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The day was ultimately carried by the advocates of
stern justice, and the forty-seven ronins were ordered to commit
suicide.
They obeyed without a murmur. One of them, Terasaka Kichiemon by
name, had been sent to carry the news to Ako immediately after the
perpetration of the deed of vengeance. He returned when his comrades
were condemned and gave himself up to the authorities, but they
declined to punish him on the ground that the case had already been
disposed of. The eminent Confucian scholar, Hayashi Nobuatsu,
petitioned for the pardon of the ronins, and the scarcely less
celebrated Muro Kyuso compiled a book describing the incident; but,
for some reason never fully explained, the noteworthy scholar, Ogyu
Sorai, took the opposite side. One act of the authorities is eloquent
as to the sentiment prevailing at the time. They condemned
Yoshihide's son, Yoshikata, to be deprived of his ancestral domain
for not having died in company with his father. As for the feeling of
the nation at large, it was abundantly manifested by many of the
great feudatories, who vied with one another in conferring offices
and revenues on the sons and grandsons of the "Forty-seven."
YAMAGA SOKO
The affair of the forty-seven ronins helped to bring into eminence
the name of Yamaga Soko, a firm believer in Confucianism and an
ardent follower of military science. Amid an environment of
unfavourable conditions Soko preached the cult of bushido, and was
the first to embody that philosophy in a written system. His
books--the Shi-do (Way of the Warrior) and Bukyo Shogaku (Military
Primer)--contain minute instructions as to the practice and the
morale of the samurai. Soko rejected the Chutsz interpretation, then
in vogue, of the Chinese classics, and insisted on the pure doctrine
of the ancient sages, so that he found himself out of touch with the
educational spirit of the time. Thus, falling under the displeasure
of the Bakufu, he was charged with propagating heterodox views and
was sent to Ako to be kept in custody by Asano Naganori, who treated
him throughout with courtesy and respect. In return, Soko devoted his
whole energy during nineteen years to the education of the Ako
vassals, and the most prominent of the Forty-seven Ronins was among
his pupils.
THE SIXTH SHOGUN, IENOBU
Tsunayoshi died of small-pox in 1709, after a brief illness. He had
no son, and: five years previously, his nephew Ienobu (third son of
his deceased elder brother, Tsunashige) had been declared heir to the
shogunate. Having been born in 1662, Ienobu was in his forty-seventh
year when he succeeded to the office of shogun. His first act was to
abolish Tsunayoshi's legislation for the protection of animals. He is
said to have offered the following explanation at the tomb of the
deceased shogun: "You desired to protect living animals and strictly
interdicted the slaughter of any such. You willed that even after
your death the prohibition should be observed. But hundreds of
thousands of human beings are suffering from the operation of your
law. To repeal it is the only way of bringing peace to the nation."
ARAI HAKUSEKI
Ienobu gave evidence of his sagacity by dismissing Yanagisawa
Yoshiyasu, the corrupt favourite of the late shogun; by appointing in
his stead Manabe Norifusa to the office of personal assistant (soba
yoniri), and by reposing full confidence in Arai Hakuseki. This last
is recognized by posterity as the most distinguished among Japanese
Confucianists. He studied the literature of both the Tang and the
Sung dynasties, and he laboured to apply the precepts of Chinese
philosophy to the practical needs of his own country. Moreover, he
devoted exceptional attention to the conditions existing in
Occidental States, and he embodied his thoughts and researches on the
latter subject in a book called Sairan Igen, the first treatise of
its kind published in Japan.
A practical illustration of his knowledge was furnished in connexion
with the reception of Korean envoys. It had been customary to convey
to these officials an imposing conception of Japanese magnificence by
treating them with lavish hospitality. Hakuseki was able to detect
that the conduct of the envoys violated in many respects the rules of
Chinese etiquette, and having obtained the shogun's nomination to
receive the envoy, Cho, he convinced the latter that there must be no
more neglect of due formalities. He then memorialized the shogun in
the sense that these Korean ambassadors were merely Chinese spies,
and that instead of receiving a lavish welcome, they should be
required to limit their journey to the island of Tsushima, where only
a very restricted ceremonial should be performed in their honour.
This shrewd, though somewhat conservative, suggestion elicited
general approval, but was not carried into effect until the time of
the eleventh shogun.
