A History of the Japanese People Part 81

ENGRAVING: TOKUGAWA MITSUKUNI

CHAPTER XLIII

REVIVAL OF THE s.h.i.+NTO CULT

RYOBU s.h.i.+NTO

THE reader is aware that early in the ninth century the celebrated Buddhist priest, Kukai (Kobo Dais.h.i.+), compounded out of Buddhism and s.h.i.+nto a system of doctrine called Ryobu s.h.i.+nto. The salient feature of this mixed creed was the theory that the s.h.i.+nto deities were transmigrations of Buddhist divinities. Thereafter, Buddhism became the national religion, which position it held until the days of the Tokugawa shoguns, when it was supplanted among educated j.a.panese by the moral philosophy of Confucius, as interpreted by Chutsz, w.a.n.g Yang-ming, and others.

REVIVAL OF PURE s.h.i.+NTO

The enthusiasm and the intolerance showed by the disciples of Chinese philosophy produced a reaction in j.a.pan, and this culminated in the revival of s.h.i.+nto, during which process the anomalous position occupied by the shogun towards the sovereign was clearly demonstrated, and the fact contributed materially to the downfall of the Tokugawa. It was by Ieyasu himself that national thought was turned into the new channel, though it need scarcely be said that the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate had no premonition of any results injurious to the sway of his own house.

After the battle of Sekigahara had established his administrative supremacy, and after he had retired from the shogunate in favour of Hidetada, Ieyasu applied himself during his residence at Sumpu to collecting old ma.n.u.scripts, and shortly before his death he directed that the j.a.panese section of the library thus formed should be handed over to his eighth son, the baron of Owari, and the Chinese portion to his ninth son, the baron of Kii. Another great library was subsequently brought together by a grandson of Ieyasu, the celebrated Mitsukuni (1628-1700), baron of Mito, who, from his youthful days, devoted attention to j.a.panese learning, and, a.s.sembling a number of eminent scholars, composed the Dai Nihon-s.h.i.+ (History of Great j.a.pan), which consisted of 240 volumes and became thenceforth the standard history of the country. It is stated that the expenditures involved in producing this history, together with a five-hundred-volume work on the ceremonies of the Imperial Court, amounted to one-third of the Mito revenues, a sum of about 700,000 ryo. There can be little doubt that Mitsukuni's proximate purpose in undertaking the colossal work was to controvert a theory advanced by Hayas.h.i.+ Razan that the Emperor of j.a.pan was descended from the Chinese prince, Tai Peh, of Wu, of the Yin dynasty.

Chiefly concerned in the compilation of the Dai Nihon-s.h.i.+ were Asaka Kaku, Kuriyama Gen, and Miyake Atsuaki. They excluded the Empress Jingo from the successive dynasties; they included the Emperor Kobun in the history proper, and they declared the legitimacy of the Southern Court as against the Northern. But in the volume devoted to enumeration of the const.i.tuents of the empire, they omitted the islands of Ezo and Ryukyu. This profound study of ancient history could not fail to expose the fact that the shogunate usurped powers which properly belonged to the sovereign and to the sovereign alone.

But Mitsukuni and his collaborators did not give prominence to this feature. They confined themselves rather to historical details.

ENGRAVING: KAMO MABUCHI

ENGRAVING: MOTOORI n.o.bINAGA

It was reserved for four other men to lay bare the facts of the Mikado's divine right and to rehabilitate the s.h.i.+nto cult. These men were Kada Azumamaro (1668-1736), Kamo Mabuchi (1697-1769), Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801), and Hirata Atsutane (1776-1834). a.s.sociated with them were other scholars of less note, but these are overshadowed by the four great masters. Kada, indeed, did not achieve much more than the restoration of pure j.a.panese literature to the pedestal upon which it deserved to stand. That in itself was no insignificant task, for during the five centuries that separated the Gen-Hei struggle from the establishment of the Tokugawa family, j.a.panese books had shared the destruction that overtook everything in this period of wasting warfare, and the j.a.panese language itself had undergone such change that to read and understand ancient books, like the Kojiki and the Manyo-shu, demanded a special course of study. To make that study and to prepare the path for others was Kada's task, and he performed it so conscientiously that his successors were at once able to obtain access to the treasures of ancient literature. It was reserved for Mabuchi to take the lead in championing j.a.panese ethical systems as against Chinese. By his writings we are taught the nature of the struggle waged throughout the Tokugawa period between Chinese philosophy and j.a.panese ethics, and we are enabled, also, to reach a lucid understanding of the s.h.i.+nto cult as understood by the j.a.panese themselves. The simplest route to that understanding is to let the four masters speak briefly, each for himself:

