THE PROTOHISTORIC SOVEREIGNS (Continued)
The 22nd Sovereign, Seinei A.D. 480-484
" 23rd " Kenso " 485-487
" 24th " Ninken " 488-498
" 25th " Muretsu " 499-506
" 26th " Keitai " 507-531
" 27th " Ankan " 534-535
" 28th " Senkwa " 536-539
DISPUTE ABOUT THE SUCCESSION
THE Emperor Yuryaku's evil act in robbing Tasa of his wife, Waka,
entailed serious consequences. He selected to succeed to the throne
his son Seinei, by Princess Kara, who belonged to the Katsuragi
branch of the great Takenouchi family. But Princess Waka conspired to
secure the dignity for the younger of her own two sons, Iwaki and
Hoshikawa, who were both older than Seinei. She urged Hoshikawa to
assert his claim by seizing the Imperial treasury, and she herself
with Prince Iwaki and others accompanied him thither. They
underestimated the power of the Katsuragi family. Siege was laid to
the treasury and all its inmates were burned, with the exception of
one minor official to whom mercy was extended and who, in token of
gratitude, presented twenty-five acres of rice-land to the o-muraji,
Lord Otomo, commander of the investing force.
THE FUGITIVE PRINCES
The Emperor Seinei had no offspring, and for a time it seemed that
the succession in the direct line would be interrupted. For this lack
of heirs the responsibility ultimately rested with Yuryaku. In his
fierce ambition to sweep away every obstacle, actual or potential,
that barred his ascent to the throne, he inveigled Prince Oshiwa,
eldest son of the Emperor Richu, to accompany him on a hunting
expedition, and slew him mercilessly on the moor of Kaya. Oshiwa had
two sons, Oke and Woke, mere children at the time of their father's
murder. They fled, under the care of Omi, a muraji, who, with his
son, Adahiko, secreted them in the remote province of Inaba. Omi
ultimately committed suicide in order to avoid the risk of capture
and interrogation under torture, and the two little princes, still
accompanied by Adahiko, calling themselves "the urchins of Tamba,"
became menials in the service of the obito of the Shijimi granaries
in the province of Harima.
Twenty-four years had been passed in that seclusion when it chanced
that Odate, governor of the province, visited the obito on an
occasion when the latter was holding a revel to celebrate the
building of a new house, it fell to the lot of the two princes to act
as torch-bearers, the lowest role that could be assigned to them, and
the younger counselled his brother that the time had come to declare
themselves, for death was preferable to such a life. Tradition says
that, being invited to dance "when the night had become profound,
when the revel was at its height and when every one else had danced
in turn," the Prince Woke, accompanying his movements with verses
extemporized for the occasion, danced so gracefully that the governor
twice asked him to continue, and at length he announced the rank and
lineage of his brother and himself. The governor, astonished, "made
repeated obeisance to the youths, built a palace for their temporary
accommodation, and going up to the capital, disclosed the whole
affair to the Emperor, who expressed profound satisfaction."
Oke, the elder of the two, was made Prince Imperial, and should have
ascended the throne on the death of Seinei, a few months later.
Arguing, however, that to his younger brother, Woke it was entirely
due that they had emerged from a state of abject misery, Oke
announced his determination to cede the honour to Woke, who, in turn,
declined to take precedence of his elder brother. This dispute of
mutual deference continued for a whole year, during a part of which
time the administration was carried on by Princess Awo, elder sister
of Woke. At length the latter yielded and assumed the sceptre. His
first care was to collect the bones of his father, Prince Oshiwa,
who had been murdered and buried unceremoniously on the moor of Kaya
in Omi province. It was long before the place of interment could be
discovered, but at length an old woman served as guide, and the bones
of the prince were found mingled in inextricable confusion with those
of his loyal vassal, Nakachiko, who had shared his fate.
The ethics of that remote age are illustrated vividly in this page of
the record. A double sepulchre was erected in memory of the murdered
prince and his faithful follower and the old woman who had pointed
out the place of their unhonoured grave was given a house in the
vicinity of the palace, a rope with a bell attached being stretched
between the two residences to serve as a support for her infirm feet
and as a means of announcing her coming when she visited the palace.
But the same benevolent sovereign who directed these gracious doings
was with difficulty dissuaded from demolishing the tomb and
scattering to the winds of heaven the bones of the Emperor Yuryaku,
under whose hand Prince Oshiwa had fallen.
THE VENDETTA
In connexion with this, the introduction of the principle of the
vendetta has to be noted. Its first practical application is
generally referred to the act of the boy-prince, Mayuwa, who stabbed
his father's slayer, the Emperor Anko (A.D. 456). But the details of
Anko's fate are involved in some mystery, and it is not until the
time (A.D. 486) of Kenso that we find a definite enunciation of the
Confucian doctrine, afterwards rigidly obeyed in Japan, "A man should
not live under the same heaven with his father's enemy." History
alleges that, by his brother's counsels, the Emperor Kenso was
induced to abandon his intention of desecrating Yuryaku's tomb, but
the condition of the tomb to-day suggests that these counsels were
not entirely effective.