ENGRAVING: ARAI HAKUSEKI
ADJUSTMENT OF THE FINANCES
It has been shown above that the fifth shogun bequeathed to his
successor a much embarrassed treasury. In this realm, also, the
advice of Arai Hakuseki proved invaluable. In his volume of
reminiscences there is an interesting statement connected with
finance. It quotes Hagiwara Shigehide, commissioner of the Treasury,
as saying that the shogun's estate at that time yielded four million
koku annually, in addition to which there accrued from 760,000 ryo to
770,000 ryo in money, representing the proceeds of dues and taxes. In
this latter sum was included 40,000 ryo, customs duties collected at
Nagasaki, and 6000 ryo yielded by a tax on sake. The same report
mentions that a sum of 160,000 ryo had been expended in clearing away
the volcanic ashes which fell in the three provinces of Musashi,
Sagami, and Suruga after the great eruption of Fujisan. Arai Hakuseki
was able to prove the erroneous character of this report, but his
demonstration did not impugn any of the above figures. Incidentally
it is mentioned in Arai's comments that 700,000 ryo were allotted for
building an addition to Yedo Castle, and 200,000 ryo for the
construction of the deceased shogun's mausoleum, out of which total
Hakuseki explicitly charges the officials, high and low alike, with
diverting large sums to their own pockets in collusion with the
contractors and tradesmen employed on the works. Another interesting
investigation made by Arai Hakuseki is in connexion with the
country's foreign trade. He showed that the amount of coins exported
from Nagasaki alone, during one year, totalled 6,192,800 ryo of gold;
1,122,687 kwamme of silver and 228,000,000 kin of copper.* He alleged
that the greater part of this large outflow of specie produced
nothing except luxuries with which the nation could very well
dispense, and he therefore advised that the foreign trade of Nagasaki
should be limited to thirteen Chinese junks and two Dutch vessels
annually, while stringent measures should be adopted to prevent
smuggling.
*One kin equals 1.25 lbs.
The ordinance based upon this advice consisted of two hundred
articles, and is known in history as the "New Nagasaki Trade Rules of
the Shotoku Era" (1711-1715). One portion of the document ran as
follows: "During the Jokyo era (1684-1687), the trade with Chinese
merchants was limited to 6000 kwamme of silver, and that with Dutch
traders to 50,000 ryo of gold, while the number of Chinese vessels
was not allowed to exceed seventy per annum. After a few years,
however, copper coins came into use as media of exchange in addition
to silver, and moreover there was much smuggling of foreign goods.
Thus, it resulted that gold, silver, and copper flowed out of the
country in great quantities. Comparing the aggregate thus exported
during the 107 years since the Keicho era with the amount coined in
Japan during the same interval, it is found that one-quarter of the
gold coins and three-quarters of the silver left the country. If that
state of affairs continue, it is obvious that after a hundred years
from the present time one-half of the empire's gold will be carried
away and there will be no silver at all left. As for copper, the sum
remaining in the country is insufficient, not only for purposes of
trade but also for the needs of everyday life. It is most regrettable
that the nation's treasure should thus be squandered upon foreign
luxuries. The amount of currency needed at home and the amount
produced by the mines should be investigated so as to obtain a basis
for limiting the foreign trade at the open ports of Nagasaki,
Tsushima, and Satsuma, and for fixing the maximum number of foreign
vessels visiting those places."
IMPEACHMENT OF HAGIWARA SHIGEHIDE
In connexion with Arai Hakuseki's impeachment of the Treasury
commissioner, Hagiwara Shigehide, it was insisted that an auditor's
office must be re-established, and it was pointed out that the yield
of rice from the shogun's estates had fallen to 28.9 per cent, of the
total produce instead of being forty per cent., as fixed by law.
Nevertheless, the condition of the farmers was by no means improved,
and the inevitable inference was that the difference went into the
pockets of the local officials. Similarly, enormous expenses were
incurred for the repair of river banks without any corresponding
diminution of floods, and hundreds of thousands of bags of rice went
nominally to the bottom of the sea without ever having been shipped.
During the year that followed the reconstruction of the auditor's
office, the yield of the estates increased by 433,400 bags of rice,
and the cost of riparian works decreased by 38,000 ryo of gold,
while, at the same time, the item of shipwrecked cereals disappeared
almost completely from the ledgers. In consequence of these charges
the commissioner, Shigehide, was dismissed. History says that
although his regular salary was only 3000 koku annually, he embezzled
260,000 ryo of gold by his debasement of the currency, and that
ultimately he starved himself to death in token of repentance.
Ienobu and his able adviser, Hakuseki, desired to restore the
currency to the system pursued in the Keicho era (1596-1614), but
their purpose was thwarted by insufficiency of the precious metals.