"Learning is a matter in which the highest interests of the empire are involved, and no man ought to be vain enough to imagine that he is able by himself to develop it thoroughly. Nor should the student blindly adhere to the opinions of his teacher. Anyone who desires to study j.a.panese literature should first acquire a good knowledge of Chinese, and then pa.s.s over to the Manyo-shu, from which he may discover the ancient principles of the divine age. If he resolve bravely to love and admire antiquity, there is no reason why he should fail to acquire the ancient style in poetry as well as in other things. In ancient times, as the poet expressed only the genuine sentiments of his heart, his style was naturally direct, but since the practice of writing upon subjects chosen by lot came into vogue, the language of poetry has become ornate and the ideas forced.

The expression of fict.i.tious sentiment about the relations of the s.e.xes and miscellaneous subjects is not genuine poetry. [Kada Azumamaro.]

"Wherein lies the value of a rule of conduct? In its conducing to the good order of the State. The Chinese for ages past have had a succession of different dynasties to rule over them, but j.a.pan has been faithful to one uninterrupted line of sovereigns. Every Chinese dynasty was founded upon rebellion and parricide. Sometimes, a powerful ruler was able to transmit his authority to his son and grandson, but they, in their turn, were inevitably deposed and murdered, and the country was in a perpetual state of civil war. A philosophy which produces such effects must be founded on a false system. When Confucianism was first introduced into j.a.pan, the simple-minded people, deceived by its plausible appearance, accepted it with eagerness and allowed it to spread its influence everywhere.

The consequence was the civil war which broke out immediately after the death of Tenji Tenno, in A.D. 671, between that Emperor's brother and son, which only came to an end in 672 by the suicide of the latter.

"In the eighth century, the Chinese costume and etiquette were adopted by the Court. This foreign pomp and splendour covered the rapid depravation of men's hearts, and created a wide gulf between the Mikado and his people. So long as the sovereign maintains a simple style of living, the subjects are contented with their own hard lot.

Their wants are few and they are easily ruled. But if a sovereign has a magnificent palace, gorgeous clothing, and crowds of finely dressed women to wait on him, the sight of these things must cause in others a desire to possess themselves of the same luxuries; and if they are not strong enough to take them by force, their envy is excited. Had the Mikado continued to live in a house roofed with s.h.i.+ngles and having walls of mud, to carry his sword in a scabbard wound round with the tendrils of some creeping plant, and to go to the chase carrying his bow and arrows, as was the ancient custom, the present state of things would never have come about. But since the introduction of Chinese manners, the sovereign, while occupying a highly dignified place, has been degraded to the intellectual level of a woman. The power fell into the hands of servants, and although they never actually a.s.sumed the t.i.tle, they were sovereigns in fact, while the Mikado became an utter nullity. . .

"In ancient times, when men's dispositions were straightforward, a complicated system of morals was unnecessary. It would naturally happen that bad acts might occasionally be committed, but the integrity of men's dispositions would prevent the evil from being concealed and growing in extent. In these days, therefore, it was unnecessary to have a doctrine of right and wrong. But the Chinese, being bad at heart, were only good externally, in spite of the teaching they received, and their evil acts became of such magnitude that society was thrown into disorder. The j.a.panese, being straightforward, could do without teaching. It has been alleged that, as the j.a.panese had no names for 'benevolence,' 'righteousness,'

'propriety,' 'sagacity,' and 'truth' they must have been without these principles. But these things exist in every country, in the same way as the four seasons which make their annual rounds. In the spring, the weather does not become mild all at once, or in the summer, hot. Nature proceeds by gradual steps. According to the view of the Chinese, it is not summer or spring unless it becomes hot or mild all of a sudden. Their principles sound very plausible but are unpractical. [Kamo Mabuchi.]

