THE HISTORY OF JAPAN EXTRACTS FROM SOME PRESS NOTICES OF THE FIRST EDITION. " The information it contains on most points is full and accurate, and it is put together in a clear and interesting shape. . . . We shall not attempt to follow Mr. Adams through his history of the stirring incidents with which he deals, but we can confidently recommend his volume as containing an accurate account of events more strangely weird, and more pregnant with startling results, than anything to be met with in the history of modern times."—Athenaeum. " As a diplomatic study, and as referring to a deeply interesting episode in contemporary history, it is well worth reading. The information it contains is trustworthy, and is carefully compiled, and the style is all that can be desired."—Saturday Review. " He marshals his facts with skill and judgment; and he writes with an elegance worthy of a very skilled craftsman in literary work. . . . We hope Mr. Adams will not keep the public long without the second volume, for the appearance of which all who read the first will anxiously look."—Standard. " A most valuable contribution to our knowledge of an interesting people. . . . Mr. Adams's narrative of the resulting complications, copiously illustrated by official memoranda and despatches, and by extracts from a Japanese version of the events, is lucid and deeply interesting. . . . A really valuablei book. "-—Examiner. "We heartily recommend Mr. Adams's most able and instructive work to the attention of all who take an interest in Japan."— London and China Express. " Mr. Adams has done good service to the present generation of readers, and earned the gratitude of future writers on the subject. . . . His narrative is one of the fullest and most absorbing character. Those familiar with the course of events during the last fifteen or twenty years will be glad to peruse the clear and accurate account given by Mr. Adams of the complications and tragic events which marked our intercourse during that period with the Mikado, and to enjoy the glimpses he is able to afford us into the inner life of the Japanese."— Leeds Mercury. " It is with confidence and satisfaction that we speak of the voluminous instalment before us. The history promises to be in all respects an important and authoritative book of reference."—Liverpool Albion. Now Beady. VOL. II., COMPLETING THE WORK, With Map, price 21s. HENRY S. KING & Co., London. KIOTO. A. Imperial Palace. G. Shogun's Castle of Nijo. 1 L. Seiguanji. j y. Satsumayashiki. V. Aidzu yashiki. a . a . a Teramachi. /' . / Nijo dori. 1!. Empress's Apartments. II. Honguanji. | M. Tosa yashiki. ] R. Echizenyar/iifo. W. Sho Kokuji. i . l> . b Muromachi. g . 'g Sanjo dori. I. K6jin Entrance. 4. Sanjo Bridge C. The Grass Garden. _ I. Eastern Honguanji. j N. Bukkoji. j S. h\m. yashiki. X. Daibutsu. c . ,¦ . c Sembondori. h . h Shijo don. 2. Manita maclii Bridge. 5. Shijo Bridge. I). Site of Palace of ex-Emperor. J. Miomanji, O. Choshiuyashiki. \ T. Kurumeyashiki. Y. Toji. 1/. Satow* Japanese Secretary to Her Majesty's Legation at Yedo. In elegant and accurate scholarship he stands at the head of the list, and he has untiringly devoted the limited leisure, which his arduous and responsible duties permit, to the study and translation of various native historical works. Amongst these is the Nikon ™lSm Guaishi, published in 1827, and containing twenty-two volumes, the composition of which occupied its author, Rai Sanyo, twenty years. It is, according to VOL. I. B 2 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. duxSon. Mr. Satow, the most widely read of that author's * ' ' writings, and though some of the details may be inaccurate, the book has much value as being the chief source from which most Japanese of education derive their notions of the history of their own country. The translation of several portions of this work has already appeared in the columns of the Japan Mail, published at Yokohama, and although somewhat confusing to the general reader, owing to the multitude of Japanese names and to minuteness of detail, it is, as the translator well observes, worthy of study by those who wish to acquaint themselves with the ideas which have governed the progress of events during the last fifteen years. With Mr. Satow's permission, I have gladly availed myself of the great additional light thrown upon the history of Japan by his labours, not only in the translation of portions of the Nikon Guaishi, but also in that of other works which will be noticed in their proper place. The reader will also find much information in the notes, many of which, in order to indicate their source, are subscribed with the initials of the learned Japanese Secretary. The divine It is well known that Japanese tradition traces the descent x Emperar. present Emperor in an unbroken line up to a certain divinity. The Shin dai ho maki, or history of the divine dynasties, and the first volume of the great history of Japan called Dai Nihon Shi, by Minamoto no Mitsukuni, gives, according to Klaproth, in his Annates des Empereurs du Japon,* the cosmogony and the fabulous history of the country. I take the following extracts from the native accounts of the origin of the world, i.e. of Great Japan, and of the Ten Shin Shichi Dai, or seven generations of celestial spirits. * Page xi. INTRODUCTION. 3 Anciently, heaven and earth were not separated. D^^g^ The female principle me was not detached from the Creation of male principle o. Chaos, in the form of an egg, was earth, agitated in waves like a troubled sea. Still it contained the germs of all things ; the pure and transparent rose up and formed the heaven, whilst everything heavy and opaque fell downwards, was coagulated, and produced the earth* Subtle and perfect matter combined, and formed the ether ; heavy and thick matter hardened, and became that which is compact. The heaven was therefore formed the first, and the earth was finished afterwards. A divine being, or kami, was born in the midst. This event is regarded as the commencement of creation* An island of soft earth swam on the waters like a fish, At the same time, between heaven and earth, a thing was born similar to the shoots of the plant ashi. It was metamorphosed into a god (kami), to whom was given the honorific title of The first of the seven Kurd toko tachi no mikoto,* and he was the first of the Jj$3&fl seven celestial spirits. He reigned 100,000 millions of years, as did each of his two successors. According to the laws of heaven, the first three spirits were self-born, and were pure males. The fourth, fifth, and sixth had female companions, but there was no sexual intercourse. They reproduced each other, as males and females, by mutual contemplation ; and they reigned a fabulous number of years. Then arose the male andSie spirit Izanagi no Mikoto, and the female spiritbpm s* Izanami no Mikoto. They ascended upon the Ama no uki bashi, or bridge of heaven, and said : "Are there not countries and islands down there ? " Upon this they directed downwards the heavenly spear of red * Mikoto was never, as has been asserted, a title of the Emperor of Japan. b2 4 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. duSSon. Preci°us stone, and stirred up the bottom. When ^ * they withdrew the spear from the troubled waters, some drops fell from it, and formed the island called Ono Jcoro shima, or the island formed spontaneously. Then the two spirits descended and dwelt upon it* This island is the middle column on which the empire rests. S^art ^e male spirit went to the left, and the female spirit to the right, and meeting at the column of the Empire, they recognized each other, and the female spirit sang as follows : " I am delighted to meet so handsome a youth." The male spirit replied, in an injured tone, " I am a man, it is right therefore that I should speak first; how dost thou, a woman, dare to commence ?" Thereupon they separated, and continued their road in opposite directions* Meeting again at the point from which they started, - the male spirit commenced to sing in these words: "I am very happy to find a young and beautiful woman." And it was then that the art of love was invented.* A paper read by Mr. Satow before the Asiatic Society of Japan on the Shinto Temples of Ise states that, according to the legend in the Koshi-seibuii, a daughter was produced from the left eye of Izanagi no Mikoto in the course of the long purification by washing in the sea, which he underwent after having defiled himself by intruding on the privacy of his con- # Another tradition states, that as these two divine beings were standing npon the floating bridge of heaven, two wagtails came, and the gods, watching the amorous dalliance of the two birds, invented the art of love. Hence, in the marriage ceremonial prescribed by Japanese custom^ there is one table on which two wagtails are placed.—-See " Tales of/Old Japan," by A. B. Mitford, vol. ii. pp. 247, 248, and note. INTEODUCTION. 5 sort, Izanami no Mikoto, in the lower regions. This D^5gg^ was Amaterasu 6 mi Kami, or, according to the ^-~-~^ Chinese translation, Ten sh6. dai jin,* or the " sun goddess/' and is, in fact, nothing but a deification of the sun. From the right eye of Izanami no Mikoto was produced Tsukiyomi no Mikoto, the moon, a masculine deity. Izanagi no Mikoto produced a large number of gods, but of all his "children he loved these two the most. The sun goddess shone beautifully, and illuminated the heavens and earth. He therefore resolved not to keep her on earth, and transferred her to heaven to be its ruler. At this time the earth was close to heaven, and she had no difficulty in climbing up the pillar on which heaven rested,- and in reaching her realm. Another son, Sosanod no Mikoto, was first made ruler over the blue sea, but, neglecting his kingdom, was given the kingdom of night. One clay he flayed a live piebald horse from the tail towards the head, and frightened his sister by throwing the body into the room where she was seated. She retired into a cave, which she closed with a rocky door. This, according to one writer, caused the first solar eclipse. From the sun goddess it is asserted that the Present o Emperor present Emperor is descended, without a single break, trom^hf This presumption is to be found continually in dessf Japanese writings and in the edicts promulgated by the Emperor. The divine descent is mentioned in such sentences as the following:—" Since the heavenly ancestors established the foundations of * Or Ten sho ko dai jin. It signifies literally " From heaven shining great deity." 6 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. bvction *^e eountry, the imperial line has not failed for "^ ' ' ten thousand years/' The Emperor himself says: " We gratefully continue in our person the great line;" and, to take a late instance, the imperial decree in 1872 respecting Liukiu commences as follows: " We, by the grace of Heaven, having succeeded to the imperial throne occupied by one line for 10,000 years." Other instances will be met with in the course of this work. It may be remarked that such a line has not been difficult to preserve in a country where the principle of adoption exists on the widest basis, and where the son of a concubine can legitimately succeed to his father's inheritance.* origin of The origin of the Japanese of the present day is Japanese ... . uncertain. B-tfj[ involved in mystery, and it has not been determined with any degree of certainty whence the invaders came who dispossessed the aborigines. That they are a mixed race is clear; there is Chinese, there is Mongolian, and there is Corean blood amongst them ; also, as it seems, Malay, and there may have been immigrations from the Polynesian Islands. Aborigines The original inhabitants^ the Aino^ are now only Yezo- to be seen in the northern island of Yezo. They are a hairy race, living in poverty in the rudest of huts, and speaking a language of their own. Dr. Dickson says: \ " There are two strongly-marked varieties of features * The practice of adoption, which supplies the childless with heirs, is common all over the East, but its justification in Japan is the necessity of keeping up the ancestral sacrifices.—E. S. Each daimio had only one real wife, hut he had concubines according to his pleasure. f Amo, said by some to be a corruption of inu, dog.—E. S. % " Japan," by Walter Dickson. William Blackwood and Sons,, 1869, pp. 15,16. ' INTEODUCTION. 7 in Japan, which are always strikingly portrayed in intro-their own pictures. There is the broad, flat face of —^—-^ the lower classes, and the high nose and oval face of the higher. The difference is so marked jas to be some argument in favour of a previous mixing of two different races : the one which had extended southwards from the Kurile Islands and Siberia, hairy and broad-featured ; while the other had originated from the south, with Indian features and smooth skins." With respect to the invaders, Japanese tradition states that the fifth ruler in descent from the sun goddess was Jimmu, or the spirit of war (b.c. 667). jiS™;* He is considered to have been the first mortal ruler, rufer?0 and with him the real history of Japan may perhaps be taken to commence. It is very probable that this hero, or his ancestors, came originally from the main- Probably 7 - ° J came from land of; Asia with a body of adherents ; that these Asia-men landed in the southern island of Kiushiu, established themselves there, gradually vanquished other tribes of immigrants, and pushing their conquests further and further, drove the aborigines to the northward and eastward, and thus the Kioto, or Estabiisii- 7 m ment of tile capital * (which is the signification of the word), came ^tSi.or to be established in the largest of the group. It is in the nature of things that many of the aborigines would remain attached to the soil which they and their fathers had cultivated, and would become the bondsmen of the invaders. From them, with an admixture of the intruders, it is fair to assume that the flat-faced peasants and lower classes of the present day are descended, whilst out of the ranks of the * Miako also means capital. The real name given to the city was Heian, or Heianjo. Class divisions. 8 HISTORY OF JAPAN. Intro- invaders exclusively was formed that military class which became dominant, and constituted the nobility of the land. The generals and chiefs of tribes, and the whole military caste, naturally lorded it over the peasants, and despised them; and the latter looked up to and were subservient to, the former. It is thus easy to conceive that after a time the chieftains would come to be regarded as so high above the common people that the fiction of divine descent was attributed to the ruler, and then the Japanese mythology was invented to support this pretension. Different The Emperor, as the sovereign of Japan may be tions of the called, has been designated by various names : and Emperor. ' o ./ > since many inaccurate statements have been made concerning them, I will here give what I believe to be a correct description of the principal ones. Mikado. One derivation is from mi, honourable, and kado, gate. The notion would, thus be that the Emperor is so high above the rest of mortals, that it would be disrespectful to speak of, him directly—just as no one but the privileged few were allowed to enter his presence—and therefore he is designated by the gate of his palace. Similarly are used renka, under the carriage or sedan, and heika, under or below the steps leading to the Emperor's dais. The above derivation of mikado is supported by good authority and is plausible. But Mr. Satow states that there is a different etymology, which he thinks harmonizes better with Japanese ideas, viz. mika, great, and to, which, according to the rules of the language, becomes do in composition, and is a root meaning "place." Kdtei. Kd is a term applied to sovereigns ; tei, the appellation of one who judges the world, or rules over the nations. INTEODUCTION. 9 Tennd, compounded of ten, heaven, and 6, which intro- DUCTION. is another way of pronouncing the kd in hotel. This is *¦—-—: the appellation now used officially. Tenshi, son of heaven. Kinri, the forbidden interior. This and dairi, which is also used to denote the Emperor, originally meant the imperial palace.* Chdtei. The Chinese character representing chd means morning, also an interview of ministers with the sovereign, from their being required to go to Court early in the morning. The Chinese character representing tei means a place of general concourse and permanent residence: the midst of the Court. Hence the signification of chdtei is the hall of audience, the court, hence the Emperor. To return to Jimmu Tenn6, we may infer that he Jimmu 1 J , Tenno's became the sovereign of most, if not all, of the islands territ0*y-of Kiushiu and Shikoku, and of a large tract of the principal island as well. This island, by the way, is generally called Nippon or Nihon by foreigners, and no greater mistake can be made, as that word in reality denotes the whole territory of Japan, Great Japan (Dai Nippon or Nihon), as its inhabitants term it. What is generally termed Nippon by foreigners may be designated as "the main island." As time passed, the territory of the invaders in- terSy0f creased. ' The aborigines were pushed further and fur- sequent *-—' J- VlllpVS ther, and in the time of the Emperor Seimu (a.d. 131—- # The people would put the title sama after either. The use of the two words reminds one of the origin of many surnames, such as Sanjo and Tokudaiji, the name of a street and of a temple in which certain Court nobles dwelt; they would be called Sanjo Sama and Tokudaiji Sama, and finally take the names of the places they lived in for their ordinary appellations.—E. S. 10 HISTORY OF JAPAN. 190) the jurisdiction of the ruler had already extended to a line drawn from Sendai Bay to the neighbourhood of what is now the treaty port of Niigata. After the sovereign power had been established for Formation a number of years at Kioto, the members of the of tlie class # J of kug<$. imperial family had considerably increased, and they formed a class of themselves. These are the huge, or court nobles, so often mentioned in contradistinction to-the daimid, or territorial nobles. They all, of course, claimed divine descent, and they occupied the highest offices about the Court. Govern- The form of government established by the earlier mentapure ' ° J monarchy, emperors was a pure monarchy. With the exception of the fu, or populous cities, the empire was divided for administrative purposes into gun, or districts, and these again into ken, which might be translated "prefectures/' Gun-km: xhis was called the gim-ken system, and the Emperor was the direct executive head. But in time came intestine broils and civil wars,, and the history of Japan up to the beginning of the 17th century is mostly taken up with their narra- Emperor's tion. The supreme power gradually slipped out of the power hands of the emperors. It first fell into those of the Fujiwara. family of Fujiwara, sprung from the imperial house,. whose members secured all the high Court offices for themselves; subsequently this family, affecting to despise the arts of war, and sinking into slothful Military luxury, >ave way to military commanders who, from' command- J ° J J , . ers- their own personal talent and warlike qualities, raised themselves to a pre-eminence not always maintained often be- by their descendants; these latter then became instru-struments ments in the hands of other chiefs, who, under the chiefs. guise of advisers, usurped their master V places, and INTKODUCTION. 11 encouraged them in a life of enervating sensuality. D^5g^ Thus one house fell, and another rose upon its ruins, ^-^~-' and there were times when, as will hereafter appear, the real power of the State was possessed by the minister of the sh6gun, or general, who lived at Thereai . ° ¦ power Kamakura or at Yedo, hundreds of miles from the -^S-Emperor's capital. That " son of heaven/' how- JS^.the ever, was still the fountain of honour; his Majesty, although often but a child a few years old> still dispensed ranks and dignities, and the ownership of Emperor the soil always in reality resided in him. The popular fouSn of _ . . ./ - i x honour. belief being that the Emperor was descended from the gods, the whole nation looked upon him as their master, to whose edicts they were bound to pay blind obedience. The state of Japan, from early times and during j£f%eJ;rom the troubled period, has been well depicted by an able ^th^W writer in one of the best edited papers in Berlin, ° apaiu Die Gegenwart.* Three articles appeared in the beginning of 1873, and in the third of them, after remarking that it lay in the interest of the imperial dynasty to render the difference between the free warrior and the enthralled peasant still more sensible-from above than it had been, the writer continues as follows:— "What had first only been an unconscious feeling,, more or less common to all people, to look upon the chieftains of tribes and heroes as descendants of the gods, became soon a principle of the State ; the divine descent of the Mikado and his own divinity .became the principal articles of faith of the Japanese religion and policy, and out of the ruins of the old independent tribes there arose a thoroughly theocratic government * Edited by Dr. Paul Lindau. . 12 HISTORY OF JAPAN. )uctk)n embracing the whole land. It is, however, striking ~-~^ ' that, notwithstanding the materials at hand, a division was not accomplished there, as almost everywhere else, into the classes of priests and warriors, but, as in China and Corea, in the place of these two castes, those of civil and military officials, the court nobility and the nobility of the sword, appeared. " The further development is entirely similar to that of the European, and most particularly of the German, middle ages. The sword alone could create, the sword alone preserve ; above all, highly honoured, but without any actual power, stood the Emperor ; and oftentimes not one, but two, which occasioned the most obstinate wars, although each party were from the beginning agreed to obey the ruler appointed by themselves only as far as it suited them. Under the Emperor the great and small nobility fought for possession and power. It was a fight of all against each and each against all, in which the falling families prepared the ground for new after-growth, and in which, out of the coarseness and moral degeneration engendered by protracted civil wars in a still higher degree than by wars between nations, one compensating quality alone shone forth, the fidelity of the vassals to their lords, preferring death to desertion and shame. Money had to be obtained by robbery and contribution, and where that did not suffice, the great merchant, the Court Jew of the middle ages, appeared, who gave money to his Prince at high interest and for goods, and was rewarded for the same with land. The lower classes, the country people, were there only to be plundered and oppressed, and it cannot therefore be wondered that commerce and agriculture were ruined, and that the peasant preferred to follow the drum and INTBODUCTION. 13 himself to burn and rob. to seeing the work of months inteo-become, in a few hours, the prey of flames or the v—~>^—-booty of cunning hordes. To the Chu'rch too was reserved to play a part in the wars of the Japanese middle ages, not so very different from that "which she played in Germany. Notwithstanding much bloody persecution, Buddhism had succeeded in obtaining a firm footing in Japan, and although its /doctrines were never able to excite the people to a religious war, still its priests were able to acquire power and lands, and were not enemies or allies to be wholly despised. Many a Buddhist abbot rode armed and equipped at the head of his men, and the monks of the convent Hiyekan have more than once taken a decisive part in the political wars of these times." The following summary (in Book I.), mostly drawn from the Nihon Gruaishi, will, it is hoped, prove a help to the reader in judging of the later events which it is more particularly the business of this work to record. BOOK I. CHAPTER I. The Emperor originally Commander-in-Chief.—Civil and Military Officials.—One-third of the Males become Soldiers.—Rise of the Eujiwara, who monopolize all the high Offices.—They become Effeminate.—The Hei and Gen.—Severance of Military and Agricultural Classes.—Rise of the " Warriors."— By the 12th century, the Military class rule the land, but the' Imperial prestige remains. In the earliest ages of the history of Japan both thk CHfp-civil and the military power was wielded by the Em- e^^T" peror. The whole people were soldiers, and the " son OT^Sdef. of heaven " was their commander-in-chief. There was no special class of generals, nor was there a distinct military class. The Emperor himself, or one of his family, led out his troops to battle, so that this charge was only committed to members of the imperial house. The power thus remained with the sovereign, who was able to maintain his authority over the nation. Subsequently the officials were divided into civil cmiand military and military, according to the Chinese system. A ^^of class of generals was created, commanders of the six guards or household troops were appointed, and the war-office became one of the eight departments of 16 HISTORY OF JAPAN, CH^P- State. The able-bodied males of each province were J^St^T' divided into three parts, one of which consisted entirely miliary. e of soldiers. The dan, or legion, was composed of 1000 men, and contained four subdivisions. There was a legion in each department of those provinces which, by their remote position, were more liable to attack. Whenever a warlike expedition was undertaken, orders were sent to the provinces along the line of march, to await the imperial commission, and to compare it with the muster-rolls. Each expedition was under the command of a shdgun, or general, and there were also fuku sh6gun,* or lieutenant-generals, and other inferior officers. Three such corps were commanded by a tai sh6gun, or generalissimo. Thus, when troubles broke out, an army could be placed in the field on the shortest notice by the simple issue of the Emperor's commission, whilst, on quiet being restored, it was dissolved, into the elementary subdivisions • of five men, called goA The generals, who had usually been taken from the ranks of the civil officials, laid by their armour and their helmets, and returned to their previous functions. mon™-a ^y degrees a certain family called Fujiwara, of high offices semi-divine origin, J began to exercise the administrative power in the Emperor's name. They kept increasing their influence by marrying their daughters * There is no plural in the Japanese language. f Two go formed a Jcua; five Jcua a tai; two tai a rid ; ten rid a dan. . % Kamatari, the founder of the Fujiwara family, regent of the empire under Kotoku Tenno, 645-9 (vide Klaproth's translation of the Odai Ichiran, p. 47), was reputed to be the twenty-first in descent from Ame-no-ko-yane no Mikoto, who came down from heaven as a servant of Mnigi no Mikoto, great grandfather of Jimmu Tenno.-—E. S. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 17 CHAP. to the sovereigns, and they appointed younger °-^—^ brothers, sons, or other members of the family to all the high offices of State. The highest office was that of kuambaku * or regent, which became hereditary in the Fujiwara, and these regents ultimately became all-powerful. They obtained the privilege of opening all petitions addressed to the sovereign, and of presenting or rejecting them at their pleasure. In this way, having arrogated in time of peace all the titles and honours of the Court to their own kin, the Fujiwara placed a barrier between the sovereign and f^r?iearCed his subjects, high descent was the only qualification Emperor for office, and unfitness for functions was not regarded an pe°P e" in the choice of officials. The author of the Nihon Guaishi remarks with respect to this family : " They chiefly laboured to establish the position of their own kindred, and did not take the slightest interest in the welfare of the State. When it came to a struggle for power, neither fatter, son, elder brother, nor younger brother assisted each, other, but they vied in base flattery, and naturally enough the whole Court imitated them. Is it not to be regretted that this should have been the cause of the.great civil wars, which ended in their being cast down and ruined together with the imperial house, leaving but an empty name behind ? " ¦* Kuambaku = adzukari mosu, to be charged with and represent (to the Emperor). The Sessho, or regent, became kuambaku when the Emperor attained his majority. The Fujiwara family became divided into five branches, called the Sekke or Regent families, viz. Konoye, Kujo, Mjo, Ichijo, and Takadzukasa. The title, together with the privileges once attaching thereto, was abolished in 1868. , When the kuambaku retired and was succeeded by his son, he took the title of taiko. If he became a Buddhist monk, he was known as the zenko.—E. S. VOL, I. C 18 HISTOBY OF JAPAN, classes. chap. The Fuj iwara, then, had the monopoly of civil offices. FSjiwa^ But when it came to fighting they had to depend upon effeminate, others. Too luxurious and effeminate to don their armour themselves, and to take the field in times of emergency when military services were required, they delegated the task of chastising rebels, or those whom they termed barbarians, to others, and it became the po?netredaas" custom to confer the office of general, or shogun, upon genera s. mem]3ers 0f particular families, such as the Taira or TheHei Hei* and the Minamoto or Gen, both of whom and Gen. > / originally sprang from the imperial house. It was then that first arose the expression " military class." stance As time wore on, another change was effected. It cultural1" is manifest that all that portion of the population who were turned into soldiers would not be equally fit for their profession, and hence, towards * Hei is the Japanese pronunciation of a certain Chinese character, the sound by which the Japanese express the character; Taira is the original Japanese word, to which Hei is equivalent. Similarly with Gen and Minamoto. The Taira family sprang from the Emperor Kuammu (782— 805). One of his twelve extra wives, Tahiji Knrenmne, Tbore four sons, of whom the eldest was Prince Katsuhara, a talented man, who rose to be Shitibukio, an office to which princes of the blood were appointed, and to whom were entrusted the directions as to Court ceremonies and the order of precedence. He was thus a species of lord' high chamberlain. His grandson Takamochi received the surname of Taira, and may be considered the founder of the family. His descendants for generations were military vassals of the crown. The Minamoto family sprang from the Emperor Seiwa (859 ¦—880). One of his attendants, herself a member of the imperial house, bore a certain Prince Tadazumi, who became Hiobukio, or minister of war. He had two sons, named Tsune-moto and Tsunenari, to both of whom the surname of Minamoto was granted, The descendants of Tsunemoto were military vassals of the crown for many generations. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 19 the end of the eighth century, the Court decided CH^P-that the useless soldiers should b& dismissed, that **—>'——' those among the rich peasants who h'ad sufficient capacity for archery and horsemanship and were most skilled in military exercises should be called out, and that the weak and feeble should apply themselves to agriculture. Thus the military and agricultural classes were completely severed. During the course of another century the adminis- t^SX*8" tration of the empire became gradually weaker, and the weS. gulf between the sovereign and his people was considerably widened. The military men from the wild northern provinces ?^;r°fors •» of Oshiu and Dewa, and from the eight provinces subsequently denominated the Kuant6,# who, in virtue of their services, had risen to enter the ranks of the six guards and of the Court pages, mostly remained in their native districts and ruled over them, neglecting their duties as members of the permanent garrison at Ki6to. Their military superiors were no longer able to keep them in order, and when this system spread over the country, a class was formed of men who possessed armour and horses, and assumed to themselves the title of "warriors." In tKeP^tenth and eleventh centuries this system Jmt^yed was more firmly established. Whenever troubles arose, Hei,or aen* and it was necessary for the Court to interfere, the * East of the barrier. The provinces are Mnsashi, Sagami, Awa, Kadziisa, Shimos'a, Hitachi, K6dzuk6, and Shimotsuke. Anciently, one division of Japan was made by taking the barrier of Ozaka on the frontier of the provinces of Omi and Yamashiro as a, central point, the region lying on the west, consisting of thirty-three provinces, being called Knansei, or west of the barrier, and the remaining thirty-three provinces were then called Kuanto.—E. S. c 2 20 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CH^P- duty.of restoring tranquillity was entrusted to one of ^~0^*—' the two families of Hei and Gen already mentioned. The general who took the field was naturally in want of soldiers, and he had recourse to these so-called " warriors," a number of whom became attached to his service ; and, by force of long-continued service, the relation of prince and vassal (daimib* and herai) grew up into permanence. Hence every great military man had his regular retainers. thereoawlr°of ^ ^e same time the persistent longing of the oenHei and Court for peace, and its effeminate and luxurious life, threw a great increase of power into the hands of the houses of Hei and Gen,, and the influence of the Emperor was proportionally decreased. In the twelfth century, the Court appears to have issued injunctions forbidding the warriors of any province to belong either to the Hei or the Gen. But this was of no avail. Nor did the plan which was adopted of making the one family act as a check on the other, and, in case of rebellion by the one, of ordering its chastisement by the other, cure the abuse that had been created. The military power had, in fact, entirely slipped away from the Court, and had become vested in theseN two powerful houses, and though the Court affected to despise them, as not ranking among B?Se * the courtierk, but belonging to what it considered the middle of > ' o © centu^elfth inferior class of soldiers, it is certain that, by the ciaesrruiedry middle of the twelfth century, the military class had become virtually the rulers of the land. prlst^e Still it must never be forgotten by the student of Emperor Japanese history that there was a prestige in the imperial person which nothing ever did or ever could * Daimio, great name, was in reality a term of much later origin, "but the relation was similar.—E. S. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 21 abolish. No one permitted himself to doubt his CHXAP-Majesty's descent in an unbroken line from the gods ^ " who created and ruled over Japan; he was, as already mentioned, the fountain whence all rank and" office flowed. The shogun, or general, owed his appointment to the Emperor; without a commission from the latter all his acts would be wanting in legality; and, even though he possessed the whole military power in the State, he found himself, when at Court, not even the first. of his Majesty's subjects, nor could he, by reason of his office alone, claim the right of gazing on the imperial countenance. Hence it was that, in their g^areac wars with each other, the great military commanders secure his. . -, /» person. were constantly endeavouring to secure the person of the sovereign, so as to clothe their acts with legality, and to make out that their side was the loyal side, and that their adversaries were chbteke, or rebels against the Court. 22 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. CHAPTER II. Rise of the Taira or Hei.—Kiyomori attains great power. CHAP. i£F* The most noted personage belonging to the house Kiyomori of Hei was Kiyomori, who flourished in the twelfth of tliehouse J m . . . of Hei. century, and raised its influence to the highest pitch. He was the son of Taira no Tadamori,# and was born in this wise. One of the female attendants of the palace, beloved of the ex-Emperor Shirakawa, having had an intrigue with- Tadamori, the ex-Emperor bestowed her upon the latter, saying, " If she gives birth to a girl, I will take it. If it is a boy, then my lord shall adopt it as his son." The palace attendant bore a son, who was Kiyomori. Subsequently Tada-mori took her to wife, and she bore him two other sons. fSlntiy -A- system had grown up of constantly changing the andnfene- Emperor, and of conferring the imperial dignity on mere youngery children. This naturally gave the whole power into the hands of others. If we consult the chronological table in a' recent native publication, the D6m6 Hitsudoku, we shall see how often the succession was changed, and how constantly the barren sceptre * l e. Tadamori of tiie Taira. No is "of." HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 23 was in the hands of children. Taking the sovereigns C£*ap of the above century during the flourishing period "-""v-of the Taira, we find as follows :— , The Emperor Toba ascended the-throne in J. 108, JfJ^ at the age of six. He abdicated in 1123 in favour Emperoia of his son Sutoku, then four years old. The latter abdicated in 1143 in favour of his half-brother Konye, then four years old. Konye died in 1155, and was succeeded in 1156 by Go-Shirakawa, another of Toba's sons, and Sutoku's , youngest brother, then twenty-nine years old. This Emperor resigned the nominal power three years later to his son Nijd, a youth of sixteen, who died in 1165. His one-year-old son Rokujd succeeded, but was only permitted to reign for three years. The next Emperor was Takakura, then eight years old. Thirteen years later he resigned the throne to his son Antoku, aged three. ; Clearly, therefore, even on the score of age, the real power could not generally be wielded by the actual Emperor, but there were cases where, not being a child, he resigned the empty honour, and kept the reaL power. History tells us that the Emperor Toba after his abdication retained some influence. Again, after Go-Shirakawa had abdicated, we read that the administration was in the hands of the ex-Emperor. Again, it is said when Eokujo ascended the throne: " The Emperor was young, and- the administration was still directed by the ex-Emperor," The sovereigns had therefore not only lost all their ^weiT authority through the idle and effeminate life they led, from their ignorance and inability to govern the State, and from the encroachments of the military class, but because they were often mere children, not 24 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. chap, old enough to know what power was, and in many "—^~" cases they Nwere deposed whilst still of tender years. Without inquiring here into the circumstances which immediately contributed to the power of the becomes the Hei, suffice it to say that Kiyomori, the acknowledged chtefary keacl- °f the family, distinguished himself by his talents, worsted his enemies and those of the Court, became the greatest military chief in the empire, and rose rapidly in influence and rank. In 1167, the Court conferred upon him the office of daij'6 daijin,* and he reached the first class of the second rank,f * Dai jo daijin, great minister of the great government; the highest office to which a subject can attain* At present enjoyed by Sanjo Saneyoshi, formerly a huge, or Court noble. The next two offices are sadaijin, great minister of the left? and udaijin, great minister of the right. The former is vacant; the latter is held by Iwakura Tomomi, formerly a kuge, head of the special embassy to the treaty powers, which left Japan in December, 1871. There was also a somewhat inferior office to these three, the naidaijin, which was created much later. Mr. Satow states that the four were only filled np once at the same time, namely, in the reign of Juntoku (1211-1227), and that since then the highest of them has seldom been bestowed on any person during his lifetime. Posthumous honours were often granted by the Emperor. The rank of the sa, u, and naidaijin was but slightly different, and they were of equal authority. f This refers to rank at Court, Every official, from the ministers of State down to the lowest clerks, had, under the ancient mikados, a certain rank attaching to his office, which was independent of birth or age. All questions of precedence at Court were settled in accordance with this rank. These ranks, together with the ancient titles of offices at the Court, continued to be granted to daimios and to vassals of the shogun, up to the latest times. At present a rank of this kind is often granted without its being attached to any office, and offices are held frequently by persons whose rank is inferior to their office. The arrangement was borrowed from China by the Empress Suiko, A. D. 604. HISTORY OF JAPAN, 25 with other high privileges. It is true that the CI*fp-Fuji war a still held many empty titles, but Kiyomori ^—^^-^ was virtually the sovereign, even after he had shaved off his hair and become a monk. This, howevqr, was nothing extraordinary; it was a custom often adopted by the highest personages, without giving up their power.% In 1168 it is said that there were more JJ68- More 1 than sixty than sixty members of the house of Hei holding Sow omSs offices at Court, and their domains extended over a more than thirty provinces. In 1171 Kiyomori "promoted" his daughter kiyomori Tokuko to be niogo, the Emperor Takakura being S^of thhe. Twelve ranks were formed, distinguished by the appellations virtue, benevolence, &c., _and by the colours of the caps worn by those to whom they were granted. Subsequently the system was altered to one more closely resembling that of China, by creating nine ranks, corresponding to the nine buttons, and subdividing these nine ranks again. Each of the first three, called first rank, second rank, and third rank, was divided into principal (sho) and secondary (jiu), but the principal first rank was reserved as a reward to be granted after death to high functionaries who had enjoyed the secondary first rank during their lifetime. The first class of the sacond rank was called jo-ni-i, not sho-ni-i; the character is the same, but differently pronounced in this case. The next ranks, from the fourth to the eighth, were divided into principal and secondary, and these again into superior (jo) and inferior (ge), thus making four classes of each rank. The ninth rank was called the " commencement rank," being the lowest, was divided into great (dai) and small (sho), and these again into superior (jo) and inferior (ge). The whole number was twenty-nine for the living and one for the dead.—-E. S. # Thus in 1169 the ex-Emperor Go-Shirakawa shaved off his hair and took the title of ho-6, or cloistered emperor. Ho is literally the law, i.e. the law of Buddha; 6 is translated emperor. He continued very powerful after he had become a monk. J6-6 was the name of the retired emperor, daijo-o of the elder of the two, when, as frequently happened, there were two retired emperors.—E. S. Emperor's second wife. 26 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. chap, then only about eleven years old. Later he made ^—-v——' her chiugu.* The position of the head of the Taira family, when at the zenith of his power, is -thus defined by the author of the Nihon Guaishi :— " Kiyomori's method of proceeding did not differ in the slightest from their (the Fujiwara's) nepotism, except that he added fierce rapacity thereto. His idea was that, since power and favours had been grasped to such an extent by men who could boast of no particular services, he, who had been in a great measure the~ creator of the imperial house, could do nothing wrong. The world, seeing his sudden elevation, has united to blame him, and neglects to mention that he had some one for a teacher. It was the Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who, by cherishing and perfecting Kiyomori's power, caused him to assume such a position. Eanks and titles are public instruments, and ought not to be used for private ends. A subject who uses ranks and titles for his private ends is a traitor to his prince, and a prince who uses ranks and titles for his private ends is a traitor to the sovereigns his predecessors. The Emperor granted the ranks and titles created by the sovereigns his predecessors to Kiyomori in a lavish manner, and Kiyomori profited thereby to attain his private ends. To such a pitch did he carry the disposition to presume on his services in order to obtain rewards from his sovereign, that in the end it * The niogo were the principal concubines of the Emperor, not the second wife, as Klaproth says. The Empress always had to go through this rank, and was then elevated to be chmgu, the title of the second wife. In ancient times there was but one empress, called hogo, but the Emperor Knammu (782—806) commenced the practice of having a second, called chiugu (middle palace).—E. S. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 27 became impossible to control him. And who shall ™fT-blame him ?" , s*-^—' The house of Hei was thus entrusted with the The Hei carried out execution of the ex-Emperor Go-Shirakawa's policy, Smpe^0r and the whole administration was in their hands, wa's policy. Kiyomori acted in the most arbitrary manner, even to moving the capital, as well as the Emperor of the moment and other members of the imperial family, from one spot to another, at his pleasure. But in 1181, after an illness of seven days, he died %f^th of at the age of 64, and his son Shigemori, who would iS?S have succeeded him, and who was a wise and prudent m°ri-man, knowing, at times, how to'put some restraint on his father's arbitrary conduct, being also dead, Munemori, son of Shigemori, became head of the house. Its glory, however, was paling. Kiyomori, on his S*hJ501 death-bed, foresaw the danger, and dreaded the future KiyomorF influence of the rival house of Gen. One of his last speeches is thus recorded :— " He that is born must necessarily die. Why j£ee^Sd should I alone (expect to escape) ? Since the period desiring of Bioji* (1159) I have rendered services to the im- iie°ai0 perial house, and have ruled the empire absolutely. My rank has been the highest to which a subject can attain, and I stand in the relation of grandfather to the Emperor by his mother's side. What should I have to complain of ? What I complain of is that I must die without seeing the head of Minamoto no Yoritomo.f * When Kiyomori, Shigemori, and their followers defeated Minamoto no Yoshitomo, Fujiwara no ISTobuyori, and others in Kioto, and obtained possession of the imperial palace. This exploit made the power of the Taira family paramount in the empire. t See next chapter. 28 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. CI*Ap. After, I die do not perform Buddhist rites for me ; do ^* not read the liturgies for ma; but simply cut off Minamoto no Yoritomo's head, and hang it up before my tomb. Let all my offspring and retainers obey my words, and not dare to neglect them." HISTORY OP JAPAN. 29 CHAPTER III. Decline of the Hei, and Rise of the G-en.—Yoritomo.—He founds Kamakura, obtains the whole Governing Power, and is created Sei-i-tai-Shogun.—His Administration.—Fend with his Brother Yoshitsune, who commits Suicide.—His Death. The fears of the dead hero, Kiyomori, were c^p-destined to Be realized. In his speech just recorded, ' " he particularly points to a member of the Minamoto * (Gen) family called Yoritomo, one of the most famous Yorit°™°-men in Japanese history. The Nikon Guaishi gives many details of his life and doings, and describes how he eventually rose to higher power than even Kiyomori. He was the third son of Toshitomo, who had ms?outh° unsuccessfully opposed the Heishi in 1159. At that time he was thirteen years old, and went by the appellation of Onimusha, or the demon warrior. . After Yoshitomo's defeat, as his party were retreating, Yoritomo was separated from his father and elder * Heike and Genji seem to have been the terms in common use among the people for the Taira and the Minamoto, if we may jndge from the titles of the two epics, Heike Monogatari, anol Genji Monogatari. Heishi is what the Heike are called in the Chinese of the author of the Nihon Guaishi.—E. S. 30 HISTOEY OP JAPAN. c?nP' brother, and wandering about by night, lost his way. * /~ ' A fisherman, recognizing in the boy no ordinary person, gave him a lodging, and dressed him up as a girl. He wrapped Yoritomo's sword in matting, and bearing him on his own shoulder, brought him to Awohaka in the province of Omi, to the house of one Yenjiu, daughter of the chief functionary of the town, and formerly beloved by Yoshitomo. Yoritomo placed his sword " beard-cutter " in her hands, and departed towards the Kuanto. On his road he fell in with Munekiyo, a commander of the Heishi, who took him prisoner, and sent him back past Yenjiu's gate. A girl of twelve years old, begotten by Yoshitomo, heard of this, and said with tears, " I shall hereafter be subjected to disgrace. I would prefer to follow my brother now, and die." Having thus spoken, she was on the point of running out of the house, when Yenjiu's people stopped her, but afterwards she went out alone and drowned herself. JiSoner to After Yoritomo arrived at the palace of the Heishi, condemned in Kioto, a day was fixed for his execution. But Munekiyo asked him if he did not wish to live. He replied, " Yes. Both my father and elder brother are dead. Who but I can pray for their happiness in through, "kbe next world?". Whereupon Munekiyo went to step™10118 Kiyomori's stepmother, who was called Ike no Ama,* mother. J . . , . and on her questioning him Nabout Yoritomo, he answered, " He resembles Prince Uma." Now, Uma was the Ama's son, who had died in early youth. So she felt pity for Yoritomo; and after repeated # Nun of Ike, a place in Ise, -which seems to have been the property of her family. She had shaved her head and become a nun, after the death of her husband, Tadamori. Many women did so on becoming widows, as well as on being forsaken by, or after leaving, their husbands. Others were orphans. HISTOKY OF JAPAN. 31 surveillance of entreaties, she persuaded Kiyomori to spare his life, c^p-so that the youth was condemned to a punishment co^de^ed one degree less than death, called yenriu, or distant wzu. exile. He was banished to Hiruga-Kojima, in the province of Idzu. * It is related that men wlio saw him as he journeyed along the road were so struck with his noble countenance, as to remark to each other that the sparing of his life was simply like setting a, tiger loose in the fields. All his former retainers but one advised him to shave off his hair, but he took the advice of the one who whispered to him to preserve it, and await future events. Yoritomo was placed under the surveillance, of ltd SaS1 Sukechika and Hoi 6 Tokimasa, men of Idzu, butiSslJk! J ' ; chika most of his former retainers revolted from him. Tokim^l Those who still remained faithful, with few exceptions, .did not dare,to keep up any communication with their master. He is described as being very astute and self-contained, neither betraying joy nor anger in his countenance, of a hardy and enduring nature, respected and beloved by all. Yoritomo first lived with the It6 family, and one of tLheVit6Witl1 the daughters bore him a son. The stepmother of the ijas j son by girl informed Sukechika of this, and he, fearing to daushters-be suspected by the Heishi, threw the boy into- the water, married his daughter to some one else, and plotted to take Yoritomo's life. The latter thereupon ^ingtn fled the house, and found refuge with the H6jo takes refuge family. Whilst living there, he made inquiries about hojo. the daughters of Tokimasa, as to which was the most beautiful. He was told that the eldest was beautiful, addresses whilst the second, who was the issue of the second wife, JJ6jo *' 7 - 7 Tokimasas was not remarkable for personal charms. Upon this, daughter. 32 HISTOKY OF JAPAN. CHAP. III. taking warning by what had happened to him in the Ito family, and dreading again to be spied upon and denounced by a stepmother, he thought it more prudent to pay his addresses to the one who was not beautiful, so he wrote a letter to her, and gave it in charge to his faithful retainer Morinaga, to be conveyed to the damsel. But Morinaga thought to himself that the second daughter being plain, Yorito-mo's affection for her would not last, and would only lead to misfortune ; so he wrote another letter himself, and substituting it for that given to him by his lord, sent it to the eldest daughter. Now, it happened that in the previous night the second daughter had dreamt that a pigeon came to her carrying a golden box in his beak. "When she awoke she imparted this dream to her elder sister, who was so much impressed by it that, after revolving the matter in her mind, she determined, in the language of the chronicler, to. buy her sister's dream. Accordingly, she gave her own toilette mirror to her sister, saying to herself, "The price I pay is but little." After having done this, she received the letter sent by Morinaga, and eventually formed a connection with Yoritomo. Her name was Masago, and she was then twenty-one years of age. Their affection became closer every day, but it so happened that as her father Tokimasa, who had been absent on service at Kioto, was returning home, he met the governor of Idzu, one Kanetaka of the Heishi, and agreed to give him Masago to wife. When he reached home, however, he found that she was on terms of intimacy with Yoritomo ;K still, as it was impossible for him to break his promise to Kanetaka, Masagoand he pretended to be ignorant as to how matters stood, el°pe« and married her to the latter. But Masago eloped Return of Tokimasa, who marries Masago to another. HIST0BY OP JAPAN, 33 that same night with Yoritomo, and abode with him c^p- in the mountains of Idzu, and Kan^taka searched ^-~-^* for them in vain. Tokimasa, who had a high opinion of Yoritomo's talents, though professing outwardly to be greatly wroth at his conduct, made friends with him in secret, and they entered into a solemn compact compact 7 «/ X. between of mutual trust, which was destined before long to ™fmasa bear fruit, and to raise the fortunes of the Genji and on omo the H6j6. Now, in the year 1180 Prince Mochihito, second ^¦Ill^"ce son of the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa, was SeeSof invited to take the side of the Genji, and certain e en]1* orders were sent by him to the different clansmen, a separate letter being; despatched to Yoritomo, who was sends an r o r > order to recognized as head of the family. Kiyomori, hearing Ycritomo. that the Genji were conspiring against him, conceived the design of exterminating the clan. Yoritomo; on his side, was greatly delighted on receiving the prince's order, and secretly planned with Tokimasa ^£°™!!£ to take * up arms. He gave out that he had re- $%$;aud ceived orders to administer the Kuanto, and he began to seek for adherents. His first attempts were not successful, and he was defeated on - Mount Ishibashi, near the famous Hakone pass, known to ail foreign residents in Japan. He is said to have escaped with one of his retainers by climbing up a precipice, and hiding himself. After that he lay concealed in the mountains at Hakone, in a Buddhist priest's house. But being even in danger of assassination there, at the hands of the priest's younger brother, he fled away, and took ship for the opposite shore of the province of Awa. On this voyage he met with a vessel full of men in armour, and they fortunately turned out to be friends belonging to a certain family called Miura. So they VOL. I. D 34 HISTORY OF JAPAN. €^p- all landed together in Awa, and Yoritomo sent pro-^^ clamations far and wide, calling upon men to join him. His army gradually increased, for the Genji had many adherents, and, marching on, he crossed the Sumida, one of the rivers which flow through modern Yedo, not then built. He was now joined by men of rank in the provinces of Musashi and Sagami, and entering Kamakura, erected it into a seat of military government. This place, as will be seen, soon became the most important in Japan, not perhaps even excepting Kioto, the residence of the Emperor. Yoritomo then organized the officers of all ranks, and, taking the command himself, finally marched westwards, with a view to anticipate the attack of the Heishi. His army increased rapidly, officers with their adherents joining him from the eight provinces of the Kuanto,* and he encamped on the left bank of the Fujikawa,f the Heishi occupying the right bank. No battle, however, took place, as the Heishi retreated, and Yoritomo returned to, Kamakura, being joined by his younger brother Yoshitsune. \ * The Nikon. Guaiski puts the number of his horsemen-at-arms at over 200,000, but it is always well to cut off: a cypher, at least, in these cases. f Falls into the sea near ~Fvljisan, the mountain generally called Fusiyama by foreigners. J Yoritomo had six younger brothers, and Yoshitsune was the youngest of all. Yoshitomo's mistress, Tokiwa, had borne him three sons, Imawaka, Otowaka, and Ushiwaka, After his defeat, search was made for them in vain by the Heishi. They then arrested Tokiwa's mother, and Tokiwa gave herself up. Kiyo-mori was delighted with her beauty, and she eventually became his mistress. He then pardoned the three children, who became monks. But Ushiwaka did not shave his head, and on arriving at man's estate he took the name of Yoshitsune. He is said to have been small of stature, but of a very fiery nature, fair in face, with protruding teeth. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 35 In the 12th month of the Japanese year (early part chap. of 1181), as it is written, Yoritomo's new residence nsii^HTis established being completed, he removed to it, and dwelt there, at' tt n i nn TT Kamakura. lie allotted nouses to more than 300 officers. He selected eleven sturdy warriors, who were on duty in his bedchamber every night, and in this way he provided for his own safety. It was in the spring of 1181 that Kiyomori died, just as his youthful rival was consolidating his strength at his new abode in Kamakura. The tide had now turned, and the arms of the Si1UGePnVf Genji became gradually triumphant. Among the men of mark who had risen in support of Yoritomo was his cousin Yoshinaka, whose father had been killed by the Heishi when he was himself young. The result of much fighting was the entrance, in 1182, ^lnaka of Yoshinaka and Yoritomo's youngest uncle Yukiiye f^^ into Kioto, after having completely defeated the Heishi. Kioto. Subsequently, however, they became jealous, of Yoritomo, who sent Yoshitsune and another brother to attack Yoshinaka. The latter was defeated and killed by an arrow. Not to dwell too long on the events which followed, J^vb suc-it will suffice to record the continued success of the Ileishi. Yoshitsune against the Heishi. In 1184 their palace at Fukuwara* was burnt, and Munemori, son of Kiyomori, and their recognized head,t fled away by sea to the province of Sanuki in the island of Shikoku, carrying with him the youthful Emperor Antoku and his suite. But Yoshitsune with others of the Genji pursued them, defeated their forces in Sanuki, and after burning the castle at Yashima, drove them away to the *" The treaty port of Hiogo occupies part of its site at the present day.—E, S. f Page 27. r> 2 36 HISTORY OF JAPAN. Straits of Shinionoseki. There, at Dannptira (1185), in a great naval battle, the Taira were annihilated. The Nii no ama * jumped into the sea with the Emperor Antoku, a child of five years old, and they were drowned ; many men of rank were killed, or committed suicide, and among the prisoners was Munemori, who was conducted to Kamakura, and afterwards decapitated on his way under guard to Ki6to, at Shinowara, in the province of Omi, a post station on the Nakasend6.*(* Yoritomo then sent his father-in-law, ~ Hojo Tokimasa, to the capital, to" search out and exter-pe Heishi minate the seed of the Heishi, and a great number of decimated. ' © youths of that family were consequently put to death. Remnant The remnant of the Heishi, who escaped at escape to a wm dis- Dannotira, fled into the island of Kiushiu, and their trict m y > wnere'tiieir descendants are said to exist there at the present day. are said When I was about to travel in that island at the end still to exist.; 0f 1870, a high functionary at Yedo cautioned me respecting the country belonging to \h^ Prince of Higo, He said that the clansmen were still a rough, obstinate set, and that there was a scarcity of food in many parts. He particularly mentioned one district in the mountains which he said was inhabited by men who were the descendants of the Heishi, and had betaken * Tokiko, Kiyomori's wife, who had become a nun. This was natural, as Kiyomori had become a monk. Nii, i.e. ni two, and i rank, the same rank which, divided into two classes, jo nii and jiu nii, was conferred on men. The practice of giving ranks to women was commenced by Jito Tenno (an empress, 690—705). Nii no ama was probably the appellation given to her by the common people.—E. S. f Road of the central mountains. One of the great roads between Kioto and Yedo. A rough stone marks his grave under a group of two pine-trees and a withered cryptomeria without any inscription. In the pond close by, his head is said to have been washed after decapitation.—E. S. HISTORY OF JAPAN. themselves thither after their defeat in the Straits of Shimonoseki. He mentioned three villages^ Gokanosho, Mera, and Nasu, and said that the inhabitants lived by hunting, and were a wild set who would allow no stranger in their territory; that when he was governor of Nagasaki, as they were in his district, he made an attempt to visit them, but they refused him entrance, and he only saw the mayor of one of the village^ These men have thus kept themselves apart from the rest of Japan for nearly 700 years. They are said to number about five hundred souls, and to subsist by selling the skins of the animals which they kill, procuring with the ^proceeds rice and a few other necessaries. The author of the Guaishi quaintly remarks:— "I once went westward on an excursion to Nagato,* passed by Dannotira, saw the place where the Taira family was overthrown and destroyed, and went on further to Higo, where I heard that that province contained the mountains of Goka. The valleys are deep and the mountains are high where the Taira are said to have hidden themselves. Their descendants exist to the present day, and are said not to mix with the world outside.- The crimes of the Heishi against the imperial family were atoned for by their services, and heaven therefore would not cut off their posterity. And this probably was right." f It is but just to add that I was most hospitably entertained by_ the Prince of Higo at his castle town of Kumamoto, after having crossed the island through his country without let or hindrance, although no foreigner # Or Choshiu, which is the Chinese name for Nagato, by which both that province and the daimio of Hagi in Nagato are usually designated.—E. S. t See also Dickson's " Japan," pp. 117, 118. 38 HISTORY OF JAPAN. °?nP' had been seen there for centuries, and it was only when nearing the capital that I found an escort of soldiers waiting to accompany me through the streets, and to protect me whilst I remained as the prince's guest. TheGenji The house of Gen was now paramount. But are para- ^ Yoruoinois Yoritomo became jealous of Yoshitsune's success, and Yoshitsune, would not receive him at Kamakura when he came to and a feud , . mi . . , . ^sued,end- present the prisoners. 