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It is on record that Sh?mu himself adopted the tonsure and took a Buddhist appellation. The mother of that sovereign, Miyako, and his consort, K?my?,--both daughters of Fujiwara Fubito--were most zealous devotees of Buddhism, and with their co?peration the sovereign established in the capital an asylum for the support of the destitute and a charity hospital, where the poor received medical treatment and drugs gratis. Measures were also taken to rescue foundlings, and in general to relieve poverty and distress. Tradition tells us that the empress cared for the sick to the number of nine hundred and ninety-nine. The thousandth patient was a miserable old man who asked her to suck pus from the ulcerated sores of his skin. As she cheerfully acceded to his wish, he was transfigured into a Buddha, and ascended into the air, blessing the imperial devotee whose faith he had come to test. Among the great subjects we also find instances such as those of Kamartari and Fuhito, of whom the former, though a minister of the court, built a temple and made his eldest son take orders, and the latter erected the temple of K?fuku-ji and endowed it as the place of worship of the Fujiwara family. Among the priests of high rank, one whose name has been transmitted to posterity was Gy?gi.

A notable factor in the development of material prosperity at that epoch was the extraordinary ability of the priests. Many of them made voyages to China to study the arts and sciences of that empire, and on their return traveled up and down the land, opening regions hitherto left barren, building temples, repairing and extending roads, bridging rivers, establishing ferries, digging ponds, canals, and wells, and encouraging navigation, thus contributing as much to the material civilization of the country as to the moral improvement of the people. It may be truly said that the spread of Buddhism was synchronous with the rise of art and science. Carpenters, from the practice acquired in building temples, learned how to construct large edifices; sculptors and metallurgists became skillful by casting and graving idols of gold and bronze; painting, decorative weaving, the ornamentation of utensils, and the illumination of missals, owe their expert pursuit to the patronage of Buddhism; the first real impetus given to the potter's art is associated with the name of a priest; in short, almost every branch of industrial and artistic development owes something to the influence of the creed. In a storehouse forming part of the T?tai-ji, and in the temple of H?ri?, both at Nara, there are preserved a number of household utensils, objects of apparel, musical instruments, and so forth, handed down from the Nara epoch, every one of which bears witness to a refined and artistic civilization, not surpassed by succeeding generations. Among glyptic artists there have been handed down from these days the names of men famous for their skill in sculpturing images, two of whom were called "Kasuga" after the place where they lived, and were held in the highest honor. It is true that architecture, sculpture, dyeing, and weaving, introduced originally from China and Korea, had long been practiced with considerable success, but during the Nara epoch these arts were in the hands of men celebrated then and subsequently for their proficiency. The same may be said also of the arts of the lacquerer and the sword-smith, which at that time were carried far beyond ancient standards of achievement. It is further worthy of note that the methods of manufacturing glass and soap were known in the eighth century. Nara and its temples, remaining outside the range of battles and the reach of conflagrations, have escaped the destructions that periodically overtook other imperial capitals, so that those who visit the place to-day can see objects of fine and useful arts more than a thousand years old.

The lavish patronage bestowed upon Buddhism and the artificial wealth and refinement of the capital were not without an enervating effect upon the court. From the latter part of the eighth century favoritism and partisanship began to cause serious troubles around the person of the sovereign, whose conduct was in a measure responsible for them. The story of the rise and fall of various favorites and their cliques is too tedious to be retold, but the case of the priest D?ky? deserves a brief notice. Holding the post of palace prelate and enjoying undue favor from the empress dowager, D?ky?'s power assumed such proportions that the prime minister, Emi Oshikazu, took up arms against him. The latter's forces were, however, completely routed, his adherents exterminated, and he himself killed. With his fall, the emperor, who had ascended the throne by the influence of Oshikazu, was exiled by the dowager, who resumed the scepter in 764. This was the first instance of an emperor being exiled. Many princes of the blood were also either banished with him or killed, with the result that the princely adherents of the imperial house were materially reduced in number. Thereafter D?ky? received the posts of prime minister and second prelate of the realm , ultimately attaining the position of first prelate . His food, raiment, and bodyguards were similar to those of the emperor, and so great was his influence that the entire administration rested in his hands. His partisans went so far as to say openly that were the prime minister made emperor, the realm would enjoy peace. Profound, however, as was the nation's belief in Buddhism at that epoch, there were just men who could not tamely endure such evil doings. Conspicuous among them was the brave Wake-no-Kiyomaro, who brought back from the shrine of the Shint? deity, Usa-Hachiman, an oracle, saying: "The distinction of sovereign and subject is fundamental. Never may a subject become emperor. The emperor must always be of the imperial line. Let the unrighteous subject who would cut off the imperial succession be at once removed." D?ky? was much incensed by this procedure and caused Kiyomaro to be banished. But the oracle produced its effect on the empress, who at last repented of the things that had been done, and all idea of raising D?ky? to the throne was abandoned. The next year she died and was succeeded by a grandson of Tenchi, the Emperor K?nin. At this point the descendants of the Emperor Temmu ceased to hold the succession, and those of the Emperor Tenchi assumed it. D?ky? was banished, and Kiyomaro was recalled to court. Posterity regards his memory with almost religious respect.

FOOTNOTE:

Chronological table of the sovereigns of the Nara Epoch.

THE HEI-AN EPOCH. 794-1186 A. D.

