MIDDLE PERIOD OF THE TOKUGAWA BAKUFU; FROM THE FIFTH SHOGUN,
TSUNAYOSHI, TO THE TENTH SHOGUN, IEHARU (1680-1786)
ACCESSION OF TSUNAYOSHI
IN 1680, the fourth shogun, Ietsuna, fell dangerously ill, and a
council of the chief Bakufu officials was held to decide upon his
successor. The Bakufu prime minister, Sakai Tadakiyo, proposed that
the example of Kamakura should be followed, and that an Imperial
prince should be invited to assume the office of shogun. Thereupon
Hotta Masatoshi, one of the junior ministers, vehemently
remonstrated. "Is the prime minister jesting?" he is reported to have
asked. "There is no question whatever as to the succession. That
dignity falls to Tsunayoshi and to Tsunayoshi alone. He is the
legitimate son of the late shogun, Iemitsu, and the only brother of
the present shogun, Ietsuna. If the minister is not jesting, his
proposition is inexplicable." This bold utterance was received with
profound silence, and after a few moments Sakai Tadakiyo retired from
the council chamber.
It has to be remembered in connexion with this incident, that
Tadakiyo exercised almost complete sway in the Bakufu Court at that
time, and the fact that he yielded quietly to Hotta Masatoshi's
remonstrance goes far to acquit him of any sinister design such as
securing the whole administrative power for himself by setting up an
Imperial prince as a mere figurehead. The more probable explanation
is that as one of the consorts of the shogun Ietsuna was enceinte at
that time, the Bakufu prime minister desired to postpone any family
decision until the birth of her child, since to dispense with an
Imperial prince would be as easy to procure one, whereas if one of
the shogun's lineage were nominated, he would be difficult to
displace. There had been born to Iemitsu five sons, of whom the
eldest, Ietsuna, had succeeded to the shogunate, and three others had
died, the only one remaining alive being Tsunayoshi, who, having been
born in 1646, was now (1680) in his thirty-fourth year.
HOTTA MASATOSHI
On Tsunayoshi's accession the prime minister, Sakai Tadakiyo, was
released from office, and Hotta Masatoshi became his successor.
Naturally, as Masatoshi had been instrumental in obtaining the
succession for Tsunayoshi, his influence with the latter was very
great. But there can be no question that he deserves to rank as one
of Japan's leading statesmen in any age, and that he devoted his
signal abilities to the cause of progress and administrative purity.
The result of his strenuous services was to check the corruption
which had come to pervade every department of State in the closing
years of the fourth shogun's sway, and to infuse the duties of
government with an atmosphere of diligence and uprightness.
THE ECHIGO COMPLICATION
For several years prior to the accession of Tsunayoshi, the province
of Echigo had been disturbed by an intrigue in the family of
Matsudaira Mitsunaga. It is unnecessary to enter into further
details. The incident was typical of the conditions existing in many
of the barons' households, and the history of Japan furnishes
numerous parallel cases. But connected with this particular example
is the remarkable fact that the shogun himself finally undertook in
the hall of justice to decide the issue, and that the rendering of
justice by the chief of the Bakufu became thenceforth a not
infrequently practised habit. Instructed by his prime minister, the
shogun swept aside all the obstacles placed in the path of justice by
corruption and prejudice; sentenced the principal intriguer to death;
confiscated the Mitsunaga family's estate of 250,000 koku on the
ground of its chief's incompetence, and severely punished all the
Bakufu officials who had been parties to the plot.
THE ATAKA MARU
Another act of Tsunayoshi stands to the credit of his acumen.
Although the third shogun, Iemitsu, had vetoed the building of any
vessels exceeding five hundred koku capacity, his object being to
prevent oversea enterprise, he caused to be constructed for the use
of the Bakufu a great ship called the Ataka Maru, which required a
crew several hundred strong and involved a yearly outlay figuring in
the official accounts at one hundred thousand koku. One of
Tsunayoshi's first orders was that this huge vessel should be broken
up, and when his ministers remonstrated on the ground that she would
be invaluable in case of emergency, he replied that if an
insurrection could not be suppressed without such extraordinary
instruments, the Bakufu might step down at once from the seats of
power. "As for me," he added, "I have no desire to preserve such an
evidence of constant apprehension and at such a charge on the coffers
of the State."
ENCOURAGEMENT OF VIRTUE
Tsunayoshi also instructed his officials to search throughout the
empire for persons of conspicuous filial piety and women of noted
chastity. To these he caused to be distributed presents of money or
pensions, and he directed the littérateurs of the Hayashi family to
write the biographies of the recipients of such rewards. In fact, the
early years of the shogun's administration constitute one of the
brightest periods in the history of the Tokugawa Bakufu.
ASSASSINATION OF HOTTA MASATOSHI
On the 8th of October, 1684, the Bakufu prime minister, Hotta
Masatoshi, was assassinated in the shogun's palace by one of the
junior ministers, Inaba Masayasu, who met his death immediately at
the hands of the bystanders. This extraordinary affair remains
shrouded in mystery until the present day. Hotta Masatoshi was the
third son of Masamori, who died by his own hand to follow his master,
Iemitsu, to the grave. Masatoshi, inheriting a part of his father's
domain, received the title of Bitchu no Kami, and resided in the
castle of Koga, ultimately (1680) becoming prime minister (dairo)
with an annual revenue of 130,000 koku. His high qualities are
recorded above, but everything goes to show that he had more than the
ordinary reformer's stubbornness, and that tolerance of a
subordinate's errors was wholly foreign to his disposition. Even to
the shogun himself he never yielded in the smallest degree, and by
the majority of those under him he was cordially detested. The
records say that on one occasion, when remonstrated with by his
friend, the daimyo of Hirado, who warned him that his hardness and
severity might involve him in trouble, Masatoshi replied, "I thank
you for your advice, but so long as I am endeavouring to reform the
country, I have no time to think of myself."
It is easy to understand that a man of such methods had enemies
sufficiently numerous and sufficiently resolute to compass his death.
On the other hand, Masayasu, his assassin, was related to him by
marriage, and possessed an estate of 25,000 koku, as well as holding
the position of junior minister of State. It is extremely unlikely
that a man in such a position would have resorted to such a desperate
act without great provocation or ample sanction. The question is, was
the shogun himself privy to the deed? It is recorded that there was
found on Masayasu's person a document expressing deep gratitude for
the favours he had received at the hands of the shogun, and declaring
that only by taking the life of Masatoshi could any adequate return
be made. It is further recorded that the steward of the Bakufu,
addressing the corpse of Masayasu, declared that the deceased had
shown unparallelled loyalty. Again, history says that Mitsukuni,
daimyo of Mito, repaired to the Inaba mansion after the incident, and
expressed to Masayasu's mother his condolences and his applause.
Finally, after Masatoshi's death, his son was degraded in rank and
removed to a greatly reduced estate. All these things are difficult
to explain except on the supposition that the shogun himself was
privy to the assassination.
ENCOURAGEMENT OF CONFUCIANISM
The third shogun, Iemitsu, addressing the mother of his son,
Tsimayoshi, is said to have expressed profound regret that his own
education had been confined to military science. "That is to me," he
is reported to have said, "a source of perpetual sorrow, and care
should be taken that Tsunayoshi, who seems to be a clever lad, should
receive full instruction in literature." In compliance with this
advice, steps were taken to interest Tsunayoshi in letters, and he
became so attached to this class of study that even when sick he
found solace in his books. The doctrines of Confucius attracted him
above all other systems of ethics. He fell into the habit of
delivering lectures on the classics, and to show his reverence for
the Chinese sages, he made it a rule to wear full dress on these
occasions, and to worship after the manner of all Confucianists. It
has already been related that a shrine of Confucius was built in Ueno
Park by the Tokugawa daimyo of Owari, and that the third shogun,
Iemitsu, visited this shrine in 1633 to offer prayer. Fifty years
later, the fifth shogun, Tsunayoshi, followed that example, and also
listened to lectures on the classics by Hayashi Nobuatsu.
Subsequently (1691), a new shrine was erected at Yushima in the Kongo
district of Yedo, and was endowed with an estate of one thousand koku
to meet the expenses of the spring and autumn festivals. Further, the
daimyo were required to contribute for the erection of a school in
the vicinity of the shrine. At this school youths of ability,
selected from among the sons of the Bakufu officials and of the
daimyo, were educated, the doctrines of Confucius being thus rendered
more and more popular.
Under Tsunayoshi's auspices, also, many books were published which
remain to this day standard works of their kind. Another step taken
by the shogun was to obtain from the Court in Kyoto the rank of
junior fifth class for Hayashi Nobuatsu, the great Confucian scholar,
who was also nominated minister of Education and chief instructor at
Kongo College. Up to that time it had been the habit of Confucianists
and of medical men to shave their heads and use titles corresponding
to those of Buddhist priests. In these circumstances neither
Confucianists nor physicians could be treated as samurai, and they
were thus excluded from all State honours. The distinction conferred
upon Hayashi Nobuatsu by the Imperial Court effectually changed these
conditions. The Confucianists ceased to shave their heads and became
eligible for official posts. Thereafter, ten of Hayashi's disciples
were nominated among the shogun's retainers, and were required to
deliver lectures periodically at the court of the Bakufu. In short,
in whatever related to learning, Tsunayoshi stands easily at the head
of all the Tokugawa shoguns.
