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Edition d'Elite
Historical Tales
The Romance of Reality
By
CHARLES MORRIS
_Author of "Half-Hours with the Best American Authors," "Tales from
the Dramatists," etc._
IN FIFTEEN VOLUMES
Volume XII
Japanese and Chinese
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON
Copyright, 1898, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
Copyright, 1904, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
Copyright, 1908, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
[Illustration: GREAT GATE NIKKO.]
_CONTENTS._
PAGE
THE FIRST OF THE MIKADOS 5
HOW CIVILIZATION CAME TO JAPAN 12
YAMATO-DAKE, A HERO OF ROMANCE 19
JINGU, THE AMAZON OF JAPAN 27
THE DECLINE OF THE MIKADOS 35
HOW THE TAIRA AND THE MINAMOTO FOUGHT FOR POWER 41
THE BAYARD OF JAPAN 51
THE HOJO TYRANNY 59
THE TARTAR INVASION OF JAPAN 67
NOBUNAGA AND THE FALL OF THE BUDDHISTS 73
HOW A PEASANT BOY BECAME PREMIER 80
THE FOUNDER OF YEDO AND OF MODERN FEUDALISM 86
THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 97
THE DECLINE AND FALL OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 106
THE CAPTIVITY OF CAPTAIN GOLOWNIN 113
THE OPENING OF JAPAN 123
THE MIKADO COMES TO HIS OWN AGAIN 133
HOW THE EMPIRE OF CHINA AROSE AND GREW 142
CONFUCIUS, THE CHINESE SAGE 150
THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE 156
KAOTSOU AND THE DYNASTY OF THE HANS 172
THE EMPRESS POISONER OF CHINA 180
THE INVASION OF THE TARTAR STEPPES 186
THE "CRIMSON EYEBROWS" 192
THE CONQUEST OF CENTRAL ASIA 197
THE SIEGE OF SINCHING 202
FROM THE SHOEMAKER'S BENCH TO THE THRONE 205
THREE NOTABLE WOMEN 212
THE REIGN OF TAITSONG THE GREAT 217
A FEMALE RICHELIEU 223
THE TARTARS AND GENGHIS KHAN 228
HOW THE FRIARS FARED AMONG THE TARTARS 236
THE SIEGE OF SIANYANG 242
THE DEATH-STRUGGLE OF CHINA 249
THE PALACE OF KUBLAI KHAN 255
THE EXPULSION OF THE MONGOLS 264
THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS 272
THE MANCHU CONQUEST OF CHINA 281
THE CAREER OF A DESERT CHIEF 290
THE RAID OF THE GOORKHAS 299
HOW EUROPE ENTERED CHINA 306
THE BURNING OF THE SUMMER PALACE 315
A GREAT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT AND ITS FATE 323
COREA AND ITS NEIGHBORS 330
THE BATTLE OF THE IRON-CLADS 339
PROGRESS IN JAPAN AND CHINA 347
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
JAPANESE AND CHINESE.
PAGE
GREAT GATE, NIKKO _Frontispiece._
FUJIYAMA 10
SHUZENJI VILLAGE, IDZU 36
FARMERS PLANTING RICE SPROUTS, JAPAN 52
LETTER-WRITING IN JAPAN 63
KARAMO TEMPLE, NIKKO 78
RETURNING FROM MARKET, JAPAN 98
MAIN STREET, YOKOHAMA 108
CHUSENJI ROAD AND DAIYA RIVER 132
A CHINESE IRRIGATION WHEEL 165
AN ITINERANT COBBLER, CANTON, CHINA 180
A CHINESE PAGODA 197
WATER CART, PEKIN, CHINA 210
SHANGHAI, FROM THE WATER-SIDE 222
MARKET SCENE IN SHANGHAI 255
CHINESE GAMBLERS 281
CHAIR AND CAGO CARRIERS 306
STREET SCENE, PEKIN, CHINA 318
A BRONZE-WORKER'S SHOP 330
THE PEKIN GATE 347
* * * * *
_THE FIRST OF THE MIKADOS._
The year 1 in Japan is the same date as 660 B.C. of the Christian era,
so that Japan is now in its twenty-sixth century. Then everything began.
Before that date all is mystery and mythology. After that date there is
something resembling history, though in the early times it is an odd
mixture of history and fable. As for the gods of ancient Japan, they
were many in number, and strange stories are told of their doings. Of
the early men of the island kingdom we know very little. When the
ancestors of the present Japanese arrived there they found the islands
occupied by a race of savages, a people thickly covered with hair, and
different in looks from all the other inhabitants of Asia. These in time
were conquered, and only a few of them now remain,--known as Ainos, and
dwelling in the island of Yezo.
In the Japanese year 1 appeared a conqueror, Jimmu Tenno by name, the
first of the mikados or emperors. He was descended from the goddess of
the Sun, and made his home at the foot of Kirishima, a famous mountain
in the island of Kiushiu, the most southerly of the four large islands
of Japan. As to the smaller islands of that anchored empire, it may be
well to say that they form a vast multitude of all shapes and sizes,
being in all nearly four thousand in number. The Sea of Japan is truly
a sea of islands.
