THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR
suffered to ventilate them freely, and that when he lectured in Yedo, the very stronghold of the samurai's power, all the magnates went to hear him. In his eyes the word "people" meant not the military class only, but the nation at large. He enunciated the theory which was carried into practice a century and a half later at the Meiji Restoration. Nor did he stand alone in his peculiar beliefs. His contemporary, Hotta Masatoshi, chief Minister of the Shōgun Tsunayoshi, fearlessly proclaimed the doctrine that "the people are the basis of a nation," and sought to give it practical effect by protecting the agricultural classes, and inculcating the principles of loyalty to the sovereign, the people's father. These men were the outcome of a reaction against the masterful demeanour of the bushi towards the non-military classes of the people, and against his often displayed disposition to make light of the Throne.
In the dying words of Iyeyasu, quoted above, a strong note of patriotism is audible. As he closed his eyes on the world where he had played such a conspicuous part, the welfare of the country concerned him more than the permanence of the magnificent position he had won for his own family. But in the sayings and doings of the bushi generally, from the Heian era down to the close of the Military epoch, no evidence appears that love of country was ever a dominant sentiment, if the fact be excepted that they spoke of the spirit animating themselves, the spirit of the
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