that, whereas servants must be faithful andindustrious, their masters should have compassion and should obey thedictates of right in dealing with them; that everyone should be hardworking and painstaking; that people should not transgress the limitsof their social status; that all deceptions should be carefullyavoided; that everyone should make it a rule of life to avoid doinginjury or causing loss to others; that gambling should be eschewed;that quarrels and disputes of every kind should be avoided; thatasylum should not be given to wounded persons; that firearms shouldnot be used without cause; that no one should conceal an offender;that the sale or purchase of human being, should be strictlyprohibited except in cases where men or women offered their servicesfor a fixed term of years or as apprentices, or in cases ofhereditary servitude; finally, that, though hereditary servants wentto other places and changed their domicile, it should not be lawfulto compel their return. In the days of the eighth shogun, Yoshimune, it being held thatcrimes were often due to ignorance of law, the feudatories anddeputies were directed to make arrangements for conveying to thepeople tinder their jurisdiction some knowledge of the nature of thestatutes; and the result was that the mayors (nanushi) of provincialtowns and villages had to read the laws once a month at a meeting ofcitizens or villagers convened for the purpose. Previously to thistime, namely, in the days of the fourth shogun, Ietsugu, the officeof recorder (tome-yaku) was instituted in the Hyojo-sho for thepurpose of committing to writing all judgments given in lawsuits. Butin the days of Yoshimune, the rules and regulations issued by theBakufu from the time of Ieyasu downwards were found to have falleninto such confusion that the difficulty of following them waspractically insuperable. Therefore, in 1742, Matsudaira Norimura, one of the roju, togetherwith the three administrators, was commissioned to compile a body oflaws, and the result was a fifteen volume book called the Hatto-gaki(Prohibitory Writings). The shogun himself evinced keen interest inthis undertaking. He frequently consulted with the veteran officialsof his court, and during a period of several years he revised "TheRules for Judicial Procedure. " Associated with him in this work wereKada Arimaro, Ogyu Sorai, and the celebrated judge, Ooka Tadasuke, and not only the Ming laws of China, but also the ancient JapaneseDaiho-ritsu were consulted. This valuable legislation, which showed a great advance in the matterof leniency, except in the case of disloyal or unfilial conduct, wasfollowed, in 1767, by reforms under the shoqun, Ieharu, when all thelaws and regulations placarded or otherwise promulgated since thedays of Ieyasu were collected and collated to form a prefatoryvol-ume to the above-mentioned "Rules for Judicial Procedure, " thetwo being thenceforth regarded as a single enactment under the titleof Kajo-ruiten. "The Rules for Judicial Procedure" originallycomprised 103 articles, but, in 1790, Matsudaira Sadanobu revisedthis code, reducing the number of articles to one hundred, andcalling it Tokugawa Hyakkajd, or "One Hundred Laws and Regulations ofthe Tokugawa. " This completed the legislative work of the YedoBakufu. But it must not be supposed that these laws were disclosed tothe general public. They served simply for purposes of officialreference. The Tokugawa in this respect strictly followed theConfucian maxim, "Make the people obey but do not make them know. ": ENGRAVING: MATSUDAIRA SADANORU CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS In Tokugawa days the principal punishments were; six: namely, reprimand (shikari), confinement (oshikome), flogging (tataki), banishment (tsuiho), exile to an island (ento), and death (shikei). The last named was divided into five kinds, namely, deprivation oflife (shizai), exposing the head after decapitation (gokumon), burning at the stake (hiaburi), crucifixion (haritsuke), and sawingto death (nokogiri-biki). There were also subsidiary penalties, suchas public exposure (sarashi), tattooing (irezumi)--which was resortedto not less for purposes of subsequent identification than as adisgrace--confiscation of an estate (kessho), and degradation to astatus below the hinin (hininteshita). The above penalties were applicable to common folk. In the case ofsamurai the chief punishments were detention (hissoku), confinement(heimon or chikkyo), deprivation of status (kaieki), placing in thecustody of a feudatory (azuke), suicide (seppuku), and decapitation(zanzai). Among these, seppuku was counted the most honourable. As arule only samurai of the fifth official rank and upwards werepermitted thus to expiate a crime, and the procedure was spoken of as"granting death" (shi wo tamau). The plebeian classes, that is tosay, the farmers, the artisans, and the tradesmen, were generallypunished by fines, by confinement, or by handcuffing (tegusari). Priests were sentenced to exposure (sarashi), to expulsion from atemple (tsui-iri), or to exile (kamai). For women the worst punishment was to be handed over as servants(yakko) or condemned to shave their heads (teihatsu). Criminals whohad no fixed domicile and who repeated their evil acts afterexpiration of a first sentence, were carried to the island ofTsukuda, in Yedo Bay, or to Sado, where they were employed in variousways. Blind men or beggars who offended against the law were handedover to the chiefs of their guilds, namely, the soroku in the case ofthe blind, and the eta-gashira in the case of beggars. * Some of theabove punishments were subdivided, but these details are unimportant. *For fuller information about these degraded classes see Brinkley's"Oriental Series, " Vol. II. PRISONS In Yedo, the buildings employed as prisons were erected at Demmachounder the hereditary superintendence of the Ishide family. Thegovernor of prisons was known as the roya-bugyo. Each prison wasdivided into five parts where people were confined according to theirsocial status. The part called the agari-zashiki was reserved forsamurai who had the privilege of admission to the shogun's presence;and in the part called the agariya common, samurai and Buddhistpriests were incarcerated. The oro and the hyakusho-ro were reservedfor plebeians, and in the onna-ro women were confined. Each sectionconsisted of ten rooms and was capable of accommodating seven hundredpersons. Sick prisoners were carried to the tamari, which weresituated at Asakusa and Shinagawa, and were under the superintendenceof the hinin-gashira. All arrangements as to the food, clothing, andmedical treatment of prisoners were carefully thought out, but it isnot to be supposed that these Bakufu prisons presented many of thefeatures on which modern criminology insists. On the contrary, aprisoner was exposed to serious suffering from heat and cold, whilethe coarseness of the fare provided for him often caused disease andsometimes death. Nevertheless, the Japanese prisons in Tokugawa dayswere little, if anything, inferior to the corresponding institutionsin Anglo-Saxon countries at the same period. LOYALTY AND FILIAL PIETY In the eyes of the Tokugawa legislators the cardinal virtues wereloyalty and filial piety, and in the inculcation of these, evenjustice was relegated to an inferior place. Thus, it was providedthat if a son preferred any public charge against his father, or if aservant opened a lawsuit against his master, the guilt of the son orof the servant must be assumed at the outset as an ethical principle. To such a length was this ethical principle carried that inregulations issued by Itakura Suo no Kami for the use of the Kyotocitizens, we find the following provision: "In a suit-at-law betweenparent and son judgment should be given for the parent without regardto the pleading of the son. Even though a parent act with extremeinjustice, it is a gross breach of filial duty that a son shouldinstitute a suit-at-law against a parent. There can be no greaterimmorality, and penalty of death should be meted out to the sonunless the parent petitions for his life. " In an action between uncleand nephew a similar principle applied. Further, we find that innearly every body of law promulgated throughout the whole of theTokugawa period, loyalty and filial piety are placed at the head ofethical virtues; the practice of etiquette, propriety, and militaryand literary accomplishments standing next, while justice anddeference for tradition occupy lower places in the schedule. A kosatsu (placard) set up in 1682, has the following inscription:"Strive to be always loyal and filial. Preserve affection betweenhusbands and wives, brothers, and all relatives; extend sympathy andcompassion to servants. " Further, in a street notice posted in Yedoduring the year 1656, we find it ordained that should any disobey aparent's directions, or reject advice given by a municipal elder orby the head of a five-households guild, such a person must be broughtbefore the administrator, who, in the first place, will imprison him;whereafter, should the malefactor not amend his conduct, he shall bebanished forever; while for anyone showing malice against his father, arrest and capital punishment should follow immediately. In these various regulations very little allusion is made to thesubject of female rights. But there is one significant provision, namely, that a divorced woman is entitled to have immediatelyrestored to her all her gold and silver ornaments as well as herdresses; and at the same time husbands are warned that they must notfail to make due provision for a former wife. The impression conveyedby careful perusal of all Tokugawa edicts is that their compilersobeyed, from first to last, a high code of ethical principles. ENGRAVING: "INRO, " LACQUERED MEDICINE CASE CARRIED CHIEFLY BY SAMURAI ENGRAVING: TOKUGAWA MITSUKUNI CHAPTER XLIII REVIVAL OF THE SHINTO CULT RYOBU SHINTO THE reader is aware that early in the ninth century the celebratedBuddhist priest, Kukai (Kobo Daishi), compounded out of Buddhism andShinto a system of doctrine called Ryobu Shinto. The salient featureof this mixed creed was the theory that the Shinto deities weretransmigrations of Buddhist divinities. Thereafter, Buddhism becamethe national religion, which position it held until the days of theTokugawa shoguns, when it was supplanted among educated Japanese bythe moral philosophy of Confucius, as interpreted by Chutsz, WangYang-ming, and others. REVIVAL OF PURE SHINTO The enthusiasm and the intolerance showed by the disciples of Chinesephilosophy produced a reaction in Japan, and this culminated in therevival of Shinto, during which process the anomalous positionoccupied by the shogun towards the sovereign was clearlydemonstrated, and the fact contributed materially to the downfall ofthe Tokugawa. It was by Ieyasu himself that national thought wasturned into the new channel, though it need scarcely be said that thefounder of the Tokugawa shogunate had no premonition of any resultsinjurious to the sway of his own house. After the battle of Sekigahara had established his administrativesupremacy, and after he had retired from the shogunate in favour ofHidetada, Ieyasu applied himself during his residence at Sumpu tocollecting old manuscripts, and shortly before his death he directedthat the Japanese section of the library thus formed should be handedover to his eighth son, the baron of Owari, and the Chinese portionto his ninth son, the baron of Kii. Another great library wassubsequently brought together by a grandson of Ieyasu, the celebratedMitsukuni (1628-1700), baron of Mito, who, from his youthful days, devoted attention to Japanese learning, and, assembling a number ofeminent scholars, composed the Dai Nihon-shi (History of GreatJapan), which consisted of 240 volumes and became thenceforththe standard history of the country. It is stated that theexpenditures involved in producing this history, together with afive-hundred-volume work on the ceremonies of the Imperial Court, amounted to one-third of the Mito revenues, a sum of about 700, 000ryo. There can be little doubt that Mitsukuni's proximate purpose inundertaking the colossal work was to controvert a theory advanced byHayashi Razan that the Emperor of Japan was descended from theChinese prince, Tai Peh, of Wu, of the Yin dynasty. Chiefly concerned in the compilation of the Dai Nihon-shi were AsakaKaku, Kuriyama Gen, and Miyake Atsuaki. They excluded the EmpressJingo from the successive dynasties; they included the Emperor Kobunin the history proper, and they declared the legitimacy of theSouthern Court as against the Northern. But in the volume devoted toenumeration of the constituents of the empire, they omitted theislands of Ezo and Ryukyu. This profound study of ancient historycould not fail to expose the fact that the shogunate usurped powerswhich properly belonged to the sovereign and to the sovereign alone. But Mitsukuni and his collaborators did not give prominence to thisfeature. They confined themselves rather to historical details. ENGRAVING: KAMO MABUCHI ENGRAVING: MOTOORI NOBINAGA It was reserved for four other men to lay bare the facts of theMikado's divine right and to rehabilitate the Shinto cult. These menwere Kada Azumamaro (1668-1736), Kamo Mabuchi (1697-1769), MotooriNorinaga (1730-1801), and Hirata Atsutane (1776-1834). Associatedwith them were other scholars of less note, but these areovershadowed by the four great masters. Kada, indeed, did not achievemuch more than the restoration of pure Japanese literature to thepedestal upon which it deserved to stand. That in itself was noinsignificant task, for during the five centuries that separated theGen-Hei struggle from the establishment of the Tokugawa family, Japanese books had shared the destruction that overtook everything inthis period of wasting warfare, and the Japanese language itself hadundergone such change that to read and understand ancient books, likethe Kojiki and the Manyo-shu, demanded a special course of study. Tomake that study and to prepare the path for others was Kada's task, and he performed it so conscientiously that his successors were atonce able to obtain access to the treasures of ancient literature. Itwas reserved for Mabuchi to take the lead in championing Japaneseethical systems as against Chinese. By his writings we are taught thenature of the struggle waged throughout the Tokugawa period betweenChinese philosophy and Japanese ethics, and we are enabled, also, toreach a lucid understanding of the Shinto cult as understood by theJapanese themselves. The simplest route to that understanding is tolet the four masters speak briefly, each for himself: "Learning is a matter in which the highest interests of the empireare involved, and no man ought to be vain enough to imagine that heis able by himself to develop it thoroughly. Nor should the studentblindly adhere to the opinions of his teacher. Anyone who desires tostudy Japanese literature should first acquire a good knowledge ofChinese, and then pass over to the Manyo-shu, from which he maydiscover the ancient principles of the divine age. If he resolvebravely to love and admire antiquity, there is no reason why heshould fail to acquire the ancient style in poetry as well as inother things. In ancient times, as the poet expressed only thegenuine sentiments of his heart, his style was naturally direct, butsince the practice of writing upon subjects chosen by lot came intovogue, the language of poetry has become ornate and the ideas forced. The expression of fictitious sentiment about the relations of thesexes and miscellaneous subjects is not genuine poetry. [KadaAzumamaro. ] "Wherein lies the value of a rule of conduct? In its conducing to thegood order of the State. The Chinese for ages past have had asuccession of different dynasties to rule over them, but Japan hasbeen faithful to one uninterrupted line of sovereigns. Every Chinesedynasty was founded upon rebellion and parricide. Sometimes, apowerful ruler was able to transmit his authority to his son andgrandson, but they, in their turn, were inevitably deposed andmurdered, and the country was in a perpetual state of civil war. Aphilosophy which produces such effects must be founded on a falsesystem. When Confucianism was first introduced into Japan, thesimple-minded people, deceived by its plausible appearance, acceptedit with eagerness and allowed it to spread its influence everywhere. The consequence was the civil war which broke out immediately afterthe death of Tenji Tenno, in A. D. 671, between that Emperor's brotherand son, which only came to an end in 672 by the suicide of thelatter. "In the eighth century, the Chinese costume and etiquette were adoptedby the Court. This foreign pomp and splendour covered the rapiddepravation of men's hearts, and created a wide gulf between theMikado and his people. So long as the sovereign maintains a simplestyle of living, the subjects are contented with their own hard lot. Their wants are few and they are easily ruled. But if a sovereign hasa magnificent palace, gorgeous clothing, and crowds of finely dressedwomen to wait on him, the sight of these things must cause in othersa desire to possess themselves of the same luxuries; and if they arenot strong enough to take them by force, their envy is excited. Hadthe Mikado continued to live in a house roofed with shingles andhaving walls of mud, to carry his sword in a scabbard wound roundwith the tendrils of some creeping plant, and to go to the chasecarrying his bow and arrows, as was the ancient custom, the presentstate of things would never have come about. But since theintroduction of Chinese manners, the sovereign, while occupying ahighly dignified place, has been degraded to the intellectual levelof a woman. The power fell into the hands of servants, and althoughthey never actually assumed the title, they were sovereigns in fact, while the Mikado became an utter nullity. . . "In ancient times, when men's dispositions were straightforward, acomplicated system of morals was unnecessary. It would naturallyhappen that bad acts might occasionally be committed, but theintegrity of men's dispositions would prevent the evil from beingconcealed and growing in extent. In these days, therefore, it wasunnecessary to have a doctrine of right and wrong. But the Chinese, being bad at heart, were only good externally, in spite of theteaching they received, and their evil acts became of such magnitudethat society was thrown into disorder. The Japanese, beingstraightforward, could do without teaching. It has been alleged that, as the Japanese had no names for 'benevolence, ' 'righteousness, ''propriety, ' 'sagacity, ' and 'truth' they must have been withoutthese principles. But these things exist in every country, in thesame way as the four seasons which make their annual rounds. In thespring, the weather does not become mild all at once, or in thesummer, hot. Nature proceeds by gradual steps. According to the viewof the Chinese, it is not summer or spring unless it becomes hot ormild all of a sudden. Their principles sound very plausible but areunpractical. [Kamo Mabuchi. ] "Japan is the country which gave birth to the goddess of the Sun, which fact proves its superiority over all other countries that alsoenjoy her favours. The goddess having endowed her grandson with theThree Sacred Treasures, proclaimed him sovereign of Japan for everand ever. His descendants shall continue to rule it as long as theheavens and earth endure. Being invested with this completeauthority, all the gods under heaven and all mankind submitted tohim, with the exception of a few wretches who were quickly subdued. To the end of time each Mikado is the son of the goddess. His mind isin perfect harmony of thought and feeling with hers. He does not seekout new inventions but rules in accordance with precedents which datefrom the Age of the Gods, and if he is ever in doubt, he has recourseto divination, which reveals to him the mind of the great goddess. Inthis way the Age of the Gods and the present age are not two ages, but one, for not only the Mikado but also his ministers and peopleact up to the tradition of the divine age. Hence, in ancient times, the idea of michi, or way, (ethics) was applied to ordinarythoroughfares only, and its application to systems of philosophy, government, morals, religion, and so forth is a foreign notion. "As foreign countries (China and India, particularly the former) arenot the special domain of the Sun goddess, they have no permanentrulers, and evil spirits, finding a field of action there, havecorrupted mankind. In those countries, any bad man who could manageto seize the power became a sovereign. Those who had the upper handwere constantly scheming to maintain their positions, while theirinferiors were as constantly on the watch for opportunities to oustthem. The most powerful and cunning of these rulers succeeded intaming their subjects, and having secured their position, became anexample for others to imitate. In China the name of 'holy men' hasbeen given to these persons. But it is an error to count these 'holymen' as in themselves supernatural and good beings, superior to therest of the world as are the gods. The principles they establishedare called michi (ethics), and may be reduced to two simple rules, namely, to take other people's territory and to keep fast hold of it. "The Chinese 'holy men' also invented the Book of Changes, by whichthey pretended to discover the workings of the universe; a vainattempt, since it is impossible for man with his limited intelligenceto discover the principles which govern the acts of the gods. Inimitation of them, the Chinese nation has since given itself up tophilosophizing, to which are to be attributed its constant internaldissensions. When things go right of themselves, it is best to leavethem alone. In ancient times, although there was no prosy system inJapan, there, were no popular disturbances, and the empire waspeacefully ruled. It is because the Japanese were truly moral intheir practice that they required no theory of morals, and the fussmade by the Chinese about theoretical morals is owing to their laxityin practice. It is not wonderful that students of Chinese literatureshould despise their own country for being without a system ofmorals, but that the Japanese, who were acquainted with their ownancient literature, should pretend that Japan too had such a system, simply out of a feeling of envy, is ridiculous. "When Chinese literature was imported into Japan, the people adoptedmany Chinese ideas, laws, customs, and practices, which they so mixedup with their own that it became necessary to adopt a special namefor the ancient native customs, which were in consequence called Kamino michi or Shinto, the word 'michi' being applied in the same senseas the Chinese Tao, and Kami because of their divine origin. Thesenative customs survived only in ceremonies with which the native godsare worshipped. Every event in the universe is the act of the gods. They direct the changes of the seasons, the wind and the rain, thegood and bad fortune of States and individuals. Some of the gods aregood, others bad, and their acts partake of their own natures. Buddhists attribute events to 'retribution' (Inga), while the Chineseascribe them to be the 'decree of heaven' (Tien ming). This latter isa phrase invented by the so-called 'holy men' to justify murderingsovereigns and seizing their dominions. As neither heaven nor earthhas a mind, they cannot issue decrees. If heaven really could issuedecrees, it would certainly protect the good rulers and take care toprevent bad men from seizing the power, and, in general, while thegood would prosper, the bad would suffer misfortune. But in realitywe find many instances of the reverse. Whenever anything goes wrongin the world, it is to be attributed to the action of the evil godscalled 'gods of crookedness, ' whose power is so great that the Sungoddess and the Creator-gods are sometimes unable to restrain them;much less are human beings able to resist their influence. Theprosperity of the wicked and the misfortunes of the good, which seemopposed to ordinary justice, are their doing. The Chinese, notpossessing the traditions of the Divine Age, were ignorant of thistruth, and were driven to invent the theory of heaven's decrees. "The eternal endurance of the dynasty of the Mikado is a completeproof that the 'way, ' called Kami no michi or Shinto, infinitelysurpasses the systems of all other countries. The 'holy men' ofChina were merely unsuccessful rebels. The Mikado is the sovereignappointed by the pair of deities, Izanagi and Izanami, who createdthis country. The Sun goddess never said, 'Disobey the Mikado if hebe bad, ' and therefore, whether he be good or bad, no one attempts todeprive him of his authority. He is the Immovable Ruler who mustendure to the end of time, as long as the sun and moon continue toshine. In ancient language the Mikado was called a god, and that ishis real character. Duty, therefore, consists in obeying himimplicitly without questioning his acts. During the Middle Ages, suchmen as Hojo Yoshitoki, Hojo Yasutoki, Ashikaga Takauji, and others, violated this duty (michi) and look up arms against him. Theirdisobedience to the Mikado is attributable to the influence of theChinese learning. This 'way' was established by Izanagi and Izanamiand delivered by them to the Sun goddess, who handed it down, andthis is why it is called the 'way of the gods. ' "The nature of this 'way' is to be learned by studying the Kojiki andancient writings, but mankind has been turned aside from it, by thespirits of crookedness, to Buddhism and Chinese philosophy. Thevarious doctrines taught under the name of Shinto are withoutauthority, Human beings, having been produced by the spirit of thetwo creative deities, are naturally endowed with the knowledge ofwhat they ought to do, and what they ought to refrain from doing. Itis unnecessary for them to trouble their heads with systems ofmorality. If a system of morals were necessary, men would be inferiorto animals, all of whom are endowed with the knowledge of what theyought to do, only in an inferior degree to man. If what the Chinesecall benevolence, modesty, filial piety, propriety, love, fidelity, and truth really constituted the duty of man, they would be sorecognized and practised without any teaching; but since they wereinvented by the so-called 'holy men' as instruments for ruling aviciously inclined population, it became necessary to insist on morethan the actual duty of man. Consequently, although plenty of menprofess these doctrines, the number of those that practise them isvery small. Violations of this teaching were attributed to humanlusts. As human lusts are a part of man's nature, they must be a partof the harmony of the universe, and cannot be wrong according to theChinese theory. It was the vicious nature of the Chinese thatnecessitated such strict rules, as, for instance, that personsdescended from a common ancestor, no matter how distantly related, should not intermarry. These rules, not being founded on the harmonyof the universe, were not in accordance with human feelings and weretherefore seldom obeyed. "In ancient times, Japanese refrained from intermarriage amongchildren of the same mother, but the distance between the noble andthe mean was duly preserved. Thus, the country was spontaneously wellgoverned, in accordance with the 'way' established by the gods. Justas the Mikado worshipped the gods in heaven and earth, so his peoplepray to the good gods in order to obtain blessings, and perform ritesin honour of the bad gods in order to avert their displeasure. Ifthey committed crimes or denied themselves, they employed the usualmethods of purification taught them by their own hearts. Since thereare bad as well as good gods, it is necessary to propitiate them withofferings of agreeable food, playing the lute, blowing the flute, singing and dancing, and whatever else is likely to put them in goodhumour. "It has been asked whether the Kami no michi is not the same as theTaoism of Laotzu. Laotzu hated the vain conceits of the Chinesescholars, and honoured naturalness, from which a resemblance may beargued; but as he was born in a dirty country not under specialprotection of the Sun goddess, he had heard only the theories of thesuccession of so-called 'holy men, ' and what he believed to benaturalness was simply what they called natural. He did not know thatthe gods are the authors of every human action, and this ignoranceconstituted a cause of radical difference. To have acquired theknowledge that there is no michi (ethics) to be learned and practisedis really to have learned to practise the 'way of the gods. ' . . . Many miracles occurred in the Age of the Gods, the truth of which wasnot disputed until men were taught by the Chinese philosophy toanalyse the acts of the gods by the aid of their own feebleintelligence. The reason assigned for disbelieving in miracles isthat they cannot be explained; but in fact, although the Age of theGods has passed away, wondrous miracles surround us on all sides. Forinstance, is the earth suspended in space or does it rest uponsomething else? If it be said that the earth rests upon somethingelse, then what is it that supports that something else? According toone Chinese theory, the earth is a globe suspended in space with theheavens revolving round it. But even if we suppose the heavens to befull of air, no ordinary principles will account for the land and seabeing suspended in space without moving. The explanation offered isas miraculous as the supposition previously made. It seems plausibleenough to say that the heavens are merely air and are without anydefinite form. If this be true, there is nothing but air outside theearth, and this air must be infinite or finite in extent. If it isinfinite in extent, we cannot fix any point as its centre, so that itis impossible to understand why the earth should be at rest; for ifit be not in the centre it cannot be at rest. If it be finite, whatcauses the air to condense in one particular spot, and what positionshall we assign to it? "In any case all these things are miraculous and strange. How absurdto take these miracles for granted, and at the same time todisbelieve in the wonders of the Divine Age! Think again of the humanbody. Seeing with the eyes, hearing With the ears, speaking with themouth, walking on the feet, and performing all manner of acts withthe hands are strange things; so also the flight of birds and insectsthrough the air, the blossoming of plants and trees, the ripening oftheir fruits and seeds are strange; and the strangest of all is thetransformation of the fox and the badger into human form. If rats, weasels, and certain birds see in the dark, why should not the godshave been endowed with a similar faculty?.... The facts that many ofthe gods are invisible now and have never been visible furnish noargument against their existence. Existence can be made known to usby other senses than those of sight, such as odour or sound, whilethe wind, which is neither seen, heard, nor smelt is recognized bythe impression which it makes upon our bodies. [Motoori Norinaga]. "Although numbers of Japanese cannot state with any certainty fromwhat gods they are descended, all of them have tribal names (kabane)which were originally bestowed by the Mikado, and those who make ittheir province to study genealogies can tell from a man's ordinarysurname who his remotest ancestor must have been. From the fact ofthe divine descent of the Japanese people proceeds their immeasurablesuperiority to the natives of other countries in courage andintelligence. * *Although Hirata claims the superiority for his own countrymen, hefrankly acknowledges the achievements of the Dutch in naturalscience. ". . . The accounts given in other countries, whether by Buddhism orby Chinese philosophy, of the form of the heavens and earth and themanner in which they came into existence, are all inventions of menwho exercised all their ingenuity over the problem, and inferred thatsuch things must actually be the case. As for the Indian account, itis nonsense fit only to deceive women and children, and I do notthink it worthy of reflection. The Chinese theories, on the otherhand, are based upon profound philosophical speculations and soundextremely plausible, but what they call the absolute and the finite, the positive and negative essences, the eight diagrams, and the fiveelements, are not real existences, but are fictitious names inventedby the philosophers and freely applied in every direction. They saythat the whole universe was produced by agencies, and that nothingexists which is independent of them. But all these statements arenonsense. The principles which animate the universe are beyond thepower of analysis, nor can they be fathomed by human intelligence, and all statements founded upon pretended explanations of them are tobe rejected. All that man can think and know is limited by the powersof sight, feeling, and calculation, and what goes beyond thesepowers, cannot be known by any amount of thinking. . . . "The Chinese accounts sound as if based upon profound principles, andone fancies that they must be right, while the Japanese accountssound shallow and utterly unfounded in reason. But the former arelies while the latter are the truth, so that as time goes on andthought attains greater accuracy, the erroneous nature of thesefalsehoods becomes even more apparent whale the true traditionremains intact. In modern times, men from countries lying far off inthe West have voyaged all round the seas as their inclinationsprompted them, and have ascertained the actual shape of the earth. They have discovered that the earth is round and that the sun and themoon revolve round it in a vertical direction, and it may thus beconjectured how full of errors are all the ancient Chinese accounts, and how impossible it is to believe anything that professes to bedetermined a priori. But when we come to compare our ancienttraditions as to the origin of a thing in the midst of space and itssubsequent development, with what has been ascertained to be theactual shape of the earth, we find that there is not the slightesterror, and this result confirms the truth of our ancient traditions. But although accurate discoveries made by the men of the Far West asto the actual shape of the earth and its position in space infinitelysurpass the theories of the Chinese, still that is only a matter ofcalculation. There are many other things actually known to existwhich cannot be solved by that means; and still less is it possibleto solve the question of how the earth, sun, and moon came to assumetheir form. Probably those countries possess theories of their own, but whatever they may be, they can but be guesses after the event, and probably resemble the Indian and the Chinese theories. "The most fearful crimes which a man commits go unpunished by societyso long as they are undiscovered, but they draw down on him thehatred of the invisible gods. The attainment of happiness byperforming good acts is regulated by the same law. Even if the godsdo not punish secret sins by the usual penalties of law, they inflictdiseases, misfortunes, short life, and extermination of the race. Never mind the praise or blame of fellow men, but act so that youneed not be ashamed before the gods of the Unseen. If you desire topractise true virtue, learn to stand in awe of the Unseen, and thatwill prevent you from doing wrong. Make a vow to the god who rulesover the Unseen and cultivate the conscience implanted in you, andthen you will never wander from the way. You cannot hope to live morethan one hundred years in the most favourable circumstances, but asyou will go to the unseen realm of Okuninushi after death and besubject to his rule, learn betimes to bow down before heaven. Thespirits of the dead continue to exist in the unseen world which iseverywhere about us, and they all become gods of varying characterand degrees of influence. Some reside in temples built in theirhonour; others hover near their tombs, and they continue to renderservice to their princes, parents, wives, and children as when intheir body. [Hirata Atsutane. ]"* *The above extracts are all taken from Sir Ernest Satow's Revival ofPure Shinto in the appendix to Vol. III. Of the "Transactions of theAsiatic Society of Japan. " The great loyalist of the eleventh century, Kitabatake Chikafusa, hadfully demonstrated the divine title of the sovereigns of Japan, buthis work reached only a narrow circle of readers, and his argumentswere not re-enforced by the sentiment of the era. Very different wasthe case in the days of the four literati quoted above. The arrogantand intolerant demeanour of Japanese students of Chinese philosophywho elevated the Middle Kingdom on a pedestal far above the head oftheir own country, gradually provoked bitter resentment amongpatriotic Japanese, thus lending collateral strength to the movementwhich took place in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries infavour of reversion to the customs and canons of old times. As soon as attention was intelligently concentrated on the history ofthe past, it was clearly perceived that, in remote antiquity, theempire had always been administered from the Throne, and, further, that the functions arrogated to themselves by the Hojo, the Oda, theToyotomi, and the Tokugawa were pure usurpations, which deprived theImperial Court of the place properly belonging to it in the Statepolity. Just when this reaction was developing strength, the disputeabout the title of the ex-Emperor occurred in Kyoto, and furnished anobject lesson more eloquent than any written thesis. The situationwas complicated by the question of foreign intercourse, but this willbe treated separately. ENGRAVING: MITSUGUMI-NO-SAKAZUKI (Sake Cups used only on HappyOccasions such as Weddings and New Year Days) ENGRAVING: DIFFERENT STYLES OF COIFFURE CHAPTER XLIV FOREIGN RELATIONS AND THE DECLINE OF THE TOKUGAWA FOREIGN TRADE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY FROM what has been stated in previous chapters, it is clearlyunderstood that Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu were all welldisposed towards foreign intercourse and trade, and that the Tokugawachief made even more earnest endeavours than Hideyoshi todifferentiate between Christianity and commerce, so that the fate ofthe former might not overtake the latter. Ieyasu, indeed, seems tohave kept three objects steadfastly in view, namely, the developmentof oversea trade, the acquisition of a mercantile marine, and theprosecution of mining enterprise. To the Spaniards, to thePortuguese, to the English, and to the Dutch, he offered a site for asettlement in a suburb of Yedo, and had the offer been accepted, Japan might never have been closed to foreign intercourse. At thattime the policy of the empire was free trade. There were no customsdues, though it was expected that the foreign merchants would makeliberal presents to the feudatory into whose port they carried theirwares. The Tokugawa baron gave plain evidence that he regardedcommerce with the outer world as a source of wealth, and that hewished to attract it to his own domains. On more than one occasion hesent an envoy to Manila to urge the opening of trade with the regionsin the vicinity of Yedo, and to ask the Spaniards for expert navalarchitects. His attitude is well shown by a law enacted in 1602: "If any foreign vessel by stress of weather is obliged to touch atany principality or to put into any harbour of Japan, we order that, whoever these foreigners may be, absolutely nothing whatever thatbelongs to them, or that they may have brought in their ship, shallbe taken from them. Likewise, we rigorously prohibit the use of anyviolence in the purchase or sale of any of the commodities brought bytheir ship, and if it is not convenient for the merchants of the shipto remain in the port they have entered, they may pass to any otherport that may suit them, and therein buy and sell in full freedom. Likewise, we order, in a general manner, that foreigners may freelyreside in any part of Japan they choose, but we rigorously forbidthem to propagate their faith. " In the year 1605, the Tokugawa chief granted a permit to the Dutchfor trade in Japan, his expectation being that the ships which theyundertook to send every year would make Uraga, or some other placenear Yedo, their port of entry. In this he was disappointed. Thefirst Hollanders that set foot in Japan were eighteen survivors ofthe crew of the wrecked Liefde. These men were at first placed inconfinement, and during their detention they were approached byemissaries from the feudatory of Hirado, who engaged some of them toinstruct his vassals in the art of gun casting and the science ofartillery, and who also made such tempting promises with regard toHirado that the Dutch decided to choose that place for headquarters, although it was then, and always subsequently remained, aninsignificant little fishing village. The Dutch possessed one greatadvantage over their rivals from Manila and Macao: they were preparedto carry on commerce while eschewing religious propagandism. It wasthis element of the situation that the Hirado feudatory shrewdlyappreciated when he enticed the Dutchmen to make Hirado their port ofentry. With regard to the desire of Ieyasu to exploit the mining resourcesof his country, the fact is demonstrated by an incident whichoccurred at the time. The governor--general of the Philippines(Rodrigo Yivero y Velasco), whose ship had been cast away on thecoast of Japan while en route for Acapulco, had an interview withIeyasu, and in response to the latter's application for fifty miningexperts, the Spaniards made a proposal, to the terms of which, onerous as they were, Ieyasu agreed; namely that one half of theproduce, of the mines should go to the miners; that the other halfshould be divided equally between Ieyasu and the King of Spain; thatthe latter might send officials to Japan to protect his mininginterests, and that these officials might be accompanied by priests, who would have the right to erect public churches, and to holdreligious services there. * These things happened in 1609. Previous tothat time, the Tokugawa chief had repeatedly imposed a strict veto onChristian propagandism; yet we now find him removing that vetopartially, for the sake of obtaining foreign expert assistance. LikeHideyoshi, Ieyasu had full confidence in himself and in hiscountrymen. He did not doubt his ability to deal with emergencies ifthey arose, and he made no sacrifice to timidity. But his courageouspolicy died with him, and the miners never came. Moreover, theSpaniards seemed incapable of any successful effort to establishtrade with Japan. Fitful visits were paid by their vessels at Uraga, but the Portuguese continued to monopolize the commerce. *It is to be understood, of course, that these ministrations wereintended to be limited to Spaniards resident in Japan. ENGRAVING: OLD SPANISH CLOCK PRESERVED IN KUNOZAN. That commerce, however, was not without rude interruptions. One, especially memorable, occurred at the very time when Rodrigo's vesselwas cast away. "In a quarrel at Macao some Japanese sailors losttheir lives, and their comrades were compelled by the commandant, Pessoa, to sign a declaration exonerating the Portuguese. Thesignatories, however, told a different tale when they returned toJapan, and their feudal chief, the daimyo of Arima, was muchincensed, as also was Ieyasu In the following year (1609), this samePessoa arrived at Nagasaki in command of the Madre de Dios, carryingtwelve Jesuits and a cargo worth a million crowns. Ieyasu ordered theArima feudatory to seize her. Surrounded by an attacking force oftwelve hundred men in boats, Pessoa fought his ship for three days, and then, exploding her magazine, sent her to the bottom with hercrew, her passenger-priests, and her cargo. " Fifty-eight years before the date of this occurrence, Xavier hadconveyed to Charles V a warning that if ships from New Spain"attempted to conquer the Japanese by force of arms, they would haveto do with a people no less covetous than warlike, who seem likely tocapture any hostile fleet, however strong. " It was a justappreciation. The Portuguese naturally sought to obtain satisfactionfor the fate of Pessoa, but Ieyasu would not even reply to theirdemands, though he made no attempt to prevent the resumption of tradewith Macao. OPENING OF ENGLISH AND DUTCH TRADE In the year 1609, Ieyasu had reason to expect that the Spaniards andthe Dutch would both open trade with Japan. His expectation wasdisappointed in the case of the Spaniards, but, two years later, theDutch flag was seen in Japanese waters. It was flown by the Brack, amerchantman which, sailing from Patani, reached Hirado with a cargoof pepper, cloth, ivory, silk, and lead. Two envoys were on board thevessel, and her arrival in Japan nearly synchronized with the comingof the Spanish embassy from Manila, which had been despatchedexpressly for the purpose of "settling the matter regarding theHollanders. " Nevertheless, the Dutch obtained a liberal patent fromIeyasu. Twelve years previously, the merchants of London, stimulated by aspirit of rivalry with the Dutch, had organized the East IndiaCompany, which at once began to send ships eastward. As soon as newscame that the Dutch were about to establish a trading station inJapan, the East India Company issued orders that the Clove, commandedby Saris, should proceed to the Far Eastern islands. The Clovereached Hirado on the 11th of June, 1613. Her master, Saris, soonproved that he did not possess the capacity essential to success. Hewas self-opinionated, suspicious, and of shallow judgment. Thoughstrongly urged by Will Adams to make Uraga the seat of the new trade;though convinced of the excellence of the harbour there, and thoughinstructed as to the great advantage of proximity to the shogun'scapital, he appears to have harboured some distrust of Adams, for hefinally selected Hirado in preference to Uraga, "which was much asthough a German going to England to open trade should prefer toestablish himself at Dover or Folkestone rather than in the vicinityof London. " Nevertheless he received from Ieyasu a charter so liberalthat it plainly displayed the mood of the Tokugawa shogun towardsforeign trade: "(1) The ship that has now come for the first time from England overthe sea to Japan may carry on trade of all kinds without hindrance. With regard to future visits (of English ships), permission will begiven in regard to all matters. "(2) With regard to the cargoes of ships, requisition will be made bylist according to the requirements of the shogunate. "(3) English ships are free to visit any port in Japan. If disabledby storms they may put into any harbour. "(4) Ground in Yedo in the place which they may desire shall be givento the English, and they may erect houses and reside and trade there. They shall be at liberty to return to their country whenever theywish to do so, and to dispose as they like of the houses they haveerected. "(5) If an Englishman dies in Japan of disease or any other cause, his effects shall be handed over without fail. "(6) Forced sales of cargo and violence shall not take place. "(7) If one of the English should commit an offence, he should besentenced by the English general according to the gravity of hisoffence. "* *In this article, Ieyasu recognizes the principle ofextra-territorial jurisdiction. The terms of the above show that Saris was expected to make Yedo hisheadquarters. Had he done so he would have been practically free fromcompetition; would have had the eastern capital of the empire formarket, and would have avoided many expenses and inconveniencesconnected with residence elsewhere. But he did not rise to theoccasion, and the result of his mistaken choice as well as of badmanagement was that, ten years later (1623), the English factory atHirado had to be closed, the losses incurred there having aggregatedŁ2000--$10, 000. It has to be noted that, a few months after the deathof Ieyasu, the above charter underwent a radical modification. Theoriginal document threw open to the English every port in Japan; therevised document limited them to Hirado. But this restriction may beindirectly traced to the blunder of not accepting a settlement inYedo and a port at Uraga. For the foreign policy of the Tokugawa waslargely swayed by an apprehension that the Kyushu feudatories, manyof whom were not over-well disposed to the rule of the Bakufu, mightderive from the assistance of foreign trade such a fleet and such anarmament as would ultimately enable them to overthrow the Tokugawa. Therefore, the precaution was adopted of confining the English andthe Dutch to Hirado, the domain of a feudatory too petty to becomeformidable, and to Nagasaki, which was one of the four Imperialcities, the other three being Yedo, Kyoto, and Osaka. ENGRAVING: THE "ATAKA MARU" (Shogun's Barge) It is easy to see that an English factory in Yedo and English shipsat Uraga would have strengthened the Tokugawa ruler's hand instead ofsupplying engines of war to his political foes; and it must furtherbe noted that the question of locality had another injurious outcome. For alike at Hirado and at Nagasaki, the foreign traders "wereexposed to a crippling competition at the hands of rich Osakamonopolists, who, as representing an Imperial city and thereforebeing pledged to the Tokugawa interests, enjoyed special indulgencesfrom the Bakufu. These shrewd traders who were then, as they are now, the merchant-princes of Japan, not only drew a ring around Hirado, but also sent vessels on their own account to Cochin China, Siam, Tonkin, Cambodia, and other foreign lands with which the English andthe Dutch carried on trade. " One can scarcely be surprised thatCocks, the successor of Saris, wrote, in 1620, "which maketh mealtogether aweary of Japan. " It is, however, certain that the closure of the English factory atHirado was voluntary; from the beginning to the end no seriousfriction had occurred between the English and the Japanese. When, theformer withdrew from the Japanese trade, their houses and stores atHirado were not sold, but were left in the safe-keeping of the localfeudatory, who promised to restore them to their original ownersshould the English company desire to re-open business in Japan. Thecompany did think of doing so on more than one occasion, but the ideadid not mature until the year 1673, when a merchantman, the Return, was sent to obtain permission. "The Japanese authorities, aftermature reflection, made answer that as the king of England wasmarried to a Portuguese princess, British subjects could not bepermitted to visit Japan. That this reply was suggested by the Dutchis very probable; that it truly reflected the feeling of the JapaneseGovernment towards Roman Catholics is certain. "* *Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th Edition)'; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. END OF THE PORTUGUESE TRADE WITH JAPAN In the year 1624, the expulsion of the Spaniards from Japan tookplace, and in 1638 the Portuguese met the same fate. Two years priorto the latter event, the Yedo Bakufu adopted a measure whicheffectually terminated foreign intercourse. They ruled that to leavethe country, or to attempt to do so, should constitute a capitalcrime; that any Japanese subject residing abroad should be executedif he returned; that the entire kith and kin of the Spaniards inJapan should be expelled, and that no ships of ocean-going dimensionsshould be built in Japan. This meant not only the driving out of allprofessing Christians, but also the imprisonment of the entire nationwithin the limits of the Japanese islands, as well as an effectualveto on the growth of the mercantile marine. It is worth noting thatno act of spoliation was practised against these tabooed people. Thus, when those indicated by the edict--to the number of 287--leftthe country for Macao, they were allowed to carry away with themtheir whole fortunes. The expulsion of the Spaniards did not leave the Portuguese in animproved condition. Humiliating restrictions continued to be imposedupon them. If a foreign priest were found upon any galleon bound forJapan, such priest and the whole of the crew of the galleon wereliable to be executed, and many other irksome conditions wereinstituted for the control of the trade. Nor had the aliens even thesatisfaction of an open market, for all the goods carried in theirgalleons had to be sold at a fixed price to a ring of licensedJapanese merchants from Osaka. In spite of all these deterrents, however, the Portuguese continued to send galleons to Nagasaki untilthe year 1637, when their alleged connexion with the Shimabararebellion induced the Japanese to issue the final edict thathenceforth any Portuguese ship coming to Japan should be burned, together with her cargo, and everyone on board should be executed. This law was not enforced with any undue haste; ample time was givenfor compliance with its provisions. Possibly misled by thisprocrastination, the Portuguese at Macao continued to strive for there-establishment of commercial relations until 1640, when a very sadevent put an end finally to all intercourse. Four aged men, selectedfrom among the most respected citizens of Macao, were sent toNagasaki as ambassadors. Their ships carried rich presents and anearnest petition for the renewal of commercial intercourse. They wereat once imprisoned, and having declined to save their lives byabjuring the Christian faith, the four old men and fifty-seven oftheir companions were decapitated, thirteen only being left alive forthe purpose of conveying the facts to Macao. To these thirteen therewas handed at their departure a document setting forth that, "So longas the sun warms the earth, any Christian bold enough to come toJapan, even if he be King Philip himself or the God of theChristians, shall pay for it with his head. " One more effort torestore the old intimacy was made by the Portuguese in 1647, but itfailed signally, and would certainly have entailed sanguinary resultshad not the two Portuguese vessels beat a timely retreat. THE DUTCH AT DESHIMA In 1609, the Dutch made their appearance in Japan, and received anexcellent welcome. Ieyasu gave them a written promise that "no manshould do them any wrong and that they should be maintained anddefended as his own vassals. " He also granted them a charter thatwherever their ships entered, they should be shown "all manner ofhelp, favour, and assistance. " Left free to choose their own tradingport, they made the mistake of selecting Hirado, which was eminentlyunsuited to be a permanent emporium of interstate commerce. Nevertheless, owing partly to their shrewdness, partly to theirexclusive possession of the Spice Islands, and partly to theirbelligerent co-operation with the English against the Spaniards, theysucceeded in faring prosperously for a time. The day came, however, when, being deprived of freedom of trade andlimited to dealings with a guild of Nagasaki and Osaka merchants, they found their gains seriously affected. Other vicissitudesovertook them, and finally the Japanese concluded that the safestcourse was to confine the Dutch to some position where, in a momentof emergency, they could easily be brought under Japanese control. Nagasaki was chosen as suitable, and there a Dutch factory wasestablished which, for a time, flourished satisfactorily. From sevento ten Dutch vessels used to enter the port annually--their cargoesvalued at some eighty thousand pounds (avdp. ) of silver, and thechief staples of import being silk and piece-goods. Customs dutiesamounting to five per cent, were levied; 495 pounds of silver had tobe paid annually as a rent for the little island of Deshima, andevery year a mission had to proceed to Yedo from the factory, carrying presents for the chief Bakufu officials, which presents aresaid to have aggregated some 550 pounds of silver on each occasion. The Dutch traders, nevertheless, found their business profitableowing to purchases of gold and copper, which metals could be procuredin Japan at much lower rates than they commanded in Europe. Thus, thenow familiar question of an outflow of specie was forced uponJapanese attention at that early date, and, by way of remedy, theGovernment adopted, in 1790, the policy of restricting to one vesselannually the Dutch ships entering Nagasaki, and forbidding thatvessel to carry away more than 350 tons of copper. EFFECTS PRODUCED UPON JAPAN BY THE POLICY OF EXCLUSION Whatever losses Japan's policy of seclusion caused to the nationswhich were its victims, there can be no doubt that she herself wasthe chief sufferer. During two and a half centuries she remainedwithout breathing the atmosphere of international competition, orderiving inspiration from an exchange of ideas with other countries. While the world moved steadily forward, Japan stood practicallyunchanging, and when ultimately she emerged into contact with theOccident, she found herself separated by an immense interval from thematerial civilization it had developed. The contrast between the Japan of the middle of the sixteenth andthat of the middle of the seventeenth century has often been made bythe historian of foreign influence. In 1541 the country was open toforeign trade, foreign civilization and foreign ideas and these werewelcomed eagerly and, in accordance with the remarkable naturalaptitude of the Japanese for adaptation, were readily assimilated. Not only were foreign traders allowed to come to Japan, but Japanesewere allowed to go abroad. And all this was in the line of along-continued Japanese policy--the policy thanks to which Chineseinfluence had made itself so strongly felt in Japan, and which hadbrought in Buddhism and Confucianism, not to speak of arts andletters of foreign provenance. At the close of the hundred years, in 1641, all was changed. Japanwas absolutely isolated. Foreigners were forbidden to enter, exceptthe Dutch traders who were confined to the little island of Deshima. And natives were forbidden to go out, or to accept at home thereligious teachings of foreigners. Only ships suited for thecoastwise trade might be built. The nation's intercourse withOccidental civilization was shut off, and its natural power of changeand growth through foreign influences was thus held in check. Thewonder is that it was not destroyed by this inhibition. The wholestory of foreign intercourse as it has so far been told makes itplain that the reason why it was prohibited was in the nature offoreign propaganda and not in any unreadiness of the Japanese forwestern civilization. SECOND ERA OF FOREIGN TRADE Japan's seclusion was maintained unflinchingly. But, though her goodsfound a market in China, only during her period of self-effacement, the reputation of her people for military prowess was such that nooutside nation thought of forcing her to open her ports. A Britishseaman, Sir Edward Michelborne, in the sequel of a fight between histwo ships and a Japanese junk near Singapore, left a record that "TheJapanese are not allowed to land in any part of India with weapons, being a people so desperate and daring that they are feared in allplaces where they come. " Nevertheless, Russian subjects, their shoresbeing contiguous with those of Japan, occasionally found their way assailors or colonists into the waters of Saghalien, the Kuriles, andYezo. The Japanese did not then exercise effective control over Yezo, although the island was nominally under their jurisdiction. Itsgovernment changed from one hand to another in the centuries thatseparated the Kamakura epoch from the Tokugawa, and in the latterepoch we find the Matsumae daimyo ruling all the islands northward ofthe Tsugaru Straits. But the Matsumae administration contented itselfwith imposing taxes and left the people severely alone. Thus, when in1778, a small party of Russians appeared at Nemuro seeking trade, nopreparations existed to impose the local government's will on thestrangers. They were simply promised an answer in the following year, and that answer proved to be that all Japan's oversea trade must bylaw be confined to Nagasaki. The Russians did not attempt to dispute this ruling. They retiredquietly. But their two visits had shown them that Yezo was capable ofmuch development, and they gradually began to flock thither ascolonists. Officials sent from Japan proper to make an investigationreported that Kamchatka, hitherto a dependency of Japan, had beentaken possession of by Russians, who had established themselves inthe island of Urup and at other places. The report added that thesituation would be altogether lost unless resolute steps were takento restore it. Unfortunately, the death of the tenth shogun havingjust then occurred, the Yedo Court found it inconvenient to takeaction in remote Yezo. Thus, Russian immigration and Japaneseinaction continued for some time, and not until 1792 were commissionsagain despatched from Yedo to inquire and report. They made anexhaustive investigation, and just as it reached the hands of theBakufu, a large Russian vessel arrived off Nemuro, carrying someship-wrecked Japanese sailors whom her commander offered to restoreto their country, accompanying this offer with an application for theopening of trade between Russia and Japan. Negotiations ensued, theresult being that Nagasaki was again referred to as the only portwhere foreign trade might be lawfully conducted, and the Russians, therefore, declared their intention of proceeding thither, a passportbeing handed to them for the purpose. It does not appear, however, that they availed themselves of this permit, and in the mean whilethe Yedo commissioners pursued their journey northward, and pulled upa number of boundary posts which had been erected by the Russians inUrup. The Bakufu now began to appreciate the situation more fully. Theytook under their own immediate control the eastern half of Yezo, entrusting the western half to Matsumae. The next incident of notewas a survey of the northern islands, made in 1800 by the famousmathematician, Ino Tadayoshi, and the despatch of another party ofBakufu investigators. Nothing practical was done, however, and, in1804, a Russian ship arrived at Nagasaki carrying a number ofJapanese castaways and again applying for permission to trade. But itsoon appeared that the Bakufu were playing fast and loose with theirvisitors and that they had no intention of sanctioning generalforeign commerce, even at Nagasaki. Incensed by such treatment, theRussians, in 1806, invaded Saghalien, carried away several Japanesesoldiers, and partially raided Etorop and other places. Theythreatened further violence in the following year unlessinternational trade was sanctioned. The Bakufu had now a serious problem to solve, and their ideas of itssolution were almost comical. Thus, one statesman recommended theorganization of a special force recruited from the ranks of vagrantsand criminals and stationed permanently in the northern islands, Amore practical programme was the formation of a local militia. Butneither of these suggestions obtained approval, nor was anything donebeyond removing the Matsumae feudatory and placing the whole of theislands under the direct sway of the Bakufu. For a period of five years after these events the Russians made nofurther attempt to establish relations with Japan, and their nextessay, namely, the despatch of a warship--the Diana--to survey theYezo coasts, was unceremoniously interrupted by the Japanese. Anothervessel flying the Russian flag visited Kunajiri, in 1814. On thatoccasion the Japanese managed to seize some members of the Russiancrew, who were ultimately saved by the shrewdness of one of theirofficers. These events imparted fresh vigour to Japan's prejudicesagainst foreign intercourse, but, as for the Russians, not a few ofthem found their way to Saghalien and settled there without anyresolute attempt on the part of the Bakufu to expel them. COAST DEFENCE One effect of the events related above was to direct Japaneseattention to the necessity of coast defence, a subject which derivedmuch importance from information filtering through the Dutch door atNagasaki. Under the latter influence a remarkable book (Kai-kokuHei-dan) was compiled by Hayashi Shibei, who had associated for sometime with the Dutch at Deshima. He urged frankly that Japan mustremain helpless for naval purposes if her people were forbidden tobuild ocean-going vessels while foreigners sailed the high seas, andhe further urged that attention should be paid to coast defence, sothat the country might not be wholly at the mercy of foreignadventurers. The brave author was thrown into prison and theprinting-blocks of his book were destroyed, but his enlightenmentbore some fruit, for immediately afterwards the Bakufu prime ministermade a journey along the coasts of the empire to select points forthe erection of fortifications, and to encourage the feudatories totake steps for guarding these important positions. FOREIGN LITERATURE It has already been stated that in the days of the shogun Yoshimune(1716-1745) the veto against studying foreign books was removed. Butfor some time this liberal measure produced no practical effect, since there did not exist even a Dutch-Japanese vocabulary to openthe pages