of
authority which existed until far within the nineteenth century. The
fact that there were two rulers, in two capitals, gave the impression
that there were two emperors in Japan, one spiritual and one secular,
and when Commodore Perry reached that country, in 1853, he entered into
a treaty with the shogun or "tycoon," the head of the military caste,
under the belief that he was dealing with the actual ruler of Japan. The
truth is, there has never been but one emperor in Japan, the mikado. His
power has varied at times, but he is now again the actual and visible
head of the empire, and the shoguns, who once lorded it so mightily,
have been swept out of existence.

This explanation is necessary in order that readers may understand the
peculiar conditions of Japanese history. Gradually the mikado became
surrounded by a hedge of etiquette which removed him from the view of
the outer world. He never appeared in public, and none of his subjects,
except his wives and his highest ministers, ever saw his face. He sat on
a throne of mats behind a curtain, even his feet not being allowed to
touch the earth. If he left the palace to go abroad in the city, the
journey was made in a closely curtained car drawn by bullocks. To the
people, the mikado became like a deity, his name sacred and inviolable,
his power in the hands of the boldest of his subjects.

Buddhism had now become the official religion of the empire, priests
multiplied, monasteries were founded, and the court became the chief
support of the new faith, the courtiers zealously studying the sacred
books of India, while the mikado and his empress sought by every means
to spread the new belief among their people.

An emperor thus occupied could not pay much attention to the duties of
government, and the power of the civil ministers and military chiefs
grew accordingly. The case was like that of the Merovingian monarchs of
France and the Mayors of the Palace, who in time succeeded to the
throne. The mikados began to abdicate after short reigns, to shave off
their hair to show that they renounced the world and its vanities, to
become monks and spend the remainder of their days in the cloister.
These short reigns helped the shoguns and ministers in their ambitious
purposes, until in time the reins of power fell into the hands of a few
great families, who fought furiously with one another for the control.
It is with the feuds of these families that we have now to do. The