A History of the Japanese People Part 79

"The moral results of the systems briefly stated were as follows: Chutsz 'a teaching produced many learned men in this country, but not infrequently these men were inferior, being narrow-minded, prejudiced, and behind the age. w.a.n.g's doctrines, on the other hand, while they cannot escape the charge of shallowness on all occasions, serve the moral purpose for which they were propagated better than those of the rival school. Though in the ranks of the j.a.panese followers of Chutsz there were numbers of insignificant, bigoted traditionalists, the same cannot be said of those who adopted w.a.n.g's views. They were as a cla.s.s fine specimens of humanity, abreast, if not ahead, of the age in which they lived. No system of teaching has produced anything approaching such a number of remarkable men. If a tree is to be judged by its fruit, w.a.n.g's philosophy in j.a.pan must be p.r.o.nounced one of the greatest benefits that she received from the neighbouring continent, though not a little of its power in this country is to be traced to the personality of the man who was the first to make it thoroughly known to his fellow countrymen, Nakaye Toju."*

*See Professor Walter Dening's brochure on Confucian Philosophy in j.a.pan.

Dr. Inouye adds: "By exclusive attention to the dictates of conscience and by sheer force of will the w.a.n.g school of philosophers succeeded in reaching a standard of attainment that served to make them models for posterity. The integrity of heart preached by his followers in j.a.pan has become a national heritage of which all j.a.panese are proud. In the West, ethics has become too exclusively a subject of intellectual inquiry, a question as to which of rival theories is the most logical. By the j.a.panese, practical virtue has been exalted to the pedestal of the highest honour."

The same authority, discussing the merits of the Chutsz school, says: "To the question which has so often been asked during the past few years, whence comes the j.a.panese fine ethical standard, the answer is that it undoubtedly originated with the teaching of Chutsz as explained, modified, and carried into practice in j.a.pan. The moral philosophy of the Chutsz school in j.a.pan compared with that of the other two schools was moderate in tone, free from eccentricities, and practical in a rare degree. In the enormous importance it attached to self-culture and what is known in modern terminology as self-realization, the teaching of the Chutsz school of j.a.panese moralists differed in no material respects from the doctrines of the New Kantians in England."

RETIREMENT OF SADAn.o.bU

After six years of most enlightened service, Matsudaira Sadan.o.bu resigned office in 1793 to the surprise and consternation of all truly patriotic j.a.panese. History is uncertain as to the exact cause of his retirement, but the explanation seems to be, first, that his uncompromising zeal of reform had earned him many enemies who watched constantly for an opportunity to attack him, and found it during his absence on a visit to inspect the coasts of the empire with a view to enforcing the veto against foreign trade; and secondly, that a question of prime importance having arisen between the Courts of Kyoto and Yedo, Sadan.o.bu's influence was exercised in a manner deeply resented by the sovereign as well as by the loyalists throughout the empire. This important incident will be presently referred to in detail. Here it will suffice to state that Sadan.o.bu did not retire in disgrace. He was promoted to the rank of general of the Left, which honour was supplemented by an invitation to attend at the castle on State occasions. He chose, however, to live in retirement, devoting himself to the administration of his own domain and to literary pursuits. The author of several well-known books, he is remembered by his pen-name, Rakuo, almost as constantly as by his historical, Sadan.o.bu. He died in 1829, at the age of seventy-two.

HITOTSUBASHI HARUNARI

After Sadan.o.bu's resignation of the post of prime minister, the shogun's father, Hitotsubashi Harunari, moved into the western citadel of Yedo Castle, and thenceforth the great reforms which Sadan.o.bu had effected by the force of genius and unflagging a.s.siduity, were quickly replaced by an age of retrogression, so that posterity learned to speak of the prodigality of the Bunka and Bunsei eras (1804-1829), instead of the frugality of the Kwansei (1789-1800). As for the shogun, Ienari, he received from the Throne the highest rank attainable by a subject, together with the office of daijo-daijin. Such honour was without precedent since the time of Ieyasu. Ienari had more than fifty daughters, all born of different mothers, from which fact the dimensions of his harem may be inferred.

THE 119TH SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR KOKAKU (A.D. 1780-1816)

The Emperor Kokaku ascended the throne in 1780 and abdicated in 1816.