CHANGE OF CALENDAR
A noteworthy incident of Tsunayoshi's administration was a change of
calendar, effected in the year 1683. The credit of this achievement
belongs to a mathematician called Shibukawa Shunkai. A profound
student, his researches had convinced him that the Hsuan-ming
calendar, borrowed originally from China and used in Japan ever since
the year A.D. 861, was defective. He pointed out some of its errors
in a memorial addressed to the Bakufu under the sway of the fourth
shogun, but the then prime minister, Sakai Tadakiyo, paid no
attention to the document. Shunkai, however, did not desist. In 1683,
an eclipse of the moon took place, and he demonstrated that it was
erroneously calculated in the Chinese calendar. The fifth shogun,
Tsunayoshi, was then in power, and the era of his reforming spirit
had not yet passed away. He adopted Shunkai's suggestion and obtained
the Imperial sanction for a change of calendar so that the Husan-ming
system went out of force after 822 years of use in Japan.
JAPANESE LITERATURE
Tsunayoshi did not confine his patronage to Chinese literature; he
devoted much energy to the encouragement of Japanese classical
studies, also. Thus, in 1689, he invited to Yedo Kitamura Kigin and
his son Shuncho and bestowed upon the former the title of Hoin
together with a revenue of five hundred koku. This marked the
commencement of a vigorous revival of Japanese literature in the
Bakufu capital. Moreover, in Osaka a scholar named Keichu Ajari
published striking annotations of the celebrated anthologies, the
Manyo-shu and the Kokin-shu, which attracted the admiration of
Tokugawa Mitsukuni, baron of Mito. He invited Keichu to his castle
and treated him with marked consideration. These littérateurs were
the predecessors of the celebrated Kamo and Motoori, of whom there
will be occasion to speak by and by.
FINE ARTS
Tsunayoshi's patronage extended also to the field of the fine arts.
The Tokugawa Bakufu had hitherto encouraged the Kano School only
whereas the Tosa Academy was patronized by the Court at Kyoto. This
partiality was corrected by Tsunayoshi., He invited Sumiyoshi
Gukei--also called Hirozumi--the most distinguished pupil of Tosa
Mitsuoki, bestowed on him a revenue of two hundred koku, and gave him
the official position of chief artist of the Tosa-ryu, placing him on
an equal footing with the chief of the Kano-ryu. It was at this time
also that the ukiyoe (genre picture) may be said to have won popular
favour. Contemporaneously there appeared some dramatic authors of
high ability, and as the ukiyoe and the drama appealed mainly to the
middle and lower classes, the domain of literature and the fine arts
received wide extension. Thus, Chikamatsu Monzaemon, of Osaka, the
greatest dramatist that his country ever possessed, composed plays
which have earned for him the title of the "Shakespeare of Japan;"
and as for the light literature of the era, though it was disfigured
by erotic features, it faithfully reflected in other respects the
social conditions and sentiments of the time.
THE MERCANTILE CLASS
From the commencement of Japanese history down to the second half of
the seventeenth century, the canons and customs were dictated solely
by the upper class, and neither merchants nor artisans were
recognized as possessing any social or literary influence whatever.
But in the middle period of the Tokugawa Bakufu--the Genroku period,
as it is commonly called--the tradesman became a comparatively
conspicuous figure. For example, in the realm of poetry, hitherto
strictly reserved for the upper classes, the classic verse called
renga (linked song) was considered to be sullied by the introduction
of any common or every-day word, and therefore could be composed only
by highly educated persons. This now found a substitute in the
haikai, which admitted language taken from purely Japanese sources
and could thus be produced without any exercise of special
scholarship. Afterwards, by the addition of the hokku, an
abbreviation of the already brief renga and haikai, which adapted
itself to the capacities of anyone possessing a nimble wit or a
sparkling thought, without any preparation of literary study, the
range of poetry was still further extended. Matsuo Basho Was the
father of the haikai and the hokku, and his mantle descended upon
Kikaku, Ransetsu, Kyoriku, and other celebrities. They travelled
round the country popularizing their art and immensely expanding the
field of literature. The craft of penmanship flourished equally, and
was graced by such masters as Hosoi Kotaku and Kitamura Sessan. Yedo,
the metropolis of wealth and fashion, became also the capital of
literature and the fine arts, and a characteristic of the era was the
disappearance of charlatans, whether laymen or bonzes, who professed
to teach the arcana of special accomplishments. In short, every
branch of study passed out of the exclusive control of one or two
masters and became common property, to the great advantage of
original developments.
REMOVAL OF THE ROJU
What has thus far been written depicts the bright side of
Tsunayoshi's administration. It is necessary now to look at the
reverse of the picture. There we are first confronted by an important
change of procedure. It had been the custom ever since the days of
Ieyasu to conduct the debates of the council of ministers (Roju) in a
chamber adjoining the shogun's sitting-room, so that he could hear
every word of the discussion, and thus keep himself au courant of
political issues. After the assassination of Hotta Masatoshi this
arrangement was changed. The council chamber was removed to a
distance, and guards were placed in the room where it had originally
assembled, special officials being appointed for the purpose of
maintaining communications between the shogun and the Roju. This
innovation was nominally prompted by solicitude for the shogun's
safety, but as its obvious result was to narrow his sources of
information and to bring him under the direct influence of the newly
appointed officials, there is strong reason to believe that the
measure was a reversion to the evil schemes of Sakai Tadakiyo, who
plotted to usurp the shogun's authority.
YANAGISAWA YASUAKI
Tsunayoshi had at that time a favourite attendant on whom he
conferred the rank of Dewa no Kami with an estate at Kawagoe which
yielded 100,000 koku annually. The friendship of the shogun for this
most corrupt official had its origin in community of literary taste.
Tsunayoshi lectured upon the "Doctrine of the Mean," and Yasuaki on
the Confucian "Analects," and after these learned discourses a
Sarugaku play, or some other form of light entertainment, was
organized. The shogun was a misogynist, and Yasuaki understood well
that men who profess to hate women become the slave of the fair sex
when their alleged repugnance is overcome. He therefore set himself
to lead the shogun into licentious habits, and the lecture-meetings
ultimately changed their complexion. Tsunayoshi, giving an ideograph
from his name to Yasuaki, called him Yoshiyasu, and authorized him to
assume the family name of Matsudaira, conferring upon him at the same
time a new domain in the province of Kai yielding 150,000 koku.
Thenceforth, the administration fell entirely into the hands of this
schemer. No prime minister (dairo) was appointed after the
assassination of Hotta Masatoshi; the council of ministers became a
mere echo of Yoahiyasu's will and the affairs of the Bakufu were
managed by one man alone.
DOG MANIA
Tsunayoshi lost his only son in childhood and no other being born to
him, he invited a high Buddhist priest to pray for an heir to the
shogunate. This priest, Ryuko by name, informed Tsunayoshi that his
childless condition was a punishment for taking animal life in a
previous state of existence, and that if he wished to be relieved of
the curse, he must show mercy, particularly to dogs, as he had been
born in the year whose zodiacal sign was that of the "Dog." It seems
strange that such an earnest believer in the Confucian doctrine
should have had recourse to Buddhism in this matter. But here also
the influence of Yoshiyasu is discernible. At his suggestion the
shogun built in Yedo two large temples, Gokoku-ji and Goji-in, and
Ryuko was the prelate of the former. An order was accordingly issued
against slaughtering dogs or taking life in any form, the result
being that all wild animals multiplied enormously and wrought great
damage to crops. Thereupon the Bakufu issued a further notice to the
effect that in case wild animals committed ravages, they might be
driven away by noise, or even by firing blank cartridges, provided
that an oath were made not to kill them. Should these means prove
defective, instructions must be sought from the judicial department.
Moreover, if any animal's life was taken under proper sanction, the
carcass must be buried without removing any part of its flesh or
skin. Violations of this order were to be severely punished, and it
was enacted that an accurate register must be kept of all dogs owned
by the people, strict investigations being made in the event of the
disappearance of a registered dog, and the officials were specially
warned against permitting one animal to be substituted for another.
Strange dogs were to be well fed, and any person neglecting this
obligation was to be reported to the authorities.
At first these orders were not very seriously regarded, but by and
by, when many persons had been banished to Hachijo-jima for killing
dogs; when several others had been reproved publicly for not giving
food to homeless animals, and when officials of the supreme court
were condemned to confinement for having taken no steps to prevent
dog-fights, the citizens began to appreciate that the shogun was in
grim earnest. A huge kennel was then constructed in the Nakano suburb
of Yedo as a shelter for homeless dogs. It covered an area of about
138 acres, furnished accommodation for a thousand dogs, and was under
the management of duly appointed officials, while the citizens had to
contribute to a dog-fund, concerning which it was said that a dog's
ration for a day would suffice a man for a day and a half.
