Chapter I: The Imperial Family and Court (2)

The Japanese are unostentatious in their customs, and in the treatment of their great ones after death are singularly undemonstrative. Considering that all the rites connected with the dead are after the Buddhist ritual, and that the Chinese devote so much money and soil to the tombs and monuments of their ministers and great men and women, something of the same veneration might be expected in Japan. But, on the contrary, the tombs are generally very small unpretending structures, consisting of a basement, upon which a single stone is erected of no great size. Such is the tomb of Yoritomo, the great hero, in the neighborhood of Kamakura; and such, we are told, are the tombs of the emperors. They are covered over with a roofing of straw, to keep before their countrymen and subjects the remembrance of their primeval simplicity.

As to the succession to the throne, the laws or regulations in Japan do not seem to be very decided. The frequent abdication of the ruler gives the opportunity for securing that his successor shall have all the weight and assistance that the predecessor can give to overcome the pretensions of rival claimants. When the death of the Emperor has suddenly left the throne vacant, the eldest son is supposed to be the rightful heir. But when, as frequently has happened, his mind and body have been enfeebled by dissipation, and he has neither wit nor vigor to seize the reins of power, he has too often been supplanted by the ambition of a brother, or a wife of his father. When the Emperor leaves only a daughter, she is married to a member of the four imperial families, and her husband in that case becomes Emperor. In reality, the most powerful party about the court, when any difficulty occurs, puts in and supports the member of the imperial family most favorable to their continuing in power.

The genealogy of the Emperors is considered true and authentic as published in the Red Book of the empire; the pedigree of the Shiogoon is looked upon as made up. The former is to be found fully detailed from native sources in the works of Klaproth and Kæmpfer. The “Oon jo may rang” is the title of a small book giving the pedigrees and crests of the Emperor’s family, and of the koongays or nobility. Two crests or coats-of-arms are used by the Emperor--the one, “kiku,” for outside imperial government business, like the flower of a chrysanthemum, with sixteen petals; the other, the “kiri,” is used for the palace matters personal to the Emperor and his family. No notice seems to be taken of the common assumption of the imperial crest, but no one dares to use the crest of the Shiogoon except by permission.

The following sayings give some idea of the reverence with which the Emperor is spoken of: “Mikado ni ooji nashi,” is a saying to express that the Emperor is of no family. “Tenshi foo bo nashi”--“The Emperor has neither father nor mother.” “In heaven there is one sun, on earth there is one Emperor,” is a Confucian saying in accordance with the ideas of the country. “O wo wa jiu zenn, kami wa ku zenn”--“The power of the Emperor is as ten, that of the gods as nine”; implying that more reverence is due to the Emperor than to the lesser spirits, and that he has more power. “The Emperor all men respect, the Shiogoon all men fear.” “Heaven is his father, earth is his mother, his friends are the sun and moon.” Such ideas are taken from the Chinese classics.

The Emperor marries one wife, who is the Empress. He is allowed by the laws of the country to take twelve concubines, who are generally the daughters of the poorer nobility. The throne can be, and has frequently been, occupied by a female. The Emperor is supposed to receive, as an allowance from the Shiogoon, 100,000 kobangs, equal to $350,000 per annum. This he receives from the Yedo government, but he probably has a large revenue from land in the “Go ki nai” or “Go ka koku,” or five provinces. He is said to complain of the duties from foreign trade not being paid into his treasury, inasmuch as when the trade was conducted formerly by the Portuguese at Sakkye, the Emperor received the duties; but as Yokohama is out of the Gokinai, the Shiogoon prefers that the duties should flow to Yedo. These five provinces are frequently spoken of by the writers of the sixteenth century as the Tensee--heavenly or sacred soil. They are Yamashiro, Yamato, Setsu, Kaawdsio, and Idzumi. The whole empire is spoken of, as in China, as all under heaven--“Tenka.”

Two officers in the Emperor’s palace are appointed from Yedo--two Hattamoto, or inferior barons--to superintend the disbursement of money, and to keep accounts of the money paid by the Shiogoon’s government. These men have fifty soldiers under them. Under them are nine “Toritsungi,” generally men of some rank and position.

