A History of the Japanese People Part 17

POETRY

If we credit the annals, the composition of poetry commenced in the earliest ages and was developed independently of foreign influences.

From the sovereign down to the lowest subject, everyone composed verses. These were not rhymed; the structure of the j.a.panese language does not lend itself to rhyme. Their differentiation from prose consisted solely in the numerical regularity of the syllables in consecutive lines; the alternation of phrases of five and seven syllables each. A tanka (short song) consisted of thirty-one syllables arranged thus, 5, 7, 5, 7, and 7; and a naga-uta (long song) consisted of an unlimited number of lines, all fulfilling the same conditions as to number of syllables and alternation of phrases.

No parallel to this kind of versification has been found yet in the literature of any other nation. The Chronicles and the Records abound with tanka and naga-uta, many of which have been ascribed by skeptics to an age not very remote from the time when those books were compiled. But the j.a.panese themselves think differently. They connect the poems directly with the events that inspired them. Further reference to the subject will be made hereafter. Here it will suffice to note that the composing of such verselets was a feature of every age in j.a.pan.

UTA-GAKI

A favourite pastime during the early historic period was known as uta-gaki or uta-kai. In cities, in the country, in fields, and on hills, youths and maidens a.s.sembled in springtime or in autumn and enjoyed themselves by singing and dancing. Promises of marriage were exchanged, the man sending some gifts as a token, and the woman, if her father or elder brother approved, despatching her head-ornament (oshiki no tamakatsura) to her lover. On the wedding day it was customary for the bride to present "table-articles" (tsukue-shiro) to the bridegroom in the form of food and drink. There were places specially a.s.sociated in the public mind with uta-gaki--Tsukuba Mountain in Hitachi, Kijima-yama in Hizen, and Utagaki-yama in Settsu. Sometimes men of n.o.ble birth took part in this pastime, but it was usually confined to the lower middle cla.s.ses. The great festival of bon-odori, which will be spoken of by and by, is said to be an outgrowth of the uta-gaki.

SUPERSt.i.tIONS

No influences of alien character affected the religious beliefs of the j.a.panese during the period we are now considering (fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries). The most characteristic feature of the time was a belief in the supernatural power of reptiles and animals. This credulity was not limited to the uneducated ma.s.ses. The Throne itself shared it. Yuryaku, having expressed a desire to see the incarnated form of the Kami of Mimoro Mountain, was shown a serpent seventy feet long. In the same year a group of snakes harra.s.sed a man who was reclaiming a marsh, so that he had to take arms against them and enter into a compact of limitations and of shrine building. Other records of maleficent deities in serpent shape were current, and monkeys and dragons inspired similar terror. Of this superst.i.tion there was born an evil custom, the sacrifice of human beings to appease the hostile spirits. The Kami of Chusan in Mimasaka province was believed to be a giant ape, and the Kami of Koya, a big reptile.

The people of these two districts took it in turn to offer a girl at the shrines of those Kami, and in the province of Hida another colossal monkey was similarly appeased. There were further cases of extravagant superst.i.tion.

ARTS AND CRAFTS

Of the development of sericulture and of the arts of weaving and ceramics in this era enough has already been written; but, as showing the growth of refinement, it may be noted that among the articles ordered by the Emperor Yuryaku were a silk hat and a sashiha, or round fan with a long handle. The colour of the fan was purple, and it is said to have been hung up as an ornament in the palace.

FORM OF GOVERNMENT

The original form of government under the Yamato seems to have been feudal. The heads of uji were practically feudal chiefs. Even orders from the Throne had to pa.s.s through the uji no Kami in order to reach the people. But from the time of Nintoku (313-349) to that of Yuryaku (457-479), the Court wielded much power, and the greatest among the uji chiefs found no opportunity to interfere with the exercise of the sovereign's rights. Gradually, however, and mainly owing to the intrusion of love affairs or of l.u.s.t, the Imperial household fell into disorder, which prompted the revolt of Heguri, the o-omi of the Kwobetsu (Imperial families); a revolt subdued by the loyalty of the o-muraji of the Shimbetsu (Kami families).