By way of the sailing clouds, and the blue sky which rests upon
Kirishima's snowy top, the gods stepped down from heaven to earth. Down
this celestial path came Jimmu's ancestors, of whom there were four
between him and the mighty Sun goddess. Of course no one is asked to
accept this for fact. Somewhat too many of the fathers of nations were
sons of the gods. It may be that Jimmu was an invader from some foreign
land, or came from a band of colonists who had settled at the mountain's
foot some time before, but the gods have the credit of his origin.
At any rate, Hiuga, as the region in which he dwelt was called, was not
likely to serve the ends of a party of warlike invaders, there being no
part of Japan less fertile. So, as the story goes, Jimmu, being then
fifty years old, set out to conquer some richer realm. He had only a few
followers, some being his brothers, the others his retainers, all of
them, in the language of the legends, being _kami_, or gods. Jimmu was
righteous; the savages were wicked, though they too had descended from
the gods. These savages dwelt in villages, each governed by a head-man
or chief. They fought hard for their homes, and were not easily driven
away.
The story of Jimmu's exploits is given in the _Kojiki_, or "Book of
Ancient Traditions," the oldest book of Japan. There is another, called
the _Nihongi_, nearly as old, being composed in 720 A.D. These give us
all that is known of the ancient history of the island, but are so full
of myths and fables that very little of the story is to be trusted.
Histories of later times are abundant, and form the most important part
of the voluminous literature of Japan. The islanders are proud of their
history, and have preserved it with the greatest care, the annals of
cities and families being as carefully preserved as those of the state.
Jimmu the conqueror, as his story is told in the _Kojiki_, met strange
and frightful enemies on his march. Among them were troops of spiders of
colossal size and frightful aspect, through whose threatening ranks he
had to fight his way. Eight-headed serpents had also to be dealt with,
and hostile deities--wicked gods who loved not the pious
adventurer--disputed his path. Some of these he rid himself of by
strength of arm and sharpness of sword, some by shrewdness of wit. His
line of march lay to Usa, in the district of Buzen; thence to Okada,
where he took ship and made his way through the windings of the Suwo
Nada, a part of the Inland Sea of Japan.
Landing in Aki, Jimmu built himself a palace, and dwelt there for seven
years, after which he sought the region of Bizen, where for eight years
more he lived in peace. Then, stirred once more by his in-dwelling love
of adventure, he took to the sea again with his faithful band and sailed
to the eastward. Rough waves and swift currents here disputed his way,
and it was with difficulty that he at length landed on Hondo, the main
island of Japan, near where the city of Osaka now stands. He named the
spot _Nami Haya_ ("swift waves").
Jimmu Tenno, the name of the conqueror, means "spirit of war," and so
far victory had perched upon his banners as he marched. But now defeat
came. The people of the great island fought fiercely for their homes and
liberties, a brother of Jimmu was wounded, and he and his band of
followers were driven back with loss.
The gods surely had something to do with this,--for in those days the
gods were thought to have little to do besides busying themselves with
the affairs of men,--and the cause of the defeat was sought by means of
sacred ceremonies and invocations. It proved to be an odd one. The
legend states they had offended the Sun goddess by presuming to travel
to the east, instead of following the path of the sun from east to west.
This insult to the gods could be atoned for only by a voyage to the
west. Taking to their ships again, they sailed westward around Kii, and
landed at Arasaka.
Jimmu had expiated his fault, and was again in favor with the gods. The
chief whom he now faced surrendered without a blow, and presented the
conquering hero with a sword. A picture of this scene, famous in the
early history of Japan, is printed on one of the Japanese greenback
notes issued in 1872.
The victor next sought the mountain-defended land of Yamato, which was
to be reached only by difficult mountain-passes, unknown to the chief
and his followers. But the gods had taken him in charge and came to his
aid, sending a giant crow, whose wings were eight feet long, to guide
him to the fertile soil of Yamato. A crow with smaller spread of wing
might have done the work as well, but would have been less satisfactory
to the legend-makers.
Fierce was the conflict now impending, and stern the struggle of the
natives for life and liberty. Here were no peaceful chiefs, like the one
met at Arasaka, and only by dint of trenchant blows was the land to be
won. On went the fight, victory now inclining to one side, now to the
other, until in the midst of the uncertain struggle the gods sent down a
deep and dark cloud, in whose thick shadow no man could see his foe, and
the strife was stayed. Suddenly, through the dense darkness, a bird in
the shape of a hawk came swooping down from the skies, enveloped in a
flood of golden light, and, dispersing the cloud, rested upon the hero's
bow. The light shed by his refulgent wings struck like the glare of
lightning upon the eyes of the enemy, so dazzling them with its radiance
that they broke into panic flight.
A victory gained in such a fashion as this does not seem quite
satisfactory to modern ideas. It is not fair to the other side. Yet it
was in this way that the Greeks won victory on the plains of Troy, and
that many other legendary victories were obtained. One cannot help
wishing that the event of battle had been left to the decision of brave
hearts and strong hands, instead of depending upon the interposition of
the gods. But such was the ancient way,--if we choose to take legend for
truth,--and we must needs receive what is given us, in default of
better.
At any rate, Jimmu was now lord of the land, and built himself a capital
city at Kashiwabara, near the site of the modern Kioto, from which he
governed the wide realms that the sword had made his own. The gods were
thanked for their aid by imposing religious ceremonies, and the people
rejoiced in the peace that had come upon the land. The soldiers who had
followed the hero to victory were amply rewarded, and his chiefs made
lords of provinces, for the control over which they were to pay in
military service. Thus early a form of feudal government was established
in Japan.