"j.a.pan is the country which gave birth to the G.o.ddess of the Sun, which fact proves its superiority over all other countries that also enjoy her favours. The G.o.ddess having endowed her grandson with the Three Sacred Treasures, proclaimed him sovereign of j.a.pan for ever and ever. His descendants shall continue to rule it as long as the heavens and earth endure. Being invested with this complete authority, all the G.o.ds under heaven and all mankind submitted to him, with the exception of a few wretches who were quickly subdued.

To the end of time each Mikado is the son of the G.o.ddess. His mind is in perfect harmony of thought and feeling with hers. He does not seek out new inventions but rules in accordance with precedents which date from the Age of the G.o.ds, and if he is ever in doubt, he has recourse to divination, which reveals to him the mind of the great G.o.ddess. In this way the Age of the G.o.ds and the present age are not two ages, but one, for not only the Mikado but also his ministers and people act up to the tradition of the divine age. Hence, in ancient times, the idea of michi, or way, (ethics) was applied to ordinary thoroughfares only, and its application to systems of philosophy, government, morals, religion, and so forth is a foreign notion.

"As foreign countries (China and India, particularly the former) are not the special domain of the Sun G.o.ddess, they have no permanent rulers, and evil spirits, finding a field of action there, have corrupted mankind. In those countries, any bad man who could manage to seize the power became a sovereign. Those who had the upper hand were constantly scheming to maintain their positions, while their inferiors were as constantly on the watch for opportunities to oust them. The most powerful and cunning of these rulers succeeded in taming their subjects, and having secured their position, became an example for others to imitate. In China the name of 'holy men' has been given to these persons. But it is an error to count these 'holy men' as in themselves supernatural and good beings, superior to the rest of the world as are the G.o.ds. The principles they established are called michi (ethics), and may be reduced to two simple rules, namely, to take other people's territory and to keep fast hold of it.

"The Chinese 'holy men' also invented the Book of Changes, by which they pretended to discover the workings of the universe; a vain attempt, since it is impossible for man with his limited intelligence to discover the principles which govern the acts of the G.o.ds. In imitation of them, the Chinese nation has since given itself up to philosophizing, to which are to be attributed its constant internal dissensions. When things go right of themselves, it is best to leave them alone. In ancient times, although there was no prosy system in j.a.pan, there, were no popular disturbances, and the empire was peacefully ruled. It is because the j.a.panese were truly moral in their practice that they required no theory of morals, and the fuss made by the Chinese about theoretical morals is owing to their laxity in practice. It is not wonderful that students of Chinese literature should despise their own country for being without a system of morals, but that the j.a.panese, who were acquainted with their own ancient literature, should pretend that j.a.pan too had such a system, simply out of a feeling of envy, is ridiculous.

"When Chinese literature was imported into j.a.pan, the people adopted many Chinese ideas, laws, customs, and practices, which they so mixed up with their own that it became necessary to adopt a special name for the ancient native customs, which were in consequence called Kami no michi or s.h.i.+nto, the word 'michi' being applied in the same sense as the Chinese Tao, and Kami because of their divine origin. These native customs survived only in ceremonies with which the native G.o.ds are wors.h.i.+pped. Every event in the universe is the act of the G.o.ds.

They direct the changes of the seasons, the wind and the rain, the good and bad fortune of States and individuals. Some of the G.o.ds are good, others bad, and their acts partake of their own natures.