The Emperor’s own private establishment consists of the following officers:

1. Makanye Kashira, generally a Hattamoto, who keeps the accounts of the imperial table and pays the money.

2. Kye mon tskye, called “Kimsakye,” two Hattamoto, who go to buy the provisions for the palace.

3. Go zembang, six men, whose business is to examine the Emperor’s food.

4. Shuri siki, five men, to look after the buildings; generally Miako men of old families.

5. Makanye kata, six men, whose duty is to say what, and how much, is to be purchased for the palace.

6. Gim miakoo and Itamoto--of the former three, of the latter seventeen--head cooks and ordinary cooks.

7. Kangay bang, keepers of the keys, seven men.

8. Sosha bang, messengers.

9. Tskye bang or Kashira, three men, lower messengers.

These are all given in the official list as the ordinary household in daily attendance on the emperor.

After his death an honorific title is given to the deceased Emperor, by which he is subsequently known in history.

THE SHI SINWO, OR FOUR IMPERIAL FAMILIES

The “Shi sinwo” (“sz tsan wang”) are “four imperial relatives,” or royal families of Japan. This name denotes four families of imperial descent set apart, with allotted residences and revenues, as supporters to the imperial family. The families are cadets of the royal line descended from junior branches. From among the members of these four families, in case of failure of male heirs of the body, an heir to the throne, or a husband to the Princess Imperial, is to be sought.

In Japan all ranks are under laws more or less strict, and from such the imperial family does not escape. The succession to the throne, at all times an object in Eastern countries for daring ambition to aim at, and a fruitful source of revolution and misery to the people, is regulated and guarded in Japan on a basis wide enough to secure a succession, and preserved by such safeguards as to put it out of the power of collaterals to hope for success from intriguing ambition. One of these safeguards is supposed to be in the Emperor’s being allowed to take twelve concubines over and above his lawful wife, the Empress. These are generally daughters of men of high rank about the court, and the son of any one of them, if there is no son by the Empress, may succeed. If there be a daughter, she marries one of the members of these four families, and he becomes Emperor. Jinko, the father of the late Emperor, succeeded in this way. His father, Kokaku, was a member of the royal Kunnin family, and married the only daughter of the Emperor, and so became Emperor. He had a concubine, the daughter of Koongay Kwadjooji. The wife and the concubine had each one son. Satchay no mia was the son of the wife, and heir-apparent to the throne. But the concubine was a fierce, jealous woman, and determined that her son should succeed, and she poisoned Satchay. It was the duty of the Shiogoon’s envoy, Sakkye, to inquire into the reports that were circulating; and having done so, he discovered the truth, and put the concubine into confinement. But, though the Emperor was much distressed, he loved her too well and insisted on her being released. The government at Yedo heard of what had happened, and required the envoy to give his reasons for releasing her, when she had committed so heinous a crime. He committed suicide. Her son, Jinko, it is said, always paid the Empress the greatest respect, and would never see his own mother afterward.

But even with this wide matrimonial basis allowed to the Emperor, there may be a failure of heirs direct. These four families are therefore established as a further safeguard to the succession.

They take their names from collateral branches of the imperial house, being originally the families of younger sons of previous Emperors. At present there are only two families of Sinwo, two having become extinct by failure of heirs. They are, however, only dormant, as it is a part of the policy of the state that these families should be in existence, and it is in the power of the Emperor to put one of his sons into, as it were, the extinct family--that is, to call him by the name and give him the revenues belonging to the house, which revenues have been accruing until the family is re-established.

The four families are called collectively Shi (four) sin (relations) wo (imperial). The sons of these families are called Sinwo O’nkatta, or O’nkatta sama [O’nkatta is used as an address of respect to ladies, and also to Sinwo and high officers in personal attendance on the Emperor], and from these sons a successor to the Emperor may be taken.

The names of the four “families” are--1, Fusimi; 2, Arisungawa; 3, Katsura; 4, Kunnin. Of these the last two are the dormant houses. The revenues of these two houses are managed by factors or agents, and the fourth is said to be very wealthy.

The heads of the two existing families are:

1. Fusimi no mia, who has a nominal revenue of 1,016 koku[1] of rice; but he has probably twenty or thirty thousand koku. The present man is a Koboong of Jinko, the late Emperor.

This “boong” is a voluntary union between two persons, and is quite different from adoption. It is more of the character of a Masonic connection. In the relation of a child he is called Koboong; of a father, Oyaboong; of brothers or sisters, Kiodaiboong: and this connection is a very common tie between two individuals in Japan, as well as in China, to help and assist each other. It runs through all ranks and both sexes. It is a connection which may be as easily severed as it is made, but it is often strictly adhered to. It is generally made by drinking formally out of the same cup, each taking half of the liquor. It may be severed by cutting off the queue, or simply by formally intimating that it is at an end.

