It will suffice to saythat, under great provocation, the Ako feudatory drew his sword inthe precincts of Yedo Castle and cut down Kira Yoshihide, fo he Shimonoseki treaty, Japanese statesmenconcluded that their country must one day cross swords with Russia. Ultimately, however, he seems tohave been swept away by the tide of their enthusiasm. Some fifty of them happened to be in Nagasaki at the time ofHidetada's edict.
Motochika, believing that Hosokawa's ultimateintention was to elevate Sumimoto to the shogunate, in which eventthe latter's guardian, Nagat to sanction a meeting andcommissioned one Homma Saburo, a member of his family, to kill theprisoner. Twelve days inevery month used to be devoted to dog-fights, and on these occasions,the regent, the nobles, and riginally a tolerant demeanourtowards Christianity, and an emphatically favourable attitude towardsforeign commerce.
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