1ms jealousy terminated m a YosMtsufne. feud, blood was shed, and finally Yoshitsune, finding escape from his brother's troops impossible, slew his wife and children with his own hand, and then committed suicide. This was in the year 1189, and Yoshitsune was only 31 years old. Such shameful treatment of his heroic blood-relation, by whose prowess in arms his enemies had been completely vanquished, is a great stain on Yoritomo's career, and there seems to be nothing to palliate it. metres to I will now turn to the measures taken by Yori-his power at tomo to establish his power at Kamakura. Kamakura. x .. Towards the end ot the year 1184 it is recorded that he created the humonjo (afterwards called mandokoro), a sort of council of State, at which the affairs of his territory were discussed by his chief advisers, and which had the care of all public documents relating thereto. The president was a certain Oye no Hiromoto, and through this channel the orders of the administration were conveyed. He also founded the monchiusho, a tribunal by which robbers and other criminals were tried, and which also undertook the discovery of lost property belonging to the ruler. By this tribunal actions at law were determined. He issued the following order to the officers:—" In all matters concerning the military class the wishes of the cloistered Emperor shall be obeyed. If any .man ob~ HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 39 jeet to aught, let him quietly memorialize." He then chap. reported to the Emperor, saying, " The empire is now ^~* but half tranquillized, and the various taxes are insufficient. I beg your Majesty to select governors of provinces, and to soothe and reassemble the scattered people. Let all the warriors of the capital and of the home provinces* who draw the bow follow Yoshitsune westward to chastise the Heishi. Submit to your servant the duty of determining the rewards to be given to those who perform distinguished actions. Entrust also to your servant the duty of prohibiting the priests from wearing arms, and of confiscating the weapons of such as offend therein." After the victory of Dannoiira, Yorifcomo again obtains aP- J t ° pointinents memorialized the Emperor, praying that five men of his fJ°Jerlx~ family name might be made hami or governors of as C™of many provinces. The granting of this petition was a nam!*11 y great step towards concentrating the power in the hands of Yoritomo, because it had not hitherto been the custom to appoint any but civilians from the Court to the offices of governor and vice-governor of a province. Yoshitsune was then made hami of Iyo by special decree. Then came the feud with Yoshitsun^, and Oye no Hiromoto proposed a plan of action, saying, " The, universal commotion has now been put down, and the Kuanto reposes tranquilly under the administration of its military chief. But wicked ruffians lie concealed in every circuit, who rise as often as they are put down. The labour and expense of calling out the eastern * Grokinai, five provinces round Kioto, commonly called Ya-mashiro, Yamato, Kawachi, Senshiu, and Setsn, In the third century the Empress Jingo, after returning from her victories in Corea, divided Japan into five home provinces and seven circuity in imitation of the Corean arrangement.—E. S. 40 HISTOEY OF JAPAN, cYnR forces is incalculable, and the people groan under the pr^^Tt^ burdens laid upon them. The, best plan which could from be adopted at the present moment would be to place Kaniakura x L # * Senl7 shiugo with the hohiishiu, and jitd with the shoyen. siuugo and Then the empire will be quiet without your having to move." These terms require explanation. According to Mr. Satow's note, the word shiugo means literally " protector." One of these officers was appointed to each province, and received one-fiftieth of the assessed yearly rental of all the l^nds as his salary. He resided at the provincial capital, and had joint authority in all matters of administration with the original head-official, the kohushiu* who was a civilian, whereas the ThesMugo shiugo was a fighting man. As was no doubt in- gradually wiioieed the tended, the military shiugo gradually usurped the whole expeGi1iednd authority, and eventually expelled the civilian, and authority, the great hohiishiu delimit, who existed during the Tokugawa dynasty, and down to these latter days, ruling over whole principalities, such as those of Satsuma, Choshiu, Tosa, &c, in a semi-independent manner, were their successors and representatives. Shdyen, literally " villages and gardens," were departments or smaller districts exempt from the jurisdiction of the hohiishiu, or civilian provincial government. And it was proposed that the heads of these lands, the jitd, should be appointed from Kamakura. They would also be military men, and each tan, or about a quarter of an acre of land, would supply a certain quantity of rice for the maintenance of the troops under the command of the jitd. * Kohushiu seems sometimes to be used for " tlie governor," sometimes for " the government; " the latter is the etymological meaning.—E. S. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 41 These propositions were naturally pleasing to cfI^p-Yoritomo, and in despatching his father-in-law, Hojo y^o^T" Tokimasa, to command the garrison at the Empe ror S Tokimasa capital, he took advantage of the opportunity to have g^0^0118 them laid before his Majesty. He also asked leave to EmPeror-levy a tax of' five shd* per tan throughout the home provinces, and the four western and southern circuits, to provide food for the troops. Now, these provinces and circuits made up the Kuansei or west of the barrier, and Yoritomo had already the actual possession of the Kuanto, which in those days meant- the whole country east of the barrier near Zez6, in the province of Omi.t He also proposed that those of his relations who had performed meritorious services should be appointed shiugo and jito in different parts of the empire, and that he should himself have them under his orders. The Court discussed and adopted these propositions, ^ee^01f11td and thus the whole governing power of the empire ^^1 remained in the hands of Yoritomo at Kamakura. mains with After the death of Yoshitsune, Yoritomo undertook 1190 He a campaign against the northern provinces of Mutsu lSXe" and Dewa, in order to punish Fujiwara no Yasuhira for having harboured his younger brother. The campaign was successful, and tranquillity being now restored throughout the empire (1190), the victorious general determined to go to court. During his stay at Kioto he was treated with marked distinction by the cloistered and reigning emperors, and he returned # A sho, according to Hepburn's Dictionary, contains 109,752 cubic inches, or a little more than 1 quart, 1 pint, and \ gill imperial measure. The sho is one-hundredth of a koku (10 sho = 1 to, 10 to = 1 "koku), A tan (J acre) of-good rice land produces on an average 2J koku of rice.—E. S. f Vide note to p. 19. 42 HXSTOBY OF JAPAN. cSiP' *° Kamakura, if possible, more powerful than ever. mPSeztti In 1192 the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who of cloistered -i -i , • i i -i - • Emperor had retained much power during many successive Go-Shira- . r , . kawa. reigns, died ; and subsequently, in the same year, the creatlTsel- reigning Emperor issued a decree creating Yoritomo shlg-un. sei-i-tai-shdgun (barbarian-subjugating-great-general). Although this title was first given to Yoritomo, its elements existed previously, as will be seen in the learned note given below.* # From the Shoku-gen-sho. The subjugation of barbarians began with Yamato-dake no* Mikoto. There are notices here and there in the old histories of generals being despatched whenever war broke out. Previously to the establishment of the Chinjiufu (in Oshiu), the subjugators of the east were either Azeshi or Chinjiufu shogun. Since the time of Fumiya no Mshikimaro, the title of sei-i-shogun has existed. The writer conjectures that as there was already a general (sho) in the Chinjiufu, the title of sei-i was added whenever an additional general was sent. Sakanouye no Tamura-maro "was styled sei-to-shogun (generalissimo for the subjugation of the east). When Taira no Masakado rebelled, Fujiwara no Tada-bumi Ason, sangi and %ujen\on no Jcami, was appointed sei-to-shogun, commander-in-chief for the subjugation of the east. His younger brother Nakanobu and Minamoto no Tsunemoto set out as fuku-shogun. For a long period subsequently to this the title of sei-i fell into disuse. When Minamoto no Yoshinaka Ason went up to the capital (in 1182. See Guaishi. He was Yoritomo's cousin), and for a short time held the military power, he was appointed sei-i-shogun. Subsequently, when Minamoto no Yoritomo Kio resigned his two offices of gon-dai-nagon and ukonyei no taisho, and returned to the eastern provinces (vide Guaishi), an imperial decree was issued appointing him sei-i-tai-shogun, after which time in succession Yoriiye Ason held this office too, from the time when he became shoho. Sanetomo Kio held it from the time when he became daijin. After this family became extinct, Fujiwara no Yoritsune went down, and, after his assumption of manhood, was appointed to this office. His son Yoritsugu K6 also received this appointment. After Prince Munetaka, the Nakadzukasa Kio, went down, four generations of princes of the blood received the appointment. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 43 But Yoritomo was not destined to enjoy this last cgAP-distinction many years. The Nihon Guaishi says: v ^ * "In the 12th month of the 9th year (1198-9) Inage Shigenari repaired the bridge on the Sagami river, and Yoritomo went in person to celebrate the completion of the works. On his way back he fell from his horse, and was laid up. In the first month of the following His death, year he died, at the age of 53. Yoritomo took up arms at the age of 33, and in six years annihilated the Heishi. At the time of his death he had held the military power of the empire in his hands during fifteen years." It may seem extraordinary that Yoritomo was Reason that J J Yoritomo enabled to obtain the control of the whole military ^wnole power of the empire in so short a time. But, as can fo^Sf be seen from the Guaishi, the foundations of that t?me.or power had been already laid by his ancestors, particularly by two of them, called Yoriyoshi and Yoshiiy^. These men established order in the north and east, and afforded protection to the inhabitants during a period of fifteen years, whilst the imperial Court affected to know nothing of their doings. When they reported their achievements, and prayed that rewards When the country was re-united in Genko (1321—1323, under Go-Daigo), Moriyoshi Shinno Hidbukid held the appointment for a short time. Nariyoshi Shinno, Kodzuke no taishiu, held it subsequently. In the third year of Kemmu (1336, during the contest between the northern and southern branches of the imperial family) the title was abolished. (The book from which this extract is made was compiled between 1340 and 1346 by Minamoto no Chikafusa for the use of the legitimate Emperor, Go-Murakami, who lived at Yoshino, Kioto being in possession of Ashikaga Takauji, who had set up Kdgon as a rival to Go-Daigo, predecessor of Go-Murakami. This accounts for his saying that the Shogunate no longer existed).— E. S. 44 HISTORY OF JAPAN. chap, might be conferred on their officers and men, the "—-^-" Court put them off with delays, and even withheld the imperial commission from them, so that their wars were denominated private feuds, and they had to recompense their warriors by gifts of land in their own names. In this way the Court renounced the right of putting down the rebellious, and of apportioning rewards and punishments, and gave it to the Genji, so that the warriors of the north qnd east ended by saying that they would rather revolt against the son of heaven than betray the Genji. If we are to believe Yoritomo's the author of the GuaishL Yoritomo's original idea original ' o how the710 was only ^° l10^ a small portion of country. Eai Kuanto or gany0 refates that, according to the old histories, when the young hero fled from Ito's house, as already recounted, he congratulated himself in his heart, saying, " I hope I may succeed in becoming Lord over the eight provinces of the Kuanto, -or if not, that I may still possess Idzu, so that I may have the But means of avenging myself on the Ito family/' But the numerous . . ° ° 'y p 1 _ .J , Snd^ml8 smaU- chieftains, men of more or less local importance, joSedTim. wh° ha(I always been the adherents of the Genji, eagerly joined him when he raised his standard, and they helped to fight his battles. He also won to his side servants of the Court, clever men disappointed in tjie objects of their ambition, and they aided him in matters where his own resources and means were inadequate, and he was thus enabled, at a time when the authority of the throne had fallen lowest, to spread his devoted adherents all over the country like the pieces on a chess-board, and to control their actions from Kamakura. The author considers that, although Yoritomo's talents would of themselves have sufficed to bring HIST0BY OF JAPAItf. 45 him into a position from which he could threaten and cfnP-constrain the sovereign and people, the actual result, iwitT^ whereby the governing power centred in him, was progress of J a ° •*• events and brought about by the progress of events, and that ancestors1/8 the #real source of his success was the good fortune deserved by his ancestors, but not enjoyed by them. "I heard once/' says Eai Sanyo, "from a certain Court noble, that, when Kamakura became a power, some members of the Oye and Miyoshi families, who had secretly in their possession the records of the internal revenue department, went over to him. One can see from this the direction which men's sympathies took. The imperial house itself cast away its authority, and was unable to recover it. In whom were the people to put their trust ? Hereupon a scion of the imperial race, who was competent to undertake its duties, took its place and exercised its powers,- becoming the administrator of the. empire. This was an unavoidable consequence of events. The Genji, who were, the descendants of the Emperor Seiwa, served their princes diligently for generations down to Yoritomo, who settled the country after many toils, and first established the great scheme by which a small measure of tranquillity was assured to the empire. But," the author adds, " he never ventured to overstep the proper limit, and his acts were full of reverence for the sovereign." That is, when Yoritomo made appointments, such as, for instance, of governors of provinces, he took care to obtain the imperial Jj^™£>-sanction for the same. He did not attempt to depose Emperofs the Emperor, or to assume his Majesty's title, but he nisappomt-administered the empire as it seemed good to him, in the name and with the authority of the faineant at Kioto, whose sanction, never refused, clothed his acts 46 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. chap, with legality. Thus the relations of prince and •~~*~^-' vassal between the son of heaven,* and the shogun were considered to be kept perfect. * It may be mentioned that heaven (ten, in Pekingese tien) is a Chinese idea. Mr. Meadows, in " The Chinese and their Rebellions," p. 16, talks of it as that supreme ruling power or providence of which the Chinese, from the most ancient times np to the present day, have always had a more or less lively conception under the name of teen, or heaven.—E. S, HISTORY OF JAPAN. 47 CHAPTEK IV. 1199—1333. Yoritomo's two Successors are Faineants.—Fall of the Minamoto. —Succeeded by young and effeminate Shoguns.—The Hojo wield the Power for seven Generations.—Destruction of Kamakura by Nitta Yoshisada.—Fall of the Hojo. It has been seen that the whole country had been chap. ¦ . iv. reduced to tranquillity by the strong arm of Yoritomo, —¦---- and that he virtually ruled the empire from Kamakura. But it depended upon the persona] character of his sons and successors whether they could maintain the same power and authority. Now, it will be recollected that Yoritomo had originally been placed under the care of Tokimasa of the Hojo family, and had married his daughter Masago. The H6j6 were a rich clan, J^^N which had for generations been attached to the Genji; S^g^0 its members had intermarried with them, and they had tions. made their abode at Hojo in Idzu, whence they took their surname. The great confidence placed by Yoritomo in Toki- ToiSa.0* masa had given the latter an influence in State affairs only second to that of the shogun. The heir of the latter was Yoriiye, who, being the son of Masago, wais ^siy|0sr^' the grandson of Tokimasa. He was born in 1181, and was therefore eighteen years old when his father died. tomo. 48 HISTOEY OP JAPAN. CHAP. IV. Masago becomes a nun, but shares in the government. Yoriiye" gives himself up to pleasure. Tokimasa takes the whole administration. 1201. Yoriiye becomes 1203. He falls ill. He refuses to resign. He was at once appointed chief over the shiugo and jitd throughout the empire. His mother then shaved off her hair and became a nun, but' nevertheless continued to take a share in the government. Tokimasa was raised in rank, and being chief of the manclokoro, or council of State at Kamakura, discussed and decided all matters of administration with Oye no Hiromoto and some ten other members. It is said in the Nihon Guaishi that Tokimasa would not allow Yoriiye to hear causes in person ; that the latter merely amused himself with five favourite retainers, and gradually became more and more vicious and self-wrilled, that, though his mother frequently admonished him, he did not reform, and that Tokimasa affected not to hear or know of his conduct. The head of the house of Hojo thus took upon himself the whole administration of the empire, and it is not too much to infer that he encouraged Yoriiye in his vicious and idle manner of life. In the seventh month of the first year of Kennin (1201) Yoriiye finally succeeded to the office of sei-i-tai-shdgun, and was raised to the rank of jiu ni i. But this increase of office and rank made no difference. Tokimasa continued at the head of the administration, and he had already taken care to fill one-half of the public offices with his kindred and partisans. In the seventh month of the third year (1203) Yoriiye fell ill, and his mother took counsel with Tokimasa to compel him to resign his office, to hand over the superintendence of the shiugo to his son Ichiman, and the jitd of twenty-eight provinces of the Kuansei to his younger brother Semman. But Yoriiye on hearing of this plan was indignant, and planned the destruction of the Hojo family. Some blood was shed, Yoriiye's party was worsted, and his son Ichiman and HIST0BY OF JAPAN. 49 others lost their lives. The consequence was that cf£p-Yoriiye was forced to shave off his hair, was con- iwdTo*^ fined in a monastery, and his brother Seinman, aged J^"^ twelve, was/ declared his successor. Soon after this, ^y0nas" Tokimasa sent men to-plot against his life, and'they, m*^** fearing his great bodily strength, waited till he was dieted taking a bath, and then surrounded him, threw a success01* rope round his neck, and killed him. He was but ^.d™^ twenty-three years of age. Besides Ichiman, he had Tokimasa-two sons, the elder of whom was four years old, was adopted by Semman, and finally made a priest. * He was called Kugi6. The second was adopted into another house. Semman succeeded to the office of sei-i-tai becomes shbqun. His name was changed to Sanetomo, and his is called u ° * Sanetomo. residence was fixed in the palace of the H6jo family. In 1205 Tokimasa suddenlv shaved his head and with- kimasa t . . .... . retires. drew into retirement at Hojo, being then sixty-eight years of age. Eleven years afterwards he died. All military and civil matters were now carried on by his second son, Yoshitoki, the shogun devoting himself to composing verses and playing at football. He was of an effeminate nature, and preferred the society of women to military pursuits. He advanced rapidly in rank, and was finally appointed adaijin, but in 1219 he was jaw- san<§- «/ x J. t/ 7 tomo assas- assassinated, at the shrine of Tsurugaoka in Kamakura, jj^pnew, by his nephew and adopted son, the priest Kugi6, who Kugpi6!est had always looked upon Sanetomo as his father's murderer, and had therefore thirsted for revenge upon him. The account in the Nikon Guaishi of the assassination ^ is so characteristic that I here transcribe it. " In the first month of the first year of J6kiu he went to pay his respects at the shrine of Tsurugaoka, and the hour of nine at night on the 27th was fixed YOL. I. E 50 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. by divination. As he was about to start, Hiromoto advanced into his presence and said : ' Your servant has hitherto seldom shed tears, and now he sheds them without knowing any cause. ^ Your servant is filled with dread. When the late taisho * celebrated the completion of T6daiji,f he took the precaution of having armour under his clothes. Let my prince imitate this example, and not act rashly.' Minamoto no Nakaakira said: 'DaijinJ and taisho cannot wear armour.5 Hiromoto again besought him to celebrate the ceremony in open daylight. Nakaakira replied : ' To do it by candlelight is the old custom/ As Sanetomo was about to go forth, he made Hada Kinuji comb his hair, and pulling out one hair, gave it to him, saying, with a smile : ' This is my legacy to you/ The high officers of state and others all accompanied him, as well as an escort a thousand strong. Yoshitoki was in attendance, bearing his sword, but as the procession entered the gate of the shrine, he excused himself on the ground of illness, and delivering his sword to Nakaakira, went home. Sanetomo then dismissed the whole of his escort, and took only Nakaakira with him. When the ceremony was over, he bade farewell to the high officers of state, and descended the steps, whereupon a man jumped out from the side of the steps, and, raising his sword, cut off the heads of Sanetomo and Nakaakira, and fled away, bearing the heads - with him. The blackest darkness prevailed at the moment, and dire confusion fell upon the company, for no one knew what man # Yoritomo. There were three honorary ranks of general at the Emperor's conrt—taisho, chiujo, and shojo, literally great, middle, and small general. f A temple at Nara. $ Sanetomo, as already mentioned in the text, was udaijin. , HISTORY OF JAPAN. 51 had done it. Then some one shouted in a loud voice °hap. saying : ' I am Kugio. I have taken vengeance, on v-^/~ my father's murderer/ All now knew for the first time that Kugi6 had done it, and they surrounded his residence. Kugio, bearing Sanetomo's head in his hand, proceeded direct to the house of one Bitchiu, and took food without losing his hold of the head. The youngest son of Miura Yoshimura was Kugio's pupil, and the latter consequently sent him on a message to Yoshimura to ask his advice. Yoshimura deceived him by saying, ' I will come with troops to meet him/ but he informed Yoshitoki, who ordered Kugio to be put to death immediately. Yoshimura thereupon sent Nagao Sadakage to the spot at the head ,of five strong warriors. Kugio had waited a long time for the troops who were to come and meet him, but as they did not arrive, he traversed a high hill at, the back of the shrine, and went towards Yoshimura's house. On the way he fell in with the five men, and fought desperately, but Sadakage took him in flank and cut off his head, which he sent to ^uf^t£ut Yoshitoki. Kugio was aged nineteen, Sanetomo was twenty-eight years of age. On the following day they buried Sanetomo, but not being able to find his head, they substituted the hair he had left behind. End oi the 7 J mam lme Thus the main line of the Minamoto family came to an ninlmoto. end." The power, then, founded by Yoritomo and main- Y°^™^s tained by him personally, was only nominally wielded J^iifiwo by his two sons and successors. In those wild days, LnTSiby when might was right, and when military powers and a strong will raised men to the highest posts in the empire, the effeminate youth, whether at Kioto or Ka-makura, who was steeped in the pleasures of the senses, E 2 52 EIST0BY OF JAPAN. c^p- and delighted to pass his time in playing at the " ^~* favourite game of football, or in the mo^e sedentary employment of making verses, might still be invested with the outward show of power gained by an illustrious predecessor, but he could not really rule. Whatever were the natural talents of Yoriiye and Sanetomo, their very education was calculated, and, as has been seen, even purposely calculated, to withdraw these youths from State affairs, and they were never able to tread in the steps of their father. Thus the whole administration fell into the hands of the Hojo family, who ruled in their name. Hence the empire was, in fact, governed by the ministers of the shogun at Kamakura, a state of things which continued for some generations. ISnuJ10 After Sanetomo's death, Masago (Yoritomo's widow) madetwo'is asked that Fujiwara no Yoritsune, a boy of two years shogun. ^^ should be made shogun. The Court granted this request, the baby was sent from Kioto to Kamakura, and subsequently raised to the high office of generalissimo for the expulsion of barbarians. ix-Ei^he The ex-Emperor Gotoba, however, was jealous of (Jotoba is the influence of the Hoi6, and plotted against them, defeated by . . £ .J r & Yasutoki. with the view oi restoring the governing power to the imperial house. Eecourse was had to arms, but the imperialists were defeated by Yasutoki, son of Yoshi- jheHojo toki, and the Hoi 6 became more arrogant than ever. depose and . ^ Impue?ors at The Guaishi says : " Hereupon Yoshitoki deposed the their win. j]mperor (Juntoku), and set up a son of Prince Sadachika, a grandson of the Emperor Takakura, who became the Emperor Go Horikawa. He then forced the ex-Emperor Gotoba to shave off his hair, and removed him to Oki. He removed the ex-Emperor Juntoku to Sado, and the two princes of the blood to HISTORY OF JAPAN. 53 Tajima andBizem The ex-Emperor Tsuchimikado had cf£R not joined the conspiracy, and had even remonstrated "" " ' against it. He was therefore not questioned. He consequently spoke to Yoshitoki, and said : ' How can we bear alone to remain ?' In the tenth month he was removed to Tosa, and subsequently to Awa..... The whole of the confiscations amounted to more And distribute than three thousand fiefs. Yoshitoki divided them all J*^8 at among the officers who had distinguished themselves pleasure* on the field of battle, and he did not keep even one for himself. So the power and dignity of the Hqjo family increased day by day. Yasutoki having now destroyed the loyal army (kuan-gari), stopped at the capital with Tokifusa, and governed it and the surrounding country in conjunction with him." Nothing, I think, can give a greater idea of the absolute power of the house of Hojo at this period than the above extract. They had vanquished the imperialists, Yoshitoki deposed the Emperor, and removed former emperors and members of the imperial family to different parts of the country, according to his own will and pleasure, and taking a large amount of land from the possessors, he distributed it amongst his. followers. His son Yasutoki, having, as the Quaishi says, destroyed the " loyal" army, remained at Kioto, to watch over the interests of the family, and governed it and the surrounding provinces in conjunction with another general. Yoshitoki died in 1224, and Yasutoki succeeded 1224. Death his father as what may be termed regent of the h^sou young shogun. He divided his father's lands among SceldsL his eight younger brothers, and kept but little for regent* himself, saying, "I am regent; what more should I desire ?" He appears to have been a very able man, 54 HISTOET OF JAPAN. Instances. chap, to have eschewed high rank for himself, and to have ^ * " governed wisely. wasSh°eMCin The office of regent to the lord of Kamaknra seven^tne- (the shogun) continued in the Hojo in all during Taheynsset up seven generations. The shogun's power was still and deposed i i i • si^ogunsat nominal, and the Hojo set up and deposed one after another in a very arbitrary manner. For instance, Yoritsune, who had been brought from Kioto as a baby, had resigned in 1244, in favour of his son Yoritsugu, then six years old. The latter was deposed in 1252 by Hojo Tokiyori, and sent back to Kioto under a guard. Tokiyori then sent for and obtained as shogun, the Prince Munetaka, son of the Emperor Go Saga, and still a youth. In 1266 he, having pretended illness, returned to Kioto, and was succeeded by his son Koreyasti, who was three years old. In 1289 there was a tumult in the capital of the shogunate. Hojo Sadatoki deposed Koreyasti, and, putting him heels upward in a palanquin, sent him under a guard to Kioto. He then begged for Hisakira, third son of the Emperor Go Fukakusa, and made him shogun in 1289. He was deposed in 1308 by the Hojo, who set up in his stead his eldest son Morikuni. Their power But as it had been with the emperors, and with decays. the shoguns, so did the power of the Hojo gradually decay, owing to the youth or want of ability of the later holders of the office of regent. The The Emperor Go Daigo, who ascended the throne in G^SSgois 1319, at the age of thirty, could not brook the idea that jealous of ' f in -. , • them. this family, who were vassals ol vassals (i.e. vassals of the shoguns, who were vassals of the emperors), should, generation after generation, dispose of the throne, and he plotted secretly to destroy them. Severe fighting took place, the details of which HISTORY OF JAPAN. 55 are hardly of sufficient interest to be related, but c^p-eventually Kamakura was burnt by a certain Nitta ST ' Yoshisada in 1333, and the house of H6i6 returned bur™tat>yra Nitta into obscurity. *$$** The author of the Guaishi remarks : " The Hojo m6' family was to that of Minamoto what the Fujiwara family was to the imperial house. Both famihes possessed themselves of the realm as they sat upon the mats, without being obliged to have recourse to arms." ^etL?ource He considers that the Hojo far excelled the Fujiwara jjf^j. in the capacity for secret intrigue and in cunning ; that they secretly grasped and silently stole their power, whilst pretending never to have moved a hand, and that even after having attained their object they still remained only coadjutors and advisers, and did not venture to occupy the seat themselves. They never asked for the title of shogun, but always obtained some one from Kioto to fill that office and become the nominal ruler at Kamakura. In this manner they gradually succeeded in making the deposition and elevation of the sovereign and the action of the shoguns entirely dependent on themselves, whilst pretending that these things concerned them not, and that they acted thus in spite of themselves. But, after some seven generations, their power, like that of other families, came to an end. 56 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CHAPTER V. Ashikaga Takauji rises to power. 1336. Becomes shogun. Founds an hereditary-line. Civil war. North and south emperors. 1356 Death of Takauji.j Rise of Ashikaga Takanji.—Founds an hereditary line of Shoguns.—Civil War.—North and South Emperors.—Ashikaga Shoguns become effeminate.—Rise of various Chieftains. The information we as yet possess respecting the history of Japan for many generations from the time of the downfall of the H6j6 family is meagre and confused, and will not be long dwelt upon here. When further translations of native historical works have been made by earnest students, it is to be hoped that the gaps may gradually be filled up. The Emperor Go Daigo was the real author of the Hojo's ruin. After the taking of Kamakura by Nitta Yoshisada in 1333, Ashikaga Takauji rose to power. He had left the Hojo for the Emperor Go Daigo, and subsequently turned traitor to the latter. He became sei i-tai-shogun in 1336, and was the founder of a line of shoguns with hereditary power. Intestine broils and civil war became the order of the day, and two emperors were set up, called respectively the northern and southern emperors (Hohuchb and Nancho). Takauji died in 1356. His-son Yoshinori did not rise to be shogun. Yoshinori died in 1367, and was succeeded by his youthful son Yoshimitsu, who became shogun, and by means of his minister Yori- HISTORY OF JAPAN. 57 juki, of the Hosokawa family, gained much glory in CB!£P-fighting the south, and in subjugating portions of ^-^~^ the west. In 1392 the Ashikaga sent an emissary Seen the to propose peace between the northern and southern southan 7 . . emperors dynasties, on the basis of an arrangement similar to ceases-that which had formerly existed, namely, that the two branches of the imperial line should occupy the throne alternately. This having been arranged, the southern Emperor, Hironori, came to Kioto (1393) and surrendered to the northern Emperor, Go Komatsu, both the throne and the regalia. Thus, after a period of fifty-six years, the two dynasties finally became one. The Ashikaga dynasty produced as usual effemi- ^Sf1 nate shoguns, during whose lives lands were seized in eSlnate. different parts of the country i by chiefs of clans and other successful warriors, and appropriated by them. Civil war never ceased, nor did the Ashikaga in reality Perpetual 7 o J civil war. ever rule over the whole country. Even from the time of Takauji himself they could not keep their retainers in order. We find that the administration was carried on for some time by the Hosokawa and the Uyesugi, who filled the offices of shihhen at Ki6to, and huanrei in the Kuanto, and virtually ruled either in their own persons or through clever adherents. During the period called Onin (1467-8) 1467-8. The ° x x ' Hosokawa these two families came to blows, and from that ^Bllgi moment the influence of the Ashikaga declined. But M™vst0 there was still a shogun of that house supposed to wield the executive power in the name of the faineant Emperor at Ki6to. Then Takeda Shingen arose in Kai, Uyesugi Eke of tt • • -n i • tta'a tt" • i t^ a other chief- Kenshiu m Echigo, Hojo Ujiyasu m the Kuanto, tains-besides many others, and the confusion became worse confounded. 58 HISTORY OF JAPAN. CHAPTER VI. Nobunaga, 1533—1582. Obtains the Governing Power.—End of Ashikaga Dynasty.— Spread of Christianity.— Raid on Buddhism.—Death of Nobnnaga. °vf;p' In the latter half of the 16th century there lived Three three men, whose names are among the most distin-H?d(Toa& guished in Japanese history, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and iyeiaau. Iyeyasti. S?sce£tgas Nobunaga's family name was Ota. The house of Ota family. Ota was descended from the Taira. Sukemori, a grandson of the renowned Kiyomori, had a son whose mother, after the father's death in the fatal war with the Minamoto, fled away with him to the province of Omi, and there she was taken to wife by the chief of the village of Tsuda. But a shinto priest from Ota, in the province of Echizen, who happened to lodge in this head-man's house, whilst travelling to Kioto, asked his host for one of his sons, and the head-man gave him the great grandson of Kiyomori. The child received the name of Ota Chikazani, and founded the family of Ota, who were shint6 priests for generations. Ota Nobunaga's father was Ota Nobuhide, who is recorded as having died in 1549, leaving to his son HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 59 considerable possessions, which he had acquired by C]^p-force of arms. ^"^ ' Nubunaga defended the Ashikaga. He had come He defends from the province of Mino, and by conquering Omi, AsMkaga. also acquired command of Kioto. In 1569 he returned to his home, leaving his retainer Kinoshita Hideyoshi in charge of the capital. In the following year he fought in Echizen, and Hideyoshi followed him to the war. Subsequently he returned to Kioto, giving the command of his men to Hideyoshi, and appointing Tokugawa Iyeyasti to the rear-guard. In 1574, having turned his arms against the shogun, df4osefethe Ashikaga Yoshiaki, he captured and deposed him, and StfkSga thus terminated that dynasty, which had taken its rise in the great Takauji. He then held the governing H0ev^nth^ power, rose to be naidaijin, but was never made power* shogun. ' From this time till the establishment of the Tokugawa dynasty in the person of Iyeyasti, there was no sei-i-tai-shdgun in Japan. With all Nobunaga's talents, he was never able ^ prowS completely to subdue all the great chieftains, but he dhist priest-broke the power of the Buddhist priesthood, favouring g^ftfanit the Christian religion as a counterpoise to vthe extra- tlrpoTse.11" vagant pretensions of the native monasteries^ Christianity had already been introduced into |^dof Japan, and the amount of its progress has been tianity-narrated in various works.* The country having been * I take the information respecting Christianity in this and subsequent chapters from an article in the Japan Weekly Mail of March 12, 1870, and thankfully acknowledge the assistance derived from it. See also Dickson's "Japan," from which much of that information is extracted. 60 HISTORY OF JAPAN. c^p- discovered by the Portuguese in 1542, it is recorded ^~^ " that Francisco Xavier landed, at Kagoshima in the island of Kiushiu in 1549, and being driven thence by the hostile behaviour of the chieftain or prince of Satsuma, he betook himself first to Yamaguchi in - Choshiu, and then to the Emperor's capital. The labours of his successors and disciples proved very successful, a large number of Japanese, especially in the island of Kiushiu, embraced the new religion, and even in the capital churches existed in 1564. The-disturbed state of the country, far from proving an obstacle to the spread of Christianity, appears to have been rather favourable to it; the common people, suffering under a long succession of civil wars and all the attendant miseries, eagerly welcomed a faith which promised the joys of paradise to the poor, and persecuted in this life. Many princes and nobles, too, invited the missionaries to their seaports and towns in order to attract the foreign ships and commerce. Add to this the favour of Nobunaga, and, under such a combination of circumstances, it is computed that in" 1581 about 150,000 Christians existed in Japan. Several princes in Kiushiu had openly adopted the new religion, and in the same year an embassy sent by them left for Europe, and its members were received by Philip IL of Spain, and Popes Gregory XIII. and Sixtus V. SfddhiBt1 The Buddhist monasteries had become exceedingly TevieT wealthy, and the number of their dependents were sufficiently numerous to permit them to take the field when their interests seemed to require it, and to assist the cause of one or other of the military .chieftains. i57i. r>e- Nobunaga was determined to put a stop to their arro- structicm of ° , x iobunanaby gance, and to destroy their power, and with this intent in 1571 he attacked the most important of them, HISTOKY OF .JAPAN. 61 called Hiyeizan, * said to contain as many as five c^fp* hundred temples, which he burnt, at the same time ' ^ putting to death all the priests. But Nobunaga was destined to a violent death, J^-In 1582 he was attacked by Akeehi Mitsuhide, one SS^7 of his former captains, in the temple of Honnoji in at^ato,6 Kioto. He was surprised, wounded in the right c£f^ts elbow, and then, running inside the temple, bade the women escape/ Then he set fire to the temple, and killed himself with his own sword, being at that time aged forty-nine. * Near Lake Biwa, in the province of Oroi, not far from Kioto. It was founded in the reign of the Emperor Temmn (672—690). 62 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. CHAPTER VII. Hideyoshi, b. 1536; d. 1598. Afterwards known as Taiko Sama.—Persecution of Christians.-War with Oorea. CFAP. VII. Hideyoshi. Born in 1536. His father was a peasant. Becomes a retainer of Nobunaga. He routs Mitsuhide. 1586. Is made kuambaku. When Nobunaga was killed, Hideyoshi was encamped opposite the army of the M6ri (Choshiu) in the province of Bitchiu, but he at once made peace with them, and returned to the province of Setsu. Kinoshita Hideyoshi was born in 1536, in the village of Nakamura, in the district of Aichi, in the province of Owari. His father was a peasant called Yasuke. After he became a retainer of Nobunaga he distinguished himself by his military talents. In 1575 he was created Ghikuzen no Kami, and he was allowed to change his family name to that of Hashiba. He afterwards received the name of Toyotomi from the Emperor. Hideyoshi soon succeeded in utterly routing Mitsuhide, who fled and soon after met his death. This exploit was the foundation of Hideyoshi's power, and he ultimately, in the year 1586, rose to the high office of kuambaku,* which had been reserved exclusively for members of the Fujiwara family. But, * For the explanation of this word see note to p. 17. He was never shogun. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 63 as was so generally the custom in Japan, he did not c^p-retain this office long, retiring in favour of his son in i^T" 1591. He then assumed, as was usual in such cases, favour? his son, and the title of taiko> and he has been generally known \l^feB and mentioned in history as Taiko Sama. He still Slower, continued to wield the executive power. Much information respecting Taiko Sama, and especially with regard to his treatment of the Jesuits, is to be found in the fourth chapter of Dr. Dickson's "Japan." Nobunaga had persecuted the Buddhists, the Jesuits were violent on the same side; and it can hardly be wondered that, seeing the proceedings of the latter, and L fearing that they would be the cause of much disturbance in the land,—for they were, in fact, as intolerant and greedy of power as the Buddhists,—Taiko Sama J^^pui-ordered their expulsion. The reason assigned was that jXi°tLtlie the Catholic priests preached a religion' containing doctrines hostile to Japanese law, and that they had even dared to destroy the sacred edifices erected in honour of Japanese deities. Still the edict was not executed, and though the ?hne0^dict taiko forbade any public divine service, and prohibited executed-the native princes from becoming Christians, he did not disturb the foreign priests, and the number of converts greatly increased. The- Jesuits themselves relate that they baptized more than 30,000 natives into the Christian faith between 1587 and 1590. In 1593 some Franciscan priests arrived from the 1593. Ar- x rival of Philippines, and made a great parade of their religion, p2fan wearing their priestly garments and baptizing in public. The consequence was that in 1596 Taiko 1596. Fresh t t m • • 1 edict Sama issued a new edict against Christians, and six j^p!*8* 0 7 Christians. Franciscan priests, three native Jesuits, and seventeen Japanese Christians, were crucified at Nagasaki. 64 HISTOBT OF JAPAN, chap. The only other incident which I will mention '----^^ during' the tenure of power by Taiko Sama is the Expedition expedition to Corea. It was' undertaken in 1594, ini594.a and was at first exceedingly successful. Most of the provinces of the eight circuits into which the country was divided were conquered, the King Eiyen fled, and, according to a native chronicle, the Japanese troops were on the point of invading China. But the Emperor of that country collected a great army, and assisted the Coreans. 1592. Death Taiko Sama died in 1598, and the army returned of Taiko . ; J ISn of *° JaP&n> without having gained any lasting advantage fromTo7rea. in Corea. HTST0EY OF JAPAN. 65 CHAPTER VIII. Iyeyasu, 6. 1542 ; d. 1610, Taiko Sama gives him tlie Kuanto, and he establishes himself at Yedov—Battle of Sekigahara.—Is made Shogun.—Subjugates the Chieftains.—His Sons. The third in the string of heroes who successively chap. held sway in Japan was Tokugawa Iyeyasu. He *—^^ Was borji at Okasaki, in the province of Mikawa, in lydyasd the year 1542. For a short time he seems to have been opposed in arms to the great Hideyoshi, but he was serving in 1590 under that great general, when Serves the latter destroyed the family of the Hojo of Oda- ™id^oshL wara, and took the town of that name, situated at the foot of the Hakone hills, some fifty miles from Yedo, It was at the time of this siege that the foundation of lyeyasu's power was laid, and the circumstance is thus related by Mr, Mitford in the Cornhill Magazine.* " One day during the siege, as Taiko Sama and *£]$ses his general Tokugawa Iyeyasu were standing on a Kuaht1! watch-tower which they had built on the heights above Odawara, Taiko Sama said, c I see before me the ?March, 1872. "Wanderings in Japan," p. 310. To be quite accurate, the taiko should be called the Kuambaku Tojo-tomi in 1590. VOL. I. F 66 HISTOBY OF JAPAN* CvmP' eight provinces of Ruanto. Before many days are " over I will take them and give them to thee/ " Iyeyasu thanked him, saying, 'That were indeed great luck/ "' Wilt thou live here at Odawara,' asked Taik6 Sama, ' as the men of Hojo have done ?' " ' Aye, my lord/ answered Iyeyasu, ' that will 1/ " ' That will not do/ said Taik6 Sama. ' I see on the map that there is a place called Yedo some twenty ri eastward from here. It is a fine position, and that is the place where thou shouldst live.7 " ' I shall with reverence obey your Lordship's instructions,' replied Iyeyasu." The latter was already married to the half-sister of the great general, and after Odawara was taken, he received the Kuanto from the hands of the taiko, and He estab- established himself at Yedo. He ultimately obtained ®eif^ still greater powTer than ever the taiko wielded. In 1600 he won the decisive battle of Sekiga- hara, entered Ozaka, and then, as is recorded, " the whole empire submitted to the glorious warrior." He •1603. is was made sei-i-tai-shdgitn in 1603, and the dynasty dynlstyHis founded by him (the Tokugawa) was not extinguished Xtm till 1868, after having existed for 265 years, and having furnished a line of fifteen shoguns. 1603. He Iyeyasu, having been sh6gun for only two years5 SJsSn0f retixecl in favour of his third son, Hidetada. But he WeSs still retained the executive power, ruled in his son's epowei. name^ wrote his famous laws, and devised schemes for entirely subjugating the different chieftains, and for making them subordinate to the ruler of Yedo. He had According to native chroniclers, he had nine sons. The eldest was put to death in 1579. The second, Hideyasti, was adopted by his grandfather, the HISTORY OF JAPAN. 67 taikd, and founded the family of Echizen. The Smf' seventh, eighth, and ninth respectively were invested * ^^ with the principalities of Owari, Kishiu, and Mito. These branches were called the Sanke, or * three The Sank^ families, and it was subsequently ordained that, on the failure of the direct line, the shdgun should be chosen *from among the cadets of one of these families. f2 68 HISTOBY OP JAPAN. CHAPTER IX. Persecution and Expulsion of Christians.—Iyeyasii's Death.—All Foreigners expelled except the Dutch, who are confined to Deshima.—Massacre of Native Christians at Shimabara. ci*|p. After the death of Taiko Sama, the persecutions ^^ against Christians ceased for a while, but, upon their showing opposition to Iyeyasu, he issued edicts of lei! ex expulsion against them, and in 1614 it is recorded pulsion of J- o ? christians. ^^ jq^ Jesnits, 22 priests of different orders, Dominicans, Franciscans, and Augustines, and more than , 200 native seminarists and catechists, were deported from Nagasaki, and sent to Macao in three Chinese junks. ofTative011 Meanwhile, especially in the island of Kiushiu, £hKiushiu the native Christians were being cruelly persecuted, where. " Conspicuous for their hatred of the adherents to the new religion were the renegade Michael, son of the Christian " Don Protase " of Arima, who had informed against his own father, and thus caused his decapitation, and Kato Kiyomasa,* the lord of Higo, who had much distinguished himself in the Corea* The firmness and courage of the native converts, and the zeal of the foreign priests, large numbers of whom # Called by the Jesuits Toronosqui. His name during boyhood was Toronosiike. HISTOBY OF JAPAN. 69 went over secretly to Japan, did much to render c:?£p* the persecution still more cruel. At first the ^^ authorities had contented themselves with deporting the native Christians to other provinces, mostly to the north ; but when they found that these measures remained without any effect, death by the sword or fire, or on the cross, was the punishment awarded to numbers. Even this proved ineffectual to frighten the survivors into submission, and orders were therefore issued no longer to execute them publicly, but to torture them to death in the prisons. Iyeyasu died in 1616, and in the following year all ofiy^u*11 j.1 X. "I 1 x i? ' *i.lo.l Cessation of the ports were closed to foreign commerce, with the intercourse exception of Hirado and Nagasaki; in 1621 Japanese foreigners, were forbidden to visit foreign countries, in 1624 all foreigners except the Dutch and English were banished from Japan, in 16-40 a Portuguese embassy was executed at Nagasaki, and in 1641 the Dutch were ^ Dutcn o 7 alone sent to the little island called Deshima? which adjoins ^Smi? the port of Nagasaki, and Japan remained closed to all other foreigners. The persecution of native Christians still continued, and the number of victims can scarcely be estimated. In 1637 thirty thousand are said to have been massa- Sve3°5000 cred at Shimabara, and after this period little is heard massacred of the sect, though many votaries still existed, espe- bara. cially in the district about Nagasaki. 70 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CHAPTER X. Successors of lyeyasii (except Iyemitsii) and their Ministers mostly faineants.-—Ordinances compelling Daimios and their families to live in Yedo.—Rise of Eendal System.—Daimios divided into Kokushiii, Tozama, and Fiidai.—They generally "became effete, as did their Karos.—Under them were the Hatamoto, the Gokenin, and the great hulk of Samurai.— Remainder of Population consisted of Farmers, Artisans, and Merchants.—Below them the Eta and Hinin. Ordinances for compulsory residence in Yedo of daimios and their families. Of the successors of Iyeyasu, with the exception of Iyemitsu, there is little to record. They were mostly faineants, as were their almost hereditary ministers, the rojiu. The latter were generally ruled by the secretaries, or oku go yuhitsu, so that the real power quite fell out of the hands of the men who nominally held it. Hidetada was succeeded by his son Iyemitsii, who was appointed sh6gun in 1623, and to him is attributed the very important step of compelling the daimios to reside at Yedo with their families for certain periods, thus bringing them still further into subjection. He appears to have been a man of ability and a wise ruler. To his son Iyetsuna, who became shdgun in 1650, or to those who exercised the power in his name, is attributed the further coercive ordinance which decreed that, ev6n when the HISTORY OP JAPAN. 71 without •or'& sanction. daimios were absent from Yedo, they were obliged CI^P-to leave their families behind them as hostages. The country had been, as already indicated, divided Sa? amongst a number of powerful chieftains, and a feudal Sll6gun>s system had been established by means of long heredi- land not tary occupation of lands by the same families. No ™nd grant, however, of land by the shogun was, in theory, f^^ valid without the sanction of the sovereign. A native writer * says :— " It is a painful fact that there are men who openly assert that the existing estates of the daimios are direct grants from, or are held on the condition of allegiance to, the shogunate. When these men talk sor they convict both the sh6gun and their own lords of treason. Is it asked how ? ' There is not a single foot of land that is not the territory of the sovereign ; ,not a single individual who is not the subject of the sovereign/ Further, this realm of the Mikado was never handed over by any sovereign to the shogunate. Therefore for any one (daimio) to consider his sovereign's territory as his own private property and then make a covenant of allegiance with a subject of the sovereign (the shogun) is flat treason. The truth of the matter is, that after Yoritomo had been invested by the sovereign with the office of punishing the national enemies, t his successors devoted their authority to their own private ends; then, after the time of Ashikaga, the office was held by his posterity in hereditary succession, and thus, in the course of a few generations, the fact of its being a private appropriation was lost sight of. * Fuku ko ron, or " Return to the Ancient Regime," JSTo. I. Translated by J. 0. Hall, of Her Majesty's Consular Service in. Japan. t As sei-i-tai-sJwgtm. 72 HISTORY OF JAPAN, CHAP X. "Now let us suppose that, through the agency of the shogunate, the existing estates were distributed in trust to the various daimios, and the subjects of the sovereign in like manner placed under their respective jurisdictions; how splendid does the work of the sh6gunate appear ! Whereas, if we suppose that the estates were granted by, or are held on the terms of allegiance to, the shogunate, we bring, as well upon our own lords as upon the sh6gunate itself, the foul stigma of treason. - "Furthermore, rank and office can be conferred upon subjects by the sovereign alone. When, therefore, we find that all the daimios are invested with titles of rank and office, can there remain the vestige of a doubt as to their being subjects of the sovereign ?" Whatever the theory, in point of fact the hohushiu daimios were in some cases successors of Yoritomo's shiugo, but most were merely successful adventurers who had snatched possession of the provinces they held, and had submitted to the superiority of a stronger and more able adventurer in the person of Iyeyasii? the founder of the Tokugawa dynasty. There does not seem to have been anything like an oath of allegiance, or "homage," on the part of any daimios to the shogun, but they were more like nominally tributary potentates, and the shogun himself was the most powerful daimio, who assumed the protectorship of the sovereign. foMdsMuthe Besides the eighteen principal or hohushiu daimios, the^were there were two classes of princes, the one existing andfudai. before lyeyasti's era, and called tozama, or " outside nobility," and the other composed of his own adherents, and called fudai, or " vassals of the dynasty." The great object of the shogun was natur- HXSTOBY OF JAPAN. 73 ally to lessen the power of all the daimios, and he €I^P-pursued this policy by means of fines and confiscations, by making the power of both tozama and fudai as equally balanced as possible, and by giving to e&ch of the fudai class lands m the neighbourhood of one of the tozama, in order that the former might be able to watch and spy over the latter. We have seen that the emperors soon became effete, The 1 .. _ daimios that the semi-divine family of Fujiwara followed suit, f^ae^y and contented themselves with empty titles, that the ^ffete* possessors of the title of shogun, nominally chiefs of the , executive power, generally became after two or three generations as effete as the emperors; and so it was in most cases with the daimios. If one general, by successful feats of arms, and by intellect and daring,,raised himself to an eminent position, it was at least doubtful whether his successors would retain that position; it was in the interest of those surrounding him to wean the^young prince from business, to hedge him round with outward show and seeming reverence, to drown what intellect he originally possessed in -the pleasures of the senses. Thus, as has been said of the later shoguns—and the shogun was but the principal daimio—" The shogun was a powerful hereditary feudal lord, who exhausted on his mansions the resources of luxury and splendour, who lived in unrestrained indulgence of voluptuous music and the pleasures of the palate, who floated along from day to day in careless unconcern, regardless of the misery of the people." % - This description is no doubt written by an enemy of the shogunate, and, perhaps, in exaggerated language, but there is much truth contained in it. * " Fuku ko ran," No. IIL 74 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. c^l p* Next to the prince and his family came the kard$> Next came or "elders." * Their office became hereditary, and. like the Jcaros, / J Sten^ffete the princes, they in many instances became effete. The clan The business of what we may call the clan would thus by lower fall into the hands of any clever man or set of men of officials. n ... the lower ranks, who, joining ability to daring and unserupulousness, kept the princes and the hards out of sight, but surrounded with empty dignity, and, commanding the opinion of the bulk of the samurai, or military class, wielded the real power themselves. They took care, however, to perform every act in the name of the faineants> their lords, and thus we hear of Satsuma, Choshiu, and other daimios, just as in the case of the emperors, accomplishing deeds and carrying out policies of which they were perhaps wholly ignorant, and which were in fact due to the skill and r^pfionTnd ability of the wire-pullers of inferior rank. That venahty. ^]iege }atter became corrupt, and, indeed, that the whole administration of the clans was corrupt, followed naturally enough, It is sufficient to live but a short time in Japan to be painfully convinced that jobbery and venality are still rife among the bureaucracy, and it is clear that a system of corruption and bribery has existed there for centuries, the pattern of which will be found amongst the tchinovnicks of Kussia. The Next to the daimio (great name), but, as shomid hatamotos. # vo m J (small name), inferior to them in rank, were the hatamotos (under the flag). These were, as the name implied, men who rallied round the standard of the shogun in war time. Each was the feudal superior of * The councillors of daimios were of two classes—the Jcaro, or " elder," an hereditary office held by cadets of the prince's family, and the yonin, or " man of business," who was selected on account of his merits. These " councillors " play no mean part in Japan.—Mitford's " Tales of Old Japan," vol. i., note to p. 7. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 75 a number of retainers varying from three to thirty. CIxP' After Iyeyasti left the province of Mikawa, and had risen to be shogun, the retainers whom he enrolled, and who received from him grants of land yielding revenue from 100 to 100,000 hoku of rice, were called hatamotos. In return for these lands, each hatamoto had to furnish a contingent of five soldiers for every thousand hoku he possessed; if he possessed less than one thousand koku, he contributed a quota in money. In many instances the hatamotos were branches of Theymied J ^ ^ ^ many rni- the oldest and most illustrious families of the empire, £Scesnt and during the whole period of the Tokugawa dynasty they enjoyed much consideration. It was by them and by the fudai daimios that almost every office of the executive government, whether civil or military, was filled. They were governors of cities, generals of armies, and subsequently the representatives of Japan in dealing with foreign powers. It was by hatamotos that the shogun's treaties with foreign powers were negotiated, and the chiefs of the mission sent to the European courts in 1866 were of the same class. The lowest estimate places their number at eighty thousand.* . The gokenin, though superior in numbers, were a The gou-much inferior body to the hatamoto, both in rank and income. Their income seldom reached a hundred hoku; but the broad line of demarcation between them and the hatamoto was not one of income, but of rank, and consisted in the possession by the latter of the privilege of the o me miye or admission to the presence of their lord, of looking at, and being * Vide Japan Weekly Mail for 1870, p. 408, for this information and the following respecting the gohenin, 76 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CHxP' looked at, by the shogun. This was denied to the gohenin. These two large bodies of the military class, forming the hereditary personal following of the shoguns, and numbering, with their families and dependents, certainly not less than half a million of souls, were - supported from generation to generation by the incomes assigned to them, in lands or in rice, out of the property of their lord. buiko?t£e Below the classes already mentioned were the turned great bulk of the samurai, the two-sworded military ioWeir retainers, who were supported by their lords, many receiving little more than their daily portion of rice. It can be well imagined what a bane to the nation these swashbucklers, as they have well been called, inevitably became. They were reckless, idle fellows, acknowledging no obeisance but to their lord, for whom they were ready at any moment to lay down their lives, either on the field of battle, in defending him from assassination, or (whether, at his order, or of their own free-will) by suicide, to save themselves and their families from what, according to the strict code of Japan, was deemed dishonour. And if they did not die thus, they would very probably lose their lives in some tavern brawl, or be the victims of a vendetta which they had brought on themselves by some-dreadful deed of blood. The classes below them they treated with the utmost contempt and brutality, and it Harm done requires no proof to show what permanent harm was to Japan by-1- x i i • i -t i uniSroaduc- ^one *° ™e coimtry by this large unproductive class, tive class. an(j j10W p00r japan remained in consequence. Out of the whole nutnber there were not, according to a native writer, more than twenty or thirty per cent, who were even effective soldiers; "the remaining seventy HIST0BY OF JAPAN. 77 or eighty per cent./' as he says, " merely turn up their CJE^R eyes gratefully and eat/- lfIS^ The rest of the population was divided into three 3." Mer- x J- # chants. great classes, in the following order:—farmers, arti- ifJX^nd6 sans, and merchants. There were also two sets of * e nnm' ~ people even below these in the social scale, the eta and the hinin. The eta were a class of outcasts, living in separate villages or settlements apart from the general population, with whom they were not allowed to intermarry. Their means of livelihood consisted in working skins, and converting them into leather. Working in prepared leather was not considered a pollution, but it was the handling of the raw hides which was deemed to be such. Some accounts state these people to be the descendants of foreign immigrants. The Japanese Encyclopedia, entitled Sansaidzuye, explains that the eta were originally etori, or attendants who killed animal's required for feeding the imperial falcons. The Emperor Temmu (672—686) issued an edict forbidding the use of animals as articles of food, a prohibition which probably was instigated by the Buddhist priests, whose creed especially forbade the taking of life. It was they who interdicted these unfortunate people from sharing fire and shelter with the rest of the population, and thus the eta came tb constitute a separate race. Some are said to have amassed much wealth. The hinin (or " not humans") were a class of paupers, who only came into existence after the commencement of the Tokugawa dynasty of shoguns. They were allowed to squat on waste lands, and to build huts for themselves. They gained their livelihood by begging. They were employed to carry away the dead bodies from the execution grounds. HIST0BY OF JAPAN. They were not allowed to intermarry with the ordinary people. It was, however, possible for a hinin, by industry, to raise himself from this degraded condition, although the Instances were rare.* Both these classes of people are now abolished. HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 79 CHAPTER XL Nikko, burial-place of Iyeyasii and Iyemitsu. The corpse of the great Iyeyasti was eventually carried chaf, to a lovely spot some eighty miles from Yedo, which, ^^^ when I left Japan, had been visited by few Europeans. Nikkf.afc Sir Harry and Lady Parkes, with a small party, were afsoTuSed the first to penetrate to Nikk6, in May, 1870 ; and in March, ^ 1872, Mr. Satow, Mr. Wirgman, an artist universally known by the foreign residents for his characteristic sketches of Japanese life and scenery, and I made an excursion to the resting-place of the founder of the Tokugawa dynasty and of Iyemitsu, his illustrious grandson. There are several roads to Nikko Different from the eastern capital.# That usually followed is by ^natb the the high road to the northern province of Oshiu (the thehmo8atidd Oshiukaido) for about sixty miles, and thence to usua1' the left for the remaining distance. The first portion of the journey is through flat and uninteresting country. After the river Tone is passed, the? road becomes broad, is lined with pine trees and crypto-meria, and the^e are generally walks on each side, * The information which follows respecting Mkko was obtained from Mr. Satow, and was published in the Japan Weekly Mail soon after our return. 