Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-19


ri NIX riding a bicycle about the
ia - streets. He is Keiko, the fif-
lLseAHzM teenth and last of the Toku-
gawa Shoguns, dynasty OF
military usurpers which ruled Japan
for 265 years, until the restoration OF
the mikado to actual power in 1868
Keiki, whose official name is Prince
Yoshinobu Tokugawa, came into power
at time when the Shogunate was al
ready trembling to it's fall, and by his
resignation in 1867 he saved the country
long civil war. For time he was
retired to a small place in the towr
of ShidZuoka, deprived of rank ant
wholly without influence.
In recent years, however the mikadC
has honored him by creating him g
prince in his own right, thus giving
him seat in the house of peers. He
lives quietyl in Toxic, where he and
his ancestors maintained their capital
He takes very little interest in the af-
fairs of government devoting himself
for amusement to his bicycle by day
and his phonograph by night. Once in
awhile he takes luncheon or dinner
with the emperor, and is always treated
with the honorS due to royalty. If he
ever regrets his lost power he con-
ceals his feelings, for outwardly he is
seventy could wish to be.
When the fate of the Shogunate be-
came evident and Keiki and his vassals
knew that they must surrender their
power, one of the Tokugawa feudal
lords came to the Shotgun and said:
1--WE have lost the fight. There is moth
ing left for us to do but commit hari-
kari" The daimyo left the presence
of the Shotgun and with a deft turn
of his sword sent himself into eternity
But the Shotgun himself thought it al
over 9nd said. mot for Keiki." Thus
by his violation of the ancient Japan.
ese standards of honor and suicide
Prince Tokugawa is alive today to en-
joy his bicycle and his phonograph.
The present emperor of Japan is the
direct descendant Of the first mikado,
Jimmu Tenno, who ascended the throne
$50 years before Christ. His is the
oldest dynasty in the world and can
claim the longest direct line of rulers
in history But as matter of fact
for seven or eight hundred years before
the restoration In 1868 the milxado was
a ruler in name only. The real power
was vested in the Shotgun, military
captain who kept the mikado virtually
imprisoned at Kyoto while the affairs
of state were directed from the Sho-
gunate in Fedo. The Shoguns origin
ally were the chiefs of the mightiest
clans and reached their position by
sheer force of arms in defeating other
clans which aspired to the chief mill
tary rule.
The Tokugawa line of shoguns, of
which Keiki was the last, was founded
in 1903 by the great Iyeyasu, the most
conspicuous figure in the history of
Japan. 1t was he who made the plans
of a feudal system which would pre-
vent the eternal warfare among the
clans. 1t was Iyeyasu, also, who shut
up Japan from the outside world and
decreed that no foreigner might come
in and that nc Japanese might go out.
The one exception to this rule was the
tiny concession at Nagasah granted to
the. Dutch traders, but their intercourse
with the japanese was quite limited.
At about the time that John Smith
came to jamestown, Iyeyasu set about
eXpelling the Jesuit priests from Japan
and prosecuting the native Christians,
of whom there were great numbers. In
this work of determination he had the
advice of the Protestant Dutch traders
and the Rome-hating English pilot,
viii Adams. wl-o was the first English
at the court of the shogun, taught the
Japanese how to build ships, married a
Japanese woman and was created a
nobleman. A statue erected to his
memory testifie5 that he has not been
forgotten. Iyoyasus grandson, Iye-
mitsu, perfected the feudal system of
Japan, which permitted the various
lords, or daimyos, to rule as they liked
in their own provinces, provided they
paid certain tribute to the shcgun and
once year visited the court at Yeddo
in token of their loyalty.
In the meantime the mikado was lit
til bctter than prisoner at Kyoto. He
was regarded as sacred as the de-
scendant of the sun and moon, and
looked upon as an actual deity. To
look upon his face would blast a NOR
tai man, so he sat with his head be-
hind screen presenting the hideous
face of a dragon. The shoguns paid
nominal obedience to him. and each
was appointed by the mikado. But the
emperors often did not have enough
to eat; they were usually little boys
who were forced to abdicate by the
time they were approaching manhood,
and their only function was q religious
one. The abdicating mikados became
monks and went into a life of retire
ment
In the first half of the last century
some of the daimyos and many of the
samurai, or knights, became restive
under the rule of the tyrant shogun.
Revolution was insidious and it re-
quired a long time for it to ripen, but
when the time came the country was
so thoroughly prepared for 1t that the
shogunate fell almost without striking
a blow in defense. While the revolu-
tion grew out of internal matters. the
admission of foreigners to the country
had much to do with pre-
cipitating 1t.
Commodore Perrys visit in 1854 was
followed by embassies from other coun-
tries, so that IN 1859 the ports of Naga-
saki. Hakodate and Kanagawa. now