ll, she had come to an
understanding that her divided form of government paralyzed her for
purposes of resistance to aggression from abroad.

ENGRAVING: STONE AND WOODEN LANTERNS ERECTED IN FRONT OF SHRINES

CHAPTER XLVI

THE MEIJI GOVERNMENT

THE LEADERS OF REFORM

IN describing the events that culminated in the fall of the Tokugawa,
frequent references have been made to the feudatories. But it should
be clearly understood that the feudal chiefs themselves had very
little to do with the consummation of this great change. "The men
that conceived and achieved the Revolution of 1867, were chiefly
samurai of inferior grade." They numbered fifty-five in all, and of
these only thirteen were aristocrats, namely, five feudal barons and
eight court nobles. The average age of these fifty-five did not
exceed thirty years.

THE EMPEROR'S OATH

The great clans which took part in bringing about this restoration of
the administrative power to the Emperor did not altogether trust one
another. Hitherto, all political commotions had been planned for the
sake of some prominent family or eminent leader, and had resulted
merely in altering the personnel of those occupying the seats of
power. It was not unnatural that history should have been expected to
repeat itself in 1867, especially since the clan mainly responsible,
Satsuma, overshadowed all its associates with one exception.
Therefore, to many onlookers it seemed that the Tokugawa Government
had been overthrown to make room for the all-powerful southern
feudatory. In order to provide a safeguard against such a danger, the
young Emperor was asked to make oath that a broadly based
deliberative assembly should be convened for the purpose of
conducting State affairs in conformity with public opinion. This
"coronation oath," as it was subsequently called, came to occupy an
important place in political appreciation, and to be interpreted as a
promise of a national assembly. But most assuredly it was not
originally intended to carry any such meaning. Its framers never
contemplated a parliament in the Occidental sense of the term. Their
sole object was to place a barrier in the path of their own selfish
ambitions.

ABOLITION OF FEUDALISM

It is more than doubtful whether the abolition of the feudal system
found a place in the original plan of the leaders of progress.
Looking back to remote centuries, they may well have imagined that
the unification of the empire under one s