BANQUETS
The annals of this epoch refer more than once to banquets at the
palace. Towards the close of Seinei's reign we read of "a national
drinking-festival which lasted five days," and when Kenso ascended
the throne he "went to the park, where he held revel by the winding
streams," the high officials in great numbers being his guests. On
this latter occasion the ministers are said to have "uttered
reiterated cries of 'banzai'"*, which has come into vogue once more in
modern times as the equivalent of "hurrah."
*Banzai means literally "ten thousand years," and thus corresponds to
viva.
THE EMPEROR NINKEN
The twenty-fourth sovereign, Ninken, was the elder of the two
brothers, Oke and Woke, whose escape from the murderous ambition of
the Emperor Yuryaku and their ultimate restoration to princely rank
have been already described. He succeeded to the throne after the
death of his younger brother, and occupied it for ten years of a most
uneventful reign. Apart from the fact that tanners were invited from
Korea to improve the process followed in Japan, the records contain
nothing worthy of attention. One incident, however, deserves to be
noted as showing the paramount importance attached in those early
days to all the formalities of etiquette. The Empress dowager
committed suicide, dreading lest she should be put to death for a
breach of politeness committed towards Ninken during the life of his
predecessor, Kenso. At a banquet in the palace she had twice
neglected to kneel when presenting, first, a knife and, secondly, a
cup of wine to Ninken, then Prince Imperial. It has already been
related that the Empress Onakatsu, consort of Inkyo, was disposed to
inflict the death penalty on a high official who had slighted her
unwittingly prior to her husband's accession. There can be no doubt
that differences of rank received most rigid recognition in early
Japan.
THE EMPEROR MURETSU
This sovereign was the eldest son of his predecessor, Ninken.
According to the Chronicles, his reign opened with a rebellion by the
great Heguri family, whose representative, Matori, attempted to usurp
the Imperial dignity while his son, Shibi, defiantly wooed and won
for himself the object of the Emperor's affections. Matori had been
Yuryaku's minister, and his power as well as his family influence
were very great, but the military nobles adhered to the sovereign's
cause and the Heguri were annihilated. In the Records this event is
attributed to the reign of Seinei in a much abbreviated form, but the
account given in the Chronicles commands the greater credence. The
Chronicles, however, represent Muretsu as a monster of cruelty, the
Nero of Japanese history, who plucked out men's nails and made them
dig up yams with their mutilated fingers; who pulled out people's
hair; who made them ascend trees which were then cut down, and who
perpetrated other hideous excesses. Here again the Records, as
well as other ancient authorities are absolutely silent, and the
story in the Chronicles has attracted keen analyses by modern
historiographers. Their almost unanimous conclusion is that the
annals of King Multa of Kudara have been confused with those of the
Emperor Muretsu. This Korean sovereign, contemporary with Muretsu,
committed all kinds of atrocities and was finally deposed by his
people. There are evidences that the compilers of the Chronicles drew
largely on the pages of Korean writers, and it is not difficult to
imagine accidental intermixing such as that suggested by the critics
in this case.
KEITAI
The death of the Emperor Muretsu left the throne without any
successor in the direct line of descent, and for the first time since
the foundation of the Empire, it became necessary for the great
officials to make a selection among the scions of the remote Imperial
families. Their choice fell primarily on the representative of the
fifth generation of the Emperor Chuai's descendants. But as their
method of announcing their decision was to despatch a strong force of
armed troops to the provincial residence of the chosen man, he
naturally misinterpreted the demonstration and sought safety in
flight. Then the o-omi and the o-muraji turned to Prince Odo, fifth
in descent from the Emperor Ojin on his father's side and eighth in
descent from the Emperor Suinin on his mother's. Arako, head of the
horse-keepers, had secretly informed the prince of the ministers'
intentions, and thus the sudden apparition of a military force
inspired no alarm in Odo's bosom. He did, indeed, show seemly
hesitation, but finally he accepted the insignia and ascended the
throne, confirming all the high dignitaries of State in their
previous offices. From the point of view of domestic affairs his
reign was uneventful, but the empire's relations with Korea continued
to be much disturbed, as will be presently explained.
ANKAN
The Emperor Keitai had a large family, but only one son was by the
Empress, and as he was too young to ascend the throne immediately
after his father's death, he was preceded by his two brothers, Ankan
and Senkwa, sons of the senior concubine. This complication seems to
have caused some difficulty, for whereas Keitai died in 531, Ankan's
reign did not commence until 534. The most noteworthy feature of his
era was the establishment of State granaries in great numbers, a
proof that the Imperial power found large extension throughout the
provinces. In connexion with this, the o-muraji, Kanamura, is quoted
as having laid down, by command of the Emperor, the following
important doctrine, "Of the entire surface of the soil, there is no
part which is not a royal grant in fee; under the wide heavens there
is no place which is not royal territory." The annals show, also,
that the custom of accepting tracts of land or other property in
expiation of offences was obtaining increased vogue.