Buddhists attribute events to 'retribution' (Inga), while the Chinese ascribe them to be the 'decree of heaven' (Tien ming). This latter is a phrase invented by the so-called 'holy men' to justify murdering sovereigns and seizing their dominions. As neither heaven nor earth has a mind, they cannot issue decrees. If heaven really could issue decrees, it would certainly protect the good rulers and take care to prevent bad men from seizing the power, and, in general, while the good would prosper, the bad would suffer misfortune. But in reality we find many instances of the reverse. Whenever anything goes wrong in the world, it is to be attributed to the action of the evil G.o.ds called 'G.o.ds of crookedness,' whose power is so great that the Sun G.o.ddess and the Creator-G.o.ds are sometimes unable to restrain them; much less are human beings able to resist their influence. The prosperity of the wicked and the misfortunes of the good, which seem opposed to ordinary justice, are their doing. The Chinese, not possessing the traditions of the Divine Age, were ignorant of this truth, and were driven to invent the theory of heaven's decrees.

"The eternal endurance of the dynasty of the Mikado is a complete proof that the 'way,' called Kami no michi or s.h.i.+nto, infinitely surpa.s.ses the systems of all other countries. The 'holy men' of China were merely unsuccessful rebels. The Mikado is the sovereign appointed by the pair of deities, Izanagi and Izanami, who created this country. The Sun G.o.ddess never said, 'Disobey the Mikado if he be bad,' and therefore, whether he be good or bad, no one attempts to deprive him of his authority. He is the Immovable Ruler who must endure to the end of time, as long as the sun and moon continue to s.h.i.+ne. In ancient language the Mikado was called a G.o.d, and that is his real character. Duty, therefore, consists in obeying him implicitly without questioning his acts. During the Middle Ages, such men as Hojo Yos.h.i.+toki, Hojo Yasutoki, As.h.i.+kaga Takauji, and others, violated this duty (michi) and look up arms against him. Their disobedience to the Mikado is attributable to the influence of the Chinese learning. This 'way' was established by Izanagi and Izanami and delivered by them to the Sun G.o.ddess, who handed it down, and this is why it is called the 'way of the G.o.ds.'

"The nature of this 'way' is to be learned by studying the Kojiki and ancient writings, but mankind has been turned aside from it, by the spirits of crookedness, to Buddhism and Chinese philosophy. The various doctrines taught under the name of s.h.i.+nto are without authority, Human beings, having been produced by the spirit of the two creative deities, are naturally endowed with the knowledge of what they ought to do, and what they ought to refrain from doing. It is unnecessary for them to trouble their heads with systems of morality. If a system of morals were necessary, men would be inferior to animals, all of whom are endowed with the knowledge of what they ought to do, only in an inferior degree to man. If what the Chinese call benevolence, modesty, filial piety, propriety, love, fidelity, and truth really const.i.tuted the duty of man, they would be so recognized and practised without any teaching; but since they were invented by the so-called 'holy men' as instruments for ruling a viciously inclined population, it became necessary to insist on more than the actual duty of man. Consequently, although plenty of men profess these doctrines, the number of those that practise them is very small. Violations of this teaching were attributed to human l.u.s.ts. As human l.u.s.ts are a part of man's nature, they must be a part of the harmony of the universe, and cannot be wrong according to the Chinese theory. It was the vicious nature of the Chinese that necessitated such strict rules, as, for instance, that persons descended from a common ancestor, no matter how distantly related, should not intermarry. These rules, not being founded on the harmony of the universe, were not in accordance with human feelings and were therefore seldom obeyed.

"In ancient times, j.a.panese refrained from intermarriage among children of the same mother, but the distance between the n.o.ble and the mean was duly preserved. Thus, the country was spontaneously well governed, in accordance with the 'way' established by the G.o.ds. Just as the Mikado wors.h.i.+pped the G.o.ds in heaven and earth, so his people pray to the good G.o.ds in order to obtain blessings, and perform rites in honour of the bad G.o.ds in order to avert their displeasure. If they committed crimes or denied themselves, they employed the usual methods of purification taught them by their own hearts. Since there are bad as well as good G.o.ds, it is necessary to propitiate them with offerings of agreeable food, playing the lute, blowing the flute, singing and dancing, and whatever else is likely to put them in good humour.

"It has been asked whether the Kami no michi is not the same as the Taoism of Laotzu. Laotzu hated the vain conceits of the Chinese scholars, and honoured naturalness, from which a resemblance may be argued; but as he was born in a dirty country not under special protection of the Sun G.o.ddess, he had heard only the theories of the succession of so-called 'holy men,' and what he believed to be naturalness was simply what they called natural. He did not know that the G.o.ds are the authors of every human action, and this ignorance const.i.tuted a cause of radical difference. To have acquired the knowledge that there is no michi (ethics) to be learned and practised is really to have learned to practise the 'way of the G.o.ds.' . . .

