HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE TO THE DEATH OF NOBU NANGA
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.
In 1332, Otonomia, Nitta, and Koosinoki met at Chi wa ya, a castle near
Miako. While the Kamakura army of Hojio overcame the other detachments,
they were repulsed by that under Koosinoki. Nitta Yoshi assembled an
army in the province of Kowotski. Troops were sent against him from
Kamakura, but after several engagements he marched upon and sacked
and burned that town. Among the officers of the Hojio party some were
killed in battle, others were beheaded, and many killed themselves.
Among the last was Taka toki. His son had his throat cut. In Kiusiu the
Hojio party was defeated by Owotomo, who seized the governor, whose
life was saved, but all the other members of the Hojio family, who
had been so overbearing during their period of rule, were massacred
by the people. Their authority, which had been paramount for years in
Kamakura, and thence in the empire, was completely broken down.
Godaigo was restored to the throne. He had not improved by adversity,
and was weak in his character. He removed all the officers in place,
and, against the advice of his friends and ministers, conferred rank
and power on Ashikanga Taka ooji, who had entered into a conspiracy
against him, and who afterward became the most powerful man in the
empire and founder of a long line of Shiogoons. The Emperor gave to
those who had assisted him large landed possessions: to Ashikanga, the
provinces of Hitatsi, Musasi, and Simosa; to Nitta Yoshi Sada, Kowotski
and Harima; and to his son, Etsingo; to Koosinoki, Setsu and Kawadsi;
and to others in proportion. Mori Yosi, the royal priest, had been
appointed Shiogoon, but at the instance of Ashikanga was imprisoned and
deposed. The Emperor had been warned against Ashikanga by Madenga koji
chika foossa, his minister, in vain. This minister was the author, in
1341, of the “Shoku gen sho,” the red book of the court of Miako.
The war which was now commencing is known as the war between the
Northern and Southern Emperors--the Hokko cho and the Nancho. Each
party set up one Emperor after another, while the war raged under
generals who were fighting for the office of commander-in-chief rather
than for the empire. Ashikanga and Nitta, Koosinoki and Hossokawa,
Kikootchi and Owotomo, were the prominent leaders; while Godaigo,
as Emperor of the South, was succeeded by Go mura Kami, retaining
possession of, during a series of misfortunes, the three insignia of
imperial power. On the other hand, Ko gen, called False Emperor, was
succeeded as Emperor of the North by his brother Komio, who abdicated
in favor of Sh’ko, who was taken prisoner, and Ko ngong took his place;
but he and both his predecessors fell into the hands of their opponent.
After the destruction of Kamakura and the downfall of the Hojio family
in 1332, the theater of war changed to the neighborhood of Miako. Yoshi
mitz, afterward the great Ashikanga, was appointed Shiogoon in 1367,
when he was ten years of age. On both sides treachery on the part of
the generals seems to have been a trivial and common occurrence; and
this is not surprising, inasmuch as there was no principle involved,
and no party-cry to rally under. Each general was fighting for himself
and for his own advancement, while the opposing Emperors looked on
apparently without much feeling or interest in the question at issue.
By this war in the island of Kiusiu the family of Satsuma largely
increased its power and possessions at the expense of Kikootchi.
In the year 1392, by the mediation of O-ooji, lord of the provinces
in the west part of Nippon, peace was brought about. He induced the
Emperor of the South to bring to Miako the three emblems, and to
give them up to his rival, accepting the title of Dai jio ten wo.
Thenceforward both Emperors lived in Miako, Go ko matz reigning.
During the first troublous times Ashikanga had been strengthening his
position, enriching himself and rising in rank and favor to the highest
position to which a subject could attain. He built a splendid house for
himself in Muro Matchi Street, called the Palace of Flowers, and two
others called respectively the Gold and Silver Houses, which were large
enough to be taken away in pieces (after his death) and form parts of
different temples, of which these parts are still looked upon as the
chief ornaments. Such is the temple of Tchikuboo shima in the Great
Lake. The titles given him were the head of the Gen family: Joone san
goo--_i.e._, as the Emperor’s second son--and Dai Shiogoon. He was at
length, before he was forty, raised to be Dai jo dai jin, and during
the following year he gave up his titles and place, and, shaving his
head, retired under the Buddhist name of Zensan, or Heavenly Mountain.
He moved about with a style and equipage similar to that used by the
Emperor. He sent an embassy to China, and received an answer, in
which he was styled Nippon wo or King of Japan. The Emperor visited
him, and conferred on him the title of Kubosama--Kubo being the title
of the father or predecessor of the Emperor after abdication, sama
implying that he is equal to or “the same as.” He was the first to
whom the title was given, and it is still a title which is conferred
by the Emperor, and is not inherent in any office. He died in 1408.
