oath of the gods (to preserve the succession) is ever
renewed in a way which distinguishes Japan from all other countries.
. . . It is the duty of every man born on the Imperial soil to yield
devoted loyalty to his sovereign, even to the sacrifice of his own
life. Let no one suppose for a moment that there is any credit due to
him for doing so. Nevertheless, in order to stimulate the zeal of
those who came after, and in loving memory of the dead, it is the
business of the ruler to grant rewards in such cases (to the
children). Those who are in an inferior position should not enter
into rivalry with them. Still more should those who have done no
specially meritorious service abstain from inordinate ambitions. I
have already touched on the principles of statesmanship. They are
based on justice and mercy, in the dispensing of which firm action is
requisite. Such is the clear instruction vouchsafed to us by the Sun
goddess."*

*Aston's Japanese Literature.

It is not to be supposed that these doctrines produced any
wide-spread influence on public opinion at the time of their
promulgation. In the first place they were not generally accessible;
for not until the year 1649 was Kitabatake's brochure printed. That
it remained in manuscript during three centuries after its
compilation is not attributable to technical difficulties. The art of
blockprinting came to Japan from China in very early times, and it is
on record that, in 770, the Empress Shotoku caused a million Buddhist
amulets to be printed. But the Jinno Shotoki did not fall on fruitful
soil. Either its teaching was superfluous or men were too much
engrossed with fighting to listen to academical disquisitions.
Chikafusa's work was destined to produce great and lasting effects in
future ages, but, for the moment, it accomplished little.

DISCORD IN THE CAMP OF THE ASHIKAGA

A prominent feature of the Ashikaga family's annals was continuity of
internecine strife. The Hojo's era had been conspicuously free from
any such blemish; the Ashikaga's was markedly disfigured by it, so
much so that by the debilitating effects of this discord the
supremacy of the sept was long deferred. The first outward
indications of the trouble were seen in 1348, when the able general,
Ko Moronao, instead of following up his victory over the Southern
Court after the death of Kusunoki Masatsura, turned suddenly
northward from Yamato and hastened back to Kyoto. His own safety
dictated that