Tsunayoshi came to be spoken of as Inu-kubo (Dog-shogun), but all his
measures did not bring him a son; neither did their failure shake his
superstitious credulity. Solemn prayers were offered again and again
with stately pomp and profuse circumstance, and temple after temple
was built or endowed at enormous cost, while the laws against taking
animal life continued in force more vigorously than ever. Birds and
even shell-fish were included in the provisions, and thus not only
were the nation's foodstuffs diminished, but also its crops lay at
the mercy of destructive animals and birds. It is recorded that a
peasant was exiled for throwing a stone at a pigeon, and that one man
was put to death for catching fish with hook and line, while another
met the same fate for injuring a dog, the head of the criminal being
exposed on the public execution ground and a neighbour who had
reported the offence being rewarded with thirty ryo. We read, also,
of officials sentenced to transportation for clipping a horse or
furnishing bad provender. The annals relate a curious story connected
with these legislative excesses. The Tokugawa baron of Mito, known in
history as Komon Mitsukuni, on receiving evidence as to the
monstrous severity with which the law protecting animals was
administered, collected a large number of men and organized a hunting
expedition on a grand scale. Out of the animals killed, twenty dogs
of remarkable size were selected, and their skins having been
dressed, were packed in a case for transmission to Yanagisawa
Yoshiyasu, whom people regarded as chiefly responsible for the
shogun's delirium. The messengers to whom the box was entrusted were
ordered to travel with all speed, and, on arriving in Yedo, to repair
forthwith to the Yanagisawa mansion, there handing over the skins
with a written statement that the Mito baron, having found such
articles useful in the cold season, availed himself of this
opportunity to submit his experience together with a parcel of
dressed hides to the shogun through Yoshiyasu. It is said that the
recipient of this sarcastic gift conceived a suspicion of the Mito
baron's sanity and sent a special envoy to examine his condition.
FINANCE
In the sequel of this corrupt administration, this constant building
of temples, and this profusion of costly ceremonials, the shogun's
Government found itself seriously embarrassed for money. Ieyasu had
always made frugality and economy his leading principles. He had
escaped the heavy outlays to which his fellow barons were condemned
in connexion with the Korean campaign, since his share in the affair
did not extend beyond collecting a force in the province of Hizen.
Throughout his life he devoted much attention to amassing a reserve
fund, and it is said that when he resigned the shogunate to his son,
he left 150,000 gold oban (one and a half million ryo), and nearly
two million ounces (troy) of silver in the treasury. Further, during
his retirement at Sumpu, he saved a sum of one million ryo. The same
economy was practised by the second shogun, although he was compelled
to spend large sums in connexion with his daughter's promotion to be
the Emperor's consort, as well as on the repairs of Yedo Castle and
on his several progresses to Kyoto. On the occasion of these
progresses, Hidetada is said to have distributed a total of 4.217,400
ryo of gold and 182,000 ryo of silver among the barons throughout the
empire. The third shogun, Iemitsu, was open handed. We find him
making frequent donations of 5000 kwamme of silver to the citizens of
Kyoto and Yedo; constructing the inner castle at Yedo twice; building
a huge warship; entertaining the Korean ambassadors with much pomp;
disbursing 400,000 ryo on account of the Shimabara insurrection, and
devoting a million ryo to the construction and embellishment of the
mausolea at Nikko. Nevertheless, on the whole Iemitsu must be
regarded as an economical ruler.
As for his successor, Ietsuna, he had to deal with several calamitous
occurrences. After the great fire in Yedo, he contributed 160,000 ryo
for the relief of the sufferers; he rebuilt Yedo Castle, and he
reconstructed the Imperial palace of Kyoto twice. In the Empo era
(1673-1680), the country was visited by repeated famines, which had
the effect of reducing the yield of the taxes and calling for large
measures of relief. In these circumstances, a proposal was formally
submitted recommending the debasement of the gold coinage, but it
failed to obtain official consent. It may be mentioned that, in the
year 1659, the treasury was reduced to ashes, and a quantity of gold
coin contained therein was melted. With this bullion a number of gold
pieces not intended for ordinary circulation were cast, and stamped
upon them were the words, "To be used only in cases of national
emergency." The metal thus reserved is said to have amounted to
160,000 ryo. The register shows that when the fifth shogun succeeded
to power, there were 3,850,000 gold ryo in the treasury. But this
enormous sum did not long survive the extravagance of Tsunayoshi.
After the assassination of Hotta Masatoshi, the administrative power
fell entirely into the hands of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, and the example
set by him for those under his guidance, and by his master, the
shogun, soon found followers among all classes of the people. As an
instance of ludicrous luxury it may be mentioned that the timbers
intended for the repair of the castle in Yedo were wrapped in wadded
quilts when transported to the city from the forest. Finally, the
treasury became so empty that, when the shogun desired to repair to
the mausolea at Nikko, which would have involved a journey of ten
days at the most, he was compelled to abandon the idea, as the
officials of the treasury declared themselves unable to find the
necessary funds. That sum was calculated at 100,000 ryo, or about as
many pounds sterling, which fact is alone sufficient to convey an
idea of the extravagance practised in everything connected with the
Government.
The immediate outcome of this incident was the summoning of a council
to discuss the financial situation, and after much thought the
suggestion of Hagiwara Shigehide, chief of the Treasury, was
accepted, namely, wholesale debasement of the gold, silver, and
copper coins. The old pieces, distinguished as "Keicho coins," that
being the name of the year period (1596-1614) when they were minted,
were replaced by greatly inferior "Genroku coins" (1688-1703), with
the natural results--appreciation of commodities and much forging of
counterfeit coins. Presently the Government is found levying a tax
upon 27,200 sake brewers within the Kwanto, and, in 1703, fresh
expedients became necessary to meet outlays incurred owing to a great
earthquake and conflagration which destroyed a large part of Yedo
Castle and of the daimyo's mansions. Further debasement of the
currency was resorted to, the new coins being distinguished by the
term "Hoei," after the name of the year-period when they were
minted.
About this time several of the feudatories found themselves in such
straits that they began to issue paper currency within their
dominions, and this practice having been interdicted by the Bakufu,
the daimyo fell back upon the expedient of levying forced loans from
wealthy merchants in Osaka. Meanwhile, the crime of forgery became so
prevalent that, in the interval between 1688 and 1715, no less than
541 counterfeiters were crucified within the districts under the
direct control of the Bakufu., The feudatory of Satsuma is credited
with having justly remarked that the victims of this cruel fate
suffered for their social status rather than for their offence
against the law, the real counterfeiters being Yanagisawa and
Hagiwara, who were engaged continuously in uttering debased coins.
It must be admitted in behalf of the financiers of that era that
their difficulties were much accentuated by natural calamities. The
destructive earthquake of 1703 was followed, in 1707, by an eruption
of Fuji, with the result that in the three provinces of Musashi,
Sagami, and Suruga, considerable districts were buried in ashes to
the depth of ten feet, so that three years and a heavy expenditure
of, money were required to restore normal conditions. Thenceforth the
state of the Bakufu treasury went from bad to worse. Once again
Hagiwara Shigehide had recourse to adulteration of the coinage. This
time he tampered mainly with the copper tokens, but owing to the
unwieldy and impure character of these coins, very great difficulty
was experienced in putting them into circulation, and the Bakufu
financiers finally were obliged to fall back upon the reserve of gold
kept in the treasury for special contingencies. There can be no doubt
that Japan's foreign trade contributed materially to her financial
embarrassment, but this subject will be subsequently dealt with.
TSUNAYOSHI'S FAVOURITE
When Tsunayoshi became shogun, Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu occupied the
position of a low-class squire in the shogun's household and was in
receipt of a salary of three hundred koku yearly. Four years later,
he received the title of Dewa no Kami and his revenue was increased
to 100,000 koku. Finally, in 1703, he was appointed daimyo of Kai
province and came into the enjoyment of a total income of 150,000
koku. This was the more remarkable inasmuch as, owing to the
strategical importance of Kai, it had been reserved as a fief for one
of the Tokugawa family, and its bestowal on a complete outsider was
equivalent to the admission of the latter into the Tokugawa circle.
This remarkable promotion in rank and income shows how completely the
shogun had fallen under the influence of his favourite, Yoshiyasu,
who exhibited wonderful skill in appealing at once to the passions
and to the intellect of his master. Some historians of the time
relate that the shogun's infatuation betrayed him into promising to
raise Yoshiyasu's revenue to a million koku, and to nominate as
successor to the shogunate a son borne by Yoshiyasu's wife to
Tsunayoshi; but according to tradition, these crowning extravagances
were averted on the very night preceding the day of their intended
consummation, the shogun being stabbed to death by his wife, who
immediately committed suicide. This tale, however, has been shown to
be an invention with no stronger foundation than the fact that
Tsunayoshi's death took place very suddenly at a highly critical
time. It is not to be doubted that many of the excesses and
administrative blunders committed by the fifth Tokugawa shogun were
due to the pernicious influence of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu.