2. Arisungawa Nakatskasa no kio, or head of the Central Board. His nominal income is 1,000 koku, but his real revenue is much larger.

3. Katsura; the revenue is 3,006 koku.

4. Kunnin; the revenue is nominally 1,006 koku.

In these families there is generally a sufficient number from among whom to select a successor in case of the death, or what seems more common in Japan, the abdication and retirement, of the Emperor. But, at the same time, the arrangement has its disadvantages. It places a number of men and women of all ages in a very high position, with apparently no occupation for their leisure time. These men might become troublesome in the state by carrying on intrigues for their own advancement and for the gratification of their ambition. Within the last few years much disquietude has been caused by one of the Sinwo engaging in intrigues to upset the reigning Emperor. A means has been arrived at for at once giving these persons income, business, position, and at the same time getting them out of the way.

The Buddhist priesthood was at one time a very powerful element in the country. The number of priests was very great, and the revenues of the monasteries were enormous. By their wealth, and from among their vassals, they were able to keep up a respectable army; and not by their vassals alone--the priests themselves filled the ranks. The different sects built magnificent temples, and these were endowed with ample lands. Immediately before the period of the advent of the Christians in the sixteenth century, the power of the priesthood seems to have reached its highest point. Nobunanga, who at one time was inclined to favor the foreign priests, had always a great jealousy of, and bore a great ill-will to, the Buddhist priesthood. He destroyed their temples, killed their priests, and confiscated their revenues, and thus gave a blow to their power from which they have never recovered, and under which they are withering more and more every day.

In Japan, a man while a priest, after having shaved his head and taken the vows, is supposed to be out of the world, and it is then much easier to keep a certain amount of surveillance over him, and to see that he is attending to his duties, and is not engaged in political intrigues.

Of the larger Buddhist temples of different sects, fourteen are retained as having the largest revenues; and whenever a male member of the royal family is unprovided for he is put in as head abbot or bishop of one of these temples. They are generally appointed while children, and brought up to the position; and as the revenues of the office have thus time to accumulate, the reverend holder has sufficient for his wants and those of a respectable retinue. They are then called Sinwo Monzekke (Muntsih).

1. The first is Rinoji Monzekke, or abbot of Rinoji temple. The temple over which he is abbot is To yay zan, in Yedo. The first high-priest put into this was Koboong of Iyeyas, then Shiogoon. The revenue amounts to 13,000 koku of rice. The holder is of the Arisungawa family, and is of the first rank and second degree. He is known as “Kwan rayee no mia” (from the nengo, or date, of his appointment), and Yedo no mia or Ooyay no mia. In 1860 the incumbent was very old, and a boy, Gofutay, of the Fusimi family, was appointed assistant and successor.

2. The second is Ninaji no mia, otherwise called Omuro. The income is 1,502 koku. The incumbent is of the Fusimi family. He is head of the Singong sect, and was appointed to the office in 1843, when four years of age. To this temple the Emperor generally retires should he become a priest after abdication.

3. Dai Kakuji, otherwise called Sanga, is vacant.

4. Mio ho in, at Hiyayzan, a large temple near Miako. The Monzekke is of the Kunnin family. He is head of the Tendai sect of Buddhists, and is known as Tendai zass.

5. Sho ngo in no Monzekke is head of the Yamabooshi religion. He is of the Fusimi family, with an income of 1,430 koku. His temple is at Omine Honzan.

6. Sho ko in; vacant, but the revenues are held by No. 5.

7. Say ray in Monzekke: is known as Awata Mia. He is of the Fusimi family. The income is 1,330 koku.

8. Chi wong in Monzekke, of the Arisungawa family. The temple is in Miako, and he is the head of the Jodoshiu sect of Buddhists.

9. Kwajooji is vacant.

10. Itchi jo in Monzekke. The temple is in Narra, and is very old. Held by one of the house of Fusimi.

11. Kaji ee Monzekke, of the Tendai sect. Of the family of Fusimi, with an income of 1,600 koku.

12. Manjo in Monzekke is vacant.

13. Bissa mondo Monzekke is also vacant.

14. Emmang in Monzekke, commonly called Medora, in the province of Owomi, is also vacant.

All these bishoprics, as they may be called, are held, or may be held, by Sinwo or sons of Sinwo.