Many miracles occurred in the Age of the G.o.ds, the truth of which was not disputed until men were taught by the Chinese philosophy to a.n.a.lyse the acts of the G.o.ds by the aid of their own feeble intelligence. The reason a.s.signed for disbelieving in miracles is that they cannot be explained; but in fact, although the Age of the G.o.ds has pa.s.sed away, wondrous miracles surround us on all sides. For instance, is the earth suspended in s.p.a.ce or does it rest upon something else? If it be said that the earth rests upon something else, then what is it that supports that something else? According to one Chinese theory, the earth is a globe suspended in s.p.a.ce with the heavens revolving round it. But even if we suppose the heavens to be full of air, no ordinary principles will account for the land and sea being suspended in s.p.a.ce without moving. The explanation offered is as miraculous as the supposition previously made. It seems plausible enough to say that the heavens are merely air and are without any definite form. If this be true, there is nothing but air outside the earth, and this air must be infinite or finite in extent. If it is infinite in extent, we cannot fix any point as its centre, so that it is impossible to understand why the earth should be at rest; for if it be not in the centre it cannot be at rest. If it be finite, what causes the air to condense in one particular spot, and what position shall we a.s.sign to it?

"In any case all these things are miraculous and strange. How absurd to take these miracles for granted, and at the same time to disbelieve in the wonders of the Divine Age! Think again of the human body. Seeing with the eyes, hearing With the ears, speaking with the mouth, walking on the feet, and performing all manner of acts with the hands are strange things; so also the flight of birds and insects through the air, the blossoming of plants and trees, the ripening of their fruits and seeds are strange; and the strangest of all is the transformation of the fox and the badger into human form. If rats, weasels, and certain birds see in the dark, why should not the G.o.ds have been endowed with a similar faculty?.... The facts that many of the G.o.ds are invisible now and have never been visible furnish no argument against their existence. Existence can be made known to us by other senses than those of sight, such as odour or sound, while the wind, which is neither seen, heard, nor smelt is recognized by the impression which it makes upon our bodies. [Motoori Norinaga].

"Although numbers of j.a.panese cannot state with any certainty from what G.o.ds they are descended, all of them have tribal names (kabane) which were originally bestowed by the Mikado, and those who make it their province to study genealogies can tell from a man's ordinary surname who his remotest ancestor must have been. From the fact of the divine descent of the j.a.panese people proceeds their immeasurable superiority to the natives of other countries in courage and intelligence.*

*Although Hirata claims the superiority for his own countrymen, he frankly acknowledges the achievements of the Dutch in natural science.

". . . The accounts given in other countries, whether by Buddhism or by Chinese philosophy, of the form of the heavens and earth and the manner in which they came into existence, are all inventions of men who exercised all their ingenuity over the problem, and inferred that such things must actually be the case. As for the Indian account, it is nonsense fit only to deceive women and children, and I do not think it worthy of reflection. The Chinese theories, on the other hand, are based upon profound philosophical speculations and sound extremely plausible, but what they call the absolute and the finite, the positive and negative essences, the eight diagrams, and the five elements, are not real existences, but are fict.i.tious names invented by the philosophers and freely applied in every direction. They say that the whole universe was produced by agencies, and that nothing exists which is independent of them. But all these statements are nonsense. The principles which animate the universe are beyond the power of a.n.a.lysis, nor can they be fathomed by human intelligence, and all statements founded upon pretended explanations of them are to be rejected. All that man can think and know is limited by the powers of sight, feeling, and calculation, and what goes beyond these powers, cannot be known by any amount of thinking. . . .

"The Chinese accounts sound as if based upon profound principles, and one fancies that they must be right, while the j.a.panese accounts sound shallow and utterly unfounded in reason. But the former are lies while the latter are the truth, so that as time goes on and thought attains greater accuracy, the erroneous nature of these falsehoods becomes even more apparent whale the true tradition remains intact. In modern times, men from countries lying far off in the West have voyaged all round the seas as their inclinations prompted them, and have ascertained the actual shape of the earth.

