parents, chiefs, or husbands, and this conviction was constantly translated into action during the early years of the Tokugawa rule. It was undoubtedly a custom in some respects worthy only of a military feudalism, but its effect in fostering a spirit of chivalry was beyond question. Even the inferior classes and the merchants of that day, living in or near Kyōto, attached more importance to the dictates of integrity and honor than to questions of pecuniary interest. An evidence of the spirit that governed monetary transactions is furnished in the form of promissory notes in vogue at the time, which contained such clauses as: "In the event of my failure to repay the money, I shall have no objection to being publicly ridiculed," or, "Should I fail to discharge my obligation at the fixed time, I should be considered as no man." In fact, displays of courage and resolution and heroic contempt of difficulties were so highly prized that, from the latter part of the seventeenth century such a habit of thought naturally degenerated in the case of the unrefined or illiterate into mere truculence and roughness. A peculiar class of men called _odokodate_, civilians attired half like the _samurai_ and exercising deeds of chivalry, no less of mere roughness, was a product of this period. They roamed about the streets in bands, between whom bitter quarrels frequently occurred. The proceedings of these affiliations exercised so injurious an effect on the customs and morals of the people that they were strictly interdicted by the fifth shōgun, and their leaders were put to death. The same ruler forbade the wearing of swords by merchants and farmers, and by these means succeeded in correcting the rough habits of the lower orders, but it is questionable whether the evils removed were not replaced by others still greater. As years went by and the empire continued to enjoy profound tranquillity, ostentation, luxury, and effeminate habits began to prevail. Against these evil practices not a few of the statesmen and nobles of the time earnestly counseled the people. Dissipation and vain display reached their height in the time of Iyenari. With this irresistible growth of superficial and licentious habits and the corruption and the demoralization of the feudal classes, which arose from the reign of an unbroken peace and prosperity, and which culminated in the days of Iyenari, the definite decline of the Tokugawa shōgunate may be said to have begun.