THE HEIAN EPOCH (Continued)
54th Sovereign, Nimmyo A.D. 834-850
55th " Montoku 851-858
56th " Seiwa 859-876
57th " Yozei 877-884
58th " Koko 885-887
59th " Uda 888-897
60th " Daigo 898-930
BEGINNING OF FUJIWARA SUPREMACY
THE events that now occurred require to be prefaced by a table:
/
| Heijo
|
| Saga--Nimmyo (m. Jun, / Prince Michiyasu
| daughter of < (Emperor Montoku)
Kwammu < Fujiwara Fuyutsugu) \
|
| /
| Junna (m. Masa, < Prince Tsunesada
| daughter of Saga) \
\
In the year 834, Junna abdicated in favour of his elder brother
Saga's second son, who is known in history as Emperor Nimmyo. The
latter was married to Jun, daughter of Fujiwara Fuyutsugu, and had a
son, Prince Michiyasu. But, in consideration of the fact that Junna
had handed over the sceptre to Nimmyo, Nimmyo, in turn, set aside the
claim of his own son, Michiyasu, and conferred the dignity of Prince
Imperial on Prince Tsunesada, Junna's son. A double debt of gratitude
was thus paid, for Tsunesada was not only Junna's son but also Saga's
grandson, and thus the abdications of Saga and Junna were both
compensated. The new Prince Imperial, however, being a man of much
sagacity, foresaw trouble if he consented to supplant Nimmyo's son.
He struggled to avoid the nomination, but finally yielded to the
wishes of his father and his grandfather.
While these two ex-Emperors lived, things moved smoothly, to all
appearances. On their demise trouble arose immediately. The Fujiwara
family perceived its opportunity and decided to profit by it.
Fujiwara Fuyutsugu had died, and it chanced that his son Yoshifusa
was a man of boundless ambition. By him and his partisans a slander
was framed to the effect that the Crown Prince, Tsunesada, harboured
rebellious designs, and the Emperor, believing the story--having, it
is said, a disposition to believe it--pronounced sentence of exile
against Prince Tsunesada, as well as his friends, the celebrated
scholar, Tachibana no Hayanari, and the able statesman, Tomo no
Kowamine, together with a number of others. It is recorded that the
sympathy of the people was with the exiles.
These things happened in the year 843. The Fujiwara sought a
precedent in the action of their renowned ancestor, Momokawa, who, in
772, contrived the degradation and death of the Crown Prince Osabe on
a charge of sorcery But Momokawa acted from motives of pure
patriotism, whereas Yoshifusa worked in the Fujiwara interests only.
This, in fact, was the first step towards the transfer of
administrative power from the Throne to the Fujiwara.
FRESH COMPLICATIONS ABOUT THE SUCCESSION
Another table may be consulted with advantage:
\
Emperor Heijo--Prince Aho--Ariwara no Narihira |
>
/ |
| Aritsune--a daughter |
| /
Ki no Natora < \
| Shizu--a daughter |
\ |
> Prince Koretaka
Emperor Montoku |
/
\
Emperor Montoku |
|
\ > Prince Korehito
Fujiwara Yoshifusa | | (Emperor Seiwa)
Princess Kiyo > Aki (Empress Somedono) |
(daughter of Saga) | /
/
In the year 851, the Emperor Montoku ascended the throne, and
Fujiwara Yoshifusa was appointed minister of the Right. Yoshifusa
married Princess Kiyo, daughter of the Emperor Saga. She had been
given the uji of Minamoto in order to legalize this union, and she
bore to Yoshifusa a daughter who became Montoku's Empress under the
name of Somedono. By her, Montoku had a son, Prince Korehito, whose
chance of succeeding to the crown should have been very slender since
he had three half-brothers, the oldest of whom, Prince Koretaka, had
already attained his fourth year at the time of Korehito's birth, and
was his father's favourite. In fact, Montoku would certainly have
nominated Koretaka to be Prince Imperial had he not feared to offend
the Fujiwara. These let it be seen very plainly what they designed.
The baby, Korehito, was taken from the palace into Yoshifusa's
mansion, and when only nine months old was nominated Crown Prince.
