Page:A handbook of modern Japan (IA handbookofmodern01clem).pdf/142

success. He is regarded by many as "the greatest soldier, if not the greatest man, whom Japan has produced." If this statement can be successfully challenged, the palm will certainly be awarded to Iyeyasu, who, by the victory of Sekigahara in 1600, became the virtual ruler of the empire.

Iyeyasu founded a dynasty (Tokugawa) of Shōguns, who, for more than 260 years, ruled at Yedo, surrounded by faithful vassals, and who at least gave the empire a long period of peace. He brought Japanese feudalism to its perfection of organization. His successors destroyed Christianity by means of a fearful persecution; prohibited commercial intercourse, except with the Chinese and the Dutch,^[1] and allowed it with these only to a limited extent, and thus crystallized Japanese civilization and institutions. It may be true that "Japan reached the acme of her ancient greatness during the Tokugawa Dynasty"; but it is also true that by this policy of insulation and seclusion she was put back two and a half centuries in the matter of progress in civilization.

The long years of peace under the Tokugawas were also years of literary development. Chinese history, literature, and philosophy were ardently studied; Confucianism wielded a mighty influence; but Japanese history and literature were not neglected. The Mito clan especially was the centre of