Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 2.djvu/75

 a vivid impression. It is, indeed, bewildering to reflect what a complete subversal of the old order of things must have taken place when the rude warriors from the provinces, unlettered, ignorant of Court etiquette, without respect for time-honoured rank and careless of social canons, trooped into the Imperial city and substituted their blunt, practical ways for the effeminate perfunctoriness of the hereditary officials. A Japanese historian, writing when the memory of the events he described was still fresh, said:—

Even when the whole nation was in danger, its rulers did not know that they were hated by the people. The great families abandoned themselves to luxury, and thought only of finding means to gratify their costly caprices. Talentless and incapable, they could nevertheless obtain ranks and rewards wholesale. They sat in the seats of judgment and stood in the places of guards, but they themselves paid no respect to the laws nor knew anything of discipline. Simulating loyalty, they made a pretence of seeking the Sovereign's consent before initiating a measure, but in reality their acts were purely arbitrary. Thus, when the samurai grasped the administrative power, they began to ask, "What profit is there in these Court nobles?" So they deprived them of their estates, not hesitating even to confiscate lands that belonged to the Imperial family. The social fêtes and feasts were abolished, and nothing survived but severe ceremonies. The Imperial Palaces became desolate, and subjects no longer repaired thither to do homage to the Sovereign. Ministers of State, who from generation to generation had received the nation's homage, had to bow their heads to petty