80 HISTORY OF JAPAN. C3xiP' divided from the road by the trees. The village close vuiage of to the sacred grounds, called Hachiishi, is a Ions; Hacliiislii , . . ' ' . ^ Sacred0 the s^Tee^ on an incline; and near to its further end, on grounds. ^ ^g^ }xan gana and Jcatalcana) in Japan. Mr. Aston, interpreter to the Legation at Yedo, states that they had come into generalise by the end of the 9th century. f Grongen. This term is not the name of an individual god or human being, but is the general designation of native shinto gods, whom the Buddhist priests choose to consider as being temporary manifestations, as its etymology implies, of their own Indian deities. There are gongen all over Japan, who are not by any means duplicates of Iyeyasii, as some people seem to have supposed. It is quite true, however, that by Grongen Sama a Japanese means Iyeyasii, just as by the title Taiko with Sama suffixed he meant, as already seen, to designate Toyotomi Hide-yoshi.—E. S, VOL. I. G 82 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. C]xlP' month of 1617 the shrine and some of the surrounding lerT^The^ edifices were completed. On the fifteenth day of the Nikka t0 same month the corpse was removed from Kunozan, in the province of Suruga, where it had been temporarily interred, and the funeral procession started for Nikk6, where it arrived at two o'clock in the afternoon of the fourth day of the fourth month. On the eighth day the cofiin was deposited in the tomb, On the eleventh the Sh6gun Hidetada paid a visit to the shrine. Three days later the title of sho-ichi-i tosh6 * dai gongen was conferred on the deified hero by a decree of the Mikado, which was read by his Envoyt Ano Saisho, a kuge. On the seventeenth the gohei was presented at the chapel by the Imperial Envoy* and on the following day offerings were made at the shrine of the local Buddha Yakushi Niorai. During the twentieth, twenty-first, and'twenty-second days the Hokke sacred classic was read ten thousand times, by priests assembled for that purpose. Many kuges * Tosho, light of the east, in allusion to the seat of lye* yasu's glory having been in the eastern part of Japan, and to the benefits he conferred on his native land by putting an end to the civil wars which had distracted it during so many generations.—-E. S. f An envoy was subsequently sent by the Emperor to the shrine of Iyeyasii every year in the fifth month, The route he took was called the Reiheishi kaido. He was the regular (jei) envoy (shi) sent to offer up the gohei or shreds of paper attached to a long wand which are to be seen in every shinto shrine. The gohei offered at Mkko was always solidly gilt. It was customary for the Reiheishi, who was always a kuge of high rank, to leave Kioto by the Nakasendo, or road through the mountains, accompanied by his swarm of greedy hirelings, who assumed the garb of samurai for the occasion, and presumed upon the sacred character of their masters to extort money from the inhabit" ants of places along the route upon the most frivolous pretexts,—E, S, HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 83 and a priest belonging to the imperial family took °^.R part in the proceedings. In 1845 the title of dai gongen was changed by a decree of the Mikado to that of gu, or miya, meaning palace. The chief priest of Nikko from an early date was ™^cperie8t always a prince of the imperial blood, and he bore the fmperiai title of Einnoii no miya. He was also the chief priest aiso chief *> J *- priest of of T6yeizan or Uyeno in Yedo, where he usually Yedooin resided, and where several of the Tokugawa shdguns Nikko three are buried. He visited Nikko three times annually, annually, namely, at the new year, in the fourth, and in the ninth month. On issuing from the gate at the top of the long ^*cde°J street in Hachiishi, and proceeding a few steps, the redbridse> traveller perceives a red bridge spanning the rushing Daiyagawa, about forty yards wide between the stone walls which confine its course at this point. It is supported on stone piers of great solidity, fixed into the rocks between which the stream flows, and, though not claiming any particular architectural merit, is interesting from the fact that it was formerly closed to all passengers except the sh6guns, and pilgrims twice a year. It is called Mihashi, or the sacred bridge. The legend says that wThen the holy Shod6 Shonin first visited Nikk6, and arrived^ at this spot, he found the, rocks so steep and the flood which poured through them so full of whirlpools, that it seemed impossible to pass over. Appalled at the sights he fell on his knees and called fervently upon the gods and upon Buddha for aid, when, in answer to his prayer, there appeared on the opposite bank the indistinct figure of the god Shinsha Daio, holding two green and red snakes, which he cast over the abyss. a 2 84 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. c^xP'' In an instant a long bridge was seen to span the ~~"~ stream like a rainbow floating among the hills. The astonishment of the saint was so great, that he doubted the reality of the miracle, but became fully convinced of the practical intervention of the god when the bridge in another moment became covered with long grass. Feeling quite satisfied of the safety of the structure, he crossed it with his disciples, and, on turning round to look at it again, saw to his wonder that the god and the snakes had completely disappeared. The present bridge, which is eighty-four feet long and eighteen feet wide, was built in 1636, and has not required any repairs of importance since that time. At each end there are gates which are constantly kept closed. The shrine of the god Shinsha stands on the side of the road, opposite to the northern end. Forty yards or so lower down the stream is the " temporary bridge," successor to that which was constructed while the sacred bridge was in course of erection. Setheiption Crossing this, and turning to the left, the visitor lSnSd ascends through a belt of cryptomerias, and after mounting some broad steps, finds himself before the huge granite torii or arch, presented by a prince of Chifeuzen from his own quarries in 1618. Its total height is twenty-seven feet six inches, and the diameter of the columns is three and a half feet. - On the left is a five-storied wooden pagoda of graceful form, painted in harmonious colours. It rises to a height of one hundred and four feet, and the roofs measure eighteen feet on each side. This monument was the offering, in 1650, of the daimio of Obama in Wakasa, one of the chief supporters of the HIST0EY OF JAPAN. Tokugawa family. Round the lower story are placed the signs of the zodiac, carved in wood, and painted in a life-like manner. From the torii a pavement forty yards in length leads to the bottom of the steps crowned by the gate, in the niches on each side of which formerly stood two gigantic figures of the Nio, the Buddhist Gog and Magog. Since the shrine of lyeyasii has been purified by the exclusion of the Buddhist element, these figures have been removed to that of lyemitsu. In the niches on the inner side of the gate are two of those curious animals, the a/mainu, or heavenly dogs, gilt, in a sitting posturer The carving of tigera under the eaves is well worth attention. But, upon a first visit, the traveller will hurry on, and gaze upon tho court which opens to his view after passing the gate of the Nio. In this front court, raised high above the approach, and enclosed by a timber wall, painted bright red, are firstly three buildings which are so beautiful, that it seems a profanation to call them godowns ; but they are nothing more in reality. One is said to. contain the utensils used at the ceremonies performed in honour of lyeyasu/s memory, in a second are pictures and Buddhist Scriptures, and in the third are deposited furniture and other articles used by the hero during his lifetime. The buildings are arranged in a zigzag, and the third is remarkable for two extraordinary paintings of elephants on the end which is turned towards the gate. On the left of the gate is a sumptuous stable for the three sacred white horses, kept for the use of the god, whence the name jim-wie. The next building is a guard-room, and it does not call for special remark. A far more interesting object is the holy- 86 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. water cistern made of a solid piece of granite, and protected by a roof supported upon twenty square pillars of the same stone. It is so carefully adjusted on its bed, that the water conducted through a long series of pipes from the cascade called Somendaki behind the hill bubbles up and pours over each edge in exactly equal volumes, so that it seems to be a solid block of water rather than a piece of stone. The donor was Nabeshima Shinano no Kami, Prince of Hizen, who presented it in 1618. The highly decorated building beyond the On chodzu-ya, as it is called, is a depository for a complete collection of Buddhist Scriptures. We now ascend a flight of steps into another court, along the front of which runs a stone balustrade. Just inside are two stone lions in the act of leaping down, called tobikomi no shishi, presented by lyemitsu. On the right stand a bell tower of marvellous workmanship and ornamentation, a bronze candelabra presented by the King of Liukiu, and a bell given by the King of Corea, called the moth-eaten bell, because of its possessing an aperture in the top, just under the ring by which it is suspended. On the left stand a bronze lantern from Corea, a candelabra from Holland, a drum tower, no unworthy companion to the bell tower opposite, and behind these again a shrine to the Buddha called Yakushi Niorai. The Corean lantern is a really fine and most solid piece of workmanship, but its style and construction indicate that the credit of its manufacture is not due to artisans of that country. We should be inclined to say that all three of these gifts came from Europe through Dutch hands, and the form of some bracket candlesticks which are fixed upon the interior wall of HIST0BY OF JAPAN. the court, right and left of the steps, suggests that the whole set may have been the spoil of $ome Eoman Catholic church in the Netherlands. No Corean or Liukiuan ever made a candlestick with a hollow socket for the candle. Nothing else remains to be observed " in this court, except two iron standard lanterns on the right of the steps, presented by Date Masamune, Prince* of Sendai, a prominent adherent of Iyeyasu, and the same number on the left given by the Prince of Satsuma. The whole number of such lanterns contributed by various daimios amounts to* one hundred and eighteen. We next ascend a flight of steps to the platform on which stands the Yomei Gate. This gate is a marvel of workmanship. The keyaki* columns which support it are painted white, as well as th& interior of the side niches, which are lined with arabesques of graceful design founded upon the botan or-mountain-flower. The capitals of the columns are formed by the heads of the fabulous animal called kirin. Above the architrave projects a balcony, which runs all round the structure^ the railing being carried by dragons' heads, with two white dragons fighting in the central space. Underneath is a row of groups of children playing, and other subjects, nine on each face. Below again are a curious network of beams, and seven groups of Chinese sages. The roof is supported by gilt dragons' heads with gaping crimson throats, and from the top a gilt demon looks down upon the spectator. Eight and left extends a long piazza, the outer walls of which are adorned with magnificent carvings of trees, # Name of a tree. 88 HISTORY OF JAPAN, birds, and flowers, coloured after nature, fifteen compartments on the right and six on the left. Passing through the gate, we enter a second court enclosed on three sides by the interior of the above-mentioned piazza, in which the priests, used to chant their orisons when assembled for the two great annual festivals, and on the fourth by a lofty stone wall built against the face of the hill. Of two buildings on the right, one contains a stage for the performance of the dances called kagura, while in the other, called the goma d6, stood an altar for burning the fragrant cedar. On the left is the building in which the sacred cars of the three original Gongen of Nikko were placed during the celebration of festivals. In the midst stands the enclosure called tamagaki, which contains the haiden or chapel. It forms a square of which one side is fifty yards long, and is constructed of gilt trellis with borders of mosaic painting running along it, above and below. Underneath are carvings of birds, in groups about eight inches high and six feet long, with backgrounds of grass, carved and gilt. The gate called Karamon, through which this enclosure is entered, is composed of Chinese woods, inlaid with great skill and care. The chapel is not open to the Japanese public, who are not admitted further than the bottom of the front steps surmounted by the usual mirror. Foreigners would probably have little difficulty in gaining access to it. The front hall is a large matted room, forty-two feet long by twenty-seven from back to front, with two antechambers, one on each side. That to the right was intended for the use of the shogun, and contains, besides pictures of kirin on a gold ground, four carved oaken panels eight feet high by six wide. The sub- BISTORT OF JAPAK. 89 jects are the phoenix, variously treated, and appear xi. * at first to be in low relief, but on closer examination it will be discovered that the figures are formed of various woods glued on to the surface of the *panel, a suspicion of which fact is also naturally excited by a quantity of false brass-headed nails, which do not add to the beauty of the work. The same number of panels, the subject of which are hawks, very spiritedly executed, adorn the opposite antechamber, called " the waiting-room of his Holiness the Abbot.", The gold gohei in the centre of the front chapel is the only ornament left, the Buddhist furniture of bells, gongs, books of prayers, etcetera, having been removed. Two wide steps at the back lead down into that part of the chapel called the stone chamber, from the circumstance that it is paved with that material. The ceiling is divided into square panels, painted with gold dragons on a dark blue ground. Beyond are some gilded doors, leading into the honden or " principal chapel, " containing four apartments to which access is not obtainable. In the first stood formerly the gohei, in the last probably the ihai, a tablet inscribed with the name of Tosho gti.' To reach the tomb it is necessary to issue again from the karamon, and passing between the goma do and kagura do, to gain a door in the eastern wall of the piazza. From this a mossgrown stone gallery and several steep flights of about 200 steps altogether conduct to the tomb on the hill behind. After passing through, the torii at the top of the last flight, we come to another and smaller chapel, only used while the other just visited was undergoing repairs. The tomb is of bronze, and has exactly the shape The tomb. 9G HISTORY OF JAPAN. CHAP. xi.' of those in the same material of the later sh6guns at its simpii- Shiba, in Yedo. There is too ,a similar simplicity at the resting-place, a similar and striking cootrast to the gorgeousness of the ornamentation and colouring in the courts through which we have passed. The approach by the mossgrown gallery, and the silence and desolation of the spot, are well calculated to impress the stranger, and we lingered long before the simple urn. In front of it stands a low stone table decorated with an immense bronze stork, bearing a brass candle in its mouth, an incense burner of the same material, and a vase with artificial lotus flowers and leaves in brass. The whole is surrounded by a stone wall surmounted with a balustrade, and pierced in front for an iron gate. Before this sit two stone amainu on guard. ofhiy^mitseu. Passing over the description of various objects, for fear of wearying the reader, we come to the gate leading to the shrine of Iyemitsti. On approaching it the gigantic Ni6, already mentioned as being the Buddhist Gog and Magog, are seen in niches on each side. In the niches on the inner side of the gate stand the Ni6 which once adorned the gate of Iyeyasii's shrine. A flight of steps leads up to the gate called Nitenmon. The niches on the outside contain a green wooden statue on the right and a red one on the left. One of the niches on the inside is occupied by the god of wind, painted green, who carries on his back a long sack tied at each end, with the ends brought over his shoulders. He has only two toes on each foot, and a thumb and three fingers on each hand. His companion, the god of thunder, is painted red, and holds a thunderbolt in his right hand. He has the same number of toes as the god of wind, and one finger less on each hand. Three more flights of steps conduct to HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 91 the Yashamon, the niches of which contain the four CExlP Terind, Buddhist gods, who proteqt the four quarters ^ of the compass. Turning round just inside the gate, the visitor has a beautiful view-of foliage before him. Directly opposite is the Hotoke Iwa, on which stands Iyeyasti's shrine, completely covered up to the summit with trees of various tints, and of which only a narrow piece can be seen between the avenue of cryptomerias which line the last flight of steps ascended. This vignette is the gem of Nikkd, and would be worth the trouble of a four days' journey from Yedo through the mud flats, even if the shrines possessed no other attractions. The chapel is less magnificent than that of Iyeyasti, and is crowded with the insignia of Buddhism, such as may be seen at Shiba or Uyeno in Yedo. The tomb is reached by flights of steps up the side of the hill on the right of the chapel. It is of bronze, and in the same style as that of Iyeyasti, only of a darker colour, which suggests that it is less cared for. The gates in front are of bronze, with large Sanscrit characters in shining brass all over them. At this shrine the visitor will observe that he is received by a shaven-pated timid priest, with a face that tells of much prayer find fasting, dressed in ^ a scarlet robe, while at that of Iyeyasti he was waited upon by lay-liien whose countenances had a robust healthy look, who were dressed in brocade garments such as the attendants of the Mikado wear, and who had black lacquered paper hats of diminutive size balanced on the top of their heads. There is certainly a great charm about Nikk6, and charm of there is variety for every one's tastes. If the traveller is learned in the old history and mythology of Japan, he can spend days in examining the temples, shrines, 92 HISTORY OF JAPAN. 01xiP' and other objects of interest in the sacred grounds -—^ < a|rea(jy (Jescribed. If he prefers nature, he can be equally interested in exploring the neighbourhood, and whichever way his steps lead him he will find points of attraction. From any one of the eminences within a walk he will, on a clear day, obtain a fine view of the plain which he has lately traversed> stretching away beyond the town of Utsunomiya and the ' Oshiukaido, as far as the peaks of Tsukuba in Mito. Then, turning his face round, he will see, in bold contrast, the snowy range which limits the horizon on the north with a seemingly impenetrable wall. Add to this a delicious atmosphere, bracing and health-giving, and no more is needed to stamp this spot as one of the pleasantest resting-places in Japan. Excursion One of the principal excursions, it may be men- cniuzenji. tioned, is to the lake of Chiuzenji, and will occupy a day. It is possible for a stout pedestrian to make the ascent of Nantaizan, the most famous of the range, and return to Nikko the same day, as was accomplished by Sir Harry Parkes and some of his party, but this must at least be in the summer, and would probably be found too fatiguing for most travellers. The easier plan would be to sleep at the temple on the lake, the only building now inhabited and in good order, and then ascend Nantaizan the following day. The lake is charmingly situated, reminding one of many a scene in Scotland. On its shore is a singular deserted village, formerly tenanted by hosts of pilgrims in the seventh month of every year. The houses are in rows, containing for the most part but two rooms, one above and one below, all in the last stage of disorder and ruin. The temple, which is the original shrine of the three Gongen of Nikk6, contains HISTOBY OF JAPAN. 93 the single inhabitant of this solitary place. Twelve c^iP' men take it in turn to spend five days there, coming from Mkko or its neighbourhood, and bringing their provisions. Since 1868 the number of pilgrims has greatly decreased. The principal peaks of the horse-shoe range of ^JgJ1 snowy mountains which surround Nikko are Nantai> Nikk6zan-Great and Little Manago, Nioho and Akanagi. Of, these Nantaizan is the highest and the most famous. The following description of its ascent in May, 1870, ^et^z°4 by several of Sir Harry Parkes's party, is taken from parl^nd the Japan Weekly Mail of the 4th of June in that year. It is from the pen of Mr. J. C. Hall, of Her Majesty's Consular Service in Japan. " Starting before sunrise, they retrod the path of the previous day as far as Chiuzenji, and found that seven miles of steep, rugged mountain track still lay before them. The path, if such it might be called, seemed to be specially designed for the few pilgrims who are hardy enough to attempt it, and thev deep drifts of snow which covered the upper slopes ipade the last advance particularly toilsome. The view from the summit was superb. . About 3000 feet below lay the Chiuzenji lake, while round about, in imposing array, rose the other summits of the chain. From several of the more distant of the latter eruptions of smoke and vapour were seen, accompanied by loud reverberating detonations — a proof scarcely needed of the volcanic character of the entire region. A small Miya, or shinto shrine, had been erected on the top of Nantai, and on the scarp of rock beside it lay offerings of an unusual sort. These were none other than rusty sword-blades, to the number of above a hundred, which had been from time to time 94 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CIxiP' deposited there by unquiet spirits, who, having committed some deed of violence, had in their remorse performed the pilgrimage, and here, in the sight of Heaven, put away from them the instruments .of their crime. The travellers accomplished the descent and the return to the palace (Hombd at Nikk6) before night closed in upon them." other t Other excursions are to the picturesquely situated excursions* # ¦*¦ . . waterfall called Urami ga taki, which can be visited by a short deviation from the road in going to or returning from Chiuzenji; to the spot called Go shitsu in, whence the Mikado's representative used to enjoy the view of the distant plain, and on a level space fireworks were exhibited on certain occasions. From there over undulating country to the north, till a stone is reached whence there is a picturesque view of the waterfall Kiri fori (falling mist) in a wild ravine. The nearest eminence from which a really good view can be obtained is Tozama, a hill rising up somewhat in the form of a huge animal couchant. It is about an hour's walk, the last bit of the ascent being very steep, but the toil is amply repaid, choice of There is a choice of roads in returning from Nikkd. Yedo1110 What may be called the most natural route leads over a high pass by Ashinoo and Hanawa to the Naka-sendo. There are also several roads which conduct the traveller among the mountains, and, indeed, he cannot go far wrong whichever route he adopts. If he is a stout pedestrian, and has little luggage, he can make his way by mountain paths in a tolerably straight course by Kobugahara and Kuma no Osaku to Idzuru, where there is a famous temple to the god Kuanon, at the mouth of a ravine, in which he will find some curious limestone caverns. The route HXST0BY OF JAPAN. 95 we took passes by the same ¦ more circuitous. It abounds scenery. From Idzuru the at Kdnosii, some twenty-six capital. places, and is easier, but CJxj1 in wild and picturesque ^"""^ Nakasendo is reached miles from the eastern 96 HISTOBY OP JAPAN. CHAPTER XII. Daimios9 Revenue.—Value of the Kokii.—Land Tax.—Different Classes of Land. CxnP' IT ^as ^een mentioned that the samurai, being "~" ^ ' retainers of daimios, were supported by their lords, Daimios' and they received from them their daily portion of rice. revenue J J x Imountof The revenue of the territory of a clan was the amount ducedJ0" of rice which it was supposed to produce, and is cOTrectiy more correctly called "assessment." If the assessment?"8'* ment was exact, the revenue of the clan, consisting of the daimio and his retainers, would generally be about one-half of the whole produce, but in many cases the nominal assessment was considerably below the real figure, and the clan may have received, say, two-thirds of such assessment as revenue. This, then, had to be divided between the daimio and his retainers, many of whom had large revenues. In the province of Satsuma, there were great retainers with lands assessed at as much as 15,000 koku of ric&, which amounts were included in the general assessment, value of The koku of rice contains, according to Dr. Dickson, the koku of ' & ' 5.13 bushels. Its value must naturally differ in different years, and after the admission of foreigners the price of rice increased considerably. With some rice. HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 97 difficulty I obtained from the books of the toiya, or cIftP' brokers through whom the city of Yedo is supplied ^^ with rice, a statement of the average price during ten years ending 1869; and it is here appended. k The right-hand column represents the average purchasing power of a rid during the year. The amount is given in go, of which there are 10 in a Join, and 1000 in a hohu. 1859............... 480 go 1865 ............... 200 go 1860 ............... 430 „ 1866 ............. 125 „ 1861.............. 330 „ 1867 .............. 110 „ 1862 ............. 425 „ 1868 ............... 160 „ 1863 ............... 300 „ 1869 ............... 107 „ 1864 ............... 455 „ From this it will be seen that the average price of one hohu of rice in 1859 was little more than two rid, whereas in 1869 it was about 9J rid. The rid also naturally differs in value at different periods. If we consider it as equivalent to the Mexican dollar, and take the value of the latter coin at 4s. 6d., it follows that the average price of the hohu, in 1859, was a little over nine shillings, and in 1869 about two guineas. Mr. Mitford* states that the hohu at its cheapest is worth more than a .pound sterling, and sometimes almost three times as much. Till lately it was the measure of revenue, and officials were paid in it. The taxes were collected in rice instead of in money. The land tax was considerable. Much information ^eX™ on this subject is contained in an article in the Japan tal.land Mail of July 8, 1873, from which the following extracts are taken. According to the system of land taxation which has L«Fdis ° «/ principally prevailed for many centuries, the tan of 300 tsubos pSdytna0 (about \ acre) is the unit of measure. Land is pvin- ara »**" Tales of Old Japan," vol. i. p. 96. YOL. I. H 98 BJSTOBY OF JAPAN. Four classes of each kind. Last general survey about two cxiiP' cipally of two kinds,, paddy land or ta, and arable land or hata. The tax on each tan is theoretically paid in kind, at a fixed rate in proportion to the productive capacity of the soil, but there are certain exceptions to this rule. There exist four classes of each kind of land—good, medium/inferior, and bad. In order to determine the class to which any particular plot of ground should belong, various things have to be taken into consideration, but the degree of natural fertility is, no doubt, the chief element of calculation in the case of arable land. In classing paddy land, the facilities for irrigating it are by far the most important consideration. A general survey seems to have been made about two centuries and a half ago, at least in that portion of and a half the country under the immediate jurisdiction of the ago. y ' . Tokugawa shoguns, and all surveys made since that time, up to the abolition of the shogunate, have been merely partial. That general survey determined the class to which every plot of land then under cultivation belonged, and consequently the amount of tax leviable upon each. It is evident that the actual value of the land in effecting sales would be in proportion to the profits which remained to the holders after paying their taxes, that is to say, it would not necessarily depend upon the classification and amount of tax. The relation between the assessed produce and the tax, which in the shogun's territories was ten to four,* being the same for every class of ground, the prices of the four classes of land would at first be graduated, from the good land, which Alteration would sell highest, down to the bad, which would in value of ° -' confusion fetch the lowest price. In the course of time various in the tax. derations in the value of lands took place. Some- HISTORY OF JAPAN. times part of a field was carried away by a flood, and thus the productive area was diminished; but the classification and the tax remained unaltered, so that the selling value diminished in a double ratio. . Or the course of the stream which supplied certain fields might change, so that the paddy lands rated as " good " and subjected to high taxation became less fertile, while those which were rated as inferior and were liable to a low amount of tax produced more grain than formerly. This would naturally tend to lower the selling value in the one case, and raise it in the other, so that the proportion of tax to produce was no longer uniform. In some cases a farmer, in parting with a portion of fris land, would undertake to pay on the portion which he retained the tax due on the whole, so that a class of untaxed lands came into existence. Sometimes he thus undertook to pay the tax on the whole of a lot which no longer stood in his name, and though he might be willing to bear the burden himself, his descendants grumbled at it, and frequently sought to get rid of it by complaining that they paid for lands which did not exist. There were also the paddy lands brought under cultivation since the latest survey, called shinden, on many of which no tax was paid at all. To add to the confusion, the rates on arable land were much lower in the Kuanto. The paddy land in the daimios' territories was gradually rated at a much higher production than in those over which the sh6gun had jurisdiction, and the proportion of tax to produce, always much greater in the former than in the latter, was often different in contiguous villages. As for arable land, the tax seems to have varied according to the value of the crops raised, such as cotton, tea, corn, beans, tobacco, &c. The whole question of land tax is in fact so com- h2 100 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. c xnP* plicated, that one author, writing on the system which prevailed in the shogun's dominions, has not been able to discuss it in less than twenty'volumes. value of It may further be mentioned that rice land is con- paddy and J arable land. si(jere(j about five times as valuable as "arable land. It is estimated that an investment in paddy land brings a return of about eight per cent, per annum to the cultivator. The rent and value of hill or forest land, which is not ploughed or sown, are immensely less than in the case of what is arable. The owners of the land can build as they like, without applying to the lord for his permission, so long as the consent of the other villagers is obtained, but objection is usually made to building on fields, because the allotments are so small that a house erected on one of them would keep the sun from the crop in the next. The houses houses. * of the peasants are therefore usually erected on what The tax . ... upon them, is called yashikichi, or building land, which pays a slightly higher tax than arable. The peasants'naturally hold to their land, and they look upon it as their absolute property, which no superior lord can touch. Ask a countryman, as has been done in my presence, whether the government could not resume possession of the land at will, and he will reply with indignation that it cannot; he will argue that the upper classes are dependent on the lower, not the lower on the upper, and that if the peasants did not cultivate the land the upper classes would simply starve. In other matters the peasants are in general easily governed ; in the matter of money the government can take such liberties with them as could not be dreamt of in Europe. They can, and do, flood the whole country with paper money, without producing any distrust among the people, but they could not venture with impunity to touch the land. HISTOBY OF JAPAN. 101 BOOK II. CHAPTER I. Peace.—State of things Contrasted with the Present. Peace was now restored in Japan, and that peace chap. endured almost uninterruptedly till 1868. The state ^Z ' of things during this period, and the contrast between it and that of the present day, is so well put in the able article from Die Gegenwart already once quoted, that I cannot refrain from inserting an extract from it here, although it should rather in some respects come later in this history. But the extract will, I believe, aid the reader in the general comprehension of the subject. This article is written, if I mistake not, by one who has long resided in Japan, and has devoted much time to studying that peculiar country. The writer says :— " At last, after centuries of bloody civil wars, the Jxtra5* 7 J > from Die yearned-for period of peace was to come. The arms G^enwart-fall from exhausted hands, and under the strong rule of the first shoguns of the Tokugawa family commerce and agriculture began to revive. From this time dates the proportionate prosperity of the country population HIST0KY OF JAPAN. and of the tradesmen. Tt is true that the first heavy taxes took off forty to fifty, and often even more, per cent, from the produce of their fields, and they were frequently obliged to help to fill the 'empty purse of the State by voluntary forced loans, but there always remained sufficient for moderate pretensions, and if the oppressions of the local authorities ever became too severe, and the population murmured too loudly, the government stepped in, and thus, at a cheap rate, acquired for itself the glory of having cared for the well-being of the common people. For pleasure and recreation the light-heartedness of the people and the many holidays of the shinto worship and of Buddhism sufficed; on such days men, women, and children were to be seen carrying flowers or green branches, wending their way to the temples and tea-houses, and there enjoying themselves with food and drink, and fine views and plays; and even if they seldom returned home sober in the evening, the intoxication was a pleasant and peaceful one, and neither the people of the place nor strangers had to suffer from it. The advent of foreigners has made little change in these matters. It is true that the price of all the necessaries of life have risen four or five fold, not however because the quantity has diminished, but because intercourse with foreigners, who buy Japanese products at prices hitherto undreamt of and take them out of the country, has brought much,ready money into it: thus the persons engaged in the silk, tea, and rice trade earn much more than formerly, the wages of day labourers and servants have risen, and on the whole the common people are not averse to intercourse with foreigners. They have been less content with the change in political circumstances. The husbandman was depen- HISTORY OF JAPAN. dent on his legitimate prince, for whose wants he willingly paid high taxes ; for most of this money was spent at home, and the taxpayer could rejoice in the brilliancy and splendour, to the maintenance of. which he must contribute. The officials of the princes were people established on the land, whose offices were inherited from father to son, and who were bound to the farmers and peasants by many ties of friendship and blood ; notwithstanding some severity, the collection of the taxes and the other business of the administration were carried on with a certain good nature, and although the official did consider his own advantage, still it was only within certain limits. Now all this is changed. The old princes and officials have been deposed, and a portion of the latter in particular have been provided with insufficient pensions ; they live in the midst of the old population, who are devoted to them, and they naturally allow no opportunity to pass for praising the past and decrying the present. Their places have been filled up by government officials taken from other provinces, men who are attached by no bond of sympathy to the people about whose weal or woe they have to decide; instead of a lessening of the taxes which, like all governments born of a revolution, that of the Mikado too had inscribed on its banners, an increase has of course resulted; the new official, whose only care is to display his zeal and usefulness to the remote central government, goes to work in collecting the taxes with reckless severity, and as he presumptively will only remain a short time in his post—revolutions devour their own children, and have continually more personal claims to satisfy than hereditary rulers—lie is obliged to make so much the more haste, to look after his own profit as well. 104 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. "The caste of nobles/* especially those in the lower grades, have fared still worse than the country people in the changes of the last fifteen years. The man who, whilst the civil war lasted, had not acquired property and land, had to depend for his maintenance on the good will of the last master he had served, and many of these masters must have found it hard to satisfy the numerous claims, and to stop the hungry mouths of faithful vassals. Many of them received small offices and posts, to which land and other sources of income were attached, but the great majority were obliged to be taken over as the personal followers of the lord into the new condition of life. It is evident that in this way pay and fare would not be very considerable. Eice for one to four persons, and five to ten thalers in money was all such a soldier received ; for this he had to keep watch at the castle, walk the streets in his lord's suite, and several times a year, on particular occasions, show himself in a silk dress of ceremony ; the rest of the time he had at his own disposal, and as the honour of his class forbade him to engage in any business or handiwork, nothing else was left to him but to idle about in tea-houses and brothels, and to become a useless, if not a dangerous, member of society. In this way the most capable and the most violent among the nobility were ruined ; in them the traditions of the old time still lived ; they attempted by a dissolute life to deaden the feeling of uselessness which would often creep over them, and if debts or the commission of a crime compelled them to turn their backs on their own homes, they roamed about as masterless men, or rdnins.f Many improved * By " nobles " the writermeans the samurai or military class, f Wave-man. As has been often explained in previous publi- HIST0BY OF JAPAN. their hard fate, and attempted as shop-keepers and schoolmasters to earn their livelihood honourably, but the majority led a wild life in one of the great cities, Yedo, Ozaka, or Kidto ; they were the willing instruments of every conspiracy, whether the object was revolution or assassination, and their lot might be even considered enviable, if they ended their life in an honourable fight or in a tavern broil, and not on the rack or by the sword of the executioner. "It fared better with the nobleman, who could conform himself to the condition which peace had created ; he could at least exist. People were sometimes to be found sufficiently simple to purchase his worthless intercession by a present, and if he was fortunate enough to catch some peasant or citizen overstepping the law, or to assist him in doing so, matters went right with him for some time. Into this contemplative life, the opening of the land to commerce with foreigners fell like a thunderclap/' cations, a ronin was a two-sworded man belonging to no clan, or a man who had renounced his clan for some particular purpose. I have written ronins^ daimios, &c, for' the sake of clearness, although it is somewhat of a~ barbarism to make the plural of a Japanese word with an English suffix. 106 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CHAPTER II. 1853—1854 Everything was ripe for a Revolution.—Arrival at ITraga of U. S. Squadron under Commodore Perry, with a Letter from the President to conclude a Treaty.—Alarm of the Japanese. —They agree to temporize.—The Envoy leaves, promising to return the next Spring.—Death of the Shogun Iyeyoshi.—¦ Succeeded by his son Iyesada.—-Return of Commodore Perry. —Arguments for and against admission of Foreigners.— Signature of Treaty.—Admiral Stirling's Convention. c1*ap. During the long period of peace which thus succeeded J^^r" the establishment of the Tokugawa dynasty of shoguns, igainsTtbe the intrigues against it on the part of jealous and am-shoguns. bitious daimios (and such there doubtless were from time to time, especially in connection with the Court at Kioto) had so far failed, and the shogun of the day, or his officials, virtually ruled the empire from Yedo. foS^era -^ut ^e a(lvent °f foreigners changed the com- plexion of affairs, and gave an additional impetus to the machinations of the daimios who chafed under the usurpation of* the greatest among them, and of those members of the Court party who were their allies. Indeed, when the foreigner appeared on the scene, everything was already ripe for a revolution in the old style, and for the substitution of a fresh HISTORY OF JAPAN. 107 dynasty for the worn-out Tokugawa dynasty. And it CUuF' is now quite evident that the imperfect government of the shogun was not adapted to the new order of things which succeeded the signing of treaties with foreign nations. It is essential for the reader to understand SeSs that, from the moment those treaties came into force, wowtotne shogunate. the fall of the shogunate became a mere question of time, and that nothing could have saved it. As far as the establishment of commercial and friendly relations of a permanent nature with Europe and the United States was concerned, the sooner it was abolished the better. It was not the supreme power, and yet in its dealings with other powers and their representatives it pretended to be so. Hence, as will be seen, perpetual subterfuges and a daily resort to small tricks for the purpose of keeping up the delusion, and of preventing foreigners from becoming aware of the important fact (which, however, could not long be concealed) that he, to whom the treaties and the diplomatic agents had accorded the title of " Majesty/' had no right to be so styled, and was not the Emperor of Japan. Although this fact is now patent to every one, flfce shogun many foreigners clung with curious obstinacy, even up no^en" to a late date, to the false idea that the " Tycoon " was swSSgi. the temporal sovereign of the country, and that he would soon " return to power/' as they were wont to express what they would have found difficult to explain or define. We now come to the first years of foreign intercourse. And in considering them we shall derive much assistance from the Blue Books presented to Parliament, and from some native'productions, especially one called Genji yume monogatari (the story of 108 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. °^£p' the dream of Genji),* which gives a narration of v"~-"~^ ' various occurrences from 1850 to 1864, and attributes the origin of the fight in Kioto, which occurred in the latter year, to the circumstance of the arrival of foreigners in Japan after the long period of non-intercourse. haUdCiite?ne ^e different attempts of foreigners of various japaSn.witl1 nations to break through the isolation in which Japan had persisted since the expulsion of the Christians are recorded in the last chapters of Hildreth's " Japan as it Was and Is."f None but Dutch were allowed a footing in the country, and they were still confined to the sthate?nited small island of Deshima, off Nagasaki. The government under of the United States, however, determined to make Commodore . Perry. one more attempt to establish intercourse with the Japanese, and as the humouring policy of the naval officers who had previously visited the coast had not proved successful, it was decided to despatch an envoy with a naval force sufficient to ensure him a respectful hearing. Of this expedition Commodore Matthew G-. Perry was selected as head, and he finally set sail towards the end of 1852, furnished with a letter from President Fillmore to the Emperor of Japan, and with §2d£si£fd instructions to conclude a treaty. The objects of the treaty. treaty were declared in a letter dated November 2, 1852, from the State Department to the Secretary of the Navy, as follows:—J " 1. To effect some permanent arrangement for the protection of American seamen and property * Translated by Ernest SatoTf, and published in the columns of the Japan Mail. f By Richard Hildreth. Boston: Phillips, Sampson, & Co.; rTew York : J. 0. Darby, 1855. J Hildreth's " Japan as it Was and Is," p. 508. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 109 wrecked on those islands, or driven into their ports CBu*m by stress of weather. * ^^ " 2. The permission to American vessels to enter one or more of their ports, in order to obtain supplies of provisions, water, fuel, &c. ; or, in case of disasters, to refit so as to enable them to prosecute their voyage. It is very desirable to have permission to establish a depot for coal, if not on one of the principal islands, at least on some small uninhabited one, of which it is said there are several in their vicinity. " 3. The permission to our vessels to enter one or more of their ports for the purpose of disposing of their cargoes by sale or barter." Commodore Perry proceeded by way pf Madeira ^g^aIn and the Cape of Good Hope to Hong Kong and S'S' Shanghai, and ultimately in July, 1853, arrived off Ss° Uraga, at the entrance of the passage leading to Yokohama and Yedo. His squadron consisted of the steam frigates " Susquehanna" and "Mississippi," and the sloops of war "Plymouth" and " Saratoga." The further account of his narrative, as taken from the official documents printed by order of the United States Senate, will be found in Mr. Hildreth/s book. I will here follow the Genji yume monogatari. It was in the summer of 1853 that, as the author f000™* y from the states, an individual named Perry, who called himself mmogZA the envoy of the United "'States of America, suddenly arrived at Uraga in the province of Sagami with four ships of war, declaring that he brought a letter from his country to Japan, and that he wished to deliver it to the sovereign. The governor of the place, Toda Idzu Alarm of no kami, much alarmed by this extraordinary event, nor. hastened to the spot to inform himself of its meaning. The envoy stated, in reply to questions, that he de- HISTOKY OF JAPAN. chap. gjre(j to see a chief minister, in order to explain the iST""" object of his visit, and to hand over to him the letter with which he was charged. ' The governor then despatched a messenger on horseback with all haste to carry this information to the castle of Yedo, where a confusion great scene of confusion ensued on his arrival. Fresh at Yedo. o messengers followed, and the Shogun lyeyoshi, on receiving them, was exceedingly troubled, and summoned all the officials to a council. At first the affair seemed so sudden and so formidable, that they were too alarmed to open their mouths, but in the end orders were issued to the great clans to keep strict watch at various points on the shore, as it was possible that the " barbarian " vessels might proceed to commit acts of violence. A learned Chinese scholar was sent to Uraga, had an interview with the American envoy, and returned with the letter, which expressed the desire of the United States to establish friendship and intercourse with Japan, and said, according to this account, that if they met with a refusal they should commence hostilities, conflicting Thereupon the shogun was greatly distressed, and again summoned a council. He also asked the opinion of the daimios. " The assembled officials were exceedingly disturbed, and nearly broke their hearts over consultations which lasted all clay and all night. The nobles and retired nobles * in Yedo were informed that ' they were at liberty to state any ideas they might have on the subject, and, although they all gave their opinions, the diversity of propositions was so # When a daimio retired from his office, probably in favour of his son, he became mkio, from two Chinese characters, meaning "dwelling in private." Like the ex-emperors, he often retained the power, and administered the principality. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. Ill great, that no decision was arrived at. The military CHnT' class had during a long peace neglected military arts; "iSST"*' they had given themselves up to pleasure and luxury, and there were very few who had put on armour for many years. So that they were greatly alarmed at the prospect that war might break out at a moment's notice, and began to run hither and thither in search of arms. The city of Yedo and the surrounding villages were in a great tumult; in anticipation of the war which seemed imminent, the people carried off their valuables and furniture in all directions, in order to conceal them in the houses of friends living farther off, and there was such a state of confusion among all classes that the governors of the city were compelled to issue a notification to the people, and this in the end had the effect of quieting the general anxiety. But in the castle never was a decision further from being aimed at, and whilst time was being thus idly wasted, the envoy was constantly demanding an answer. So at last they decided that it would be best to arrange the f* ^^fd affair quietly, to give the foreigners the articles they envoy wanted, and to ^put off sending an answer to the letter ; to tell the envoy that in an affair of such importance to the State no decision could be arrived at without mature consideration, and that he had better go away ; that in a short time he should get a definite answer. The envoy agreed, and, after sending a message to say that he should return in the following spring for his answer, set sail from Uraga with his four ships. The Shogun lyeyoshi had been ill since the commencement of the summer, and had been rendered very anxious , about this sudden and pressing affair of the outer barbarians. Perhaps it was this cause which now made Death of his illness so severe that he died on the 22nd day of iy^yosin. rize. The envoy leaves. 112 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CHI|P' the 7th month. The assembled retainers entirely lost %^imX^ their heads, and. both high and low were plunged into the deepest grief. He was 'buried at Zojoji, and received the title of Shintoku-in." * byShisCloned The death of the shogun at this particular crisis iyesada. was a£ ]^ag^ suspicious. He was succeeded by his son Iyesada, thirteenth of the Tokugawa line. So?6" Early in 1854 Commodore Perry returned, and commodore ^ qUes-kj_on 0f acceding to his demands was again respecting hotly debated. The old Prince of Mito was opposed to the admis- J # x x fSeigners. ^, an(l contended that the admission of foreigners into Japan would ruin it. " At first," said he, " they will give us philosophical instruments, machinery, and other curiosities, will take ignorant people in, and, trade being their chief object, they will manage bit by bit to impoverish the country; after which they will treat us just as they like; perhaps behave with the greatest rudeness and insult us, and end by swallowing up Japan. If we do not drive them away now, we shall never have another opportunity. If we now resort to a dilatory method of proceedings we shall regret it afterwards when it will be of no use." The officials/ however, argued otherwise, and said : "If we try to drive them away, they will immediately commence hostilities, and then we shall be obliged to fight. If we once get into a dispute, we shall have an enemy to fight who will not be easily disposed of. He does not care how long a time he will have to spend over it, but he will come with several myriads ofmen-of-war and # Zojoji is the name of the temple in Yedo,_ generally called Shiba by foreigners. Shiba is really the name of the part of the city in which the temple is situated. Shintoku-in is the name given by the Buddhist priests to the shrine built in honour of the departed shogun, and he is known thereby after death.—E. S. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 113 surround our shores completely» he will capture our c?l^ junks and blockade our ports, and deprive us of all """ISS? hope of protecting our coasts. However large a number of ships we might destroy, he is so accustomed to that sort of thing that he would not care in the least. Even supposing that our troops were animated by patriotic zeal in the commencement of the war, after they had been fighting for several years their patriotic zeal would naturally become relaxed; the soldiers would become fatigued, and we should have to thank ourselves for ihi&. Soldiers who have distinguished themselves are rewarded by grants of land, or else you attack and seize the enemy's territory, and that becomes your own property; so every man is encouraged to fight his best. But in a war with foreign countries, a- man may undergo hardships for years, may fight as if his life were worth frothing, and, as all the land in this country has already owners, there will be none to be given away as rewards ; so we shall have to give rewards in words or money. In time the country would be put to an immense expense, and the people be plunged into misery. Eather than allow this, as we are not the equals of foreigners in the mechanical •arts, let us have intercourse with foreign countries, learn their drill and tactics, and when we have made the nation as united as one family, we shall be able to go abroad and give lands in foreign countries to those who have distinguished themselves in battle; the soldiers will vie with one another in displaying their intrepidity, and it will not be too late then to declare war. Now we shall have to defend ourselves against these foreign enemies skilled in the use of mechanical appliances, with our soldiers whose military skill has considerably diminished during a long peace of three hundred years, VOL. I. I 114 HISTORY OF JAPAN. ™lP' and we certainly could not feel sure of victory, 1854. especially in a naval war." 1 have transcribed the words put into the mouths of the shogun's officials by the native author, as they seem to me significative of the opinions which have been held by many Japanese as to the course to be pursued by their government with regard to foreigners. In this respect whether they are the exact arguments then used becomes less material. The idea of not making war as there would be no lands to reward the victorious soldiers is peculiar, though not surprising, when it is recollected that in the civil wars which desolated the country for so many years grants of land were constantly bestowed on the warriors who had helped to gain the victory. ?854Csi3na- Eventually the treaty was concluded on the 31st treaty? ^ March, 1854. Three copies signed by the Japanese Commissioners were delivered to Commodore Perry, and he gave to them in exchange three copies in English, signed by himself, with Dutch and Chinese its prin- translations. The ports of Shimoda, in the province of provision. Iclzu, and of Hakodate, in the island of Yezo, were opened for the reception of American ships, to be supplied with such articles as wood, water, provisions, and coaL There were stipulations with respect to the treatment of shipwrecked men, there was ah article giving facilities for trading, a favoured nation s' clause, and an article providing for the appointment by the government of the United States of consuls or agents to reside in Shimoda, provided that either of the two governments deemed such arrangements necessary. Admiral In this year Admiral Sir James Stirling arrived Stirling's J _ °# convention, with a squadron, and concluded a convention with Japan, by which Nagasaki and Hakodate were to be opened to British ships for repairs, supplies, &c. HIST0BY OF JAPAN, 115 CHAPTER III. 1854 The Court Troubled.—Explanations of the Shogun's Officials.— Councils at Kioto.—Consent to Treaties Refused.—Anxiety in Yedo.—Appointment of Ii Kamon no Kami as Taird. But when the Erq.peror and his Court heard of the c^|p-arrival of foreigners, and of the proceedings at Yedo, STc^ they were greatly troubled, and the shogun's officials, fearing the consequences of their acts, sent messengers to Kioto to communicate what had happened. They said that affairs in Kuanto had reached such a condition that they had been obliged to grant a treaty whereby ports would be opened to foreigners, and that it was intended to open one near Kanagawa in the province of Musashi; * that they ardently desired that the Emperor and the shogun should come to a good understanding with each other, and, handing over the trading regulations and certain documents connected with the matter, they begged that his Majesty might be induced to give his approval to them. Upon this the Emperor was much disturbed, and ^rEc^-ls called a council, which was attended by a number a counci1, of princes of the blood and kuges, and much violent i. e, Yokohama, then a mere village. i 2 116 HISTORY OF JAPAN. C3mP' language was uttered. " Our country," they are re-' ^^ ported to have said, "has from ancient times refused all intercourse with foreign nations; a myriad of sovereigns in one unbroken line have occupied its throne, and it is an independent empire. Shall we let these people pollute one inch of our territory ? But the shogun's officials, by a wilful error, have given permission for friendly relations and commerce ; worse than this, they have promised to open ports, acts which must excite the profoundest indignation." consent to The unanimous opinion of all present was that the the treaties x x withheM. Mikado's court could never for one moment give its consent to such action, and this opinion was accordingly committed to paper, signed, and sent up to the Emperor, who concurred, and caused the messengers from Yedo to be informed of the imperial decision that treaties with fqreigners could not be recognized. Anxiety in Other messengers who were sent subsequently met with equal ill success, and much anxiety was felt in Yedo. That the Emperor should refuse to accede to this petition for admitting the foreigners was felt to be a blow which might seriously compromise the prestige of the shogun. There was nothing for it but to appoint the ablest man at his command to the office of iiKamon taird * or regent, and Ii Kamon no Kami, the lord of no Kami is J o ? re|ent4ted Hikone, was accordingly chosen to fill it The choice was well made, and this daimio, taking the reins of government into his hands, virtually ruled in the name of the shogun, and, in direct contravention to the imperial will, negotiated with foreign nations for, the opening of ports for trade with them. * Go-tairo it lias generally been written by foreigners, but tlie go is simply honorific. Tai means great, and ro elder. HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 117 CHAPTER IV. 1858. Conclusion of Treaties with the United States, Great Britain? France.—Yokohama becomes the open Port instead of Kanagawa.—Breach between Emperor and Shogun becomes wider.—Death of Iyesada.—Contest for the Succession.— The Regent secures lyemochi's election.—The Court is offended, and sends a secret order to the Prince of Mito.— The Regent punishes the favourers of the expulsion of Foreigners. On the 29th of July, 1858, Mr. Townsend Harris, chap. after many delays, succeeded in concluding a fresh ^mT^ treaty with Japan on behalf of the United States, and, with ies . , America, as is well known, this treaty was followed by similar g^injand ones with Great Britain, France,* and other nations. France- The port opened to the commerce of foreigners Kanagawa in the neighbourhood of Yedo was Kanagawa. This foreigners. • m (* Reasons is a post station on the tokaido, one of the great ™j£^ routes leading from Yedo to Kioto, and is situated on £ste°ada;ma an inlet of the bay leading up to the former city. Kanagawa, however, is not the residence of the foreign population. The shogun's government, surprised * The treaty with Great Britain was signed by the Earl of Elgin on the 26th of August, that with France by Baron Gros on the 9th of October, 1858. HISTORY OF JAPAN. into signing the treaties, were but too well aware of the imminent danger, at that period, of allowing the strangers to establish themselves permanently along the high road which was continually traversed by large trains of daimios journeying to and from Yedo. They knew that the first consequence would be the murder of any foreigners who happened to be on the line of march, and who did not at once prostrate themselves before the native noble,—who, in fact, came between the wind and his nobility,—and they therefore hastened to erect official and other buildings, and to offer plots of ground to the foreigners, on a spot opposite Kanagawa, where at that period there was nothing but a small fishing village called Yokohama. The foreign merchants, on their arrival, immediately perceived the advantage of the position of Yokohama over that of Kanagawa, both in point of space and of accessibility for ships. So they chimed in with the projects of the Japanese to substitute for a residence on the dangerous high road the safer and more convenient Yokohama. Some foreign officials took up their abode in Kanagawa for a period, but for many years all have resided in the flourishing settlement which has grown up opposite, and is the seat of government of the Kanagawa Ken or prefecture. The British consul, however, similarly with his colleagues, is still styled her Majesty's Consul at Kanagawa. The breach thus made between the Emperor and the shogun widened daily. A powerful party of the daimios banded together against the latter, those of Tosa, Hizen, Sendai, Inaba, Uwajima, and Tsuyama sent in memorials advocating the shutting of the ports H1ST0EY OP JAPAN. 119 and the expulsion of the " barbarians/' but to no cliyV' effect. Their power was not sufficient to make way ^^imT^ against that of the taird. To add to the troubles of this critical period a Pestilence. terrible pestilence swept over the land, and on the ' eighth day of the seventh month (August 15) the |^nof Sh6gun Iyesada died suddenly, after, as it was said, ^ugutuT only one day's illness. Was his death connected with the negotiations and the conclusion of treaties with foreigners ? Probably it was. Iyesada left no heirs, and there was a great dis- contest cussion as to who^ out of the three families of Owari, sucoessor-Mito, and Kishiu, from whom alone, as already mentioned, the choice could be made^ should succeed him. The old Prince of Mito was anxious that his seventh son should be chosen, and a strong party favoured this choice. As the latter played a leading part in subsequent events, and has become famous in history as the last of the " Tycoons/' it will be well to give a slight sketch of his early life. He was the seventh son of Nariaki, Prince of Mito, who was blessed with a very large family, the number of his sons being stated at 18, and of his daughters at 25. But of all these the seventh son, who was born in 1837, was by far the cleverest, and seems to have shown much talent at an early age. In his eleventh year he was adopted into the house of Hitotstibashi,* and removed from the Mito Tashiki in nitotsu-Yedo to that of the family into which he was adopted. It is recorded that his new retainers looked down upon * Hence tlie appellation " Stotsbashi" generally given by-foreigners to the last of the shoguns. According to the Yedo pronunciation, this word ought, perhaps, to be written Shitotsu-bashi. The u is very short. HISTOBY OF JAPAN. him at first because of his youth, and that one day, when he was out in the garden with a number of them in attendance, one of the men discovered a small snake close to the pond, and attempted to catch it, but the snake eluded his efforts and escaped. At this, as the story goes, the young lord was much disturbed, saying, " A snake is a poisonous thing; if you do not kill it, great harm will come. Why did you not kill it ? " His retainers, seeing that he was angry, pleaded in excuse that a large snake was a thing to be dreaded, but not so a small one. "What," answered the youth, " because' it is a small thing, is it not to bo feared ?" This he said probably because, being young in years and as yet small in stature, he compared the snake to himself, and he wished to show his retainers that they must not despise him, even though he was of tender age. And his retainers, when they heard what their young lord said, marvelled at his ability. When he was fifteen years old, ho took the name of Keiki or Yoshinobu.