Great and fine as was this metropolis, it suffered such ravages during the disturbances of succeeding centuries that the Ky?to of to-day, the "Saky?," or Western Capital, is but a shadow of the left section of ancient times. Not even the imperial palace escaped these ravages. Again and again impaired or destroyed by conflagrations, it gradually assumed smaller and smaller dimensions until only a trace remained of the splendid edifice that had once stood in the center of the citadel. But the regularity of the streets could not be obliterated. That at least survives to tell the story of the plan on which the city was constructed. Indeed, Ky?to continued to be the seat of sovereigns for a long period, covering 1074 years, and until the capital was removed in 1869 to T?ky?.

In the Hei-an epoch were accentuated the virtues and vices of the Nara epoch. Buddhism now advanced to an even greater extent than it did then, the luxury and pomp of the court were never excelled before or since, and the control of the administrative machinery by the Fujiwara family became completed. The growth of the Buddhist church was in no small measure due to two remarkable priests, Saich? and K?kai, both of whom studied in China the profoundest doctrines of Buddhism and gained for themselves a great reputation. Saich? founded the sect called Tendai, and built the celebrated temple Enryaku-ji, at Hiyei-zan, to guarantee the imperial palace against maleficent influences from the northeast. K?kai founded the Shingon sect, and built the not less famous temple of Kongobu-ji, at K?ya-san. Other new sects were also founded by other priests. The earlier teaching of the identity of Buddha and the Shint? deities was further extended by Saich? and K?kai, who taught that the Buddha was the one and only divine being, and that all the gods were manifestations of him. On that basis they established a new doctrine the tenets of which mingled Shint?ism and Buddhism inextricably. It was owing to the spread of this doctrine that it became a not uncommon occurrence to find Buddhist relics in a Shint? shrine, or a Shint? image in a Buddhist temple, and the names of Shint? deities were confused with Buddhist titles. Buddhist priests wandered everywhere throughout the land preaching their doctrine and founding temples on choice sites, on high mountains or in deep dells.

To this propagandism music lent its aid, for the melody of the Buddhist chants touched the heart of the people. Devotees constantly grew in number. Many of the highest personages in the land spent great sums upon the building of temples; the consort of the Emperor Saga, for example, constructed Danrin-ji, and the Prime Minister Michinaga erected H?j?-ji. Even in case of sickness, litanies and religious rites took the place of medicine before the science of the latter had been developed, and against all calamities of nature prayer was regarded as a talisman. It is easy to conceive that, under such circumstances, Buddhism came to exercise greater sway than even the ordinances of the sovereign himself. It should not be imagined, however, that Shint? was completely forgotten. Overshadowed by Buddhism as it was, it did not yet lose its sway. Thus we find the Emperor Saga dedicating a fane at the Kamo shrine, and the Emperor Seiwa establishing a place for the worship of Iwashimizu Hachiman at Otoko-yama. Imperial visits to these two shrines were not infrequent. Above all at the celebrated Shingu shrine in Ise, the Shint? rites were kept free from all admixture of extraneous creeds.

Of games played in-doors checkers and a kind of dice were much in vogue; while the favorite outdoor sports were foot-ball, polo, and hawking, together with horse-racing and equestrian archery. At wine-feasts, various kinds of songs, some classical, some popular, were chanted with dancing, and Chinese and Japanese stanzas were composed and sung. From the end of the eleventh century personal adornment was carried so far that even men began to imitate women in the matter of painting their eye-brows and blackening their teeth, much as though they sought to disguise themselves in the likeness of the puppets set up at the festival of the third month. Not inaptly did the wits of the time dub these mummers "lunar courtiers," or "elegants from cloud-land." On such occasions of festival and sport, men and women of noble rank mixed freely, and laxity of morals ensued. The ceremony of marriage had been duly established, but wives still continued to live in their own houses, where they received the visits of their husbands. In short, the gratification of the senses was the first object of the time, and if men thought of anything more serious, it was only the building and endowment of a temple where prayers might be said and litanies sung for the prosperity of themselves and their children in this world and their happiness in a future state.

Why the overwhelming power of the Fujiwara should have waned may only be understood as we observe the conditions of local administration. Within Ky?to reigned luxury and pomp, but without it, unrest and discontentment. The principal cause of this sharp contrast between the capital and country was the inevitable and utter failure of the system of equal land allotment upon which the great Taikwa reformation had been constructed. Uncultivated lands, however, were suffered to remain in the possession of local officials and farmers who reclaimed them. Originally the term of service for the governor of a province was fixed at four years, but in the reign of the Empress K?ken it was extended to six. Reappointment was generally an object of keen desire to these officials. They employed every possible means to compass it, since to remain in administrative control of a province for a long period signified opportunities of appropriating extensive lands and ultimately acquiring large territorial possessions. In the case of the headman of a district , the office was originally held for life, but even that limit soon fell into neglect, and the post was handed down from father to son through many generations. To check the abuses arising out of such a state of affairs, itinerant inspectors were appointed in the reign of the Empress Gensho, who were chosen from among the ablest of the provincial governors. In a report addressed by one of them to the throne in 762, it is declared that "No such thing as justice is now executed by any provincial governor in the realm." From this time on, provincial governors not only continued to tread the old wonted paths, but their selfish arbitrariness became more unbridled in proportion as the prestige of the administration in the capital grew feebler and the official organization more lax.

