The theory of the Japanese government during the greater part of its long
career has been that of an absolute monarchy. The emperor was supposed to
hold in his hands the supreme authority, and to dispose, as he saw fit, of
honors and emoluments, offices and administrative duties. There was no
fundamental law of succession, by which the order of accession to the
throne was regulated. The reigning emperor usually selected during his
lifetime some one of his sons, or, if he had no sons, some other prince of
the imperial family, who became the crown prince during the life of the
emperor, and on his death succeeded to the throne.(95) The selection was
usually made with the concurrence of the officers of the court, and very
often must be credited entirely to the preference of these officers.
Sometimes the emperor died before the appointment of a crown prince had
taken place. In this case the selection lay in the hands of the court
officers, and many cases are recorded in the history of the empire where
serious disturbances arose between the partisans of different aspirants to
the throne. These disturbances usually account for the _interregna_ which
are so often found between the reigns of successive sovereigns.
To the freedom which has prevailed, not only in the imperial house but
also in all the families of the empire, in regard to the rights of
succession, must be attributed the long and unbroken line which the
imperial house of Japan is able to show. That a line of sovereigns should
continue from the time of Jimmu down to the present without break by
reason of the failure of children, is of course impossible. But the
difficulty disappears when it is remembered, that in case of the failure
of a son to succeed, the father provided for the want by adopting as his
son some prince of the imperial family, and appointing him as his heir.
With this principle of adoption must be mentioned the practice of
abdication(96) which produced a marked and constantly recurring influence
in the history of Japan. Especially was this the case in the middle ages
of Japanese history. The practice spread from the imperial house downwards
into all departments of Japanese life. Although the principle of
abdication and adoption was probably brought from China and was adopted by
the Japanese as a mark of superior culture, yet these practices were
carried to a much greater extent in Japan than was ever thought of in
their original home. We shall see in the story of Japanese times the
amazing and ludicrous extent to which the abdication of reigning
sovereigns was carried. We shall witness even the great and sagacious
Ieyasu himself, after holding the office of shōgun for only two years,
retiring in favor of his son Hidetada, and yet from his retirement
practically exercising the authority of the office for many years.
In A.D. 668 the Emperor Tenji(97) began a brief reign of three years. As
he had been regent during the two preceding reigns, and chiefly managed
the administration, very little change occurred after his accession to
power. His reign is mainly remarkable for the first appearance in a
prominent position of the Fujiwara family. The emperor appointed his
counsellor Nakatomi-no-Kamatari as _nai-daijin_ (private minister), an
office next in rank after _sa-daijin_, and which was created at this time.
Nakatomi, was authorized to assume the family name of Fujiwara, meaning
wistaria-field. The ancestor of this family, Nakatomi-no-Muraji,(98) was
fabled to have come down from the celestial plains to the island of
Kyūshū. The family therefore ranks with that of the emperor as the oldest
and most honored in the empire. From the time of its establishment down to
the present it has enjoyed many honors and privileges, and has played a
very distinguished part in the history of the country. This family first
became prominent during the reign of the Emperor Kōtoku. The Soga family
from the times of the first introduction of Buddhism had grown to be the
most powerful and influential in the empire. Umako had held the position
of _daijin_ and his son Yemishi became _daijin_ after his father’s death.
Yemishi presumed upon his promotion to this high office and put on the
airs of hereditary rank. He built castles for himself and son and
organized guards for their defence. His son Iruka became _daijin_ after
his father’s death and conducted himself with even greater arrogance. At
last his conduct became intolerable and he was assassinated A.D. 645. The
chief actor in this plot was Nakatomi-no-Kamatari, who was at this time on
intimate terms with the prince who afterwards became the Emperor Tenji.
Further experiences, this time disastrous, with Korea were encountered
during this reign. A Japanese garrison had been maintained in Kudara, the
western division of Korea. But at this time the people of Shiraki with
help from China attacked this garrison and compelled it to retreat to
Japan. Along with the Japanese came many of the Koreans who had been
friendly with them, and who carried with them, like the Huguenots when
driven from France, a knowledge of many arts and a culture which were
eagerly welcomed by the rising Japanese empire. They were colonized in
convenient quarters in different provinces, and as an encouragement freed
from taxation for a time. Their influence upon the opening civilization of
Japan cannot be overlooked or neglected in our estimate of the forces
which conspired to produce the final result. In the book of Japanese
annals called _Nihon Shoki_ there is a statement(99) that in the fifth
month of the second year of _Reiki_ (A.D. 717) 1799 Koreans were collected
together in the province of Musashi and formed the district of “Koma-gōri”
or Korean district. Again in the third year of _Tempyō Hoji_ (A.D. 760)
forty inhabitants of Shinra (a kingdom of Korea) and thirty-four priests
and priestesses came to Japan and founded the “Shinra-gōri,” or Korean
district. These events occurred not long after the time we are now
considering and show that the Korean colonization still continued and that
the influence of the arts and culture which the colonists introduced was
marked and important.