of foreign literature for Japanese study. Indeed, very fewbooks were procurable from the Dutch at Deshima. The most accessiblewere treatises on medicine and anatomy, and the illustrations inthese volumes served as a guide for interpreting their contents. Earnestness well-nigh incredible was shown by Japanese students indeciphering the strange terms, and presently the country was placedin possession of The History of Russia, Notes on the NorthernIslands, Universal Geography, A Compendium of Dutch Literature, Treatises on the Art of Translation, a Dutch-Japanese Dictionary andso forth, the immediate result being a nascent public conviction ofthe necessity of opening the country, --a conviction which, though notwidely held, contributed materially to the ultimate fall of theBakufu. The Yedo Court, however, clung tenaciously to its hereditaryconservatism. Thus, in 1825, the Bakufu issued a general order thatany foreign vessel coming within range of the coast batteries shouldat once be fired upon, and not until 1842 was this harsh commandmodified in the sense that a ship driven into a Japanese port bystress of weather might be given food, water, and provisions, butshould be warned to resume her voyage immediately. Meanwhile, strenuous efforts were made to strengthen the littoral defences, anda very active revival of the study of the military art took placethroughout the empire, though, at the same time, the number ofpatriots sufficiently brave and clear-sighted to condemn the policyof seclusion grew steadily. ENGRAVING: "OHARAME" (A FEMALE LABOURER IN THE SUBURBS OF KYOTO) ENGRAVING: TWO DRUMS AND TSUZUMI--A and D are Drums; B and C areTsuzumi. CHAPTER XLV FOREIGN RELATIONS AND THE DECLINE OF THE TOKUGAWA: (Continued) THE TWELFTH SHOGUN, IEYOSHI (1838-1853) FROM the period of this shogun the strength of the Bakufu began towane steadily, and the restoration of the administrative power to thesovereign came to be discussed, with bated breath at first, butgradually with increased freedom. It is undeniable, however, that thedecline of the Tokugawa was due as much to an empty treasury as tothe complications of foreign intercourse. The financial situation inthe first half of the nineteenth century may be briefly described asone of expenditures constantly exceeding income, and of repeatedrecourse by the Bakufu to the fatal expedient of debasing thecurrency. Public respect was steadily undermined by these displays ofimpecuniosity, and the feudatories in the west of the empire--that isto say, the tozama daimyo, whose loyalty to the Bakufu was weak atthe best--found an opportunity to assert themselves against the Yedoadministration, while the appreciation of commodities rendered theburden of living constantly more severe and thus helped to alienatethe people. SUMPTUARY LAWS While with one hand scattering abroad debased tokens of exchange, theBakufu legislators laboured strenuously with the other to checkluxury and extravagance. Conspicuous among the statesmen who soughtto restore the economical habit of former days was Mizuno Echizen noKami, who, in 1826 and the immediately subsequent years, promulgateddecree after decree vetoing everything in the nature of needlessexpenditures. It fared with his attempt as it always does with suchlegislation. People admired the vetoes in theory but paid littleattention to them in practice. FAMINE IN THE TEMPO ERA (1830-1844) From 1836 onward, through successive years, one bad harvest followedanother until the prices of rice and other cereals rose tounprecedented figures. The Bakufu were not remiss in their measuresto relieve distress. Free grants of grain were made in the mostafflicted regions; houses of refuge were constructed where theindigent might be fed and lodged during a maximum period of 210 days, each inmate receiving in addition a daily allowance of money whichwas handed to him on leaving the refuge, and this example of charitywas obeyed widely by the feudatories. It is on record that twentythousand persons availed themselves of these charitable institutionsin Yedo alone. One particularly sad episode marks the story. Drivento desperation by the sight of the people's pain and by his ownfailure to obtain from wealthy folks a sufficient measure of aid, although he sold everything he himself possessed by way of example, apolice official, Oshio Heihachiro, raised the flag of revolt andbecame the instrument of starting a tumult in which eighteen thousandbuildings were destroyed in Osaka. In a manifesto issued beforecommitting suicide in company with his son, Heihachiro charged thewhole body of officials with corrupt motives, and declared that thesovereign was treated as a recluse without any practical authority;that the people did not know where to make complaint; that thedispleasure of heaven was evinced by a succession of naturalcalamities, and that the men in power paid no attention to thesewarnings. The eleventh shogun, Ienari, after fifty-one years of office, resigned in favour of his son, Ieyoshi, who ruled from 1838 to 1853. Ienari survived his resignation by four years, during which heresided in the western castle, and, under the title of o-gosho, continued to take part in the administration. As for Ieyoshi, histenure of power is chiefly notable for the strenuous efforts made byhis prime minister, Mizuno Echizen no Kami, to substitute economy forthe costly luxury that prevailed. Reference has already been made tothis eminent official's policy, and it will suffice here to add thathis aim was to restore the austere fashions of former times. Theschedule of reforms was practically endless. Expensive costumes wereseized and burned; theatres were relegated to a remote suburb of thecity; actors were ostracized; a censorship of publications checkedunder severe penalties the compilation of all anti-foreign or immoralliterature, and even children's toys were legislated for. At first these laws alarmed people, but it was soon found thatcompetence to enforce was not commensurate with ability to compile, and the only result achieved was that splendour and extravagance weremore or less concealed. Yet the Bakufu officials did not hesitate toresort to force. It is recorded that storehouses and residences weresealed and their inmates banished; that no less than 570 restaurantswere removed from the most populous part of the city, and that themaidservants employed in them were all degraded to the class of"licensed prostitutes. " This drastic effort went down in the pages ofhistory as the "Tempo Reformation. " It ended in the resignation ofits author and the complete defeat of its purpose. TOKUGAWA NARIAKI Contemporaneous with the wholesale reformer, Mizuno, was TokugawaNariaki (1800-1860), daimyo of Mito, who opposed the conciliatoryforeign policy, soon to be described, of Ii Naosuke (Kamon no Kami). Nariaki inherited the literary tastes of his ancestor, Mitsukuni, andat his court a number of earnest students and loyal soldiersassembled. Among them were Fujita Toko (1806-1855) and Toda Tadanori, who are not less remarkable as scholars and historians than asadministrators. RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES Japan now began to make the acquaintance of American citizens, who, pursuing the whaling industry in the seas off Alaska and China, passed frequently in their ships within easy sight of the island ofYezo. Occasionally, one of these schooners was cast away on Japan'sshores, and as a rule, her people were treated with consideration andsent to Deshima for shipment to Batavia. Japanese sailors, also, wereoccasionally swept by hurricanes and currents to the AleutianIslands, to Oregon, or to California, and in several cases thesemariners were sent back to Japan by American vessels. It was on suchan errand of mercy that the sailing ship Morrison entered Yedo Bay, in 1837, and being required to repair to Kagoshima, was driven fromthe latter place by cannon shot. It was on such an errand, also, thatthe Manhattan reached Uraga and lay there four days before she wascompelled to take her departure. It would seem that the experiencescollected by Cooper, master of the latter vessel, and published afterhis return to the United States, induced the Washington Government toessay the opening of Japan. A ninety-gun ship of the line and asloop, sent on this errand, anchored off Uraga in 1846, and theircommander, Commodore Biddle, applied for the sanction of trade. Hereceived a positive refusal, and in pursuance of his instructions toabstain from any act calculated to excite hostility or distrust, heweighed anchor and sailed away. GREAT BRITAIN AND OTHER POWERS In this same year, 1846, a French ship touched at the Ryukyuarchipelago, and attempted to persuade the islanders that if theywished for security against British aggression, they must placethemselves under the protection of France. England, indeed, was nowmuch in evidence in the seas of southern China, and the Dutch atDeshima, obeying the instincts of commercial rivalry, warned Japanthat she must be prepared for a visit from an English squadron at anymoment. The King of Holland now (1847) intervened. He sent to Yedo anumber of books together with a map of the world and a despatchurging Japan to open her ports. This was not done for Japan's sake. The apparent explanation is that the trade at Deshima having ceasedto be worth pursuing, the Dutch East India Company had surrenderedits monopoly to the Netherlands Government, so that the latter'sadvice to Japan is explained. But his Majesty's efforts had noimmediate result, though they doubtless augmented Japan's feeling ofanxiety. Twelve months later, the Preble, an American brig under CommanderGlynn, anchored off Nagasaki and threatened to bombard the townunless immediate delivery was made of fifteen foreign seamen held bythe Japanese for shipment to Batavia. The castaways were surrendered, and Commander Glynn found evidence to prove that Japan was by nomeans ignorant of American doings in Mexico, and that she wasbeginning to comprehend how close the world was approaching hershores. Once again in the following year (1849), the King of Hollandwrote, telling the Japanese to expect an American fleet in theirwaters twelve months later, and to look for war unless they agreed tointernational commerce. This was no empty threat. The WashingtonGovernment had actually addressed to European nations a memorandumjustifying an expedition to Japan on the ground that it would inureto the advantage of all, and the King of Holland appended to hisletter a draft of the treaty which would be presented in Yedo. "Allthese things render it obvious that in the matter of renewing theirrelations with the outer world, the Japanese were not required tomake any sudden decision under stress of unexpected menace; they hadample notice of the course events were taking. " THE 121ST SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR KOMEI (A. D. 1846-1867) The Emperor Ninko died in 1846 and was succeeded by his son, Komei, the 121st sovereign. The country's foreign relations soon became asource of profound concern to the new ruler. Among the Court noblesthere had developed in Ninko's reign a strong desire to make theirinfluence felt in the administration of the empire, and thus toemerge from the insignificant position to which the Bakufu systemcondemned them. In obedience to their suggestions, the Emperor Ninkoestablished a special college for the education of Court nobles, fromthe age of fifteen to that of forty. This step does not seem to havecaused any concern to the Bakufu officials. The college was dulyorganized under the name of Gakushu-jo (afterwards changed toGakushu-iri). The Yedo treasury went so far as to contribute asubstantial sum to the support of the institution, and early in thereign of Komei the nobles began to look at life with eyes changed bythe teaching thus afforded. Instructors at the college were chosenamong the descendants of the immortal scholars, Abe no Seimei, Sugawara no Michizane, and others scarcely less renowned. The EmperorNinko had left instructions that four precepts should be inscribedconspicuously in the halls of the college, namely: Walk in the paths trodden by the feet of the great sages. Revere the righteous canons of the empire. He that has not learned the sacred doctrines, how can he governhimself? He that is ignorant of the classics, how can he regulate his ownconduct? A manifest sign of the times, the portals of this college were soonthronged by Court nobles, and the Imperial capital began to awakefrom its sleep of centuries. The Emperor himself evinced hissolicitude about foreign relations by fasting and by praying at theshrines of the national deities, his Majesty's constant formula ofworship being a supplication that his life might be accepted as asubstitute for the safety of his country. The fact was that theoverthrow of the Yedo Bakufu had begun to constitute an absorbingobject with many of the high officials in Kyoto. It had hitherto beenan invariable rule that any policy contemplated in Yedo became anaccomplished fact before a report was presented in the Imperialcapital. But very soon after his coronation, the Emperor Komeideparted from this time-honoured sequence of procedure and formallyinstructed the Bakufu that the traditional policy of the empire inforeign affairs must be strictly maintained. The early Tokugawashoguns would have strongly resented such interference, but times hadchanged, and Ieyoshi bowed his head quietly to the new order. Thenceforth the Bakufu submitted all questions of foreign policy tothe Imperial Court before final decision. COMMODORE PERRY In the year 1853, Commodore Perry of the United States Navy appearedin Uraga Bay with a squadron of four warships and 560 men. The adventof such a force created much perturbation in Yedo. Instead of dealingwith the affair on their own absolute authority, the Bakufu summoneda council of the feudatories to discuss the necessary steps. Meanwhile, the shogun, who had been ill for some time, died, and hisdecease was pleaded as a pretext for postponing discussion with theAmericans. Perry being without authority to resort to force, did notpress his point. He transmitted the President's letter to thesovereign of Japan, and steamed away on the 17th of July, declaringhis intention to return in the following year. This letter wascirculated among the feudatories, who were invited to express theiropinions on the document. Their replies are worthy of perusal aspresenting a clear idea of Japanese views at that time with regard toforeign intercourse. The gist of the replies may be summarized asfollows: -The ultimate purpose of foreigners in visiting Japan is toreconnoitre the country. This is proved by the action of the Russiansin the north. What has been done by Western States in India and Chinawould doubtless be done in Japan also if opportunity offered. Eventhe Dutch are not free from suspicion of acting the part of spies. -Foreign trade, so far from benefitting the nation, cannot fail toimpoverish it, inasmuch as oversea commerce simply means that, whereas Japan receives a number of unnecessary luxuries, she has togive in exchange quantities of precious metals. -To permit foreign intercourse would be to revoke the law ofexclusion which has been enforced for centuries, and which was theoutcome of practical experience. These opinions were subscribed by a great majority of thefeudatories. A few, however, had sufficient foresight and courage toadvocate foreign intercourse. The leaders of this small minoritywere, Ii Naosuke, baron of Hikone, historically remembered as IiKamon no Kami; Toda Izu no Kami, bugyo of Uraga; Takashima Kihei(called also Shirodayu, or Shuhan); Egawa Tarozaemon, bugyo ofNirayama; and Otsuki Heiji, a vassal of the baron of Sendai. Theviews of these statesmen may be briefly summarized as follows: -It is not to be denied that many illustrious and patriotic men, anticipating injury to the country's fortunes and perversion of thenation's moral canons, are implacably opposed to foreign intercourse. But the circumstances of the time render it impossible to maintainthe integrity of the empire side by side with the policy ofseclusion. The coasts are virtually unprotected. The country ispractically without a navy. Throughout a period of nearly two and ahalf centuries the building of any ship having a capacity of over onehundred koku has been forbidden, and in the absence of war-vesselsthere is no means of defence except coast batteries, which arepractically non-existent. -When inaugurating the policy of seclusion, the Bakufu Governmenttook care to leave China and Holland as a bridge between Japan andthe rest of the world. It will be wise to utilize that bridge fordealing with foreign States, so as to gain time for preparations ofdefence, instead of rushing blindly into battle without any supply ofeffective weapons. If the Americans have need of coal, there is anabundant supply in Kyushu. If they require provisions and water, their needs can easily be satisfied. As for returning distressedforeign seamen, that has hitherto been done voluntarily, and anarrangement on this subject can be made through the medium of theDutch. As for foreign trade, the times have changed radically since aveto was imposed on all commercial transactions, and it by no meansfollows that what was wise then is expedient now. Japan must haveocean-going vessels, and these cannot be procured in a moment. Herbest way is to avail herself of the services of the Dutch asmiddlemen in trade, and to lose no time in furnishing herself withpowerful men-of-war and with sailors and gunners capable ofnavigating and fighting these vessels. -In short, the wisest plan is to make a show of commerce andintercourse, and thus gain time to equip the country with a knowledgeof naval architecture and warfare. The two things most essential arethat Christianity should not be admitted in the train of foreigntrade, and that the strictest economy should be exercised by allclasses of the people so as to provide funds for the building of anavy and the fortification of the coasts. The question alluded to at the close of the above, namely, thequestion of finance, was a paramount difficulty for the Bakufu. Inthe very year of Perry's coming, a member of the Cabinet in Yedowrote as follows to Fujita Toko, chief adviser of the Mito feudatory:"Unless I tell you frankly about the condition of the treasury youcannot appreciate the situation. If you saw the accounts you would bestartled, and would learn at a glance the hopelessness of going towar. The country could not hold out even for a twelvemonth, and thereis nothing for it except that everyone should join in saving moneyfor purposes of equipment. If we keep the peace now and toilunremittingly for ten years, we may hope to restore the situation. "In truth, the Bakufu had practically no choice. "On one hand, thousands of publicists, who believed themselves patriotic, clamouredfor the policy of seclusion, even at the cost of war; on the other, the Yedo Government knew that to fight must be to incur crushingdefeat. " The Bakufu then issued the following temporizing decree: "With regard to the despatch from the United States Government, theviews of competent men have been taken and have been carefullyconsidered by the shogun. The views expressed are variously wordedbut they advocate either peace or war. Everyone has pointed out thatwe are without a navy and that our coasts are undefended. Meanwhile, the Americans will be here again next year. Our policy shall be toevade any definite answer to their request, while at the same timemaintaining a peaceful demeanour. It may be, however, that they willhave recourse to violence. For that contingency we must be preparedlest the country suffer disgrace. Therefore every possible effortwill be made to prepare means of defence. Above all it is imperativethat everyone should practise patience, refrain from anger, andcarefully observe the conduct of the foreigners. Should they openhostilities, all must at once take up arms and fight strenuously forthe country. " A less vertebrate policy could scarcely have been formulated, but theconduct of the Bakufu statesmen was more stalwart than theirlanguage. Under the guidance of Abe Masahiro, one of the ableststatesmen that Yedo ever possessed, batteries were built at Shinagawato guard the approaches to Yedo; defensive preparations were madealong the coasts of Musashi, Sagami, Awa, and Kazusa; the vetoagainst the construction of ocean-going ships was rescinded, and thefeudatories were invited to build and arm large vessels; a commissionwas given to the Dutch at Deshima to procure from Europe a library ofuseful books; cannon were cast; troops were drilled, and everyone whohad acquired expert knowledge through the medium of the Dutch wastaken into official favour. But all these efforts tended only to expose their own feebleness, andon the 2nd of November, 1853, instructions were issued that if theAmericans returned, they were to be dealt with peacefully. "In short, the sight of Perry's steam-propelled ships, their powerful armament, and the specimens they carried of Western wonders had practicallybroken down the barriers of Japan's isolation without any need oftreaties or conventions. " Thus, when the American commodore returnedin the following February with ten ships and crews numbering twothousand, he easily obtained a treaty by which Japan promised kindtreatment to shipwrecked sailors; permission to foreign vessels toobtain stores and provisions within her territory, and an engagementthat American vessels might anchor in the ports of Shimoda andHakata. Much has been written about Perry's judicious display offorce and about his sagacious tact in dealing with the Japanese, butit may be doubted whether the consequences of his exploit did notinvest its methods with extravagant lustre. TREATIES OF COMMERCE Russia, Holland, and England speedily obtained treaties similar tothat concluded by Commodore Perry in 1854. These, however, were notcommercial conventions. It was reserved for Mr. Townsend Harris, American consul-general in Japan, to open the country to trade. Arriving in August, 1856, he concluded in March, 1857, a treatysecuring to United States citizens the right of permanent residenceat Shimoda and Hakodate, as well as that of carrying on trade atNagasaki and establishing consular jurisdiction. Nevertheless, nothing worthy to be called commercial intercourse was allowed by theBakufu, and it was not until Mr. Harris, with infinite patience andtact, had gone to Yedo alter ten months' delay that he secured theopening of ports other than Nagasaki to international commerce. Inthis achievement he was assisted by Hotta Masamutsu, successor to thegreat Masahiro, and, like most of his colleagues, a sincere advocateof opening the country. Japan has been much blamed for her reluctance in this matter, butwhen we recall the danger to which the Yedo administration wasexposed by its own weakness, and when we observe that a strongsentiment was growing up in favour of abolishing the dual form ofgovernment, we can easily appreciate that to sanction commercialrelations might well have shaken the Bakufu to their foundations. Itwas possible to construe the Perry convention and the first Harrisconvention as mere acts of benevolence towards strangers, but acommercial treaty would not have lent itself to any suchconstruction. We cannot wonder that the shogun's ministers hesitatedto take an apparently suicidal step. They again consulted thefeudatories and again received an almost unanimously unfavourableanswer. In fact, history has preserved only one unequivocal expression ofconsent. It was formulated by Matsudaira Yoshinaga, baron of Echizen. He had been among the most ardent exclusionists in the first councilof feudatories; but his views had subsequently undergone a radicalchange, owing to the arguments of one of his vassals, HashimotoSanae--elder brother of Viscount Hashimoto Tsunatsune, president ofthe Red Cross Hospital, who died in 1909. "Not only did thisremarkable man frankly advocate foreign trade for its own sake and asa means of enriching the nation, thus developing its capacity forindependence, but he also recommended the fostering of industries, the purchase of ships and firearms, the study of foreign arts andsciences, and the despatch of students and publicists to Westerncountries for purposes of instruction. Finally, he laid down theprinciple that probity is essential to commercial success. " Suchdoctrines were then much in advance of the time. Nevertheless, Harrisachieved his purpose. He had audience of the shogun in November, 1857, and, on the 29th of the following July, a treaty was concludedopening Yokohama, from the 1st of July, 1858, to commerce between theUnited States and Japan. This treaty was concluded in spite of the failure of two attempts toobtain the sanction of the Throne. Plainly the Bakufu shrank fromopenly adopting a policy which, while recognizing its necessity, theydistrusted their own ability to force upon the nation. They had, however, promised Mr. Harris that the treaty should be signed, andthey kept their word at a risk, of whose magnitude the Americanconsul-general had no conception. Mr. Harris had brought to thisconference exceptional diplomatic skill and winning tact, but itcannot be denied that he derived assistance from contemporaneousevents in China, where the Peiho forts had just been captured and theChinese forced to sign a treaty. He was thus able to warn theJapanese that the British and the French fleets might be expected atany moment to enter Yedo Bay, and that the best way to avert irksomedemands at the hands of the British was to establish a comparativelymoderate precedent by yielding to the American proposals. THE THIRTEENTH SHOGUN, IESADA (1853-1858) Between the conclusion of the Harris commercial treaty and itssignature, the Bakufu prime minister visited Kyoto, for the purposeof persuading the Imperial Court to abandon its anti-foreignattitude. His mission was quite unsuccessful, the utmost concessionobtained by him being that the problem of the treaty should besubmitted to the feudatories. Another question raised on thisoccasion in Kyoto was the succession to the shogunate. The twelfthshogun, Ieyoshi, had died in 1853, and was succeeded by Iesada, aphysically incompetent ruler. Iesada had been married to the daughterof the Satsuma feudatory, as planned by the former Bakufu premier, Abe, who hoped thus to cement friendly relations with the greatsouthern baron, a hereditary enemy of the Tokugawa. There was noissue of the marriage, and it being certain that there could be noissue, two candidates for the shogunate were proposed. They wereKeiki, son of Nariaki of Mito a man of matured intellect and highcapacities, and Iemochi, son of Nariyuki of Kii, a boy of thirteen. Public opinion supported the former, and his connexion with the houseof Mito seemed to assure an anti-foreign bias. Chiefly for the latterreason, the Court in Kyoto favoured his nomination. But Keiki was not really an advocate of national seclusion. Had thesuccession been given to him then, he would doubtless have adopted aliberal policy. On the other hand, his appointment would have beenequivalent to the abdication of Iesada, and in order to avert thatcatastrophe, the shogun's entourage contrived to obtain theappointment of Ii Kamon no Kami to the post of prime minister inYedo. This baron was not less capable than courageous. He immediatelycaused the young daimyo of Kii to be nominated successor to theshogunate, and he signed the Harris treaty. A vehement outcry ensued. It was claimed that the will of the Imperial Court had been set atnought by signing the treaty without the sovereign's sanction, andthat unconditional yielding to foreign demands was intolerable. TheMito baron headed this opposition. But it is observable that even hedid not insist upon the maintenance of absolute seclusion. All thathe and his followers demanded was that a delay should be imposed inorder to obtain time for definite preparation, whereas the premier, Ii, was for the immediate opening of the country. THE FOURTEENTH SHOGUN, IEMOCHI (1858-1866) Iesada died in 1858, and the reluctance of the Imperial Court tosanction the succession of Iemochi was evidenced by a long delay inthe transmission of the necessary Imperial document. During thatinterval, the feudatories of Mito and Echizen had a memorableinterview with the premier, Ii, whose life seemed at that time tohang by a thread, but who, nevertheless, advanced unflinchinglytowards his goal. The three feudatories offered to compromise; inother words, they declared their willingness to subscribe thecommercial convention provided that Keiki was appointed shogun; theimportant fact being thus established that domestic politics hadtaken precedence of foreign. Ii not only declined this offer, butalso did not hesitate to punish the leaders of the opposition byconfinement and by temporary exclusion from the Court. FOREIGN MILITARY SCIENCE It was during the days of the thirteenth shogun that Japan may besaid to have commenced her practical study of foreign militaryscience. Instructors were imported from Holland, and a college wasestablished at Nagasaki. Among its graduates were several historicalcharacters, notably Katsu Rintaro, after-wards Count Katsu, ministerof Marine in the Meiji Government. A naval college (Gunkan Kyojujo)also was organized at Tsukiji, in Yedo, while at Akunoura, inNagasaki, an iron-foundry was erected. There, the first attempt atshipbuilding on foreign lines was made, and there, also, is nowsituated the premier private dockyard in Japan, namely, that of theMitsubishi Company. Already, in 1854, the Dutch Government hadpresented to Japan her first steamship, the Kanko Maru. FOREIGN REPRESENTATIVES AND THE BAKUFU An indirect consequence of these disputes between the Throne and theCourt nobles, on one side, and the Bakufu officials, on the other, was to perplex the foreign representatives who were now residing inYedo. These representatives learned to believe that the shogun'sministers were determined either to avoid making treaties or to evadethem when made. However natural this suspicion may have been, itlacked solid foundation. That is proved by a memorial which the Yedostatesmen addressed to the Throne after the negotiation of the Harristreaty. They made it quite plain that they were acting in perfectgood faith, the only doubtful point in the memorial being that, afterthe organization of a competent army and navy, the problem of peaceor war might be decided. "If peaceful relations be maintained byratifying the treaty, " they wrote, "the avaricious aliens willdefinitely see that there is not much wealth in the country, andthus, abandoning the idea of gain, they will approach us withfriendly feelings only and ultimately will pass under our Emperor'sgrace. They may then be induced to make grateful offerings to hisMajesty, and it will no longer be a question of trade but oftribute. " Something of sinister intention seems to present itselfbetween the lines of this document. But we have to remember that itwas addressed ultimately to the Kyoto nobles, whose resentment wouldhave been at once excited by the use of friendly or self-effacinglanguage. There is also on record correspondence that passed between the Bakufupremier, Ii, and certain friends of his in the Imperial capital. Fromthese letters it appears that Yedo was advised by the far-seeingsection of the Kyoto statesmen to simulate the policy of bringingaliens under Japanese influence, and of using for purposes ofmilitary and naval development the wealth that would accrue fromoversea trade. In a word, the Bakufu had to disguise their policy interms such as might placate the Kyoto conservatives, and thisdeception was once carried so far that an envoy sent to Kyoto fromYedo represented the shogun as hostile at heart to foreigners, thoughtolerating them temporarily as a matter of prudence. It cannot bewondered at that the foreign representatives found much to perplexthem in these conditions, or that at the legations in Yedo, as wellas among the peoples of Europe and America, an uneasy feeling grew upthat Japan waited only for an opportunity to repudiate her treatyengagements. INTRIGUES IN KYOTO About this time there began to assemble in the Imperial capital anumber of men who, though without social or official status, were atonce talented; patriotic, and conservative. At their head stood UmedaGenjiro, who practised as a physician and wrote political brochuresunder the nom de plume of Umpin. He soon became the centre ofa circle of loyalists whose motto was Son-0 Jo-I (Revere thesovereign, expel the barbarians), and associated with him wereRai Miki, a son of Rai Sanyo; Yanagawa Seigan; Yoshida Shoin; SaigoKichinosuke--better known as Saigo Takamori, the leader of theSatsuma rebellion of 1877, --Hashimoto Sanae, and others who have beennot unjustly described as the real motive force that brought aboutthe Restoration of 1867. These men soon came to exercise great influence over the Courtnobles--especially Konoe, Takatsukasa, Ichijo, Nijo, and Sanjo--andwere consequently able to suggest subjects for the sovereign'srescripts. Thus his Majesty was induced to issue an edict whichconveyed a reprimand to the shogun for concluding a treaty withoutpreviously referring it to the feudatories, and which suggested thatthe Mito and Owari feudatories should be released from the sentenceof confinement passed on them by Ii Kamon no Kami. This edictstartled the Bakufu. They at once sent from Yedo envoys toremonstrate with the conservatives, and after a controversy lastingfour months, a compromise was effected by which the sovereignpostponed any action for the expulsion of foreigners and the shogundeclared that his tolerance of international commerce was onlytemporary. This was regarded as a victory for the shogunate. But theYedo envoys, during their stay in Kyoto, discovered evidences of aplot to overthrow the Bakufu. Great severity was shown in dealingwith this conspiracy. The leaders were beheaded, banished, or orderedto commit suicide; the Mito feudatory being sentenced to perpetualconfinement in his fief; the daimyo of Owari, to permanentretirement; and Keiki, former candidate for the succession to theshogunate, being deprived of office and directed to live inseclusion. Many other notable men were subjected to variouspenalties, and this "Great Judgment of Ansei"--the name of theera--caused a profound sensation throughout the empire. The nationmourned for many sincere patriots who had been sentenced on theflimsiest evidence, and the whole incident tended to accentuate theunpopularity of foreign intercourse. ENGRAVING: II NAOSUKE THE SECRET EDICT The compromise mentioned above as having been effected between Yedoand Kyoto had the effect of stultifying the previously drafted edictwhich condemned the shogun for concluding a treaty without consultingthe feudatories. The edict had not been publicly promulgated, but ithad come into the possession of the Mito feudatory, and by his ordershad been enclosed in the family tomb, where it was guarded night andday by a strong troop of samurai. The Bakufu insisted that to conveysuch a document direct from the Throne to a feudatory was a plaintrespass upon the shogun's authority. Mito, however, refused tosurrender it. The most uncompromising conservatives of the fiefissued a manifesto justifying their refusal, and, as evidence oftheir sincerity, committed suicide. ASSASSINATION OF II Nariaki, the Mito baron, now instructed his vassals to surrender theedict. He may have shared the views of his retainers, but he was notprepared to assert them by taking up arms against his own family. Inthe face of this instruction the conservative samurai had no choicebut to disperse or commit suicide. Some twenty of them, however, madetheir way to Yedo bent upon killing Ii Kamon no Kami, whom theyregarded as the head and front of the evils of the time. The deed wasconsummated on the morning of the 24th of March, 1860, as Ii was onhis way to the shogun's castle. All the assassins lost their lives orcommitted suicide. ATTITUDE OF THE JAPANESE SAMURAI The slaying of Ii was followed by several similar acts, a few againstforeigners and several against Japanese leaders of progress. Manyevil things have been said of the men by whom these deeds of bloodwere perpetrated. But we have always to remember, that in their owneyes they obeyed the teachings of hereditary conviction and thedictates of patriotism towards their country as well as loyaltytowards their sovereign. It has been abundantly shown in these pagesthat the original attitude of the Japanese towards foreigners washospitable and liberal. It has also been shown how, in the presenceof unwelcome facts, this mood was changed for one of distrust anddislike. Every Japanese patriot believed when he refused to admitforeigners to his country in the nineteenth century that he wasobeying the injunctions handed down from the lips of his mostillustrious countrymen, Hideyoshi, Ieyasu, and Iemitsu--believed, inshort, that to re-admit aliens would be to expose the realm toextreme peril and to connive at its loss of independence. He wasprepared to obey this conviction at the cost of his own life, andthat sacrifice seemed a sufficient guarantee of his sincerity. THE FIRST FOREIGNERS It must be conceded, too, that the nineteenth-century foreigner didnot present himself to Japan in a very lovable light. His demeanourwas marked by all the arrogance habitually shown by the Occidentaltowards the Oriental, and though the general average of the overseacomers reached a high standard, they approached the solution of allJapanese problems with a degree of suspicion which could not fail tobe intensely irksome to a proud nation. Even the foreignrepresentatives made it their habit to seek for trickery or abuse inall Japanese doings, official or private, and though they doubtlesshad much warrant for this mood, its display did not tend toconciliate the Japanese. Many instances might be cited from the pagesof official records and from the columns of local newspapers, butthey need not be detailed here. Moreover, there were difficulties connected with trade. The framersof the treaties had found it necessary to deal with the currencyquestion, and their manner of dealing with it was to stipulate thatforeign coins should be exchangeable with Japanese, weight forweight. This stipulation did not take into any account the ratiobetween the precious metals, and as that ratio was fifteen to one inEurope and five to one in Japan, it is obvious that, by the mereprocess of exchange, a foreign merchant could reap a rich harvest. Ofcourse this was never intended by the framers of the treaty, and whenthe Japanese saw the yellow metal flowing away rapidly from therealm, they adopted the obvious expedient of changing the relativeweights of the gold and silver coins. It may be doubted whether any state would have hesitated to applythat remedy. Yet by the foreigner it was censured as a "grossviolation of treaty right" and as "a deliberate attempt on the partof the Japanese authorities to raise all the prices of the nativeproduce two hundred per cent, against the foreign purchaser. " TheBritish representative, Sir Rutherford Alcock, in a despatch writtento his Government, at the close of 1859, penned some very causticcomments on the conduct of his countrymen, and did not hesitate todeclare that "in estimating the difficulties to be overcome in anyattempt to improve the aspect of affairs, if the ill-disguised enmityof the governing classes and the indisposition of the ExecutiveGovernment to give partial effect to the treaties be classed amongthe first and principal of these, the unscrupulous character anddealings of foreigners who frequent the ports for purposes of tradeare only second and scarcely inferior in importance, from thesinister character of the influence they exercise. " It is only just, however, to note the other side of the picture, andto observe that the foreign merchant had many causes of legitimatedissatisfaction; that his business was constantly hampered andinterrupted by Japanese official interference; that the readyrecourse which Japanese samurai had to deeds of blood againstpeaceful strangers seemed revoltingly cruel; that he appeared to besurrounded by an atmosphere of perplexity and double dealing, andthat the large majority of the Anglo-Saxon tradesmen visiting Japanin the early days of her renewed intercourse had nothing whatever incommon with the men described in the above despatch. KYOTO In order to follow the sequence of events, it is necessary to revertto Kyoto, which, as the reader will have perceived, was the centre ofnational politics in this troublous era. An incident apparently ofthe greatest importance to the Bakufu occurred in 1861. The shogunreceived the Emperor's sister in marriage. But the auspicious eventhad to be heavily paid for, since the Bakufu officials were obligedto pledge themselves to expel foreigners within ten years. Thisinspired new efforts on the part of the conservatives. A number ofsamurai visited Yokohama, and promised death to any Japanese merchantentering into transactions with the aliens. These conservativesfurther announced the doctrine that the shogun's title of sei-i(barbarian-expelling) indicated explicitly that to expel foreignerswas his duty, and the shogun's principal officials were so craventhat they advised him to apologize for failing to discharge that dutyinstead of wholly repudiating the extravagant interpretation of theanti-foreign party. Encouraged by these successes, the extremists in Kyoto induced thesovereign to issue an edict in which, after speaking of the"insufferable and contumelious behaviour of foreigners, " of "the lossof prestige and of honour constantly menacing the country, " and ofthe sovereign's "profound solicitude, " his Majesty openly cited theshogun's engagement to drive out the aliens within ten years, andexplicitly affirmed that the grant of an Imperial princess' hand tothe shogun had been intended to secure the unity required for thatachievement. Such an edict was in effect an exhortation to everyJapanese subject to organize an anti-foreign crusade, and it"publicly committed the Bakufu Court to a policy which the latter hadneither the power to carry out nor any intention of attempting tocarry out. " But at this juncture something like a reaction took place in theImperial capital. A party of able men, led by Princes Konoe andIwakura, had the courage to denounce the unwisdom of the extremists, at whose head stood Princes Arisugawa and Sanjo. At that time themost powerful fiefs in Japan were Satsuma and Choshu. Both werehereditarily hostile to the Tokugawa, but were mutually separated bya difference of opinion in the matter of foreign policy, so that whenthe above two cabals were organized in Kyoto, the Choshu men attachedthemselves to the extremists, the Satsuma to the moderates. Thelatter contrived to have an Imperial rescript sent to Yedo by thehands of the Satsuma feudatory, Shimazu Hisamitsu. This rescriptindicated three courses, one of which the shogun was asked to choose:namely, first, that he himself should proceed to Kyoto for thepurpose of there conferring with the principal feudatories as to thebest means of tranquillizing the nation; secondly, that the fiveprincipal littoral fiefs should be ordered to prepare coast defences, and, thirdly, that Keiki of Mito and the feudatory of Echizen shouldbe appointed to high office in the Bakufu administration. To obey this rescript was to violate the fundamental law of theBakufu, namely, that all interference in administrative affairs wasforbidden to the Kyoto Court. The only dignified course for theshogun to take was to refuse compliance or to resign, and probablyhad he done so he would have recovered the power of which he hadgradually been deprived by the interference of Kyoto. But hisadvisers lacked courage to recommend such a course. At theirsuggestion the shogun signified his willingness to comply with thefirst and the third of the conditions embodied in the edict. TheSatsuma feudatory strongly counselled that the shogun should declineto proceed to Kyoto and should reject all proposals for the expulsionof foreigners, but the Bakufu ignored his advice. THE NAMAMUGI INCIDENT At this time there occurred an incident which had the mostfar-reaching consequences. A party of British subjects, threegentlemen and a lady, met, at Namamugi on the Tokaido, the cortege ofthe Satsuma feudatory as he was returning from Yedo. Unacquaintedwith the strict etiquette enforced in Japan in such situations, theforeigners attempted to ride through the procession, the result beingthat one, Mr. Richardson, was killed, and two of the others werewounded. The upshot of this affair was that the British Government, having demanded the surrender of the samurai implicated in themurder, and having been refused, sent a naval squadron to bombardKagoshima, the capital of the Satsuma baron. In this engagement, theSatsuma men learned for the first time the utter helplessness oftheir old weapons and old manner of fighting, and their conversion toprogressive ideas was thoroughly effected. CONTINUED INTRIGUES IN KYOTO The submissive attitude of the Bakufu towards the Imperial Courtencouraged the extremists in Kyoto to prefer fresh demands. Insteadof waiting for the shogun to repair to Kyoto, as he had pledgedhimself to do in compliance with the edict mentioned above, theycontrived the issue of another rescript, requiring the Bakufu toproclaim openly the adoption of the alien-expelling policy, and tofix a date for its practical inception. Again the Bakufu yielded. They did not, indeed, actually take the steps indicated in therescript, but they promised to consider its contents as soon as theshogun arrived in Kyoto. The extremists, however, could not reconcilethemselves to even that delay. In the spring of 1863, theyconstrained Keiki, who had been appointed guardian to the shogun andwho was then in Kyoto, to give an engagement that on the shogun'sreturn to Yedo decisive measures to put an end to foreign intercourseshould be begun. This engagement the shogun found awaiting him on hisarrival in the Imperial capital, and at the same time messages dailyreached him from Yedo, declaring that unless he returned at once toYedo to settle the Namamugi affair, war with Great Britain would beinevitable. But the conservatives would not allow him to return. Theyprocured the issue of yet another Imperial decree directing that "ifthe English barbarians wanted a conference, they should repair toOsaka Harbour and receive a point-blank refusal; that the shogunshould remain in Kyoto to direct defensive operations, and that heshould accompany the Emperor to the shrine of the god of War where a'barbarian-quelling sword' would be handed to him. " Illness saved theshogun from some of his perplexities and, in his absence, the Yedostatesmen paid the indemnity required by Great Britain for theNamamugi outrage and left her to exact whatever further redress shedesired. Accordingly, in July, 1863, a British squadron proceeded toKagoshima and bombarded it as already described. THE SHIMONOSEKI COMPLICATION If the Satsuma men thus received a conclusive lesson as to thesuperiority of Western armaments, the Choshu fief was destined to besimilarly instructed not long afterwards. It will have been perceivedthat at this epoch the Imperial Court was very prolific inanti-foreign edicts. One of these actually appointed the 11th of May, 1863, as the date for commencing the barbarian-expelling campaign, and copies of the edict were sent direct to the feudatories withoutprevious reference to the shogun. The Choshu daimyo found the edictso congenial that, without waiting for the appointed day, he openedfire on American, French, and Dutch merchantmen passing the Strait ofShimonoseki, which his batteries commanded. The ships suffered noinjury, but, of course, such an act could not be condoned, and theBakufu Government being unwilling or unable to give full reparation, the three powers whose vessels had been fired on joined hands withEngland for the purpose of despatching a squadron to destroy theChoshu forts, which result was attained with the greatest ease. This"Shimonoseki Expedition, " as it was called, enormously strengthenedthe conviction which the bombardment of Kagoshima had established. The nation thoroughly appreciated its own belligerent incapacity whenforeign powers entered the lists, and patriotic men began to sayunhesitatingly that their country was fatally weakened by the dualsystem of government. CHANGE OF OPINION IN KYOTO The sway exercised by the extremists in Kyoto now received a checkowing to their excessive zeal. They procured the drafting of anImperial edict which declared the Emperor's resolve to drive out theforeigners, and announced a visit by his Majesty to the great shrinesto pray for success. This edict never received the Imperial seal. Theextremists appear to have overrated their influence at Court. Theycounted erroneously on his Majesty's post facto compliance, and theythus created an opportunity of which the moderates took immediateadvantage. At the instance of the latter and in consideration of thefictitious edict, Mori Motonori of Choshu, leader of the extremists, was ordered to leave the capital with all the nobles who shared hisopinions. Doubtless the bombardment of Kagoshima contributed not alittle to this measure, but the ostensible cause was the irregularityof the edict. There was no open disavowal of conservatism, but, onthe other hand, there was no attempt to enforce it. The situation forthe extremists was further impaired by an appeal to force on the partof the Choshu samurai. They essayed to enter Kyoto under arms, forthe ostensible purpose of presenting a petition to the Throne butreally to make away with the moderate leaders. This political coupfailed signally, and from that time the ardent advocates of theanti-foreign policy began to be regarded as rebels. Just at this timethe Shimonoseki expedition gave an object lesson to the nation, andhelped to deprive the barbarian-expelling agitation of any semblanceof Imperial sanction. CHOSHU AND THE BAKUFU When the Choshu feudatory attempted to close the Shimonoseki Straitby means of cannon, the Bakufu sent a commissioner to remonstrate. But the Choshu samurai insisted that they had merely obeyed thesovereign's order, and the better to demonstrate their resolution, they put the commissioner to death. Thus directly challenged, theBakufu mustered a powerful force and launched it against Choshu. Butby this time the two great southern clans, having learned the madnessof appealing to force for the purpose of keeping the country closed, had agreed to work together in the interests of the State. Thus, whenthe Bakufu army, comprising contingents from thirty-six feudatories, reached Choshu, the latter appealed to the clemency of the invadinggenerals, among whom the Satsuma baron was the most powerful, and theappeal resulted in the withdrawal of the punitory expedition withoutthe imposition of any conditions. The Bakufu were naturally muchincensed. Another formidable force was organized to attack Choshu, but it halted at Osaka and sent envoys to announce the punishment ofthe rebellious fief, to which announcements the fief paid not theleast attention. THE HYOGO DEMONSTRATION While things were at this stage, Sir Harry Parkes, representative ofGreat Britain, arrived upon the scene in the Far East. A man ofremarkably luminous judgment and military methods, this distinguisheddiplomatist appreciated almost immediately that the ratification ofthe treaties by the sovereign was essential to their validity, andthat by investing the ratification with all possible formality, theEmperor's recovery of administrative power might be accelerated. Hetherefore conceived the idea of repairing to Hyogo with a powerfulnaval squadron for the purpose of seeking, first, the ratification ofthe treaty; secondly, the reduction of the import tariff from anaverage of fifteen per cent, ad valorem (at which figure it had beenfixed by the original treaty) to five per cent. , and, thirdly, theopening of the ports of Hyogo and Osaka at once, instead of nearlytwo years hence, as previously agreed. Among the penalties imposed upon Choshu by the four powers whichcombined to destroy the forts at Shimonoseki was a fine of threemillion dollars, and the Bakufu, being unable to collect this moneyfrom Choshu, had taken upon themselves the duty of paying it and hadalready paid one million. Sir Harry Parkes's plan was to remit theremaining two millions in consideration of the Government endorsingthe three demands formulated above. It need hardly be said that theappearance of a powerful squadron of foreign warships at the veryportals of the Imperial palace threw the nation into a ferment. Theeight vessels cast anchor off Hyogo in November, 1866, and it seemedto the nation that the problem of foreign intercourse had beenrevived in an aggravated form. Once again the anti-foreign agitators recovered their influence, andinveighed against the Bakufu's incompetence to avert such trespasseseven from the sacred city. Under the pressure brought to bear bythese conservatives, the Emperor dismissed from office or otherwisepunished the ministers appointed by the shogun to negotiate with theforeign representatives, and in the face of this humiliatingdisavowal of Bakufu authority, the shogun had no alternative exceptto resign. He did so. But the Imperial Court hesitated to accept theresponsibilities that would have resulted from sanctioning hisresignation. The Bakufu were informed that the Emperor sanctioned thetreaties and that the shogun was authorized to deal with them, butthat steps must be taken to revise them in consultation with thefeudatories, and that Hyogo and Osaka must not be opened, though theproposed change of tariff-rate would be permitted. Nothing definitewas said about remitting the two million dollars remaining from theChoshu fine, and Sir Harry Parkes was able to say triumphantly thathe had obtained two out of three concessions demanded by him withouthaving given any quid pro whatever. THE LAST OF THE TOKUGAWA SHOGUNS The measures against Choshu were now recommenced, but with completeunsuccess, and thus a final blow was given to the prestige of theYedo Government. It was at this time (1866) that the fourteenthshogun, Iemochi, passed away and was succeeded by Yoshinobu, betterknown, as Keiki. Whatever the political views of this nobleman mayhave been when he was put forward by the conservatives, in 1857, as acandidate for succession to the shogunate, he no sooner attained thatdignity, in 1866, than he became an ardent advocate of progress. French experts were engaged to remodel the army, and English officersto organize the navy; the shogun's brother was sent to the ParisExposition, and Occidental fashions were introduced at the ceremoniesof the Bakufu Court. SATSUMA AND CHOSHU When Keiki assumed office he had to deal speedily with two problems;that is to say, the complication with Choshu, and the opening ofHyogo. The Emperor's reluctant consent to the latter was obtained forthe beginning of 1868, and an edict was also issued for thepunishment of Choshu. The result was two-fold: fresh life wasimparted to the anti-foreign agitation, and the Satsuma and Choshufeudatories were induced to join hands against the Tokugawa. Alike inSatsuma and in Choshu, there were a number of clever men who had longlaboured to combine the forces of the two fiefs in order to unite thewhole empire under the sway of the Kyoto Court. Saigo and Okubo onthe Satsuma side, Kido and Sanjo on the Choshu became leading figureson the stage of their country's new career. Through their influence, aided by that of Ito, afterwards prince, and Inouye, afterwardsmarquis, the two great clans were brought into alliance, and when, in1867, the shogun, Keiki, sought and obtained Imperial sanction forthe punishment of Choshu, Satsuma agreed to enter the lists on thelatter's side. TOSA MEMORIAL An incident of a most striking and unexpected nature now occurred. Yodo, the Tosa feudatory, addressed to the shogun a memorial exposingthe helpless condition of the Bakufu and strongly urging that theadministration should be restored to the Emperor in order that thenation might be united to face the dangers of its new career. It isnecessary to note here that, although the feudatories have beenfrequently referred to in these pages as prominent figures in this orthat public drama, the feudal chiefs themselves exercised, inTokugawa days, very little influence on the current of events. Amodern historian speaks justly when he says: "In this respect the descendants of the great Tokugawa statesmanfound themselves reduced to a position precisely analogous to that ofthe emperor in Kyoto. Sovereign and shogun were alike mereabstractions so far as the practical work of the government wasconcerned. With the great mass of the feudal chiefs things faredsimilarly. These men who, in the days of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi andIeyasu, had directed the policies of their fiefs and led their armiesin the field, were gradually transformed, during the lone peace ofthe Tokugawa era, into voluptuous fainéants or, at best, thoughtlessdilettanti, willing to abandon the direction of their affairs toseneschals and mayors, who, while on the whole their administrationwas able and loyal, found their account in contriving andperpetuating the effacement of their chiefs. Thus, in effect, thegovernment of the country, taken out of the hands of the shogun andthe feudatories, fell into those of their vassals. There wereexceptions, of course, but so rare as to be mere accidental. . . Therevolution which involved the fall of the shogunate, and ultimatelyof feudalism, may be called democratic with regard to the personnelof those who planned and directed it. They were, for the most part, men without either rank or social standing. "* *Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition; article "Japan, " byBrinkley. Keiki himself, although the memorial was directed against him, mayfairly be reckoned among these longsighted patriots. The Tosamemorial appealed so forcibly to the convictions he entertained thathe at once summoned a council of all feudatories and high officialsthen in Kyoto; informed them of his resolve to adopt the advice ofthe memorialist, and, on the following day, handed in his resignationto the Emperor. This memorable event took place on the 14th ofOctober, 1867; and the answer of the Emperor before the assembly ofDecember 15th marked the end of the shogunate. THE 122ND SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR MUTSUHITO (A. D. 1867-1912) The throne was occupied at this time by Mutsuhito, who had succeededon the 13th of February, 1867, at the death of his father, Komei, andwho himself died on the 29th day of July 1912. At the time of hisaccession, the new monarch was in his fifteenth year, having beenborn on the 3rd of November, 1852. IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCE OF THE RESIGNATION Undoubtedly Keiki's resignation was presented in all good faith. Itdeserves to rank among the most memorable incidents of the world'shistory, for such a sacrifice has seldom been made by any ruler inthe interests of his nation. But by the Satsuma and Choshufeudatories, the sincerity of the shogun was not recognized. Throughtheir influence the youthful Emperor was induced to issue an edictcalling Keiki a traitor, accusing him of arrogance and disloyalty, declaring that he had not hesitated to violate the commands of thelate Emperor, and directing that he should be destroyed. In obedienceto this rescript the Tokugawa officials were treated with suchharshness that Keiki found it impossible to calm their indignation;it culminated in an abortive attack upon Kyoto. Thereupon, Keikiretired to Yedo, which city he subsequently surrenderedunconditionally. But all his former adherents did not show themselvesequally placable. An attempt was made to set up a rival candidate forthe throne in the person of the Imperial lord-abbot of the Uenomonastery in Yedo; the Aizu clan made a gallant and unsuccessfulresistance in the northern provinces, and the shogun's admiral, Yenomoto (afterwards viscount), essayed to establish a republic inYezo, whither he had retired with the Tokugawa warships. But thesepetty incidents were altogether insignificant compared with the greatevent of which they were a sequel. THE MEIJI GOVERNMENT AND FOREIGN INTERCOURSE The year-name was now changed to Meiji (Enlightened Government), fromJanuary 1, 1868, a term fully justified by events. One of theearliest acts of the new Government was to invite the foreignrepresentatives to the Imperial city, where the Emperor himselfreceived them in audience, an act of extreme condescension accordingto Japanese canons of etiquette. Thereafter, an Imperial decreeannounced the sovereign's determination to cement amicable relationswith foreign nations, and declared that any Japanese subject guiltyof violence to a foreigner would be acting in contravention of hissovereign's commands, as well as injuriously to the dignity and goodfaith of the country in the eyes of the powers with which his Majestyhad pledged himself to maintain friendship. So signal was the changethat had taken place in the demeanour of the nation's leaders towardsforeign intercourse! Only two years earlier, the advent of a squadronof foreign war-vessels at Hyogo had created almost a panic and hadcaused men to cry out that the precincts of the sacred city of Kyotowere in danger of desecration by barbarian feet. But now the Emperorinvited the once hated aliens to his presence, treated them with theutmost courtesy, and publicly greeted them as welcome guests. Such ametamorphosis has greatly perplexed some students of Japanesehistory. Yet the explanation is simple. The Kagoshima and Shimonosekiexpeditions had taught Japan that she was powerless in the face ofWestern armaments; she had learned that national effacement must bethe sequel of seclusion, and, above all, she had come to anunderstanding that her divided form of government paralyzed her forpurposes of resistance to aggression from abroad. ENGRAVING: STONE AND WOODEN LANTERNS ERECTED IN FRONT OF SHRINES CHAPTER XLVI THE MEIJI GOVERNMENT THE LEADERS OF REFORM IN describing the events that culminated in the fall of the Tokugawa, frequent references have been made to the feudatories. But it shouldbe clearly understood that the feudal chiefs themselves had verylittle to do with the consummation of this great change. "The menthat conceived and achieved the Revolution of 1867, were chieflysamurai of inferior grade. " They numbered fifty-five in all, and ofthese only thirteen were aristocrats, namely, five feudal barons andeight court nobles. The average age of these fifty-five did notexceed thirty years. THE EMPEROR'S OATH The great clans which took part in bringing about this restoration ofthe administrative power to the Emperor did not altogether trust oneanother. Hitherto, all political commotions had been planned for thesake of some prominent family or eminent leader, and had resultedmerely in altering the personnel of those occupying the seats ofpower. It was not unnatural that history should have been expected torepeat itself in 1867, especially since the clan mainly responsible, Satsuma, overshadowed all its associates with one exception. Therefore, to many onlookers it seemed that the Tokugawa Governmenthad been overthrown to make room for the all-powerful southernfeudatory. In order to provide a safeguard against such a danger, theyoung Emperor was asked to make oath that a broadly baseddeliberative assembly should be convened for the purpose ofconducting State affairs in conformity with public opinion. This"coronation oath, " as it was subsequently called, came to occupy animportant place in political appreciation, and to be interpreted as apromise of a national assembly. But most assuredly it was notoriginally intended to carry any such meaning. Its framers nevercontemplated a parliament in the Occidental sense of the term. Theirsole object was to place a barrier in the path of their own selfishambitions. ABOLITION OF FEUDALISM It is more than doubtful whether the abolition of the feudal systemfound a place in the original plan of the leaders of progress. Looking back to remote centuries, they may well have imagined thatthe unification of the empire under one supreme ruler, administeringas well as governing, was not incompatible with the existence of thefiefs. But when they examined the problem more closely, theyrecognized that a universally operative system of laws, a centraltreasury, and the supreme command of the nation's armaments wereessential to the end they had in view, namely, strength derived fromunity. Hitherto, each feudatory had assessed and collected taxeswithin his fief according to his own free-will, had exercised theright of legislation, and had held the command of all troops withinhis territories. The continuance of such conditions would have defeated the purpose ofthe reformers. This they recognized. But how were these prescriptiveprivileges to be abolished? An Imperial mandate might indeed havebeen issued, but even an Imperial mandate without the means ofenforcing it would probably have proved futile. In