They have discovered that the earth is round and that the sun and the moon revolve round it in a vertical direction, and it may thus be conjectured how full of errors are all the ancient Chinese accounts, and how impossible it is to believe anything that professes to be determined a priori. But when we come to compare our ancient traditions as to the origin of a thing in the midst of s.p.a.ce and its subsequent development, with what has been ascertained to be the actual shape of the earth, we find that there is not the slightest error, and this result confirms the truth of our ancient traditions.

But although accurate discoveries made by the men of the Far West as to the actual shape of the earth and its position in s.p.a.ce infinitely surpa.s.s the theories of the Chinese, still that is only a matter of calculation. There are many other things actually known to exist which cannot be solved by that means; and still less is it possible to solve the question of how the earth, sun, and moon came to a.s.sume their form. Probably those countries possess theories of their own, but whatever they may be, they can but be guesses after the event, and probably resemble the Indian and the Chinese theories.

"The most fearful crimes which a man commits go unpunished by society so long as they are undiscovered, but they draw down on him the hatred of the invisible G.o.ds. The attainment of happiness by performing good acts is regulated by the same law. Even if the G.o.ds do not punish secret sins by the usual penalties of law, they inflict diseases, misfortunes, short life, and extermination of the race.

Never mind the praise or blame of fellow men, but act so that you need not be ashamed before the G.o.ds of the Unseen. If you desire to practise true virtue, learn to stand in awe of the Unseen, and that will prevent you from doing wrong. Make a vow to the G.o.d who rules over the Unseen and cultivate the conscience implanted in you, and then you will never wander from the way. You cannot hope to live more than one hundred years in the most favourable circ.u.mstances, but as you will go to the unseen realm of Okuninus.h.i.+ after death and be subject to his rule, learn betimes to bow down before heaven. The spirits of the dead continue to exist in the unseen world which is everywhere about us, and they all become G.o.ds of varying character and degrees of influence. Some reside in temples built in their honour; others hover near their tombs, and they continue to render service to their princes, parents, wives, and children as when in their body. [Hirata Atsutane.]"*

*The above extracts are all taken from Sir Ernest Satow's Revival of Pure s.h.i.+nto in the appendix to Vol. III. of the "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of j.a.pan."

The great loyalist of the eleventh century, Kitabatake Chikafusa, had fully demonstrated the divine t.i.tle of the sovereigns of j.a.pan, but his work reached only a narrow circle of readers, and his arguments were not re-enforced by the sentiment of the era. Very different was the case in the days of the four literati quoted above. The arrogant and intolerant demeanour of j.a.panese students of Chinese philosophy who elevated the Middle Kingdom on a pedestal far above the head of their own country, gradually provoked bitter resentment among patriotic j.a.panese, thus lending collateral strength to the movement which took place in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in favour of reversion to the customs and canons of old times.

As soon as attention was intelligently concentrated on the history of the past, it was clearly perceived that, in remote antiquity, the empire had always been administered from the Throne, and, further, that the functions arrogated to themselves by the Hojo, the Oda, the Toyotomi, and the Tokugawa were pure usurpations, which deprived the Imperial Court of the place properly belonging to it in the State polity. Just when this reaction was developing strength, the dispute about the t.i.tle of the ex-Emperor occurred in Kyoto, and furnished an object lesson more eloquent than any written thesis. The situation was complicated by the question of foreign intercourse, but this will be treated separately.