Few events are noted during the reigns which succeeded. The following are
the most worthy of mention. The Emperor Temmu (A.D. 673-686) added several
new degrees of rank to those already established. He also favored the
Buddhist religion by making its services obligatory, and by forbidding the
eating of flesh. Silver was first discovered in Tsushima A.D. 674, which
was followed twenty years later by the manufacture of the first silver
money. Copper was discovered in Musashi in the reign of the Empress Gemmyō
(A.D. 708-715) and the making of copper money came into vogue. Before that
time the copper money in use was obtained from Korea and China. Gold coin
is said to have been first issued under the Emperor Junnin (A.D. 759-765).
An observatory was established for the inspection of the stars in
connection with the new department of astrology. The cultivation of the
lacquer tree and the mulberry and the raising of silk-worms were still
further encouraged and extended. Cremation was first practised about A.D.
700 in the case of a Buddhist priest who left directions that his body
should be burned. Since that time cremation has been employed for the
disposal of the dead by the Shin (or Monto) sect, and is now authorized
but not made obligatory by the government. The progress made by Buddhism
is shown by the census of temples which was made in the reign of the
Empress Jito (A.D. 690-702) and which gave the number as 545. The
publication of the _Kojiki_ in A.D. 712, and of the _Nihongi_ eight years
later, has already been referred to at the close of the preceding chapter.
These works are still looked upon as the foundations of Japanese
literature and the highest authorities of Japanese history.
In the reign of the Empress Gemmyō (A.D. 710) the imperial residence was
fixed at Nara. Up to this time the custom(100) derived from antiquity had
prevailed of changing the residence on the accession of each new emperor.
But the court continued at Nara for a period of seventy-five years running
through seven reigns; and in consequence Nara has always been looked upon
with peculiar reverence, and is the seat of several of the most notable
Buddhist and Shintō temples(101) and structures. It is here that
Kasuga-no-miya was founded in A.D. 767 and dedicated to the honor of the
ancestor of the Fujiwara family. Here also is Tō-dai-ji a Buddhist temple
famed for containing the bronze statue of Great Buddha. This colossal idol
was constructed in A.D. 736 under the Emperor Shōmu, during the time that
the imperial court resided at Nara. The height of the image is fifty-three
feet, being seven feet higher than the Daibutsu at Kamakura. The temple
was built over the image and in A.D. 1180 was destroyed by a fire which
melted the head of the image. This was replaced. The temple was burned
again A.D. 1567, from which time the image has remained as the Japanese
say “a wet god.”
In A.D. 794(102) during the reign of the Emperor Kwammu (A.D. 782-806) the
capital was removed to Kyōto on the banks of the Kamogawa. The situation
and the environs are lovely, and justify the affectionate reverence with
which it has ever been regarded. Here were built the palaces and offices
for the emperor and his court. It was officially called Miyako, that is,
residence of the sovereign. It continued to be occupied as the capital
until A.D. 1868, when the court was moved to Tōkyō. At this time the name
of the city was changed to Saikyō, which means western capital, in
distinction from Tōkyō, which means eastern capital.
The Emishi in the northern part of the Main island continued to give much
trouble to the government. During the reign of the Emperor Shōmu (A.D.
724-756) Fujiwara-no-Umakai was sent against these restless neighbors and
succeeded in reducing them to subjection, which lasted longer than usual.
A fort was built to keep them in subjection, called the castle of Taga.
There is still standing a stone monument at Taga, between Sendai and
Matsushima, on which is an inscription which has been translated by Mr.
Aston,(103) of the British legation. The inscription gives the date of its
first construction, which corresponds to A.D. 724, and of its restoration,
A.D. 762. Mr. Aston points out that the _ri_ here mentioned is not the
present Japanese _ri_ equivalent to miles 2.44, but the ancient _ri_ which
is somewhat less than half a mile. This makes it evident that the part of
the Main island north of a point near Sendai was at this time denominated
Yezo, and was occupied by the barbarous tribes who then as now called
themselves Yezo.
The employment of a Fujiwara in this expedition was probably purely
perfunctory. So far as we know, this family, which had by this time risen
to a position of great influence, was in no respect military, and the
appointment of Umakai as chief of the forces sent against the Ainos was
due to the political prominence of his family. For many centuries the
relations of the Fujiwara family to the imperial house was most intimate.