* At the age of eighteen he is described as being proficient in all the accomplishments which constitute the education of a Japanese of high rank. Not only was he well versed in manly exercises, such as horsemanship, the bow, the gun, the lance, and the sword, but his admirers declare that none could rival him in the composition of Japanese and Chinese poetry, in knowledge of history, in dramatic performances, and other such arts. This was the youth, now twenty-one years of age, * Keiki is the Japanese pronunciation of the two Chinese characters which represent the name. Yoshinolu is the Japanese equivalent of these two characters. Most foreigners and a good many natives fancy his name to be Yoshihisa, but this is a mistake.— E. S. HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 121 who was put forward by a strong party as the most CIlvP" fitting successor to the deceased shogun in the actual ^IsST^ political crisis. But Ii Kamon no Kami would not give his consent; he alleged that the late lord had desired Kikuchiyo of the Kishiu family to be his successor, and had talked of adopting him as his son ; and such was the influence of the regent that he eventually secured the election of this boy of twelve -J-J^*^* years old as successor to the line of the Tokugawa ^fiSdf family, and fourteenth shogun of the house. He was the thirteenth child of the eleventh shogun, and cousin of Iyesada, and he subsequently took the name of Iyemochi. Strange reports respecting the sudden death of Iyesada having got into circulation, Ii Kamon no Kami, whose power was now greater than ever, suspected the old Prince of Mito of foul play, and he forced all those who had espoused the candidature of Hitotstibashi to retire from public life. Amongst He other punishments, Nariaki himself was put into those who the strictest confinement in his own palace at Yedo, hiSSi-the Princes of Owari, Hizen, Tosa, and Uwajima candida-were ordered to retire into private life, Hitotstibashi was forbidden to appear at the castle, and directed to remain in confinement at home, and the daimios of Satsuma, Sendai, Inshiu, and Tsuyama were also forced to remain in their houses with closed doors.' But the imperial Court was deeply offended by the ?h0eff^ded arbitrary way in which the officials of the bakufu* J^^e and sends a secret * Baku is a curtain such as the Japanese used in war to Nariaki. enclose the part of the camp, occupied by the general, and in peace by picnic parties. Fu is properly an " office," and is used in many compounds. Seifu, government, is literally administration-office. TdJcei fu is the office from which Tokei or Yedo is 122 HISTORY OF JAPAN. Cr£P* (shogun's government) acted, and at their insulting **~78hT^ the Emperor by disobeying his will, and his Majesty, after summoning the kuges, caused a secret order to be sent to the old Prince of Mito. .This order stated that his Majesty had heard that affairs were not quiet in the Kuant6, and the prince was therefore commanded to use all his endeavours with the bakufu to reconcile the existing differences, and to induce that government to sweep away the " barbarians" at once. The receipt of this order delighted Nariaki, and he gratefully accepted the commission. The recent Ii Kamon no Kami, however, was still supreme, punishes ? x vourets of and ^e despatched a messenger to Kioto to announce shmeofpul" the punishment of those who had been active in getting up the scheme for the expulsion of foreigners. A large number were arrested both there and in Yedo, and were imprisoned in the latter city, those in Ki6to having been brought away under strict guard. They were ultimately tried in Yedo, and punishments of various degrees, such as death by disembowelment or by decapitation, banishment to distant islands, and house-confinement, were extensively awarded and carried out. governed. In the old government anterior to Yoritomo, the six military guards were called roltuye fu. The curtain was emblematical of the military power, and hence the office from which the country was administered by the military vassal was called bakufu, i.e. curtain-office.—E. S. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 123 CHAPTER V, 1859—1860: Establishment of Diplomatic Relations.—Arrival of Mr. Alcock. —Murders of Foreigners and Natives in their Employ.— Murder of li Kamon no Kami. In 1859 regular diplomatic relations were established c^p« between Great Britain and Japan. In a despatch, ^^xT^ dated the 9th of July, Mr. Alcock announced to Mr. Alcock, the Earl of Malmesbury his arrival in Yedo on the oomui- J General, 26 th of the preceding month, and his subsequent J* Envoy111" reception by the Minister for Foreign Affairs as her dinary. Majesty's Consul-General. Towards the end of the year he was also appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. Mr. Townsend Harris was ^jJSenta-already on the spot as representative of the United States, and representatives of other nations followed in due course. The vigorous action of li Kamon no Kami had thus heightened the military prestige of the shogunate, and the regent asserted his authority throughout the empire. He was generally nicknamed " the swaggering chief minister." But these high-handed proceedings were regarded with indignation by the party who opposed the admission of foreigners to the sacred soil tires. 124 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. CH^P* of Japan^, and the result was shown in a series of Murd8e5i9s revolting murders, both of foreigners and of persons indeilativesin tlieir employ. In 1859, on the 25th of August, a employ. Russian officer and two sailors were cut down and mutilated in the streets of Yokohama; and, on the 6th of November, the French Consul's Chine&e servant, dressed in European clothes, was also killed in that town. In 1860, on the 30th of January, Denkichi, Mr. Alcock's Japanese linguist (also in European clothes), was mortally wounded at the very gateway of the Envoy's residence; and, on the 26th of February, two Dutchmen, masters of merchant vessels, were hacked to pieces in the streets of Yokohama. It is most probable, as has been asserted, that some at least some of of these murders were committed at the instigation of these were ° fnSgated the ex-Prince of Mito, acting for the retrograde party at byNsttaki j^to; and it has been remarked as a curious, though perhaps an accidental, coincidence that the time chosen for such a deed generally corresponded with the presence of foreign ships of war in the waters near Yedo. Thus, when the Eussians were killed, Count Mouravieff and a Eussian squadron were there; the French Consul's servant was cut down whilst the United States frigate "Powhatan " was in Yokohama harbour; and when Denkichi was murdered, there happened to be in Yedo bay, for the first time since Mr. Alcock's arrival in Japan, two British ships of war.* In the case of the murder of the Chinese servant, however, it should be stated that he is supposed to have been slain by a native who had been insulted by a European, and who mistook the nationality of the man, owing to his dress. * Vide despatches from Mr. Alcock, presented to Parliament^ 1860. HISTOBY OF JAPAN* 125 Next in order comes the murder of the regent cuyF' himself. It is thus related in the publication already """lseoT^ quoted from :—¦ " On the third day of the, third month (23rd of ^fj^ March, I860*) all the daimios went to the castle to offer ^^ the usual compliments to the shogun. Amongst them was the regent, Ii Kamon no Kami, who set forth from his yashiki near the Sakurada gate in a palanquin. It was eight o'clock in the morning, and the snow was falling heavily. As he approached the Sakurada gate seventeen or eighteen men of rdnin-like appearance rose from the side of the road, and attacked the palanquin in which Ii Kamon no Kami was riding. The attendants quite lost their heads from the suddenness of the onslaught, and four or five of them were at once cut down, a great number of others being wounded. Most of them fled, but some young samurai, nerved by a sense of shame, stopped and drew their swords in defence of their chief. The enemy, however, was desperate, and advanced resolutely upon them, so } that Kada Kuro, Ozawamura, Gonroku, Kawanishi, Chiuzaemon, and others of the Hikonet clan were killed on the spot. During the fight the palanquin was hurried back to the yashiki, in ignorance whether the chiujd J was alive or dead." § The true account of this affair seems to be that a # The date given by Mr. Alcock is the 24th. f The clan of which the regent was chief. Hikone is the name of what was the capital, or castle town of the clan. J Chin jo, middle general, or general of the second class, the rank at the Emperor's Court held by the regent. See note to p. 50. § It was essential that he should at least be reported to have died in his own house, or his estates might have been confiscated. —E. S. 126 HISTORY OF JAPAN. CH^P- pistol was first fired into the palanquin, wounding the * Sml^ regent in the back, that he was forced to get out, and was then despatched, his head being cut off and carried away. The head is stated to have been afterwards taken to the castle town of Mito, and there exposed on a pole, to which a paper of abusive writing was attached. One great cause of the hatred felt towards the regent was the increase of prices which had followed his policy of opening ports to foreign trade. The men concerned in the murder seem to have been eighteen in number, all originally retainers of Mito, except Arimura Jisayemon, who belonged to the Satsuma clan. Some were killed on the spot, or died of their wounds subsequently, and some delivered themselves up afterwards, and were finally put to death. EunTon* In former times, when a Japanese turned rdnin, in murderers order to perpetrate some deed of blood for political explaining , n , „ . .. ofetw°eI PurPosesJ he always, before setting out on the enterprise, which would most probably end in his death, copied on paper a document purporting to give the reasons for his conduct, and he placed this document ill the bosom of his dress. Thus, in this case, as is recorded, " each of them had in the bosom of his dress a document explaining that their object was to kill a traitor; it said that the Emperor had been pleased with the patriotism and loyalty displayed for many years by the old Prince of Mito, and had graciously sent him an order.* That Nawostike Ason,t in arrogance of power, had insulted the imperial decree, and, careless # This is the secret order already mentioned. See p. 122. f Nawosiike was the regent's personal name. Ason means servant of the Court.—E. S. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 127 of the misery of the people, but making foreign inter- C^AP* course his chief aim, had opened ports, had imprisoned mo. or confined to their houses loyal princes of the blood, nobles of the court, and territorial noblesj had insulted their old prince, and had put to death loyal and patriotic men in great numbers. That, unable to restrain their indignation, and in view of his great crimes, which heaven and earth could not tolerate, they, in heaven's name, disregarding his high office of regent, had punished him." This bloody deed caused much commotion in Yedo. Death of The death of the regent was a severe loss to the Liberal ^erai party in Japan, and the influence of the sh6gun?s influence government was thereby greatly lessened. Still such a declines. power was not to be broken down at once, and the struggle between it and the Kioto party continued with varying success during the succeeding years. Feeling hampered by the hostility of their native opponents, and divided amongst themselves, as some of their number were avowedly opposed to a friendly policy towards foreigners, the Yedo government used every effort, during the remainder of 1860, to isolate the feae|ff0 Eepresentatives * of treaty powers as much as possible, f0?^gn and, contenting themselves with being lavish in pro- tivesfand*" ° . ° . - . . no mur- mises, they did not in any one instance bring to justice ^0erreffner a single individual connected with any of the assas- lsPumshed-sinations above recorded. In fact, so insecure was their position, that they did not venture to allow any of their own countrymen to be punished for the murder of an " outer barbarian." * There were now five. Besides the American, English, and French, there were Grraf zn Eulenburg from Prussia, and Mr. van Polsbroek from Holland. 128 HISTORY OF JAPAN. CHAPTER VI. 1861. Diplomatic Agents warned against Ronins.—-Murder of Mr* Heusken.—Suicide of Hori Oribe no Kami.—The British, French, and Dutch Representatives retire to Yokohama.—Return of the two former on the Shogun's Invitation.—Proposal for Emperor's Sister to marry the Shogun accepted.—Attack on the British Legation at Tozenji.— Probably instigated by ex-Prince of Mito.—Dilemma of Shogun's Government.—Their desire to defer opening of Ports.—Mr. Oliphant returns to England with a Letter from the Shogun.—An equivalent is desired by Earl Russell.— Death of ex-Prince of Mito. chap. On the 1st of January, 1861, the Ministers for jan^TiT' Foreign Affairs informed all the diplomatic agents in yfrnmSt" Yedo that a band of five hundred rdnins had conspired to diplomatic attack the different legations, and to kill all the mem- a^ents that ° gSngtorIt- bers thereof; and they requested these agents to take tack them. refUge^ ¦w^]1 their respective personnel, in one place within the castle moats, until these disturbers of the peace could be seized, or the country was reported to be more tranquil. This request was of course refused. There seems to be no doubt that a large number of dissatisfied men had actually collected together in the HISTORY OF JAPAN. 129 neighbouring provinces, with a design of attacking the CvlP' foreigners. ^ImT^ On the 14th of the same month, Mr. Heusken, ^"P^1/- ; ; Murder of interpreter and acting secretary to the American lega- ^.HeuS" tion, was attacked and mortally wounded by a band of six or seven men, when riding home from the Prussian, legation in Yedo at night. The bridge across the Furukawa, on which the attack was made, is within sight of one of the entrances to the burial-ground of the shoguns in Shiba. x This foul deed can hardly be attributed to the same probable ; . . motive for motives as those which originated previous assassin- g^sc^d ations. Its cause is rather to be sought in the private orib^JT enmity existing between Mr. Heusken and Hori Orib^ ami' no Kami, a minister for foreign affairs, who was one of the reactionary party, and with whom the former had been on very bad terms. Hori had written to Mr. Heusken, requesting him to desist from going out in Yedo of an evening, because the streets were not perfectly safe, and arguing that inasmuch as the Japanese government were made responsible for the security of strangers, it was for the latter to submit to the measures of precaution which that government might consider necessary. To this communication, couched in somewhat bitter terms, Mr. Heusken replied that he should go out whenever he pleased, and that he should know how to defend himself against any one who might attack him. After the receipt of this answer, it is said that Hori had a violent dispute on the question of expelling foreigners with Ando Tsushima no Kami, one of the rojiu,* who was well known as a strong advocate of liberal opinions; * Generally termed Go-rojiu, but the go is simply honorific. Rojiu means council of elders, VOL. I. K 130 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. C viP* and that it was upon the conclusion of the altercation i86i. that Hori, returning home, called his retainers about him, and, with that calm dignity and imperturbable sang-froid which was wont to characterize the Japanese suicide of of high birth on such occasions, put an end to his life Hori Oribe" , 7 , . . * ^ i 1 • i • no Kami. \jy hara kiri. One account,states that this discussion had reference to the proposition of Ando to build residences for the foreign representatives at Gotenyama, close to Yedo. Allusion will be made to this later. The proposition had, it appears, been persistently opposed by Hori. The usual protestations of sympathy, and the usual promises to discover and punish the assassins of Mr. Heusken, were forthwith made by the Japanese ministers, but all without result; and in this instance The Japan- the latter even went so far as to warn the diplomatic ese attempt ¦*- d?p?omati?e agents that they would incur danger if they attended attending" the funeral of the murdered man. And vet no Mr. Heus- . J funeral precautionary measures were taken by the native authorities on the line of road, to protect those very foreigners whose lives they declared to be in peril ! A guard of English, Prussian, and Dutch marines from the vessels of war in harbour at Yokohama was organized, and accompanied the five Eepresentatives f to the place of burial, and all passed off quietly. At the same time the Japanese availed themselves of the opportunity, under the plea of providing for the future safety of the diplomatic agents, to surround the residences of the latter with * Vide " Un Yojage autonr du Japon," par Rudolph Lindau, pp. 144—147. t Of France, Great Britain, Holland, Prussia, and the United States. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 131 crowds of two-sworded men, who lived in the very CyiP' grounds and courtyards of the legations, and were '^mT^ mere spies, almost useless for defensive purposes. The object of such proceedings evidently was, by a system of persistent isolation, to drive the Eepresentatives away from the city, preparatory to an attempt to rid the country of every single foreigner. In this policy the government of the shogun They sue-partially succeeded, for, towards the end of January, j^^/rej. the British, French, and Dutch Eepresentatives, find- towfthdmw ing that the government were not willing, or had not imma. °" Mr Harris the power, to protect them, removed to Yokohama for remains, a period ; Mr. Harris, the United States' minister, it should be remarked, took a different view of the position, and, considering that, as long as he observed the precautions recommended by the government, he was safe, remained in Yeclo, This triumph on the part of the Japanese was, however, of short duration; and after some conferences and much negotiation, Mr, Alcock and M. Duchesne de Bellecourt returned, on the second of March, to the capital, by invitation of the Meat^n2* shogun, who pledged himself, by and with his council aLfFrench of elders, to provide effectually for the security of the tives on'the legations, and for their future exemption alike from invitation, violence and menace. The graves of Mr. Heusken and of Denkichi, Mr. S™^* Alcock's ill-starred interpreter, are to be seen in the Denkichi. somewhat dilapidated cemetery of the temple called Korinji or Jigenzan, on the left bank of the little river Furukawa, not far from the English legation in Takanawa (the southern suburb of Yedo). We passed it often in our walks, and one afternoon I transcribed the English inscriptions, which are as follows :— k 2 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. + SACRED To the Memory of HENRY 0. J. HE'USKEN, Interpreter to the AMERICAN LEGATION. in Japan. Born at Amsterdam, January 20, 1832 j DIED AT YEDO, January 16, 1861. DANKUTCI, Japanese Linguist to the BRITISH LEGATION. MURDERED JAPANESE ASSASSINS', 29th January, 1860. stgteof The state of affairs at this period is thus referred to by the author of the Genji yume monogatari: " Trade increased from day to day, and the prices of everything rose; the industrious poor, oppressed by this tyrannous government, naturally hated and abused it without ceasing. The military prestige of the Toku-gawa family, which had endured for three hundred years, gradually began to decline from this time. The kakurd* sansei,f and officials of all classes consulted together. They said : ' Because the territorial nobles have obeyed the orders of the Court, and have rebelled against those of the bakufu; because they have insulted the officials of the shogunate, and have thirsted to serve the interests of the Sovereign to the utmost of their power, therefore the prestige of the Court grows from day to day, while the authority of the bakufu declines. If we are willing that this # Another name for the rojitu f The WaJcadoshiyori, a kind of second council. 132 CHAP. VI. HIST0KY OF JAPAN. 133 should be, then there is nothing to be done. But if c^p-we desire to restore the military prestige of the ^wT^ mi o -i i i it i . t -, Proposalfor lokugawa iamily,the kuambaku must be reinstated, the f^r^8 imperial'palace must be adorned and repaired, and the ^6rgruntlie Emperor's sister brought down here to marry the accepte" shogun.' (Ostensibly they proposed this, marriage to the imperial Court with the object of bringing about a union between the Mikado and the shogun.) The nobles of the Court assembled in council, the arguments started were various, and it seemed as if no decision could be arrived at; but at last, influenced by the kuambaku and warned by the events of the previous year,* they advised the Emperor to grant the wishes of Kuanto.t So it was determined by the Court that the marriage should take place, and, on the 5th of July,, -the princess received the title of Kazu miya and the rank of a princess of the blood, by Imperial decree.. Hereupon the kuambaku received notice from Kuant6,, that in consideration of the exertion made by him for years past in the interest of the state, his. private income was increased by one thousand hoku" That the Yedo government should carry their point and obtain an Imperial princess in marriage for the sh6gun, and that they should be able to increase the income of the regent of the Empire, was a clear sign of the enormous influence it still possessed. The next event to be recorded is the attack,, on the A&ckon night of the very same 5th of July, upon the British legation at __ TozGnii legation then resident in the temple of Tozenji in the southern suburb of Takanawa. The pledge of the shogun to provide effectually for the security of the * When so many high, personages were imprisoned by li Kamon no Kami,. f i.e. of the shogun's government. H1ST0BY OF JAPAN. legation was thus not destined to be kept for more than about four months. Mr. Alcock and Mr. de Wit, the Dutch political agent, had only just accomplished their long journey by land from Nagasaki, and the farmer had hardly had time to settle himself at Yedo when the attack took place. The details of this night attack will be found in chapter viii. of vol. ii. of " The Capital of the Tycoon," from which the following account is taken:—- The assailants came before midnight to the front gate of Tozenji, lying but a few steps back from the great high road, and finding it closed, they escaladed the fence at the side. The gatekeeper, awakened by the noise, seems to have come out, and was instantly cut down, and killed on the spot. They then proceeded up the long avenue to the first courtyard, a distance of three hundred yards, passing all the guardhouses, and on their way killing a dog, which no doubt was barking his alarm. A. little further on they killed a groom of one of the guards. A native cook in Mr. Alcock's service was next met, and severely wounded. Finally, a watchman, who happened to be close to the gate of the courtyard adjoining the legation, was seized as a guide, and, under threat of instant death, was ordered to show " where the accursed foreigners slept." All this time the native guards seem to have been asleep. The party then crossed the upper court beyond the great porch or open gateway leading to the front entrance of the temple, and also to the building used as the legation, on the right; and there they encountered one of the regular watchmen. Terror-struck at finding himself in the hands of these ruffians, he appears to have given only a feigned consent to guide them, and HISTOEY OF JAPAN. tried to make his escape. He was, however, pursued, and after being frightfully slashed across the body, found temporary refuge in a lotus pond. This man ultimately recovered. The assailants then appear to have told off three parties: one proceeded round to the back of the stables, through a passage leading directly into the house ; another forced the gate of the court in which the main entrance was situated, and broke in the panels of the front door ; a third entered the temple adjoining the entrance hall of the legation and the back of the premises. From there, after wTounding a priest in their path, some thrust aside the screens which alone formed the partition, and entered by that way; while others broke into another courtyard. A Chinese servant of Mr. Morrison, her Majesty's Consul at Nagasaki, happened to be sleeping in the hall; and, whilst he was listening in breathless alarm to the furious blows at the front door, a man in chain armour and masked suddenly made his appearance from the temple, forcing his way through a sliding panel. On this, with the instinct of his race, the servant glided stealthily away, and, apparently unseen, gained his master's room. Fortunately it was one of the nearest in that part of the house, and Mr. Morrison was roused at once, and armed with the sword and revolver lying at his side. Mr. Oliphant, the secretary of legation, sleeping further off, had by this time been awakened by the- increasing tumult, and the barking of a dog. Believing the cause to be some fight among the servants, he seized a hunting-whip^ and ran down the passage, upon which both Mr. Morrison's room and Mr. Eeginald BusseH's opened. To rouse the latter, and ask if he had any arms, was the work of a moment. But finding none, Mr. Oliphant turned HISTORY OF JAPAN. back, and encountered either two or three men advancing. By the imperfect light he could see one in the act of aiming a blow with a two-handed sword at his head, and an unequal struggle commenced. Mr. Oliphant parried the blows as best he could, seeking to disable his assailant with the heavy end of the hunting-whip, while retreating, or borne back towards the room where he had just left Mr. Russell. Fortunately, this gave Mr. Morrison time to throw back his screen opening on the scene, and to fire a couple of shots in the direction of the assassins. At the same moment Mr. Oliphant received two serious wounds, and Mr. Morrison himself a cut on the forehead. The pistol shots,' whether they took effect or not, had the good result of checking the advance of the assailants. Meanwhile Mr. Alcock had been roused by one of the young student interpreters with the news that the legation was attacked, and that men were breaking in at the gate. As he proceeded, somewhat incredulous, towards the entrance of the building, he met Mr. Oliphant covered with "blood, which was streaming from a great gash in his arm and from a wound in his neck, and, an instant later, Mr. Morrison, with blood flowing from the sword-cut on his forehead* Their would-be murderers had disappeared. Mr. Alcock at once set to work to bind up the wound in Mr, Qliphant's arm with his handkerchief^ and while he was so engaged, there was a sudden crash, and the noise of a succession of blows in the adjoining apartment. But no one appeared, and soon the noise subsided. He then ventured with two of the party to leave the wounded, in order to search for Mr. Macdonald, another of their number, whose room HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 137 was in a further wing of the building. He placed one CIvfp of the students, Mr. F. Lowder, as a gentry at an mZ angle commanding a long, passage leading from the entrance, and the approach from two other directions, and he had scarcely advanced ten steps, when he was recalled by a shot from Mr. Lowder's pistol. A group of armed Japanese had appeared at the farther end, and, as they did not answer his challenge, Mr. Lowder had fired into them, upon which they suddenly retreated. This was an end of the affair, and the missing Mr. Macdonald soon after appeared, safe and sound. He had rushed out of his room in his white sleeping costume, and making his way through a side gate to the front, found a wild scene of tumult and conflict, for the guards were at last up and doing. In the courtyard of the temple itself, and in front of that leading into the part assigned to the legation, there were groups fighting, men with lanterns running to and fro, and gathering from all sides. Some of the guards attached "to the legation covered him with one of their own Japanese dresses, and drew him aside, and he was saved from danger. "When the melee was at an end, some minutes later, and Mr. Alcock and others went over the premises, they found that an entrance had been efiected from the temple at another point, through some thin planking into a little court, on which Mr. Lowder's room opened. The mark of a bloody hand was found on the sloping roof of the bath-room, over which some wounded man had made his escape; and by the broken planking Mr. Alcock picked up a sword and a leather purse, with a few cash and a seal in it, which had been dropped. 138 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. It seems tolerably certain that the instigator of the night attack was again Nariaki, the ex-Prince of Mito, as many of the assailants, including seven who were killed, originally belonged to the Mito clan. The notion, once entertained by Mr. Alcock, that it was a plot of the Prince of Tsushima, whose retainers were supposed to have been following him and his companions, with murderous intent, most of, if not all, the way from Nagasaki, in order to seek retaliation upon some foreigner of rank, of what nation soever, for their prince's grievances against the Russians, was ascertained to have no foundation. The official translation of the paper found on the person of one of the attacking party, who was wounded and taken prisoner, and which was identical with that found on another of the band who was killed, was as follows :—* [Translation."] Translation " I, although a person of low degree, have taken document the earnest resolution to perform a great deed to the found on . . asseaiifantl. honour of the Sovereign, and to expel the foreigner, as it is intolerable to stand by and see the sacred Empire violated by the barbarian. But properly the performance of such a deed as shall cause the might of the Empire to sparkle in foreign regions is difficult for the power of a person of low standing. Yet I am simple of opinion, with a desire to combine a very little sincerity and a very limited force, whereby partly to shower a thousand benefits upon the Empire. Should this also tend by-and-by to expel the foreigners, and could I tranquillize the imperial mind, it would indeed * Correspondence respecting affairs in Japan, July to November, 1861. Presented to Parliament 1862. See p. 24 HISTORY OF JAPAN. 139 CHAP. redound to my greatest honour, though I am bitt a Vr. person of the lowest degree. I have tfyus taken a ^^^t^ resolution regardless of my own life." Here follow the date and seemingly the signatures of fourteen men, who were, according to the government, the whole of the band. Mr. Alcock had three other translations made of this document, and although they all differ from each other and from the official version, still in each the leading idea is manifest^ i.e. the desire to get rid of the hated " barbarians." One of the translations states that the individual had determined to follow out his master's will; and though this would be equally the fact, the official version is probably right, according to which the great deed was to be done in honour of the sovereign, the presence of foreigners being considered an insult to the whole country. The Japanese ministers, naturally enough, wished it to appear that the attack originated entirely with the actual assailants, and they assured Mr. Alcock of their belief " that these men had no other motives than those set forth in the document found on them, and that they were all men of low degree, without instigators or abettors of higher rank." Whether this was the case or not is a matter, after all, of no importance. The ronins from Mito or any other principality, who were engaged in the affair, acted no doubt with the full con- * currence of the head of their clan, and in full accordance with the anti-foreign and anti-shogun policy of all its high officials. . . The It is curious, but, with the knowledge we now Japanese ° ministers possess, hardly astonishing to read that, at an inter- |ua?antee view with the ministers of foreign affairs on the 25th sent?Mvet of July, Mr. Alcock was informed that they had no fuJure J J attacks. 140 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CHAP vi. ' power of preventing such attacks upon the legation, nor 1861, 0f providing against a renewal of the same with a greater certainty of success. They could not, they said, guarantee any of the Eepresentatives against these attempts at assassination, to which all foreigners in Japan were liable, whether in their houses or in the public thoroughfares. In the present state of the country such things were inevitable, and must be so regarded. "They were ready/5 Mr. Alcock reports,* "to do what they could for our protection ; but on inquiry it oniyytreatd merely amounted to the adoption of measures for foreigners making the condition of all foreigners, ministers and more like & & , prisoners, merchants, more and more that of prisoners m close custody, with a still enduring sense of insecurity in the midst of their jailors. As to their responsibility, it was simply repudiated ; not earnestly or vehemently, as a thing to be questioned or defended, but with the unconcern of men perfectly assured of their position. They seemed to adopt the argument that no government could control public opinion; they could make treaties, but could not enforce them on an unwilling nation. To demand full effect to be given to all the stipulations of the treaty, therefore, under existing circumstances, was simply to demand an impossibility, for the non-performance of which no one could be held responsible. So in like manner was security for life unattainable; it could not be guaranteed, nor could any government be held responsible for the isolated acts of individuals, or outrages perpetrated by bands of their lawless subjects." This was indeed a confession of weakness, and it N must have surprised the British Eepresentative, who at * See p. 13 of the correspondence already referred to. HISTOEY OF JAPAN, 141 that time could know but little of the actual position CvlP* and scope of the Yedo government, and who could ^TseT^ not possibly be aware of the intrigues that- were being carried on at Kioto, and by the influential men in various powerful elans, to overthrow that government. N'ow-a-days we are enabled to judge these matters .^^^ more accurately, and we can understand the dilemma St.11" of the shogun's ministers. Pressed on one side by the daimios, and on the other by the foreign Eepresenta-tives, they sat upon thorns, and were for ever engaged .in devising expedients directed, on the one side, to check the conspiracies from within, and, on the other, to nullify the treaties which had been forced on them from without. Their great object was to succeed in wearying the Eepresentatives into renouncing the idea, for themselves and their countrymen, of a permanent settlement in Japan. Simultaneously with the attack on the British legation, the Japanese ministers urged upon the foreign Eepresentatives, with much pertinacity, their desire to defer the execution of the stipulations in the pesire to 1 defer open- treaties respecting the opening of Hiogo, of a port on ^^0^eB the western coast, and of the cities of Yedo and Qzaka. They supported their propositions by averring the existence of widespread discontent among the people, owing to the increased price of provisions, which was laid at the door of the foreigners, and was attributed to their sudden demands for these native products. The ministers also alluded to the derangement in the currency, to the hoarding of rice in the territories of different daimios, who, in the unsettled state of affairs, saw danger of both foreign and intestine war, and who wished, in the interest of their -own people, to be prepared against scarcity or famine. 142 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. chap. These views were pressed upon Mr. Alcock, who, i8ei. in order the better to place her Maiesty's government Mr. Oli- L - J «/ o to En* land ^n ^^ possession of all that had happened, and of the^ StteAo the actual posture of affairs, sent Mr. Oliphant to England with despatches. The latter took with him a letter from the shogun to the Queen, expressing his Highnesses desire that the opening to trade of the ports and cities above mentioned should be deferred. Mr. Oliphant arrived in London on the 28th of October. Kuweii The proposition of the Japanese government equivalent having been debated in the cabinet, Earl Eussell wrote desired con- a despatch to Mr. Alcock on the 23rd of November, in cessions. ¦L which his lordship stated that it was difficult to appreciate at their true value the dangers hinted at by the shogun and his ministers, but that it appeared to her Majesty's government that if, in order to comply with the wishes of that ruler, and to appeasp public discontent in Japan, the desired concessions were made, full equivalent should be obtained on our side, such as the opening of the port of Tsushima in the island of that name, as well as of any ports in Corea which were under Japanese authority ; a concession of land at Yedo for the residence of her Majesty's minister, such residence being secured by walls and palisades, and protected by a British guard ; pecuniary indemnities to Mr. Oliphant and Mr. Morrison; and the apprehension, trial, and punishment of the miscreants who escaped after the attack of the 5th of July. The conduct of the negotiations and the exact extent of the equivalent were left to the discretion of the British Envoy, who was instructed to communicate with the Envoys and Consuls of other treaty powers before entering on any discussion with the Japanese ministers. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 143 As far as relates to the punishment of the band CIvlP-who attacked the legation, Mr, Alcock was informed ~~iwT^ by the ministers for foreign affairs that three of their assays d & stated to number were put to death on the 24th of January, JXitSTin 1862. Mr. Alcock says :—* * secret' " One was the wounded man made prisoner on the spot; the other, also wounded, who was reported to have been seized the next morning in the suburb; the third, a man arrested by the Prince of Mito in his territory, " It appeared they were executed in secret, in their Three heads i. ± «/ ' exposed on prison ; such also was the law : but as I rode to Yoko- j^y^^d. hama the next day, three gory heads, recently severed from their trunks, looked grimly down upon me, elevated only a little above the level of my own, on poles in the execution-ground of the capital, which is close to the edge of the tokaido, skirting the bay, I was struck with the resemblance in one of these heads to that of the wounded prisoner whose countenance I had closely scanned as he lay wounded on his back after the onslaught. This might have been on my part a fancy; but Mr. von Siebold, who had no knowledge of their intended execution, I found afterwards was suddenly struck with the same idea, the countenance of the prisoner having apparently been strongly impressed on his memory, when he called the next morning at Tozenji, by the expression -of hate and baffled vengeance with which he met and riveted the gaze of the youth. If we are to believe the placards placed underneath, however, which I found means to have deciphered, the criminals whose heads were thus exposed were simply highway robbers, executed for entering a temple * Correspondence respecting affairs in Japan, p. 4, presented to Parliament, 1863. 144 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. vi.' and stealing. If they were the heads of three of our 1862. assailants, it is quite clear the government did not dare, in exposing them, to.make it known. And I had heard it reported that, a short time before, the ministers were menaced with the revenge of the men's comrades if execution took place. " The whole of the circumstances afford a curious illustration of the state of the country, and the position, not only of the foreign Eepresentatives, but of the members of the government." It is thus recorded that one of the assailants was arrested by the Prince of Mito in his territory, and the arrest of three more of the band, also in Mito, was subsequently reported by the Japanese ihinisters to Mr. Alcock. Now, whether these men were really captured in the territory of the foreigner-hating prince, who was the representative of one of the Sanke,* and a very powerful noble, and whether the alleged capture was made by the prince's orders or by officers of the shogun (which is not likely), has never been ascertained. The story certainly appears improbable; positive proof, indeed, was not to be obtained, for in those days every event was shrouded in mystery, and all that could be was carefully concealed or cunningly distorted by the itisatleast Japanese ministers. However, be that as it may, it is wTetiieUr open to very grave doubt whether the three heads they formed *- J ° KIo0?™e which were exposed at the execution-ground were in reality those of men concerned in the attack. Of the different modes of capital punishment in force during the sway of the shogun in Yedo, that of decapitation followed by public exposure was the most infamous, and it was therefore in the highest degree unlikely to be * For tlie explanation of this term, vide siipra, p. 67. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 145 resorted to where the crime to be expiated was an c vi.' attempt on the lives of foreigners. The Japanese min- isaa. isters were always pleading the force of public opinion as the excuse for their inability to protect foreigners (and this plea was much more valid than the foreigners could then well imagine), and if they did punish with death some of the criminals in this instance, where no particular form, of execution was demanded by the British Envoy, they w^ould naturally choose the one which was most secret and least likely to give offence to their own countrymen. It may, I think, be affirmed almost with certainty that any of the assassins, being two-sworded men, who were sentenced to death, were permitted to put an end to their own lives by the honourable process of hara kiri. The Kinse Shiriaku* it should be remarked, mentions that the bakufu ordered the house of Mito to arrest the assassins, but that they made their escape into Oshiu and Dewa. On the 27th of September Nariaki, ex-Prince of f£p^ber Mito, and prime leader of the anti- foreign party, died. SlSakif His family connections with the shogun and the prox- of "mho. imity of his territory to Yedo had made his opposition all the more dangerous, and his death was a welcome event to the adherents of a Liberal policy. * " Short History of Recent Events." 1853—1869. Translated by E. Satow. TOL. I. L HIST0EY OF JAPAN. CHAPTER VII. 1862. Attempt to Murder Ando Tsushima no Kami.—He retires from the rojiu.—Marriage of the shogun to Princess Kazu. —Mr. Alcock leaves for England.—Mr. Consul Winchester and then Lieutenant-Colonel Neale act as Charge d'Affaires. The first event in 1862 which it is necessary to notice is the attempt, on the 14th of February, by a band of eighteen men, to murder Ando Tsushima no Kami, already mentioned as a minister favourable to the maintenance of foreign relations. He was on his way to the Castle, close to the Sakashita gate, when some samitrai suddenly discharged their small-arms at the cortege, and then threw themselves on the minister's litter with such force and suddenness as to spread a momentary panic among the retainers. They, however, quickly rallied in their master's defence, though not in time to save him from two or three severe wounds. Several were killed or wounded ; but the whole of the assailants, seven in number, were, it is said, despatched upon the spot. According to one account,# the dead men were found to be retainers of Hori Oribe no Kami, who, as will be recollected, * Genji yume mono g atari. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 147 had disembowelled himself after a violent discussion °vnI with Ando on some question relating to foreign "^iST matters, and, according to the paper found upon each of the attacking party after death, they had determined to take Ando's life, in order to avenge their late chief, and not to allow such a disturber of the State to escape just punishment. The Kinse Shiriaku, however, gives the substance of the document as follows :—"The minister, Ando, inheriting the ideas of the chief minister, Ii Kamon no Kami, has made friends of the barbarians. In concert with the resident, Sakai Wakasa no Kami, he has placed in confinement honourable and loyal Court nobles. He has abused the influence of the bakufu in order to bring the Mikado's sister to Yeclo, and, worst of all, has commanded learned Japanese scholars to collect precedents for the deposition of the Emperor, his intention being to depose the son of heaven. His crimes are too heinous to be spoken of with'calmness, and we have therefore sacrificed our lives in order to kill this wicked traitor." Ando's wounds were sufficiently serious to confine him to the house till the beginning of May. During that interval the most contradictory rumours respecting his fate were brought to the ears of the Kepresenta-tives ; it was supposed that he would never recover, and, as weeks elapsed without his appearance, he was generally considered to be dead. Still the rojiu always persisted in affirming that, although his wounds were severe, they were not likely to prove fatal. And this was the fact. He even appeared once ^£™" more for a short interval, being present at the parting interview of Mr. Harris, the American Eepresentative, with the rojiu in the beginning of the month of May, l2 148 HISTOKY OF JAPAN. and again on the succeeding day at an interview between M. de Bellecourt and that high Council; and though his countenance was said to be that of a man who had lately recovered from a serious illness, he acted during the conferences with his usual energy and good sense. No hint was given on either occasion of an intention on his part to retire from his post. Keth-es - ^n the 10th of May, however, the Eepresentatives r8j£. e received an official notification from the r6jiu, stating that Ando, having been promoted to the post of tamari dzume kaku,* retired from that of Minister for foreign affairs. This dismissal seems to have been effected, similarly with others, through the representations of an Envoy of the Emperor, who had been sent to Yedo to deliver his Majesty's orders to the shogun as to the course to , be taken with a view to the expulsion of foreigners, ^mage^of On the 11th of March the imperial Princess Kazu, Krizuess who kad reached Yedo towards the end of 1861, was married to the shogun in the eastern castle. Mr. Alcock having made his preparations for departure, held two final interviews with the President of the Council and some high officials. In these, amongst other things, the amount of pecuniary indemnity to Messrs. Oliphant and Morrison was settled at the sum originally demanded, and the question of deferring the opening of new ports and cities, though discussed, was left unsettled, owing to Departure the Japanese ministers having no equivalent to offer. Iicock on The British Envoy left Yokohama on the 22nd of leave. J March, and returned to England. Mr. "Winchester, consul at Kanagawa, remained in charge for two * Member of an extraordinary council, sometimes called in to advise on high matters of State. HIST0BY OF JAPAN. 149 months, until the arrival of Lieutenant-Colonel Neale, Cy£* who had succeeded Mr. Oliphant as secretary of ^TsS" legation. Colonel Neale acted as Charge d'Affaires during the remainder of the .absence of her Majesty's Envoy. 150 HISTORY OF JAPAN. CHAPTER VIII. 1862. The Satsuma Clan.—Shimadzu Idzumi, afterwards Saburd, is met on his road to Kioto by ronins eager for the Expulsion of Foreigners.—They accompany him to Fushimi.—He is requested by the Court to tarry in Kioto.—-Arrival of Choshiu, and combination of the two Clans. Cvhl' Amongst the clans which have played a more im-ThTsS^ portant part in Japanese history and have been par-inKiushiu. ticularly famed for their military prowess there is probably none more distinguished than that of Satsuma. The principality was situated at the southern end of the island of Kiushiu, and consisted of most of the provinces of Satsuma, Osumi, and Hiuga, the capital being that town of Kagoshima, beautifully situated on a deep bay, which was destined before long to be the scene of an encounter between English and Japanese. I was there in January, 1871, and it was easy to see that the whole principality was one vast military organization, and that its resources were drained to meet the expenses of keeping it up. I was struck with the great number of two-sworded men in this place, which is said to contain one hundred thousand inhabitants, and I was told that it then contained HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 151 six regiments, and that the whole force of the clan con- Cv\f,p sisted of fifty regiments, "the full complement of each ^TsgJT"^ being five hundred men. During 1870 a large space opposite the residence of the prince had been cleared of buildings, and planted with a species of close-woven grass; there drilling went on daily with much perseverance. The forts, stretching across the bay, bristled with rifled cannon, and there was a factory in operation for casting guns. All this military organization, then, keeps the ^Tcotntr country people poor. In passing through a portion of people* the province during several days, I could not help being struck with the appearance of poverty all around; the houses were in general dilapidated, in many cases not even being provided with the usual paper screens, which were replaced by simple boards, the hostelries were small and afforded but poor accommodation, and the food was inferior. For, to add to the troubles of inferior rice. the peasants, their rice is not of an excellent quality, and the amount is small in proportion to the population, so that, as I was told, none is allowed to be exported, and the- islands, where in general no rice is grown, have mostly to be supplied from the mainland. If there is a deficiency in the crop, rice may be and is imported, especially from the neighbouring territories of Higo and Chikuzen. , The destinies of this great clan were, at the period wiSS?,^ of history we have now reached, in the hands of real leader Shimadzu Idzumi, or, to call him by the name which is familiar to foreigners, and which he was soon after permitted to assume, Shimadzu Saburo. He was not the daimio himself, that position being occupied by one of his sons, who had been adopted by his brother, the preceding daimio. Shimadzu Saburo was therefore 152 HISTORY OF JAPAN. (viiiP' the real father and, through adoption, legally the uncle 1862. of the reigning prince. This magnate had set out theTpdngn fr°m ^e Batsuma territory in the spring, and was on his way to Yedo, to carry out certain projects which will be alluded to presently, when he was met, at llSnlh7 Him&ji, in the province of Harima, by several hundred desirous for A -, . . -, . 1 , theexpui- rom?is, who were awaiting his approach, m order to sionoftlie . & r r > ans.^ari" ^ay before him their complaints against the bakufu . officials, and their intention of requesting the Emperor " to set forth in person to subjugate and expel the barbarians." With this intent they had drawn up a memorial, containing the usual arguments for such expulsion ; but fearing that they could not carry out their designs without the aid of some great nobleman, they had decided, after much communication with different parts of the country, to await the coming of Shimadzu -Saburo, of whose policy they were well assured, and to impart to him their desire to perform some great deed, and to restore the old order of things. They were eager for violent measures, and they suggested a plan for taking the castle of Ozaka by assault, burning the castle of Hikone, and slaying the garrison of the castle of Nij6 (the sh6gun's residence in Kioto). After which, certain princes and other nobles could be set free from confinement, and then the phoenix-car* could be carried over the pass of Hakone, and the bakufu officials punished for their crimes. Such a desperate body of men were not to be accompany lightly treated, and Shimadzu, probably somewhat FShimi. perplexed, permitted them to join his train, and they # The palanquin which accompanied the Mikado. When his present Majesty first journeyed to Yedo, he did not travel in the palanquin, but it figured in the procession. Here it is used to signify the Emperor himself. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 153 accompanied him as far as Fushimi.* When this Cyui' was known in Kioto, there was great alarm; but the ^~i£r^ Satsuma noble entered the Capital quietly on the 14th. g^tGra of May, and sent a letter to the kuambaku to inform the Court of his intentions. He stated .that he was proceeding to Yedo with the object of assisting the bakufu in reforming their bad system of government; that since 1858 they had neglected the orders of the Emperor, and had traded with the outer barbarians ; that they had imprisoned upright and patriotic princes, kuges, and other high personages, and that consequently the popular mind had become excited. Then, adverting to the rdnins, he showed how dangerous that element had become; they had, as he expressed it, maintained the duty of respecting the sovereign and of driving out the barbarians ; they had assassinated the regent li Kamon no Kami, and had murdered foreigners, and now, owing to the policy of the bakufu officials, they were determined upon some great deed, which would be the cause of much complication. For this reason, he continued, he had set out for Yedo, but meeting a force of such rdnins on the way, he had thought it better to bring them .on with him as far as Fushimi, and he now begged to present their memorial to the Emperor. The Court approved of the action of the Satsuma £qeu^rt chief, and ordered him to remain for a short time in taSythere. Kioto, in order to quiet the excitement caused by the rdnins. These men had thus obtained considerable influence The r^n*w-in the land, and it will be seen that they played a prominent part in the events which marked the first years of intercourse with foreigners. They seem to * A few miles from Kioto. 154 HISTORY OF JAPAN. CvmP' have' come particularly into notice after the conclusion 1862. of, the American treaty, in 1857 ; at that time a number of retainers of Mito, already shown to have been concerned in several assassinations, are said to have absconded from that territory, because they considered that they could not succeed in expelling the foreigners whilst in the service of their prince, and they hoped to accomplish their aspirations by other means. " Prom this time," says the Japanese chronicler, " numbers of low-class two-sworded men wandered about the country, and gave promise of noble deeds." In the month of May, soon after the arrival of t^sllf7 of Shimadzu Saburo, a general amnesty was published, i^amoiiby and a number of high personages, who had been amL punished by li Kamon no Kami, were released from confinement, the influence of the bakufu being on the wane. Amongst the names particularly known to us are Hitotstibashi, the old princes of Tosa, Echizen, and Owari, and some of the highest officials at Kioto. th"pSnce ^nd a"k the same time the Prince of Choshiu arrived aidcomw- at the metropolis, and he (i.e. the clan) was entrusted satsuma. with the duty of assisting the Satsuma men in keeping the rdnins quiet. His principality comprised the two provinces of Nagato and Suwo. Thus it would appear that the two powerful clans of Satsuma and Choshiu had agreed to combine against the Yedo government, and the opposition, always in the name of the Emperor, began to assume more threatening proportions. The influence of this party is further seen in, a number of punishments meted out in the summer to kuges accused of favouring the bakufu. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 155 CHAPTER IX. 1862. Second Attack on the British Legation.—Murder of two Marines.—Congratulation of Commissioner on Anniversary of former Attack.—ltd Grumpei, stated to be the Assassin, commits Suicide.—Explanations of the Officials.—Examination of Evidence.—No Motives' given for the Murder.— Instructions from Earl Russell for Inquiry, &c, and Demand for Indemnity of £10,000.—Answer of Japanese Government.—Indemnity ultimately Paid.—Motive for Murder may have been Private Vengeance. But to return to Yedo. Lieutenant-Colon el Neale cffp' had not been long at his post before there was another AtST" attack on the British legation at Yedo. The British goionei ° Neale s Charge d'affaires had arrived from Yokohama on the le^at: 12th of June, with the other members of the legation, and, accompanied by a guard of thirty men of her Majesty's ship "Renard," he had taken up his residence within the grounds of the temple of Tozenji, having first duly informed the Japanese ministers of his intention to establish himself permanently in the shogun's capital. He found that the usual precautions had been taken by the authorities, numerous guards having been stationed in detached wooden huts, entirely surrounding the residence; the number of guards, ion. 156 HISTORY OF JAPAN. C?£P' indeed, according to a Japanese return, amounted to 1862. no less than five hundred r and thirty-five men, composed partly of the skogun's body-guard, but chiefly of the retainers of the daimio Matsudaira Tamba no Kami, of Matsumoto in Shinshiu, who had x been charged by the government to furnish a contingent, during a certain period, for this particular service. Every night parties of these men marched at intervals to the very doors of the legation buildings, and remained for a short time with the English sentries, leaving behind them one man at each post to aid in challenging any persons who, might approach, and on this account they were furnished with the parole, which was in the Japanese language, and was issued at sunset every evening. Sonfonula" Here a curious fact finds its, proper place. On fSacLn'- the morning of the 26th of June, Colonel Neale had missioner .-...„ ^ .. ^ of foreign received a visit from one of the Commissioners of affairs, anSleitry foreign affairs, who informed him that he had come by former desire of the ministers to congratulate him (the Charge d'affaires) upon the passing of the previous day without any disturbance or untoward event, seeing that, according to the Japanese calendar, a year had elapsed since the previous attack on the legation, that he was glad to find all was right, and that he should report the same to the ministers. Colonel Neale replied that he had no reason to suspect any evil designs against the legation, and he added that the only enemies appeared to be the earthquakes, which had been rather frequent at Yedo during the previous days. The Commissioner smiled at this remark, and took his leave. Now, on the night of this very 26th of June the attack was made. attack. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 157 At half-past twelve the British sentry posted at °ixP' the verandah adjoining Colonel Neale's bed-room ^ im: 0 ° m , Particulars challenged sharply some approaching object. Colonel ^d. Neale had retired to rest, but was not asleep, and the th^&Sy usual papered panels alone separated him from the of corporal sentry. He thus heard the challenge, and what followed passed in his hearing. The answer was the right parole. Notwithstanding this, the sentry was evidently dissatisfied, and cried out in an anxious tone, " What's that you say ? Who are you ?;? After which he walked briskly three or four paces towards the object. Colonel Neale rose in bed to hear the result, and in an instant the deadened sound of a rapid succession of heavy blows and cuts reached his ears, every cut or blow being followed by a cry of pain and anguish. Silence succeeded for a moment, and was followed by the beating of drums on the heights, and the gathering of Japanese guards about the house. Colonel Neale rose from his bed, and, finding his way across two rooms, passed into the guard's quarters, which the sentry, mortally wounded, had just reached. He Was lying on the floor, his life ebbing away from nine desperate wounds received from lance and sword. The whole .British guard was roused, and, together with Lieutenant Edwards, E.N., followed Colonel -Neale to the dining-room, as the established rendezvous. There they were joined by the men of the British escort, under Lieutenant Applin. The other members of the legation assembled in the same room. It was then discovered that Corporal Crimp, R.M., was absent, and a search having been made, his corpse was found lying in a pool of blood on the verandah, across the threshold of one of the outer doors leading 158 HISTORY OF JAPAN. CIrxF' to the colonel's bed-room. It was gashed with no less "^1862^^ than sixteen frightful wounds. The assassin, it appeared, had run his first victim through the neck with a lance, and jbhen, falling upon him with a sword, had delivered a number of cuts, in true Japanese fashion, with such rapidity as at once to overpower the sentry. Then, leaving his victim for dead, he had gone to the corner of the building, some twenty paces, when he met Corporal Crimp, who was making his rounds alone, and was about to visit the unfortunate sentry. A conflict seems to have instantly ensued upon the verandah, and though the corporal appears to have discharged one shot from his revolver, which took effect in the neck of his assailant, he was disabled by a wound in the ham, and succumbed under the repeated cuts delivered by the Japanese. The latter then crept under the verandah, his course being traced by marks of blood, and he made his way to the guard-house. Charles Sweet, the sentry, died in the morning, and all that Doctors Jenkins and Willis could learn from him was that the assassin had approached, creeping on his hands and feet, and that the Japanese guard who was with him (Sweet) had fled the moment the attack commenced. Measu^of Proper means were quickly taken to increase the British guard at the legation, and to protect its inmates from any further outrage, but it is rather to the action of the Japanese authorities that I would here direct attention. Colonel To begin with one incident, Colonel Neale having Neale . . . desires to been informed by the Commissioners for foreign affairs view the J ° asSsshif6 that the assassin (for they restricted themselves to committed6 speaking of one) had escaped wounded to his chiefs HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 159 house, and had then committed suicide, demanded to C?