SENKWA
Senkwa was the younger brother of Ankan. He reigned only three years
and the period of his sway was uneventful, if we except the growth of
complications with Korea, and the storing of large quantities of
grain in Tsukushi, as a "provision against extraordinary occasions,"
and "for the cordial entertainment of our good guests" from "the
countries beyond the sea."
RELATIONS WITH KOREA
With whatever scepticism the details of the Empress Jingo's
expedition be regarded, it appears to be certain that at a very early
date, Japan effected lodgement on the south coast of Korea at Mimana,
and established there a permanent station (chinju-fu) which was
governed by one of her own officials. It is also apparent that,
during several centuries, the eminent military strength of Yamato
received practical recognition from the principalities into which the
peninsula was divided; that they sent to the Court of Japan annual
presents which partook of the nature of tribute, and that they
treated her suggestions, for the most part, with deferential
attention. This state of affairs received a rude shock in the days of
Yuryaku, when that sovereign, in order to possess himself of the wife
of a high official named Tasa, sent the latter to distant Mimana as
governor, and seized the lady in his absence. Tasa revolted, and from
that time Japan's position in the peninsula was compromised. The
Koreans perceived that her strength might be paralyzed by the sins of
her sovereigns and the disaffection of her soldiers. Shiragi (Sinra),
whose frontier was conterminous with that of the Japanese settlement
on the north, had always been restive in the proximity of a foreign
aggressor. From the time of Yuryaku's accession she ceased to convey
the usual tokens of respect to the Yamato Court, and, on the other
hand, she cultivated the friendship of Koma as an ally in the day of
retribution.
It may be broadly stated that Korea was then divided into three
principalities: Shiragi in the south and east; Kudara in the centre
and west, with its capital at the modern Seoul, and Koma in the
north, having Pyong-yang for chief city. This last had recently
pushed its frontier into Manchuria as far as the Liao River, and was
already beginning to project its shadow over the southern regions of
the peninsula, destined ultimately to fall altogether under its sway.
In response to Shiragi's overtures, the King of Koma sent a body of
troops to assist in protecting that principality against any
retaliatory essay on the part of the Japanese in Mimana. But the men
of Shiragi, betrayed into imagining that these soldiers were destined
to be the van of an invading army, massacred them, and besought
Japanese succour against Koma's vengeance. The Japanese acceded, and
Shiragi was saved for a time, but at the cost of incurring, for
herself and for Japan alike, the lasting enmity of Koma. Shiragi
appears to have concluded, however, that she had more to fear from
Koma than from Japan, for she still withheld her tribute to the
latter, and invaded the territory of Kudara, which had always
maintained most friendly relations with Yamato. The Emperor Yuryaku
sent two expeditions to punish this contumacy, but the result being
inconclusive, he resolved to take the exceptional step of personally
leading an army to the peninsula.
This design, which, had it matured, might have radically changed the
history of the Far East, was checked by an oracle, and Yuryaku
appointed three of his powerful nobles to go in his stead. The
Shiragi men fought with desperate tenacity. One wing of their army
was broken, but the other held its ground, and two of the Japanese
generals fell in essaying to dislodge it. Neither side could claim a
decisive victory, but both were too much exhausted to renew the
combat. This was not the limit of Japan's misfortunes. A feud broke
out among the leaders of the expedition, and one of them, Oiwa, shot
his comrade as they were en route for the Court of the Kudara
monarch, who had invited them in the hope of composing their
dissensions, since the existence of his own kingdom depended on
Japan's intervention between Koma and Shiragi.
Owing to this feud among her generals, Japan's hold on Mimana became
more precarious than ever while her prestige in the peninsula
declined perceptibly. Nevertheless her great military name still
retained much of its potency. Thus, ten years later (A.D. 477), when
the King of Koma invaded Kudara and held the land at his mercy, he
declined to follow his generals' counsels of extermination in
deference to Kudara's long friendship with Yamato. It is related
that, after this disaster, the Japanese Emperor gave the town of
Ung-chhon (Japanese, Kumanari) to the remnant of the Kudara people,
and the latter's capital was then transferred from its old site in
the centre of the peninsula--a place no longer tenable--to the
neighbourhood of Mimana. Thenceforth Yuryaku aided Kudara zealously.
He not only despatched a force of five hundred men to guard the
palace of the King, but also sent (480) a flotilla of war-vessels to
attack Koma from the west coast. The issue of this attempt is not
recorded, and the silence of the annals may be construed as
indicating failure. Koma maintained at that epoch relations of
intimate friendship with the powerful Chinese dynasty of the Eastern
Wei, and Yuryaku's essays against such a combination were futile,
though he prosecuted them with considerable vigour.
