Japan: From the Japanese Government History

by Unknown

The position of the feudal lords was further lowered and that of the shōgun made more secure when, with a consummate tact, Iyemitsu, the third Tokugawa, annulled the formal distinction between the tozama and fudai barons, and reduced the former to the level of the latter. On his accession he summoned to the palace in Edo all the tozama barons, and addressed them as follows: "Our ancestor, having been originally of the same rank with yourselves and enabled to pacify the country through your assistance, was prompted by a sentiment of deference to refrain from classing you with the fudai barons. But I differ from my ancestor in that I was born to the position which he acquired, and am under no obligation to preserve any distinction. It is therefore my intention to place you on the same footing as the fudai. Should this be displeasing to any of you, an interval of three years will now be given you, during which time you should consider the matter maturely in your own dominions and come to a final decision." Then, adding that the creed of the samurai was to guard with weapons of war the things acquired by such means, he presented to each of the barons a sword. This injunction, at once so frank and so irresistible, evoked no dissent. The barons acquiesced respectfully, but the greater tozama never forgot the position they once held, and their loyalty was often more formal than sincere, until after 1860, when some of them turned open enemies of the Tokugawa.

The Tokugawa's policy toward the imperial house and the civil nobility at Kyōto was not less clever and effective than the control of the daimio. Theoretically, the shōgun derived his powers primarily from the emperor, and ruled his vassals under the authority delegated to him by the sovereign. The Tokugawa showed deference to this theory by making every effort to enhance the social position and enrich the temporal domains of the emperor. But it was at the same time important for the shōgun that the exercise of his executive power should not be inconveniently hampered by interference on the part of the court. Hence, in the same year that saw the promulgation of the military statutes, 1615, Iyeyasu compiled a law of seventeen articles destined chiefly for observance by the court nobles, and entitled "Kinchū Jomoku," or palace regulations. In this law we find provisions recapitulating orders issued by the emperor in the Kwampei era, to the effect that men should study the ancient poetry of Japan, that the prime minister, the minister of the left, and the minister of the right should rank above the princes of the blood; that the ranks held by samurai should be considered entirely distinct from those held by court nobles, and so forth. Men said that this law was designed to augment the prestige of the imperial house, but in reality it set limits to the exercise of the sovereign's authority. The principal official of the shōgun's government, the shoshidai, was stationed in Kyōto and intrusted with the duty of supervising the imperial guards. Moreover, strict regulations were enacted to control the journeys of the feudal nobles to and from Kyōto. In a word, the policy of the shōgunate was to preserve the fullest semblance of reverence for the sovereign, simultaneously with the fullest administrative independence. The imperial court was organized in Kyōto with all pomp and circumstance; it had its ministers, vice ministers, and subordinate officials; it had its five principal, as well as more than a hundred ordinary, court nobles; but as for the sovereign's actual power, it did not extend beyond the direction of matters relating to rank and etiquette, the classification of shrine-keepers, priests, and priestesses, and professionals of various kinds—functions of no material importance whatever. Alone the kwanryō, the densō, and the gisō exercised a certain measure of authority in the shōgun's government. The control of affairs relating to lands, to the army, to finance, and to everything included in the domain of practical politics rested absolutely in the hands of the shōgun.

This state of affairs greatly mortified the Emperor Gominoö,[2] a sovereign of much talent, who reigned during 1612-1630. He would fain have effected some change in the system, but found himself helpless to accomplish anything against the all-powerful Tokugawa. An additional check to such designs was given by the marriage of Kazuko, daughter of the second shōgun, Hidetada, to the emperor, the offspring of the union, a daughter, subsequently coming to the throne as the Empress Myōshō. This close relationship with the imperial family naturally increased the prestige of the Tokugawa. Subsequently Gokōmyō, Gosai-in, and Reigen, sons of the Emperor Gominoö, successively ascended the throne and Gokōmyō cherished the design of achieving his father's ambition. But he died without accomplishing anything and the times remained unfavorable to the imperial aspirations until 1868.