During the reign of the Emperor Kwammu the plan was inaugurated of reducing to the rank of subjects and giving family names to such of the imperial princes as were of inferior descent on the mother's side. Kwammu's son, Saga, who had so many children that the revenue of the imperial household did not suffice to maintain them, followed the precedent established by his father, giving the name Minamoto to several of his sons. Thenceforth the device passed into a custom, and imperial princes were frequently appointed to official positions in the central or local government under the family names of Minamoto or Taira. Those who obtained the posts of provincial governors acquired large influence in the districts administered by them, their descendants becoming military chiefs with great followings of relatives and retainers. The Minamoto clan comprised no less than fourteen families, among them the descendants of the Emperor Seiwa being the most numerous and important. It was from this clan that the great Yoritomo, the first feudal ruler of Japan, subsequently sprang. The Taira, on the other hand, consisted of four families, principally descendants of the Emperor Kwammu. To them belonged the notorious tyrant Kiyomori, of whose career we shall soon be told.

Ninety years later, Taira-no-Tadatsune, vice-governor of the province of Kazusa, forcibly took possession of the provinces of Kazusa and Shim?sa, but was defeated by Minamoto-no-Yorinobu, a grandson of Tsunemoto. Soon afterward local chiefs raised an insurrection in the remote northern province of Mutsu, and maintained their authority for nine years. This was followed soon after by a three-year revolt of the Kiyowara family, which threw the provinces of Mutsu and Dewa into a state of tumult. These troubles were quelled, respectively, by Yoriyoshi, the son, and Yoshiiye, the grandson, of Yorinobu. Thus the influence of the Minamoto clan became paramount among the military men of the eastern provinces.

All this while, courtiers and officials of Ky?to despised administrative duties, whether civil or military, so that in the event of a disturbance or of a feud among themselves, they were driven to rely upon the military classes, thus involuntarily but surely strengthening the influence of the men whom they professed to contemn. Although the Fujiwara remained in Ky?to and filled all the important posts in the general government, their sway was only apparent. The reins of state affairs were in reality held by the military classes dispersed throughout the provinces. There were also certain singular circumstances at court which not only hastened this revolution, but also brought the military forces from the provinces into a clash in the streets of Ky?to. These circumstances, which we shall briefly describe below, were in the main owing to two causes, namely, the undue wealth and power of the Buddhist priests, and the struggle for power among different political factions in the palace. The former was largely due to the devotion of the imperial house, particularly the Emperor Shirakawa , who greatly depleted the treasury by erecting thousands of temples and images, and ordering the performance of rites and the giving of alms with unprecedented profusion. The priests, who had already grown rich and powerful, began to be engaged in quarrels among themselves and with the outside world, for which purpose the greater monasteries maintained considerable military forces.

It was the same Emperor Shirakawa who instituted the peculiar system of the Camera administration , which powerfully tended to break down the last remains of the Taikwa reformation. After a reign of fourteen years he resigned in 1087, only to retain the administrative power in his hands, with his special court and special ministers. The reigning emperor and his government had few functions to discharge, as the entire control of the state affairs rested in the Camera of the ex-emperor. Shirakawa sat in the Camera till 1130, and was succeeded for twenty-eight years by the ex-Emperor Toba. All this while Buddhist soldiers behaved with the greatest lawlessness, constantly disturbing the peace of the capital, and the military class simultaneously became turbulent and vicious.

Among these scenes of tumult and violence, the court itself was torn by disputes and its corruption became a subject of public scandal. Toba had many female favorites, of whom Bifukumonin enjoyed the largest share of his affections. Being on bad terms with his eldest son, the reigning sovereign, Toba took advantage of the birth of a son by Bifukumonin to bring about the abdication of the emperor and cause his favorite's child to succeed to the throne at the age of two years. This was the Emperor Konoye. His uncle, Fujiwara-no-Tadamichi, was appointed regent. The ex-Emperor Sutoku, being still young, was much incensed at having been obliged to abdicate, and when Konoye died after a reign of fourteen years, Sutoku desired ardently that his son, Prince Shigehito, should succeed to the throne. The Regent Tadamichi had a brother named Yorinaga, and their father's partial treatment of him had produced a feud between the brothers.

Yorinaga, active, learned, and able, then held the post of second minister of state, and strongly supported the design of the ex-Emperor Sutoku. Bifukumonin and Tadamichi, on their side, acting in concert with Toba, opposed the accession of Prince Shigehito, and alleged in objection that the untimely death of the late Emperor Konoye had resulted from sorcery practiced by Sutoku. The candidate to whom they gave their support was Goshirakawa, brother of Konoye, who was counted a youth of inferior capacity. Sutoku's anger against these proceedings was intense. Being informed just then of the death of Toba, he proceeded to the latter's palace, but the guards refused to admit him, pretending that the deceased had desired his exclusion. This insult incensed Sutoku beyond endurance. Repairing to the residence of Yorinaga, he took council with him, and finally, retiring to the Shirakawa palace, declared open war against his opponents, being bravely succored by Minamoto-no-Tameyoshi, Taira-no-Tadamasa, and their followers. Bifukumonin and Tadamichi placed the young Emperor Goshirakawa in the Higashi Sanj? palace. They counted among their chief allies Yoshitomo, the eldest son of Tameyoshi, Minamoto-no-Yorimasa, and Kiyomori, the nephew of Tadamasa. One sanguinary engagement sufficed to break the power of Sutoku. He became a priest, and was ultimately exiled to the island of Sanuki. Yorinaga died of an accidentally inflicted arrow-wound, and Tameyoshi and Tadamasa, together with many other men of note, were slain. The name of the era being thereafter changed to H?gen, this affair was spoken of by posterity as the H?gen Insurrection. The battle that ended the long struggle lasted for only one day, but its character and circumstances can never be forgotten. It was veritably an internecine fight; Sutoku against his brother Goshirakawa; Tadamichi against his brother Yorinaga; Tameyoshi against his son Yoshitomo; Tadamasa against his nephew Kiyomori. Men spoke in after years of this unnatural contest as the battle that destroyed human relations and ignored all the principles of morality.