They were obliged to be content with improving the quality of the
coins while decreasing their weight by one half.
stern justice, and the forty-seven ronins were ordered to commit
suicide.
They obeyed without a murmur. One of them, Terasaka Kichiemon by
name, had been sent to carry the news to Ako immediately after the
perpetration of the deed of vengeance. He returned when his comrades
were condemned and gave himself up to the authorities, but they
declined to punish him on the ground that the case had already been
disposed of. The eminent Confucian scholar, Hayashi Nobuatsu,
petitioned for the pardon of the ronins, and the scarcely less
celebrated Muro Kyuso compiled a book describing the incident; but,
for some reason never fully explained, the noteworthy scholar, Ogyu
Sorai, took the opposite side. One act of the authorities is eloquent
as to the sentiment prevailing at the time. They condemned
Yoshihide's son, Yoshikata, to be deprived of his ancestral domain
for not having died in company with his father. As for the feeling of
the nation at large, it was abundantly manifested by many of the
great feudatories, who vied with one another in conferring offices
and revenues on the sons and grandsons of the "Forty-seven."
YAMAGA SOKO
The affair of the forty-seven ronins helped to bring into eminence
the name of Yamaga Soko, a firm believer in Confucianism and an
ardent follower of military science. Amid an environment of
unfavourable conditions Soko preached the cult of bushido, and was
the first to embody that philosophy in a written system. His
books--the Shi-do (Way of the Warrior) and Bukyo Shogaku (Military
Primer)--contain minute instructions as to the practice and the
morale of the samurai. Soko rejected the Chutsz interpretation, then
in vogue, of the Chinese classics, and insisted on the pure doctrine
of the ancient sages, so that he found himself out of touch with the
educational spirit of the time. Thus, falling under the displeasure
of the Bakufu, he was charged with propagating heterodox views and
was sent to Ako to be kept in custody by Asano Naganori, who treated
him throughout with courtesy and respect. In return, Soko devoted his
whole energy during nineteen years to the education of the Ako
vassals, and the most prominent of the Forty-seven Ronins was among
his pupils.
THE SIXTH SHOGUN, IENOBU
Tsunayoshi died of small-pox in 1709, after a brief illness. He had
no son, and: five years previously, his nephew Ienobu (third son of
his deceased elder brother, Tsunashige) had been declared heir to the
shogunate. Having been born in 1662, Ienobu was in his forty-seventh
year when he succeeded to the office of shogun. His first act was to
abolish Tsunayoshi's legislation for the protection of animals. He is
said to have offered the following explanation at the tomb of the
deceased shogun: "You desired to protect living animals and strictly
interdicted the slaughter of any such. You willed that even after
your death the prohibition should be observed. But hundreds of
thousands of human beings are suffering from the operation of your
law. To repeal it is the only way of bringing peace to the nation."
ARAI HAKUSEKI
Ienobu gave evidence of his sagacity by dismissing Yanagisawa
Yoshiyasu, the corrupt favourite of the late shogun; by appointing in
his stead Manabe Norifusa to the office of personal assistant (soba
yoniri), and by reposing full confidence in Arai Hakuseki. This last
is recognized by posterity as the most distinguished among Japanese
Confucianists. He studied the literature of both the Tang and the
Sung dynasties, and he laboured to apply the precepts of Chinese
philosophy to the practical needs of his own country. Moreover, he
devoted exceptional attention to the conditions existing in
Occidental States, and he embodied his thoughts and researches on the
latter subject in a book called Sairan Igen, the first treatise of
its kind published in Japan.
A practical illustration of his knowledge was furnished in connexion
with the reception of Korean envoys. It had been customary to convey
to these officials an imposing conception of Japanese magnificence by
treating them with lavish hospitality. Hakuseki was able to detect
that the conduct of the envoys violated in many respects the rules of
Chinese etiquette, and having obtained the shogun's nomination to
receive the envoy, Cho, he convinced the latter that there must be no
more neglect of due formalities. He then memorialized the shogun in
the sense that these Korean ambassadors were merely Chinese spies,
and that instead of receiving a lavish welcome, they should be
required to limit their journey to the island of Tsushima, where only
a very restricted ceremonial should be performed in their honour.
This shrewd, though somewhat conservative, suggestion elicited
general approval, but was not carried into effect until the time of
the eleventh shogun.