He was undoubtedly a wise sovereign and as a cla.s.sical scholar he won considerable renown. After reigning for thirty-six years, he administered State affairs from the Palace of Retirement during twenty-four, and throughout that long interval of sixty years, the country enjoyed profound peace. The period of Sadan.o.bu's service as prime minister of the Bakufu coincided with the middle of Kokaku's reign, and in those days of happiness and prosperity men were wont to say that with a wise sovereign in the west a wise subject had appeared in the east. Up to that time the relations between Kyoto and Yedo were excellent, but Sadan.o.bu's resignation and the cause that led to it produced between the two Courts a breach which contributed materially, though indirectly, to the ultimate fall of the Tokugawa.

REBUILDING OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE

It has already been noted that after the great fire of 1788, the Bakufu, acting, of course, at the instance of their prime minister, ordered Sadan.o.bu to supervise the work of reconstructing the Imperial palace. Since the days of Oda and Toyotomi, the palace had been rebuilt or extensively repaired on several occasions, but always the plans had been too small for the requirements of the orthodox ceremonials. Sadan.o.bu determined to correct this fault. He called for plans and elevations upon the bases of those of the tenth century, and from the gates to the roofs he took care that everything should be modelled on the old lines. The edifices are said to have been at once chaste and magnificent, the internal decorations being from the brushes of the best artists of the Tosa and Sumiyoshi Academies.

Sealed estimates had been required from several leading architects, and Sadan.o.bu surprised his colleagues by awarding the work to the highest bidder, on the ground that cheapness could not consist with true merit in such a case, and that any thought of cost would evince a want of reverence towards the Imperial Court. The buildings were finished in two years, and the two Emperors, the reigning and the retired, took up their residence there. His Majesty Kokaku rewarded the shogun with an autograph letter of thanks as well as a verse of poetry composed by himself, and on Sadan.o.bu he conferred a sword and an alb.u.m of poems. The shogun Ienari is said to have been profoundly gratified by this mark of Imperial favour. He openly attributed it to Sadan.o.bu's exertions, and he presented to the latter a facsimile of the autograph letter.

THE t.i.tLE TROUBLE

In the very year (1791) following the Emperor's entry into the new palace, a most untoward incident occurred. Up to that time the relations between the Courts of Kyoto and Yedo had left nothing to be desired, but now a permanent breach of amity took place. The sovereign was the son of Prince Tsunehito, head of the Kanin family.

This prince, in spite of his high t.i.tle, was required by Court etiquette to sit below the ministers of State on ceremonial occasions in the palace. Such an order of precedence offended the sovereign, and his Majesty proposed that the rank of dajo tenno should be given to his father, thus placing him in the position of a retired Emperor.

Of course it was within the prerogative of the Emperor to confer t.i.tles. The normal procedure would have been to give the desired rank to Prince Tsunehito, and then to inform the Bakufu of the accomplished fact. But, in consideration of the very friendly relations existing between the two Courts, the sovereign seems to have been unwilling to act on his own initiative in a matter of such importance.

Yedo was consulted, and to the surprise of Kyoto, the Bakufu prime minister a.s.sumed an att.i.tude hostile to the Court's desire. The explanation of this singular act on Sadan.o.bu's part was that a precisely a.n.a.logous problem perplexed Yedo simultaneously. When Ienari was nominated shogun, his father, Hitotsubashi Harunari, fully expected to be appointed guardian of the new potentate, and being disappointed in that hope, he expressed his desire to receive the t.i.tle of o-gosho (retired shogun), so that he might enter the western citadel of Yedo Castle and thence administer affairs as had been done by ex-Emperors in Kyoto for hundreds of years, and by ex-shoguns on several occasions under the Tokugawa. Disappointed in this aspiration, Harunari, after some hesitation, invited the attention of the shogun to the fact that filial piety is the basis of all moral virtues, and that, whereas the shogun's duty required him to set a good example to the people, he subjected his own father to unbecoming humiliation, Ienari referred the matter to the State council, but the councillors hesitated to establish the precedent of conferring the rank of o-gosho on the head of one of the Sankyo families--Tayasu, Shimizu, and Hitotsubashi--who had never discharged the duties of shogun.

