stined to see a child not her own,
although her husband's, heir to the throne, the Empress devotes her
lonely and not too happy life to the actual, personal study of the wants
of daughters of her people, and side by side with Jingo,[32] the
majestic but shadowy Empress of the past, should be enshrined in the
hearts of the women of Japan the memory of Haru Ko, the leader of her
countrywomen into that freer and happier life that is opening to them.

[32] Jingo K[=o]g[=o], like many of the heroic, half mythical figures of
other nations, has suffered somewhat under the assaults of the modern
historical criticism. Many of the best Japanese historians deny that she
conquered Corea; some go so far as to doubt whether she had right to the
title of Empress; all are sure that much of romance has gathered about
the figure of this brave woman; but to the mass of the Japanese to-day,
she is still an actual historic reality, and she represents to them in
feminine form the Spirit of Japan. Whether she conquered Corea or no,
she remains the prominent female figure upon the border line where the
old barbaric life merges into the newer civilization, just as the
present Empress, Haru Ko, stands upon the border line between the
Eastern and the Western modes of thought and life.

Each marks the beginning of a new era,--the first, of the era of
civilization and morality founded upon the teachings of Buddha and
Confucius; the second, of the civilization and morality that have sprung
from the teachings of Christ. Buddhism and Confucianism were elevating
and civilizing, but failed to place the women of Japan upon even as high
a plane as they had occupied in the old barbaric times. To Christianity
they must look for the security and happiness which it has never failed
to give to the wives and mothers of all Christian nations.[*168]

CHAPTER VII.

LIFE IN CASTLE AND YASHIKI.[33]

The seclusion of the Emperors and the gathering of the reins of
government into the hands of Sh[=o]guns was a gradual process, beginning
not long after the introduction of Chinese civilization, and continuing
to grow until Iyeyas[)u], the founder of the Tokugawa dynasty, through his
code of laws, took from the Emperor the last vestige of real power, and
perfected the feudal system which maintained the sway of his house for
two hundred and fifty years of peace.

[33] _Yashiki_, or spread-out house, was the name given to the palace
and grounds of a daimi[=o]'