Chapter 58 Appendix 1 History of the Northern and Southern Dynasties of Japan and legends about Emperor Meiji's life experience

Statement: First, the history of the Southern and Northern Dynasties in Japan. The recognized academic research results are that it ended in 1392. It is not common to say about the "Later Southern Dynasty", but there are academic works discussing this matter in both Japan and China; Second, Emperor Meiji The legend of his life experience is completely based on unofficial history, but if it is admitted that there is a "post-Southern Dynasty" or that there are still remnants of the Southern Dynasty, this legend will have a special meaning. (1) The Northern and Southern Dynasties of Japan in Traditional History Books

At the end of the 13th century AD, the rule of the Japanese emperor was in name only, and the real power of the country was in the hands of the Kamakura shogunate.At this time, the imperial family was divided into two factions because of the struggle for the throne, namely, the Jimingin School headed by Emperor Fukakusa and the Daikakuji School headed by Emperor Kameyama.At that time, the Kamakura shogunate, which was in power, adopted a policy of impartiality towards the two factions, and made it clear that the two factions should take turns taking the throne alternately. In 1318, Emperor Go-Daigo of the Daikakuji School came to the throne, and in 1333 the Kamakura Shogunate was eliminated, and the Emperor's personal government was once restored.However, not long after, the leader of the samurai, Ashikaga Takashi, rebelled and supported Prince Toyohito, who supported the Mingin school, as the emperor, known as Emperor Guangming in history.Takashi Ashikaga also founded the Muromachi Shogunate.

Emperor Go-Daigo, who was imprisoned, escaped from Kyoto in 1336 disguised as a woman, sneaked into Mount Yoshino in the south of Kyoto, and reopened the government. This event marked the official start of the Northern and Southern Dynasties in Japan. From then on, the court of Emperor Komei in Kyoto was called the Northern Dynasty, and the court of Emperor Yoshino Go-Daigo was called the Southern Dynasty. Both sides claimed to be orthodox and called the other a "pseudo Dynasty". In 1392, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third general of the Muromachi Shogunate, sent a letter to the then Emperor Kameyama of the Southern Dynasty, requesting the unification of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It was inherited alternately by the two factions of the northern and southern royal families.This is the famous "Mingde Peace Treaty" in Japan.

The main contents of the "Mingde Peace Treaty" are: 1. After the unification of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Emperor Komatsu of the Northern Dynasty will be the emperor after the unification; 2. The next emperor of Emperor Gokomatsu will be selected from the Southern Dynasties.Specifically, it is Prince Kokura Mihito, the son of Emperor Kameyama after the Southern Dynasty; 3. The succession of subsequent emperors will be carried out in accordance with the "two successive systems", that is, people from the Northern Dynasty and the Southern Dynasty will succeed alternately.

In the same year, Emperor Go Kameyama agreed to Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's conditions, and returned to Kyoto to hand over the artifact to Emperor Go Komatsu of the Northern Dynasty. So far, the confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties for more than half a century has basically ended. The above is a brief summary of the history of the Northern and Southern Dynasties in Japan in traditional history books. (2) The "Post-Southern Dynasties" era that existed in history However, after the unification of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Kyoto Shogunate treated Emperor Kameyama and other people from the original Southern Dynasty very indifferently, and only paid attention to the Northern Dynasty.Moreover, Kyoto is also the base camp of the shogunate, and the shogunate's surveillance is very strict, and people from the southern dynasty such as Emperor Kameyama cannot move freely.More importantly, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu did not abide by the "Mingde Peace Treaty", that is, the emperor was not allowed to be succeeded by Prince Kokura Mihito from the Southern Dynasty, but passed on to Prince Kinhito, the son of Emperor Komatsu after the Northern Dynasty.

In 1410, the angry Emperor Go-Kameyama escaped from Kyoto, sneaked into Yoshino like Emperor Go-Daigo, and rebuilt the Southern Dynasty, known as the "Go-Nan Dynasty" in history.This is a rare concept in general history, but after that, there were indeed two emperors in Japan, which in fact formed the second Southern and Northern Dynasties era in Japan. In order to regain the throne, the descendants of the emperor of the Southern Dynasty continued to fight, and the battle recorded in historical records lasted for about a century.But in modern times, under special historical conditions, there is still a dispute between the Northern and Southern Dynasties.Some scholars even believe that the dispute between the Northern and Southern Dynasties in Japan is not over yet, and it still exists today.

