Chapter III: History of the Empire to the Death of Nobu Nanga (1)

The period of the history of Japan which has most interest to a European is that during which intercourse was carried on with Europe. But, independently of this new and interesting element introduced into the country, this is, even to a Japanese, the period of the history of his country which has most interest. It was the termination of a long succession of bloody civil wars, during which the whole empire was deluged with blood, lasting long enough to make the country a desert, the inhabitants savages, when agriculture was totally neglected, and the knowledge of letters nearly forgotten. Family ties were broken; young men were all soldiers; young women were common property. The Japanese may well look upon the man raised up, and who proved himself able to put an end to such a state of things, as a hero, and think his family worthy of the highest honors. To reduce order out of chaos, to insure his country 250 years of peace, during which time every one has been able to sit under his own vine, and to rear his family in happiness, and gather in the fruits of his labor in peace, may well rank Iyeyas as among the illustrious of men.

It is necessary, in order to understand the working of the government as it exists at present, to have some knowledge of the events which preceded and gradually led up to the period when this change began.

In the works of Klaproth and Kæmpfer will be found notes of the earlier historical events occurring in Japan. What follows here is derived from these and other sources, and is an attempt to notice some of the more prominent important events, and to give some interest to the subject by bringing it down to the present time. It is unnecessary in such a sketch to go back to the time of remote antiquity, or to try to get glimmerings of light out of fables, such as the different generations of heavenly and earthly emperors. To notice shortly the more prominent characters and events may be deemed sufficient.

Among the first of these prominent characters was Yamato Daki no Mikoto, prince of warriors, commander-in-chief, and of the imperial family. He is supposed to have lived during the second century. He overran the eastern and northern parts of Japan as far as the island of Yezo. A story is told of his wife having thrown herself into the sea to appease a storm, and from his lamentations over her, as Atsuma or Adzuma, the eastern provinces are spoken of as Adzuma, now sometimes applied to the east generally, and more specially to the inhabitants, who are spoken of as Adzuma Yebis, or “boors of the east,” by way of contempt.

Another of these early events in the history of Japan, which bears an interest even to the present day, is the invasion and conquest of the southern part of Corea by the Empress Jingu kogu, known by her husband’s name as Chiu ai tenwo, in the third century. The Emperor, her husband, was the son of the above-mentioned Yamato. She accompanied him to the island of Kiusiu, whither he went to put down a rebellion among some tributary states; but before the operation was accomplished he died, and she assumed the reins of power. Her prime minister was an old man, Take ootsi no Sukonne. After raising troops, and collecting ships to transport them across the sea, she found herself pregnant, but she was fortunate enough to find a stone which delayed her accouchement till her return to Japan. Having subdued the three countries of Sinra, Korai, and Hakusai, and compelled them to give up their treasures and to promise to pay annual tribute to Japan, she returned to bury her deceased husband, and was soon after delivered of a son, who was afterward the Emperor Osin, known better by his posthumous title of Hatchimang. Two older sons of her husband by a concubine, asserting their rights of primogeniture, and probably doubting the virtues of the stone, raised an army to oppose the Empress. Take ootsi was sent to defend her rights, and he put them to flight.

There is no incident more frequently taken for a subject by painters in Japan than the Empress Jingu and her infant in the arms of the aged Take ootsi. She is worshiped under the name of Kashi no dai mio jin; but though her victories threw more luster over the arms of Japan, in foreign warfare, than any previous reign, or, it may be added, any subsequent one, she does not seem to rank so high in the estimation of her subjects, or in the company of the gods, as her son. During his reign, Wonin--descended from one of the Emperors of China of the Han dynasty--is said to have introduced for the first time Chinese letters from Corea. His tomb stands in the neighborhood of Osaka, and divine honors have been accorded to him. As has been remarked, it may be doubted how far the Japanese, with their previous use of Chinese titles and names of gods, officers and men, could have been ignorant up to this time of the art of writing. To the Emperor Osin, though unborn, appears to have been given the credit of the conquest of Corea. After his death, in A.D. 313, divine honors were paid to him. He was styled and worshiped as the god of war, and under the title Hatchimang-dai Bosats he is represented as an incarnation of the Buddha of the eight banners. The largest temples have been raised in his honor, and every village, almost every hill, has its Hatchimang goo or shrine in honor of Hatchimang, the god of war.