Indeed the late Viscount Mori,(104) in his introduction to _Education in
Japan_, speaks of this relation as a “proprietorship.” “The throne for a
time became virtually the property of one family, who exclusively
controlled it.” This family was that of Fujiwara,(105) to which reference
has already been made. The founder of this house, Kamatari, was a man of
great talent and administrative ability, and his immediate successors were
worthy of their ancestor’s fame, and in succession filled the office of
_daijin._ In this way the office came to be regarded as hereditary in the
Fujiwara family. The office of _kuambaku_, also from about A.D. 880,
became hereditary in the Fujiwara house. Owing to the great age and
prominence of the family, it became customary to marry the emperors and
princes of the imperial house to ladies taken from it, so that after a
time the mothers and wives of the princes of the imperial house were
without exception descendants of the Fujiwara, and the offices of the
court were in the hands of this family. In this condition of things the
abdication of emperors, before they had reigned long enough to learn the
duties of their position, became the common practice. This vicious custom
was encouraged by the Fujiwara, because it placed greater authority in
their hands, and left them to conduct the administration without
troublesome interference. The Emperor Seiwa (A.D. 859-880) commenced to
reign when he was nine years of age, and abdicated when he was
twenty-six.(106) Shujaku (A.D. 931-952) became emperor when he was eight
years of age and abdicated at the age of twenty-three. Toba became emperor
(A.D. 1108) at five years of age, and resigned at the age of twenty.
Rokujō was made emperor (A.D. 1166) at the age of two and resigned at the
age of four. Takakura, who succeeded Rokujō (A.D. 1169), was eight years
of age and abdicated at the age of nineteen. It often happened that there
were living at the same time several retired emperors, besides the actual
emperor.(107) Thus, in the period when Ichijō began his reign at the age
of seven (A.D. 987), there were three retired emperors still living, viz.:
Reizei, who began to reign (A.D. 968) at eighteen, and retired at twenty;
Enyū, who began to reign (A.D. 970) at eleven, and retired at twenty-six;
Kwazan, who began to reign (A.D. 985) at seventeen, and retired at
nineteen. At a period somewhat later than the one now under consideration,
during the reign of Go-Nijō, who had just been made emperor (A.D. 1301) at
seventeen, and who retired at nineteen, there were four retired emperors
living. When the emperors retired they often went into a Buddhist
monastery, taking the title of _hō-ō_ or _cloistered emperor_. From this
sacred seclusion they continued many times to wield the powers of
government.
The object of this abdication was twofold. The sovereigns themselves often
became restless and dissatisfied in the constrained attitude which they
were compelled to maintain. If they were in the least ambitious to meet
the requirements of their elevated position and realized in any degree the
legitimate claims which their country had upon them, their natural efforts
to take part in the administration were promptly checked, and they were
reminded that it was unbecoming and unfitting for the descendants of the
gods to mingle in ordinary earthly affairs. In this way it often fell out
that the ablest of the emperors retired from the actual position of
reigning emperor in order to free themselves from the restraints of
etiquette and from the burden of _ennui_ which held them captive. They
assumed the dignity of retired emperors, and often from their retirement
wielded a greater influence and exerted a far more active part in the
administration of affairs than they ever had been able to do when upon the
imperial throne.
Besides this motive which affected the occupants of the throne, there was
a corresponding one which led the officers of the court to encourage and
perhaps sometimes to compel the emperors to abdicate. These administrative
officers, into whose hands the management of the government had fallen,
were desirous to retain their authority, and therefore whenever an emperor
exhibited signs of independence, or any disposition to think or act for
himself, they contrived means to have him retire and leave in his place
some inexperienced boy who could be more easily controlled.
In this kind of supervising statesmanship the Fujiwara family became, and
for centuries remained, supreme experts. For a period of four hundred
years, from A.D. 645 to 1050, they monopolized nearly all the important
offices in the government. The wives and concubines of the feeble emperors
were all taken from its inexhaustible _repertoire_. The men of the family,
among whom were always some of administrative ability, found it a task of
no great difficulty to rule the emperor who was supposed to be divinely
inspired to rule the empire, especially when he was usually a boy whose
mother, wife, and court favorites were all supplied from the Fujiwara
family. This kind of life and environment could not fail to produce on the
successive emperors a sadly demoralizing effect. They were brought up in
an enervating atmosphere and their whole life was spent in arts and
employments which, instead of developing in them a spirit of independence
and a high ambition and ability to govern well the empire committed to
them, led them to devote themselves to pleasures, and to leave to others
less fortunate the duty of administering the affairs of government.
The same circumstances which demoralized the occupants of the imperial
throne served in a certain though less degree to enervate and enfeeble the
Fujiwara family. Although they sometimes appointed one of their number the
commander of an expedition against the Emishi, or to put down fresh
revolts in the island of Kyūshū, yet his duties were purely honorary. He
usually remained at home and sent one or more of the active military
chieftains to lead the forces against the enemy in the field. If the
expedition was successful, however, the honorary commander did not forget
to have himself duly promoted, and rewarded with additional lands and
income.