With regard to the organization of the shōgun's government in Edo, the cabinet, called yōbeya, held its sessions in the castle, and was composed of the tairō, rōjiu, and wakadoshiyori. The tairō corresponded with the prime minister (daijō daijin) of Kyōto; it was an office sometimes actually filled, sometimes left without occupant. The rōjiu were five; their functions were the general direction of administrative affairs, of the feudal barons and of the city of Kyōto. The wakadoshiyori, also five in number, assisted in the administration and supervised the samurai directly connected with the shōgunate. The posts in the cabinet were given invariably to fudai nobles, the tozama barons being entirely excluded. Next in importance were the offices of the three governors (bugyō), the senior and junior supervisors (metsuke) and so forth. One of the three governors was called the jisha bugyō, and was charged with the management of temples, shrines, and Shintō and Buddhist priests. Another, the machi bugyō, had control of municipal and mercantile matters in Edo; and the third, the kanjō bugyō, had to do with all the lands in the direct possession of the shōgunate. These three governors had judicial functions also, being required to hear and determine all suits connected with matters falling within their respective provinces. In addition to duties of general supervision, the metsuke were charged with the superintendence of special classes, the ōmetsuke being intrusted with the function of keeping watch on the feudal barons and on officials below the rank of rōjiu, in conjunction with the rōjiu; while the shōmetsuke, similarly coöperating with the wakadoshiyori, had to superintend the samurai who were direct vassals of the shōgun, as well as the samurai in general. Attached to the above-mentioned principal officials there was a duly-ordered staff of subordinates, the whole constituting the organization of the general government. Posts inferior to those of the three governors were generally filled by hatamoto (bannerets). Turning to local officers, we find the shoshidai, or governor, in Kyōto, entrusted with the supervision of the imperial guards, and the Ōsaka-jōdai, or lord warden of Ōsaka castle. These two officials had general charge of affairs in the western provinces, in addition to the duties of their special offices. They also were selected from among the fudai barons, and their post was usually a stepping stone to the important position of rōjiu. Further, in Nijō of Kyōto there was a zaiban shihai, or controller of the guards; in Ōsaka, a jōban shihai, or controller of the castle guards, and in Shimpu, Kofu, and so forth, there were jōban shihai, or kinban shihai, performing functions similar to those of the Kyōto and Ōsaka shihai. Governors, who were regarded as officials of great importance, gundai (headmen) of lands under the direct control of the shōgun, daikwan and other principal officers, were selected by the shōgun from among the fudai barons and bannerets. In the city of Edo there were machidoshiyori, or wardmasters, nanushi, or mayors, and so forth, while in provincial towns there were five nanushi who managed municipal affairs.

Turning to the foreign relations of Japan during this period, we find that, after the invasion of Hideyoshi's army, which, like the Hundred Years' War in France, devastated Korea from one end to the other, the people of the peninsula regarded the Japanese with such aversion that the relations between the two countries were virtually severed. It was with great difficulty that Iyeyasu at last succeeded in convincing the Koreans that the Japan of the Tokugawa differed essentially from the Japan under Hideyoshi, and that the former's intentions were entirely pacific. Finally the Koreans, having obtained tacit consent of China, sent to Japan a letter from their king together with some presents, and thenceforth, on each occasion of a change of shōgun, Korean envoys came to offer their country's congratulations, the Tokugawa, on their side, treating these delegates with all courtesy and consideration. In the days of the Ashikaga family, it had been customary for the shōgun to assume the title of king of Japan in his communications with other sovereigns. The Tokugawa discontinued this, on the ground that it was an infraction of the imperial dignity, and adopted instead the title taikun, or great prince. The Sō family of Tsushima acted from generation to generation as intermediaries between Japan and Korea. They had a monopoly of the trade with the latter country, whither they dispatched twenty vessels annually, the total value of the trade being limited, however, to 18,000 ryō. But though Korea thus accepted Japan's amicable overtures, China would not do so. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of her southeastern parts came to Nagasaki in great numbers for purposes of commerce, and many Japanese ships crossed to the neighboring empire with the same object. These ships, called shuin-bune, because of the vermilion-seal permits of the shōgun, were owned by wealthy merchants residing in or near Kyōto, Sakai, and Nagasaki.

