The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-05-01
FORMER RULER
ON A WHEEL
advertiser Correspondence, Copyright
by Frederic j. Haskin)

noon in Toxic one may see an old gen
tleman with white hair riding bicycl
about the streets. He is Keiki, tn
fifteenth and last O. the Tokugaw,
Shoguns, dynasty Of military usurp
ers which ruled japan for 265 years
until the restoration of the Mikado t,
actual power in 1868. Keiki, who's,
official name is Prince Yoshinobu To
kugawa, came into power at a tim,
when the Shogunate was already trem
bling to its fall, and by his resignation
in 1867 he saved the country a Ions
civil war. For a time he was retired
to a small place in the town of Shid.
zouka, deprived of rank and wholly
without influence.
In recent years, however, the Mikado
has honored him by creating him q
prince in his own right, thus giving him
seat in the House of Peers. He lives
quietly in Toxic, where he and his an
cestors maintained their capital. He
takes very little interest in the affairs
of government, devotiEg himself fol-
amusement to his bicycle by day and
his monograph 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 conceals his
feelings, for outwardlv he is as happy
and c6ntented as any man of seventy
could wish to be.
When the fate of the Shogunate be-
came evident and Keiki and his vas
sails knew that they must surrender
their power, one of the Tokugawa
feudal lords came to the Shotgun and
said: "We have lost the fight. There
is nothing left for us to do but COM
NIT hara-kiri. - 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 all over and said: "Not for
Keiki." Thus by his violation of the
ancient japanese standards of honor
and suicide, Prince Tokugawa is alive
to day to enjoy his bicycle and his
photograph.
The present Emperor of Japan is the
direct descendant of the first Mikado,
Jimmu Tenno, who assembled 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 a matter of fact for
seven or eight hundred years before the
Restoration in 1868, the Mikado was
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 Yeddo. The Shoguns origi-
nally 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
cdBdn II was lt WIN ilduC pans
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 no japanese might go cut.
The one exception to this rule was the
tiny concession at Nagasaki granted
to the Dutch traders, but their inter
course 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-hatino English pilot,
Will Adams, who was the first English
man to come to Japan. Adams lived at
the court of the Shotgun, taught the
japanese how to build ships, married a
Japanese woman, and was created a
nObleman. A statue erected to his
memory testifies that he has not been
forgotten. Iyeyasu,s 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 Shotgun and
once year visited the court at Yeddo
in token of their loyalty.
In the meantime the Mikado was lit
tie better than prisoner at Kyoto He |
was regarded as sacred, as the descend
ant of the Sun and Moon, and looked |
upon as an actual Deity. To look upon |
his face would blast mortal man, so
be sat with his head behind screen,
the hideous face of dragon
The Shoguns paid nominal obedience
TO him, and each was appointed by the
But the Emperors often did
not have enough to eat; they were
Usually little boys, who were forced to
lbdieate by the time they were ap-
manhood, and their only
junction was a religious one. The alb
Heating Mikados became monks and
vent into life of retirement.
In the hrst half of the last century
ONE of the daimyos and many of the
amurai, or knights, became FESTIVE I'M
Ter the rule of the tyrant Shotgun.
revolution was insidious, and it re-
uired long time for it to ripen, but
7hen the time came the country was
o thoroughly prepared for it that the
hogunate fell almost without striking
blow in defense. While the revolu-
ion grew out of internal matters the