ENGRAVING: ARAI HAKUSEKI
ADJUSTMENT OF THE FINANCES
It has been shown above that the fifth shogun bequeathed to his
successor a much embarrassed treasury. In this realm, also, the
advice of Arai Hakuseki proved invaluable. In his volume of
reminiscences there is an interesting statement connected with
finance. It quotes Hagiwara Shigehide, commissioner of the Treasury,
as saying that the shogun's estate at that time yielded four million
koku annually, in addition to which there accrued from 760,000 ryo to
770,000 ryo in money, representing the proceeds of dues and taxes. In
this latter sum was included 40,000 ryo, customs duties collected at
Nagasaki, and 6000 ryo yielded by a tax on sake. The same report
mentions that a sum of 160,000 ryo had been expended in clearing away
the volcanic ashes which fell in the three provinces of Musashi,
Sagami, and Suruga after the great eruption of Fujisan. Arai Hakuseki
was able to prove the erroneous character of this report, but his
demonstration did not impugn any of the above figures. Incidentally
it is mentioned in Arai's comments that 700,000 ryo were allotted for
building an addition to Yedo Castle, and 200,000 ryo for the
construction of the deceased shogun's mausoleum, out of which total
Hakuseki explicitly charges the officials, high and low alike, with
diverting large sums to their own pockets in collusion with the
contractors and tradesmen employed on the works. Another interesting
investigation made by Arai Hakuseki is in connexion with the
country's foreign trade. He showed that the amount of coins exported
from Nagasaki alone, during one year, totalled 6,192,800 ryo of gold;
1,122,687 kwamme of silver and 228,000,000 kin of copper.* He alleged
that the greater part of this large outflow of specie produced
nothing except luxuries with which the nation could very well
dispense, and he therefore advised that the foreign trade of Nagasaki
should be limited to thirteen Chinese junks and two Dutch vessels
annually, while stringent measures should be adopted to prevent
smuggling.
*One kin equals 1.25 lbs.
The ordinance based upon this advice consisted of two hundred
articles, and is known in history as the "New Nagasaki Trade Rules of
the Shotoku Era" (1711-1715). One portion of the document ran as
follows: "During the Jokyo era (1684-1687), the trade with Chinese
merchants was limited to 6000 kwamme of silver, and that with Dutch
traders to 50,000 ryo of gold, while the number of Chinese vessels
was not allowed to exceed seventy per annum. After a few years,
however, copper coins came into use as media of exchange in addition
to silver, and moreover there was much smuggling of foreign goods.
Thus, it resulted that gold, silver, and copper flowed out of the
country in great quantities. Comparing the aggregate thus exported
during the 107 years since the Keicho era with the amount coined in
Japan during the same interval, it is found that one-quarter of the
gold coins and three-quarters of the silver left the country. If that
state of affairs continue, it is obvious that after a hundred years
from the present time one-half of the empire's gold will be carried
away and there will be no silver at all left. As for copper, the sum
remaining in the country is insufficient, not only for purposes of
trade but also for the needs of everyday life. It is most regrettable
that the nation's treasure should thus be squandered upon foreign
luxuries. The amount of currency needed at home and the amount
produced by the mines should be investigated so as to obtain a basis
for limiting the foreign trade at the open ports of Nagasaki,
Tsushima, and Satsuma, and for fixing the maximum number of foreign
vessels visiting those places."
IMPEACHMENT OF HAGIWARA SHIGEHIDE
In connexion with Arai Hakuseki's impeachment of the Treasury
commissioner, Hagiwara Shigehide, it was insisted that an auditor's
office must be re-established, and it was pointed out that the yield
of rice from the shogun's estates had fallen to 28.9 per cent, of the
total produce instead of being forty per cent., as fixed by law.
Nevertheless, the condition of the farmers was by no means improved,
and the inevitable inference was that the difference went into the
pockets of the local officials. Similarly, enormous expenses were
incurred for the repair of river banks without any corresponding
diminution of floods, and hundreds of thousands of bags of rice went
nominally to the bottom of the sea without ever having been shipped.
During the year that followed the reconstruction of the auditor's
office, the yield of the estates increased by 433,400 bags of rice,
and the cost of riparian works decreased by 38,000 ryo of gold,
while, at the same time, the item of shipwrecked cereals disappeared
almost completely from the ledgers. In consequence of these charges
the commissioner, Shigehide, was dismissed. History says that
although his regular salary was only 3000 koku annually, he embezzled
260,000 ryo of gold by his debasement of the currency, and that
ultimately he starved himself to death in token of repentance.
Ienobu and his able adviser, Hakuseki, desired to restore the
currency to the system pursued in the Keicho era (1596-1614), but
their purpose was thwarted by insufficiency of the precious metals.
They were obliged to be content with improving the quality of the
coins while decreasing their weight by one half.
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