The Portuguese, who were the first Europeans to establish commercial intercourse with Japan, held a monopoly of the trade for some time, so that the Dutch settlers in the Indies were excluded from competing with them. Finally, however, in 1608, the Dutch managed to make their way to Hirado in the province of Hizen, in order to arrange the preliminaries of a commerce destined to continue for a long time. Among the persons who arrived in the Dutch ships were a Dutchman named Jan Joost and an Englishman, William Adams, the latter coming in the capacity of pilot. These two foreigners had an interview with Iyeyasu, who, much pleased with them, conceived the idea of trading with Western countries. Houses and lands were given to the two strangers, and they resided in Edo, the streets now known as Yayosugashi and Anjinchō being the places where they are said to have lived. The Dutch, eager to monopolize the trade with Japan, made another visit to Japan in a vessel of war, with a view to expelling the Portuguese merchants. They brought with them an autograph letter and presents from the King of Holland for the shōgun, and solicited permission to carry on commerce, to which Iyeyasu readily acceded. In 1612 the first Dutch merchantman arrived in Japanese waters and was soon afterward followed by a British ship, the coming of the latter being due to information furnished by William Adams to his country with reference to the state of affairs in Japan. Iyeyasu placed no obstacles in the way of British trade, but the relations between the Dutch and the English at Hirado were so inharmonious that at one time they were on the point of resorting to open hostilities. The Dutch finally prevailed upon the shōgun to impose as many restrictions as possible on the trade of the English, and the result was that although the friction between the British and the Dutch was ostensibly removed, the former, finding themselves unable to carry on business profitably, finally took their departure. About this time great numbers of merchants came to Japan from Annam, Siam, Luzon, and other places of the south, as well as from the southern districts of China and from India, while on the Japanese side wealthy traders of Kiushū traveled abroad to a great extent for business purposes, and Iyeyasu himself went so far as to dispatch people across the Pacific to New Spain in America in order to open commercial relations. The Japanese at that era possessed very strongly constructed vessels, measuring as much as 120 feet by 54, fully rigged with three masts, having dark-red lacquered hulls and capable of carrying a great number of passengers. In these ships were exported copper, bronze utensils, lacquered articles, umbrellas, fans, screens, sulphur, camphor, dyed textile fabrics, wheat flour, and so forth, and on their return voyage they brought to Japan silk cocoons, silk fabrics, woolen stuffs, sugar, drugs, incense, vermilion, quicksilver, glass, coral, whalebone and so forth. This list of exports and imports furnishes some clue to the industries and customs of the Japanese of that era. Foreign trade flourished greatly, and a spirit of enterprise prevailed throughout the country. Date Masamune, feudal chief of Sendai, sent an envoy to Rome who came back eventually to Japan, having devoted seven years to studying the state of affairs in Rome, where he was received in audience by the Pope. Early in the seventeenth century one Yamada Nagamasa (or Nizayemon), a native of Suruga, crossed to Siam, and organizing a force with the Japanese settlers in that country—who had already become sufficiently numerous to people a village, hence called Nippon-machi—rendered material assistance to the king of the country, twice quelling a rebellion that prevailed at the time. This same Yamada, fighting always for Siam, led his troops against an invading army of Spaniards and defeated them, an exploit regarded with the greatest admiration at that era when the prestige of the Spanish arms was at its height. The king rewarded Yamada by adopting him into the royal family and giving him his own daughter in marriage, so that the Japanese adventurer's name became widely renowned. Another example of the adventurous spirit of the age was afforded by Hamada Yahei, who led a considerable force to Formosa, to avenge the plunder of a Japanese ship by the natives, and having overrun the island, brought back the son of the chief as a hostage to Nagasaki.

Unfortunately, however, unexpected religious squabbles fatally interrupted the course of the country's foreign trade. The Dutch settlers made a discovery, real or pretended, that the Portuguese and Spanish missionaries, leaguing themselves with the native Christians, were plotting to overthrow the Japanese government. Many proofs of the truth of this accusation were submitted to the shōgun by the Dutch, and color was lent to the charge by evidence that the missionaries themselves or their converts behaved with much intolerance and arrogance. The Edo government was moved by these accusations and by the doings of the missionaries to take active steps against them. Several of the principal were put to death and the rest were expelled. Shortly afterward an order was issued against the voyages of the shuin-bune and it was further declared unlawful to construct ships of more than a certain size, while, at the same time, the method of construction was so modified that distant voyages became impossible. Travel to foreign countries was also strictly interdicted, and as a necessary consequence the arts of ship-building and navigation sensibly declined. It was at this epoch, too, that the Christian rebellion of Shimabara occurred, culminating in the battle of Amakusa in 1637-1638, which had a decisive influence upon the foreign policy of the Tokugawa.