The introduction of Buddhism was the next event of importance in the history of Japan. This is said to have taken place toward the middle of the sixth century. But it may be presumed, when the Emperor receives the posthumous honor of a Bosat, or Bodhisattwa, in the fourth century, either that the title was given long after his decease, or that the religion was beginning to be introduced at an earlier epoch. In all probability Wonin, who had access to the imperial family, and must have had great influence, had sown the seeds of the new doctrine, and had given the title to his patron. These seeds may not have borne fruit for 200 years; but considering the communication in past times with China, it is difficult to conceive total ignorance of these doctrines. To Corea, therefore, Japan was again indebted for a religion. In the year 552, during the reign of the Emperor Kin mei, the King of Hakkusai, a district of Corea, sent an embassy with a present of an image of Buddha Sakya mooni, with Buddhist books, to the Emperor. The priests of the old Sinto religion were roused, but the new made its way. The Sinto religion seems to be all prayers, without any idea of a being to whom to pray beyond white paper, or a mirror, as an emblem of purity. The Buddhist religion supplied this, and presented what is required by many minds, the idea of a pure life through self-denial--self-denial giving a man power over himself, and enabling him to be the servant or the master as his church may require. During the succeeding reign, In consequence of an epidemic, some persecution of the new doctrines was attempted; but Moumaya do no wosi, son of the Emperor, being a convert, was very zealous in the propagation of the faith; while Nakatomi, then in power, and of the family who superintended the Sinto rites, opposed him. But the son of the Emperor (known by his Buddhist name Ziou go taisi, or Sho to ku tai si) prevailed. He was appointed regent during the reign of the Empress Sui ko. He was a very gentle character, strictly acting up to the injunctions of the new faith. At his death, in the beginning of the seventh century, there were, according to the Annales, 46 Buddhist temples, 816 priests, and 569 “religieuses” in the empire.

The introduction of Buddhism through China and Corea brought with it, as might have been expected, some of the customs of these countries. The use of the Nengo (Nien hau; _i.e._, year name) for marking events and dates was one of the customs introduced in the year 646 A.D. A woman ruling as Empress was another of the changes, and was probably used as a means for the consolidation of the new religion. Under the Empress Sui ko the degrees of rank among the officers of government, similar to those used in China, were introduced about 604 A.D. Six ranks, of two grades each, were settled in place of the nine ranks, of two grades each, as in China. These were distinguished, as in China, by their head-dress, and by the color of the dress. They were called by the allegorical names of Virtue, Humanity, Manners, Faith, Justice, Wit. The first Empress was followed in no long time by a second, Kwo kogoo, and during her reign she had the good fortune to have as a minister and counselor Nakatomi-kamatar iko. He was not a Buddhist, but had no doubt felt the influence which the spread of this doctrine had exercised over Japan, and is reputed to this day one of Japan’s greatest men, and looked up to as the founder of her law. During a long life he seems to have steered safely through the difficulties of politics--acting as counselor to his mistress, Kwo kogoo, her brother who succeeded her, Kwotoku, and again when his former mistress reascended the throne as Zai mei, and subsequently her son Ten si--gaining over those who might have been his opponents by suavity and gentleness of demeanor. The last-named Emperor deplored his loss, and gave him the hereditary name of Fusi wara, a family of which he was the founder. He was canonized after death, and worshiped as Kassunga dai mio jin, his temple being near Narra. During his life, and the reign of Kwotoku, the eight boards were completed after the model of the Lok po, or six boards of China.

Another change, which commenced after the introduction of Buddhism, was the abdication of the Emperors after very short reigns. This led again to the successive appointments of mere children as Emperors. The ages at which several of the Emperors, over a lengthened period, ascended the throne, tended to reduce the position of Emperor to a name, and to throw the entire power into the hands of the ministers. The system began shortly after the introduction of Buddhism at court, and the minds of the boys and women who successively were nominal sovereigns of Japan were directed to the study of books of the religion, to the erection of magnificent temples, and to the manufacture of enormous idols and bells; such as the enormous copper figures of Buddha at Narra, Kamakura, and Miako. The latter has been melted down and a wooden figure substituted. Such were the Empress Sei wa, who began her reign at the age of nine; Yozei, who commenced his at the age of eight; Daigo, at thirteen; Reizan, a weakly lad of eighteen; Yenwou, at eleven; Go itsi, at nine; Konye, at three; and Rokusio, at two. But at intervals when a man ascended the throne, as the Emperor Ten si, it is a relief to see that some energy remained in the members of the royal family; and at times the national vigor was shown, and the military spirit, which the people are always proud of asserting, was fanned, by wars with Dattang (or Tartary) and Corea in 658 and 661. About the same time Yezo was once more overrun by Japanese arms and brought into subjection, military stations and officers being appointed in the island and in the hitherto barbarous provinces of Mootz and Dewa, in the north of Nippon. Revolts in the island of Kiusiu about 740 demanded fresh action from the center, and tend to show what a loose hold this central power had at that time over the extremities of the country. Not till the year 794 was this central power finally fixed at Miako. About this year the Emperor Kwan mu built a large palace there, finding that the magnitude of the business transacted by the eight boards of the empire demanded some settled place at which the court and the heads of departments might be permanently located. To the introduction of Buddhism and Chinese literature we may ascribe the completion, by Fusiwara (Tankai ko), who died in 720, of the “Ritz Rio,” a code of laws which are in force and use at the present day. The introduction of an alphabet or syllabary (the Hira Kana and Kata Kana) to facilitate the reading and understanding of Chinese was the work of the famous priest Ko bo, born in the province of Sanuki in 774, and who died in 835. He was canonized as Kobo dai si, and is venerated as one of the holiest saints of the Japanese calendar, and consequently was very much abused by the Jesuits. He spent some part of his life in China studying under the Buddhists of the time, and brought with him, as many others did, large numbers of Buddhist books. The enduring property of Japanese paper and the absence of white ants have preserved these, and doubtless in some of the libraries of the country and Corea there may be found works of great interest to the student of early Buddhist history in China and India. The Issyekio or catalogue of all Buddhist canonical books has been lately republished.

