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The assistance of even
Korea, Ryukyu, and Holland was requisitioned, and the Bakufu treasury
presented 700,000 ryo of gold. The shrine was finished in 1636 on a
scale of grandeur and artistic beauty almost unsurpassed in any other
country. The same priest, Tengai, was instrumental in building the
temple known as Kwanei-ji, and at his suggestion, Hidetada asked the
Imperial Court to appoint a prince to the post of abbot (monsu).
This system already existed in the case of Enryaku-ji on Hiei-zan in
Kyoto, and it was Tengai's ambition that his sect, the Tendai, should
possess in Yedo a temple qualified to compete with the great
monastery of the Imperial capital. Thus, Ueno hill on which the Yedo
structure stood was designated "Toei-zan," as the site of the Kyoto
monastery was designated "Hiei-zan," and just as the temple on the
latter received the name of "Enryaku-ji," after the era of its
construction (Enryaku), so that in Yedo was named "Kwanei-ji," the
name of the year period of its foundation being Kwanei. Finally, the
Kwanei-ji was intended to guard the "Demon's Gate" of the Bakufu city
as the Enryaku-ji guarded the Imperial capital. Doubtless, in
furthering this plan, Iemitsu had for ultimate motive the association
of an Imperial prince with the Tokugawa family, so that in no
circumstances could the latter be stigmatized as "rebels." Not until
the day of the Tokugawa's downfall did this intention receive
practical application, when the priest-prince of Ueno (Prince
Kitashirakawa) was set up as their leader by the remnants of the
Bakufu army.
ISE AND NIKKO
Through many centuries it had been the custom of the Imperial Court
to worship at the great shrine of Ise and to offer suitable gifts.
This ceremony was long suspended, however, on account of continuous
wars as well as the impecunious condition of the Court. Under the
sway of the Oda and the Toyotomi, fitful efforts were made to renew
the custom, but it was left for the Tokugawa to re-establish it. The
third shogun, Iemitsu, petitioned the Court in that sense, and
assigned an estate in Yamashiro as a means of defraying the necessary
expenses, the Fujinami family being appointed to perform the ceremony
hereditarily. At the same time Iemitsu petitioned that the Court
should send an envoy to worship at Nikko every year on the
anniversary of the death of Ieyasu, and this request having been
granted, Nikko thenceforth became to the Tokugawa what Ise was to the
Imperial Court.
BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY
It has been shown that the Shimabara revolt finally induced the
Bakufu Government to adopt the policy of international seclusion and
to extirpate Christianity. In carrying out the latter purpose,
extensive recourse was had to the aid of Buddhism. The chief temple
of each sect of that religion was officially fixed, as were also the
branch temples forming the parish of the sect; every unit of the
nation was required to register his name in the archives of a temple,
and the Government ordered that the priests should keep accurate
lists of births and deaths. Anyone whose name did not appear on these
lists was assumed to belong to the alien faith. This organization was
completed in the time of Iemitsu.
THE FOURTH SHOGUN, IETSUNA
Ietsuna, the fourth Tokugawa shogun, eldest son of Iemitsu, was born
in 1642 and succeeded to the office in 1651, holding it until his
death in 1680. In bequeathing the administrative power to a youth in
his tenth year, Iemitsu clearly foresaw that trouble was likely to
arise. He therefore instructed his younger brother, Hoshina Masayuki,
baron of Aizu, to render every assistance to his nephew, and he
appointed Ii Naotaka to be prime minister, associating with him Sakai
Tadakatsu, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Abe Tadaaki, and other statesmen of
proved ability. These precautions were soon seen to be necessary, for
the partisans of the Toyotomi seized the occasion to attempt a coup.
The country at that time swarmed with ronin (wave-men); that is to
say, samurai who were, for various reasons, roving free-lances. There
seems to have been a large admixture of something very like European
chivalry in the make up of these ronin, for some of them seem to have
wandered about merely to right wrongs and defend the helpless. Others
sought adventure for adventure's sake and for glory's, challenging
the best swordsman in each place to which they came. Many seem to
have taken up the lives of wanderers out of a notion of loyalty; the
feudal lords to whom they had owed allegiance had been crushed by the
Tokugawa and they refused to enter the service of the shogun.