The office of Shiogoon became hereditary in the family of Ashikanga,
and henceforth the position of Kwanrei or Minister to the Shiogoon
was aspired to as conveying the chief power in the empire. Kamakura
was still the usual residence of this officer. Eight families were
set apart, from among whom it was eligible to name the Kwanrei, chief
among whom were Hossokawa, Hatake yama, and Ooyay soongi--the family of
Hossokawa being at this time the most powerful. After the death of the
great Ashikanga, his descendants were unable to wield the power which
he had transmitted to them. He does not seem to have established any
powerful government throughout the empire, but would appear to have
held what he had seized rather from the country being tired of civil
war than from any great administrative talent in himself. During the
century which followed, civil war seems to have been the normal state
of Japan--one man after another rising to seize the reins--at one time
at Miako, at another at Kamakura. No one chief was able to reduce the
whole empire to a settled state of tranquillity. If one rose a little
above his compeers, they combined against him; while the monasteries
and religious sects were so powerful as to be able to insure success to
whatever side they gave their influence and assistance. This state of
things continued till Nobu nanga gradually rose out of the crowd, and
struck down the power of these Buddhist sects.
1410. While the appointment of a Dai or great Shiogoon was kept up at
Miako, an inferior officer, with the title of Shiogoon only, was placed
in Kamakura, with a minister under him. The men who filled both offices
were still of the Ashikanga family. When so many high offices were held
by powerful chiefs, jealousy was excited, and this kept up a state
of constant civil war in some parts of the country. The three rich
provinces of Bizen, Mimesaka, and Harima were taken from the owner,
Akamatz, who to revenge himself invited the Dai Shiogoon to a banquet
and assassinated him. He in turn committed suicide, and his territory
was divided.
In 1414 the three emblems were stolen, but were afterward recovered.
The family of Hossokawa was rising to power and wealth at Kamakura,
while that of Ashikanga was on the wane.
In 1415, for the first time, an act was passed by the ruling powers
known as a Tokusayay. This is a law suddenly passed, by which all
mercantile engagements are at an end and all debts cancelled. This act
of arbitrary, high-handed injustice has been carried out over and over
again in Japan, and is generally the act of some high officer who has
borrowed money largely. Whether it was carried to the full extent
stated may be doubted, but it has been the cause of much trouble and
anxiety.
In 1462 Ashikanga nari ooji, son of the former Shiogoon of Kamakura,
was obliged to fly to Ko nga in the province of Simotsuki.
In 1466 the war known in history as the “Onin” commenced, and lasted
during the following eleven years. The dispute arose between two sons
of the chief Shibba, in which the late Shiogoon and his successor took
opposite sides. This was the breeze which fanned the smoldering flame
arising in the desire on the part of the wife of the abdicated Shiogoon
that her son should be nominated to succeed, otherwise he would be
compelled to shave his head and become a priest. The whole country
around Miako was desolated by war and slaughter, great excesses being
committed, during which houses, temples, libraries, and documents
of value were destroyed, and, as might have been expected, a famine
occurred in 1472. This, together with the death of the generals
commanding on both sides--Yamana Sozeng and Hossokawa--led to a
cessation of hostilities in 1474, when some years of quiet and peace
followed.
1487. The famous Ota do Kwang was assassinated by Sadamasa. An anecdote
related of him is often taken as a subject by Japanese artists. He was
out hawking when a heavy rain came on. Seeing a little cottage, he with
his attendants went to ask for a grass rain-coat. A beautiful young
woman came out, and upon his asking for what he wanted, she went to the
garden, pulled a branch of a flower, and kneeling down presented it to
the gentleman. Looking at the plant, he at once perceived that she was
modestly making a play upon the word rain-coat, the plant being known
by the name of “no seed,” which implied also by a turn of words that
she had no rain-coat to give him.
1487. War again broke out between the Shiogoon and Sasaki in the
province of Oomi, which lasted for three or four years, when the
Shiogoon fled to the territories of O-ooji, then chief of the western
provinces of Nippon.
About 1494 the family of Hojio of Odawara took its rise in the person
of Zinkio, who had been a merchant in Isse, but whose genius seems
to have been military, and who was known afterward as Hojio so woon.
He seized whatever territory in the Kwanto and around the castle
of Odawara he could lay his hands upon. During these periods this
unfortunate country was not only desolated by civil war and all its
horrors, but it suffered severely in addition from convulsions of
nature. In 1472 a famine arose as the concomitant of war. In 1475 a
very extensive earthquake occurred on the sixth day of the eighth
month, when a wave from the sea, during a temporary subsidence of the
earth, carried away at one sweep a large part of the lower quarter of
the city of Osaka. In 1496 there was a drought all over the empire,
which was followed by a famine in 1497. And the next year was marked by
severe earthquakes all over Japan; while in 1506 all the old fir-trees
on the hill Kassunga yama near Narra died to the number of above 7,000.
A similar disease had visited Japan in 1406, exactly a hundred years
before. Severe drought and dreadful thunderstorms in 1514 were followed
in 1515 by earthquakes over the whole country.
The new century brought no cessation from war and assassination.
Hossokawa, then prime minister, was assassinated by his servant Kassai.
O-ooji, from the western provinces, marched upon Miako, bringing his
protégé, the late Shiogoon, with him, and, seizing the capital, caused
the Emperor to install him as prime minister or Kwanrei, an office
which had for many years been in the hold of the three families,
Shibba, Hossokawa, and Hatake yama. An attempt was made in Miako to
assassinate the Shiogoon during the night, but he killed the assassins
with his own sword.
