Japan -- History; Japan -- Politics and government
There is in it a large library, with many
old pieces of armor and spoils taken during the wars with Corea. These
are exhibited annually on the mooshi boshi day, “insect-brushing-away
day,” when the temple is cleaned.
Among others who made a name for themselves by their bravery and other
qualifications was Yoshi iye (son of Yori yoshi, Prince of Mootz),
one of the Minnamoto family, born 1057, and known in history by the
appellation given him by his enemies of Hatchi mang taro, or eldest
son of the god of war. His third son was Yoshi kooni, who settled at
Ashikanga, in the province of Simotsuki, and is the common ancestor of
the celebrated families of Ashikanga and Nitta.
In 1008 the Empress was one of the great clan of Minnamoto, which
was rising to power. The distant parts of the empire were being
consolidated by operations against rebels, and the repeated
transmission of large bodies of troops to the different parts of the
islands to put them down. This war began to create an excitement or
rivalry among some of the leaders, who, when the rebellions were
put down, had the wish for more enemies to conquer, and could only
turn round in jealousy upon their equals. Yoshi iye was sent to the
province of Mootz as commander-in-chief, and, after many years’
fighting, subdued the rebels, and brought this province, as well as
all the Kwanto (the provinces “east of the barrier of Hakonay”), into
submission. His son Tame yoshi desired the same post. To Taira tada
mori, descended from the Emperor Kwan mu, was given the island of
Tsussima, and in 1153 his son Kio mori succeeded him as President of
the Criminal Tribunal. This name calls up, to any one acquainted with
Japanese history, the recollection of the most stirring events and the
greatest struggle which has ever convulsed the empire of Japan. This
struggle was between the Gen or Minnamoto and the He or Taira families.
He and Taira are the same word in Japanese writing, meaning “peace,”
the former being the pronunciation of the Chinese word ping. The
Minnamoto family, or Gen ji, stood on the broadest basis, and had risen
to the greatest fame, and had recently occupied the highest positions
in the state. The Empress had been of the family, and the memoirs of
the family had been written for her edification or to gratify her own
or her family’s pride. On the other side, members of the Taira family,
or He ji, had occasionally risen up to high rank in the state; and
recently the family had been honored for its prowess and its activity
in the imperial service.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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