The last-named reason seems to have been what prompted the revolt of
1651, when Ietsuna, aged ten, had just succeeded in the shogunate his
father Iemitsu who had exalted the power of the Tokugawa at the
expense of their military houses. The ronin headed by Yui Shosetsu
and Marubashi Chuya plotted to set fire to the city of Yedo and take
the shogun's castle. The plot was discovered. Shosetsu committed
suicide, and Chuya was crucified. In the following year (1652)
another intrigue was formed under the leadership of Bekki Shoetnon,
also a ronin. On this occasion the plan was to murder Ii Naotaka, the
first minister of State, as well as his colleagues, and then to set
fire to the temple Zojo-ji on the occasion of a religious ceremony.
But this plot, also, was discovered before it matured, and it proved
to be the last attempt that was made to overthrow the Bakufu by force
until more than two hundred years had passed.
THE LEGISLATION OF IEMITSU AND IETSUNA
On the 5th of August, 1635, a body of laws was issued by Iemitsu
under the title of Buke Sho-hatto, and these laws were again
promulgated on June 28, 1665, by the fourth shogun, Ietsuna, with a
few alterations. The gist of the code of Iemitsu was as follows: That
literature and arms were to be the chief object of cultivation; that
the great and small barons were to do service by turns in Yedo,
strict limits being set to the number of their retainers; that all
work on new castles was strictly interdicted, and that all repairs of
existing castles must not be undertaken without sanction from the
Yedo administration; that in the event of any unwonted occurrence,
all barons present at the scene must remain and await the shogun's
orders; that no person other than the officials in charge might be
present at an execution; that there must be no scheming innovations,
forming of parties, or taking of oaths; that private quarrels were
strictly interdicted, and that all matters difficult of arrangement
must be reported to the Yedo administration; that barons having an
income of ten thousand koku or more, and their chief officials, must
not form matrimonial alliances without the shogun's permission; that
greater simplicity and economy must be obeyed in social observances,
such as visits of ceremony, giving and receiving presents,
celebrating marriages, entertaining at banquets, building residences,
and general striving after elegance; that there must be no
indiscriminate intermingling (of ranks); that, as regards the
materials of dress, undyed silk with woven patterns (shiro aya) must
be worn only by Court nobles (kuge) and others of the highest ranks;
that wadded coats of undyed silk might be worn by daimyo and others
of higher rank; that lined coats of purple silk, silk coats with the
lining of purple, white gloss silk, and coloured silk coats without
the badge were not to be worn at random; that coming down to
retainers, henchmen, and men-at-arms, the wearing by such persons of
ornamental dresses such as silks, damask, brocade, or embroideries
was quite unknown to the ancient laws, and a stop must be put to it;
that all the old restrictions as to riding in palanquins must be
observed; that retainers who had a disagreement with their original
lord were not to be taken into employment by other daimyo; that if
any such was reported as having been guilty of rebellion or homicide,
he was to be sent back (to his former lord); that any who manifests a
refractory disposition must either be sent back or expelled; that
where the hostages given by sub-vassals to their mesne lords had
committed an offence requiring punishment by banishment or death, a
report in writing of the circumstances must be made to the
administrators' office and their decision awaited; that in case the
circumstances were such as to necessitate or justify the instant
cutting-down of the offender, a personal account of the matter must
be given to the administrator; that lesser feudatories must honestly
discharge the duties of their position and refrain from giving
unlawful or arbitrary orders (to the people of their fiefs); that
they must take care not to impair the resources or well-being of the
province or district in which they are; that roads, relays of
post-horses, boats, ferries, and bridges must be carefully attended
to, so as to ensure that there should be no delays or impediments to
quick communication; that no private toll-bars might be erected or
any existing ferry discontinued; that no vessels of over five hundred
koku burden were to be built; that the glebe lands of shrines and
temples scattered throughout the provinces, having been attached to
them from ancient times to the present day, were not to be taken from
them; that the Christian sect was to be strictly prohibited in all
the provinces and in all places; that in case of any unfilial conduct
the offender should be dealt with under the penal law; that in all
matters the example set by the laws of Yedo was to be followed in all
the provinces and places.
As has been noted above, this same body of laws was re-enacted under
the authority of Ietsuna, with the following slight alterations,
namely, that the veto was removed from the wearing of costly
ornamented dresses by retainers, henchmen, and men-at-arms, and that
the restriction as to size should not apply to a cargo vessel. At the
same time a prohibition of junshi (following in death) was issued in
these terms:
"That the custom of following a master in death is wrong and
unprofitable is a caution which has been at times given from of old;
but owing to the fact that it has not actually been prohibited, the
number of those who cut their belly to follow their lord on his
decease has become very great.