But as it is in many countries, both European and Eastern, as necessary and as difficult to dispose of the females of high families as the males, they also are in many cases provided for.

There are twenty-four temples or nunneries which are, or may be, under the superintendence of daughters or relatives of the four royal families.

1. Daijoji, in Miako; of this temple a daughter of the Emperor was formerly abbess.

2. Hokio ji.

3. Dan kay in.

4. Ko shio in.

5. Ray gan ji, held by one of the Fusimi family, who has the title of Nio-wo, or Queen of Nuns.

6. Yenshoji, in Narra, the ecclesiastical metropolis of Japan.

7. Rin kinji.

8. Chiu goji and sixteen others of lower class. Many of them are, however, unoccupied; partly, perhaps, from want of ladies of the royal family to fill them, and partly from failure of zeal for the Buddhist religion all over the country.

The laws with reference to the perpetuity of the vows of these priests and priestesses do not seem to be very strict, as we find that, when opportunity offers, the garb is thrown off, the hair is allowed to grow, and he or she mixes again in the world in whatever capacity their worldliness, their ambition, or their sense, has prompted them to desire.

It has been stated that the Emperor, as the fountain of honor, reserves to himself the sole right of conferring titles and rank. This reservation throws great political power into his hands, the acquisition of title and rank being, with rare exceptions, an object of the highest ambition to a Japanese. The amount of business connected with this power is great, and may be said to have been for many years the sole occupation for the Miako court. A special office and officers are set apart within the palace inclosure for carrying on the correspondence and settling disputes connected with the department.

RANKS OF MEN IN JAPAN

Every individual in Japan, whether noble, priest or peasant, is supposed to know the rank in which he stands relatively to those about him. The marks of respect to superiors--which in degree appear excessive to Western nations--are graduated from a trifling acknowledgment to the most absolute prostration. When two men or women meet, the first point to be ascertained seems to be, which of the two is to make the acknowledgment of the social position of the other. This state of things is supported by law as well as custom, and more particularly by the permission given to a two-sworded man, in case of his feeling himself insulted, to take the law into his own hands. What would be irksome to us seems to become easy and a matter of course in Japan; and though, no doubt, the assumption of position is often the source of brawls and fights, the system works more smoothly than might have been expected.

The custom of wearing two swords was introduced in the sixteenth century. The old Miako nobility do not adopt the custom--civilian Koongays wearing no sword, and military only one as of old. All Japan is divided into two classes: those who have a right to wear two swords, the “Nihon sashi shto” or “two-sworded man,” called also “Yashiki shto” or castle retainers; and those who have no such right, the “Matchi shto” or street man (otherwise called Chonin). The latter class comprises merchants, artisans, workmen, etc., who work at some trade, but possess no ground; and also Hiaksho, farmers who do not trade, but farm or rent ground. In some cases individuals of these classes can wear two swords. The “swordless man” in Yedo pays rent for his ground, house and shop. The “two-sworded man” pays no rent and no taxes, because he is not allowed to trade. In Yedo, parts of the town are known as “Matchi tsuchee,” street ground, and other parts as “Yashiki tsuchee,” castle ground. Persons living on the former can open shops and trade; in the latter this is not allowed. This last two-sworded class is known as “Samurai” (Ch. Sz), which may be translated “an officer and a gentleman,” and is an important distinction conferring valuable rights and privileges at the expense of the rest of the community.

