Page:The Awakening of Japan, by Okakura Kakuzō; 1905.djvu/59

 Those Tozama daimios who revolted against this state of things soon found out their impotence, and were invariably punished by the diminution, transference, or confiscation of their territorial possessions,—the latter penalty attended with death. They were taught to realize that the government of the country, though still feudal in form, had become in reality an absolute monarchy,—patriarchal and benevolent, but thoroughly despotic. They soon found that their smallest actions were watched with unceasing vigilance, so that they began to be distrustful of even their own retainers. This vigorous surveillance was not confined to the Tozama daimios alone. Dreading the combination of administrative power with hereditary influence, the Tokugawas invariably chose their