[Illustration: FUJIYAMA.]
All being now at peace within the realm, the weapons of war were hung up
in home and temple, sacrifices were offered to the goddess of the Sun,
and the three sacred emblems of the new kingdom, the mirror, the sword,
and the ball, were deposited with solemn ceremonies in the palace of the
emperor.
The remainder of Jimmu's story may be briefly told. He took for bride
the princess Tatara, the daughter of one of his chiefs, and the most
beautiful woman in all the land. The rest of his life was spent in
strengthening his rule and extending the arts of civilization throughout
his realm. Finally he died, one hundred and thirty-seven years old, as
the _Kojiki_ states, leaving three children, one of whom he had chosen
as the heir of the throne.
That there was an actual Jimmu Tenno is more than any one can say. Of
course the crow and kite, serpents and spiders, are myths, transformed,
perhaps, from some real incidents in his career, and the gods that
helped and hindered were doubtless born in men's fancies in later days.
The Chinese have their story of how Japan was settled. Taiko,
grandfather of the first emperor of the Shu dynasty, had three sons,
and, loving the youngest most, wished to leave him his title and estate.
These by law and custom belonged to the eldest, and the generous young
prince, not wishing to injure his brother, secretly left home and sailed
to the south. Leaving Southern China with a colony, he landed in Japan.
This took place about forty-six years before the beginning of Jimmu's
conquering career, so that the dates, at least, agree.
Whether there ever was a Jimmu or not, the Japanese firmly believe in
him. He stands on the list as the first of the mikados, and the reigning
emperor claims unbroken descent from him. April 7 is looked upon as the
anniversary of his accession to the throne, and is the Japanese national
holiday, which is observed with public rejoicings and military and naval
salutes. The year 1 was the year in which Jimmu ascended the throne.
_HOW CIVILIZATION CAME TO JAPAN:_
There is not much of absorbing interest in early Japanese history. For a
period of some twelve hundred years nearly all that we know of the
mikados is that they "lived long and died happy." No fewer than twelve
of these patriarchs lived to be over one hundred years old, and one held
the throne for one hundred and one years. But they were far surpassed in
longevity by a statesman named Takenouchi, who served five mikados as
prime minister and dwelt upon the earth for more than three hundred and
fifty years. There was not much "rotation in office" in those venerable
times.
We must come down for six hundred years from the days of Jimmu to find
an emperor who made any history worth the telling. In truth, a mist of
fable lies over all the works of these ancient worthies, and in telling
their stories we can never be sure how much of them is true. Very likely
there is sound history at the bottom, but it is ornamented with a good
deal that it is not safe to believe.
The first personage after Jimmu upon whom we need dwell was a wise and
worthy mikado named Sujin, who spent his days in civilizing his people,
probably no easy task. The gap of six centuries between Jimmu's time
and his had, no doubt, its interesting events, but none of particular
importance are upon record.
As a boy Sujin displayed courage and energy, together with the deepest
piety. As a man he mourned over the sinfulness of his people, and
earnestly begged them to give up their wicked ways and turn from sin to
the worship of the gods. He was not at first very successful. The people
were steeped in iniquity, and continued so until a pestilence was sent
to change the current of their sinful thoughts.
The pious monarch called upon the gods to stay the plague, doing penance
by rising early, fasting, and bathing,--possibly an unusual ceremony in
those days. The gods at length heard the voice of the king, and the
pestilence ceased. It had done its work. The people were convinced of
the error of their ways and turned from wantonness to worship, and
everywhere religious feeling revived.
As yet Japan possessed no temples or shrines, all worship being
conducted in the open air. The three holy emblems of the nation, the
mirror, the sword, and the ball, had thus far been kept within the
palace. Wherever they were the divine power dwelt, and the mikado,
living within their influence, was looked upon as equal to a god.
But the deities taught Sujin--or at least he thought they did--that this
was not the proper place for them. A rebellion broke out, due,
doubtless, to the evil spirit of men, but arising, in his opinion, from
the displeasure of the gods, who were not pleased with his keeping these
sacred objects under his own roof, where they might be defiled by the
unholiness of man. He determined, therefore, to provide for them a home
of their own, and to do so built the first temple in his realm. The
sacred symbols were placed under the care of his daughter, who was
appointed priestess of the shrine. From that day to this a virgin
princess of imperial blood has been chosen as custodian of these emblems
of deific power and presence.
The first temple was built at Kasanui, a village in Yamato. But the
goddess Amaterasu warned the priestess that this locality was not
sufficiently holy, so she set off with the mirror in search of a place
more to the taste of the gods, carrying it from province to province,
until old age overtook her, yet finding no spot that reflected the clear
light of holiness from the surface of the sacred mirror. Another
priestess took up the task, many places were chosen and abandoned, and
finally, in 4 A.D., the shrine of Uji, in Ise, was selected. This
apparently has proved satisfactory to the deities of Japan, for the
emblems of their divinity still rest in this sacred shrine. Sujin had
copies made of the mirror and the sword, which were kept in the "place
of reverence," a separate building within the palace. From this arose
the imperial chapel, which still exists within the palace bounds.