The event enriched Japanese literature. For Montoku's first born,
Prince Koretaka, seeing himself deprived of his birthright, went into
seclusion in Ono at the foot of Mount Hiei, and there, in the shadow
of the great Tendai monastery, devoted his days to composing
verselets. In that pastime he was frequently joined by Ariwara no
Narihira, who, as a grandson of the Emperor Heijo, possessed a title
to the succession more valid than even that of the disappointed
Koretaka. In the celebrated Japanese anthology, the Kokin-shu,
compiled at the beginning of the tenth century, there are found
several couplets from the pens of Koretaka and Narihira.
THE FUJIWARA REGENCY
It was in the days of Fujiwara Yoshifusa that the descendants of
Kamatari first assumed the role of kingmakers. Yoshifusa obtained the
position of minister of the Right on the accession of Montoku (851),
and, six years later, he was appointed chancellor of the empire (dajo
daijin) in the sequel of the intrigues which had procured for his own
grandson (Korehito) the nomination of Prince Imperial. The latter,
known in history as the Emperor Seiwa, ascended the throne in the
year 859. He was then a child of nine, and naturally the whole duty
of administration devolved upon the chancellor. This situation fell
short of the Fujiwara leader's ideal in nomenclature only. There had
been many "chancellors" but few "regents" (sessho). In fact, the
office of regent had always been practically confined to princes of
the Blood, and the qualifications for holding it were prescribed in
very high terms by the Daiho statutes. Yoshifusa did not possess any
of the qualifications, but he wielded power sufficient to dispense
with them, and, in the year 866, he celebrated the Emperor's
attainment of his majority by having himself named sessho. The
appointment carried with it a sustenance fief of three thousand
houses; the privilege of being constantly attended by squadrons of
the Right and Left Imperial guards, and the honour of receiving the
allowances and the treatment of the Sangu, that is to say, of an
Empress, a Dowager Empress, or a Grand Dowager Empress. Husband of an
Empress, father of an Empress Dowager, grandfather of a reigning
Emperor, chancellor of the empire, and a regent--a subject could
climb no higher. Yoshifusa died in 872 at the age of sixty-eight.
Having no son of his own, he adopted his nephew, Mototsune, son of
Fujiwara Nagara.
SEIWA'S EMPRESS
Seiwa abdicated in 876, at the age of twenty-seven. Some historians
ascribe his abdication to a sentiment of remorse. He had ascended the
throne in despite of the superior claims of his elder brother,
Koretaka, and the usurpation weighed heavily on his conscience. It is
at least credible that since, in taking the sceptre he obeyed the
dictates of the Fujiwara, so in laying it down he followed the same
guidance. We cannot be sure as to the exact date when the great
family's policy of boy-sovereigns first took definite shape, but the
annals seem to show that Yoshifusa conceived the programme and that
his adopted son, Mototsune, carried it out. A halo rests on Seiwa's
head for the sake of his memorable descendants, the Minamoto chiefs,
Yoritomo, Takauji, and Ieyasu. Heaven is supposed to have compensated
the brevity of his own tenure of power by the overwhelming share that
his posterity enjoyed in the administration of the empire.
But Seiwa was undoubtedly a good man as well as a zealous sovereign.
One episode in his career deserves attention as illustrating the
customs of the era. Mention has already been made of Ariwara no
Narihira, a grandson of the Emperor Heijo and one of the most
renowned among Japanese poets. He was a man of singular beauty, and
his literary attainments, combined with the melancholy that marked
his life of ignored rights, made him a specially interesting figure.
He won the love of Taka, younger sister of Fujiwara Mototsune and
niece of Yoshifusa. Their liaison was not hidden. But Yoshifusa, in
default of a child of his own, was just then seeking some Fujiwara
maiden suitable to be the consort of the young Emperor, Seiwa, in
pursuance of the newly conceived policy of building the Fujiwara
power on the influence of the ladies' apartments in the palace. Taka
possessed all the necessary qualifications. In another age the
obstacle of her blemished purity must have proved fatal. Yoshifusa's
audacity, however, was as limitless as his authority. He ordered the
poet prince to cut his hair and go eastward in expiation of the crime
of seeking to win Taka's affections, and having thus officially
rehabilitated her reputation, he introduced her into the household of
the Empress Dowager, his own daughter, through whose connivance the
lady soon found her way to the young Emperor's chamber and became the
mother of his successor, Yozei.