Other families besides the Fujiwara, rose in these long and weary
centuries to prominence, and seemed on the point of disputing the security
of their position. Thus the Tachibana in the eighth century attained high
honors and distinction. It was an old family, and even as far back as the
legend of Yamato-dake(108) we find that a princess of the Tachibana family
was his wife, who sacrificed herself in the bay of Yedo to appease the
turbulent waters. It was Maroyé, a member of the Tachibana family and a
favorite of the Emperor Shōmu (A.D. 724-756), who compiled the collection
of ancient Japanese poetry called Man-yōshū or collection of Myriad
Leaves.
Another family which attained prominence was the Sugawara. It originated
in the province of Kawachi. The most noted representative of this family
was Sugawara Michizané, who was first conspicuous as the teacher of the
young prince who afterward became the Emperor Uda (A.D. 888-898). He was a
brilliant scholar in Chinese, which was then the learned language of the
East. Even down to modern times his family has been devoted to learning.
The Sugawara(109) and Ōye families both had adopted literature as their
hereditary profession, and the government made them an allowance for the
expenses(110) of those who might be pursuing their studies in the national
university. The influence of Michizané over the emperor was marked and
salutary. Under his wise tutelage Uda showed so much independence that the
Fujiwara _Kwambaku_ found means to lead him to abdicate in favor of his
son, who became the sixtieth emperor, and is known under the historic name
of Daigo. Michizané became the counsellor and was created _nai-daijin_
under the new emperor, who at the time of his accession was only fourteen
years old. But the _Kwambaku_ Tokihira determined to free himself from the
adverse influence of this wise and honest counsellor. So he had him sent
in a kind of honorable banishment to Dazaifu, the seat of the vice-royalty
of the island of Kyūshū. It is said that he died here in A.D. 903. There
was a great re-action in regard to him after his death, and he was
canonized under the name of Tenjin(111) (Heavenly god), and is held sacred
as the patron saint of men of letters and of students. The twenty-fifth
day of each month is kept as a holiday in schools, sacred to Tenjin-Sama,
and the twenty-fifth of June as an annual _matsuri_.
[Illustration]
Michizane.
But the families which finally displaced the Fujiwara from their position
of supremacy were what were technically called the military families. The
separation of officers into civil and military was made under the reforms
introduced from China. The Fujiwara in the main restricted themselves to
civil duties. Wherever it was necessary to send military expeditions
against the barbarians of the north, or rebels in Kyūshū, or into the
disaffected districts of Korea, commanders were selected from families
devoted to military service. The Taira family was of this class. Hei is
the Chinese equivalent of the Japanese name Taira, and is more often used
in the literature of the times. The Taira family sprang from the Emperor
Kwammu (A.D. 782-806) through one of his concubines. The great-grandson of
Kwammu, Takamochi, received permission to adopt the name of Taira, and
thus became the founder of the family. They were the military vassals of
the crown for many generations.
A little later than the Taira arose another family, the Minamoto, whose
equivalent Chinese name was Gen. It sprang from the Emperor Seiwa (A.D.
859-880). His son Tadazumi became minister of war. Tadazumi had two sons,
who were granted the family name of Minamoto; the descendants of one of
them, Tsunemoto, being created military vassals.
The almost constant wars in which the empire was engaged led to the
extension of the military class. From the time now under discussion the
military class came to be looked upon as a distinct and separate part of
the population. It was composed of those who in the time of war showed an
aptitude for arms, and who were most serviceable in the campaigns which
they undertook. Gradually they became distinct from the agricultural
peasantry, and by education and training came to look upon arms as their
legitimate profession. They naturally attached themselves to the military
commanders who led them in their various expeditions, and thus were in
time regarded as the standing troops of the empire. This growth of a
military class, whose commanders were restless and ambitious, gradually
undermined the authority which the Fujiwara up to the tenth century had
almost unrestrictedly exercised. The employment of commanders from the
military families raised in them an ambition to share in the powers of
government. The struggles which ensued, first between the Fujiwara and
Taira, and then between the Taira and Minamoto, continued to keep the
country embroiled for more than a century. The suffering and desolation
resulting from these weary internecine wars can only be paralleled by such
conflicts as that between the White and Red Roses in England, or the
Thirty Years’ War in Germany. Of these struggles it will be possible to
give only an outline.
It has already been mentioned that the Taira family sprang from the
Emperor Kwammu,(112) whose great-grandson, Takamochi received permission
to take Taira as his family name. The Emperor Shirakawa tired of the
arrogance of the Fujiwara in A.D. 1087 retired into a cloister, and from
this seclusion continued to exercise a controlling influence in the
conduct of affairs. Tadamori a descendant of Taira-no-Takamochi was a
favorite in his court, and even had a _liaison_ with one of his
concubines.