It is said that the Southern Dynasties claimed that the three artifacts that the Southern Dynasties handed over to Ashikaga Yoshimitsu during the "Mingde Peace Treaty" were fake, and they were really still in their hands.Of course, this is a necessary condition for the Southern Dynasties to survive and preserve their political status.As for whether the statement of the Southern Dynasties is true, it is another matter. However, it is precisely because of this statement that the political struggle between the Northern and Southern Dynasties continued. In 1457, the Akamatsu family, who had already surrendered to the Hounan Dynasty, suddenly betrayed, killed the then Emperor Zitian of the Hounan Dynasty, and seized the artifact.The fourth prince of Ogura Palace, Prince Zunya (Southern Emperor), who inherited from the emperor, was also killed by the Ashikaga family assassins who came to seize the artifact.It was this injury that ultimately led to the death of Emperor Nantian at the young age of 29.Then the throne was succeeded by Prince Shinya (Southern Emperor), the son of Prince Zunya (Southern Emperor), who was only 5 years old at the time.

In 1467 (the first year of Onin), the Eastern Army led by Hosokawa Katsumoto and the Western Army headed by Yamana Sozen as the general fought fiercely. The two sides invested a total force of 250,000, and the 11-year war began. , known as "Yingren Rebellion" in history. In fact, the original "Onin Rebellion" was essentially a civil strife under the rule of the Shogun of the Northern Dynasty. However, the expansion of this civil war involved the forces of the Southern Dynasty, and the nature of the war was completely changed. At that time, in order to gain a political advantage, Yamana Sozen of the Western Army declared his allegiance to the Hounan Dynasty. In 1471, he welcomed the "Emperor" of the Hounan Dynasty, King Shinya (King of the South), to Ann in Nishijin, Kyoto, where his sister lived. Shanyuan Imperial Palace.

In fact, this move is to support a puppet regime to strengthen its own momentum and gain political benefits after the war is over.However, the descendants of the Southern Dynasties at that time also had to rely on a military group to make a comeback.Therefore, the "Yingren Rebellion" actually became a continuation of the war between the Southern and Northern Dynasties. However, in 1473, the two generals of the Eastern and Western armies, Sozen Yamana and Katsumoto Hosokawa, died one after another. Although the two armies confronted each other for another 4 years, the Later Southern Dynasty actually had no military support.After losing the big tree named Zongquan, King Xinya (Southern Emperor) of the Southern Dynasty concealed his identity, because when he was a prince, his palace was named "Kumano Palace", so he changed its name to "Xiongze Xianjuefang". Tokaido travels all over the world. In 1514, this Kumanomiya King Shinga (Southern Emperor) died at the age of 61.Since then, the trend of the Southern Dynasties has gone.

From this time on, the descendants of the Southern Dynasties all took "Xiong Ze" as their surname. (3) About Hiromichi Kumasawa First of all, let me talk about the so-called "Great Rebellion Incident" in 1910 (Meiji 43). In May of that year, Taiji Miyashita manufactured explosives in Nagano Prefecture to assassinate the Emperor. After it was discovered, Kotoku Shushui, who had nothing to do with this incident Anarchists and socialists were also hunted down in June of the same year.Of course, the purpose is to use this to attack the domestic revolutionary forces against the emperor.

