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544 himself of half the world. The Spaniard's reply, "He sends priests to win the people; his troops are then sent to join the native Christians, and the conquest is easy," made a deep impression upon Hideyoshi. The vicious habits and inconsistent conduct of the Portuguese Christians, mostly sailors and traders, the wild and offensive behavior of the converts toward the sacred temples of the Shinto deities and of the popular religion of Buddha, and the performance of pretended miracles by the missionaries, added to his political jealousy, excited the displeasure of Hideyoshi, who issued an edict for the banishment of the missionaries. The edict was renewed by his successor in 1596, and in 1597 23 priests were put to death in one day in Nagasaki. The Christians on their part took no measures to pacify the government, but defied it and began to overthrow idols and pull down heathen temples. This led to dreadful persecutions in 1612 and 1614, when many of the Japanese converts were put to death, their churches and schools were destroyed, and their faith was declared infamous and rebellious. The Portuguese traders were no longer allowed free access to the country, but were confined to the island of Deshima, at Nagasaki. In 1622 a frightful massacre of Christians took place near Nagasaki, and horrible tortures, endured with heroic constancy, were inflicted on multitudes in the vain effort to make them recant. In 1637 it was discovered by the Japanese government that the native Christians, driven to despair by their persecution, had entered into a conspiracy with the Portuguese to overthrow the imperial throne. The persecutions were renewed with increased rigor. Edicts were issued banishing the Portuguese for ever from Japan, and prohibiting any Japanese or Japanese ship or boat from leaving the country, under the severest penalties. By the close of 1639 the Portuguese were entirely expelled, and their trade was transferred to the Dutch, who, as enemies to the Portuguese and to the Roman Catholic faith, were not involved by the Japanese in their condemnation. In 1640 the oppressed Christians rose in open rebellion in the island of Amakusa, crossed over to the mainland, seized the castle of Shimabara, and made a long and gallant stand against the shogun's army. The Christians were at length subdued by the superior military skill of their opponents, who brought to their aid artillery, which the Dutch lent them. The Christian stronghold was finally carried by storm, and all within its walls, to the number of 31,000, were put to the sword. In the next year the Dutch were ordered to quit their factory at Hirado, and take up their residence under very strict inspection on the island of Deshima. There they remained for more than two centuries in undisturbed monopoly of the entire European trade of Japan. The occasional efforts of the Russians and English to obtain intercourse with the secluded empire were resolutely repulsed, and led in one case to the imprisonment for two years in Japan of the Russian Capt. Golovnin and several of his companions. During all this time the governmental system inaugurated by Iyeyasu, and perfected by his grandson Iyemitsu, worked smoothly and gave the country peace and prosperity. Under this dual system, the emperor, called the mikado (illustrious gate, or sublime porte), lived in Kioto, surrounded by the kuge or imperial nobles related to him. He was the centre and fountain of titles, honor, and power. The shogun never aspired to be mikado, but from his capital Yedo ruled the country as lieutenant of the emperor. The word shogun means commander-in-chief, and when the "barbarians" (foreigners) entered Japan, after Com. Perry's treaty, the mikado commanded the shogun to expel them. The foolish stories told about the mikado, who was also called dairi, by Kämpfer and others, were mainly the superstitious beliefs of the vulgar lower classes, though all Japanese believed him to be of divine descent. The daimios, or territorial nobles, resided in Yedo, and were divided into four classes: 1, the kokushiu, lords of provinces, princes; 2, the kamon, family doors, i. e., relatives of the shogun's family; 3, the tozama, landed noblemen descended from those who assisted Iyeyasu; 4, the fudai, the vassals of original retainers of Iyeyasu. In 1865 there were 21 kokushiu, 10 kamon, 30 tozama, and about 200 fudai. To be a daimio ("great name"), one must belong to one of these four classes, and have a revenue of not less than 58,000 bushels of rice. The annual revenue of the richest daimio was more than 5,400,000 bushels of rice. The shogun's revenue was over 40,000,000 bushels. Only the fudai daimios were eligible to office, or could take part in official business; and their power over the large daimios thus grew to be almost absolute. The source of the de facto power in Japan until 1866 lay in the two councils of state in Yedo, the members of which were called respectively toshi yori and waka doshi yori, senior senators or elders and younger senators. The daimios were allowed to visit their palaces only at certain periods, and never permitted to take their wives and children out of the capital, they being kept as hostages. The daimios were always closely watched by the councils of state, by means of spies and informers, and were always kept poor by heavy contributions levied upon them, and by their luxurious habits fostered by the system under which they lived. They were so harassed by surveillance and restraint that they generally sought relief in abdication of their troublesome dignities as soon as they had sons of proper age to succeed them. To prevent opportunity for conspiracy, they were kept in constant motion, and the great princes rarely met alone with each other. A most cunningly devised and rigidly executed system of espionage held every one in dread and suspicion, from the most powerful daimio