A sister of Kiyomori's wife bore a son to the ex-Emperor Goshirakawa. Kiyomori's favor at court was so great that he succeeded in getting this child named heir apparent, and he ultimately ascended the throne in 1169 as the Emperor Takakura. Throughout his reign the ex-Emperor Goshirakawa was the actual ruler. Meanwhile, Kiyomori had steadily risen in imperial favor, until in 1167 he became chief minister of state. Shortly afterward, however, he resigned that post, and taking the tonsure, became a priest under the name of J?kai. None the less he remained at his previous place of residence, Rokuhara, in Ky?to attending to the management of state affairs as before. From that time dates the custom subsequently followed by the military class of making Rokuhara the seat of administration.

When the influence of Kiyomori reached its zenith, he conceived the design of securing permanent official supremacy for himself and his heirs by contriving that the consort of the sovereign should be taken from his family, as had been the habit in the case of the Fujiwara. In pursuance of that project, he induced the emperor to marry his daughter. Shigemori, his son, held the important offices of lord keeper of the privy seal and generalissimo of the left, while almost the whole of his kinsmen and followers occupied prominent positions in the central and local government. The number of provinces over which the sway of the clan extended was more than thirty, and it came to be a saying of the time that a person not belonging to the Taira family was no one. The members of the Fujiwara clan could not compete with those of the Taira. Even the regent, Motofusa, and the chief minister of state, Motomichi, saw themselves reduced to comparative insignificance. Naturally such conspicuous ascendency caused offense in many quarters, and the Court Councilor Fujiwara-no-Narichika, a favorite official of the ex-Emperor Goshirakawa, in combination with several others, elaborated a plot to overthrow the Taira sway. But the scheme was detected, and its authors and promoters were all put to death by order of Kiyomori. Having been informed that the ex-emperor had countenanced the plot, Kiyomori conceived for him a strong hatred, which was greatly accentuated when, on the death of the Taira chief's son Shigemori, the ex-emperor, after consultation with Motofusa, caused the estates of the deceased nobleman to be confiscated. Too haughty to brook such a slight Kiyomori set out from his mansion at Fukuhara, and entering Ky?to, caused the ex-emperor to be seized and confined in the Toba palace, and thirty-nine of his majesty's high officials to be dismissed at the same time.

Toward the reigning sovereign the demeanor of the Taira was so arrogant and his methods so arbitrary, that the emperor finally abdicated in favor of the crown prince, who reigned under the name of Antoku. This sovereign was the son of the retiring emperor and his mother was Kiyomori's daughter, so that the Taira then stood toward the imperial house in the same relation as that formerly occupied by the Fujiwara, with the tremendous difference, however, that the former also possessed the whole military power of the time, which gave them unprecedented influence and supremacy. Nevertheless, even among the members of a family so puissant, there were to be found some feeble nobles who had no skill in military exercises nor could boast any accomplishment except the art of composing stanzas, playing on musical instruments, or practicing some effeminate pastime.

Among the members of the Minamoto family at the time of which we write was one Yorimasa, who, incensed by the arbitrary proceedings of the Taira officials, persuaded Prince Mochihito, son of the ex-Emperor Goshirakawa and brother-in-law of the Emperor Takakura, to form an alliance with the priests of Onj?-ji and K?fuku-ji, their object being to expel Kiyomori from court and to rescue the ex-emperor from his confinement in the Toba palace. In 1180, the prince dispatched Yukiiye, younger brother of the late Yoshitomo, to the remnants of the Minamoto in the eastern provinces, carrying an edict which summoned them to rise and overthrow the Taira family. Fortunately for the latter, the plot was discovered and at once suppressed. But the seed sown by this abortive rebellion proved beyond Kiyomori's control, for, in the same year, 1180, the exile, Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, who was destined to become the founder of the feudal government of Japan, raised a force of troops in the small island of Izu in obedience to the mandate of Prince Mochihito. Many partisans flocked to his standard from Kwant?, the former seat of Minamoto influence. Almost simultaneously, another Minamoto chief, Yoshinaka, also took the field in the prince's cause, his headquarters being at Kiso, in Shinano, where he collected a large body of soldiers. Kiyomori lost no time in dispatching a powerful army against the rebels, but his forces suffered defeat and were driven back. Henceforth, many puissant warriors of the Hokuriku region threw in their lot with the Minamoto, and the force at the latter's disposal assumed formidable dimensions. Even the great temples in the vicinity of the capital opened communications with the insurgents, which so exasperated Kiyomori that he reduced the temples to ashes and confiscated all their lands. These extreme measures served to check temporarily the active exercise of priestly power, but did not affect the prestige of the Minamoto, whose strength continued to grow rapidly. Kiyomori finally saw himself compelled to relax the ex-emperor's confinement, and even to allow him to resume an active part in the administration of state affairs. But in the year 1182 the great Taira chief was stricken by a fatal malady, and expired after a brief illness. He was succeeded by his son Munemori, who did not spare to direct all the strength of the clan against the Minamoto. But fortune shone on the latter's arms in several encounters, until, in 1183, Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka inflicted a signal defeat on the Taira forces in a pitched battle, and dividing his own army into two bodies, pushed, via the Tosan and Hokuriku routes, as far as the temple Enryaku-ji in the immediate vicinity of Ky?to, where he was secretly visited at night by the ex-Emperor Goshirakawa. The Emperor Antoku now fled westward, carrying with him the three insignia, and escorted by Munemori and the Taira forces. The imperial train reached Dazaifu, in Kiush?, where the Taira wielded great influence. Munemori was joined by all the principal warriors of the locality, and being further reinforced by many others from the island of Shikoku, found himself once more at the head of a powerful army. In Ky?to, however, another emperor was enthroned, whose coronation was conducted, for the first time in Japanese history, without the transfer of the insignia. There were thus two sovereigns simultaneously ruling, one at Ky?to and the other in Kiush?.

