all likely to be dangerously exercised. A commonplace,
simple-hearted man, he was living quietly on his estate in Izu when
false news came that Yoritomo had perished under the sword of the
Soga brothers. Yoritomo's wife being prostrated by the intelligence,
Noriyori bade her be reassured since he, Noriyori, survived. When
this came to Yoritomo's ears, doubtless in a very exaggerated form,
he sent a band of assassins who killed Noriyori. Assassination was a
device from which the Kamakura chief did not shrink at all. It has
been shown how he sent Tosabo Shoshun to make away with Yoshitsune in
Kyoto, and we now see him employing a similar instrument against
Noriyori, as he did also against his half-brother, Zensei. It would
seem to have been his deliberate policy to remove every potential
obstacle to the accession of his own sons. Many historians agree in
ascribing these cruelties to jealousy. But though Yoritomo might have
been jealous of Yoshitsune, he could not possibly have experienced
any access of such a sentiment with regard to Noriyori or Zensei.

Towards religion, it would seem that his attitude was sincere. Not in
Kyoto and Kamakura alone did he adopt drastic measures for the
restoration or erection of temples and shrines, but also throughout
the provinces he exerted his all-powerful influence in the same
cause. He himself contributed large sums for the purpose, and at his
instance the Courts of the Emperor and of the Bakufu granted special
rights and privileges to bonzes who went about the country collecting
subscriptions. Thus encouraged, the priests worked with conspicuous
zeal, and by men like Mongaku, Jugen, Eisai, and their comrades not
only were many imposing fanes erected and many images cast, but also
roads were opened, harbours constructed, and bridges built. Yoritomo
knew what an important part religion had contributed in past ages to
the country's national development, and he did not neglect to utilize
its services in the interests, first, of the nation's prosperity and,
secondly, of the Bakufu's popularity. Incidentally all this building
of fanes and restoration of palaces promoted in no small degree the
development of art, pure and applied. Experts in every line made
their appearance, and many masterpieces of architecture and sculpture
enriched the era. These reflected the change which the spirit of the
nation was undergoing in its passage from the delicacy and weakness
of the Fujiwara type to the s