We speak of the "palace" of the mikado, but we must warn our readers not
to associate ideas of splendor or magnificence with this word. The
Emperor of Japan dwells not in grandeur, but in simplicity. From the
earliest times the house of the emperor has resembled a temple rather
than a palace. The mikado is himself half a god in Japanese eyes, and is
expected to be content with the simple and austere surroundings of the
images of the gods. There are no stateliness, no undue ornament, no
gaudy display such as minor mortals may delight in. Dignified simplicity
surrounds the imperial person, and when he dies he is interred in the
simplest of tombs, wonderfully unlike the gorgeous burial-places in
which the bodies of the monarchs of continental Asia lie in state.
When Sujin came to the throne the people of Japan were still in a state
of barbarism, and there was scarce a custom in the state that did not
call for reform. A new and better system of arranging the periods of
time was established, the year being divided into twenty-four months or
periods, which bear such significant names as "Beginning of Spring,"
"Rain-water," "Awakening of the Insects," "Clear Weather," "Seed-rain,"
etc. A census was ordered to be taken at regular intervals, and by way
of taxation all persons, men and women alike, were obliged to work for
the government for a certain number of days each year.
To promote commerce, the building of boats was encouraged, and regular
communication was opened with Corea, from which country many useful
ideas and methods were introduced into Japan. Even a prince of one of
the provinces of Corea came to the island empire to live. Agriculture
was greatly developed by Sujin, canals being dug and irrigation
extensively provided for. Rice, the leading article of food, needs to
be grown in well-watered fields, and the stealing of water from a
neighbor's field is looked upon as a crime of deepest dye. In old times
the water-thief was dealt with much as the horse-thief was recently
dealt with in some parts of our own country.
Sujin's work was continued by his successor, who, in 6 A.D., ordered
canals and sluices to be dug in more than eight hundred places. At
present Japan has great irrigating reservoirs and canals, through which
the water is led for miles to the farmers' fields. In one mountain
region is a deep lake of pure water, five thousand feet above the sea.
Many centuries ago a tunnel was made to draw off this water, and
millions of acres of soil are still enriched by its fertilizing flood.
Such are some of the results of Sujin's wise reforms.
Another of the labors of Sujin the civilizer was to devise a military
system for the defence of his realm. In the north, the savage Ainos
still fought for the land which had once been all their own, and between
them and the subjects of the mikado border warfare rarely ceased. Sujin
divided the empire into four military departments, with a shogun, or
general, over each. At a later date military magazines were established,
where weapons and rations could be had at any time in case of invasion
by the wild tribes on the border or of rebellion within the realm. In
time a powerful military class arose, and war became a profession in
Japan. Throughout the history of the island kingdom the war spirit has
been kept alive, and Japan is to-day the one nation of Eastern Asia
with a love of and a genius for warlike deeds. So important grew the
shoguns in time that nearly all the power of the empire fell into their
hands, and when the country was opened to foreign nations, one of these,
calling himself the Tai Kun (Tycoon), posed as the emperor himself, the
mikado being lost to sight behind the authority of this military chief.
At length old age began to weigh heavily upon Sujin, and the question of
who should succeed him on the throne greatly troubled his imperial mind.
He had two sons, but his love for them was so equally divided that he
could not choose between their claims. In those days the heirship to the
throne seems to have depended upon the father's will. Not being able to
decide for himself, he appealed to fate or divination, asking his sons
one evening to tell him the next morning what they had dreamed during
the night. On their dreams he would base his decision.
The young princes washed their bodies and changed their
clothes,--seemingly a religious rite. Visions came to them during the
still watches of the night, and the next morning they eagerly told their
father what dreams the gods had sent.
"I dreamed that I climbed a mountain," said the elder, "and on reaching
its summit I faced the east, and eight times I cut with the sword and
thrust with the spear."
"I climbed the same mountain," said the younger, "and stretched snares
of cords on every side, seeking to catch the sparrows that destroy the
grain."
The emperor listened intently, and thus sagely interpreted the visions
of his sons.
"You, my son," he said to the elder, "looked in one direction. You will
go to the east and become its governor. You looked in every direction,"
he said to the younger. "You will govern on all sides. The gods have
selected you as my heir."
His words came true. The younger became ruler over all the land; the
elder became a warrior in the east and governor over its people.
And Sujin the civilizer, having lived long and ruled wisely, was
gathered to his fathers, and slept death's dreamless sleep.
_YAMATO-DAKE, A HERO OF ROMANCE._
We have now to deal with the principal hero of Japanese legend,
Yamato-Dake, the conqueror. His story is full of myth and fable, but
there is history in it, too, and it is well worth the telling. Every
ancient nation has its legendary hero, who performs wonderful feats,
dares fearful perils, and has not only the strength of man but the power
of magic and the wiles of evil spirits to contend against. We give the
story as it stands, with all its adventures and supernatural incidents.
This Japanese hero of romance, born 71 A.D., was the son of Keiko, the
twelfth in line of the mikados. In form he was manly and graceful, fair
of aspect, and of handsome and engaging presence. While still a youth he
led an army to Kiushiu, in which island a rebellion had broken out. In
order to enter the camp of the rebel force, he disguised himself as a
dancing-girl, a character which his beardless face and well-rounded
figure enabled him easily to assume. Presenting himself before the
sentinel, his beauty of face and form disarmed the soldier of all doubt,
and he led the seeming damsel to the presence of the rebel chief, from
whom he hoped for a rich reward.
