THE HEIAN EPOCH
the houses of their lay enemies, and if the Government attempted to check, them, or if they saw reason to complain of any administrative interference, they would march in a body to the Imperial Palace or to the residence of the Prime Minister, and prefer a clamorous protest. On such occasions they were careful to carry with them a "sacred car," or a "divine tree,"[1] for the presence of these emblems secured them effectually against armed opposition. If the authorities declined to grant them redress, they would roll their thousands of rosaries between the palms of their hands with frenzied vehemence, at the same time loudly invoking the curses of heaven and the pains of the nethermost hell on any one, however exalted his rank, who ventured to oppose the will of Buddha. Even the Emperor prostrated himself before this multitudinous imprecation and conceded everything demanded by the suppliants. It might be supposed that such acts would have discredited Buddhism in the eyes of the nation. But the priests never raised their hand against the people. Their feuds were with the usurping aristocrats, and especially with the military class; for the latter, as the Heian epoch wore to its close, began to grasp the administrative power and to exercise it in a manner subversive of much of the progress with which Buddhism had been closely associated from the time of its advent.
In spite of the vogue acquired by Buddhism,
- ↑ See Appendix, note 44.
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