Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/573

Rh 60 books, by the Buddhist priest Nissho, is a work compiled on the same principles, but in somewhat different form, the same materials as those which were used for the Dai-Nihonshi having been worked up into a continuous narrative. It only exists in manuscript, and copies are extremely rare. Arai Hakuseki (1657–1725) was the author of two valuable historical works. One of these is the Koshitsu, in 5 volumes, published in 1716; it seeks to explain in a rationalistic manner the legends contained in the Kojiki, Nihongi, and Kujiki. The other is the Tokushi Yoron, in 12 volumes, completed in 1724; a most valuable philosophical view of the different changes which have taken place at various times in the distribution of the governing power in Japan. The latest historical works of importance are those of Rai Sanyo (1780–1833). The Nihon-guaishi, in 22 volumes, was published by him in 1827, after 20 years of continuous labor. It commences with the rise of the Taira (Heike) and Minamoto (Genji) families in the 12th century, and ends with the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 17th century. The plan adopted is to narrate the history of each of the families which held the reins of power in succession after the decay of the authority of the mikados, a period which may be called that of the domination of the military class. Some of these families possessed not more than a fifth of the country at once, but others extended their sway over the whole. In the Seiki, published after his death, Rai depicts the history of Japan from the commencement of Jimmu Tenno's conquest in B. C. 667 (an uncertain date) down to the abdication of Goyozei Tenno in 1596, and discusses the character and conduct of each sovereign in turn. Both works are written in classical Chinese. A pupil of Rai's has also published a supplement to the Nihon-guaishi, in which the annals of various prominent military families are presented. All three of these are extremely useful works, and have contributed not a little to the formation of the political opinions which were current in Japan until the year 1868. Most of these are by private authors, and are written either in hiragana, or in a mixture of Chinese characters and katakana or hiragana, and therefore in the Japanese idiom. The earliest of these is the Okagami, in 8 books, by Fujiwara no Tamchira, a court noble (kuge) who nourished in the middle of the 11th century. It contains notices of occurrences at the court between the years 850 and 1035. The Midzu-kagami, in 3 books, by Nakayama Tadachika (1131–'95), deals with the period between the accession of the semi-mythical Jimmu Tenno and the reign of Nimmio Tenno (833–850). The Masu-kagami, in 10 books, by Ichijo Fuyuyoshi (1464–1514), narrates events which occurred at the court between 1184 and 1338. These three works are called by the general title of Mitsu-kagami, or the "Three Mirrors." The Yeigua Monogatari, in 41 books, is a more detailed work of the same kind, extending over the period from 889 to 1092. The name of its author and the date of its composition are both unknown, but it probably belongs to the 12th century. It is an excellent specimen of the classical form of the Japanese language. The subjects treated are chiefly detached incidents in the lives of the mikados and members of the families allied to them, and the only reason given for not placing the collection among the monogatari properly so called is that the stories related are true. The Shoku Yotsugi, in 10 volumes, is a history of the doings of the court between the years 1025 and 1170, written in pure classical Japanese. Like the Yeigua Monogatari, it contains a large number of Japanese songs. Another name for it is the Imakagami, or "Mirror of the Present." The Hogen Monogatari and Heiji Monogatari, each in 3 books, relate the strife between the Taira and Minamoto families in the years 1157 and 1159, in which the latter were entirely defeated and crushed for a while. The authorship of these two works is attributed to Hamuro Tokinaga, who must have lived about the end of the 12th century. They were originally printed in hiragana, but in the variorum editions, called Sanko Hogen Monogatari and Sanko Heiji Monogatari, the Chinese characters with katakana have been used. The Hoken Taiki, in 2 books, is a narrative of the wars of the Taira and Minamoto families between 1156 and 1192, by Kuriyama Gen (1671–1736); it was composed in the Chinese classical style, about the year 1689. The Gempei Seisuiki, in 48 books, is a work of great literary merit, besides being of considerable value as a history of the times. As the title, "Glory and Fall of the Minamoto and Taira," indicates, it is a narrative of the struggle between these two families. It extends over the period between 1161 and 1182. The authorship is ascribed to Hamuro Tokinaga. The Heike Monogatari, in 12 books, is based on the Gempei Seisuiki with some additions. It is said to have been composed by a certain Yukinaga in the reign of the mikado Go-Toba (1184–'98), and therefore not long after the events narrated in it. It is written chiefly in the hiragana, with a small proportion of Chinese characters; but the style is rather difficult, as the rules of grammar are disregarded in order to adapt the composition to music. Several different texts exist. The only annotated edition is the Heike Monogatari Sho, in 12 volumes, without date; from the appearance of the print it must be about two centuries old. The Adzuma-kagami, in 52 volumes, is a valuable mine of historical information about the period between 1180 and 1266. It relates the history of Yoritomo and his two sons and the three succeeding shoguns, and of their prime ministers the Hojo. The author's name is unknown, and the probability is that it is a mere compilation from the records of the Kamakura shoguns, which after the end of