In 1510 Nangao, a servant, and relative of Ooyay Soongi, minister at
Kamakura, rebelled against his master, defeated him, and entered into
possession of his castle and territory in the province of Etsingo,
where he afterward became very powerful as Ooyay Soongi Kengshing.
Hossokawa and O-ooji drove one another alternately out of Miako, but
ultimately the latter retired to his own western province of Suwo; and
during the same time Hojio of Odawara was fighting in the Kwanto with
Miura.
1486. Hossokawa massa moto was made Kwanrei.
In 1521, for the first time in many years, the Emperor made a public
appearance. The officers and court were both impoverished. The land
was barely and sparsely cultivated. The young were growing up in
perfect ignorance. Hossokawa brought Yoshi haru to Miako, and made him
Shiogoon, and put the Shiogoon, Yoshitanne, into confinement in the
island of Awadsi. The following year the latter died in the province of
Awa, where his descendants still live, and the head of the family is
still known as “Awa kubo.”
In the year 1523 an attempt was made to commence a trade with China at
Ningpo. O-ooji, the lord of the western provinces, sent over ships. But
at this time the coasts of China were infested by Japanese pirates, and
the attempt to trade does not seem to have been successful: it shows,
however, that a commerce was beginning before the Portuguese visited
Japan.
1528. Mioshi kaï woong, from the province of Awa in Sikok, attacked
Miako; the Kwanrei, Takakooni, on the part of the Shiogoon, met him
at the Katsura gawa, the river running into the sea at Osaka, but was
defeated, and the Shiogoon fled to Oomi, where the head of the Sasaki
family gave him shelter.
1530. The following year the Kwanrei and Mioshi were again at war
in the neighborhood of Osaka, when the former was defeated, taken
prisoner, and put to death.
1532. Haru moto, whom Mioshi had placed as Kwanrei in Miako, took
offense at some of the proceedings of the latter, and ordered him to be
killed.
1536. At this period the Emperor was very poor and his expenses were
defrayed by O-ooji, the lord of the western provinces, to whom the
Emperor gave the title of Da zai no dai ni. The Emperor Go Tsutchi died
in such poverty that his body lay unburied for some days for want of
money.
To this date the annals of the Emperors are brought down. Since the
accession of the present dynasty of Shiogoons, the printing of every
work relative to government is prohibited. There are slight notices of
remarkable occurrences during each year published in an almanac form;
as, for instance, it is noted that in 1533, on the tenth month, eighth
day--_i.e._, November--there were observed an extraordinary number
of falling stars, and in 1534 a very fatal epidemic passed over the
country.
1537. During this year disturbances arose between the Buddhist priests
of the Tendai sect of the Hiyaysan monastery, and those of the Hokkay
or Nitchi ren sect. The former burned down the temple of the latter,
and with it nearly the half of Miako was consumed.
1538. In Kwanto the chiefs were again at war. Hojio attacked Yamano
ootchi in his castle of Kawa goi near Yedo and routed him by a night
attack. Takeda Singeng, now a lad, turned his father out of his
possessions in Kahi.
In 1539, muskets were first known--brought over to Tanegasima by
the Portuguese, pistols being known to this day by the name of
“tanegasima.” According to the “History of the Church in Japan,” “The
islands of Japan were first discovered in the last century, but at what
time is very uncertain--some say in the year 1534; St. Francis Xavier
believed it was rather five or six years after. Be it as it will,
Father Maffius and others tell us that three Portuguese merchants,
Antony Mora, Francis Zaimor, and Anthony Pexot, in their voyage from
Dodra, in Siam, to China, were thrown by tempests upon the islands of
Japan in 1541, and put in at the kingdom of Cangoxima.” This is the
southern part of the island of Kiusiu, off which lies the island of
Tanega or Tanesima. Mendez Pinto, who appears to have been wrecked in
this vessel, gives no date, but, from his account, the sensation caused
by the pistols and muskets brought to this warlike nation seems to have
been much greater than that caused by the apparition of strangers. It
is not wonderful that the year should have been noted in the Japanese
calendars as that in which firearms were introduced. They did not
anticipate that the arrival of these foreigners was to be to the empire
the source of much trouble. At this time the Lioo Kioo Islands seem to
have been well known to the buccaneers on the Chinese coast, and with
the strong southerly monsoons, so frequently broken up by typhoons,
it was not likely that Japan could remain long undiscovered; and the
Japanese must have known of Europeans and their customs from their own
sailors trading to China and Singapore.
1540. Mowori Moto nari, ancestor of Choshiu of the present day,
and founder of the family, was embroiled with his feudal superior,
Amako of Idzumo, and gave in his allegiance to O-ooji. This state of
disturbances is noted in the earliest letters of the Jesuits, written
from Amangutchi, the capital of these provinces, which was afterward
visited by Francis Xavier.