At the time of the first introduction of Christianity into Japan, it spread very rapidly throughout the empire, receiving no check until the arrogance and intolerance of the missionaries provoked the anger of Hideyoshi and induced him to issue an edict forbidding the propagandism of the foreign faith. This law, however, was not rigorously enforced, and moreover official attention was shortly afterward diverted to the war with Korea. When Iyeyasu came to power, as has been shown, he expelled the foreign missionaries from Japan and deputed Buddhist priests to reconvert the Japanese who had embraced the Christian creed, the efforts of these priests being reinforced by an edict that all who refused to abjure Christianity should be either exiled or put to death. But it appeared that many of the Japanese Christians had adopted the new faith with sincerity and devotion which neither teaching nor threats could alter. In the provinces of Bungo and Hizen, in Kiushū, where even the feudal barons themselves had become converts to the Western creed, a great majority of the population was Christian, and from them issued the forces of propagandism which made themselves felt elsewhere. Shimabara, in Hizen, was especially regarded as the headquarters of the foreign faith, and the shōgun accordingly nominated as feudal chief of that place Matsukura Shigemasa, a bitter foe to Christianity. The latter issued proclamations against the profession of the faith, and inflicted most cruel punishments on its votaries. The people suffered in silence, for Shigemasa's military following was so great that resistance was hopeless.

On Shigemasa's death, his incapable and tyrannous son Shigetsugu succeeded him, and popular discontent began to take a concrete form. Gradually the plan of a combination for open resistance found advocates. Among the generals on the defeated side in the battle of Sekigahara of 1600 had been one Konishi Yukinaga, an ardent believer in Christianity. After the battle his principal retainers retired to the Island of Amakusa off the coast of Hizen, among whom the most influential constantly sought means to be revenged on the Tokugawa and to promote the spread of Christianity. They found a youth named Masuda Shirō who to remarkable graces of person added a mind of great craftiness, and they presented him to the people in 1637, alleging that he was the heavenly messenger of whom Francis Xavier had spoken twenty-five years previously when leaving Japan, and who was destined to establish the supremacy of the Christian faith. They also spread rumors that the shōgun had died in Edo, and the people, much encouraged by these things, assembled in great numbers and openly offered thanksgivings to heaven. The officials in Shimabara endeavored to disperse this meeting and to arrest the leaders, but in a contest which ensued the Christians were victorious. Now the insurrection spread far and wide throughout Shimabara, Amakusa, and the neighboring districts, until the insurgents under the command of Masuda Shirō numbered over thirty thousand. At first the Edo government regarded the rebels as a mere mob of peasants, and dispatched a petty baron, Itakura Shigemasa, to restore order. But the latter's inability to cope with the trouble having afforded a gauge of its true dimensions, the commission was given to Matsudaira Nobutsuna, a powerful chief. The insurgents fought with desperate resolution and inflicted numerous defeats on the government's troops, Shigemasa himself falling in battle. But the end came at last. In 1638, the stronghold of the rebels was taken, and its defenders were either burned in the flames kindled by their own hand or put to the sword.

This experience taught the government that the spread of Christianity was attended by the gravest dangers to public tranquillity. Strict laws were therefore enacted for its suppression. Foreigners who came to Japan for the purpose of propagating the faith were refused admission, and those who declined to depart despite the edicts were put to death. Thenceforth Buddhism was adopted as the national religion, receiving the allegiance of all classes, high and low. It is interesting to note that the revival of Buddhist influence was not only simultaneous with the downfall of Catholicism, but also due largely to an institution which was now for the first time placed on a religious basis. The system of taking a census at regular intervals, which was introduced by the Taikwa reformers, had never been successfully practiced for a long period of time, until the Tokugawa government made the extermination of Catholicism an occasion for the restoration of the system. It was ordered in 1716 that the census should be taken in each fief and the results duly reported every six years. Births, deaths, and marriages were registered in books kept by Buddhist priests, so that no Christian should remain in society under the protection of law. The operation was called, from its religious character, shūmon-aratame, or examination of faith. This of course contributed materially to the influence of the Buddhist church, for which the Tokugawa period was an era of marked prosperity, the number of temples throughout the empire aggregating four hundred thousand. Nevertheless, the government was careful to avoid a return to the excesses of former days. The building of new temples was forbidden, the lands assigned for the support of those already in existence were rigidly defined, and the people were encouraged to study Chinese literature, so that the corruption which disfigured the Buddhist priesthood in earlier ages was, in great part, corrected.