From the days of the Emperor Muretsu (499-506), direct heirs to succeed to the sceptre were wanting in more than one instance, and a unique opportunity thus offered for traitrous essays. There was none.

Men's minds were still deeply imbued with the conviction that by the Tenjin alone might the Throne be occupied. But with the introduction of Buddhism (A.D. 552), that conviction received a shock. That the Buddha directed and controlled man's destiny was a doctrine inconsistent with the traditional faith in the divine authority of the "son of heaven." Hence from the sixth century the prestige of the Crown began to decline, and the puissance of the great uji grew to exceed that of the sovereign. During a short period (645-670) the authority of the Throne was rea.s.serted, owing to the adoption of the Tang systems of China; but thereafter the great Fujiwara-uji became paramount and practically administered the empire.

For the sake, therefore, of an intelligent sequence of conception, there is evidently much importance in determining whether, in remote antiquity, the prevailing system was feudal, or prefectural, or a mixture of both. Unfortunately the materials for accurate differentiation are wanting. Much depends on a knowledge of the functions discharged by the kuni-no-miyatsuko, who were hereditary officials, and the kuni-no-tsukasa (or kokushi) who were appointed by the Throne. The closest research fails to elucidate these things with absolute clearness. It is not known even at what date the office of kokushi was established. The first mention of these officials is made in the year A.D. 374, during the reign of Nintoku, but there can be little doubt that they had existed from an earlier date. They were, however, few in number, whereas the miyatsuko were numerous, and this comparison probably furnishes a tolerably just basis for estimating the respective prevalence of the prefectural and the feudal systems.

In short, the method of government inaugurated at the foundation of the empire appears to have been essentially feudal in practice, though theoretically no such term was recognized; and at a later period--apparently about the time of Nintoku--when the power of the hereditary miyatsuko threatened to grow inconveniently formidable, the device of rea.s.serting the Throne's authority by appointing temporary provincial governors was resorted to, so that the prefectural organization came into existence side by side with the feudal, and the administration preserved this dual form until the middle of the seventh century. There will be occasion to refer to the matter again at a later date.

ANNALS OF THE UJI

It is essential to an intelligent appreciation of j.a.panese history that some knowledge should be acquired of the annals of the great uji.

From the time of Nintoku (A.D. 313-399) until the introduction of Buddhism (A.D. 552), there were four uji whose chiefs partic.i.p.ated conspicuously in the government of the country. The first was that of Heguri. It belonged to the Imperial cla.s.s (Kwobetsu) and was descended from the celebrated Takenouchi-no-Sukune. In the days of the Emperor Muretsu (499-506), the chief of this uji attempted to usurp the throne and was crushed. The second was the Otomo. This uji belonged to the Kami cla.s.s (Shimbetsu) and had for ancestor Michi no Omi, the most distinguished general in the service of the first Emperor Jimmu. The chiefs of the Otomo-uji filled the post of general from age to age, and its members guarded the palace gates. During the reign of Yuryaku the office of o-muraji was bestowed upon Moroya, then chief of this uji, and the influence he wielded may be inferred from the language of an Imperial rescript where it is said that "the tami-be of the o-muraji fill the country." His son, Kanamura, succeeded him. By his sword the rebellion of Heguri no Matori was quelled, and by his advice Keitai was called to the Throne. He served also under Ankan, Senkwa, and Kimmei, but the miscarriage of j.a.pan's relations with Korea was attributed to him, and the t.i.tle of o-muraji was not conferred on any of his descendants.