Copied from the 14th number of the monthly "Kokkura" , published by order of the Society Kokkura-sha in Tokyo by Yamamoto and translated by Dr. Kitasato.

The forces of the Taira and the Minamoto fought many battles in the Kiush? and Ch?goku districts, the gains and losses being tolerably even on both sides. But by degrees the military magnates along the Sany?, Nankai, and Saikai lines joined the Taira army, and its strength became so irresistible that it marched back toward Ky?to, escorting Antoku. Thus the Taira saw themselves once more established at Fukuhara, to which Kiyomori had for a brief period removed the capital from Ky?to. They organized their lines of defense, making Fukuhara their base, and Ikuta and Ichinotani their eastern and western outposts, respectively.

Meanwhile Yoshinaka, the Minamoto leader, had become so insolent as to be imprecated and dreaded by friend and vassal alike. He also quarreled with Yoritomo, who had hitherto confined his military operations to the eastern provinces, but who now sent his two brothers, Noriyori and Yoshitsune, to attack Yoshinaka. The latter was defeated at Seta in Ise, and killed in the midst of a rice-field by a stray arrow. The victors then marched on in triumph to Ichinotani to attack the Taira. The first conflict was successful for the Minamoto. The Taira lost many a stout soldier. Munemori and the remnant of his troops retreated to Yashima, in Sanuki, continuing as before to carry with them the child emperor, Antoku. Yoshitsune's forces pursued the retreating army to Sanuki, where a fierce fight ended in the second defeat of the Taira. The latter receded still further to the bay of Dannoura in Nagato. There the decisive battle was fought, and for the third time the Taira were utterly routed. Nearly all their warriors were killed.

FOOTNOTE:

Table showing lineage and chronology of sovereigns.

PART II

THE FEUDAL AGES. 1186-1868

THE KAMAKURA GOVERNMENT. 1186-1339

The Taira had fallen, and Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, one of the greatest statesmen Japan has produced, had established his headquarters at Kamakura, near the present T?ky?. The influence of his clan had for generations been implanted in the eastern provinces, where the robust militarism stood in great contrast with the effeminate atmosphere of Ky?to.

Henceforth Yoritomo's brilliant victories were largely owing to the generalship of his brother. But no sooner had the latter destroyed the remnants of the Minamoto's enemy than his own safety was endangered by his very success, for Yoritomo grew jealous of his great renown and popularity. As Yoshitsune escorted the captive chief of the Taira clan, Munemori, to Kamakura, he not only received no recognition for his achievements, but also was refused admission to the presence of his brother. There were not lacking men around the latter to contrive the downfall of the great general. Shortly afterward Yoritomo sent to Ky?to a man of proved valor and strength, Tosab? Sh?shun, with orders to destroy Yoshitsune, but Tosab? himself fell under Yoshitsune's sword in the attempt. Thereafter Yukiiye, Yoshitsune's uncle, induced the ex-emperor to authorize them to put down Yoritomo. But Yoritomo addressed himself to the ex-emperor with such persuasion that an imperial mandate was issued to all the provincial authorities ordering them to arrest Yoshitsune and Yukiiye. Yoritomo thereupon dispatched H?j? Tokimasa to Ky?to to quell the partisans and restore order in the capital. Yukiiye was subsequently killed in the province of Izumi, but Yoshitsune escaped to his friend Fujiwara-no-Hidehira in Mutsu. The latter, however, died soon afterward, and was succeeded by his son Yasuhira, who received from Yoritomo orders to kill the fugitive. So great and far-reaching was the authority of the Minamoto chief at that time that Yasuhira had no choice but to comply with the mandate. He caused Yoshitsune to be put to death, and sent his head to Kamakura. Tradition has, however, been reluctant to admit so ignominious an end to the hero, who, it says, effected his escape to the island of Ezo and thence to the continent, where he became a great prince over nomadic tribes. Nor did Yasuhira's treachery bring fortune upon himself, for Yoritomo, already desirous to bring Mutsu under his direct rule, pretended to believe that Yasuhira had been unduly slow in destroying his rebellious brother, and, in 1189, led in person a large army, which succeeded in a brief time in killing Yasuhira and subduing the great provinces of Mutsu and Dewa.

