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Short Feudal History of Japan
The history of Japan prior to the Imperial Restoration in 1868 may be divided into two periods, the first of which begins with the origins of the Japanese people and extends to the times of the Kamakura Shogun. It comprises 18 centuries (660 B.C.-1192 A.D.). During this period, the power was in the hands of the Emperors. The second extends from the Minamoto Shogun (1192) to the end of the Tokugawa (1868) and is the age of military feudal sway.
Period of Autocracy (660 B.C.-1192 A.D.)According to Japanese traditions a tribe, probably of Malayan origin, came to the shores of Kyushu in the 7th century before the Christian era. Later on it is said to have gone northward, and to have subjected the aborigines to its authority, and, after numerous struggles for many years, to have finally settled in the district of Yamato. The leader of these adventurers, Hasanu no Mikoto, became the 1st Emperor of Japan (Jimmu-tenno). His enthronement took place in the year 660 B.C. This event is considered as the foundation of the Empire, and the beginning of a dynasty of sovereigns who have ruled over Japan for more then 25 centuries. From that date the annals are silent for a space of 500 years, after which an attempt at civilization began under the reigns of Sujin (97-30 B.C.) and Suinin (29 B.C.-70 A.D.). Then comes the legend of the famous hero Yamato Takeru (81-113), who enters the western provinces on a tour of exploration and subjugates the aboriginal tribes at least temporarily to the sway of Imperial authority. Yamato Takeru's son reigns only a few years (Chuaia, 192-200); his widow the Empress Jingu ascends the throne after him. Japanese chronicles attribute to her the conquest of the three small kingdoms (San-Kan, or Samhan in Korean) in the southern portion of the Korean peninsula, but Chinese and Korean annals do not mention this expedition. Moreover, the Empress, being with child at the beginning of the campaign, found means to retard her delivery until the following year when she returned to Tsukushi: a fact which seems to darken, according to some authorities, the pure sky of divine descent. The child that was born became the Emperor Ojin, lived 110 years and was honored as a god under the name of Hachiman. Ojin's son, Nintoku, ruled for 87 years (313-399). His reign is known as the golden time of a patriarchal age which however did not last very long. In the following century rivalry was the order of the day, bloody dramas were of frequent occurrence in the imperial family and ended by the disappearance of Nintoku's descendants, when its last scion, a young madman, a kind of Heliogabalus, Buretsu-tenno by name, was assassinated in the palace (506). A lateral branch descended from Ojin was then raised to the throne, and under Kinmei (540-571), its 4th sovereign, Buddhism was introduced into Japan by bonzes who came from Korea (552). From the very first, war broke out on the religious question between the principal ministers who were jealous of one another. The Mononobé, supporters of national Shintoism, were overthrown, and the Soga, the enthusiastic adherents of the new creed, found themselves at the height of undisputed power. They abused it and did not shrink even from murdering the Emperor Sushun (592). This act aroused the animosity of the princes and lords against them, and fifty years after (644), they were murdered to make way for the Fujiwara whose influence was to extend over a longer period. However, the introduction of Buddhism caused great changes in the ideas and customs of Japan. The bonzes from China and Korea imported a continental civilization: Chinese literature, arts, sciences, architecture, calendar, etc. Prince Shotoku (573-621), who has been called the Constantine of Buddhism, favored these improvements and put the rudimentary administration of the country on a more advanced footing. But the honor of bringing this to a successful issue belongs to the Emperor Kotoku (645-654) through his famous reform of the Taika era. Henceforth everything was copied from the Chinese mode of government: the ministers, the administration of the provinces, the dignities and ranks at court, the periods of years (nengo), taxation, etc., and this system if we except some trifling details, remained in vogue to the present time. In the following century the Empress Genmei (708-714) removed the capital to Nara, where she remained for 75 years (710-784). The Kojiki (712) and the Nihonki (720), the two most ancient historical works were complied during her reign. Buddhism continued to prosper, national poetry produced its first songs which have come down to us in the anthology called Man'yoshu. The 50th Emperor Kanmu (782-805) founded the city of Kyoto (794), which was built on the model of a Chinese capital and was to be the Court residence to the time of the Imperial Restoration. The Fujiwara