1542. This year was born (26th day of twelfth month) To sho
Shingku--better known as Iyeyas--at Oka saki in Mikawa; and during the
year Ima ngawa and Nobu hide, father of Nobu nanga, fought a battle
at Atsuka Saka in Mikawa. The Portuguese came to Boongo to trade, and
received a warm reception in the territories of Owotomo.
In 1543 the Portuguese came back again; Owotomo, Boongo no kami, was
then lord of this province, and of a great part of the island of
Kiusiu. An officer, by name Seito, was sent by him with the Portuguese
to Miako. Hitherto the history of Japan has been made up entirely from
native sources; but after this time the letters of the Jesuits, and the
accounts published from time to time by Europeans, become of interest.
Kagosima, the port of Satsuma at which these Portuguese merchants
first touched, is not a place adapted for carrying on a large trade.
It is too far out to sea, and cut off from the interior (which is not
fertile) by high ranges of hills. The port offered by Owotomo was much
better suited to their views. It is in the heart of the inland sea,
well sheltered, and, at the same time, having water-communication with
the extensive fringe of coast bordering that sea. The island of Sikok,
the most fertile part of Japan, was within easy access. The whole of
the western part of Nippon and the island of Kiusiu could bring their
products to this port by water, while intercourse with Osaka and the
capital was comparatively easy. The objection to Kagosima applies
equally to Nagasaki, which is cut off from trading communication with
the interior of the country by the difficulty both of its water and
land approaches. The family of Owotomo had gradually risen to wealth
and power in the island of Kiusiu, and at the time the Jesuits arrived,
the Lord or Tono, called by them Francis, was the greatest of the
feudal chiefs then ruling in the island.
1545. Miako was reduced by war and fires to such a state that it
became impossible to live in it; whoever did attempt to live there ran
the risk of being burned, killed, or starved. The Koongays left, and
generally settled under the protection of some feudal chief in the
provinces.
1548. The Shiogoon, who had fled to Sakamoto, returned to Miako, and
Hossokawa was appointed Kwanrei.
1549. Mioshi tchokay, called Mioxindo no in the “History of the Church”
(or Naga Yoshi), took up arms against Haru moto and the Shiogoon party,
and the latter fled again to Sakamoto, about twelve miles from Miako.
Nobu hide, father of Nobu nanga, died, leaving him, his son, heir of
all the possessions he had acquired. Francis Xavier, then at Malacca,
whither he had gone with the fondness for change and excitement which
seemed to have characterized his career, met with some of those who
were returning to Japan. He immediately determined to visit it. He
arrived in the year 1549, and left it again in 1551, disappointed and
disheartened with the realities of missionary work. In the “History of
the Church” it is said, in 1549 (p. 72): “On the way from Amangutchi
(Yama ootchi) to Miako the ways were infested with soldiers, by reason
of troubles between the Dairi and Cubo. Miako inspired Xavier with the
desire of planting there the standard of Christ, but the effect did not
at all answer his expectations. Miako, which signifies a thing worth
seeing, was no more than the shadow of what it formerly had been, such
terrible fires and wars had laid it waste, and the present condition
of affairs threatened it with total destruction. All the neighboring
princes were combined against the Cubosama, and nothing was to be heard
but the noise of armies. However, he endeavored to gain an audience
from the Cubosama and Dairi; but his poverty made him contemptible.
It required 10,000 caixes to gain an audience. To comfort himself he
preached in the streets; but the town being full of confusion, and the
thoughts of every man taken up with reports of war, none listened to
him. After a fortnight’s stay, hearing that the Dairi bore only the
name of a monarch, and that the Cubo was absolute only in the Tensa and
Gokinai, he saw it was nothing but lost labor and expense to have his
leave to preach over all Japan when he was not master.”
1550. Yoshi haru, late Shiogoon, died. Mioshi tchokay burned Hingashi
yama, or Hiyay san, a collection of monasteries and temples near Miako.
1551. O-ooji was attacked by the forces of one of his own officers,
Suyay haru kata, who obliged him to fly, and he committed suicide
with several high Koongays who were residing under his protection.
This Suyay had promised Owotomo, chief of Boongo, to give back to his
younger brother, Yoshi Naga, the command in the province of Suwo. At
the death of O-ooji the seal under which trade with China had been
carried on was lost, and the trade suspended.
1552. At this time the religion of Christ was brought, according to
native accounts, by “Nan bang,” foreigners from the south, to Boongo.