The custom grew gradually into use of the Emperor, after his abdication, adopting the garb of a priest, shaving his head, and retiring to a religious life. This seems to have been in many cases merely nominal, as some retained not only an interest, but took an active part, in the affairs of the world; while to others the retirement was a relief and an opening to license. The power, numbers, and wealth of the Buddhist monasteries had vastly increased. They threatened to monopolize the land of the empire; and the head of a monastery was equal or superior to one of the most powerful princes. Not only were the priests themselves living off these lands, but each of these establishments had a number of retainers and soldiers sufficient to change the tide of success in any engagement.

For three or four centuries the history of the empire may be written in the successive rise to power of individuals of the great families of the peerage--Fusiwara, Sungawara, Minnamoto, Tatchibanna, and others. Names which are regarded as illustrious in history, and held in veneration to the present day, occasionally shine out, such as Kan sio jo, better known by his posthumous title, Ten mang, the son of Sungawar zay zen kio. He has the reputation of having been a very able man, and was Kwan bakku and Nai dai jin. Fusiwara no toki hira, ancestor of Koozio dono of the present day, became very jealous of him, and Ten mang being of a quiet disposition, Toka hira obtained an order for his banishment to Dazai fu, in the island of Kiusiu. Here he retired to the hill Ten pai zan, in Tsikuzen, and endeavored to get a letter conveyed to the Emperor, but failed in doing so, and was found starved to death on the 25th day of the second month. A fable is told of letters having passed between him and Haku raku teng, a Chinese poet, both letters being so similar that only one word out of fourteen differed. The repetition of the story in connection with the greatest literary character of the country may show what admiration Chinese literature was held in by the Japanese, and how it was considered the standard of excellence. Ten mang occupies in Japanese schools a somewhat similar position to that held by Confucius in the Chinese. He is worshiped on the 25th of each month, a day which is marked as a holiday. On the anniversary a matsuri or festival is held--“Natane no goku.” His posthumous title is Ten mang dai ji sei ten jin. His descendants are known as Ten jin sang. Of temples to his memory there is in Miako a fine one at Kitano, called also Say bio, and in Yedo at Kame ido, and at Yooshima and Shibba. In that at Miako the gilding and lacker are renewed every fifty years. There is in it a large library, with many old pieces of armor and spoils taken during the wars with Corea. These are exhibited annually on the mooshi boshi day, “insect-brushing-away day,” when the temple is cleaned.

Among others who made a name for themselves by their bravery and other qualifications was Yoshi iye (son of Yori yoshi, Prince of Mootz), one of the Minnamoto family, born 1057, and known in history by the appellation given him by his enemies of Hatchi mang taro, or eldest son of the god of war. His third son was Yoshi kooni, who settled at Ashikanga, in the province of Simotsuki, and is the common ancestor of the celebrated families of Ashikanga and Nitta.

In 1008 the Empress was one of the great clan of Minnamoto, which was rising to power. The distant parts of the empire were being consolidated by operations against rebels, and the repeated transmission of large bodies of troops to the different parts of the islands to put them down. This war began to create an excitement or rivalry among some of the leaders, who, when the rebellions were put down, had the wish for more enemies to conquer, and could only turn round in jealousy upon their equals. Yoshi iye was sent to the province of Mootz as commander-in-chief, and, after many years’ fighting, subdued the rebels, and brought this province, as well as all the Kwanto (the provinces “east of the barrier of Hakonay”), into submission. His son Tame yoshi desired the same post. To Taira tada mori, descended from the Emperor Kwan mu, was given the island of Tsussima, and in 1153 his son Kio mori succeeded him as President of the Criminal Tribunal. This name calls up, to any one acquainted with Japanese history, the recollection of the most stirring events and the greatest struggle which has ever convulsed the empire of Japan. This struggle was between the Gen or Minnamoto and the He or Taira families. He and Taira are the same word in Japanese writing, meaning “peace,” the former being the pronunciation of the Chinese word ping. The Minnamoto family, or Gen ji, stood on the broadest basis, and had risen to the greatest fame, and had recently occupied the highest positions in the state. The Empress had been of the family, and the memoirs of the family had been written for her edification or to gratify her own or her family’s pride. On the other side, members of the Taira family, or He ji, had occasionally risen up to high rank in the state; and recently the family had been honored for its prowess and its activity in the imperial service.