were all-powerful: the Empress was always chosen from that family. They thus became the uncles and grandfathers of the Emperors and were the natural regents of young sovereigns during their minority, and even after the Emperor had had attained the legal age, they continued to rule under the title Kanpaku. Meanwhile the number of princes went on increasing in the Imperial family and their maintenance was a heavy burden on a treasury that found it difficult to defray even the ordinary court expenses. To obviate this inconvenience, the princes received a family name: Taira, Minamoto, and the government of a province. Their descendants formed the military caste which soon took precedence over the effeminate nobility of the Court which had neglected the profession of arms, and found a congenial occupation only in poetical tilts and similar frivolous pastimes. Owing to this decline of Imperial authority, disorder arose on all sides, and revolts were of frequent occurrence: Taira Masakado (940), Abe Yoritoki (1056), the Kiyowara (1087) aimed at creating independent principalities and even the bonzes of important temples were not afraid of presenting petitions or complaints, arms in hand. To quell these rebels, the Court implored the help of the great military families, and rewarded them when peace was restored by increasing their domains, and thus unwittingly cause their power to become formidable. The Taira and the Minamoto, descendants of the Emperors Kanmu and Seiwa (859-876), rose to great power. They vied with each other for preponderance, and during a space of 35 years their antagonism caused bloody conflicts all over Japan. The Taira conquered through the energy of the chiefs Tadamori (1096-1153), Kiyomori (1118-1181); their triumph was finally secured during the Hogen (1156) and the Heiji (1159) civil wars. They felt confident of having overthrown the rival power. But Kiyomori had scarcely passed away, when the Minamoto rose in revolt and in a few years were able to annihilate their adversaries (1185). Yoritomo, after his victory, placed a child of 4 years on the throne and assumed the title of Sei-i-taishogun, or Shogun. That day saw a complete change in the system of government: a new era had begun in the history of Japan.
Feudal Period (1192-1868)Thus far the rule of the Kyoto Court over the eastern and northern provinces had been little more than nominal. There was no tie of union between this region and rest of the Empire: climate, race, customs, all were different. The West was the invading power, and with its Chinese civilization had exerted, it is true, a refining but at the same time a weakening influence. The East represented the aboriginal race, backward no doubt, but animated by its native and somewhat fierce energy. Thus the tie binding these two races was very loose, and the aforementioned great revolts had all arisen in the East. This rivalry, continued to the time of the Imperial Restoration. Yoritomo knew how to make use of this rivalry to strengthen his own authority. When he was named Shogun, he made Kamakura the seat of government and distributed the northern and the eastern provinces among his followers who had rendered his elevation possible. In the West and South he placed some members of his family and some of the Fujiwara whose fidelity he had secured; thus, each province, instead of being as heretofore governed by an officer sent from Kyoto for the space of 3 to 5 years, formed one or several hereditary fiefs. Some of these families transmitted their rights in the same lineage for the space of fully 7 centuries: as for instance the Shimazu in Satsuma, the Nanbu in Mutsu, the So in Tsushima, etc. Furthermore, Yoritomo resolved to reorganize the administration in such a way as to have full control in his own hands. Unfortunately he died before he could carry out his plans (1199). His two sons and successors, Yoriié and Sanetomo, did not possess equal energy and allowed their power to pass to the Hojo, to whom they were related through their mother. These latter could not or dared not take the title of Shogun after the extinction of Yoritomo's direct lineage, and they selected for the office a child of the Fujiwara family (1219), and later on an Imperial prince (1252) in whose name they governed at will. However, they took the name of Shikken (Regent), and under that name were able to retain full power during an entire century, which was one of the prosperous in Japanese history. Their authority was not always lenient and even became insupportable to more than one Emperor, but all efforts to check it proved futile and occasioned the overthrow or exile of several Emperors. Moreover, to forestall even the slightest desire of independence on the part of the Kyoto Court, which they watched very closely from their Rokuhara, the Hojo took great care to elevate only children to the throne. Interior discussions in the Imperial family were also of great