The period at which this event took place was worthy of note. Japan
had been for years torn by rival factions, and by the contests of men
intriguing for power. The Emperor was powerless, and reduced by poverty
and neglect to a position bordering on contempt. The eastern court
at Kamakura retained some portions of its former power, and was at
least a hotbed where schemes might be hatched for overthrowing either
the power of the court of Miako, or that of some of the neighboring
princes. Yedo was almost unknown, except as a village dependency of
the castle. The western provinces were under the sway of independent
chiefs, while the island of Kiusiu hardly acknowledged the authority of
the Mikado. A small beginning of commerce with China had been going on
for some years past, and was conducted with Ningpo. It was not likely,
therefore, that at the first landing upon Tanegasima the country and
people of Japan were unknown to the Portuguese buccaneers upon the
coast of China. Not many years had elapsed since China had been first
visited by the Portuguese, and Liampo or Ningpo was their northern
port. If Mendez Pinto is to be credited, there were 800 Portuguese then
living near that city under their own laws; but if his account of the
doings of his countrymen in China be correct--and it is in many things
corroborated by concurrent testimony--the men who sailed about these
seas were not exactly the men best suited to spread a healthy commerce,
or to propagate correct notions of the Christian religion. They were
the buccaneers of that day, and mixed up their business of piracy and
murder with trade and religion in a strange medley. The vast opening
consequent upon the doubling of the Cape induced these men to push
their discoveries further and further. Europe had just been convulsed
by the throes of delivery of the Church of Rome. Twin children had been
born by the Reformation to the Church, and the schismatic operations
of Luther without gave rise to the crafty strengthening process of
Loyola within the Church. The propagandist zeal of Jesuitism at this
period put forth her strength to reap the harvest in Japan; but the
bane of the Church of Rome pursued her here, and her desire to make the
kingdom of Christ of this world brought to naught all her schemes. The
Inquisition was in full operation in Portugal and Spain, where John
III. and Philip II. directed the missions of the Church; and the same
zeal was carried into India and all their foreign possessions. The
whole power, political and ecclesiastical, in the East, was allowed
by other nations to be in the hands of the King of Portugal: without
his permission no bishop could be appointed; no episcopal see created
without his consent; and he retained the right of filling up vacancies
in every see. No European missionary could go to the East without
his sanction, and with that only in a Portuguese vessel; and no bull
or brief from the Holy See was of any effect in the East until it
had received the approbation of the King, who in return was supposed
to protect and support the Church of Rome. This was known as the
Protectorate of the Crown of Portugal, and was annually confirmed by
Papal bulls, in which was inserted a clause whereby the Pope annuled
beforehand every bull which any one of his successors might issue to
the contrary. Such was the epoch at which the Portuguese arrived in
Japan.
1553. Mioshi attacked and killed Hossokawa, the minister of the
Shiogoon, and the following year attacked Miako, whence the Shiogoon
fled to Tanba.
1555. Fighting was going on between Mowori moto nari (ancestor of
Mowori Daizen no diaboo) and Suyay haru taka, who had killed his lord
O-ooji. Mowori was victorious, and gained possession of all the “middle
or central provinces” west of Miako--laying the foundation of the
wealth and power which remain to the family to the present time. An
embassy was sent this year to Japan from China, to complain of pirates
from the island of Kiusiu who were ravaging the coasts of China.
1557. The Emperor Gonara died. Nobu nanga put to death his own younger
brother Nobu yuki.
1558. Oki matchi ascended the throne at forty-two years of age. At this
time Hideyoshi, better known as Taiko sama, as a young man became an
officer in the service of Nobu nanga.
1559. Etsingo Nangao Kage tora, a large feudal chief, went to Miako
from his province of Etsingo to pay his respects to the Emperor, and to
claim his installation into the office of Kwanrei, when his name and
designation was changed to Ooyay Soongi teru tora.
1560. Ima ngawa, lord of Suruga, was one of the chiefs who were
competing for power. He had raised a large force and met Nobu nanga,
who was not inclined to face him with a small number such as he then
had with him; but Hideyoshi persuaded him to join issue, and by skill
and stratagem they defeated and killed Ima ngawa, and Nobu nanga took
possession of all his territory.
1561. Iyeyas was infeft by Nobu nanga in the province of Mikawa, and
made the castle of Okasaki his residence.
1562. Mowori moto nari and Owotomo Boongo no kami, or Zo rin (the great
patron of the foreigners in Kiusiu), were at war, which was terminated
by the interference of the Shiogoon, who sent down a messenger to
restore peace, through a matrimonial alliance and enlargement of
Owotomo’s territories.
1563. Fighting was going on in the neighborhood of Yedo between
Sattomi, who possessed large territories in Awa and Owota, on the one
side, and Hojio of Odawara on the other. A great battle took place
between these chiefs at Kowunodai, near Yedo, in which Sattomi was
defeated. The defeat took place upon the 9th of the ninth month, a
festival-day all over Japan. Since the defeat, Kanagawa and Kawasaki,
then belonging to Sattomi, have held the festival on the 19th. Mowori
Motonari this year completely defeated Amako, the lord Idzumo, and
absorbed his territories, thus becoming lord of ten provinces.
1564. Nobu nanga killed his father-in-law Seito Do Sang, the lord of
Mino, and seized all his territory, and changed his own residence,
which had been hitherto in Nagoya in Owarri, to Gifoo in Mino.
In 1565 Matza naga hissa hide (Daxandono, or properly Danshio, in
“History of the Church”) and Mioshi attacked Yoshi teru, Shiogoon, who
was surprised, and committed suicide. His younger brother Yoshi aki
fled to Oomi, shaved his head, and became a priest. The grandson of
Yoshi dzumi aimed at the position of Shiogoon. To oppose the designs of
Mioshi, who was attempting to assassinate him, Yoshi aki joined Nobu
nanga, who put him into the post of Shiogoon in 1568, and they together
attacked and defeated Mioshi.
