Japan Part 20

31. Hideyori, 1600-1615, son of Hideyoshi, killed himself, conquered by Ieyasu. According to other accounts, he escaped and fled to Satsuma; was Naifu (Minister of the Interior) from 1603.

_V.-The Dynasty of the Tokugawa. 1603-1868._

32. Ieyasu, 1603-1605, died 1616; 1603 appointed shogun (posthumous t.i.tle Gongensama). The shoguns of this dynasty frequently retired, as soon as their successors grew up, but in spite of this fact they continued to lead the regency.

33. Hidetada, 1605-1623, died 1632, son of the preceding.

34. Iemitsu, 1623-1651, died 1652, son of the preceding.

35. Ietsuna, 1651-1680, died, son of the preceding.

36. Tsunayoshi, 1681-1709, son of Iemitsu, killed by his wife.

37. Ien.o.bu, 1709-1712, grandson of Iemitsu, died.

38. Ietsugu (Ietsubo according to Klaproth), 1713-1715, died, son of the preceding.

39. Yoshimune, 1716-1745, retired, died 1751, formerly fifth Prince of Kii.

40. Ieshige, 1745-1760 (according to others 1761 or 1762), son of the preceding, died.

41. Ieharu, 1760-1786, son of the preceding, died.

42. Ienari, 1787-1836, died 1841, son of the preceding.

43. Ieyoshi, 1837-1852, son of the preceding.

44. Iesada, 1853-1857, son of the preceding.

45. Iemochi, 1858-1866, died, formerly thirteenth Prince of Kii.

46. Yoshihisa (Yoshin.o.bu according to Adams, vol. ii. p. 37), 1867-1868, son of the Prince of Mito, Nari-akira, adopted by the Prince of Hitotsubashi, retired at the fall of shogunate in 1867.

APPENDIX IV. LAWS OF SHOTOKU TAISHI.(344)

[From _Dai Nihonshi_, vol. xii., folio 28 to 31.]

I.-Harmony shall be esteemed and obedience shall be held in regard.

Because dissensions prevail, therefore men are often unfaithful to their prince and disobedient to their fathers. Let adjoining districts be left in peace, thus harmony between superior and inferior shall be cultivated and co-operation in matters of state shall be promoted, and thus the right reason of all things may be reached and the right thing accomplished.

II.-Let bountiful honor be always paid to the three precious elements of Buddhism, that is, to its priests, its ritual, and its founder. It is the highest religion in the universe, and all people in all generations must pay becoming reverence to its doctrines. Do not harshly censure men's wickedness but teach them faithfully until they yield obedience. Unless men rely upon Buddhism there is no way to convert them from the wrong to the right.

III.-To the commands of the Emperor men must be duly obedient. The prince must be looked upon as the heaven and his subjects as the earth. The earth contains all things and the heaven stretches over it. The four seasons pa.s.s orderly along and the spirit of the universe is harmonious. If the earth were to cover the heaven the effect would be distraction. Hence the prince must command and the subject obey; superiors must act and inferiors yield. Men ought therefore to pay due heed to the orders of the Emperor; if not they will bring ruin on themselves.

IV.-Politeness must be the chief rule of conduct for all officers and their colleagues in the court. The first principle governing subjects must be politeness. When superiors are not polite then inferiors will not keep in the right; when inferiors are not polite their conduct degenerates into crime. When both prince and subjects are polite, then social order is never disturbed and the state is kept in a condition of tranquillity.

V.-Covetousness and rapacity must be expelled from the hearts of officers, and they must adjudicate with just discrimination in all suits that come before them. Even in a single day there are thousands of such suits, and in the course of years how great must be the acc.u.mulation! If the suit is won through bribery, then the poor man can obtain no justice but only the rich. The poor man will have no sure place of dependence, and subjects will be driven to abandon their duty.

VI.-To punish vice and to encourage virtue is the rule in good ancient law. The virtuous man must therefore be promoted, and the vicious man must be surely punished. The man who is untruthful is a powerful instrument to endanger the state and a keen weapon to destroy the nation. The flatterer loves to tell the faults of the inferior to the superior, and also to disclose the errors of the superior to the inferior. Such men are alike unfaithful to the prince and unfriendly to fellow citizens, and in the end fail not to stir up social disorder.