Yoritomo died in 1200 at the age of fifty-three, his eldest son, Yoriiye, succeeding to the title of generalissimo. But Yoriiye being only eighteen years of age, and having given no evidence of ability, his mother, Masako, commissioned her own father H?j? Tokimasa, together with twelve councilors, to assume the direction of the government at Kamakura. From this time began the dark age of Kamakura, in which unbridled ambition ignored all restraints of propriety. When the young Yoriiye fell ill in 1203, his mother, acting in concert with Tokimasa, planned to relieve him of his office of generalissimo, and to appoint his son Ichihata to be lord and governor general of the twenty-eight eastern provinces forming Kwant?, and his young brother Chihata--afterward called Sanetomo--to be lord of the thirty-eight western provinces forming Kwansei. This plot so incensed Yoriiye that the latter, with his wife's father, Hiki Yoshikazu, planned means to exterminate the H?j? family. Tokimasa frustrated the design by having Yoshikazu assassinated, and then attacking and slaying all his blood relations together with Ichihata. Yoriiye he afterward shut up in a temple, and ultimately caused him to be put to death. Sanetomo, Yoriiye's younger brother, succeeded him, but exercised no administrative authority, the H?j? holding everything in their own grasp. The sh?gun consequently devoted himself to literature rather than to military exercises. Moreover, foreseeing that fortune would not long continue to smile upon the Minamoto family, he thought to obtain a high position in the central government, and add luster to the family's renown while there was yet time. Hence he was promoted to the post of chief councilor of state , in conjunction with that of commander in chief of the guards of the left, his official rank being raised to the first of the second class. Shortly afterward he became lord keeper of the privy seal and then minister of the right. But in 1219, on the occasion of worshiping at a shrine in Kamakura, he was stabbed to death by Kugy?, a son of Yoriiye. This event terminated the descendants of the Minamoto family in the direct line. A brief interval of thirty-five years, or three generations, from the time when Yoritomo had risen to the head of the government, sufficed to complete the supremacy of the great clan, the first sh?gun of which had so systematically pruned off the useful members of its own branch.

It was about this time that the civil government of Ky?to rose under the leadership of the ex-Emperor Gotoba in an attempt to overthrow the feudal administration. Ever since the time of Yoritomo, Gotoba had cherished the hope of recovering the control of administrative affairs, and with that object had stationed military men of his own choosing in the west, in addition to those already stationed in the north, conferring on their leaders swords forged by his own hands, and otherwise sparing no pains to organize a strong military following. So long, however, as Yoritomo lived, Gotoba's designs could not be realized. But when Sanetomo, the third sh?gun of Yoritomo's line, fell under the sword of Kugy?, the ex-emperor thought that he descried an opportunity to attain his purpose. But H?j? Yoshitoki set up a Fujiwara as a nominal sh?gun, and himself exercised the administrative authority in a markedly arrogant and arbitrary manner. Gotoba then selected a vassal of Kamakura, without consulting the H?j?, as warden of the western marches, and allowed him to reside in Ky?to. Yoshitoki forthwith confiscated all the lands belonging to the warden. Thereupon an imperial mandate was issued, directing that the estates should be restored, to which Yoshitoki paid no attention. A further instance of contumacy occurred in connection with an estate which the ex-emperor had conferred on one of his favorite mistresses.

The H?j? were aware that, great as was their influence, it had been acquired by questionable means, and that their position could be maintained only by their good government. For this reason, the H?j? administration before the days of its decline has come down to posterity as a model of feudal rule. Yasutoki, who succeeded Yoshitoki as regent, devoted himself zealously to political affairs, treated the agricultural classes with much consideration, and sought earnestly to win the love of the people. He treated his relatives with uniform kindness, and those under his sway with condescension, never abandoning himself to passionate impulses nor ever employing his power wantonly. He framed a law of fifty-one articles setting forth the principles of administration and supplying regulations to guide the discharge of official functions. Ruling wisely and living uprightly, he died lamented by people of all classes. He was succeeded by his grandson, Tsunetoki, and the latter by his younger brother, Tokiyori. This last, like his grandfather, practiced economy in his administration and showed much consideration for the farming classes.

No one of the H?j? family, however, did more service to the nation than the son of Tokiyori, Tokimune, who saved the country from the Mongol conquest. This deserves our special note.

In Mongolia, on the northeast of China, there appeared a conqueror of world-wide fame, Temujin, the great Genghis Khan. Against his armies the Tatar kings were unable to hold their ground, and ultimately the wave of Mongol conquest flowed into the dominions of the Sung sovereign in the south of China. Temujin's grandson, Kublai, possessed himself of a great part of Korea, and having concerted measures for overthrowing the Sung dynasty and bringing all China under Mongol rule, he conceived the project of subjugating Japan also. His first step toward consummating that design was to send envoys via Korea, who were instructed to remonstrate with the Japanese sovereign for his indifferent attitude toward the Mongol autocrat. But the Koreans dissuaded these envoys from prosecuting their voyage. Two years later, in 1268, Kublai dispatched another embassy to Dazaifu in Kiush?, with letters to the governor of Dazaifu as well as to the Emperor of Japan, the ostensible object of the communications being to establish amicable relations between the two countries. From Dazaifu intelligence of the coming of the embassy and the nature of its documents was forwarded to Kamakura, thence to be sent in turn to the court in Ky?to. Considerable anxiety was caused by the news, both in official and in civilian circles. The emperor laid before the shrine of Daijing? an autographic supplication for the heavenly protection of the empire, and caused prayers of a similar purport to be said at all the shrines and temples throughout the realm. Careful measures were also taken to guard the coasts, more particularly the points of strategical importance in Hizen and Chikuzen.

Accordingly in the middle of 1281, he assembled a force of 100,000 soldiers, whom, together with a contingent of 10,000 Koreans, he sent against Japan under the command of Hwan Bunko. The invading army touched at the island of Iki, and after a cruel massacre of its inhabitants, resumed their voyage toward Dazaifu. Thither the Japanese troops flocked from Kiush?, Ch?goku, and Shikoku to defend their country. Aided by the fortresses that had been erected along the coast, they fought stoutly. The Chinese, however, enjoyed the great advantage of possessing heavy ordnance, with which they bombarded the forts and slaughtered such multitudes of the Japanese soldiers that the latter were unable to meet them in open contest. Organized tactics as much characterized the invaders as personal valor and individual combat did the defending warriors. Nevertheless, the latter continued to resist so obstinately, that, although the contest waged for sixty days, the enemy could not effect a landing. Meanwhile, a rumor reached Ky?to that the Yuan invaders, having borne down all resistance in Kiush?, had pushed on to Nagato, and were on the point of advancing against Ky?to itself, thence to carry their arms into the T?kai and Hokuriku districts.

