th, the Shogun, Prince Iyemitsu, was pleased to
depart this life, at the age of forty-eight; and whether by the
forgiving spirit of the prince, or by the divine interposition of the
sainted Sogoro, Kotsuke no Suke was promoted to the castle of Utsu no
Miya, in the province of Shimotsuke, with a revenue of eighty thousand
kokus; and his name was changed to Hotta Hida no Kami. He also
received again his original castle of Sakura, with a revenue of twenty
thousand kokus: so that there can be no doubt that the saint was
befriending him. In return for these favours, the shrine of Sogoro was
made as beautiful as a gem. It is needless to say how many of the
peasants of the estate flocked to the shrine: any good luck that might
befall the people was ascribed to it, and night and day the devout
worshipped at it.

Here follows a copy of the petition which Sogoro presented to the
Shogun--

"We, the elders of the hundred and thirty-six villages of the district
of Chiba, in the province of Shimosa, and of the district of Buji, in
the province of Kadzusa, most reverently offer up this our humble
petition.

"When our former lord, Doi Shosho, was transferred to another castle,
in the 9th year of the period Kanye, Hotta Kaga no Kami became lord of
the castle of Sakura; and in the 17th year of the same period, my lord
Kotsuke no Suke succeeded him. Since that time the taxes laid upon us
have been raised in the proportion of one to and two sho to each
koku.[70]

[Footnote 70: 10 Sho = 1 To. 10 To = 1 Koku.]

"_Item_.--At the present time, taxes are raised on nineteen of our
articles of produce; whereas our former lord only required that we
should furnish him with pulse and sesamum, for which he paid in rice.

"_Item_.--Not only are we not paid now for our produce, but, if it is
not given in to the day, we are driven and goaded by the officials;
and if there be any further delay, we are manacled and severely
reprimanded; so that if our own crops fail, we have to buy produce
from other districts, and are pushed to the utmost extremity of
affliction.

"_Item_.--We have over and over again prayed to be relieved from these
burthens, but our petitions are not received. The people are reduced
to poverty, so that it is hard for them to live under such grievous
taxation. Often they have tried to sell the land which they till, but
none can be found to buy; so they have sometimes given over their land
to the village authorities, and fled w