p. XIY. 
A PAGE OF HISTORY. 
consequent evils of a minority the retired sove- 
reign frequently strove to remedy by governing 
for his young successor. 
In the course of time a Mikado who had married 
the daughter of a powerful prince abdicated in 
favour of his son, then about three years of age ; 
but in this instance the Mikado who had abdicated 
was not allowed to assume the regency during the 
minority of his child. The ambitious and powerful 
grandfather of the young Mikado seized the 
government and placed the abdicated sovereign in 
confinement. Then ensued a civil war, in which 
Yuritomo first appears as the champion of the im- 
prisoned ex-Mikado against his usurping father-in- 
law. Yuritomo triumphed, released the imprisoned 
father, and placed the regency in his hands ; but 
the Fowo , as he was called, held it only nominally, 
leaving the real power in the hands of Yuritomo, 
whom he created Sio-i-dai- Tycoon,' or generalis- 
simo fighting against the barbarians. The ex- 
Mikado died, and, as lieutenant or deputy of the 
sovereign, Yuritomo virtually governed the empire 
for twenty years. His power gradually acquired 
solidity and stability, and when he died he was 
succeeded in his title, dignity, and authority by 
his son.* 
From the days of Yuritomo, about a.d. 1185, to 
the present time, the empire of Japan has had 
two sovereigns — a Mikado , or Spiritual Emperor, 
* ‘ Manners and Customs of the Japanese.’ London, Murray, 1852. 
