THE AWAKENING OF JAPAN
made courteousness the mark of bravery. Confucianism had in the Tokugawa period intensified that sense of duty which made him disregard all obstacles. He did not court useless danger, for his courage was never questioned. He marched to certain death not with the blind fury of fanaticism but with a set resolution of doing whatever was demanded of him. The historical spirit in penetrating his soul made him a new being. All the devotion which had formerly been consecrated to the service of his immediate liege was now laid at the feet of the Mikado.
Soon the historical spirit began to permeate the ranks of the daimios. It first entered the souls of those Tozama daimios who, like the lords of Satsuma and Choshiu, felt a hereditary animosity
92
