Page:The Awakening of Japan, by Okakura Kakuzō; 1905.djvu/41

 1868, and threw the invisible network of their tyranny over all the nation. From the highest to the lowest, all were entangled in a subtle web of mutual espionage, and every element of individuality was crushed under the weight of unbending formalism. Deprived of all stimulus from without, and imprisoned within our own island realm, we groped amid a maze of tradition. Darkest over us lay the Night of Asia.