DECLINE OF THE SAMURAI SPIRIT
The no dance was among the indulgences which Tsunayoshi affected and
among the accomplishments in which he himself excelled. He took into
his service a number of skilled dancers of the no, and treated them
as hereditary vassals, setting aside the chamber of the Paulownia for
their use. These performers, whatever their origin, received the
treatment of samurai, and their dainty posturing in the dance became
a model for the lords of the Bakufu Court, so that the simple
demeanour of military canons was replaced by a mincing and
meretricious mien. Another favourite dance in Yedo Castle was the
furyu. A book of the period describes the latter performance in these
terms: "Sixteen youths made their appearance; they all wore
wide-sleeved robes and purple figured silk with embroidery of oak
leaves in gold and silver threads. They carried two swords with gold
mountings and scarlet tassels, so that when they danced in harmony
with the flutes and drums the spectacle presented was one of dazzling
brilliancy." Thenceforth this "Genroku dance," as it came to be
called, obtained wide vogue. The same is true of the joruri, which is
one of the most emotional forms of chant. Hitherto the samisen had
been regarded as a vulgar instrument, and its use had never received
the sanction of aristocratic circles. But it now came into favour
with all classes of women from the highest to the lowest, and the
singing of the joruri was counted a far more important accomplishment
than any kind of domestic education.
Such an appeal to the emotional side of human nature could not fail
to undermine the stoicism of the samurai and the morality of society
in general. The practice of the military arts went out of fashion,
and it became an object with the bushi not only to have his sword
highly ornamented, but also to adapt its dimensions to the fashion of
the moment, thus sacrificing utility to elegance. In short, the
Genroku era (1688-1703) was essentially a time of luxury and
extravagance, its literature abounding in theatrical plays, songs,
verses, and joruri, and its ideals involving the sacrifice of the
noble to the elegant. Men were promoted in rank not merely because
they could dance gracefully, but also because they made themselves
conspicuous for kindness to dogs, in obedience to the shogun's
foible, and as many of these men had not learned to ride on horseback
they petitioned for permission to use palanquins. This marked a
signal departure from the severe rules of former days. Street
palanquins (machi-kago) ultimately came into use by all who could
afford the luxury. In short, the ancient order of educational
precedence was reversed, and polite accomplishments took the place of
military science.
ENGRAVING: FORTY-SEVEN RONIN
THE AKO VENDETTA
Nevertheless, this degenerate era produced one of the most remarkable
acts of self-sacrificing loyalty that stand to the credit of Japanese
samurai. On the 7th of February, 1703, forty-seven bushi, under the
leadership of Oishi Yoshio, forced their way into the mansion of Kira
Yoshihide; killed him in order to avenge the death of their feudal
chief, Asano Naganori, daimyo of Ako; and then surrendered themselves
to justice. Under the title of The Forty-seven Ronins, this story has
been told in history, on the stage, and in all forms of literature,
so that its details need not be repeated here. It will suffice to say
that, under great provocation, the Ako feudatory drew his sword in
the precincts of Yedo Castle and cut down Kira Yoshihide, for which
breach of court etiquette rather than for the deed of violence, the
Ako baron was condemned to commit suicide and his estates were
confiscated. Thereupon, forty-seven of his principal vassals pledged
themselves to wreak vengeance, and, after nearly two years of
planning and watching, they finally succeeded in achieving their
purpose. Degenerate as was the spirit of the time, this bold deed
aroused universal admiration. The vendetta was not illegal in Japan.
It had been practised from medieval times and often with direct
sanction of the authorities. But in no circumstances was it
officially permissible within the cities of Kyoto, Yedo, Osaka, and
Sumpu, or in the vicinity of the shogun's shrines. The forty-seven
ronins had therefore committed a capital crime. Yet they had only
obeyed the doctrine of Confucius, and the shogun therefore
endeavoured to save their lives. More than a year was spent
discussing the issue, and it is recorded that Tsunayoshi appealed to
the prince-abbot of Ueno in order to secure his intervention in the
cause of leniency. The day was ultimately carried by the advocates of
stern justice, and the forty-seven ronins were ordered to commit
suicide.
They obeyed without a murmur. One of them, Terasaka Kichiemon by
name, had been sent to carry the news to Ako immediately after the
perpetration of the deed of vengeance. He returned when his comrades
were condemned and gave himself up to the authorities, but they
declined to punish him on the ground that the case had already been
disposed of. The eminent Confucian scholar, Hayashi Nobuatsu,
petitioned for the pardon of the ronins, and the scarcely less
celebrated Muro Kyuso compiled a book describing the incident; but,
for some reason never fully explained, the noteworthy scholar, Ogyu
Sorai, took the opposite side. One act of the authorities is eloquent
as to the sentiment prevailing at the time. They condemned
Yoshihide's son, Yoshikata, to be deprived of his ancestral domain
for not having died in company with his father. As for the feeling of
the nation at large, it was abundantly manifested by many of the
great feudatories, who vied with one another in conferring offices
and revenues on the sons and grandsons of the "Forty-seven."
YAMAGA SOKO
The affair of the forty-seven ronins helped to bring into eminence
the name of Yamaga Soko, a firm believer in Confucianism and an
ardent follower of military science. Amid an environment of
unfavourable conditions Soko preached the cult of bushido, and was
the first to embody that philosophy in a written system. His
books--the Shi-do (Way of the Warrior) and Bukyo Shogaku (Military
Primer)--contain minute instructions as to the practice and the
morale of the samurai. Soko rejected the Chutsz interpretation, then
in vogue, of the Chinese classics, and insisted on the pure doctrine
of the ancient sages, so that he found himself out of touch with the
educational spirit of the time. Thus, falling under the displeasure
of the Bakufu, he was charged with propagating heterodox views and
was sent to Ako to be kept in custody by Asano Naganori, who treated
him throughout with courtesy and respect. In return, Soko devoted his
whole energy during nineteen years to the education of the Ako
vassals, and the most prominent of the Forty-seven Ronins was among
his pupils.
THE SIXTH SHOGUN, IENOBU
Tsunayoshi died of small-pox in 1709, after a brief illness. He had
no son, and: five years previously, his nephew Ienobu (third son of
his deceased elder brother, Tsunashige) had been declared heir to the
shogunate. Having been born in 1662, Ienobu was in his forty-seventh
year when he succeeded to the office of shogun. His first act was to
abolish Tsunayoshi's legislation for the protection of animals. He is
said to have offered the following explanation at the tomb of the
deceased shogun: "You desired to protect living animals and strictly
interdicted the slaughter of any such. You willed that even after
your death the prohibition should be observed. But hundreds of
thousands of human beings are suffering from the operation of your
law. To repeal it is the only way of bringing peace to the nation."
ARAI HAKUSEKI
Ienobu gave evidence of his sagacity by dismissing Yanagisawa
Yoshiyasu, the corrupt favourite of the late shogun; by appointing in
his stead Manabe Norifusa to the office of personal assistant (soba
yoniri), and by reposing full confidence in Arai Hakuseki. This last
is recognized by posterity as the most distinguished among Japanese
Confucianists. He studied the literature of both the Tang and the
Sung dynasties, and he laboured to apply the precepts of Chinese
philosophy to the practical needs of his own country. Moreover, he
devoted exceptional attention to the conditions existing in
Occidental States, and he embodied his thoughts and researches on the
latter subject in a book called Sairan Igen, the first treatise of
its kind published in Japan.
A practical illustration of his knowledge was furnished in connexion
with the reception of Korean envoys. It had been customary to convey
to these officials an imposing conception of Japanese magnificence by
treating them with lavish hospitality. Hakuseki was able to detect
that the conduct of the envoys violated in many respects the rules of
Chinese etiquette, and having obtained the shogun's nomination to
receive the envoy, Cho, he convinced the latter that there must be no
more neglect of due formalities. He then memorialized the shogun in
the sense that these Korean ambassadors were merely Chinese spies,
and that instead of receiving a lavish welcome, they should be
required to limit their journey to the island of Tsushima, where only
a very restricted ceremonial should be performed in their honour.
This shrewd, though somewhat conservative, suggestion elicited
general approval, but was not carried into effect until the time of
the eleventh shogun.