^R view the body. To this they replied that it would be im. J j x > suicide, but difficult, but they desired to know whether the body J^e^° could not be conveyed to the legation. proposed. Colonel Neale assented, his object being to cause the medical officers attached to the legation to examine the bullet wound which the man was stated to have received, and thus to satisfy himself that the body was that of the corporal's assassin. The Commissioners- informed Colonel Neale, the following morning, that his request would be complied with, and that the corpse would be brought towards the evening. But, upon asking by whom it would be conveyed, and where it would be placed, he was told that it would be brought to the legation by retainers of the daimio, i.e. by -comrades of the assassin, and that it would be placed in the temple occupied by the priests, and forming part of the buildings in the grounds. And to a further question as to the number of persons who would accompany it, the answer was that there might be a good many. Colonel Neale therefore declared that the body should not enter the gates under such circumstances, and he broke up the conference in order that these intended arrangements might be forthwith considered at an end. He wras informed at a later hour in the evening that , the body had notwithstanding been brought to the outer gate, but had been subse- . quently taken away again; For the thorough investigation of this mysterious affair, it was certainly essential that the murderer's corpse should be viewed by the foreigners, and the loss of important evidence cannot but be regretted. In the very first communication which they made, Expiana- J J 7 tlOBS Of in answer to a letter from the British Charge cV Affaires, oSsSe 160 HISTOBY OF JAP AH. CHAP. IX. the Japanese ministers for foreign affairs declared that, ^mT^ owing to the disorderly state of the national feeling in Japan, it had happened once before that the Envoy was taken by surprise ; that this had now occurred again ; and they calmly confessed that on the present occasion it was brought about by one of the retainers of the prince to whom the protection of the legation was entrusted, a state of things which was very improper, and filled them with shame. They went on to say that, although the culprit had already committed suicide, he was undoubtedly guilty, as he had left behind him an unmistakable proof in the weapon with which he had committed the deed (doubtless the lance which was found near the body of one of the murdered men). More regrets followed, together with a promise to have the cowardly treason of the Japanese guards punished, after due investigation; also a promise that a person of high rank should, according to Colonel Neale's desire, be appointed, to be responsible for the protection of the legation, confer- Long conferences ensued, and the immediate result, Result as recorded by Colonel Neale in a letter of the 30th of unsatis- J factory. June to the ministers, was by no means satisfactory. It is true that further barricades were erected, that the Japanese guards were removed outside these defences to the heights, and that the responsible officer of rank was appointed. But no assurances against future attacks had been given ; no communication, either officially or in writing, had been made, as to whether the daimio whose adherent or adherents had committed the outrage had been, together with his men, relieved from the duty confided to him. " If he has been removed/' says Colonel Neale's letter, - " I am ignorant of HISTORY OF JAPAN. what other daimio has been now charged with this office, or what number of yakunins are now guarding this legation. And, above all, I am ignorant whether the Tycoon's government place, or do not place, implicit confidence in the daimios and men now actually charged with the protection of her Britannic Majesty's legation. " I have not," it continues, " been informed what has been the result, as far as they may have gone, of the examinations and inquiries instituted by the Tycoon's government into the circumstances attending the outrage which has been committed ; of the result of the examination of the guards, of the yakunin who fled and abandoned the sentry ; of the manner in which the murderer can have passed the Japanese guards, and the manner in which he still more strangely escaped, which he did after the guards were roused, and among whom he must have found refuge. " And, finally, I am ignorant of the opinion and belief of the Tycoon's government as to the object and aim of the assailants. " Until such assurances and explanations as I have referred to are afforded to me by your Excellencies, I have distinctly to acquaint you that I must continue to remain in a state of doubt and uncertainty with respect to the future chances of security from further outrages on this legation." On the 10th of July Colonel Neale had an interview with the rojiu, during which he adverted to the visit of the Commissioner of foreign affairs on the morning of the 26th of June, and he asked why, seeing that the attack had actually taken place on the night of the same day, if the government had had any fears or VOL. I. M 162 HISTORY OF JAPAN. 0IixP' anticipations of danger with regard to her Majesty's *~~^r^ legation, he had not been warned previously, rather than congratulated afterwards; adding that, had he received the slightest warning from tan official source, the murder of the two English guards would inevitably not have occurred, for the sentries would have been doubled, and men would certainly not have been thus barbarously assassinated, single-handed and unsuspecting. " The gorojiu, to my surprise," writes Colonel Neale, " replied that I was certainly quite right in the observations I had made, and they regretted they had not thought of warning me in time." The reply is curious, but, though proceeding from the mouth of the ministers, it does not prove them to have been aware that any attack was to be made on the legation. Five weeks had elapsed when, on the 1st of August, Colonel Neale wrote to Earl Eussell that he had not received the slightest oflBcial information tending to throw light on the matter, although it could hardly be doubted that the Japanese government were in possession of all the facts almost immediately after the commission of the crime. The only move made was by some officials of low grade, who had put questions to Mr. Eusden, the Japanese secretary of legation, as to what families or relatives had been left by the murdered men. coioUnSof It should be mentioned that, in the month of she0artetimea July, Colonel Neale returned for two or three weeks toYoko- J' oSSricSud1 *° Yokohama, in consequence, as he wrote, of a comedo.*0 bination of circumstances, and particularly owing to the too harassing duties of the small number of English guards who had been landed for the protection HISTORY OF JAPAN. 163 of the legation. He at the same time recorded his cgp-intention to follow for the moment the policy of most ^^imT^ of his colleagues, and only to visit Yedo occasionally, as official business and expediency might reader it necessary, remaining for some days at a time at the old residence there. At an interview on the 19 th of August with members of the Council and other officials, the governor of Yedo made the following statement to the British Eepresentative:— That the man who had attacked the two English- Stafement men and murdered them was not actually one of the of fJaonor guards, but was an adherent of the daimio whose retainers they were. That on the night in question he came to one of the guard-houses, and asked what the parole was, and as he was a man known to the guard, the word was given to him. That he then went away, and must have gone down to the English sentry unobserved ; that, after committing the murders, he had escaped, and had fled, wounded by a pistol-bullet, to one of the daimio's palaces, and had there committed suicide. That he had originally started from the daimio's palace with two others, but that they had not remained with him. That no other persons had been found to be implicated ; and that the assassin was of deranged intellect. Neither of the two companions, it may be mentioned, appear on the scene subsequently, nor is there any evidence of the madness of the assassin himself. Colonel Neale thereupon observed that all this menfto the information was substantially known to himself and Grumpei, by • rrn burning to others the very morning after the event. Thehis corPse« governor admitted this, but added that the punishment awarded for the crime was not known, viz. that M 2 164 HISTORY OF JAPAN. c?xP' ^e body of Ito Gumpei, the murderer, which was not ^"IsST"" then buried, would be burnt and his remains thrown into the street—a great punishment in Japan, and a offer to pay great dishonour to his family. The rojiu also stated doiiUarsnd that they proposed to pay three thousand dollars as indemnity. compensa-fcion to the families of the murdered men. Examma- The result of the examination of the persons con- tions and . x me^tshcom- ^eeted with the deed and the punishments decreed S"ooionel were communicated to Colonel Neale a week later. It was declared that no accomplice of Ito Gumpei had been discovered, and that the corpse of the latter was to be " cast away ; " Matsudaira Tamba no Kami was put under arrest for negligence in his trust as charged with the protection of the temporary residence of the British Eepresentative at Tozenji, and various of his retainers as well as some officers of the shogun's body-guard were punished, mostly by arrest for a certain period. One of the latter, called Onotaro, is stated in his sentence to have been at his post and to have fought for a while with the culprit, whose Snrc6e',s lance he struck out of his hands. "Although he ments upon (Onotaro)/' the sentence continues, " was wounded himself, yet it (the wound) was not so serious that it incapacitated him from exerting himself; and although the lantern was gone out and it was dark in consequence, he ought to have had recourse to some means to ward off the pending danger; but, deserting his post, he went to the watch-house and gave the alarm, and then lighting the candle of the lantern, ' he returned to the former place, all of which facilitated the escape of the culprit." Hence he was put under arrest during fifty clays. Now, I have obtained what I believe to be an authentic copy of the evidence of this same Onotaro, HISTORY OF JAPAN. and the following is a translation of it, kindly made for me by Mr. Aston. " I wa£ on duty before the foreigner's residence at one o'clock on the night of the 26th of June last (1862), when I saw a man coming ^ith a lance in his hand. He was challenged by the foreign sentry, and gave the proper countersign. I too called on him to give the countersign, and received the same answer. He approached the foreigner, and I held forward my lantern so as to see him, when he suddenly made a thrust at the foreigner. I drew my sword and struck at him. The sword met the lance, which fell out of his hands. He then drew his sword, and cut at the foreigner. Another foreigner then fired a pistol. My lantern went out, and it was so dark I could not see my way,, sp I went to the guard-room and struck the alarm-drum. I then lit my lantern and returned to the place where I had been stationed, but the man was no longer to be seen. I looked round the space before the yashilci. A number of other guards came to my assistance, and we remained on guard together over the foreigner's residence. (Signed) "Miyake Okotaro. "Dated 27th of June, 1862." It will be observed that in this evidence there is no mention of a wound having been inflicted upon Onotaro. On the contrary, all that, on his own showing, he seems to have done was to draw his sword and strike the lance out of the assassin's hands. Whether he even performed this isolated deed of valour is uncertain,, but it is clear that he offered no continued resistance to the assassin, and that, basely leaving the Englishman to be murdered, he ran away to the guard-house. 166 HISTORY OF JAPAN. chap. That this is the true version there seems to be no ^^^ doubt Mr. Pruyn, the United States' Kepresentative, in a letter addressed to Colonel Neale on the 1st of July, states that he had carefully examined the premises ; that one of the Japanese guard (no doubt the man Onotaro) had admitted that he had seen the assassin, had claimed as a ground of merit that he had fought with and been wounded by him, and had then run to the guard-house to give the alarm; that, unfortunately for this version, it happened that the guardhouse was within sight and call of this guard, and of the transaction, that his wound was a slight scratch on the back of his leg, inflicted whilst he was running away; and that his flight had given an opportunity for the attack on the corporal, whose life would have been saved if the former had only done his duty, in which case the assailant, if only one, would have been killed or arrested, SoningfveT ^° much f°r t^e evidence of the man Onotaro, and motives for his conduct. But there is not, in the whole of the murderer, papers communicated to Colonel Neale, one tittle of information respecting the motives of the murderer. According to the official documents, he returned to his abode, where he lived with three other fellow-retainers, to whom he declared that he had killed and wounded foreigners, and had come back because he himself was wounded; and these three men were punished because they did not watch him properly, and he was thus enabled to commit suicide. Still, not a word is said respecting the questions which his comrades must have asked him, nor respecting the answers which were doubtless given by him. It is simply inconceivable that, out of all the men alleged to have been examined in this matter, there were none who could not have HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 167 disclosed the motives of the assassin's, if there were C^R more than one. The government must have been in ^^Tm^ possession of such information; they must have known Ito Gumpei's motives, and whether he had indeed any accomplices ; but, true to their policy, they withheld every jot and tittle of such evidence from the British Eepresentative. That there was gross neglect and even absolute g™°s°sfsof connivance on the part of the* guards in the grounds thfnftive is conclusively proved by the following circumstances related to me by Doctor Willis, formerly medical officer of the legation, who was there at the time, and was one of the first on the spot after the murders; 1st. The sentry who- preceded Sweet at his post, by name Johnson, a strong, well-built man, stated that during his watch he was several times requested by Japanese to go with them to see something, and each time they motioned to him to put down his rifle. He refused to accompany them, but so impressed was he of something being in the wind that, when Sweet relieved him, he particularly cautioned that man to keep a sharp look-out. 2nd. When Doctor Willis rushed out on hearing the noise, he found that all the Japanese lanterns, which were invariably kept alight at night, had been put out. 3rd. The lance used by the assassin was taken by him out of the guard-house. 4th. He entered the guard-house afterwards,, and was not detained there. Upon receiving the news of the attack, Earl Bus- ^J^ sell addressed a despatch to Colonel Neale, dated Sen. September 22, in which his lordship instructs him to state to the Japanese ministers that some of the circumstances connected with the murders had produced a very painful impression. For example, the Japanese HISTOKY OF JAPAN. c?xP' guar(is5 on the occasion of the attack of 1861, had ^m~" bravely defended the legation, whereas the followers of the daimio employed on this occasion behaved in the most cowardly and treacherous manner ; the inference would appear to be that the former guards were removed for their fidelity, and that the others were expressly chosen for their want of courage and fidelity. Again, the visit of congratulation of the Japanese minister already recorded must have been to put the British Representative off his guard. Further, the number of wounds on the victims seemed to show that the assassins were several, and that the Japanese guards connived with them ; if this was so, the inference was that the daimio entrusted with the protection of her Majesty's mission secretly favoured the attempt to murder its members. Lastly, on neither occasion of a murderous and midnight assault had the Japanese government given any assurance of efficient protection for the future, a circumstance which tended to show that they indulged a secret hope that the sense of insecurity might at length induce her Majesty's government to abandon Yedo, and gradually to allow the ancient custom of non-intercourse and prohibition of trade to be re-established. Demand for Colonel Neale was further instructed to urge upon inquiry, &c, " o J. demJdtyof the Japanese government the duty, for its own sake, of ' ' a strict inquiry into this deplorable occurrence. If, as there was every reason to believe, the daimio in charge of the legation had betrayed his trust, and had connived at the attack, he should be openly degraded, and most severely punished. ' Sufficient steps were to be taken by the British naval authorities for the protection of the legation, and a compensation of £10,000 sterling paid in gold was to be demanded for the fami- HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 169 lies of the two unfortunate marines, this sum to be CI£|P-levied on the estate of the aforesaid daimio. ' J^~ These instructions were duly communicated by Colonel Neale to the Japanese ministers on the 4th of December, and on the 20th an answer at great length ttfheev was returned to him in writing. * They persisted in govern-declaring that there was but one assailant, who had not the aid of any other person ; they argued that he fled so suddenly that the guards unintentionally lost sight of him ; that the guards had been changed, not because the former were faithful and the actual ones faithless, but because, when the government imposes a service on a daimio, the time of such service is specified, and at its expiration another daimio takes the place of the first one; that if, when the Commissioner of foreign affairs paid his visit previous to the attack, he had had the least suspicion of what was going to happen, he would have informed the British Eepre-sentative, and would have given strict orders to the officers placed at the legation for its protection to be on the look-out; that a single Japanese who murders a man always inflicts a great many wounds upon him, being for the most part singularly dexterous with his sword ; that neither Matsudaira Tamba no Kami, nor even his other retainers or inferior officers, were privy to the deed ; that as to the suspicion that the government knew of the two attacks beforehand, and was in hopes that by such means foreign trade would be stopped by degrees, and the old custom restored of non-intercourse with foreigners, " how-could our government," the document runs, "ever expect such a thing, or even wish it, after treaties * Correspondence respecting affairs in Japan, presented to Parliament, 1864, pp. 14—16. 170 HISTOKY OF JAPAN. CIi£P' of perpetual peace and amity have been ratified by 1862. both empires ? " The value of this latter argument will be properly estimated when we come to the attempt soon afterwards made to close the port of Kanagawa-Yokohama. The ministers further represented that the placing Tamba no Kami and others under arrest was a severe punishment, for that, during the arrest, the individual is obliged to keep the gate of his residence closed, and, forbidding any one to enter or to leave, he must shut himself up in his room and abstain from all business. " Moreover, he is not allowed to shave or bathe, or have intercourse with any one, be they his parents, children, or brothers; and all his servants, from the lowest upwards, are not allowed to leave his residence, on account of the arrest of their master/' The ministers therefore considered the punishments sufficient, and they refused to increase the compensation which they had offered for the families of the murdered men. Sde^Tnity Further negotiations in the matter ensued,, and, as paid, will hereafter be seen, after more than a year, the full indemnity demanded by the British government was paid in Mexican dollars, at the same time with the larger indemnity exacted for a subsequent murderous assault on the t6kaido by men of the Satsuma clan. No further reparation or elucidation of the circumstances was obtained by Colonel Neale. wasp?o? I have, however, received certain information from private116 ° native sources, which I will proceed to relate, without vengeance. # x of course being able to guarantee its accuracy. I have been credibly informed by more than one Japanese,, who at one time or another belonged to the native guard stationed during that period in the grounds of HISTORY OF JAPAN. 171 Tozenji, that the whole matter was one of private CI^P-vengeance on the part of It6 Gumpei; that, a foreigner ' ISST belonging to the legation had had an altercation with him, whilst he was on guard, upon his refusing to open a certain gate and allow the foreigner to pass through ; that the latter had in consequence become very angry, and had finally spat upon the Japanese, who, nursing his rage, vowed vengeance; that this was why he had crept up at flight, and had slain the sentry—the murder of the corporal followed from the accident of their meeting; that he was satisfied with his vengeance, and that he had no accomplices. One of the informants declared that Ito Gumpei was seized before he could leave the grounds; that he was then conducted under arrest to his own house, and, after examination, was forced to commit Kara kiri then and there. These facts have been related to me very circumstantially, and there is much likelihood in their truth, or at least in there being some foundation for the murder having been due to a desire on the part of the assassin to avenge himself on a foreigner for a real or fancied insult from one of the hated intruders. If this be so^ the government are absolved from the suspicion of having had any previous knowledge of the intended deed, but not in any case from the concealment of the true story from her Majesty's Kepre-sentative. Still they may even have been ignorant of this at first, for it is very possible that they themselves were deceived by the officials of the daimio Tamba no Kami. I have been informed that when that noble was first requested by the government to give information on the matter, he, through his officers, . professed entire ignorance of any one of his retainers having been implicated, and that it was only when the 172 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. c?xP" Moody lance and the lantern of the assassin, which he ^TST^ had dropped whilst attempting to make his escape, were proved to belong to his particular clan, that an explanation inculpating Ito Gumpei was vouchsafed by the daimio. That Colonel Neale and other foreigners supposed at the time that the attack was similar in its origin to that of 1861, and was the result of a plot to massacre all the members of the legation, is not surprising. It was indeed quite natural, especially as some circumstances in the case seemed clearly to point that way. no general But, on a review of the whole evidence, I cannot plot. 7 ¦ > avoid coming to the conclusion that there was no such general plot, and that the government were not aware of what was going to happen. They certainly might, in a friendly spirit, have called the attention of the British Eepresentative to the fact that the anniversary of the attack of 1861 was at hand, and that some similar deed might be apprehended. This, in all probability, would, as Colonel Neale remarked, have prevented the occurrence of the tragedy ; but if the government were not aware of any plot to attack the legation, why should they arouse suspicion, as they would suppose, needlessly in the English Representative's mind ? I am inclined to believe that the visit of congratulation by a Commissioner of foreign affairs on the 26 th of June was in Reality merely a polite attention on the occasion of the anniversary of the former attack, possibly On the whole, then, I think it probable that the private # . vengeance. acc0unt which I have received from native sources,, years after the event, when Japanese are no longer quite so reticent, or so afraid or unwilling to speak out, as in the first period of our intercourse, is sub- HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 173 stantially correct, and that the deed was one simply of c^p-private vengeance. If so, one's first reflection naturally "^TsS^ is that it is surprising that the government made such a secret of the matter, and did not rather disclose the motive of Ito Gumpei to her Majesty's Eepresentative. But reticence was the order of the day, and is natural with all orientals. The version of the Kinse Shiriaku is also worthy of record. It states that Gumpei hated foreigners, and, chafing under the idea that his prince should have to protect the objects of his dislike, had hoped that something would happen to put a stop to it; that it happened to be Gumpei's turn to be on guard (i.e. at some previous time), and one of the Englishmen having committed an act of discourtesy towards him, he flew into a rage, and took advantage of the darkness to accomplish his purpose. There really seems to have been only one assailant, Probably «/ J ^ only one and the marvellous dexterity of the Japanese samurai assailant-in the use of the long sword is quite sufficient to account for the numerous wounds having all been inflicted by one man. 174 HISTOBY OF JAPAN, CHAPTEE X. 1862. Mission of Ohara to Yedo, accompanied by Shimadza Saburo.— Proposals to the Shogun. chap. Now, the Kuge Ohara Sayemon no Kami had been ^HmT^ dispatched from Kioto, in the month of * June, as andra imperial Envoy, to announce to the shogun the deter- Shimadzu ,r J & aVarive6m Inmed purpose of the Mikado to expel the foreigners. redo. jje wag escorted by Shimadzu Saburo, who was accompanied by a body of six hundred armed men. They arrived at Yedo in the beginning of July, and the Envoy then delivered his message to the shogun. posalsto0" "The# message declared that since barbarian the shdgun. ° . . . vessels had commenced to visit this country, the barbarians had conducted themselves in an insolent manner, without any interference on the part of the bakufu officials; that the consequence had been that the peace of the Empire had been disturbed, and the people had been plunged into misery; that his Majesty was profoundly distressed at these things, and that the bakufu on that occasion had replied that of late discord had arisen among the people, and that it was therefore impossible to raise an army for the expulsion of the barbarians; and they said that if his Majesty would graciously give his sister in marriage to * From the Genji yume monogatari, vol. ii. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 175 the shogun, the Court and camp* would be reconciled, CI^T the people would exert themselves, and the barbarians " lSSST would be swept away. Thereupon his Majesty good- -naturedly granted the request, and permitted the Princess Kazu to go down to Kuanto. Contrary, however, to all expectation, traitorous officials became more and more intimate with the barbarians, and treated the Imperial family as if they were nobody ; in order to steal a day of tranquillity they forgot the long years of trouble to follow, and were close upon the point of asking the barbarians to take them under their jurisdiction. The nation had beqome more and more turbulent; of late, therefore, the rdnins of the western provinces had assembled in a body to urge the Mikado to ride to Hakone, and, after punishing the traitorous officials, to drive out the barbarians. The two clans of Satsuma and Choshiu had pacified these men, and were willing to lend their assistance to the Court and camp in order to drive out the barbarians. The shogun (Taijiu K6)t must proceed to Kioto to take counsel with the nobles of the court, and must put forth all his strength, must dispatch orders to the clans of the home provinces and the seven circuits, and, speedily performing the exploit of expelling the barbarians, restore tranquillity to the Empire. On the one hand he must appease the sacred wrath of the Mikado's divine ancestors, and on the other inaugurate the return of faithful servants to their allegiance, and of peace and prosperity to the people, thus giving to the Empire the immovable security of Taizan.J Or, # The Mikado as Emperor, and the shogun as generalissimo, f Literally, the great tree prince, because a general's duty in battle is to sit under a tree.—E. S. J A mountain in Hupeh, in China. 176 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CHAP. X. 1862. The shogun consents. September. 6hara and Sliimadzu Saburd depait. secondly, in accordance with the law laid down by Toyotomi Taiko,* five of the maritime daimios should take part in the government with the title of the five tairo, f defend the country against the barbarians, and keep up the defences properly, and should then perform the exploit of driving out the foreigners. Or, thirdly, Hitotsubashi Giobukio should be directed to assist the shogun, and Echizen Chiujo J should be appointed tairo to assist the bakufu in its conduct on domestic and foreign affairs. One of these three proposals § must be accepted in order to prevent the disgrace of having to fold the left lappet over the right." |j Towards the end of July the shogun declared formally that he would obey the Emperor's orders, and Hitotsubashi was appointed his Highness's guardian, Echizen being also invested with high office. IF Shimadzu Saburo left Yedo on the thirteenth and Ohara on the fifteenth of September. Their visit to the shogun's capital had important results, which will be duly recorded, but we must first go back somewhat in time, and see what Japan was doing in Europe. # i.e. Taiko Sama. t Chief elders. Regents. J These were the future shogun, then giobukio, or minister of justice, and the old Prince of Echizen. § The KinsS SJiiriaku gives three measures, all of which were to be adopted. The first was that the shogun should come up to Kioto with all the daimios, ascertain the opinion of the country, expel the barbarians, and so calm the indignation of the Mikado's divine ancestry. The two other measures were similar to those above. || This the Japanese actually do, but it is a proverbial expression adopted from the Chinese, who used to despise certain barbarian tribes who arranged their dress thus, and hence they employed the phrase "left lappet" to denote barbarian customs in general.—E. S. % Seiji to sai shoku, supreme exerciser of the government authority.—E. S. HIST0BY OF JAPAN. 177 CHAPTER. XL 1862. Arrival of Japanese Envoys in London.—Their Negotiations«— They succeed in obtaining a delay in opening Ports on certain conditions.—Unsuccessful persistency in other matters. —Obstructions to Trade in Japan*—Letters from British Merchants. About the end of April, 1862, certain Envoys from chap. Japan arrived in London, bearing a letter from the r-^Trr' 1 ' s o April, 1862. shdgun to the Queen, for the presentation of which Envoy?6 they desired an audience. Owin£ to the deep afflic- London ,. ; ', . -, 1 liT . -. ° -j . X with letter tion in which her Majesty was plunged, in consequence ^°™un of the death of the Prince Consort, their request to be admitted to her presence, which was forwarded to Scotland, was not accorded. And even had matters been different, it seemed at least doubtful whether these so-called Envoys were of sufficient rank to justify their being admitted to this high honour. Indeed, they were by no means men of exalted rank in their own Empire, and could not of course be admitted into the presence of the Emperor, probably not of the sh6gun. The Envoys had therefore an interview with Earl f^fived hJ Eussell on the 16th of May, at the Foreign Office. On RusselL VOL. I. K 178 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. cxiP' ^is occasion the principal object of their mission was ' SS~"""" clearly developed. It was ,not a friendly mission undertaken to cement the bonds of amity, and to Sissfonto foster and increase the growing trade between the co'Srse!11^" two countries; on the contrary, these Japanese were especially instructed to obtain concessions with a view of limiting and checking that trade. It is true that " they professed great anxiety to be on friendly terms with Great Britain, and to witness the increase of commercial intercourse. They dwelt, however, on the opposition of the influential classes on the one hand, and of the poor on the other, the latter being influenced more particularly by the augmented price of the necessaries of life, resulting from the export trade carried on by foreigners ; and on these grounds they urged the necessity of forbearance in insisting upon the opening of additional ports, a measure which they would have deferred for a time/' Negotia- rpj^g ^en was ^e £rgt demanc[ pn£ forward by the Envoys, and it was the theme of the shogun's letter to her Majesty. However, considering the state of Japan, it was not deemed unreasonable; and at their second interview, on the 5th of June, Earl Eussell, who had communicated on the subject with Mr. Alcock on the latter's arrival in England, informed the Envoys that, out of regard to the strongly-expressed wishes of the shogun in his letter to the Queen, and of his ministers in a letter to Mr. Alcock, her Majesty's government were willing to defer the opening of further cities and ports till the 1st of January, 1868. In return for this concession, however, the Japanese government were expected faithfully to carry out the other stipulations of the treaty at the ports of Nagasaki, Hakodate, and Kanagawa; to repeal the old HIST0BY OF JAPAN. 179 ordinance outlawing foreigners, and, besides other chap. recommendations to be made at Yedo by the Envoys ^^ on their return—such as the opening of the port of Tsushima at once to foreign trade—to abolish the following restrictions specifically :— 1. All restrictions, whether as regards quantity or price, on the sale by Japanese to foreigners of all kinds of merchandise, according to Article XIV. of the Treaty of the 26th of August, 1858. 2. All restrictions on labour, and more particularly on the hire of carpenters, boatmen, boats, and coolies, teachers, and servants of whatever denomination. , 3. All restrictions whereby daimios are prevented from sending their produce to market, and from selling the same directly by their own agents. 4. All restrictions resulting from attempts on the part of the custom-house authorities and other officials to obtain fees. 5. All restrictions limiting the class of persons who shall be allowed to trade with foreigners at the ports of Nagasaki, Hakodate, and Kanagawa. 6. All restrictions imposed on free intercourse of a social kind between foreigners and the people of Japan. In default of the strict fulfilment of the above conditions, her Majesty's government were to be entitled to withdraw the concessions now made, and to insist on the provisions of the treaty of 1858 being fully carried out, and specifically on the remaining ports and cities being opened for the trade and residence of British subjects. A Memorandum to this effect was duly signed by the parties on the following day. The Japanese having thus succeeded in obtaining - n 2 180 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. c:|fp- the primary object of their mission, proceeded at the im~^ same sitting to lay before Earl Russell certain other matters to which they were directed to call the attention of her Majesty's government, viz. the visit of ships of war to Japanese ports, the necessity of prohibiting in times of scarcity the export of certain articles in Japan, and the alleged -unsatisfactory state of the currency. To the first of these demands Lord Russell replied that he could not consent to any limitation being placed on the visits of ships of war, though they would not go to ports without sufficient cause. As to the second demand, his lordship was willing to consent to temporary restrictions being imposed, with the concurrence of her Majesty's Representative, on the export of articles of food in the event of a deficient harvest, for a certain period. With regard to the currency, it was too intricate a question to be decided in London. Instructions would be sent to the British Representative at Yedo. ofethlstency But the requests of the Japanese Envoys had not Envoys. ye£ keen exhaled. They were very persistent, and as soon as one or two more points out of several were conceded to them, they were ready with a fresh list of subjects to be discussed. On the 8th of June they sent in a communication to Earl Russell of their desire to consult with him, or, if his lordship's business engagements would not allow of this, with Mr. Hammond, on a variety of matters mentioned in the following paper, and they wished for a decision upon them. [Translation from the Dutch.'] " 1. Respecting re-coining (on the desire to communicate further). HISTOKY OP JAPAN. 181 " 2. Eespecting the exportation of copper articles. cffp- " 3. Eespecting the not taking out of, the country ^^m^ Japanese who are in the service of foreigners. "4. Eespecting firing with shot whilst staying in the harbour. "5. Eespecting the taking cavalry escort while staying in Japan. " 6. Eespecting the duty upon things for the private use of officers. " 7. Expecting not burying elsewhere than at the open ports. " 8. Eespecting the summoning of the servants of foreigners for examination. " 9. Eespecting the limitation of the place of residence at each port." Lord Eussell naturally refused to discuss these g^1^ secondary points, which could be more conveniently demands. treated in Japan. His lordship, however, remarked that, even if it had been otherwise, the fact that all the points which the Envoys had expressed a wish to bring forward were fully discussed in the conferences which had taken place, and the results thereof consigned to the Memorandum signed on the 6 th of June, on the signature of which the Envoys took leave of his lordship, as having completed their business in England, necessarily precluded any further conference on matters of business during the remainder of their stay. At the same time, Lord Eussell stated at once that no proposal could be accepted having for its object to preclude the Queen's Eepresentative in Japan from maintaining a cavalry escort for the protection of her Majesty's servants in that country. Again, two days afterwards, came another letter £^gom from the undaunted Envoys. the Envoys' 182 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. 'xlp* [Translation from the Dutch.'] 1862. " We have herewith to communicate to your Ex- cellency as follows : "If the silk-cocoons, silkworms 'eggs, and arms, about which we consulted your Excellency lately, were now bought and sold without restriction in every harbour in Japan, it would be against the national feeling, and most inconvenient, as has always been stated. " We have to thank your Excellency, therefore, for having arranged that those three articles shall not be sold by any other than authorized persons, so that the minister and consuls in Japan are to ask our government for the three said articles when required, as has been the usage hitherto. " It is desirable that your Excellency should communicate the above to the minister and consuls in Japan." To this letter an answer was returned by Lord Eussell, stating that the verbal arrangement made with the Japanese Envoys was, that no obstacle should thenceforth be raised to the export of the three articles above mentioned, but that the purchase and shipment should be effected by an application on the part of the foreign merchant, through his consul, specifying the quantity of each article required, whereupon a licence for the same would be granted ; that there was no intention on the part of his lordship to agree to the creation of a monopoly in these articles in favour of certain persons authorized by the Japanese government. More correspondence of a like nature ensued, the Envoys again stating that it would be much against the national feeling that the articles in question should be exported or shipped by foreign merchants, and striving to make it appear that Lord Eussell was attempting to alter the agreement made in confer- HISTOBY OF JAPAN. 183 ence. But his lordship would not depart from the cf fp-arrangement already entered into at the conference, ^^lsST as to the manner in which the export of the three articles should be conducted ; all that could b§ conceded was that instructions should be sent to her Majesty's legation in Japan with the view of preventing abuses in this traffic. The despatch in which Lord Eussell conveyed to 2^om> Colonel Neale the Memorandum, signed by his lord- SenLondon ship and the Japanese Envoys, arrived at Yedo m dum to the August, and her Majesty's Charge d'Affaires lost no time in communicating a translation of the document to the r6jiu. He also personally explained to them with great minuteness the observations and remarks connected therewith. The intelligence that her Majesty's government had agreed to the postponement of the opening of the remaining ports and cities, as stipulated by treaty, was naturally received by the ministers with unfeigned satisfaction ; but though they expressed officially their assent to the six conditions attached to the concession, these conditions were evidently unpalatable to them. And yet there was not one among them which did not in fact amount to a due execution of some article in the original treaty, every stipulation of which the Japanese government were bound to observe. There was nothing new in the conditions ; there were no new demands to be forced upon a nation unwilling to trade ; they were our just rights, of which our merchants had been defrauded, and which, even when again made the subject of an agreement between the Japanese Envoys and the British Secretary of State, were still to be evaded in every possible manner. It seems necessary to dwell somewhat upon the 184 HISTORY OF JAPAN* question of the obstructions which were thrown by the shogun's government in the wgy of trade with foreign merchants, because it used to be the fashion with many of the latter (after the restoration in 1868 had been effected) to contrast the comparative freedom of commerce enjoyed during the first years of their residence in Japan, whilst the! bakufu still ruled in Yedo, with the obstacles placed in the way of that commerce by the new government of the Emperor. This, however, was somewhat unjust; it is true that at first the new officials were not accustomed to their work, and . that the dispatch of business was difficult. When is it not so in Asiatic countries ? And it is also true that the inexperience of these officials contrasted unfavourably with the experience which the officials of the old government had gradually obtained by constant drilling and daily contact with the foreign element. But this particular inconvenience only lasted for a time; and although there are still many needless obstructions and frivolous delays, although many an official is insolent, and many, I fear, are venal, and although different provisions of the treaties are often evaded, or stupidly interpreted according to the strict letter of the law, in order to gain some paltry pecuniary advantage, the business of the Yokohama of to-day may be said to be conducted at least as easily as in the latter days of the shogunate. cause of The real fact of the matter was that foreign merchants' o dissatisfae- merchants, finding their legitimate trade languishing, owing to the civil war, were naturally prone to adopt any cry which could be raised against the party who had overturned the previously existing state of things. It naturally mattered nothing to them in the abstract whether shogun or Emperor reigned in Japan ; they HISTOBY OF JAPAN. 185 had come out to the land of the rising sun to cf^p-make their fortunes in as short a number of years as V""-"5ST" possible, and then return to the country of their birth to enjoy their ease and the fruit of their labours. Hence their antipathy to any revolution, and their disbelief in the new government. And in this disbelief they were confirmed by the less far-seeing among the foreign Kepresentatives, who, not comprehending the real nature of the revolution which was taking place, insisted that it would not succeed, and that " the Tycoon would come back to power." I well remember one gentleman, holding a high position, and possessed of much acuteness, telling me very decidedly, in the autumn of 1868, that a central government never could be established in Japan ; that he had studied the history of the country, and had seen how there had never been a time for many centuries when the Emperor could hold his own for long; that there must be a double system, the invisible head at Ki6to, the executive ruler at Yedo. He was very positive on this point, and there might have been truth in his predictions, had all the circumstances been the same. But he had overlooked one new element, i.e. the S^iert>yCe foreigners in Japan. That new element had changed of f oreign-the conditions, and had at all events hastened the fall of the shogunate, which, even before its resuscitation was thus prophesied, was mere dust and ashes, numbered with the things that were. But to return. In the earlier days of intercourse §j£7£T with foreigners there was much complaint of obstruc- 1861-2. o ¦*¦ Circular Circulars of tion to trade. In 1861 the general expression of the ^^ British mercantile community at Yokohama, as contained in letters addressed by them in answer to a circular from Captain Vyse, her Majesty's consul at 186 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. cffp- Kanagawa, was strong in its denunciation of the ob- ~~mT^ stacles placed by the government in the way of a free development of commerce. Again, on the 28 th of July, 1862, the consul once more addressed a communication to the British merchants, informing them that her Majesty's Charge d'Affaires was anxious to be exactly informed as to the real obstructions and restrictions, or other means directly detrimental to the permanent interests of commerce, to which merchants were then subjected by the action of the Japanese government; what facilities had been accorded, or what difficulties had been removed during the preceding twelve months, and what direct or indirect obstructions (if any) had been added during the same period. Stish*0* In the answer received to this circular from Mr. erchants. g^ j Qower? 0£ ^ firm 0f Jarc[ine^ Matheson and Co., it is broadly stated at the very outset that the objections to the actual system of conducting foreign trade under the surveillance of the Japanese authorities were so extremely numerous that the mere touching upon a small portion of them would far exceed the limits of a letter ; "for," says he, " it would be difficult to find any transaction, either in business or other-, wise, where foreigners and natives are concerned, where the influence or interference of the Japanese government is not perniciously felt, though in most cases they interfere in such a covered and concealed manner, and guarded by such tissues of falsehood, that it is totally impossible, from the fear the natives have of the officials, ever to prove anything clearly against them." Mr. Gower then alludes to the government monopoly as regards cargo-boats, boatmen, and coolies, such a limited quantity being maintained as to be quite HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 187 insufficient for the purposes of trade, so that when c|^p-there was any pressure to load or discharge a vessel, ^^TsS!^ one firm could easily employ the whole establishment, and thus leave the rest of the community without the means of landing or shipping their goods ; besides which, the cargo-boats provided were open and totally unadapted for carrying valuable goods in wet weather. Again, another interference with foreigp trade was that no Japanese could enter Yokohama, or have any commercial intercourse with a foreigner, without, previous permission from an official, which naturally involved a heavy percentage to the latter. The depreciation of the Mexican dollar, 100 of which could then only be exchanged for 205 bus, instead of the original amount of 311 bus, was a further source of complaint. The Japanese, on receiving dollars from the foreign merchants, were obliged to go to the treasury and exchange them for the native bus, so that, although imports might thereby be benefited, exports were prejudiced, and as the latter exceeded the former to an enormous extent, this system was, on the whole, prejudicial to trade. Again, Mr. J. M. Young says, with respect to what he calls the apparent irresponsibility of the Japanese merchant:—¦ " In innumerable cases Japanese merchants have entered into contracts with foreigners as well for the purchase of imports as for the delivery of exports, on which large amounts of contract-money have been paid by the foreign contractors, which contracts have not been fulfilled, and in some cases considerable amounts of money which had been intrusted to Japanese merchants for the purchase of produce in the country have been stolen, and no redress could be ob- HIST0EY OF JAPAN. tained from the Japanese government, while, on the other hand, foreign merchants are bound to fulfil in full all their engagements by the laws of their respective countries. It has on all occasions* been stated by Japanese officials that the Japanese merchant is a disreputable character; but this statement cannot possibly be accepted when we see that every day large amounts of valuable produce—for instance, silk—are intrusted to them by their own countrymen." The bulk of the grievances of the foreign mercantile community of 1862 may, in fact, be summed up as follows, from the evidence in the answers to the circular in question :—• Insufficiency of cargo-boats, boatmen, and coolies; business to be transacted only with a certain number of native merchants, to whom the government gave licenses ; limited supply of silk and tea ; restrictions in the sale of cocoons and copper; every Japanese merchant to bring samples of his purchases from foreigners to the custom-house authorities for approval before taking delivery; official interference with the native merchant in disposing of produce ; depreciation of the Mexican dollar through the action of the government in forcing the natives to exchange them at a certain low rate ; tax on the wages of native servants in foreign employ, even to one-half their amount. HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 189 CHAPTER XII. 1862.—September. Departure of Ohara and Shimadzu Saburo.—The latter leaves in dudgeon.—Attack on a Party of Englishmen.— Murder of Mr. Richardson, and wounding of Messrs. Marshall and Clarke.—Excitement of the Yokohama Community. —Action of Consul Yyse.—Dissatisfaction of Community with Colonel JSTeale.—Meetings.—Conference with Diplomatic and Naval Officers.—Colonel "Neale's reasons for not pursuing the Satsuma Train.—He is approved by Her Majesty's Government. The departure in September from Yedo of 6hara, the c|^p-imperial Envoy, and of Shimadzu Sabur6, have already "TsS been mentioned. There is evidence to show that the of Ohara latter left in no very good humour, and that he shimadzu J & - t Saburd. complained of having been treated with scant, courtesy by the bakufu. We have seen that he had escorted the Envoy from Kioto ; but what part had he played in Yedo, and what had incensed him ? Various versions various ; causes are current. It is said, for instance, that he came in assi^ned-order to wring from the government the repeal of the ordinances whereby all daimios were forced to live a stated portion of their life in Yedo, and were obliged to leave their families in that city as hostages during their absence. These ordinances were in fact abolished, 190 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CxnP* as W^ ^e seen> soon a^er his departure, and it is fair SST*' to attribute their abolition to the influence of the Envoy and the Satsuma noble. Then it has been stated that one of the principal aims of Shimadzu Saburo was to obtain the concurrence of the shogun to his being invested with a certain rank at the Mikado's court (that of jiu-go-i-no-g6), and to his being created Osumi no Kami, and this appears to have been the case ; but the bakufu declined to comply with his desire, to his great chagrin. Most accounts, too, agree that the sh6gun positively refused to admit him to his presence, and referred him to the rojiu for any business which he might have to transact, There is also a story, which does not seem to be authentic, that when he was about to leave, and had informed the rojiu of his intention to return home in a steamer which he had bought at Yokohama, the answer of that high council was: " No: You shall return by land, through the Hakone barrier, as has hitherto been the custom for all Japanese of high rank." Even if this dictation on the part of the government was not exercised, certain it is that the haughty noble started from Yedo, smarting under the treatment which he had received, and ready to take advantage of any opportunity which might offer for gratifying his desire of vengeance upon the bakufu. sept. i4. Now it happened that, on the afternoon of the English 14& of September, a party of English crossed over in aioS^the a boat from Yokohama to Kanagawa, and mounting their horses, rode along the tokaido, perfectly within the treaty limits, towards the post town of Kawasaki, on the banks of the river which defined those limits. The party was composed of Mrs. Borrodaile, the wife of a merchant at Hong Kong; of Mr. William HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 191 Marshall, her brother-in-law, a merchant in Yoko- c|fIp-hama; of Mr. W. C. Clarke, of the house of Messrs. ^isST" H. Heard and Co.; and, finally, of Mr. G. L. Kichard-son, who had just retired from business in China, and was on a visit to Japan, prior to his return to England. As they rode along, they passed several persons in travelling-litters of the better sort, surrounded by a few two-sworded attendants, some of whom carried spears. These formed a continuous but irregular train, and the foreigners were careful to walk their horses whilst passing them, and only to canter during the intervals where the road was perfectly clear. At one spot (as I have been told by Mr. Marshall, who, if he was still alive, would vouch for the accuracy of my details, as he did when I read them over to him in my temple-house in Yedo) they came up to a few officials who were standing by their horses on the road, and amongst them was a custom-house interpreter known to Mr. Marshall. The latter asked the interpreter what they were doing there, when he replied that they were waiting to receive a high official. Mr. Marshall remarked that his party were going on to Kawasaki, to see the famous temple in the vicinity. If, then, there had been any impropriety or supposed danger in the party proceeding towards their destination, the Japanese interpreter should surely have warned the foreigners. But he said nothing further. After riding on some four miles, the English met a ]&£**£!* regular procession (afterwards ascertained to be that of teaSf6'8 Shimadzu Saburo), preceded by about a hundred men in single file on either side of the road. They kept well to the near side, walking their horses, until they arrived at the main body, which was then occupying 192 HISTORY OF JAPAN. chap, the whole of the road. Mrs. Borrodaile and Mr. "—1862^^" Richardson were about ten yards in advance, Mr. Richardson riding on the off-side of that lady. When one man a few of the procession had passed, anmn stepped in wounds Mr. front of them and barred the way. Mr. Clarke ex- S^Mr18011 claimed, " Don't go on, we can turn into a side road," and Mr. Marshall added, " For God's sake^ let us have no row." The horses of the whole party were then being quietly turned round, when, as Mr. Marshall states in his evidence on oath, " I saw a man in the x centre of the procession throwing the upper part of his clothes off his shoulders, leaving himself naked to the waist; and drawing his sword, which he swung in both hands, he rushed upon Richardson. I shouted, 'Away!/ but, before our horses were started, Richardson was struck across his side, under the left arm. The same man rushed upon me, and struck me in the same place under the left arm." A portion of the advanced guard then closed in upon the party, and about half-a-dozen, drawing their swords, and barring the passage, struck at the foreigners as they urged on their horses in a home-Mr. ciarke ward direction. Mr. Clarke received a wound on the is wounded. left shoulder, and his horse was struck on the left hip ; one or two Japanese were ridden over, but all four got Foreigners clear of the procession, and went on at a hand-gallop tclKe tO . . rm mght. without any further interruption. They had not, however, proceeded far, when Mr. Richardson came up to Mr. Clarke, begging him to stop, and saying, "Oh, Clarke, they have killed me." Mr. Clarke replied that he was himself wounded, and he entreated Mr. Richardson to keep his seat, and to move on as quickly as possible, this being the only chance of safety. Mr. Marshall, who was behind, now saw that HISTORY OF JAPAN. 193 Mr. Richardson's- horse was beginning to flag, so, °inP' shouting to the two others to go on, as he .would look lsaa. after Mr. Richardson, he drew up alongside of him, and asked him if he was "bodily hurt."- To-this question no answer came, and almost immediately afterwards the horse stopped, and the poor man fell to ^hardson the ground. Mr. Marshall, concluding that he was quite dead, for his bowels were protruding and he was motionless, felt that he could do no good by remaining there, more especially as he himself was seriously wounded, so he put his horse into a gallop, and overtook Mrs. Borrodaile and Mr. Clarke just at the entrance of Kanagawa. There he also found his own and another betto (native groom). The former he sent to look after Mr. Richardson's body, and mounting the other on the latter's horse, which had followed without its luckless rider, sent him on to Yokohama. Both Mr. Marshall and Mr. Clarke became faint and JJlSSn dizzy from loss of blood, and they found refuge and rSfci?th?e every attention and kindness at the American con- consulate m sulate in Kanagawa. Mrs. Borrodaile appears to have ridden on for very aSie nS" life, and to have reached Yokohama at about half-past Yokohama, three. The unfortunate lady arrived at Mr. S. J. Gower's house in a fearful state of agitation and N disorder, her hat gone, and her hands, face, and clothes bespattered with blood. She related the circumstances of the attack, and stated that she herself had escaped, she knew not how ; that a cut was aimed at her head, which she fortunately avoided by quickly stooping, though her hat was cut away by the blow ; that after they had dashed through the Japanese, she saw Mr. Richardson fall from his horse apparently dead, and that the others being severely wounded, Mr. vol. r. o 194 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. €lnP' Marshall told her to ride for her life, and try to save 1862. herself, as they would probably not be able to keep up. That she scarcely remembered what happened afterwards, but recollected riding into the sea, preferring the risk of drowning to falling into the hands of the assailants. That her horse, however, regained the road, and continued his headlong course towards Yokohama, twice falling under her, but that by some means she regained her seat, and thus she had eventually arrived, fainting and exhausted, at Mr. Grower's house. EMiara- It may h-ere be as well to record that Mr. Eichard- son's throat -, , 1 -, ?j_tiii was cut son does not seem to have been quite dead when he after he . . wshorae -^ fr°m his horse. Captain Vyse, her Majesty's consul at Kanagawa, having heard a report of this nature, coupled with a horrid suspicion that the unfortunate man had been subsequently butchered in cold blood by Japanese armed men, proceeded a fortnight subsequently to the scene of the attack, and there gathered the following information from a native woman:— " The woman recollected seeing a foreigner fall from his horse, on the afternoon of the 14th of September; he had a large wound in his stomach; went up to him, and he immediately asked for water, but she took him none, because she was too much afraid. Afterwards saw him drinking from a bottle (Mr. Eichardson is known to have taken a bottle of champagne with him, slung upon his arm). She asked him to get off the tokaido, because, on looking up the road, she saw that a daimio's cortege was approaching. She saw'one of the advance guard of the train draw his sword and attempt to cut the wounded foreigner's throat, but was prevented by his putting up both his HIST0EY OF JAPAN* 195 hands ; one of his hands was then cut away ; * more xh. ' men came up, drew their swords, and hacked him; isrc. finally, one of them caught him by the beard and cut his throat; they then covered up the body with straw and went on. "In reply to some questions, the woman said she did not recollect any orders being given by any person in a norjmon; f recognized that the train was composed of Satsuma's men, but does not know the name of the chief personage in the procession. The woman further stated that an interval of about ten minutes or a quarter of an hour elapsed from the time the foreigner fell, until the men came up and cut Mr. Kicharclson's throat." The report of what had happened now flew round J^fd to8 the settlement, and a large body of residents of all Kjmagawa> nationalities collected, and proceeding by land and water to Kanagawa, found Messrs. Marshall and Clarke at the American consulate, where their wounds had been carefully dressed by Dr. Hepburn, of the American mission. Colonel Neale on his side, on being informed of the Sonesfort distressing circumstances, at once ordered the legation be ready-Escort to mount and be in readiness to act as they might be required. He then ascertained that Mr. Marshall and Mr. Clarke were safe at the United States' consulate at Kanagawa, that Mr. Eichardson was lying dead on the road in the vicinity of that place, but beyond it, and he had already conducted Mrs. Borrodaile to her own residence in Yokohama. # This seems to be correct. The left hand was nearly severed by the assassin. f The litter is meant in which Shimadzu Sabnro was being carried. o 2 196 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. cInP* Such, being the state of the case, Colonel Neale, as ^TXS^ he reported to Earl Eussell, at once abandoned all Reason for ' themetnodtkI thoughts of sending the Escort, composed of seven tdkaids. or ^g^t, along the tokaido, where they would probably run the gauntlet through hundreds of armed men, fresh from the outrage and murder just perpetrated. Moreover, their commanding officer, Lieutenant Applin, was absent, and there was no one to aid or to rescue had he been present. The water-communication with Kanagawa wTas speedy and safe, and Colonel Neale immediately requested that an armed cutter should be despatched across the bay from her Majesty's ship " Centaur," in order to bring over to Yokohama the two wounded gentlemen and the body of Mr. Richardson. On returning to the spot where he had left the Escort, he found, greatly to his surprise, that by clJptfin t^ie7 were gone, and upon inquiry he learnt that Captain Vyse- Vyse, who was not in Yokohama at the earlier stage of these proceedings, had, upon his arrival, taken the men A^nnant with him by the high road to Kanagawa. Lieutenant the party. Applin then appearing, he was told by Colonel Neale that the Escort had gone without necessity and without authority. The former answered that he would follow them, and would see that all was right. Meanwhile, several of the residents, who had proceeded to the American consulate at Kanagawa, determined at once to go in search of Mr. Eichardson. As they reached the main road, they perceived Captain Vyse, accompanied by some other residents oh horseback, together with the mounted Escort, all bent upon the same errand. They aJl rode on together, and two miles further on were overtaken by Lieutenant Applin, who ordered a halt. He stated that Colonel Neale was extremely incensed that the guard should have been HIST0BY OF JAPAN. 