The uji of Monon.o.be next calls for notice. "Monono-be" literally signifies, when expanded, a group (be) of soldiers (tsuwamono). In later times a warrior in j.a.pan was called mono-no-fu (or bushi), which is written with the ideographs mono-be. This uji also belonged to the Kami cla.s.s, and its progenitor was Umashimade, who surrendered Yamato to Jimmu on the ground of consanguinity. Thenceforth the members of the uji formed the Imperial guards (uchi-tsu-monon.o.be) and its chiefs commanded them. Among all the uji of the Kami cla.s.s the Monon.o.be and the Otomo ranked first, and after the latter's failure in connexion with Korea, the Monon.o.be stood alone. During the reign of Yuryaku, the uji's chief became o-muraji, as did his grandson, Okoshi, and the latter's son, Moriya, was destroyed by the o-omi, Soga no Umako, in the tumult on the accession of Sushun (A.D. 588).

The fourth of the great uji was the Soga, descended from Takenouchi-no-Sukune. After the ruin of the Heguri, this uji stood at the head of all the Imperial cla.s.s. In the reign of Senkwa (536-539), Iname, chief of the Soga, was appointed o-omi, and his son, Umako, who held the same rank, occupies an important place in connexion with the introduction of Buddhism. It will be observed that among these four uji, Heguri and Soga served as civil officials and Otomo and Monon.o.be as military.

There are also three other uji which figure prominently on the stage of j.a.panese history. They are the Nakotomi, the Imibe, and the k.u.me.

The Nakatomi discharged the functions of religious supplication and divination, standing, for those purposes, between (Naka) the Throne and the deities. The Imibe had charge of everything relating to religious festivals; an office which required that they should abstain (imi suru) from all things unclean. The k.u.me were descended from Amatsu k.u.me no Mikoto, and their duties were to act as chamberlains and as guards of the Court.

Finally, there was the Oga-uji, descended from Okuninushi, which makes the eighth of the great uji. From the time of the Emperor Jimmu to that of the Empress Suiko (A.D. 593-628), the n.o.bles who served in ministerial capacities numbered forty and of that total the Monon.o.be furnished sixteen; the Otomo, six; the o-omi houses (i.e. the Kwobetsu), nine; the Imibe, one; the Nakatomi, six; and the Oga, two.

Thus, the military uji of Monon.o.be and Otomo gave to the State twenty-two ministers out of forty during a s.p.a.ce of some twelve centuries.

ENGRAVING: PROFESSIONAL STORY-TELLER

ENGRAVING: SHIGURETEI AND KASA-NO-CHAYA IN THE KODAIJI (Examples of Ancient Tea Houses)

CHAPTER XIV

FROM THE 29TH TO THE 35TH SOVEREIGN

The 29th Sovereign, Kimmei A.D. 540-571

" 30th " Bidatsu " 572-585

" 31st " Yomei " 586-587

" 32nd " Sushun " 588-592

" 33rd " Suiko " 593-628

" 34th " Jomei " 629-641

" 35th " Kogyoku " 642-645

THE seven reigns five Emperors and two Empresses commencing with the Emperor Kimmei and ending with the Empress Kogyoku, covered a period of 105 years, from 540 to 645, and are memorable on three accounts: the introduction of Buddhism; the usurpation of the great uji, and the loss of j.a.pan's possessions in Korea.

THE INTRODUCTION OF BUDDHISM

During the reign of the Emperor Ming of the Hou-Han dynasty, in the year AD. 65, a mission was sent from China to procure the Buddhist Sutras as well as some teachers of the Indian faith. More than three centuries elapsed before, in the year 372, the creed obtained a footing in Korea; and not for another century and a half did it find its way (522) to j.a.pan. It encountered no obstacles in Korea. The animistic belief of the early Koreans has never been clearly studied, but whatever its exact nature may have been, it certainly evinced no bigotry in the presence of the foreign faith, for within three years of the arrival of the first image of Sakiya Muni in Koma, two large monasteries had been built, and the King and his Court were all converts.

