tenances some belong to men who are truly detestable, and that of ill-favoured men some are deserving of sympathy. Among the honest-looking there are knaves, and true men among the knavish-looking. Men's hearts are hard to know, and the plan of judging of them by their looks will not answer. . . . Even for those against whom there is no charge, it must be a terrible thing to appear in a court of justice. Some there are who, when they see before them the man in whose hands are life and death, are bewildered and cast down to such a degree as to be unable to plead what they might in their defence. When I reflected on this I felt that it was after all better that the judge and the prisoner should not see one another face to face. This was my reason for taking my seat with a screen interposed.' "
Next to the Hankampu, Hakuseki's most important work is the Tokushi Yoron, which was written by order of Iyenobu in 1712. It gives for the first time a general view of Japanese history for two thousand years, dwelling more particularly on periods of change and revolution, and showing the connection of events in a way which had never been previously attempted. Its historical value is considerable, but the style is not considered equal to that of his earlier work.
Iyenobu became Shōgun in 1709. From this time forward Hakuseki, although holding no definite position in the government, was his constant adviser in state affairs. His influence was given on the side of common-sense and justice. One of the first matters he was concerned in was a currency question. To meet the expenses of the installation of the new Shōgun, the Minister of Finance, Hagiwara Shigehide, proposed various schemes
