Japan and her people . ^where by professional story-tellers, to the de-light, and not a little to the instruction, of theunlearned. Samurai, however, were not permitted togo to the theatre. The doctrines of Lao-Tse andMencius, and above all the iron-bound regulations ofConfucius, became the dominating principles of theage. Men strove after a more rigorous stoicism thanever, and women were restricted more and more todomesticity and the Three Obediences —to father,then husband, and after them to the eldest son. Along with Chinese classics, the study of earlyJapanese history and literature was re
Japan and her people . ^where by professional story-tellers, to the de-light, and not a little to the instruction, of theunlearned. Samurai, however, were not permitted togo to the theatre. The doctrines of Lao-Tse andMencius, and above all the iron-bound regulations ofConfucius, became the dominating principles of theage. Men strove after a more rigorous stoicism thanever, and women were restricted more and more todomesticity and the Three Obediences —to father,then husband, and after them to the eldest son. Along with Chinese classics, the study of earlyJapanese history and literature was revived. ThePrince of Mito, grandson of leyasu, kept a staff oflearned men at work for years, compiling a history. THE TOKUGAWA AND THE KESTORATIOX. 55 of Japan, in two hundred and forty volumes; andtwo great scholars—Mabuchi and his pupil, Motoori—set themselves to revive the use of pure Yamato,the original Japanese language in which the earlyliterature was written, which had been overlaid by amass of borrowed Chinese words and phrases. Theresult of these studies was a w^ave of nationalism andloyalty to the Emperor as the Son of Heaven, andtherewith a questioning of the Shoguns right tosupreme authority; all of which combined, with thegrowing social evils and financial difficulties, broughton by luxury and extravagance, to produce a deepcurrent of unrest throughout the whole nation. This Avas the internal situation when CommodorePerry arrived with the American demand for treatyports and intercourse. Such intercourse was undoubt-edly most desirable for Japan, as well as for the othernations, and ports of call for fuel and water abso-lutely necessary, if our American ships were to sailthe Pacif
Size: 1201px × 2079px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidjapanherpeop, bookyear1902