ENGRAVING: ARAI HAKUSEKI
ADJUSTMENT OF THE FINANCES
It has been shown above that the fifth shogun bequeathed to his
successor a much embarrassed treasury. In this realm, also, the
advice of Arai Hakuseki proved invaluable. In his volume of
reminiscences there is an interesting statement connected with
finance. It quotes Hagiwara Shigehide, commissioner of the Treasury,
as saying that the shogun's estate at that time yielded four million
koku annually, in addition to which there accrued from 760,000 ryo to
770,000 ryo in money, representing the proceeds of dues and taxes. In
this latter sum was included 40,000 ryo, customs duties collected at
Nagasaki, and 6000 ryo yielded by a tax on sake. The same report
mentions that a sum of 160,000 ryo had been expended in clearing away
the volcanic ashes which fell in the three provinces of Musashi,
Sagami, and Suruga after the great eruption of Fujisan. Arai Hakuseki
was able to prove the erroneous character of this report, but his
demonstration did not impugn any of the above figures. Incidentally
it is mentioned in Arai's comments that 700,000 ryo were allotted for
building an addition to Yedo Castle, and 200,000 ryo for the
construction of the deceased shogun's mausoleum, out of which total
Hakuseki explicitly charges the officials, high and low alike, with
diverting large sums to their own pockets in collusion with the
contractors and tradesmen employed on the works. Another interesting
investigation made by Arai Hakuseki is in connexion with the
country's foreign trade. He showed that the amount of coins exported
from Nagasaki alone, during one year, totalled 6,192,800 ryo of gold;
1,122,687 kwamme of silver and 228,000,000 kin of copper.* He alleged
that the greater part of this large outflow of specie produced
nothing except luxuries with which the nation could very well
dispense, and he therefore advised that the foreign trade of Nagasaki
should be limited to thirteen Chinese junks and two Dutch vessels
annually, while stringent measures should be adopted to prevent
smuggling.
*One kin equals 1.25 lbs.
The ordinance based upon this advice consisted of two hundred
articles, and is known in history as the "New Nagasaki Trade Rules of
the Shotoku Era" (1711-1715). One portion of the document ran as
follows: "During the Jokyo era (1684-1687), the trade with Chinese
merchants was limited to 6000 kwamme of silver, and that with Dutch
traders to 50,000 ryo of gold, while the number of Chinese vessels
was not allowed to exceed seventy per annum. After a few years,
however, copper coins came into use as media of exchange in addition
to silver, and moreover there was much smuggling of foreign goods.
Thus, it resulted that gold, silver, and copper flowed out of the
country in great quantities. Comparing the aggregate thus exported
during the 107 years since the Keicho era with the amount coined in
Japan during the same interval, it is found that one-quarter of the
gold coins and three-quarters of the silver left the country. If that
state of affairs continue, it is obvious that after a hundred years
from the present time one-half of the empire's gold will be carried
away and there will be no silver at all left. As for copper, the sum
remaining in the country is insufficient, not only for purposes of
trade but also for the needs of everyday life. It is most regrettable
that the nation's treasure should thus be squandered upon foreign
luxuries. The amount of currency needed at home and the amount
produced by the mines should be investigated so as to obtain a basis
for limiting the foreign trade at the open ports of Nagasaki,
Tsushima, and Satsuma, and for fixing the maximum number of foreign
vessels visiting those places."
IMPEACHMENT OF HAGIWARA SHIGEHIDE
In connexion with Arai Hakuseki's impeachment of the Treasury
commissioner, Hagiwara Shigehide, it was insisted that an auditor's
office must be re-established, and it was pointed out that the yield
of rice from the shogun's estates had fallen to 28.9 per cent, of the
total produce instead of being forty per cent., as fixed by law.
Nevertheless, the condition of the farmers was by no means improved,
and the inevitable inference was that the difference went into the
pockets of the local officials. Similarly, enormous expenses were
incurred for the repair of river banks without any corresponding
diminution of floods, and hundreds of thousands of bags of rice went
nominally to the bottom of the sea without ever having been shipped.
During the year that followed the reconstruction of the auditor's
office, the yield of the estates increased by 433,400 bags of rice,
and the cost of riparian works decreased by 38,000 ryo of gold,
while, at the same time, the item of shipwrecked cereals disappeared
almost completely from the ledgers. In consequence of these charges
the commissioner, Shigehide, was dismissed. History says that
although his regular salary was only 3000 koku annually, he embezzled
260,000 ryo of gold by his debasement of the currency, and that
ultimately he starved himself to death in token of repentance.
Ienobu and his able adviser, Hakuseki, desired to restore the
currency to the system pursued in the Keicho era (1596-1614), but
their purpose was thwarted by insufficiency of the precious metals.
They were obliged to be content with improving the quality of the
coins while decreasing their weight by one half. These new tokens
were called kenji-kin, as they bore on the reverse the ideograph ken,
signifying "great original." The issue of the new coins took place
in the year 1710, and at the same time the daimyo were strictly
forbidden to issue paper currency, which veto also was imposed at the
suggestion of Arai Hakuseki.
THE SEVENTH SHOGUN, IETSUGU
The seventh Tokugawa shogun, Ietsugu, son of his predecessor, Ienobu,
was born in 1709, succeeded to the shogunate in April, 1713, and died
in 1716. His father, Ienobu, died on the 13th of November, 1712, so
that there was an interval of five months between the demise of the
sixth shogun and the accession of the seventh. Of course, a child of
four years who held the office of shogun for the brief period of
three years could not take any part in the administration or have any
voice in the appointment or dismissal of officials. Thus, Arai
Hakuseki's tenure of office depended upon his relations with the
other ministers, and as all of these did not approve his drastic
reforms, he was obliged to retire, but Manabe Norifusa remained in
office.
ENGRAVING: TOKUGAWA YOSHIMUNE
THE EIGHTH SHOGUN, YOSHIMUNE
By the death of Ietsugu, in 1716, the Hidetada line of the Tokugawa
family became extinct, and a successor to the shogunate had to be
sought from the Tokugawa of Kii province in the person of Yoshimune,
grandson of Yorinobu and great-grandson of Ieyasu. Born in 1677,
Yoshimune, the eighth Tokugawa shogun, succeeded to office in 1716,
at the age of thirty-nine. The son of a concubine, he had been
obliged to subsist on the proceeds of a very small estate, and he
therefore well understood the uses of economy and the condition of
the people. His habits were simple and plain, and he attached as much
importance as Ieyasu himself had done to military arts and literary
pursuits. It had become a custom on the occasion of each shogun's
succession to issue a decree confirming, expanding, or altering the
systems of the previous potentate. Yoshimune's first decree placed
special emphasis on the necessity of diligence in the discharge of
administrative functions and the eschewing of extravagance. Always he
made it his unflagging aim to restore the martial spirit which had
begun to fade from the samurai's bosom, and in the forefront of
important reforms he placed frugality. The Bakufu had fallen into the
habit of modelling their systems and their procedure after Kyoto
examples. In fact, they aimed at converting Yedo into a replica of
the Imperial capital. This, Yoshimune recognized as disadvantageous
to the Bakufu themselves and an obstacle to the resuscitation of
bushido. Therefore, he set himself to restore all the manners and
customs of former days, and it became his habit to preface decrees
and ordinances with the phrase "In pursuance of the methods, fixed
by Gongen" (Ieyasu). His idea was that only the decadence of bushido
could result from imitating the habits of the Imperial Court, and as
Manabe Norifusa did not endorse that view with sufficient zeal, the
shogun relieved him of his office of minister of the Treasury.
One of Yoshimune's measures was to remodel the female department of
the palace on the lines of simplicity and economy. All the
ladies-in-waiting were required to furnish a written oath against
extravagance and irregular conduct of every kind, and in the sixth
year after his accession the shogun ordered that a list should be
furnished setting forth the names and ages of such of these ladies as
were, conspicuously beautiful. Fifty were deemed worthy of
inscription, and quite a tremor of joyful excitement was caused, the
measure being regarded as prefacing the shogun's choice of consorts.
But Yoshimune's purpose was very different. He discharged all these
fair-faced ladies and kept only the ill-favoured ones, his assigned
reason being that as ugly females find a difficulty in getting
husbands, it would be only charitable to retain their services.
He revived the sport of hawking, after the manner of Ieyasu, for he
counted it particularly suitable to soldiers; and he pursued the
pastime so ardently that men gave him the name of the Taka-shogun
(Falcon shogun). He also inaugurated a new game called uma-gari
(horse-hunting); and it is on record that he required the samurai to
practise swimming in the sea. By way of giving point to his
ordinances inculcating frugality, he himself made a habit of wearing
cotton garments in winter and hempen in summer--a custom habitually
practised by the lower orders only. The very detailed nature of his
economical measures is illustrated by an incident which has
independent interest. Observing that the fences erected on the scarp
of Yedo Castle were virtually useless for purposes of defence and
very costly to keep in repair, he caused them all to be pulled down
and replaced by pine trees. This happened in 1721, and the result was
that the battlements of this great castle were soon overhung by noble
trees, which softened and beautified the military aspect of the
colossal fortress. To the same shogun Yedo owes the cherry and plum
groves of Asuka-yama, of the Sumida-gawa, and of Koganei. The
saplings of these trees were taken from the Fukiage park, which
remains to-day one of the most attractive landscape gardens in the
world.