Nor was this all. Though only a Fujiwara, and a soiled Fujiwara at
that, Taka was subsequently raised to the rank of Empress.
Ultimately, when Empress Dowager, her name was coupled with that of
the priest Zenyu of Toko-ji, as the Empress Koken's had been with
that of Dokyo, a hundred years previously, and she suffered
deprivation of Imperial rank. As for Narihira, after a few years he
was allowed to return from exile, but finding that all his hopes of
preferment were vain, he abandoned himself to a life of indolence and
debauchery. His name, however, will always stand next to those of
Hitomaro and Akahito on the roll of Japanese poets.
ENGRAVING: FUJIWARA SEIWA
YOZEI, UDA, AND THE KWAMPAKU
The fifty-seventh sovereign was Yozei, offspring of the Emperor
Seiwa's union with the lady Taka. He ascended the throne in the year
877, at the age of ten, and Fujiwara Mototsune--Yoshifusa had died
five years previously--became regent (sessho), holding also the post
of chancellor (dajo-daijin). When Yozei was approaching his
seventeenth year he was overtaken by an illness which left him a
lunatic. It is related that he behaved in an extraordinary manner. He
set dogs and monkeys to fight and then slaughtered them; he fed toads
to snakes, and finally compelling a man lo ascend a tree, he stabbed
him among the branches. The regent decided that he must be dethroned,
and a council of State was convened to consider the matter. There had
never been an example of an act so sacrilegious as the deposition of
an Emperor at the dictate of his subjects. The ministers hesitated.
Then one of the Fujiwara magnates (Morokuzu) loudly proclaimed
that anyone dissenting from the chancellor's proposal would have
to answer for his contumacy. Thereafter, no one hesitated--so
overshadowing was the power of the Fujiwara. When carried to a
special palace--thenceforth called Yozei-in--and informed that he
had been dethroned for killing a man, the young Emperor burst into a
flood of tears.
No hesitation was shown in appointing Yozei's successor. Prince
Tokiyasu, son of the Emperor Nimmyo, satisfied all the requirements.
His mother, a daughter of Fujiwara Tsugunawa, was Mototsune's
maternal aunt, and the Prince himself, already in his fifty-fifth
year, had a son, Sadami, who was married to the daughter of Fujiwara
Takafuji, a close relation to Mototsune. There can be no doubt that
the latter had the whole programme in view when he proposed the
dethronement of Yozei. Shortly after his accession, Prince
Tokiyasu--known in history as the Emperor Koko--fell ill, and at
Mototsune's instance the sovereign's third son (Sadami) was nominated
Prince Imperial. He succeeded to the throne as Emperor Uda on the
death of his father, which occurred (887) after a reign of two years.
This event saw fresh extension of the Fujiwara's power. Uda was
twenty-two years of age when he received the sceptre, but recognizing
that he owed his elevation to Mototsune's influence and that his
prospects of a peaceful reign depended upon retaining the Fujiwara's
favour, his first act was to decree that the administration should be
carried on wholly by the chancellor, the latter merely reporting to
the Throne. This involved the exercise of power hitherto
unprecedented. To meet the situation a new office had to be created,
namely, that of kwampaku. The actual duties of this post were those
of regent to a sovereign who had attained his majority, whereas
sessho signified regent to a minor. Hence the kwampaku was obviously
the more honourable office, since its incumbent officiated in lieu of
an Emperor of mature years. Accordingly, the kwampaku--or mayor of
the palace, as the term is usually translated--took precedence of all
other officials. A subject could rise no higher without ceasing to
yield allegiance. As Mototsune was the first kwampaku, he has been
called the most ambitious and the least scrupulous of the Fujiwara.
But Mototsune merely stood at the pinnacle of an edifice, to the
building of which many had contributed, and among those builders not
a few fully deserved all they achieved. The names of such members of
the Fujiwara family as Mimori, Otsugu, Yoshino, Sadanushi, Nagara,
Yoshisuke, and Yasunori, who wrought and ruled in the period from
Heijo and Saga to Montoku and Seiwa, might justly stand high in any
record.*
*The office of Kwampaku was continued from the time of its creation,
882, to 1868.