Yoshi tomo and Kio mori were rising step by step to higher rank and power, when the abdication of Toba no, 1123, and the question as to his successor, threw everything into confusion. His immediate successor was his son Sho toku, in 1124, who after reigning seventeen years retired (mainly on account of the intrigues of his stepmother) at the age of thirty-nine. He left a son, Sighe shto, but was succeeded by his half-brother, Kon ye no in, who, after reigning fourteen years, died at the age of seventeen. The latter had been elevated to the throne by the intrigues of Bi fouk mon, his mother, and she suspected the late Emperor of having caused his death in order that his own son Sighe shto might ascend the throne. But in order to defeat these projects, she induced her son on his deathbed to adopt his half-brother Go ziro kawa. A younger son was thus in actual possession, while his nephew and the eldest son of the elder brother were displaced. The lineal heir endeavored to regain his rights. He raised an army, and on his side were ranged as leaders many of the higher members of the Minnamoto family. On the other side was Kio mori, of the Taira family, and, of the Minnamoto family, Yoshi tomo and Tada mitsi. A battle was fought only eleven days after the death of the old Emperor Toba no in. Notwithstanding the bravery and prowess of the leaders of their opponents, the He ji, the party in power, gained the day. Among the leaders of the Gen ji was Tame tomo, famous for his power in drawing a bow (owing, perhaps, to the one arm being shorter than the other), and, in his subsequent life, as a rover over the Southern seas. He was the first historical occupier of the islands to the south of Japan, Hatchi jo and its chain, linked on to the southeastern promontory, and the Liookioo Islands, with the chain joined by links to the southwestern promontory of the mainland. He was the brother of Yoshi tomo, who fought on the opposite side. As a reward for their success on behalf of the Emperor _de facto_, Go ziro kawa, Minnamoto Yoshi tomo and Taira Kio mori were both raised to higher rank and power, and to each was given a province as a more substantial acknowledgment of their assistance. From this time mutual jealousy seems to have grown up between these two. But the ability of the reigning Emperor, who thenceforward took the reins into his own hands, seems to have kept down their smoldering jealousy. As to the prince who was endeavoring to resume his lawful rights, he and his father, the Emperor Sho toku, were banished to the province of Sanuki, where the latter died in the year 1163. He died of starvation, having written a letter to the Emperor with his blood, upon a piece of his shirt; but Kio mori would not let the Emperor see it.

The banished Emperor Sho toku was devoted to his worship, and since his death he has to many worshipers taken the place of Compera. This is a name much worshiped in Japan as a god. As a hideous idol with a long nose he has temples erected to his worship in every village. Immediately after the death of Sho toku, in 1163, a violent storm or earthquake took place, and as he was known to have a great reverence for Compera, this convulsion of nature was attributed to the anger of this supposed being, and a magnificent temple was raised by his son and grandson on Dzo dzu Hill (Elephant’s Head Hill), at Matzuyama, near Marungame, in the province of Sanuki. Sho toku (known by the adopted name of Seengeen) is by many looked upon as Compera gongen. Compera, from the Chinese characters composing the name, seems to be Kapila, of Indian mythology. Kapila was known as the founder of the Sankya school of philosophy in India, which, in reference to the sacred Vedas, held the authority of revelations as paramount to reason and experience, to which Buddha, either for his philosophical or his moral or religious doctrines, would not submit. Some have thought Kapila and Buddha to be the same person. His anniversary day is the tenth day of the tenth month. He is revered for his great strength, which he exerted in favor of Sakya mooni. In Buddhist history, Daibadatta wished to destroy Say son--_i.e._, Sakya mooni. He took up a large stone, twenty-four yards long and four-arms’ length broad, and threw it down on him. Compera saw the action, and instantly stretched out his hand and caught the stone as it fell. Another name of Compera is He-ira. He is called also Kapira, and “Goo pira,” and “Goo he ira.” The name of Ee ngio wo--power equal to emperor--is also given to him for his strength. Fudowo mio is, according to some, the same as Compera. Many persons worship him because his name begins with “gold.”

Kio mori turned out to be the ablest and most unscrupulous minister of the time, but the Emperor, who had abdicated, still took the principal management of affairs during the reigns of his son and two grandsons. Kio mori at the age of fifty-one shaved his head, and nominally retired into priest’s orders in 1169.

Yoshi tomo in 1159 had conspired to destroy Kio mori. He failed, and was killed while in the bath by his own servant, Osada. His eldest son went to Miako with the view of killing Kio mori, but was discovered and put to death. His second son died. His third son, Yoritomo, born 1147, fled with his mother (Tokiwa go zen, a woman of low origin) and two brothers. Overtaken by snow and hunger, they were arrested and brought back, when Kio mori forced her to become his concubine. His friends demanded that the children should be put to death, but, at the intercession of his own aunt, he saved their lives, but banished Yoritomo to Hiruga ko jima, or one of the islands to the south of Idzu. The other two boys, Yoshitzune and Nori yori, were kept in Miako and educated for priests. The former of them was afterward a well-known hero. His nickname when a boy was Ushi waka, or young ox or calf. Yoritomo, while a boy, was known as Sama no kami, or captain of the left cavalry.

At this time, 1170, Tame tomo above mentioned, who had been roving about the South Sea for years past, landed on the mountainous province and peninsula of Idzu, and attempted to raise a rebellion; but his men were overcome, and he himself committed suicide. A temple was raised to his memory, and he is worshiped both in Hatchi jo and in the Liookioo Islands.