This division of the people into two classes is a measure issuing from the executive at Yedo, the Shiogoon’s government, rather than from Miako. The Samurai class may be said to include the Koongays, the Daimios, the “Jiki sang,” who are the officers and sub-officers in the service of the Shiogoon; the Byshing--_i.e._, officers in the service of Daimios; and such Chonin as are doing duty as officers in some large town, such as Osaka or Miako, and are always spoken of in connection with the city--as Osaka chonin, for instance. The term “Samurai” is applied more particularly to all below the fifth rank, military or civilians who are not merchants or artisans. There are others who have the right to wear two swords, such as Goshi, large farmers or landed proprietors whose ancestors were Daimios. These are strongest in the provinces of Kahi, Etsjiu and Dewa, some being very wealthy--as Homma in Dewa, and Hanagura in Etsjiu. The Samurai who have the right to wear two swords assume the right of giving two swords to their attendants; and this right, once assumed, is not readily relinquished, seeing that a two-sworded man has the privilege of traveling at a much cheaper rate than other members of society, pays no tolls or taxes, and not infrequently pays nothing for food and lodging, their power being so great that they are feared, if not in actual attendance upon some superior. These men are frequently dismissed by, or voluntarily leave the service of, their Daimio or master; but as those who are so dismissed are often brawlers, they retain their swords, and gain a living by their becoming a terror to quiet people. They are said to be “floating,” without any attachment, like straws on a stream, and are thence called “Ronin” or “floating-man.” These men are most imperious and domineering toward others not having the same privileges as themselves, and this power compels wealthy traders and others to enroll themselves in the retinue of some Daimio, or take some other roundabout mode to prevent themselves being insulted. This is not the character of every Ronin, many of whom are respectable members of society, holding their privileges in abeyance until called upon to give feudal service by some superior.

The people of Japan are divided generally into the following classes:

1. Koongays, or Miako nobility.

2. Daimios, or Yedo nobility.

3. Hattamoto--Lower Daimio class.

4. Hiaksho--Farmers and landed proprietors without rank or title.

5. Shokonin--Artisans, carpenters, etc.

6. Akindo--Merchants.

7. Kweiamono--Actors, beggars, etc.

8. Yayta--Tanners, shoemakers, leather workers, skinners.

Beneath these are prostitutes, and all connected with them, who are considered beasts, or on a level with them.

In opposition to the name of “Koongay” (Kung kia), “exalted house,” the nobility of Miako, the Daimios and officers of the Shiogoon’s court, are called “Jee ngay” (Ti hia), meaning persons low, on a level with the ground, the latter not being recognized by the Emperor as feudal lords further than as servants of his servant, “Tokungawa”--_i.e._ the Shiogoon.

The Japanese titles and classification of officers have been taken generally from China. As in China, all the officers honored with titles by the Emperor, or performing duties about the court, are divided into classes or ranks. In China the Mandarins are divided into nine classes. Each of these classes is again subdivided into a first and secondary division. The same division and subdivision are found in Japan, with this difference, that there are six classes, each subdivided into four ranks. The word used for rank is I, otherwise called Kurai. This is the Chinese word Wai. The six ranks in order are, Itchi-i, Ni-i, Sanm-i, Shi-i, Go-i and Roko-i. Each of these is divided according to the Chinese classification into two, the “shio” (or “jio”) and the “jiu,” corresponding to the “ching” and the “tsung.” These are subdivided again into two--upper and lower--“jio” and “gay,” the Chinese “shang” and “hia.” The full description of men of the first and second ranks would be respectively “Jo itchi-i no jio” and “Jo itchi-i no gay”--the “no” meaning “of.” The minor divisions “jio” and “gay” are not much used in the higher ranks until the highest is reached, an honor now reserved only for the dead. Indeed, all below Shi-i, or the fourth grade, are commonly known now by a general name, “Sho dai boo” (“Chu ta fu”). The higher classes wear at court distinguishing dresses and colors, or devices upon black dresses, and they are entitled in virtue of their rank to have a spear carried before them when moving about officially. Officers are presented at court, both at Miako and Yedo, according to their rank, not according to the importance of their office. Few of the Daimios are higher than the first subdivision of the fourth rank. The Shiogoon himself is elevated from one rank to another by the favor of the Emperor, at times not rising higher than the first subdivision of the second class. To attain such rank at the imperial court is the great object of ambition in Japan, and next in importance is the acquisition of a title conferred by the Emperor. But as some titles, though not recognized at court, are used by the Daimios as holding territory under the Shiogoon, there is a distinction observed between the two. The holders of titles conferred by the Emperor are known as “Kio kwang” (King kwan) or imperial officers, while the Daimios are known from their territorial appellations as “Kooni kami” (Kwoh shau), or keepers of the provinces. An imperial title in the address is always placed before the territorial title.

