In Article III., Shotoku dwells on the dignity of the Emperor, who stands above his people, covering them with his protection, just as Heaven stands over and protects the earth beneath it. The Article was probably directed against the nobles, whose respect for the sovereign in those days of civil strife and confusion was not always as great as it should have been. The Article must, moreover, be read in reference to the murder of the Emperor Sujun by Shotoku's ally, Soga no Umako. Had Shotoku felt himself in any way to be blamed for his continued friendship for the man who had committed that deed, he would scarcely have ventured to speak as he did of the respect due to the Emperor. It would seem as though

[paragraph continues] Sujun had been a usurper, possibly with the aid of the opponents of Buddhism; that Soga no Umako, as the supporter of Shotoku's claims, had opened the way for the Prince to succeed, and that the Prince, declining to come to the throne in this way, had secured the nomination of his aunt. He was conscious of his own rights as the son of Yomei, yet he stood back in order that he might be in a position to speak with greater emphasis of the duty that the subject owes to his sovereign. It is evident from the Article that Shotoku did not share the subsequently formulated and now officially accepted doctrine as to the origin of the Imperial House.

The following Articles deal with the duties of ministers and functionaries. If subjects have certain duties towards their rulers, rulers and magistrates have certain responsibilities towards those beneath them, which must be discharged with decorum and the observance of due proportion. Such observance cannot fail to have a good influence on the country at large (Art. iv.). But if, on the other hand (Art. v.), the magistracy allows itself to be bribed with gifts, if the judge is remiss in the administration of justice, if he gives his decisions to suit his own interests, or without clearness, the poor will no longer know whom to look to for support, and the country will lose its prosperity. Lying and flattery (Art. vi.) have been evils in every country and age; Shotoku's age was certainly not free from them. It was exposed to another peril, that of hereditary office (Arts. vii. and viii.). Men were promoted to dignities and high charges, not for any special capacities that they had shown in inferior positions, but because these offices were considered to be the perquisites of certain families. And the hereditary office had but too often been treated as a

sinecure. The result of all this (Art. ix.) was the loss of public confidence.