fact, compulsionin any form could not be employed: the only resource was persuasion. The feudatories of Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa, and Hizen were the fourmost puissant in the empire. They were persuaded to surrender theirfiefs to the Throne and to ask for reorganization under a uniformsystem of law. This example found many imitators. Out of the whole276 feudatories only seventeen failed to make a similar surrender. Itwas a wonderful display of patriotic altruism in the case of some, atany rate, of the daimyo. But, at the same time, many undoubtedlyobeyed the suggestions of their chief vassals without fullyappreciating the cost of obedience. It had long been their habit toabandon the management of their affairs to seneschals (karo), andthey followed the custom on this occasion without profoundreflection. With the samurai at large, however, the case was different. For them, the preservation of the fief had always been the prime object ofinterest and fealty. To uphold it concerned their honour; to preserveit, their means of livelihood. Nothing could have been moreremarkable than that these men should have quietly acquiesced in thesurrender of legislative and financial autonomy by their chiefs. Themost credible explanation is that on this great occasion the samuraiobeyed their habitual custom of associating some form ofself-immolation with every signal deed. THE NEW ORGANIZATION The total abolition of feudalism may be said to have now come insight, but the leading progressists adopted all precautions toconsummate their programme without disturbance. They resolved topreserve, at the outset, the semblance of the old system, and to thatend the ex-feudatories were nominated to the post of governor in thedistricts where they had formerly exercised autonomic power. Thesamurai, however, were left in possession of their incomes andofficial positions. It was enacted that each governor should receiveyearly one-tenth of the revenue of his former fief; that theemoluments of the samurai should be taken in full from the samesource, and that the surplus, if any, should go to the CentralGovernment. The latter was organized with seven departments, namely, Religion, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Army and Navy, Finance, Justice, andLaw. This Cabinet was presided over by a premier--necessarily anImperial prince--and by a vice-premier. Moreover, it was assisted bya body of eighteen councillors, who comprised the leaders of reform. Evidently, however, all this was only partial. It is true that thefiefs (hari) had been converted into prefectures (ken), and it isalso true that the daimyo had become mere governors. But, on theother hand, the local revenues continued to pass through the hands ofthe governors, and in the same hands remained the control of thesamurai and the right of appointing and dismissing prefecturalofficials. A substantial beginning had been made, however, andpresently another appeal being addressed to the ex-daimyo, they wereinduced to petition for the surrender of their local autonomy. Thesame plan was pursued in the case of the samurai. It was essentialthat these should cease to be hereditary soldiers and officials andshould be reabsorbed into the mass of the people from whom they hadsprung originally. Following the course which had proved sosuccessful with the feudatories, a number of samurai were induced tomemorialize for permission to lay aside their swords and revert toagriculture. But neither in the case of the feudatories nor in thatof the samurai were these self-sacrificing petitions carried intoimmediate practice. They merely served as models. CLAN REPRESENTATION It may well be supposed that the ambitions of the great clans bywhich this revolution has been effected proved somewhat difficultto reconcile. The Satsuma feudatory was the first to take umbrage. He contended that, in selecting the high officials of the neworganization, sufficient account had not been taken of the servicesof his fief. With considerable difficulty he was satisfied by hisown appointment to an office second only to that of prime minister. This incident led, however, to an agreement under which each ofthe great clans, Satsuma, Choshu, Hizen, and Tosa, should beequally represented in the Government. Thus, the "principleof clan-representation received practical recognition in theorganization of the Government. It continued to be recognized formany years, and ultimately became the chief target of attack byparty-politicians. " It was further arranged, at this time, that eachof the above four clans should furnish a contingent of troops toguard the sovereign's person and to form the nucleus of a nationalarmy. ABOLITION OF LOCAL AUTONOMY It being now considered safe to advance to the next stage of themediatization of the fiefs, the Emperor issued an edict abolishinglocal autonomy; removing the sometime daimyo from their post ofprefectural governor; providing that the local revenues shouldthereafter be sent into the central treasury; declaring theappointment and dismissal of officials to be among the prerogativesof the Imperial Government; directing that the ex-feudatories shouldcontinue to receive one-tenth of their former incomes but that theyshould make Tokyo* their place of permanent residence, and ordainingthat the samurai should be left in continued and undisturbedpossession of all their hereditary pensions and allowances. *Yedo was now called Tokyo, or "Eastern Capital;" and Kyoto was namedSaikyo, or "Western Capital. " These changes were not so momentous as might be supposed at firstsight. It is true that the ex-feudatories were reduced to theposition of private gentlemen without even a patent of nobility. But, as a matter of fact, the substance of administrative power had neverbeen possessed by them: it had been left in most cases to theirseneschals. Thus, the loss of what they had never fully enjoyed didnot greatly distress them. Moreover, they were left in possession ofthe accumulated funds of their former fiefs, and, at the same time, an income of one-tenth of their feudal revenues was guaranteed tothem--a sum which generally exceeded their former incomes when fromthe latter had been deducted all charges on account of themaintenance of the fiefs. Therefore, the sacrifice they were requiredto make was not so bitter after all, but that it was a verysubstantial sacrifice there can be no question. THE SAMURAI'S POSITION The above edict was promulgated on August 29, 1871; that is to say, nearly four years after the fall of the Tokugawa. The samurai, however, remained to be dealt with. Feudalism could not be said tohave been abolished so long as the samurai continued to be a classapart. These men numbered four hundred thousand and with theirfamilies represented a total of about two million souls. They werethe empire's soldiers, and in return for devoting their lives tomilitary service they held incomes, some for life, others hereditary, and these emoluments aggregated two millions sterling annually. Noreformer, however radical, would have suggested the suddendisestablishment of the samurai system or advocated the wholesaledeprivation of incomes won by their forefathers as a reward for loyalservice to the State or to the fiefs. The Government dealt with this problem much as it had done with theproblem of the feudatories. In 1873, an Imperial decree announcedthat the treasury was ready to commute the samurai's incomes on thebasis of six-years' purchase in the place of hereditary pensions andfour years for life-pensions, half of the money to be paid in cashand the remainder in bonds carrying eight per cent, interest. Thismeasure was in no sense compulsory; the samurai were free to acceptor reject it. Not a few chose the former course, but a large majoritycontinued to wear their swords and draw their pensions as of old. TheGovernment, however, felt that there could be no paltering with thesituation. Shortly after the issue of the above edict a conscriptionlaw was enacted, by which every adult male became liable for militaryservice, whatever his social status. Naturally, this law shocked thesamurai. The heavy diminution of their incomes hurt them less, perhaps, than the necessity of laying aside their swords and ofgiving up their traditional title to represent their country in arms. They had imagined that service in the army and navy would be reservedexclusively for them and their sons, whereas by the conscription lawthe commonest unit of the people became equally eligible. ENGRAVING: KIDO KOIN FRICTION AMONG THE LEADERS OF REFORM It could not have: been expected that this manner of treating thesamurai would obtain universal approval. Already, too, the strain ofconstructive statesmanship had developed friction among theprogressist leaders who had easily marched abreast for destructivepurposes. They differed about the subject of a national assembly, some being inclined to attach more practical importance than othersto the Emperor's coronation oath that a broadly based deliberativeassembly should be convened. A small number of zealous reformerswished to regard this as a promise of a national assembly, but thegreat majority of the progressist leaders interpreted it merely as aguarantee against the undue preponderance of any one clan. In fact, according to the view of the latter party the broadly baseddeliberative assembly was regarded solely as an instrument foreliciting the views of the samurai, and entirely without legislativepower. Such an assembly was actually convened in the early years ofthe Meiji era, but its second session proved it to be nothing morethan a debating club and it was suffered to lapse out of existence. A more perplexing problem now (1873) presented itself, however. TheKorean Court deliberately abandoned the custom followed by it sincethe time of Hideyoshi's invasion--the custom of sending apresent-bearing embassy to felicitate the accession of each shogun. Moreover, this step was accompanied by an offensive despatchannouncing a determination to cease all relations with a renegadefrom the civilization of the Orient. It may well be imagined howindignantly this attitude of the neighbouring kingdom was resented byJapan. The prominent leaders of national reform at that time wereSanjo and Iwakura, originally Court nobles;* Saigo and Okubo, samuraiof Satsuma, and Kido, a samurai of Choshu. In the second rank wereseveral men destined afterwards to attain great celebrity--the latePrince Ito, Marquis Inouye, Count Okuma, Count Itagaki--often spokenof as the "Rousseau of Japan"--and several others. *The distinction between Court nobles and territorial nobles had beenabolished in 1871. ENGRAVING: SANJO SANETOMI The first five, however, were pre-eminent at the moment when Koreasent her offensive message. They were not, however, absolutely unitedas to policy. Saigo Takamori held some conservative opinions, thechief of which was that he wished to preserve the military class intheir old position of the empire's only soldiers. He had, therefore, greatly resented the conscription law, and while his discontent wasstill fresh, the Korean problem presented itself for solution. InSaigo's eyes an oversea war offered the only chance of saving thesamurai, since the conscription law had not yet produced anytrustworthy soldiers. He therefore voted to draw the sword at once, and in this he obtained the support of several influential men whoburned to avenge the nation's disgrace. On the other hand, those infavour of peace insisted that the country must not venture to engagein a foreign war during the era of radical transition. The discussion was carried to the Emperor's presence; the peace-partyprevailed, and Saigo with three other Cabinet ministers resigned. Oneof the seceders, Eto Shimpei, had recourse to arms, but was speedilycrushed. Another, Itagaki Taisuke, from that moment stood forth asthe champion of representative institutions. The third, the mostprominent of all, Saigo Takamori, retired to Satsuma and devotedhimself to organizing and equipping a strong body of samurai. It isnot by any means clear that, in thus acting, Saigo had anyrevolutionary intention. Posterity agrees in thinking that he soughtto exercise control rather than to inspire revolt. He had the supportof Shimazu Saburo (Hisamitsu), former feudatory of Satsuma, who, although a reformer, resented a wholesale abandonment of Japanesecustoms in favour of foreign. The province of Satsuma thus became aseed-plot of conservative influences, where "Saigo and his constantlyaugmenting band of samurai found a congenial environment. " On the onehand, the Central Government steadily proceeded with the organizationof a conscript army, teaching it foreign tactics and equipping itwith foreign arms. On the other, the southern clan cherished its bandof samurai, arming them with the rifle and drilling them in themanner of Europe, but leaving them always in possession of thesamurai's sword. ENGRAVING: IWAKURA TOMOYOSHI THE FORMOSAN EXPEDITION Before these curious conditions bore any practical fruit, Japan foundit necessary to send a military expedition to Formosa. That islandwas claimed as part of China's domains, but it was not administeredby her effectively, and its inhabitants showed great barbarity intheir treatment of castaways from the Ryukyu, or Loochoo, Islands. The Chinese Government's plain function was to punish these acts ofcruelty, but as the Peking statesmen showed no disposition todischarge their duty in that respect, Japan took the law into her ownhands. A double purpose was thus served. For the expedition toFormosa furnished employment for the Satsuma samurai, and, at thesame time, assured the Ryukyu islanders that Japan was prepared toprotect them. The campaign in Formosa proved a very tame affair. It amounted to theshooting-down of a few semi-savages. No attempt was made to penetrateinto the ulterior of the island, where, as modern experience shows, many great difficulties would have had to be overcome. Peking tookserious umbrage on account of Japan's high-handed conduct--for suchit seemed to Chinese eyes. In the first place, the statesmen of theMiddle Kingdom contended that the Ryukyu Islands could not properlybe regarded as an integral part of the Japanese empire; and in thesecond place, they claimed that, in attacking Formosa, Japan hadinvaded Chinese territory. After a long interchange of despatches theTokyo Government sent an ambassador to Peking, and a peacefulsolution was found in the payment by China of a small indemnity, andthe recognition of Formosa as a part of the Middle Kingdom. * *The indemnity amounted to 500, 000 dollars (Mexican). THE KOREAN QUESTION AGAIN The Formosan expedition took place in 1874, and, in the fall of 1875, a Korean fort opened fire on a Japanese warship which was engaged insurveying the coast. Such an insult could not be tamely endured. Japan marshalled an imposing number of warships and transports, but, following the example set in her own case by Commodore Perry, sheemployed this flotilla to intimidate Korea into signing a treaty ofamity and commerce and opening certain ports to foreign trade. Thus, Korea was drawn from her hereditary isolation, and to Japan fell thecredit of having become an instrument for extending the principle ofuniversal intercourse which she had herself so stoutly opposed duringtwo and a half centuries. It was a clever coup, but it earned littlecredit with the samurai. They regarded such a settlement asderogatory to their country. ABOLITION OF THE SAMURAI It was at this stage that the Tokyo Government felt itself strongenough to resort to conclusive measures in the cases of the samurai. Three years had now passed since the wearing of swords had beendeclared optional and since a scheme for the voluntary commutation ofthe samurai's pensions had been elaborated. The leaders of progressfelt that the time had now come to make these measures compulsory, and, accordingly, two edicts were issued in that sense. The edicts, especially their financial provisions, imposed a heavy sacrifice. Butit is very noticeable that the momentary question evoked no protests. It was to the loss of their swords that a number of samurai objectedstrenuously. Some scores of them, wearing old-fashioned armour andequipped with hereditary weapons, attacked a castle, killed orwounded three hundred of the garrison, and then died by their ownhands. Here and there throughout the empire a few equally vainprotests were raised, and finally the Satsuma samurai took the field. THE SATSUMA REBELLION This insurrection in the south severely taxed the resources of theCentral Government. The Satsuma samurai were led by Saigo Takamori, but it has always been claimed for him that he undertook the command, not for the purpose of overthrowing the Meiji Government, but in thehope of restraining his followers. Ultimately, however, he seems tohave been swept away by the tide of their enthusiasm. The insurgentsnumbered some forty thousand; they all belonged to the samurai class, were fully trained in Occidental tactics, and were equipped withrifles and field-guns. Their avowed purpose was to restore themilitary class to its old position, and to insure to it all the postsin the army and the navy. Fighting began on January 29, 1877, and ended on September 24th ofthe same year. All the rebel leaders fell in battle or died by theirown hands. During these eight months of warfare, the Government putsixty-six thousand men into the field, and the casualties on bothsides totalled thirty-five thousand, or thirty-three per cent, of thewhole. Apart from the great issue directly at stake, namely, whetherJapan should have a permanent military class, a secondary problem ofmuch interest found a solution in the result. It was the problemwhether an army of conscripts, supposed to be lacking in the fightinginstinct and believed to be incapable of standing up to do battlewith the samurai, could hold its own against the flower of the bushi, as the Satsuma men undoubtedly were. There really never was anysubstantial reason for doubt about such a subject. The samurai werenot racially distinct from the bulk of the nation. They hadoriginally been mere farmers, possessing no special militaryaptitude. Nevertheless, among all the reforms introduced during theMeiji era, none was counted so hazardous as the substitution of aconscript army for the nation's traditional soldiers. The Satsumarebellion disposed finally of the question. ENGRAVING: SAIGO TAKAMORI EDUCATION OF THE NATION Meanwhile the Government had been strenuously seeking to equip thepeople with the products of Western civilization. It has been shownthat the men who sat in the seats of power during the first decade ofthe Meiji era owed their exalted position to their own intellectualsuperiority and far-seeing statesmanship. That such men should becomethe nation's teachers would have been natural anywhere. But in Japanthere was a special reason for the people's need of officialguidance. It had become a traditional habit of the Japanese to lookto officialdom for example and direction in everything, and thishabit naturally asserted itself with special force when there wasquestion of assimilating a foreign civilization which for nearlythree centuries had been an object of national repugnance. TheGovernment, in short, had to inspire the reform movement and, at thesame time, to furnish models of its working. The task was approached with wholesale energy by those in power. Ingeneral the direction of the work was divided among foreigners ofdifferent nations. Frenchmen were employed in revising the criminalcode and in teaching strategy and tactics to the Japanese army. Thebuilding of railways, the installation of telegraphs and oflighthouses, and the new navy were turned over to English engineersand sailors. Americans were employed in the formation of a postalservice, in agricultural reforms, and in planning colonization and aneducational system. In an attempt to introduce Occidental ideas ofart Italian sculptors and painters were brought to Japan. And Germanexperts were asked to develop a system of local government, to trainJapanese physicians, and to educate army officers. Great misgivingswere expressed by foreign onlookers at this juncture. They found itimpossible to believe that such wholesale adoption of an aliencivilization could not be attended with due eclecticism, and theyconstantly predicted a violent reaction. But all these pessimisticviews were contradicted by results. There was no reaction, and thememory of the apprehensions then freely uttered finds nothing butridicule to-day. FINANCE One of the chief difficulties with which the Meiji statesmen had tocontend was finance. When they took over the treasury from the Bakufuthere were absolutely no funds in hand, and for some years, as hasbeen shown above, all the revenues of the former fiefs were locallyexpended, no part of them, except a doubtful surplus, finding its wayto the Imperial treasury. The only resource was an issue of papermoney. Such tokens of exchange had been freely employed since themiddle of the seventeenth century, and at the time of themediatization of the fiefs, 1694 kinds of notes were in circulation. The first business of the Government should have been to replacethese unsecured tokens with uniform and sound media of exchange. Butinstead of performing that duty the Meiji statesmen saw themselvescompelled to follow the evil example set by the fiefs in past times. Government notes were issued. They fell at the outset to a discountof fifty per cent, and various devices, more or less despotic, wereemployed to compel their circulation at par. By degrees, however, theGovernment's credit improved, and thus, though the issues ofinconvertible notes aggregated sixty million yen at the close of thefirst five years of the Meiji era, they passed freely from hand tohand without discount. But, of course, the need for funds inconnexion with the wholesale reforms and numerous enterprisesinaugurated officially became more and more pressing, so that in thefourteenth year (1881) after the Restoration, the face value of thenotes in circulation aggregated 180 million yen, and they stood at aheavy discount. The Government, after various tentative and futile efforts to correctthis state of depreciation, set themselves to deal radically with theproblem. Chiefly by buying exporters' bills and further by reducingadministrative expenditures as well as by taxing alcohol, asubstantial specie reserve was gradually accumulated, and, by 1885, the volume of fiduciary notes having been reduced to 119 millions, whereas the treasury vaults contained forty-five millions of preciousmetals, the resumption of specie payments was announced. As for thenational debt, it had its origin in the commutation of thefeudatories' incomes and the samurai's pensions. A small fraction ofthese outlays was defrayed with ready money, but the great part tookthe form of public loan-bonds. These bonds constituted the bulk ofthe State's liabilities during the first half-cycle of the Meiji era, and when we add the debts of the fiefs, which the Central Governmenttook over; two small foreign loans; the cost of quelling the Satsumarebellion, and various debts incurred on account of public works, naval construction, and minor purposes, we arrive at the broad factthat the entire national debt of Japan did not exceed 305 million yenat the close of the twenty-eighth year of her new era. A war with China in 1894-1895--to be presently spoken of--and a warwith Russia in 1904-1905, together with the price paid for thenationalization of railways and for various undertakings, brought thewhole debt of the nation to 2300 million yen in 1907, which is nowbeing paid off at the rate of fifty million yen annually. It remainsto be noted that, in 1897, Japan took the momentous step of adoptinggold monometallism. The indemnity which she obtained from China afterthe war of 1894-1895 brought to her treasury a stock of goldsufficient to form a substantial specie reserve. Moreover, gold hadappreciated so that its value in terms of silver had exactly doubledduring the first thirty years of the Meiji era. There wasconsequently no arithmetical complication connected with the adoptionof the single gold standard. It was only necessary to double thedenomination, leaving the silver subsidiary coins unchanged. EDUCATION In the field of education the Meiji statesmen effected speedyreforms. Comparatively little attention had been directed to thissubject by the rulers of medieval Japan, and the fact that the Meijileaders appreciated the necessity of studying the arts and sciencesof the new civilization simultaneously with the adoption of itsproducts, bears strong testimony to the insight of these remarkablemen. Very shortly after the abolition of feudalism, an extensivesystem of public schools was organized and education was madecompulsory. There were schools, colleges, and universities, allmodelled on foreign lines with such alterations as the specialcustoms of the nation dictated. These institutions grew steadily inpublic favour, and to-day over ninety per cent, of boys and girls whohave attained the school age receive education in the commonelementary schools, the average annual cost per child being about 8s. 6d. ($2. 00), to which the parents contribute 1. 75d. (3. 5 cents) permonth. Youths receiving education enjoy certain exemption fromconscription, but as this is in strict accordance with the Westernsystem, it need not be dwelt upon here. LOCAL ADMINISTRATION For purposes of local administration the empire is divided intoprefectures (ken), counties (gun), towns (shi), and districts (cho orson). The three metropolitan prefectures of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyotoare called fu, and their districts are distinguished as "urban" (cho)and "rural" (son), according to the number of houses they contain. The prefectures derive their names from their chief towns. Theprinciple of popular representation is strictly adhered to, everyprefecture, every county, every town, and every district having itsown local assembly, wherein the number of members is fixed inproportion to the population. These bodies are all elected. Theenjoyment of the franchise depends upon a property qualificationwhich, in the case of prefectural and county assemblies, is an annualpayment of direct national taxes to the amount of three yen (6s. , $1. 50); in the case of town and district assemblies two yen; and inthe case of prefectural assemblies, ten yen. There are otherarrangements to secure the due representation of property, theelectors being divided into classes according to their aggregatepayment to the national treasury. Three such classes exist, and eachelects one-third of an assembly's members. There is no payment forthe members of an assembly, but all salaried officials, ministers ofreligion, and contractors for public works, as well as persons unableto write their own names and the names of the candidates for whomthey vote, are denied the franchise. A prefectural assembly holds one session of thirty days annually; anda county assembly, one session of not more than fourteen days; whilethe town and district assemblies are summoned by the mayor or theheadman whenever recourse to their deliberation appears expedient. Each prefecture has a prefect (governor) and each county assembly hasa headman. Both are appointed by the Central Administration, but anassembly has competence to appeal to the minister of Home Affairsfrom the prefect's decisions. In the districts, also, there areheadmen, but their post is always elective and generallynon-salaried. Other details of the local-government system are hereomitted. It suffices to say that the system has been in operation forover thirty years and has been found satisfactory in practice. Moreover, these assemblies constitute excellent schools for thepolitical education of the people. THE CONSTITUTION It has already been shown that the sovereign's so-called coronationoath did not contemplate a national assembly in the Western sense ofthe term. The first assembly convened in obedience to the oathconsisted of nobles and samurai only, and was found to be a virtuallyuseless body. Not till 1873, when Itagaki Taisuke, seceding from theCabinet on account of the Korean complication, became a warm advocateof appealing national questions to an elective assembly, did thepeople at large come to understand what was involved in such aninstitution. Thenceforth Itagaki became the centre of a more or lessenthusiastic group of men advocating a parliamentary system, somefrom sincere motives, and others from a conviction that their failureto obtain posts was in a manner due to the oligarchical form of theircountry's polity. When the Satsuma rebellion broke out, four years later, this band ofTosa agitators memorialized the Government, charging it withadministering affairs in despite of public opinion; with ignoringpopular rights, and with levelling down instead of up, since thesamurai had been reduced to the class of commoners, whereas thelatter should have been educated to the standard of the former. Butthe statesmen in power insisted that the nation was not yet ready toenjoy constitutional privileges. They did not, indeed, labour underany delusion as to the ultimate direction in which their reformstended, but they were determined to move gradually, notprecipitately. They had already (1874) arranged for the convention ofan annual assembly of prefects who should act as channels ofcommunication between the central authorities and the people in theprovinces. This was designed to be the embryo of representativeinstitutions, though obviously it bore that character in a verylimited degree only. In the following year (1875), the second step was taken by organizinga Senate (Genro-in), which consisted of official nominees and wascharged with the duty of discussing and revising laws and ordinancesprior to their promulgation. But it had no power of initiative, andits credit in the eyes of the nation was more or less injured by thefact that its members consisted for the most part of men for whom noposts could be found in the administration and who, without somesteadying influence, might have been drawn into the current ofdiscontent. At this stage, an event occurred which probably moved the Governmentto greater expedition. In the spring of 1878, the great statesman, Okubo Toshimitsu, who had acted such a prominent part on the stage ofthe reformation drama, was assassinated. His slayers were avowedlysympathizers of Saigo, but in their statement of motives theyassigned as their principal incentive the Government's failure toestablish representative institutions. They belonged to a provincefar removed from Satsuma, and their explanation of the murder showedthat they had little knowledge of Saigo's real sentiments. But thenation saw in them champions of a constitutional form of government, and the authorities appreciated the necessity of greater expedition. Thus, two months after Okubo's death, the establishment of electiveassemblies in the prefectures and cities was proclaimed. ENGRAVING: OKUBO TOSHIMITSU Reference has already been made to these and it will suffice here tonote that their principal functions were to determine the amount andobject of local taxes; to audit the accounts for the previous year;and to petition the Central Government, should that seem expedient. These assemblies represented the foundations of genuinelyrepresentative institutions, for although they lacked legislativepower, they discharged parliamentary functions in other respects. Infact, they served as excellent training schools for the future Diet. But this did not at all satisfy Itagaki and his followers. They hadnow persuaded themselves that without a national assembly it would beimpossible to oust the clique of clansmen who monopolized the prizesof power. Accordingly, Itagaki organized an association calledJiyu-to (Liberals), the first political party in Japan. Between themen in office and these visionary agitators a time of friction, moreor less severe, ensued. The Government withheld from the people theprivileges of free speech and public meeting, so that the press andthe platform found themselves in frequent collision with the police. Thus, little by little, the Liberals came to be regarded as victimsof official tyranny, so that they constantly obtained freshadherents. Three years subsequently (1881), another political crisis occurred. Okuma Shigenobu resigned his portfolio, and was followed into privatelife by many able politicians and administrators. These organizedthemselves into a party ultimately called Progressists (Shimpo-to), who, although they professed the same doctrine as the Liberals, werecareful to maintain an independent attitude; thus showing that"Japan's first political parties were grouped, not about principles, but about persons. "* *Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th edition); article "Japan, " byBrinkley. It must not be supposed for a moment that the Progressists wereconservative. There was no such thing as real conservatism in Japanat that time. The whole nation exhaled the breath of progress. Okuma's secession was followed quickly by an edict promising theconvention of a national assembly in ten years. Confronted by thisengagement, the political parties might have been expected to laydown their arms. But a great majority of them aimed at ousting theclan-statesmen rather than at setting up a national assembly. Thus, having obtained a promise of a parliament, they applied themselves toexciting anti-official sentiments in the future electorates; and asthe Government made no attempt to controvert the prejudices thusexcited, it was evident that when the promised parliament came intoexistence, it would become an arena for vehement attacks upon theCabinet. Of course, as might have been expected, the ten years of agitatedwaiting, between 1881 and 1891, were often disfigured by recourse toviolence. Plots to assassinate ministers; attempts to employdynamite; schemes to bring about an insurrection in Korea--suchthings were not infrequent. There were also repeated dispersions ofpolitical meetings by order of police inspectors, as well assuspensions or suppressions of newspapers by the fiat of the Homeminister. Ultimately it became necessary to enact a law empoweringthe police to banish persons of doubtful character from Tokyo withoutlegal trial, and even to arrest and detain such persons on suspicion. In 1887, the Progressist leader, Okuma, rejoined the Cabinet for atime as minister of Foreign Affairs, but after a few months of officehis leg was shattered by a bomb and he retired into private life andfounded the Waseda University in Tokyo. It may indeed be asserted that during the decade immediately prior tothe opening of the national assembly, "an anti-Government propagandawas incessantly preached from the platform and in the press. " TheTokyo statesmen, however, were not at all discouraged. They proceededwith their reforms unflinchingly. In 1885, the ministry was recast, Ito Hirobumi--the same Prince Ito who afterwards fell in Manchuriaunder the pistol of an assassin--being appointed premier and thedepartments of State being reorganized on European lines. Then anobility was created, with five orders, prince, marquis, count, viscount, and baron. The civil and penal laws were codified. Thefinances were placed on a sound footing. A national bank with anetwork of subordinate institutions was established. Railwayconstruction was pushed on steadily. Postal and telegraph serviceswere extended. The foundations of a strong mercantile marine werelaid. A system of postal savings-banks was instituted. Extensiveschemes of harbour improvement, roads, and riparian works wereplanned and put into operation. The portals of the civil service weremade accessible solely by competitive examination. A legion ofstudents was sent westward to complete their education, and thecountry's foreign affairs were managed with comparative skill. PROMULGATION OF THE CONSTITUTION On the 11th of February, 1889, the Constitution was promulgated amidsigns of universal rejoicing. The day was signalized, however, by aterrible deed. Viscount Mori, one of Japan's most enlightenedstatesmen, was stabbed to death by Nishino Buntaro, a mere stripling, the motive being to avenge what the murderer regarded as asacrilegious act, namely, that the viscount, when visiting the shrineat Ise in the previous year, had partially raised one of the curtainswith his cane. The explanation given of this extraordinary act by amodern historian is that "Japan was suffering at the time from anattack of hysterical loyalty, and the shrine at Ise being dedicatedto the progenitrix of the country's sovereigns, it seemed to NishinoBuntaro that when high officials began to touch the sacredparaphernalia with walking-sticks, the foundations of Imperialismwere menaced. " An interesting light is thrown upon the Japanesecharacter in the sequel of this crime. During many subsequent yearsthe tomb of Nishino received the homage of men and women who"worshipped achievement without regard to the nature of the thingachieved. " There was a similar furore of enthusiasm over the would-beassassin of Okuma. PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION The framers of the Constitution, chief among whom was Prince Ito, naturally took care not to make its provisions too liberal. Theminimum age for electors and elected was fixed at twenty-five and theproperty qualification at payment of direct taxes aggregating notless than fifteen yen (30s. $7. 20) annually. A bicameral system was adopted. The House of Peers was in parthereditary, in part elective (one representative of the highesttax-payers in each prefecture), and in part nominated by thesovereign (from among men of signal attainments), while the House ofRepresentatives consisted of three hundred elected members. In theeyes of party politicians this property qualification was much toohigh; it restricted the number of franchise-holders to 460, 000 in anation of nearly fifty millions. A struggle for the extension of thefranchise commenced immediately, and, after nearly ten years, theGovernment framed a bill lowering the qualification to ten yen forelectors; dispensing with it altogether in the case of candidates;inaugurating secret ballots; extending the limits of the electoratesso as to include the whole of a prefecture, and increasing themembers of the lower house to 363. By this change of qualificationthe number of franchise holders was nearly doubled. ENGRAVING: THE LATE PRINCE ITO As for the provisions of the Constitution, they differed in norespect from those of the most advanced Western standard. Oneexception to this statement must be noted, however. The wording ofthe document lent itself to the interpretation that a ministry'stenure of office depended solely on the sovereign's will. In otherwords, a Cabinet received its mandate from the Throne, not from theDiet. This reservation immediately became an object of attack byparty politicians. They did not venture to protest against thearrangement as an Imperial prerogative. The people would not haveendured such a protest. The only course open for the partypoliticians was to prove practically that a ministry not responsibleto the legislature is virtually impotent for legislation. Success has not attended this essay. The Throne continues, nominallyat all events, to appoint and dismiss ministers. As for theproceedings of the diet, the most salient feature was that, from thevery outset, the party politicians in the lower chamber engaged insuccessive attacks upon the holders of power. This had been fullyanticipated; for during the whole period of probation antecedent tothe meeting of the first Diet, the party politicians had beensuffered to discredit the Cabinet by all possible means, whereas theCabinet had made no effort to win for themselves partisans in theelectorates. They relied wholly upon the sovereign's prerogative, andstood aloof from alliances of any kind, apparently indifferent toeverything but their duty to their country. Fortunately, the House ofPeers ranged itself steadfastly on the side of the Cabinet throughoutthis struggle, and thus the situation was often saved from apparentlypressing danger. The war with China (1894-1895) greatly enhanced theDiet's reputation; for all the political parties, laying aside theirdifferences, without a dissenting voice voted funds for theprosecution of the campaign. POLITICAL PARTIES During several years the House of Representatives continued to bedivided into two great parties with nearly equally balancedpower--the Liberals and the Progressists, together with a few minorcoteries. But, in 1898, the Liberals and Progressists joined hands, thus coming to wield a large majority in the lower house. Forthwith, the Emperor, on the advice of Prince Ito, invited Counts Okuma andItagaki to form a Cabinet. An opportunity was thus given to theparties to prove the practical possibility of the system they had solong lauded in theory. The united parties called themselvesConstitutionists (Kensei-to). Their union lasted barely six months, and then "the new links snapped under the tension of the oldenmities. " A strange thing now happened. The Liberals invited Prince Ito to betheir leader, and he agreed on condition that his followers shouldobey him implicitly. A new and powerful party was thus formed underthe designation of Friends of the Constitution (Rikken Seiyukai). Thus, the Liberals not only enlisted under the statesmen whoseoverthrow they had for nearly twenty years sought to effect, but alsothey practically expunged from their platform an essential article offaith--parliamentary cabinets. Another proof was here furnished thatpolitical combinations in Japan were based rather on persons than onprinciples. As for the new party, even Prince Ito's wonderful talents andunequalled prestige failed to hold successfully the reins of theheterogeneous team which he had now undertaken to drive. The House ofPeers opposed him on account of his association with politicalparties, and he at once resigned the premiership. The party he hadformed did not, however, dissolve. Prince Ito, indeed, stepped out ofits ranks, but he was succeeded by his intimate friend, MarquisSaionji, one of Japan's blue-blooded aristocrats, and to him theConstitutionists have yielded implicit obedience ever since. For therest, it is impossible to foresee what the outcome of theparliamentary system will be in Japan. Up to the present theprincipal lesson learned by politicians seems to have been the valueof patience. The Constitutionists have shown that they are quiteready to support a Cabinet entirely independent of parties, where itsmeasures seem conducive to the nation's good. Such a Cabinet was thatof Prince Katsura, who, in turn, after three years' tenure of office, stepped down quietly in August, 1911, to make way for theConstitutionists, under Marquis Saionji. In a word, the nation seemsto have arrived at the conclusion that these parliamentary problemscannot be safely solved except by long and deliberate experiment. * *For minute information about party politics and parliamentaryprocedure see the "Oriental Series, " Vol. IV. AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY The growth of agricultural and industrial enterprise is one of themost remarkable features of modern Japan. Up to the beginning of theMeiji era, agriculture almost monopolized attention, manufacturingindustry being altogether of a domestic character. Speaking broadly, the gross area of land in Japan, exclusive of Saghalien, Korea, andFormosa is seventy-five million acres, and of this only someseventeen millions are arable. It may well be supposed that as riceis the principal staple of foodstuff, and as the area over which itcan be produced is so limited, the farmers have learned to apply veryintensive methods of cultivation. Thus it is estimated that theyspend annually twelve millions sterling--$60, 000, 000--on fertilizers. By unflinching industry and skilled processes, the total yield ofrice has been raised to an annual average of about fifty millionkoku; that is to say, two hundred and fifty million bushels. But theday cannot be far distant when the growth of the population willoutstrip that of this essential staple, and unless the assistance ofKorea and Formosa can be successfully enlisted, a problem of extremedifficulty may present itself. Meanwhile, manufacturing industry hasincreased by leaps and bounds. Thus, whereas at the opening of theMeiji era, every manufacture was of a domestic character, and such athing as a joint-stock company did not exist, there are now fully11, 000 factories giving employment to 700, 000 operatives, and thenumber of joint-stock companies aggregates 9000. Evidently, Japanthreatens to become a keen competitor of Europe and America in allthe markets of the Orient, for she possesses the advantage ofpropinquity, and as well an abundance of easily trained labour. Butthere are two important conditions that offset these advantages. Inthe first place Japanese wages have increased so rapidly that in thelast fifteen years they have nearly doubled, and, secondly, it mustbe remembered that Japanese labour is not so efficient as that ofEurope and America. ENGRAVING: SEAL OF MUTSUHITO, THE LATE EMPEROR RAILWAYS The work of railway construction, which may be said to have commencedwith the Meiji era, has not advanced as rapidly as some otherundertakings. The country has now only 5770 miles of lines open totraffic and 1079 miles under construction. All these railways may besaid to have been built with domestic capital. Nearly the whole wasnationalized in 1907, so that the State has paid out altogethersixty-six million pounds sterling--$325, 000, 000--on account ofrailways, an investment which yields a net return of about three anda half millions sterling--$17, 000, 000--annually. THE MERCANTILE MARINE Another direction in which Japanese progress has been very marked isin the development of a mercantile marine. At an early period of thecountry's modern history, her statesmen recognized that transportsare as necessary to the safety of a State as are soldiers, and, infact, that the latter cannot be utilized without the former. TheGovernment, therefore, encouraged with liberal subsidies andgrants-in-aid the purchase or construction of ships, the result beingthat whereas, in 1871, Japan's mercantile marine comprised onlyforty-six ships with a total tonnage of 17, 948, the correspondingfigures in 1910 were 6436 and 1, 564, 443 respectively. In the war withChina in 1894-1895, as well as in that with Russia in 1904-1905, Japan was able to carry large armies to the Asiatic continent in herown vessels, thus demonstrating the wisdom of the policy pursued bythe Government, although it had been habitually denounced by theenemies of subsidies in any circumstances. Shipbuilding yards hadalso been called into existence, and there are now four of them wherevessels aggregating 87, 495 tons have been built. THE ARMY It has been seen that the Satsuma rebellion of 1877 severely taxedthe military resources of the empire. In fact, the organization ofspecial brigades to supplement the conscripts was found necessary. Therefore, two years later, the conscription law was revised, thetotal term of service being increased from seven years to ten, withthe result that the number of trained soldiers who could be calledout in case of war became larger by fully one-half. Further, in 1882, another expansion of armaments was effected in obedience to anImperial decree, so that when war with China broke out in 1894, Japanpossessed an available force of seven divisions (including theguards), and these, raised to a war-footing, represented about150, 000 men. She had already learned that, however civilized theOccident might claim to be, all the great States of the West dependedmainly on military and naval force, and that only by a demonstrationof that force could international respect be won. Of course, this creed was not publicly proclaimed. Firmly as Japanesestatesmen believed it, they could not confess their conviction openlyin the Diet, and therefore much difficulty was experienced ininducing the two houses to endorse the Government's scheme ofincreased armaments. Indeed, the subject came to be a frequent topicof discussion between the Cabinet and the House of Representatives, and in the end Japan was obliged to go into war against China withouta single line-of-battle ship, though her adversary possessed two. Nevertheless, the Island Empire emerged signally victorious. It might have been supposed that she would then rest content with theassurance of safety her prowess had won. But, in the immediate sequelof the war, three of the great European powers, Russia, Germany, andFrance, joined hands to deprive Japan of the fruits of her victory bycalling upon her to vacate the southern littoral of Manchuria fromthe mouth of the Yalu to the Liaotung peninsula. Japan thus acquiredthe conviction that her successes against China were not estimated byWestern States as any great evidence of belligerent power, and thatit would be necessary for her to fight again if she hoped to win anyconsiderable measure of international respect. Prince Ito, then primeminister, keenly appreciated this necessity. He invited the Diet tovote for a substantial increment of land and sea forces, and aftermuch opposition in the House of Representatives, funds were obtainedfor raising the army to thirteen divisions and for an increase of thenavy which will be by and by spoken of. The wisdom of these measures found full justification, in 1904, whenswords had to be crossed with Russia. After that war, which raisedJapan to a leading place among the nations, the old problem came upagain for solution. Once more the Elder Statesmen--as the Meijileaders were called--asked the Diet to maintain the organization ofthe army at the point to which it had been carried during the war, and once more the lower house of the Diet proved very difficult topersuade. Ultimately, however, the law of military service wasrevised so that the fixed establishment became nineteen divisions, together with various special corps. It is not possible to speak withabsolute accuracy of the force that Japan is now capable ofmobilizing, but when the new system is in full working order, shewill be able to put something like a million and a half of men intothe fighting line. Her military budget amounts to only seven millionssterling--$35, 000, 000--a wonderfully small sum considering theresults obtained. THE NAVY It has been shown how, in the year 1636, the Bakufu Governmentstrictly interdicted the building of all vessels of ocean-goingcapacity. The veto naturally precluded enterprise in the direction ofnaval expansion, and when Commodore Perry, at the head of a powerfulsquadron, arrived in Uraga Bay, two centuries afterwards, theJapanese were suddenly and vividly instructed in the enormous powerof a nation wielding such weapons of war. This object lesson havingbeen most practically inculcated by the bombardments of Kagoshima andShimonoseki, Japan saw that she must not lose one moment in equippingherself with a naval force. At first, she had to purchase all herships from foreign countries, and so difficult was it to obtainparliamentary support for these acquisitions that, as already stated, when war with the neighbouring empire broke out in 1894, she did notpossess a single ironclad, her strongest vessels being foursecond-class cruisers, which, according to modern ideas, would not beworthy of a place in the fighting line. During the next ten years the teachings of experience took deeperroot, and when the great combat with Russia commenced, the Japanesenavy included four ironclads and six armoured cruisers. The signalvictories obtained by her in that war did not induce any sentiment ofself-complacency. She has gone on ever since increasing her navy, andthe present programme of her statesmen is that by the end of 1921, she will possess twenty-five units of the first fighting line; thatfigure being based on the principle that she should be competent toencounter the greatest force which any foreign State, Englandexcluded, will be able to mass in Far Eastern waters ten years hence. Her annual expenditure on account of the up-keep of her navy is atpresent three and one-quarter million pounds sterling $17, 000, 000. Nofeature is more remarkable than the fact that Japan can now build andequip in her own yards and arsenals warships of the largest size. Sheis no longer dependent on foreign countries for these essentials ofsafety. ENGRAVING: NIJU-BASHI (DOUBLE BRIDGE) (Entrance to the presentImperial Palace, at Tokyo) CHAPTER XLVII WARS WITH CHINA AND RUSSIA THE SAGHALIEN COMPLICATION ONE of the problems which invited the attention of the new Governmentearly in the Meiji era had been handed down from the days offeudalism. In those days, neither Yezo nor Saghalien nor the KurileIslands were under effective Japanese administration. The feudatoryof Matsumae had his castle at the extreme south of Yezo, but thejurisdiction he exercised was only nominal. Yet the earliestexplorers of Saghalien were certainly Japanese. As far back as 1620, some vassals of the Matsumae feudatory landed on the island andremained there throughout a winter. The supposition then was thatSaghalien formed part of the Asiatic mainland. But, in 1806, MamiyaRinzo, a Japanese traveller, voyaged up and down the Amur, and, crossing to Saghalien, discovered that a narrow strait separated itfrom the continent. There still exists in Europe a theory thatSaghalien's insular character was discovered first by a Russian, Captain Nevelskoy, in 1849, but in Japan the fact had already beenknown. Saghalien commands the estuary of the Amur, and Muravieff, thedistinguished Russian commander in East Asia, appreciated thenecessity of acquiring the island for his country. In 1858, hevisited Japan with a squadron and demanded that the Strait of LaPérouse, which separates Saghalien from Yezo, should be regarded asthe Russo-Japanese frontier. Japan naturally refused a proposal whichwould have given the whole of Saghalien to Russia, and Muravieff thenresorted to the policy of sending emigrants to settle on the island. Two futile attempts to prevent this process of gradual absorptionwere made by the Japanese Government; they first proposed a divisionof the island, and afterwards they offered to purchase the Russianportion for a sum of about Ł400, 000--$2, 000, 000. St. Petersburgseemed inclined to acquiesce, but the bargain provoked opposition inTokyo, and not until 1875 was a final settlement reached, theconditions being that Japan should recognize Russia's title to thewhole of Saghalien and Russia should recognize Japan's title to theKuriles. These latter islands had always been regarded as Japaneseproperty, and therefore the arrangement now effected amounted to thepurchase of an area of Japanese territory by Russia, who paid for itwith a part of Japan's belongings. An interesting sequel to thischapter of history is that, thirty years later, Saghalien became thescene of a Japanese invasion and was ultimately divided between thetwo nations along the fiftieth parallel, which was precisely what theBakufu statesmen had originally proposed. THE FORMOSAN EXPEDITION The expedition of Formosa in 1874 has already been spoken of. Insignificant in itself, the incident derived vicarious interest fromits effect upon the relations between Japan and China in connexionwith the ownership of the Ryukyu Islands. Lying a little south ofJapan, these islands had for some centuries been regarded as anappanage of the Satsuma fief, and the language spoken by theirinhabitants showed unmistakable traces of affinity with the Japanesetongue. Therefore when, in 1873, the crew of a wrecked Ryukyuan junkwas barbarously treated by the Formosan aborigines, the YedoGovernment at once sought redress from Peking. But the Chinese paidno attention to this demand until a force of Japanese troops had madea punitory visit to Formosa, and China, recognizing that herterritory had been invaded, lodged a protest which would probablyhave involved the two empires in a war had not the British ministerin Peking intervened. The arrangement made was that China shouldindemnify Japan to the extent of the expenses incurred by the latterin punishing the aborigines. THE RYUKYU COMPLICATION A fact collaterally established by the Formosan affair was that theRyukyu Islands belonged to Japan, and, in 1876, the system of localgovernment already inaugurated in Japan proper was extended toRyukyu, the ruler of the latter being pensioned. China now formulateda protest. She claimed that Ryukyu had always been a tributary of herempire. But China's interpretation of "tribute" was essentiallyunpractical. "So long as her own advantage could be promoted, sheregarded as a token of vassalage the presents periodically carried toher Court from neighbouring States, but so soon as there arose anyquestion of discharging a suzerain's duties, she classed theseofferings as an insignificant interchange of neighbourly courtesy. "Undoubtedly Ryukyu, from time to time, had followed the custom ofdespatching gift-bearing envoys to Peking, just as Japan herself haddone. But it was on clear record that Ryukyu had been subdued bySatsuma without any attempt whatever on China's part to save theislands from that fate; that thereafter, during two centuries, theyhad been included in the Satsuma fief, and that China, in thesettlement of the Formosan complication, had constructivelyacknowledged Japan's title to the group. Each empire asserted itsclaims with equal assurance, and things remained thus until 1880, when General Grant, who visited Japan in the course of a tour roundthe world, suggested a peaceful compromise. A conference met inPeking, and it was agreed that the islands should be divided, Japantaking the northern part and China the southern. But at the moment ofsigning the convention, China drew back, and the discussion ended inJapan retaining the islands, China's protests being pigeonholed. KOREAN COMPLICATION Sufficient reference has already been made in these pages to theseries of events that terminated in 1875, when Japan, by a display ofpartly fictitious force, drew Korea out of international isolationand signed with the Peninsular Kingdom a treaty acknowledging thelatter's independence. WAR WITH CHINA During the centuries when China occupied the undisputed position offirst in might and first in civilization on the Asiatic continent, her habit was to use as buffer states the small countries lyingimmediately beyond her borders. But she always took care to avoid anyresponsibilities that might grow out of this arrangement. In a word, the tide of foreign aggression was to be checked by an understandingthat these little countries shared the inviolability of great China, but it was understood, at the same time, that the consequences oftheir own acts must rest upon their own heads. Such a system, havingno bases except sentiment and prestige, soon proved futile in theface of Occidental practicality. Burma, Siam, Annam, and Tonking, oneby one, ceased to be dependent on China and independent towards allother nations. In Korea's case, however, the fiction proved more tenacious, sincethe peninsula furnished easy access to Manchuria, the cradle of theManchu dynasty. But while seeking to maintain the old-time relationswith Korea, Chinese statesmen clung uniformly to traditional methods. They refrained from declaring Korea a dependency of China, yet theysought to keep up "the romance of ultimate dependency andintermediate sovereignty. " It was thus that, in 1876, Korea wasallowed to conclude with Japan a treaty describing the former as "anindependent State enjoying the same rights as Japan, " nor did thePeking Government make any protest when the United States, GreatBritain, and other powers concluded similar treaties. To exercise independence in practice, however, was not permitted toKorea. A Chinese resident was stationed in Seoul, the Korean capital, and he quickly became an imperium in imperio. Thenceforth Japan, inall her dealings with the Peninsular Kingdom, found the latterbehaving as a Chinese dependency, obeying the Chinese resident ineverything. Again and again, Japanese patience was tried by theseanomalous conditions, and although nothing occurred of sufficientmagnitude to warrant official protest, the Tokyo Government becamesensible of perpetual rebuffs and humiliating interferences atChina's hands. Korea herself suffered seriously from this state ofnational irresponsibility. There was no security of life andproperty, or any effective desire to develop the country's resources. If the victims of oppression appealed to force, China readily lentmilitary assistance to suppress them, and thus the royal family ofKorea learned to regard its tenure of power as dependent on abilityto conciliate China. On Japan's side, also, the Korean question caused much anxiety. Itwas impossible for the Tokyo statesmen to ignore the fact that theircountry's safety depended largely on preserving Korea from the graspof a Western power. They saw plainly that such a result might at anymoment be expected if Korea was suffered to drift into a state ofadministrative incompetence. Once, in 1882, and again, in 1884, whenChinese soldiers were employed to suppress reform movements whichwould have impaired the interests of the Korean monarch, the latter'speople, counting Japan to be the source of progressive tendencies inthe East, destroyed her legation in Seoul, driving its inmates out ofthe city. Japan was not yet prepared to assert herself forcibly inredress of such outrages, but in the ensuing negotiations sheacquired titles that "touched the core of China's allegedSuzerainty. " Thus, in 1882, Japan obtained recognition of her rightto protect her legation with troops; and, in 1885, a convention, signed at Tientsin, pledged each of the contracting parties not tosend a military force to Korea without notifying the other. In spite of these agreements China's arbitrary and unfriendlyinterference in Korean affairs continued to be demonstrated to Japan. Efforts to obtain redress proved futile, and even provoked threats ofChinese armed intervention. Finally, in the spring of 1894, aninsurrection of some magnitude broke out in Korea, and in response toan appeal from the Royal family, China sent twenty-five hundredtroops, who went into camp at Asan, on the southwest coast of thepeninsula. Notice was duly given to the Tokyo Government, which nowdecided that Japan's vital interests as well as the cause ofcivilization in the East required that an end must be put to Korea'sdangerous misrule and to China's arbitrary interference. Japan didnot claim for herself anything that she was not willing to accord toChina. But the Tokyo statesmen were sensible that to ask theirconservative neighbour to promote in the Peninsular Kingdom aprogressive programme which she had always steadily rejected anddespised in her own case, must prove a chimerical attempt, ifordinary diplomatic methods alone were used. Accordingly, on receiptof Peking's notice as to the sending of troops to the peninsula, Japan gave corresponding notice on her own part, and thus July, 1894, saw a Chinese force encamped at Asan and a Japanese force in thevicinity of Seoul. In having recourse to military aid, China's nominal purpose was toquell the Tonghak insurrection, and Japan's motive was to obtain aposition such as would strengthen her demand for drastic treatment ofKorea's malady. In giving notice of the despatch of troops, Chinadescribed Korea as her "tributary State, " thus emphasizing acontention which at once created an impossible situation. Duringnearly twenty years Japan had treated Korea as her own equal, inaccordance with the terms of the treaty of 1876, and she could notnow agree that the Peninsular Kingdom should be officially classed asa tributary of China. Her protests, however, were contemptuouslyignored, and Chinese statesmen continued to apply the offensiveappellation to Korea, while at the same time they asserted the rightof limiting the number of troops sent by Japan to the peninsula aswell as the manner of their employment. Still desirous of preserving the peace, Japan proposed a unionbetween herself and China for the purpose of restoring order in Koreaand amending that country's administration. China refused. She evenexpressed supercilious surprise that Japan, while asserting Korea'sindependence, should suggest the idea of peremptorily reforming itsadministration. The Tokyo Cabinet now announced that the Japanesetroops should not be withdrawn without "some understanding that wouldguarantee the future peace, order, and good government of Korea, " andas China still refused to come to such an understanding, Japanundertook the work single-handed. The Tonghak rebellion, which Chinese troops were originally sent toquell, had died of inanition before they landed. The troops, therefore, had been withdrawn. But China kept them in Korea, heravowed reason being the presence of the Japanese military force nearSeoul. In these circumstances, Peking was notified that a despatch ofre-enforcements on China's side must be construed as an act ofhostility. Notwithstanding this notice, China not only sent a furtherbody of troops by sea to encamp at Asan, but also despatched an armyoverland across the