The Emperor Gouda, deeply disquieted by these tidings, proceeded in person to the shrine of Iwashimizu Hachimang?, god of war, to pray for the safety of the country, and moreover dispatched an autographic supplication to the shrine of Daijing? in Ise, vowing that he would offer himself as a sacrifice to preserve the honor of his empire. But in Kiush? the contest continued fiercely when, on the last day of the seventh lunar month, a northwesterly storm swept down on the Chinese fleet and wrecked a number of the ships with immense loss of life. Those that survived the tempest, several thousands in number, took refuge in the island of Takashima off the coast of Hizen, and there, under the command of Chang Pak--Hwan having fled away in a vessel of exceptional strength--set themselves to cut timber and build new ships to carry them back to China. But Sh?ni Kagesuke, at the head of a body of the Kiush? troops, followed and attacked the fugitives, killing several hundreds and taking over a thousand prisoners, so that, in the end, only three out of the hundred thousand Yuan invaders succeeded in escaping alive to China. After this success the Kamakura government redoubled its efforts to place the defenses of the country on a strong footing. It was not till 1299 that the Chinese sovereign sent two Buddhist priests to Japan with a peaceful message. The country had been in a state of continuous defense, since the arrival of the first Mongol embassy thirty-one years previously. Never before had the Japanese nation encountered a more colossal struggle with a great conquering foe, nor had she since, till the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. It is noteworthy that in the former crisis it was the feudal forces which saved the land from foreign conquest.

If by this great service the H?j? placed all Japan under obligation to them, it was also after this crisis that their power began to decline. Great sums of money had been devoted during the thirty years to maintaining constant religious services at the shrines and temples throughout the empire. The expense incurred on that account is said to have been greater even than the outlay in connection with military affairs, which in itself must have been immense. Moreover, after the invaders had been defeated and the danger averted, the rewards granted to Buddhist priests and Shint? officials far exceeded in monetary value the recompense given to the troops and their leaders. On the other hand, the wardens and territorial nobles, on whom the duty of defending the country had fallen, found the drain on their resources so heavy that they began to murmur. Thus the popularity of the sh?gunate at Kamakura commenced to wane.

Tokimune was succeeded by his son Sadatoki, and then followed Morotoki and Takatoki. During their regency the authority of the H?j? rapidly declined. Takatoki, being a man of indolent disposition, entrusted the control of affairs wholly to one Nagasaki Takasuke, who was betrayed by avarice into such abuses of power that men's hearts were altogether estranged from the government. The fall of the H?j? finally ensued in 1326, a century and a quarter after the first of those powerful rulers had risen from the position of a rear-vassal to the most puissant office in the land.

Hardly less instructive is the change that overtook the nation's greatest religion, Buddhism. It will be remembered that during the Hei-an epoch, two Buddhist sects, the Tendai, founded by Saich?, and the Shingon, by K?kai, were incomparably the most influential, all others being more or less in a state of decline. But toward the close of the epoch, some priests, as already related, began to take more interest in military affairs than in religious functions. Yoritomo, when he came into power, interdicted the use of arms by priests, and encouraged them to devote their attention entirely to literature. The prestige of the Tendai and the Shingon suffered from these events, and as their doctrines, being far too recondite and lofty to be comprehended by the uninitiated, had never satisfied the bulk of the people, there began to appear, during the Kamakura epoch, priests who taught a form of the faith radically different from the others but eminently suited to the spiritual tone of the new age. This was the Zen sect, introduced in its various branches from China. It at once attracted men of simple and robust habits by its remarkably vigorous and effective method of enlightenment and the great practical value of the latter for the men of the world in those days of continual fluctuations of fortune. H?j? Tokiyori and Tokimune, as well as many a great warrior, besides some emperors, became ardent patrons of the sect, which consequently attained prominent popularity among the military men at Kamakura, and developed widespread influence. Its temples, Kench?-ji and Engaku-ji, at Kamakura, stood on an equal footing with the Kennin-ji and T?fuku-ji of Ky?to.

While the Zen tenet so powerfully appealed to the military class, there was another set of new sects, entirely original to Japan, which by their brief formulae and impressive ceremonies attracted large numbers of the common people. Of these sects, three, namely, the J?do, founded by Genk? ; Ikk? or Shin, founded by Shinran , and Ji, founded by Ippen, all used the same litany, while the fourth sect, Hokke, or Nichiren, founded by Nichiren, used another. The founders all met opposition from the exponents of the older sects, but spread their teachings in the face of serious difficulties, until they won the hearts of simple-minded folks whose minds had been in a state of constant uncertainty under the violent changes of the time, and who were now delighted to find, at last, doctrines which taught that an unmixed faith in the saving power of a Buddha or a canon symbolized in a single word of formula would bring them to a blissful calm in this present world. Not less attractive were the beautiful harmony of the litanies and the impressiveness of the paraphernalia of the temple of every new sect. It appeared as if the spiritual needs of the age were at last answered, and the new tenets spread themselves among the people like a fire in a parched meadow.