The ex-emperor complaisantly informed the courtier that if the child to be
born proved to be a daughter he himself would adopt it, but if a son then
it should belong to Tadamori. Accordingly the child being a son was a
Taira, and rose to great eminence as Taira-no-Kiyomori. Tadamori acquired
for himself great credit by his successful expedition against Korean
pirates who had cruised along the eastern coasts of Japan. In the troubles
which subsequently arose in reference to the succession the Taira took an
important part. The Emperor Toba, who succeeded to the throne in A.D. 1108
at the age of six, abdicated in A.D. 1123 at the age of twenty-six. Both
his father, the ex-Emperor Horikawa, and his grandfather, the ex-Emperor
Shirakawa, were still living in retirement. He was succeeded by his son
the Emperor Shutoku in A.D. 1124, then six years old, who after reigning
seventeen years abdicated. He had a son but was succeeded A.D. 1142 by his
brother Konoye who was four years of age. This mature youth reigned
thirteen years and died without abdicating. On his death-bed he adopted as
the crown prince his brother Go-Shirakawa, thus displacing the lineal
heir. The succession was now bitterly disputed. The Minamoto chiefly
espoused the cause of the displaced heir, while Kiyomori and the Taira
together with Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo supported Go-Shirakawa. In a battle
fought A.D. 1156 Kyomori won the victory. This victory raised him to a
pinnacle of power. He began a career of nepotism and patronage which was
not inferior to that of the Fujiwara. The ex-Emperor Shutoku and his son
were banished to the province of Sanuki where it is said that Shutoku died
of starvation. Tametomo a member of the Minamoto clan who was famed for
his great strength and for his skill in archery was sent as an exile to
the island of Hachijō, southeast of the promontory of Izu. From this
island he escaped, and it is a tradition that he made his way to the
Ryūkyū islands where he rose to prominence and became the ancestor of the
kings of these islands.
Yoshitomo of the Minamoto clan, who had sided with Kiyomori in the recent
dynastic conflict was a brother of the Tametomo just mentioned. He was
greatly offended by the violent use which Kiyomori made of the power which
had come into his hands. With all the Minamoto and Fujiwara he conspired
to overthrow the victorious and arrogant Taira. But Kiyomori suspecting
the plans of his enemies took measures to counteract them and suddenly
fell upon them in the city of Kyōto. Yoshitomo was obliged to save himself
by fleeing to Owari, where he was assassinated by the agents of Kiyomori.
The death of the head of the Minamoto only made the tyrant more determined
to crush all opposition. Even the ex-Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who was a
son-in-law of Kiyomori, but who showed some signs of disapproval, was sent
into exile. Several of the sons of Yoshitomo were put to death; but
Yoritomo then a boy of thirteen was saved by the interference of the
mother-in-law of Kiyomori, and was sent into exile in the province of Izu,
and put into the safe-keeping of two faithful Taira men, one of whom Hōjō
Tokimasa will be heard of hereafter.
Besides the four sons of Yoshitomo by his wife, he had also three sons by
a concubine named Tokiwa. She was a woman of great beauty, and for that
reason as well as because she was the mother of the romantic hero
Yoshitsuné, she has often been chosen by Japanese artists as the subject
of their pictures. Tokiwa and her three children, of whom Yoshitsuné was
then an infant at the breast, fled at the breaking out of the storm upon
Yoshitomo and the Minamoto clan. They are often represented as wandering
through a storm of snow, Yoshitsuné being carried as an infant on the back
of his mother, and the other two little ones pattering along with unequal
steps at her side. In this forlorn condition they were met by one of the
Taira soldiers, who took pity on them and gave them shelter. From him they
learned that Kiyomori had taken the mother of Tokiwa prisoner, and held
her in confinement, knowing that this would surely bring back to him the
fair fugitive and her children. In the Chinese teachings of that day, in
which Tokiwa had been educated, the duty of a child to its mother was
paramount to that of a mother to her child. So Tokiwa felt that it was
unquestionably her duty to go back at once to the capital and surrender
herself in order to procure the release of her mother. But her maternal
heart rebelled when she remembered that her babes would surely be
sacrificed by this devotion. Her woman’s wit devised a scheme which might
possibly furnish a way between these terrible alternatives. She determined
to surrender herself and her children to Kiyomori, and depend upon her
beauty to save them from the fate which had been pronounced upon all the
Minamoto. So with her little flock she went back and gave herself up to
the implacable tyrant. Softened by her beauty and urged by a number of his
courtiers, he set her mother at liberty in exchange for her becoming his
concubine, and distributed her children in separate monasteries. The chief
interest follows the youngest boy, Yoshitsuné, who was sent to the
monastery at Kurama Yama(113) near Kyōto. Here he grew up a vigorous and
active youth, more devoted to woodcraft, archery, and fencing than to the
studies and devotions of the monastery. At sixteen years of age he was
urged by the priests to become a monk and to spend the rest of his days in
praying for the soul of his father. But he refused, and shortly after he
escaped from the monastery in company with a merchant who was about to
visit the northern provinces. Yoshitsuné reached Mutsu, where he entered
the service of Fujiwara-no-Hidehira, then governor of the province. Here
he spent several years devoting himself to the military duties which
chiefly pertained to the government of that rough and barbarous province.