Korea, Ryukyu, and Holland was requisitioned, and the Bakufu treasury
presented 700,000 ryo of gold. The shrine was finished in 1636 on a
scale of grandeur and artistic beauty almost unsurpassed in any other
country. The same priest, Tengai, was instrumental in building the
temple known as Kwanei-ji, and at his suggestion, Hidetada asked the
Imperial Court to appoint a prince to the post of abbot (monsu).
This system already existed in the case of Enryaku-ji on Hiei-zan in
Kyoto, and it was Tengai's ambition that his sect, the Tendai, should
possess in Yedo a temple qualified to compete with the great
monastery of the Imperial capital. Thus, Ueno hill on which the Yedo
structure stood was designated "Toei-zan," as the site of the Kyoto
monastery was designated "Hiei-zan," and just as the temple on the
latter received the name of "Enryaku-ji," after the era of its
construction (Enryaku), so that in Yedo was named "Kwanei-ji," the
name of the year period of its foundation being Kwanei. Finally, the
Kwanei-ji was intended to guard the "Demon's Gate" of the Bakufu city
as the Enryaku-ji guarded the Imperial capital. Doubtless, in
furthering this plan, Iemitsu had for ultimate motive the association
of an Imperial prince with the Tokugawa family, so that in no
circumstances could the latter be stigmatized as "rebels." Not until
the day of the Tokugawa's downfall did this intention receive
practical application, when the priest-prince of Ueno (Prince
Kitashirakawa) was set up as their leader by the remnants of the
Bakufu army.
ISE AND NIKKO
Through many centuries it had been the custom of the Imperial Court
to worship at the great shrine of Ise and to offer suitable gifts.
This ceremony was long suspended, however, on account of continuous
wars as well as the impecunious condition of the Court. Under the
sway of the Oda and the Toyotomi, fitful efforts were made to renew
the custom, but it was left for the Tokugawa to re-establish it. The
third shogun, Iemitsu, petitioned the Court in that sense, and
assigned an estate in Yamashiro as a means of defraying the necessary
expenses, the Fujinami family being appointed to perform the ceremony
hereditarily. At the same time Iemitsu petitioned that the Court
should send an envoy to worship at Nikko every year on the
anniversary of the death of Ieyasu, and this request having been
granted, Nikko thenceforth became to the Tokugawa what Ise was to the
Imperial Court.
BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY
It has been shown that the Shimabara revolt finally induced the
Bakufu Government to adopt the policy of international seclusion and
to extirpate Christianity. In carrying out the latter purpose,
extensive recourse was had to the aid of Buddhism. The chief temple
of each sect of that religion was officially fixed, as were also the
branch temples forming the parish of the sect; every unit of the
nation was required to register his name in the archives of a temple,
and the Government ordered that the priests should keep accurate
lists of births and deaths. Anyone whose name did not appear on these
lists was assumed to belong to the alien faith. This organization was
completed in the time of Iemitsu.
THE FOURTH SHOGUN, IETSUNA
Ietsuna, the fourth Tokugawa shogun, eldest son of Iemitsu, was born
in 1642 and succeeded to the office in 1651, holding it until his
death in 1680. In bequeathing the administrative power to a youth in
his tenth year, Iemitsu clearly foresaw that trouble was likely to
arise. He therefore instructed his younger brother, Hoshina Masayuki,
baron of Aizu, to render every assistance to his nephew, and he
appointed Ii Naotaka to be prime minister, associating with him Sakai
Tadakatsu, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Abe Tadaaki, and other statesmen of
proved ability. These precautions were soon seen to be necessary, for
the partisans of the Toyotomi seized the occasion to attempt a coup.
The country at that time swarmed with ronin (wave-men); that is to
say, samurai who were, for various reasons, roving free-lances. There
seems to have been a large admixture of something very like European
chivalry in the make up of these ronin, for some of them seem to have
wandered about merely to right wrongs and defend the helpless. Others
sought adventure for adventure's sake and for glory's, challenging
the best swordsman in each place to which they came. Many seem to
have taken up the lives of wanderers out of a notion of loyalty; the
feudal lords to whom they had owed allegiance had been crushed by the
Tokugawa and they refused to enter the service of the shogun.