No such reception awaited Buddhism in j.a.pan when, in 522, a Chinese bonze, Shiba Tachito, arrived, erected a temple on the Sakata plain in Yamato, enshrined an image, of Buddha there, and endeavoured to propagate the faith. At that time, Wu, the first Emperor of the Liang dynasty in China, was employing all his influence to popularize the Indian creed. Tradition says that Shiba Tachito came from Liang, and in all probability he took the overland route via the Korean peninsula, but the facts are obscure. No sensible impression seems to have been produced in j.a.pan by this essay. Buddhism was made known to a few, but the j.a.panese showed no disposition to worship a foreign G.o.d. Twenty-three years later (545), the subject attracted attention again. Song w.a.n.g Myong, King of Kudara, menaced by a crushing attack on the part of Koma and Shiragi in co-operation, made an image of the Buddha, sixteen feet high, and pet.i.tioned the Court of Yamato in the sense that as all good things were promised in the sequel of such an effort, protection should be extended to him by j.a.pan. Tradition says that although Buddhism had not yet secured a footing in Yamato, this image must be regarded as the pioneer of many similar objects subsequently set up in j.a.panese temples.

Nevertheless, A.D. 552 is usually spoken of as the date of Buddhism's introduction into j.a.pan. In that year the same King of Kudara presented direct to the Yamato Court a copper image of Buddha plated with gold; several canopies (tengai), and some volumes of the sacred books, by the hands of Tori Shichi (Korean p.r.o.nunciation, Nori Sachhi) and others. The envoys carried also a memorial which said: "This doctrine is, among all, most excellent. But it is difficult to explain and difficult to understand. Even the Duke Chou and Confucius did not attain to comprehension. It can produce fortune and retribution, immeasurable, illimitable. It can transform a man into a Bodhi. Imagine a treasure capable of satisfying all desires in proportion as it is used. Such a treasure is this wonderful doctrine.

Every earnest supplication is fulfilled and nothing is wanting.

Moreover, from farthest India to the three Han, all have embraced the doctrine, and there is none that does not receive it with reverence wherever it is preached. Therefore thy servant, Myong, in all sincerity, sends his retainer, Nori Sachhi, to transmit it to the Imperial country, that it may be diffused abroad throughout the home provinces,* so as to fulfil the recorded saying of the Buddha, 'My law shall spread to the East.'"** It is highly probable that in the effort to win the Yamato Court to Buddhism, King Myong was influenced as much by political as by moral motives. He sought to use the foreign faith as a link to bind j.a.pan to his country, so that he might count on his oversea neighbour's powerful aid against the attacks of Koma and Shiragi.

*That is to say, the Kinai, or five provinces, of which Yamato is the centre.

**The memorial is held by some critics to be of doubtful authenticity, though the compilers of the Chronicles may have inserted it in good faith.

A more interesting question, however, is the aspect under which the new faith presented itself to the j.a.panese when it first arrived among them as a rival of Shinto and Confucianism. There can be no doubt that the form in which it became known at the outset was the Hinayana, or Exoteric, as distinguished from the Mahayana, or Esoteric. But how did the j.a.panese converts reconcile its acceptance with their allegiance to the traditional faith, Shinto? The clearest available answer to this question is contained in a book called Taishiden Hochu, where, in reply to a query from his father, Yomei, who professed inability to believe foreign doctrines at variance with those handed down from the age of the Kami, Prince Shotoku is recorded to have replied:

"Your Majesty has considered only one aspect of the matter. I am young and ignorant, but I have carefully studied the teachings of Confucius and the doctrine of the Kami. I find that there is a plain distinction. Shinto, since its roots spring from the Kami, came into existence simultaneously with the heaven and the earth, and thus expounds the origin of human beings. Confucianism, being a system of moral principles, is coeval with the people and deals with the middle stage of humanity. Buddhism, the fruit of principles, arose when the human intellect matured. It explains the last stage of man. To like or dislike Buddhism without any reason is simply an individual prejudice. Heaven commands us to obey reason. The individual cannot contend against heaven. Recognizing that impossibility, nevertheless to rely on the individual is not the act of a wise man or an intelligent. Whether the Emperor desire to encourage this creed is a matter within his own will. Should he desire to reject it, let him do so; it will arise one generation later. Should he desire to adopt it, let him do so; it will arise one generation earlier. A generation is as one moment in heaven's eyes. Heaven is eternal. The Emperor's reign is limited to a generation; heaven is boundless and illimitable. How can the Emperor struggle against heaven? How can heaven be concerned about a loss of time?"