The prime minister, Sadan.o.bu, however, had not a moment's hesitation in opposing Harunari's project. He did, indeed, order a well-known Confucian scholar to search the annals in order to find whether any precedent existed for the proposed procedure, either in j.a.pan or in China, but he himself declared that if such an example were set in the shogun's family, it might be the cause of grave inconvenience among the people. In other words, a man whose son had been adopted into another family might claim to be regarded as the head of that family in the event of the death of the foster-father. It is certain, however, that other and stronger reasons influenced the Bakufu prime minister. Hitotsubashi Harunari was generally known as Wagamama Irikyo (the Wayward Recluse*). His most intimate friends were the shogun's father-in-law, Shimazu Ei-O, and Ikeda Isshinsai. The latter two were also inkyo and shared the tastes and foibles of Harunari.

One of their greatest pleasures was to startle society. Thus, when Sadan.o.bu was legislating with infinite care against prodigality of any kind, the above three old gentlemen loved to organize parties on an ostentatiously extravagant scale, and Sadan.o.bu naturally shrank from seeing the t.i.tle of o-gosho conferred on such a character, thus investing him with competence to interfere arbitrarily in the conduct of State affairs.

*It has always been a common custom in j.a.pan for the head of a family to retire nominally from active life after he attains his fiftieth year. He is thenceforth known as inkyo (or recluse). The same is true of women.

Just at this time, the Court in Kyoto preferred its application, and Sadan.o.bu at once appreciated that if the rank of dajo tenno were conferred on Prince Tsunehito, it would be impossible to withhold that of o-gosho from Harunari. Consequently the Bakufu prime minister wrote privately to the Kyoto prime minister, Takatsukasa Sukehira, pointing out the inadvisability of the proposed step. This letter, though not actually an official communication, had the effect of shelving the matter for a time, but, in 1791, the Emperor re-opened the question, and summoned a council in the palace to discuss it. The result was that sixty-five officials, headed by the prime minister and the minister of the Right, supported the sovereign's views, but the ex-premier, Takatsukasa Sukehira, and his son, the minister of the Left, with a few others, opposed them.

The proceedings of this council with an autograph covering-letter from the sovereign were sent to the Bakufu, in 1792, but for a long time no answer was given. Meanwhile Prince Tsunehito, already an old man, showed signs of declining health, and the Imperial Court pressed Yedo to reply. Ultimately the Bakufu officially disapproved the project. No statement of reasons accompanied the refusal, but it was softened by a suggestion that an increase of revenue might be conferred on the sovereign's father. This already sufficiently contumelious act was supplemented by a request from the Bakufu that the Imperial Court should send to Yedo the high secretary and the chief of the Household. Unwillingly the Court complied, and after hearing the arguments advanced by these two officials, Sadan.o.bu sentenced them to be placed in confinement for a hundred days, and fifty days, respectively, which sentence was carried out at the temple Seisho-ji in Yedo, and the two high officials were thereafter sent back to Kyoto under police escort. Ultimately they were both dismissed from office, and all the Court dignitaries who had supported the sovereign's wishes were cautioned not to a.s.sociate themselves again with such "rash and unbecoming acts." It can scarcely be denied that Sadan.o.bu exercised his power in an extreme and unwise manner on this occasion. A little recourse to tact might have settled the matter with equal facility and without open disrespect to the Throne. But the Bakufu prime minister behaved after the manner of the deer-stalker of the j.a.panese proverb who does not see the mountain, and he thus placed in the hands of the Imperialist party a weapon which contributed materially to the overthrow of the Bakufu seventy years later.