In 1171 the Emperor Taka kura no in, at the age of eleven years, married the daughter of Kio mori, aged fifteen years. This rendered Kio mori still more powerful, and at the same time more imperious in his conduct. He emerged from his seclusion, and placed his two sons in the office of Tai sho or first generals, over the heads of others who had hoped for the places. This raised a community of feeling against him, and again a conspiracy was made to attack and kill him and the whole of his family, but it failed through the treachery of some of the conspirators. The Empress, Kio mori’s daughter, 1178, had a son, and in the following year his own son, Sighe mori, died. This son had proved some obstacle to the working out of his father’s schemes of ambition, and when he was removed by death Kio mori imperiously ruled according to his own pleasure. His grandson, Antoku, in 1181, became Emperor. Kio mori became very tyrannical before his death; he not only kept the old Emperor confined, but tried to change the residence of the court from Miako to Fu ku wara, and determined to extirpate the family of Minnamoto. Once more a conspiracy was set on foot to destroy the family of He, by one of the royal princes, who had suffered from the arrogant insolence of Kio mori. Letters were obtained from the old Emperor and secretly dispatched to Yoritomo, then in banishment on the coast of Idzu, who was looked upon as the head of the Minnamoto family and the chief enemy of Kio mori and the He kay. His brother Yoshitzune had escaped from Miako, in the retinue of some gold merchants, to the province of Dewa, and was residing in that province with Hide hira, Mootz no kami. Yoritomo had married the daughter of Hojio Toki massa, in whose charge he was during his banishment. Through her father she was descended from Kwan mu, Emperor, and was afterward known as Ama Shiogoon, or female Shiogoon, her name being Taira no Massa go. When the letters were given to him from the Emperor and his son, calling upon him to raise troops to rid the country of Kio mori, and release them from the durance in which they were kept, he immediately wrote to his brother Yoshitzune, calling upon him to assist him. Under such surveillance were these royal parties kept that it was only under the guise of paying a visit to the great temple of Miajima, on the beautiful island Itsuku jima, in the inland sea, in the province of Aki, then belonging to Kio mori, that the conspirators were able to get the letters dispatched. Yoritomo, with Hojio, collected what men he could, and raised the flag at Ishi bashi yama. When he first started only seven men joined him, and he fought his first battle with only three hundred under him, against ten times their number. He was defeated, and with his seven friends ran away, and the story goes that they all hid in the hollow trunk of a large tree near Ishi bashi hatto. While remaining concealed there, the soldiers, having examined every other place, came to the conclusion they must be there. A Kashiwara man (secretly a partisan of the Gen party) volunteered to go and look, and, though suspected, he was allowed to do so. He went up, looked in, and saw the party hiding, and told them to lie still, and taking his spear showed his commander that he could turn it all round the hollow. When he did so, two bats or birds flew out, and he told his commander that the mouth of the hollow was covered over with spiders’ webs. The party of soldiers went away. Yoritomo and his friends left immediately, and went to a temple, where they were secreted in the wardrobe for storing the dresses of the priests. Meantime the soldiers returned, looked into the tree, and found that they had been there. They then went to the temple, demanded of the priest where they were secreted, and, on his refusing to tell, they killed him.

Meanwhile Yoshitzune collected what forces he could, and with them went down to Kamakura, at the head of the Odawara division of the Bay of Yedo.

Yoritomo was forced to take refuge in the remote peninsula of Awa, southeast of Yedo, whence he dispatched missives calling on all the Gen family to collect, sending Hojio, his father-in-law, to the province of Kahi, and joining Hiro tsune with a large body of men on the banks of the river Sumida gawa, that division of the Tonay gawa which runs past the eastern side of Yedo. In the province of Musasi he was joined by Hatake yama; while his relation, Yoshi naka of Kisso, raised an army in Sinano. Yoritomo fixed upon Kamakura, in the province of Segami, at a very early date, for his residence. This beautiful classic spot is within two hours’ ride of Yokohama, and shows now little trace of having once been the residence of a court. Trivial circumstances probably led him to this conclusion, as it does not seem to be a place suited in any way for a large city or for the capital of a country. He was a man of great ability, and of strong will, but had received no education; and having been brought up in the province of Idzu, had acquired the dialect of the district. The mountain-pass of Hakkone is considered the key to the eastern provinces, and if it were sufficiently guarded, his position would be one of comparative safety, at a distance of a day’s march from the pass. His relation, Yori Yoshi, had formerly resided there, and he had probably looked upon it, when a boy, as the family property. From his residence here he was called, by the people of Kwanto, Kam kura dono, a name by which he is spoken of to this day. Kwanto literally means east of the barrier--_i.e._, of Hakkone--and is synonymous with Ban do, east of the hill. It is a name by which are understood all the eight provinces to the east of the range of hills running down the promontory of Idzu; viz., Segami, Musasi, Simotsuki, Kowotsuki, Simosa, Kadsusa, Awa, and Fitatsi. It is called also Kwang hasshiu.

