Japan: Its History, Arts, and Literature/Volume 4/Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Note 1.—Their representatives have the title of "Prince" in the present order of Japanese nobility.
Note 2.—Their representatives have the title of "Marquis" in the present order of Japanese nobility.
Note 3.—A standing order directed that novelty in every form must be eschewed, and that any unwonted incident must be reported immediately to Yedo.
Note 4.—The revenues were stated in koku of rice, but it must be understood that the number of koku produced by a fief did not represent the feudatory's income; it represented only the taxable property in his fief.
Note 5.—It should be noted that the term Daimyō mentioned above was not used as a title. The latter was obtained by appending the word Kami (Chief) to the name of the district over which a baron ruled. Thus Echizen-no-Kami, Dewa-no-Kami, etc., signified the barons of Echizen, of Dewa, and so on. Another form of feudal title was derived from the name of an hereditary office, according to the old custom explained in a previous chapter. With regard to the word Daimyo, literally "great name," the hypothesis is that the military men sent from Kyōtō to govern unruly provincial districts were originally called Myōdai (substitutes), and that when they acquired semi-independent power, they called themselves Daimiyō, preserving one part (miyō) of their original destination, but replacing dai (substitute) by dai (great).
Note 6.—A Japanese proverb marshals the influences effective in obtaining admission to the ranks of the Court ladies thus: Ichi-hiki ni-un san-kiryo, or, "first a patron, second luck, and third ability."
Note 7.—Every document placed in the meyasu-bako had to carry the name and address of its compiler: otherwise its contents received no attention. There were also severe vetoes against any appeal based on purely personal interests, or of a slanderous character; against complaints not supported by the complainant's intimate knowledge of facts; against petitions embodying cases which had not been previously submitted to the proper authorities, and against false statements of every kind.
Note 8.—Although men were sometimes condemned to be burned at the stake, or sawn in sunder or crucified,—i.e. bound to a cross and transfixed with lances,—it appears that they were generally strangled before the carrying out of the sentence.
Note 9.—Mr. Basil Hall Chamberlain.
Note 10.—This hand-clapping custom is common on occasions of congratulation among actors, keepers of tea-houses connected with a theatre, and professionals of all kinds. One may often observe that a party of such persons, arriving at or leaving a railway station, clap hands in unison with those that have come to greet them or to bid adieu.
Note 11.—It is right to note that the Liberals were by no means alone in their employment of sōshi. Other political parties employed them subsequently. But the Liberals set the example.
Note 12.—One of these troupes, headed by an ex-sōshi, Kawakami, and aided by the services of his wife, Yakko, an ex-geisha, made quite a sensation in Europe.
Note 13.—Riparian works have long been a troublesome question in Japan. Owing to gradual banking up, the beds of many rivers have been elevated high above the general level of the district. The water can thus be easily led hither and thither for irrigation purposes, but, on the other hand, the bursting of banks pours the whole river like a cataract over the country.
Note 14.—There are many evidences that the supply of rice was found insufficient in the Tokugawa epoch. At one time (1643) the brewing of sake (rice-beer) was limited; at another (1644) the making of all cakes or confectionery that contained rice was forbidden. In 1660 farmers were not allowed to use rice as a staple of diet, and in 1818 the conversion of rice-fields into sugar-plantations was declared illegal. Yet the production ought to have sufficed for the population of the time. In 1688 the yield was twenty-five and three-fourths millions of koku; in 1836 it was thirty and one half millions; to-day it is only thirty-six millions.
Note 15.—In 1674 Tokugawa Mitsukuni imported twelve Dutch horses and established a stud at Ono-maki in Hitachi. In 1718 foreign cattle were bred at Mineoka in Awa. At first there were only three cows, but ultimately the number increased to seventy. Butter was made, and presents of it were sent by Matsudaira Sadanobu to his friends. In 1746 the Shōgun's officers organised a ginseng farm at Imaichi in Iwate province. It does not appear that any of these enterprises could be called a success.
Note 16.—See Mr. John Henry Wigmore's admirable essay, "Materials for the Study of Private Law in Old Japan."
Note 17. Dr. Inouye Tetsujiro has compiled a voluminous and lucid work on the philosophy of Wang Yang-ming ("Nihon Yōmei-gaku-ha no Tetsugaku"), of which an interesting summary appeared in the Japan Weekly Mail of April 20, 1901, from the pen of Mr. W. Dening.
Note 18.—The Rikuyu Engi, or "Exposition of the Six Principles," a celebrated primer of Confucian philosophy.
Note 19.—"Kinokumiya" was the name of his store. Merchants in that era were not allowed to have family names.
Note 20.—Equal to about as many pounds sterling.
Note 21.—There were from seven thousand to eight thousand of these persons in the city. They went by the name of yama-bushi (mountain soldiers). A census of Yedo taken in 1787 shows that there were 587,800 males, 697,500 females, 3,844 blind persons, 53,430 Buddhist priests, 3,580 Shintō priests, 7,230 yama-bushi, and 4,500 men and women in the Yoshiwara, or 1,367,840 in all, exclusive of the military class.
Note 22.—These last two objects were often made of magnificent lacquer.
Note 23.—Now for the first time hair-dressers for men began to open shops at street corners or on bridges.
Note 24.—This change was not entirely a caprice of fashion. Leather had become almost prohibitively expensive, owing to its general use for garments worn in times of conflagration.
Note 25.—Ladies could not command the services of a professional hair-dresser until the middle of the eighteenth century, and in 1835 the Premier, Mizuno Echizen no Kami, declared such a profession illegal,—naturally a futile prohibition.
Note 26.—In former times titles did not exist. There were official ranks, and very often these were prefixed to a name in the manner of a title. But actual titles were not introduced until 1885. In the interval separating the latter date from the fall of feudalism in 1871, the former territorial chiefs and Court nobles could not be titularly distinguished from commoners. But in 1885, the Emperor, acting on the advice of Itō (afterwards Marquis), instituted five orders of nobility (apart from Princes of the Blood), namely, Princes, Marquises, Counts, Viscounts, and Barons. These, of course, are translations. The Japanese terms—affixed, not prefixed, to a name—are ki, kō, haku, shi, dan. The greatest of the territorial nobles received the title of prince; the smallest, that of baron. The practice was also inaugurated of bestowing titles on men of merit without regard to their original social status. There are no life titles. The Princes now number 11; the Marquises 33; the Counts 89; the Viscounts 363, and the Barons 280.
Note 27.—Princes and Marquises sit by right of their titles; Counts, Viscounts, and Barons are elected by their respective orders; each prefecture returns one member representing the highest tax-payers, and the Emperor nominates men of learning or public merit. The House of Peers now contains 319 members. A salary of 2,000 yen (£200) annually is paid to the members of the Diet; each House has a President, nominated by the sovereign from among three names selected by the House. He receives 4,000 yen a year. The Vice-President is elected by the House independently of Imperial nomination, and receives 3,000 yen annually. Members of the Lower House are elected for four years; those of the Upper for seven.
Note 28.—The House contained 129 farmers, 19 merchants, and 1 manufacturer. In the sixth session the number of samurai fell to 79, the farmers increased to 134, and the merchants to 24.