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at Nara, which gave its name to that epoch; and in 794 A. D. the capital was permanently established at Kyōto.

At first the government of Japan was an absolute monarchy, not only in name, but also in fact; for the authority of the Emperor was recognized and maintained, comparatively unimpaired, throughout the realm. But the decay of the Imperial power began quite early in "the Middle Ages of Japan," as Dr. Murray calls the period from about 700 to 1184 A. D. The Emperors themselves, wearied with the restrained and dignified life which, as "descendants of the gods," they were obliged by etiquette to endure, preferred to abdicate; and in retirement "often wielded a greater influence and exerted a more active part in the administration of affairs." This practice of abdication frequently brought a youth, or even an infant, to the throne, and naturally transferred the real power to the subordinate administrative officers. This was the way in which gradatim the "duarchy," as it is sometimes call 1, was developed, and in which seriatim families and even individuals became prominent.

4. Civil Strife [888-1603 a. D.].

Although actual warfare did not begin for a long period, the date of the appointment of a Fujiwara as Regent practically ended Imperialism and was the beginning of jealousy and strife. And yet the Fujiwara Epoch was the "Elizabethan Age" of classical

12 Bennett S

CIRCULATING DEPARTMENT.

literature.

But after that family had for about 400 years "monopolized nearly all the important offices in the government," and from 888 had held the regency in hereditary tenure, it was finally deposed by the so-called "military families."

The first of these was the Taira, who, after only a short period of power (1156–1185) through Kiyomori, were utterly overthrown in the "wars of the red and white flags," and practically annihilated in the great naval battle of Dan-no-ura. Next came the Minamoto, represented by Yoritomo,' whose authority was further enhanced when the Emperor bestowed on him the highest military title, Sei-iTai-Shōgun. And from this time (1192) till 1868 the emperors were practical nonentities, and subordinates actually governed the empire. The Japanese Merovingians, however, were never deprived of their titular honor by their " Mayors of the Palace."

But the successors of Yoritomo in the office of Shōgun were young and sensual, and gladly relinquished the executive duties to their guardians of the Hōjō family, who, as regents, ruled "with resistless authority" and "unexampled cruelty and rapacity," but yet deserve credit for defeating (in 1281) an invading force of Tartars sent by Kublai Khan. The great patriots, Kusunoki and Nitta, with the aid of Ashikaga, finally overthrew the Hōjō domination in 1333; but the Ashikaga rule succeeded and continued till 1573.

1 His younger brother, Yoshitsune, was a popular hero.

During the fourteenth century occurred the Japanese "War of the Roses," or the "War of the Chrysanthemums," which was a conflict between two rival branches of the Imperial family. It resulted in the defeat of the "Southern Court" by the "Northern Court," and the reunion of the Imperial authority in the person of the Emperor Komatsu II. It was an Ashikaga Shōgun who encouraged the quaint teaceremonial, called cha-no-yu; it was the same family who fostered fine arts, especially painting and architecture; it was an Ashikaga who paid tribute to China; it was "in almost the worst period of the Ashikaga anarchy" that, in 1542, "the Portuguese made their first appearance in Japan"; and it was only five years later when Francis Xavier arrived there to begin his missionary labors, from which Christianity spread rapidly, until the converts were numbered by the millions.1

The next few decades of Japanese history are crowded with civil strife, and include the three great men, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Iyeyasu, each of whom in turn seized the supreme power. The first-named persecuted Buddhism and was favorable to Christianity; the other two interdicted the latter. Hideyoshi, who "rose from obscurity solely by his own talents," has been called "the Napoleon of Japan. He is generally known by his title of Taikō; and he extended his name abroad by an invasion of Korea, which was not, however, a complete

1 See "The Religions of Japan" (Griffis), chap. xi.

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