He developed into the gallant and accomplished soldier who played a
principal part in the wars which followed, and became the national hero
around whose name have clustered the choicest traditions of his country.
Meanwhile, as we have seen, Yoritomo,(114) the oldest son of Yoshitomo,
and by inheritance the head of the Minamoto clan, had been banished to Izu
and committed to the care of two faithful Taira adherents. Yoritomo
married Masago, the daughter of Hōjō Tokimasa, one of these, and found
means to induce Tokimasa to join him in his plans to overthrow the tyrant
Kiyomori, who now ruled the empire with relentless severity. Even the
retired emperor joined in this conspiracy and wrote letters to Yoritomo
urging him to lead in the attempt to put down the Taira. Yoritomo summoned
the scattered members of the Minamoto clan and all the disaffected
elements of every kind to his assistance. It does not seem that this
summons was responded to with the alacrity which was hoped for. The
inexperience of Yoritomo and the power and resources of him against whom
they were called upon to array themselves, led the scattered enemies of
Kiyomori to hesitate to join so hopeless a cause. The rendezvous of the
Minamoto was at Ishibashi Yama, and it is said that only three hundred men
gathered at the call. They were followed and attacked by a greatly
superior force, and utterly routed. It is a tradition that Yoritomo and
six friends, who had escaped from the slaughter of this battle, hid
themselves in the hollow of an immense tree. Their pursuers, in searching
for them, sent one of their number to examine this tree. He was secretly a
friend of the Minamoto, and when he discovered the fugitives he told them
to remain, and announced to those who sent him that the tree was empty. He
even inserted his spear into the hollow and turned it about to show that
there was nothing there. When he did this two doves(115) flew out, and the
artful soldier reported that spiders’ webs were in the mouth of the
opening.
Yoritomo now fled to the promontory of Awa, east of what became known
afterward as Yedo bay. He sent messages in every direction summoning the
enemies of Kiyomori to join him. His brother Yoshitsuné gathered what
forces he could from the north and marched to the region which was to
become famous as the site of Kamakura. He was joined by others of his clan
and soon felt himself in such a position as to assume the aggressive. He
fixed upon Kamakura as his headquarters about A.D. 1180, and as his power
increased it grew to be a great city. It was difficult of access from
Kyōto and by fortifying the pass of Hakoné,(116) where the mountainous
regions of Shinano come down to the eastern coast not far from Fujisan, it
was rendered safe from attacks coming from the south.
While these notes of preparation were being sounded Kiyomori, who as
_daijō-daijin_ had ruled the empire for many years, died A.D. 1181, at the
age of sixty-four. He was fully aware of the portentous clouds which were
gathering around his family. On his death-bed he is said to have warned
them of the danger arising from the plans of Yoritomo. According to the
_Nihon-Gwaishi_, he said, “My regret is only that I am dying, and have not
yet seen the head of Yoritomo of the Minamoto. After my decease do not
make offerings to Buddha on my behalf nor read sacred books. Only cut off
the head of Yoritomo of the Minamoto and hang it on my tomb.”
The death of Kiyomori(117) hastened the triumph of Yoritomo. Munemori the
son of Kiyomori became the head of the Taira clan, and continued the
contest. But Yoritomo’s combinations speedily reduced the country to his
power. Yoshitsuné with his army from the north was at Kamakura; Yoshinaka,
a cousin of Yoritomo, was in command of an army gathered in the highlands
of Shinano; while Yoritomo himself led the forces collected in Awa, Kazusa
and Musashi. The point to which all the armies were directed was the
capital where the Taira were still in full control. Yoshinaka was the
first to come in collision with the forces of the capital. Munemori had
sent out an army to oppose Yoshinaka who was swiftly approaching along the
Nakasendō. The Taira army was completely defeated and Yoshinaka marched
victoriously into the capital. Munemori with the reigning emperor Antoku,
then only a child six years of age, and all the imperial court crossed the
Inland sea to Sanuki, the northern province of the island of Shikoku. The
two retired emperors Go-Shirakawa, and Takakura who sympathized with the
revolutionary movements of Yoritomo, remained behind and welcomed
Yoshinaka to the capital. The retirement of the emperor from the palace
was taken as his abdication, and his younger brother, Go-Toba, then seven
years old, was proclaimed emperor.