The last-named reason seems to have been what prompted the revolt of
1651, when Ietsuna, aged ten, had just succeeded in the shogunate his
father Iemitsu who had exalted the power of the Tokugawa at the
expense of their military houses. The ronin headed by Yui Shosetsu
and Marubashi Chuya plotted to set fire to the city of Yedo and take
the shogun's castle. The plot was discovered. Shosetsu committed
suicide, and Chuya was crucified. In the following year (1652)
another intrigue was formed under the leadership of Bekki Shoetnon,
also a ronin. On this occasion the plan was to murder Ii Naotaka, the
first minister of State, as well as his colleagues, and then to set
fire to the temple Zojo-ji on the occasion of a religious ceremony.
But this plot, also, was discovered before it matured, and it proved
to be the last attempt that was made to overthrow the Bakufu by force
until more than two hundred years had passed.
THE LEGISLATION OF IEMITSU AND IETSUNA
On the 5th of August, 1635, a body of laws was issued by Iemitsu
under the title of Buke Sho-hatto, and these laws were again
promulgated on June 28, 1665, by the fourth shogun, Ietsuna, with a
few alterations. The gist of the code of Iemitsu was as follows: That
literature and arms were to be the chief object of cultivation; that
the great and small barons were to do service by turns in Yedo,
strict limits being set to the number of their retainers; that all
work on new castles was strictly interdicted, and that all repairs of
existing castles must not be undertaken without sanction from the
Yedo administration; that in the event of any unwonted occurrence,
all barons present at the scene must remain and await the shogun's
orders; that no person other than the officials in charge might be
present at an execution; that there must be no scheming innovations,
forming of parties, or taking of oaths; that private quarrels were
strictly interdicted, and that all matters difficult of arrangement
must be reported to the Yedo administration; that barons having an
income of ten thousand koku or more, and their chief officials, must
not form matrimonial alliances without the shogun's permission; that
greater simplicity and economy must be obeyed in social observances,
such as visits of ceremony, giving and receiving presents,
celebrating marriages, entertaining at banquets, building residences,
and general striving after elegance; that there must be no
indiscriminate intermingling (of ranks); that, as regards the
materials of dress, undyed silk with woven patterns (shiro aya) must
be worn only by Court nobles (kuge) and others of the highest ranks;
that wadded coats of undyed silk might be worn by daimyo and others
of higher rank; that lined coats of purple silk, silk coats with the
lining of purple, white gloss silk, and coloured silk coats without
the badge were not to be worn at random; that coming down to
retainers, henchmen, and men-at-arms, the wearing by such persons of
ornamental dresses such as silks, damask, brocade, or embroideries
was quite unknown to the ancient laws, and a stop must be put to it;
that all the old restrictions as to riding in palanquins must be
observed; that retainers who had a disagreement with their original
lord were not to be taken into employment by other daimyo; that if
any such was reported as having been guilty of rebellion or homicide,
he was to be sent back (to his former lord); that any who manifests a
refractory disposition must either be sent back or expelled; that
where the hostages given by sub-vassals to their mesne lords had
committed an offence requiring punishment by banishment or death, a
report in writing of the circumstances must be made to the
administrators' office and their decision awaited; that in case the
circumstances were such as to necessitate or justify the instant
cutting-down of the offender, a personal account of the matter must
be given to the administrator; that lesser feudatories must honestly
discharge the duties of their position and refrain from giving
unlawful or arbitrary orders (to the people of their fiefs); that
they must take care not to impair the resources or well-being of the
province or district in which they are; that roads, relays of
post-horses, boats, ferries, and bridges must be carefully attended
to, so as to ensure that there should be no delays or impediments to
quick communication; that no private toll-bars might be erected or
any existing ferry discontinued; that no vessels of over five hundred
koku burden were to be built; that the glebe lands of shrines and
temples scattered throughout the provinces, having been attached to
them from ancient times to the present day, were not to be taken from
them; that the Christian sect was to be strictly prohibited in all
the provinces and in all places; that in case of any unfilial conduct
the offender should be dealt with under the penal law; that in all
matters the example set by the laws of Yedo was to be followed in all
the provinces and places.
As has been noted above, this same body of laws was re-enacted under
the authority of Ietsuna, with the following slight alterations,
namely, that the veto was removed from the wearing of costly
ornamented dresses by retainers, henchmen, and men-at-arms, and that
the restriction as to size should not apply to a cargo vessel. At the
same time a prohibition of junshi (following in death) was issued in
these terms:
"That the custom of following a master in death is wrong and
unprofitable is a caution which has been at times given from of old;
but owing to the fact that it has not actually been prohibited, the
number of those who cut their belly to follow their lord on his
decease has become very great.
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