The eminent modern j.a.panese historiographer, Dr. Ariga, is disposed to regard the above as the composition of some one of later date than the ill.u.s.trious Shotoku, but he considers that it rightly represents the relation a.s.signed to the three doctrines by the j.a.panese of the sixth and seventh centuries. "Shinto teaches about the origin of the country but does not deal with the present or the future.

Confucianism discusses the present and has no concern with the past or the future. Buddhism, alone, preaches about the future. That life ends with the present cannot be believed by all. Many men think of the future, and it was therefore inevitable that many should embrace Buddhism."

But at the moment when the memorial of King Myong was presented to the Emperor Kimmei, the latter was unprepared to make a definite reply. The image, indeed, he found to be full of dignity, but he left his ministers to decide whether it should be worshipped or not. A division of opinion resulted. The o-omi, Iname, of the Soga family, advised that, as Buddhism had won worship from all the nations on the West, j.a.pan should not be singular. But the o-muraji, Okoshi, of the Monon.o.be-uji, and Kamako, muraji of the Nakatomi-uji, counselled that to bow down to foreign deities would be to incur the anger of the national G.o.ds. In a word, the civil officials advocated the adoption of the Indian creed; the military and ecclesiastical officials opposed it. That the head of the Monon.o.be-uji should have adopted this att.i.tude was natural: it is always the disposition of soldiers to be conservative, and that is notably true of the j.a.panese soldier (bushi). In the case of the Nakatomi, also, we have to remember that they were, in a sense, the guardians of the Shinto ceremonials: thus, their aversion to the acceptance of a strange faith is explained.

What is to be said, however, of the apparently radical policy of the Soga chief? Why should he have advocated so readily the introduction of a foreign creed? There are two apparent reasons. One is that the Hata and Aya groups of Korean and Chinese artisans were under the control of the Soga-uji, and that the latter were therefore disposed to welcome all innovations coming from the Asiatic continent. The other is that between the o-muraji of the Kami cla.s.s (Shimbetsu) and the o-omi of the Imperial cla.s.s (Kwobetsu) there had existed for some time a political rivalry which began to be acute at about the period of the coming of Buddhism, and which was destined to culminate, forty years later, in a great catastrophe. The Emperor himself steered a middle course. He neither opposed nor approved but entrusted the image to the keeping of the Soga n.o.ble. Probably his Majesty was not unwilling to submit the experiment to a practical test vicariously, for it is to be noted that, in those days, the influence of the Kami for good or for evil was believed to be freely exercised in human affairs.

This last consideration does not seem to have influenced Soga no Iname at all. He must have been singularly free from the superst.i.tions of his age, for he not only received the image with pleasure but also enshrined it with all solemnity in his Mukuhara residence, which he converted wholly into a temple.

Very shortly afterwards, however, the country was visited by a pestilence, and the calamity being regarded as an expression of the Kami's resentment, the o-muraji of the Monon.o.be and the muraji of the Nakatomi urged the Emperor to cast out the emblems of a foreign faith. Accordingly, the statue of the Buddha was thrown into the Naniwa ca.n.a.l and the temple was burned to the ground. Necessarily these events sharply accentuated the enmity between the Soga and the Monon.o.be. Twenty-five years pa.s.sed, however, without any attempt to restore the worship of the Buddha. Iname, the o-omi of the Soga, died; Okoshi, the o-muraji of the Monon.o.be, died, and they were succeeded in these high offices by their sons, Umako and Moriya, respectively.