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THE RED AND WHITE BANNERS. 117
the others it
put down and drove out all rivals.
The victors always called themselves 'loyal,' and
branded their enemies as ' traitors.' First the He"ik6
ousted the Fujiwara and then tried to destroy all
the Genji, but the latter, becoming victors after
defeat, annihilated the He'ike', as we shall now see.
The great trouble was that in every case the successful
family treated the country and the people, and
even the emperor, as if these were private property
to be used for selfish purposes.
" Rai Sanyo, my favorite author, lays
right principle when he says
:
down the
'
Ranks and titles are
public instruments and ought
riot to be used for
private ends. A subject who uses ranks and titles
for his private ends is a traitor to his prince, and a
prince who uses ranks and titles for his private ends
is a traitor to the sovereigns, his predecessors.'
"
" But, honored father, does not the Tokugawa family
use ranks and titles for private ends ? "
" Hush, my son ;
we must not say anything in
criticism of our present rulers. There are some
good men in prison now for doing that very thing.
Let me go on with the story of Yoshitsune".
"When Tokiwa, the beautiful woman who had
borne Yoshitomo three sons, heard of his assassination,
she took her children and fled, hoping to find
a place of shelter. Being in midwinter the snow
lay thick on the ground, and as it fell it heaped up
heavily on her wide hat and in the folds of her
robes. With one child clutching her dress, one
walking bravely ahead grasping his sword, and a