ENGRAVING: VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS OF WOMEN, KYOHO ERA
OTHER MEASURES
For the purpose of acquiring accurate information about the condition
of the people, Yoshimune appointed officials who went by the name of
niwa-ban (garden watchmen). They moved about among the lower orders
and reported everything constituting knowledge useful for
administrative purposes. Moreover, to facilitate the ends of justice,
the shogun revived the ancient device of petition-boxes
(meyasu-bako), which were suspended in front of the courthouse in
order that men might lodge there a written statement of all
complaints. It was by Yoshimune, also, that the celebrated Ooka
Tadasuke, the "Solomon of Japan," was invited from Yamada and
appointed chief justice in Yedo. The judgments delivered by him in
that capacity will be famous as long as Japan exists. It has to be
noted, however, that the progressive spirit awakened by Yoshimune's
administration was not without untoward results. Extremists fell into
the error of believing that everything pertaining to the canons of
the immediate past must be abandoned, and they carried this
conception into the realm of foreign trade, so that the restrictions
imposed in the Shotoku era (1711-1715) were neglected. It became
necessary to issue a special decree ordering the enforcement of these
regulations, although, as will presently be seen, Yoshimune's
disposition towards the civilization of the Occident was essentially
liberal.
CODES OF LAW
By this time the miscarriages of justice liable to occur when the law
is administered with regard to precedent only or mainly, began to be
plainly observable, and the shogun, appreciating the necessity for
written codes, appointed a commission to collect and collate the laws
in operation from ancient times; to embody them in codes, and to
illustrate them by precedents. Matsudaira Norimura, one of the
ministers of State, was appointed chief commissioner, and there
resulted, after four years of labour, the first genuine Japanese code
(Oshioki Ojomoku). This body of laws was subsequently revised by
Matsudaira Sadanobu, and under the name of Osadame Hyakkajo ("Hundred
Articles of Law"), it remained long in practice.
LITERATURE
Yoshimune was not behind any of his ancestors in appreciation of
learning. In 1721, when his administrative reforms were still in
their infancy, he invited to Yedo Kinoshita Torasuke (son of the
celebrated Kinoshita Junan), Muro Nawokiyo, and other eminent men of
letters, and appointed them to give periodical lectures. Nawokiyo was
named "adviser to the shogun," who consulted him about administrative
affairs, just as Arai Hakuseki had been consulted by Ienobu. In fact,
it was by the advice of Arai Hakuseki that Nawokiyo (whose literary
name was Kyuso), entered the service of Yoshimune. Contemporaneous
with these littérateurs was the renowned Ogyu Sorai, whose profound
knowledge of finance and of administrative affairs in general made
him of great value to the Bakufu. He compiled a book called Seidan
(Talks on Government) which, immediately became a classic. Special
favour was shown to the renowned Confucianist, Hayashi Nobuatsu. He
and his son were asked to deliver regular lectures at the Shohei
College, and these lectures were the occasion of a most important
innovation, namely, the admission of all classes of people, whereas
previously the audience at such discourses had been strictly limited
to military men.
It is to be observed that in the days of Yoshimune's shogunate the
philosophy of Chutsz (Shu-shi) was preferred to all others. It
received the official imprimatur, the philosophy of Wang Yang-ming (O
Yo-mei) being set aside. One consequence of this selection was that
the Hayashi family came to be regarded as the sole depositories of
true Confucianism. Yoshimune himself, however, was not disposed to
set any dogmatic limits to the usefulness of men of learning. He
assumed an absolutely impartial attitude towards all schools;
adopting the good wherever it was found, and employing talent to
whatever school it belonged. Thus when Kwanno Chqkuyo established a
place of education in Yedo, and Nakai Seishi did the same in Osaka,
liberal grants of land were made by the Bakufu to both men. Another
step taken by the shogun was to institute a search for old books
throughout the country, and to collect manuscripts which had been
kept in various families for generations. By causing these to be
copied or printed, many works which would otherwise have been
destroyed or forgotten were preserved.
It is notable that all this admirable industry had one untoward
result: Japanese literature came into vogue in the Imperial capital,
and was accompanied by the development of a theory that loyalty to
the sovereign was inconsistent with the administration of the Bakufu.
The far-reaching consequences of this conception will be dealt with
in a later chapter. Here, it is sufficient to say that one of the
greatest and most truly patriotic of the Tokugawa shoguns himself
unwittingly sowed the seeds of disaffection destined to prove fatal
to his own family.
ADOPTION OF WESTERN LEARNING
Yoshimune was fond of astronomy. He erected a telescope in the
observatory at Kanda, a sun-dial in the palace park, and a rain-gauge
at the same place. By his orders a mathematician named Nakane Genkei
translated the Gregorian calendar into Japanese, and Yoshimune,
convinced of the superior accuracy of the foreign system, would have
substituted it for the Chinese then used in Japan, had not his
purpose excited such opposition that he judged it prudent to desist.
It was at this time that the well-informed Nishikawa Masayasu and
Shibukawa Noriyasu were appointed Government astronomers.
Previously the only sources of information about foreign affairs had
been the masters of the Dutch ships, the Dutch merchants, and the
Japanese interpreters at Nagasaki. The importation of books from the
Occident having been strictly forbidden by the third shogun, Iemitsu,
Yoshimune appreciated the disadvantage of such a restriction, and
being convinced of the benefits to be derived from the study of
foreign science and art, he rescinded the veto except in the case of
books relating to Christianity. Thus, for the first time, Japanese
students were brought into direct contact with the products of
Western intelligence. In 1744, Aoki Konyo received official orders to
proceed to Nagasaki for the purpose of seeking instruction in Dutch
from Dutch teachers. Shibukawa and Aoki are regarded as the pioneers
of Occidental learning in Japan, and, in the year 1907, posthumous
honours were conferred on them by the reigning Emperor of their
country.
THE SANKIN KOTAI
It has already been stated that the financial embarrassment of the
Bakufu in Yoshimune's time was as serious as it had been in his
predecessor's days. Moreover, in 1718, the country was swept by a
terrible tornado, and in 1720 and 1721, conflagrations reduced large
sections of Yedo to ashes. Funds to succour the distressed people
being imperatively needed, the shogun called upon all the feudatories
to subscribe one hundred koku of rice for every ten thousand koku of
their estates. By way of compensation for this levy he reduced to
half a year the time that each feudal chief had to reside in Yedo.
This meant, of course, a substantial lessening of the great expenses
entailed upon the feudatories by the sankin kotai system, and the
relief thus afforded proved most welcome to the daimyo and the shomyo
alike. Yoshimune intended to extend this indulgence ultimately by
releasing the barons from the necessity of coming to Yedo more than
once in from three to five years, and, in return, he contemplated a
corresponding increase of the special levy of rice. But his ministers
opposed the project on the ground that it would dangerously loosen
the ties between the feudatories and the Bakufu, and inasmuch as
events proved that this result threatened to accrue from even the
moderate indulgence granted by the shogun, not only was no extension
made but also, in 1731, the system of sankin kotai was restored to
its original form. The experiment, indeed proved far from
satisfactory. The feudatories did not confine themselves to
assertions of independence; they also followed the example of the
Bakufu by remitting some of the duties devolving on their retainers
and requiring the latter to show their gratitude for the remissions
by monetary payments. Nominally, these payments took the form of
loans, but in reality the amount was deducted from the salaries of
vassals. This pernicious habit remained in vogue among a section of
the feudatories, even after the sankin kotai had been restored to its
original form.
OFFICIAL SALARIES
From ancient times it had been the habit of the Bakufu to assign
important offices to men who were in enjoyment of large hereditary
incomes. This was mainly for financial reasons. Salaries were paid in
the form of additions to the hereditary estates in other words, the
emoluments of office became permanent, and the charge upon the Bakufu
being correspondingly increased, it was obviously expedient to fill
high administrative posts with men already in possession of ample
incomes. This system was radically changed by Yoshimune. He enacted
that a clear distinction should be made between temporary salary and
hereditary income. Thenceforth, salary was to be received only during
the tenure of office and was to cease on laying down official
functions. This reform had the effect not only of lightening the
burden upon the Bakufu income, but also of opening high offices to
able men without regard to their private fortunes.
ENGRAVING: VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS OF WOMEN, KYOHO EHA
THE CURRENCY
From the first day of assuming administrative power, Yoshimune gave
earnest thought to reform of the currency. His ambition was to
restore the gold and silver coins to the quality and sizes existing
in the Keicho era. This he effected, though not on a sufficiently
large scale. Each of the new coins was equal in intrinsic value to
two of the corresponding kenji coins, and the circulation of the
latter was suspended, the new coins being called Kyoho-kin after the
year-name of the era (1716-1735) when they made their appearance. It
was a thoroughly wholesome measure, but the quality of the precious
metals available did not suffice. Thus, whereas the gold coins struck
during ten years of the Kyoho era totalled only 8,290,000 ryo, a
census taken in 1732 showed a total population of 26,921,816.
Therefore, the old coins could not be wholly withdrawn from
circulation, and people developed a tendency to hoard the new and
more valuable tokens.
