The barons in Japan are bound to bring a certain number of men to assist the lord superior in war. Each of these followers is paid by the baron by so much land producing a certain quantity of rice. Succession to these lands is hereditary, but not strictly to the eldest son, while the custom so common over the East of adoption is allowed, and all the rights of a son are conferred upon the adopted one. Many of the present Daimios are adopted children--frequently no relative whatever of the person who so adopts. But while Iyeyas declared that these fiefs should be hereditary, he at the same time laid it down as a principle that it was good that these lesser lords should not remain too long in one place, but that, when occasion seemed to require it, it was well to change them from one barony to another. He would no doubt have gladly laid down a similar principle as to the Kokushu, or lords of provinces, but their power and influence were too great to be lightly interfered with. This power has been frequently put forth down to the present time. A Daimio with an income of 10,000 koku is ordered to remove to the territory of another with the same revenue; or perhaps, if there be some cause for reproof, a Daimio will be transferred to a territory in the far north, such as Tanagura, and the baron then living there, who may be the son of one who had been similarly deported, is removed to the better locality. Iyeyas provided for the payment of stated presents on arrival at Yedo. At other times gifts are made to the Shiogoon; and, as under the feudal system, presents are to be offered on other occasions, such as marriage or becoming of age. The civil authority of the Shiogoon was liable to much limitation, and this Iyeyas seems to have expected. At first an officer was deputed by the Shiogoon to reside in the territories of the greater barons, and to report to Yedo when he saw anything taking place worthy of animadversion. But this has been done away with, and the Kokushu are virtually in full possession of power, each in his own provincial territory. Under the laws above recited the men of the country are divided into four classes--the gentry, agriculturists, artisans, and merchants. The gentry are separated from the other classes by the distinctive badge of wearing a long sword, which they are warned never to forget. By this sword the class is distinguished over the whole empire. But the class is again subdivided by the respective badges, shields or coats-of-arms of the chiefs worn prominently on some part of the dress--generally on the back and on each breast.