1569. Nobu nanga found it necessary to begin a crusade against the
Buddhist priests, and their wealthy and powerful establishments. He
attacked and routed and killed Kita batake, the lord of Isse. He built
a palace for the Emperor, but it was so small and shabby that the
Emperor would not inhabit it, but lived in the temple of Kammo, near
Miako. This year the palace and castle of Nijio was built in Miako,
and has since been occupied by the Shiogoons as their metropolitan
residence.
1570. Nobu nanga was fighting with the lord of the province of Etsizen,
Asakura, who was defeated, and his territories seized by Nobu nanga.
At this time Nobu nanga, Hideyoshi, and Iyeyas found it their interest
to be friends. Hideyoshi had grown up as an officer in Nobu nanga’s
army, and both are said to have been jealous of Iyeyas (known as a
young man as “Sing Koong”), probably discerning at this early time
superior administrative talents, as well as a reticence which may have
displeased them. He is said to have been put forward by them into
difficult positions to get rid of him, but the vigor of his character
increased by overcoming the obstacles in his path. He went to the
province of Oomi at the time Nobu nanga was fighting with the troops of
Asayee and Asakura at Anegawa, and by his timely assistance turned the
fortune of the day.
1571. The Buddhist priesthood had at this time arrived at the height
of their power. The arrival of the Roman Catholics, and the spread
of their doctrines, was probably hailed by many as a relief from the
extravagant pretensions and power of the monasteries, and it was hoped
that they might in some measure balance the power of the Buddhist
priesthood. All over the country these monasteries had become very
wealthy. The monks, bonzes, or bozans, were very numerous, and their
retainers and dependents formed an army sufficiently powerful to
cope with any single chief. The policy of the Roman Catholics seems
to have been from the first of an aggressive character, attacking
vehemently the native priests, abusing their characters, and getting
up discussions in public, and thus unnecessarily irritating a very
powerful body in the kingdom. Nobu nanga was very jealous of the power
of these Buddhist monasteries, and hated the priests. He therefore gave
his countenance to these newcomers, who were delighted, as thinking
it showed a zeal for their mission, while, in truth, it was only to
gratify his hatred of the native bozans. He suddenly fell upon the
largest of the monasteries, the Hiyaysan, also called by the early
writers Freno yama, and Hiyay no yama. The grounds are said to have
been of great beauty, near the lake of Oomi, and inclosing thirteen
valleys; and at the time the Jesuits arrived in the country there were
said to be 500 temples within the area of the monastery. Nobu nanga
burned all the temples and massacred the priests. These latter had been
joined by some of Nobu nanga’s late opponents, but he defeated them all.
1572. Takeda Singeng, at Mikatta nga harra in Tootomi, was fighting
with Iyeyas. A great mortality had taken place in the force of the
latter, and he was nearly overcome, and in great danger, but finally
conquered.
The same year the Shiogoon Yoshi aki became embroiled with Nobu nanga,
who arrested him and put him in prison, thus bringing to a termination
the real power of the Ashikanga family.
During the year Iyeyas was beaten by Takeda near Mitske; he was
obliged to fly, and was pursued across the Tenrio River to a village,
Hamamatchi. During the night he heard music, and creeping up with some
of his men to listen, they saw Takeda himself sitting enjoying the
music, when one of Iyeyas’s men fired at him with a musket. He was
wounded and gave up the pursuit. He lingered a while, but at length
died of the injury.
1574. All over the country Roman Catholic temples were being built,
exciting the Buddhist priesthood to wrath.
1575. At Nanga shino, in Tootomi, there was some smart fighting
between Katzu yori, son of Takeda Singeng, and Iyeyas, as officer of
Nobu nanga. Katzu yori was very powerful, and had a large army with
him of well-trained soldiers, and Nobu nanga was afraid to fight; but
Iyeyas declared that if he would not fight he himself would join Katzu
yori.
1576. Hideyoshi was sent by Nobu nanga to Kiusiu and the west
provinces. As a whim, he this year made a new name for himself out of
the half of the names of two of Nobu nanga’s officers, Shibata and
Niwa, and calling himself Hashiba, a name by which he is frequently
spoken of by the Jesuits.
1576. Nobu nanga built the castle of Azutchi (called Anzuquiama in
“History of the Church”) in the province of Oomi; a castle which now
belongs to Ee kamong no Kami.
1577. Matz nanga hissa hide, known in the “History of the Church” as
Daxandono, was killed by Nobu nanga.
1578. Hashiba hide yoshi was this year fighting with Mowori teru moto,
known to the Jesuits as the King of Amanguchi, and the island of Kiusiu
was devastated by war between Owotomo, son of the Jesuits’ friend, and
Shimadzu of Satsuma, the result being that Owotomo was defeated and his
territory much diminished.
1579. The two Buddhist sects, Jodo shiu and Nitchi ren shiu, held a
great discussion upon religion before Nobu nanga at Azutchi, known as
the “Azutchi rong.”