After his death the efficiency of Japan's operations in Korea was
greatly impaired by factors hitherto happily unknown in her foreign
affairs--treason and corruption. Lord Oiwa, whose shooting of his
fellow general, Karako, has already been noted, retained his post as
governor of Mimana for twenty-one years, and then (487), ambitious of
wider sway, opened relations with Koma for the joint invasion of
Kudara, in order that he himself might ascend the throne of the
latter. A desperate struggle ensued. Several battles were fought, in
all of which the victory is historically assigned to Oiwa, but if he
really did achieve any success, it was purely ephemeral, for he
ultimately abandoned the campaign and returned to Japan, giving
another shock to his country's waning reputation in the peninsula. If
the Yamato Court took any steps to punish this act of lawless
ambition, there is no record in that sense. The event occurred in the
last year of Kenso's reign, and neither that monarch nor his
successor, Ninken, seems to have devoted any special attention to
Korean affairs.
Nothing notable took place until 509, when Keitai was on the throne.
In that year, a section of the Kudara people, who, in 477, had been
driven from their country by the Koma invaders and had taken refuge
within the Japanese dominion of Mimana, were restored to their homes
with Japanese co-operation and with renewal of the friendly relations
which had long existed between the Courts of Yamato and Kudara. Three
years later (512), Kudara preferred a singular request. She asked
that four regions, forming an integral part of the Yamato domain of
Mimana, should be handed over to her, apparently as an act of pure
benevolence. Japan consented. There is no explanation of her
complaisance except that she deemed it wise policy to strengthen
Kudara against the growing might of Shiragi, Yamato's perennial foe.
The two officials by whose advice the throne made this sacrifice were
the o-muraji, Kanamura, and the governor of Mimana, an omi called
Oshiyama. They went down in the pages of history as corrupt statesmen
who, in consideration of bribes from the Kudara Court, surrendered
territory which Japan had won by force of arms and held for five
centuries.
In the following year (513) the Kudara Court again utilized the
services of Oshiyama to procure possession of another district, Imun
(Japanese, Komom), which lay on the northeast frontier of Mimana.
Kudara falsely represented that this region had been wrested from her
by Habe, one of the petty principalities in the peninsula, and the
Yamato Court, acting at the counsels of the same o-muraji (Kanamura)
who had previously espoused Kudara's cause, credited Kudara's story.
This proved an ill-judged policy. It is true that Japan's prestige in
the peninsula received signal recognition on the occasion of
promulgating the Imperial decree which sanctioned the transfer of the
disputed territory. All the parties to the dispute, Kudara, Shiragi,
and Habe, were required to send envoys to the Yamato Court for the
purpose of hearing the rescript read, and thus Japan's pre-eminence
was constructively acknowledged. But her order provoked keen
resentment in Shiragi and Habe. The general whom she sent with five
hundred warships to escort the Kudara envoys was ignominiously
defeated by the men of Habe, while Shiragi seized the opportunity to
invade Mimana and to occupy a large area of its territory.
For several years the Yamato Court made no attempt to re-assert
itself, but in 527 an expedition of unprecedented magnitude was
organized. It consisted of sixty thousand soldiers under the command
of Keno no Omi, and its object was to chastise Shiragi and to
re-establish Mimana in its original integrity. But here an
unforeseeable obstacle presented itself. For all communication with
the Korean peninsula, Tsukushi (Kyushu) was an indispensable basis,
and it happened that, just at this time, Kyushu had for ruler
(miyatsuko) a nobleman called Iwai, who is said to have long
entertained treasonable designs. A knowledge of his mood was conveyed
to Shiragi, and tempting proposals were made to him from that place
conditionally on his frustrating the expedition under Keno no Omi.
Iwai thereupon occupied the four provinces of Higo, Hizen, Bungo, and
Buzen, thus effectually placing his hand on the neck of the
communications with Korea and preventing the embarkation of Keno no
Omi's army. He established a pseudo-Court in Tsukushi and there gave
audience to tribute-bearing envoys from Koma, Kudara and Shiragi.
For the space of a twelvemonth this rebel remained master of the
situation, but, in A.D. 528, the o-muraji, Arakahi, crushed him after
a desperate conflict in the province of Chikugo.* Iwai effected his
escape to Buzen and died by his own hand in a secluded valley.
Although, however, this formidable rebellion was thus successfully
quelled, the great expedition did not mature. Keno, its intended
leader, did indeed proceed to Mimana and assume there the duties of
governor, but he proved at once arrogant and incompetent, employing
to an extravagant degree the ordeal of boiling water, so that many
innocent people suffered fatally, and putting to death children of
mixed Korean and Japanese parentage instead of encouraging unions
which would have tended to bring the two countries closer together.
*In the Chikugo Fudoki a minute description is given of Iwai's
sepulchre, built during his lifetime but presumably never occupied by
his body. The remarkable feature of the tomb was a number of stone
images, several representing grave-guards, and one group being
apparently designed to represent the judicial trial of a poacher.