During the trial, when the imperial judge accused Xingtoku Qiushui of "your behavior is a rebellious act beyond the reach of heaven and man", Xingtoku asked, "Didn't the current emperor snatch the three artifacts from the emperor of the Southern Dynasty?" The offspring of the usurper?" This immediately caused an uproar in the society and the Diet, which made the then Prime Minister Katsura Katsura unable to deal with it, and had to decide to let the emperor rule.Emperor Meiji, a descendant of the Northern Dynasty, was forced by the situation to declare that the Southern Dynasty was orthodox. At the same time, Emperor Meiji also recognized the status of Kumazawa, a descendant of the Southern Dynasty. At that time, a person named Kumazawa Daran submitted a petition for recognition of the emperor's heir, which was recognized by Emperor Meiji and named "Zunxian King" . After Emperor Meiji personally ruled, Southern Dynasty orthodoxy became the mainstream for a while.But Emperor Meiji would not have thought that this ruling would cause serious trouble to his grandson Hirohito. Besides, Xiong Zekuan said that his father is "Zunxian King" Xiong ZeDaran.He originally ran a grocery store in Nagoya, but he lost his business due to the war in 1945 and his life was in trouble.In the same year, Japan was occupied by the United Nations, and he immediately submitted a petition to MacArthur, the commander of the occupying forces.He claimed to be a direct descendant of King Shinya Kumanomiya, the ninth emperor of the Southern Dynasty. He should be the 118th emperor of the Southern Dynasty, and demanded recognition of his status. At that time, the occupying forces were hoping to weaken the authority of the Japanese imperial family, so they paid close attention to this matter. The major media in the United States and Japan reported one after another, calling him "Emperor Kumazawa". Xiong Ze also took advantage of the momentum to publicize and lobby all over the country, emphasizing his orthodox identity in the Southern Dynasty, and asked the then Emperor Hirohito (Emperor Showa) to abdicate.But historians at that time denied the existence of King Shinya Kumanomiya. At the same time, the United States did not advocate shaking the Japanese emperor system. For them, Emperor Showa could still be used politically.In fact, with the support of the United States, Emperor Showa also began to travel around the country, inspiring the people and gaining great popularity.In this situation, the attention of the occupying forces and the public to "Emperor Kumazawa" has also cooled down. In 1951, Kumazawa filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court, arguing that "Emperor Hirohito deceived the people and seized the throne of the orthodox Southern Emperor, and he was not qualified to be an emperor." However, the court dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that "the emperor is not subject to judicial restraint." Afterwards, although Xiong Ze and his supporters continued to carry out various activities, they all failed. In 1957, "Emperor Kumazawa" announced his "abdication". On May 11, 1966, Kumazawa Hiromichi died of pancreatic cancer at Itabashi Hospital in Tokyo at the age of 76. The battle over the Japanese emperor's orthodoxy was finally settled. Disclaimer: The material here is taken from Unofficial History After the war, "Emperor Kumazawa" Hirohito asked the Emperor Showa (Hirohito) of the "Northern Dynasty" to abdicate the throne to himself as the orthodox "Southern Dynasty", which is understandable.But why, Kumazawa Kanmichi's father Kumazawa Oran (King Ken) asked the Emperor Meiji to recognize the orthodox status of the Southern Dynasty, and the performance was approved?This is difficult to understand. In addition, various historical materials show that Emperor Meiji and Emperor Taisho of the "Northern Dynasty" "cared more" for the Southern Dynasty. They not only recognized the orthodox status of the Southern Dynasty, but also gave special preferential treatment to the descendants of the Southern Dynasty. Why is this? This has to talk about a historical event full of doubts-the assassination of Emperor Xiaoming. Although it is generally said that Emperor Xiaomei died of smallpox infection, because of his sudden death, it is widely circulated that he was assassinated.Legend has it that he was assassinated by a man named Iwakura Tomomi during the battle between the Banbai faction and the Saba faction, or Iwakura Tomomi ordered his subordinate, Ito Hirobumi, who was a ninja at the time, to do it.One said it was poisoning, because Emperor Xiaoming had the habit of biting pens, so the Banbai faction smeared poison on the pens he used. At that time, Emperor Xiaoming was the leader of the political forces that supported the shogunate, so it was possible to be assassinated by the downfall faction. And