reside there, to aid the governor in
military affairs. Naturally, the military man, being the more active,
gradually absorbed much of the power formerly exercised by the governor.
These military men were under the authority of Yoritomo and formed the
beginning of that feudal system which was destined to prevail so long in
Japan. He also received from the court, shortly after his visit to Kyoto,
the title of _sei-i-tai-shogun_, which was the highest military title
which had ever been bestowed on a subject. This is the title which, down
to A.D. 1868, was borne by the real rulers of Japan. The possession of the
power implied by this title enabled Yoritomo to introduce responsible
government into the almost ungoverned districts of the empire, and to give
to Japan for the first time in many centuries a semblance of peace.

There were also many minor matters of administration which Yoritomo, in
the few remaining years of his life, put in order. He obtained from the
emperor permission to levy a tax on the agricultural products of the
country, from which he defrayed the expenses of the military government.
He established tribunals for the hearing and determining of causes, and
thus secured justice in the ordinary affairs of life. He forbade the
priests and monks in the great Buddhist monasteries, who had become
powerful and arrogant, to bear arms, or to harbor those bearing arms.

[Illustration]

Yoritomo.

In all these administrative reforms Yoritomo was careful always to secure
the assent and authority of the imperial court.(124) In no case did he
assume or exercise independent authority. In this way was introduced at
this time that system of dual government which continued until the
resignation of the Tokugawa Shogun in 1868. After his first visit to
Kyoto, in A.D. 1190, Yoritomo devoted the remaining years of his life to
the confirmation of his power and the encouragement of the arts of peace.
In A.D. 1195 he made a second magnificent visit to Kyoto and remained four
months. It is because of these peaceful results, which followed the long
internecine struggles, that the Japanese regard Yoritomo as one of their
most eminent and notable men. Under the influence of his court Kamakura
grew to be a great city and far outranked even Kyoto in power and
activity, though not in size.

In the autumn of the year A.D. 1198, when returning from the inspection of
a new