In all her relations with Korea at this epoch, Japan showed more
loyalty than sagacity. She was invariably ready to accede to
proposals from her old friend, Kudara, and the latter, taking astute
advantage of this mood, secured her endorsement of territorial
transfers which brought to the Yamato Court nothing but the enmity of
Kudara's rivals. By these errors of statesmanship and by the
misgovernment of officials like Keno, conditions were created which,
as will be seen hereafter, proved ultimately fatal to Japan's sway in
the peninsula. Meanwhile, every student of Japanese ancient annals
cannot but be struck by the large space devoted to recording her
relations with Korea. As the eminent historian, Rai Sanyo, said in
later times, her soldiers were wearied by constant campaigns oversea,
and her agriculturists were exhausted by frequent requisitions for
supplies. During the epoch of Jingo and Ojin, Japan was palpably
inferior to her peninsular neighbour in civilization, in wealth, and
in population. But in one respect the superiority was largely on her
side; namely, in the quality of her soldiers. Therefore, she utilized
her military strength for campaigns which cost comparatively little
and produced much. The peninsula, at that time, verified the term
commonly applied to it, Uchi-tsurmiyake, or the "Granary of the
Home-land." But as the material development of Japan and her
civilization progressed, she stood constantly to lose more and gain
less by despatching expeditions to a land which squandered much of
its resources on internecine quarrels and was deteriorating by
comparison. The task of maintaining Mimana and succouring Kudara then
became an obligation of prestige which gradually ceased to interest
the nation.
FINANCE
In the period now under consideration no system of land taxation had
yet come into existence. The requirements of the Court were met by
the produce of the mi-agata (Imperial domains), and rice for public
use was grown in the miyake districts, being there stored and devoted
to the administrative needs of the region. Occasionally the contents
of several miyake were collected into one district, as, for example,
when (A.D. 536) the Emperor Senkwa ordered a concentration of
foodstuffs in Tsukushi. The miyake were the property of the Crown, as
were also a number of hereditary corporations (be), whose members
discharged duties, from building and repairing palaces--no light
task, seeing that the site of the palace was changed with each change
of occupant--to sericulture, weaving, tailoring, cooking, and arts
and handicrafts of all descriptions, each be exercising its own
function from generation to generation, and being superintended by
its own head-man (obito or atae).
Any insufficiency in the supplies furnished by the sovereign's own
people was made good by levying on the tomo-no-miyatsuko. It will be
seen that there was no annual tax regularly imposed on the people in
general, though universal requisitions were occasionally made to meet
the requirements of public works, festivals or military operations.
Hence when it is said that the Emperor Nintoku remitted all taxes for
the space of three years until the people's burdens were lightened,
reference is made only to the be and tomobe belonging to the Throne
itself. Doubtless this special feature of Yamato finance was due in
part to the fact that all the land and all the people, except those
appertaining to the Crown, were in the possession of the uji, without
whose co-operation no general fiscal measure could be adopted. When
recourse to the nation at large was necessitated to meet some
exceptional purpose, orders had to be given, first, to the o-omi and
o-muraji; next, by these to the Kami of the several o-uji; then, by
the latter to the Kami of the various ko-uji, and, finally, by these
last to every household.
The machinery was thorough, but to set it in motion required an
effort which constituted an automatic obstacle to extortion. The
lands and people of the uji were governed by the Emperor but were not
directly controlled by him. On the other hand, to refuse a
requisition made by the Throne was counted contumelious and liable to
punishment. Thus when (A.D. 534) the Emperor Ankan desired to include
a certain area of arable land in a miyake established for the purpose
of commemorating the name of the Empress, and when Ajihari, suzerain
(atae) of the region, sought to evade the requisition by
misrepresenting the quality of the land, he was reprimanded and had
to make atonement by surrendering a portion of his private property.
There can be no doubt, however, that as the population increased and
as uncultivated areas grew less frequent, the arbitrary establishment
of koshiro or of nashiro became more and more irksome, and the pages
of history indicate that from the time of Keitai (A.D. 507-531) this
practice was gradually abandoned.
CRIMINAL LAW
Although the use of the ideographic script became well known from the
fifth century, everything goes to show that no written law existed at
that time, or, indeed, for many years afterwards. Neither are there
any traces of Korean or Chinese influence in this realm. Custom
prescribed punishments, and the solemnity of a judicial trial found
no better representative than the boiling-water ordeal. If a man took
oath to the deities of his innocence and was prepared to thrust his
arm into boiling mud or water, or to lay a red-hot axe on the palm of
his hand, he was held to have complied with all the requirements. The
familiar Occidental doctrine, "the King can do no wrong," received
imperative recognition in Japan, and seems to have been extended to
the Crown Prince also. There were no other exemptions. If a man
committed a crime, punishment extended to every member of his family.