Forces were sent from Miako by Kio mori to oppose Yoritomo, but at this time his relative Hojio met him with a large re-enforcement, and the He party retired without fighting. Yoritomo overran the province of Fitatsi and put to death Satake Hide Yoshi. The whole empire was now desolated by war. The tide began, before Kio mori died, at the age of sixty-four, in 1181, to turn in favor of the Gen party. But so long as Kio mori lived the cause of his opponents did not seem to hold out much prospect of success, and the relatives of Yoritomo are still found fighting against him, and on the side of the ruling party. Among these were his own uncle Yoshi hiro, and Yoshi naka, another relative. The latter was afterward reconciled to Yoritomo, and rendered him great assistance, being everywhere victorious in the northern provinces of Etsjiu and Kanga. Thence he rapidly pushed on to the capital, and seized the extensive monastery of Hiyaysan. The Emperor Antoku fled westward with his wife, Kio mori’s daughter. His grandfather, the old Emperor Go Zirakawa, received his deliverers in Miako, and still retaining his interest in the regulation of affairs, saw another grandson, brother of Antoku, proclaimed as Emperor. The possessions of the He party were confiscated and divided among the members of the Gen family. Antoku remained about Da zai foo, the station from which military superintendence of the island of Kiusiu was regulated, but from this island the He party was driven out and crossed over to Sikok. Still they were able in different parts of the country to make a stand, and even to defeat their adversaries in more than one battle. Several of the party had been left in Miako in posts of consequence, the son of Kio mori being regent, and they did what they could to support their cause in the capital. Yoshi naka, who had seized Miako on the part of the Genji, became in his turn overbearing, and roused the impatience of the old Emperor, who stirred up the priests of the monasteries of Hiyaysan and Midera to oppose him. But Yoshi naka suddenly came upon them, seized and imprisoned the Emperor, and beheaded the abbots of the religious houses. He caused himself to be created Sei dai Shiogoon, and finally set himself up in opposition to Yoritomo. Yoshitzune and Nori Yori, brothers of Yoritomo, were immediately dispatched from the Kwanto to Miako to attack him, and set free the Emperor and his grandfather, and he was defeated by them and killed. Meantime, 1184, the He ji had been gathering their strength in the western provinces, and had assembled an army of 100,000 men and fortified themselves. Nori Yori and Yoshitzune attacked them, and after a very severe engagement took the fort by assault and completely routed the army, killing many of the leaders of the party. After this Yoritomo ordered his son-in-law, son of Yoshi naka, to be put to death, and Yoshitzune was appointed governor of Miako. He attacked the enemy in the island of Sikok, and also in the western provinces of Nagato, and at the fort of Aka Magaseki routed them; the mother of the Emperor escaping with the two insignia of rule--the sacred sword and the seal or ball. But in crossing over from Simonoseki the Emperor threw himself into the sea and was drowned. Of the two sacred emblems, the sword was said to have been lost; the seal was saved. At this narrowest part of the passage between Kiusiu and Nippon runs a ledge of rocks, and upon these stands a small column, or tombstone, to the memory of the Emperor. On the Kiusiu side is the village of Dairi, called so from the imperial family having rested there. Moone mori, one of the party, is said to have fled to the island of Tsussima, where his descendants to this day rule as (the Chinese sound of the name) Sso. When the men of the party were all destroyed, the females crowded the port of Simonoseki, and were obliged to live by prostitution; and hence the females of this class in Simonoseki are accorded to this day the first rank of the class, and privileges--in the way of dress, such as wearing stockings, and wearing the knot of the obi or belt behind, like other women, and not before, as prostitutes--which are denied to others. In the center of the island of Kiusiu, between Fiuga and Higo, is a high tableland, partly marsh, extending from twenty to thirty miles in length. According to native accounts, this place was, a hundred years ago, quite a _terra incognita_. About that time it was discovered that there were people living in three villages within the marsh. The principal village was called Mayra. Further investigation being made, it was discovered that these were remnants of the He ji, who had fled there at this period, and had isolated themselves through fear. They had conveyed their fears to their children, who, when visited, had a dread of being punished for the crimes of their forefathers. The three villages are now under charge of a Hattamoto.

The power of the He family was thus completely broken, and that of the Gen or Minnamoto firmly established, mainly through the prowess and generalship of Yoshitzune. Yoritomo began to be jealous of his brother on account of the credit and reputation he had gained by his success. He picked a quarrel with him on the ground of his having married a daughter of the enemy of the house, Kio mori, and sent forces against him, demanding of the Emperor that his father-in-law, Hojio, should be appointed generalissimo, by this means filling the places of command with his own creatures. Yoshitzune left the capital and retired to Oshiu to his old friend Hide Hira, governor of the province. Yoritomo was enraged at an asylum being given to his brother in the north, and sent orders to have him put to death. Yasu hira, the son of his old friend, attacked him, and Yoshitzune, being unprepared and seeing no way of escape, destroyed himself, after first killing his wife and children. Yoritomo, angry with the man for doing what he himself had ordered, marched against Yasu hira with a large army, and finally destroyed him. Yoritomo built a palace for himself in Miako, but appears generally to have lived at Kamakura. At this latter place are to be seen to this day the remains of his work in the roads cut through rocks which confined the space of ground set apart for his residence.

In 1190 he went to Miako, where he had built a palace, and in great state visited the Emperor; but after a month’s residence in the capital he returned to Kamakura. In 1192 the old Emperor Go zira kawa died at the age of sixty-seven. He had lived, after his abdication, during parts of the reigns of five emperors, his sons and grandsons. He had during forty years taken a very active part in the working of the government, and had passed through the most exciting time in the history of his country. His last years were spent in tranquillity.