Here the visitor danced before the chief and his guests with such
winning grace that they were all captivated, and at the end of the dance
the delighted chief seized his prize by the hand and drew the seemingly
coy damsel into his own tent. Once within its folds, the yielding girl
suddenly changed into a heroic youth who clasped the rebel with a
vigorous embrace and slew him on the spot. For this exploit the youthful
prince received his title of Yamato-Dake, or "Yamato the Warlike."
Thirteen years later a revolt broke out among the wild tribes of Eastern
Japan, and the young hero marched with an army to subdue them. His route
led him past the shrine of the Sun goddess, in Ise, and here the
priestess presented him with the sacred sword, one of the holy emblems
of the realm. His own sword was left under a neighboring pine.
Armed with this magical blade, he continued his march into the wilds of
Suruga, the haunt of the insurgent Ainos. But he found it no easy matter
to bring these savage foes to an open fight. Fleeing before his army
into the woods and mountains, they fought him from behind rocks and
trees, it being their policy of warfare to inflict damage upon the enemy
with as little loss as possible to themselves. Like the American
Indians, these savages were used to all the forest wiles, quick to avail
themselves of every sound or sign, able to make their way with ease
through tangled thickets and pathless forests, and adepts in all the
lore of wood and wild.
As the army of Yamato pressed them too closely, they set fire to the dry
underbrush which densely surrounded their lurking-place. The high wind
carried the flames in roaring waves towards the Japanese army, which
was in the most serious danger, for it was encamped amid tall, dry
grass, which quickly became a sea of soaring flame. With yells of
delight the Ainos gazed upon the imminent peril of their foes; but
suddenly their exultation was changed to dismay. For at this moment of
danger the Sun goddess appeared to Yamato, and at her suggestion he drew
the sacred sword--Murakumo, or "Cloud Cluster"--and cut the grass that
thickly rose around him. Before the magic of the blade fire itself was
powerless, and the advancing flames turned and swept towards the enemy,
many of whom were consumed, while the others fled in panic fear.
Grateful to the gods for this timely aid, the hero changed the name of
the sword, decreeing that thenceforth it should be known as Kusanagi, or
"Grass-Mower."
His route now led, by a mountain pathway, into the great plain of
Eastern Japan, afterwards known as the Kuanto, which extends from the
central ranges to the Pacific coast. Reaching the shores of the Bay of
Yedo, he looked across from its southern headland to the opposite
peninsula of Awa, whose hills seemed very close at hand.
"It will be easy to cross that channel," he said: "it is but a trifle.
Let the army embark."
He did not know how treacherous was the navigation of this strait, whose
weather is never to be trusted, and whose winds, tides, and currents are
baffling and perilous. Embarking with his followers, he looked for an
easy and rapid progress; but a terrible storm arose, tossing the boats
so frightfully that death seemed their sure fate.
Yamato was not at a loss to know what was amiss. He was familiar with
the ways of the gods, and knew that some hostile deity was at work to
ruin him. His contemptuous remark about the ease of the passage had
given deep offence to the Japanese Neptune, the god of the Sea, who was
punishing him for his lack of reverence. There was only one way by which
the angry deity might be appeased,--the sacrifice of a victim to his
wrath. But who among them was ready to yield life for duty? The question
was answered by Tachibana, the youthful wife of the chief, who was in
the boat with her lord. With a hurried farewell, the devoted woman
sprang into the wild waves, which in a moment swept her far away. It was
an acceptable sacrifice. The winds fell, the waves went down, the clouds
broke, and soon the sun was serenely shining on ruffled sea and tranquil
shore.
All that Yamato saw again pertaining to his wife was her perfumed wooden
comb, which floated ashore and was dedicated by him as a precious relic
in a shrine which he built to the gods. A shrine still stands on the
spot, which is within the modern city of Tokio, and there to-day
fishermen and sailors worship the spirits of Yamato and his sainted
wife.
Thence the hero sailed along the shore, subduing the tribes as he went,
until the northern boundary of the empire was reached. Here the leaders
of the Ainos had gathered a great army to repel the invader. But on
seeing the ships, which were new objects to their eyes, awe and
consternation overwhelmed them.
"They are living things," they said,--"strange moving monsters who glide
over the sea and bring our foes to our undoing. The gods must have sent
them, and will destroy us if we draw bow against these works of their
hands."
Throwing down their arms, they surrendered to Yamato when he sprang
ashore, and agreed to pay tribute to the state. Taking their leaders as
hostages for their good conduct, the hero turned homeward, eager to
reach again the capital from which he had been so long away. His route
was now overland, and to entertain himself on the long journey he
invented a form of poetic verse which is still much in use by the poets
of Japan.
As yet all his work had been done on the plain near the shores of the
sea. Now, marching inland, he ascended to the great table-land of
Shinano, from twenty-five hundred to five thousand feet above the sea,
around and within which lie the loftiest mountains of Japan. From this
height could be obtained a magnificent view of the Bay of Yedo, the
leafy plains surrounding, and the wide-extending ocean. Japan has no
more beautiful scene, and Yamato stood silently gazing over its broad
expanse, the memory of his beloved wife, who had given her life for his,
coming back to him as he gazed. "Adzuma, adzuma" ("my wife, my wife"),
fell in sad accents from his lips. These words still haunt that land. In
the poet's verse that broad plain is to-day called Adzuma, and one of
the great ships of the new navy of Japan is named Adzuma-kuan.