ENGRAVING: YO-MEI-MON GATE, AT NIKKO

CHAPTER XLII

ORGANIZATION, CENTRAL AND LOCAL; CURRENCY AND THE LAWS OF THE TOKUGAWA BAKAFU

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOKUGAWA BAKUFU

THE organization of the Tokugawa Bakufu cannot be referred to any earlier period than that of the third shogun, Iemitsu. The foundations indeed were laid after the battle of Sekigahara, when the administrative functions came into the hands of Ieyasu. By him a shoshidai (governor) was established in Kyoto together with munic.i.p.al administrators (machi bugyo). But it was reserved for Iemitsu to develop these initial creations into a competent and consistent whole. There was, first, what may be regarded as a cabinet, though the name of its members (roju, or seniors) does not suggest the functions generally discharged by ministers of State. One of the roju was appointed to the post of dairo (great senior). He corresponded to the prime minister in a Western Cabinet, and the other roju may be counted as ministers. Then there were junior ministers, and after them came administrators of accounts, inspectors, administrators of shrines and temples, and munic.i.p.al administrators. The place where State business was discharged went by the name of Go-Yo-beya. There, the senior and junior ministers a.s.sembled to transact affairs, and the chamber being situated in the immediate vicinity of the shogun's sitting-room, he was able to keep himself au courant of important administrative affairs. During the time of the fifth shogun, however, as already related, this useful arrangement underwent radical alteration. As for judicial business, there did not originally exist any special place for its transaction. A chamber in the official residence was temporarily a.s.signed for the purpose, but at a later date a court of justice (Hyojo-sho) was established at Tatsunokuchi in Yedo. This organization, though carried within sight of completion in the days of the third shogun, required to be supplemented by the eighth, and was not actually perfected until the time of the eleventh.

THE DAIRO

The duties of the dairo--sometimes called karo or o-doshiyori--were to preside over the roju and to handle important administrative affairs. In many respects his functions resembled those discharged by the regent (shikken) of the Kamakura Bakufu. To the office of dairo a specially distinguished member of the roju was appointed, and if no one possessing the necessary qualifications was available, that post had to be left vacant. Generally the Ii, the Hotta, or the Sakai family supplied candidates for the office.

THE ROJU

The roju or senior ministers--called also toshiyori--discharged the administration. They resembled the kwanryo of the Muromachi Government. There were five of these ministers and they exercised control over all matters relating to the Imperial palace, the palace of the ex-Emperor (Sendo), the Imperial princes, the princely abbots (monzeki) and all the daimyo. It was customary to choose the roju from among officials who had previously served as governors of Osaka or Kyoto or as soshaban, who will be presently spoken of at greater length.

THE WAKA-DOSHIYORI

There were five junior ministers (waka-doshiyori) whose princ.i.p.al functions were to exercise jurisdiction over the hatamoto and the kenin. These latter names have already been alluded to, but for the sake of clearness it may be well to explain that whereas the fudai daimyo consisted of the one hundred and seventy-six barons who joined the standard of Ieyasu before the battle of Sekigahara, the hatamoto (bannerets), while equally direct va.s.sals of the shogun, were lower than the daimyo though higher than the go-kenin, who comprised the bulk of the Tokugawa samurai. Members of the waka-doshiyori might at any time be promoted to the post of roju. Their functions were wide as well as numerous, and resembled those performed by the Hyojo-shu and the hikitsuke-shu of the Kamakura and Muromachi Governments. A junior minister must previously have occupied the post of administrator of temples and shrines (jisha-bugyo) or that of chamberlain (o-soba-shu) or that of chief guard (o-ban). The offices of minister and junior minister were necessarily filled by daimyo who were hereditary va.s.sals of the shogun.

SECRETARIES

There were two secretariats, the oku-yuhitsu (domestic secretariat) and the omote-yuhitsu (external secretariat). They discharged, on account of the senior ministers, the duties of scribes, and were presided over by a todori, who, in later days, wielded large influence.

THE JISHA-BUGYO

The jisha-bugyo, as their name suggests, supervised all affairs relating to shrines, temples, Shinto officials, bonzes, and nuns as well as persons residing within the domains of shrines and temples.

They also discharged judicial functions in the case of these various cla.s.ses. The number of these administrators of shrines and temples was originally three, but afterwards it was increased to four, who transacted business for a month at a time in succession. The soshaban, who were ent.i.tled to make direct reports to the shogun, had to fill the office of jisha-bugyo in addition to their other functions, which were connected with the management of matters relating to ceremony and etiquette.

At first there were only two of these soshaban, but subsequently their number was increased to twenty-four, and it became customary for one of them to keep watch in the castle at night. They were generally ex-governors of Osaka and Fushimi, and they were necessarily daimyo who had the qualification of direct va.s.salage to the shogun. The jisha-bugyo performed their judicial functions in their own residences, each administrator employing his own va.s.sals for subordinate purposes, and these va.s.sals, when so employed, were distinguished as jisha-yaku or toritsugi. Further, officiating in conjunction with the jisha-bugyo f were chief inspectors (daikenshi), and a.s.sistant inspectors (shokenshi) whose duties require no description. The cla.s.ses of people to whom the jisha-bugyo's jurisdiction extended were numerous: they embraced the cemetery-keepers at Momiji-yama, the bonzes, the fire-watchmen, the musicians, the Shinto officials, the poets, the players at go or chess, and so forth.