On the other hand, offences might generally be expiated by presenting
lands or other valuables to the Throne. As for the duty of executing
sentences, it devolved on the mononobe, who may be described as the
military corporation. Death or exile were common forms of punishment,
but degradation was still more frequent. It often meant that a
family, noble and opulent to-day, saw all its members handed over
to-morrow to be the serfs or slaves of some uji in whose be they were
enrolled to serve thenceforth, themselves and their children, through
all generations in some menial position,--it might be as
sepulchre-guards, it might be as scullions.
Tattooing on the face was another form of penalty. The first mention
of it occurs in A.D. 400 when Richu condemned the muraji, Hamako, to
be thus branded, but whether the practice originated then or dated
from an earlier period, the annals do not show. It was variously
called hitae-kizamu (slicing the brow), me-saku (splitting the eyes),
and so on, but these terms signified nothing worse than tattooing on
the forehead or round the eyes. The Emperor Richu deemed that such
notoriety was sufficient penalty for high treason, but Yuryaku
inflicted tattooing on a man whose dog had killed one of his
Majesty's fowls.
Death at the stake appears to have been very uncommon. This terrible
form of punishment seems to have been revived by Yuryaku. He caused
it to be inflicted on one of the ladies-in-waiting and her paramour,
who had forestalled him in the girl's affections. The first instance
is mentioned in the annals of the Empress Jingo, but the victim was a
Korean and the incident happened in war. To Yuryaku was reserved the
infamy of employing such a penalty in the case of a woman. Highly
placed personages were often allowed to expiate an offence by
performing the religious rite of harai (purification), the offender
defraying all expenses.
ARCHITECTURE
As Chinese literature became familiar and as the arts of the Middle
Kingdom and Korea were imported into Japan, the latter's customs
naturally underwent some changes. This was noticeable in the case of
architecture. Lofty buildings, as has been already stated, began to
take the place of the partially subterranean muro. The annals make no
special reference to the authors of this innovation, but it is
mentioned that among the descendants of the Chinese, Achi, and the
Korean, Tsuka, there were men who practised carpentry. Apparently the
fashion of high buildings was established in the reign of Anko when
(A.D. 456) the term ro or takadono (lofty edifice) is, for the first
time, applied to the palace of Anko in Yamato. A few years later
(468), we find mention of two carpenters,* Tsuguno and Mita, who,
especially the latter, were famous experts in Korean architecture,
and who received orders from Yuryaku to erect high buildings. It
appears further that silk curtains (tsumugi-kaki) came into use in
this age for partitioning rooms, and that a species of straw mat
(tatsu-gomo) served for carpet when people were hunting, travelling,
or campaigning.
*It should be remembered that as all Japanese edifices were made of
timber, the carpenter and the architect were one and the same.
SHIPS
Occasional references have been made already to the art of
shipbuilding in Japan, and the facts elicited may be summed up very
briefly. They are that the first instance of naming a ship is
recorded in the year A.D. 274, when the Karano (one hundred feet
long) was built to order of the Emperor Ojin by the carpenters of Izu
promontory, which place was famed for skill in this respect; that the
general method of building was to hollow out tree-trunks,* and that
the arrival of naval architects from Shiragi (A.D. 300) inaugurated a
superior method of construction, differing little from that employed
in later ages.
*Such dug-outs were named maruki-bune, a distinguishing term which
proves that some other method of building was also employed.
VEHICLES
A palanquin (koshi) used by the Emperor Ojin (A.D. 270-310) was
preserved in the Kyoto palace until the year 1219, when a
conflagration consumed it. The records give no description of it, but
they say that Yuryaku and his Empress returned from a hunting
expedition on a cart (kuruma), and tradition relates that a man named
Isa, a descendant in the eighth generation of the Emperor Sujin,
built a covered cart which was the very one used by Yuryaku. It is,
indeed, more than probable that a vehicle which had been in use in
China for a long time must have become familiar to the Japanese at an
early epoch.
MEDICAL ART
For relief in sickness supplication to the gods and the performance
of religious rites were chiefly relied on. But it is alleged* that
medicines for internal and external use were in existence and that
recourse to thermal springs was commonly practised from remote times.
*By the Nihon Bummei Shiryaku.
PICTORIAL ART
While Yuryaku was on the throne, Korea and China sent pictorial
experts to Japan. The Korean was named Isuraka, and the Chinese,
Shinki. The latter is said to have been a descendant of the Emperor
Wen of the Wei dynasty. His work attracted much attention in the
reign of Muretsu, who bestowed on him the uji title of Ooka no Obito.
His descendants practised their art with success in Japan, and from
the time of the Emperor Tenchi (668-671) they were distinguished as
Yamato no eshi (painters of Yamato).
POETRY
If we credit the annals, the composition of poetry commenced in the
earliest ages and was developed independently of foreign influences.