Yoshinaka, puffed up by his rapid success, and disregarding the paramount
position of Yoritomo, assumed the superintendence of the government and
had himself appointed _sei-i-shōgun_,(118) which was the highest military
title then bestowed upon a subject. He even went so far as to antagonize
Yoritomo and undertook to pluck the fruits of the military movements which
had brought about this revolution of the government.
Yoritomo at once despatched Yoshitsuné at the head of his army to Kyōto to
put down this most unexpected and unnatural defection. He met Yoshinaka’s
army near lake Biwa and inflicted upon it a severe defeat. Overwhelmed
with shame and knowing that he deserved no consideration at the hands of
his outraged relatives, Yoshinaka committed suicide. Yoshitsuné then
followed the fugitive court. He destroyed the Taira palace at Hyōgo, and
then crossed over to Sanuki, whither the court had fled. Alarmed by the
swift vengeance which was pursuing them, Munemori together with the
emperor and his mother and all the court hastily embarked for what they
hoped might be an asylum in the island of Kyūshū. They were pursued by the
Minamoto army in the junks which had brought them to Sanuki. They were
overtaken at Dan-no-ura not far from the village of Shimonoseki, in the
narrow straits at the western extremity of the Inland sea. The naval
battle which here took place is the most famous in the annals of the
Japanese empire. According to the _Nihon-Gwaishi_ the Taira fleet
consisted of five hundred junks, and the Minamoto of seven hundred. The
vessels of the Taira were encumbered by many women and children of the
escaping families, which put them at a great disadvantage. The young
emperor, with his mother and grandmother, were also the precious freight
of this fugitive fleet. Of course, at this early date the vessels which
contended were unlike the monstrous men-of-war which now make naval
warfare so stupendous a game. They were not even to be compared with the
vessels which made up the Spanish Armada in A.D. 1588, or the ships in
which the gallant British sailors repulsed them. Cannon were no part of
their armament. The men fought with bows and arrows, and with spears and
swords. It was, however, a terrible hand-to-hand fight between men who
felt that their all was at stake. Story-tellers draw from this battle some
of their most lurid narratives, and artists have depicted it with
realistic horrors. The grandmother of the emperor, the widow of Kiyomori,
seeing that escape was impossible, took the boy emperor in her arms, and
in spite of the remonstrances of her daughter, who was the boy’s mother,
she plunged into the sea, and both were drowned.
The great mass of the Taira perished in this battle, but a remnant escaped
to the island of Kyūshū and hid themselves in the inaccessible valleys of
the province of Higo. Here they have been recognized in recent times, and
it is claimed that they still show the surly aversion to strangers which
is an inheritance derived from the necessity under which they long rested
to hide themselves from the vengeance which pursued them.(119)
This battle was decisive in the question of supremacy between the Taira
and Minamoto clans. The same policy of extermination which Kiyomori had
pursued against the Minamoto was now remorselessly enforced by the
Minamoto against the Taira. The prisoners who were taken in the battle
were executed to the last man. Munemori was taken prisoner and
decapitated. Whenever a Taira man, woman, or child was found, death was
the inevitable penalty inflicted. Yoritomo stationed his father-in-law
Hōjō Tokimasa at Kyōto to search out and eradicate his enemies as well as
to supervise the affairs of the government.
It will be remembered that Go-Toba, a mere child (A.D. 1186) only seven
years of age, had been put on the throne, in the place of the fugitive
Antoku. Now that the latter had perished at Dan-no-ura, there could be no
question about the legitimacy and regularity of Go-Toba’s accession. The
retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who had been a friend and promoter of the
schemes of Yoritomo, was still alive, and rendered important aid in the
re-organization of the government.
The darkest blot upon the character of Yoritomo is his treatment of his
youngest brother Yoshitsuné. It was he who had by his generalship and
gallantry brought these terrible wars to a triumphant conclusion. He had
crushed in the decisive battle of Dan-no-ura the last of the enemies of
Yoritomo. With his victorious troops he marched northward, and with
prisoners and captured standards was on his way to lay them at the feet of
his now triumphant brother at Kamakura. But the demon of jealousy had
taken possession of Yoritomo. He resented the success and fame of his more
winning and heroic brother. He sent orders to him not to enter Kamakura,
and to give up his trophies of battle at Koshigoye near to Enoshima. Here
at the monastery of Mampukuji is still kept the draft of the touching
letter(120) which he sent to his brother, protesting his loyalty and
denying the charges of ambition and self-seeking which had been made
against him. But all this availed nothing. Yoshitsuné returned to Kyōto
and, in fear of bodily harm from the machinations of his brother, made his
escape with his faithful servant Benkei,(121) into his old asylum with his
friend Fujiwara Hidehira the governor of Mutsu. Shortly after his arrival,
however, Hidehira died, and his son Yasuhira abjectly connived at his
assassination(122) A.D. 1189, with a view to secure Yoritomo’s favor. He
was at the time of his death only thirty years of age. He has lived down
to the present time in the admiring affection of a warlike and heroic
people. Although Yoritomo is looked upon as perhaps their greatest hero,
yet their admiration is always coupled with a _proviso_ concerning his
cruel treatment of his brother.