THE AKO INCIDENT
The Emperor Uda, as already stated, owed everything to the Fujiwara.
He himself did not possess even the claim of primogeniture, since he
was the third among several sons, and he had stepped out of the ranks
of the Imperial princes by accepting a family name. His decree
conferring administrative autocracy on Mototsune was thus a natural
expression of gratitude.
Yet this very document proved a source of serious trouble. It was
drafted by Tachibana Hiromi, a ripe scholar, whose family stood as
high on the aristocratic roll as did that of the Fujiwara themselves.
At that time literary attainments conferred immense prestige in
Kyoto. To be skilled in calligraphy; to be well versed in the
classics; to be capable of composing a sonorous decree or devising a
graceful couplet--such accomplishments constituted a passport not
only to high office but even to the love of women. Tachibana Hiromi
was one of the leading literati of his era. He rendered into most
academical terms the Emperor's intentions towards Mototsune. From
time immemorial it has always been a canon of Japanese etiquette not
to receive anything with avidity. Mototsune declined the rescript;
the Emperor directed Hiromi to re-write it. Thus far the procedure
had been normal. But Hiromi's second draft ran thus: "You have toiled
for the welfare of the country. You have aided me in accordance with
the late sovereign's will. You are the chief servant of the empire,
not my vassal. You will henceforth discharge the duties of ako." This
term "ako" occurs in Chinese history. It signifies "reliance on
equity," a name given by an early Emperor to the administration of
the sage, I Yin. Hiromi inserted it solely to impart a classical
flavour to the decree and in all good faith.
But Fujiwara Sukeyo, a rival literatus who possessed the confidence
of Mototsune, persuaded the latter that the epithet "ako" could not
apply to the discharge of active duties. What followed was
characteristic. Mototsune caused a number of horses to be let loose
in the city, his explanation being that, as he had no official
functions to discharge, neither had he any need of horses. Naturally
a number of horses running wild in the streets of the capital caused
confusion which soon came to the notice of the palace. The Emperor at
once convoked a meeting of literati to discuss the matter, but these
hesitated so long between their scholarly convictions and their
political apprehensions that, for several months, a state of
administrative anarchy prevailed, and the Emperor recorded in his
diary a lament over the corruption of the age. At last, by the advice
of the minister of the Left, Minamoto Toru, his Majesty sacrificed
Hiromi. A third decree was drafted, laying the blame on Hiromi's
shoulders, and Mototsune graciously consented to resume the duties of
the first subject in the empire. Just forty-five years previously,
Hayanari, another illustrious scholar of the Tachibana family, had
been among the victims of the false charge preferred against the
Crown Prince, Tsunesada, by the Fujiwara partisans. Mototsune may
well have been desirous of removing from the immediate neighbourhood
of the throne the representative of a family having such a cause of
umbrage against the Fujiwara.
At the same time, it is only just to note that he found ready
coadjutors among the jealous schoolmen of the time. Rival colleges,
rival academies, and rival literati quarrelled with all the rancour
of medieval Europe. The great luminaries of the era were Sugawara
Michizane, Ki no Haseo, Koze no Fumio, Miyoshi Kiyotsura, and
Tachibana Hiromi. There was little mutual recognition of talent.
Kiyotsura abused Haseo as a pundit inferior to any of his
predecessors. Michizane ridiculed Fumio's panegyric of Kiyotsura, The
pupils of these men endorsed their teachers' verdicts. Ajnong them
all, Tachibana Hiromi occupied the most important position until the
day of his downfall. He practically managed the affairs of the Court
under Yozei, Koko, and Uda. Fujiwara Sukeyo, a greatly inferior
scholar, served as his subordinate, and was the willing tool in
contriving his degradation. It did not cause the Fujiwara any serious
concern that in compassing the ruin of Hiromi, they effectually
alienated the sympathies of the sovereign.