It was no light task which now lay before the army and its chief. Even
to-day the mountains of Shinano are far from easy to cross. Then they
were unknown, and their crossing was a work of the greatest difficulty
and risk. There were rocky defiles and steep ascents to climb, river
torrents to pass, rugged paths to mount, without a road to follow or a
guide to conduct, and with clouds and fogs to double the dangers of the
way. Here, to their fancy, in caves and ravines hostile spirits lurked;
every mountain had its tutelary god; at every step the deities of good
and evil seemed to be at strife for their destiny, and with all the
perils of the way the gods were thought to have something to do.
Thus on one day the god of the mountain came to Yamato in the form of a
white deer, with purpose to work him evil. The hero, on the alert
against the hostile spirits, threw wild garlic in the animal's eyes,
causing so violent a smarting pain that it died. At once a dense mist
descended upon the hill-slopes and the path vanished, leaving the army
to grope onward in danger and dismay. But at this moment of dread a
white dog appeared--a god again, but a friendly one this time--who led
the bewildered soldiers in safety to the plains of Mino.
But they were not yet free from the wiles of the white deer. Its spirit
now appeared, discharging among them poisonous gases, before whose
stupefying influence they fell helpless to the ground. The wild garlic
again was their salvation. Some one ate of it with happy effect, and
gave it to all the men and animals, so that all got well again. Wild
garlic is still looked upon in Japan as a specific against disease and
as a safeguard against witches. For this purpose it is hung up before
gates and doorways in times of epidemic or superstitious fear.
The hero next came to Ibuki yama, a cone-shaped mountain whose flattened
summit seemed to pierce the skies. Here too dwelt a hostile spirit, who
disputed the way, and against whom Yamato advanced unarmed, leaving his
sword, "Grass-Mower," under a tree at the mountain's foot. The gods of
Japan, perhaps, were proof against weapons of steel. Not far had the
hero gone before the deity appeared upon his path, transformed into a
threatening serpent. Leaping over it, he pursued his way. But now the
incensed deity flung darkness on the mountain's breast, and the hero,
losing his path, swooned and fell. Fortunately, a spring of healing
water bubbled beside him, a drink from which enabled him to lift his
head. Onward he went, still feeble, for the breath of the serpent god
was potent for ill, and at length reached Otsu, in the district of Ise,
where, under the pine-tree, he found the sword which he had left there
on setting out, three years before. His gladness found vent in a poem
composed of these words: "O pine, if you were a man, I should give you
this sword to wear for your fidelity."
The conquering prince was now near the end of his career. Still sick
unto death from his adventure upon the mountain, he told before the
shrine of the gods the tale of his victories and perils, offered to
them his weapons and prisoners, and thanked them piously for their care.
Then he sent a report of his doings to his father, the mikado, and
begged to see him. Keiko, the father, sent a messenger with words of
comfort, but when he arrived the heroic Yamato-Dake was dead.
He was buried near where he died, and from his tomb a white bird was
seen to fly. On opening the tomb nothing was found but the dead hero's
chaplet and robes. The place where the bird was seen to alight bears
still a name signifying Imperial Tomb of the White Bird. Thus ended the
career of the leading Japanese hero of romance. His story sounds like a
fairy-tale, though it may well be that Yamato-Dake was a real person and
that many of the things told of him actually occurred.
_JINGU, THE AMAZON OF JAPAN._
To-day the women of Japan are kept in seclusion and take no part in
affairs of state. This does not seem to have been always the case. In
the far past, we are told, women often rose to posts of honor and
dignity, and some even filled the mikado's throne. Nor is this all. To a
woman is given the glory of the greatest event in the history of ancient
Japan, the conquest of Corea, from which land civilization, literature,
and a new religion subsequently came to the island realm.
The name of this Japanese heroine was Okinaga Tarashi hime, but she is
best known under the title of Jingu, or "warlike deed." The character
given her in tradition is an attractive one, combining beauty, piety,
intelligence, energy, and valor. The waves of the sea, the perils of the
battle-field, and the toils or terrors of war alike failed to fill the
soul of this heroine with fear, and the gods marched with her and aided
her in her enterprises. Great as she was in herself, the Japanese give
her higher honor still, as the mother of their god of war.
This imperial Amazon was the wife of the mikado Chinai, who in 193 A.D.
set out at the head of his army for Kiushiu, a rebellion having broken
out at Kumaso, in that island. His courageous wife took ship and
followed him to the seat of war. On her voyage thither she stopped at
one of the islands of the Inland Sea to offer worship to the gods. And
as she did so the voice of the deity of the shrine came to her ears.
"Why do you trouble yourself to conquer Kumaso?" spoke the mysterious
voice. "It is but a poor and barren spot, not worth your labor nor the
work of your army. There is a country, larger and richer by far, a land
as lovely as the face of a fair virgin, dazzlingly bright with gold,
silver, and rare colors, and rich with treasures of every kind. Such a
noble region is Shiraki [Corea]. Continue to worship me, and this rich
land shall be yours without the shedding of blood. As for Kumaso, my
help and the glory of your conquest will cause it to yield."