Yalu. These proceedings precipitated hostilities. Three Chinese warships, convoying a transport with twelve hundredsoldiers on board, met and opened fire on two Japanese cruisers. Theresult was signal. One of the Chinese warships was captured, anotherwas so riddled with shot that she had to be beached and abandoned;the third escaped in a dilapidated condition, and the transport, refusing to surrender, was sent to the bottom. These things happenedon the 25th of July, 1894, and war was declared by each empire sixdays subsequently. The Japanese took the initiative. They despatched from Seoul a columnof troops and routed the Chinese entrenched at Asan, many of whomfled northward to Pyong-yang, a town on the Tadong River, memorableas the scene of a battle between a Chinese and a Japanese army in1592. Pyong-yang offered great facilities for defence. The Chinesemassed there a force of seventeen thousand men, and made preparationsfor a decisive contest, building parapets, mounting guns, andstrengthening the position by every device of modern warfare. Theirinfantry had the advantage of being armed with repeating rifles, andthe configuration of the ground offered little cover for an attackingarmy. Against this strong position the Japanese moved in two columns;one marching northward from Seoul, the other striking westward fromYuensan. Forty days elapsed before the Japanese forces came intoaction, and one day's fighting sufficed to carry all the Chinesepositions, the attacking armies having only seven hundred casualtiesand the defenders, six thousand. The next day, September 17th, Japan achieved an equally conspicuoussuccess at sea. Fourteen Chinese warships and six torpedo-boats, steering homeward after convoying a fleet of transports to the mouthof the Yalu River, fell in with eleven Japanese war-vessels cruisingin the Yellow Sea. The Chinese squadron was not seeking an encounter. Their commanding officer did not appear to appreciate the value ofsea-power. His fleet included two armoured battle-ships of over seventhousand tons' displacement, whereas the Japanese had nothingstronger than belted cruisers of four thousand. Therefore a littleenterprise on China's part might have severed Japan's maritimecommunications and compelled her to evacuate Korea. The Chinese, however, used their war-vessels as convoys only, keeping themcarefully in port when no such duty was to be performed. It isevident that, as a matter of choice, they would have avoided thebattle of the Yalu, though when compelled to fight they foughtstoutly. After a sharp engagement, four of their vessels were sunk, and the remainder steamed into Weihaiwei, their retreat being coveredby torpedo-boats. By this victory the maritime route to China lay open to Japan. Shecould now attack Talien, Port Arthur, and Weihaiwei, naval stationson the Liaotung and Shantung peninsulas, where strong permanentfortifications had been built under the direction of Europeanexperts. These forts fell one by one before the assaults of theJapanese troops as easily as the castle of Pyong-yang had fallen. Only by the remains of the Chinese fleet at Weihaiwei was a stubbornresistance made, under the command of Admiral Ting. But, after theentire squadron of torpedo craft had been captured, and after threeof the largest Chinese ships had been sent to the bottom by Japanesetorpedoes, and one had met the same fate by gunfire, the remaindersurrendered, and their gallant commander, Admiral Ting, rejecting allovertures from the Japanese, committed suicide. The fall of Weihaiwei ended the war. It had lasted seven and a halfmonths, and during that time the Japanese had operated with fivecolumns aggregating 120, 000 men. "One of these columns marchednorthward from Seoul, won the battle of Pyong-yang, advanced to theYalu, forced its way into Manchuria, and moved towards Mukden byFeng-hwang, fighting several minor engagements, and conducting thegreater part of its operations amid deep snow in midwinter. Thesecond column diverged westward from the Yalu, and, marching throughsouthern Manchuria, reached Haicheng, whence it advanced to thecapture of Niuchwang. The third landed on the Liaotung peninsula, and, turning southward, carried Talien and Port Arthur by assault. The fourth moved up the Liaotung peninsula, and, having seizedKaiping, advanced against Niuchwang, where it joined hands with thesecond column. The fifth crossed from Port Arthur to Weihaiwei, whichit captured. " In all these operations the Japanese casualtiestotalled 1005 killed and 4922 wounded; the deaths from diseaseaggregated 16, 866, and the monetary expenditure amounted to twentymillions sterling, about $100, 000, 000. It had been almost universallybelieved that, although Japan might have some success at the outset, she would ultimately be shattered by impact with the enormous massand the overwhelming resources of China. Never was forecast moresignally contradicted by events. CONCLUSION OF PEACE Li Hung-chang, viceroy of Pehchili, whose troops had been chieflyengaged during the war, and who had been mainly responsible for thediplomacy that had led up to it, was sent by China as plenipotentiaryto discuss terms of peace. The conference took place at Shimonoseki, Japan being represented by Marquis (afterwards Prince) Ito, and onthe 17th of April, 1895, the treaty was signed. It recognized theindependence of Korea; ceded to Japan the littoral of Manchuria lyingsouth of a line drawn from the mouth of the river Anping to theestuary of the Liao, together with the islands of Formosa and thePescadores; pledged China to pay an indemnity of two hundred milliontaels; provided for the occupation of Weihaiwei by Japan pendingpayment of that sum; secured the opening of four new places toforeign trade and the right of foreigners to engage in manufacturingenterprises in China, and provided for a treaty of commerce and amitybetween the two empires, based on the lines of China's treaty withOccidental powers. FOREIGN INTERFERENCE Scarcely was the ink dry upon this agreement when Russia, Germany, and France presented a joint note to the Tokyo Government, urgingthat the permanent occupation of the Manchurian littoral by Japanwould endanger peace. Japan had no choice but to bow to this mandate. The Chinese campaign had exhausted her treasury as well as hersupplies of war material, and it would have been hopeless to oppose acoalition of three great European powers. She showed no sign ofhesitation. On the very day of the ratified treaty's publication, theEmperor of Japan issued a rescript, in which, after avowing hisdevotion to the cause of peace, he "yielded to the dictates ofmagnanimity, and accepted the advice of the three powers. " But although the Tokyo Government sought to soften the situation bythe grace of speedy acquiescence, the effect produced upon the nationwas profound. There was no difficulty in appreciating the motives ofRussia and France. It was natural that the former should object tothe propinquity of a warlike people like the Japanese, and it wasnatural that France should remain true to her ally. But Germany'scase defied interpretation. She had no interest in the ownership ofManchuria, and she professed herself a warm friend of Japan. Itseemed, therefore, that she had joined in snatching from the lips ofthe Japanese the fruits of their victory simply for the sake ofestablishing some shadowy title to Russia's good-will. THE CHINESE CRISIS OF 1900 In the second half of the year 1900 an anti-foreign outbreak, knownas the "Boxer Rebellion, " broke out in the province of Shantung, and, spreading thence to Pehchili, produced a situation of imminent perilfor the foreign communities of Peking and Tientsin. No Western powercould intervene with sufficient promptness. Japan alone was withineasy reach of the commotion. But Japan held back. She had fullyfathomed the distrust with which the growth of her military strengthhad inspired some European nations, and she appreciated the wisdom ofnot seeming to grasp at an opportunity for armed display. In fact, she awaited a clear mandate from Europe and America, and, onreceiving it, she rapidly sent a division (20, 000 men) to Pehchili. Tientsin was relieved first, and then a column of troops provided byseveral powers, the Japanese in the van, marched to the succour ofPeking. In this campaign the Japanese greatly enhanced theirbelligerent reputation as they fought under the eyes of competentmilitary critics. Moreover, after the relief of the legations inPeking, they withdrew one-half of their forces, and they subsequentlycooperated heartily with Western powers in negotiating peace terms, thus disarming the suspicions with which they had been regarded atfirst. WAR WITH RUSSIA From the time (1895) when the three-power mandate dictated to Japan acardinal alteration of the Shimonoseki treaty, Japanese statesmenconcluded that their country must one day cross swords with Russia. Not a few Occidental publicists shared that view, but the greatmajority, arguing that the little Island Empire of the Far East wouldnever risk annihilation by such an encounter, believed thatforbearance sufficient to avert serious trouble would always beforthcoming on Japan's side. Yet neither geographical nor historicalconditions warranted that confidence. The Sea of Japan, which, on theeast, washes the shores of the Japanese islands and on the west thoseof Russia and Korea, has virtually only two routes communicating withthe Pacific Ocean. One is in the north, namely, the Tsugaru Strait;the other is in the south, namely, the channel between the Koreanpeninsula and the Japanese island of Kyushu. Tsugaru Strait ispractically under Japan's complete control; she can close it at anymoment with mines. But the channel between the Korean peninsula andKyushu has a width of 102 miles, and would therefore be a fine openseaway were it free from islands. Midway in this channel, however, lie the twin islands of Tsushima, and the space that separates themfrom Japan is narrowed by another island, Iki. Tsushima and Iki havebelonged to Japan from time immemorial, and thus the avenues from thePacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan are controlled by the Japaneseempire. In other words, access to the Pacific from Korea's easternand southern coasts, and access to the Pacific from Russia's MaritimeProvince depend upon Japan's good-will. These geographical conditions had no great concern for Korea informer days. But with Russia the case was different. Vladivostok, theprincipal port in the Far East, lay at the southern extremity of theMaritime Province. Freedom of passage by the Tsushima Strait wastherefore a matter of vital importance, and to secure it one of twothings was essential, namely, that she herself should possess afortified port on the Korean side, or that Japan should be restrainedfrom acquiring such a port. Here, then, was a strong inducement forRussian aggression in Korea. When the eastward movement of the greatnorthern power brought it to the mouth of the Amur, the acquisitionof Nikolaievsk for a naval basis was the immediate reward. ButNikolaievsk, lying in an inhospitable region, far away from all themain routes of the world's commerce, offered itself only as astepping-stone to further acquisitions. To push southward from thisnew port became an immediate object. There lay an obstacle in the way. The long strip of seacoast from themouth of the Amur to the Korean frontier--an area then called theUsuri region because that river forms part of its westernboundary--belonged to China, and she, having conceded much to Russiain the way of the Amur, showed no inclination to make furtherconcessions in the matter of the Usuri. She was persuaded to agree, however, that the region should be regarded as common property, pending a convenient opportunity for clear delimitation. Thatopportunity soon came. Seizing the moment (1860) when China had beenbeaten to her knees by England and France, Russia secured the finalcession of the Usuri region, which then became the Maritime Provinceof Siberia. Then Russia shifted her naval basis in the Pacific to apoint ten degrees south from Nikolaievsk, namely, Vladivostok. Immediately after this transfer an attempt was made to obtainpossession of Tsushima. A Russian man-of-war proceeded thither, andquietly began to establish a settlement which would soon haveconstituted a title of ownership had not Great Britain interfered. The same instinct that led Russia from the mouth of the Amur toVladivostok prompted the acquisition of Saghalien also, which, asalready related, was accomplished in 1875. But all this effort did not procure for Russia an unobstructed avenuefrom Vladivostok to the Pacific or an ice-free port in the Far East. In Korea seemed to lie a facile hope of saving the maritime resultsof Russia's great trans-Asian march from Lake Baikal to the MaritimeProvince and to Saghalien. Korea seemed to offer every facility forsuch an enterprise. Her people were unprogressive; her resourcesundeveloped; her self-defensive capacities insignificant; hergovernment corrupt. On the other hand, it could not be expected thatJapan and China would acquiesce in any aggressions against theirneighbour, Korea, and it became necessary that Russia should seeksome other line of communication supplementing the Amur waterway andthe long ocean route. Therefore she set about the construction of arailway across Asia. This railway had to be carried along thenorthern bank of the Amur where engineering and economic difficultiesabound. Moreover, the river makes a huge semicircular sweepnorthward, and a railway following its northern bank to Vladivostokmust make the same detour. If, on the contrary, the road could becarried south of the river along the diameter of the semicircle, itwould be a straight, and therefore a shorter, line, technicallyeasier and economically better. To follow this diameter, however, would involve passing through Chinese territory, namely, Manchuria, and an excuse for soliciting China's permission was not in sight. In1894, however, war broke out between Japan and China, and in itssequel Japan passed into possession of the southern littoral ofManchuria, which meant that Russia could never get nearer to thePacific than Vladivostok, unless she swept Japan from her path. It ishere, doubtless, that we must find Russia's true motive in inducingGermany and France to unite with her for the purpose of ousting Japanfrom Manchuria. The "notice to quit" gave for reasons that the tenureof the Manchurian littoral by Japan would menace the security of theChinese capital, would render the independence of Korea illusory, andwould constitute an obstacle to the peace of the Orient. Only onesaving clause offered for Japan--to obtain from China a guaranteethat no portion of Manchuria should thereafter be leased or ceded toa foreign State. But France warned the Tokyo Government that to pressfor such a guarantee would offend Russia, and Russia declared that, for her part, she entertained no design of trespassing in Manchuria. Thus, Japan had no choice but to surrender quietly the main fruits ofher victory. She did so, and proceeded to double her army and trebleher navy. RUSSIA'S AND GERMANY'S REWARDS As a recompense for the assistance nominally rendered to China in theabove matter, Russia obtained permission in Peking to divert hertrans-Asian railway from the huge bend of the Amur to the straightline through Manchuria. Neither Germany nor France received anyimmediate compensation. But three years later, by way of indemnityfor the murder of two missionaries by a Chinese mob, Germany seized aportion of the province of Shantung, and forthwith Russia obtained alease of the Liaotung peninsula, from which she had driven Japan in1895. This act she followed by extorting from China permission toconstruct a branch of the trans-Asian railway from north to south, that is to say from Harbin through Mukden to Talien and Port Arthur. Russia's maritime aspirations had now assumed a radically alteredphase. Hitherto her programme had been to push southward fromVladivostok along the coast of Korea, but she had now suddenly leapedKorea and found access to the Pacific by the Liaotung peninsula. Nothing was wanting to establish her as practical mistress ofManchuria except a plausible excuse for garrisoning the place. Suchan excuse was furnished by the Boxer rising, in 1900. The conclusionof that complication found her in practical occupation of the wholeregion. But here her diplomacy fell somewhat from its usually highstandard. Imagining that the Chinese could be persuaded, orintimidated, to any concession, she proposed a convention virtuallyrecognizing her title to Manchuria. JAPAN'S ATTITUDE Japan watched all these things with profound anxiety. If therewere any reality in the dangers which Russia, Germany, and Francehad declared to be incidental to Japanese occupation of a partof Manchuria, the same dangers must be doubly incidental toRussian occupation of the whole of Manchuria. There were otherconsiderations, also. The reasons already adduced show that theindependence of Korea was an object of supreme solicitude to Japan. It was to establish that independence that she fought with China, in 1894, and the same motive led her after the war to annex theManchurian littoral adjacent to Korea's northern frontier. If Russiacame into possession of all Manchuria, her subsequent absorption ofKorea would be almost inevitable. Manchuria is larger than France andthe United Kingdom put together. The addition of such an immense areato Russia's East Asiatic dominions, together with its littoral on theGulf of Pehchili and the Yellow Sea, would necessitate acorresponding expansion of her naval force in the Far East. With theexception of Port Arthur and Talien, however, the Manchurian coastdoes not offer any convenient naval base. It is only in the harboursof southern Korea that such bases can be found. In short, withoutKorea, Russia's East Asian extension would have been economicallyincomplete and strategically defective. If it be asked why, apart from history and national sentiment, Japanshould object to Russia in Korea, the answer is, first, because therewould thus be planted almost within cannon-shot of her shores a powerof enormous strength and traditional ambition; secondly, becausewhatever voice in Manchuria's destiny Russia derived from herrailway, the same voice in Korea's destiny was possessed by Japan, asthe sole owner of the railways in the Korean peninsula; thirdly, thatwhereas Russia had an altogether insignificant share in the foreigncommerce of Korea and scarcely ten bona fide settlers, Japan did thegreater part of the oversea trade and had tens of thousands ofsettlers; fourthly, that if Russia's dominions stretcheduninterruptedly from the sea of Okhotsk to the Gulf of Pehchili, herultimate absorption of northern China would be inevitable, andfifthly, that such domination and such absorption would involve thepractical closure of all that immense region to the commerce andindustry of every Western nation except Russia. This last proposition did not rest solely on the fact that inopposing artificial barriers to free competition lies Russia's solehope of utilizing, to her own benefit, any commercial opportunitiesbrought within her reach. It rested, also, on the fact that Russiahad objected to foreign settlement at the Manchurian marts recentlyopened, by Japan's treaty with China, to American and Japanesesubjects. Without settlements, trade at those marts would beimpossible, and thus Russia had constructively announced that thereshould be no trade but the Russian, if she could prevent it. Againstsuch dangers Japan would have been justified in adopting any measureof self-protection. She had foreseen them for six years and had beenstrengthening herself to avert them. But she wanted peace. She wantedto develop her material resources and to accumulate some measure ofwealth without which she must remain insignificant among the nations. Two pacific programmes offered and she adopted them both. Russia, instead of trusting time to consolidate her tenure of Manchuria, hadmade the mistake of pragmatically importuning China for aconventional title. If, then, Peking could be strengthened to resistthis demand, some arrangement of a distinctly terminable nature mightbe made. The United States, Great Britain, and Japan, joining handsfor that purpose, did succeed in so far stiffening China's backbonethat her show of resolution finally induced Russia to sign a treatypledging herself to withdraw her troops from Manchuria in threeinstallments, each step of evacuation to be accomplished by a fixeddate. That was one of the pacific programmes. The other suggesteditself in connexion with the new commercial treaties which China hadagreed to negotiate in the sequel of the Boxer troubles. Thesedocuments contained clauses providing for the opening of three placesin Manchuria to foreign trade. It seemed a reasonable hope that thepowers, having secured commercial access to Manchuria by covenantwith its sovereign, would not allow Russia to restrict arbitrarilytheir privileges. Both of these hopes were disappointed. When thetime came for evacuation, Russia behaved as though no promise hadbeen given. She proposed new conditions which would have strengthenedher grasp of Manchuria instead of loosening it. NEGOTIATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND JAPAN China being powerless to offer any practical protest, and Japan'sinterest ranking next in order of importance, the Tokyo Governmentapproached Russia direct. They did not ask for anything that couldhurt her pride or impair her position. Appreciating fully theeconomical status she had acquired in Manchuria by large outlays ofcapital, they offered to recognize that status, provided that Russiawould extend similar recognition to Japan's status in Korea; wouldpromise, in common with Japan, to respect the sovereignty and theterritorial integrity of China and Korea, and would be a party to amutual engagement that all nations should have equal commercial andindustrial opportunities in Manchuria and in the Korean peninsula. Ina word, they invited Russia to subscribe the policy originallyenunciated by the United States and Great Britain, the policy of theopen door and of the integrity of the Chinese and Korean empires. Thus commenced negotiations which lasted five and a half months. Japan gradually reduced her demands to a minimum. Russia never madeany appreciable reduction of hers. She refused to listen to Japan forone moment about Manchuria. Eight years previously, Japan had been inmilitary possession of the littoral of Manchuria when Russia, withthe assistance of Germany and France, had expelled her for reasonswhich concerned Japan much more than they concerned any of thesethree powers. Now, Russia had the assurance to declare that none ofthese things concerned Japan at all. The utmost she would admit wasJapan's partial right to be heard about Korea. At the same time, sheherself commenced a series of aggressions in northern Korea. That wasnot all. While she studiously deferred her answers to Japan'sproposals, and while she protracted the negotiations to an extentvisibly contemptuous, she hastened to make substantial additions toher fleet and her army in far-eastern Asia. It was impossible tomistake her purpose. She intended to yield nothing, but to preparesuch a parade of force that her obduracy would command submission. The only alternatives for Japan were war or permanent effacement inAsia. She chose war. EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION Before passing to the story of this war, it is necessary to refer totwo incidents of Japan's foreign relations, both of which precededher struggle with Russia. The first was the restoration of herjudicial autonomy. It has always been regarded as axiomatic that thesubjects or citizens of Western countries, when they travel or residein Oriental territories, should be exempted from the penalties andprocesses of the latter's criminal laws. In other words, there isreserved to a Christian the privilege, when within the territories ofa pagan State, of being tried for penal offences by Christian judges. In civil cases the jurisdiction is divided, the question at issuebeing adjudicated by a tribunal of the defendant's nationality;but in criminal cases jurisdiction is wholly reserved. Thereforepowers making treaties with Oriental nations establish withinthe latter's borders consular courts which exercise what is called"extraterritorial jurisdiction. " This system was, of course, pursuedin Japan's case. It involved the confinement of the foreign residentsto settlements grouped around the sites of their consular courts; forit would plainly have been imprudent that such residents should havefree access to provincial districts remote from the only tribunalscompetent to control them. This provision, though inserted without difficulty in the earlytreaties with Japan, provoked much indignation among the conservativestatesmen in Kyoto. Accordingly, no sooner had the Meiji Restorationbeen effected than an embassy was despatched to the Occident tonegotiate for a revision of the treaties so as to remove the clauseabout consular jurisdiction, and to restore the customs tariff to thefigure at which it had stood prior to Sir Harry Parkes' navaldemonstration at Hyogo. The Japanese Government was entitled to raisethis question in 1871, for the treaties were textually subject torevision in that year. No time was lost in despatching the embassy. But its failure was a foregone conclusion. The conditions originallynecessitating extraterritorial jurisdiction had not, by 1871undergone any change justifying its abolition. It is not to bedenied, on the other hand, that the consular courts themselvesinvited criticism. Some of the great Western powers had organizedcompetent tribunals with expert judicial officials, but others, whosetrade with Japan was comparatively insignificant, were content toentrust consular duties to merchants, who not only lacked legaltraining but were also themselves engaged in the commercialtransactions upon which they might, at any moment, be required toadjudicate magisterially. ENGRAVING: DANJURO, A FAMOUS ACTOR, AS BENKEI IN KANJINCHO (A PLAY) It cannot be contended that this obviously imperfect system wasdisfigured by many abuses. On the whole, it worked passably well, andif its organic faults helped to discredit it, there is no denyingthat it saved the Japanese from complications which would inevitablyhave arisen had they been entrusted with jurisdiction which they werenot prepared to exercise satisfactorily. Moreover, the system hadvicarious usefulness; for the ardent desire of Japanese patriots torecover the judicial autonomy, which is a fundamental attribute ofevery sovereign State, impelled them to recast their laws andreorganize their law courts with a degree of diligence which wouldotherwise have probably been less conspicuous. Twelve years of thiswork, carried on with the aid of thoroughly competent foreignjurists, placed Japan in possession of codes of criminal and civillaw in which the best features of European jurisprudence were appliedto the conditions and usages of Japan. Then, in 1883, Japan renewedher proposal for the abolition of consular jurisdiction, and by wayof compensation she promised to throw the country completely open andto remove all restrictions hitherto imposed on foreign trade, travel, and residence within her realm. But this was a problem against whose liberal solution theinternational prejudice of the West was strongly enlisted. NoOriental State had ever previously sought such recognition, and theOccident, without exception, was extremely reluctant to entrust thelives and properties of its subjects and citizens to the keeping of a"pagan" people. Not unnaturally the foreigners resident in Japan, whowould have been directly affected by the change, protested against itwith great vehemence. Many of them, though not averse to trustingJapan, saw that her reforms had been consummated with celerityamounting to haste, and a great majority fought simply for consularjurisdiction as a privilege of inestimable value, not to besurrendered without the utmost deliberation. The struggle that ensuedbetween foreign distrust and Japanese aspirations often developedpainful phases, and did much to intensify the feeling of antagonismwhich had existed between the Japanese and the foreign residents atthe outset and which even to-day has not wholly disappeared. TheGovernment and citizens of the United States of America never failedto show sympathy with Japanese aspirations in this matter, and, as ageneral rule, "foreign tourists and publicists discussed the problemliberally and fairly, perhaps because, unlike the foreign communitiesresident in Japan, they had no direct interest in its solution. " The end was not reached until 1894. Then Great Britain agreed thatfrom July, 1899, jurisdiction over all British subjects within theconfines of Japan should be entrusted to Japanese tribunals, providedthat the new Japanese codes of law should have been in operationduring at least one year before the surrender of jurisdiction. Japan, on her side, promised to throw the whole country open from the samedate, removing all limitations upon trade, travel, and residence offoreigners. Tariff autonomy had been an almost equal object of Japanese ambition, and it was arranged that she should recover it after a period oftwelve years, an increased scale of import duties being applied inthe interval. It will be observed that Great Britain took the lead inabandoning the old system. It was meet that she should do so; for, inconsequence of her preponderating commercial interests, she had stoodat the head of the combination of powers by which the irksomeconditions were originally imposed upon Japan. The other OccidentalStates followed her example with more or less celerity, and theforeign residents, now that nothing was to be gained by continuingthe struggle, showed clearly that they intended to bow gracefully tothe inevitable. The Japanese also took some conspicuous steps. "An Imperial rescript declared in unequivocal terms that it was thesovereign's policy and desire to abolish all distinctions betweennatives and foreigners, and that, by fully carrying out the friendlypurpose of the treaties, his people would best consult his wishes, maintain the character of the nation, and promote its prestige. Thepremier and other ministers of State issued instructions to theeffect that the responsibility now devolved on the Government, andthe duty on the people, of enabling foreigners to reside confidentlyand contentedly in every part of the country. Even the chief Buddhistprelates addressed to the priests and parishioners of their diocesesinjunctions pointing out that freedom of conscience being nowguaranteed by the Constitution, men professing alien creeds must betreated as courteously as the disciples of Buddhism and must enjoythe same privileges. "* *Brinkley, article "Japan, " Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition. It may here be stated once for all that Japan's recovery of herjudicial autonomy has not been attended by any of the disastrousresults freely predicted at one time. Her laws are excellent, and herjudiciary is competent and just. FIRST ANGLO-JAPANESE ALLIANCE The second of the two incidents alluded to above was an alliancebetween England and Japan, signed on January 30, 1902. The preambleof this agreement--the first of its kind ever concluded betweenEngland and an Oriental power--affirmed that the contracting partieswere solely actuated by a desire to preserve the status quo and thegeneral peace of the Far East; that they were both speciallyinterested in maintaining the independence and territorial integrityof the empires of China and Korea, and in securing equalopportunities in these countries for all nations; that they mutuallyrecognized it as admissible for either of the contracting parties totake such measures as might be indispensable to safeguard theseinterests against a threat of aggressive action by any other power, or against disturbances in China or Korea, and that, if one of thecontracting parties became involved in war in defence of theseinterests, the other should maintain strict neutrality and endeavourto prevent any third power from joining in hostilities against itsally. Finally, should a third power join in such hostilities, thenthe other contracting party promised to come to the assistance of itsally, to conduct the war in common, and to make peace by mutualagreement only. The alliance was to hold good for five years from thedate of signature, but if either ally was engaged in war at suchtime, the alliance was to continue until the conclusion of peace. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the influence exerted by this compacton the Russo-Japanese war. It kept the field clear for Japan andguaranteed her against a repetition of such a combination as thatwhich must be regarded as the remote cause of the struggle. THE EARLY PHASES OF THE WAR Japan's great problem in crossing swords with Russia was to obtain asafe avenue for her troops over the sea. Russia might at once havegained an overwhelming advantage had she seized and controlled thelines of communication between the Japanese islands and the continentof Asia. Her strategists can scarcely have failed to appreciate thatfact, and would doubtless have acted accordingly had they obtained afew months' leisure to mass an overwhelmingly strong fleet in theseas of China and Japan. They had such a fleet actually in esse; for, at the moment when war broke out, the Russian squadrons assembled inthe East, or en route thither, comprised no less than fifty-ninefighting ships, mounting 1350 guns and manned by 18, 000 men. Butthese figures included the Mediterranean squadron which, surprised bythe outbreak of hostilities, abandoned its journey to the Pacific. Obviously, Japan's wisest course was to anticipate the combination ofRussia's sea forces, and consciousness of that fact operated tohasten the current of events. Port Arthur, where the bulk of the Russian Pacific squadron lay, issomewhat difficult of ingress and egress. On January 31, 1904, theoperation of extracting the ships and parading them outside wascommenced, being brought to a conclusion on February 3rd, whereafterthe squadron steamed out to sea, and, having made a short cruise offthe coast of the Shantung promontory, returned to its position on thefollowing day. The fleet taking part in this manoeuvre consisted oftwenty-six ships, and the whole Russian naval force then in easternAsia comprised seven battle-ships, four armoured cruisers, sevenprotected cruisers, four gunboats, six sloops, twenty-fivedestroyers, two mining transports, and fourteen first-classtorpedo-boats. The Japanese, on their side, had six battle-ships, eight armouredcruisers, thirteen protected cruisers, fourteen small cruisers, nineteen destroyers, and eighty-five torpedo-boats. This enumerationshows a numerical superiority on the Japanese side, but in fightingcapacity the two fleets were nearly equal. For, though the Russianspossessed seven battle-ships to six Japanese, the latter had bettergun-protection and greater weight of broadside fire than the former;and though Japan could muster eight armoured cruisers againstRussia's four, the latter were supplemented by five protectedcruisers which ranked far above anything of the same class on theJapanese side. THE FIRST NAVAL OPERATION When the Russian ships returned on the 4th of February from theircruise off the Shantung promontory, they took up their stationsoutside Port Arthur, all the harbour lights and beacons being left inposition, and no special precaution being taken except that a patrolof three torpedo-boats was sent out. Yet the Russians should haveappreciated the presence of danger. For, on the 6th of February, Japan had broken off the negotiations in St. Petersburg, and hadgiven official information of her intention to take measures forprotecting her menaced interests. That signified war and nothing butwar, and the "Official Messenger" of the same evening published theintimation, which was immediately communicated to Admiral Alexieff atPort Arthur. The Russian fleet was then divided into three squadrons. The largestbody lay off Port Arthur, and two very much smaller squadrons wereposted, one at Chemulpo on the west coast of Korea, and another atVladivostok. It is obvious that such division of the fleet on the eveof hostilities should have been carefully avoided. The ships shouldall have been held together with an extensive network of scouts so asto enable them swiftly and strongly to fall upon any Japanesetransports carrying troops to the mainland, or to meet effectuallyand crush any attempt of the Japanese squadrons to obtain command ofthe sea. On the night of February 8th-9th, three Japanese squadrons ofdestroyers, aggregating ten vessels, steamed across a calm, moonlitsea and delivered a torpedo attack on the Russian squadron at PortArthur, the result being that the battle-ships Retvisan andTsarevitch together with the cruiser Pallada were holed. Thesebattle-ships were the most powerful vessels in the Russian squadron, and the Pallada was a first-class protected cruiser of 6630 tons'displacement. The Japanese destroyers had left Sasebo on the 6th ofFebruary and they returned thither uninjured, having materiallyweakened the Russian fleet. On the day following this surprise, Admiral Togo, the Japanese commander-in-chief, engaged the remains ofthe Russian squadron with the heavy guns of his battle-ships at arange of eight thousand yards, and succeeded in inflicting someinjury on the battle-ship Poltava, the protected cruisers Diana andAskold, and a second-class cruiser Novik. The Russians ultimatelyretreated towards the harbour with the intention of drawing theJapanese under closer fire of the land batteries, but the Japanesefleet declined to follow after them, and, instead, steamed away. Three days later (February 11th) another disaster overtook theRussians. The Yenisei, one of the two mining-transports included intheir fleet, struck a mine and sank so rapidly in Talien Bay thatninety-six of her crew perished. The Japanese had no part at all inthis catastrophe. It was purely accidental. THE CHEMULPO AFFAIR While these things were happening at Port Arthur, a squadron of theJapanese navy, under Admiral Uryu, escorted a number of transports toChemulpo, the port of the Korean capital, Seoul. There the Russianprotected cruiser Variag (6500 tons) together with the gunboatKorietz and the transport Sungari were lying. It does not appear thatAdmiral Uryu's prime object was to engage these Russian ships. ButChemulpo having been chosen as the principal landing-place of theJapanese army corps which was to operate in Korea, it was, of course, imperative that the harbour should be cleared of Russian war-vessels. On February 8th, the Russians at Chemulpo were surprised by a summonsfrom Admiral Uryu to leave the port or undergo bombardment at theiranchorage. The vessels stood out bravely to sea, and after anengagement lasting thirty-five minutes at ranges varying from five toten thousand yards, they were so badly injured that they returned tothe port and were sunk by their own crews, together with thetransport Sungari. The moral effect of the destruction of thesevessels was incalculable. DECLARATION OF WAR On the 10th of February, the Czar and the Mikado respectively issueddeclarations of war. The former laid stress upon Russia's pacificintentions in proposing revision of the agreements already existingbetween the two empires with regard to Korean affairs, and accusedthe Japanese of making a sudden attack on the Russian squadron atPort Arthur "without previously notifying that the rupture ofdiplomatic relations implied the beginning of warlike action. " TheJapanese declaration insisted that the integrity of Korea was amatter of the gravest concern to Japan, inasmuch as the separateexistence of the former was essential to the safety of the latter, and charged that "Russia, in disrespect of her solemn treaty pledgesto China and of her repeated assurances to other powers, was still inoccupation of Manchuria, had consolidated and strengthened her holdupon those provinces, and was bent upon their final annexation. " Withregard to Russia's accusation against Japan of drawing the swordwithout due notice, a distinguished British publicist made thefollowing comment in the columns of The Times (London): "Far from thinking the Japanese attack on the night of February 8th, two full days after the announcement of the intention to take action, was an exception to, or a deviation from, tradition and precedent, weshould rather count ourselves fortunate if our enemy, in the nextnaval war we have to wage, does not strike two days before blazoningforth his intention, instead of two days after. The tremendous anddecisive results of success for the national cause are enough tobreak down all the restraining influences of the code ofinternational law and Christian morality. " THE FIRST MILITARY OPERATIONS From the moment when war became inevitable, the problem of absorbinginterest was to determine Russia's strategy, and it was ultimatelyseen that the two main groups of her forces were to be posted at PortArthur and on the Yalu; the latter to resist an advance from Korea, and the former to defend the Liaotung peninsula, which constitutedthe key of the Russian position. Between the mouth of the Yalu andthe Liaotung peninsula, a distance of 120 miles, there were manypoints where raiding parties might have been landed to cut theRussian railway. Against this danger, flying squadrons of Cossackswere employed. After the destruction of the three Russian vessels inChemulpo and the crippling of the Port Arthur squadron, Japanesetransports entered the former port and quietly landed some threethousand troops, which advanced immediately upon Seoul and tookpossession of it. From that time there could be no doubt that the intention of theJapanese was to make their first attack upon the enemy by marching upthe Korean peninsula, and that the capital of Korea was chosen for abase of operations because of climatic considerations. Chemulpo, however, was not the only landing-place. Fusan also served for thatpurpose, as subsequently did also Chinnampo, an inlet on the westcoast of the peninsula. The distance from the port of Fusan to theYalu River is four hundred miles, in round numbers, and the roads arevery bad throughout the whole country. Hence the advance of theJapanese, which was made in a leisurely manner with the utmostcircumspection and attention to detail, involved so much time thatApril had drawn to its close before the troops deployed on the banksof the Yalu. They consisted of three divisions constituting an armycorps, and each division had a ration-strength of 19, 000 men with acombatant strength of 14, 000 sabres and rifles and thirty-sixfield-guns. It may be assumed, therefore, that when the JapaneseFirst Army under General (afterwards Count) Kuroki reached the Yalu, it had a fighting-strength of between forty and fifty thousand men. There had practically been no collision during the interval of theadvance from the southern extremity of the peninsula to its northernboundary. It is true that, on March 28th, a squadron of Cossacksattempted to surprise the Japanese cavalry at Chong-ju, but the essayproved a failure, and the Cossacks were driven back upon Wiju, whichthey evacuated without any further struggle. The Russian plan of operations did not originally contemplate aserious stand at the Yalu. The idea was to retire gradually, drawingthe Japanese into Manchuria towards the railway, and engaging them inthe exceedingly difficult country crowned by the Motien Mountains. But at the last moment General Kuropatkin, Russian commander-in-chiefin Manchuria, issued orders to General Sassulitch, commander of theSecond Siberian Army Corps, to hold the line of the Yalu with all hisstrength. Sassulitch could muster for this purpose only fiveregiments and one battalion of infantry; forty field-guns; eightmachine-guns, and some Cossacks--twenty thousand combatants, approximately. Kuroki disposed his troops so that their frontextended some twenty miles along the Yalu, the centre being atKiuliencheng, a walled town standing about 180 feet above the river. From this point southward, the right, or Manchurian, bank has aconsiderable command over the left, and at Kiuliencheng a tributarystream, called the Ai, joins the main river, "which thenceforthwidens from 4000 to 7000 yards and runs in three channels between theislands and the mainland. The central channel is navigable by smallcraft, and the other channels are fordable waist-deep. The Ai Riveris also fordable in many places during the spring. " On the right bankof the Yalu, at the point of its junction with the Ai, the groundrises so as to command the position taken by the Russians. The plan of the Japanese commander was to threaten an attack on thelower radius of the river; to throw two divisions againstKiuliencheng, and to use the remaining division in a wide flankingmovement, crossing the river higher up. The battle took place onSunday, the 1st of May. During the preceding nights, the Japaneseplaced a strong force of artillery in cleverly masked batteries, andunder cover of these guns, threw seven bridges across the river, thehighest upstream being thirteen miles above Kiuliencheng and thelower two being directed to the centre of the Russian position. General Kuroki then telegraphed to Tokyo that he proposed to attackat dawn on Sunday, his plan being to march one division across thefords of the Ai River, and to employ the other two, one in crumplingup the Russian left, the other in attacking Antung, where a largeRussian force was in position. This programme was accurately carriedout. The Japanese infantry forded the Ai breast-deep, and, swarmingup the heights, drove the Russians from these strong positions. Meanwhile, the Japanese guards' division had crossed on the left anddirected its march upon Antung, while the remaining division hadcompletely turned the Russian left flank. The fiercest struggleoccurred at Homutang, where a Russian regiment and a battery ofartillery made a splendid stand to save their comrades at Antung frombeing cut off. The casualties on the Japanese side were 318 killed, including fiveofficers, and 783 wounded, including thirty-three officers. TheRussian casualties numbered 1363 killed and 613 prisoners, but thedetail of wounded was not published. The Japanese captured twenty-onequick-firing field-guns, eight machine-guns, 1021 rifles and aquantity of ammunition, etc. The moral result of this battle canhardly be overestimated. It had never been seriously believed inEurope that a Russian army could be conquered by a Japanese in a fairfight, and probably that incredulity influenced Kuropatkin when heordered Sassulitch to defy strategical principles by attempting tohold a radically defective position against a greatly superior force. In a moment, the Japanese were crowned with military laurels andplaced on a pedestal for the world to admire. But the Japanesethemselves were not deceived. They saw clearly that the contest hadbeen between six battalions of Russians and two divisions ofJapanese, a disparity of strength amply sufficient to account for theresult in any circumstances. NAVAL OPERATIONS During the period of eleven weeks immediately subsequent to thebattle of the Yalu, there were no military operations of a strikingcharacter. Japan was preparing to despatch a second army toManchuria, and pending its shipment the chief duty to be dischargeddevolved upon the fleet, namely, the further crippling of the PortArthur squadron in order to secure the transports against itsenterprises. The object was promoted on the 13th of April by the lossof the Russian battle-ship Petropavlovsk. She struck one of the mineslaid by the Japanese and sank in a few minutes, carrying the Russianadmiral, Makaroff, together with about six hundred sailors, to thebottom. This event, although it materially weakened the Port Arthur squadron, had nothing to do with the fixed programme of Admiral Togo, whichprogramme was to block the narrow channel forming the entrance ofPort Arthur by sinking merchant vessels in the fairway. Threeattempts to accomplish this were made. The first was on February24th; the second, on March 2nd-3rd. In the first essay, five steamerswere employed, their crews consisting of seventy-seven volunteers. They failed. On the second occasion four steamers of at least twothousand tons each were sent in under the orders of Commander Hirose. On this occasion, again, the steamers failed to reach vital points inthe channel, and their experience alone remained to compensate theloss of many lives. These two attempts were watched by the publicwith keen interest and high admiration. The courage and coolnessdisplayed by officers and men alike elicited universal applause. Butit was generally believed that the successful prosecution of such adesign was impossible and that no further essay would be made. TheJapanese, however, are not easily deterred. On the night of May 2nd, eight steamers, aggregating some 17, 000 tons, were driven into thechannel in the face of mines, batteries, and torpedoes, and five ofthem reached their allotted positions, so that the blocking of theharbour for the passage of large vessels was accomplished. The listof casualties proved very heavy. Out of 159 persons only eightofficers and thirty-six men returned unhurt. The whole of theremainder, including twenty officers, were killed, wounded, ormissing. LANDING OF THE SECOND ARMY On the very night after the accomplishment of this third blockingoperation, a second Japanese army commenced to land at Pitszewo, eastward of the Liaotung peninsula. This was precisely the pointchosen for a similar purpose by the Japanese in the war with China, ten years previously, and such close adherence to the formerprogramme was condemned by some critics, especially as transportscannot get close to the shore at Pitszewo, but have to lie four milesdistant, the intervening space consisting, for the most part, of mudflats. But the Japanese were perfectly familiar with every inch ofthe coast from the mouth of the Yalu to Port Arthur, and had theRussian commanders possessed equally accurate knowledge, they wouldhave recognized that Pitszewo was designated by natural features asthe best available landing-place, and knowing that, they might havemade effective dispositions to oppose the Japanese there, whereas tenthousand men had been put on shore before any suspicion seems to havebeen roused in the Russian camp. BATTLE OF KINCHOU After its landing at Pitszewo, on May 5th and the following days, theSecond Japanese Army, consisting of three divisions under General(afterwards Count) Oku, pushed westward, driving away the Russiandetachments in the vicinity and securing the control of the PortArthur railway. Then, at Kinchou, on the 26th of May, a great battlewas fought. A little south of Kinchou lies a narrow neck of landconnecting the Kwangtung promontory with the mainland. It is a neckonly a mile and three-quarters broad, having Kinchou Bay on thenorthwest and Hand Bay on the southeast. On each side the ground nearthe sea is low, but along the centre of the neck a ridge rises, whichculminates in a point about 350 feet above the sea. This point isknown as Nanshan, and its commanding position is such that an armyholding it blocks all access to the Kwangtung peninsula. The problem for the Japanese was to obtain possession of this neck asthe sole road of access to Port Arthur; while General Stossel, whocommanded the Russian troops, knew that if the neck fell intoJapanese hands, Port Arthur would become unapproachable by land. "TheNanshan position offered unusual advantages for defence, and had beendiligently prepared for permanent occupation during many weeks. Tenforts of semi-permanent character had been built, and their armamentshowed that, on this occasion, the Russian artillery was vastlysuperior, both in calibre and in range, to the Japanese guns. Forts, trenches, and rifle-pits, covered by mines and wire entanglements, were constructed on every point of vantage and in separate tiers. Searchlights were also employed, and every advantage was taken of theproximity of a great fortress and its ample plant. "* *The War in the Far East, by the Military Correspondent of "TheTimes. " It will occur to the reader that war-vessels might have beenadvantageously used for the attack and defence of such a position, and, as a matter of fact, Russian gunboats manoeuvred in Hand Bay onthe southeastern shore of the neck. But, on the western side, theshoal waters of Kinchou Bay prevented access by Japanese vessels inthe face of the heavy batteries erected by the Russians on dominatingsites. This splendid position was held by a Russian army musteringten thousand strong with fifty siege-guns and sixteen quick-firers. Afrontal attack seemed suicidal but was deliberately chosen. Atdaybreak the battle commenced, and, after sixteen hours of incessantfighting, a Japanese infantry force turned the left flank of theRussian line and the day was won. Over seven hundred Russian deadwere buried by the Japanese, and into the latter's hands fellsixty-eight cannon of all calibres with ten machine-guns. TheJapanese casualties totalled 4912. This battle finally solved the problem as to whether Japaneseinfantry could hold its own against Russian. "With almost everythingin its favour, a strong, fresh, and confident Russian army, solidlyentrenched behind almost inaccessible fortifications and supported bya formidable and superior artillery, was, in a single day, fairlyswept out of its trenches. "* The victorious Japanese pressed forwardrapidly, and on the 30th of May obtained possession of Dalny, a basepresenting incalculable advantages for the prosecution of an attackupon Port Arthur, which fortress it was now evident that the Japanesehad determined to capture. *The War in the Far East, by the Military Correspondent of "TheTimes. " THE BATTLE OF TELISSU To have left the Japanese in undisturbed possession of the neck ofthe Liaotung peninsula would have been to abandon Port Arthur to itsfate. On the other hand, the Russians ought not to have entertainedany hope of their own ability to carry such a position by assaultafter they had signally failed to hold it in the face of attack. Nevertheless, finding it intolerable, alike to their prestige and totheir sense of camaraderie, to take no measure in behalf of the greatfortress and its thirty thousand defenders, they determined to marchat once to its assistance. To that end celerity was all important, and on June 14th, that is to say, only eighteen days after the battleof Kinchou, a Russian army of some thirty-five thousand combatants, under the command of General Baron Stackelberg, moving down therailway to recover Kinchou and Nanshan, came into collision with theJapanese and fought the battle of Telissu. The Russian general, clinging always to the railway, advanced with such a restricted frontthat the Japanese, under General Oku, outflanked him, and he wasdriven back with a loss of about ten thousand, killed and wounded, fourteen guns, and four hundred prisoners. NAVAL INCIDENTS On June 15th, the very day after the Telissu victory, the Japanesemet their only naval catastrophe. While their fleet was watching theenemy off Port Arthur, the battleships Hatsuse and Yashima struckmines and sank immediately. Moreover, on the same day, the cruisersKasuga and Yoshino collided in a dense fog, and the latter vessel wassent to the bottom. As the Japanese possessed only six battle-ships, the loss of two was a serious blow, and might have emboldened theRussians to despatch a squadron from the Baltic to take the earliestpossible advantage of this incident. Foreseeing this, the Japanesetook care to conceal the loss of the Hatsuse and Yashima, and thefact did not become known until after the battle of Tsushima, a yearlater, when the Russian fleet had been practically annihilated. Meanwhile, the Russian squadron at Vladivostok had accomplishedlittle. This squadron consisted originally of three armouredcruisers, Gromovoi, Rossia, and Rurik, with one protected cruiser, Bogatyr. But the last-named ship ran on a rock near Vladivostok andbecame a total wreck in the middle of May, a month marked by manyheavy losses. These cruisers made several excursions into the Sea ofJapan, sinking or capturing a few Japanese merchantmen, and cleverlyevading a Japanese squadron under Admiral Kamimura, detailed to watchthem. But their only achievement of practical importance was thedestruction of two large Japanese transports, the Hitachi Maru andthe Sado Maru. In achieving this feat the Russians appeared offTsushima in the Straits of Korea, on June 15th, and the transportswhich they sunk or disabled carried heavy guns for the bombardment ofPort Arthur. Of course, nothing was publicly known about the cargo of the Hitachiand her consort, but there could be no question that, in timing theirattack with such remarkable accuracy, the Russians must have obtainedsecret information as to the movements of the transports and thenature of their cargo. Considerable criticism was uttered againstAdmiral Kamimura for failure to get into touch with the Vladivostokvessels during such a long interval. But much of the censure wassuperficial. Kamimura redeemed his reputation on the 14th of Augustwhen, in a running fight between Fusan and Vladivostok, the Rurik wassunk and the Gromovoi and Rossia were so seriously damaged as to beunable to take any further part in the war. On this occasion sixhundred Russians were rescued by the Japanese from the sinking Rurik, and it was noted at the time that the Russians had made no attempt tosave Japanese life at the sinking of the Hitachi Maru. THE JAPANESE FORCES Immediately after the landing of the army corps under General Oku andthe capture of Dalny in the sequel of the battle of Kinchou, theJapanese began to pour troops into Dalny, and soon they had therethree divisions under the command of General (afterwards Count) Nogi. This force was henceforth known as the Third Army, that of GeneralKuroki being the First, and that under General Oku, the Second. Thenext operation was to land another army at Takushan, which lies onthe south coast of Manchuria, between Pitszewo and the estuary of theYalu. This army was under the command of General (afterwards Count)Nozu, and its purpose was to fill the gap between the First Army andthe Second. Nozu's corps thus became the Fourth Army. In fact, theJapanese repeated, in every respect, the plan of campaign pursued bythem ten years previously in the war with China. There was one ultimate difference, however. In the latter war, theforce which captured Port Arthur was subsequently carried oversea tothe Shantung province, where it assaulted and took the great Chinesenaval port at Weihaiwei. But the army sent against Port Arthur, in1904, was intended to march up the Liaotung peninsula after thecapture of the fortress, so, as to fall into line with the otherthree armies and to manoeuvre on their left flank during the generaladvance northward. Thus considered, the plan of campaign suggeststhat General Nogi and his three divisions were expected to capturePort Arthur without much delay, and indeed their early operationsagainst the fortress were conducted on that hypothesis. But, as amatter of fact, in spite of heroic efforts and unlimited bravery onthe Japanese side, Port Arthur, with its garrison of thirty thousandmen, its splendid fortifications, and its powerful artillery, backedby the indomitable resolution and stubborn resistance of Russiansoldiers, did not fall until the last day of 1904, and Nogi's armywas unable to take part in the great field-battles which marked theadvance of the three other Japanese armies from the seacoast to thecapital of Manchuria. Step by step, however, though at heavy sacrifice of life, theJapanese fought their way through the outer lines of the Russiandefences, and the end of July saw the besiegers in such a positionthat they were able to mount guns partly commanding the anchoragewithin the port. An intolerable situation being thus created for theRussian squadron, it determined to put to sea, and on August 10ththis was attempted. Without entering into details of the fight thatensued, it will suffice to state briefly that the result of thesortie was to deprive the Russian squadron of the services of onebattle-ship, three cruisers, and five torpedo craft, leaving toRear-Admiral Prince Ukhtonsky, who commanded the vessels in PortArthur, only five battle-ships, two cruisers (of which one wasinjured), and three destroyers. On August 18th, a gunboat; on August23d, another battle-ship, and on August 24th another destroyer weresunk or disabled by striking Japanese mines, and it may be saidbriefly that the Russian squadron thenceforth ceased to be a menaceto the Japanese, and that only the land forces had to be countedwith. FIELD OPERATIONS PRIOR TO BATTLE OF LIAOYANG By the close of June the three Japanese armies under Generals Kuroki, Nozu, and Oku were fully deployed and ready to advance in unison. Thetask before them was to clear the Russians from the littoral of theKorean Sea and force them through the mountains of Manchuria into thevalley of the Liao River. In these operations the Japanese acteduniformly on the offensive, whereas the Russians occupied positionscarefully chosen and strictly fortified, where they stood always onthe defensive. Five heavy engagements, beginning with Fenshuiling onthe 26th of June and ending with Yangtzuling on July 31st, werefought in these circumstances, and in every instance the Japaneseemerged victorious. From the commencement of the land campaign untilthe end of July the invading army's casualties were 12, 000, while theRussian losses, exclusive of those at Port Arthur, aggregated 28, 000killed and wounded, and 113 light siege-and field-guns, together witheighteen machine-guns, captured. THE BATTLE OF LIAOYANG The first great phase of the field-operations may be said to haveterminated with the battle of Liaoyang, which commenced on August25th and continued almost without interruption for nine days, terminating on the 3rd of September. In this historic contest theRussians had 220, 000 men engaged. They were deployed over a front ofabout forty miles, every part of which had been entrenched andfortified with the utmost care and ingenuity. In fact, the positionseemed impregnable, and as the Japanese could muster only some200, 000 men for the attack, their chances of success appeared verysmall. Desperate fighting ensued, but no sensible impression could bemade on the Russian lines, and finally, as a last resource, a strongforce of Kuroki's army was sent across the Taitsz River to turn theenemy's left flank. The Russian general, Kuropatkin, rightlyestimated that the troops detached by General Kuroki for this purposewere not commensurate with the task assigned to them, whereas theRussians could meet this flanking movement with overwhelmingstrength. Therefore, Kuropatkin sent three army corps across theriver, and by September 1st, the Japanese flanking forces wereconfronted by a powerful body. Strategists are agreed that, had Kuropatkin's plans found competentagents to execute them, the Japanese advance would have been at leastchecked at Liaoyang. In fact, the Japanese, in drafting theiroriginal programme, had always expected that Nogi's army would be ina position on the left flank in the field long before there was anyquestion of fighting at Liaoyang. It was thus due to the splendiddefence made by the garrison of the great fortress that Kuropatkinfound himself in such a favourable position at the end of August. Butunfortunately for the Russians, one of their generals, Orloff, whohad thirteen battalions under his command, showed incompetence, andfalling into an ambuscade in the course of the counter-flankingoperation, suffered defeat with heavy losses. The Japanese took fulladvantage of this error, and Kuropatkin, with perhaps excessivecaution, decided to abandon his counter-movement and withdraw fromLiaoyang. He effected his retreat in a manner that bore testimony tothe excellence of his generalship. The casualties in this greatbattle were very heavy. From August 25th, when the preliminaryoperations may be said to have commenced, to September 3rd, when thefield remained in the possession of the Japanese, their losses were17, 539, namely, 4866 in the First Army, 4992 in the Fourth, and 7681in the Second, while the Russian casualties were estimated at 25, 000. BATTLES OF SHAHO AND OF HEIKAUTAI On the 2nd of October, General Kuropatkin issued from hisheadquarters in Mukden an order declaring that the "moment for theattack, ardently desired by the army, had at last arrived, and thatthe Japanese were now to be compelled to do Russia's will. " Barely amonth had elapsed since the great battle at Liaoyang, and it stillremains uncertain what had happened in that interval to justify theissue of such an order. But the most probable explanation is thatKuropatkin had received re-enforcements, so that he could marshal250, 000 to 260, 000 troops for the proposed offensive, and that hisnews from Port Arthur suggested the necessity of immediate andstrenuous efforts to relieve the