CESSATION OF EMBASSIES TO CHINA
It may be supposed that in an era when Chinese literati attracted so
much attention, visits to the Middle Kingdom were frequent. But from
the closing years of the eighth century, the great Tang dynasty began
to fall into disorder, and the embassies sent from Japan reported a
discouraging state of affairs. The last of these embassies
(kento-shi) was in the year 838. It had long ceased to take the
overland route via Liaoyang; the envoys' vessels were obliged to go
by long sea, and the dangers were so great that to be named for this
duty was regarded with consternation. In Uda's reign a project was
formed to appoint Sugawara Michizane as kento-shi, and Ki no Haseo as
his lieutenant. There is reason to think that this suggestion came
from Michizane's enemies who wished to remove him from a scene where
his presence threatened to become embarrassing. The course Michizane
adopted at this crisis showed moral courage, whatever may be thought
of its expediency. He memorialized the Throne in the sense that the
dangers of the journey were not compensated by its results. The
memorial was approved. Since the days of the Empress Suiko, when the
first kento-shi was despatched by Prince Shotoku, 294 years had
elapsed, and by some critics the abandonment of the custom has been
condemned. But it is certain that China in the ninth century had
little to teach Japan in the matter of either material or moral
civilization.
THE AFFAIR OF THE ENGI ERA
The Emperor Uda not only possessed great literary knowledge but was
also deeply sensible of the abuse that had grown out of the virtual
usurpation of administrative authority by one family. As illustrating
his desire to extend the circle of the Throne's servants and to
enlist erudite men into the service of the State, it is recorded that
he caused the interior of the palace to be decorated* with portraits
of renowned statesmen and literati from the annals of China. Fate
seemed disposed to assist his design, for, in the year 891, the
all-powerful Fujiwara Mototsune died, leaving three sons, Tokihira,
Nakahira, and Tadahira, the eldest of whom was only twenty-one.
During the life of Mototsune, to whom the Emperor owed everything, it
would not have been politically or morally possible to contrive any
radical change of system, and even after his death, the Fujiwara
family's claim to the Throne's gratitude precluded any direct attempt
on Uda's part to supplant them. Therefore, he formed the plan of
abdicating in favour of his son, as soon as the latter should attain
a suitable age--a plan inspired in some degree by his own feeble
health and by a keen desire to pass the closing years of his life in
comparative retirement. He carried out this design in the year 897,
and was thenceforth known as Uda-in.**
*It is on this occasion that we hear of Koze no Kanaoka, the first
Japanese artist of great repute.
**The suffix in was now first used for the names of retired Emperors.
His son, Daigo, who now ascended the throne, was thirteen years old,
but no Fujiwara regent was appointed, Tokihira, the one person
eligible in respect of lineage, being precluded by youth. Therefore
the office of minister of the Left was conferred on Tokihira, and
Sugawara Michizane (called also Kwanko) became minister of the Right.
It was to this Michizane that the ex-Emperor looked for material
assistance in the prosecution of his design. The Sugawara family
traced its descent to Nomi no Sukune, the champion wrestler of the
last century before Christ and the originator of clay substitutes for
human sacrifices at burials, though the name "Sugawara" did not
belong to the family until eight hundred years later, when the
Emperor Konin bestowed it on the then representative in recognition
of his great scholarship. Thenceforth, the name was borne by a
succession of renowned literati, the most erudite and the most famous
of all being Michizane.
The ex-Emperor, on the accession of his thirteen-year-old son, Daigo,
handed to the latter an autograph document known in history as the
Counsels of the Kwampei Era. Its gist was: "Be just. Do not be swayed
by love or hate. Study to think impartially. Control your emotion and
never let it be externally visible. The sa-daijin, Fujiwara Tokihira,
is the descendant of meritorious servants of the Crown. Though still
young, he is already well versed in the administration of State
affairs. Some years ago, he sinned with a woman,* but I have no
longer any memory of the event. You will consult him and be guided by
his counsels. The u-daijin, Sugawara Michizane, is a man of profound
literary knowledge. He is also acquainted with politics. Frequently I
have profited by his admonitions. When I was elected Crown Prince I
had but Michizane to advise me. Not only has he been a loyal servant
to me, but he will be a loyal servant to my successor also." Plainly
the intention of the document was to place Michizane on a footing at
least equal to that of Tokihira. Michizane understood the perils of
such preferment. He knew that the scion of a comparatively obscure
family would not be tolerated as a rival by the Fujiwara. Three times
he declined the high post offered to him. In his second refusal he
compared himself to a man walking on thin ice, and in the third he
said: "If I myself am astounded at my promotion, how must others
regard it? The end will come like a flash of lightning." But the
Emperor and the ex-Emperor had laid their plans, and Michizane was an
indispensable factor.