From the sovereign down to the lowest subject, everyone composed
verses. These were not rhymed; the structure of the Japanese language
does not lend itself to rhyme. Their differentiation from prose
consisted solely in the numerical regularity of the syllables in
consecutive lines; the alternation of phrases of five and seven
syllables each. A tanka (short song) consisted of thirty-one
syllables arranged thus, 5, 7, 5, 7, and 7; and a naga-uta (long
song) consisted of an unlimited number of lines, all fulfilling the
same conditions as to number of syllables and alternation of phrases.
No parallel to this kind of versification has been found yet in the
literature of any other nation. The Chronicles and the Records abound
with tanka and naga-uta, many of which have been ascribed by skeptics
to an age not very remote from the time when those books were
compiled. But the Japanese themselves think differently. They connect
the poems directly with the events that inspired them. Further
reference to the subject will be made hereafter. Here it will suffice
to note that the composing of such verselets was a feature of every
age in Japan.
UTA-GAKI
A favourite pastime during the early historic period was known as
uta-gaki or uta-kai. In cities, in the country, in fields, and on
hills, youths and maidens assembled in springtime or in autumn and
enjoyed themselves by singing and dancing. Promises of marriage were
exchanged, the man sending some gifts as a token, and the woman, if
her father or elder brother approved, despatching her head-ornament
(oshiki no tamakatsura) to her lover. On the wedding day it was
customary for the bride to present "table-articles" (tsukue-shiro) to
the bridegroom in the form of food and drink. There were places
specially associated in the public mind with uta-gaki--Tsukuba
Mountain in Hitachi, Kijima-yama in Hizen, and Utagaki-yama in
Settsu. Sometimes men of noble birth took part in this pastime, but
it was usually confined to the lower middle classes. The great
festival of bon-odori, which will be spoken of by and by, is said to
be an outgrowth of the uta-gaki.
SUPERSTITIONS
No influences of alien character affected the religious beliefs of
the Japanese during the period we are now considering (fourth, fifth,
and sixth centuries). The most characteristic feature of the time was
a belief in the supernatural power of reptiles and animals. This
credulity was not limited to the uneducated masses. The Throne itself
shared it. Yuryaku, having expressed a desire to see the incarnated
form of the Kami of Mimoro Mountain, was shown a serpent seventy feet
long. In the same year a group of snakes harrassed a man who was
reclaiming a marsh, so that he had to take arms against them and
enter into a compact of limitations and of shrine building. Other
records of maleficent deities in serpent shape were current, and
monkeys and dragons inspired similar terror. Of this superstition
there was born an evil custom, the sacrifice of human beings to
appease the hostile spirits. The Kami of Chusan in Mimasaka province
was believed to be a giant ape, and the Kami of Koya, a big reptile.
The people of these two districts took it in turn to offer a girl at
the shrines of those Kami, and in the province of Hida another
colossal monkey was similarly appeased. There were further cases of
extravagant superstition.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
Of the development of sericulture and of the arts of weaving and
ceramics in this era enough has already been written; but, as showing
the growth of refinement, it may be noted that among the articles
ordered by the Emperor Yuryaku were a silk hat and a sashiha, or
round fan with a long handle. The colour of the fan was purple, and
it is said to have been hung up as an ornament in the palace.
FORM OF GOVERNMENT
The original form of government under the Yamato seems to have been
feudal. The heads of uji were practically feudal chiefs. Even orders
from the Throne had to pass through the uji no Kami in order to reach
the people. But from the time of Nintoku (313-349) to that of Yuryaku
(457-479), the Court wielded much power, and the greatest among the
uji chiefs found no opportunity to interfere with the exercise of the
sovereign's rights. Gradually, however, and mainly owing to the
intrusion of love affairs or of lust, the Imperial household fell
into disorder, which prompted the revolt of Heguri, the o-omi of the
Kwobetsu (Imperial families); a revolt subdued by the loyalty of the
o-muraji of the Shimbetsu (Kami families).
From the days of the Emperor Muretsu (499-506), direct heirs to
succeed to the sceptre were wanting in more than one instance, and a
unique opportunity thus offered for traitrous essays. There was none.
Men's minds were still deeply imbued with the conviction that by the
Tenjin alone might the Throne be occupied. But with the introduction
of Buddhism (A.D. 552), that conviction received a shock. That the
Buddha directed and controlled man's destiny was a doctrine
inconsistent with the traditional faith in the divine authority of
the "son of heaven." Hence from the sixth century the prestige of the
Crown began to decline, and the puissance of the great uji grew to
exceed that of the sovereign. During a short period (645-670) the
authority of the Throne was reasserted, owing to the adoption of the
Tang systems of China; but thereafter the great Fujiwara-uji became
paramount and practically administered the empire.