Akitchi mitzu hide, one of Nobu nanga’s best officers, seized the
province of Tanba. The Ikko shiu, a Buddhist sect, was very powerful at
this time, and had possession of the castle of Osaka, then known as the
temple of Hoonganji. Nobu nanga, by one of his generals, had been long
besieging it, and had failed in taking it. In 1580 he called in the
persuasive interference of the Emperor, and a compact was finally made,
under which the priests consented to give up this strong fortress,
which has ever since remained in the hands of the executive power.
1581. Hideyoshi this year overran the province of Harima, destroying
the castle of Miki, and began to build the chateau of Himeji for
himself in that province; while Nobu nanga, assisted by Iyeyas and
Hojio of Odawara, completely demolished the power of the Takeda
family in Kahi. The war is known as the “Ten moku san” war, from the
place where Takeda concealed and destroyed himself. The tie between
Nobu nanga and his generals seemed to have been very slight, and he
does not appear at any time to have been considered ruler of the
country. On more than one occasion Iyeyas threatened to leave him
and throw his weight into the opposite scale. In a portrait drawn
of Nobu nanga in the “History of the Church,” he is described as “a
prince of large stature, but of a weak and delicate complexion, with
a heart and soul that supplied all other wants; ambitious above all
mankind; brave, generous and bold, and not without many excellent moral
virtues; inclined to justice, and an enemy to treason. With a quick
and penetrating wit, he seemed cut out for business; excelling in
military discipline, he was esteemed the fittest to command an army,
manage a siege, fortify a town, or mark out a camp, of any general in
Japan, never using any head but his own: if he asked advice, it was
more to know their hearts than to profit by their advice. He sought
to see into others and to conceal his own counsel, being very secret
in his designs; he laughed at the worship of the gods, convinced that
the bonzes were impostors, abusing the simplicity of the people and
screening their own debauches under the name of religion.”
This is the character given of him by the Jesuits, who considered him a
friend to their cause and had some hopes of him as a convert. It agrees
in the main with the pictures drawn of him by the Japanese. Hating
the Buddhist priests, he patronized the Jesuits as a counterpoise,
encouraging them to build even in the neighborhood of his own palace at
Azutchi. Under the encouragement thus given, the Jesuit priests rose to
favor and power at court. The efforts of the fathers to extend their
influence were crowned with success, and at this date the position of
the church is described as follows: “Father A. Valignan, superior of
Japan, for convenience of government, divided Japan into three parts.
The first and principal is that island where Miako stands. They had
there three residences of the Society--Meaco, Anzuquiama (Azutchi-yama
in Oomi) and Takacuqui. In the residence of Miako were two brothers and
two fathers, who preached and celebrated the divine mysteries daily
in a very fair church. In Anzuquiama they had two fathers and two
brothers; the first of these took care of the church, and of all the
Christians round about; the other instructed the young gentlemen in
the seminary, teaching them their Catechism, and to read and write in
Latin, Portuguese and the language of the country. In Takacuqui (Itami
in Setzu) there was only one father and one brother. Justo Ucondono
(Takayama), governor of the place, built in it a very handsome church
and house for the fathers, and furnished them with all the necessaries
for their families. About three leagues off were the churches of
Vocayama, Fort Imori in Kawadsi, and Sanga--all dependencies of this
residence. Two leagues from Sanga, Don Simon Tagandono (Tango no Kami),
lord of Yao, had eight hundred subjects, all Christians. There were
also great numbers of them in Amangutchi, but without any church, it
being expressly against the king’s pleasure.
“The second part of Japan is that which they commonly call Ximo
(Kiusiu). There the Christians had most churches, and the Jesuits most
houses. In the city of Funay, the metropolis of Bungo, there were both
a college and a university, where they took degrees of masters of arts
and doctors of divinity. There were twenty Jesuits in the college. The
noviceship stood at Vosuqui, where King Francis (_i.e._, Owotomo Boongo
no Kami) resided. Besides, they had two residences--one at the valley
of Ju, some seven leagues from Funay, and another at Nocen--and these
four houses furnished the whole country with evangelical missionaries.
Moreover, they had a house at Facata, in the kingdom of Chicuzen,
that was tributary to Bungo; but Aquizuqui, having made himself master
of that country, soon beat them out of those quarters. The kingdom
of Chicungo, bordering upon Chicuzen, had only one church, which was
governed since Riozogi’s conquest by a devout Christian, that prince
being unwilling to entertain any Jesuits in his states. In the kingdom
of Fingo, which Aquizuqui and Riozogi parted betwixt them, there were
two houses of the Society--one in Amacusa and the other at Fort Fundo;
and these two residences took charge of above twenty other churches in
that country. As for the island of Xequi (Ko Siki), which stands upon
the confines of Amacusa, they had only one church, with near 5,000
Christians, who were governed by one of the inhabitants; for the lord
of the place, though he was to permit the fathers to visit them, would
not hear of fixing a residence; which obliged the Christians, on the
more solemn days, to come over to the church of Amacusa.