fortress. His plan was to throwforward his right so as to outflank the Japanese, recover possessionof Liaoyang, and obtain command of the railway. He set his troops in motion on the 9th of October, but he was drivenback after more than a week's fighting. No less than 13, 333 Russiandead were left on the field, and at the lowest calculation, Kuropatkin's casualties must have exceeded 60, 000 men exclusive ofprisoners. There can be no doubt whatever that the Russian army hadsuffered one of the most overwhelming defeats in its history, andthat after a fortnight's hard marching and nine days' hard fighting, with little food or sleep, it had been reduced by terrible losses anddepressing fatigues to a condition bordering on extermination. Suchwas the result of Kuropatkin's first attempt to assume the offensive. Thereafter, fully three months of complete inaction ensued, and theonlooking world occupied itself with conjectures as to theexplanation of this apparent loss of time. Yet the chief reason was very simple. The weather in centralManchuria at the close of the year is such as to render militarymanoeuvres almost impossible on a large scale, and this difficulty isgreatly accentuated by the almost complete absence of roads. In fact, the reasons which induced Kuropatkin to defy these obstacles, andrenew his outflanking attempts after the beginning of the coldweather, have never been fully explained. The most probable theory isthat held by Japanese strategists, namely, that he desired to findsome opening for the vigorous campaign which he intended to pursue inthe spring, and that his attention was naturally directed to theregion between the Hun and the Liao rivers, a region unoccupied byeither army and yet within striking distance of the bases of both. Moreover, he had received nearly three whole divisions from Europe, and he looked to these fresh troops with much confidence. He set hisforces in motion on the 25th of January, 1905. Seven Russiandivisions were engaged, and the brunt of the fighting was borne bytwo Japanese divisions and a brigade of cavalry. Two other divisionswere engaged, but the part they acted in the fight was so subordinatethat it need scarcely be taken into account. The Russians werefinally driven back with a loss of some twenty thousand killed, wounded, or prisoners. This battle of Heikautai was the lastengagement that took place before the final encounter. PORT ARTHUR The relief of Port Arthur had ceased to be an important objective ofKuropatkin before he planned his Heikautai attack. The great fortressfell on the last day of 1904. It was not until the middle of May thatthe Kinchou isthmus and Dalny came into Japanese hands, nor was thesiege army under General Nogi marshalled until the close of June. During that interval, General Stossel, who commanded, on the Russianside, availed himself of all possible means of defence, and theinvesting force had to fight for every inch of ground. The attack onthe outlying positions occupied fully a month, and not till the endof July had the Japanese advanced close enough to attempt a coup demain. There can be no doubt that they had contemplated success bythat method of procedure, but they met with such a severe repulse, during August, that they recognized the necessity of recourse to thecomparatively slow arts of the engineer. Thereafter, the story of thesiege followed stereotyped lines except that the colossal nature ofthe fortifications entailed unprecedented sacrifice of life on thebesiegers' part. The crucial point of the siege-operations was thecapture of a position called 203-Metre Hill. This took place onNovember 30th after several days of the most terrible fighting everwitnessed, fighting which cost the Japanese ten thousand casualties. The importance of the hill was that it furnished a post ofobservation whence indications could be given to guide the heavyJapanese artillery in its cannonade of the remaining Russian ships inthe harbour. Nothing then remained for the Russians except to sink the ships, andthis they did, so that Russia lost a squadron which, all told, represented an outlay of over thirty millions sterling--$150, 000, 000. In a telegram despatched to his own Government on January 1st, General Stossel said: "Great Sovereign, forgive! We have done allthat was humanly possible. Judge us; but be merciful. Eleven monthshave exhausted our strength. A quarter only of the defenders, andone-half of them invalids, occupy twenty-seven versts offortifications without supports and without intervals for even thebriefest repose. The men are reduced to shadows!" On the previous dayStossel had written to General Nogi, declaring that furtherresistance would merely entail useless loss of life considering theconditions within the fortress. The total number of prisoners whosurrendered at the fall of the fortress was 878 officers and 23, 491men, and the captured material included 546 guns; 35, 252 rifles; 60torpedoes; 30, 000 kilograms of powder; 82, 670 rounds ofgun-ammunition; two and a quarter million rounds of small-armammunition; a number of wagons; 1, 920 horses; four battle-ships; twocruisers; fourteen gunboats and torpedo-craft; ten steamers;thirty-three steam launches, and various other vessels. These figuresare worthy of study, as one of General Stossel's alleged reasons forsurrendering was scarcity of ammunition. MISHCHENKO'S RAID The capture of Port Arthur meant something more than the fall of afortress which had been counted impregnable and which had dominatedthe strategical situation for fully seven months. It meant, also, that General Nogi's army would now be free to join their comradesbeyond the Liao River, and that Kuropatkin would find his opponents'strength increased by four divisions. It became, therefore, importantto ascertain how soon this transfer was likely to be effected, and, if possible, to interrupt it by tearing up the railway. Accordingly, on January 8th, General Mishchenko's division of Cossacks, Caucasians, and Dragoons, mustering six thousand sabres, with sixbatteries of light artillery, crossed the Hun River and marched southon a five-mile front. Throughout the war the Cossacks, of whom a verylarge force was with the Russian army, had hitherto failed todemonstrate their usefulness, and this raid in force was regardedwith much curiosity. It accomplished very little. Its leadingsquadrons penetrated as far south as Old Niuchwang, and five hundredmetres of the railway north of Haicheng were destroyed, a bridge alsobeing blown up. But this damage was speedily restored, and as for thereconnoitring results of the raid, they seem to have been verytrifling. THE BATTLE OF MUKDEN After the battle of Heikautai, which cost the Russians twentythousand casualties and exposed the troops to terrible hardships, Kuropatkin's army did not number more than 260, 000 effectives. On theother hand, he could rely upon a constant stream of re-enforcementsfrom Europe, as the efficiency of the railway service had beenenormously increased by the genius and energy of Prince Khilkoff, Russian minister of Ways and Communications. In fact, when all theforces under orders for Manchuria had reached their destination, Kuropatkin would have under his command twelve army corps, sixrifle-brigades, and nine divisions of mounted troops, a total ofsomething like half a million men. Evidently the Japanese would nothave acted wisely in patiently awaiting the coming of these troops. Moreover, since the break-up of winter would soon render temporarilyimpossible all operations in the field, to have deferred any forwardmovement beyond the month of March would have merely facilitated themassing of Russian re-enforcements in the lines on the Shaho, wherethe enemy had taken up his position after his defeat at Heikautai. These considerations induced Marshal Oyama to deliver an attack withhis whole force during the second half of February, and thereresulted a conflict which, under the name of the "battle of Mukden, "will go down in the pages of history as the greatest fight on record. It has been claimed by the Russians that Kuropatkin was thinking ofassuming the offensive when the Japanese forced his hand; but howeverthat may be, the fact is that he fought on the defensive as he haddone throughout the whole war with two exceptions. Nevertheless, wemay confidently assert that at no previous period had the Russiansbeen so confident and so strong. According to the Japanese estimate, the accuracy of which may be trusted, Kuropatkin had 376 battalions, 171 batteries, and 178 squadrons; representing 300, 000 rifles, 26, 000sabres and 1368 guns, while the defences behind which these troopswere sheltered were of the most elaborate character, superior toanything that the Japanese had encountered during the previousbattles of the field-campaign. On the other hand, the Japanese alsowere in unprecedented strength. Up to the battle of Heikautai, Kuropatkin had been confronted by only three armies, namely, theFirst, Second, and Fourth, under Generals Kuroki, Oku, and Nozu, respectively. In the middle of February, these numbered three, four, and two divisions, respectively. But there had now been added aconsiderable number of reserve brigades, bringing up the averagestrength of most of the divisions to from 22, 000 to 25, 000 men. Further, in addition to these armies, two others were in the field, namely, the Third, under General Nogi, and the Fifth, under GeneralKawamura. General Nogi's force had marched up from Port Arthur, butGeneral Kawamura's was a new army formed of special reservists andnow put in the field for the first time. The Russians occupied a front forty-four miles in extent and fromfive to six miles in depth. They did not know, apparently, thatGeneral Kawamura's army had joined Oyama's forces, nor did they knowwhere Nogi's army was operating. The Japanese programme was to holdthe Russian centre; to attack their left flank with Kawamura's army, and to sweep round their right flank with Nogi's forces. The latterwere therefore kept in the rear until Kawamura's attack had developedfully on the east and until the two centres were hotly engaged. Then"under cover of the smoke and heat generated by the conflict of theother armies on an immense front, and specially screened by theviolent activity of the Second Army, Nogi marched in echelon ofcolumns from the west on a wide, circling movement; swept up the Liaovalley, and bending thence eastward, descended on Mukden from thewest and northwest, giving the finishing blow of this giganticencounter; severing the enemy's main line of retreat, and forcing himto choose between surrender and flight. To launch, direct, andsupport four hundred thousand men engaged at such a season over afront one hundred miles in length was one of the most remarkabletasks ever undertaken on the field of battle by a modern staff. " Of course, all these events did not move exactly as planned, but themain feature of the great fight was that Kuropatkin, deceived byKawamura's movement, detached a large force to oppose him, and thenrecalled these troops too late for the purpose of checking GeneralNogi's flanking operation. The fighting was continuous for almost twoweeks, and on the morning of March 16th, the Russians had been drivenout of Mukden and forced northward beyond Tiehling. In fact, they didnot pause until March 20th, when Linievitch, who had succeededKuropatkin in the chief command, was able to order a halt atSupingchieh, seventy miles to the north of Mukden. "The Russianlosses in this most disastrous battle included, according to MarshalOyama's reports, 27, 700 killed and 110, 000 wounded, " while an immensequantity of war material fell into the hands of the victors. TheJapanese losses, up to the morning of March 12th, were estimated at41, 222. THE BATTLE OF TSUSHIMA From the outset, both sides had appreciated the enormouspreponderance that would be conferred by command of the sea. It wasin obedience to this conviction that the Russian authorities were inthe act of taking steps to increase largely their Pacific squadronwhen the outbreak of war compelled them to suspend the despatch ofre-enforcements. They did not, however, relinquish theirpreparations. Evidently, any vessels sent to the scene of combatafter fighting had begun must be competent to defend themselvesagainst attack, which condition entailed strength to form anindependent squadron. The preparations to acquire this competenceinvolved a long delay, and it was not until the 16th of October, 1904, that Admiral Rozhdestvensky left Libau with some forty ships. The world watched this adventure with astonished eyes. ThithertoGreat Britain, equipped as she is with coaling-stations all round theglobe, had been the only power thought capable of sending a largefleet on an ocean voyage. Rozhdestvensky's squadron consumed overthree thousand tons of coal daily when steaming at a reduced speed, and how this supply was to be kept up in the absence of ports ofcall, no one was able to conjecture. The difficulty was ultimatelyovercome by the very benevolent character which the neutrality ofcertain powers assumed, and in May, 1905, the Baltic squadron, as thevessels under Rozhdestvensky were called, made its appearance in FarEastern waters. It had been supposed that the Russians would seek to envelop theirmovements in obscurity, but they seem to have appreciated, from theoutset, the absurdity of endeavouring to conceal the traces of afleet of forty vessels steaming along the routes of the world'scommerce. They therefore proceeded boldly on their way, slowly butindomitably overcoming all obstacles. It will be observed that thedate of their departure from Libau was just two months after thelast attempt of the Port Arthur squadron to escape to Vladivostok. Doubtless, this sortie, which ended so disastrously for theRussians, was prompted in part by anticipation of the Balticfleet's approaching departure, and had the Port Arthur squadron, or any considerable portion of it, reached Vladivostok beforeRozhdestvensky's coming, Admiral Togo might have been caught betweentwo fires. The result of the sortie, however, dispelled that hope. Long before Rozhdestvensky reached the Far East, he fell into touchwith Japanese scouts, and every movement of his ships was flashed tothe enemy. That Vladivostok was his objective and that he would tryto reach that place if possible without fighting, were unquestionablefacts. But by what avenue would he enter the Sea of Japan? The queryoccupied attention in all the capitals of the world during severaldays, and conjectures were as numerous as they were conflicting. ButAdmiral Togo had no moment of hesitation. He knew that only tworoutes were possible, and that one of them, the Tsugaru Strait, couldbe strewn with mines at very brief notice. The Russians dare not takethat risk. Therefore Togo waited quietly at his base in the KoreanStrait and on the 27th of May his scouts reported by wirelesstelegraphy at 5 A. M. , "Enemy's fleet sighted in 203 section. He seemsto be steering for the east channel. " In the historic action which ensued, Rozhdestvensky had under hiscommand eight battle-ships, nine cruisers, three coast-defence ships, nine destroyers, an auxiliary cruiser, six special-service steamers, and two hospital ships. Togo's fleet consisted of five battle-ships(one of them practically valueless), one coast-defence vessel, eightarmoured cruisers, ten protected cruisers, twenty destroyers, andsixty-seven torpedo-boats. Numerically, the advantage was on theJapanese side, although in first-class fighting material thedisparity was not remarkable. As for the result, it can only becalled annihilation for the Russian squadron. Out of the thirty-eightships composing it, twenty were sunk; six captured; two went to thebottom or were shattered while escaping; six were disarmed andinterned in neutral ports to which they had fled; one was releasedafter capture, and of one the fate is unknown. Only two escaped outof the whole squadron. This wonderful result justifies the comment ofa competent authority: "We can recognize that Togo is great--great in the patience heexercised in the face of much provocation to enter upon the fightunder conditions less favourable to the success of his cause; greatin his determination to give decisive battle despite advice offeredto him to resort to methods of evasion, subterfuge, and finesse;great in his use of not one but every means in his power to crush hisenemy, and great, greatest perhaps of all, in his moderation aftervictory unparalleled in the annals of modern naval war. "The attitude of the Japanese people in the presence of thisepoch-making triumph is a sight for men and gods. They have the grandmanner of the ancients, and their invariable attitude throughout thewar, whether in the hour of victory or in that of disappointment, hasbeen worthy of a great people. No noisy and vulgar clamour, noself-laudation, no triumph over a fallen enemy, but deepthankfulness, calm satisfaction, and reference of the cause ofvictory to the illustrious virtue of their Emperor. "* *The War in the Far East, by the Military Correspondent of "TheTimes. " The Japanese losses in the two-days' fighting were threetorpedo-boats, and they had 116 killed and 538 wounded. PEACE RESTORED After the battles of Mukden and Tsushima, which were great enough toterminate the greatest war, the Russians and the Japanese alike foundthemselves in a position which must either prelude another stupendouseffort on both sides or be utilized to negotiate peace. Here thePresident of the United States of America intervened, and, on the 9thof June, 1905, the American minister in Tokyo and the ambassador inSt. Petersburg, instructed from Washington, handed an identical noteto the Japanese and the Russian Governments respectively, urging thetwo countries to approach each other direct. On the following day, Japan intimated her frank acquiescence, and Russia lost no time intaking a similar step. Two months nevertheless elapsed before theplenipotentiaries of the two powers met, on August 10th, atPortsmouth, New Hampshire. Russia sent M. (afterwards Count) de Witteand Baron Rosen; Japan, Baron (afterwards Marquis) Komura, who hadheld the portfolio of Foreign Affairs throughout the war, and Mr. (afterwards Baron) Takahira. The Japanese statesmen well understoodthat much of the credit accruing to them for their successful conductof the war must be forfeited in the sequel of the negotiations. Forthe people of Japan had accustomed themselves to expect that Russiawould recoup a great part, if not the whole, of the expenses incurredby their country in the contest, whereas the ministry in Tokyo knewthat to look for payment of indemnity by a great State whoseterritory has not been invaded effectively or its existence menacedmust be futile. Nevertheless, diplomacy required that this conviction should beconcealed, and thus Russia carried to the conference a belief thatthe financial phase of the discussion would be crucial. BaronKomura's mandate was, however, that the only radically essentialterms were those formulated by Japan prior to the war. She mustinsist on securing the ends for which she had fought, since shebelieved them to be indispensable to the peace of the Far East, butbeyond that she would not go. The Japanese plenipotentiaries, therefore, judged it wise to submit their terms in the order of thereal importance, leaving their Russian colleagues to imagine, as theyprobably would, that the converse method had been adopted, and thateverything prefatory to questions of finance and territory was ofminor consequence. The negotiations, commencing on the 10th of August, were notconcluded until the 5th of September, when a treaty of peace wassigned. There had been a moment when the onlooking world believedthat unless Russia agreed to ransom the island of Saghalien by payingto Japan a sum of 120 millions sterling, --$580, 000, 000, theconference would be broken off. Nor did such an exchange seemunreasonable, for were Russia expelled from the northern part ofSaghalien, which commands the estuary of the Amur, her position inSiberia would have been compromised. But Japan's statesmen were notdisposed to make any display of territorial aggression. The southernhalf of Saghalien had originally belonged to Japan and had passedinto Russia's possession by an arrangement which the Japanese nationstrongly resented. To recover that portion of the island seemed, therefore, a legitimate ambition. Japan did not contemplate anylarger demand, nor did she seriously insist on an indemnity. Thus, the negotiations were never in real danger of failure. The Treaty of Portsmouth recognized Japan's "paramount political, military, and economic interests" in Korea; provided for thesimultaneous evacuation of Manchuria by the contracting parties;transferred to Japan the lease of the Liaotung peninsula, held byRussia from China, together with that of the Russian railways southof Kwanchengtsz and all collateral mining or other privileges; cededto Japan the southern half of Saghalien, the fiftieth parallel oflatitude to be the boundary between the two parties; securedfishing-rights for Japanese subjects along the coasts of the seas ofJapan, Okhotsk, and Bering; laid down that the expense incurred bythe Japanese for the maintenance of the Russian prisoners during thewar should be reimbursed by Russia, less the outlays made by thelatter on account of Japanese prisoners, by which arrangement Japanobtained a payment of some four million sterling $20, 000, 000, andprovided that the contracting parties, while withdrawing theirmilitary force from Manchuria, might maintain guards to protect theirrespective railways, the number of such guards not to exceed fifteenper kilometre of line. There were other important restrictions:first, the contracting parties were to abstain from taking, on theRusso-Korean frontier, any military measures which might menace thesecurity of Russian or Korean territory; secondly, the two powerspledged themselves not to exploit the Manchurian railways forstrategic purposes, and thirdly, they promised not to build onSaghalien or its adjacent islands any fortifications or other similarworks, or to take any military measures which might impede the freenavigation of the Strait of La Pérouse and the Gulf of Tatary. The above provisions concerned the two contracting parties only. ButChina's interests also were considered. Thus, it was agreed to"restore entirely and completely to her exclusive administration" allportions of Manchuria then in the occupation, or under the control, of Japanese or Russian troops, except the leased territory; that herconsent must be obtained for the transfer to Japan of the leases andconcessions held by the Russians in Manchuria; that the RussianGovernment should disavow the possession of "any territorialadvantages or preferential or exclusive concessions in impairment ofChinese sovereignty or inconsistent with the principle of equalopportunity in Manchuria, " and that Japan and Russia "engagedreciprocally not to obstruct any general measures common to allcountries which China might take for the development of the commerceand industry of Manchuria. " This distinction between the special interests of the contractingparties and the interests of China herself, as well as of foreignnations generally, is essential to clear understanding of a situationwhich subsequently attracted much attention. From the time of theOpium War (1857) to the Boxer rising (1900), each of the greatWestern powers struggled for its own hand in China, and each soughtto gain for itself exclusive concessions and privileges withcomparatively little regard for the interests of others and with noregard whatsoever for China's sovereign rights. The fruits of thisperiod were permanently ceded territories (Hongkong and Macao);leases temporarily establishing foreign sovereignty in variousdistricts (Kiao-chou, Weihaiwei, and Kwang-chow); railway and miningconcessions, and the establishment of settlements at open ports whereforeign jurisdiction was supreme. But when, in 1900, the Boxer risingforced all the powers into a common camp, they awoke to fullappreciation of a principle which had been growing current for thepast two or three years, namely, that concerted action on the linesof maintaining China's integrity and securing to all alike equalityof opportunity and a similarly open door, was the only feasiblemethod of preventing the partition of the Chinese empire and avertinga clash of rival interests which might have disastrous results. This, of course, did not mean that there was to be any abandonment ofspecial privileges already acquired or any surrender of existingconcessions. The arrangement was not to be retrospective in anysense. Vested interests were to be strictly guarded until the lapseof the periods for which they had been granted, or until the maturityof China's competence to be really autonomous. A curious situation was thus created. International professions ofrespect for China's sovereignty, for the integrity of her empire, andfor the enforcement of the open door and equal opportunity co-existedwith legacies from an entirely different past. Russia endorsed thisnew policy, but not unnaturally declined to abate any of theadvantages previously enjoyed by her in Manchuria. Those advantageswere very substantial. They included a twenty-five-year lease--withprovision for renewal--of the Liaotung peninsula, within which areaof 1220 square miles Chinese troops might not penetrate, whereasRussia would not only exercise full administrative authority, butalso take military and naval action of any kind; they includedthe creation of a neutral territory on the immediate north of theformer and still more extensive, which remained under Chineseadministration, and where neither Chinese nor Russian troops mightenter, nor might China, without Russia's consent, cede land, opentrading marts, or grant concessions to any third nationality; andthey included the right to build some sixteen hundred miles ofrailway (which China would have the opportunity of purchasing at costprice in the year 1938, and would be entitled to receive gratis in1982), as well as the right to hold extensive zones on either side ofthe railway, to administer these zones in the fullest sense, and towork all mines lying along the lines. Under the Portsmouth treaty these advantages were transferred toJapan by Russia, the railway, however, being divided so that only theportion (521. 5 miles) to the south of Kwanchengtsz fell to Japan'sshare, while the portion (1077 miles) to the north of that placeremained in Russia's hands. China's consent to the above transfersand assignments was obtained in a treaty signed at Peking on the 22ndof December, 1905. Thus, Japan came to hold in Manchuria a positionsomewhat contradictory. On the one hand, she figured as the championof the Chinese empire's integrity and as an exponent of the newprinciple of equal opportunity and the open door. On the other, sheappeared as the legatee of many privileges more or less inconsistentwith that principle. But, at the same time, nearly all the greatpowers of Europe were similarly circumstanced. In their cases, also, the same incongruity was observed between the newly professed policyand the aftermath of the old practice. It was scarcely to be expectedthat Japan alone should make a large sacrifice on the altar of atheory to which no other State thought of yielding any retrospectiveobedience whatever. She did, indeed, furnish a clear proof ofdeference to the open-door doctrine, for instead of reserving therailway zones to her own exclusive use, as she was fully entitled todo, she sought and obtained from China a pledge to open to foreigntrade sixteen places within these zones. For the rest, however, the inconsistency between the past and thepresent, though existing throughout the whole of China, was nowhereso conspicuous as in the three eastern provinces (Manchuria); notbecause there was any real difference of degree, but becauseManchuria had been the scene of the greatest war of modern times;because that war had been fought by Japan in the cause of the newpolicy, and because the principles of the equally open door and ofChina's integrity had been the main bases of the Portsmouth treaty, of the Anglo-Japanese alliance, and of the subsequently concludedententes with France and Russia. In short, the world's eyes werefixed on Manchuria and diverted from China proper, so that every actof Japan was subjected to an exceptionally rigorous scrutiny, and thenations behaved as though they expected her to live up to a standardof almost ideal altitude. China's mood, too, greatly complicated thesituation. She had the choice between two moderate and naturalcourses; either to wait quietly until the various concessions grantedby her to foreign powers in the evil past should lapse by maturity, or to qualify herself by earnest reforms and industrious developmentsfor their earlier recovery. Nominally she adopted the latter course, but in reality she fell into a mood of much impatience. Under thename of a "rights-recovery campaign" her people began to protestvehemently against the continuance of any conditions which impairedher sovereignty, and as this temper coloured her attitude towards thevarious questions which inevitably grew out of the situation inManchuria, her relations with Japan became somewhat strained in theearly part of 1909. JAPAN IN KOREA AFTER THE WAR WITH RUSSIA Having waged two wars on account of Korea, Japan emerged from thesecond conflict with the conviction that the policy of maintainingthe independence of that country must be modified, and that since theidentity of Korean and Japanese interests in the Far East and theparamount character of Japanese interests in Korea would not permitJapan to leave Korea to the care of any third power, she must assumethe charge herself. Europe and America also recognized that view ofthe situation, and consented to withdraw their legations from Seoul, thus leaving the control of Korean foreign affairs entirely in thehands of Japan, who further undertook to assume military direction inthe event of aggression from without or disturbance from within. Butin the matter of internal administration, she continued to limitherself to advisory supervision. Thus, though a Japaneseresident-general in Seoul, with subordinate residents throughout theprovinces, assumed the functions hitherto discharged by foreignministers and consuls, the Korean Government was merely asked toemploy Japanese experts in the position of counsellors, the right toaccept or reject their counsels being left to their employers. Once again, however, the futility of looking for any real reformsunder this optional system was demonstrated. Japan sent her mostrenowned statesman, Prince Ito, to discharge the duties ofresident-general; but even he, in spite of patience and tact, foundthat some less optional methods must be resorted to. Hence, on the24th of July, 1907, a new agreement was signed, by which theresident-general acquired initiative as well as consultativecompetence to enact and enforce laws and ordinances; to appoint andremove Korean officials, and to place capable Japanese subjects inthe ranks of the administration. That this constituted a heavy blowto Korea's independence could not be gainsaid. That it was inevitableseemed to be equally obvious. For there existed in Korea nearly allthe worst abuses of medieval systems. The administration of justicedepended solely on favour or interest. The police contributed bycorruption and incompetence to the insecurity of life and property. The troops were a body of useless mercenaries. Offices being allottedby sale, thousands of incapables thronged the ranks of the executive. The Emperor's Court was crowded by diviners and plotters of allkinds, male and female. The finances of the Throne and those of theState were hopelessly confused. There was nothing like an organizedjudiciary. A witness was in many cases considered particeps criminis;torture was commonly employed to obtain evidence, and defendants incivil cases were placed under arrest. Imprisonment meant death orpermanent disablement for a man of means. Flogging so severe as tocripple, if not to kill, was a common punishment; every major offencefrom robbery upwards was capital, and female criminals werefrequently executed by administering shockingly painful poisons. Thecurrency was in a state of the utmost confusion. Extreme corruptionand extortion were practised in connexion with taxation. Finally, while nothing showed that the average Korean lacked the elementaryvirtue of patriotism, there had been repeated proofs that the safetyand independence of the empire counted for little with politicalintriguers. Japan must step out of Korea altogether or effect drasticreforms there. She necessarily chose the latter alternative, and the things whichshe accomplished between the beginning of 1906 and the close of 1908may be briefly described as the elaboration of a proper system oftaxation; the organization of a staff to administer annual budgets;the re-assessment of taxable property; the floating of public loansfor productive enterprises; the reform of the currency; theestablishment of banks of various kinds, including agricultural andcommercial; the creation of associations for putting bank-notes intocirculation; the introduction of a warehousing system to supplycapital to farmers; the lighting and buoying of the coasts; theprovision of posts, telegraphs, roads, and railways; the erection ofpublic buildings; the starting of various industrial enterprises(such as printing, brick making, forestry and coal mining); thelaying out of model farms; the beginning of cotton cultivation; thebuilding and equipping of an industrial training school; theinauguration of sanitary works; the opening of hospitals and medicalschools; the organization of an excellent educational system; theconstruction of waterworks in several towns; the completeremodelling of the Central Government; the differentiation of theCourt and the executive, as well as of the administrative and thejudiciary; the formation of an efficient body of police; theorganization of law-courts with a majority of Japanese jurists on thebench; the enactment of a new penal code, and drastic reforms in thetaxation system. In the summer of 1907, the resident-general advised the Throne todisband the standing army as an unserviceable and expensive force. The measure was, doubtless desirable, but the docility of the troopshad been overrated. Some of them resisted vehemently, and many becamethe nucleus of an insurrection which lasted in a desultory manner fornearly two years; cost the lives of 21, 000 insurgents and 1300Japanese, and entailed upon Japan an outlay of nearly a millionsterling. Altogether, what with building 642 miles of railway, makingloans to Korea, providing funds for useful purposes and quelling theinsurrection, Japan was fifteen millions sterling $72, 000, 000 out ofpocket on Korea's account by the end of 1909. She had also lost theveteran statesman, Prince Ito, who was assassinated at Harbin by aKorean fanatic on the 26th of October, 1909. * *Encylopaedia Britannica, (11th Edition); article "Japan, " byBrinkley. ANNEXATION OF KOREA Japan finally resolved that nothing short of annexation would suitthe situation, and that step was taken on August 22, 1910. At whatprecise moment this conviction forced itself upon Japan's judgment itis impossible to say, She knows how to keep her counsel. But it wascertainly with great reluctance that she, hitherto the exponent andchampion of Korean independence, accepted the role of annexation. Theexplanation given by her own Government is as follows: -"In its solicitude to put an end to disturbing conditions, theJapanese Government made an arrangement, in 1905, for establishing aprotectorate over Korea and they have ever since been assiduouslyengaged in works of reform, looking forward to the consummation ofthe desired end. But they have failed to find in the regime of aprotectorate sufficient hope for a realization of the object whichthey had in view, and a condition of unrest and disquietude stillprevails throughout the whole peninsula. In these circumstances, thenecessity of introducing fundamental changes in the system ofgovernment in Korea has become entirely manifest, and an earnest andcareful examination of the Korean problem has convinced the JapaneseGovernment that the regime of a protectorate cannot be made to adaptitself to the actual condition of affairs in Korea, and that theresponsibilities devolving upon Japan for the due administration ofthe country cannot be justly fulfilled without the completeannexation of Korea to the Empire. " "Thus the dynasty of sovereigns, which had continued in an unbrokenline from 1392, came to an end with the independence of this country, whose national traditions and history had extended over four thousandyears, whose foundation as a kingdom was coeval with that of theAssyrian empire; and the two last living representatives of thedynasty exchanged their positions as Imperial dignitaries for thoseof princes and pensioners of Japan. "* Since that drastic step wastaken, events seem to have fully justified it. Under the ablemanagement of Count Terauchi, the evil conditions inimical to theprosperity and happiness of the people are fast disappearing. Comparative peace and order reign; and there appears to be no reasonwhy the fruits of progressive civilization should not ultimately begathered in Japan's new province as plentifully as they are in Japanherself. *The Story of Korea, by Longford. SITUATION IN 1911 The unstable element of the East Asian situation to-day is theposition occupied by Japan and Russia in Manchuria. Both powerspossess privileges there which will not be easily surrendered, andwhich are likely, sooner or later, to prove incompatible with China'sautonomy. It was apprehended at the outset that Russia would not longconsent to occupy the place assigned to her by the Treaty ofPortsmouth, and that she would quickly prepare for a war of revenge. Her statesmen, however, showed as much magnanimity as wisdom. On July30, 1906, they signed with Japan a convention pledging thecontracting parties to respect all the rights accruing to one or theother under the Portsmouth Treaty. If international promises can betrusted, continuous peace is assured between the two powers. Russia, however, is not only doubling the track of her Siberian Railway, butis also building a second line along the Amur; while Japan will sooncommand access to central Manchuria by three lines; one from Dalny toKwanchengtsz; another from Fusan via Wiju to Mukden, and a third fromthe northeastern coast of Korea via Hoiryong, on the Tumen, to Kilin. These developments do not suggest that when the lease of Liaotung andthe charter of the railways mature--in twenty-five years and thirtyyears, respectively, from the date of their signature--either Japanor Russia will be found ready to surrender these properties. Meanwhile, the United States of America is gradually constitutingitself the guardian of China's integrity in Manchuria, and thecitizens of the Pacific slope, under the influence of the labourquestion, are writing and speaking as though war between the greatrepublic and the Far Eastern empire were an inevitable outcome of thefuture. This chimera is unthinkable by anyone really familiar withthe trend of Japanese sentiment, but it may encourage in China adangerous mood, and it helps always to foster an unquiet feeling. Onthe whole, when we add the chaotic condition into which China isapparently falling, it has to be admitted that the second decade ofthe twentieth century does not open a peaceful vista in the Far East. STEADY-POINTS There are, however, two steady-points upon the horizon. One is theAnglo-Japanese treaty: not the treaty of 1902, spoken of alreadyabove, but a treaty which replaced it and which was concluded onAugust 12, 1905. The latter document goes much further than theformer. For, whereas the treaty of 1902 merely pledged each of thecontracting parties to observe neutrality in the event of the otherbeing engaged in defence of its interests, and to come to thatother's assistance in the event of any third power interveningbelligerently, the treaty of 1905 provides that: "Whenever in the opinion of either Japan or Great Britain, any of therights and interests referred to in the preamble of this agreementare in jeopardy, the two Governments will communicate with oneanother fully and frankly, and will consider in common the measureswhich should be taken to safeguard those menaced rights orinterests. " "If, by reason of unprovoked attack or aggressive action, whereverarising, on the part of any other power or powers, either contractingparty should be involved in war in defence of its territorial rightsor special interests mentioned in the preamble of this agreement, theother contracting party will at once come to the assistance of itsally, and will conduct the war in common, and make peace in mutualagreement with it. " The "rights and interests" here referred to are defined as followsin the preamble: "The consolidation and maintenance of the general peace in theregions of eastern Asia and of India. " "The preservation of the common interests of all powers in China byinsuring the independence and integrity of the Chinese empire and theprinciple of equal opportunities for the commerce and industry of allnations in China. " "The maintenance of the territorial rights of the high contractingparties in the regions of eastern Asia and of India, and the defenceof their special interests in the said regions. " This remarkable agreement came into force from the date of itssignature, and its period of duration was fixed at ten years. Duringits existence the two powers, England and Japan, are pledged to useall endeavours for maintaining not only peace in the East, but alsothe independence and integrity of China. The significance of such apledge is appreciated when we recall the dimensions of the Britishnavy supplemented by the Japanese, and when we further recall thatJapan, with her base of operations within easy reach of the Asiaticcontinent, can place half a million of men in the field at anymoment. The second steady-point is China's financial condition. Sheis the debtor of several Western nations, and they may be trusted toavert from her any vicissitude that would impair her credit as aborrower. Prominent among such vicissitudes is the dismemberment ofthe country. ENGRAVING: SEAL OF SESSHO, THE PAINTER APPENDIX 1. CONSTITUTION OF THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN TOKYO, FEBRUARY 11, 1889 CHAPTER I. THE EMPEROR Article I. The Empire of Japan shall be ruled over by Emperors of thedynasty, which has reigned in an unbroken line of descent for agespast. Article II. The succession to the throne shall devolve upon maledescendants of the Imperial House, according to the provisions of theImperial House Law. Article III. The person of the Emperor is sacred and inviolable. Article IV. The Emperor being the Head of the Empire the rights ofsovereignty are invested in him, and he exercises them in accordancewith the provisions of the present Constitution. Article V. The Emperor exercises the legislative power with theconsent of the Imperial Diet. Article VI. The Emperor gives sanction to laws, and orders them to bepromulgated and put into force. Article VII. The Emperor convokes the Imperial Diet, opens, closes, and prorogues it, and dissolves the House of Representatives. Article VIII. In case of urgent necessity, when the Imperial Diet isnot sitting, the Emperor, in order to maintain the public safety orto avert a public danger, has the power to issue Imperial Ordinances, which shall take the place of laws. Such Imperial Ordinances shall, however, be laid before the Imperial Diet at its next session, andshould the Diet disapprove of the said Ordinances, the Governmentshall declare them to be henceforth invalid. Article IX. The Emperor issues, or causes to be issued, theordinances necessary for the carrying out of the laws, or for themaintenance of public peace and order, and for the promotion of thewelfare of his subjects. But no Ordinance shall in any way alter anyof the existing laws. Article X. The Emperor determines the organisation of the differentbranches of the Administration; he fixes the salaries of all civiland military officers, and appoints and dismisses the same. Exceptions specially provided for in the present Constitution or inother laws shall be in accordance with the respective provisionsbearing thereon. Article XI. The Emperor has the supreme command of the army and navy. Article XII. The Emperor determines the organisation and peacestanding of the army and navy. Article XIII. The Emperor declares war, makes peace, and concludestreaties. Article XIV. The Emperor proclaims the law of siege. The conditionsand operation of the law of siege shall be determined by law. Article XV. The Emperor confers titles of nobility, rank, orders, andother marks of honour. Article XVI. The Emperor orders amnesty, pardon, commutation ofpunishments, and rehabilitation. Article XVII. The institution of a Regency shall take place inconformity with the provisions of the Imperial House Law. * The Regent shall exercise the supreme powers which belong to theEmperor in his name. *Law of succession, coronation, ascension, majority, style ofaddress, regency, imperial governor, imperial family, hereditaryestates, imperial expenditures, etc. , of Feb. 11, 1889. CHAPTER II. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF SUBJECTS Article XVIII. The conditions necessary for being a Japanese subjectshall be determined by law. Article XIX. Japanese subjects shall all equally be eligible forcivil and military appointments, and any other public offices, subject only to the conditions prescribed and Laws and Ordinances. Article XX. Japanese subjects are amenable to service in the army ornavy, according to the provisions of law. Article XXI. Japanese subjects are amenable to the duty of payingtaxes, according to the provisions of law. Article XXII. Subject to the limitations imposed by law, Japanesesubjects shall enjoy full liberty in regard to residence and changeof abode. Article XXIII. No Japanese subject shall be arrested, detained, triedor punished, except according to law. Article XXIV. No Japanese subject shall be deprived of his right ofbeing tried by judges determined by law. Article XXV. Except in the cases provided for in the law, the houseof no Japanese subject shall be entered or searched without hispermission. Article XXVI. Except in cases provided for in the law, the secrecy ofthe letters of Japanese subjects shall not be violated. Article XXVII. The rights of property of Japanese subjects shall notbe violated. Such measures, however, as may be rendered necessary inthe interests of the public welfare shall be taken in accordance withthe provisions of the law. Article XXVIII. Japanese subjects shall, within limits notprejudicial to peace and order, and not antagonistic to their dutiesas subjects, enjoy freedom of religious belief. Article XXIX. Japanese subjects shall, within the limits of the law, enjoy liberty in regard to speech, writing, publication, publicmeetings, and associations. Article XXX. Japanese subjects may present petitions, provided thatthey observe the proper form of respect, and comply with the rulesspecially provided for such matters. Article XXXI. The provisions contained in the present chapter shallnot interfere with the exercise, in times of war or in case ofnational emergency, of the supreme powers which belong to theEmperor. Article XXXII. Each and every one of the provisions contained in thepreceding articles of the present chapter shall, in so far as they donot conflict with the laws or the rules and discipline of the armyand navy, apply to the officers and men of the army and of the navy. CHAPTER III. THE IMPERIAL DIET Article XXXIII. The Imperial Diet shall consist of two Houses: theHouse of Peers and the House of Representatives. Article XXXIV. The House of Peers shall, in accordance with theOrdinance concerning the House of Peers, be composed of members ofthe Imperial Family, of Nobles, and of Deputies who have beennominated by the Emperor. Article XXXV. The House of Representatives shall be composed ofmembers elected by the people, according to the provisions of the Lawof Election. Article XXXVI. No one can at one and the same time be a member ofboth Houses. Article XXXVII. Every law requires the consent of the Imperial Diet. Article XXXVIII. Both Houses shall vote upon projects of law broughtforward by the Government, and may respectively bring forwardprojects of law. Article XXXIX. A bill which has been rejected by either of the Housesshall not be again brought in during the same session. Article XL. Both Houses can make recommendations to the Government inregard to laws, or upon any other subject. When, however, suchrecommendations are not adopted, they cannot be made a second timeduring the same session. Article XLI. The Imperial Diet shall be convoked every year. Article XLII. A session of the Imperial Diet shall last during threemonths. In case of necessity, a duration of a session may beprolonged by Imperial order. Article XLIII. When urgent necessity arises, an extraordinary sessionmay be convoked, in addition to the ordinary one. The duration of anextraordinary session shall be determined by Imperial order. Article XLIV. With regard to the opening, closing, and prorogation ofthe Imperial Diet, and the prolongation of its sessions, these shalltake place simultaneously in both Houses. Should the House ofRepresentatives be ordered to dissolve, the House of Peers shall atthe same time be prorogued. Article XLV. When the House of Representatives has been ordered todissolve, the election of new members shall be ordered by Imperialdecree, and the new House shall be convoked within five months fromthe day of dissolution. Article XLVI. No debate can be opened and no vote can be taken ineither House of the Imperial Diet unless not less than one-third ofthe whole number of the members thereof is present. Article XLVII. Votes shall be taken in both Houses by absolutemajority. In the case of a tie vote, the President shall have thecasting vote. Article XLVIII. The deliberation of both Houses shall be held inpublic. The deliberations may, however, upon demand of the Governmentor by resolution of the House, be held in secret sitting. Article XLIX. Both Houses of the Imperial Diet may respectivelypresent addresses to the Emperor. Article L. Both Houses may receive petitions presented by subjects. Article LI. Both Houses may enact, besides what is provided for inthe present constitution and in the law of the Houses, rulesnecessary for the management of their internal affairs. Article LII. No member of either House shall be held responsibleoutside the respective Houses for any opinion uttered or for any votegiven by him in the House. When, however, a member himself has givenpublicity to his opinions, by public speech, by documents in print, or in writing, or by any other means, he shall, as regards suchactions, be amenable to the general law. Article LIII. The members of both Houses shall, during the session, be free from arrest, unless with the permission of the House, exceptin cases of flagrant delicts, or of offences connected with civil waror foreign troubles. Article LIV. The Ministers of State, and persons deputed for thatpurpose by the Government, may at any time take seats and speak ineither House. CHAPTER IV. THE MINISTERS OF STATE AND THE PRIVY COUNCIL Article LV. The respective Ministers of State shall give their adviceto the Emperor, and be responsible for it. All laws, public ordinances, and imperial rescripts, of whateverkind, that relate to the affairs of the state, require thecounter-signature of a Minister of State. Article LVI. The Privy Council shall, in accordance with theprovisions for the organisation of the Privy Council, deliberate uponthe important matters of State, when they have been consulted by theEmperor. CHAPTER V. THE JUDICATURE Article LVII. Judicial powers shall be exercised by the courts oflaw, according to law, in the name of the Emperor. The organisationof the courts of law shall be determined by law. Article LVIII. The judges shall be appointed from among those whopossess the proper qualifications determined by law. No judge shallbe dismissed from his post except on the ground of sentence havingbeen passed upon him for a criminal act, or by reason of his havingbeen subjected to punishment for disciplinary offence. Rules fordisciplinary punishment shall be determined by law. Article LIX. Trials shall be conducted and judgments renderedpublicly. When, however, there exists any fear that such publicitymay be prejudicial to peace and order, or to the maintenance ofpublic morality, the public trial may be suspended, either inaccordance with the law bearing on the subject or by the decision ofthe court concerned. Article LX. Matters which fall within the competency of the specialcourts shall be specially determined by law. Article LXI. The courts of law shall not take cognizance of any suitswhich arise out of the allegations that rights have been infringed byillegal action on the part of the executive authorities, and whichfall within the competency of the court of administrative litigation, specially established by law. CHAPTER VI. FINANCE Article LXII. The imposition of a new tax or the modification of therates (of an existing one) shall be determined by law. However, all such administrative fees or other revenue as are in thenature of compensation for services rendered shall not fall withinthe category of the above clause. The raising of national loans and the contracting of otherliabilities to the charge of the National Treasury, except those thatare provided in the Budget, shall require the consent of the ImperialDiet. Article LXIII. Existing taxes shall, in so far as they are notaltered by new laws, continue to be collected as heretofore. Article LXIV. The annual expenditure and revenue of the State shall, in the form of an annual Budget, receive the consent of the ImperialDiet. Any expenditure which exceeds the appropriations set forthunder the various heads of the Budget, or those not provided for inthe Budget, shall be referred subsequently to the Imperial Diet forits approval. Article LXV. The Budget shall be first laid before the House ofRepresentatives. Article LXVI. The expenditure in respect of the Imperial House shallbe defrayed every year out of the National Treasury, according to thepresent fixed amount for the same, and shall not hereafter requirethe consent thereto of the Imperial Diet, except in case an increasethereof is found necessary. Article LXVII. The fixed expenditure based upon the supreme powers ofthe Emperor and set forth in this Constitution, and such expenditureas may have arisen by the effect of law, or as appertains to thelegal obligations of the Government, shall be neither rejected norreduced by the Imperial Diet, without the concurrence of theGovernment. Article LXVIII. In order to meet special requirements the Governmentmay ask the consent of the Imperial Diet to a certain amount as acontinuing expenditure fund, for a previously fixed number of years. Article LXIX. In order to supply unavoidable deficits in the Budget, and to meet requirements unprovided for in the same, a reserve fundshall be established. Article LXX. When there is urgent need for the adoption of measuresfor the maintenance of the public safety, and when in consequence ofthe state either of the domestic affairs or of the foreign relations, the Imperial Diet cannot be convoked, the necessary financialmeasures may be taken by means of an Imperial Ordinance. In suchcases as those mentioned in the preceding clause the matter shall besubmitted to the Imperial Diet at its next session for its approval. Article LXXI. When the Imperial Diet has not voted on the Budget, orwhen the Budget has not been brought into actual existence, theGovernment shall carry out the Budget of the preceding year. Article LXXII. The final account of the expenditure and revenue ofthe State shall be verified and confirmed by the Board of Audit, andit shall be submitted by the Government to the Imperial Diet, together with the report of verification of the said Board. The organisation and competency of the Board of Audit shall bedetermined by law separately. CHAPTER VII SUPPLEMENTARY RULES Article LXXIII. Should, hereafter, the necessity arise for theamendment of the provisions of the present Constitution, A project tothat effect shall be submitted for the deliberation of the ImperialDiet by Imperial Order. In the above case, neither House can open adebate, unless not less than two-thirds of the whole number ofmembers are present; and no amendment can be passed unless a majorityof not less than two-thirds of the members present is obtained. Article LXXIV. No modification of the Imperial House Law shall berequired to be submitted for the deliberation of the Imperial Diet. No provision of the present Constitution can be modified by theImperial House Law. Article LXXV. No modification can be introduced into theConstitution, or into the Imperial House Law, during the time of aRegency. Article LXXVI. Existing legal enactments, such as laws, regulations, and ordinances, and all other such enactments, by whatever names theymay be called, which do not conflict with the present constitution, shall continue in force. All existing contracts or orders whichentail obligations upon the Government, and which are connected withthe expenditure, shall come within the scope of Article LXVII. 2. AGREEMENT BETWEEN JAPAN AND THE UNITED KINGDOM, SIGNED AT LONDON, AUGUST 12, 1905 Preamble. The Governments of Japan and Great Britain, being desirousof replacing the agreement concluded between them on the 30thJanuary, 1902, by fresh stipulations, have agreed upon the followingarticles, which have for their object: (a) The consolidation and maintenance of the general peace in theregions of Eastern Asia and of India; (b) The preservation of the common interests of all Powers in Chinaby insuring the independence and integrity of the Chinese Empire andthe principle of equal opportunities for the commerce and industry ofall nations in China; (c) The maintenance of the territorial rights of the High ContractingParties in the regions of Eastern Asia and of India, and the defenceof their special interests in the said regions: Article I. It is agreed that whenever, in the opinion of either GreatBritain or Japan, any of the rights and interests referred to in thepreamble of this Agreement are in jeopardy, the two Governments willcommunicate with one another fully and frankly, and will consider incommon the measures which should be taken to safeguard those menacedrights or interests. (671) Article II. If by reason of unprovoked attack or aggressive action, wherever arising, on the part of any other Power or Powers eitherContracting Party should be involved in war in defence of itsterritorial rights or special interests mentioned in the preamble ofthis Agreement, the other Contracting Party will at once come to theassistance of its ally, and will conduct the war in common, and makepeace in mutual agreement with it. (672) Article III. Japan possessing paramount political, military, andeconomic interests in Corea, Great Britain recognizes the right ofJapan to take such measures of guidance, control, and protection inCorea as she may deem proper and necessary to safeguard and advancethose interests, provided always that such measures are not contraryto the principle of equal opportunities for the commerce and industryof all nations. (672) Article IV. Great Britain having a special interest in all thatconcerns the security of the Indian frontier, Japan recognizes herright to take such measures in the proximity of that frontier as shemay find necessary for safeguarding her Indian possessions. (672) Article V. The High Contracting Parties agree that neither of themwill, without consulting the other, enter into separate arrangementswith another Power to the prejudice of the objects described in thepreamble of this Agreement. (672) Article VI. As regards the present war between Japan and Russia, Great Britain will continue to maintain strict neutrality unless someother Power or Powers should join in hostilities against Japan, inwhich case Great Britain will come to the assistance of Japan, andwill conduct the war in common, and make peace in mutual agreementwith Japan. (672) Article VII. The conditions under which armed assistance shall beafforded by either Power to the other in the circumstances mentionedin the present Agreement, and the means by which such assistance isto be made available, will be arranged by the Naval and Militaryauthorities of the Contracting Parties, who will from time to timeconsult one another fully and freely upon all questions of mutualinterest. (673) Article VIII. The present Agreement shall, subject to the provisionsof Article VI, come into effect immediately after the date of itssignature, and remain in force for ten years from that date. In case neither of the High Contracting Parties should have notifiedtwelve months before the expiration of the said ten years theintention of terminating it, it shall remain binding until theexpiration of one year from the day on which either of the HighContracting Parties shall have denounced it. But, if when the datefixed for its expiration arrives, either ally is actually engaged inwar, the alliance shall, ipso facto, continue until peace isconcluded. (673) In faith whereof the Undersigned, duly authorized by their respectiveGovernments, have signed this Agreement and have affixed theretotheir Seals. Done in duplicate at London, the 12th day of August, 1905. (L. S. ) TADASU HAYASHI Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty theEmperor of Japan at the Court of St. James. (L. S. ) LANSDOWNE His Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for ForeignAffairs. 