Prince Muren, the prince of Emperor Xiaoming, was weak and sick from the history books. Perhaps, he was assassinated "by the way" so that the descendants of the Southern Dynasty could be supported by the downfall faction, which made sense.Interestingly, the descendants of the Southern Dynasties lived in Changzhou at that time, and Iwakura Gushi, who was rumored to assassinate Emperor Komei, was also from Changzhou. There is one more thing worth noting.An Jung-geun, the Korean who assassinated Ito Hirobumi, said an explosive sentence when he was being tried by the court: "Ito himself is the great sinner who assassinated the emperor..." It seems that there were already rumors about Emperor Xiaomei or Emperor Meiji (Prince Muhito) at that time. ) was assassinated, but because of Article 3 of the Meiji Constitution: "The Emperor is sacred and inviolable", no one dared to conduct an in-depth investigation. So, why is it said that Prince Muren was also assassinated?This is mainly because his behavior before and after taking office is completely different. It seems that the person who is Emperor Meiji and the person who is Prince Muhito are not the same person. Someone once summarized several comparisons, which are very interesting to read: (1) Before ascension to the throne: In 1864, Muren was 13 years old. In July of that year, when the palace closed doors, he heard the sound of cannons and the screams of the court ladies, and Prince Muren fainted (absence).After ascending the throne (inherited to the throne at the end of 1866, but officially ascended the throne in 1868, the name was changed to Meiji): Emperor Meiji was majestic, inspecting the guards on the horse, and issued orders loudly. (2) Before he came to the throne: Prince Muren had been weak since he was a child, and he had a cold every year; when he was 16 years old, he was still busy playing games with the maids in the palace.After ascending the throne: He weighs about 90 kilograms and has a burly figure. When playing sumo with his valet, he can throw his opponent away. (3) Before ascension to the throne: Prince Muren was 16 years old, and his handwriting was still "Jindingliu", which means that his handwriting was very bad, and he didn't care about government affairs.After ascending the throne: The calligraphy written by Emperor Meiji is "Dabi" (meaning it is also very good), and he is enthusiastic about learning and well-educated. (4) Before ascension to the throne: Prince Muren had no record of riding a horse, probably because he did not know how to ride a horse.After ascending the throne, Emperor Meiji rode a horse for a military parade when he was in Toba Fushimi (place name, in the southern suburbs of Kyoto, where the decisive battle of the Fallen War took place in 1868). (5) Before he came to the throne: Prince Muren planted beans, so he never had smallpox and had no pockmarks on his face.After ascending the throne: There are pockmarks around the mouth, so I don’t like to take pictures, so I specially asked the Italian copperplate artist Edoardo Chiossone to paint a portrait of himself, and then took a photo of the portrait as his own Mikage, and he also grew a beard to hide the pockmarks. (6) Before taking the throne: Prince Muren used to use his right hand.After accession: Emperor Meiji was left-handed. (7) Before ascension to the throne: Basically, it is the "Zuomu Fighting Barbarians", which inherited the policy of the former emperor Xiaoming and the emperor's shogunate.After ascending the throne: Basically, it is the "Falling the Curtain and Founding School". From the above comparison, we seem to be able to see that the contrast between Prince Muhito and Emperor Meiji is too great.If it is said that Emperor Komei was assassinated, then is it possible that Muruhito, who was the prince at that time, was also assassinated, and then another person pretended to be the emperor under the name of Muren, and became the de facto Emperor Meiji? This legend seems to be possible. So, who is the real "Emperor Meiji" in history?It is said that his name is "Omuro Tonosuke". Omuro Toanosuke is the elder brother of Omuro Shokichi, the minister of the shattered sect who lived in Choshu. Prince's descendants.In other words, he, like "Emperor Kumazawa", is a descendant of the Southern Dynasty.It is not surprising, then, that he and his son, Emperor Taisho, took great care of the Southern Dynasty and clarified the orthodox status of the Southern Dynasty. It is said that Tonosuke Omuro was physically strong, was a fan of sumo wrestling, and was a military coach with the Shockers of Choshu.Coincidentally, Hirobumi Ito's position at that time was subordinate to the Changzhou Raiders, and was led by Iwakura Tsushishi.If you calculate it boldly, Hirobumi Ito, Tonosuke Omuro (Emperor Meiji) and Tomokura Iwakura should have known each other long ago.