THE KOONGAY

After the Emperor and royal families, the first in rank in the state are the Koongays. Until further light be thrown upon Japanese history, the remote origin of this class will be somewhat obscure, some tracing their pedigree back upward of 1,500 years. Many of the Koongays are descendants of younger sons and cadets of the imperial family branching off at former periods, while the surnames of some of the other families are as old as historic records. In all probability their forefathers came over to Japan at the time of its invasion and conquest by Zinmu, and being the assistants, brothers in arms, and mainstays of his throne and power, the soil about the center of the empire was divided among them, and they thenceforward became the nobility of the court of the Emperor. So long as the empire was under one emperor who ruled vigorously, this aristocracy seems to have existed in the central provinces as feudal lords, much in the same way as the Daimios of the present day. But when the vigor of rule relaxed, and power fell into the hands of a commander-in-chief, or mayor of the palace, with uncertainty in the rulers, there followed division in the aristocracy. Previous to the beginning of the fifteenth century, the western part of the empire was all that was known to any who could throw light upon its position by writing. The large tract of country to the north and northeast of Yedo, called the obscure or unpenetrated way, was comparatively unknown and uninhabited, and was divided into four or five large territories, under princes who seldom heard of, and more rarely visited, the court at Miako. The dissensions and struggles for power between the two powerful families of Heji and Genji gave rise to a nearly continual state of civil war for upward of 200 years. During the Onin war families were destroyed, territories were lost, might was everywhere right, and though several of the oldest and noblest families among the Koongays retained their honors and titles and places about the court, they lost their property, and many have ever since remained at the lowest ebb of poverty.

Those few noble families which had previously to this period of civil war divided among themselves the places and titles of the court, were denuded of their splendor; but their representatives continued to struggle on with poverty, proud in the possession of an ancient lineage, and of their names being enrolled as nobles in the Great Book of the empire. These are the Koongays of the present day. They are not all in this state of poverty, many of them being well off, and some very wealthy; but others are very poor, and eke out the scanty subsistence given them by the Emperor by painting, basket-making, and other manual employments, affording, in their persons, their poverty, and their pretensions, ample scope for the pen of the native caricaturist. The names, history, and pedigree of the Koongays are enrolled in the Great Book of the empire, the equivalent to the Heralds’ Office or Patent Office of England. A book, the “Koongay no Kayzu,” or Pedigree of the Koongays, is printed in Japan, giving all these particulars, and is generally by the natives considered authentic. The names of Daimios (as such) are not so enrolled; they have no patents of nobility from the Emperor, and the “Hang campu,” giving the pedigree and history of the families of Daimios, is regarded as anything but authentic, and is looked upon as in many cases made up by individuals to conceal the origin of the family.

The Koongay class includes all the illustrious families of Japan. In common estimation the Daimios are far below this class; and even the Shiogoon, though he is feared as the head of the executive, is looked upon as comparatively a parvenu.

The class is divided into two, an older or higher, the “Koongio,” and a lower, or more recently created, “Ten jio bito” (Tien shang jin). “Koongio” (Kung hiang) is a name which includes all the officers of the first, second and third ranks. All of the fourth rank and below are called “So shing,” in which are included “Ten jio bito,” “Sho diabu,” and “Samurai.” The appellation “Mayka” (ming kia) seems to denote that the bearer is a civilian. All the higher offices in the state are filled by Koongays, but only five families are eligible to fill the highest. These five families are known as the “Go sek kay” (Wu ship kia), or “Shippay kay,” or “Sessio no eeyay,” helper of emperor--lit., to take the handle--“the five assisting families.” They are: 1, Konoyay; 2, Koojio; 3, Nijio; 4, Itchijio; 5, Takatskasa. If the highest offices under the Emperor (as those of “Dai jio dai jin,” “Kwanbakku,” or “Sessio”) be vacant, no one who is not of one of these five families is eligible to fill such office.

In regard to rank at court, the Koongays generally stand in the lower class of the first, or in the second or third rank. They are known at Miako by their dress. For a long time past they have had little power, and were of little importance; but since the commencement of foreign relations the political tide has rather flowed toward Miako, and from Yedo, and they have increased in political power as well as in wealth, as the Daimios and office-seekers of Yedo endeavor to obtain the objects of their ambition through the influence of their poorer brethren in Miako. The poverty of most of the class prevents their entering upon an enervating life of dissipation, which too often saps the vigor of the constitution of the Daimios, and they are able to take a part in the discussion of political subjects. Many of them fill the more or less nominal offices of government in one of the eight great boards of the empire; and this amount of occupation, together with writing imaginative pieces, keeps their minds in a sufficient state of activity.