In order not to rest under the imputation of having encouraged this
assassination, Yoritomo marched at the head of a strong force and
inflicted punishment upon Yasuhira for having done what he himself desired
but dared not directly authorize.
The way was now clear for Yoritomo to establish a system of government
which should secure to him and his family the fruits of his long contest.
In A.D. 1190, he went up to the capital to pay his respects to the Emperor
Go-Toba as well as to the veteran retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa. The latter
was now in his sixty-sixth year, and had held his place through five
successive reigns, and was now the friend and patron of the new
government. He died, however, only two years later. Yoritomo knew the
effect produced by a magnificent display, and therefore made his progress
to the capital with all the pomp and circumstance which he could command.
The festivities were kept up for a month, and the court and its
surroundings were deeply impressed with a sense of the power and
irresistible authority of the head of the Minamoto clan.
Yoritomo did not, however, choose to establish himself at Kyōto amid the
atmosphere of effeminacy which surrounded the court. After his official
visit, during which every honor and rank which could be bestowed by the
emperor were showered upon his head and all his family and friends, he
returned to his own chosen seat at Kamakura. Here he busied himself in
perfecting a system which, while it would perpetuate his own power, would
also build up a firm national government.
His first step, A.D. 1184, was to establish a council at which affairs of
state were discussed, and which furnished a medium through which the
administration might be conducted. The president of this council was
Ōye-no-Hiromoto.(123) Its jurisdiction pertained at first to the
Kwantō—that is, to the part of the country east of the Hakoné barrier.
This region was more completely under the control of the Minamoto, and
therefore could be more easily and surely submitted to administrative
methods. He also established a criminal tribunal to take cognizance of
robberies and other crimes which, during the lawless and violent
disturbances in the country, had largely prevailed.
But the step, which was destined to produce the most far-reaching results,
consisted in his obtaining from the emperor the appointment of five of his
own family as governors of provinces, promising on his part to supervise
their actions and to be responsible for the due performance of their duty.
Up to this time the governors and vice-governors of provinces had always
been appointed from civil life and were taken from the families
surrounding the imperial court. He also was authorized to send into each
province a military man, who was to reside there, to aid the governor in
military affairs. Naturally, the military man, being the more active,
gradually absorbed much of the power formerly exercised by the governor.
These military men were under the authority of Yoritomo and formed the
beginning of that feudal system which was destined to prevail so long in
Japan. He also received from the court, shortly after his visit to Kyōto,
the title of _sei-i-tai-shōgun_, which was the highest military title
which had ever been bestowed on a subject. This is the title which, down
to A.D. 1868, was borne by the real rulers of Japan. The possession of the
power implied by this title enabled Yoritomo to introduce responsible
government into the almost ungoverned districts of the empire, and to give
to Japan for the first time in many centuries a semblance of peace.
There were also many minor matters of administration which Yoritomo, in
the few remaining years of his life, put in order. He obtained from the
emperor permission to levy a tax on the agricultural products of the
country, from which he defrayed the expenses of the military government.
He established tribunals for the hearing and determining of causes, and
thus secured justice in the ordinary affairs of life. He forbade the
priests and monks in the great Buddhist monasteries, who had become
powerful and arrogant, to bear arms, or to harbor those bearing arms.
[Illustration]
Yoritomo.
In all these administrative reforms Yoritomo was careful always to secure
the assent and authority of the imperial court.(124) In no case did he
assume or exercise independent authority. In this way was introduced at
this time that system of dual government which continued until the
resignation of the Tokugawa Shōgun in 1868. After his first visit to
Kyōto, in A.D. 1190, Yoritomo devoted the remaining years of his life to
the confirmation of his power and the encouragement of the arts of peace.
In A.D. 1195 he made a second magnificent visit to Kyōto and remained four
months. It is because of these peaceful results, which followed the long
internecine struggles, that the Japanese regard Yoritomo as one of their
most eminent and notable men. Under the influence of his court Kamakura
grew to be a great city and far outranked even Kyōto in power and
activity, though not in size.
In the autumn of the year A.D. 1198, when returning from the inspection of
a new bridge over the Sagami river, he had a fall from his horse which
seriously injured him. He died from the effects of this fall in the early
part of the following year, in the fifty-third year of his age. He had
wielded the unlimited military power for the last fifteen years. His death
was almost as much of an epoch in the history of Japan as his life had
been. We shall see in the chapters which follow the deplorable results of
that system of effeminacy and nepotism, of abdication and regency, which
Yoritomo had to resist, and which, had he lived twenty years more, his
country might have escaped.