Yoritomo was appointed Sei dai Shiogoon. Suspecting his brother Nori Yori of plotting against him, he banished him to Idzu, where he was soon after put to death. He again visited the capital for four months in 1195, but returned to Kamakura, from which place he virtually ruled the empire. He fell from his horse toward the end of 1198, and died shortly after, in 1199, at the age of fifty-three. He is generally regarded as the greatest hero in Japanese history. But his treatment of his brother has been a great blot upon his character, and lowered him very much in the regard of his countrymen. Yoshitzune is looked upon as the mirror of chivalry, and his conduct is held up to the youth of the country for imitation, rather than the calculating, bloody, though brilliant career of Yoritomo.

Kamakura seems to have occupied under Yoritomo very nearly the same situation, in a political point of view, that Yedo does in the present day. The absence of external foes having created a necessity for internal division, two courts arose, the one with forms without power, the other wielding all the power and dispensing with the forms, except when it suited him to demand them. Yoritomo seems to have been the first to establish his court in the eastern part of the empire, a retreat which he chose probably on account of its retired and defensible situation. Standing upon the sea, the place is inclosed by hills, and in order to obtain access to the town a road was cut on either side through the hills. That to the east, toward Kanesawa, is a fine perpendicular cutting through sandstone. The houses occupied by Yoritomo, and after him by Ashikanga, or the sites where they stood, are pointed out. Here stands a fine temple to Hatchimang, erected since the days of Yoritomo, and upon the spot where his son was assassinated. It is known as Suruga oka Hatchimang. An avenue with three fine stone archways leads straight to the sea from the door of the temple. Upon the platform on which the temple stands is a small shrine to Inari, the god of rice, worshiped everywhere in Japan; another to the spirit of Yoritomo; another to stones in which some divine power is supposed to reside. Two stones below show that the Phallic worship lingers in Japan, female (so to speak) as well as male, while a temple on the shore, near Ooraga, is entirely devoted to this infatuation. The tomb of Yoritomo, an unpretending slab, is in the neighborhood. A small hill opposite has the name of Kinoo hari yama, taking this name from Yoritomo having ordered it to be covered with white silk to show some of his lady friends how it looked in winter. The story may be doubted, if it were only on account of the scarcity of silk at that time. At Kanesawa are the tombs of the servants of Yoshitzune. About half a mile from the temple of Hatchimang, on the road to Fusisawa, is the fine old temple called Kenchoji, built by order of Moone taka Sinwo, son of the Emperor Sanga. Further on is a nunnery or convent for ladies, the Matzunga oka. Looking toward the sea, the little island or peninsula of Eeno sima is visible. On the road in this direction is a temple built by a daughter of Mito; a little beyond is a place famous for the manufacture of swords; and beyond this is a village with a temple to Kunon, the goddess of mercy (Kwan yin of China).

Turning to the right from the village is a large copper figure of Buddha sitting in the open air, in a position and with an air of great repose. It is between forty and fifty feet high. Around this colossal figure are seen in the grass large flat stones. These are the bases of the pillars of a temple which once covered the figure. But during a severe earthquake a rush of the sea over a temporary subsidence of the land swept away everything but the massive figure and foundation-stones of the temple. It looks at present far out of reach of the renewal of any such devastation.

The glory of Kamakura has removed to Yedo, and what is said by the Jesuit fathers to have been at one time a town of 200,000 houses is now a village of not 200 cottages.

The son of Yoritomo, Yori ye, succeeded him in all his employments; but proving unequal to the task of governing, he retired, and his son, Sanne tomo, at twelve years of age, was appointed Sei dai Shiogoon, Tokimasa, father-in-law of Yoritomo, being regent; and from this date the power of the Hojio family began. The following year they put to death Yori ye. Tokimasa assassinated Hatake yama, and afterward had designs upon Sanne tomo’s life at the instigation of his wife; but they were discovered by Sanne tomo’s grandmother, Yoritomo’s widow, and Tokimasa was banished. Sanne tomo was assassinated by his brother Kokio (who had become a priest, and officiated in the temple) while descending the stairs of the large temple of Hatchimang goo, at Kamakura, after worshiping there at night. He was the last Shiogoon of the family of Yoritomo. The power fell to the hands of Hojio no Yoshi toki, who ruled with Masa go, widow of Yoritomo, known as “Ama shiogoon,” or the Nun commander-in-chief. Hojio Yasu toki was Sikken, a title which was afterward changed to Kwan rei, or minister to the Shiogoon at Kamakura, and began to assume a similar position toward the Shiogoon that the latter held toward the Emperor. Hojio and Hasago raised to the office of Shiogoon Yoritsone, son of Fusiwara no Mitsi ye. Yoritsone resigned the post of Shiogoon at the age of twenty-seven to his son, aged six, who the following year married a daughter of Hojio. The father and son, being in 1251 discovered to be concerned in a plot against the Emperor, were seized; and the office was now given to one of the royal family from Minko, Moone taka, “Sin wo.” In his time Hojio Toki yori, then Kwanrei, built the large temple of Kenchoji at Kamakura. The Hojio family (Fosio of Klaproth) at this time absorbed the chief authority in the empire.

