ABSTRACT
For the maintenance of order in the capital and in the Empire at large, the Court had come to be entirely dependent upon the strong arms and trenchant bJades of the Minamoto and Taira warriors. Whether the mind of Taira Kiyomori really grasped that fact it is impossible to say. Meanwhile the headsman had been very busy, for thirty or forty of the conspirators had had to pay the extreme penalty. The temporary removal of the Court, while entailing much needless expense upon the courtiers, had plunged Kyoto into economic misery. In the meantime the Tairas had been seriously weakened by the loss of their masterful chieftain, the terrible old Kiyomori. “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon em.” The party encountered a tempest, which threatened the vessel with destruction.