197 taken out of Yokohama without his special orders. The °xnP British consul, however, explained that it .was his duty i8e& at all hazards to recover and identify his missing countryman, and that having found the guard - in the saddle ready to start, but without any instructions as to what course they were to pursue (though Colonel Neale was fully aware of the urgent demand for assist-ance), he had thought it his duty to order them at once to follow him. Lieutenant Applin, uppn hearing this explanation, was satisfied, and gave the word ta advance, thereby sharing with .Captain Vyse the responsibility of thus acting without having obtained orders from Colonel Neale. There cannot be reasonable doubt, I think, in the mind of any impartial reader, after perusing the above details, that both Captain Vyse and Lieutenant Applin were not justified in disregarding Colonel Neale's wishes* Much allowance must doubtless be made for the excitement of the moment, when men's blood was up at the sudden report of the wanton butchery of their unarmed countrymen; and, with whatever intention Lieutenant Applin started from Yokohama, it is very conceivable that, finding the party so far along the road, especially without having encountered any resistance, or even a single Japanese train, he was carried away by the general feeling, and was loth to be behind the rest in assisting to recover the body of the murdered man. Still, it was clearly the duty of her Majesty's consul to have awaited the return of Colonel Neale, who had ordered the Escort to be mounted and in readiness to obey his orders, and he, as consul, had surely no right to give any orders at all to an. Escort which belonged to the legation and not to the consulate. 198 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. The party now continued along the road till they arrived at the halfway house between Kanagawa and Kawasaki, where they were joined by the French mounted guard, who had received orders from M. Duchesne de Bellecourt, the French Kepresentative, to act in concert "with Captain Vyse and those who accompanied him. They then made some fruitless inquiries, the people affecting entire ignorance upon the matter. A little boy, however, at last came forward, ?oundorpse and volunteered to point out where the body was lying; under his guidance they retraced their steps about half a mile, and found the corpse some ten yards off the road, in a field, at the side of a small cottage. It was covered over with a couple of old mats, which, on being removed, revealed a most ghastly and horrible spectacle. The whole body was one mass of blood; one wound, from which the bowels protruded, extended from the abdomen to the back ; another on the left shoulder had severed all the bones in the chest; there was a gaping spear-wound over the region of the heart, the right wrist was severed so that the hand hung merely by a strip of flesh ; the back of the left hand was nearly cut through; and, upon the head being moved, the neck was found to be entirely cut through on the left side. , From the subsequent information obtained by Captain Vyse, as already recorded, the supposition was confirmed that the two first-mentioned wounds were inflicted whilst Mr. Eichardson was on horseback, and the others subsequently. iaTagkwa. ^ litter was hastily constructed, and the party returned with the body to Kanagawa ; there they met detachments from her Majesty's ship "Centaur" and the French man-of-w&r, the latter under the command of HIST0BY OP JAPAN. 199 Captain Count d'Harcourt, and accompanied by M. de °Iff' Bellecourt and his body-guard. They learned that some 1862. two-sworded men had drawn their weapons upon the French guard, and had menaced a party of four -other foreigners, who were only saved by one of them keeping his revolver pointed at the assailants, who thereupon retired. On hearing this, the community of Sx^|£elrt Yokohama was greatly excited, and, when it WaS re- munity. ported that the Japanese train had rested for the night at a village only a short distance from Kanagawa, there was great irritation on the part of many members ^ifnst011 against her Majesty's Charge d'affaires, who, naturally Se?2 enough it would seem, had sent a messenger to recall his Escort. It was resolved at once to call a public meeting at meeting, a strong feeling having arisen in the breasts of many that it was practicable by prompt measures to arrest the murderers, and to inflict a severe lesson upon the perpetrators of such crimes. The minutes of the meeting, which was held the same evening at about ten o'clock, and was attended by almost the whole of the foreign community, show that Captain Vyse, her Majesty's consul, took the chair, and stated that he had that moment returned from an interview with Eear-Admiral Kuper, who had just arrived in her Majesty's ship " Euryalus," accompanied by the "Kingdove"; that the Admiral had already been informed of the fearful events of the day, and that he had announced his intention of having an interview with Colonel Neale on the subject at noon the next morning. The following resolutions were carried unanimously :— " That the British, French, Dutch, American, and Portuguese authorities be requested to take such im- 200 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. cInP' mediate steps as seem to them best calculated to pre-v—TSS?"'*' vent the recurrence of such a deplorable event as has occurred this evening, and that ample reparation be demanded of the Japanese government for the murderous attack on unarmed British subjects peacefully travelling within treaty limits/' (A proposition to request the foreign authorities to land 1000 men with sufficient materiel for the purpose of arresting the guilty parties at once, and to take possession of Kanagawa, was rejected as being an attempt to dictate to the foreign authorities what steps they ought to take.) " That, in consequence of the explanation given by her Britannic Majesty's consul of his interview with the British Admiral, it i$ earnestly desired by this meeting that the commanders of the foreign forces may be at once conferred with, so that immediate- steps may be taken to secure, if possible, the person of the daimio whose retainers have committed the murder, or some of his high officers, in order to guarantee speedy reparation for the horrible outrage." "That a deputation be appointed to wait on the naval and other authorities." Senavtiion (The deputation was then appointed, and Captain authorities. Vyse was desired to introduce its members.) " That these proceedings for the present be kept sacredly secret amongst ourselves, lest the Japanese gain any information as to the course of action proposed to be pursued." Eesolutions of sympathy for the victims of the outrage, and of thanks to M. de Bellecourt and Count d'Harcourt for their prompt assistance were then carried unanimously, and another resolution adjourned the meeting till 3 a.m., by which time the committee HISTORY OF JAPAN. 201 appointed to confer with the commanders of the forces xir.' were expected to be able to report progress. 1862. One more resolution was carried unanimously before the meeting adjourned. It was in these terms:—¦ "That the special and sincere thanks of the meeting be tendered to Captain Vyse for the noble and spirited manner in which he has acted throughout this affair, and that with his name be associated those of several of her Majesty's servants who gave their aid in recovering the body of our poor friend, especially those upon whom the responsibility fell of leading out the guard to seek for the body, which would have lain rotting in the road had they waited the orders of a superior/' The meeting then adjourned till 3 a.m. There were then lying in Yokohama Bay, besides the " Euryalus," a frigate of thirty-five guns, and the " Bingdove" of four guns, the English sloop "Centaur" of six guns, and the English gun-boat " Kestrel." The French force consisted of the frigate " Le Monge," the corvette "Dupleix," and the steamship " Dordogne" of ten guns ; and there was also the Dutch ship of war " Vice-Admiral Koopman." The committee of nine appointed by the meeting at ^fthrview once entered upon their duties. Accompanied by the iupe1™1 British consul, they proceeded on board her Majesty's ship " Euryalus," and Admiral Kuper immediately rose from his bed, and received them. They informed him of the events of the afternoon, .and said that as it was known the cortege was passing the night at a short distance from Kanagawa, they considered that the immediate arrest of the guilty parties could be effected, were a force at once despatched upon this errand. 202 HISTOKY OF JAPAN. 0IxiP° The Admiral stated his willingness to * adopt any ^-i862. practical measures^ that could possibly be suggested, consistent with prudence; but he explained that, having only arrived a fewT hours previously, and being a perfect stranger to all the localities, he could not feel justified in proceeding to any active measures without first consulting her Britannic Majesty's Charge d'affaires. He said, however, that he was ready at any moment to enter into such consultation, and that he should consider no hour too early to meet the diplomatic agents and the foreign naval commanders. It was accordingly arranged that the meeting should take place at 6 a.m., at the residence of the French Envoy. $™Jt- The committee then visited Count d'Harcourt and and rcour Captain Buys of the " Vice-Admiral Koopman," both Buys. of whom are represented to have expressed themselves in favour of the adoption of immediate coercive measures, and they promised to attend the proposed meeting. c3onei They next proceeded to Colonel Neale's house. Their report of what took place at the interview which followed is in these terms :—¦ Colonel Neale did not, they said, after having heard their statement, appear either to approve of the steps that had been taken, or to concur in what was proposed to be done. "Understanding, however, that the meeting was agreed to by the French minister, the English admiral, and other foreign officials, he said he would be present, though he considered it a most unusual proceeding, and he evinced considerable annoyance at any meeting having been held by the community." Colonel Neale also gives an account of this visit. After remarking that the settlement of Yokohama, as far at least as the Japanese were concerned, remained Neale. HIST0BY OF JAPAN, 203 thoroughly tranquil and undisturbed, he says that the °xnF British and a few other members of the foreign com- """SS? munity had thought it essential to hold a midnight meeting, where resolutions were passed appointing a deputation to wait upon the various civil and naval authorities, w^ith a view of inducing them to immediate action, that is to say, to send out an armed force from all the foreign ships in harbour, for the purpose of attacking the cortege of the high Japanese personage, consisting of between five and six hundred men, and also of seizing the person of the chief. Colonel Neale then mentions the visit of the deputation to him, when they stated that they had already waited upon Admiral Kuper, who had just arrived from Hong Kong, and also upon the senior French naval officer and other officials, and that all had agreed to meet at the French minister's residence at six o'clock the same morning, for the purpose of discussing the propriety of adopting the measures which had been suggested. There were reasons which made Colonel Neale disinclined to comply with the request of the deputation. The whole of the previous proceedings had been taken by the foreign community, headed by the British consul, entirely without his knowledge, and independent of him; in his judgment the violent coercive measures aimed at by the community were impracticable, impolitic, and dangerous ; he entirely disagreed in the expediency of calling any such meeting as that now suggested, more especially as it was to be held at the French Envoy's house, whereas the sufferers from the outrage were all British subjects. But inasmuch as Admiral Kuper, whom he had not f™^s yet even seen, had consented to attend the meeting, arranged- 204 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. cxil' an(i considering the over-excitement of the community, he promised to be at the French legation at the The meeting. appointed hour. There were present at 6 a.m. on the morning of the 15th, at M. de B^llecourt's residence, besides himself and the British Charge d'affaires, Admiral Kuper, with Captain Joslin and other naval officers of the British, French, and Dutch services, as well as the Consular body. The resolutions of the committee having been read, Colonel Neale proceeded, at the invitation of M. de Bellecourt, to express his opinion as to the suggestions contained therein. He reports himself to have spoken as follows:— Sffil " I* is my decided opinion * that the coercive* agStvio- measures proposed to be adopted in the resolutions of measures, the community are not only utterly impracticable, but if they could, with any chance of .success, be carried into effect, I deem that to enter upon actual armed conflict with several hundreds of armed Japanese, who. are passing along the high-road, and 'to seize the person of their chief, would be tantamount to a sudden commencement of hostilities with the government of Japan, with whom I have not had even time to communicate respecting the event which has only a few hours since occurred. Such a premature measure, I added, would be altogether unjustifiable, fraught with all the evils and consequences of actual war, the stoppage of trade, and result, probably, by involuntarily engaging her Majesty's government in a course of action wThich it had not contemplated. And I further added, however distressing the outrage which had thus unhappily been added to those which have preceded it, I must bear in mind, and the community HISTORY OF JAPAN. 205 must bear in mind, apart from all private considera- CxnP' tions, that in a national point of view the pre- 1862. meditated attacks, accompanied with bloodshed and murder, which took place within the precincts of her Majesty's legation at Yedo, and directed against the life, on two occasions in one year, of her Majesty's Eepresentative, still more loudly called for reparation. "I awaited the instructions of her Majesty's government, whose hands I have not hampered by premature acts of reprisal or violence towards the Japanese authorities, and I see no good or rational reason why I should pursue a contrary course on the present occasion." Colonel Neale added that he intended immediately to enter into urgent communication with the Japanese government, with a view to the immediate increase of the guards on the high-road and within treaty limits, so as to avert the chance of a recurrence of such an outrage. His despatch continues in these words :— " My colleague of France then left the room, and i^0^rench returned with a paper upon which he said he had paper coin-already written his opinions, and which, when read, g^nei coincided in every material respect with my own. opinion. "My colleague, however, spoke strongly of the necessity of adopting energetic measures for the defence of Yokohama and the settlement by military patrols going through it by night and by day and around the neighbourhood, as well as mounted men on the high-road, and other demonstrations. A discussion then followed on the part of the other members present as to the exact measures of this nature to be adopted, respecting which I only observed that I should certainly approve any measures of this nature, with the exception of the patrols making demonstrations on the HISTOEY OF JAPAN. nity. °iirP' high-roads, the effect of which would be to invite 1862. collision with the armed Japanese retainers ; and especially I considered this to be inexpedient, as, in point of fact, the settlement was in no degree menaced from any quarter, or likely to be so. The whole discussion closed by its having been determined that the French and Dutch naval commanders should proceed on board the ' Euryalus/ and confer with Admiral Kuper as to the details respecting some additional guards which will patrol the settlement, and row-boats to pass to and fro at night around the bay." These arrangements were satisfactorily carried out. captain • At eight o'clock the same morning, the community oft°hent again assembled, and her Majesty's consul, who, with l|!ecommu Mr. E. Clarke, had been present at M. de Bellecourt's house, made the following statement :— He said that the compte-rendu of the proceedings at that meeting was so involved and contradictory that it was difficult correctly to report its contents ; that there had been considerable discussion, and much difference of opinion ; that the French minister and commander were for decided and active measures ; that Colonel Neale had stated that he had not received any official intimation of the murder. (With regard to this, the latter explained that Admiral Kuper had desired to see a written statement of what had occurred.) Captain Vyse said it would now be his duty to lay the circumstances before Colonel Neale in a despatch ; also that the latter had remarked that he had himself been attacked in the legation at Yedo, and was actually a prisoner in his house there, and that he did not see how residents in Yokohama could expect to be exempt from equal liabilities. The statement that the French minister had declared HISTOBY OF JAPAN. 207 himself to be in,favour of decided and active measures CxnP' does not .tally with the paper which, as Colonel Neale ^isST^ reports, was brought by the former into the room, and when read coincided in every material respect with the opinion of his English colleague. In order to reconcile the two accounts, we must consider that the decided and active measures advocated by M. de Bellecourt, at least at the meeting, were confined to measures for the defence of the settlement, for placing mounted men on the high-road, &c, but did not proceed the length of sending an armed force to attack the Japanese. The result of the eight o'clock meeting of the community was a proposal, which was carried unanimously, that a committee should be appointed to draw up a statement of all that had passed, such statement to be transmitted without loss of time to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in London. The document was accordingly drawn up by the J^™** Eeverend M. B. Bailey, consular chaplain, and Messrs. nTmeeTnd S. Gower and F. Bell, who composed the committee, by cSonei ¦ r ' Neale to and it was forwarded by Colonel Neale to Earl Bussell. §;^sell It is from this document that the account of these proceedings, as given above, has been mostly taken. It received eighty-four signatures, all English except twenty-three, which were those of American and Dutch subjects. The community, headed by her Maiesty's consul, community were therefore at issue with her Majesty's Charge ^{hchargs d'Affaires, as to the course to be pursued in this crisis. In attempting to pass judgment upon the case, one should remember especially that the community were not responsible to her Majesty's government for the results Thelatter of any particular line of action, and that Colonel Neale responsible. HISTORY OF JAPAN* was. If, yielding to popular clamour, to the natural feeling of intense excitement existing at the moment, and to the desire for immediate revenge on the Japanese concerned in a savage and unprovoked attack in cold blood upon his unarmed countrymen, the British Charge d'affaires, sure of the concert of the naval authorities of other nationalities, had called upon Admiral Kuper to land his men, and go out to attack the Japanese, he might, doubtless, had success attended the venture, have gained much glory and popularity. And success might..have followed. But he could not command it; nor was it by any means certain that an attack on the night of the 14th could have resulted in the capture of the murderer pf Mr. Eichardson, still less of the chief personage, and certainly the expedition, which would have started on the 15th, when the train had proceeded further on its way, would, have found greater difficulty in attaining its object. It may be assumed, with our present knowledge of Japan, as it then was, that war with the Empire would probably not have ensued from the chastisement of a noble and a clan not then on the best terms with the bakufu ; the subsequent bombardment of Kagoshima by an English squadron, which was the consequence of the murder of Mr. Eichardson, did not, as we know, produce any such declaration of war by Japan, and indeed the bakufu, tottering to its fall, looked on with indifference, or even with secret satisfaction, at measures taken against the individual Satsuma clan ; but I believe I am justified in affirming that when the English squadron started from Yokohama, it was expected rather that a demonstration would suffice to obtain the desired reparation than that direct hostilities would be the result. HISTOEY OF JAPAN'. 209 But be this as it may, the British Representative, and clnP' he alone, was in a very responsible position. He had isrc. to weigh the consequences, and he could not overlook the likelihood, in our then ignorance of the country, and of its peculiar organization, that even if an armed force sent against the train of Shimadzu Saburo was successful, such violent proceedings would bring on a war between England and Japan. And would such a war have been grateful to the British nation ? Would Colonel Neale's action have then been approved by her Majesty's government ? That Admiral Kuper coincided in the decision not i^rr,f to land a large force for the purpose of attacking the cofSiig Japanese cortege and taking its chief prisoner, is coionei evident from his despatch of September 20th to Vice-Admiral Hope, in which he adduces various reasons against the proposed measure, such as— 1. The small chance of success in securing the right man in the midst of a mob of some eight hundred or a thousand followers, all probably prepared to sacrifice their own lives to ensure the escape of their chief. 2. The probable result, in the event either of success or failure, of immediate hostilities with Japan, for which preparation was not made, 3. The questionable right of landing a large force for an aggressive purpose in a country with the government of which Great Britain was at amity and allied by treaty. 4. The dangers such an act would entail upon the lives and property of the whole European community in Japan. 5. The difficulty that would arise, in the event of. success, as to the disposal of the prince when taken. YOL. I. p' 210 HISTORY OF JAPAN. cxnP' That her Majesty's government, to whom alone a "^isS!^" British Eepresentative has to look for approval or dis- H.M.'s |0V^fent approval of his action, were'satisfied with Colonel N«a0ie.el Neale, is abundantly clear. In the very first despatch on this affair, addressed by Earl Eussell to him on the 9th of December^ his lordship stated that her Majesty's government approved the judgment and forbearance which he had displayed in resisting the pressure attempted to be put upon him, and which, had he yielded to it, might have involved her Majesty's government in hostility with Japan. " You acted prudently," the despatch continued, " in discountenancing the proposal of landing a force from the ships to execute summary vengeance on those retainers of the daimio who committed the outrage. "Whatever course circumstances may compel her Majesty's government hereafter to pursue in order to bring home to the government and nobles of Japan the conviction that such acts of violence will bring retribution on their heads, you, without instruction, could only look to the Japanese government for redress ; and it is satisfactory to find that Eear-Admiral Kuper concurred with you in the propriety of the course which you pursued. " In demanding redress from the ministers of the Tycoon, you have adopted the only course which was properly open to you ; and when the result of your demand, which her Majesty's government hope to learn from you by the next mail, is known, the course which her Majesty's government will adopt towards Japan will be definitively settled." But this is anticipating somewhat the order of events. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 211 CHAPTEE XIIL 1862. Colonel Neale demands Reparation.-—Inquest on Mr. Richardson's Body.—Conferences which produce no result.—Possible cause of the Murder.—Proposition to open a new Road for Daimios. On the 15th of September Colonel Neale addressed cgjp-an indignant letter to the ministers for foreign affairs ^^^ at Yedo, demanding reparation for the murderous N°eaiee . t i demands attack subsequently ascertained to have been made by reparation. Japanese belonging to a cortege attending on " the uncle or regent prince of Satsuma." * _ Now, it was only on the previous day that Colonel Neale had been informed by the Yedo ministers that Ohara Sayemon no Kami, the Mikado's Envoy, was to leave the shogun's capital on the 15th, on his return to Kioto, and their Excellencies had consequently requested that the necessary instructions might be issued for warning British subjects against frequenting the tokaido on that and the following day. His answer * The term regent prince is perhaps fanciful. It has already been explained who Shimadzu Saburo was, and he certainly possessed the actual power in Satsuma, p 2 212 HISTOBY OF JAPAN* cxul' was to the effect that it was no light matter to 1862. prohibit British subjects from proceeding wherever they desired within the treaty limits ; that the Envoy's attendants were, as he was informed, not so formidable or so numerous that no check could *be placed by the government upon the order and propriety of their march, and that the Envoy himself, or, failing him, an extra number of guards for the short distance to be traversed within treaty limits, could impose a competent check upon these attendants. Still, after thus establishing his undoubted right to decline acceding to the proposal of the ministers, Colonel Neale promised to instruct the ' British consul, for this particular occasion, to request British subjects not to frequent the tokaido on the days in question. Before this letter and the translation into Dutch could be dispatched, news of the attack of the 14th reached Colonel Neale. He was thus enabled to com- ment severely on the proceedings of the government. He remarked - to them that this outrage had been committed on the day previous to that on which he was informed that there might be danger; that the government had allowed a numerous band of lawless and ferocious men to go forth, all the time knowing what would happen if these men met with foreigners : and that there was not one soldier or guard of the sh6gun's government on the road, to warn or restrain such savages. Hede- The reparation for the blood of unoffending assassins British subjects would,. Colonel Neale continued, be euards on decided by the high tribunal of his government. He takaido. demanded, however, that the assassins should be arrested, and kept in safe custody by the shdgun's government; the prince, their master, he said, would HISTORY OF JAPAN. 213 doubtless be found, when required. He also demanded, cEM.m as a precautionary measure, the posting-of sufficient ^~~im^ guards at very short intervals, whatever might be the number required, to render the road secure' from Yokohama to Kanagawa, and around and within the treaty limits, and he gave the ministers one week to carry out the necessary arrangements. The inquest on the body of Charles Lenox Iff™* Eichardson was held on the 16 th, the British consul SnKdy. acting as coroner, "and a verdict of guilty of wilful murder was recorded against " certain Japanese men (whose names are to the jurors unknown), armed with swords, lances, and other arms after the fashion of their country, and bearing the same by authority, being officials or officers in either the military or civil service of Japan." Various conferences now ensued between Colonel andfcorinecse-s Neale and Japanese officials of different degrees of rank, between and the usual assurances were given that a thorough Neaieand ° ^ Japanese investigation of the circumstances of the case should ministers* take place> and that the persons immediately concerned in the deed should be arrested. The government were stated to be in communication with the agent of the Prince of Satsuma, at Yeclo, himself a person of high rank, and they pretended to be in expectation of obtaining a definite result by suela action. In one letter, dated the 16th of September, they say (according to the published translation) that the chief retainer of Shiuri no Taiyu (the reigning prince) had sent a report on the matter, and that, by order of the governor of Kanagawa, one of his officers had examined Shimadzu Saburd. What this means it is difficult to understand, but it may be safely affirmed that no official ventured to examine that haughty 214 HISTORY OF JAPAN, SaiiP* personage, the real ruler of so powerful a clan. We 1862. can more readily believe the succeeding sentence which declares that, in the answer given by Shimadzu Saburo to the officer, there was« something very improper. But the whole investigation by the bakufu was naturally a farce ; they knew that their power was on the wane, that they could avail nothing against a man so high in the counsels of the Emperor, and, all that they could do was to attempt, by means of any petty subterfuge, to prevent the British Representative from proceeding to extremities, risible It is hardly necessary to inquire into the particular cause of the # J J x ± minder. circumstances which led to the attack on our unarmed countrymen. But it may have happened in this wise. There used always to be, in the trains of Japanese of rank, retainers called soba-nin, who walked on either side of their master's palanquin. It is highly probable that these men, on seeing Mr. Eichardson and his party, informed their lord of the fact, and that he, suddenly perceiving an opportunity of creating embarrassment to the Yedo government, himself gave the order to attack the foreigners. But even this explanation is not required. Every Japanese not belonging to the military class was obliged, by the law and custom of the land, to draw aside and prostrate himself whilst a noble of high rank passed along; a samurai of inferior rank must equally draw aside, and if on horseback must dismount; and the very fact of these " barbarians/' whom Japanese samurai looked upon as inferiors, not getting off their horses and not doing obeisance to the haughty lord, would be sufficient to excite his ire and that of his followers. % As the proceedings of the government were highly HIST0BY OF JAPAN. 215 unsatisfactory, Colonel Neale went up to Yedo on the cFm/ 22nd of September in her Majesty's ship "Euryalus," ^mT^ with Eear-Admiral Kuper, the " Eingdove" and fe^$& "Kestrel'7 being in company. On the following day, iu^eTto a long and formal conference ensued at the official conference, residence of the Japanese ministers, her Majesty's Charge d'affaires being accompanied by the Admiral, and by several naval officers and gentlemen of the legation. The conference ended in nothing. The ministers JotSSg!11 expressed deep regret^ and made large promises of ministers reparation, but, as on other occasions, they allowed ^cise that if the Prince of Satsuma did not give up the sSsum?6 guilty men, the latter could not be arrested by the terntory* government in his territory. In fact, they were forced to avow that they could not exercise any act directed against the daimio or one of his adherents within the principality, even in a case likd the present, where it might become necessary that arrests should be made by the agents of the bakufu. A pretty confession for a government supposed to be sovereign! The ministers had the assurance to add that the daimio would no doubt act as might be required, in obedience to the shogun and his council. This was a very gratuitous assertion, which we can hardly suppose they believed themselves, and which was wellnigh impossible to realize in these latter days of the shogunate. With regard to measures of safety for the future, f™redB the ministers proposed, in compliance with Colonel promiS€d-Neale's request, to erect guard-houses along the t6kaic!6, where soldiers would be stationed to protect foreigners, and to give escorts to the latter whilst riding there on the days when daimios were passing. But they could say nothing more, after being pressed, 216 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. cxiir &s to the orders to be given at the guard-houses, than that the men would turn out -to prevent any collision between trains of natives and foreigners. From previous experience it may well be supposed that such a measure would hardly have the effect of preventing a collision. The guards, in those days at least, would either have done nothing, and calmly looked on whilst the " barbarians " were being murdered, or they would not have shown themselves at all. And in any case they would not have dared to attack a daimio's train, especially in defence of outer barbarians. Evident On this- question nothing was settled. There was desire to . 1 L ° limit the evident alarm on the part 01 the government, and a use of the a o > • tekaidd. strong desire to prevent foreigners from using the high-road whenever a native of rank was travelling upon it. This was quite natural, for the bakufu felt that they could no longer rule these daimios as formerly, and they were of course aware of the almost universal feeling against foreigners amongst the military class. They knew that the retinue of a daimio would be only too ready, on all occasions, to attack foreigners on the plea that the latter were insulting them by refusing the signs of obeisance exacted from natives ; and it has required years to eradicate this feeling. And when Colonel Neale inquired whether there was any objection to posting proclamations which should, warn the people to abstain from unjustifiable interference with foreigners, the ministers replied that the people, if thus warned, would be more likely to do the very thing from which they were desired to refrain ! to ope?!10* -A. proposition was now made for opening a new new road -, i f» i • • i 11 • . expressly road expressly lor daimios and their processions, so for daimios • i • i t • i it i and their that within the treaty limits they would not use the processions, J J HISTORY OF JAPAN. 217 tokaido, the foreigners on their side engaging not xiii.' to frequent the new road. Guard-houses, capable, 1862. however, of holding only five men each, were promptly erected along the tokaido, but the year 1862 -ended i^IS without the steps alleged to have been taken by the resuituta government to arrest tha assassins having borne any fruit. The only excuse they could bring forward was that they had been obliged to instruct tha Prince of Satsuma to send the guilty men to Yedo without delay, but that, as the latter had to be brought from a great distance, much time might elapse before their arrival. That is to say, the men had been allowed to return to their distant country (passing, as it appeared, by Kioto, where Shimadzu Saburo was much honoured and thanked by the Emperor for his services), and they were therefore in a place where they could not be personally arrested by the shogun's officers, whilst nothing was less likely than that their lord .would give them up to the ruler, whose policy was opposed to that of this powerful clan on the question of intercourse with foreigners. 218 HISTORY OF JAPAN. CHAPTEE XIV. 1862. The Prince of Tosa arrives at Kioto.—Combination of the three great Clans.—Intention of the Shogun to proceed next year to Kioto.—Abolition of compulsory residence of Daimios in Yedo.—Decline of the Bakufu.-—Assassinations at Kioto.— Imperial Missions to Yedo.—Position of Foreign Legations there. Before we leave 1862, there are one or two other important matters to be recorded. At the end of September Matsudaira Tosa no Kami arrived at Kioto, and forthwith received a message from the Court, that Satsuma and Choshiu had lately been stopping at the Capital, and had exerted themselves greatly for the Emperor, and the Court commanded him to remain there awhile,, and join his efforts in the service of the State to those of the other two clans just mentioned. offltheentheree Tlie Prince of Tosa accepted the mission with satsSmi, gratitude, and from that time the influence of the andToSi. three clans of Satsuma, Choshiu, and Tosa was predominant. A word was even coined, Sat-cho-to, being a compound of the first (Chinese) character of each HISTORY OF JAPAN. 219 clan's name, to express the influence and popularity of ™ the three princes, 1862. Thus the combination against the shogunate grew P£^3 and gained strength, and the three clans were gradually lte.shogun~ joined by many others, whose policy tended to the same point. In the beginning of November, Colonel Neale was officially informed* that the shogun would proceed to shsgmto J cd x proceed in Kidto in the following March, and, in answer to an ^iSati863' inquiry made by him, he learnt that it had been decreed that the daimiosf who, up to that time, had tolledas resided at Yedo the whole of every alternate year, daimios in should thenceforth only repair to that city " after the third year," and fixing amongst themselves the time when they should relieve each other, should alternately reside in Yedo about one hundred days; furthermore, that they were at liberty to keep their wives and children at home in their own domains. Besides the above change, the tozama, or lesser independent daimios, and the greater vassals of the Tokugawa family, were to spend one year out of three at Yedo, the fudai and certain tozama daimios, and the smaller vassals of the shogun, called hatamoto, were to pass 200 days there in each year. There were some other changes—the custom of making presents every three months to the shogun and of receiving gifts from him was abolished, the retainers of the daimios were diminished, and the style of their dress was rendered considerably less expensive. * Correspondence respecting affairs in Japan. (In continuation of correspondence presented to Parliament in February, 1863.) Presented to Parliament 1864, p. 2. t These were the greater daimios, the kohusMu, such a$ Satsuma, Choshiu, Tosa, Owari, &c. 220 HISTORY OF JAPAN. decline of the bakufu. cfiv/ " In consequence," says the Japanese chronicler, 1862. " all the daimios and the hatamotos who owned lands Consequent sent their wives and children to their country residences, and in the twinkling of an eye the flourishing city of Yedo became like a desert; so that the daimios allied to the Tokugawa family, and the Toku-gawa family, and the vassals of the shogunate of all ranks, and the townspeople too, grieved and lamented. They would have liked to see the military glory of Kuanto shine again, but as the great and small daimios who were not vassals of Tokugawa had cut at the root of this forced residence in Yedo, and few of them obeyed any longer the commands of the bakufu, they also began to distrust it, and gradually the hearts of the people fell away. And so the prestige of the7 Tokugawa family, which had endured for 300 years, which had been really more brilliant than Kamakura in the age of Yoritomo, on a moonlight night when the stars are shining, which for more than 270 years had forced the daimios to come breathlessly to take their turn of duty in Yedo, and which had day and night 80,000 vassals at its beck and call, fell to ruin in the space of one morning." S?aen%s a The abolition of the ordinance for the compulsory toVe ow residence of the daimios in Yedo was indeed the shogunate, deathblow to the shogun s sway. It was a mannest confession that his power was shaken, and that his hold upon the great magnates was slackening. The ordinance, as already mentioned, had been passed in the early days of the Tokugawa dynasty, when the chiefs of that clan had risen to unprecedented power in Japan, so that all the other princes of the land were fain to do homage to them, and obey their behests. During many generations that power, which was so HISTOEY OF JAPAN, 221 CHAP XIV. extensive, and hadj been so firmly consolidated by such men as Iyeyasti and lyemitsti, remained almost» supreme, and the daimios came up to~ Yedo at stated intervals, bowed their heads before his Highness, and when the period of their forced stay was over, returned to their ~ own country, leaving wives and children behind as hostages for their own good behaviour. Nothing will give a greater idea of the extent of the usurpation of the shogunate than the imposition and the due observance of this compulsory attendance. Nothing therefore can well prove more clearly the decline of that institution than the abolition of the ordinance. The great princes of the west were now free to weave their plots at Kioto, in conjunction with many of the Court nobles, and slowly and surely to sap the power of the ruler of Yedo. It was manifest ^SSt that the shogun would, sooner or later, be obliged to SeVis\tguEl repair to the Emperor's capital, with the object of defending his own interests, and of defeating the intrigues which were now assuming a more menacing aspect. There was also another reason for the shogun's summons to the metropolis. It must not be forgotten that he was, by virtue of his name and office, the generalissimo, and from the, earliest times his especial duty was to make war against "barbarians." These were no longer, as of yore, aborigines living in the northern portion of the main island, against whom the arms of the shogun could be directed ; there were now other barbarians polluting the sacred soil of Japan, and these the son of heaven was determined to expel. The Court, or Emperor, had so decreed, and the camp, or shogun, must carry out the Imperial will. It' was therefore natural that the sei-i-tai- 222 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. c?nT shdgun should be summoned to Kioto, more espe-IsS^^ cially as the Court was dissatisfied with the proceedings of his government, who procrastinated instead of acting vigorously. It was considered high time that decided measures should be taken, and that an early day should be fixed for the expulsion of all foreigners. Assassina- Different assassinations took place at Ki6to towards tioiis at J- Kioto. -j.]ae en(j 0£ ^iQ year? the heads of the victims being often exposed in the streets. From the placards exhibited with the heads, it seemed that the men were murdered as having been engaged in what were termed traitorous schemes, and in compassing the death of "patriots." These assassinations were the work of r drains, who became more and more emboldened by success, and who even took upon themselves to inflict condign punishment on tradesmen, for having charged what they considered exorbitant prices for their wares. ' It was a lawless time in Kioto, and I have been told by a native who used to inhabit the Capital, that hardly a day passed without blood being spilt. But it was not only on so-called traitors, or favourers of the bakufu, that the two-sworded man would draw his weapon. Flushed with his native liquor (which has the faculty of exciting quickly and intensely, but only for a short time), he would rush out into the streets, ready to try the temper of his blade on whatever he might meet. It might be another samurai, equally flushed with liquor, equally intent on bloodshed, and then they met in the middle of the street, defied each other, and as neither would give way, they challenged, drew their long swords, and a mortal combat ensued. Or the drunken man saw a poor beggar, one of a despised race, lying in the road, HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 223 fall Of sores, and would try his blade on this miserable CxrF.' object; a wretched dog came in his way, and he ~mT^ slashed at him. A dead body was not even safe from the roisterer's violence, and rtiany a favourite cut has thus been dealt upon a corpse. But sometimes the inebriated samurai would do what to us appears even more cowardly and disgusting. He would creep up behind a brother samurai, and in pure jest, from love of blood, and again to try the temper of his sword, would cut down his unsuspecting victim, and then flee away. Such murders, however, as I have particularly SSaSS referred to in 1862 were political, and were then considered by many Japanese as not only justifiable, but as proceeding from noble and disinterested motives. The rdnins were clamorous for the expulsion of and the numerous lanterns which are huns; round the inclosure are trimmed and suspended in their places. At nightfall the sentries are increased, the bonfire and lanterns are lit, throwing a glare on all the neighbouring thickets and on all surrounding objects. The night is passed by the hourly rounds and the relief of sentries. The orders given to the sentries (with the knowledge and concurrence of the Japanese authorities) are to shoot all Japanese approaching their posts within the well-defined precincts after dark. " On the occasions when official visits are paid to the Ministers who reside at a distance, which occupies two hours to reach, the British mounted escort, consisting of ten men, accompanies the cortege; but the Japanese authorities appear to consider it indispensably necessary to surround it with from twenty to thirty horsemen of their own, who precede and follow, closely watching the movements of all persons in the streets, and especially of two-sworded men, and even a single man if he is seen approaching; for the sole act of drawing his sword impels the stroke which has so often inflicted a death-wound. " Notwithstanding these precautions—and they can hardly be , increased—startling incidents are of not unfrequent occurrence, serving as warnings of more serious casualties which may befall,one at any moment. On one of the last occasions that I visited the Ministers, attended by the cortege-1 have described, forming a retinue of about fifty persons, my horse plunged and reared amidst a general tumult, when two horsemen passed me, coming from behind at full speed, rushing - VOL. I. Q 226 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. xviP' through our ranks, striking the horses of our Japanese 1862. guards with heavy sticks, and pursued by the whole body of them. I was now left with the few men of the British escort in the middle of Yedo, but continued on my road to the official residence "of the Ministers; after a while we were rejoined by the Japanese guards, who returned breathless from their pursuit, but without having overtaken our assailants. I was told they were adherents of the Prince of Satsuma. " On ordinary occasions, any member of the Legation who may walk or ride for exercise out of the limits of the Legation inclosure is surrounded by Japanese guards, who gather in the closest contact round him upon the approach of any two-sworded man; but should the procession of a Daimio be met while riding, they are reduced to the necessity, according to the usage of this country not yet overcome, of breaking into single file, and thus exposing to isolated attack from passing retainers the foreigner they may be guarding. " I should add that the French Legation is in every respect in the same position as what I have above described to be that of her Majesty's Legation, nor is there any difference in the case of the American or Dutch Missions, save in the particular that they have no guards of their own nations, but, on the other hand, have around them a still greater number of Japanese guards, many of whom occupy rooms within the Legation buildings, a proximity from which her Majesty's Legation is grateful to be relieved by the assuring presence of our own countrymen. " I have, &c, (Signed) %" Edwd. St. John Neale." HISTORY'OF JAPAN. CHAPTER XV. 1863, Alarm of Bonins.—Arrival of Imperial Envoys to summon the Sh6gun to Kioto.'—Consequent new Appointments and Punishments of favourers of the Bakufu.—Preponderance of the Sako Party.-—G-otenyama chosen as a site for Foreign Legations.—British Legation burnt when nearly finished.— Admiral Kuper responds to Colonel Neale's request to send a Squadron. The year^ 1862 had been closed with agitating rumours of an impending attack upon the settlement of Yokohama, and this feeling was not diminished in the mind of her Majesty's Charge d'affaires when, on the 2nd of January, 1863, he was roused at midnight by a visit from a Commissioner of foreign affairs, who had been expressly sent down from Yedo with his retinue for the purpose of imparting certain information from the government. This functionary announced that details had been received of the designs of a band of lawless persons in the neighbourhood, whose first object was stated to be that of seeking an opportunity to assassinate the foreign "Representatives, Precautionary measures were taken in consequence, patrols marched through the streets, and some forty well-armed residents formed themselves into a volun- q 2 ' 228 HISTORY OF JAPAN-, °xvR teer corps. But, a few days later (8th), another "isS!^ Commissioner of foreign affairs arrived from Yedo to say that the information recently imparted was found not to be accurate, and that there was no fear of any immediate danger. Arrival of The imperial Envoys, Sanio and Ane-no-koii, imperial J: J > J J ' ?ummonto having arrived in Yedo at the latter end of January, Kioto"1 ° 1863, notified to the shogun the will of the Emperor that he should proceed to Kioto in the spring, and assuming the command and leadership of all the clans, should marshal the forces of the Empire, and expel the foreigners without further delay. The shogun and his ministers consented, and the Envoys departed on their return. neTaPq-uent The effects of their mission were at once manifested and'punish- by great changes among the officials. Appointments f|vourers and dismissals were made in great numbers, and many bakufu. 0f those who had formerly enjoyed favour, as staunch adherents of the bakufu, were disgraced. The revenue of the actual Prince of Hikone, successor to the regent Ii Kamon no Kami, was diminished, because of the conduct of his late father, which was considered to have beeii offensive to the Mikado, and a cause of discord among the people. Naito Kii no Kami, Kuze Yamato no Kami, and Anclo Tsushima no Kami were also deprived of part of their revenues, and the two latter were condemned to confinement in their houses, and to resign their daimiates to their sons. In fact, those who were high in office during the palmy days of the late regent, and who assisted him whilst he wielded the whole power of the shogunate, and encouraged friendly relations with the foreigners, were made to suffer, and thus retaliation was widely dealt for the arbitrary dismissals and punishments carried HISTORY OF JAPAN". 229 out with such vigour by the regent against those chap. concerned in the dispatch of the secret , order to the ^-^g—' ex-Prince of Mito in 1858. The shogun even offered to descend one step in rank out of penitence &>r his shortcomings in administering the government, but this was not accepted. Thus the tables were turned, and,, for the moment, anceT/the the Sak6 (closing of the ports) party gained the upper Sa opaity-hand, the bakufu acknowledging its diminished authority by submitting to the orders of the Court in the matter of appointments and dismissals, and by promising that the shogun should visit Kioto. After the attack on the British legation in 1861, it |*°n^ became apparent that in the actual state of the rela- foreign tions between Japanese and foreigners,, if the members of the different missions were to reside permanently in Yedo, some better provision must be made for their safety. With this object an agreement was entered into with the government that a> piece of ground should be set apart for a site upon which five "buildings might be erected for the use of the five legations. The spot was accordingly chosen. It was not far from the temple of Tozenji, the scene of the two attacks already described, and was outside the city of Yedo, according to its limits at that time. It consisted of a piece of table-land, on a height commanding the bay, and at a short distance from the water. It was called Gotenyama, the hill of the abode or palace. Tradition states that between the chronological periods of Keicho (1596—1604) and Genwa (1605—1623) there was a palace upon it, with a view over ploughed land. Later, shoots of cherry trees from the Yoshi mountain in the district of Washiu were planted, and there was a great profusion of white and pink blossoms in 230 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. c|yR the spring. One of the shoguns/ it is recorded, when i86,\ he went a-hunting, tarried on Gotenyama, and in more modern times it was a place of recreation for the people. This was the spot which had been chosen for the future residence of the foreign Kepresentatives, and the building destined for the British Kepresentative was Nation nearly ready. It had been erected, at the expense of Shed , ^e shogun's government, of the best materials which Japanese , the country could produce, constructed with infinite eater it. care and attention to details, and had cost, according to the estimates, a sum equivalent to £8000. , But the members of her Majesty's mission were destined never to occupy that residence. On the 16th of January, according to information officially received by Colonel Neale, ten armed Japanese presented themselves at the door of the legation-ground, entrance into which> as they were strangers, was refused by the guard. They then went away to a tea-house close at hand, and asked the owner whether the legation was inhabited, and> on being informed that it was not, one of them partly drew his sword, and threatened the keeper of the house, saying that what he saw (the sword) awaited him for deceiving them, and for stating what was not true. Four of their number then left, returned to the door of the legation-ground, and again demanded admittance ; and upon refusal as before, attacked and cut to pieces the guard. They then made good their escape, and were said not to have been traced. ^ppeaito On the 28th of January, the Japanese ministers inhabit appealed to Colonel Neale to abandon the intention of daaoe.81" inhabiting the residence at Gotenyama, and solicited him to select another site, requesting a definite answer before the 2nd of February, when a very high func- HISTORY OF JAPAN. tionary, the shtSgun's guardian and Envoy (Hitotsu-bashi), >rould proceed to Kioto. In the long conversation which took place, the Japanese stated that two or three daimios had con-„ stantly and urgently represented to the Mikado that the presence of foreigners, and the habits and manners they had introduced, had occasioned much evil to Japan, and that the Mikado had been continually ordering the shogun to- cease all relations with foreigners, and to drive them out of the country ; that his Majestjr also complained that he had not been consulted, nor had his consent been previously obtained,, in the conclusion of the treaties. The ministers then said that recently the Mikado had strongly urged one special point, viz. that the bakufu had acted very improperly in granting the site of Gotenyama as a residence for the foreign Kepresenta-tives, and had directed that the project should not be carried out; that the shogun must obey his Majesty's orders, and hence this mandate had occasioned the greatest embarrassment to the government, who had expended a sum equal to about forty thousand Mexican dollars in constructing the British legation.. They therefore begged Colonel Neale to abandon the idea of residing there, and to choose a site elsewhere. Her Majesty's Charge d'affaires commented on the fact that no names were mentioned of daimios who^ had maligned foreigners to the Mikado, and thus induced this request. The answer was that Shimadzu Saburo had gone to Kioto, and informed the Emperor that he had been grossly insulted by foreigners, and had therefore directed them to be cut down ; that his Majesty believed the story, and that, when the sh6gun's govern- 232 HISTORY OF JAPAN. cxvP* ment demanded the delivery of the murderers to them, 1863. Shimadzu Saburo had denied that any such assassination had been discovered or proved, whilst in reality the delinquents were concealed and Sheltered by him; also that the Prince of Choshiu was anxious to bring on a revolution, and himself become " Tycoon." coionei The result of the interview was that Colonel Neale gtv^lVthe declared his inability to entertain any question of abandoning Gotenyama as a residence. He remarked that the preliminary arrangements had been made before the departure of her Majesty's minister, who had been repeatedly consulted about the smallest details, and that the government had, up till then, never expressed the slightest dissatisfaction with respect to the site. The^ buiid- Four days later, on the 1st of February/ the cendiaries. " building was burnt to the ground by a party of two-sworded Japanese, who employed trains of powder and other combustibles, which exploded simultaneously in all directions. The incendiaries were not taken, but some of them at least are known to have been some Choshiu men, and two, if I am rightly informed, sub-Se6n.lliu sequently held high and influential positions in the Imperial government after its restoration, and have long been distinguished for their friendly feelings towards the foreign " barbarians." One of them, who is still in office, has sat at my table in Yedo, and I have more than once felt a longing to inquire into the details of his incendiary exploit, but it is too soon to expect such disclosures from natives, and I should have gained nothing by my perhaps impertinent question. I well remember one of the most influential members of the Satsuma clan, now dead, being asked by one of us, in the secretary's house at Yokohama, some time HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 233 having elapsed since the murder of Mr. Richardson," cf v^' who really cut the Englishman down. The Japanese 1863. gentleman, who must have known, as he was in Shimadzu Saburo's train at the time, simply answered, as might well have been expected, " I have forgotten." Doubtless the burning; of the building destined for The act ° u probably the British legation on Gotenyama was considered a ™n^q^r political necessity by these Choshiu men, and whether Kmohe the bakufu were cognizant of their design is hardly material. The Mikado's Envoys, in all probability, had communicated to the Yedo government an order from the Sovereign that the foreign Representatives. should not be permitted to reside on Gotenyama, which was a sacred spot, and devoted to festivals for the people ; and, inasmuch as all foreigners were to be driven out of the country in a few short months, it would not be worth while to complete the buildings. The following communication was subsequently ^SS^SJ" made to Colonel Neale. It ignores the fact that the tocSe? building was burnt by political incendiaries, and states accurate, what is. not true, namely, that Colonel Neale had agreed to the construction of a residence on another spot. The Japanese Ministers for Foreign Affairs to Lieutenant-Colonel Neale. [Translation.] " Herewith we make the following communication. (i When the British Legation at Gotenyama was almost completed, it unexpectedly caught fire, and was burned down to the ground, as you were lately informed. This caused us great sorrow, and we sympathise with you. 234 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. ¥vf* " For our Government it is likewise a great pity, 1863. not only that such a large sum of money has been lost, but also that all the trouble in erecting (the building) has thus suddenly proved to have been fruitless. "Although the name and the whereabouts of the criminals are unknown, the consequences of their stealing into the compound towards daybreak on the 13th (February 1) are made known in the enclosed document. " Most probably this event must be ascribed to the envy of those persons who were displeased that the foreign Legations were to be erected on the place of recreation to which the name of Gotenyama had been given, as you are well aware of. " Thus it is very doubtful whether one will be able to ensure safety there, if the building were to be erected on the same spot. "We therefore propose to you through one of the officials to stop the work of the present Legation, and to enter into negotiations for another spot. And you have agreed to this, taking into consideration the present state of affairs in Japan, for which we are much obliged. " We also communicate that the French and American Ministers have consented to this. " With respect and consideration. "25th of 12th month of 3rd year of Bunkiu (February 13, 1863). (Signed) "Midzuno Idzumi no Kami. "Itakuka Suwd no Kami." HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 235 Communication of the Officials in charge of the new cxvP* Legation at Gotenyama, when it was destroyed 1863-by fire. [Translation.] " This morning, in the middle of Ushi.(about two o'clock in the night), we went the rounds, but saw nothing suspicious. After our return the Legation began to burn, it having the appearance as if it had been set fire to with powder, and the eastern side likewise began to burn. " Whilst it was immediately being made known at the temporary office, the Legation was in one blaze of fire. " At the same time shots were heard outside the gate to the southward. " Although we at once sent in every direction, no suspicious persons were found. " But one of the posts of the wooden fence near the drawbridge was cut through, and the articles as mentioned in the enclosed paper were left there. " We send in this communication. "13th of 12th month (February 1). "One saw, one bag containing six candles, one match 3 feet 7 inches long, one pair of sandals, one pair of wooden clogs, four lucifers, and two flints. Two packets of powder were left under the stable near the great gate." Colonel Neale was now so impressed that a crisis £°J°£el was at hand, that he addressed a despatch to Rear- iXiSi Admiral Kuper, stating his conviction that a consider- presence in able demonstration of naval force in the vicinity of Yokohama and Yedo would be most opportune, and 236 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. °xvP' "would conduce to results highly advantageous to "¦"""liSr^ British interests. The presence of such a force, whose mission would be to insure the maintenance of treaty rights, and enable British subjects engaged in a prosperous and increasing trade to remain undisturbed, at least within their settlements, would, Colonel Neale had every reason to believe, at the same time afford a powerful naval support to the shogun's government in its well-disposed, but wavering and timid policy in regard to foreign intercourse, He therefore hoped that the Admiral would be able to afford him the early support of his own presence at Yokohama and Yedo with such a force as would constitute an unmistakable demonstration, and would be calculated to realize the results which he confidently anticipated. Arrival of In consequence of this despatch, and of instructions ?sPuad7oEh from-the Admiralty, Eear-Admiral Kuper left Hong Kong, and arrived at Yokohama in the " Euryalus " on the 22nd of March. In company with the flag-ship were the "Battler" and the "Bacehorse." The " Centaur" and the gun-boat "Kestrel" were already in the port. Two days subsequently the "Argus" arrived, to be followed by other available vessels on the China station. HIST0EY OF JAPAN, 237 CHAP. XVI. CHAPTER XVI. 1863. Arrival of Daimios, &c, at Kioto.—Its gay aspect.—Approaching departure of Shognn announced to Colonel ISTeale.—His Notes on the Richardson affair.—Perplexity of Bakiifu.—Colonel ISTeale consents to delay the Expedition.—Imperial Decree to Daimios respecting expulsion -of Foreigners.—Arrival of Shognn at Kioto.