ABSTRACT
Minamoto no Yoshimune, before his accession prince of Kishu¯, contributed greatly to the prosperity of the empire, which during his reign kept progressively improving. The safety of the roads and the suppression of robbery, by means of a rigorous police, drew thither great numbers of travellers.1 His fame soon spread throughout the whole empire, and the Japanese at the present day still compare him with the Gongen for humanity and beneficence, as they compare his reign with that of the Chinese emperor, Shun.2
