became the predominant religion. Shintoism was the weakest and sank
into helpless desuetude. But with the revival of learning, as Kojiki
and other ancient literature were studied with assiduity, Shintoism
began to revive. Its cause found worthy defenders in Motoori and
Hirata. They are among the greatest Shintoists Japan has ever seen.

Now, according to Shintoism, Japan is a holy land. It was made by the
gods, whose lineal descendant is the Emperor. Hence he must be revered
and worshipped as a god. This is the substance of Shintoism. The
political bearing of such a doctrine upon the then existing status of
the country is apparent. The Emperor, who is a god, the fountain of
all virtue, honor, and authority, is now a prisoner at the court of
Kioto, under the iron hand of the Tokugawa Shoguns. This state
of impiety and irreverence can never be tolerated by the devout
Shintoists. The Shogun must be dethroned and the Emperor raised to
power. Here the line of arguments of the Shintoists meets with that
of the scholars we have noted above. Thus both scholars and Shintoists
have converted themselves into politicians who have at heart the
restoration of the Emperor.

III. Another cause which led to the overthrow of the Shogunate was the
jealousy and cupidity of the Southern Daimios. Notably among them were
the Daimios of Satsuma, Choshiu, Tosa, and Hizen. Their ancestors "had
of old held equal rank and power with Iyeyasu, until the fortunes
of war turned against them. They had been overcome by force, or had
sullenly surrendered in face of overwhelming odds. Their adherence
to the Tokugawas was but nominal, and only the strong pressure of
superior power was able to wring from them a haughty semblance of
obedience. They chafed perpetually under the rule of one who was in
reality a vassal like themselves."[1] They now saw in the rising tide