—His first visit to Court, andTiis Presents. Meanwhile the daimios from the east and west kept arriving in Kioto, so that there were some seventy by the spring of the year, and the number of the shogun's allmios0 vassals was also very considerable, As none of these sign's J t ^ vassals at nobles had residences in the Capital, they hired temples Ki6t0-for temporary head-quarters, and the clans bought houses in the city, and built residences and barracks. The streets are described as being crowded with samurai on foot and on horseback; pleasure and sight-seeing became the order of the clay, and the Capital flourished as it never had in any former reign. On the 1st of March the shogun's guardian, Arrival of Hitotsubashi, arrived at Kioto in pursuance of an order basin.u from the Court, and took up his abode there. The low-class two-sworded men had for some time been anxiously looking out for him, and had talked much among themselves about the nearness of the time when 238 HISTORY OF JAPAN. The shdg approach- °xviP* the barbarians were to be driven out. But when they 1863. heard that the shogun himself was shortly to appear at the Capital, and that the date for the great exploit would not be fixed till then, they felt disappointed and began to get turbulent. Several murders were perpetrated by them about this time. On the 29th of March the rojiu informed Colonel Neale that the shogun was to leave for Kioto on the plftlre 31st. The British Kepresentative having now received to cXnef instructions from Earl Kussell, at once replied that in two or three days it would be his duty to present a note embodying the demands which her Majesty's government had directed him to make for outrages committed upon her subjects, and for which no redress had been obtained; that the peremptory and explicit nature of those demands would necessitate the most serious deliberation and prompt attention of the sh6gun's government within a restricted period of time; and that these serious communications could not be deferred by the announcement at the last moment of the departure of the shogun. Colonel Neale concluded in the following words :— "It is equally my duty to request that the purport of my present communication be brought immediately to the knowledge of the Tycoon, and I am bound to add that whatever regrettable consequences may result from such communication being withheld, the responsibility attending them will rest with your Excellencies and the government of Japan." The The ministers replied that the sh6gun's "journey shogun's rr i o j «/ cann'oTbe wvld ^°* ^e put off, and after expressing their fears put off. -j^-j- |jiey. wqu]^ no£ ke a|)ie t0 answer the promised note, or settle the business as speedily as desired, or within the time to be specified, they declared that they HISTORY OF JAPAN. 239 had made known to the shogun the contents of the °xvl' former communication. 1863. On the 6th of April the British Charge d'affaires Formal notes from sent in the following note, accompanying it with the g^61 supplementary note of the same date, drawing the immediate attention of the ministers to two points, viz. the number of days fixed for the reply, and his suggestion that the government should depute an officer of rank to accompany the ships of war which would convey the demands he was instructed to make upon the Prince of Satsuma. Lieutenant-Colonel Neale to the Japanese Ministers for Foreign Affairs. " The Undersigned, her Britannic Majesty's Charge d'Affaires, has received the explicit instructions of ids Government to demand reparation from the Japanese Government for the murder and outrages committed upon British subjects on the 14th of September last, on the tokaido, near Kanagawa, by the retainers of the Prince of Satsuma. "The circumstances attending this unprovoked and savage assault, as related by the survivors, and as set forth by the Undersigned in his several communications, written and verbal, with the Japanese Ministers, have never been controverted, attempted to be palliated, or denied. "The sentiments of indignation with which her Majesty's Government have learnt the particulars of this outrage are expressed in the following words addressed to the Undersigned by her Britannic Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs:— " ' The barbarous murder of Mr. Eichardson, and the murderous assault on two gentlemen and a lady 240 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. xvi.' who were in his company, have inspired her Majesty's 1863. Government with great and just indignation. It was to be hoped that the instant trial and condign punishment of the murderers, together with an offer of further reparation, would have shown on the part of the Japanese Government a due sense of the magnitude of the offence which had been committed; but the letter of the Japanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs, dated the 16th of September, dispels this hope. In a tone of helplessness or evasion they say, that in the answer that Saburo gave to their officer there is something very improper, and that they will have the whole state of the case more accurately inquired into, and inform you of the result/ " ' There could have been no doubt in the minds of the Ministers of Japan that a barbarous murder had been committed—no doubt that other murders had at the same time been attempted, and the only course which a Government, sensible of its duties, and able to perform them, could have pursued, was to arrest, try, convict, and execute the murderers; but even the first step of this process does not seem to have been taken/ " Such are the observations of her -Britannic Majesty's Government, which, after mature consideration of the anomalous political rule which prevails in Japan, has instructed the Undersigned to make to the Japanese Government through your Excellencies a peremptory demand for immediate and full redress for the violence and outrage committed. "The reparation which the Undersigned is thus instructed to demand for this fresh outrage will be specially set forth at the close of this note. "In the meanwhile, under instructions from his Government, the Undersigned made verbally, and in HISTORY OF JAPAN. 241 writing, a formal demand, so far back as the 4th of c^n. December, 1862, on the Japanese Ministers, for redress """^TsST and compensation for the previous outrage on her Britannic Majesty's Legation on the 26th of June-last, and which consisted in the payment of <£l0,000 sterling, for the benefit of the families of the two British guards murdered on that occasion at the very bedroom door of the Undersigned, her Majesty's Charge d'Affaires. " Nine months have now elapsed since the perpetration of that deed, and four months since the demand for compensation was communicated by the Undersigned to the Japanese Ministers ; but it has been evaded, and the outrage remains still unrequited. It is now, again, peremptorily demanded. " These two flagrant acts, injurious to the dignity of the British flag, and accompanied with all the sensation and horror which they occasioned among civilized nations, have nevertheless called forth no serious offer of redress in any degree proportionate to the enormity of the crimes committed, which, moreover, carried with them in a national point of view an-insult and indignity which the Japanese Government well knows her Majesty's Government would not suffer to remain without atonement. " Whatever may be the real situation of the Government of the Tycoon in respect to its power of punishing the acts of hostile daimios and their retainers, the Tycoon's Ministers under the circumstances referred to have betrayed a culpable apathy, disregard, and indifference in their communications with the Undersigned regarding these outrages, for which the Tycoon's Government is now most justly called upon to afford ample reparation. YOL. I. E 242 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. ?vl* " Procrastination and evasion attained by length- 1863. ened arguments as to unimportant details, attempted negotiations as to the amount to be awarded as compensation, and more recently an absolute silence on the part of the Japanese Government in respect to both these unrequited ' grievances, has been the course pursued by your Excellencies, regardless of the friendly warnings and remonstrances of the Undersigned. Acting moreover under evil counsels, the Japanese Government has ^adopted a passive, reserved, and unfriendly policy with the British Eepresentative, not only in regard to these outrages, but in all matters of interest to British subjects. " This unjustifiable course of action has been crowned with the destruction, by political incendiaries, of the new British Legation-residence at Gotenyama. " On the other hand, the Government of her Britannic Majesty, viewing with indulgence the obstacles and obstructions opposed to the full development of British commercial enterprise by the Japanese Government, and judging them to emanate from the great political embarrassments of this country, was the first to concede to the wishes of his Majesty the Tycoon, conveyed through his Envoys, and to consent conditionally to the postponement in the opening of Ozaka and other ports, subsequently assented to by other European Treaty Powers, and to be assented to by the Government of the United States, only in consideration of counter-concessions which the Government of Great Britain has not sought to exact. " The Tycoon's Envoys have returned and rendered an account of their mission to the Japanese Government in relation to the foregoing negotiations, and the Undersigned has just communicated to his Government HISTORY OF JAPAN. 243 the thanks lately expressed to him in writing by your Cxvi.' Excellencies on behalf of the Tycoon and' Government ^~is£T of Japan, for the attentions and cordial reception bestowed upon those Envoys by the Sovereign, Government, and people of Great Britain ; a record standing in painful contrast with the unfriendly demeanour of the Japanese Ministers towards the Bepresentatives and subjects of her Majesty in this country. " The Undersigned, • nevertheless, unhesitatingly proclaims, and challenges the Japanese Government to disprove the fact, that the subjects of no nation with which Japan is in relation have given less cause for ill-will on the part of the Japanese authorities than the authorities and subjects of the great British nation, which the Japanese Government, regardless of its duty to the interests of the Tycoon and his dynasty, has so easily been persuaded to treat with distrust and disregard. " By a happy and rare good fortune, which could not reasonably have been expected, during the period that British subjects, of all classes, have resided in Japan, and thousands of British sailors have frequented its open ports, no noticeable instance of violence against Japanese has been complained of regarding one of them, and yet in numbers they greatly exceed all other foreign residents in Japan. " Such has been the anxious care of the British authorities to engage their countrymen to adopt the conduct of friendship and conciliation, and to accommodate themselves to the difficult situation of the Government of this country. " While the good sense and forbearance of the British residents have ensured these unprecedented and happy results, those same British subjects do not r2 HISTORY OF JAPAN. and cannot forget that few nations of the world are as powerful, and none more determined than their own, to demand and obtain reparation for unprovoked outrages committed on its subjects. " The Undersigned is bound to add that four years of intercourse between the subjects of Great Britain and Japan have proved that the Japanese people are friendly and well-disposed, having no cause arising out of habits or prejudices to entertain hostile or fanatical feelings towards foreigners. The authorities and official class of this nation, from the Ministers and Daimios to the yaconins, have alone evinced a culpable jealousy and distrust towards foreigners, which threaten to endanger the interests and tranquillity of the peaceful inhabitants of this country. "Notwithstanding the amicable and conciliatory dispositions of the British Government, and the corresponding conduct of the British Eepresentatives in Japan in their relations with the Tycoon's Government, emanating from a sincere desire to avert, in the interests of peace and commerce, all cause of absolute dissension, the Japanese Government would on its part appear, under evil advice and influence, to have resolved to try the risk vof withholding reparation for absolute outrages, and to brave the inevitable consequences of its unfriendly and distrustful demeanour towards the British Government and nation. " In explanation of this uncalled-for and ill-advised conduct, the Undersigned is willing to hope that the Tycoon and Government of Japan are not as yet adequately aware of the power and determination of Great Britain to enforce reparation for unprovoked grievances, even in this distant and extreme region of the world. HISTORY OF JAPAN. " The Undersigned, in now approaching the specific reparation which is required from the Japanese Government, and which will not be deviated from, modified, or discussed, desires solemnly and earnestly to explain and impress upon your Excellencies as responsible servants of the Tycoon, for the information of his Majesty and the Supreme Council of this Empire, that there is a serious difference between open hostilities, or in other words war, as declared between nations, and the adoption of such enforced measures of coercion as are necessary to ensure acquiescence to moderate demands should they be indiscreetly refused or attempted to be evaded. " No loss or ruin to Japan is involved by the preliminary measures which are at present contemplated to awaken the Japanese Government to a due sense of its responsibilities, should it refuse 01 evade to comply with the reparation now peremptorily demanded; but a persistence in such refusal must necessarily lead to a very different and disastrous situation of affairs. " The reparation now demanded for the murders and murderous assaults committed upon British subjects has been affixed by her Majesty's Government with a considerate regard for the difficult situation of the Japanese Government and its political embarrassment. But the penalty imposed, and the measure of compensation demanded for the sufferers and their families, now computed in thousands, will, if the Japanese Government continue to be ill-advised, inevitably expand into millions, to indemnify the costs of armaments which must be employed by Great Britain, should all serious warnings fail to ensure the redress imperatively demanded for these unprovoked and flagrant outrages. 246 HISTORY OF JAPAN. xvi.' "Notwithstanding the evil designs of interested is**. counsellors/ the intelligent Ministers of the Tycoon are already aware that the sincere desire of Great Britain is to preserve,peaceful relations of friendship and commerce with Japan; but it is of vital interest to Japan that the Tycoon's Government should be guided in its councils by the knowledge that Great Britain will not tolerate even a passive defiance of its power, or refusal of its just demands. " If, however, the Ministers of the Tycoon now in office, setting aside all considerations of ordinary prudence, and devoting themselves to devices calculated to gain time, cause Japan to drift into hostilities with a great power with which it is utterly unable to cope, upon those ministers will fall the heavy responsibility of all the calamities which may ensue. "Having thus discharged his duty and conscience by the earnest remarks which precede, the Undersigned has the honour to state to your Excellencies that he is instructed to make the following explicit and peremptory demands upon the Japanese Government:— " First. An ample and formal apology for the offence of permitting a murderous attack on British subjects passing on a road open by treaty to them. "Secondly. The payment of £100,000 as a penalty on Japan for this offence. " The mode, manner, and form of the apology will be regulated in conferences between the Undersigned and Commissioners appointed by the Japanese Government, as well as the mode and manner of payment of the money reparation demanded. - "Twenty days from this elate is assigned to the Japanese Government for its reply, which must be of a categorical character, either consenting to or rejecting ( the demands here made. HISTOEY OF JAPAN, 247 " At the expiration of the twenty days assigned xvi.' for the reply of the Japanese Government, should that 1863-reply either be a rejection or evasion, or otherwise than a positive acceptance of the reparation demanded, the British Admiral now assembled here with a considerable force will, within twenty-four hours after the receipt of such refusal of these demands, or in the event of no reply whatever being received at the expiration of that period from the Japanese Government, proceed to enter upon such measures as may be necessary to secure the reparation demanded. "The conduct of these measures will thenceforth necessarily be in the hands of the Admiral commanding-in-chief her Majesty's Naval Forces. " The Undersigned for his own part is bound to remind the Japanese Ministers that upon the occurrence of the outrage on the 14th of September, in his extreme desire to leave to the Japanese Government the legitimate mode of affording redress, he exercised a discretion, since entirely approved of by her Majesty's Government, but which obliged him at the same time to bear the burden of much obloquy on the part of the foreign residents of Yokohama. "The Undersigned may even now apprise the Japanese Government that, so strong is his desire, while carrying out the full tenor of his instructions, to avoid the infliction of loss or suffering upon the unoffending inhabitants of Japan, that he will so express his views to the Admiral; but resistance or attempted evasion of the operations of coercion which may be rendered necessary will evidently render all such considerations impracticable, "It becomes, therefore, the imperative duty of the Undersigned earnestly to warn the Japanese Ministers HISTORY OF JAPAN. that the slightest molestation, injury, or violence attempted to be offered by the Japanese authorities, the adherents of Daimios, or others, to the persons or property of British subjects at the ports open to foreigners during the continuance of the preliminary measures, should they be rendered necessary, will alter the whole nature of the operations, and result in the immediate exercise of serious hostilities, the extent, duration, and consequences of which cannot be foreseen ; but the whole weight and responsibilities of which will rest with the Japanese Government and its advisers. The present demands of the British Government are sufficiently defined and explicit, as are also the first consequences of a refusal to accede to them. " The Undersigned having acquitted himself of his duties in thus earnestly stating and explaining to the Tycoon's Government what is peremptorily required at its hands, and the penalties which must inevitably attend a non-compliance with the same, proceeds to acquaint your Excellencies with the further measures which, under instructions from her Majesty's Government, will be adopted to enforce a far more important portion of the reparation rendered necessary, and required for the barbarous murder of the 14th of September, from the Prince of Satsuma, by whose adherents that deed was perpetrated. " The Japanese Ministers have written, and have stated to the Undersigned on various occasions, and have openly avowed to the Ministers of other Foreign States, that the Japanese Government could not pursue or arrest malefactors within the domains of the Daimio Prince Satsuma. This is no reason why the adherents of this Prince, who were the actual murderers, should escape condign punishment; and the British Govern- HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 249 ment, taking into mature consideration the difficulties Cxvl which thus obstruct the Tycoon's Government, is itself ^IsST constrained to demand satisfaction and redress from thetPrince of Satsuma. "A naval force will, therefore, be directed to proceed to a port appertaining to the Prince of Satsuma, where will be demanded from him :— " 1. The immediate trial and capital execution, in the presence of one or more of her Majesty's naval officers, of the chief perpetrators of the murder of Mr. Eichardson, and of the murderous assault upon the lady and gentlemen who accompanied him. "2. The payment of £25,000 sterling, to be distributed to the relatives of the murdered man and to those who escaped the swords of the assassins on that occasion. " In the event of the refusal, delay, or evasion of the Prince of Satsuma to carry these demands into immediate effect, such measures of coercion will immediately be adopted against him as the Admiral may judge best calculated to obtain the reparation demanded. "The Undersigned, out of courtesy and high consideration for the Tycoon's Government, makes to it the above communication regarding the course to be adopted with the Prince of Satsuma ; considering also that the Government of the Tycoon may deem it expedient in the interests of Japan to advise the Prince of Satsuma to comply at once with the demands of the British Government, necessitated by the barbarous outrage committed by his retainers, at the head of whom was his father, Shimadzu Saburd, upon an unoffending British subject. With this object, a high officer might be dispatched by the Japanese Govern- 250 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. xvi.' ment charged with averting the consequences of any 1863« obstinate or ill-advised conduct on the part of the Prince of Satsuma, in ignorance of the power and determination of the British nation to enforce redress for unprovoked injuries. "The Undersigned, &c., (Signed) "Edwd. St. Jornsr Neale. " Yokohama, April 6, 1863." Lieutenant-Colonel Neale to the Japanese Ministers for Foreign Affairs. " Yokohama, April 6, 1863. " The accompanying note will be delivered to your Excellencies by Mr. Eusden, Japanese Secretary of this Legation, through the Governor of Foreign Affairs whom you may appoint to receive it. " As you cannot become immediately acquainted with all its contents, it becomes urgently necessary that I should request your Excellencies' first attention to two points:— " 1. That desirous of acting with the most considerate regard for the delay attendant upon the communication you may desire to make to his Majesty the Tycoon at Kioto, and the delay likewise attendant upon translation, ample time being also allotted for mature reflection, I have announced to you that I will await for a period of twenty days from this date the - reply of the Japanese Government to the communication which I now have the honour to make in the note referred to. " But I have' earnestly to inform your Excellencies that the instructions which both the Admiral commanding-in-chief and myself have received will render it HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 251 impossible for us to prolong that period by a single °xvl' day or hour. 1863. " 2. I have suggested in my note the expediency and advantage of the Tycoon's Government charging a high officer to accompany the British ships-of-war which will convey the demands I am instructed to make from the Prince of Satsuma. To this point I have to request a speedy reply, as it is evident my com-- munication to the Prince cannot be delayed during the above specified period of twenty days. Mr. Eusden will await at Yedo, in the vessel which conveys him, during two days the decision of the Japanese Government respecting this latter point. " The ships destined to proceed to Kiushiu will then immediately leave. ""With respect and consideration. (Signed) " Edwd. St. John Neale." These two notes were entrusted to Mr. Eusden, the ?yelSfed, Japanese secretary of legation, who proceeded to Yedo fedo.fen at on the day of their date in the gunboat " Havoc," and immediately delivered them into the hands of an official of the foreign office. On the 9 th Mr. Eusden returned with an evasive reply from the ministers, in ^fyo! which they stated that they would at once forward a report on the subject to the shogun, and they begged that the men-of-war might not be sent to Satsuma, as in the present state of affairs it was to be feared that an unexpected calamity and still greater confusion might then arise, and that the law of their Empire might be injured. In fact, as the Japanese chronicler says, the ministers were mightily perplexed. At the very moment they received this ultimatum from the English their bakufu. 252 HISTORY OF JAPAN. CHAP. XVI. 1863. Reasons which induce Colonel Neale to delay the expedition. Correspondence ending- in a delay of 15 days. own countrymen were urging them to expel the foreigners. " Here is another, and a worse national calamity/' said the officials. ' " If we let the English squadron go to the Bay of Satsuma. something calamitous will be sure to ensue. ' The best thing we can do will be to pacify the English barbarians." Hence the above answer was returned. "But the barbarians/' he continues, "seeing the alarm of the bakufu officials, abounded in falsehood and swagger. So, as it seemed that the demands of the barbarians were not to be easily got rid of, and that at any moment they might move their war vessels against us and commence hostilities, the shogunate made diligent preparations to defend itself; and the defences of the home provinces being very slight, Ii Kamon no Kami was ordered to guard the Bay of 6zaka." On receipt of the reply of the ministers, Colonel Neale took its arguments into serious consideration. He felt that there might be truth in their observations that confusion would be created by sudden and separate negotiations with Satsuma at this crisis ; he was also informed that the prince was not at Kagoshima, but at Kioto, and he was aware that Admiral Kuper would prefer awaiting the arrival of the remaining ships of his squadron before detaching a portion to Kagoshima, a distant, point from the rendezvous at Yokohama, and the defences and navigation of which were imperfectly known. He therefore felt inclined to put off the expedition till he could see his way more clearly, but at the same time, in order to leave the Japanese ministers in no doubt as to his intentions, he addressed to them a note dated the 11th, requesting to know how soon his note of the 6th would be laid HISTORY OF JAPAN. before the sh6gun and council, and stating that according to the delay or promptness with/which the latter were made aware of that serious communication (which also contained the demands on the Prince of Satsuma) his further immediate action would be guided. Two of the ministers who were still in Yedo answered with unusual promptness, on the following day, that Colonel Neale's note would probably reach the sh6gun on the 12th or 13 th instant. They were however much perplexed, and made an urgent appeal to the American minister to obtain a further extension of time from the British Charge to remove the foreigners and close the ports, leaving the negotiation of it in my hands. "Although I myself intend to communicate the particulars verbally to you, I now communicate this to you beforehand. " With respect and consideration. " 9th of 5th month of 3rd year of Bunkiu (24th June, 1863). (Signed) "Ogasawara Dzusho no Kami." [Translation of the original Despatch in Japanese, by Mr. Satow, with the aid of his teacher.] "I communicate with you by a despatch. " The orders of the Tycoon, received from Kioto, are to the effect that the ports are to be closed and the foreigners driven out, because the people of the country do not desire intercourse with foreign countries. The discussion of this has been entirely entrusted to me by 278 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. his Majesty. I therefore send you this communication first, before holding a conference respecting the details. " Eespectful and humble communication. " (24th June, 1863.) (Signed) " Ogasawaea Dzush6 no Kami." Colonel Neale at once replied in the following note to this communication, which was also answered by the French and American Eepresentatives in the same sense. Lieutenant-Colonel Neale to the Japanese Minister x for Foreign Affairs. " Yokohama, June 24 and made, in three divisions, for the battery. After HIST0EY OF JAPAN. we had well entered into the bushes, we were attacked by the Japanese in several isolated troops of three or four, some with rifles, some with swords, but most with old Brown Bess, of Dutch manufacture. These lay concealed, aiming at us as we approached. They were immediately charged and bayoneted. Some few made a stand, but generally took to immediate flight. I think there must have been about twenty killed this way. " Passing through this brushwood, we came upon the battery. It was quite deserted. The parapet was all ploughed up by our shells. One gun lay upset; another had its trunnions knocked off, and pools of blood in all directions. The dead had all been carried away. In a hollow road behind the battery we found some clothes soaked with blood, and some accoutrements. The guns having been spiked, the Commandant ordered brushwood, mats, and all other inflammable materials to be placed under the gun-carriages, which were then fired. The powder magazine was found outside the battery, in a very safe position in a hollow road. The powder and all the ammunition were thrown into the sea. "While this was going on in the battery, M. Layrle, Chief d'Etat-Major of Admiral Jaures, advanced by the right of the battery (keeping up a continual fire with Japanese hid in the bushes) to a village called Aidago-mome, which was abandoned by the peasants, and evidently used as dwelling-places for the troops belonging to the batteries. In the middle of this town there was a large building a little way up thev hill, half temple half palace like, in which there was found a great deal of powder and ammunition, which, having been fired by us, blew up with a tremendous noise just as we were re-embarking. VOL. 1. IT HISTOEY OF JAPAN. " On entering the battery I went at once to the principal building, where I found a good quantity of Japanese armour and arms, but no one in the house. In looking about I found several Japanese translations of Dutch books on fortification and gunnery, one of which (which I have now in my possession) was marked at the page where it treats of attacking ships that are carried away by the current. " Having thus accomplished our object, destroyed the battery and guns, and also burned the village (the quarters of the soldiers), we re-embarked. " I must not forget to mention that during the re-embarkation the frigate, the ' TancrMe/ and the boats' guns opened a heavy fire on some spot to the right of us, but hidden by the bushes. On going on board I learned that they had seen about 2000 Eegular Infantry, some men on horseback, and even field artillery, coming down upon us from Shimonoseki by the road along the shore. They fired a few shells amongst them, which, exploding in their midst, did them considerable damage, and they speedily retreated. " We had in all three men wounded, belonging to the Chasseurs, two by musket-balls and one by a stab of a dagger of a Japanese who was lying wounded on the ground, and stabbed him as he passed by. "It is difficult to arrive at any estimate of the casualties of the Japanese, but there was abundant testimony in the batteries that their loss there must have been very considerable, besides that which the shell-practice, at a range of 3000 yards, did upon their advancing column. " I remain, &c, (Signed) "F. Blekman, "Interpreter attached to the French Admiral" HIST0BY OF JAPAN. [Extract from the "Japan Commercial News" of July 24, 1863.J " We are indebted to the kindness and courtesy of D. de Graeff van Polsbroek, Esq., his Netherlands Majesty's Consul-General in Japan, for the following authentic account of the attack upon the 6 Medusa ' in Shimonoseki Bay ; and to Captain de Cazembroot, of the c Medusa/ for the interesting map of the Bay of Shimoneseki, which we publish this day for the information and gratification of our readers :-— " ' On the 9th instant his Netherlands Majesty's steam-ship "Medusa" (16 guns) left Nagasaki on her way to Kanagawa by the Suwo Nada or Inland Passage, and at some distance from Nagasaki she met his Imperial Majesty's despatch-boat " Kien-chang," Commander Lafond, who informed the " Medusa" that she had been fired upon by the forts at Shimonoseki and by two foreign-built vessels (one under the Japanese flag) lying in that harbour. ' " ' The captain of the " Medusa " had previously decided to pass through -the Inland Sea, and therefore had a Japanese pilot provided by the Governor of Nagasaki. "'On the morning of the 11th of July the " Medusa " weighed anchor in the neighbourhood of Ay-Shima, where she had awaited daylight to run into Shimonoseki Straits. On entering this strait two blank shots were fired from one of the batteries, and were immediately answered by eight similar ones from the brig before the town. As yet the " Medusa " did not think that these signals would be followed by any hostile act, more especially as the opposite shore of Kiushiu was lined with native junks. Having approached the brig, she and a barque, without any flag, u2 HISTORY OF JAPAN. and a very heavily armed battery on the hill, opened fire upon the " Medusa." Upon the brig (" Lanrick ") flew the flag of the Daimio of Nagato—being a blue flag with three white balls in a triangle and a white stripe above : from the peak no flag flew. The two vessels lay behind a bank in about two fathoms of water, and therefore the " Medusa " could not possibly approach them nearer than three cables' lengths. The " Medusa," after the manner of all ships of war, immediately responded to the forts and the ships with shot and shell. " ' Steering slowly up the stream, the " Medusa " kept up a constant fire against the ships and batteries, the latter being all armed with heavy artillery (mostly 2 4-pounders and 6-inch shells). It was already discovered -that there were six batteries at least. The " Medusa " silenced the biggest of them, which mounted eight very heavy guns, but the others, which were behind trees and rocks on the heights, kept firing away upon her. A few well-directed shots from the " Medusa" somewhat staggered the firing on board the two ships, but she got it all the heavier from the batteries on shore as she was steaming past within reach of them. " c She being exposed to the cross-fire of four batteries in front of Shimonoseki, and the correct aim of the enemy's shot and shell having begun to tell on the hull of the " Medusa/' the commander was induced to give up all idea of sinking the two ships, which unfortunately were in too shallow water. " ' It became now a matter of impossibility to return with effect the fire of all the batteries which fired on the "Medusa," and she being in doubt also as to the intentions of some batteries on the Kiushiu side, she HISTOBY OP JAPAN. 293 determined to make a dash through the straits, firing x^m as quickly as she could all the time. To prevent the "^isST great disaster of having her boiler, screw, or rudder hit by the large calibre of the enemy's shot, she determined to steam slowly through, answering the enemy's fire all the time. " e When it is considered that the " Medusa " was under a heavy fire from seven batteries for an hour and a half, it is wonderful that she did not sink, and that she has to deplore the loss of so few men killed. "'Of thirty-one enemy's shots, seventeen pierced the huli of the " Medusa," the remainder passing through her rigging and funnel; three 8-inch shells of the enemy burst on board. A 30-pounder shot killed three and wounded two men in one battery on board the "Medusa." A similar shot soon after struck a sailor of the first class commanding a gun, inflicting a mortal wound on him from which he died soon after. The Consul-general had a very narrow escape from being killed by this ball, which passed quite close to him. Another ball entered the starboard, smashing a pistol-rack and scattering splinters and balls in all directions, and wounding two sailors very severely; those are still in a dangerous state. This^ particular ball passed between the Captain and Midshipman Wissel, both having a narrow escape, but suffering only slight injuries from splinters. Lieutenant Thurkow and a non-commissioned officer also had a miraculous escape from another ball which entered the ship. The manner in which splinters and bolts flew about the ship was indescribable. " ' Considering that three shells had exploded on board, and that seventeen balls had entered the ship HISTOEY OF JAPAN. and caused her much injury, it is astonishing that only four men were killed and five wounded. " ' The orders of the Commander were carried out with the greatest coolness, and the men behaved very well—few of them having ever been under fire before. " 6 It is impossible to determine the loss of the enemy, but it must be considerable, as they mustered in great force in the batteries, and the "Medusa's" grape-shot and 8-inch shells told with great effect among them, and must have caused great destruction in the batteries. All her shots which missed the batteries went into the town, whereas all the enemy's shots which missed the " Medusa" went into the junks on the Kiushiu side. In the broadest part the strait is about 1200 -Dutch yards wide, and in the narrowest about 900 yards wide/ " " We have been furnished with the following account of the trip of the United States' steamer 4 Wyoming' by E. S. Benson, Esq., who was passenger on board :— " * Information having reached Yokohama on the 11th instant that the American steamer "Pembroke" had been fired into by two Japanese armed vessels, Captain McDougal immediately issued the necessary orders to prepare for sea. Coal and stores having been taken ,on board, we got under weigh at five o'clock on the morning of the 13th instant, entered the Bungo Channel on the 15th, and anchored at the Island of Himeshima. The next morning (16th instant) we proceeded towards the Straits of Shimonoseki, the western entrance of the Inland Sea. On the northern shore of the narrow passage is the province of Nagato, governed by the Prince of Choshiu. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 295 " ' Within the past year he purchased the steamer |^ " Lancefield " and brig " Lanrick," the former for ^sS? 125,000 dollars, and the latter for about 25,000 dollars. " ( On nearing the straits a signal gun was fired from a masked battery on the northern shore, which was repeated by two others to the westward towards Shimonoseki. " ' Rounding the point on the southern side of the entrance, a barque, brig, and steamer were discovered lying at anchor close to the north shore ; the steamer and the brig were immediately made out to be the " Lancefield " and " Lanrick," the barque's name we did not know. All the vessels were flying the Japanese flag at the peak, and the private colours of the Prince of Nagato at the main. We now steered directly for the vessels, when a battery of three guns on the northern shore, about fifty feet above the level of the sea, opened fire on us, cutting up the rigging between the main and mizen mast. We then ran up the American flag, and, still steaming on, were fired on by a battery of four guns : to this we replied with a broadside. " ' We were now rapidly approaching the vessels ; the barque was close in shore; about fifty yards outside of her, and one length ahead, lay the brig; another length ahead, and fifty yards outside the brig, was the steamer. "' The main channel was outside of all these vessels. Captain McDougal gave orders to run the " Wyoming " between the steamer and the brig. As we got abreast of the barque she opened a broadside fire from three guns ; in less than two minutes we were abreast of the brig and received her fire from four brass 23-pounders. 296 HISTORY OF JAPAN". xviii. We now had the steamer on our port side ; her guns, 1863. like the others, being trained on the channel, she fired a few swivels and small arms only. In passing we gave them all our guns on both sides, hulling both the brig and the steamer. Keeping close round the bows of the steamer, we stood over towards the southern shore, receiving a constant fire from six batteries, the steamer, brig, and barque. We here got aground, but backed off without much difficulty. The steamer " Lancefield " having steam up, slipped her cable, keeping close along the northern shore, either with the intention of escaping, or of running on shore to examine the damage caused by our first shots. The "Wyoming " was now manoeuvred into position and an 11-inch shell was planted in the steamer direct amidships, about one foot above the water line. In an instant volumes of steam and smoke issued out of her fore and aft ; her boiler ^was exploded. After dropping two more shells into her hull, the order was given to cease firing on the steamer, and to direct the shots upon the different batteries, the barque, and the brig, all of which were loading and firing as rapidly as possible. Quite a number of shell exploded in the batteries, and considerable damage was done to the town., " ' In passing out of the straits we delivered a few very effective shots into the brig, and the last seen of her she was fast settling by the stern ; the fire from the batteries was kept up throughout, but somewhat slackened on our return. " ' By that time we had four men killed outright and seven wounded (one since died). The armament of the " Wyoming " being only four 32-pounders and two pivot guns, opposed to six shore batteries of an average' of three guns each, the barque six, the brig HISTOEY OF JAPAN. eight, and the steamer two ; making in all, thirty-four guns, mostly 32-pounders,—- Captain McDougal very wisely concluded to withdraw from so unequal a contest, and proceed to Yokohama for more force., The captain, all his officers, and crew behaved with the utmost coolness and bravery. The " Wyoming " was run into the midst of the enemy's vessels, receiving and returning broadsides at pistol range, at the same time sustaining a hot and continuous fire from shore batteries. When the successful shot struck the steamer our crew gave three hearty cheers. The action lasted one hour and ten minutes; we were hulled eleven times, and received twenty or thirty shots in the masts, rigging, and smoke-stack. " ' One 32-pound shell came through, immediately below the tackles of the forward broadside gun, and exploding, killed one man and wounded five others/ " Agreement entered into by the Representatives of France, the United States, Great Britain, and Holland, to take immediate measures for the Re-opening of the Inland Sea. " Les Soussignes, Eepresentants au Japon de la France, des Etats Unis, de TAngleterre, et des Pays-Bas, se sont reunis le 25 Juillet, 1863, a Yokohama, k Teffet d'examiner Tetat actuel des choses au Japon, et de prendre a -cet egard line resolution. " Apres discussion il a ete convenu qu'il est indispensable pour le maintien des droits consacres par les . Traites conclus avec le Japon de proceder immediate-ment a la reouverture de la Mer Interieure, toujours pratiquee jusqu'k present, et dont la libre circulation 298 HISTORY OF JAPAN. xvhl vient d'etre inopinement interrompue par les agressions 3863. outrageantes dont le Daimio de Nagato s'est rendu coupable en faisant canonner des batteries erigees sur les c6tes de ses Etats les Mtiments de commerce et de guerre de plusieurs des dites Puissances Contractantes, et qu'en consequence il j a lieu d'inviter les Amiraux et autres officiers commandants les forces navales des Puissances ci-dessus designees A prendre toutes mesures qu'il jugeront propres 4 amener ce resultat. " Dans ce but, aussi bien que dans Tinteret de la protection de leurs nationaux dans les ports ouverts, les dits Eepresentants declarent qu'il leur parait necessaire d'etablir une action combinee des forces navales et militaires disponibles dans ces mers. II est en outre convenu que le Gouyernement du Taicoun sera informe de cette decision afin que ce Gouverne-ment soit mis & meme de prendre immediatement et activement, s'il le peut, les mesures necessaires pour efFectuer par ses propres moyens les objets seul indiquees, attendu que son action, si elle ^tait aussi energique et prompte que les circonstances 'actuelles l'exigent, pourrait dispenser les Agents des Puissances Contractantes de se livrer aux operations dont les Soussignes ont expose ci-dessus les motifs. (Signe) " Duchesne be Bellecourt, "Ministre Plenipotentiaire de SaMajeste VEmpereur des Franqais. " Eobt. H. Pruyn, "Minister Resident of the United States in Japan. " Ewd. St. John Neale, " Her Britannic Majesty s Charge d'affaires. " D. De Graeff van Polsbroek, " Consul-GSnSral des Pays-BasauJapon." HIST0EY OF JAPAN. Lieutenant-Colonel Neale to the Japanese Ministers for Foreign Affairs. " Yokohama, July 28, 1863. " The Undersigned has the honour to transmit to your Excellencies a translation of the resolutions arrived at by the Eepresentatives of France, the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands in Japan, at a meeting held by them on the 25th July. "The outrages and insults which the Daimio of Nagato, Matsudaira Daizen no Daibu, has ventured to undertake by firing into the ships of war of France, the United States, and the Netherlands, is looked upon by the Undersigned as an attempt to carry out the edicts of the Mikado,, communicated through the Tycoon, for the expulsion of foreigners. "This will be resisted by a force the extent of which cannot at present be contemplated. "No reasonable man in Japan can doubt as to what must be, even in one year, the fate of this country if the outrageous and lawless attempt to cancel solemn treaties by treacherous and violent acts is not immediately abandoned. " But if there are daimios in Japan who do not understand that the solemn obligations imposed by treaties cannot and never have been set aside by violence in any part of the world, the whole people of this country will suffer by the ignorance or unreasonable arrogance of those daimios. " The Ministers Nfor foreign affairs of the Tycoon have, however, within the last few days, informed the Minister of France that the Tycoon's Government is able to punish daimios who commit acts of war or other outrageous deeds. If so, let the Government 300 HISTORY OF JAPAN. xvm.' with all speed destroy the batteries of the Daimio of 1863. Nagato and remove his guns. " But it is essential that the Tycoon's Government should perfectly understand that there are certain acts which, according to the law of all civilized nations, must instantly be resented, and above all others is an insult offered to a national flag. " Vessels under the flags of the United States, of France, and the Netherlands, have been successively fired into, and men have been killed and wounded among their crews; and the ships of those nations have inflicted a preliminary punishment upon this daimio and his vessels and forts. No delay is admissible in the destruction of these batteries. The first foreign vessel fired upon by this daimio, namely, the American vessel ' Pembroke/ was on the 26th June; thus thirty days have now elapsed during which the Tycoon's government might have arrested the outrages of this daimio if enabled to do so. " With respect and consideration. (Signed) " Edwd. St. John Neale." Native The following is the account of these occurrences account. , ° in the Genji yurne monogatari:— "On the 25th of June, observing an American steamer * pass through the strait in front of Tanoura in Buzen, the Choshiu forces opened fire on it from their great guns. The American vessel fired four or five shots also, and then fled defeated. This was the first deed of arms in Japan. "On the 8th of July a foreign man-of-war was fired on as she was passing near the town of Chofu, and as she responded with several shots, a regular * The " Pembroke." HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 301 battle ensued. On the 11th of July a Dutch vessel * Ivin was fired on as she was passing through the straits, and 1863. driven off. "From this day forth fights with foreign vessels were of daily occurrence in Ch6shiu. On the 16th of ' July a barbarian vessel t came to make an attack, and sank the Prince of Choshiu's own steamer, the ' Koshin Maru/J Both sides discharged great guns and small arms at each other, and a general engagement took place. " On the 20th, barbarian vessels § bombarded and destroyed the forts of Dannoura and Sugiya at Shimo-noseki, and the enemy landing, fought fiercely at Maedamura, setting fire to the dwellings of the people, and committing other acts of violence. The Choshiu troops had a very hard fight of it; but their brave soldiers, full of intrepid zeal, knocked over a considerable number of the foreigners, and swept back those who had landed. So the barbarian vessels all retreated. They had fought fiercely from the 16th to the 20th. " The Kokura clan on the opposite shore sent no troops to the assistance of the Choshiu forces in their hard fight with the barbarians, but stood looking on quietly, at which the patriots were indignant. The Emperor in consequence issued a notification declaring that a report had been made to him of the attack by barbarian ships at Akamagaseki, || of their landing * The " Medusa." t The " Wyoming." J The " Lancefield," sold to the Prince of Choshiu by Jardine Matheson & Co. innocently enough. § The " Semiramis" and " Tancrede." || Akamagaseki, or more elegantly, Bahuan, is the name of that part of the strait where the batteries were formerly situated.—B. S. 302 HISTORY OF JAPAN. xvm there and of the fight which ensued; that the neigh-*"-9£~' bouring clans ought to send assistance; the peril of Ch6shiu was the peril of the Empire. Without caring about whether it was their own territory or that of another which was attacked, succour ought to be sent, and the greatest efforts made in order to cause the military glory of the sacred province to shine brightly. If any individual looked on with indifference in future, he would be deprived of his rank and honours.?' * # The word which throughout this work is translated clan is han. Mr. Satow says : It literally means fence, the duty of a "han being to defend the throne against its enemies; but clan seems the best term by which to denote a fractional part of the nation, which, held together under one chief by the closest ties, looked with hostile eyes on other similar fractions of the nation. As an instance of this feeling, it is sufficient to state that a daimio's retainer invariably meant by the term " my country " not Japan, but the territory ruled over by his lord. HISTOBY OF JAPAN, 30a CHAPTER XIX. 1863. Court still hope to expel the Foreigners.—Uneasiness of Bakufu. —Ogasawara sent to bring back Shogun.—His Failure and Disgrace.—Return of Shogun.—The Situation. . It was evident that as far as the officials at the seat of cxik.' government in Yedo were concerned, the conviction * was fast being reached that the expulsion of foreigners ££uftfm was wellnigh impracticable. But the Court party had foreigners. by no means renounced the cherished object, and it toKnt was at last determined at Kioto that, as the bakufu Y^°- > officials had failed in the conduct of the negotiations at Yedo and Yokohama, the shdgun should return to Ogasawara his capital. He accordingly had his audience of ggp*^ leave on the 18th of July. Meanwhile the Yedo th«»W>>. officials, on their side, were lamenting the delay in the sh6gun's return, as he was supposed only to have gone to Ki6to for ten days, and it looked as if he was to be kept there as a hostage till the foreigners were driven out of Japan. Ogasawara had therefore been appointed to the command of several hundred troops, and ordered to proceed to Ozaka by steamer, to march from there to Ki6to, and 304 HISTORY OF JAPAN. 0?ixP' taking possession of the shogun's person, bring him 1863. back by force to his capital in the East. ms failure When this became known at Kioto, the low-class disgrace. mmura{ were highly indignant, and declared that if Ogasawara came to the Emperor's capital, they would make him prisoner. He, however, heard of their intentions when he reached Fushimi, and being much frightened, made his way back to Ozaka, where he concealed himself under the protection of the governor of the castle. For this conduct, or, as stated in the Kinse Shiriaku, because he had paid the indemnities to the English without asking for sanction, he was deprived of his rank and titles, and confined in his yashiki, at Ozaka, under the custody of the governor. ?fe?h6gurne On the 24th of July the shogun left Ki6to for forYedo. Yedo, remaining at Ozaka several days. He had informed the Mikado that it was his intention to travel by land along the tokaid6, but notwithstanding this, he embarked at Ozaka in a steamer, and reached Yedo on the 31st. "After this," says the chronicler, "the patriots of the whole country hastened to assemble at Kioto, and became more and more zealous. The imperial Court proclaimed that, as.it had already notified the date fixed for the expulsion of the barbarians, and as Choshiu, respectfully obeying the wise will, had resolutely proceeded to sweep and drive them away, any barbarians who might henceforth visit the country must be expelled without more ado; and that all the clans, helping their neighbours, must exert their strength to the utmost." Thesitua- Colonel Neale sums up the situation in a despatch coiond*"0111 of the 29th of July, of which the following is an Neale- extract:— HISTOBY OF JAPAN. 305 "In common with my colleagues, I feel utterly cfixP unable satisfactorily to penetrate the mysterious policy ""^SS? and proceedings of the Tycoon's Government, if, indeed, any defined policy with regard to foreigners is determined upon. " In words the Tycoon's Envoys have assured my colleagues of France and myself that the Mikado's edict of expulsion, conveyed to the Eepresentatives of the Treaty Powers as a matter of obligation by the Tycoon, was a dead letter with respect to all action in regard to it. The defence of Yokohama has been left to the unrestricted care of the British and French Admirals, so far so, indeed, that the Admirals have been applied to by the local authorities with reference to the changes of post and movements of their own Japanese guards in this vicinity. "Trade is conducted uninterruptedly, and provisions are freely supplied to the fleet at Yokohama and to the foreign inhabitants. Pilots are readily supplied when required by the ships of war which have proceeded to chastise the outrages committed by the Daimio of Nagato. Those pilots have discharged their functions under the destructive fire of the batteries manned by their own countrymen. Public works connected with the foreign settlements are scrupulously continued without cessation. And finally (though above all), the indemnity money, amounting to the considerable sum which it does, was quietly paid to me without the firing of a shot. And the apology required rendered under no influence of immediate pressure. " On the other hand, the Tycoon's Ministers carefully abstain, on all occasions, to declare or define of whom consist the hostile party. No expression of regret has escaped, them in regard to the enormous vol. i. x HIST0BY OF JAPAN. outrages and insults enacting in the Inland Sea ; no assurances that they shall cease ; nay, further, when questioned recently by my colleague of France as to the course which would probably be pursued by the Tycoon upon hearing of the outrages which had been committed, the Envoy replied that the Prince of Nagato might very probably have been ordered to fire upon all foreign ships, and that in such case his conduct would be approved, and that, therefore, the Tycoon.would be bound to assent to such approval, at least in appearance. Steam-ships and munitions of war continue to be purchased by the Tycoon's Government Troops are conveyed to Ozaka, for the ostensible purpose of protecting the Tycoon himself, but it is not said against what enemies. In general, all confidence with foreign Eepresentatives is withheld. "Amidst these conflicting facts and perplexing circumstances, your Lordship will readily conceive that I cannot possibly or with prudence lay down for my guidance any very defined course of action with respect to the contending parties in Japan. So long as trade is uninterrupted and the settlements unmolested, I will not evoke or forcedly precipitate the dubious action of the Tycoon's Government at Yedo, until, at least, it is indubitably hostile." It was no doubt at that period, especially owing to the isolation in which foreigners lived, most difficult to ascertain the true state of affairs, and to reconcile seeming contradictions, but I think it is quite clear now that the shogun's ministers were sincere when they said that the Mikado's edict of expulsion, though conveyed to the Eepresentatives as a matter of obligation, would, in fact, be nothing but a dead letter. HISTOEY OF JAPAN. The shogun's ministers, .too, were justified in saying that the Prince of Choshiu had probably been ordered to fire upon all foreign ships. Such an order would be transmitted from the Court through the shogun to the claimio, and it was part of the general scheme still harboured in Kioto. x 2 308 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. CHAPTEE XX. 1863.-—August. Completion of Preparations for Expedition to Satsnma.—Sailing of Squadron, and Arrival at Kagoshima.—Fruitless Conferences.—Three Steamers taken as Reprisals.—The Japanese open fire.—Bombardment and Burning of part of the Town. —Return of Squadron to Yokohama.