Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 2.djvu/314

 and shi is the Sinico-Japanese pronunciation of the same ideograph, which, with the prefix bu (military), makes the compound bushi, or military guard. The terms samurai and bushi are used in these pages without distinction.   The term hyaku-sho, here translated "working-man," means literally "one engaged in any of the various callings" apart from military service. In a later age a further distinction was established between the agriculturist, the artisan, and the trader, and the word hyaku-sho then came to carry the signification of "husbandman" only, a sense which it possesses at the present time.  —It sometimes happened that the samurai made a habit of attending performances given by shira-byoshi (the geisha of that era), and deadly brawls often resulted.  —The act of cutting open the stomach was called harakiri or seppuku, different pronunciations of ideographs having the same meaning.  —Yamato is the old name for Japan.  —Little credence can be attached to a statement often advanced by Japanese historiographers that the crime of high treason has never been known in Japan. There are several instances. The elder brother of the Empress plotted against the life of the (29 –71 ). caused the to be assassinated (591 ), in order to place a princess on the throne. The was attacked by his uncle and driven into the mountains, where he committed suicide (478 ). The and her favourite, a Buddhist priest, drove the Emperor  into exile (764 ), banishing with him many princes of the blood and killing others. , a representative of the Fujiwara family, seized the Emperor, (885 ), and placed him in confinement. In 939 the, raised the standard of revolt and endeavoured to win the Throne for himself. The, sent an army to attack the Palace of the , took him prisoner, dethroned him, and sent him into exile (1331 ). , in 1335, reduced the sovereign's stronghold and placed him in confinement. Such a record cannot be 