Page:Sketches of Tokyo Life (1895).djvu/116

88 as yakko, while the latter were called machi-yakko, or yakko of the wards; and between them there was an intimate connection. If a daimyo, about to go up to the Castle of Yedo, return to his province, or visit a shrine or temple, required a retinue of yakko to guard him against the hatamoto, he sent word to the machi-yakko, who instantly supplied him with the desired number of followers. Thus the machi-yakko waged war with the hatamoto both directly and by providing the daimyo with his men. It was, therefore, necessary to hold in readiness a large army of adherents; and to keep them always under his eye, he met them nightly at his gambling resorts.

The machi-yakko, or otokodate, were distinguished by their dress, queue, and manner of wearing swords. It was their pride to make light of their own lives and to take up another’s quarrel; their self-imposed mission it was to help the weak and always to defend the oppressed citizen from the military class. The distressed never appealed to them in vain; and often in their cause they unflinchingly sacrificed their own lives. Consequently, they enjoyed great popularity among the lower classes. Every townsman attempted to imitate their ways; and their spirit was widely admired by the people. A citizen who fretted under the military domination joined the machi-yakko, under whose leadership he could almost defy the power of the samurai.

The otokodate found their most devoted adherents and imitators among artisans, fishmongers, and workmen. The fishmongers of Tokyo, whose trade makes them very rough,