was given the name of Tokio, meaning the "eastern capital." During the civil war the Mikado, who had so strongly opposed the treaties and foreigners, died, and was succeeded by his son, Mutsuhito, a youth of fifteen years, who is still the reigning sovereign. After the resignation of the Shogun and the restoration of peace, the emperor in 1869 took what is sometimes called the "charter oath," promising to give his people a deliberative assembly, to rule justly, and "to seek for wisdom in all quarters of the world."
In the same year an event occurred which is without precedent in the history of nations, and which is the highest testimonial of the patriotism of the public men of Japan. For ages there had existed in the country a feudal system of the most rigid character. The princes, or daimios, were the supreme rulers in their respective provinces, the lords of the domain, and entitled to the unreserved service of their retainers and the people. The most intelligent and thoughtful of the daimios saw that the emperor, to be all that the name implied and in a position to rank with the rulers of the Western world, must be possessed with the powers which the princes then enjoyed. Hence they brought about a voluntary surrender to the emperor by all the feudal lords of their titles, rank, lands, and revenues, and thus enabled the government to be thoroughly reorganized under the modern system of nations.[1]
An interesting fact connected with Christianity was brought to light by the civil commotions and the
- ↑ U. S. Dip. Cor. 1867–1869, "Japan"; Kinse's History, chaps, ii. and iii.; Adams's History of Japan; Rein's Japan, 355–375.
