This principle is called international law. How much the more, then, would our divine country, the institutions of which excel those of all other countries, be turning her back upon the sacred precepts established by the heavenly ancestors of the Emperor should she be guilty of violent and lawless acts. Such a thing would be the greatest shame and disgrace to the Country of the Gods. Hence it is that the Emperor has extended a faithful alliance to those foreigners who come here lawfully and rightly, and they are allowed free and uninterrupted access to this country. Following this example set by the Emperor, his subjects when they receive no insult from the foreigner should observe the same principle and refrain from blows and fighting. If by any chance we should be put to shame before the foreigner it is hard to say what consequences may ensue. It is our especial duty to publish to the world beyond the seas the ancient spirit of the Country of the Gods and the excellent institutions established by the heavenly ancestors of the Emperor, that the countries of the world may admire and envy the power of our Sovereign. To this end it is above all things needful that the whole of Japan should be penetrated by the Imperial precepts, and that the strength of the country should be united in one whole. Without this it will be hard for the spirit of the country to stand, without this, on the contrary, we shall have to endure the scorn of foreign nations. Should so much as a hair’s end of shame attach to the Country of the Gods, what excuse can we offer to the long line of Emperors who succeeded their heavenly ancestors. To be the cause of grief to the Emperor is worse than irreverence. The country districts of the Eastern Provinces are far removed from the capital, and there are persons who, not awed by the will of the Emperor, subject the people, as it were, to torture by fire and torture by water. Terrible as the conduct of such men is, the great mercy and pity of the Emperor’s heart acknowledges that their fault is to be laid to the fact that his precepts have not reached them; we see with reverent gratitude that he takes their sins upon himself and that his generous rule spares them. Further, that by the spreading of his precepts all ignorance may cease, he undertakes a long journey, braving the heat and the cold, and exposing his precious person to fatigue. As far as the extreme limits of the islands of Yesso and of Liukiu the Emperor treats all men who are born on Japanese soil as his own children. He makes no distinctions between men—caressing the one and repelling the other. He looks upon all alike, his mercy extends to all. His compassionate love for his people knows no rest by day or by night. After a while he will be pleased to visit all his dominions. The present capital, Kiōto, has been the Imperial residence for more than a thousand years, and in its sacred earth are buried the ancestors of the Emperor.