On joining the emperor, Jingu repeated to him the words of the god, but
she found in him a doubting listener. There was a high mountain near the
camp, and to the summit of this he climbed and looked far out over the
westward sea. No land was visible to his eyes where she had declared the
rich realm of Shiraki lay, and he was confirmed in his doubts. On
returning to her he said,--
"I looked everywhere, and saw water alone; no land was to be seen. Is
there a country in the sky? If not, your words are false. And my
ancestors worshipped all the gods; or if there are any they did not
worship, I know them not. Why, then, should they not speak to me?"
"If you credit only your doubts," answered the god through the lips of
the empress, "and declare that there is no country where I have said a
country exists, you blaspheme, and shall never see this land, but the
empress, your wife, shall have the glory of its conquest."
Even this was not enough to overcome the doubts of the emperor. He was
not ready to believe that a god could speak through a woman, and refused
to risk his army on an unknown sea. On the contrary, he led it against
Kumaso, from which the rebels drove him back in defeat. Soon after he
died suddenly in camp, or, as some declare, was slain in battle by an
arrow. Takenouchi, his minister, kept his death a secret from the
soldiers, while the valiant Jingu continued the war and soon brought the
rebellion to an end.
The death of the mikado had left the power of the state and the command
of the army in the hands of his wife, who had shown her valor and
ability in the conquest of Kumaso. Her mind was now filled with the
promise of the god and the hope of new glory to be won beyond the sea.
But first she deemed it wise to obtain further signs from the celestial
powers.
Going to the shore of the sea, she baited a hook with a grain of rice
and threw it into the water, saying, "If a fish be caught with this
grain of rice, then the conquest of a rich country shall indeed be
mine."
When she drew up the line, to her delight she saw a fish on the hook.
"_Medzurashiki mono!_" ("wonderful thing!"), she exclaimed, viewing the
marvel as a sure signal that the gods approved her design. Her words
have been corrupted into Matsura, which is the name of the place to this
day, and here, every year, at the opening of the fourth Japanese month,
the women of the vicinity go fishing, no men being permitted to cast in
their lines on that day.
The pious empress, as if some of the doubts of the mikado had clung to
her mind, sought still another sign from the gods. She now let her long
hair fall into the water, saying that if the gods favored her design her
tresses would come out of the water dry and parted in two divisions.
Again the celestial powers heard. Her abundant black locks left the
water dry and neatly parted as by a comb.
Doubt no longer troubled her soul. She at once ordered the generals of
the army to recruit new forces, build ships, and prepare for an ocean
enterprise.
"On this voyage depends the glory or the ruin of our country," she said
to them. "I intrust its details to you, and will hold you to blame if
anything goes amiss through lack of care. I am a woman, and am young.
But I shall undertake this enterprise, and go with you disguised as a
man, trusting to you and my army, and, above all, to the gods. If we are
wise and valiant, a wealthy country shall be ours. If we succeed, the
glory shall be yours; if through evil fortune we fail, on me shall lie
all the guilt and disgrace."
The enthusiasm of the empress infected the commanders, who promised her
their full support in her enterprise, which was by far the greatest that
Japan had ever ventured upon. The ships were built, but the perils of
the voyage frightened the people, and the army increased but slowly.
Impatient at the delay, but with no thought of giving up her task, the
empress again appealed to the gods. A shrine of purification was built,
lustrations were made, sacrifices offered, and prayers for speedy
success sent up to the celestial hosts. The Kami, or gods, proved
favorable still. Troops now came rapidly in. Soon a large army was
assembled and embarked, and all was ready for the enterprise. It was the
year 201 A.D., the first year of the third Christian century.
Jingu now issued her final orders, to the following effect:
"There must be no plundering.
"Despise not a few enemies, and fear not many.
"Give mercy to those who yield, but no quarter to the stubborn.
"The victors shall be rewarded; deserters shall be punished."
Then through her lips the gods spoke again: "The Spirit of Peace will
always guide and protect you. The Spirit of War will guide your ships
across the seas."
It must here be remarked that the annals of Japan do not seem to be in
full harmony. In the days of Sujin the civilizer, a century and a half
earlier, we are told that there was regular communication between Corea
and Kiushiu, and that a prince of Corea came to Japan to live; while the
story of Jingu seems to indicate that Corea was absolutely unknown to
the islanders. There were none to pilot the fleet across the seas, and
the generals seemed ignorant of where Corea was to be found, or of the
proper direction in which to steer. They lacked chart and compass, and
had only the sun, the stars, and the flight of birds as guides. As Noah
sent out birds from his ark to spy out the land, so they sent fishermen
ahead of the fleet, and with much the same result. The first of these
messengers went far to the west, and returned with the word that land
was nowhere to be seen. Another messenger was sent, and came back with
cheering news. On the western horizon he had seen the snowy peaks of
distant mountains.
Inspired by this report, the adventurers sailed boldly on. The winds,
the waves, the currents, all aided their speed. The gods even sent
shoals of huge fishes in their wake, which heaped up the waves and drove
them forward, lifting the sterns and making the prows leap like living
things.
At length land was seen by all, and with shouts of joy they ran their
ships ashore upon the beach of Southern Corea. The sun shone in all its
splendor upon the gallant host, which landed speedily upon the new-found
shores, where it was marshalled in imposing array.
The Coreans seem to have been as ignorant of geography as the Japanese.
The king of this part of the country, hearing that a strange fleet had
come from the east and a powerful army landed on his shores, was lost in
terror and amazement.
