JAPAN
precedented in Japan. The sovereign addressed himself direct to the people, and employed language evidently an echo of Prince Shotoku's constitution. Its gist was that since the faculty of self-government must be acquired before attempting to govern others, and since obedience could be obtained only by one worthy to command, the sovereign pledged himself to behave in strict conformity with the principles of imperialism, relying on the aid of heaven and the support of the people. Tenchi, who issued this edict, may be called the father of constitutional monarchism in Japan. His fourth successor, Mommu (697–708), inaugurated his reign by a similar rescript, promising, with the help of his ancestors and the gods, to promote the welfare of his people. The interval of forty years separating Tenchi's accession and Mommu's death (668–708) may be regarded as the only period, in all the long history of Japan prior to modern times, when the sovereign was not divided from the people by nobles who usurped his authority. Mommu endeavoured to invest the issue of his edict with great pomp and ceremony, but of an essentially democratic character. The princes of the blood, the great nobles, and the chief officials were all required to attend, and the people were invited en masse. Then a crier read the edict aloud in four parts, and at the end of each part all present, high and low alike, were invited to signify their assent.
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