value to them, and an understanding was concluded which allowed an Emperor to rule only for the space of ten years, after which he was obliged to resign in favor of the rival branch. The Fujiwara however were still powerful at Court and to weaken their influence, it was decided that the offices of Sessho and Kanpaku were alternately to be entrusted to members of the five branches (go seike) of the family, who it will be seen were afterwards divided by jealousy. In the meantime, the only foreign invasion with which Japan was threatened in the course of her history, that of the Mongols, came to naught through the energy of Hojo Tokimune and a fortuitous tempest that destroyed the whole fleet of the enemy (1281). The Hojo, like the Minamoto, and as will be seen later on, the Ashikaga and the Tokugawa, lost their influence. For a time the administration was carried on by men of genius, then followed a period of decline, interior dissensions increased, usurped authority was weakened and the way for the restoration of Imperial power was thus prepared. The instrument of this work of restoration was the Emperor Go-Diago (1319-1338). Having been raised to the throne at the age of 30, he swore the destruction of the powerful Shikken. Herein he was aided by such faithful servants as Nitta Yoshisada, Kusunoki Masashige, Nawa Nagatoshi, and in less than two years, he overthrew the supreme power of the Kamakura Shogun (1333). But Go-Daigo had scarcely recovered his independence, and begun the work of reorganization as he had dreamed it, when disunion appeared among his general. The revolt again started in the East, in the Ashikaga clan, a branch of the Minamoto: Takauji, its chief, assumed the title of Shogun, raised an Emperor of his choice to the throne and thus established a new Shogunal dynasty which remained in power for a space of over 200 years (1336-1573). The dethroned Emperor courageously entered into conflict with his rebel subject and his sons and grandsons kept up the fight after his death. The singular spectacle of two Emperors ruling simultaneously could thus be seen for a space of 56 years: the one, hidden in the Yamato mountains, but firmly adhering to his legitimate rights and the other, supported by the Ashikaga, occupying the palace of Kyoto, but deprived of the three sacred emblems of the Imperial dignity. This state of affairs could not however last very long, the contending forces being too unequal. The South yielded, a compromise being effected in 1392 between the two rival branches, from which the Emperor was alternately to be elected. This convention -- which was not to be executed -- closed the schism and completely established the influence of the Ashikaga. But the belligerent spirit that had naturally invaded the military classes during these civil wars, could not be quenched in a short time. The first of the Ashikaga Shogun were able by personal energy to confine it within just limits, but their successors soon found themselves overpowered. The East, once more, started hostilities. The junior branch of the Ashikaga, which, from the city of Kamakura, was ruling the Kanto with the title of Kanryo, would not be satisfied with less than the first place; the Shogun trusted their great vassals for the defense of their rights; meanwhile other complications arose and rivalries took place. A terrible civil war inaugurated the Onin era (1467), and during one full century intestine wars were to be the order of the day in the whole Empire. Disorder was seen everywhere, misery was great among the people. Even the Imperial Palace had to share in the general want; old Court ceremonies were suppressed for want of money; for the same reason the funeral of deceased Emperors could not be solemnized. The Shogun became only tools in the hands of their great feudataries, the Hosokawa, the Shiba, the Hatakeyama, who deposed and replaced them at will, till both, suzerains and vassals were engulfed and disappeared in the same torrent. At the time when the government of the Ashikaga Shogun was meeting its fate, a small daimyo on the province of Owari, at first a vassal to the Shiba, profited by these intestine troubles to enlarge his own dominion. When he died (1549), his son whose name was Oda Nobunaga, then 15 years of age, inherited his estates. A few years sufficed for him to become master of several provinces, and his fame for bravery and energy was so great that the Emperor Ogimachi sent a messenger inviting him to re-establish order in the Empire. Nobunaga accepted this difficult task. After having defeated the most turbulent among the daimyo and over-awed the others, he deposed the last Ashikaga Shogun, took the management of affairs in his own hands, and was repairing the ruins which a century of civil wars had accumulated, when a treacherous vassal who owed everything to him, killed him, and thus his work was left unfinished (1582). His power fell into the hands of a soldier