ENGRAVING: MITSUGUMI-NO-SAKAZUKI (Sake Cups used only on Happy Occasions such as Weddings and New Year Days)

ENGRAVING: DIFFERENT STYLES OF COIFFURE

CHAPTER XLIV

FOREIGN RELATIONS AND THE DECLINE OF THE TOKUGAWA

FOREIGN TRADE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

FROM what has been stated in previous chapters, it is clearly understood that n.o.bunaga, Hideyos.h.i.+, and Ieyasu were all well disposed towards foreign intercourse and trade, and that the Tokugawa chief made even more earnest endeavours than Hideyos.h.i.+ to differentiate between Christianity and commerce, so that the fate of the former might not overtake the latter. Ieyasu, indeed, seems to have kept three objects steadfastly in view, namely, the development of oversea trade, the acquisition of a mercantile marine, and the prosecution of mining enterprise. To the Spaniards, to the Portuguese, to the English, and to the Dutch, he offered a site for a settlement in a suburb of Yedo, and had the offer been accepted, j.a.pan might never have been closed to foreign intercourse. At that time the policy of the empire was free trade. There were no customs dues, though it was expected that the foreign merchants would make liberal presents to the feudatory into whose port they carried their wares. The Tokugawa baron gave plain evidence that he regarded commerce with the outer world as a source of wealth, and that he wished to attract it to his own domains. On more than one occasion he sent an envoy to Manila to urge the opening of trade with the regions in the vicinity of Yedo, and to ask the Spaniards for expert naval architects. His att.i.tude is well shown by a law enacted in 1602:

"If any foreign vessel by stress of weather is obliged to touch at any princ.i.p.ality or to put into any harbour of j.a.pan, we order that, whoever these foreigners may be, absolutely nothing whatever that belongs to them, or that they may have brought in their s.h.i.+p, shall be taken from them. Likewise, we rigorously prohibit the use of any violence in the purchase or sale of any of the commodities brought by their s.h.i.+p, and if it is not convenient for the merchants of the s.h.i.+p to remain in the port they have entered, they may pa.s.s to any other port that may suit them, and therein buy and sell in full freedom.

Likewise, we order, in a general manner, that foreigners may freely reside in any part of j.a.pan they choose, but we rigorously forbid them to propagate their faith."

In the year 1605, the Tokugawa chief granted a permit to the Dutch for trade in j.a.pan, his expectation being that the s.h.i.+ps which they undertook to send every year would make Uraga, or some other place near Yedo, their port of entry. In this he was disappointed. The first Hollanders that set foot in j.a.pan were eighteen survivors of the crew of the wrecked Liefde. These men were at first placed in confinement, and during their detention they were approached by emissaries from the feudatory of Hirado, who engaged some of them to instruct his va.s.sals in the art of gun casting and the science of artillery, and who also made such tempting promises with regard to Hirado that the Dutch decided to choose that place for headquarters, although it was then, and always subsequently remained, an insignificant little fis.h.i.+ng village. The Dutch possessed one great advantage over their rivals from Manila and Macao: they were prepared to carry on commerce while eschewing religious propagandism. It was this element of the situation that the Hirado feudatory shrewdly appreciated when he enticed the Dutchmen to make Hirado their port of entry.

With regard to the desire of Ieyasu to exploit the mining resources of his country, the fact is demonstrated by an incident which occurred at the time. The governor--general of the Philippines (Rodrigo Yivero y Velasco), whose s.h.i.+p had been cast away on the coast of j.a.pan while en route for Acapulco, had an interview with Ieyasu, and in response to the latter's application for fifty mining experts, the Spaniards made a proposal, to the terms of which, onerous as they were, Ieyasu agreed; namely that one half of the produce, of the mines should go to the miners; that the other half should be divided equally between Ieyasu and the King of Spain; that the latter might send officials to j.a.pan to protect his mining interests, and that these officials might be accompanied by priests, who would have the right to erect public churches, and to hold religious services there.* These things happened in 1609. Previous to that time, the Tokugawa chief had repeatedly imposed a strict veto on Christian propagandism; yet we now find him removing that veto partially, for the sake of obtaining foreign expert a.s.sistance. Like Hideyos.h.i.+, Ieyasu had full confidence in himself and in his countrymen. He did not doubt his ability to deal with emergencies if they arose, and he made no sacrifice to timidity. But his courageous policy died with him, and the miners never came. Moreover, the Spaniards seemed incapable of any successful effort to establish trade with j.a.pan. Fitful visits were paid by their vessels at Uraga, but the Portuguese continued to monopolize the commerce.