The historical notes which follow are taken from a native almanac with the assistance of a native, and are in themselves uninteresting; but they give some short notice of the wars between the Emperors of the North and South, of the rise to power of different families--such as Hojio, Ashikanga, Nitta, Hossokawa, and others--who occupied prominent places in Japanese history down to the time of Nobu nanga, when a military genius arose to extract order out of confusion, and system out of a chaos of anarchy. But even the confused and uninteresting mass of names entangled in facts may give an impression of what the state of the country was during a period when nothing but turmoil and boiling brought one after another to the surface, to make way in turn for others from the abyss below. That some information is contained in these notes, may be an excuse for placing them here in such a meager and unentertaining form. But the names of individuals, of places, of temples, become interesting as more is known of the history of the country and the religion of Japan.

In 1260 the Nitsi ren sect of Buddhists was introduced at Kamakura, a sect which has become of more prominence lately, since foreigners arrived in Japan, owing to a saint of the sect, Saysho gosama, having been a great persecutor of Christians.

Hojio Toki yori, minister of the Shiogoon, one of the great men of Japan, died in 1263, aged thirty-seven; and the Shiogoon Moone taka was forced to resign, and his son, Kore Yassu, a child, raised to the office.

In China, the Mokoo (or Mongol), about 1276, had overthrown the Sung dynasty. Corea was compelled to become tributary, and embassies from China were sent to Japan, calling upon the Emperor to send his tribute. At different times several large naval expeditions were fitted out by the Chinese emperor, the Kublai of Marco Polo. One of these, in 1281, reached the coast of Tsussima; but in consequence of severe storms, said to have been raised by the opportune assistance of the god at Isse (whence he is called Kase mo mia, or god of the wind), the vessels were knocked to pieces, and 30,000 men taken prisoners and killed. One of the embassadors was beheaded at Kamakura. The power of the Hojio family had become so great at Kamakura that they retained in their own hands the appointment of Emperor.

In 1282, the Sikken, or Kwanrei, died, and was succeeded by his son, aged fourteen years; so that at this time it would appear that the country was governed by a deputy or assistant of a boy, the deputy or minister of the commander-in-chief under the reigning Emperor, with the advice and assistance of one, and perhaps two, abdicated Emperors.

This state of things could not be expected to continue, and could only exist in a country with no external relations and with no neighbors. The divided government made up to some extent for this want, but it left so many opportunities for individuals plotting to seize the power that it is no wonder that the Emperors and the Shiogoons chafed under it. This was met by a constant accession to these high posts of children, who, when they began to be troublesome, were forced to resign, the Hojio family continuing to hold the real power at Kamakura and Miako, and also in Kiusiu, and deposing the Emperors and Shiogoons when they pleased, and electing whomsoever suited them.

So early as 1284 the laws of the country seem to have followed a policy of exclusion. In that year an officer came over from China in the quality of embassador, accompanied by a priest, but he was taken and executed on the pretext that he was come to spy out the land. Some years after, another priest, Na yissang, came from China, and he also was treated at Kamakura as a spy, and imprisoned, but was afterward liberated, and built the temple of Nan jenji, still standing in Miako.

In 1308, Hana zo no, then twelve years of age, was chosen by the officers of the Hojio family at Kamakura as Emperor.

In 1312 the Kwanrei Hojio Sada toki died, much respected, and the place of minister was kept for his son, Sada toki, for five years by two relations, till he was fourteen years of age, when he became Kwanrei.

The executive at Kamakura had named Godaigo as successor to the Emperor, and he came to the throne when he was thirty-one years of age. He very soon began to be irritated with the position he held, ruled over by subordinates at Kamakura. He married the daughter of Chiooso Kane Kado, a high officer of Chinese extraction.

In 1321 the office known as the Ki rokusho was established in the palace at Miako.

Taka toki, the young Kwanrei, was very dissipated, passing his time between wine and women, and in consequence was hated; and in 1325 Yori Kazoo and Kooni nanga, by secret orders from the Emperor, set out on an attempt to take his life; but he was previously informed of it, and seized them, and put them to death. Taka toki being ill, shaved his head and took orders when he was twenty-four years of age, and his relative, Taka Ske, at Nagasaki, assumed the chief power. The arrogance of the Hojio family at Kamakura excited intense ill-will at Miako, and the attempt to overthrow this power gave rise to the troubles known as the war between the North and South Emperors, which desolated Japan for many years, and which ended in the downfall of both the Emperor and the Hojio faction.

In 1327, Oto no mia, one of the Emperor’s sons, determined to break down the power of the Hojio family at Kamakura; but his intrigues were divulged, and he was compelled to shave his head and become a priest, as Tendai no Zass, or head of the Buddhists. But this did not prevent him putting on his armor again when occasion offered. He afterward, under the name of Mori Yoshi, was Shiogoon.

1330. The Emperor still longed to destroy the influence of the Hojio party. He consulted with the Buddhist priests, then a very powerful body in the realm. He built the fortress of Kassangi in Yamato, to be seen to this day; but his design was discovered, and he was obliged to fly to this fort, whence he sent for Koosinoki massa Singhi, then a small officer in Kawadsi, but considered a very able soldier.

In 1331 the forces of Taka toki attacked and took the castle of Kassangi, and taking Godaigo prisoner, sent him to the island of Oki, and for some years there was no Emperor. Ko gen was called “Tenwo” by the Kamakura party, but he was called the False Emperor by his opponents.