3. TREATY OF PEACE BETWEEN JAPAN AND RUSSIA SIGNED AT PORTSMOUTH, SEPTEMBER 5, 1905 Article I. There shall henceforth be peace and amity between TheirMajesties the Emperor of Japan and the Emperor of all the Russias andbetween Their respective States and subjects. (783) Article II. The Imperial Russian Government, acknowledging that Japanpossesses in Corea paramount political, military and economicalinterests, engage neither to obstruct nor interfere with the measuresof guidance, protection and control which the Imperial Government ofJapan may find it necessary to take in Corea. It is understood that Russian subjects in Corea shall be treatedexactly in the same manner as the subjects or citizens of otherforeign Powers, that is to say, they shall be placed on the samefooting as the subjects or citizens of the most favoured nation. It is also agreed that, in order to avoid all cause ofmisunderstanding, the two High Contracting Parties will abstain, onthe Russo-Corean frontier, from taking any military measure which maymenace the security of Russian or Corean territory. (783) Article III. Japan and Russia mutually engage: 1. To evacuate completely and simultaneously Manchuria except theterritory affected by the lease of the Liao-tung Peninsula, inconformity with the provisions of additional Article I, annexed tothis Treaty: and 2. To restore entirely and completely to the exclusive administrationof China all portions of Manchuria now in the occupation or under thecontrol of the Japanese or Russian troops, with the exception of theterritory above mentioned. The Imperial Government of Russia declare that they have not inManchuria any territorial advantages or preferential or exclusiveconcessions in impairment of Chinese sovereignty or inconsistent withthe principle of equal opportunity. (784) Article IV. Japan and Russia reciprocally engage not to obstruct anygeneral measures common to all countries, which China may take forthe development of the commerce and industry of Manchuria. (784) Article V. The Imperial Russian Government transfer and assign to theImperial Government of Japan, with the consent of the Government ofChina, the lease of Port Arthur, Talien and adjacent territory, andterritorial waters and all rights, privileges and concessionsconnected with or forming part of such lease and they also transferand assign to the Imperial Government of Japan all public works andproperties in the territory affected by the above mentioned lease. The two High Contracting Parties mutually engage to obtain theconsent of the Chinese Government mentioned in the foregoingstipulation. The Imperial Government of Japan on their part undertake that theproprietary rights of Russian subjects in the territory abovereferred to shall be perfectly respected. (784) Article VI. The Imperial Russian Government engage to transfer andassign to the Imperial Government of Japan, without compensation andwith the consent of the Chinese Government, the railway betweenChang-chun (Kuan-cheng-tzu) and Port Arthur and all its branches, together with all rights, privileges and properties appertainingthereto in that region, as well as all coal mines in the said regionbelonging to or worked for the benefit of the railway. The two High Contracting Parties mutually engage to obtain theconsent of the Government of China mentioned in the foregoingstipulation. (785) Article VII. Japan and Russia engage to exploit their respectiverailways in Manchuria exclusively for commercial and industrialpurposes and in no wise for strategic purposes. It is understood that that restriction does not apply to the railwayin the territory affected by the lease of the Liao-tung Peninsula. (785) Article VIII. The Imperial Governments of Japan and Russia, with aview to promote and facilitate intercourse and traffic, will, as soonas possible, conclude a separate convention for the regulation oftheir connecting railway services in Manchuria. (785) Article IX. The Imperial Russian Government cede to the ImperialGovernment of Japan in perpetuity and full sovereignty, the southernportion of the Island of Saghalien and all islands adjacent thereto, and all public works and properties thereon. The fiftieth degree ofnorth latitude is adopted as the northern boundary of the cededterritory. The exact alignment of such territory shall be determinedin accordance with the provisions of additional Article II, annexedto this Treaty. Japan and Russia mutually agree not to construct in their respectivepossessions on the Island of Saghalien or the adjacent islands, anyfortifications or other similar military works. They alsorespectively engage not to take any military measures which mayimpede the free navigation of the Straits of La Pérouse and Tartary. (785) Article X. It is reserved to the Russian subjects, inhabitants of theterritory ceded to Japan, to sell their real property and retire totheir country; but, if they prefer to remain in the ceded territory, they will be maintained and protected in the full exercise of theirindustries and rights of property, on condition of submitting toJapanese laws and jurisdiction. Japan shall have full liberty towithdraw the right of residence in, or to deport from, suchterritory, any inhabitants who labour under political oradministrative disability. She engages, however, that the proprietaryrights of such individuals shall be fully respected. (786) Article XL. Russia engages to arrange with Japan for granting toJapanese subjects rights of fishery along the coasts of the Russianpossessions in the Japan, Okhotsk and Behring Seas. It is agreed that the foregoing engagement shall not affect rightsalready belonging to Russian or foreign subjects in those regions. (786) Article XII. The Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Japan andRussia having been annulled by the war, the Imperial Governments ofJapan and Russia engage to adopt as the basis of their commercialrelations, pending the conclusion of a new treaty of commerce andnavigation on the basis of the Treaty which was in force previous tothe present war, the system of reciprocal treatment on the footing ofthe most favoured nation, in which are included import and exportduties, customs formalities, transit and tonnage dues, and theadmission and treatment of the agents, subjects and vessels of onecountry in the territories of the other. (786) Article XIII. As soon as possible after the present Treaty comes intoforce, all prisoners of war shall be reciprocally restored. TheImperial Governments of Japan and Russia shall each appoint a specialCommissioner to take charge of prisoners. All prisoners in the handsof the Government shall be delivered to and received by theCommissioner of the other Government or by his duly authorizedrepresentative, in such convenient numbers and at such convenientports of the delivering State as such delivering State shall notifyin advance to the Commissioner of the receiving State. The Governments of Japan and Russia shall present to each other, assoon as possible after the delivery of prisoners has been completed, a statement of the direct expenditures respectively incurred by themfor the care and maintainance of prisoners from the date of captureor surrender up to the time of death or delivery. Russia engages torepay Japan, as soon as possible after the exchange of the statementsas above provided, the difference between the actual amount soexpended by Japan and the actual amount similarly disbursed byRussia. (787) Article XIV. The present Treaty shall be ratified by Their Majestiesthe Emperor of Japan and the Emperor of all the Russias. Suchratification shall, with as little delay as possible and in any casenot later than fifty days from the date of the signature of theTreaty, be announced to the Imperial Governments of Japan and Russiarespectively through the French Minister in Tokio and the Ambassadorof the United States in Saint Petersburg and from the date of thelater of such announcements this Treaty shall in all its parts comeinto full force. The formal exchange of the ratification shall take place atWashington as soon as possible. (787) Article XV. The present Treaty shall be signed in duplicate in boththe English and French languages. The texts are in absoluteconformity, but in case of discrepancy in interpretation, the Frenchtext shall prevail. In witness whereof, the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed andaffixed their seals to the present Treaty of Peace. (788) Done at Portsmouth (New Hampshire) this fifth day of the ninth monthof the thirty-eighth year of Meiji, corresponding to the twenty-thirdday of August (fifth September), one thousand nine hundred and five. (Signed) JUTARO KOMURA (L. S. ) (Signed) K. TAKAHIRA (L. S. ) (Signed) SERGE WITTE (L. S. ) (Signed) ROSEN (L. S. ) In conformity with the provisions of Articles III and IX of theTreaty of Peace between Japan and Russia of this date, theundersigned Plenipotentiaries have concluded the following additionalArticles: I. To Article III. The Imperial Governments of Japan and Russiamutually engage to commence the withdrawal of their military forcesfrom the territory of Manchuria simultaneously and immediately afterthe Treaty of Peace comes into operation, and within a period ofeighteen months from that date, the Armies of the two countries shallbe completely withdrawn from Manchuria, except from the leasedterritory of the Liaotung Peninsula. The forces of the two countries occupying the front positions shallbe first withdrawn. The High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves the right tomaintain guards to protect their respective railway lines inManchuria. The number of such guards shall not exceed fifteen perkilometre and within that maximum number, the commanders of theJapanese and Russian Armies shall, by common accord, fix the numberof such guards to be employed, as small as possible having in viewthe actual requirements. The Commanders of the Japanese and Russian forces in Manchuria shallagree upon the details of the evacuation in conformity with the aboveprinciples and shall take by common accord the measures necessary tocarry out the evacuation as soon as possible and in any case notlater than the period of eighteen months. (789) II. To Article IX. As soon as possible after the present Treaty comesinto force, a Commission of Delimitation, composed of an equal numberof members to be appointed respectively by the two High ContractingParties, shall on the spot mark in a permanent manner the exactboundary between the Japanese and Russian possessions on the Islandof Saghalien. The Commissions shall be bound, so far as topographicalconsiderations permit, to follow the fiftieth parallel of northlatitude as the boundary line, and in case any deflections from thatline at any points are found to be necessary, compensation will bemade by correlative deflections at other points. It shall also be theduty of the said Commission to prepare a list and description of theadjacent islands included in the cession and finally the Commissionshall prepare and sign maps showing the boundaries of the cededterritory. The work of the Commission shall be subject to theapproval of the High Contracting Parties. The foregoing additional Articles are to be considered as ratifiedwith the ratification of the Treaty of Peace to which they areannexed. (789) Portsmouth the 5th day, 9th month, 38th year of Meiji correspondingto the 23rd August, 5th September, 1905. (Signed) JUTARO KOMURA (L. S. ) (Signed) K. TAKAHIRA (L. S. ) (Signed) SERGE WITTE (L. S. ) (Signed) ROSEN (L. S. ) INDEX Abdication, Shomu; Fujiwara policy Abe, Princess, becomes Empress Koken Abe family and Nine Years' Commotion; Minister of the Left --Kozo, on moral influence of Chinese classics --Masahiro, policy in 1853; attempts to strengthen Tokugawa --Muneto, brother of Sadato, war in Mutsu --Nakamaro (701-70), studies in China --Sadato (1019-1062), in Nine Years' Commotion --Seimei, astronomer, his descendants in Gakashujo --Shigetsugu (1600-51) --Tadaaki (1583-1644), minister of Iemitsu Abutsu-ni (d. 1283), author of Izayoi-nikki Academies for youth of uji, Gaku-in; temple-schools, iera-koya;established by Yoshinao; the Honga school; schools in Yedo and Osaka;for court nobles Acha-no-Tsubone Achi, Chinese prince, migrates to Japan (289 A. D. ) with weavers;carpenters; and Saka-no-ye no Tamuramaro Adachi family, connexion with Hojo, Miura plot against; crushed(1286) Adahiko, son of Omi, befriends Oke and Woke Adams, Will (d. 1520), English pilot on Liefde, adviser of Ieyasu;Saris distrusts; tomb (ill. ) Adoption, law of, in Court Laws; in Tokugawa fiefs; laws of After-Han dynasty (211-65) of China Aganoko, lands confiscated Agglutinative language Agriculture, early development of; and religion; encouraged by Sujin;in reign of Suinin; on state revenue lands; in years 540-640; in Naraepoch; in Heian; in Kamakura period; under Yoshimune; Americans inremodelling methods of; growth in 19th century Ai river, fighting on Ainu, nature-worship of; language; subdivision of yellow race; ill. Aizu, meeting-plan of armies in Shido shogun campaign; clan loyal toshogun at Restoration Akabashi Moritoki Akagashira, "red head, " Akahige, "red beard, " Yemishi leader in 8thcentury Akahito see Yamabe Akahito Akakura at Sekigahara Akamatsu, large land-holdings of; Ashikaga Yoshinori plots against --Mitsusuke (1381-1441), rebels against Yoshimochl; defeated --Norimura (1277-1350), defender of Go-Daigo; turns against Crown;captures Kyoto (1336); and Ashikaga --Norishige, revolts in Kyushu --Sadamura, among generals attacking Mitsusuke --Yoshimura, guardian of Ashikaga Yoshiharu Aka-Nyudo, "Red Monk, "; see Yamana Mochitoyo Akasaka taken by Hojo Akazome Emon, authoress of Eigwa Monogatari Akechi Mitsuhide (1526-82), soldier under Nobunaga; goes over to theMori; shogun; tries to kill Ieyasu; death Aki, province Aki, daughter of Kiyo and Fujiwara Yoshifusa, Montoku's empress Akimoto Yasutomo (1580-1642) rebuilds Ieyasu's shrine Akitoki see Kanazawa Akitoki Akizuki of Kyushu, defeated by Otomo Ako, "reliance on equity, " quibble over word Ako, vendetta of Akunoura, foundry Akuro-o, Yemishi leader in 8th century wars, possibly Oro-o, i. E. Russian Alcock, Sir Rutherford (1809-97), on aliens in Japan Alderman, over homestead of 50 houses Alexieff, E. I. (b. 1843), Russian admiral, in command at Port Arthur Aliens, in prehistoric ban or bambetsu; naturalized, skilledartisans, the tamibe; see Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Altaic myth; group of languages Amako family crushed in Izumo by the Mori --Tsunehisa (1458-1540), rivalry with Ouchi --Yoshihisa (1545-1610), defeated by Mori --Amakusa, Portuguese trade and Christianity in; Shimabara revolt Ama-no-Hihoko, prince of Shiragi, Korea, settles in Tajima Amaterasu-o-mi-Kami, Sungoddess Amida, the Saviour; Amida-ga-mine, shrine, near Kyoto, tomb ofHideyoshi Amur river, battle on, (660 A. D. ) with Sushen; Russia's position on Amusements, prehistoric; in early historic times; in Heian epoch; atKamakura; in Muromachi epoch; (ills. ) Anahobe, Prince, rival of Yomei for throne; to succeed Yomei Anato now Nagato Ancestor-worship, apotheosis of distinguished mortals; grafted onBuddhism Ando family revolt --Shoshu, suicide (1333) Andrew, Prince, Arima Yoshisada Ane-gawa, battle (1570) Ane-no-koji family Animals, killing, forbidden in reign (741) of Koken; earlier; in timeof Tsunayoshi; result in stock farming; worship of; mythical andterrible beasts in early records; pets Anjin-Zuka, tomb of Will Adams, (ill. ) "Anjiro, " Japanese interpreter of Xavier Ankan, 27th Emperor (534-535) Anko, 20th Emperor (454-456), 111-12; palace Ankokuji Ekei see Ekei Annam, trade with Annen, priest, compiles Doji-kyo Annual Letter of Jesuits Anotsu, Ise, China trade Anra, province Mimana Ansatsu-shi, inspectors of provincial government Anthology, first Japanese, "Myriad Leaves, "; of poems in Chinesestyle, Kwaifu-so; the Kokin-shu, 10th century; the three, of theHo-en epoch; the Hyakunin-isshu of Teika; in the Kyoto school Antoku, 81st Emperor (1181-1183); drowned at Dan-no-ura; perhaps agirl Antung, on Yalu, Russians defeated Aoki Kaneiye, metal-worker of Muromachi period Konyo, scholar, studies Dutch (1744); introduces sweet potato Aoto Fujitsuna criticizes Hojo Tokiyori Ape, worship of Apotheosis, one class of Kami formed by Aqueducts in irrigation Arai Hakuseki (1656-1726), Confucianist, author of Sotran I gen(ill. ); retired; opposes forcing Imperial princes into priesthood Arakahi, defeats Iwai in Chikugo (528 A. D. ) Archaeological relics Archery, early development of; in reign of Temmu; equestrian, in Naraepoch; (ill. ) Architecture, in proto-historic times; influenced by Buddhism; inHeian epoch; Kamakura period; Muromachi Are see Hiyeda Are Ariga, Dr. , on Korean influence on early relations with China; onsupposed moral influence of Chinese classics; on false attribution toShotoku of estimate of Buddhism; on Joei code Arii, adherents of Southern Court in Sanyo-do Arima, in Settsu, thermal spring; Jesuits and Buddhists in;represented in embassy to Europe Arima Yostosada (d. 1577), brother of Omura Sumitada, baptized asAndrew --Yoshizumi rebels Arisugawa, one of four princely houses --Prince (1835-95), leader of anti-foreign party Arita, porcelain manufacture Ariwara, uji of princely descent; Takaoka's family in; academy;eligible to high office --Narihira (825-882), poet; (ill. ) --Yukihira (818-893), poet; founds academy, (881) Armour, Yamato, in sepulchral remains; in Muromachi epoch; early armsand armour; after Daiho; in Heian epoch Army see Military Affairs Army and Navy, Department in Meiji government Army inspector Arrow-heads Artillery, early use Artisans, in prehistoric tamibe; Korean and Chinese immigrants Arts and Crafts, promoted by Yuryaku; Chinese and Korean influence;in Kamakura period; in Heian epoch; patronized by Yoshimasa; firstbooks on; in Muromachi epoch; in time of Hideyoshi; patronized byTsunayoshi Asahina Saburo (or Yoshihide) son of Wada Yoshimori Asai family control Omi province; Nobunaga's struggle with; helped byBuddhists --Nagamasa (1545-73), won over to Nobunaga; joins Asakura, defeated Asaka Kaku, contributor to Dai Nihon-shi Asakura family in Echizen; struggle with Nobunaga; helped byBuddhist priests --Yoshikage (1533-73), defeated by Hideyoshi Asama, eruption (1783) Asan, Korea, occupied by Chinese (1894) Asano Nagamasa (1546-1610); in charge of commissariat; sent to Korea(1598) --Naganori, daimyo of Ako, exile, suicide, avenged by "47 Ronins, " --Yukinaga (1576-1613), against Ishida Ashikaga family favour Yoritomo; revolt of; shogun of Northern court;government; internal quarrels; estimate by Rai Sanyo; fall of;government; scholarship; school; Buddhism; against Hojo; end ofshogunate of --Chachamaru, kills his father Masatomo --gakko, great school, under patronage of Uesugi --Haruuji (d. 1560), kubo --Masatomo (1436-91), kubo; builds fort at Horigoe; succession --Mitsukane (1376-1409), kwanryo; assists the Ouchi --Mochinaka, brother of Mochiuji, sides with Ogigayatsu --Mochisada, intrigue to make him high constable --Mochiuji (1398-1439), kwanryo; sides with Yamanouchi branch ofUesugi; suicide --Motouji (1340-67), son of Takauji; kwanryo; urged to become shogun --Shigeuji (1434-97), kubo Ashikaga Tadafuyu (1326-1400), son of Takauji, rebels in Kyushu;joins Southern party in 1353; takes and loses Kyoto --Tadayoshi (1307-52), assistant governor-general of Kwanto;governor of Totomi; kills Morinaga; practically regent; in Ashikagarevolt; chief of general staff; plots against the Ko brothers, defeated, joins Southern party; suicide --Takamoto, kubo --Takauji (1305-58), joins Go-Daigo; provincial governor; plotsagainst Morinaga; declares himself shogun; captures Kyoto; changesplans; crushes Tadayoshi; defeated; death, estimate; shogun(1338-58); distributes estates; letters; shrine of Hachiman; Buddhisttemples; signature (ill. ) --Ujimitsu (1357-98), kwanryo; wishes to be shogun; strengthens familyin Kwanto; literature --Yoshiaki (1537-97), shogun; turns to Mori, defeated; Hideyoshiintrigues with --Yoshiakira (1330-67), kwanryo of Kwanto; succeeds Tadayoshi;de-thrones Suko; defeats Tadafuyu; shogun; surrender and death; plotagainst --Yoshiharu (1510-50), shogun (1521-45) --Yoshihide (1565-8), shogun --Yoshihisa (1465-89), shogun (1474-89); Onin war; declared heir;administration; scholarship --Yoshikatsu (1433-43), shogun --Yoshikazu (1407-25) shogun (1423-5) --Yoshikiyo, advances on Tamba; killed --Yoshikore --Yoshimasa (1435-90), shogun; succession; retires; fosters letters --Yoshimi (1439-91), called Gijin, heir of Yoshimasa; deserted byYamana (1469); retires (1477) --Yoshimichi see Ashikaga Yoshizumi Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), shogun at Muromachi (1367-95);extravagant administration; foreign policy; dies, receives rank ofex-Emperor; treatment of Crown; and piracy; favours Zen priests --Yoshimochi (1386-1428), shogun; succeeds his father Yoshimitsu inmilitary offices; rebellion against; excesses --Yoshinori (1394-41), shogun (1428-41); abbot, called Gien; rule;killed; relations with China; grants Ryukyu to Shimazu --Yoshitane (1465-1523), shogun; rule; defeated by HatakeyamaYoshitoyo; death --Yoshiteru (1535-65), shogun, (1545-65); suicide; receives Vilela --Yoshitsugu, killed by his brother Yoshimochi --Yoshiuji, last kubo --Yoshizumi, originally Yoshimichi (1478-1511), shogun; nominal rule;death Ashina of Aizu Asiatic yellow race Askold, Russian protected cruiser at Port Arthur Asbmaro, governor of Dazaifu, wins favor of Dokyo Assumption, De l', martyrdom (1617) Aston, W. G. , on dates in "Chronicles, "; Korean origin of Kumaso;purification service; neolithic boats; chronology; invasions ofKorea; Japanese authority in Korea; local records; 17-ArticleConstitution; women in Heian epoch; Yoshitsune's letter; invasion ofKorea Asuka, Empress Komyo Asuka, capital moved to; palace built by Kogyoku Asuka-yama, groves Asukara Norikige, high constable, crushes revolt Asylum established by Fujiwara Fuyutsugu Ata rebels against Sujin Ataka Maru, great ship of Bakufu, broken up by Tsunayoshi Atalanta Izanagi Atogi, Korean scribe Atsumi Hirafu, defeated by Chinese in Korea (662) Atsunaga, brother of Atsvnari; see Go-Shujaku Atsunari, Prince, son of Ichijo; see Go-Ichijo Atsuta, Hachiman's shrine Auditor of accounts Auguries Augustins in Japan Avatars of Buddha, Kami Awa, mythical first island; culture of mulberry and hemp in; overrunby Taira Tadatsune; invaded by Yoritomo; won from Satomi by HojoUjitsuna; Miyoshi in; indigo growing Awada, Mahito, on committee for Daiho laws (701) Awadaguchi, swordsmith Awaji, island, in early myth; Izanagi goddess of; Sagara exiled to;reduced by Hideyoshi Awo, Princess, sister of Woke, rules in interregnum Axe, in fire ordeal Ayala (d. 1617), Augustin vice-provincial, executed Azuchi, in Omi, fort built by Nobunaga; church and residence forpriests Azuke, placing in custody of feudatory Azuma, eastern provinces, origin of name --Kagami, 13th century history, on Hojo Yasutoki Azumi, temple of Babylonian myth Backgammon or sugoroku Badges; and crests Baelz, Dr. E. , on stature and race of Japanese; on shape of eye Bakin, on last years of Minamoto Tametomo Bakufu, camp government, military control, Yoritomo's system ofshogunate; three divisions; entrusted with choice of emperor (1272 &1274); power weakened by Mongol invasion; and rapidly fails;Go-Fushimi appeals to; re-created at Kyoto by Takauji; in Muromachiperiod; at Yedo; oath of loyalty, to; Tokugawa B. ; appointing power, and other powers; exiles Yamaga Soko for heterodoxy; power lessenedby Chinese learning; B. Party in Kyoto; relations with Court;organization; decline of power; Court nobles and Emperor begin tooppose; puts through Harris commercial treaty; and foreignrepresentatives; pledged (1861) to drive out foreigners in 10 years;further interference of Crown and Court party; power ended Baltic squadron, Russian, defeated by Togo Bambelsu or Ban, aboriginal class Bandits commanded by Buddhist priests in 10th century; their outrages Bando or Kwanto provinces, army raised in, during 8th century; seeKwanto Banishment; edict of 1587, against Christians Banzai, "10, 000 years, " viva Baptismal flags Barley, cultivation of, urged as substitute for rice Basho see Matsuo Basho Batchelor, Rev. John, on pit-dwellers Battering-engine Battle Era, Sengoku Jidai, 1490-1600 Be, guilds or corporations; hereditary, not changed by Daika;property of Crown; of armourers; fishermen Bekki Shoemon, in plot of 1652 Bell, of Hoko-ji, "treasonable" inscription on; on public-servicehorses; bronze bells; Nanban (ill. ); bell-tower (ill. ); suzu Benkei, halberdier Betto superintendent of uji schools; president of samurai-dokoro;regent, shikken, head of man-dokoro, office hereditary in Hojofamily; head of monju-dokoro, becomes finance minister of shogun(1225) Bidatsu, 30th Emperor (572-85) Biddle, James. (1783-1848), Commodore, U. S. N. , in Japan (1846) Bifuku-mon-in, consort of Toba, mother of Konoe Bin, Buddhist priest, "national doctor"; death Bingo, woman ruler, in Bingo, Saburo, see Kojima Takanori Birth customs Bison, fossil remains Bita-sen, copper coins Bitchu, province, Yoshinaka's force defeated in; invaded by Hideyoshi Biwa, 4-stringed lute; biwabozu, players; (ill. ) Biwa, Lake Bizen, swordsmith Bizen transferred from Akamatsu to Yamana family Black, early colour of mourning Black Current see Kuro-shio Boards of Religion and Privy Council under Daiho code Bogatyr, Russian protected cruiser wrecked Bondmen and Freemen, division by Daika; by Jito's edict Bonita, curing, industry Bonotsu, Satsuma Borneo, possible source of Kumaso Boxer Rebellion, Japanese troops in China during Brack, Dutch ship Bramsen, William, on early dates in "Chronicles" Branding Braziers Brewing Bribery and sale of office, attempts to abolish Bridges, (ill. ) Brine in cosmogony Brinkley, Capt. Frank (1841-1912), article in EncyclopaediaBritannica quoted; Oriental Series referred to Bronze culture in South; traces before the Yamato; bells; mirrors, bowls, vases in Yamato tombs; great statue of Buddha Buddha, early images of; copper images ordered in 605; golden imageof, from Shiragi (616 and 621); great bronze Nara image (750 A. D. );Kami incarnations of, theory of Mixed Shinto; bronze image (1252) atKarnakura; great image at Kyoto; replaced by bronze Buddhism introduced 552 A. D. ; use of writing; early politics; rapidspread; priests above law; architecture; music; Empresses; disastersand signs check spread; in Xara epoch; abdications; decline ofYamato; industry; funeral of Shomu; time of Kwammu; officialadvancement; vices of priests; superstition; in Heian epoch; inYorimasa uprising; Hojo regents: sects; Korean and Chinese; threeVehicles; soldier priests; crushed by Yoshinori; amulets; Chinesepriests; combined with Confucianism and Shinto; Ashikaga; wars ofmonks; revolt in Settsu; oppose Nobunaga; in Komaki war; spies inKyushu; Hideyoshi; priests of Kagoshima; in Choshu; in Yamaguchi;persecuted in Hirado by Christians; priests converted by Vilela;Ieyasu's laws; gains by suppression of Christianity Bugyo, commissioners of Muromachi; 5 administrators under Hideyoshi;special appointees to rich fiefs; under Babufu; in Emperor's andex-Emperor's court Building-land, tenure Buke, see Military houses. Bukyo Shogaku, "Military Primer, " by Yamaga Soko Bummei Ittpki, work of Ichijo Kaneyoshi Bungo, Tsuchi-gumo in; Xavier in; Jesuit headquarters; Christiansuccess among nobles; in embassy of 1582 Bunji-kin, debased coins of 1736-40 Bunka, period, 1804-17 Bunroku, period, 1592-5 Bunsei, period, 1818-29 Bureaux, under Daika Burial, jars of Yamato; primitive methods; coffins; honour of tombs;mounds, limited in size; funeral customs Bushi; originated in N. E. Japan; name first used of guards; virtuesof, typified in leaders of Nine Years' Commotion; generaldescription; of Kwanto described; fighting against Mongols; outragesin provinces Bushido, way of the warrior; cult developed by Yamaga Soko; and byYoshimune Butsu Sorai see Ogyu Sorai Butter, tribute to Court Buzen, Tsuehi-gumo in Byodo-in, Tendai temple; prison of Go-Daigo Cabinet under Restoration rule; crisis over Korea (1873); of 1885;dependent on Crown Cabral; Francis (1529-1609), Jesuit Vice-provincial, on earlymissions, hospitals, Buddhists Calendar, Prince Shotoku; revision of 1683; further revision plannedby Yoshimune Calligraphy Calthrop, Capt. , on Oriental tactics Cambodia, trade with Camera government, insei, proposed by Go-Sanjo; under Shirakawa;Go-Shirakawa; Yoritomo establishes giso at the Inchu; the threerecluses; system destroyed by Shokyu war; in Kamakura regency; cameraparty at court; in Northern court Canals Canonical names of emperors Capital changed at beginning of reign; Jimmu's change to Yamato;Chuai's to far south; to Nara (709) and previous changes; changeshelped road building; change from Nara to Kyoto (792); from Kyoto toFukuhara Capital Punishment Caps, official, as insignia of rank; effect of, on hair dressing; caprank replaced by cap grade after Daika; varnished gauze Car, of Enryaku-ji Caron, Francis, Dutch trader, on Japanese martyrs Cart, hunting, 126; "compass cart"; Heian epoch Casting in Nara epoch Castles Catapult Caterpillar, worship, of Cats, pets in Heian epoch Cattle, not used for food in early Japan, killing forbidden;Christians accused of eating Cavalry, in capital; in war Censor; in Tokugawa organization; as judge Census, reign of Sujin; time of Daika, (645 A. D. ); classifications, under Daiho; by Buddhist and Shinto priests Central Department, under Daika; under Daiho Centralization of government Ceramics, primitive; Yamato; Korean; Gyogi; Heian; Kamakura;Muromachi Cereals, five; premiums for large crops Ceremonies, Department of, under Daika; under Daiho; 15 masters of, Koke; law (927) Chamberlain, Basil Hall, on dates in early "Chronicles"; meaning ofKami; classification of language; village communities; ancient dress;Altaic myth; names; education; Doji-kyo; swords Chamberlain; pass on cases referred to shogun Chancellor, dajo daijin; abolished; Ashikaga Yoshimitsu Changan, Tang metropolis, Kyoto patterned after Chao Heng, Chinese name for Abe Nakamaro Charlevoix, quoted on Spanish galleon incident Chekiang, attacked by pirates (1559) Chemulpo, Russians in, attacked and defeated by Uryu; landing-placefor Japanese attack Cheng Cheng-kung Cheng Chi-lung, general of Ming dynasty Chengtsz, Confucian commentaries of Chen Hosiang, bonze Chen Weiching (Chin Ikei), Chinese envoy to Japanese in Korea; andnegotiations for peace Cherry-trees, groves; festivals Chiba, branch of Taira; one of "8 Generals of Kwanto" Chiba Tsunetane (1118-1201), favours Yoritomo; sent to Kyoto Chichibu, copper in, (708) Chichibu branch of Taira Chihaya in Hojo war Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724), dramatist, Chikauji see Tokugawa Chikauji Chikayoshi see Nakahira Chikayoshi Chiksan, battle, (1597), 519 Chikuzen province, Dazai-fu in; Toi attack; Mongol landing China, "High Plain of Heaven"; "Eternal Land"; architecture; bronzebells; bronze mirrors; Buddhism; calendar; ceramics; chronology; clayeffigies; coinage; Crown; divination; government; literature;morality; myth; nobility; painting; promotion of officials; relationsand early intercourse; scholars in Japan; Hideyoshi's plan toconquer; interference in Korea; Ming dynasty; trade; Formosa;China-Japan war; Boxer rebellion; Russia; Treaty of Portsmouth; ofPeking; finances Chin Ikei see Chen Weiching Chinju, fort in Korea, taken by Japanese Chinju-fu, local government station in Korea Chinnampo, landing-place for Japanese (1904) Cho, Korean envoy Cho Densu see Mineho Chokei, 98th Emperor (1368-72) Chokei see Miyoshi Norinaga Chokodo estates Choko-ji, castle in Omi Chollado, southern Korea, attacked by pirates Chomei see Kamo Chomeii Chong-ju, Korea, Cossacks defeated at Cho-ryung, pass in Korea Chosen, name of Korea, first use Choshu, Xavier in; feudatory of, opposes Tokugawa and joinsextremists; Shimonoseki complication; revolt of samurai; joinsSatsuma against Tokugawa; fiefs surrender to Crown; clanrepresentation Chosokabe family in Shikoku punished by Hideyoshi --Motochika (1539-99), masters Tosa and all Shikoku; in Komaki war; ininvasion of Kyushu Christianity, Nestorian in China; Azuchi castle; invasion of Korea;in Japan; Imperial edict against; aid given by Nobunaga; Hideyoshi'sattitude towards; his edict of 1587; Ieyasu's treatment and hisedicts; Christians side with Hideyori; Hideteda's edict (1616), (1624); teaching in Osaka after edicts; and Buddhist and Shintocensus; laws against (1635, 1665); Ieyasu distinguishes betweencommerce and; Dutch not propagandists; opposition in 1853 "Chronicles, " Early Japanese, Nihongi, general; character; superiorto Records; accuracy of chronology; contradicts Records; Chinesecolour in; conquest of Korea; stories from Korean history Chronology; inaccuracy; invasion of Korea; reign of Nintoku Chrysanthemum, Imperial badge Chu Chi-yu, Chinese scholar --Hi, Hayashi follows Chuai, 14th Emperor (192-200) Chugoku, central Japan, invaded by Hideyoshi Chukyo, 85th Emperor (1221) Chusan, Mimasaka, Kami of Chushin, Zen priest, pupil of Soseki Choson-ji, monastery, with graves of the Fujiwara of the North Chutsz (Shu-shi), Confucian commentaries of; rejected by Yamaga Soko;officially adopted; expounded by Japanese scholars; contrasted withWang Yang-ming Chu Yuan see Sogen Chozan, ruler of Ryukyu (1373) Cicada-shaped hair ornaments City administration; municipal rulers; administrators; elders Civil affairs and Civil Government, departments Clan representation under Meiji government Clay Effigies, haniwa, from neolithic sites; substituted for humansacrifice at tomb Clepsyora, Chinese Clocks Cloistered monarchs; and set Camera "Cloud chariot, " war tower Clove, English ship Cock-fighting Cocks, Richard, English factor, warns Yedo Court against Spain;apparent cause of edict of 1616; successor of Saris Code, ryo, of Daiho (701 A. D. ) and Yoro (718 A. D. ); of 1742; of 1790 Coelho, Gaspard (d. 1590), vice-provincial of Jesuits, ordered (1587)from Japan Coinage, Wado era (708-715); Nara epoch; of Heian epoch; Chinese;Hideyoshi's time; plan to debase (1673-80); Genroku debased coin;exports of metal from Nagasaki; attempt to restore (1710); againdebased; foreign trade Colours of Court costume, grades; indicating social status Combs, ancient Commerce, early; after Daika; Nara epoch; Heian; Muromachi; underHideyoshi; Portuguese; motive for permission to preach; Dutch; traderules; commercial spirit in Yedo; in Tokugawa period; exclusion;coinage and European trade Commercial class Conception, miraculous Concubinage; classes at court Conder, J. , on armour Confiscation of lands as punishment, or as expiation of offence;escheat at Daika; punishment under Tokugawa Confucianism, Shotoku on; modifying Buddhism; in Tokugawa period;favoured by Ko-Komyo, and Tsunayoshi; Confucianists eligible forcivil posts; Yamaga Soko; combined with Shinto; Japanese schools of;hold on educated class; vendetta Conscription, first (689 A. D. ) in Japan; partial abolition of (780, 792) Constable, High, and lord high constable, in Yoritomo's land reform;city constables Constitution, of Shotoku (604 A. D. ), text and comment; afterRestoration (1889) Constitutionist party Consular courts Cooking in ancient Japan; in Muromachi epoch Cooper, master, of Manhattan Copper in Japan; use for images of Buddha, exhausts currency; Chinesecoins; in 15th century trade, debased Japanese coin; exports ofNagasaki Coronation Oath of 1867 Cosmogony Cost of living Costume, prehistoric; in Inkyo's reign; Chinese and Buddhistinfluence; Nara epoch; Heian; Kamakura period; laws of MilitaryHouses; Sadanobu's laws Cotton first planted in Japan (799); cloth, tax; cloth as currency Council, Administrative, of Man-dokoro --of Twelve, at camera Court Councillor, Sangi, establishment of office Couplet Composing, ula awase; court amusement; at "winding-waterfete" and other festivals; mania for; tournaments; in Heian epoch;Kamakura; Tokugawa Court, costume, colours and kinds; ceremonial; for Imperial power seeCrown Court houses or families, kuge; come into power again at restoration;in Muromachi period; driven to provinces; Ieyasu's laws for;intermarriage with military; college for, established by Ninko;influenced by anti-foreign party; in Restoration; distinction betweenterritorial and court nobles abolished (1871) Court of justice, hyojo-sho; first, (1631) Court, Northern and Southern; and see Dynasties Crasset on Christian persecution of Buddhists Creation, story of Cremation, introduced Crimes in ancient Japan; classified in Daiho code; see Penal Law Crocodile myth Crown, property of; shifts in power of; divine right; Ashikaga; inSengoku period; Nobunaga; Ieyasu's Court Laws; Tokugawa; Chineseclassics strengthen; Tsunayoshi; loyalty; American commercial treaty;rescript to shogun; turns against extremists; Restoration of 1867;growth of power; Cabinet dependent on Crown Prince, in proto-historic period, above the law Crucifixion, haritsuke Currency in Ashikaga period; see Coinage Customs tariff Daian-ji temple Dai-Dembo-In, monastery of Shingon sect in Kii Daiei, year-period, 1521-8 Daigo, 60th Emperor (898-930) Daigo, suburb of Kyoto Daiho (Taiho), year-period, legislation of; revision Daijo-uji of Hitachi, branch of Taira Daika or Taikwa "Great Change, " 645 A. D. ; name of first nengo oryear-period; reforms Daikagu-ji family, afterwards Nan-cho, the Southern Court, descendants of Kameyama; passed over; treatment by Ashikaga Daikwan, deputy or vice-deputy; tax assessor; judge Daimyo, "great name, " holder of large estate; holdings; Buddhism;10, 000 koku or more; powers Dai Nihon-shi, "History of Great Japan, "; on military era Dairies under Daiho laws Dairo, 5 senior ministers; prime minister Daiseiden College, or Shoheiko, founded by Tokugawa Daitoku-ji, Zen temple in Kyoto Dajo (Daijo) daijin, chancellor, prime minister, 671 A. D. ; PrivyCouncil Board; office abolished Dajo Kwan, Privy Council Dalny occupied by Japanese Dance masks Dancing at funerals; court; music, Korean influence; pantomimic, ofmonkey Sarume in myth; music and poetry; development in Heian epoch;white posture dance, shirabyoshi; mimetic dance, libretto for, develops into no; no and furyu Dan-no-ura, defeat of Taira at Date family of Yonezawa in 16th century wars --Harumune --Masamune (1566-1636); surrenders to Hideyoshi; favours Ieyasu;against Uesugi; loyal to Iemitsu --Yasumune rebels (1413) in Mutsu Dazai-fu, government station in Mimana (Kara, Korea) transferred toKyushu Debt, slavery for, cancellation of interest; legislation (tokusei) of1297 in favour of military families, and under Ashikaga Decoration, Interior Defilement in Shinto code Degradation in rank Deluge myth Demmacho, prison at Demon's gate, N. E. Entrance; guarded by Hieizan, and at Yedo byToei-zan; belief in demons; dragon-headed devil Dengaku mime Dengyo Daishi, posthumous name of Saicho (q. V. ) Dening, W. Life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi; on Confucian philosophy Departments, under Daika; under Daiho Deputy De Ryp, Dutch ship, cannonades Kara castle "Descent" upon Kyushu Descent, Law of in Daiho legislation Deshima, island, Dutch factory on Dewa, Yemishi in; Go-Sannen campaign; (U-shu) part of O-U; 16thcentury wars; silk growing De Witte, Serge Julievitch, Count (b. 1849), Russian peacecommissioner at Portsmouth Diana, Russian ship, sent to survey Yezo; Russian protected cruiserat Port Arthur Dickins, F. V. , translation of Taketori Monogatari Diet, Coronation oath promising; reform leaders differ about;development of; Constitution promulgated; bi-cameral system Dirges at funerals District, gun or kori (originally agata), Daika subdivision, smallerthan province; classification under Daiho; chief of, guncho;governors, gunshi; district governors and title to uplands; in Meijiadministration, cho, or son Divination Doctors, national Doen, Buddhist priest, envoy to China Dogo, Iyo, thermal spring Dogs as pets; dog fights; Tsunayoshi's mania for Doi support Southern Court in Nankai-do Sanehira (d. 1220), Yoritomo's lieutenant; military governor Michiharu (d. 1337), defender of Go-Daigo Toshikatsu (1573-1644), enforces feudal laws Doin Kinkata (1291-1360), minister of Go-Daigo Kinsada (1340-99), scholar Doji, Sanron Buddhist, abbot of Daian-ji Dojima, in Osaka, rice-exchange Dojo, exercise halls Doki (Toki) family favour Takauji; beaten by Saito Yorito (d. 1342), insults Kogon Dokyo see Yuge Dokyo Dolmen in Yamato sepulture; compared with Chinese and Korean;precious metals in Dominicans, Ayala and other marytrs Doryo (Tao Lung) Chinese priest, teacher of Fujiwara Tokimune Dosho, Buddhist priest, introduces cremation Double entendre Drafts, game, prehistoric Dragon, early superstition Dragon-Fly Island, old name of Japan Drama; yokyoku, mimetic dance; no; kyogen; time of Tsunayoshi;theatre in Yedo; illustrations Drums Dualism of Shinto Dug-outs, maruki-bune Duke, kimi; mahito Dukes of the Presence, early official organization Dutch, trade in Japan, beginning 1600, Spanish intrigues against;Dutch and English intrigues against Portuguese and Spaniards; aid inreduction of Christian revolt in Shimabara; trade at Nagasakirestricted; Western learning; refuse grant in Yedo; choose Hirado asheadquarters; the Brack; at Deshima; literature; in 19th century;teachers of military science; give steamship; at Shimonoseki Dwarf trees and miniature gardens Dwelling-Houses, primitive; abandoned on death of owner; generalcharacter in Nara epoch; in Heian epoch; Kamakura; Muromachii Dyeing Dynasties, War of the (1337-92); table Ears of enemy as spoil Earthquake, 416 A. D. ; 599 A. D. Drives people to appeal to EarthquakeKami; in Kyoto (1185), and (1596); of 1662 charged to Emperor's lackof virtue; of 1703 Eastern Army, Hosokawa Onin War Eastern Tsin dynasty (317-420) Chinese migration East India Company Eben, Buddhist priest Ebisu, variant of Yemishi Echigo, barrier settlement (645) against Yemishi; and Matsudaira --Chuta, suicide Echizen, paper money in Education, in ancient Japan; in Nara epoch, in Heian; temple schools;military foundations; at Yedo; in Meiji epoch; see Academies Egawa Tarozaemon advocates foreign intercourse Eight Generals of Kwanto Eigwa Monogatari, "Tales of Splendour, " story of the Fujiwara, byAkazome Emon Eiraku, or Yunglo, Chinese year-period, 1403-22, E. Tsuho, Chinesecoins Eisai (1141-1215), priest Eitai, bridge in Yedo Ekei (d. 1600), priest, of Aki Elder Statesmen Elder, official over five households, under Daika Elephant, fossil Elixir, Hsa Fuh's quest Emishi see Soga Emishi Emperors, long reigns of early; see also Crown Court, PosthumousNames, Camera government Empo, period, 1673-80 Empress, Koken first, to receive Crown except in trust Empress Dowager, Kwo-taiko, title given only to Kwobetsu untilShomu's reign Encyclopedia Britannica, quoted Endo Morito see Mongaku Engaku-ji, temple Engen, period, 1336-9 Engi, period; revision of Rules and Regulations; overthrow ofSugawara Michizane English intrigue against Spanish and Portuguese; refuse grant inYedo; go to Hirado rather than Uraga; early trade; end of trade; fleetexpected (1858); Namamugi incident and bombardment of Kagoshima; theHyogo demonstration; employed in railway, telegraph and navy; treatyof 1894 abolishes consular jurisdiction after 1899; Anglo-Japanesealliance, (text) Enkyo, period, 1069-74 En no Ubasoku (Shokaku; Gyoja, the anchorite), founder of Yamabushipriests Enomoto see Yenomoto Enryaku-ji, Tandai monastery on Hiei-zan; its armed men, yuma-hoshi;jealous of Onjo-ji monks; in Yorimasa conspiracy; in Kyotoconspiracy; quarrel with Takauji; feud with Hongwan-ji; destroyed byNobunaga; rebuilt; named from year-period Envoys, Three, in early myth Enya Takasada (d. 1338), Ko Moronao abducts wife of Enyu, 64th Emperor (970-84) Eshi, Yamato no, painters, descendants of Shinki Esoteric and Exoteric Buddhism Etchu, province "Eternal Land" Ethnologists, Japanese, on origins Etorop raided by Russians (1806) Eto Shimpei (1835-74), minister, revolts Euhemerist interpretation of myths Exoteric Buddhism Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Eye, obliquity, fold, etc. Eyebrows shaved Ezo, Buddhist mission to Face-painting Families, uji, rank in prehistoric times; basis of empire beforeDaika; family qualification for highest Court offices before Heijitumult; names sold in Yoshimune's time Famine of 621 A. D. , turns people against Buddhism; of 1180-1; of1462; of 1673-80; of 1783-6; of 1836 Fans; (ill. ); lotteries; verses on; trade Farmers; taxes; representatives Fenshuiling, Russians defeated at Fernandez, Joao (d. 1566), Portuguese Jesuit, companion of Xavier Festivals, ancient; Buddhist; flower; Heian epoch; Ashikaga;Hideyoshi; Sanno (ill. ); dolls (ill. ) Feudal system, beginnings; Sujin; land-holding; proto-historic; landgrants; Daiho laws; 11th century wars; territorial names; Constablesand land-stewards; Joei code; war of dynasties; 15th century;Hideyoshi's land system; fiefs (1600); hereditary vassals; laws of1635 and 1651; under Tokugawa; sankin kotai; taxes; intermarriagewith court nobles; government; tozama oppose Yedo; in Restoration;abolition, of Filial piety Finance and administration, ancient; in protohistoric tunes; in Naraepoch; in Muromachi epoch; under early Tokugawa; policy of AraiHakuseki; "accommodation" system of 1786; under Tokugawa; in earlyMeiji period Finance or Treasury Department; in 19th century Financial administrator Firearms, first use; commissioners Fish as food Fishermen, revolt of Fishing in early times; laws regulating nets in reign of Temmu;keeping cormorants forbidden; equipment Five Regent Houses, see Go-Sekke Flesh-eating forbidden; defilement Flores, Luis, Flemish Dominican, burned (1622) Flowers, at funerals; festivals; in Heian pastimes; arrangement of;pots Flutes (ill. ) Fo, dogs of Folding paletot Food and drink, ancient; in Nara-epoch; in Kamakura period;Sadanobu's sumptuary laws Football, prehistoric; in proto-historic period; in Heian epoch Forced labour Foreign Affairs, Department of; earliest foreign intercourse;Ashikaga; Muromachi epoch; foreign learning; Tokugawa; militaryscience; Meiji era, 678; foreigners in making new Japan, 686-7;consular jurisdiction abolished; Anglo-Japanese alliance; and seeChristianity, and names of countries Forests of early Japan Formosa, expedition against (1874); ceded by China (1895) Fortification, development; feudal castles built only by permissionof Tokugawa; coast defence Fossil remains Franchise, extension of Franciscans, Spanish, enter Japan "-as ambassadors"; intrigue againstPortuguese Jesuits; punished by Hideyoshi; favoured to offset Jesuitinfluence Freemen and bondmen French in Ryuku (1846); Harris plays off English and French to gethis commercial treaty; at Shimonoseki; in work on criminal law andarmy training; in Manchuria note (1895) Froez, Luis (d. 1597), Portuguese Jesuit Fudoki, Local Records Fuhi, Eight Trigrams of Fuhito see Fujiwara Fuhito Fuhkieri, Kublai at Fuji river, battle on Fuji, Mt. , eruption of, (1707); (ill. ) Fujinami in Ise worship Fujita Toko (1806-55), adviser of Nariaki Fujitsuna see Aota Fujitsuna Fujiwara, in Yamato, capital moved to, by Jito Fujiwara, Shimbetsu family, influence after 670 A. D. ; Imperialconsorts; legislation; historiography; Asuka made Empress; opposeMakibi and Gembo; Buddhism; abdication; family tree; choose Emperors;academy of; increase of power; policy of abdication; depose Yozei;oppose Tachibana; plot against Michizane; interregnum; war of Tairaand Minamoto; influence on Court; oppose Tamehira; family quarrels;literature; Minamoto, "claws" of; provincial branches; Mutsu; powerwanes; Imperial consorts; anti-military; power weakened by Kiyomon;Yoritomo's followers get their estates; conspiracy of 1252; loyal toThrone (1331); Hideyoshi adopted by --Fuhito, son of Kamatari, Daiho and Yoro codes; builds Buddhisttemple; death --Fujifusa, aids Go-Daigo (1326); retires --Fusazaki (682-736), son of Fuhito, founds northern family --Fuyutsugu (775-826); Konin revision of Rules and Regulations;minister founds academy --Hidehira (1096-1187), son of Motohira; aids Yoshitsune; provincialgovernor (1182); death --Hidesato (called Tawara Toda), sides with Taira; founder ofprovincial branches of Fujiwara --Hirotsugu (715-741), governor, impeaches Gembo --Ietaka (1158-1237), poet --Joye, Buddhist student in China (653-65) --Kamatari, muraji of Nakatomi, chief Shinto official, plots againstSoga Iruka (645); Daika; in China; origin of uji name; Kasuga shrine;(ill. ) --Kaneiye (929-99), rivalry with Kanemichi; plot against Kwazan;regent for Ichijo --Kanehira (1228-94), founds house of Takatsukasa --Kanemichi (925-77), father of Enyu's Empress --Kanezane (1147-1207), son of Tadamichi, minister of the Right;nairan and kwampaku; descendants called Kujo --Kinsuye (958-1029), son of Morosuke --Kinto (966-1041) poet, one of Shinagon --Kiyohira (d. 1126), founds Mutsu branch --Kiyotada opposes advice of Masashige --Korechika (974-1010), son of Michitaka --Korekata induces Nobuyori to join Heiji plot --Korekimi --Koretada (942-72), son of Morosuke, regent --Kunimutsu, avenges his father Suketomo --Maro (695-736), founder of Kyo-ke branch --Masatada, governor --Matate (716-67), second councillor under Koken --Michiiye (1192-1252), ancestor of Nijo and Ichijo families --Michikane (955-95), gets Kwazan to become monk; regent --Michinaga (966-1027), regent, his daughter Empress; power --Michinori (d. 1159), called Shinzei, Go-Shirakawa's adviser; killed --Michitaka (953-95), regent --Momokawa (722-79), privy councillor; favours succession of Shirakabeand Yamabe --Morokata aids Go-Daigo (1331) --Moronaga (1137-92), chancellor, banished by Taira Kiyomori --Morosuke (908-60), minister of Right; sons --Morotada, 257; accuses Takaaki of treason --Morozane (1042-1101) --Motofusa (1144-1230), regent; sides with Go-hirakawa, is banished;his daughter --Motohira (d. 1157), son and successor of Kiyohira --Motokata, father of Murakami's consort --Motomichi (1160-1233), advanced by Taira Kiyomori; kwampaku;ancestor of Konoe --Motomitsu, founder of Tosa academy of painters --Mototsune (836-91); sessho under Yozei, first kwampaku (882) underUda --Motozane (1143-66), regent --Muchimaro (680-736), founds the southern (Nanke) family; Buddhisttemples --Nagate (714-71), minister of the Left; favours accession of Konin --Nagazane, father of one of Toba's consorts --Nakamaro (710-64), grand councillor --Nakanari (d. 810), in conspiracy of Kusu --Narichika (1138-78), in Shishi-ga-tani plot --Naritoki, father of Sanjo's Empress --Nobuyori (1133-59), in Heiji tumult --Norimichi (996-1075), quarrels with Go-Sanjo --Noritane, compiler of Teiokeizu --Otsuga (773-843) --Sadaiye (1162-1241), or Teika, poet and anthologist --Sadakuni, father-in-law of Daigo --Sanetaka, minister --Saneyori (900-70), father of Murakami's consort; regent --Sari, scribe --Seigwa, or Seikwa, (1561-1619), Confucianist --Shinzei see Fujiwara Michinori --Sukeyo, scholar --Suketomo (d. 1325). Go-Daigo's minister, exile --Sumitomo (d. 941) turns pirate --Tadahira (880-949), regent; revision of Rules and Regulations --Tadakiyo, commands against Yoritomo --Tadamichi (1097-1164), regent for Konoe, in Hogen insurrection;saves his father; estates --Tadazane (1078-1162), father of Toba's consort; in Hogen tumult;saved by his son --Takaiye (979-1044), repels Toi invaders --Tameiye (1197-1275) --Tamemitsu --Tamesuke --Tameuji, artist --Tanetsugu (737-85); Kwammu's minister, assassinated; father ofconsort of Heijo --Tokihira (871-909), minister plots against Sugawara Michizane; death --Tomiko, wife of Ashikaga Yoshimasa --Toshimoto (d. 1330) --Toshinari (1114-1204), poet, called Shunzei --Toyonari (704-65), minister of Koken --Tsugunawa (727-96); sent against Yemishi --Tsunemune --Tsunetaka --Ujimune, Jokwan revision of Rules and Regulations --Umakai (694-736), founder of the Shiki-ki branch; against Yemishi(724) --Uwona (721-83), privy councillor of Koken --Yasuhira, (d. 1189) --Yorimichi (992-1074), son, of Michinaga, regent; in succession ofTakahito; estates; father of Shirakawa's consort --Yorinaga (1120-56) in Hogen tumult --Yoritada (924-89), son of Saneyori, kwampaku --Yoritsugu (1239-56), shogun (1244) --Yoritsune (1218-56), head of Minamoto (1219) shogun (1226); resigns(1244); against Hojo and Adachi (1247) --Yoshifusa (804-72), minister; marries Kiyo; regent for Seiwa, (866);makes Taka Seiwa'a Empress --Yoshinobu, in Takahito's succession --Yoshitsugu (716-77), privy councillor under Koken; favours Konin Fujiwara, wistaria, origin of uji name Fuki-ayezu, Jimmu's father Fukuchi-yama, castle Fukuhara, now Kobe, villa of Taira Kiyomori in; capital (1180) Fukuri, Chinese saddler Fukushima Masanori (1561-1624), plot against Ishida Funabashi Hidekata (1555-1614), scholar Funada Yoshimasa, officer of Nitta Yoshisada Funai, in Bungo, Jesuit church and hospital Funanoe, mount in Hoki Furniture, house Furs Furubito, Prince, son of Jomei, candidate to succeed Kogyoku; death Furyu, dance Fusa-Kum-Kazusa Fusan, Korea, Japanese restricted to, (1572); captured (1592);landing-place for Japanese attack (1904); Kamimura wins battle near Fushimi, 92d Emperor (1287-98) Fushimi, princely house Fushimi, Hideyoshi's Momo-Yaina palace Futodama and Imibe Gaku-in, academies Gambling Gamo Katahide (1534-84) favours Nobukatsu --Ujisato (1557-96), vassal of Hideyoshi Garden bridge (ill. ) gate (ill. ) Gate guards, in capital; in kebiishi; origin Gates, (ill. ) Gazan, priest Gei-ami, artist Geisha Gembo, Buddhist of Hosso sect; opposes Fujiwara Gemmyo, 43d Empress (708-15); historiography; monument Gems Genbun, year-period, 1736-40, coins of Gen-e (1269-1352), priest, author Genealogical bureau Genji Monogatari "narrative of Minamoto, " work of Murasaki Shikibu Genji or Gen, Chinese pronunciation of Minamoto; divisions of family;epoch of Gen and Hei Genku see Honen Genna, period Genpei (Gempei) Minamoto and Taira; epoch; Genpei Seisuiki, Recordsof Minamoto and Taira Genre pictures, Ukiyoe, 600 Genroku, year period, 1688-1703 Gensho, (44th) Empress (715-23); inaugurates lectures (721) on NihonShoki Genso, priest, interpreter to Korean embassy Gentile names Geology and fossil remains Germans employed by Government Germany joins France and Russia in note on Manchuria (1895); seizespart of Shantung Gido, scholar, adviser of Yoshimitsu Gien see Ashikaga Yoshinori Gifu, Nobunaga's headquarters in Mino Gijin see Ashikaga Yoshimi Gion, temple in Kyoto Glazed pottery Glynn, J. , Commander, U. S. N. , in Nagasaki (1847) Go, game Go, prefix, "second, " with Emperor's name Goa, Jesuits at Go-Daigo, 96th Emperor (1318-39); against Hojo; dethroned; escapesfrom Oki; re-enters Kyoto; his rescripts; after restoration; trickedby Ashikaga Takauji; death; scholarship Go-Enyu, Northern Emperor (1371-82) Go-Fukakusa, 89th Emperor (1246-59) Go-Fushimi, 93d Emperor (1298-1301), son of Fushimi; opposes Go-Daigo Go-Hanazono, 102nd Emperor (1428-65) Gohei, paper strips Go-Horikawa, 86th Emperor (1221-32) Go-Ichijo, 68th Emperor (1017-36) Goji-in, temple in Yedo Go-Kameyama, 99th Emperor (1372-92); abdicates Go-Kashiwabara, 104th Emperor, (1500-26) Go-Kogon, Northern Emperor (1352-71) Go-Komatsu, 100th Emperor (1392-1412), in Northern dynasty (1382-92) Go-Komyo, 110th Emperor (1643-54) Gokuki-ji or To-ji, Shingon temple in Kyoto; temple in Yedo Gokyogoku Yoshitsune, work on landscape gardening Gold in Japan; discovery in Mutsu, and used in great image of Buddha;exported; coins Gold lacquer Golden Pavilion (1397) Golden Tatars in China Go-Mizu-no-o, 108th Emperor (1611-29) Go-Momozono, 118th Emperor (1770-80) Go-Murakami, 97th Emperor (1339-68); escapes to Kanao; asked toreturn after Suko's removal; death Go-Nara, 105th Emperor (1526-57) Gongen see Tokugawa Ieyasu Go-Nijo, 94th Emperor (1301-7), son of Go-Uda Go-Reizei, 70th Emperor (1046-68) Goro see Tokimune Go-Saga, 88th Emperor (1243-46) Go-Saien, 111th Emperor (1654-63) Go-Sakuramachi, (117th) Empress (1762-70) Go-Sanjo, 71st Emperor (1069-72), Prince Takahito Go-Sannen, "After Three-Years War" (1089-91) Goseibai-shikimoku, criminal laws of Yasutoki Go-Sekke, "Five Regent Houses" Gosen-shu, anthology Go-Shirakawa, 77th Emperor (1156-8); camera government (1158-92);life threatened; confined in palace; sent to Rokuhara; underYoshinaka's protection; opposes Yoshinaka; calls Yoritomo to Kyoto;sends Yoshitsune to front; relations with Yoritomo; death Go-Shu jaku, 69th Emperor (1037-45), Prince Atsunaga Go-Toba, 82nd Emperor (1184-98), refuses to appoint Imperial princeshogun; called "original recluse"; quarrels with Yoshitoki; exiled;Japanese verse Goto Matabei, defies Ieyasu; defends Osaka castle --Yujo (1435-1512), metal-worker Go-Tsuchimikado, 103d Emperor (1465-1500) Go-Uda, 91st Emperor (1274-87), son of Kameyama Government, primitive administration; connexion with worship; earlyfinance; reign of Suinin; two-fold classification; uji; feudal andprefectural; under Daika; under Daiho; of Ashikaga; Hideyoshi'sscheme; early Tokugawa; Tokugawa Bakufu; centralized afterRestoration; local, in Meiji era Governor-general of 10 provinces, kwanryo; of 4, kubo Go Yoshihiro, swordsmith Go-Yozei, 107th Emperor (1586-1611) Gozu Tenno, "Emperor Ox-head, " name of Susanoo Granaries, Imperial, miyake; in Korea; in reign of Ankan; of Senkwa Grant, U. S. , suggests compromise over Ryukyu "Great Name Possessor" myth Great-Producing Kami Gromovoi, Russian cruiser at Vladivostok Guards, criticized by Miyoshi Kiyotsura; duties transferred tokebiishi Guilds, be, 71-2, 94; heads of kumi-gashira, in village rule Gunkan Kyojujo, naval college at Tsukiji Gwangyo-ji, temple where Kwazan took tonsure Gyogi, Korean Buddhist priest, propaganda and reconciliation ofBuddhism and Shinto Gyokushitsu, priest, Emperor gives purple robes to Hachijoshima, island Hachiman, War God, at Usa, oracle of; tutelary of Minamoto; shrineof, in Kamakura on Tsurugaoka hill; revenue of temple; patron ofpirates; shrine of Iwashimizu; shrine at Atsuta Hachiman Taro see Minamoto Yoshiiye Hachioka, temple of Hachisuka Iemasa (1558-1638) Hades, myth of Hae, mother of emperors Kenso and Ninken Hagiwara Shigehide, chief of Treasury, debases coinage; his report;impeached Haicheng in fighting of 1894 Hair, racial mark Hair-dressing and hair-cutting, ancient; dividing the hair (mizura)goes out when official caps come in; tied up in time of Temmu; girl'shair bound up by lover; in Heian epoch; in Kamakura period; inSadanobu's laws Hair pins, as insignia; cicada-shaped, marks of grade afterDaika Hai-ryong, Korea Hakamadare Yasusake, bandit Hakata, in Chikuzen, defended against Toi; port in Heian epoch;Mongol envoys executed at; China trade; American vessels allowed inport Hakodate, Americans in Hakone, tolls, at barrier; guarded by Okubo Hakozaki Gulf, Chikuzen, Mongol landing at; bay fortified (1280);base of second Mongol invasion Haku-chi, "White Pheasant, " second nengo or year-period (650-4 A. D. ) Hakuseki see Arai Hakuseki Hall, Consul-General J. C. , translation of Joei code; Kemmu code;Laws of Military Houses Han, Chinese dynasty, later (25-220 A. D. ); disorder after fall of Han, Land of, see Korea Hanawa Naotsugu in defence of Osaka castle Hanazono, 95th Emperor (1307-18) Hand Bay near Kinchou; Russian gunboats in Hanishi, potters Haniwa, clay effigies, buried instead of human sacrifices Haniyasu, half-brother of Sujin, rebels against him Hansho, 18th Emperor (406-11); loyal brother of Richu Hara, castle in Shimabara, occupied by Christians, captured Haranobu see Takeda Shingen Harbin, Russian railway Hare in myth Harem Harima, province, fortifications in, (1280); transferred fromAkamatsu to Yamana (1441) Harris, Townsend (1803-78), U. S. Consul-general, concludes commercialtreaty (1857) Harumoto see Hosokawa Harumoto Harunari see Hitotsubashi Harunari Harvest Festival Hasegawa receive fief of Arima --Heizo in charge of Ishikawa house of correction Hashiba see Toyotomi Hideyoshi --Hidekatsu (1567-93), son of Nobunaga, adopted by Hideyoshi --Hidenaga (1540-91), brother of Hideyoshi --Hideyasu, Ogimaru, son of Ieyasu Hashimoto Sanae favours foreign trade; leader in Imperial movement --Tsunatsune, Viscount (d. 1909) Hatahi, sister of Okusaka, marries Ohatsuse Hatakeyama family, estates; Muromachi kwanryo; one of Five RegentHouses; in Onin disturbance; join Eastern Army (1472); "provinceholders" --Kunikiyo (d. 1364), general under Motouji, removed from office ofshitsuji --Masanaga (d. 1493), succeeds Mochikuni; displaced, driven fromcapital; death --Mitsuiye (d. 1433) captures Sakai (1400); Yoshimochi's minister --Mochikuni (1397-1455), called Tokuhon, minister for AshikagaYoshimasa; succession --Shigetada (1164-1205), at Ichi-no-tani; adviser of Yoriiye;assassinated by Hojo Tokimasa --Yoshinari (d. 1493), large estate, succession; kwanryo --Yoshitoyo (d. 1499) Hatano, brothers killed by Nobunaga Hatsuse, Japanese battleship lost off Port Arthur Hallo-gaki, Prohibitory Writings, code, (1742) Hawking Hayabito or Hayato ("Falcon Men"), palace guard; possibly Kumaso Hayama Muneyori, punished for cowardice Hayashi family, function of reading military laws; trueConfucianists; education at Yedo Doshun or Kazan (1583-1657), Confucianist, on bell-inscription;ethics and history; traces descent of Emperor from Chinese prince Harukatsu, son of Razan, historiographer Mitsukatsu, soldier of Nobunaga Nobuatsu, Confucianist; petitions for pardon of "47 Ronins"; lecturesat Shohei College Razan see Hayashi Doshun Shibei (1754-93) urges coast defense Head, racial marks Heaven, Plain of High, myth "Heavenly Grandchild, " tenson Heavenlv Young Prince Heguri, beginning of power of; descendants of Takenouchi; founder offamily, Tsuku, in Richu's reign; revolt of suppressed Hei and Heike, Chinese name for Taira; Gen and Hei Heian epoch, capital at Kyoto, or Heian-jo (Castle of Peace), 794-1192 A. D. Height as sign of race Heihachiro see Oshio Heihachiro Heiji, year period, 1159-60; the tumult of the year; results Heijo, 51st Emperor (806-9), son of Kwammu Heikautai, battle of (1905) Hemp, cultivation of Herb of longevity Hereditary office and rank; in Shotoku's 17-Article Constitution; theDaika tries to abolish hereditary office holding Hi, river, in myth Hida, messenger in search for Buddhist devotees Hida Hida Takumi, architect Hidehito see Go-Momozono Hidekatsu see Hashiba Hidekatsu Hideiye see Ukita Hideiye Hidenaga see Hashiba Hidenaga Hidetada branch of Tokugawa, extinct with Ietsugu (1716) Hidetada see Tokugawa Hidetada Hidetsugu see Toyotomi Hidetsugu Hideyasu see Matsudaira Hideyasu Hideyori see Toyotomi Hideyori Hideyoshi see Toyotomi Hideyoshi Hie-no-yama, monastery later called Hiei-zan Hiei-zan, mountain N. E. Of Kyoto, between Yamashiro and Omi, on whichwas Enryaku-ji monastery; power checked by Yoshinori; and Takauji; inHokke-ikki; aids Yoshikage against Nobunaga; punished by Nobunaga;monastery rebuilt; abbot invites Vilela to Kyoto Higami, mother of Shomu, consort of Mommu Higashi-dera, temple in Kyoto, Takauji's headquarters Higashiyama, 113th Emperor (1687-1710) Higashi-yama, hill E. Of Kyoto, site of Yoshimasa's palace; name usedof craze for objets d'art, and of lacquer Higuchi Kanemitsu, Yoshinaka's body guard Hiki Munetomo (d. 1203) Yoshikazu, in Bakufu council, plots against Hojo and is assassinated Hikoho no Ninigi, his descent upon Kyushu; rationalization of myth;founder of empire Hinayana, exoteric Buddhism; the Small Vehicle Hino family, shikken in Camera palace Hirado, island, occupied by Mongols (1281); Chinese trade; Xavier in;Portuguese trade; rivalry with Omura; Dutch headquarters, andEnglish; English factory closed (1623) Hirafu, warden of Koshi, campaigns against Sushen (658-660), andYemishi (655) Hiragana, syllabary Hirai, castle Hirasaka, now Ifuyo-saka Hirata Atsutane (1776-1843) on Japanese government; Shinto revival;quoted Hirate Masahide, tutor of Nobunaga, suicide Hirohira, son of Murakami, set aside from succession Hirose, commander, attempts to bottle-up Port Arthur Hirotada see Tokugawa Hirotada Hirotsugu see Fujiwara Hirotsugu Hirozumi see Sumiyoshi Gukei Hisaakira, Prince (1276-1328), shogun (1289-1308) Historiography, early; the "Six National Histories" (697-887);compilations of Tokugawa period Hitachi; Taira in Fudoki, ancient record (715 A. D. ) Maru, Japanese transport sunk by Russians Hitomaru see Kakinomoto Hitomaru Hitotsubashi, branch of Tokugawa eligible to shogunate, named fromgate of Yedo; Ienari's descent from Harunari, father of fenari; reactionary policy; ambition opposed bySadanobu Hiyeda Arc (647), chamberlain, historiography Hiyoshi, Shinto temple Hizen, Tsuchi-gumo in; Mongol invaders in (1281); natives of, settlein China; fiefs surrendered; clan representation --Genji, or Matsuura "Hoe" among early implements; distributed to farmers (723) Hoei, year-period (1704-10) debased coinage of Ho-en, year-period (1135-40) Hogen insurrection (1156; in year-period 1156-8); result Hohodemi, myth of; name applied to Iware in "Chronicles" Hojo, family holding office of shikken; power increased by Tokimasa;Hojo regency established; excellent rule; the nine regents; controlof shogun; Oshu revolt; Go-Daigo overthrows; suicide of leaders;Go-Daigo's rescript; part of estates seized; rising in 1334; systemimitated by the Ashikaga --of Odawara, fight Satomi in Kwanto; alliance with Takeda; theirimportance; last eastern enemy of Nobunaga; defeated by Hideyoshi Hojoki, Annals of a Cell Hojo Kudaiki, on Kanazawa-bunko library --Morotoki, regent (1301-11) --Nagatoki (1230-64), shikken (1256) --Nakatoki, fails to arrest Go-Daigo (1331); escapes from Rokuhara --Sadatoki (1270-1311), regent 1284-1301, and in camera to; successionto Fushimi --Sanetoki founds Kanazawa-bunko --Soun, or Nagauji (1432-1519), reduces taxes; seizes Izu province --Takaiye, commander against Go-Daigo --Takatoki (1303-33), last of Hojo regents, 1311-33; Go-Daigo'squarrel; suicide --Tokifusa, leader against Kyoto in Shokyu struggle; one of firsttandai --Tokimasa (1138-1215), guardian of Yoritomo; killslieutenant-governor of Izu; in Awa; in Suruga; messenger toYoshitsune; governs Kyoto; military regent; constables and stewards;high constable at Court; gives power of Minamoto to Hojo; killsYoriiye, becomes shikken; exiled --Tokimasu, death, (1333) Hojo Tokimori, in southern Rokuhara --Tokimune (1251-84), son of Tokiyori; regent (1256-84); Mongolinvasion; Buddhism, and Buddhist temples; Nichiren --Tokisada succeeds Tokimasa as high constable at Kyoto (1186) --Tokiuji (1203-30) in northern Rokuhara --Tokiyori (1226-33), shikken (1246-66), Miura plot against;cloistered regent; Buddhist temples --Tokiyuki (d. 1353), captures Kamakura --Tsunetoki (1224-46), shikken --Ujimasa (1538-90), against Uesugi; ally of Shingen; defeated byHideyoshi --Ujinao, son of Ujimasa --Ujinori, brother of Ujimasa --Ujitsuna (1487-1543), conquers Kwanto --Ujiyasu(1515-70), conquers Kwanto --Yasutoki (1183-1242) sent against Kyoto at outbreak of Shokyu war;captures the capital; explains treatment of ex-Emperors; one of firsttandai; in regency; thrift and generosity; Joei code; death; Buddhisttemples --Yoshitoki (1163-1224), military regent, defeats Wada Yoshimori; incouncil of Bakufu; in plot against Sanetomo; Go-Toba quarrels with;attitude toward Crown; restored; death Hokke, Hokke-shu, see Nichiren; Hokke-kyo-sutra, book of Nichirendoctrine; Hokke-ikki, war of the sect on Hongwan-ji Hokkyo Enzen, bonze, compiles Joei code Hoko-ji, Buddhist temple in Asuka (587 A. D. ); image; inscription onbell Hoku-cho, Northern court Hokuriku, Prince Home Affairs, Department of, in Restoration government Homestead, 50 houses, under Daika Homma Saburo assassinates Hojo Suketomo --Saemon, Hojo soldier Homuda, life name of Emperor Ojin Homutang, Russian stand at Honcho Hennen-roku, or Honcho Tsugan, history Honda Masanobu (1539-1617) adviser of Ieyasu --Masazumi (1566-1637); Osaka castle; under Hidetada; punished forsecret marriage --Tadakatsu (1548-1610), Ieyasu's general at Sekigahara Honen Shonin, or Genku, (1133-1212), preaches Jodo doctrine Hongi, Original Records of the Free People Hongo, Yedo, college at Hongwan-ji, Shin temple in Kyoto; monks in 16th century wars; feudwith Enryaku-ji; aid Mori, Takeda and Hojo; divided by Ieyasu Honno-ji, temple Hori, general of Ieyasu Horigoe, Izu, fort Horikawa, 73rd Emperor (1087-1107) Horses, cavalry; "horse hunting"; wooden pictures, votive offerings;racing Horyu-ji, Buddhist temple at Nara (607); ideographic inscription in;dancers' masks and records; statues Hoshikawa, son of Kara, seizes treasury and plots for throne Hoshina Masayuki (1609-72), guardian of