Other untoward effects also were produced. The shogun paid much
attention to promoting agriculture and encouraging land reclamation,
so that the yield of rice increased appreciably. But this proved by
no means an unmixed blessing. Side by side with an increase in the
quantity of rice appearing in the market, the operation of the new
currency tended to depreciate prices, until a measure of grain which
could not have been bought at one time for less than two ryo became
purchasable for one. In fact, the records show that a producer
considered himself fortunate if he obtained half a ryo of gold for a
koku of rice. This meant an almost intolerable state of affairs for
the samurai who received his salary in grain and for the petty
farmer. Thus, a man whose income was three rations of rice annually,
and who consequently had to live on 5.4 koku for a whole year, found
that when he set aside from three to four koku for food, there
remained little more than one ryo of assets to pay for salt, fuel,
clothes, and all the other necessaries of life.
So acute was the suffering of the samurai that a rice-exchange was
established at Dojima, in Osaka, for the purpose of imparting some
measure of stability to the price of the cereal. Just at this time
(1732), the central and western provinces were visited by a famine
which caused seventeen thousand deaths and reduced multitudes to the
verge of starvation. The Bakufu rendered aid on a munificent scale,
but the price of rice naturally appreciated, and although this
brought relief to the military class, it was misconstrued by the
lower orders as a result of speculation on 'Change. Riots resulted,
and rice-merchants fearing to make purchases, the market price of the
cereal fell again, so that farmers and samurai alike were plunged
into their old difficulties.
Ultimately, in 1735, the Bakufu inaugurated a system of officially
fixed prices (osadame-soba), according to which 1.4 koku of rice had
to be exchanged for one ryo of gold in Yedo, the Osaka rate being
fixed at forty-two momme of silver for the same quantity of the
cereal. Anyone violating this rule was fined ten momme of silver for
each koku of rice purchased or sold by him. It is related that the
osadame-soba was operative in name only, and that the merchants
secretly dealt in the cereal at much lower prices than those
officially fixed. The Yedo financiers now concluded that the quantity
of currency in circulation was insufficient and its quality too good.
Accordingly, the gold and silver coins were once more reminted,
smaller and less pure tokens being issued under the name of bunji-kin
with reference to the Genbun era (1736-1740) of their issue. Thus,
the reform of the currency, achieved with so much difficulty in the
early years of Yoshimune's administration, had to be abandoned, and
things reverted to their old plight.
If this difficulty operated so acutely under a ruler of Yoshimune's
talent, the confusion and disorder experienced when he withdrew his
able hand from the helm of State may be imagined. The feudatories
were constantly distressed to find funds for supporting their Yedo
mansions, as well as for carrying out the public works imposed on
them from time to time, and for providing the costly presents which
had become a recognized feature of ordinary and extraordinary
intercourse. As an example of the luxury of the age, it may be
mentioned that when the fifth shogun visited the Kaga baron, the
latter had to find a sum of a million ryo to cover the expenses
incidental to receiving such a guest. In these circumstances, there
arose among the feudatories a habit of levying monetary contributions
from wealthy persons in their fiefs, the accommodation thus afforded
being repaid by permission to carry swords or by promotion in rank.
The poorer classes of samurai being increasingly distressed, they,
too, borrowed money at high rates of interest from merchants and
wealthy farmers, which loans they were generally unable to repay.
Ultimately, the Bakufu solved the situation partially by decreeing
that no lawsuit for the recovery of borrowed money should be
entertained--a reversion to the tokusei system of the Ashikaga
shoguns.
Of course, credit was completely undermined by the issue of this
decree. It is strange that such conditions should have existed under
such a ruler as Yoshimune. But even his strenuous influence did not
suffice to stem the current of the time. The mercantile instinct
pervaded all the transactions of every-day life. If a man desired to
adopt a son, he attached much less importance to the latter's social
status or personality than to the dimensions of his fortune, and thus
it came about that the family names of petty feudatories were freely
bought and sold. Yoshimune strictly interdicted this practice, but
his veto had no efficiency; wealthy farmers or merchants freely
purchased their way into titled families. From this abuse to
extortion of money by threats the interval was not long, and the
outcome, where farmers were victims, took the form of agrarian riots.
It was to the merchants, who stood between the farmers and the
samurai, that fortune offered conspicuously favourable opportunities
in these circumstances. The tradesmen of the era became the centre of
extravagance and luxury, so that in a certain sense the history of
the Yedo Bakufu may be said to be the history of mercantile
development.
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS
Yoshimune devoted much attention to the encouragement of industrial
progress. Deeming that a large import of drugs and sugar caused a
ruinous drain of specie, he sent experts hither and thither through
the country to encourage the domestic production of these staples as
well as of vegetable wax. The feudatories, in compliance with his
suggestion, took similar steps, and from this time tobacco growing in
Sagami and Satsuma; the weaving industry in Kotsuke and Shimotsuke;
sericulture in Kotsuke, Shinano, Mutsu, and Dewa; indigo cultivation
in Awa; orange growing in Kii, and the curing of bonito in Tosa and
Satsuma--all these began to flourish. Another feature of the time was
the cultivation of the sweet potato at the suggestion of Aoki Konyo,
who saw in this vegetable a unique provision against famine.
Irrigation and drainage works also received official attention, as
did the reclamation of rice-growing areas and the storing of cereals.
THE NINTH SHOGUN, IESHIGE
In 1745, Yoshimune resigned his office to his son, Ieshige, who,
having been born in 1702, was now in his forty-third year. Yoshimune
had three sons, Ieshige, Munetake, and Munetada. Of these the most
promising was the second, Munetake, whose taste for literature and
military art almost equalled his father's. Matsudaira Norimura, prime
minister, recognizing that Ieshige, who was weak, passionate, and
self-willed, would not be able to fill worthily the high office of
shogun, suggested to Yoshimune the advisability of nominating
Munetake. But Yoshimune had his own programme. Ieshige's son, Ieharu,
was a very gifted youth, and Yoshimune reckoned on himself retaining
the direction of affairs for some years, so that Ieshige's functions
would be merely nominal until Ieharu became old enough to succeed to
the shogunate.
Meanwhile, to prevent complications and avert dangerous rivalry,
Yoshimune assigned to Munetake and Munetada residences within the
Tayasu and Hitotsubashi gates of the castle, respectively, gave the
names of these gates as family titles, and bestowed on each a revenue
of one hundred thousand koku, together with the privilege of
supplying an heir to the shogunate in the event of failure of issue
in the principal house of Tokugawa or in one of the "Three Families."
The shogun, Ieshige, followed the same plan with his son, Yoshishige,
and as the latter's residence was fixed within the Shimizu gate,
there came into existence "Three Branch Families" called the Sankyo,
in supplement of the already existing Sanke.*
*The present Princes Tokugawa are the representatives of the main
line of the shogun; the Marquises Tokugawa, representatives of the
Sanke, and the Counts Tokugawa, of the Sankyo.
Of course, the addition of the Shimizu family had the approval of
Yoshimune. In fact, the whole arrangement as to the Sankyo was an
illustration of his faithful imitation of the institutions of Ieyasu.
The latter had created the Sanke, and Yoshimune created the Sankyo;
Ieyasu had resigned in favour of his son and had continued to
administer affairs from Sumpu, calling himself 0-gosho; Yoshimune
followed his great ancestor's example in all these respects except
that he substituted the western part of Yedo Castle for Sumpu.
Ieshige's most salient characteristic was a passionate disposition.
Men called him the "short-tempered shogun" (kanshaku kubo). He gave
himself up to debauchery, and being of delicate physique, his
self-indulgence quickly undermined his constitution. So long as
Yoshimune lived, his strong hand held things straight, but after his
death, in 1751, the incompetence of his son became very marked. He
allowed himself to fall completely under the sway of his immediate
attendants, and, among these, Tanuma Okitsugu succeeded in
monopolizing the evil opportunity thus offered. During nearly ten
years the reforms effected by Yoshimune steadily ceased to be
operative, and when Ieshige resigned in 1760, the country had fallen
into many of the bad customs of the Genroku era.
THE TENTH SHOGUN, IEHARU
After his abdication in 1760, Ieshige survived only fourteen months,
dying, in 1761, at the age of fifty-one. He was succeeded, in 1760,
by his son, Ieharu, who, having been born in 1737, was twenty-three
years old when he began to administer the country's affairs. One of
his first acts was to appoint Tanuma Okitsugu to be prime minister,
bestowing on him a fief of fifty-seven thousand koku in the province
of Totomi, and ordering him to construct a fortress there. At the
same time Okitsugu's son, Okitomo, received the rank of Yamato no
Kami and the office of junior minister. These two men became
thenceforth the central figures in an era of maladministration and
corruption. So powerful and all-reaching was their influence that
people were wont to say, "Even a bird on the wing could not escape
the Tanuma." The shogun was not morally incapable, but his
intelligence was completely overshadowed by the devices of Okitsugu,
who took care that Ieharu should remain entirely ignorant of popular
sentiment. Anyone attempting to let light into this state of darkness
was immediately dismissed. It is related of a vassal of Okitsugu that
he was found one day with three high officials of the shogun's court
busily engaged in applying a moxa to his foot. The three officials
knew that their places depended on currying favour with this vassal;
how much more, then, with his master, Okitsugu! Everything went by
bribery. Justice and injustice were openly bought and sold. Tanuma
Okitsugu was wont to say that human life was not so precious as gold
and silver; that by the liberality of a man's gifts his sincerity
might truly be gauged, and that the best solace for the trouble of
conducting State affairs was for their administrator to find his
house always full of presents.