In addition to the distinctions of rank in Japan, there is also the distinction into families or clans, great importance being attached to a family name. The feuds between rival families have in past times rent the empire to pieces. The Emperor is said to have no name; but some of the cadets, offshoots from the imperial line, have founded lines of their own, taking root and flourishing as distinct families. In this way have been derived the lines known as the “Say wa Genji,” the “Ooda Genji,” and the “Murakami Genji.” These are descendants of younger sons of emperors of these names. But among all the families of Japan, the first place is held by that of Fusiwara, in length of pedigree, in the honors held in past ages, and in the present position of the family. During every period in the annals of the empire, members of this family have filled the highest offices, civil and military, of the state. But it has, perhaps, shone more in civil employment than in military. The “five families” of the Sekkay mentioned above belong to the clan Fusiwara. Other families have risen at different times to the highest pinnacle attainable by subjects, but after a time they have gradually fallen back into comparative obscurity. Ninety-five of the Koongays call themselves of the clan Fusiwara. In very remote periods the family of Nakatomi seems to have held the highest rank, absorbing by its members, at one time, all the offices of religion. Only one Koongay family, Fusinami, now represents this old clan. In point of antiquity, if not of luster of name, the Sungawara family, commonly called Kwang kay, ranks second only to Fusiwara. The members of this family are rarely found in military employment, generally filling the offices of teachers or lecturers on history or religion.

The “Gen kay,” otherwise called “Minnamoto,” are more illustrious as military men. Seventeen families of the Koongays belong to this clan. All the Minnamoto Koongays are descended from younger sons of former emperors. One of these, the “Say wa” Minnamoto, assert that their line is the same as that of the present imperial dynasty of China, who are descendants of the Emperor Say wa, or “Tsing wa,” whence the “Tsing” or “Ta Tsing” family, which emigrated from the north of Japan several centuries ago.

The Taira, or He kay, the great opponent of the Gen kay (otherwise known as Heji and Genji) during many years of civil war, includes five families.

Nishika koji, of the Tanba clan, is said to represent one of the emperors of China of the Eastern Han dynasty, who was driven from China and took refuge in Japan.

A new creation of Koongays is very rare. About 1830, Kitta koji (of the clan Oway), whose family for three generations had filled the office of Kurodo, was elevated to the rank.

The names of Koongays are, in many cases, derived from the street or place where they originally lived, as Itchi jio, No. 1 Street.

There are in all 137 Koongays.

There is assigned to each Koongay an annual revenue calculated in koku of rice. This, in most cases, implies so much ground held of the Emperor. The total sum divided among these noble families does not amount to that allowed to a third-rate Daimio. But though several of these nobles are miserably poor, and have probably little to live upon besides the rice which is given them by the Emperor, there are some among them who have other sources of wealth. In old times the Koongays possessed large landed property; but in the wars of the He kay and Gen kay, Kiomori, the leader of the former, despoiled them, and the divided portions of these lands were seized by whoever had the power. Some still retain extensive landed property, but the majority have fixed salaries, which they receive at the Emperor’s hands. Residing near the court, and often connected with the Emperor and high officers by marriage, the poorest may possess some influence, and this frequently contributes to swell their incomes. This influence is courted by the Daimios at a distance, who, aspiring to rank or titles, purchase the assistance and influence of the Koongays, such as it may be, by solid presents. The higher class, who really have much power, in this way become very rich. The little land which belongs to them may, by taxes, duties, or customs, produce much more than the exact number of koku of the original calculation. Thus the seaport town of Itami stands on the ground of Konoyay dono, and he levies a tax upon the exports and imports; and, in addition to the customs, he receives the duties upon all the saki or spirit distilled between the towns of Hiogo and Osaka, and this is the great distilling district for the whole country. Having acquired money, he lends it out at Oriental rates of interest to the Daimios, who are too often in need of ready money, so that he is a very wealthy man. The Koongays have not the large expenses which drain the purses of the Daimios; having comparatively few retainers, they are not obliged to make the ostentatious display which brings the Daimios to poverty; nor have they the same number of establishments to keep up at different places. All this contributes to make the upper class of Koongays, already powerful by rank, position and influence, substantial in their independence. The poorer class eke out their existence in a variety of ways, honorable enough, but not contributing much in the way of worldly wealth. Assukayee teaches playing at “mari,” a sort of football, which is a fashionable game at court, and which is probably derived from the Chinese shuttlecock, varied according to the difference in the style of boots and shoes. In playing at this game in Miako, the court turns out in gorgeous dresses. Jimio-in and others teach writing. Sono dono teaches the science of dwarfing trees and the art of arranging flowers in flower-holders. At both of these the Japanese excel. In the former they display a wonderful power over nature, and in the latter a highly cultivated taste. A fir-tree has been seen in perfect vigor, bearing a cone, and eight years old, and only an inch in height. Rayzay teaches poetry and composition. Sijio dono teaches the art of dressing dinners and cookery, which is considered in Japan the occupation of a gentleman. When an artist has prepared a dinner, and laid it out, it is common for the public to go to see it as a work of art. Yamashima and Takakura superintend and teach the art of dressing and of etiquette. Tsutchi Mikado teaches and explains what is known in China as the “Ta kih,” the ultimate cause of things, the immaterial principle of the Chinese philosophers, as contained in and exemplified by a series of diagrams; and, as an astrologer, divines into futurity. Others paint, and sell their works of art, or teach painting. The poorer individuals who receive rice also get the Emperor’s cast-off outer garments. Their daughters are in the habit of going to the families of the Daimios as governesses (and are commonly known by the name of “jorosama”), to teach the young ladies and gentlemen the customs and language of the court. Of these ladies there are generally one or more at the residence of the Shiogoon in Yedo. They sometimes act in the capacity of spies as well as of governesses; and, having much influence, they are sometimes feared as _censores morum_.