Ietsuna Hosho-ji, temple built by Shirakawa; cherry picnics; image Hosoi Kotaku, calligraphist Hosokawa, Harima, manor given to Fujiwara Tameiye; family favoursTakauji; large estates; Muromachi kwanryo; one of Five Regent Houses;power in 15th century; Yamana family; Eastern army in Onin struggle;crushed by Miyoshi; "province holders"; in Sanuki --Harumoto (1519-63), son of Sunimoto, in civil war; joined by Kokyo --Katsumoto(1430-73), kwanryo; estates; feud with the Hatakeyama;quarrels with Yamana, shitsuji; death --Kiyouji (d. 1362), goes over to Southern Court; defeated --Masomoto (1466-1507) --Mitsumoto (1378-1426), minister to Ashikaga Yoshimochi --Sumimoto (1496-1520), kwanryo, (1507); exiled --Sumiyuki (d. 1507) --Tadaoki (1564-1645), discloses plot against Ieyasu; tries to killIshida; helps Ieyasu --Takakuni (d. 1531); driven out by Sumimoto's son; death --Yoriyuki (1329-92), guardian of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu; administrationand death Hospitals, Jesuit Hosso, first Buddhist sect in Japan (653); Gembo studies tenets Hostages, women, "Pillow children"; of feudatories at Yedo Hosuseri, myth of Hotta family, Bakufu ministers from --Masamori (1606-51), minister of Iemitsu, suicide --Masamutsu (1810-64) aids Townsend Harris --Masatoshi (1631-84), on succession to shogunate; chief minister;assassinated Hotto, Buddhist abbots Household, unit of administration under Daiho Household Department, under Daika, and Daiho Hsia Kwei, Kamakura painter Hsuan-ming calendar revised (1683) Hsu Fuh, Chinese Taoist, search for elixir of life Hulbert, History of Korea quoted Human sacrifice, at funerals, replaced by use of effigies, abolished;in public works Hun river, Manchuria Hunting in prehistoric times; keeping dogs or falcons forbidden byShotoku Hyakunin-isshu, "Poems of a Hundred Poets" Hyecha, Buddhist priest, instructor of Prince Shotoku Hyogo, now Kobe, in Ashikaga revolt; battle; trade with China;English demonstration (1866) against Hyuga, Kumaso in Ibaraki-doji, bandit Ice storage Ichijo, 66th Emperor (987-1011) --family, one of "Five Regent Houses"; leave Court for Tosa --Fuyuyoshi, scholar --Kaneyoshi (1402-81), regent, adviser of Ashikaga Yoshihisa; author;on religions Ichiman see Minamoto Ichiman Ichinei (I Ning, or Nei-issan), Buddhist priest Ichi-no-tani, near Hyogo, in Settsu, defeat of Taira at Icho-mura, birthplace of Hideyoshi Ideographs, Chinese, historical writing; and Japanese language; dateof introduction; adapted for syllabic purposes; in early laws Ieharu see Tokugawa Ieharu Iehisa see Shimazu Iehisa Iemitsu see Tokugawa Iemitsu Iemochi see Tokugawa Iemochi Ienari see Tokugawa Ienari Ienobu see Tokugawa Ienobu Iesada see Tokugawa Iesada Ieshige see Tokugawa Ieshige Ietsugu see Tokugawa Ietsugu Ietsuna see Tokugawa Ietsuna Ieyasu see Tokugawa Ieyasu Ieyoshi see Tokugawa Ieyoshi Iga, Prince, see Otomo Iharu Atamaro, leader of Yemishi (780) Ii, adherents of Southern Court; Bakufu ministers from; tamarizume --Naomasa (1561-1602), general at Sekigahara --Naosuke, Kamon no Kami (1815-60), advocates foreign intercourse;prime minister at Yedo; Tokugawa Nariaki's opposition to; foreignpolicy; assassinated --Naotaka (1590-1659), minister of Iemitsu, 581, and of Ietsuna Ikeda Isshinsai, friend of Harunari --Nobuteru (1536-84), councillor after Nobunaga's death; defeated --Terumasa (1564-1613), in plot against Ishida; favours Ieyasu Iki, island, in early myth; attacked by Toi, by Mongols; held byJapan Ikki, "revolt" Ikko, Shin sect; Ikko-ikki, war of 1488 Ikkyu Zenji (1394-1481), priest of Daitoku-ji Ikuno, silver mines Imagawa, family, gives refuge to Ashikaga Yoshimichi; against Hojo;in Suruga and Mikawa; Ieyasu's relations with --Motome, general under Date Masamune --Sadayo (Ryoshun), tandai of Kyushu; recalled --Ujizane (1538-1614), son of Yoshimoto --Yoshimoto (1519-60) rules Suruga, Totomi and Mikawa; threatensOwari; defeated at Okehazama (1560) Imai Kanehira, one of Yoshinaka's four body-guards; sacrificeshimself for his master Imibe, corporation or guild of mourners, descent; guard Imperialinsignia; abstainers; commissary agents in provinces; in charge ofTreasury Imjin River, Korea Immigration, shadowed in myths; from Siberia, China, Malaysia andPolynesia; Japanese ethnologists on; of Koreans and Chinese in 3rd &4th centuries; and later; from Shiragi (608) Imna see Mimana Imoko (Ono Imoko), envoy to China (607 A. D. ) Imperial lands Imprisonment Imun, Korea, secured by Kudara with Japan's help Inaba, Princess Yakami of Masayasu, assassin of Hotta Masatoshi Inaba-yama, castle of Saito Inahi, brother of Jimmu Iname see Soga Iname Inamura-ga-saki, cliff near Kamakura Incense fetes Incest India, first Japanese visitor to, Takaoka or Shinnyo Indian architecture, influence of, through Buddhism Indigo growing in Awa Industrial class, in Kamakura period Industry, early Japanese; impulse given by Buddhism in Nara epoch;development in time of Yoshimune; modern manufactures Infantry, use of Inheritance, law of, in Daiho legislation; in feudal system ofTokugawa I Ning see Ichinei Inishiki, Prince Inkyo (Ingyo), 19th Emperor (412-53) In-memoriam services, Shinto Inokami, consort of Konin Inokashira lake and Yedo water-supply Inokuma, general of the Left, executed Ino Tadayoshi, survey of Northern islands (1800) Inouye Kaoru, Marquis (b. 1835) --Tetsujiro, Dr. , on Bushi ethics; on Chutsz and Wang Yang-ming Inquisitors, Bakufu officials at Court after Shokyu war Insei see Camera government Insignia, sacred Imperial, mirror, sword, jewel Inspectors of district officials, after Daika; of provincialgovernment; in temple service Interest on loans Interior decoration, Yamato school "Interior, " Granary of --Ministry of, created by Daika (645) "Invisible" Kami Iratsuko, rebel against Yuryaku, famous archer Iris festival Iroha-uta, text book Iron in Korea; foundry at Akunpura Irrigation, under Sujin; under Nintoku, in 6th and 7th centuries;rice land; in Nara epoch; in Heian epoch; under Yoshimune Iruka see Soga Iruka Isa, early carriage-builder Isawa, headquarters moved from Taga to Ise, shrine of Sun at; Yamatodake at shrine; swords offered; oraclecalls Amaterasu an avatar of Buddha; Watarai shrine; revolt of 1414in; rebuilding shrines; Oda seize; Mori insults the shrine Ise Heishi, branch of Taira Ise Monogatori --Sadachika (1417-73) page of Yoshimasa; marries Yoshitoshi's sister;influence of Ishida Katsushige, soldier of Hideyoshi; brings about Hidetsugu'sdeath; ordered to Korea; plot against Ieyasu; takes Osaka; death Ishide family in charge of Yedo prison Ishido family favours Tadayoshi Ishikawa Island, house of correction on Ishikawa Jinshiro relieves suffering in Kyoto Ishi-yama, temple Ishizu, battle, Akiiye defeated (1338) by Ko Moronao Iso-takeru (Itakeru), son of Susanoo Isuraka, Korean artist Itagaki Taisuke, Count (b. 1837); resigns from cabinet and works forparliament; organizes Liberal party; invited into Cabinet Itakura Katsushige (1542-1624), in bell-inscription plot; in Kyoto --Shigemune (1587-1656), protests against Go-Komyo's activities Italians employed by Government in fine arts Ito Hirobumi, Prince (1841-1909); premier (1885); framer ofconstitution; head of Liberal party; treaty with China; assassinated --Jinsai (1627-1705), Confucianist, 626 --Sukechika (d. 1181), guardian of Minamoto Yoritomo; crushesYoritomo's army Ito, or Wado, Chinese name for Japanese Itsukushima-Myojin, Buddhist shrine Itsutse, brother of Jimmu Iwa, consort of Nintoku, of Katsuragi family Iwai (Ihawi) ruler of Kyushu, blocks invasion of Korea (527) but isdefeated by Arakaho (528) Iwaki, son of Kara, contests throne with Seinei Iwaki-uji, branch of Taira Iwakura Tomoyoshi, Prince (1825-83), leader of moderate party Iware, life-time name of Jimmu Iwasaka, fort in Mikawa Iwatsuki, in Musashi, fortified Iyo, province; oldest ideographic inscription (596 A. D. ); held byKono Izanagi and Izanami, male and female Kami, creators of Japaneseislands Izayoi-nikki, journal of Abutsu-ni Izu, early ship-building in; Minamoto Tametomo exiled to; Yoritomoin; peaceful under Kamakura rule; seized by Hojo Soun (1491) Izumi province, rising of 1399 in --Chikahira revolts against Hojo --Shikibu, poetess of 11th century Izumo in early myth; revolt in causes withdrawal of court fromYamato; gems in; conquered by Mori Jade, "curved-jewel" Japan, name a Dutch (15th century) perversion of Jihpen; early names Jenghiz Khan Jerome, Father Jesuits in Japan; banished, but stay; order to leave checked byHideyoshi's death; Ieyasu plays off Franciscans against; denounceDutch ship as pirate; treated well by Ieyasu Jesus, Jerome de. (d. 1602), Franciscan, interview with Ieyasu Jewel, curved, chaplet, one of Imperial insignia Jih-pen, "Sunrise Island" name used by Chinese Jimmu, Emperor (660-585 B. C. ); chronology dating from accession;ancestry; leader in expedition against Yamato; poem mentioningYemishi; strategem against Tsuchigumo; successors; tomb Jimyo-in family, afterwards Hoku-cho or Northern Court, holdingChokodo estates; gets throne Jingirryo, quoted on Board of Religion Jingo, Empress (201-69); Chinese and Japanese chronology of reign;succession; excluded from dynasties by Dai Nihon-shi Jingu-ji, temple built by Fujiwara Muchimaro, 192 Jinno Shotdki, "Emperor's Genealogy" work on divine right byKitabatake Chikafusa Jinshin, cyclical name for 672 A. D. , civil war Jisho-ji, monastery in Higashiyama, art-gallery Jito, (41st) Empress (690-6), wife of Temmu; historiography; Sushen Jiyu-to, Liberal party organized by Itagaki Joben, one of "four kings" of poetry Jocho, wood-carver Jodo, Buddhist sect introduced (1196) by Honen; creed Joei, year-period, (1232-3); code of 1232; basis of Kemmu code Jokaku, sculptor Jokwan, year-period, revision of Rules and Regulations Jokyo, year-period (1684-7) trade limitations Jomei, 34th Emperor (629-41), Tamura Jo Nagashige, provincial governor, defeated Jorin, scholar, adviser of Yoshimitsu Josetsu (end of 14th century), bonze of Shokoku-ji, painter Joye see Fujiwara Joye Juko see Shuko Jun, mother of Michiyasu (Montoku) Junna, 54th Emperor (824-33) Junnin, 47th Emperor (758-64) Juntoku, 84th Emperor (1211-21), son of Go-Toba, abdicates, calledShin-in, "new recluse"; exiled Juraku-tei, "Mansion of Pleasure" Juro see Sukenari Justice, Department of, Gyobu-sho, under Daiha; under Daiho; in Meijigovernment Justice, court of Justices, land grants to Justo Ukondono see Takayama Kada Arimaro (1706-69) revises code --Azumamaro (1668-1736), scholar, restores Japanese literature; quoted Kaempfer, Engelbert (1651-1716), historian Kagoshima, in Satsume, landing-place (1549) of St. Francis Xavier;bombarded by English Kagu, Mt. , in sun myth Kai, peaceful under Kamakura rule; won by Takeda Shingen; "blackhorse of" Kaigen, priest in charge of Ashikaga-gakko Kai-koku Hei-dan, book by Hayashi Shibei, urging coast defense Kaikwa, 9th Emperor (157-98 B. C. ) Kaizan, priest of Myoshin-ji Kajiwara Kagetoki (d. 1200), fighting against Yoritomo, sympathizeswith him; military governor; in command of fleet quarrels withYoshitsune; warns Yoritomo against Yoshitsune Kakinomoto Hitomaru, poet, end of 7th century Kamada Masaie, companion of Yoshitomo, death Kamako see Nakatomi Kamako Kamakura, S. Of present Yokohama, Yoritomo's headquarters; militarycentre for 150 years; shrines built by Yoritomo; school of art;growth of luxury; fall of city (1333); headquarters of Ashikagafamily; Takauji removes to Kyoto, keeping Kamakura as secondarybasis; Ashikaga driven out, Uesugi come in --Gongoro, soldier of Three Years' War --Jidaishi, quoted on parties in Shokyu struggle Kamatari; see Fujiwara Kamatari Kamegiku, dancer Kameyama, 90th Emperor (1259-74) Kami in Japanese mythology; "creation" of chiefs; used in"Chronicles" of Yemishi chiefs; trinity of; two classes; the Kamiclass or Shimbetsu; worship of, in early 7th century; uji no Kamielective in Temmu's time; Shinto K. , Buddha's avatars Kamimura, Japanese admiral, crushes Vladivostok squadron Kamitsuke (now Kotsuke), early dukedom Kamo, Yamashiro, shrine in Kamo Chomei, author of Hojoki --Mabuchi (1697-1769), restores Japanese ethics; quoted Kana, syllabary Kana-ga-saki (Kanasaki), in Echizen, taken by Ashikaga Kanamura, o-muraji, advises cession (512 A. D. ) of part of Mimana toKudara; helps Kudara to get Imun (513 A. D. ); puts down revolt ofHeguri Matori Kanaoka see Koze Kanaoka Kanazawa, fortress, in Three Years' War Kanazawa, Prof. S. , on Korean and Japanese languages --Akitoki, son of Hojo Sanetoki --bunko, school founded about 1270 by Hojo Sanetoki --Sadaaki, son of Akitoki, scholar Kane see Nakatomi Kane Kaneakira, Prince (914-87), son of Daigo, poet Kanenaga, Prince (1326-83), Mongol fugitives Kanenari, Life-name of Emperor Chukyo Kanin, princely house; Kokaku chosen from Kanko-Maru, steamship presented by Dutch government Kannabi, Mt. , sacred rock Kano school of painting; patronized by Tokugawa --Masanobu see Masanobu --Motonobu see Motonobu Kanshin (687-763), Chinese Buddhist missionary, builds Shodai-jitemple Kanzaki, port in Heian epoch Kao, painter of Kamakura school Kara, Princess, wife of Yuryaku Kara, Korea; war with Shiragi Karako, Japanese general, killed in Korea by Oiwa Karano, 100-ft, ship (274 A. D. ) Karu, Prince, son of Inkyo, suicide --Prince, brother of Empress Kogyoku, in Kamatari's plot; see Kotokuson of Kusakabe, succeeds to throne; see Mommu Kasagi, refuge of Go-Daigo Kasai Motochika (d. 1507) Kasanui, Shrine of Kashiwa-bara, palace at Kasuga, cruiser, sinks Yoshino --shrine at Nara (767-69) in honour of Fujiwara Kamatari; school ofpainting --Tsubone, mistress of Ashikaga Yoshimasa Katagiri Katsumoto, bugyo of Toyotomi; bronze Buddha;bell-inscription Katakana, fragments of characters, syllabary Katana, general, suppresses Yemishi revolt Katari-be, raconteurs Kato Kiyomasa (1562-1611), commands second corps in invasion ofKorea; sides with Yae at court; in plot against Ishida; studiesChinese classics --Shirozaemon Kagemasa, potter --Tadahiro, son of Kiyomasa, banished --Yoshiaki (1563-1631), plots against Ishida Katsu, Count (Rintaro), minister of Marine Katsuiye see Shibata Katsuiye Katsumi; see Nakatomi Katsumi Katsumoto see Hosokawa Katsumoto and Katagiri Katsumoto Katsura, princely house --Taro, Prince (1849-1913), prime minister (1908-11) Katsurabara, Prince (786-853), ancestor of Taira Katsuragi, beginning of power of; descended from Takenouchi; Kara Katsuragi Mount Kawabe Nie, in Korea Kawagoe, in Musashi, fortifications Kawajiri Shigeyoshi, appointed to Hizen Kawakatsu kills preacher of caterpillar worship Kawamura at Mukden Kawanaka-jima, battlefield Kaya, moor of, Oshiwa murdered on; port Kaya-no-in, consort of Toba Kazuhito, Prince, son of Go-Fushimi; nominally Emperor (Kogon, 1332-35) Kazuko, daughter of Hidetada, first Tokugawa consort Kazumasu see Takigawa Kazumasu Kazusa, revolt of Yemishi in; Yoritomo enters Kebiishi, executive police (810-29) Kegon, sect of Buddhists (736 A. D. ) Kehi-no-ura see Tsuruga Keicho, year-period, 1596-1614, coinage of Keicha Ajari (1640-1701), scholar Keiki see Tokugawa Yoshinobu Keiko, 12th Emperor (71-130); expeditions against Yemishi, againstKumaso, and Tsuchi-gumo in Bungo; tree-worship Keitai, Emperor (507-31); serpent worship; one province added;nashiro Keiun, poet Kemmu era (1334-6), restoration of; crushes military houses and putscourt nobles in power; name applied by Northern court to years 1336-8 --Shikimoku, code of 1337 Kencho-ji, Zen temple in Kamakura Kenju, or Rennyo Shonin, (1415-99), Shin priest Kenko, daughter of Fujiwara Yorimichi, consort of Shirakawa, motherof Horikawa Kenko see Yoshida Kenko Kennin-ji, temple in Kyoto, Kao's studio in; one of the "Five";priests alone could wear purple Kennyo (1543-92), priest, intervenes for Sakai; guides Hideyoshi inKyushu; helps turn Hideyoshi against Christians Keno no Omi, in Korea Kenrei-mon-in, Takakura's consort, daughter of Taira Kiyomori;drowned at Dan-no-ura Kenshin see Uesugi Kenshin Kenso, 23rd Emperor (485-7), originally called Oke; Yemishi do homageto Kesa, mistress of Endo Morito (Mongaku) Keumsyong, capital of Sinra, Korea Khilkoff, Prince, Russian minister Khitan Tatars, in China Ki, family founded by Ki no Tsunu, descendant of Takenouchi; eligibleto high office --Haseo (845-912), famous scholar; plot to send him with Michizane toChina; prose --Hirozumi, leader against Yemishi, killed by them (780) --Kosami (733-97), general against Yemishi (789), is defeated anddegraded; report of the campaign --Omaro, Japanese general in Korea, 6th century --Tsurayuki (883-946), prose preface to Kokin-shu; Tosa Nikki Kibi, old name for Bingo, Bitchu and Bizen provinces; Jimmu's stay in --no Mabi or Makibi (693-775), Japanese student in China, minister ofthe Right, inventor of syllabary; opposition to Fujiwara; minister ofthe Right under Koken; opposes succession of Shirakabe (Konin); aslittérateur Kibumi, school of painters (604 A. D. ) Kidomaru, famous bandit Kido Takamasa or Koin (1834-77), in alliance of Choshu and Satsuma Kii, mythical land of trees; in Yamato expedition; promontory; armedmonks in Komaki war; punished by Hideyoshi (499-500); orange growing;Tokugawa of Kijima-yama, in Hizen, place for uta-gaki Kikaku, verse-writer Kikkawa in battle of Sekigahara Motoharu (1530-86), son of Mori Motonari; adviser of Mori Terumoto;general Kikuchi, adherents of Southern Court, in Saikai-do; make trouble inKyushu; defeated by Otomo Kimbusen, temple Kimiko Hidetake in Three Years' War Kimmei, 29th Emperor (540-71); Yemishi do homage to; intercourse withChina Kinai, five home provinces; rice grants Kinchou, 2d Army wins battle of (1904) Kinoshita Junan (1621-98), Confucianist, father of Torasuke --Torasuke, scholar, at Yedo --Yaemon, father of Hideyoshi Kinshudan, "Embroidered Brocade Discourse" Kira family, masters of ceremonies --Yoshihide killed by "47 Ronins" (1703) --Yoshinaka, son of Yoshihide Kiso river, boundary of Mino, crossed by Nobunaga (1561 and 1564) Kiso Yoshinaka see Minamoto Yoshinaka Kitabatake, adherents of Southern Court in Mutsu and Ise; put down byYoshinori; rule in Ise --Akiiye (1317-38); raises siege of Kyoto; killed in battle --Akinobu --Chikafusa (1293-1354), historian and statesman, assistant governorof O-U; faithful to Go-Daigo; Main leader of Southern army; author ofJinno Shotoki; attempts to unite courts; death; combines Shinto, Buddhism and Confucianism; Shinto revival --Mitsumase, revolts of --Morokiyo, piracy Kitamura Kigin (1618-1705) author --Sessan, calligraphist --Shuncho, son of Kigin Kitano, Shinto officials of; tea fete Kitashirakawa, Prince, abbot of Kwanei-ji Kita-yama, Ashika Yoshimitsu's palace at; given to Buddhist priests Kite, Golden Kiuliencheng, on Yalu, centre of Kuroki's line Kiyo, Princess, daughter of Saga Kiyomaro see Wake Kiyomaro Kiyomizu, temple Kiyomori see Taira Kiyomori Kiyosu, castle in Owari, conference of Nobunaga's vassals --Naritada, scholar, 447 --Takenori, leader in Nine Years' Commotion, helps crush Abe Sadato(1062); family quarrel cause of Three Years' War Kiyowara, family eligible to high office Ko An-mu, Chinese scholar in Japan (516 A. D. ) Ko Moronao (d. 1351), defeats Kitabatake Akiiye at Ishizu; defeatsMasatsura; shitsuji in Muromachi; plot against; killed by Uesugi --Moroyasu (d. 1351); plot against; death Koban, coin Kobe, formerly Fukuhara, made capital by Kiyomori (1180); Hyogo, inAshikaga revolt Koben see Myoe Kobo Daishi, posthumous name of Kukai (q. V. ) Kobun, 39th Emperor (672), Prince Otomo (q. V. ) succeeds Tenchi;included in Dai Nihon-shi Koeckebacker, Nicholas, Dutch factor, helps conquer castle of Kara Koetomi, merchant, envoy to China Kofuku-ji, Nara temple of Hosso sect; armed men of the monastery;their quarrels and their treatment by Taira; burnt by Taira (1180);revenue of temple Koga, in Shimosa, seat of Ashikaga after Kamakura; Shigeuji's castle Kogen, 8th Emperor (214-158 B. C. ) Kogon, Northern Emperor (1332-5), Prince Kazuhito (q. V. ), givescommission (1336) to the Ashikaga, and expects restoration to throne;becomes Zen priest Kogo-shui, ancient record quoted Kogyoku, (35th) Empress (642-5); abdicates, becomes Empress Dowager;again Empress see Saimei; Asuka palace; worship of silk-worm Kohayakawa Hideaki (1577-1602), nominally against Ieyasu, but goesover in battle of Sekigahara --Takakage (1532-96); adviser of Mori Terumoto; general of Hideyoshi;in Korean invasion; signs Hideyoshi's laws of 1595 Koide Hidemasa (1539-1604), guardian of Hideyori Ko-jiki, Records of Ancient Things; to 628 A. D. ; on Chuai; containsthe Kuji-hongi; preface Kojima, adherents of Southern Court --Takanori, defender of Go-Daigo Kokaku, 119th Emperor (1780-1816); his rank and his father's Koken, (46th) Empress (749-58), daughter of Shomu, known in life asAbe; abdicates but dethrones her successor; see Shotoku, son of Kenju Koki, Record of the Country Kokin-shu, 10th century anthology; Ki Tsurayuki's prose preface to;comments by Keichu Koko, 58th Emperor (885-7), Prince Tokiyasu; couplet tournaments Koku, coin, 438-9; unit of measure Kokubun-ji, official provincial temples; affiliated with Todai-ji;heavy expense of Kokuli, Korea Kokushi, provincial governor; appointed by Throne, first mentioned in374 A. D. ; after Daika (645); over kuni; Buddhist hierarchy Kokyo, Osaka abbot, leads great revolt (1529) Koma, Korea, now Pyong-yang; increase of power; attacked by Kudaraand Japan; families in Japanese nobility; falls; migration; ruler ofPohai recognized as successor of dynasty of; envoys; Mongol invasion Koma, suzerain of Aya-uji, assassinates Sashun Koma-gori, in Musashi, settlement in Japan from Koma Komaki war (1583), named from Komaki-yama Komei, 121st Emperor (1846-67) Komon Mitsukuni Komura Jutaro, Marquis (1853-1911), minister of foreign affairs, peace commissioner at Portsmouth Komyo, Imperial name of Asuka, wife of Shomu and mother of Koken;story of miraculous conception Komyo, Emperor (1336-48) of Northern dynasty, brother of Kogon;abdicates and becomes Zen priest Kondo, branch of Fujiwara in Kwanto Kongobo-ji, Shingon temple on Koya-san Konin, 49th Emperor (770-81), formerly Prince Shirakabe; reformslocal administration; festival of his birthday, Tenchosetsu Konin, year-period (810-24) and revision of Rules and Regulations Konishi Yukinaga (d. 1600), commands first division in Koreaninvasion (1592); entrapped by Chinese diplomacy; with last troops inKorea; opposes Kato; against Ieyasu; death Konno, swordsman Kono family in Iyo Konoe, 76th Emperor (1142-55) Konoe, Imperial guards; origin; name given to Fujiwara Motomichi'sdescendants, kwampaku alternately with Kujo; one of "Five RegentHouses" --Prince, leader of moderate party --Nobuhiro (1593-1643), minister of Right --Sakihisa (1536-1612), envoy to Shin monks Korai, or Koma, Korea Korea, alphabet; architecture; artisans; Buddhism; China, relationswith; chronology; language; music; myth; pottery, sepulchral;scholars; treasury, Japanese; early intercourse with Japan; Jingo'sconquest; granary; Japanese relations in 540-645; families inJapanese nobility; war between Japan and China for; precious metals;8th century relations; Mongol invasion; Japanese piracy; Hideyoshi'sinvasion; Arai Hakusekai's policy toward envoys; break with (1873);treaty (1875); Chinese activity in, 699-700; independence recognizedby 1895 treaty; Russian aggression; Japan's interests in, recognizedby Treaty of Portsmouth; Japanese occupation and annexation Korehito, Prince, Emperor Seiwa Korei, 7th Emperor (290-215 B. C. ) Korekimi see Fujiwara Korekimi Koretaka, Prince (844-97), Buddhist monk and poet Koreyasu, Prince, shogun, (1266-89) Korietz, Russian gunboat at Chemulpo Koriyama, in Yamato, castle commanding Izumi and Kii Koromo, tunic, and name of a fort Koromo-gawa, campaign on, against Yemishi Kosa, abbot of Ishi-yama monastery Koshi, Yemishi in Kotesashi moor, Takauji defeated at Koto, lute Kotoku, 36th Emperor (645-54); Yemishi do homage to (646) Kotsuke, early Kamitsuke, a dukedom; revolt of Yoshinaka in, (1180);won by Kenshin; silk growing in Koya, reptile Kami of; snow festival of Koyama, branch of Fujiwara in Kwanto; one of "8 Generals" of Kwanto Koyane (Ame-no-Koyane) ancestor of Nakatomi Koya-san, mountain in Kii, temple of Kongobo-ji; threatened afterKomaki war; shrine; nobles enter Koyomaro, warden of Mutsu, killed by Yemisi (724) Koze (Kose); family descended from Takenouchi Koze Fumio, scholar; Chinese prose --Kanaoka (850-90), painter and landscape artist of Kyoto; school, Kublai Khan and the Mongol invasion Kubo, governor general of 4 provinces Kuchiki Mototsuna (1549-1632) at battle of Sekigahara Kuchinotsu, port, Jesuits invited to Kudara, Korea, now Seoul; Japanese alliance; weaver from; scribe;relations with Yuryaku; story of Multa; invaded by Koma; securesImun; gains through friendship of Japan; Buddhism; wars with Shiragiand Koma; crushed by Shiragi and China; migration from Kudara Kawanari, painter Kudo Suketsune, killed in vendetta (1193) Kuga family, eligible for office of highest rank --Nagamichi, minister under Go-Daigo Kugeshu-hatto, Ieyasu's law for Court nobles Kugyo (1201-19), son of Yoriiye, assassinates Sanetomo Kuhi brings scales and weights from China Kujihongi, history Kujo, descendants of Fujiwara Kanezane, chosen Kwampaku alternatelywith Konoe; one of "Five Regent Houses" Kukai (posthumously, Kobo Daishi), (774-835) Buddhist priest, calledby some inventor of mixed Shinto; founder (809) of Shingon (TrueWord) system, calligrapher, and inventor of hira-gana syllabary;portrait; shrine (ill. ) Kuma, Southern tribe Kumagaye Naozane (d. 1208), kills Taira Atsumori Kumaso, early inhabitants of Kyushu; possibly of Korean origin; maybe identical with Hayato; called Wado by Chinese; Keiko's expeditionagainst; Chuai's expedition Kume, Dr. , on Yamato-dake's route of march; on Takenouchi-no-Sukune --Prince, dies on expedition to Shiragi --Kami Kumebe, palace guards Kunajiri, Russians seized at (1814) Kuno, castle of, in Totomi Kurama, temple of, Yoshitsune escapes from Kurando or Kurodo, Imperial estates bureau, office established;K. -dokoro precursor of kwampaku; held by Minamoto Yorimasa Kurayamada, conspirator against Soga; suicide Kuriles, Russians in; Japanese title recognized Kuriyama Gen, contributor to Dai Nihon-shi Kuro, lady of Takenouchi family Kuroda Nagamasa (1568-1623) soldier of Hideyoshi; against Ishida;favours Ieyasu; studies Chinese classics Kurodo see Kurando Kuroki, Ibei, Count (b. 1844), commands on Yalu; defeats Russians;head of 1st Army; attempts to turn Russian flank; at Mukden Kuromaro see Takamuku Kuromaro Kuropatkin, Alexei Nikolaievitch (b. 1848), Russian commander-in-chiefin Manchuria; plans before and after Liaoyang; succeeded byLinievitch Kusaka, defeat of Jimmu at Kusakabe, Prince, (d. 690) son of Temmu and Jito Kusano support Southern Court Kusu (Kusuriko), daughter of Fujiwara Tanetsugu, consort of Heijo Kusu, wife of Oto, kills him Kusunoki, adherents of Southern Court --Jiro, in attack on palace (1443) --Masahide rebels in 1428 --Masanori (d. 1390) minister; joins Northern party, returns toSouthern --Masashige (1294-1336), called Nanko, defender of Go-Daigo;provincial governor; against Ashikaga; death, (ill. ) --Masatoki, death --Masatomo defeats Nobunaga in Ise --Masatsura (132648), son of Masashige; receives Go-Daigo in Yoshimo;campaign in Settsu Kuwana, castle of Takigawa Kazumasu, in Ise Kuzuno, Prince, son of Kobun, sacrifices his claim to throne (696) Kuzuo, in Shinano, castle Kivaifu-so, anthology of poems (751) Kwaikei, sculptor Kwammu, 50th Emperor (782-805), formerly Yamabe; changes capital toKyoto (792); posthumous names first used; sends Saicho to studyChinese Buddhism Kwampaku, regent for grown Emperor, mayor of palace, officeestablished (882); decline of power under Go-Sanjo; foreshadowed byKurando-dokoro; chosen alternately from Kujo and Konoe; officeabolished after Kemmu restoration; unimportant after Tokugawa period Kwampei era (889-97), Counsels of, Uda's letter to Daigo Kwanei, year period, (1621-43); Kwanei Shake Keizu-den, genealogicalrecord; Kwanei-ji, temple Kwangaku-in, uji academy, founded (821) Kwangtung peninsula, in battle of Kinchou Kwang-wu, Chinese emperor, Japanese envoy to Kwanji, period, (1087-94) Kwanki, period, (1229-32), crop failure and famine Kwanko see Sugawara Michizane Kwanno Chokuyo establishes school in Yedo Kwannon, Mercy, Buddhist goddess; Shirakawa's temple; temple atKamakura Kwanryo, governor general; list of Kamakura k. ; title passes fromAshikaga to Uesugi family; also given (1367) to shitsuji in shogun'scourt, and held by Shiba, Hosokawa and Hatakeyama families; comparedwith shikken and betto Kwansei, year-period, 1789-1800, vagabonds in Yedo during Kwanto, or Bando, many shell-heaps in; army raised in, againstYemishi; Taira and Minamoto fight in; Minamoto supreme in; Ashikayasupreme; Eight Generals of, combine against Uesugi; battle-ground;war between branches of Uesugi and Hojo and Satomi; in Battle Period Kwazan, 65th Emperor (985-6) Kwobetsu, families of chieftains of the conquest, Imperial class;pre-historic administration; classification in Seishwoku; revolt;rank of Empress Kyaku, "official rules" supplementing Yoro laws; revised; (819) Kyogen, comic play Kyogoku, one of four princely houses --Takatsugu (1560-1609) Kyoho, year-period, (1716-35); K. -kin, coins then minted Kyong-sang, Korea Kyoriku, verse-writer Kyoroku, year-period, (1528-31) Kyoto, capital 794 A. D. ; two cities and two markets; capitalmomentarily moved to Fukuhafa (1180); evacuated by Taira (1183);school of art; culture; Go-Daigo's conspiracy; in war of dynasties;Takauji removes to; ravaged; Nobunaga restores order; underHideyoshi; Portuguese; Xavier; Jesuits; Vilela; Franciscan church;patent to missionaries; shogun's deputy in; Ieyasu; Iemitsu'sdemonstration against; Court excluded from power; vendetta illegalin; great fire (1788); rebuilding; government; loyalist intrigues in:extremists driven from; foreign ministers invited to Kyuka, priest Kyushu, early myth; expedition against Yamato; situation; Kingdomcalled Wo by Chinese; government station; Keiko's expedition againstKumaso; granary; trade; Mongol invasion; revolt of 1349; taken fromAshikaga; disorder; piracy; great families; Hideyoshi's invasion;early European intercourse; Christians Lacquer, trees, planting of, required for tenure of uplands;development of art in Nara epoch; in Heian; ware exported;manufacture in time of Yoshimasa; (ill. ) Ladies-in-waiting, uneme, at early court; dancers; Yoshimune'sreforms Land and land-holding, pre-historic; royal fees; taxation; Daikareform; all land Crown property; 6-year lease; sustenance grants leadto feudalism; Daiho laws; reclaimed uplands; centralized holdings, 8th century; grants for reclamation; maximum holdings; abuses insystem; large estates; Go-Sanjo's reforms; territorial name;constables and stewards; Shokyu tumult; new distribution; Joei laws;Go-Daigo's grants; estates under Ashikaga; military holdings; tax;Crown lands pass to military houses; Hideyoshi's laws; taxes Landscape-gardening, in the Heian epoch; in Kamakura period;patronized by Yoshimasa, in Muromachi epoch; at Momoyama Land steward, jito, and chief steward, so-jito, in Yorikomo's reformof land; shimpo-jito, land holders and stewards after the Shokyu war Language; in Heian epoch; difficulties for preaching Lanterns, (ill. ) La Pérouse, Strait of, claimed as Russian boundary Law, in time of Ojin; criminal, protohistoric period; of Daiho; codeof 1232 A. D. ; Kemmu code; Hideyoshi's legislation; Laws of MilitaryHouses; Laws for Court Nobles; of Iemitsu and Ietsuna; real code; inTokugawa period; codified after Restoration; Department, in Meijiadministration Leech, first offspring of Izanagi and Izanami Left Minister of, Sa-daijin, office created by Daika Legs, length, as racial mark Lése Majesté under Daiho code Liao River, Russians forced into valley of Liaotung peninsula, Chinese forces in, (1592), defeated by Japanese;fighting in 1894 in; Russian lease of Liaoyang, battle of Liberal party, Jiyu-to organized (1878) by Itagaki; unites withProgressists and forms Constitutionist party Library of Kanazawa-biwko; of Shohei-ko; of Momijiyama Bunko; andShinto Liefde, Dutch ship Li Hung-chang (1823-1901), Chinese plenipotentiary for peace of 1895 Li Lungmin, artist Linievitch, Nikolai Petrovitch (b. 1834), Russian general, succeedsKuropatkin in command, defeated at Mukden Literature, in Nara epoch; in Heian epoch; in Tenryaku era, 261; inKamakura epoch; in Muromachi period; under Hideyoshi; place of, inMilitary Houses' Laws; in Court Laws; Ieyasu's attitude; Tsunayoshiencourages Japanese and Chinese; favoured by Yoshimune; Japanese, restoration of; foreign; Chinese Liu-Jen-kuei, Chinese general, defeats Japanese in Korea (662 A. D. ) Lloyd, Rev. A. , on Buddhism, Tendai, Hosso; and Shinto Longevity, herb of Longford's Korea cited Loochoo see Ryukyu Islands Lotteries Lotus festival Loyalty, in early times; in Heian epoch; in Tokugawa period Lute, of Susanoo; the koto, made from the ship Karano; biya, 4-stringed Chinese lute Mabuchi see Kamo Mabuchi Macao, trade with; Jesuits there; annual vessel from; embassy of 1640from Machado, Joao Baptista de (1581-1617), Jesuit, executed Machi-ya, shop Madre de Dios, Pessoa's ship Maeda Gen-i or Munehisa (1539-1602), guardian of Oda Nobutada's sonSamboshi; in charge of Kyoto Buddha --Toshiiye (1538-99), fails to help Shibata Katsuiye; commands armiesin Komaki war, and against Hojo; one of 6 senior ministers; attemptto make break between Ieyasu and; death --Toshinaga (1562-1614), son of Toshiiye, favours Ieyasu; simulatesmadness Magic and incantations, of Buddhist abbot Raigo; general belief in Mahayana, Great Vehicle, esoteric Buddhism Mahitotsu, metal worker Makaroff, Stephan Osipovitch (1848-1904), Russian admiral drownedwith Petropavlovsk Maketsu, Chinese or Korean spinning woman, immigrant to Japan Maki, wife of Hojo Tokimasa, favours her son-in-law, MinamotoTomomasa Makibi see Kibi no Mabi Makura Soshi, book by Sei Shonagon Mallets and "mallet-headed" swords Mamiya Rinzo (1781-1845) discovers (1826) that Saghalien is not partof continent Mamta, Prince, in charge of Record of Uji Manabe Norifusa, minister under Ienobu, and Ietsugu; removed fromTreasury by Yoshimune Manchu-Korean subdivision of Asiatic yellow race Manchuria, in colonization from northern China; part ceded to Japanby treaty of 1895, but not occupied after Russian, German and Frenchnote; Russian designs upon; Russia's failure to evacuate, andnegotiations over "open door"; Russo-Japanese war; evacuation of, provided for by treaty of Portsmouth; Japanese position in Man-dokoro, administration bureau, one of three sections of Bakufu, formerly called kumon-jo; in administration of Kyoto after Shokyuwar; in Muromachi administration Maneko, atae of Iki, suicide Man-en, year-period, 1860, coinage of Manhattan, American ship, enters Uraga Mannen tsuho, coin Manners and customs, remote; in time of Yuryaku; in Muromachi period Manors, large estates, shoen; attempts to regulate; koden, tax free, granted to Taira after Heiji tumult; Yoritomo's memorial on; abusesof, remedied by appointment of constables and land stewards;distribution after restoration of Kemmu; gifts of Takauji Manumission of slaves Manyo-shu, "Myriad Leaves" first Japanese anthology; compared withKokinshu; on character of soldier; comments on, by Keichu Map, official, begun under Hideyoshi Market Commissioners, after Daika Markets, ichi, in early Japan; in Nara epoch Marquis, asomi, title established by Temmu Marriage in early Japan; and the festival of utakai; none recognizedamong slaves by Daika; in Nara and earlier epochs; in laws ofMilitary Houses; between military and court families; child marriage Marubashi Chuya, leader in revolt of 1651 Masa, daughter of Hojo Tokimasa, mistress of Minamoto Yoritomo;mother of Yoriiye and the power, with Tokimasa, in hisadministration; saves Sanetomo; plea to generals of Bakufu; death(1225) Masakado see Taira Masakado Masanobu (1453-90), painter Masanori see Kusunoki Masanori Masashige see Kusunoki Masashige Masatomo see Ashikaga Masatomo Masatoshi see Hotta Masatoshi Masayasu see Inaba Masayasu Masks for dances, sculptured; no masks Masses, Buddhist Masuda Nagamori (1545-1615), one of 5 administrators, plots withIshida against Ieyasu; enters monastery after Sekigahara Masukagami, history of 1184-1333, on literature Mats, tatami, floor-coverings; tatsu-gomo Matsubara, Pine Plain Matsudaira, origin of family; of Aizu, etc. --Hideyasu (1574-1607), son of Ieyasu --Masatsuna (1567-1648), Tokugawa agent in Kyoto --Mitsunaga (1615-1717), punished by shogun --Motoyasu see Tokugawa Ieyasu --Nobutsuna (1596-1662), minister of Iemitsu, and of Ietsuna --Norimura, minister of Yoshimune, drafts code (1742); succession toYoshimune --Sadanobu (1758-1829), revises code; minister under Ienari; sumptuarylaws; educational reforms; retires; matter of rebuilding palace; rankof Tsunehito and Hitotsubashi Harunari; revises rules of procedure --Tadanao, punished by Tokugawa in 1623 --Tadatem (1593-1683), daimyo of Echigu; removed --Yoshinaga, baron of Echizen, advocates foreign trade; importance innew Japan Matsukura Shigemasa (1574-1630), persecutes Christians, urgesconquest of Philippines Matsumae, ruling Northern islands, clash with Russians Matsuriaga Hisahide (1510-77), kills Norinaga and the shogunYoshiteru; ally of Shingen Matsuo Basho (1644-94), verse writer Matsushita Yukitsuna, soldier under whom Hideyoshi served Matsuura, in Hizen, Toi attack unsuccessfully; branch of Minamoto;support Southern Court; attitude toward Xavier Mayor of the palace, kwampaku Ma Yuan, painter Mayuwa kills Anko Measures, early; standard (senshi-mashu) of Go-Sanjo; in Hideyoshi'slaws Medicine Medicine-hunting, early court amusement Meiji, "Enlightened Government" year-period 1868-1912; posthumousname of Mutsuhito Meitoku, year-period, 1390-3, and the rising of 1391 Men, ideographic Japanese used by Menju Shosuke, impersonates Shibata Katsuiye and saves him Mercy, goddess, Kwannon Merit lands, Koden, granted for public services Mexico, Spanish ships from Michelborne, Sir Edward, on Japanese sailors (1604 or '5) Michi no Omi, ancestor of Otomo Michinaga see Fujiwara Michinaga Michiyasu, Prince; Emperor Montoku (q. V. ) Michizane see Sugawara Michizane Mikado, origin of title; name appropriated for residence of SogaEmishi Mikata-ga-hara, war of, (1572-3) Mikawa, province, Oda defeat Imagawa in; fighting in Komaki war Mikena, brother of Jimmu Military Affairs, in ancient Japan; first conscription (689 A. D. );organization under Daiho; during Nara epoch; improvement inorganization in 12th century; development of tactics; foreignmilitary science; conscription laws and samurai; new army justifiedby Satsuma rebellion; modern army organization Military Art of Bushi --class, shi; in Kamakura period --code, Gumbo-ryo, of Daiho laws --dues, Buke-yaku --ethics, and Primer of Yamaga Soko Military houses, buke, rise in 8th century; 10th; 11th; powerincreased by Hogen and Heiji insurrections; Minamoto ideals;finances; crushed by Kemmu restoration; Northern Court follows systemof; in Ashikaga times; Onin disorder; Muromachi period; landholdings; power in Tokugawa period; Laws of; intermarry with Courtnobles; weakness Militia, kondei, in 8th century Milk Milky Way in myth Millet as substitute for rice Mimaki, life-time name of Emperor Sujin Mimana (Imna), Japanese name for Kara, Korea; Japanese influencethere; Tasa leads revolt in; part ceded to Kudara; Keno in; pretendedexpedition against; Shiragi overpowers; Japan intervenes in warbetween Shiragi and; Shiragi invades (622); families from, in 9thcentury nobility Mimasaka, province, given to Yamana family (1441) Mimashi, Korean teacher of music (612 A. D. ) Mime, Dengaku Mimoro, Prince Mimoro, Mt. , in early myth; Kami of, a serpent Minamoto, princely family; Fujiwara take wives from; generals ofImperial guards; called Gen and Gen-ji; academy; manors and troops;win Taira estates; quarrel with Taira; revolt against Fujiwara;literature; military power in provinces, especially Kwanto; "claws"of Fujiwara; provincial branches; war with Taira; power taken by Hojo --Hikaru (845-913), son of Nimmyo, accuses Sugawara Michizane; death --Hiromasa (918-80), musician --Ichiman (1200-3), candidate for shogun, killed --Kanetsuna, in Yorimasa conspiracy --Kugyo see Kugyo --Mitsukune, erects monument to Kusunoki Masashige --Mitsumasa, founder of Suruga Genji Minamoto Mitsunaka (912-97), reveals conspiracy against Fujiwara(967); his influence; founder of Shinano Genji; the two swords --Nakaakira, killed with Sanetomo by Sugyo --Narinobu, poet --Noriyori (1156-93), sent against Yoshinaka; at Ichino-tani; commandsforce (1184-5); blocks Taira from withdrawing into Kyushu;assassinated --Sanetonio (1192-1219), rival of Ichiman; blocks Hojo designs;attempt to assassinate him; death; patron of Fujiwara Tameiye --Senju-maru (1201-14), revolt, execution --Shigenari, pretends to be Yoshitomo --Shitago (911-83), littérateur --Tadaaki, in capture of Rokuhara --Tametomo (1139-70), great warrior of Hogen tumult; exiled to Izu;advice not followed --Tameyoshi, in Hogen, tumult --Tomomasa, Maki's candidate for shogun, killed --Toru (822-95), minister of the Left under Uda --Toshikata (959-1027), poet, one of Shi-nagon --Tsunemoto (894-961), Prince Rokusoh, founder of Seiwa Genji; inbeginning of hostilities with Taira --Wataru, husband of Kesa --Yorichika (d. 1117), ancestor of Suruga Genji --Yoriiye (1182-1204), succeeds (1199) as lord high constable andchief landsteward; as shogun (1202); killed by Tokimasa --Yorimasa (1106-80), sides with Taira, killed --Yorimitsu (944-1021), soldier; aids Michinaga; at Court --Yorinobu (968-1048); governor of Xai, drives back Taira Tadatsune;helps Michinaga --Yoritomo (1147-99), son of Yoshitomo; escapes after Heiji war; warof 1180; army crushed; gains; quarrels with Yoshinaka; called toKyoto; sent against Yoshinaka; relations with Yoshitsune; Bakufuindependent of Court; memorial on manors; becomes sei-i tai-shogun;death and character; patron of Saigyo Hoshi; system imitated byTakauji --Yoriyoshi (995-1048); in Nine Years' Commotion --Yoshichika (d. 1117) rebellion put down by Taira Masamori --Yoshihira, son of Yoshitomo --Yoshiiye (1041-1108); great archer; called Hachiman Taro, in NineYear's Commotion and Three Year's war; helps put down disorder ofEnryaku-ji monks --Yoshikata --Yoshimitsu (10567-1127), founder of Tada Genji; in Three Years' War --(Kiso) Yoshinaka (1154-84), revolts in Shinano-Kotsuke; quarrelswith Yoritomo; defeats Taira at Tonami-yama; Go-Shirakawa joins;tries to get crown for Hokurika; death --Yoshitaka marries Yoritomo's daughter; death --Yoshitomo, supports Go-Shirakawa in Hogen tumult; joins in plot ofHeiji; advice overruled by Nobuyori, killed; his sons; loses greatland holdings --Yoshitsuna (d. 1134), brother of Yoshiiye --Yoshitsune (1159-89), son of Yoshitomo, escapes after Heiji tumult;joins Yoritomo; sent against Yoshinaka; at Ichi-no-tani; wins battleof Yashima; relations to Yoritomo; attempted assassination; protectedby Fujiwara Hidehira, suicide --Yukiiye (d. 1186); repeatedly defeated; joins Yoskinaka; Yoshinakadisapproves his choice to be governor of Bizen; summary criticism ofhim; turns to Yoshitsune, death --Yukitsuna betrays Shishi-ga-tani plot (1177), 296; occupies Settsuand Kawachi (1183) Mincho, called Cho Densu, (1352-1431), painter Ming, Chinese Emperor, mission for Buddhist Sutras; dynasty, its fall Mining, Ieyasu's efforts (1609) to develop Ministers, system of three, under Daika; members of Privy CouncilBoard under Daiho; Hideyoshi's system; council of, separated fromshogun; senior and junior ministers Mino, province, Oda defeat Saito in Miroku (Sanskrit Martreya), stone image of, brought to Japan (584A. D. ) Mirror, in myth of Sun-Goddess; one of Imperial insignia; bronze, insepulchral remains Mishchenko, Russian general, leads cavalry raid after fall of PortArthur Misumi, adherents of Southern Court, in Sanin-do Mita, Korean architect Mitigations (roku-gi) of penalty of Daiho code for rank, positionand public service Mito, Tokugawa of Mitoshi, a Kami Mitsubishi Company, first private dockyard Mitsuhide see Akechi Mitsuhide Mitsukuni see Tokugawa Mitsukuni Mitsunobu (Tosa no M. ), painter, founder of Tosa school of painting Miura branch of Taira; plot against Hojo Mitsuinura (d. 1247), suicide --Yasumara (1204-47), in war with Hojo --Yoshiaki --Yoshizumi (1127-1200), in Bakufu Miwa Sako, commander of palace guards Miyake Atsuaki, contributor to Dai Nilon-shi Miyoshi, scholars in Ashikaga administration; lecturers; in civil warof 1520-50; crush Hoshokawa; in Awa; attempt to take Kyoto --Kiyotsura (847-918); memorial (914), on writing; Chinese scholar --Masanaga, inheritance --Miyoshi Motonaga --Nagateru (d. 1520), guardian of Hosokawa Sumimoto and Takakuni; death --Norinaga, called Chokei (1523-64), in civil war --Yasunobu (1140-1221), son of Yoritomo's nurse; ancestor of Ota andMachino uji; in Bakufu council; advice at beginning of Shokyustruggle; death --Yasutsura, with Hojo Yasutoki plans Joei code --Yoshitsugu (d. 1573), revolts in Settsu Mizugaki, Sujin's court at Mizuha, life time name of Emperor Hansho Mizuno, governor of Nagasaki, persecutes Christians --Echizen no Kami, prime minister of Ieyoshi, sumptuary laws andefforts at reform (1826) Mochifusa see Uesugi Mochifusa Mochihito, Prince, (1150-80), Yorimasa conspiracy Mogami of Yamagata --Yoshiakira (1546-1614), one of Ieyasu's generals Moho, variant name of Sushen or Toi Momijiyama Bunko, Tokugawa library at Yedo Mommu, 42nd Emperor (697-707), Prince Karu, accession; succession andplan to move capital Momokawa see Fujiwara Momokawa Momonoi family favours Tadayoshi Momo-yama, "Peach Hill, " in Fushimi, Hideyoshi's palace; last epochof Ashikaga shogunate; palace destroyed (1596); Ieyasu's castle taken(1600) Momozono, 116th Emperor (1735-62) Mon, coin Mongaku, priest, originally Endo Morito, aids Yoritomo Mongol, subdivision of yellow race; fold of eye; invasion Monju-dokoro, Bakufu department of justice; in administration ofKyoto after Shokyu war; power passes to Hyojoshu; in Muromachiadministration Monkey, worship of; female divinity Mononobe, palace guard; uji of Kwami class, important especially inYuryaku's reign; oppose Buddhism Moriya, o-muraji, killed by Soga; their rivalry; opposes Buddhism;supports Anahobe; final contest with Soga; property --Okoshi, o-muraji; opposes Buddhism Montoku, Emperor (851-58), chronicle of reign Montoku Jitsuroku, National History Monto-shu, Shin sect Moon, Kami of Moonlight festivals Mori Arinori, Viscount (1847-89), minister of public instruction, assassinated Mori family, rapid rise in power; Ashikaga Yoshiaki turns to --Hidemoto (1579-1650), in Ishida's army --Motonari (1497-1571), wins power of Ouchi --Motonori (1839-96), of Choshu, leader of extremists, expelled fromKyoto --Nagayoshi (1558-84), general of Hideyoshi --Rammaru, lieutenant of Nobunaga --Terumoto (1553-1625) loses central Japan to Hideyoshi; AkechiMitsuhide joins; peace with Hideyoshi; senior minister; signsHideyoshi's laws; favours Ishida, leads his army; loses estates Morihito, Emperor Nijo Morikuni, Prince (1301-33), shogun, (1308-33) Morimasa see Sakuma Morimasa Morinaga, Prince, (1308-35), called Oto no Miya, son of Go-Daigo, andhis defender; commander-in-chief; death Moriya see Mononobe Moriya Morosada, Prince, see Kwazan Moroya, chief of Otomo, o-muraji Morrison, American ship in Yedo, 1837 Mother-of-pearl and lacquer "Mother's Land, " Shiragi, Korea Motien Mountains, Russian campaign planned in Motonobu (1476-1559), painter, Kano school Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801), Shinto revival; quoted; on Shintodualism Mourning colour, white, earlier, black; customs; periods of, varyingwith rank Moxa, medicinal herb, touch of, defilement Mu Hsi, painter Mukden, Russian railway through; battle of (1905) Muko, Fukuhara harbour Mukuhara, Buddhist temple at Mulberry, early culture; used with hemp to make cloth; order forcultivation (472 A. D. ); planting of, condition of tenure of upland Multa, King of Kudara, stories of his cruelty told of Emperor Muretsu Munemara, chief of trade Munetada see Tokugawa Munetada Munetaka, Prince (1242-74), shogun in 1252-66 Munetake see Tokugawa Munetake Munro, N. G. , on Japanese archaeology; imibe; rice-chewers; coins Muraji, "chief, " title; applied to pre-conquest (Shimbetsu) rulers;o-muraji, head of o-uji; inferior title in Temmu's peerage Murakami, 62nd Emperor (947-67) Murakami Genji, branch of Minamoto --Yoshihiro, of Iyo province, pirate chief --Yoshikiyo (1501-73), driven from Kuzuo by Takeda Shingen --Yoshiteru impersonates Morinaga Murasaki Shikibu (d. 992), writer of Genji Monogatari Muravieff, Nikolai Nikolaievich (d. 1881), Russian commander in FarEast, claims (1858) Saghalien Murdoch, J. , quoted on Tadatsune's ravages of Kwanto; on Heian epoch;weakening of Fujiwara power; Bushi of Kwanto; Joei code; downfall ofBakufu; feudalism in war of dynasties; literati in Ashikagaadministration; Kamakura rule in Kai, Izu and Mutsu; revolt of 1443 Muretsu (Buretsu), 25th Emperor (499-506) Muro Nawokiyo, or Kyuso, (1658-1734). Confucianist, historian of "47Ronins"; adviser to shogun Muromachi, part of Kyoto, administrative headquarters of Ashikaga;Ashikaga shoguns at Musashi, immigrants from Koma settle in; war of Taira and Minamotoin; Hojo and Uesugi in Mushroom picking Music, Korean and Buddhist; and poetry; in Heian society; joruri Muso Kokushi, "National Teacher, " or Soseki (1271-1346), scholar;head of Tenryuji Muto, branch of Fujiwara in Kwanto --Sukeyori, founder of Shoni family Mutsu, 5 provinces, in Nara epoch, N. E. And N. Littoral; the NineYears' Commotion (1056-64) in; Three Years' War (1089-1091) in;(O-shu) part of 0-U, 388; peaceful under Kamakura rule; revolt of1413 in; in 16th century wars; silk growing; famine of 1783-6 in --branch of Fujiwara, descendants of Fujiwara Kiyohira; giveYoshitsune asylum; crushed by Yoritomo (1189) Mutsuhito, (posthumous name, Meiji), 122nd Emperor (1867-1912); seal Myochin Nobuiye, metalworker and armourer Myocho, Zen priest Myoe (or Koben), bonze, quotation from his biography on Yasutoki Myogaku-ji, temple Myong see Song Wang Myong Myoo, priest Myoshin-ji, Zen temple, W. Of Kyoto Myosho, (109th) Empress (1629-43), Princess Oki, daughter ofGo-mizu-no-o and Tokugawa consort Mythology; rationalistic explanation of, by Japanese Nabeshima Naoshige (1537-1619), invasion of Korea Nagahama, Omi, headquarters of Hideyoshi Nagakude, battle of Nagamasa see Asai Nagatnasa and Asano Nagamasa Nagamori see Masuda Nagamori Nagao Kagetora see Uesugi Kenshin Nagaoka, Yamashiro, capital --uji, of princely descent Nagasaki, port; church, trade, growth; Jesuit church seized byFrancisans; missionaries receive patent; Martyrs' Mount; execution ofDe l'Assumption and Machado; "Great Martyrdom"; trade; Pessoa at;Dutch and English confined to; Dutch factory; Russians come to(1804); Glynn and the Preble; Americans allowed to trade; militarycollege at --Enki, guardian of Hojo Takatoki --Takashige, suicide, 386 --Takasuke (d. 1333), minister of Takatoki; dethrones Go-Daigo Nagashino, castle Nagasune, governor of Yamato Nagato, fortifications at, (1280) Nagatoshi, name given to Nawa Nagataka Nagauji see Hojo Soun Nagaya (684-729), minister of the Left Nagoya, in Hizen, base of operations against Korea; castle of Nai-mul, king of Shiragi (364), first sends tribute to Yamato Naka, Prince, son of Kogyoku; passed over, in succession;interregnum; Great Reform; expedition to Korea; Emperor Tenchi Nakachiko, Oshiwa's servant Nakahara family, scholars, secretaries in Bakufu; in Ashikagaadministration; lecturers --Chikayoshi (1142-1207) in Yoritomo's Bakufu; nominated; highconstable at Court, but not appointed; in Bakufu council; ancestor ofOtomo family of Kyushu --Kaneto, rears Yoshinaka; his four sons, Yoshinaka's guards Nakai Seishi establishes school in Osaka Xakamaro see Abe Nakamoro and Fujiwara Nakamaro Nakamura Hiyoshi see Toyotomi Hideyoshi Nakane Genkei, mathematician, translates Gregorian calendar intoJapanese Nakanomikado, 114th Emperor (1710-35) Nakano, suburb of Yedo, dog-kennel in Naka-Nushi, "Central Master" Nakasendo, Central Mountain road, completed early in 8th century Nakashi, wife of Okusaka Nakatomi family, court priests; descended from Koyane; guardians of 3insignia, and of Shinto ceremonials; oppose Buddhism, and Soga --Kamako, muraji, opposes Buddhism --Kamatari see Fujiwara Kamatari --Kane, muraji, minister, in conspiracy against Oama (Temmu) --Katsumi, muraji, killed (587 A. D. ) Nakatsu, Prince Nakaye Toju (1608-48), Confucianist, follower of Wang Yang-ming Namamugi incident Nambu family --Saemon opposes Ieyasu Names and naming, Japanese system; territorial Naniwa, now Osaka, capital of Emperor Nintoku; Buddhist temple, (579); immigrants from Kudara; administration, Settsu-shoku, underDaiho; removal of capital to, by Kotoku; trade in Heian epoch Nanko, see Kusunoki Masashige Nankwa (16th Cent. ), scholar Na-no-Agata or Watazumi-no-Kuni, Japanese intercourse with Naiishan, commanding Port Arthur Nanzen-ji, Zen temple, 454; one of the "Five" Nara, Yamato province, removal of capital to (709 A. D. ); the Naraepoch (709-84); the Nara image of Buddha; city officials, revenuesfrom public lands appropriated for, 775 A. D. ; Kusu and FujiwaraNakanari attempt to make it capital again; power of armed monkscontrolled by Yoshinori; rebel against Yoshimasa; Takauji tries tocheck Nariaki see Tokugawa Nariaki Narimasa see Sasa Narimasa Narinaga, Prince (1325-38), kwanryo of Kwanto; shogun at Kamakura Narita Kosaburo assists Go-Daigo Nariyuki see Tokugawa Nariyuki Nasu family, one of "8 Generals of Kwanto" "National Histories, Six" covering years 697-887 A. D. ; five composedin Heian epoch Nature Worship Navarrete, Alonso (1617), Spanish Dominican, executed by Omura Navigation; see Ships Navy, Japanese, in Mongol invasion; in invasion of Korea; navalCollege, Gunkan Kyojujo, at Tsukiji; modern organization; in war withChina; in war with Russia Nawa, adherents of Southern Court, in Sanin-do Nagatoshi (d. 1336), helps Go-Daigo escape; provincial governor;commands against the Ashikaga; death Nazuka Masaiye, in charge of land-survey Needle, magic, as cure Negoro, in Kii, firearms made at; headquarters of priests of Kii Nei-issan see Ichinei Nemuro, Russian ship in (1792) Nengo, era or period, in chronology; different names in Northern andSouthern courts Nenoi Yukichika, one of Yoshinaka's four guards Ne no Omi, messenger of Anko Neo support Southern Court in Mino Neolithic culture Nestorian Christianity in China Netsuke, (ill. ) New Spain, Mexico, ships from New Year's celebration Ng, Chinese writer on war (3d Cent, A. D. ) Nichira, Japanese at Kudara Court advises Bidatsu against Kudara Nichiren, Buddhist sect dating from 13th century; its founder; warwith other monks Nigihayahi, uncle of Jimmu, overlord of Nagasune Nihon Bummei Shiryaku, on early medicine Nihon Kodaiho Shakugi, on Board of Religion Nihon Koki, Later Chronicles of Japan (792-833) Nihongi, Chronicle of Japan (720); on Chuai and Jingo; after 400 A. D. Nihonmatsu family Nihon Shoki, Written Chronicles of Japan to 697 A. D. (720), revisionof; continuations Nijo, family founded by son of Fujiwara Michiiye, one of "Five RegentHouses" Nijo, 78th Emperor (1159-66) Castle, Kyoto, destroyed; officials of Michihira (1287-1335), Go-Daigo's minister Yoshimoto (1320-88), scholar and author Nikaido in office of shitsuji; defeated by Date Sadafusa opposes the regent (1331) Nikki favour Takauji Nikko, Shimotsuke province, shrine of Ieyasu and tombs in; annualworship at Nikolaievsk, strategic situation Nimmyo, Emperor (834-50); chronicle of his reign; luxury Nine Years' Commotion, Zenkunen (1056-64) Ningpo, trade with Japan; sacked by Japanese Ninigi see Hikoho Ninigi Ninken, 24th Emperor (488-98), Prince Woke Ninko, 120th Emperor (1817-46) Nintoku, 16th Emperor (313-99); 7 provinces added by; consort, Takenouchi's granddaughter; love story; remits taxes Nippon, "Sunrise Place" Nira-yama, Hojo castle Nishi Hongwan-ji, temple Nishikawa Masayasu, astronomer under Yoshimune Nishina-uji, branch of Taira family Nishina Morito (d. 1221), Bakufu retainer, in Shokyu war Nishino Buntaro, assassin (1889) of Viscount Mori Nisi-no-shima, islet in Oki group Nitta family, Yoritomo's attempt to win; adherents of Southern Court;crushed by Ashikaga Ujimitsu --Yoshiaki (d. 1338), son of Yoshisada and provincial governor;suicide --Yoshimune (1332-68), in defeat of Takauji --Yoshioki (d. 1358) --Yoshisada (1301-38) in Kyoto revolt; declares against Hojo, takesKamakura; provincial governor; accuses Takauji of treason; commandsarmy against Takauji; besieges Shirahata; escapes; faithful toGo-Daigo; death --Yoshishige (d. 1202), ancestor of Tokugawa Nittabe, Prince, residence of, site of Shodai-ji temple Niuchwang taken by Japanese (1894) Niwa Nagahide (1535-85), soldier of Nobunaga; councillor No, dance and drama; Sadanobu regulates costume; masks No-ami, artist, patronized by Yoshimasa Nobility, primitive; administrative; growth of power at expense ofEmperor; Daika attempts to distinguish from official ranks; titles ofhereditary aristocracy annulled by Daika and estates escheated;nobles state pensioners; new titles under Temmu; influence ofhereditary nobles against Daiho laws; court society in Heian epoch;in Meiji era; see Court Houses, Military Houses Nobukatsu see Oda Nobukatsu Nobunaga see Oda Nobunaga Nobuteru see Ikeda Nobuteru Nobuyoshi see Tokugawa Nobuyoshi Nogi, Kiten, Count (1849-1912), commanding 3d Army, at Dalny;receives surrender of Port Arthur; at Mukden Nomi-no-Sukune, suggests clay effigies instead of human funeralsacrifices; wrestler; ancestor of Sugawara family No-niwa, moor-garden Norimura see Akamatsu Norimura Nori Sachhi see Tori Shichi Norito, ancient rituals Northeastern Japan, political importance of North-east gate, the Demon's gate Northern and Southern Dynasties; table; Northern in control Northern Japan, more primitive culture of Novik, Russian 2d-class cruiser at Port Arthur Nozu, Michitsura, Count (1840-1908), commanding 4th Army; at Mukden Nuns, Buddhist, Imperial princesses become Nurses, provided for the Court by Mibu Oama, younger brother of Naka (Emperor Tenchi), administrator during7-year interregnum (661-668); appointed Tenchi's successor, declinesin face of conspiracy; becomes Emperor Temmu Oba Kagechika (d. 1182), hems in Yoritomo and crushes his army Oban, coin Obi, in Hyuga, Chinese trade Occupations, hereditary among prehistoric uji or families Oda family, one of "8 Generals of Kwanto"; origin of family --Hidenobu (1581-1602), grandson of Nobunaga --Katsunaga (1568-82), death --Nobuhide (d. 1549) aids Crown --Nobukatsu, son of Nobunaga, in Ise; succession; Komaki war; peacewith Hideyoshi; Hideyoshi's treatment; signs oath of loyalty --Nobunaga (1534-82); seizes Ise; career; Hideyoshi serves under; winsOkehazama; alliance with Ieyasu and Shingen; Court appeals to;attitude toward Yoshiaki; practically shogun; makes peace; friendlyto Christians; aids Ieyasu; death; character; currency reform --Nobutada (1557-82), with Ieyasu destroys army of Takeda Katsuyori;death; succession --Nobutaka (1558-83) --Samboshi called Hidenobu (1581-1602), son of Nobutada, his successor Odate, governor of Harima, and Oke and Woke Odate Muneuji, killed in attack on Kamakura Odawara, fortress of Hojo; Odawara-hyogi proverb of reluctance;attacked by Kenshin; surrenders (1590) Oeyama Shutendoji, bandit Office and official called by same name; and rank, familyqualifications for, before Heiji commotion Official or Court lands, kwanden, under Daiho laws --rank and aristocratic titles distinguished by the Daika --rules (kyaku) supplementing Yoro laws Oga, eighth of the great uji, descended from Okuninushi Ogawa, at Sekigahara Ogigayatsu, family name taken by Uesugi Tomomune; feud withYamanouchi; against Hojo Ogimaru see Hashiba Hidekatsu Oguchi, battle of, Hideyoshi defeats Shimazu Iehisa Ogura, Mount, home of Fujiwara Sadaiye Ogyu (or Butsu) Sorai (1666-1728), Confucianist, writes on "47Ronin", and on government; revises code Ohama, nobleman, placates fishermen Ohatsuse, brother of Anko; apparently instigates murder of allbetween him and crown; succeeds as Yuryaku Oiratsume, incestuous sister of Karu Oishi Yoshiyo (1659-1703), leader of "47 Ronin" (1703) Oiwa, general in Korea, tries to get throne of Kudara Ojin, 15th Emperor (270-310); 21 provinces added in his reign; shipbuilding; palanquin Okabe Tadazumi kills Taira Tadanori at Ichi-no-tani Okagami, historical work Oka-yama, castle in Bizen Okazaki, in Mikawa, Ieyasu's castle in Okazaki Masamune (1264-1344), swordsmith of Kamakura Oke, Prince, see Kenso Okehazama, battle (1560) victory of Nobunaga Oki, Princess, see Myosho Okimachi, 106th Emperor (1557-86); honours Kenshin, summons Nobunagato Kyoto; Hideyoshi; decrees against Christianity Okisada, see Sanjo Okitsugu, see Tanuma Okitsugu Okiyo, Prince, governor of Musashi Okoshi, see Mononobe Okoshi Oku Hokyo, Count (b. 1844) commanding 2d Army wins battle of Kinchou;and of Telissu; at Mukden Okubo family, guards of Hakone barrier --Tadachika (1553-1628) punished for disobedience to Military Law --Toshimitsu (1832-78) of Satsuma, in alliance with Choshu; and Koreanquestion; assassinated Okuma Shigenobu, Count (b. 1838); organizes Progressist party; attackupon, retirement; invited into Cabinet Okuni-nushi, Kami, "Great Name Possessor"; ancestor of Oga-uji Okura-no-Tsubone, Yodo's lady-in-waiting Okusaka, uncle of Anko, accused of treason; Okusakabe formed in hishonour Okuyama Yasushige (d. 1651) Omi, muraji, befriends Oke and Woke Omi, "grandee", title, applied to chiefs of conquest, and to subjectsholding court office; higher than muraji; inferior title in Temmu'speerage Omi, immigrants from Kudara settle in; seat of court and place ofissue of Omi statutes; capital moved to; Asai control; Buddhists helpAsai in; rice grants Omitsu, son of Susanoo, imports cotton from Korea Omiwa, Kami of Omura, fief in Hizen, represented in embassy to Europe of 1582 --Sumitada (1532-87) invites Jesuits to Omura in Hizen; a Christian, persecutes Omura Sumiyori (d. 1619), persecutes Christians O-muraji, head of o-uji or preeminent grandee; office held by Otomoand then Mononobe; political rivalry with o-omi; opposing Buddhism;property of, unimportant after the Daika; not in Temmu's scheme oftitles Onakatsu, consort of Inkyo Onchi, or Yenchi, uplands, distinguished from irrigated rice land inDaiho code Ondo no Seto, strait near Kobe Onin, period, 1467-9, its records; civil war of; beginning of SengokuJidai Onjo-ji, in Omi, temple of Jimon branch, of Tendai sect, built byOtomo Suguri; its armed men; its abbot Raigo; part played bymonastery in Yorimasa conspiracy; burnt by Taira (1180) Ono Tofu, scribe Ono Azumahito (d. 742), lord of eastern marches, builds castle ofTaga --Harunaga (d. 1615), son of Yodo's nurse, adviser of Hideyori; plotsagainst Katagiri and Tokugawa; advises surrender of Osaka --Imoko, Japanese envoy to China (607 A. D. ) --Yasumaro (d. 723), scribe; preface to Ko-jiki --Yoshifuru, general of guards, crushes revolt of Fujiwara Sumitomo Onogoro, mythic island in story of cosmogony Ooka Tadasuke (1677-1751), chief-justice in Yedo; revises code O-oku, harem O-omi, pre-eminent ami, head of Kwobetsu-uji; rivalry with o-muraji;favour Buddhism; pre-eminent after death of Mononobe Moriya; titlegiven by Soga Emishi to his sons; no longer important after Daika(645) Operative regulations, Shiki, supplementing Yoro laws Oracle, of Sun Goddess at Ise; War God at Usa Orange (tachibana) seeds brought from China (61 A. D. ); treesintroduced Ordeal; of fire; of boiling water, kugadachi; used in Korea by Keno;in questions of lineage Organtino (1530-1609), Jesuit, Hideyoshi's treatment Orloff, Russian general, ambuscaded at Liaoyang Orpheus-Eurydice legend, Japanese parallel Osabe, Prince Imperial, son of Konin, poisoned (772) Osada Tadamune and his son Kagemune kill Minamoto Yoshitomo Osadame Hyakkajo, Hundred Articles of Law Osafune, swordsmith Osaka, campaign from, against Sujin; Hideyoshi's castle; Chineseenvoys; Franciscan convent; missionaries' residence; castle attacked;taken by Ishida; party of, refuse oath of loyalty to Tokugawa; castlepartly destroyed; taken; vendetta illegal in; Nakai Seishi's school;rice exchange; jodai; traders crush English and Dutch competition;opened by Hyogo demonstration (1866) Osaragi Sadanao, Hojo general, suicide (1333) Osawa family, masters of ceremonies Osazaki, life name of Emperor Nintoku Oshihi, ancestor of Otomo chiefs Oshikatsu, Rebellion of Oshioki Ojomoku, code Oshio Heihachiro (1792-1837) leads revolt after famine of 1836-7 Oshiwa, son of Richu, killed by Yuryaku Oshiyama, governor of Mimana, recommends cession of part of Mimana toKudara; territorial dispute of Oshu, or Mutsu subjugated (1189); revolt of Ando Ota Sukekiyo (1411-93), builds fort at Iwatsuki Dokwan or Sukenaga (1432-86), builds fort at Yedo; aids Ogigayatsubranch of Uesugi Otani, Nagamasa's castle Oto, sister of Onakatsu, concubine of Inkyo Oto, son of Tasa Oto Miya see Morinaga Otoko-yama, surrendered Otomo family, descent; gate-guards; in Kyushu; treatment of Xavier inBungo; feudatory and son Christians; persecute Buddhists --general, defeats Iwaki and