THE MACHI-BUGYO

The munic.i.p.al administrator (machi-bugyo) controlled affairs relating to the citizens in general. This was among the oldest inst.i.tutions of the Tokugawa, and existed also in the Toyotomi organization. At first there were three machi-bugyo, but when the Tokugawa moved to Yedo, the number was decreased to one, and subsequently increased again to two in the days of Iemitsu. Judicial business occupied the major part of the machi-bugyo's time. His law-court was in his own residence, and under his direction constables (yoriki or doshiri) patrolled the city. He also transacted business relating to prisons and the munic.i.p.al elders of Yedo (machi-doshiyori) referred to him all questions of a difficult or serious nature.

THE KANJO-BUGYO

The financial administrator (kanjo-bugyo) received also the appellation of kitchen administrator (daidokoro-bugyo), and his duties embraced everything relating to the finance of the Bakufu, including, of course, their estates and the persons residing on those estates. The eight provinces of the Kwanto were under the direct control of this bugyo, but other districts were administered by a daikwan (deputy). There were two kinds of kanjo-bugyo, namely, the kuji-kata and the katte-kata (public and private), the latter of whom had to adjudicate all financial questions directly affecting the Bakufu, and the former had to perform a similar function in cases where outsiders were concerned. Various officials served as subordinates of these important bugyo, who were usually taken from the roju or the waka-doshiyori, and, in the days of the sixth shogun, it was found necessary to appoint an auditor of accounts (kanjo-gimmiyaku), who, although nominally of the same rank as the kanjo-bugyo, really acted in a supervisory capacity. The Bakufu court of law was the Hyojo-sho. Suits involving issues that lay entirely within the jurisdiction of one bugyo were tried by him in his own residence, but where wider interests were concerned the three bugyo had to conduct the case at the Hyojo-sho, where they formed a collegiate court. On such occasions the presence of the censors was compulsory. Sometimes, also, the three bugyo met at the Hyojo-sho merely for purposes of consultation.

THE CENSORS

An important figure in the Tokugawa organization was the censor (metsuke), especially the great censor (o-metsuke). The holder of the latter office served as the eyes and ears of the roju and supervised the feudal barons. There were four or five great censors. One of them held the additional office of administrator of roads (dochu-bugyo), and had to oversee matters relating to the villages, the towns, and the postal stations along the five princ.i.p.al highways. Another had to inspect matters relating to religious sects and firearms--a strange combination. Under the great censors were placed administrators of confiscated estates. The ordinary censors had to exercise surveillance over the samurai of the hatamoto and were under the jurisdiction of the waka-doshiyori. There were altogether sixty metsuke, and they travelled constantly throughout the empire obtaining materials for reports which were submitted to the waka-doshiyori. Among them are found censors who performed the duties of coroners.*

*The employment of censors by the Bakufu has been severely criticized as indicating a system of espionage. It scarcely seems necessary to observe that the same criticism applies to all highly organized Occidental Governments with their secret services, their detectives and their inquiry agencies.

THE CHAMBERLAINS

Even more important than the censors were the chamberlains (soba yonin) who had to communicate to the shogun all reports submitted by the roju, and to offer advice as to the manner of dealing with them.

They also noted the shogun's decisions and appended them to doc.u.ments. The exercise of these functions afforded opportunities for interfering in administrative affairs, and such opportunities were fully utilized, to the great detriment of public interest. There were also pages (kosho); castle accountants (nando); literati to the shogun (oku-jusha), and physicians (oku-isha).

MASTERS OF CEREMONIES

The duty of transmitting messages from the shogun to the Emperor and of regulating all matters of ceremony connected with the castle was discharged by fifteen masters of ceremonies (koke) presided over by four chiefs (the office of chief being hereditary in such families as the Osawa and the Kira) who, although their fiefs were comparatively small, possessed influence not inferior to that of the daimyo. A koke was usually on watch in the castle by day. These masters of ceremonies are not to be confounded with the chamberlains (soshaban) already spoken of. The latter numbered twenty-four. They regulated affairs connected with ceremonies in which all Government officials were concerned, and they kept watch at the castle by night.