49 Emperor Go-Daigo (an omission) This (The Mongolian invasion) must have been a great shock. The Japanese became even more confident, strengthening their belief that Japan was a divince country. People began to think about the question of national character. They questioned the legitimacy of the current political system and the adversarial situation between the imperial court and the Bakufu. It was also strange that a Retired Emperor had power over the Emperor, that the Emperor was not directly involved with government. The Mongolian invasion took place when Retired Emperor Kameyama (1249-1305) governed the court, but the incumbent sovereign was Emperor Go-Uda (r. 1274-1287), who was the son of the retired Emperor. In the 11th year of the Bun'ei (1274), this Emperor Go-Uda was 8 years old, and in the 4th year of the Kouan era (1281) he was 15 years old. In such unstabl e and dangerous times, the young Emperor knew that the Retired Emperor prayed to the Gods, and that Houjou Tokimune was making plans. He must have given all this serious thought, but the system remaind unchanged during his reign. The Emperor likely placed his hopes in the next generation. This is borne out by his clear instruction that his own posthumous title be "Emperor Go-Uda." It means that the whole agenda of impeial restoration ought to be carried out. The Engi and Tenryaku eras (10th century) of the sovereigns Emperor Daigo (r. 897-9309 and Emperor Murakami (r. 946-967) were regarded as the golden age of strong imperial rule. Emperor Murakami was the son of Emperor Daigo, and Emperor Daigo was the son of Emperor Uda (r. 887-897). The posthumous name "Emperor Go-Uda" meant "the continuation of Emperor Uda." He must have intended to name his son "Emperor Go-Daigo" ("continuation of Emperor Daigo"), and his grandson "Emperor Go-Murakami" ("continustion of Emperor Murakami"). If this were the case, then the next sovereign Emperor Go-Daigo should restore the condidions of the Engi and Tenryaku eras (10th century). He must terminate " Insei," government by the Retired Emperor. A Records Office must also be established to sort out the privately-owned domains. Finally, the Bakufu must be abolished. In the second month of the second year of the Bunpou era (1318), Emperor Go-Daigo took the throne. For a short period his father, Retired Emperor Go-Uda governed. but in the 4th year of the Emperor's reign, in the 12th month of the first year of the Genkou era (1321), the Retired Emperor returne the power to Emperor Go-Daigo. Within that month, a Records Office was established in the imperial court, and Emperor Go-Daigo began the major reform which Emperor Go-Sanjou (r. 1068-1072) had attempted, unsuccessfully, 250 years before. The news of Emperor Go-Daigo's political reform, intended to restore Japan's orthodox system of government, created joy and hope among the population. This was written about in The History of japanese Buddhism Up to the Genkou Era (Genkou Shakusho, 1322), by a Zen monk Shiren. (an omission) As Emperor Go-Daigo set out to restore imperial rule, he was assisted by a number of young courtiers. In the first year of Shouchuu era (1324), when the Emperor was 37 years old, there were: Major Counsellor Kitabatake Chikafusa, age 32. Middle Counsellor Fujiwara no Morokata, age 24. Provisional Middle Counsellor Hino no Suketomo, age 35. Lesser Counsellor Minamoto no Tomoyuki, age 36. Consultant Fujiwara no Fujifusa, age 30. Head Archivist Taira no Narisuke, age 34. They were all learned, upright and noble statesmen. In addition, the Emperor appointed Hino no Toshimoto as an Archivist in spite of his humble origin. As a result, Hino no Toshimoto served the Emperor as confidante and handled matters of utmost secrecy. Thus the Emperor consulted with his brightest courtiers, supported scholarship, and encouraged his subjects to follow men who shared the same ideology. Hino no Suketomo, Hino no Toshimoto and others dressed as itinerant mountain priests and travelled to the provinces in search of loyalists, and made contacts; if imperial rule were to be restored, the Bakufu must be destroyed. However, the plan had to remain a secret. No headquarters could be set up publicly. Instead, academic lecture sessions were organized. A well-known Buddhist scholar and Chief Abbot Gen's was appointed as the lecturer. For the textbook, the discourses of Han Tuizhi were used. The loyalists pretended to gather for the lecture sessions, and afterwards they discussed tactics freely, despite their respective court ranks. They called these sessions "open meetings." (an omission) Hearing the news, the Shougun Houjou Takatoki (1303-1333) sent a large army gathered from the eastern province. (an omission) By then 11 years had passed since Emperor Go-Daigo had taken power over the imperial court. He had tried to restore Japan to its orthodox political state, but his efforts ended in tragedy. He was sent to Oki Island, with the same fateful sorrow which Retired Emperor Go-Toba (1180-1239) must have felt a hundred years previous, when he was also sent to Oki Islnd after the Joukyuu War. That is why The Chronicle of Grand Pacification (Taiheiki) sadly states: "What sort of year was this year, when blameless officials shed tears of sorrow beneath the moon of exile, and the first person under heaven changed his estate to grieve amid the winds of a strange land ! Never since the beginning of heaven and earth had such extraordinary things been heard of ! Was there any man for whose sake the sun and moon could shine, hanging in the heavens unashamed of their brightness ? These were things that would bring sadness even to insentient plants and trees or make flowers forget to open."

■ next

■ next(ja)