who, by his intelligence and his victories, had raised himself from the lowest to the highest rank among the generals of Nobunaga. Hideyoshi put aside the sons of his former master, and feeling that he could not claim for himself the dignity of Shogun, forced the Emperor to confer on him the most elevated title of the civil hierarchy, that of Kanpaku. He continued the work of pacification undertaken by Nobunaga, and triumphed over all the rebel daimyo. Having thus reached the zenith of honor and power he was so blinded by pride that he thought of extending his sway over Korea and even over China. It may be that he simply intended to turn the warlike dispositions of his soldiers into another channel. The fact remains that he undertook this unhappy campaign which could not fail to end in disaster, in spite of an initial but transient success. At the close of his life, he understood his mistake and his last words were to recall his troops that had been decimated by continuous fighting and by sufferings of all kinds (1598). Hideyoshi had entrusted to five great daimyo the guardianship of his son Hideyori, then a young child. Among these five men, one was found to whom the second rank would not suffice; this was Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), a descendant of the Minamoto. When in 1590, he was placed over the eight provinces of Kanto, he selected the small port of Edo, in Musashi province, as the site of his new castle. After Hideyoshi's death, he soon separated himself from his colleagues, who were faithful to their promise to the Taiko and fought against them. The East was again about to struggle with the West; and again the East conquered when, in the plains of Sekigahara (Mino) in 1600, it attained a supremacy that was destined to last for the space of two and a half centuries. Ieyasu obtained the title of Shogun three years after this victory (1603), and began the Tokugawa line which came to possess an authority that was unknown to the Minamoto and to the Ashikaga. Two years later, he resigned the Shogunate to his son, retired to Sunpu, and before his death, had the consolation to see Hideyoshi's lineage become extinct at Osaka (1615). From that moment, power was secure in his family. His immediate successors, Hidetada (1605-1623) and Iemitsu (1623-1651), continued his work and strengthened the iron rule he had imposed upon his country: breaking off all relations with foreign lands; closing all ports of the country to foreign commerce if we except the Dutch and the Chinese; atrocious persecution of the Christians; close watching of all the proceedings of the daimyo and the samurai; adroit spying at the Kyoto Court; draconian laws on the press, on the teaching of Confucianism, etc.; such were the principles of the Shogun's government. For 200 years, every daimyo, samurai, and the common people seemed to bear this yoke willingly which had secured them lasting peace after so many years of trouble and disorder. Then the well regulated machinery began to show signs of decay. The power, which was at first wielded by men of energy and talent, fell into the hands of children, subordinates ruled in their name, the Edo Court became as effeminate as had been that of Kyoto, and decay set in rapidly. The western and southern clans, who were kept aloof from the administration, notwithstanding their large estates, anxiously followed the downward movement and when they thought the moment propitious they threw off their allegiance and openly entered the fight. They did not however dare to supersede the government which they were bound to destroy, so they set up the imperial standard and took as the first article of the program, the restoration of the supreme power into the hands of the Emperor. Some Court noblemen, the Sanjo, the Iwakura, supported this plan with all the weight of their influence. Besides, the government of the Shogun, had committed a great crime in the eyes of many. It had concluded treaties with the foreign barbarians, and polluted the country of the gods, by permitting foreigners to reside therein. The expulsion of these intruders formed the second article of the program of the discontented. Their rallying word henceforth was: Sonno-joi (to venerate the Emperor and to expel the foreigners). Vainly did the Shogun try to divide his adversaries; vainly did he slacken in his severity towards the daimyo; it was too late. Nothing was to stop the forward movement. The last Tokugawa Shogun for a whole year tried to face the thousand difficulties of his critical situation; he was finally obliged to send his resignation to the Emperor. His adherents fought for some months to come, but the Imperial army, composed especially of southern and western men, triumphed everywhere. The East met its defeat, the government of the Shogun had passed and the Imperial Restoration was an accomplished fact (1868).
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