Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 2.djvu/29

 all the laws that emanated from the Kamakura government. Not the least astute of Oye's perceptions was that the supreme power could not long be held by a family residing in Kyōtō; first, because the Imperial city lay far from the military centres whence help could be obtained in time of need; secondly, because the Court nobles assembled there could not be ignored without provoking hostile intrigues, or recognised without incurring heavy expenditure; and thirdly, because the atmosphere of the capital was fatal to military robustness. It was for these reasons that Kamakura became the metropolis of military feudalism. There Yoritomo had, in effect, his Minister of the Right and his Minister of the Left, his Minister of War, his Minister of Justice, and his Councillors; but he took care not to give them titles suggesting any usurpation of imperial power, nor to abolish any of the time-honoured posts in Kyōtō.

These changes were radical. They signified a complete shifting of the centre of power. During eighteen hundred years from the time of the invasion of Jimmu, the country had been ruled from the south; now the north became supreme. The long and fierce struggle with the autochthons had produced the Bando soldiery, and these not only gave the country its new rulers but also constituted their support.

Yoritomo's success may further be regarded as the triumph of military democracy over imperial