VII.-The duty of men in the government must be a.s.signed according to their capacity. When intelligent men take service the applause of the people follows, but when bad men are in office calamities ensue. If wise officers are put on duty the matters of state are well managed, and the community is free from danger and prosperity prevails. Therefore in ancient times the wise king never selected the office for the man, but always selected the man to suit the office.

VIII.-Too often officers and their colleagues come early to their offices and retire soon; so that the public work accomplished in a single day is small. It is inc.u.mbent on them to devote sufficient time to their tasks; if not, then the work of the government cannot be done.

IX.-Everything must be faithfully done, because fidelity is the origin of justice. The distinction between good and bad, between success and failure, depends on fidelity. When both prince and subjects are faithful then there are no duties which cannot be accomplished, but when both are unfaithful nothing can be done.

X.-Give up all thoughts of indignation and be not angered with others on account of a disagreement of opinion. Each one may have a different point of view and may therefore come to a different conclusion. If the one side be right then the other must be wrong, or the cases may be just reversed.

It would be unjust to set down one man as surely wise and another as positively stupid; because men cannot attain perfection in their characters. It is impossible to decide either side to be perfectly right or perfectly wrong. While you are angry with another who has a different view from you, you cannot be sure lest you be in the wrong. Therefore though you may think yourself in the right, it is safer to follow the opinions of the many.

XI.-Let merit and demerit be carefully considered, and let rewards and punishments be meted out accordingly. In times past this has often failed to be justly done. It is inc.u.mbent on all who are entrusted with the direction of public affairs and on all officers of the government to look carefully after the distribution of rewards and punishments.

XII.-Governors of provinces and their deputies must be careful not to impose too heavy duties on their subjects. One state never has more than one prince, and in like manner the subjects cannot have more than one master. The prince is the head of all his dominions and of all his subjects. The officers of government are also the subjects of the prince; and there is no reason why they should dare to lay undue burdens upon others who are subjects of the same prince.

XIII.-Each officer of the government has his appointed duty. Sometimes officers complain of the stagnation of business, which, however, is caused by their own absence from their appointed duties. They must not make a pretence of the performance of their duties, and by their neglect interrupt public affairs.

XIV.-Subjects and officers must not be jealous of each other. If one person is envious of another, the second is sure to be envious of the first. Thus the evils of jealousy never end. If men shall envy each other on account of their talent and wisdom, no single wise man would ever be obtained for government service through a thousand years. What a n.o.ble method of governing a state would that be which expelled from its service all wise men!

XV.-To sacrifice private interests for the public good is the duty of the subject. When men are selfish there must be ill-will; when ill-will comes, then with it must come iniquity, which will disturb the public welfare.

Ill-will is sure to bring about the breaking of wholesome rules and the violation of the laws of the state. It is for this reason that the harmony between superior and inferior spoken of in the first article is so important.

XVI.-To select a convenient season in which to employ men for public work is the rule of good ancient law. Winter is a time of leisure; but during the season between spring and autumn, in which they are employed on their farms and in feeding silk-worms, it is not expedient to take men from their work, or interfere with them in their efforts to supply food and clothing.

XVII.-Important matters should only be settled after due conference with many men. Trifling matters may be decided without conference, because they are not so material in their effects; but weighty matters, on account of their far-reaching consequences, must be discussed with many councillors.

It is thus that the right way shall be found and pursued.

FOOTNOTES

_ 1 The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian_; translated by Colonel Henry Yule, C.B. Second edition, London, 1875, vol. ii., p. 235.

2 These islands belonged to Russia until 1875, when by a treaty they were ceded to j.a.pan in exchange for the rights of possession which she held in the island of Saghalien.

3 E. M. Satow, _Transactions of the Asiatic Society_, vol. i., p. 30.

4 This word is not a _proper name_ but a descriptive designation, and must be understood in this way when used by Dr. Griffis in his _Mikado's Empire_ and by Dr. Rein in his two works on j.a.pan. In the successive issues of the _Resume Statistique_, published by the Statistical Bureau, the term Nippon is used to designate the princ.i.p.al island. This name has the advantage of having been used extensively in foreign books, but its restricted use is contrary to the custom of j.a.pan. After much consideration we have determined to designate the princ.i.p.al island by the term "Main island," which is the translation of the word _Hondo_.

5 See Satow and Hawes' _Handbook_, p. 108.

6 See Chamberlain's _Things j.a.panese_, second edition, p. 122.