“In the kingdom of Goto (the five small islands to the west of Japan),
since Don Lewis’s death, there was neither church nor house, the uncle
and tutor to the young prince being, as was said, a most professed
enemy to all religion. The King of Firando, indeed, though a heathen,
was content to receive two priests and two others for the benefit of
the Christians, and chiefly his uncle and son, Don John and Don Anthony.
“As for the kingdoms of Omura and Arima, religion flourished there
above all other parts, Bungo only excepted. The fathers had three
houses in Omura, one in Omura itself, where the King kept his court,
another at Nangasak, and a third at Curi, and out of these three
churches they visited forty several churches, and had charge of some
50,000 Christians that were in that kingdom. In Arima they had three
residences: one in the city of Arima, with five Jesuits, whereof two
had care of the seminary for educating young nobles, among whom was
the King of Fiungas’ son, cousin-german to the King of Arima, and the
rest, all of them sons to the chief lords in the country; the second at
Arie; and the third at Cochinozi, a most celebrated port for commerce.
“In the kingdom of Saxuma, where St. F. Xaverius landed at his first
entrance into Japan, there were some few Christians whom the fathers
visited by times, being all banished by the bonzes, who acted by the
King’s authority. They reckoned in the kingdom of Ximo upward of 30,000
Christians.
“The third part of Japan (Sikok) contains only four kingdoms, and
of these only the King of Tosa received the faith. So Father Alex.
Valignan, at the end of his visit, upon his return to the Indies, left
150,000 Christians in Japan, 200 churches and 39 religious of his own
order, besides several able, young and virtuous Japonians who helped to
instruct the new Christians.”
In 1582 Nobu nanga was gradually overrunning all Japan. He had given
the revenues of the island of Sikok to his son, Nobu taka. “This year
he built at Azutchi a splendid temple. In this temple he collected
idols of all the gods of Japan, and placed in the midst a statue of
himself, calling it Xanthi; _i.e._, supreme ruler. He then, like
Nebuchadnezzar, issued an edict prohibiting any one from worshiping any
other idol, and ordered all to resort to this place on his birthday
to worship this representation of himself. The first that adored was
his eldest son. The nobility followed, and then the gentry and people
in their course.” This idol is said to be in existence at the present
day. Nobu nanga, after this public adoration of his statue, returned
to Miako. Akitchi mitzu hide had been one of his most prominent and
successful generals, and was at this time in the neighborhood of the
capital. Nobu nanga had dispatched a large body of troops to assist
Hashiba Hideyoshi in his operations in the west. Whether Akitchi
aspired to the position occupied by Nobu nanga, or was really jealous
and hated him, in common with others, as a tyrant, or, as some relate,
smarted under the insult of being struck by Nobu nanga over the head
with a fan, is doubtful. But “when he saw that the guards and forces
under the immediate command of Nobu nanga were so diminished in number
that he was left nearly unprotected, he took advantage of what seemed
to him an opportunity. He had been ordered by Nobu nanga to take a
large body of troops under his command to join Hideyoshi. Accordingly,
he marched, but, instead of taking the route indicated, he took
aside some of the captains whom he knew to be dissatisfied with the
government, discussed with them his design, and gained them over by
declaiming against the violence, oppression, and tyranny of Nobu nanga,
accusing him of destroying the gods and murdering the priests, and
concluding by promises of wealth stored up in the castle of Adzutchi
yama. He then suddenly wheeled round upon Miako, surrounding Honnoji,
where Nobu nanga was residing, before he was aware of any danger. All
the avenues were closed--no escape was left for him. He was washing his
face when the news came that the troops had invested the place, and
opening a window to see what was the matter, they poured in a shower
of darts and wounded him between the shoulders. The place was soon in
flames, and his body was consumed with the building. Thus died Nobu
nanga, at forty-nine years of age, a little after he took upon himself
the title of god, and had made himself be adored by his subjects.”
Nobu nanga was by birth of higher origin than his successor, Taikosama,
and, as the son of a feudal prince, had, at a time when might gave
right, some pretension to rule. Descended from Kio mori, he was of the
Taira family, that clan which had contested so long with the Minnamoto
for the executive power in the empire. No question of family origin
entered into his rise or brought about his fall. As an individual, he
rose to power through his military talents; and probably from want of
administrative ability failed to strengthen himself, or insure to his
sons the succession of the position to which he had risen. The period
of his rule was signalized by the rise and success of the Jesuits, whom
he countenanced, according to their own showing, rather from hatred to
the Buddhist priests than from love for the doctrines of Christianity,
or respect for the Roman Catholic priesthood. When he died, the tide
of prosperity turned and ebbed till it gradually swept the whole
doctrines, priests, and proselytes from the shores of Japan.
Akitchi mitsu hide, who had thus removed the master-spirit of Japan,
was not the man to take the vacant seat. Apparently an able second, a
successful lieutenant, he was wanting in every quality for command.
He had gained over the troops placed in his charge by the promise of
plunder. He marched them upon the city of Azutchi-yama, where Nobu
nanga had stored up the treasures he had accumulated during many years,
and in three days squandered the whole in largesses to those under his
command.