The Principle (理 ri or in Chinese li) which existed constantly before and after heaven and earth came into being is called the Supreme Ultimate (太極　taikyoku, Ch. taiji). When this Supreme Ultimate was in motion, it created the yang, and when it was quiescent, it created the yin. The yin and yang were originally of the same substance (気　ki, Ch. qi) were divided into two complementary forces. They were further divided into Five Elements (五行 go-gyō, Ch. wu xing) which are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. When the Five Elements were further divided, they became all things under heaven. When these Five Elements were brought together to take shapes, people were also born.

All creatures existing between heaven and earth were shaped by the Five Elements. However, because of the difference in the Ether (ki Ch. qi), there emerged plants, animals and men....

A concrete object comes into being because of the work of heaven and earth. All creatures, plants, animals and inanimate objects owe their existence to the will of heaven and earth. Thus not a single object lacks within it the principles of heaven....

Therefore the Five Constant Virtues (五常　go-jō Ch. wu chang) of human-heartedness (仁 jin, Ch. ren), righteousness (義 gi, Ch. yi), propriety (禮・礼 rei, Ch. li), wisdom (智 chi, Ch. zhi), and good faith (信 shin, Ch. xin) are given by heaven and exist on account of the principles of heaven....

The five relationships governing the ruler and the subject, father and son, husband and wife, older brother and younger brother, and friend and friend have been in existence from olden days to the present time. There has been no change in these basic relations, and they are thus called the supreme way. In judging the worth of a person, one needs only to use these five relationships as the criteria, and teachings which try to implement the ideals of these five relationships are those of the sage and of the wise men....

Heaven is above and earth is below. This is the order of heaven and earth. If we can understand the meaning of the order existing between heaven and earth, we can also perceive that in everything there is an order separating those who are above and those who are below. When we extend this understanding between heaven and earth, we cannot allow disorder in the relations between the ruler and the subject, and between those who are above and those who are below. The separation into four classes of samurai, farmers, artisans and merchants, like the five relationships, is part of the principles of heaven and is the Way which was taught by the Sage (Confucius)....

To know the way of heaven is to respect heaven and to secure humble submission from earth, for heaven is high above and earth is low below. There is a differentiation between the above and the below. Likewise among the people, rulers are to be respected and subjects are to submit humbly. Only when this differentiation between those who are above and those who are below is made clear can there be law and propriety. In this way, people's minds can be satisfied.... The more the rulers are respected, and the more the subjects submit humbly, and the more the differentiation is made clear-cut, the easier it is to govern a country. Among the rulers, there are the Emperor, the shogun, and the daimyo, and even among them there is also differentiation....

source: Lu, Japan: A Documentray History, 1: 245-47.