For the sake, therefore, of an intelligent sequence of conception,
there is evidently much importance in determining whether, in remote
antiquity, the prevailing system was feudal, or prefectural, or a
mixture of both. Unfortunately the materials for accurate
differentiation are wanting. Much depends on a knowledge of the
functions discharged by the kuni-no-miyatsuko, who were hereditary
officials, and the kuni-no-tsukasa (or kokushi) who were appointed by
the Throne. The closest research fails to elucidate these things with
absolute clearness. It is not known even at what date the office of
kokushi was established. The first mention of these officials is made
in the year A.D. 374, during the reign of Nintoku, but there can be
little doubt that they had existed from an earlier date. They were,
however, few in number, whereas the miyatsuko were numerous, and this
comparison probably furnishes a tolerably just basis for estimating
the respective prevalence of the prefectural and the feudal systems.
In short, the method of government inaugurated at the foundation of
the empire appears to have been essentially feudal in practice,
though theoretically no such term was recognized; and at a later
period--apparently about the time of Nintoku--when the power of the
hereditary miyatsuko threatened to grow inconveniently formidable,
the device of reasserting the Throne's authority by appointing
temporary provincial governors was resorted to, so that the
prefectural organization came into existence side by side with the
feudal, and the administration preserved this dual form until the
middle of the seventh century. There will be occasion to refer to the
matter again at a later date.
ANNALS OF THE UJI
It is essential to an intelligent appreciation of Japanese history
that some knowledge should be acquired of the annals of the great
uji.
From the time of Nintoku (A.D. 313-399) until the introduction of
Buddhism (A.D. 552), there were four uji whose chiefs participated
conspicuously in the government of the country. The first was that of
Heguri. It belonged to the Imperial class (Kwobetsu) and was
descended from the celebrated Takenouchi-no-Sukune. In the days of
the Emperor Muretsu (499-506), the chief of this uji attempted to
usurp the throne and was crushed. The second was the Otomo. This uji
belonged to the Kami class (Shimbetsu) and had for ancestor Michi no
Omi, the most distinguished general in the service of the first
Emperor Jimmu. The chiefs of the Otomo-uji filled the post of general
from age to age, and its members guarded the palace gates. During the
reign of Yuryaku the office of o-muraji was bestowed upon Moroya,
then chief of this uji, and the influence he wielded may be inferred
from the language of an Imperial rescript where it is said that "the
tami-be of the o-muraji fill the country." His son, Kanamura,
succeeded him. By his sword the rebellion of Heguri no Matori was
quelled, and by his advice Keitai was called to the Throne. He served
also under Ankan, Senkwa, and Kimmei, but the miscarriage of Japan's
relations with Korea was attributed to him, and the title of o-muraji
was not conferred on any of his descendants.
The uji of Mononobe next calls for notice. "Monono-be" literally
signifies, when expanded, a group (be) of soldiers (tsuwamono). In
later times a warrior in Japan was called mono-no-fu (or bushi),
which is written with the ideographs mono-be. This uji also belonged
to the Kami class, and its progenitor was Umashimade, who surrendered
Yamato to Jimmu on the ground of consanguinity. Thenceforth the
members of the uji formed the Imperial guards (uchi-tsu-mononobe) and
its chiefs commanded them. Among all the uji of the Kami class the
Mononobe and the Otomo ranked first, and after the latter's failure
in connexion with Korea, the Mononobe stood alone. During the reign
of Yuryaku, the uji's chief became o-muraji, as did his grandson,
Okoshi, and the latter's son, Moriya, was destroyed by the o-omi,
Soga no Umako, in the tumult on the accession of Sushun (A.D. 588).
The fourth of the great uji was the Soga, descended from
Takenouchi-no-Sukune. After the ruin of the Heguri, this uji stood at
the head of all the Imperial class. In the reign of Senkwa (536-539),
Iname, chief of the Soga, was appointed o-omi, and his son, Umako,
who held the same rank, occupies an important place in connexion with
the introduction of Buddhism. It will be observed that among these
four uji, Heguri and Soga served as civil officials and Otomo and
Mononobe as military.
There are also three other uji which figure prominently on the stage
of Japanese history. They are the Nakotomi, the Imibe, and the Kume.
The Nakatomi discharged the functions of religious supplication and
divination, standing, for those purposes, between (Naka) the Throne
and the deities. The Imibe had charge of everything relating to
religious festivals; an office which required that they should
abstain (imi suru) from all things unclean. The Kume were descended
from Amatsu Kume no Mikoto, and their duties were to act as
chamberlains and as guards of the Court.
Finally, there was the Oga-uji, descended from Okuninushi, which
makes the eighth of the great uji. From the time of the Emperor Jimmu
to that of the Empress Suiko (A.D. 593-628), the nobles who served in
ministerial capacities numbered forty and of that total the Mononobe
furnished sixteen; the Otomo, six; the o-omi houses (i.e. the
Kwobetsu), nine; the Imibe, one; the Nakatomi, six; and the Oga, two.
Thus, the military uji of Mononobe and Otomo gave to the State
twenty-two ministers out of forty during a space of some twelve
centuries.
ENGRAVING: PROFESSIONAL STORY-TELLER
ENGRAVING: SHIGURETEI AND KASA-NO-CHAYA IN THE KODAIJI (Examples of
Ancient Tea Houses)