he Court was divided between the Kinri and the
Sendo--the reigning sovereign and the retired. But the real
depository of power was the shikken (regent) of the Inchu, to which
office a member of the Hino family, maternal relatives of the Bakufu,
was habitually appointed. When Yoshinori was shogun, he himself acted
as shikken of the Inchu. As for the Court officials properly so
called, from the kwampaku downwards, they were mere figureheads.
Holding their posts, indeed, as of old, they constituted, not
administrative actors, but an audience.

YOSHIMITSU AND THE THRONE

The shogun Yoshimitsu instituted the custom of inviting the sovereign
to his mansion, and thenceforth such visits became a recognized
feature of the relations between the Imperial and the Muromachi
Courts. Yoshimitsu himself frequently repaired to the Kinri and the
Sendo, and frequently accompanied the Empresses and their ladies on
social visits or pleasure excursions. He is said to have gone in and
out at the Imperial palaces without the slightest reserve, and on
more than one occasion history accuses him of flagrantly
transgressing the limits of decency in his intercourse with
Suken-mon-in, mother of the Emperor Go-Enyu. As a subverter of public
morals, however, the palm belongs, not to Yoshimitsu, but to his
immediate successor, Yoshimochi. He is said to have visited the Kinri
and the Sendo six or seven times every month, and to have there
indulged in all kinds of licence. History says, indeed, that he was
often unable to appear at Court owing to illness resulting from
intoxication.

PRINCES AND PRIESTS

As to the fact that, from the close of the Heian epoch, the cloister
often proved a prison for Imperial princes whose ambition might have
been troublesome had they remained at large, the following figures
are eloquent:

Number
entering
religion

Of 8 sons born to Emperor Fushimi (1287-1298) 7

9 " " " Emperor Go-Fushimi (1298-1301) 9

4 " " " Emperor Hanazono (1307-1318) 4

2 " " " Emperor Suko (1348-1352) 2

9 " " " Prince Sadatsune, 8
grandson of the Emperor Suko

14 " " " Emperor Go-Kogon (1352-1371) 14

Absolute accuracy