Under the five Go sekkay nearly all the Koongays are classed into five divisions; and in his relation to his head, each Koongay is known as “Monrio” or “Sorio”--one division under each of the five.

If any of those in a position of Monrio have any business with the court, such must be dispatched through his head, who then communicates with the Emperor.

It has been shown that the Sin wo and sons of the imperial families are provided for by absorption into the higher offices of the priesthood, and to fill the seats in, and receive the revenues of, the richer abbeys and monasteries. In a similar way the sons of the Go sekkay and higher Koongays (known as Kindatchi) are provided for. There are six richly-endowed temples whose revenues are respectively enjoyed by a member of one of these families. These men are known by the name of “Sekkay Monzekke.”

If a Daimio happens to meet the norimono or sedan-chair of a Koongay upon the highroad, he must wait with all his retinue till the latter shall have passed. Koongays usually blacken their teeth and shave the eyebrows, and do not follow the usual custom in shaving the head. Civilians do not carry a sword; military carry one called “tatchi.” In ordinary times a Koongay is not likely to be put to death, however great may be his crimes; but he may be ordered to shave his head and enter a monastery, or may be confined to a room in his own house.

It is not easy to ascertain what was the exact position of the Koongays in the times before the great civil wars of the thirteenth and following centuries. The empire seems to have been divided at that time very much as it is now, into one large central court at the metropolis, with a number of smaller courts in the provinces, each ruled by its lord, king, Daimio, or dynasta, as they have been called. The court of the Emperor always remained at Miako. There he was surrounded by the members of the old families, among whom he distributed honors. There was to be seen a supposed prefect form of government, the history of which is written in the “Annals.” Probably in each of the lesser courts--such, for instance, as that of Satsuma, Mowori, and other wealthy lords--the same form of government was carried on in a miniature scale; and, so far as can be gathered from history and native historical maps, the extensive territories belonging to these lords were always under the entire rule each of its own master, and acknowledging no right in the central court (so long as that master did not in any way come into collision with the general good of the empire) to interfere in any way with what passed within these territories. The imperial court, in its executive form, was confined to the provinces around Miako--the Gokinai. The annals of the Emperors are devoted in the main to the occurrences which took place within these provinces, detailing the names and families, the titles, ranks, and history of the men who in that court were looked upon as great and eminent. Of these, the more prominent were brought forward and advanced by the Emperor in hereditary rank and title above their fellows--these were the Koongays; while the territorial lords were only known by their family names, or the name of the provinces over which they ruled, and were only expected to come once a year to Miako, in order to pay their respects to the Emperor. It is not to be expected but that differences would arise among these territorial lords, some more or less powerful; ambition and lust of wealth or power would soon find a cause for a quarrel, and this would light up a civil war. In such cases, the Emperor and the officers of the imperial court were looked to as the arbiters or umpires, and acquired and retained so firm a position in the machinery of the State and in the minds of the people as to withstand all the shocks which have at different times so frequently and rudely put one down and set up another of these provincial powers.