In the domain of arts, the most remarkable industrial achievement of the era was the progress made in tempering sword-blades. Gotoba, after he had abdicated the scepter and become ex-emperor, freely indulged his keen love for sword-blades. He engaged sword-smiths, whom he kept perpetually tempering steel, and did not hesitate even to forge blades with his own hands. Naturally this and the extensive demand for swords at the time gave a great impulse to the industry. Much progress was also made in the art of forging armor, helmets, bridle-bits, and the like. Other arts were not, however, greatly encouraged by the military administrators of Kamakura, who set their faces against luxury and inculcated frugal fashions. Yet not a little progress was made in ceramics, lacquer, and the carving of Buddhist images and other temple furniture.

FOOTNOTES:

Table showing lineage and chronology of sovereigns.

Minamoto Yoritomo, 1184-1199; Minamoto Yoriiye, 1199-1203; Minamoto Sanetomo, 1203-1219.

The following is the list of the H?j? regents . H?j? Tokimasa, father-in-law of Yoritomo, who died in 1215, did not assume the title of regent.

H?j? Yoshitoki, 1205-1224. H?j? Yasutoki, 1225-1242. H?j? Tsunetoki, 1243-1246. H?j? Tokiyori, 1246-1256. H?j? Tokimune, 1256-1284. H?j? Sadatoki, 1284-1300. H?j? Morotoki, 1300-1311. H?j? Takatoki, 1312-1326.

THE TEMPORARY RESTORATION OF IMPERIAL POWER. 1339-1393

The fall of the H?j? resulted in a rehabilitation of the imperial power, which, however, as quickly relapsed under a new feudal rule. The story of this momentary success of the sovereign house must be prefaced by an account of its domestic affairs, which had caused its renewed uprising against the usurping regent at Kamakura. It will be remembered that, in 1221, the H?j? exiled three ex-emperors and their partisans, who had raised their arms against the all-powerful feudal government. The influence of the H?j? became so strong in Ky?to after this event that, when the Emperor Shij? died without heir, in 1242, the Regent Yasutoki succeeded, in spite of opposition, in raising his nominee on the throne as the Emperor Gosaga. This naturally further enhanced the power of the H?j?. Gosaga abdicated in 1246, and was succeeded by his two sons, one after the other. Of these, the younger and abler, Emperor Kameyama, was the favorite of his retired father, and would have bequeathed the throne exclusively to his own descendants, had it not been for the intervention of the ex-emperor, who advocated the cause of the elder prince, the Emperor Gofukakusa. It was finally decided, during the regency of H?j? Sadatoki, that the descendants of the two emperors--called, from the names of their respective residences, the Daikaku-ji and the Jimy?-in lines--should reign alternately, each for ten years. The Daikaku-ji line came first to the throne in the person of Gonij? , followed by Hanazono of the other line. The latter had to abdicate, in 1319, in favor of Godaigo of the first line. It was this last emperor who successfully, though for a brief period, restored the power of the imperial house, for, being like all other princes of his line, penurious and discontented, he was particularly offended at the conduct of the Kamakura regency, which not only kept him in straitened circumstances, but also alternated his house with the other and richer house favorable to the H?j?. Godaigo perceived that, if he would insure his sovereignty, he must do away at the same time with the H?j? rule and the system of alternate succession.

The imperial cause seemed completely lost, but about this time a warrior destined to become a celebrated hero with the loyal sons of Japan, Kusunoki Masashige, raised the standard of revolt in Kawachi and declared in favor of the exiled emperor. He constructed a castle at Akasaka, and when it was destroyed, retired to Mount Kong? and there held his ground, subsequently developing sufficient strength to restore the fortifications at Akasaka. Meanwhile Prince Morinaga raised troops and fought against the H?j? at Yoshino in Yamato, and afterward at K?ya in Kii. The time had now come for the H?j? to put forth their strength. In February, 1333, a large army was sent from Kamakura against Ky?to, but great numbers of fighting men flocked to the imperial standard in Sany? and Nankai, and in the following month the exiled emperor escaped from the Island of Oki and proceeded to H?ki, being supported by Nawa Nagatoshi, who raised troops in the San-in districts. The provinces of Hizen and Higo were also on the emperor's side, as was the powerful Y?ki family of Mutsu. The H?j?'s army which had been dispatched against Ky?to suffered defeat in several engagements. Takatoki now sent Ashikaga Takauji to assume charge of the campaign in Ky?to and its neighborhood. This was a fatal choice. For not only was Takauji closely related to the Minamoto clan whom the H?j? had overthrown, but he also viewed with strong disfavor the oppressive arbitrariness of the latter. No sooner had he reached Ky?to than he declared for the imperial cause, and, in concert with other loyalists, attacked and destroyed Rokuhara, the headquarters of the H?j? administration in Ky?to. This event occurred in May, 1333. The imperial forces then reoccupied Ky?to. About this time Nitta Yoshisada, a renowned member of the Minamoto, laid siege to the fortress which Kusunoki Masashige had constructed on Mount Kong?, combining the forces of the H?j? for the purpose. But Prince Morinaga opened relations with him, and in obedience to the prince's secret instructions he pretended illness, retired to his own province of K?zuke, and after consultation with his relatives and partisans, raised the standard of revolt against Kamakura. Events now marched rapidly. All the blood relatives of the Minamoto family in Echigo and Shinano came together, and marching against Kamakura in great numbers, demolished or burned all the offices and public buildings there. The Regent Takatoki, together with all the members of his family, committed suicide, and the rule of the H?j? came to an end.

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