In other ways, too, loyalty to the Shogunate was undermined. The luxury
of the towns stimulated a type of life quite the opposite from that
inspired by the Spartan ethical code, called Bushido, of the _samurai_.
Rich townspeople craved amusement--and painting, the drama, and the
novel flourished. No laws could prevent the _samurai_ from being drawn
to this life, nor could executing a more than usually lavish merchant
or usurer turn back the tide of the new age.
Other intellectual currents were more acutely dangerous to the
Shogunate. Ancient history, literature and religion were studied, and
there was a revival of interest in Shintoism. From these historical and
literary schools there grew a political movement, aimed at restoring
the Emperor to his former place as ruler of the nation.
Thus, by the middle of the nineteenth century, the country was ripe
for revolt. In the background lay the misery and distress of the
farmer. But the active promoters of this revolutionary overthrow of
the Shogunate were discontented groups within the ruling class. Four
of these groups banded together to bring about the Restoration: (1)
the “outer lords” of Choshu, Satsuma and the other western fiefs; (2)
the lesser _samurai_, ambitious and energetic; (3) the merchants, who
desired removal of feudal restrictions on their business activities;
and (4) the court nobles of ancient lineage who still clung to the
Emperor at Kyoto. This was a powerful coalition, and sooner or later
it would undoubtedly have brought down the Shogunate through its own
strength. As it happened, pressure on Japan from Western nations came
to its aid and hastened the outbreak of the revolt that was brewing
inside the country.