"Who can these be, and whence have they come?" he exclaimed. "We have
never heard of any country beyond the seas. Have the gods forsaken us,
and sent this host of strangers to our undoing?"
Such was the fear of the king that he made no resistance to the
invaders. Corean envoys were sent to them with the white flags of peace,
and the country was given up without a fight. The king offered to
deliver all his treasures to the invading host, agreed to pay tribute to
Japan, and promised to furnish hostages in pledge of his good faith. His
nobles joined with him in his oath. The rivers might flow backward, they
declared, or the pebbles in the river-beds leap up to the stars, but
they would never break their word.
Jingu now set up weapons before the gate of the king in token of her
suzerainty and of the peace which had been sworn. The spoils won from
the conquered land consisted of eighty ships well laden with gold and
precious goods of every kind the country possessed, while eighty noble
Coreans were taken as hostages for the faith of the king. And now, with
blare of trumpet and clash of weapons, with shouts of triumph and songs
of praise to the gods, the fleet set sail for home. Two months had
sufficed for the whole great enterprise.
Nine empresses in all have sat upon the throne of Japan, but of these
Jingu alone won martial renown and gained a great place in history. The
Japanese have always felt proud of this conquest of Corea, the first war
in which their armies had gone to a foreign country to fight. They had,
to use their common phrase, made "the arms of Japan shine beyond the
seas," and the glory of the exploit descended not only on the Amazon
queen, but in greater measure upon her son, who was born shortly after
her return to Japan.
The Japanese have given more honor to this son, still unborn when the
conquest was achieved, than to his warlike mother. It was in him, not in
his mother, they declare, that the Spirit of War resided, and he is now
worshipped in Japan as the God of War. Ojin by name, he became a great
warrior, lived to be a hundred and ten years old, and was deified after
his death. Through all the centuries since he has been worshipped by the
people, and by soldiers in particular. Some of the finest temples in
Japan have been erected in his honor, and the land is full of shrines to
this Eastern Mars. He is represented with a frightful and scowling
countenance, holding in his arms a broad, two-edged sword. In all
periods of Japanese art a favorite subject has been the group of the
snowy-bearded Takenouchi, the Japanese Methuselah, holding the infant
Ojin in his arms, while Jingu, the heroic mother, stands by in martial
robes.
_THE DECLINE OF THE MIKADOS._
Our journey through Japanese history now takes us over a wide leap, a
period of nearly a thousand years, during which no event is on record of
sufficient interest to call for special attention. The annals of Japan
are in some respects minute, but only at long intervals does a hero of
importance rise above the general level of ordinary mortals. We shall,
therefore, pass with a rapid tread over this long period, giving only
its general historical trend.
The conquest of Corea was of high importance to Japan. It opened the way
for a new civilization to flow into the long isolated island realm. For
centuries afterwards Corea served as the channel through which the arts
and thoughts of Asia reached the empire of the mikados. We are told of
envoys bearing tribute from Corea of horses, and of tailors, and finally
a schoolmaster, being sent to Japan. The latter, Wani by name, is said
to have introduced the art of writing. Mulberry-trees were afterwards
planted and silk-culture was undertaken. Then came more tailors, and
after them architects and learned men. At length, in the year 552, a
party of doctors, astronomers, astrologists, and mathematicians came
from Corea to the Japanese court, and with them a number of Buddhist
missionaries, who brought a new religion into the land.
Thus gradually the arts, sciences, letters, and religions of Asia made
their way into the island kingdom, and the old life of Japan was
transformed. A wave of foreign civilization had flowed across the seas
to give new life and thought to the island people, and the progress of
Japan from the barbarism of the far past towards the civilization of the
present day then fairly began.
[Illustration: Shuzenji Village, Idzu]
Meanwhile, important changes were taking place in the government. From
the far-off days of Jimmu, the first emperor, until a century after
Buddhism was introduced, the mikados were the actual rulers of their
people. The palace was not a place of seclusion, the face of the monarch
was visible to his subjects, and he appeared openly at the head of the
army and in the affairs of government. This was the golden age of the
imperial power. A leaden age was to succeed.
The change began in the appointment by Sujin of shoguns or generals over
the military departments of the government. Gradually two distinct
official castes arose, those in charge of civil affairs and those at the
head of military operations. As the importance of these officials grew,
they stood between the emperor and his subjects, secluding him more and
more from the people. The mikado gradually became lost to view behind a
screen of officialism, which hid the throne. Eventually all the military
power fell into the hands of the shoguns, and the mikado was seen no
more at the head of his army. His power decayed, as he became to the
people rather a distant deity than a present and active ruler. There
arose in time a double government, with two capitals and centres of
authority; the military caste became dominant, anarchy ruled for
centuries, the empire was broken up into a series of feudal provinces
and baronies, and the unity of the past was succeeded by the division of
authority which existed until far within the nineteenth century. The
fact that there were two rulers, in two capitals, gave the impression
that there were two emperors in Japan, one spiritual and one secular,
and when Commodore Perry reached that country, in 1853, he entered into
a treaty with the shogun or "tycoon," the head of the military caste,
under the belief that he was dealing with the actual ruler of Japan. The
truth is, there has never been but one emperor in Japan, the mikado. His
power has varied at times, but he is now again the actual and visible
head of the empire, and the shoguns, who once lorded it so mightily,
have been swept out of existence.