Hoshikawa --Prince, prime-minister (671); conspiracy against Oama, succession asKobun --Chikayo, tandai of Kyushu (1396) --Satehiko, in Korea (562) --Yakamochi (d. 785), anthology --Yoshishige, called Sorin, (1530-87), in wars in Kyushu; defeated inHizen, appeals to Hideyoshi Otsu, port Otsu, Prince, son of Temmu; rebels against Jito and is killed Otsuki Heiji advocates foreign intercourse O-U, O-shu (Mutsu) and U-shu (Dewa); in 16th century wars Ouchi family of Suwo, and the revolt of 1399; conspires in behalf ofHosokawa Yoshitane; tandai; in charge of relations with Korea, andChina; quarrel with Shogun; superintend pirates; scholarship; giftsto Throne; power in 16th century, taken over by Mori Motonari --Masahiro, pirate leader --Mochiyo (1395-1442) --Yoshihiro (1355-1400), Muromachi general, negotiates with SouthernCourt; slanders Imagawa Ryoshun; suicide --Yoshinaga (d. 1557) --Yoshioki (1477-1528), deputy kwanryo to Hosokawa Yoshitane; removesto Suwo --Yoshitaka (1507-51), re-establishes (1548) trade with China; Chineseliterature; defeated by Suye Harukata Owari, province, Nobunaga in; fighting in Komaki war; Tokugawa of Oyama, Iwao, Prince (b. 1842), at Mukden Oyamada Takaiye, sacrifice saves Nitta Yoshisada Oye family could hold office above 5th rank; scholars; in Ashikagaadministration --Hiramoto (1148-1225), first president of man-dokoro; reforms (1185);sent to Kyoto after earthquake of 1185; in council of Bakufu;remonstrates with Sanetomo; urges offensive at beginning of Shokyustruggle; death --Masafusa, general in Nine Years' Commotion; attempt to placate Raigo --Tomotsuna, littérateur O Yo-mei see Wang Yang-ming Paddy-loom, introduction Pagoda, 7-storey; 13-storey; many built by Shirakawa Pahan-Hachiman, of pirate ships Paikche, or Kudara, near Seoul, Japanese alliance with; artisans from Paik-chhon-ku (Ung-jin), Japanese and Kudara army defeated by ChineseA. D. Painting, Chinese, in Japan; and Korean; in years 540-640; in Naraepoch; in Heian epoch; in Kamakura period; in Muromachi period Palace, ancient; consecration; in Nintoku's reign; Asuka; temporary, in burial; Kyoto palace burned and rebuilt; guards; officials;Yoshimitsu's; Yoshimasa's; Hideyoshi's Palanquin, koshi, of 3rd century; one-pole, kago; legislation about;luxurious use of, in Genroku period Paletot Palisades, early defence Pattada, Russian cruiser at Port Arthur Paper currency Parkes, Sir Harry (1828-85), and Hyogo demonstration Parks in Heian epoch in Kyoto; in Kamakura period; in Muromachi; seeLandscape gardening Parties, political, personal character of; opposition to cabinet;union of Liberals and Progressists Partitions in houses Parturition hut, ubuya Paulownia, Imperial badge Pavilion, Golden, of Yoshimitsu; Silver of Yoshimasa Pawnshops, heavy taxes on Peaches in myth of Izanagi and Izanami; Chinese origin of story Peach Hill, Momoyama, Hideyoshi's palace "Peerage, " Japanese, Seishi-roku (814 A. D. ) Pehchili, in Boxer Rebellion Peking, Japanese in march to, during Boxer Rebellion Penal law and penalties, ancient; proto-historic; ritsu of Daiho andYoro; in Joei code; in Tokugawa period Perry, Matthew C. (1794-1858), Commodore, U. S. N. , and treaty withJapan Persecution of Buddhists, by Christians, influence Hideyoshi; ofJesuits after edict of 1587; of Franciscans; of Dominicans (1622); ofJapanese Christians (1613); (1616), (1622), in Iemitsu's time Perseus-Andromeda story, Japanese parallel Pescadores, ceded by China (1895) Pessoa, Andrea, blows up his ship at Nagasaki Pestilence in reign of Sujin; in 1182; in 1783-6; displeasure of godsat adoption of Buddhism Petition-box (meyasu-bako) and right of petition (645 A. D. ); abuseof, pointed out in Miyoshi no Kiyotsura; petition bell in Kamakura;boxes re-introduced Petropavlovsk, Russian battle-ship, sunk Pets, cats and dogs Pheasant in myth of Heavenly Young Prince --White, Hakurchi, nengo or year-period, 650-4 A. D. Philippine Islands, promised to Hideyoshi by Franciscans; Ieyasu'sembassies to; conquest of, urged by Cocks, and by Matsukura andTakenaka; Japanese forbidden to visit; governor-general of, in Japan Phung-chang, prince of Kudara Physical characteristics of Japanese Piece, 40 ft. , unit of cloth measure Pine-bark for food Pine trees in Yedo castle Pirates in Shikoku, Fujiwara Sumitomo sent against; Japanese piracyin Muromachi epoch; and invasion of Korea Pit-dwellers see Tsuchi-gumo Pitszewo, landing-place of 2d Japanese army (1904) Plum tree groves, 612; blossom festival Poetry; Nara epoch; Heian; Chinese style; in battle; in Genroku era;bureau of; quoted; see Couplet Composing Pohai, Korean kingdom of 8th century recognized by Japan as successorof Koma Pok-ein, Kudara general, defeats Shiragi troops (660) Police, doshin --Board, Danjo-dai, duties taken over by kebiishi --executive, kebiishi, (810-29) Poltava, Russian cruiser at Port Arthur Polygamy in early Japan Polytheism of early Buddhism Pontiff, ho-o, title taken by abdicating Emperor Porcelain Port Arthur, taken from Chinese (1894); Russian railway; Russianfleet at, crippled by Japanese; Japanese attack on, was itwarranted?; fleet further crippled; harbour entrance blocked;movements toward; captured (end of 1904) Portsmouth, Peace of, (text) Portuguese in Japan; introduce fire-arms; Spanish jealousy of; Dutchand English intrigue against; instigate Christian revolt; edict of1637 against; refuse grant in Yedo; monopolize early trade; end oftrade Post bells, suzu Posthumous names; official rank first conferred Posting stations Potato, sweet, introduced Powder, in costume Prayer, magic, etc. Preble, American brig, in Nagasaki (1847) Prefectural government as opposed to feudal; prefecture or ken Prices, official, (1735) Priesthood, Buddhist, attempt to bring under law; armed priests;princes enter, except Crown Prince; temporal power; scholarship --Catholic, Ieyasu's attitude; and see Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustins --Shinto, early rules Prime Minister, 85, development of political power; office firstestablished (671) Primogeniture in early times, Imperial; in the family; Imperial, established 696 A. D. Princely Houses Princes, Imperial, change of status in Nara epoch; many becomepriests in Ashikaga epoch; abbots of Enryaku-ji and Kwanei-ji; allbut Crown Prince enter priesthood; prince abbots, or monzeki Printing, Buddhist amulets (770); in China; from movable type, about1592 Prisons Privy council, Daijo (dajo) kwan; Board of Progressist party, Shimpo-to, organized (1881) by Okuma; joins withLiberals Promotion, official, Chinese system introduced (603 A. D. ); underDaiho Prose of Nara epoch; of Engi era wholly in Chinese; Ki no Tsurayuki'spreface to Kokin-shu Prosody, Japanese; and see Poetry, Couplet Prostitution in Yedo; Sadanobu's legislation Provinces, kuni, in reign of Seimu; classification, and subdivisioninto kori, under Daiho; difference between capital and provinces inHeian epoch; lawlessness; power of provincial families; Bushiemployed by provincial nobles; shugo system, abolished by Kemmurestoration; local autonomy abolished Provincial rulers, in early times; administration by imperialprinces; early kuni-no-miyatsuko, later kokushi; kokushi under Daika;abuses under Shomu and Koken; use forced labour to reclaim uplands;term reduced to 5 years (774); administration criticized by Miyoshino Kiyotsura; administration after Onin war; in Muromachi period; andChristianity --temples, kokubun-ji; expense --troops, abolished (792) except on frontiers Public land, Kugaiden Purchase value of money Purification, Great, Oharai; regular, harai; bodily, misogi; aspunishment for persons of high rank Purple court costume; ecclesiastical robes Pyong-yang, Korea; in campaign of 1592; taken from Japanese byChinese (1593); Chinese defeated at, (1894) Queen's Country, Chinese name for Kyushu and west-coast provincesbecause of female rulers Queue--wearing and official caps, (603) Quiver Race of Japanese Raconteurs or reciters, guild of, Kataribe, (ill) Raigo, abbot, influence Rai Miki (1825-59), in Imperial restoration movement Rai Sanyo (1780-1832) on ethical effects of Chinese classics; onMintoku; on Bakufu; on the Hojo; on Morinaga; on Yoshisada; ondevelopment of tactics Railways, Englishmen employed in planning; modern building Rakuo, pen-name of Matsudaira Sadanobu Rank, hon-i; changed by Taira Kiyomori after Heiji commotion; andcostume Ransetsu, verse-writer Ratio of copper and silver in coinage; of silver and gold Reclamation, of upland, in 8th century; and perpetual title; inYoshimune's time Recluse Emperors, Three; and see Camera Government Recorder, of judgments Recorders, Court of Records, early Japanese; local Red court costume, mark of highest rank; colour of Taira ensign Red Monk, name given to Yamana Mochitoyo Red walls Reed, source of terrestrial life; boat in Japanese myth Reform, Great (645) Regent for grown Emperor, mayor of palace, kwampaku, office abolishedafter Kemmu restoration, in Tokugawa period; to minor, sessho;military, shikken Regent Houses, Five, Go-Sekke Registrar of Vessels Registration of land Reigen, 112th Emperor (1663-86); abdicates Rein, J. J. , on chronology Reizei, 63rd Emperor (968-969), grandson of Fujiwara no Morosuke Relief in crop-failure or sickness, under Daiho laws; for debtors;for sufferers from fire and tornado; for famine Religion, early rites; rites reorganized; Emperor at head of; inprotohistoric period; Board of; Miyoshi Kiyotsura's description;Yoritomo's attitude; in Muromachi period; Department of; and seeMythology, Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity Ren, lady of Go-Daigo, conspires against Morinaga, for her sonTsunenaga Rennyo Shonin see Kenju Restoration, of Kemmu era; of 1867 Return, English ship Retvisan, Russian battleship at Port Arthur Rhinoceros, fossil Rice, castle; diet; culture; chewers, nurses; corporation ofcultivators; for public use; standard of exchange; store-houses, forsale to travelers; loaned to farmers; substitute crops urged; boiledand dried, ration; paddy-loom; area cultivated, 15th century, beginning of 16th century; currency; relief tax on feudatories;production increased; rice exchange; classification of fields; moderncrops Richardson, English subject, killed in Namamugi "Rich Gem, " Princess, in myth of Hosuseri and Hohodemi Richu, 17th Emperor (400-405 A. D. ), first of "protohistoric"sovereigns Right, Minister of Rikken Seiyukai, "Friends of the Constitution" Riparian improvements under Nintoku Rituals, Ancient River of Heaven, Milky Way Rock, Sacred, on Kannabi mountains Rodriguez, Joao (1559-1633), Portuguese Jesuit, interpreter at Yedo Roju, seniors, cabinet; council of ministers, removed from proximityto shogun; and tax collecting; judges Rokkaku, one of Five Regent Houses; Yoshihisa's campaign against --Sadayori, see Sasaki Sadayori --Takayori, see Sasaki Takayori Rokuhara, n. And s. Suburbs of Kyoto, offices of the Bakufu tandai;in Kyoto revolt Rokujo, 79th Emperor (1166-1168) Roku Kokushi, Six National Histories Rokuon-ji, family temple of Yoshimitsu Roku-sho-ji, Six Temples built by Shirakawa Roman Empire, early trade with China Ronin, free lances; revolt of; "47" Roofs Rope, straw, in myth; paper-mulberry, used in fishing Rosen, Roman Romanovitch, Baron, Russian peace commissioner atPortsmouth Rossia, Russian cruiser at Vladivostok Rouge, in costume Rozhdestvensky, Ziniry Petrovitch (b. 1848), commanding Balticsquadron, defeated by Togo Rules for Decisions; of Judicial Procedure --and Regulations of Three Generations, Saridai-Kyaku-shiki; revised(819) Rurik, Russian cruiser Russia, relations with, 18th and early 19th centuries; joins Franceand Germany in note protesting against Japanese occupation ofManchurian littoral; war with; peace, (text); situation in 1911 Russian, name Akuro-o may be read Oro-o and mean Ryobu Shinto, mixed Shinto, Kami being avatars of Buddhas Ryogoku, bridge in Yedo Ryoken, priest of Nanzen-ji Ryoshun see Imagawa Sadayo Ryu, Shinki, artist Ryuko, Buddhist priest, advises of Tsunayoshi Ryokyu Islands, language cognate to Japanese; King of, intervenes;Japanese intercourse with islands; king of, and Japanese invasion ofmainland; French in, (1846); Formosa and; Chinese claims to, given up Ryuzoki, Kyushu family, defeat Shoni --Takanobu (1530-85), death Sacrifice, early; human; of weapons; at grave Sadami, Prince, Emperor Uda (q. V. ) Sadanobu see Matsudaira Sadanobu Sadato see Abe Sadato Sadatoki see Hojo Sadatoki Sadatsune, Prince, sons Sadayori see Sasaki Sadayori Sado, island, in early myth; settlement; silver mines; penalestablishment Sado Maru, Japanese transport sunk by Vladivostok squadron Saegusa Moriyoshi (d. 1651) Saeki family, member of, made state councillor Saga, 52nd Emperor (810-23); as calligrapher; his children and theMinamoto Genji, branch of Minamoto Sagami province conquered by Hojo Soun; Hojo and Uesugi; tobacco in Sagara (Sawara) Crown Prince under Kwammu Saghalien, Russians in (18th century); Russian and Japanese claimsin; Russian title recognized (1875); Japan's claim to, after war withRussia; not to be fortified Saho plots against Suinin Saicho, posthumously Dengyo Daishi, 805 A. D. Introduces BuddhistTendai, (ill. ) Saigo Takamori or Kichinosuke (1827-77), leader in anti-foreignmovement; in alliance with Choshu; urges war with Korea and resignsfrom cabinet (1873); in Satsuma rebellion, (ill. ) Saigyo Hoshi (1118-90), poet and ascetic Saiko, bonze Saikyo, western capital Saimei, Empress (655-61), the Empress Kogyoku succeeds Kotoku;Yemishi at coronation Saimyo-ji, Zen temple Saionji in Kawachi --Kimmochi, Marquis (b. 1849), head of Constitutionist (Liberal) party Sairan Igen, book by Arai Hakusekai Saito family in Ise defeated by Oda; feud in Mino; helped by Buddhistpriests --Hidetatsu --Tatsuoki, defeated by Nobunaga; leads revolt in Settsu --Yoshitatsu (1527-61), son of Hidetatsu, kills him Sajima, Prince, (d. 125 A. D. ) Sakai, near Osaka, Ouchi Yoshihiro's castle at; China trade;Nobunaga's quarrel with; firearms made at; port --family, Bakufu ministers from; tamarizume --Tadakatsu, minister of Tokugawa --Tadakiyo (1626-81) takes over most of Shogun's power; succession toGo-Mizu-no-o; succession to Ietsuna; displaced --Tadayo, minister under Hidetada Sakaibe Marise, uncle of Emishi Sakamoto, castle at Saka-no-ye Tamuramaro (758-811), against Yemishi; aids Saga --Karitamuro (728-86), chief of palace guards Sake, manufacture of, taught by Sukuna; dealers taxed Sakitsuya, killed for lése-majesté (463 A. D. ) Sakugen, priest Sakuma Morimasa (1554-83), defeated --Nobumori (d. 1582), soldier of Nobunaga Sakura-jima, eruption Sakuramachi, 115th Emperor (1735-47) Sakurayama, adherents of Southern Court --Koretoshi, commands force loyal to Go-Daigo Salaries, official Salt, use of, in early Japan Sanbo-in, temple Samisen, 3-stringed guitar Samurai, soldier class, freelances; attitude of, toward foreigners;place of, in making New Japan; attitude of Crown to; abolition of;Satsuma rebellion Samurai-dokoro, Central Staff Office, (1180) in Yoritomo's Bakufusystem; in administration of Kyoto after Shokyu war; in Muromachiadministration Sanada Masayuki (1544-1608), accused of encroachment; blocks TokugawaHidetada's army --Yukimura (1570-1615), in defence of Osaka castle Sandai Jitsu-roku, True Annals of Three Reigns, (901) Sandai-Kyaku-shiki, Rules and Regulations of Three Generations Sanetomo see Minamoto Sanetomo San Felipe, Spanish galleon, wrecked in Tosa Sanjo, 67th Emperor (1012-16) Sanetomi, Prince (1837-91), leader of extremist party; in alliance ofChoshu and Satsuma, (ill. ) Sanjonishi Sanetaka, scholar Sankyo-ron, Shotoku quoted in, on management of state Sano, branch of Fujiwara Sano Masakoto attempts to assassinate Tanuma Okitsugu Sanron, Buddhist sect Santa-Martha, Juan de, Spanish Franciscan, executed (1618) Sanuki, province Sapan wood, trade Sarcophagus, stone, clay, and terra cotta, of Yamato Saris, John, agent of East India Company, settles at Hirado Sarume, "monkey female" dances before cave of Sun goddess Sasa Narimasa (1539-88), in Komaki war Sasaki family, branch of the Minamoto; favour Takauji --Mochikiyo, estates of --(Rokkaku) Sadayori (d. 1552) captures Kyoto; reconciles hostileparties; generosity to Crown --Shotei general in forces against Nobunaga --Takayori (d. 1520), great estates; campaign against Sasebo, Japanese sally from, on Port Arthur Sashihire, Hayato assassin (399) of Nakatsu; death Sassulitch, Russian general, on Yalu Satake family, Yoritomo's attempt to win; one of "8 Generals ofKwanto"; of Hitachi, allies of Shingen --Yoshinobu (1570-1633), opposes Ieyasu, taking army over to Ishida;fief reduced (1600) Satehiko see Otomo Satehiko Sato Tadanobu, impersonates Yoshitsune --Tsuginobu Satomi family, one of "8 Generals of Kwanto"; fight Hojo; defeated;allies of Shingen Satow, Sir Ernest, sceptical of dates in "Chronicles"; on revival ofShinto Satsuma, Xavier in; later preaching; foreign ships in, menaceTokugawa; trade; tobacco; bonita; moderate party; against Tokugawa;predominant; fiefs surrendered; clan representation; rebellion of1877 Sawaga, monastery Sawing to death Scholars, Chinese and Korean, in Japan; sophists; in Bakufu; inAshikaga system; literati at Court; Japanese sent to Europe andAmerica Scholarship recommended in Court Laws; Ieyasu's attitude to; revivalof learning; Tsunayoshi favours Chinese scholarship; Western "Scrutator, " nairan, Bakufu official at court Sculpture in Nara epoch; in Heian; Kamakura period Sea-Dragon, Castle of, myth Sea, Command of, in 1592 campaign Seals; of Taiko; (ill. ) Seal skins in early myth Seaweed as food Sebastian, Spanish sailor, undertakes coast survey Secretaries in Bakufu Seed distribution by Crown (723) Seidan, book on government by Ogyu Sorai Seido, or Shohei college Sei-i, "barbarian expelling, " title of shogun; sei-i tai-shogun, hereditary title Seikan, priest Seimu, 13th Emperor (131-190 A. D. ) Seinei, 22nd Emperor, (480-4) Seishi-roku, record of nobles (814 A. D. ) Sei Shonagon, poetess Seiwa, 56th Emperor (859-76); (ill. ); sons become Minamoto Seiwa Genji, branch of Minamoto Sekigahara, battle of (1600) Sen, Japanese coin Senate, Genro-in, organized (1875) Sengoku Hidehisa (1551-1614) soldier of Hideyoshi Senkwa, 28th Emperor (536-9), succeeds his brother Ankan Seoul, Korea; march upon (1592), Japanese forced to give up; Chineseresident in, blocks Japanese control; foreign legations removed, Japanese resident-general in Sepulchres of Yamato; contents Serpent, eight-forked killed by Susanoo; possibly the name of a localchief; early shrine; worship Sesshu (1420-1506), painter of Kamakura school; academy Seta, Long Bridge of Settsu Dojun, suicide Settsu, Buddhist temple in; Kiyomori moves capital to Fukuhara in;priests revolt Seven Generals plot against Ishida Sexagenary Cycle in Japanese chronology; accounts for error of 120years; Chinese origin of Shaho, battle of Shaka, Sakiya Muni Shan-hai-ching, Chinese record (4th cent. A. D. ) Shantung peninsula, fighting on, (1894); part of, seized by Germany Shao-kang, mythical Chinese ancestor of Japanese kings Shell-heaps Shiba, district of Tokyo, Castle of, built (803); temple with tomb ofHidetada --family, in office of Muromachi kwanryo; one of Five Regent Houses;make trouble in Kyushu; in Onin war; in Omi --Mochitane, estates of --Tachito, first Buddhist missionary --Takatsune, revolts against Ashikaga --Yoshihige, minister of Ashikaga Yoshimochi --Yoshikada, rival of Masanaga --Yoshimasa (d. 1410), shitsuji, first to be called kwanryo --Yoshitoshi (1430-90), estates; Onin war Shibata Gonroku --Katsuiye (1530-83), general under Nobunaga; councillor; death Shibukawa Noriyasu, government astronomer --Shunkai, revises calendar (1683) Shi-do, "Way of the Warrior" by Yamaga Soko Shido Shogun, Campaign of Shiga, in Omi Shigehide see Hagiwara Shigehide Shigehito, Prince Shigeko, mother of Ashikaga Yoshimasa Shigeyoshi see Tokugawa Shigeyoshi Shihotari, Prince, commands government station in Anra Shijo, 87th Emperor (1233-42) Shijo-nawate, in Kawachi, battle (1348) Shikken, military regent, in Yoritomo's system, head of theman-dokoro, great power of office held by Hojo family; Ashikagasubstitute second shitsuji for; kwanryo later equivalent to; ofInchu, office held by Hino family Shikoku, early history; pirates in, (931-7); in 16th century wars Shikotan, inhabitants of, not pre-Ainu Shimabara, battle of, defeat of Ryozoki Takanobu (1585); Jesuits andtrade at; the S. Revolt (1637-8), puts end to Portuguese trade Shimada Yuya, judge Shimazu in Kyushu; defeated by Hideyoshi --Ei-O -Hisamitsu or Saburo (1820-87), feudatory of Satsuma, in Namamugiincident; in making of New Japan; with Saigo in Satsuma --Iehisa (d. 1587), defeated by Hideyoshi --Tadahisa (12th century) founder of family --Tadakuni, in Ryuku --Yoshihiro (1535-1619), successor of Yoshihisa --Yoshihisa (1536-1611), defeats Ryuzoki Takanobu, and is ousted byHideyoshi; against Ieyasu; escapes after Sekigahara Shimbetsu, families of pre-conquest chieftains or Kami class; threesub-classes; early administration; help put down revolt of Heguri;and rank of Empress; classification of Seishi-roku Shimizu, branch of Tokugawa --Muneharu, suicide Shimoda, residence given to Americans Shimonosekij French, Dutch and Americans fired upon, attack; peacewith China concluded at, (1895) Shimosa, Taira Masakado's revolt in; Taira Tadatsune's Shimpo-to, Progressist party, organized (1881) Shin, Buddhist sect (1224); Hongwan-ji feud with Enryaku-ji; internalquarrels; revolt of 1488, Ikko-ikki; oppose Nobunaga; interdicted inShimazu Shinano, Yemishi in; revolt of Minamoto (Kiso) no Yoshinaka in;Takeda and Uesugi in; silk growing Genji, branch of Minamoto family Shingen see Takeda Shingen Shingon, "True Word, " Buddhist sect founded by Kukai; Heijo andShinnyo devoted to; esoteric character Shingu, Kii province, tomb of Hsu Fuh; naval base of Southern army Shinki, Chinese painter Shinno, painter Shinnyo, name in religion of Takaoka Shin-o, bridge in Yedo Shino Soshin and incense-comparing Shinran Shonin (1184-1268), founder of Shin sect, (ill. ) Shinto, sun-myth; rules in Yengi-shiki; therianthropy; shrines; Boardof Religion; first use of name (c. 586); relation to Buddhism; mixed, with Buddhism; overshadowed by Buddhism, and subservient;insincerity; in Heian epoch; priests support Southern Court;relations with Confucianism and Buddhism; Pure Shinto; combined withConfucianism; revival of Shinzei see Fujiwara Michinori Ships, early; building, as tribute; bureau of shipping; China trade;size limited; limitation removed; middle of 19th century; modernmercantile marine; illustrations; see Navy Shiragi, Korea, myth; annals; war with Kara; king settles in Japan;submits to Jingo; Japanese attacks on; Chinese immigration; revoltagainst Yuryaku; weakened; dispute over Imun; ship-builders; Buddhistimage; defeats Kudara and Mimana; Japanese intervention; invasion;families in Japanese nobility; travel to Japan forbidden Shirahata, in Harima, fortress held by the Ashikaga; by the Akamatsu Shirakabe, Prince; see Konin Shirakawa, 72nd Emperor (1073-86) Shiren, priest Shiro-uji, branch of Taira family Shishi-ga-tani plot (1177) against Taira Shitenno-ji, temple to Four Guardian Kings of Heaven Shitsuji, manager, of mandokoro, office hereditary in Nikaido family;of monju-dokoro; second s. Created in Takauji's system; and kwanryo Shizuka, mistress of Yoshitsune Shizugatake, battle of, (1583) Shoan, Student of Chow and Confucius, teacher of Naka and Kamatari Shocho koban, gold coins of 1428 Shodai-ji, temple Shodan-chiyo, work of Ichijo Kaneyoshi Shoen, great estates, manors; temple domains; attempts to check;effect on agriculture Shogun, "general"; head of Yoritomo's bakufu system; attempt to haveImperial prince appointed; unimportant under Hojo; Fujiwara, thenImperial princes, appointed; Ashikaga in Northern Court; powerstransferred to kwanryo; under Tokugawa; minister gets power;separated from ministerial council; Chinese classics lessen power;court of last appeal; Imperial rescript to; power resigned to Crown Shohei, Japanese pronunciation of Changping, Confucius's birthplace;Shohei-bashi, bridge, Shohei-ko, college, near temple to Confucius;lectures there Shohei, period, (1346-69) Shohyo era Shokagu-in, academy of Minamoto (881) Shoko, 101st Emperor (1412-28), son of Go-Komatsu Shokoku-ji, Zen temple in Kyoto, art school of Josetsu; one of the"Five" Shokyu, year period 1219-22, and the struggle between the Court andthe military Shomu, 45th Emperor (724-48) Shoni, independent family of Kyushu --Tokihisa (d. 1559), last of family Shonzui (16th century), manufacture of porcelain Shoren-in, temple in Kyoto Shoso-in, Nara (ill. ) Shotoku, Empress (765-70), Koken returns to throne; orders amuletsprinted --Prince, or Taishi (572-621); history; on religions; defeats MononebeMoriya; builds Buddhist temple; relations with Sushun; opposes ujisystem; his "Constitution"; death; China; official promotion system;a painter --period, 1711-15, trade rules of Shrines, yashiro, early Shinto; simple architecture of; in reign ofSuinin; less important than temple after mixed Shinto; shrine andtemple, ji-sha; immune from shugo Shubun, painter Shui-shu, anthology Shujaku, 61st Emperor (931-46) Shuko or Juko (1422-1502), Zen priest, code and tea-ceremonial Shunkai see Shibukawa Shunkai Shunzei, nom de plume of Fujiwara Toshinari Shuryo, Buddhist priest, envoy of Muromachi to China Shu-shi see Chutsz Shushin, Zen priest Silk in early times; culture, curtains for partition; mulberry treeson uplands; in Nara epoch advanced by need of rich robes for priests;exported; growing in Kotsuke, Shinano, etc. ; "silk clothiers" Silkworm, worship of Silver and other precious metals Si Wang-mu, owner of miraculous peachtree "Six National Histories" Slave, value of Slaves and slavery, prehistoric; aliens become nuhi at conquest;prisoners of war and criminals; Daika; laws on slavery for debt;Daiho laws; provinces; Christians and slave-trade Sleeves, legal regulation of Small-pox interpreted as divine punishment Snow and snow festivals; image of Dharma, (ill. ) So family and Korean trade So-ami, artist, patronized by Yoshimasa; envoy to Ming court --Sadamori (1385-1452) and Korean trade --Sukekuni (d. 1274), governor of Tsushima, killed in battle withMongols Soden, inscription on Hoko-ji bell Soga, family, descendants of Takenouchi; power; favour Buddhism;relation to Imperial family; crushed by Fujiwara; usurpation causesDaika --Akae, minister of the Left, in conspiracy against Oama --Emishi, o-omi, successor of Umako; assumes Imperial titles; killed --Iname, o-omi, 130; recommends adoption of Buddhism; and Buddhisttemple (552 A. D. ) --Iruka, powerful under Kogyoku; quarrels with Yamashiro --Sukeyasu, death --Umako (d. 626), historiography; o-omi, kills Mononobe Moriya; powerunder Bidatsu; guardian of Buddhist images; relationship to Imperialfamily; final success over Mononebe Moriya; builds temple of Hoko-ji(587 A. D. ); has Sushun assassinated; alliance with Shotoku againstmilitary system; death Sogen (Chu Yuan), Chinese priest; and Kamakura calligraphy Soji-ji, temple Soko see Yamaga Soko Solfataras of Unzen volcano, torture of Christians in Solitary Kami Soma, branch of Taira Somedono, Empress, wife of Montoku Song Wang Myohg, King of Kudara, and Buddhism Son-Kwang, Kudara prince, settles in Naniwa Son-O Jo-I, "Revere the Sovereign, expel the barbarians" motto Sorin see Otomo Yoshishige Soseki see Muso Kokushi Sosetsu, envoy to China of Ouchi family Soshi-Mori, Korea, myth Sotan, painter Sotelo Luis (1574-1624), Spanish Franciscan, attempts to surveyJapanese coast Soto, sect, modification of Zen Soun see Hojo Soun (Nagauji) Southern Court, Daikagur-ji; war of dynasties; adherents; rulers;claims ignored in 1412 and 1428 Southwestern Japan, comparative accessibility of Sow race, Borneo, probable source of Kumaso Soya, strait of Sozen see Yamana Mochitoyo Spaniards, in Manila, jealous of Portuguese; in Tosa with "wrecked"galleon; intrigue against Dutch; Dutch and English intrigue against;Hidetada orders deported (1624); invasion by, feared, and conquest ofPhilippines urged; Spanish authorities forbid priests going to Japan;refuse grant in Yedo; trade unimportant; end of trade Spear, jewelled, token of authority of Kami; sign of militaryauthority; heads of; export of; carrier (ill. ) Spinning in myth; in early times Spirit, tama, survives body; belief in activity of Spying in Bushi system; civil; in Tokugawa Laws of Military Houses Stackelberg, Baron, Russian general defeated by Oku at Telissu Stag's shoulder blade, use in divination Stake, death at Stars in cosmogony State, Central Department of, Nakatsukasa-sho Stature of Japanese Steel for swords Stirrups among sepulchral remains; bridle, harness and (ill. ) Store-house, imikura; kura, administrator of, kura-bugyo Stossel, Anatol Mikhailovitch, Russian general, surrenders PortArthur Straw, famine food Straw mat, tatsu-gomo, for carpet Straw rope in sun-myth Sugar culture Sugawara family descended from Nomi no Sukune; scholars --Fumitoki, littérateur --Hidenaga, lecturer --Michizane (845-903), called Kwanko, schoolman; plot to send him onembassy to China; Fujiwara plot against, (ill. ); one of authors ofthe fifth of "National Histories"; Chinese prose; shrine, (ill. );descendants --Toyonaga, patronized by Ujimitsu Suicide in early myth; some examples; at grave; in protest againstpolicy; as punishment Suiko, 33d Empress (593-628), consort of Bidatsu; historiography;Chinese learning Suinin, 11th Emperor (29 B. C. --70 A. D. ); attempts to abolish humansacrifice Suisei, 2nd Emperor (581-549 B. C. ) Sujin, 10th Emperor (97-30 B. C. ); and ship building Sukenari (or Juro) Suken-mon-in, mother of Go-Enyu, relations with Yoshimitsu Suko, Northern Emperor (1348-52) Sukuna Hikona, mythical pygmy healer; inventor of sake Sukune family, growth of its power; see also Takenouchi-no-Sukune Sulphur trade Sumida, river bridged Sumidu-gawa, groves Sumitada see Omura Sumitada Sumiyoshi, Kyoto school of painting; decorations for Imperial palace --battle, defeat of Ashikaga --Gukei, or Hirozumi (1634-1705) Summer Campaign Sumptuary laws in Nara epoch; in Kamakura period; of Hideyoshi; inmilitary laws; of Sadanobu; in early 19th century Sumpu, in Suruga, Ieyasu retires to; vendetta illegal in; jodai of Sun, and titles of nobles Sun-crow, in Yamato expedition; on banners Sun goddess, withholds light, an incarnation of Buddha Sung, writer on war --philosophy, Gen-e introduces; painting, Josetsu introduces Sungari, Russian transport at Chemulpo Sunrise Island, Jih-pen, Chinese or Korean name for eastern islands Superstition, in 4th-6th centuries; in Nara epoch; in Heian Supply, Departments of, in capital, under Daiho Suruga, brigands of, crushed by Yamato-dake; province given to Ieyasu --Genji, branch of Minamoto family Survey for map under Hideyoshi; coastal begun by Spanish Susanoo, Kami of Force, contest with Amaterasu; expelled from heaven, kills great serpent; as tree-planter; rationalization of myth; itsbearings on relations with China and Korea; purification of; asguardian of forests; ruler in Shiragi Sushen, Tungusic settlers on Sado Island (549 A. D. ); expeditions ofHirafu against, (658 & 660); captives of Yemishi; later called Toi Sushun, 32nd Emperor (588-92) Su Ting-fang attacks Kudara (660 A. D. ) Sutoku, 75th Emperor (1124-41); Hogen tumult Sutras, Buddhist; copying as atonement Suwo, brigands; woman ruler in; Ouchi family of Suye Harukata, called Zenkyo (d. 1555), crushed by Mori Motonari Suzuka-yama, apparent Tatar remains in shrine at Swan, Yamato-dake in form of; in cure of dumbness Sword, myth, Imperial insignia; sepulchral remains; single-anddouble-edged; offered at shrines; large and small; Minamotoheirlooms; swordsmiths; exported; hilts (ill. ); samurai andsword-wearing; illustrations Syllabary, phonetic, development in Japanese away from Chineseideograph; in Heian epoch, kata-kana and hiragana; used in Joei code Ta-be, rice-cultivators or rustic corporation Table and cookery in ancient Japan; in Kamakura period Tachibana family --Hayanari (d. 843), exiled with Tsunesada; calligrapher --Hiromi, scholar --Moroe (684-757), minister of the Right, acquiesces in rule ofKoken-Shotoku; may have compiled anthology of "Myriad Leaves" Tachiri Munetsugu, Court envoy to summon Nobunaga to Kyoto Tactics, of Bushi; gradual change in Tada Genji, branch of Minamoto Tadahiro see Kato Tadahiro Tadakiyo see Sakai Tadakiyo Tadamori see Taira Tadamori Tadateru see Matsudaira Tadateru Tadayoshi see Ashikaga Tadayoshi and Tokugawa Tadayoshi Tadong River, Korea; in campaign of 1592 Taema, Prince, and expedition against Shiragi (603 A. D. ) Taema-no-Kuehaya, wrestler Ta-fu, Japanese envoy to China (A. D. 57) Taga, Castle of; built in 724 to check Yemishi; head-quarterstransferred to Isawa Taguchi Shigeyoshi, deserts with fleet to Minamoto in battle ofDan-no-ura Tai-hei-ki, historical work of 14th century, quoted on causes ofShokyu struggle; on Yoshinaga Taiho see Daiho Taiken-mon-in, consort of Toba; intimacy with Shirakawa Taiko, "great merit"; ex-regent, title of Hideyoshi; Taiko-zan, temple at his birthplace Taikoki, "Annals of the Taiko" quoted on Hideyoshi's palace Taikwa see Daika Tai Peh, Chinese prince, exile to Japan (800 B. C. ); Imperial descentfrom Taira, family, descended from Prince Katsurabara, generals ofImperial guards; called Heike; manors and armed forces; lose estates;quarrel with Minamoto; revolt against Fujiwara; provincial branches;treatment of priests, the Gen-pei epoch, struggle with Minamoto;genealology; in Heiji tumult crush Minamoto; hold most importantoffices; Yorimasa conspiracy against; defeated by Minamoto --Atsumori (1169-84), killed at Ichi-no-tani --Chikafusa, provincial governor --Hirotsune, favours Yoritomo --Kanetaka, lieutenant governor of Izu; is killed by Tokimasa --Kiyomori (1118-81), wins manors; treatment of priests; crushesMinamoto; supports Go-Shirakawa; alliance with Shinzei; lessens powerof Fujiwara; supreme; arbitrary rule; crushes Yorimasa conspiracy;death --Korehira, founder of Ise-Heishi --Koremochi, founder of branches of Taira --Koremori, commands army sent against Yorimoto Taira Masakado (d. 940), his revolt --Masamori, crushes rebellion of Minamoto Yoshichika --Michimori, killed in battle of Ichi-no-tani --Munekiyo helps save life of Yoritomo; relations with Minamoto --Munemori (1147-85), Shishi-ga-tani plot; abandons Kyoto; refusesYoshinaka's request for an alliance; escapes after Ichi-no-tani;defeated at Yashima; executed; possibly a changeling --Noritsune (1160-85), defeats Ashikaga Yoshikiyo in Bitchu; atYashima; drowned at Dan-no-ura-Sadamori defeats Taira Masakado --Shigehira (1158-85), sacks and burns three monasteries; in 1181attacks Minamoto Yukiiye; taken prisoner at Ichi-no-tani; death --Shigemori (1138-79); Fujiwara Narichika's jealousy of; restrainsKiyomori; death --Shigenobu, in revolt against Fujiwara (967) --Tadamasa, favours Sutoku in Hogen tumult, executed by Kiyomori --Tadamori (1096-1153), body guard of Shirakawa; against Yoritomo;descent; treatment of priests --Tadanori (1144-84), killed at Ichi-no-tani --Tadatsune, defeated by Minamoto Yorinobu (1031) --Takamochi, first marquis (889) of Taira --Tomoakira, saves his father --Tomomori (1152-85) burns and sacks monasteries; saved by his son atIchi-no-tani; drowned at Dan-no-ura --Tomoyasu, enemy of Yoshinaka, commands palace-guards --Tsunemasa --Yoritsuna, guardian of Sadatoki, crushes Adachi (1286), killed(1293) --Yoshibumi Taishiden Hochu, Shotoku in, on Buddhism; on property of MononobeMoriya Taitsang, taken by pirates, 1560 Taitsu, Chinese Emperor, protests against piracy Tajima, king of Shiragi, settles in --Mori, sent for orange seeds Taka becomes empress Takaaki, younger brother of Murakami, banished Takachiho, Mt. In Hyuga (Saikaido) Takahashi, Mr. , on "Mallet-headed" swords Takahira, Kogoro, Baron (b. 1864), peace commissioner at Portsmouth Takahito, Prince, son of Go-Shu jaku, attempt to have him passedover; see Go-Sanjo Takaichi, Prince; dies (696) Taka-ichi, Yamato province, possibly the "Plain of High Heaven" ofmyth Takakage see Kohayakawa Takakage Takakuni see Hosokawa Takakuni Takakura, 80th Emperor (1169-80) Takamatsu, castle in Bitchu besieged by Hideyoshi Takama-yama and Takama-no, Yamato Takamochi, first of the Taira family Takamuku Kuromaro, literatus, national doctor; leader of embassy toChina (654, A. D. ); dies there Takanaga, Prince (1311-38), commander against Ashikaga Takauji; in war of dynasties; suicide Takano, consort of Konin, mother of Kwammu Takanori see Kojima Takanori Takao, temple at Takaoka, monk, travels in India Takashima Kihei, called Shirodayu, or Shuhan, advocates foreignintercourse (1853) Takata, sect of Shin Takatomo, Pruice, adopted son of Okimachi Takatsukasa family founded by Fujiwara Kanehira, one of "Five RegentHouses" Takatsuki, fief of Takayama Takatsune see Shiba Takatsune Takauji see Ashikaga Takauji Takayama (d, 1596) feudatory of Takatsuki, converted by Vilela; hisson Yusho, "Don Justo Ukondono" Takeda family of Kai favour Yoritomo; help in overthrow of Yoshinori;alliance with Hojo and war with Uesugi; his allies against Nobunaga --Katsuyori (1546-82), marries Nobunaga's daughter, but makes war onhim; defeated --Nobumitsu stirs up Yoritomo against Yoshinaka --Shingen, or Haranobu (1521-73), war with Uesugi (ill. ); alliancewith Nobunaga, and with Ieyasu; death; military art; signature (ill. ) Takenaka, of Nagasaki, persecutes Christians --Shigeharu, soldier of Hideyoshi Takenouchi-no-Sukune, several prominent officials 1st to 4th century;against Yemishi; prime minister; great duke of the Presence; inconquest of Korea; succession to Jingo; ordeal for treason;grand-daughter, marries Nintoku; descendants; the Heguri Takenouchi Shikibu(1716-71), teacher of Chinese classics; forerunnerof Restoration Taketori Monogatari, "Bamboo gatherer's narrative" classic Takigawa Kazumasu, soldier of Nobunaga, kwanryo of Kwanto; favoursNobutaka; defeated by Hideyoshi Takinosawa, battle of, victory over Takeda Takuan (1573-1645), Emperor gives purple robe to Takuma artists Takuahan, Manchuria, 4th Army lands at Takutsakasa Sukehira, prime minister in Kyoto, opposes Kokaku Talien, taken from Chinese (1894); Russian railway Tallies used in trade with China Tamba, urchins of, the princes Oke and Woke; rice grants charged toprovince Tamehira, younger brother of Murakami Tamibe, naturalized aliens in pro-historic time Tamichi, general, killed by Yemishi, 367 A. D. Tamon, i. E. Ananda, statue in castle of Azuchi Tamu no Mine, valley, site of shrine to Kamatari Tamura, Prince, Emperor Jomei (629) Tamura family defeated by Date Tamuramaro see Saka-no-ye Tamuramaro Tan, land unit; tansen, area tax Tanaka Harukiyo, rebuilds shrine of Hachiman Tandai, inquisitors, two representing Bakufu at Court; theRyo-Rokuhara; similar offices at Hakozaki and Nagato; in Muromachiperiod Tanegashima island where Portugese first landed; name used formuskets they introduced Tanetsugu see Fujiwara Tanetsugu Tang, Chinese systems, and power of Throne (645-70); most of featuresof Daika taken from; respects in which not adaptable to Japan; Kyotomodelled on Tang metropolis, Changan Tanners from Korea Tanuma Okitomo (Mototomo) (d. 1784), son of Okitsugu --Okitsugu (Mototsugu) (1719-88), favourite of Ieshige, prime ministerof Ieharu Tan Yang-i, Chinese scholar Taoism and Shinto Tao Lung see Doryu Tasa, omi of Kibi, removed by Yuryaku; leads revolt in Mimana Tatars, possibly prominent in Yemishi revolts of 8th century; Goldenand Khitan in China Tate, fortress or warp Tate Chikatada, one of Yoshinaka's four body guards Tatebito, famous archer Tatsunokuchi, in Yedo, site of court of justice Tattooing as penalty; as decoration first in proto-historic period, when penalty abandoned Tawara Toda see Fujiwara Hidesato Taxation, early; and land-holding; war tax; land not taxed;requisitions; in Shotoku's constitution; Daika; Daiho; Ashikagaperiod; toll-gates; tokusei riots; under Tokugawa Tayasu branch of Tokugawa, eligible to Shogunate; named from gate ofYedo Castle Munetake, or Tokugawa Munetake Tea, plants introduced (814); more generally (1191); picking, in Uji, (ill. ); festivals; ceremonial (ill. ), influence on ceramics, andarchitecture, tea-parlours (ill. ); Hideyoshi's interest in Technical vocabulary, Japanese Teeth-blackening Teika see Fujiwara Sadaiye Teikin-orai, text book of letter-writing Teio-keizu, Imperial genealogy Telissu, battle of, Russians defeated by Oku Tembun koban, gold coins minted in 1532-55 Tembyo, period (729-48) Temman, Tenjin, shrine of Michizane Temmangu see Michizane Temmoku-zan, in Kai province, defeat of Takeda at Temmu, 40th Emperor (673-86), Prince Oama; historiography; sumptuarylaws Temples, early Buddhist; mixed Shinto; provincial; estates; the"Six"; Nara epoch; at Kamakura; the "Five, " schools and scholarship;revenue; commissioners; Ieyasu's legislation; under Imperial princes Tempo, period, 1830-44, famines; reformation of Tenchi, 38th Emperor (668-71); burial mound; painters; Daika; seeNaka Tendai, monastery and doctrine of Saicho; temple Tengai, abbot of Enryaku-ji, in bell-inscription affair; temple atNikko; Kwanei-ji Tenjin, descendants of primeval trinity, sub-class of Shimbetsu; nameunder which Michizane was apotheosized Tennoki, Record of the Emperors Tenno-zan, position in battle of Yamazaki Tenryaku, year-period (947-57) Tenryu-ji, temple at Saga, built by Takauji; T. -bune, merchantmen, sent to China for art objects; T. -seiji, celadon vases from China Tenshin, "kami of the descent, " chieftains of expedition from Kyushu Tensho, year period, 1573-91, coins Tenson, "Heavenly grand-child" epithet of Hikoho Ninigi; sub-class ofShimbetsu, descendants of Sun goddess; superior position of Teraishi, Dr. , on decoration of bronze bells Terasaka Kichiemon, one of "47 Ronin" Terumoto see Mori Terumoto Terutora see Uesugi Kenshin Tetsuo, priest of Daitoku-ji Text books Thatch on houses Thermal springs Thirty-year census Three Years' War, Go-Sannen (1089-91) Thunder, Kami of, in tree; axes Tientai, Japanese Tendai, Chinese monastery Tientsin relieved by Japanese troops in Boxer Rebellion Tiger, magic taught by Tiles, peculiar to temples; roofs of official buildings tiled in Naraepoch; slate-coloured and green in city of Kyoto; in Kamakura period;ill Timur gives up attack on Japan Ting, Chinese admiral, defeated at Weihaiwei Titles, or gentile names; new under Temmu Toba, 74th Emperor (1108-23); state domains; palace Tobacco growing; pipe and pouch, (ill. ) Toda Izu no Kami, advocates foreign intercourse (1853) Tadanori, adviser of Nariaki Todai-ji, Kegon temple at Nara, bronze Buddha; procession in Koken'sreign; great bell; bell-tower (ill. ); statue (ill. ); gate-guards;burnt by Taira Todo Takatora (1556-1630) helps Tokugawa Toei-zan, Ueno hill, temple of Kwanei-ji Tofuku-ji, Buddhist temple, S. E. Of Kyoto Tofuku-mon-in, Kazuko, first Tokugawa consort; wife of Go-Mizu-no-o Togashi family splits in Onin war Togo Heihachiro, Count (b. 1857), Japanese admiral, attacks Russianfleet at Port Arthur; blocks entrance to harbour; defeats Russians atTsushima Toi invade Japan (1019) Toichi, wife of Kobun Toin see Doin To-ji, Shingon temple (Goku-ku-ji) in Kyoto Tokaido, road from Kyoto to Tokyo Toki see Doki Tokichi see Toyotomi Hideyoshi Tokimasa see Hojo Tokimasa Tokimune (or Goro) avenges father's murder Tokiuji see Yamano Tokiuji Tokiwa, mistress of Yoshitomo Tokiyasu, Prince, see Koko Tokiyo, Prince, marries daughter of Sugawara Michizane Toku, empress Kenrei-mon-in; mother of Emperor Antoku Tokugawa, descent of family; hereditary system founded by Ieyasu;shogunate of family; oath of loyalty to; the T. Bakufu;"Constitution"; school, Shohei-ko; Imperial family, marries into;strengthened; attitude to feudatories; Hidetada line succeeded by Kiibranch; families in ministry; decline of power; end of shogunate Chikauji (d. 1407?), ancestor of Matsudaira Hidetada (1579-1632), shogun (1605-22); anti-Christian edict (1616);orders Spaniards deported; in war with Uesugi; daughter wedsHideyori; attacks Osaka; Ieyasu's instructions to; rule, death, character; and Crown Tokugawa Hirotada (1526-49) --Hyakkajo, One Hundred Rules of Tokugawa --Ieharu (1737-86), shogun (1760-86) --Iemitsu (1603-51), shogun (1622-51); treatment of Christians;Ieyasu's instructions to; requires nobles to reside at Yedo; andfeudal lords --Iemochi (1846-66), shogun (1858-66); marries Emperor's sister;resigns --Ienari (1773-1841), shogun (1786-1837); his father's rank;abdication --Ienobu (1662-1712), shogun (1709-12) --Iesada (1824-58), shogun (1853-8) --Ieshige (1702-61), shogun (1745-60); his son, Shigeyoshi, ancestorof Shimizu branch --Ietsugu (1709-16), shogun (1712-16) --Ietsuna (1642-80), 4th shogun (1651-80); power passes to minister;abdication of Go-Saien; death --Ieyasu (1542-1616) (ill. ); in war on Asakura and Asai; alliance withShingen; defeats Takeda; threatened; in Komaki war; peace withHideyoshi; against Hojo; receives Kwanto; takes oath; in Hideyoshi'sscheme; Christianity; Will Adams; death; family; succession toHideyoshi; wealth; Sekigahara; distribution of fiefs; shogun;Hideyori; defied at Osaka; Hoko-ji bell; attacks Osaka castle;character; legislation; literature; Hidetada; shrine; patterned uponby Yoshimune; Shinto revival; foreign intercourse; signature (ill. ) --Ieyoshi (1792-1853), shogun (1838-53) --Jidaishi, on Ieyasu's laws --Mitsukuni (1628-1700), sympathizes with Masayasu; interest inletters --Munetada (1721-64), founder of Hitotsubashi branch --Munetake (d. 1769) founder of Tayasii branch --Nariaki (1800-60), daimyo of Mito, anti-foreign policy of; attemptsto make his son shogun; surrenders edict against shogun --(or Matsudaira) Nariyuki, feudatory of Kir --Nobuyasu (1559-79); marriage --Nobuyoshi (1583-1603), daimyo of Mito --Shigeyoshi (1745-95), founds Shimizu branch --Tadanaga (1605-33), brother of Iemitsu --Tadayoshi (1580-1607), daimyo of Kiyosu --Tsunayoshi (1646-1709), shogun (1686-1709); considerate for Crown --Yorifusa (1603-61), daimyo of Mito; one of Sanke --Yorinobu (1602-71), daimyo of Kii --Yoshimune (1677-1751), shogun (1716-45); camera rule; Tayasu andHitotsubashi branches --Yoshinao (1600-50), daimyo of Owari; founds Shohei-ko school --Yoshinobu or Keiki (1837-97), son of Nariaki and his candidate forshogun; Crown urges his promotion; guardian of shogun; shogun(1866-8); resigns; surrenders Yedo Tokuhon see Hatakeyama Mochikuni Tokuno support Southern Court Tokuno Michlkoto, defender of Go-Daigo Tokusei, "benevolent policy", laws of 1297; extension of policy underAshikaga; riots; for debtors Tokuso, priest Tokyo, formerly Yedo, eastern capital Tomi see Fujiwara Tomiko Tomoe, Yoshinaka's mistress Tomohira, Prince (963-1009), poet Tomohito, Prince, see Kokaku Tomo, Princess, see Go-Sakuramichi Tomo Kowamine, exiled (843) with Prince Tsunesada Ton-a (1301-84), poet Tonami-yami, Echizen, defeat of Taira at Tonegawa, flood in Tone-yama, battle (1573) Tonghak rebellion in Korea (1894), Chinese troops sent to quell Tongkan, Korean history, its chronology Tori Shichi (Korean Nori Sachhi), Buddhist Torii Mototada (1539-1600), dies in defense of Ieyasu's castle --Suneemon Tornado of 1718 Torres, Baltasar de (1563-1626), Jesuit, companion of Xavier Tortoise shell, divination Torture in ancient Japan Tosa, province; Ichijo family move to; seized by Chosokabe; bonitacuring in; T memorial against Bakufu; surrender of fiefs; clanrepresentation Tosa, Kyoto school of painting; patronized by Tsunayoshi; decorationsof palace Mitsunobu see Mitsunobu Mitsuoki, teacher of Hirozumi Tosa Nikki, Tosa Diary Tosabo Shoshun, bonze Tosando, mountain road Toshiiye see Maeda Toshiiye Toshiyori-roju Tosho-ji, temple, suicides in its cemetery after defeat of Hojo Towers, royal; fire watch tower Toyohara Tokimoto, musician Toyohito see Kogon Toyokuni Daimyo-jin, temple of, sacred to Hideyoshi, destroyed byIeyasu Toyonari see Fujiwara no Toyonari Toyotomi, family, revolt of ronin (1651); decline of influence Hidetsugu (1568-95), adopted successor of Hideyoshi; Hideyoshi'sletter to; death Hideyori (1593-1615), son of Hideyoshi; regent; Christians join himagainst Ieyasu; Ishida favours; nai-daijin, marries Ieyasu'sgranddaughter; Ieyasu's estimate; opposes Ieyasu; refuses tosurrender; suicide Toyotomi Hideyoshi( 1536-98); battle of Okehazama; in Ise and Kyoto;Sakai; war with Asakura and Asai; against Takeda Katsuyori; invadesChugoku; plans war on China; peace with Mori; Nobunaga; defeatsMitsuhide; councillor; crushes Takigawa Kazumasa and ShibutaKatsuiye; Yodogimi; Osaka castle; in Komaki war; peace with Ieyasu;regent; crushes remaining enemies; treatment of Ieyasu; Buddhism;palace; tea-festivals, wealth; invasion of Korea; death; family;kills Hidetsugu; character; legislation; Christianity; tomb --Kunimatsu, son of Hideyori, killed by Ieyasu "Trade, Chief of" Transportation, early; roads in Nara epoch; in Heian; in Muromachi;improved by Nobunaga; laws; Tokugawa improvements;road-commissioners; railway building Treason under Daiho code Treasury established 405 A. D. ; three in Yuryaku's reign; burnt in1659; see Finance Department Treaties with United States, Russia, Holland, England; commercialtreaty with United States; with Korea; with China; with Russia(Portsmouth); with China (Peking) Tree, sacred, of Buddhist temples; tree worship; myths of treeplanting; stories of huge trees Trigrams, in divination "True Word, " Shingon Tsarevitch, Russian battleship at Port Arthur Tsin dynasty (265-317) and Chinese migration Tsuchi-gumo, "Earth-spiders" or "Pit dwellers"; called Wado byChinese Tsuchi Mikado, 83d Emperor (1199-1210); abdicates; exile Tsugaru in 16th century wars; remains of Tatar fortress --strait, controlled by Japan Tsugunawa see Fujiwara Tsugunawa Tsuguno, architect Tsuka, Korean prince, migrates to Japan; carpenters Tsukiji, in Yedo, naval college at Tsukuda, island Tsukushi see Kyushu Tsunayoshi see Tokugawa Tsunayoshi Tsunehito, Prince, father of Kokaku, rank Tsuneko, consort of Kwazan Tsunenaga, Prince (1324-38), conspiracy to make him heir; poisoned byTakauji Tsunesada, Prince (823-84), exiled (843) Tsure-zure-gusa, "Weeds of Tedium" Tsuruga, ancient Kehi-no-ura; fortifications (1280) Tsurugaoka hill in Kamakura, shrine of Hachiman Tsushima, islands, in early myth; silver discovered (674) and gold(701); attacked by Toi (1019), by Mongols (1274), and (1281);attacked by Koreans in 1419; Korean trade; Chinese squadron attacks;outpost of Japan; Hakuseki wishes to limit Korean envoys to;commerce; commanding strait; Russian attempts upon; battle of, Russian fleet defeated by Togo Tsutsui Junkei (1549-84), deserts Akechi Mitsuhide in battle ofYamazaki; succession to Nobunaga Tsuwata Saburo, suicide Tsuying, king of Pohai, Korea 203-Metre Hill, Port Arthur, fighting at Uchida Ieyoshi, warrior Masanobu (1619-51), suicide Uda, 59th Emperor (888-97), Prince Sadami Uda Genji of Omi, branch of Minamoto Ueda castle Ueno park, Kiyomizu temple; hill called Toeizan; abbot of, candidatefor throne in 1867 Uesugi, family, favours Tadayoshi; overthrows Ashikaga; kwanryo; twobranches; quarrels; join against Hojo; shitsuji; governor-general ofKwanto; patronize schools; against Mogami; Hideyoshi makes peace with --Akifusa, shitsuji to Shigeuji --Akisada, estates --Akiyoshi, avenges his father --Fusaaki (1432-66) --Kagekatsu (1555-1623), lieutenant of Hideyoshi in Komaki war;against Hojo; senior minister; with Ishida Katsushiga plots againstIeyasu; open break with Ieyasu; fiefs reduced after Sekigahara --Kenshin, originally Nagao Kagetora. (1530-78), kwanryo, war withHojo and Takeda, checked between Nobunaga and Shingen; military art --Mochifusa, sent against Kamakura by Ashikaga Yoshinori (1439) --Mochitomo (1416-67) fortifies Kawagoe --Noriaki (1306-68), shitsuji; exile --Noriharu (d. 1379), suicide --Norimasa (1522-79), driven from Hirai by Ujiyasu --Norimoto (1383-1418) --Noritada (1433-54), shitsuji to Shigeuji, death --Norizane (d. 1455), plot to kill; helps defeat Kamakura forces(1439) --Shigeyoshi (d. 1349), shitsuji, exiled --Tomomune, shitsuji --Tomosada, shitsuji --Ujinori --Yoshinori (d. 1378), shitsuji Uji, families, rank; government, established and abolished byEmperor; taxation; feudal chiefs; the Eight Great Uji; opposed byShotoku; rank; government; Jinshin; Kami elective; princely families;academies; record; territorial names Uji river, Yamashiro province, battle at Uiyasu see Hojo Ujiyasu Ukhtonsky, Rear-Admiral Prince, commanding Russian squadron at PortArthur Ukita Hideiye (d. 1662), soldier of Hideyoshi, against Chosokabe;commander-in-chief in Korea; one of 5 senior ministers; andHideyoshi's laws; against Ieyasu; estates forfeited Naoiye (1530-82), turns from Mori to Nobunaga Umako see Soga Umako Umashimade, ancestor of Mononobe Umeda Genjiro, pen-name "Umpin" (1816-59), promotes Imperialrestoration Umetada Akihisa, metal-worker Unclean, eta and hinin, in Kamakura classification Unebi, Mt. , tomb of Jimmu; Soga mansion Ung-jin (Paik-chhon-ku), Japanese defeat at, (662) United States, Japanese relations with, 1837 '46, and '48; Perry;Townsend Harris; Shimonoseki affair; Americans in education, post-office, agriculture, etc. ; intervention in Russo-Japanese war;threats of war Unkei, sculptor Unzen, volcano, Christians tortured in solfataras Upland, onchi Urabe Kanetomo (15th century), Shinto Yoshida, Shinto doctrine of Uraga, English refuse for headquarters; Manhattan enters; Perry in Urup, island, Russians in, (1792) Uryu Sotokichi (b. 1857), rear-admiral, destroys Russian cruisers atChemulpo Usui Pass in Yamato-dake's march, identification of Usume, female Kami Usuri, won by Russia (1860) Utsonomiya family, one of "8 Generals of Kwanto" Valegnani, Alexander (1537-1606), Jesuit vice-general, visitsKuchinotsu in 1578; embassy Variag, Russian cruiser at Chemulpo Vehicles, proto-historic; in Nara epoch "Vehicles" of Buddhism Veil in ancient costume Vendetta, beginning of in Japan (486 A. D. ); (1193); of Ako; illegalin Kyoto, Yedo, Osaka and Sumpu Vermilion pillars; stamp of Taiko Vilela, Gaspard (d. 1570), Portuguese Jesuit, in Kyoto Village, part of agata; assemblies; chief Vivero y Velasco, Rodrigo, governor of Philippines, agreement withIeyasu (1609) Vladivostok, strategic situation; Russian squadron at, crushed byKamimura; objective of Rozhdestvensky Volcanic eruptions Wa, "dwarf" or "subservient, " early Chinese name for Japanese Wada Yoshimori (1147-1213) son of Yoritomo's benefactor in Bakufucouncil; betto defeated and killed by Hojo Yoshitoki Wadded garments, first mentioned, in 643 A. D. ; use prescribed Wado, Chinese name of western tribe of Japan Wado, copper era (708-15) Wage, in 1498 Waka, wife of Tasa, taken from him by Yuryaku Waka-irutsako, younger son of Ojin Wake, funeral ceremony Wake, Prince, burial of Kiyomaro (733-99), banished; chooses site for new capital for Kwammu Wakiya Yoshiharu, son of Yoshisuke, in defeat of Takauji Yoshisuke (d. 1340), brother of Nitta Yoshisada and provincialgovernor; in command of Imperial army against the Ashikaga Wakizaka Yasuharu (1554-1626) at battle of Sekigahara Wang Yang-ming (1472-1529) philosophy of, officially displaced byChutsz's; Nakaye Toju follows; summary of system Wani, Korean scribe in Japan; his descendant, Wang-sin-i War, Department of, Hyobusho War God, Hachiman, Oracle of War Office, Heisei-kan Waseda University, Tokyo, founded by Okuma Watanabe, fleet at, before battle of Yashima Watanabe family, branch of Minamoto Watarai, temple of, in Ise, princess priest of Watazumi-no-Kuni, Japanese intercourse with Watch, in capital Water-supply of Yedo Wave-men, ronin Wax, vegetable, industry Weaving in early times; early taxes paid by; development Weights and measures Weihaiwei, taken from Chinese (1894) Wei Records, A. D. 211-265, on Japanese markets Western Army, Yamana forces in Onin war Whale, fossil remains White, mourning colour; colour of Minamoto Wi-ju, Korea; Russians at, (1904) Winter Campaign Wistaria, fujiwara; bark used for mourning garments Witchcraft, in Nara epoch Wo (Japan), tributary to Chinese Kingdom of Yen Woke, see Ninken Women, use phonetic language; warriors; tribute to serpents andmarauders; prehistoric status; rulers; hostages; morality;literature; property rights; in Tokugawa period; punishment of;shogun's harem; illustrations Wrestling in prehistoric times; first recorded match (23 B. C. );professional sport; (ill. ) Wu, Chinese Emperor, and Buddhist propaganda Wu-Ti, Chinese emperor, conqueror of Korea Xavier, St. Francis (1506-52), Jesuit missionary, lands in Kagoshima(1549); in Hirado, Yamaguchi, Kyoto, and Bungo, death Yada castle in Ise Yae, wife of Hideyoshi, followed by military clique Yaka, mistress of Tenchi Yakami, Princess, of Inaba, marries Great-Name Possessor Yakami, castle in Tamba Yakushi, Buddhist god of wisdom, inscription on image of; y. -ji, temple, (ill. ) Yalu River, Korea, in 1592 campaign; Chinese cross, (1894); Russiansand Japanese on, (1904); Russians defeated Yama, Indian god Yamabe, Prince; see Kwammu -Akahito, poet Yamabushi, priests Yamada Tesshu, on Bushi Yamaga Soko (1622-85), philosopher of bushido; Chinese teaching Yamagata Daini (1725-67), executed; fore-runner of Restoration Yamaguchi, Korean envoys come to; Xavier in; Jesuits leave;Christians in Yamamoto support Southern Court Yamana, family, joins Southern party; controls ten provinces; turnsto Northern Court; crushed; rehabilitated; one of Five Regent Houses;holdings; Hosokawa; forces in Onin war, Western Army; "provinceholders" --Mitsuyuki, in revolt against Northern Dynasty --Mochitoyo, called Sozen, "Red Monk" (1404-73), gets Harima; greatestate; in war on Hatakeyama; forces choice of Shiba Yoshikado askwanryo; deserts Yoshimi; death --Norikiyo receives province of Mimasaka --Noriyuki, captures Shirahita --Sozen see Yamana Mochitoyo --Tokiuji (d. 1372), joins Ashikaga --Ujikiyo rebels (1391) against the Ashikaga Yamanobe, Princess Yamanouchi, family name taken by Uesugi Yoshinori; feud withOgigayatsu; join them against Hojo Yamashina, Kamatari's residence Yamashiro, Prince, candidate for throne in 629 and 641; suicide Yamashiro, early shrine; campaign from, against Sujin; canal; meaningof name; school of painters (604 A. D. ) Yamato, expedition from Kyushu against; meaning of name, as used byChinese; kindred race at time of conquest; retirement to Tsukushi;culture; physiognomy; relations with Caucasians; language; school ofpainting Yamato, Prince, human sacrifices at burial of (2 A. D. ) Yamato-dake and Susanoo's sword; campaign against Yemishi; againstKumaso; a swan Yamato Genji, branch of Minamoto Oguna, earlier name of Yamato-dake Yamazaki, battle of, (1282) Ansai, follower of Chutsz; forerunner of Restoration Yanaida Takasuke, estates Yanagawa Seigan, Imperial restoration movement Yanagisawa Yasuaki, or Yoshiyasu, (1658-1714), favourite ofTsunayoshi; dismissed by Ienobu Yanamoto Kataharu in civil war of 1520 Yang-chou, taken by pirates (1556) Yangtzuling, Russian defeat at Yashima, battle, (1185) Yashima, Japanese battleship lost off Port Arthur Yaso, daughter of Emperor Reigen Yasumaro see Ono Yasumaro Year-period (Nengo), adoption of Chinese 645 A. D. ; under twodynasties Yedo, fort built (1456); capital of Kwanto; Franciscan mission;Hidetada; Bakufu; castle; nobles must reside in; rebuilt after fire;art centre; vendetta forbidden; tree planting in; Kwanno Chokuyo'sschool; fires; degeneration, 18th century; vagabonds; prison; landoffered to foreign traders; called Tokyo Yellow Sea, Japanese victory over Chinese (1894) Yemishi, early name of Ainu; Hirafu's expedition; description;Yamato-dake's expedition; captives called Saekibe; revolt in Kazusa;language, Siberian origin; migration; revolts Yen, Pechili Yengi-shiki, book of ceremonial law (927 A. D. ) Yen Hui, Chinese painter Yenisei, Russian mining-transport, sunk by mine at Port Arthur Yenomoto Takeaki, Viscount (1839-1909), admiral to the shogun, triesto set up republic in Yezo Yezo, pit-dwellers' remains in; name related to Yoso; Yemishi in;Russians and Japanese clash in; Yenomoto's republic in Yi Sun-sin, Korean admiral, defeats Japanese fleet Yo-chang, prince of Kudara, defeats Koma (553), beaten by Shiragi Yodo (Yamanouchi Yodo) (1827-72), feudatory of Tosa, memorial toshogun Yodo, estate of Yodo or Yodogimi, daughter of Asai Nagamasa and mother of ToyotomiHideyori; civil party sides with; against Ieyasu; Ieyasu promotesquarrel between Katagiri Katsumoto and; intrigue through her sister;death Yokohama, opened to American trade (1858) Yoko-yama, castle of Nagamasa Yolang, or Pyong-yang, Korea Yomei, 31st Emperor (586-7); Buddhism Yomi, hades, compared to Indian Yama; identified with Yomi-shima, between Hoki and Izumo Yorifusa see Tokugawa Yorifusa Yoriiye see Minamoto Yoriiye Yorimasa conspiracy (1180) Yorinobu see Tokugawa Yorinobu Yoritomo see Minamoto Yoritomo Yoritsune see Fujiwara Yoritsune Yoro, year-period, and legislation of Yorozu, story of Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), recluse and poet, one of "four kings" Shoin (1831-60), leader of anti-foreign and Imperial movement Yoshifusa see Fujiwara Yoshifusa Yoshiiye see Minamoto Yoshiiye Yoshikage see Asakura Yoshikage Yoshikawa, adherents of Southern Court Yoshimasa see Ashikaga Yoshimasa Yoshimi see Ashikaga Yoshimi --nephew of Yoritomo Yoshimine, princely uji Yoshimitsu see Ashikaga Yoshimitsu Yoshimune see Tokugawa Yoshimune Yoshinaga (Norinaga), Prince, governor-general of O-U; in theAshikaga revolt; see Go-Murakami Yoshinaka see Minamoto Yoshinaka Yoshinao see Tokugawa Yoshinao Yoshino, in Yamato, Buddhist monastery at, rallying place forFurubito's followers; Prince Oama takes refuge at; rendez-vous ofGo-Daigo's followers; in war of dynasties Yoshino, cruiser lost off Port Arthur Yoshinobu see Tokugawa Yoshinobu Yoshisada see Nitta Yoshisada Yoshisuke see Wakiya Yoshisuke Yoshiteru see Murakami Yoshiteru Yoshitsune see Miriamoto no Yoshitsune Yoso, N. E. Korea, cradle of Yemishi Yozei, 57th Emperor (877-84) Yuasa support Southern Court Yuge no Dokyo, priest, Koken's love for Yui Shosetsu, leader in revolt of 1651 Yuki, branch of Fujiwara in Kwanto; persuade Shigenii to killNoritada --Munehiro, administrator in O-U Yunglo, Chinese Emperor and year-period, 1403-22, called Eiraku inJapan Yura, Strait of Yuryaku, Emperor (457-79), cruelty of his reign; and Korea; death ofHayato at his tomb; serpent worship; 3 provinces added in his time;punishes Sakitsuya for lése-majesté, succession Yushima, Yedo, shrine Yusho see Takayama Yutahito see Kogon Yuzu or Yutsuki, Chinese imperial prince, and Chinese migration toJapan Zejobo, mathematician and surveyor Zekkai, scholar, adviser of Yoshimitsu Zen (dhyand, meditation), Buddhist sect of contemplation; and HojoTokimune; the soldier's creed; and intercourse with China; priestsand literature and art; tea ceremonial; favoured by the Ashikaga;great priests; five temples in Kyoto Zenko-ji, temple in Nagano with battle paintings Zenkyo see Suye Harukata Zenyu, priest, liaison with Empress Taka Zojo-ji, temple of Shiba, Tokyo, tomb of Hidetada Zoku Nihongi (or Nihonki) Supplementary Chronicles of Japan (798) Nihon Koki, Supplementary Later Chronicles (869) Zuisa, Buddhist priest, envoy of shogun to China Zuniga, Pedro de (d. 1622), Spanish Dominican and martyr FULL PAGE HALF-TONES WOODEN STATUE OF THE EMPEROR JIMMU PREHISTORIC REMAINS PLATE A. I. A "Stone plate" or mortar for hut flour (suburb of Tokyo); B and CStone sticks or batons, marks of rank (Rikuchu and Hitachi); D Stoneclub, probably religious (suburb of Tokyo). II. A Shell ring (Shimosa); B Bone nail (Rikuzen); C Bone spear-head(Rikuzen); D Stone spoon (Mutsu); E Stone chisel (Iwashiro); F and GArrow heads (Uzen); H Magatama (Izumo); / Kazaridama, beads forornament (Mutsu). III. A Vessel with handles, front rounded, back flat (Totomi); BGrayish earthenware dish, possibly for rice, with lathe marks (Mino);C Jar with spout on sides (Totomi); D Wine jar with hole in center todraw off sake with bamboo (Bizen); E Cup (Mino). IV. Brownish earthenware decorated by spatula and by fabric pressedon the moist clay. A From Hitachi; B Incense-burner shaped vessel(Ugo); C From Rikuzen; D Probably a drinking vessel (Mutsu). V. Wooden doll (Mutsu), --probably a charm. VI. Beads or gems (Rikuchu); the largest at the left, a marutama ofplaster; next, a kodanta of a substance like glass. VII. A Spear-head with socket: B Sword; C Sword with ring. VIII. Cut gem of rock crystal (Bitchu). IX. Kudatama, jasper ornament (Bizen). X. Gold ring, copper core, ear decoration (Musashi). XI. Magatama, probably strung on necklace (Yamashiro). PREHISTORIC REMAINS PLATE B. Earthenware horse (MUSASHI); Haruwa or offering at the tomb Arrowhead and lance head (SHINANO); and bronze mirror (TAMBA). Haniwa, earthen ware images offered at the tomb. Female figure withelaborate coiffure and dress lapping left over right. Man with steelhelmet and coat of mail. Broken piece of earthenware showing a human face. Stone axes and hatchets (MUTSUI OTARU, a polished Stone; Meguro, nearTOKYO; and SHIMOSA). PRINCE SHOTOKU (572-621 A. D. ) (From a painting in the collection of The Imperial Household) KAMAKURA DAIBUTSU, OR IMAGE OF BUDDHA (Cast in bronze. 1252 A. D. ; height 47 feet) COSTUMES Samurai in Hunting Robe Imperial Court noble Samurai in Court Robe TOKUGAWA SHRINE AT NIKKO ADMIRAL TOGO