*A liaison with his uncle's wife.
Events moved rapidly. Two years later (900), the Emperor, in concert
with the cloistered sovereign, proposed to raise Michizane to the
post of chancellor and to entrust the whole administration to him.
This was the signal for the Fujiwara to take action. One opportunity
for slandering Michizane offered; his daughter had been married to
Prince Tokiyo, the Emperor's younger brother. A rumour was busily
circulated that this meant a plot for the dethronement of Daigo in
favour of Tokiyo. Miyoshi Kiyotsura, an eminent scholar, acting
subtly at the instance of the Fujiwara, addressed a seemingly
friendly letter to Michizane, warning him that his career had become
dangerously rapid and explaining that the stars presaged a revolution
in the following year. At the same time, Minamoto Hikaru, son of the
Emperor Nimmyo; Fujiwara Sadakuni, father-in-law of Daigo, and
several others who were jealous of Michizane's preferment or of his
scholarship, separately or jointly memorialized the Throne,
impeaching Michizane as a traitor who plotted against his sovereign.
ENGRAVING: SUGAWARA MICHIZANE
Supplemented by Miyoshi's "friendly" notice of a star-predicated
cataclysm, this cumulative evidence convinced, and doubtless the
number and rank of the accusers alarmed the Emperor, then only in his
seventeenth year. Michizane was not invited to defend himself. In the
first year (901) of the Engi era, a decree went out stripping him of
all his high offices, and banishing him to Dazai-fu in Kyushu as
vice-governor. Many other officials were degraded as his partisans.
The ex-Emperor, to whose pity he pleaded in a plaintive couplet, made
a resolute attempt to aid him. His Majesty repaired to the palace for
the purpose of remonstrating with his son, Daigo. Had a meeting taken
place, Michizane's innocence would doubtless have been established.
But the Fujiwara had provided against such an obvious miscarriage of
their design. The palace guards refused to admit the ex-Emperor, and,
after waiting throughout a winter's day seated on a straw mat before
the gate, Uda went away in the evening, sorehearted and profoundly
humiliated. Michizane's twenty-three children were banished to five
places, and he himself, having only a nominal post, did not receive
emoluments sufficient to support him in comfort. Even oil for a
night-lamp was often unprocurable, and after spending twenty-five
months in voluntary confinement with only the society of his sorrows,
he expired (903) at the age of fifty-eight, and was buried in the
temple Anraku-ji in Chikuzen.
ENGRAVING: SHRINE OF SUGAWARA MICHIZANE AT KITANO, KYOTO
No figure in Japanese history has received such an abundant share of
national sympathy. His unjust fate and the idea that he suffered for
his sovereign appealed powerfully to popular imagination. Moreover,
lightning struck the palace in Kyoto, and the three principal
contrivers of Michizane's disgrace, Fujiwara Tokihira, Fujiwara
Sugane, and Minamoto Hikaru, all expired within a few years'
interval. At that epoch a wide-spread belief existed in the powers of
disembodied spirits for evil or for good. Such a creed grew logically
out of the cult of ancestor worship. It began to be whispered abroad
that Michizane's spirit was taking vengeance upon his enemies. The
Emperor was the first to act upon this superstition. He restored
Michizane's titles, raised him to the first grade of the second rank,
and caused all the documents relating to his exile to be burned.
Retribution did not stop there. Forty-five years after Michizane's
death, the people of Kyoto erected to his memory the shrine of Temman
Tenjin,* and in the year 1004, the Emperor Ichijo not only conferred
on him the posthumous office of chancellor with the unprecedented
honour of first grade of the first rank, but also repaired in person
to worship at the shrine. In later times, memorial shrines were built
in various places, and to this day he is fervently worshipped as the
deity of calligraphy, so high was he elevated by the Fujiwara's
attempt to drag him down.
*Michizane was apotheosized under the name of Tenjin. He is known
also as Kan Shojo, and Temmangu.
ENGRAVING: SAMISEN (A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT)
ENGRAVING: SANJU-SANGEN-DO TEMPLE AT KYOTO