Ieharu, however, knew nothing of all this, or anything of the natural
calamities that befell the country under his sway--the eruption of
the Mihara volcano, in 1779, when twenty feet of ashes were piled
over the adjacent country through an area of several miles; the
volcanic disturbance at Sakura-jima, in Osumi, which took place about
the same time and ended in the creation of several new islands; the
outbreak of the Asama crater, in 1783, when half the provinces of the
Kwanto were covered with ashes; and the loss of forty thousand lives
by a flood in the Tone-gawa. Of all these visitations the shogun
remained uninformed, and, in spite of them, luxury and extravagance
marked the lives of the upper classes. Many, however, were
constrained to seek loans from wealthy merchants in Osaka, and these
tradesmen, admonished by past incidents, refused to lend anything. At
last the intolerable situation culminated in a deed of violence. In
April, 1784, Sano Masakoto, a hereditary vassal of the shogun, drew
his sword upon Okitsugu within the precincts of the castle in Yedo
and wounded him severely. Masakoto was seized and sentenced to commit
suicide, but the justice of his attempt being recognized, the
influence of Okitsugu and his son began to decline. Two years later
(1786), there appeared a decree in the name of the Bakufu, ordering
that the temples in all the provinces, the farmers, the artisans, and
the merchants should send their gold and silver every spring to the
Central Government, to the end that the latter might lend this
treasure to the feudatories, who would pledge themselves to pay it
back after five years.*
*The funds thus obtained were called yuzu-kin (accommodation money).
There is reason to believe that the shogun himself knew nothing of
this ordinance until a multitude of complaints and remonstrances
found their way, in part, to his ears. At all events, the
extraordinary decree proved to be the last act of Okitsugu's official
life. He was dismissed from office, though whether the credit of that
step belongs to the Sanke and the elder officials or to the shogun,
is not certain, for Ieharu is said to have died just before the final
disgrace of the corrupt statesman was consummated. The Yedo upon
which he closed his eyes in October, 1786, presented features of
demoralization unsurpassed in any previous era. In fact, during the
period of forty-one years between the accession of the ninth shogun,
Ieshige, in 1745, and the death of the tenth, Ieharu, in 1786, the
manners and customs of the citizens developed along very evil lines.
It was in this time that the city Phryne (machi-geisha) made her
appearance; it was in this time that the theatre, which had hitherto
been closed to the better classes, began to be frequented by them; it
was in this time that gambling became universal; it was in this time
that parents learned to think it an honour to see their daughters
winning favour as dancing girls, and it was in this time that the
samurai's noble contempt for money gave place to the omnipotence of
gold in military and civil circles alike.
THE IMPERIAL COURT. THE 113TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR HIGASHIYAMA
(A.D. 1687-1710)
In 1687, the Emperor Reigen abdicated in favour of Higashiyama, then
a boy of thirteen, Reigen continuing to administer affairs from
behind the curtain as was usual. Tsunayoshi was then the shogun in
Yedo. He showed great consideration for the interests of the Imperial
Court. Thus, he increased his Majesty's allowance by ten thousand
koku of rice annually, and he granted an income of three thousand
koku to the ex-Emperor. Moreover, all the Court ceremonies, which had
been interrupted for want of funds, were resumed, and steps were
taken to repair or rebuild the sepulchres of the sovereigns
throughout the empire.
RELATIONS BETWEEN THE FEUDATORIES AND THE COURT NOBLES
According to a rule made in the beginning of the Tokugawa dynasty, a
lady of Tokugawa lineage was forbidden to marry a Court noble, but
the shogun himself was expected to take a consort from one of the
noble houses in the Imperial capital. From the days of Iemitsu this
latter custom was steadily maintained, and gradually the feudatories
came to follow the shogun's example, so that marriages between
military magnates and noble ladies of Kyoto Were frequent. To these
unions the Court nobles were impelled by financial reasons and the
military men by ambition. The result was the gradual formation of an
Imperial party and of a Bakufu party in Kyoto, and at times there
ensued sharp rivalry between the two cliques. In the days of the
seventh shogun, Ietsugu, the Emperor Reigen would have given his
daughter Yaso to be the shogun's consort for the purpose of restoring
real friendship between the two Courts, but the death of the shogun
in his boyhood interrupted the project.
THE 114TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR NAKANOMIKADO (A.D. 1710-1735)
Higashiyama abdicated (1710) in favour of Nakanomikado, who reigned
for twenty-five years. This reign is remarkable for a change in the
system hitherto uniformly pursued, namely, that all Imperial princes
with the exception of the direct heir should become Buddhist priests
(ho-shinnd), and all princesses except those chosen as consorts of
the shoguns, should become Buddhist nuns (bikuni-gosho). It has
already been shown that this custom found many followers in the days
of Ashikaga administration, and it was observed with almost equal
strictness under the Tokugawa, who certainly aimed at the gradual
weakening of the Imperial household's influence. Arai Hakuseki
remonstrated with the shogun, Ienobu, on the subject. He contended
that however humble a man's lot may be, his natural desire is to see
his children prosper, whereas in the case of Imperial princes, they
were condemned to the ascetic career of Buddhist priests. He
denounced such a system as opposed to the instincts of humanity, and
he advised not only that certain princes should be allowed to form
families of their own, but also that Imperial princesses should marry
into branches of the Tokugawa. Ienobu is said to have acknowledged
the wisdom of this advice, and its immediate result was the
establishment of the princely house of Kanin, which, with the houses
of Fushimi, Kyogoku (afterwards Katsura), and Arisugawa, became the
four Shinnoke. Among other privileges these were designated to
furnish an heir to the throne in the event of the failure of direct
issue. When Yoshimune succeeded to the headship of the Bakufu, and
after Arai Hakuseki was no longer in office, this far-seeing policy
was gradually abandoned, and all the relations between the Imperial
Court and the Bakufu became somewhat strained.
THE 115TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR SAKURAMACHI (A. D, 1732-1735), AND
THE 116TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR MOMOZONO (A.D. 1735-1762)
After the death of the ex-Emperor Reigen (1732), the Emperor
Nakanomikado administered affairs himself during three years, and
then abdicated in 1735 in favour of Sakuramachi, who was sixteen
years of age, and who reigned until 1747, when he abdicated in favour
of Momozono, then seven years of age. It was in this reign that there
appeared an eminent scholar, Yamazaki Ansai, who, with his scarcely
less famous pupil, Takenouchi Shikibu, expounded the Chinese classics
according to the interpretation of Chutsz. They sought to combine the
cults of Confucianism and Shinto, and to demonstrate that the Mikados
were descendants of gods; that everything possessed by a subject
belonged primarily to the sovereign, and that anyone opposing his
Majesty's will must be killed, though his brothers or his parents
were his slayers. The obvious effect of such doctrines was to
discredit the Bakufu shoguns, and information having ultimately been
lodged in Yedo through an enemy of Takenouchi, seventeen Court nobles
together with others were arrested and punished, some capitally and
some by exile. Among those executed the most remarkable was Yamagata
Daini, a master of military science, who, having endured the torture
without confession, was finally put to death on the ground that in
teaching the method of attacking a fortress he used drawings of Yedo
Castle. This incident is remarkable as indicating the first potent
appearance of a doctrine to the prevalence of which the fall of the
Tokugawa Bakufu was ultimately referable.
THE 117TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPRESS GO-SAKURAMACHI (A.D. 1762-1770), AND
THE 118TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR GO-MOMOZONO (A.D. 1770-1780)
The Emperor Momozono died in 1762 after having administered the
Government for sixteen years. His eldest son, Prince Hidehito, being
a mere baby, it was decided that Princess Tomo, Momozono's elder
sister, should occupy the throne, Prince Hidehito becoming the Crown
Prince. Her Majesty is known in history as Go-Sakuramachi. Her reign
lasted only eight years, and in 1770 she abdicated in favour of her
nephew, Hidehito, who ascended the throne as the Emperor Go-Momozono
and died after a reign of nine years. This exhausted the lineal
descendants of the Emperor Nakanomikado.
THE 119TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR KOKAKU (A.D. 1780-1816)
In default of a direct heir it became necessary to have recourse to
one of the "Four Princely Families," and the choice fell upon Prince
Tomohito, representing the Kanin house. He succeeded as Kokaku, and a
Japanese historian remarks with regard to the event and to the growth
of the spirit fostered by Yamazaki Ansai, Takenouchi Shikibu, and
Yamagata Daini, that "the first string of the Meiji Restoration lyre
vibrated at this time in Japan." Kokaku's reign will be referred to
again later on.
ENGRAVING: (Keyari) SPEAR CARRIER (One of a Daimyo's Procession)
ENGRAVING: PICKING TEA LEAVES IN UJI, A CELEBRATED TEA DISTRICT