—Approval of Her Majesty's Government. — Native Account. — Consequent Change of Policy of Satsuma Clan. °Ixp* The preparations for the expedition to the territory of Completion Satsuma to exact the remaining reparation demanded tionsfoarra" "by Great Britain for the murder of Mr. Eichardson expedition J R6jiutstima* a&d. the wounding of his companions were now mformed. compie^ an(j Colonel Neale informed the r6jiu on the 3rd of August, that within the period of three days he would proceed with a large portion of the squadron, under the command of Vice-Admiral Kuper, to that territory, to prefer the demands of her Majesty's government, and to adopt coercive measures against the Prince of Satsuma, should he refuse to comply with those demands, or should himself adopt a hostile attitude from the forts and batteries he assumed the independent right to erect. Colonel Neale again requested the Ministers to take HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 309 the commands of the shogun, in respect to sending a cxxP* functionary of the government on board the squadron, wee. to accompany it to Satsuma. In the answer received from their Excellencies, dated the following day, they say that, owing to the unsettled state of affairs in the Empire, they are in great trouble, and intend to carry out several plans. " Supposing, now," they continue, " something untoward were to happen, then all trouble and care both you and we have taken will have been in vain and fruitless ; therefore we request the said departure may be delayed for the present." The time for delay had, however, passed. The rojiu apparently were aware of this, for they sent down a vice-minister from Yedo, who saw the British Charge d'Affaires on the 5th, and far from urging any further arguments to dissuade him from proceeding to the territory of Satsuma, stated that the shogun's government proposed sending a Japanese steamer, with a high official on board, to accompany the squadron. No steamer, however, appeared then or at any subsequent period. The squadron, consisting of her Majesty's ships ro^SS**" "Euryalus," " Pearl," "Perseus," " Argus," "Co--"* quette," " Eacehorse," and " Havoc," weighed from * its anchorage at Yokohama on the 6th of August. I will now quote from Colonel Neale's despatch of the 26th of the same month. Lieutenant-Colonel Neale to Earl Russell. [Extract.] " I was accompanied by most of the members of ggSSfjJ her Majesty's Legation, distributed over her Majesty's report* 310 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. cxxP' ships—their more' or less proficiency in the Japanese ^m^ language, it was deemed, might be highly useful, and the result has confirmed this expectation. < thelIn-at " Under easy steam and sail, her Majesty's squadron thenBay of reached the entrance of the Bay of Kagoshima on the agos ima'evening of the 11th instant, and anchoring ground was found about 10 p.m., after some difficulty, in the extreme depth of water which was found generally to prevail in that noble bay. officials " Early in the morning of the ensuing day the board. grgt koa^ containing two officials, came off from the shore to the flag-ship. They inquired the nationality of the ships, whether it was our intention to proceed further into the bay, whether a native pilot was on board, what number of guns the ship carried, and other questions of this nature, which having been replied to, the boat returned to Kagoshima. " Her Majesty's squadron, a few hours afterwards, weighed and cast anchor off the batteries of the town. A second boat, with four other officials, came off immediately to the flag-ship, and stated that it was understood to be the intention to deliver a letter addressed to the Prince of Satsuma." cotoTeifrom T]ais letter, originally dated August 1st, stated the Prince of circumstances of the attack on the 14th of the previous September, the appeal to the shogun's government to arrest and bring to capital punishment the guilty men, and the fruitless promises received in return. The letter continued by saying that Colonel Neale had reported to her Majesty's government that, removed in his distant domain from the direct influence of the Japanese government (as it was still supposed to be), and shielded by certain privileges Satsuma. HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 311 and immunities belonging to daimios of the Empire, 0lxP* the prince had utterly disregarded all orders or decrees ^~im^ calling upon him to afford justice by sending the real criminals to Yedo. After recounting the instructions he had received, and the satisfaction he had obtained from the bakufu by the payment of a considerable indemnity and by a written apology, Colonel Neale stated that he had to make the following demands :— First. The immediate trial and execution, in the presence of one or more of her Majesty's naval officers, of the chief perpetrators of the murder of Mr. Kichard-son, and of the murderous assault upon the lady and the gentlemen who accompanied him. Secondly. The payment of £25,000 sterling, to be distributed to the relations of the murdered man, and to those who escaped with their lives the swords of the assassins on that occasion. If these demands were refused, the Admiral commanding the British naval forces in those seas was to adopt such coercive measures as he might deem expedient, to obtain the required satisfaction. A few hours later the officials, who took on shore this letter, together with a supplementary one announcing the arrival of the squadron, returned, and stated that the Prince of Satsuma was not at j^f t£ Kagoshima, but at a residence inland, about fifty Sfcountry. miles distant. Colonel Neale and Admiral Kuper were coionei x , Neale and then invited to go on shore, and meet the members of j£™e™1 the prince's "council" in a building specially pre- land!610 pared for the reception of foreigners. Great anxiety was evinced that this request should be acceded to, the officials urging that it would be impossible to commit to writing all that might be discussed. Colonel 312 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 0 xxR ^Neale replied, with the full concurrence of the Admiral, 1863. that the business which had brought them to Kagoshima was fully set forth in his letter to the prince, drawn up in English, Japanese, and Dutch, and, to the evident disappointment of the officials, the Charg^ d'Affaires and the Admiral declined to land. If they had landed, they would hardly have escaped with their lives. viSttf13' On the 13th several officials, one of whom was official with stated to be of superior rank, again came alongside the armed men. n , . • i i i r* ? attem t at flag-snig, accompanied by a number ol armed men in tfoT/msa-" several boats. They entered into a long parley before coming on board, and requested to know whether Colonel Neale would personally receive-the high official. Of this they were assured. They then requested permission for him to be accompanied by at least forty of his retinue. This was acceded to by the Admiral, who at the same time directed a guard of marines to be drawn up, with fixed bayonets, facing the gangway by which the Japanese entered. - It was fortunate, indeed, that Admiral Kuper adopted the above precaution, for I have been told, upon what I believe to be excellent authority, that it was intended that these forty men should, if an opportunity presented itself, attack and attempt to kill the Admiral, the British Eepresentative, and as many more of the hated foreigners as was found possible. However, upon reaching the deck, they were disposed of in single file along the line of guns, and at once assumed the squatting position natural to Japanese, The high official then decided upon ascending the ship's side. " I received him/' Colonel Neale continues, " the Admiral being present, when he exhibited the utmost agitation and confusion ; he was speechless : when one HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 313 of his attendant officers stated that he was charged to c xxP* speak for his chief, and that he had to inform me that 1803. he was the bearer of the written reply to my despatch, but that they had some serious matters to add in connection with it. "No sooner had he proceeded thus far, when it was found that a boat waving a flag hadv reached the ship, and communicated something, which, when made known to the chief official, caused him to rise suddenly, and leave the cabin, return to it, and leave it again. Finally, I was informed by him that he must return to the shore immediately, as he had received a message to the effect that a mistake had been made in the despatch, which must be rectified ; upon which he hurriedly left with the undelivered despatch, if, indeed, he had been the bearer of such. " During the interval occupied by the communi- arfmlnned cations the batteries on shore were constantly manned, and the guns diligently trained and pointed at the ships of the squadron, and especially on the flag-ship, the whole of them being within range. " These and other suspicious circumstances induced ^m^1 the Admiral to determine upon shifting the anchorage anchorage-of the squadron to as convenient a position, though still partially within range, as the extreme depth of the water would admit. "As the Japanese officials were descending the ship's side, the anchors of the squadron were weighing. " Contrary to my expectation, the official here referred to returned late in the evening to the flagship, at the new anchorage, and delivered into my hands the answer to my despatch preferring the demands/' The following is a translation of the answer :— 314 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. minister. Kawaharni Tajirna, Minister of the Prince of Satsuma, to Lieutenant-Colonel Neale. [Translation.] unsatisfac- "It is iust that a man who has killed another tory answer J sXuma's should be arrested and punished by death, as there is nothing more sacred than human life, and although we should like to secure them (the murderers), as we have endeavoured to do so since last year, it is impossible for us to do so, owing to the political differences at present existing between the daimios of Japan, some of whom even hide and protect such people: besides this, the murderers are not one, but several persons, and therefore find easier means of escape. " The journey to Yedo (undertaken by Shimadzu Saburo) was not with the object of committing murders, but to conciliate the two Courts of Yedo and Kioto : and you will easily, therefore, believe that our master (Shimadzu) could not have ordered it (the murder). Great offenders against the laws of their country (Japan), who escape, are liable to capital punishment. If, therefore, we can detect those in question, and, after examination, find them to be guilty, they shall be punished, and we will then inform the commanders of your men-of-war at Nagasaki, or at Yokohama, in order that they may come to witness their execution. You must, therefore, consent to the unavoidable delay which is necessary to carry out these measures. If we were to execute criminals condemned for other offences, and told you that they were the offenders (above referred to), you would not be able to recognize them ; and this would be deceiving you, and not acting in accordance with the spirit of our ancestors. HIST0BY OF JAPAN. " The (Provincial) governments of Japan are subordinate to the Yedo Government, and, as you are well aware, are subservient to the orders received from it. " We have heard something about a treaty having been negotiated in which a certain limit was assigned to foreigners to move about in ; but we have not heard of any stipulation by which they are authorized to impede the passage of a road. " Supposing this happened in your country, travelling with at large number of retainers as we do here, would you not chastise (push out of the way and beat) any one thus disregarding and breaking the existing laws of the country ? If this were neglected, princes could no longer travel. We repeat that we agree with you that the taking of human life is a very grave matter. On the other hand, the insufficiency of the Yedo Government, who govern and direct everything, is shown by their neglecting to insert in the treaty (with foreigners) the laws of the country (in respect to these matters) which have existed from ancient times. You will, therefore, be able to judge yourself whether the Yedo Government (for not inserting these laws) or my master (for carrying them out) be blamed. " To decide on this important matter, a high official of the Yedo Government, and one of our Government, ought to discuss it before you, and find out who is in the right. " After the above question has thus been judged and settled, the money indemnity shall be arranged. " We have not received from the Tycoon any orders or communications by steamer that your men-of-war were coming here. Such statements are probably made with the object of representing us in a bad light. If it were not with this object, you would certainly have 316 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. them in writing from the Gor6jiu; and if so, we request you to let us see them., " In consequence of such misstatements great misunderstandings are caused. " All this surprises us much. Does it surprise you ? " Our government acts in everything according to the orders of the Yedo, Government. "This is our open-hearted reply to the different subjects mentioned in your despatch. " 29th day of the 6th month of the 3rd year of Bunkiu (13th August, 1863). (Signed) " Kawakami Tajima Shissei (Minister)" ' The idea that the murderer or murderers could not Suidenot be be secured is of course simply ridiculous; every man ridiculous, belonging to the military class in Kagoshima could have put his hand upon him or them at once, but we can well understand that at this period the haughty Satsuma clan would scorn the notion of giving up a man who had naturally obeyed the orders of his chief, and had cut down a foreigner who dared to remain on horseback whilst the train was passing, instead of getting off and prostrating himself in the dust whilst the noble's litter was carried past him. Colonel Neale, of course, deemed the reply to this letter to be entirely unsatisfactory. And so it was. As he says, it raised the question whether, according to the laws of Japan, a daimio travelling with his retinue is not fully justified in beating or thrusting off the road all persons who encounter him on the highway, i.e. who will not prostrate themselves on the side of the road whilst the train proceeds slowly by. How many times has not this obeisance been accorded to myself in my various journeys in different parts of Japan! How many HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 317 times have I not walked, ridden, or been carried through CxiF* towns and villages where, at the bidding of the officials "^isST"" of the place, the inhabitants, who had turned out of their houses to see the extraordinary sight of a " barbarian " traversing their land, have been ranged in two rows along the streets, in the squatting position, and many even bowing their heads to the ground as I passed along ! And when my little train had cleared the houses, and we were continuing our journey along the high road, many a time have the officials accompanied me, and with their quaint cry of Shita ni iro, " Down with you," have forced the peasants to halt, and to bow the knee and the head before the stranger who was travelling as a native of rank always travelled. I mention this not in any way to throw doubt on the policy of England, but with the object, as far as possible, and at the risk of some repetition, of giving an insight into the feelings of the Japanese at that period, and of showing how their peculiar customs and the fact of their classing the foreigner, as they certainly did, with their own unarmed and despised classes, led the haughty samurai to treat him as they can now no longer venture to do. The reply of the Satsuma officials also, as Colonel Neale writes, raised the question whether or not the shogun was free from blame for not having inserted in the treaty the assumed privileges of the travelling daimio. The poor shogunate, when it was surprised and frightened into the treaties, never gave a thought to daimio's privileges, nor could we have recognized such as were claimed, even if it had. It should also be recorded that, in one of the Further arguments interviews between the British Charge d'Affaires and fjj^ Satsuma officials, the latter stated that the sh6gun's officials' 318 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CHAP. XX. guardian (Hitotstibashi) and two members of the rojiu 7^63! ' had distinctly ordered Shimadzu Sabur6, when at Kioto, not to take any steps respecting the attack upon foreigners on the tokaid6 by his retainers, because the bakufu would settle that matter themselves, and that the Prince of Satsuma was obliged to obey these instructions ; also, that all particulars of the attack had been duly reported to the rojiu, who understood them perfectly; that the local officials therefore supposed that the whole question had been settled at Yedo; that, according to Japanese law, they could not settle it themselves, nor could they either accept or refuse the demands, as all must be referred to the bakufu ; that since the beginning of the year they had heard nothing from Yedo on this subject, and that, therefore, when our men-of-war appeared off KagosKima, they could not imagine what had brought them. These officials therefore sheltered themselves, as was convenient in this instance, under the plea that their Principality was in subjection to the government of the shogun. And so it was, nominally. There now remained nothing for Colonel Neale but to call upon Admiral Kuper at once to resort to such preliminary measures of coercion, by reprisals or otherwise, as he might deem most expedient, and best calculated to arouse the Prince of Satsuma to a sense of the serious nature of the expedition. Reamers ^e Admiral proceeded to action, and here let him repSail, speak for himself:— "I immediately directed Captain Borlase, of the ' Pearl/ to proceed at daylight on the following morning with a portion of the squadron, to a bay to the northward of Kagoshima, for the purpose of seizing and bringing to our anchorage three steamers, the HISTOBY OF JAPAN. 319 property of the .prince, which had been previously cfxP* ascertained to be lying there ; Captain Borlase was *^lm~~ also desired to avoid, as much as possible, all unnecessary bloodshed or active hostility. This service was executed with much zeal and discretion by Captain Borlase; and the three steamers mentioned in the margin* arrived at the anchorage during the forenoon of the 15th instant, lashed alongside three of her Majesty's ships : the object I had in view being the detention of these vessels as reprisals until such time as the Prince of Satsuma should either comply with the demands made upon him, or should make advances with a view to their settlement. " These considerations were, however, suddenly and ^f^*1^ unexpectedly set aside by the assumption of hostilities |srlopen on the part of the Japanese; for at noon of the same day, the batteries opened fire with shot and shell on the squadron, an act which it became necessary immediately to resent, in vindication of the honour of the flag, and as a punishment for the outrage ; and as it was impossible for the small force at my command to carry out the requisite operations, and at the same time to retain possession of the three steamers in question, I gave orders that they should be set on fire and dSyed; destroyed, which was accordingly done. " The squadron then, as you are aware, proceeded ^p" to engage the batteries on Kagoshima, advancing in line of battle (the 'Euryalus' leading) from the northernmost battery, along the whole line, and finally attacking the southernmost or spit battery, after which I deemed it advisable, in order to ensure the safety of * "England," screw, 759 tons, 125,000 ' dollars purchase ; " Sir George Grey," screw, 492 tons, 85,000 dollars purchase; " Contest," screw, 350 tons, 95,000 dollars purchase. 320 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. °xxP' her Majesty's ships, to direct them to seek an anchor-v"*i86JTr' age, the weather, which had been threatening for a gale, becoming at this time most unfavourable ; and, as night was approaching, the signal was made to discontinue the action, and the squadron returned to an anchorage under Sakurajima.* " It was impossible to ascertain precisely the extent of the injury inflicted upon the batteries ; but, considering the heavy fire which was kept up from the ships, at point-blank range, the effect must have been considerable. Many guns were observed to be dis-Batteries v mounted, the batteries were several times cleared, and times the explosion of various magazines gave evidence of the cleared. ± o o Toawn°burnt. destructive effects of our shell; one half of the town was in flames and entirely destroyed, as well as a very extensive arsenal or factory, and gun-foundry, and five large Loo-Choo junks, the property of the prince, in addition to the three steamers already described. " A heavy typhoon blew during the night, and the conflagration increasing in proportion to the height of the storm, illuminated the entire bay. " On the following afternoon, the gale having moderated, and as I deemed it necessary to remove the squadron to a safer anchorage than the great depth of water opposite Kagoshima afforded, and having also observed the Japanese at work erecting batteries on the hill immediately above the little bay where the small vessels were at anchor, close to the shore, we weighed, and, passing in line between the batteries of Kagoshima, steamed out and anchored to the southward of the island. This opportunity was taken advantage of to shell the batteries on the * Sakurajima (Cherry Island) is an island, with a high volcanic peak, on the right-hand side of a ship entering the bay. HIST0KY OF JAPAN. 321 Sakurajima side, which had not been previously engaged, CxxP* and also the palace of the prince in Kagoshima. These "iSST"' operations were attended with complete success; there is every reason to suppose that the palace has been destroyed, as many shell were seen to burst in it, and the fire, which is still raging, affords reasonable ground for believing that the entire town of Kagoshima is now a mass of ruins, " Thus having accomplished every act of retribution and punishment within the scope of operations of a small naval force, and having received from yourself the verbal expression of your satisfaction with the extent of these operations, I purpose returning with the squadron to Yokohama, immediately the partial refit which is now in progress shall admit of our putting to sea/' The Japanese, finding every attempt unavailing to coax the British officials on shore, or to murder them on board ship, thus took advantage of a violent wind to open fire on the squadron. The result was in one respect to be deplored, for our loss was not inconsiderable, and included Captains Josling and Wilmot, of the flag-ship, who were killed. The squadron returned to Yokohama, and reached Return of that anchorage on the 24th of August. Colonel Neale, Yokohama. in the concluding paragraph of his report, paid a very just tribute to the services of the gentlemen Tribute to belonging to her Majesty's legation, who accompanied StfersV the expedition. tion- Indeed, without the services of these gentlemen, it is difficult to see how any communications could have been kept up with the shore at Kagoshima. It was natural that the Japanese should attempt to throw every obstacle in the way of any such communication. YOL. I. T 322 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. chap. According to Colonel Neale's report, interpreters from '^^ST^ the shore were held back and^ never appeared; but this attempt to impede all explanations was rendered nugatory by a ready knowledge of their own language, which they found on board. Colonel Neale rightly draws attention to the devotion with which these members of her Majesty's Civil Service exposed themselves to the anticipated perils of naval combat, unaccompanied by any ostensible prospect of the ordinary honours and rewards attending the exposure of life in the profession of arms. Diplomacy is, indeed, a very different profession in countries like China and Japan, and often involves risks and danger to life which do not often fall to our lot when in Europe. The approval by her Majesty's government of the proceedings of Colonel Neale, and of Admiral Kuper, is contained in the following extract of a despatch from Lord Eussell to Colonel Neale, dated November 10th, 1863:— ttW°M% "In my despatch of the 24th December, 1862, I m°enet!n" directed you to obtain reparation for the murder of Mr. Eichardson, and the murderous assault on a lady and two gentlemen who, with Mr. Eichardson, were riding on a public road open by treaty, and who drew up on the side of the road to allow the relations and retainers of a great daimio to pass. For this barbarous and unprovoked attack you were directed to require from the Government of the Tycoon the payment of £100,000, and an ample apology. You were further directed to require from the Prince of Satsuma the execution of the actual murderers, and the payment of £25,000 as indemnity to the relatives of the murdered man and to the sufferers from the murderous assault. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 323 "With respect to the Tycoon's Government, the cf|p-demands you were instructed to make have been com- v—mST" plied with. The sum of <£100,000 has been paid, and a satisfactory apology has been made by the Tycoon's Ministers. " Her Majesty has been pleased, in testimony of the patience, good temper, and firmness with which you conducted this negotiation, to confer upon you the Companionship of the Order of the Bath. " The accomplishment of the remainder of your instructions has been found more difficult. Ten months having elapsed without the trial or even the arrest of the murderers, you thought yourself under the necessity to ask the assistance of Admiral Kuper, and to proceed with him to Kagoshima, the capital of the Prince of Satsuma. " In your letters of August 1st and August 12th, both delivered on the 12th, you communicated to the Minister of the Prince of Satsuma the demands you were instructed to make. " In the answer of the Minister of the Prince of Satsuma, dated the 13th of August, it is stated that it is just that a man who has killed another should be arrested and punished by death; that if the murderers in question can be detected, they shall be punished ; and that it is not right to impede the passage of a chief with a large body of retainers on a public road. "These answers, in reference to a murder committed by the retainers of the Prince in full daylight, ten months before, upon a person who had not in any way impeded the passage of a public road, showed a fixed determination to afford no redress. Vice-Admiral Kuper then directed that three steamers belonging to t 2 324 HISTORY OF JAPAN. xxP' *ke Prince should be taken and detained by way of 7863^" reprisals. But before any further communication could take place, hostilities were commenced by the Japanese, and her Majesty's ships were fired upon from the batteries with shot and shell—an act which it became necessary immediately to resent. The steamers taken were burnt. The batteries were fired upon from point-blank range; many guns were dismounted and various magazines exploded. " It is much to be lamented that, as the batteries were apparently situated in and about the town, the consequence of firing with shot and shell upon the batteries and magazines should have been to set fire to the town, which Admiral Kuper says has been burnt. Many innocent persons have thus unfortunately been injured. " At the same time it is obvious that if Admiral Kuper had not returned the fire of the batteries, her Majesty's squadron would have suffered a defeat, and fresh murders of British subjects by the cruel and insolent daimios would have been perpetrated. "Her Majesty will express, through the proper department, her admiration of the gallantry of her naval forces. " It is my duty to request you to express to the civil servants of the Crown who accompanied you her Majesty's approbation of their coolness and courage. Their knowledge of the Japanese language was no doubt of great value, both to you and to the naval commander-in- chief. " For the present the situation appears to be this. The Yedo Government, who, in the terms of the despatch of the Prince of Satsuma's Minister, e govern and direct everything/ have made and ratified treaties HIST0BY OF JAPAN. 325 of commerce, with Great Britain and other European powers. " These treaties have proved very advantageous to the main body of the Japanese people, who feel the benefits of a profitable trade with foreigners, and wish that trade to continue. But a powerful feudal aristocracy, finding silk and rice, and other produce, dearer in the market, and their own privileges less valuable, wish to expel a]l foreigners, and h.ave obtained a decree from the Mikado to that effect. French, American, and Dutch ships have been fired upon with a view to accomplish this object. But the European nations cannot submit to be thus deprived of an intercourse sanctioned by treaty, and very beneficial to the mass of the Japanese nations, as well as to European nations. " You will, therefore, call upon the Admiral in any cases where British persons, ships, or property are attacked, to resent such outrage. "In this way security for the time may be obtained. But I must wait for your further accounts before complete instructions can be given as to our policy in Japan." It may be interesting to compare the account of SSScSto* the events at Kagoshima given by the Genji yume meentnsage" monogatari with that in the Blue Book. It reads . thus in translation :— " Towards the middle of August eight English men-of-war made an expedition to Kagoshima in Sat-suma. They came to negotiate the payment of thirty thousand dollars as compensation to the wives and children of the persons killed at Namamugimura in Musashi in the month of September of the previous year. The Prince of Satsuma replied that the indi- 326 HISTORY OF JAPAN. xlf' viduals in question, having been guilty of rudeness, "lSSa had been punished in accordance with the laws of the Empire, and that, as for his country, no indemnity would be paid by it, at least. " On the morning * of the 12th of August, therefore, when the men-of-war advanced, the Satsuma clansmen could not restrain their ardour and impatience. The wind and rain were very violent this day, which they looked upon as a special favour from heaven, and joyfully therefore they fired several shots from the batteries which lined the shore. The barbarian vessels fired several shots, and engaged. The combat lasted the whole day, and the Shiusei Kuan f was burnt by the shells fired from the barbarian ships. Although the Satsuma clan thus lost many killed and wounded, the ships were terribly knocked about by their fire, and two persons called Captain Josling and Commander Wilmot were killed. Besides these, the enemy lost more than sixty killed and wounded. The Satsuma clan became more and more enthusiastic. All the intrepid samurai of the province hastened to the spot, and exhausted their efforts in pouring forth an unceasing fire. The noise of the cannon re-echoed among the hills and valleys, and the sea seemed to boil over. The land and the sea strove together like a couple of bulls, until the robber vessels, unable to endure it any longer, were entirely defeated, and fled in disorder to the ocean. " When these affairs were reported to the Imperial Court, letters of approval were sent to the clans of Satsuma and Chdshiu. The bakufu, however, was in- * The author is a little out. The bombardment took place on the 15th of August. f The factories are probably meant. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 327 tensely alarmed at these performances, and, determined c§|p-at any rate to go on delaying, issued a notification to ^^mT^ all the clans, saying that, as the negotiations at Yokohama had not yet been concluded, and it could not be said yet whether the barbarians would submit or not, our side should abstain for the present from proceeding to hostilities. On hearing this, the patriots became more and more indignant, and vowed that it was now necessary to seize the phoenix car and get the Mikado to fight in person/' One or two remarks must be made with reference to the bombardment of Kagoshima. The town is divided into two parts, the official and the mercantile quarter. ^Srt£tile It was, unfortunately, the latter which was bombarded SuSt.waB J . Not the by our ships, and the building mistaken for the palace |fea^^ut was a temple in a conspicuous and elevated spot. It is approached by a number of steps, and when I was there in January, 1871, it was used by the English Doctor Willis, formerly belonging to the British legation, as a lecture-room for the medical students, and a school where boys were taught spelling, English grammar, and arithmetic. The' loss of life does not i^ss of life & ? smaU. appear to have been great on the Japanese side, so many of the peaceful inhabitants having fled away to the country. From information obtained from the agents of the Prince of Satsuma, when the indemnity was paid in December, 1863, as hereafter mentioned, it appears that the news of the expedition had reached Kagoshima from Nagasaki previous to its arrival, and. the prince had ordered the inhabitants to retire into the country. These agents also admitted that advantage was taken of a coming storm of wind to fire on the squadron, and that it was the wind and the absence of the population that caused the extent of the conflagra- 328 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. CxxR tion. They further said that when the squadron took ^^m^ the steamers a man was despatched on horseback at full speed to enquire of the prince what course should be pursued, and that the answer which was given in his name was that the batteries should immediately open fire. There appear to have been reserves of soldiers kept outside the batteries, who showed reluctance to supply the place of the killed. It is a satisfaction to think that the loss of life seems clearly to have been almost, if not entirely, confined to the military. poi!?y of0f But one thing is certain, and is acknowledged by c£uma every Satsuma man, namely, that whatever was the true account of the action, the bombardment of Kagoshima was the turning-point as far as that powerful clan was concerned. It was then that the men belonging to the military class in Satsuma first became convinced that Japan was not the strongest country in the world, and that there were other nations more powerful and more civilized. It was from that time that they began to cease to look down upon foreigners with contempt, and henceforward their principality began, as they express it, to be " opened." They subsequently took the lead in introducing European machinery and inventions, and in employing skilled Europeans to teach them, and they became fired with a desire to rival foreign nations in the arts of civilization and peace, as well as in the art of war. HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 329 CHAPTEE XXL 1863. Attack on a Bakufu Steamer by Choshiu. Men.—Attempt to close Yokohama and transfer the Foreign Trade to Nagasaki and Hakodate.—Withdrawal of Note as to closing the Ports.- — Arrival of Satsuma Envoys at Yokohama.—Payment of the Indemnity and Termination of the Richardson Affair. About the autumn of this year the bakufu appear to SSif' have been impressed with the increased authority of MisIioTSf ¦ . . . . bakufu the Court, and the diminution of their own prestige, ^tein*0 With a view of raising the latter, they despatched the £n0dvinces shogun's aide-de-camp, Makino Sakon, together with two officials named Murakami Motome and Nakane Ichinojd, on a secret mission to the western provinces and to Kiushiu. They were accompanied by two spies, and two hundred men* They all embarked on board the steamer Choyo-rnaru, and arrived at Nakatsu, in the province of Buzen, on the 4th of September. From there they took two pilots belonging to the Kokura clan, in the island of Kiushiu, and as they Thdr were passing the Straits of Shimonoseki on their way I^Tup1™ to Kokura, the fort built at Tanoura by the Prince of straits of J Shimono- Choshiu fired on the steamer. A message was sent on ^jgu shore to say that she was a vessel belonging to the w'ded, bakufu, but the Choshiu men replied that any vessel of detained. 330 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. Cxxf' barbarian construction, whether Japanese or not, would "^ST"" be fired at and destroyed. ' The rejoinder to this was that Sakon and Motome were going to examine into the state of things in Kiushiu, and that Ichinojo had come on a mission to the Mori (Choshiu) family. The others thereupon said that if such was the case, they had better bring their vessel round to the coast of Ch6shiu. So they steamed in that direction, when suddenly all the forts opened fire upon them. A large body of men, all clad in armour, with a flag on which the legend " in obedience to the order" (expulsion of barbarians) was inscribed, were drawn up on the shore, and many rushed on board brandishing naked swords and spears, to search for the Kokura men> who thereupon committed hara hiri. The Choshiu men were doubtless enraged against the Kokura clan for having given no assistance in the fights with foreign ships. This expedition resulted in the stopping of the steamer ; the two spies were forced to land, and were subsequently assassinated by rdnins. Motome and Sakon went over to Kiushiu, and after inquiring into the condition of affairs in all the castle towns of the island, they returned about the end of the month to Yedo. There the details of the insolent conduct of indignation the retainers of Choshiu caused great indignation, and of the o o ^ bakufu. ^ was felt that the prestige of the shogunate, instead of being raised, had sunk still lower. We here see a commencement of serious disputes between the Choshiu clan and the shogun. serious The situation of affairs with respect to foreigners situation i • i i rs i i of affairs. was still very serious, and was so depicted by Colonel Neale at the end of September. Internal disputes and attacks on the sh6gun's authority were rife, and at the HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 331 same time the letter addressed by the Yedo govern- cf £f ment to the Eepresentatives, conveying ,the Mikado's """TsS^ desire that foreigners should be expelled, remained uncancelled. There was much obstruction to trade with native merchants, some of whom had even left Yokohama. Great activity prevailed, both on the side of the shogun's government and of the agents of daimios hostile to him, to obtain cannon, rifles, and munitions of war. The navigation of the Inland Sea was obstructed, batteries being erected there, as well as at Yedo, Uraga, and elsewhere. On the part of the bakufu there was an ominous gj*^ and alarming silence. No knowledge was conveyed to bakufu* the Eepresentatives of the hopes or fears entertained by it with regard to the situation of foreigners ; nor can this be wondered at, considering the embarrassed position of that government. On the 14th of October another cowardly murder g^£$-took place. Lieutenant de Camus, of the 3rd bat- de Camus, talion of the Chasseurs d'Afrique, was riding out on a country road near Yokohama, generally considered to be secure, when he was killed, no doubt by Japanese. He was unfortunately alone, and no trace of the assassin or assassins has ever been brought to light. He was totally unarmed. His body, which was conveyed to Yokohama, accompanied by the French and English escorts, several of the consular body, and some members of the community, was frightfully mutilated by sabre cuts, any one of which would have proved mortal. On the 21st of October Colonel Neale again *^£ndA addressed the Yedo government, complaining that his Meeting the demands on Satsuma had not been satisfied, and more satsuma. n correspondence ensued, without leading to any result. 332 HISTORY OF JAPAN. clxiP* Tlie United States' Envoy and the Dutch Consul- **~~^T^ general were now requested to- proceed to Yedo, for states' the purpose of holding an interview with the members Envoy and *¦ \ -i i • rai^SS" °* ™e h1^68* council, when an important communica-toYldoby tion would be made to them. It was evident that the invitation ¦% r* -1 • i i i» j_i a • • oftherdjiu. business was oi no ordinary character, lor the rojiu had even first proposed that some of their members should go down to Yokohama, a means of communication which they had never before adopted, but subsequently they expressed the wish that the interview should take place at the capital, as it was very desirable in their opinion that all the highest ministers should be present. Mr. Pruyn and M. de Graeff van Polsbroek accordingly proceeded to Yedo, and, on the 26th of October, held an interview with the assembled ministers at a building adjoining the landing-place, and not within the city at the residence of the ministers for foreign affairs, as had been the custom. This circumstance seemed to imply that the foreign Eepresentatives were even to be denied admittance into the so-called official quarter of the city. Request to What passed at this interview was communicated have Yoko- . andflthCe0Sed on ™ew return by the two diplomatic agents to their fSreVt'o118" colleagues of England and France. Nagasaki arid Hako- . , data. Communication made to the Minister of the United States and the Consul-General of the Netherlands by the Gordjiu, in the presence of the Members of the Second Council, the Governors for Foreign Affairs, and other officials of rank, at Yedo, on the 26th of October, 1863. " The Japanese Government being extremely desirous that the friendship between the United States HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 333 and Holland with Japan should not be interrupted, <2g£p-has . invited you, as the Eepresentatives of these * 5XST powers, to this conference for the purpose of making an important communication, and this important communication will render many conferences necessary, in order that you should hear all its reasons and be fully acquainted with its views, and we, the Gorojiu, have therefore appointed two Commissioners for this purpose, namely, Takemoto Kai no Kami and Ikido Shinri. " The unsettled state of things in our realm is increasing; we are apparently approaching a revolution ; there may be a general uprising among the people, who hate foreigners ; and to our shame we must confess that we have no power to suppress this insurrectionary movement. ""It is principally owing to the opening of Yokohama to trade that this deplorable state of things exists. " If a continuance of trade at Yokohama be persisted in, this state of affairs will grow worse ; trade will suffer and no doubt disappear in consequence, and then the friendship will be destroyed. It was to establish friendly relations that the treaties were made, as may be seen in the heading to each of them. - " Friendship is the corner-stone; trade is subordinate to friendship. We have always considered that the framers of the treaty intended it as an experiment, to last as long as it would not prove injurious to Japan. " In order to perpetuate this friendship it is of the highest mutual interest that the port of Yokohama be closed to trade, and in our opinion this is the only way to allay the prevailing excitement. 334 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. cfxf' " ^e re(lues^ you to inform your Governments ^ISST-' that the notification of Ogasawara Dzush6 no Kami relating to the expulsion of f6reigners will be withdrawn, and to ask their consent to have the trade transferred to Nagasaki and Hakodate. "We do not desire any further alteration in the Treaty." FrlSch and This proposal of course met with no success, and uvesShfe similar invitations to a conference at Yedo having been conSieance. sent to the British and French Kepresentatives, they naturally, after perusing the above document, declined the invitation. But not long after the above incident, the Japanese ministers again astonished the Eepresentatives, this time indeed, agreeably, by sending a fresh communication to them. It was dated the 12th of November, and said:— reSso/or " ^-s our government has, for the present, changed wl?a'as" its former policy, we request you to return to us the to closing despatch which Ogasawara Dzusho no Kami addressed to you when he was still in office, regarding the closing of the ports." Colonel Neale expressed his satisfaction in writing at this change, and stated that he considered Ogasa-wara's letter to be accordingly withdrawn and cancelled. t^1 Envoys About the same time two Envoys from the Prince fatTuma. of Satsuma arrived at Yokohama, and were received by the British Charge d'affaires, being accompanied by two officials of the Yedo government. After protracted discussions extending over three days, it was agreed to make immediate payment of the indemnity demanded, and an engagement in writing was signed HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 335 by the Japanese that the Satsuma government would discontinue a diligent search for Mr. Kichardson's ^^^^ murderers, who, when found, should suffer capital punishment in the presence of one or more members of the British legation. The following despatch and its enclosures, extracted SSTsSw?" from the papers (Japan, No. 2) presented to Parlia- mfirt of ment in 1864, shows the payment of the indemnity JationS1" and the termination of the affair :— alfair- Lieutenant-Colonel Neale to Earl Russell. <{ Mv T AT?r> " Yokohama, December 17th, 1863. "•By the mail which left this on the 2nd instant, I had the honour to acquaint your Lordship that the Envoys of the Prince of Satsuma had failed to carry out the arrangements which had been agreed upon. It now affords me extreme satisfaction to state that the whole of the stipulations have been definitely1 settled and determined. " On the 9th instant the Envoys returned from Yedo to Yokohama, and held an interview with me lasting several hours, at which endeavours were resorted to on their part to soften and smooth down the terms and circumstances under which the demands were originally preferred by me upon the Prince of Satsuma, in accordance with my instructions. They desired that the money which they were about to pay over to me should be considered in the light of a deposit, the absolute payment of which might take place hereafter, and that they accordingly only required a simple or temporary receipt. These obstacles and objections, pertinaciously urged during some hours, were utterly 336 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. * & m ' ofChoshiu and strong guards were stationed at them. $m£7 The Aidzu clan, be it remarked, were staunch sup- Emperor-porters of the house of Tokugawa. It appears, from a letter written on the 7th of October, by the Prince of Aidzu to the Prince of Yonezawa, that the Choshiu clan were suspected of a design to seize the Emperor on his way to visit the Yamato Shrines, and to carry his Majesty off to their territory. The same letter stated that there ^ere at least 1500 Choshiu troops lying in the neighbourhood of Kioto with this object. A similar accusation, as will be seen hereafter, was brought against Aidzu, who was accused of a plot, in,the interest of the shogun, to carry off the Emperor to Yedo. This intriguing ^as in strict pursuance of what has already been mentioned as the regular policy of contending parties in Japan, where each side strove to obtain possession of the person of the Mikado, in order to clothe its acts with his sacred authority. Orders were now sent from the Court to Mori ciansMu Sanuki no Kami, the only member of the Prince of tS&paiSL Choshiu's family then at Kioto, that neither he nor gjjf^ any of his men could be admitted within the palace precincts. The Satsuma clan, which since the month of June had ceased to guard the Inui Gate, were instructed to man it in all haste, and by the evening four or five hundred of their troops, clad in armour and provided with cannon, assembled within the palace enclosure. Meanwhile, three men of Choshiu, Mori Sanuki no £*»*°lu Kami, Kikkawa Kemmotsu, and Masuda Yemon nO troops. 344 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. S§ql* Ske, hearing of the tumult near the palace, marshalled ^"^LsS^ their troops and hastened thither ; but when they found ceedfngs0- all the gates firmly shut, and that not a single man would be permitted to enter, they forced their way in at the back gate of the kuambaku Takadzukasa's residence to see what was the matter. When they found the palace enclosure full of warriors in armour, and the gates all strongly guarded, they were amazed, and said to themselves, "here's a tremendous business/' They then asked the kuambaku what it all meant, but his Highness said that he knew nothing about it. From there they went to Sanj6 Saneyoshi, and inquired of him, but he replied that he did not understand the meaning of this day's proceedings. Kikkawa then escorted Sanjo to the residence of the kuambaku, where, having sent for the ministers of State * to find out what was going on, and to demand explanations, he awaited their arrival, conference Meanwhile a conference was being held at the propos'auo palace, and opinions were expressed blaming the &c, to trial! influences of the Ch6shiu clan on the policy of the Court. The ministers of State, it was argued, had thus been led to state a great many things in the Emperor's name, which his Majesty had never intended, and in particular, with reference to his Majesty taking the field in person, they had ascribed to him intentions which had never entered into his thoughts, and which "had ruffled his scales very much ;"t such impetuous and turbulent actions were evidently the results of # Kohu-ji-gahari. Kuges who had possession of the Emperor's confidence, and were consulted by him on general questions of policy, but without executive power.:—E. S. t Presumably the scales of the dragon, which he is fabled to resemble. His face is called the dragon-countenance.—E. S. HIST0BY OE JAPAN. 345 participation by certain kuges in an infamous plot of Choshiu, and to have urged them upon the Sovereign was the most flagrant treason. It was therefore proposed that Sanjo and the other kuges who favoured the policy of the Choshiu clan should shortly be brought to trial, and for the present they were to be ordered to remain in their houses and to see no one. This was the language of the bakufu party at Court. The daimios of Inaba, Yonezawa, and Bizen had now put on their armour, and agreeably to a summons had come to garrison the palace at the head of considerable bodies of men. The Prince of Aidzu and the shogun's resident urged upon the conference that the Choshiu clan harboured treasonable schemes, and had contrived an abominable conspiracy, in pressing the Emperor to take the field against the foreigners in person. An order was therefore given to dismiss the SSuSm" Ch6shiu clan from its posts within the nine gates of from1 within the palace, and to expel all their forces from the city. sates- The kuambaku was now summoned to appear at b^kuk^am" Court, and being ushered into the Imperial presence, to Court and v reproved, by was thus addressed by his Majesty :— his Majesty. " Although we had not determined that the moment for us to take the field against the barbarians had arrived, you have falsified our intentions, and have issued orders which never came from us, to our great displeasure. We certainly intend to take the field ourselves, and to expel the barbarians ; on those two points our purpose is unchanged ; but we must put off our departure for the present." The Emperor's advisers thus do not yet cause his Majesty to declare that the scheme for expelling the foreigners would have to be given up; they 346 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. cxxii content themselves with allowing that it must be 1863. put off. Yanagi- , /¦ wdeartehett0 ^-n spi^e °f repeated orders to the Choshiu clan, cianstou informing them that they were released from the Negotia- guardianship of the Sakai-machi gate, there was no sign of yielding on their part. A Court minister called Yanagiwara was therefore despatched on a message from the Emperor to Kikkawa and the others to retire to their yashiki, and await the coming of a messenger from his Majesty. They replied that they should think it a great hardship to have to retire under such circumstances. They were therefore told to hear the Imperial orders at the residence of the kuambaku. These orders stated that, although his Majesty for some time past had resolved to take the field in person against the barbarians, he intended first to make inquiries into certain turbulent proceedings in connection with his setting forth. That his Majesty's determination to expel the barbarians was, however, irrevocably fixed; the Choshiu clan had already served the Court diligently; he therefore still relied upon it to animate the popular -feeling, and desired that it would be most faithful and loyal. That as the number of men in the clan was so large, their chief should keep them quiet and restrain their turbulence, and in thus preventing the occurrence of misunderstanding, should go on, as he had always done, serving the cause of his sovereign, with all his heart and strength. Kikkawa respectfully accepted these orders, and gave an acknowledgment in writing. He then said that Sanjo and the other kuges belonging to that side were perfectly wretched at having incurred his Majesty's displeasure, and begged with great earnest- HISTOKY OP JAPAN. 347 Threaten- ness to be re-admitted to his favour. The Aidzu soldiers all this time were drawn up in f^ont of the Ch6shiu barracks, with the muzzle of their cannon in%.«?«* ? of Aidzu aimed against the Choshiu troops, looking as if -they soldier8-were ready to fire at the slightest indication of a move on the part of the others. Kikkawa and Masuda turned to the Mikado's messenger, and asked why these violent demonstrations were made; that the whole clan were becoming excited, and it was impossible to tell what violence they might not proceed to. Yanagiwara therefore addressed himself to the Aidzu men, and ordered them to turn the muzzles of their guns the other way. Upon which, the order to . withdraw the Choshiu troops having been Soopswith-communicated by him, they promised to obey it, and they gradually withdrew. Immediately afterwards the troops of the shogun's resident took their place. Sanjo and the other kuges who had espoused the side of Choshiu had all assembled at the residence of the kuambaku. The names of the other Court nobles were: Sanjonishi, Higashizono, Higashikuze, Shijo, Nishikoji Uma no Kami, Mibu Shiuri no Taiyu, and Sawa Mondo no Kami. At this moment the Kuge Ss^to Shimidzudani came with a message from the Emperor, to tell these nobles that their attempt to violate the sanctity of the palace, and the urgent visit they had made to his Highness the kuambaku, were heinous offences, and that they must retire ; that if they persisted, they would be considered to be in flagrant rebellion to the Emperor's orders. So Sanio and the other seven kuges, escorted by the They leave J o . J with the three men of Mori,* left the palace at the head of a ^^ large body of men, and retired to the residence of the m°-ho~m- * Mori Sannki no Kami, Kikkawa, and Masuda. 348 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. SqqF: Abbot Mio-ho-in (one of the priest princes of the '"^lseJT"" Imperial blood). These nobles were dressed in Court costume, with their sleeves thrown back, wearing their sabres, and were mounted on saddle-horses. The body-guard which accompanied them had on tate-e-boshi* wore breast-plates, gauntlets, and leg-pieces, and were armed with spears and pikes. Their faces wore an expression of indignation as they withdrew, guarding the nobles before and behind, very much as when, in the period of Jinyei (1182-89), the nobles of the house of Hei, attacked by the Genji, escorted the Emperor Antoku, and fled towards the western seas.f MonPS"to ^ *ke apartments of the Abbot of Mio-ho-in, baluuam" ^e seven nobles and the three men of M6ri held a consultation, and at a late hour of the night Masuda sent in a supplication to his Highness. It represented that having been dismissed from the guard of the Sakai-machi gate, they desired to exert their efforts in the defence of the seacoast of their country, and that Mori Sanuki no Kami and Kikkawa, as well as the others stationed at Kioto, would at once return home. That they were grateful for the confidence reposed in them by his Majesty with respect to the expulsion of the foreigners. That the whole country would put forth all its energies with desperation. That Sanjo and other personages who had for years been true and faithful (thus earning the respect of the people), desired to be first in the fight against the barbarians, and would now be escorted to Choshiu. * Tate-e-loshi. Long black caps of hempen cloth, worn by the samurai class, bounded with a white fillet on the forehead. E. S. t Yide Book I. chapter iii. HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 349 Having sent this document in, they left at ten ceof to take leave, and he started on the 10th. At Fushimi slfaTun he took boat to Ozaka, where he remained at his castle red™8 ° till the 20th, when he embarked on board a steamer, and arrived at Tedo on the 23rd, to the great joy j^X^nd of the officials, who were glad to think that, by the aid ofcfefhhf of the Shimadzu (Satsuma) family, the house of Toku- an romns' gawa had been reinstated, and was once more entrusted with the direction of the national policy. vol. i. 2 c 386 HISTORY OF JAPAN. mvl That is to say, the Satsuma clan, convinced of the mST*' power of the foreigners, had thrown its great influence into the scale at Ki6to on the side of the sh6gun, and the bakufu's party was once more in. the ascendant. The Choshiu clan, on the contrary, were highly indignant, and it was reported that the assembled rdnins of Nagato and Suwo would shortly call upon the ex-prince and the banished Court nobles in Choshiu to take command of them, and lead them to Kioto. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 387 CHAPTER XXV. 1864 Choshin becomes the rendezvous for runaways, &c, called Kiheitai.—A body of four hundred leave for Ki6to and arrive at Yamazald.—Arrival of Choshiu troops at Fushimi. —Petition of Kiheitai to the Court.—Choshin clansmen leave Kioto for Tenriuji in Saga.—Joined by other Ch6shm troops.—Full powers given to Hitotsubashi by the Court, which ultimately decides to chastise Choshiu.—Preparations for the Fight. The whole of this and the next chapter is abridged c££$; from the Genji yumfi monpgatari, and contains the * ^^ advance of the Ch6shiu troops and rdnins upon Kioto, and the battle in the ancient Capital. The province of Chdshiu now became the rendez- radS^S9 vous for runaways and deserters from all parts, who aways from t J r different collected together under the designation of kiheitai, or fSl&S^ the band of irregulars. These fellows concerted with samurai of other clans with the object of proving that the Prince of Chdshiu and his son, and the seven nobles, were innocent of the crimes laid to their charge, and of assisting them in carrying out their designs. But as petitions and peaceful measures seemed to have no effect, at last a body four hundred 2c2 388 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. for Ozaka. chap, strong, consisting of men of divers clans, set sail on ""^mT^ the 22nd of July, arrived at, Ozaka on the 24th, and dreYieave on the morning of the 26th left it in boats, and ascended the Yodogawa. They bore the appearance of troops about to enter on a campaign; and, waving red and white flags from the boats, proceeded up about YamazTkl1 twenty miles, as far as a spot called Yamazaki, where they landed. Here a barrier had been erected, and was guarded by troops. The news of the arrival of this body of men was immediately reported to Ki6to. Fu^ubara The same day a Choshiu officer, Fukubara Echigo, cha^shiT6 started at the head of a large body of his fellow-atFushimi. clansmen by land for Fushimi, and after some detention at a barrier, they reached their destination in the evening, and took up their quarters at the clan yashiki. They then sent a message to the governor of the place, to say that they were going to the Capital; and that, having some business to arrange with their clansmen at their yashiki in Kioto, they would like to stop two or three days in Fushimi. $1™ The governor was much alarmed at the numbers governor. ^ ^e Choshiu men and at their warlike appearance, and when he received information of the kiheitai gradually arriving at Yamazaki by the river, and then of their having actually landed there, he entirely lost his head, and, expecting that some fearful affair was about to take place before his eyes, he got together with all speed a number of samurai, and took every means of defence in his power. He then rushed up to Kioto on horseback with the utmost speed, in order to communicate the intelligence to the Capital. Fushfmi, The townspeople of Fushimi were dreadfully Sdffidfo.1 frightened, and ran about far and wide to hide themselves. Some carried off their furniture and valuables, HISTORY OF JAPAN. 389 while from the neighbouring villages their friends °^p-came in to see what was the matter; so that the town 7m~ was in a pretty condition of tumult and excitement. The same panic occurred at Yamazaki, but as the kiheitai behaved very quietly, and committed no acts of violence, the people began to feel rather more tranquil. At Kioto, too, when the reports arrived from Fushimi and Yamazaki, much alarm was felt, and a council assembled in haste at the yashiki occupied by j^Xilat Hitotsiibashi. He immediately proceeded to, the palace, and informed ^ his Majesty of what had occurred. Thereupon the kuambaku and other nobles assembled together in fright and astonishment. The affair came upon them so suddenly that they were as if stupified, and the Imperial Court could not make up its mind what to do. Various propositions were brought forward, but it was evidently of the first importance to secure the nine gates of the palace and the town outside by stationing guards at proper points, and to reinforce the detachments at the entrances of the city. In this manner an attempt on the part of the Choshiu troops to carry off the Emperor would probably fail. Orders were consequently issued to the clans, who ^g^ complied with alacrity, turning out bodies of troops, troop*011* and taking charge of the several, posts entrusted to their care. A large force was detailed to patrol the city, and it paraded the streets vigilantly day and night. The princes and nobles sent their wives and S^thl™ female attendants, and the old people, to their country sent away* houses in the neighbouring villages, or despatched them to their domains; so that the panic in Ki6to was even greater than that at Fushimi, or at Yamazaki. Sick or lame people were sent to friends in the neigh- 390 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. cg^p- bouring hamlets, furniture and valuables were carried SST^ off to the four quarters of the compass, and the bustle and confusion were just like what are seen at a fire. t$litafot ^ke Choshiu hiheitai encamped at Yamazaki now firmer oLs sent to Kioto to repeat the humble petition hitherto mm presented on several occasions by the Mori family. They said further that, in consequence .of the decree for the expulsion of the barbarians issued some years previously by the Emperor, they had made known that great principle to the whole country; the military spirit had been gradually aroused, and they had given their assistance with the sole desire of obeying and respecting the Imperial wishes. The visit of the Emperor to the shrines of Kamo in the previous year had been made in order to pray for success in the subjugation of the barbarians. But his Majesty's feelings had changed in a most unaccountable manner, and they had been removed from the guardianship of the palace, entirely through lies and slai^ders. The clansmen had been forbidden to enter the Capital, and the seven nobles had incurred his Majesty's displeasure. Unable, therefore, to retain their grief and sorrow, in their position as subjects, they had absconded from their native country, and had come up to Ki6to to present a humble petition, to ask that the seven nobles and their prince and his son might be exonerated from the imputations so unjustly cast upon them. That hoping his Majesty would announce the renewal of his determination of expelling the barbarians, the clansmen and the servants of the seven nobles had ventured to come and make their tearful prayer. That as they were a large body of men, the leaders would do their best to keep them quiet, and that they would certainly not proceed to acts of violence. HISTOEY OF JAPAN. 391 This petition having been discussed in a council of <§££• the Court and the military class, the decision arrived ^5g!~ at was that the conduct of the Ch6shiu clan in excit- gf^gd ing the rdnim of the provinces to rebellion, in Contrary approaching the capital with a display of military force, opimons* in intimidating the Imperial palace, and in making arrogant demands on the Emperor, was incomprehensible. Should his Majesty grant their prayer, the dignity of both the Court and the bakufu would suffer, and both would be exposed to new insults. It was necessary, therefore, that these men should be chastised. Aidzu, in his capacity of guardian of the Capital, was for castigating them without mercy, and the hereditary vassals and officials of the shogun also urged the same course of action. The discussion having ended in this way, warlike preparations were diligently proceeded with. But the nobles of the Court, and all the clansmen then in Ki6to, warned the Court and the bakufu, that if they proceeded to hostilities against the Ch6shiu clansmen, who had come to Ki6to with the spirits of leopards and wolves, the Empire would be ruined, and the Imperial palace be in great peril; and they suggested that it would be better to accord a patient hearing to the petition of these people, and treat them with pity and kindness. But the Emperor would not adopt their views, and ^n^en did not even deign an answer. The Ch6shiu clansmen Kenriuji who were in their yashiki at Kioto, fearing to remain a longer in the city, left it secretly, and betook themselves a little distance off to the temple of Tenriuji, at Saga, whence they communicated with their fellow-clansmen at Fushimi and Yamazaki, and prepared to renew their prayers and petitions. 392 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. gates. c¥xy: 0a the 30th of July M6ri Onitaro, captain of the """ST^ Ch6shiu Yu-geki-tai (the band which amuses itself by Sara beating), encamped on Ten-no-zan, at Tamazaki, and iTthe em proceeded to Fushimi to consult with his clansman, Fukubara Echigo. He was anxious that the men of the clan encamped at Tenriuji should not attempt any violence, for that would be an offence against the Imperial Court. In order, therefore, to keep them quiet, he started from Fushimi at the head of the whole band of three hundred and forty or fifty men. The matches of their muskets were lighted, the flags and banners were waving, and the drums and gongs were beaten. With his men marshalled in companies and subdivisions he proceeded to Saga, where he took up his quarters in the Tenriuji. the nine^ When it became known in Kioto that a consider- able number of Choshiu men had left Fushimi that morning in battle array, and had taken up their quarters at Tenriuji, the nine gates of the palace were instantly shut. These nine gates, already several times mentioned, mark out a space which contains the palace of the Mikado, the site of the palace of the retired Mikado, the Imperial flower-garden, the grass-garden, together with the residences of most of the kuges. There is no boundary wall; the gates are placed at convenient points in the streets which intersect the mass of buildings, in such a manner that ingress to the palace can only be obtained through them, or by climbing over x the back walls of the kuges' residences. The names of these gates are the Imadegawa Gate on the north; the Inui, or North-West Gate, Nakadachiuri Gate, Hama-guri Gate, and Shimodachiuri Gate on the west; the Sakaimachi Gate on the south; the Teramachi, Sei-wa in, and Ishiyakushi Gates on the east. HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 393 The palace is enclosed by a wall of tiles and plaster, painted in longitudinal stripes of buff and white. The outer gates are the Nammon, on the south, as the etymology of the word signifies; the Kuge Mon and MidaidoJcoro Mon on the west; the Sahuhei Mon on the north, and the Hi no Go Mon, or Sun Gate, on the east, all in the outer enceinte. The inner courtyard, to which three gates give access, contains the Shi shin-den, or hall of public audience. It is entered by the JiJckuamon on the east, Shdmeimon on the south, or by the Gekhuamon on the west. The Prince of Aidzu, upon learning what had ^JeB t0 happened, put on his armour, and immediately started thepalace-from the Kuroda barracks at the head of six or seven hundred men in battle array, and marched to the palace with flags and banners flying, beating drums and gongs, with swords and spears, loaded field-pieces, and small-arms. From the west came also the shogun's resident and others, with a force to assist in the defence of the palace. At five o'clock in the evening Hitotsubashi pro- SiSp5r"0. ceeded to the Court on horseback. Cannon and court*0 small-arms, provisions and lanterns, were conveyed with rapidity to the palace, in large quantities ; and as darkness approached bonfires were lighted here and there in the palace yard, while all night long a crowd of soldiers kept continual watch and ward inside and outside the nine gates; and everything looked as if hostilities were to break out immediately. The inhabitants of the city, both gentle and simple, F^\fthe trembled for fear. Their energies quite deserted them, and all remained in such a state of anxiety that they scarcely were conscious of their own existence. But 394 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. chjup. nothing in the way of a disturbance occurred that ^57^ night, and dawn soon came, for it was the summer season. The troops who were guarding the palace broke up their array, and officers ajid men marched tfomlwiiit away. Then for the first time the people began to be reassured. re]j[eye(j ^0 a certain degree of their anxiety, and to rejoice over their regained existence. After this the nine gates were locked, and no one was suffered to go in or out without permission, and the wicket gate was made the general thoroughfare. Aidzu never left the palace, and made the Emperor's flower-garden his head-quarters. Here his forces were collected during several days, guarding the sacred precincts day and night, until after the riot was over. da?miosto Orders were sent post-haste from the Court to the daimios of the surrounding provinces, informing them that a large number of the Choshiu clan had come to Kioto in battle array, and that it was reasonable to look for some disturbance or other ; that they must therefore at once turn out their men. This order was obeyed, and the troops were despatched to the Capital. The clansmen resident there sent frequent messages to their homes, and the city and suburbs were turned upside down. £esaga an! At this time beacon fires were seen lighted on high Yamazaki. ^n ^m^ though he was, to resist the effects of so serious a wound. The Imperial forces on this rushed emulously forward to take his head, but he, though wounded, exclaimed, "No disgrace^can exceed that of letting my head fall into the enemy's hands. Off with it quickly, and depart to the country." And then, as there was no one to cut off his head, he shouted, " Unworthy, useless fellows !" and, stabbing himself with his own sword, fell dead. Then his nephew, in the bustle of the fight, cut off his head, and escaped with it. When Raijima Matabei, the captain in whom they had put their trust, was thus shot down, the Choshiu men lost heart, and their foothold failing them, they began to break. lodlSfa's Kodama Komimbu, the captain of the second de- SadtmeDt tachment, now rebuked and exhorted his comrades, flee in con- and the broken ranks were once again re-formed ; but the Imperial forces, flushed with their success, and aided by reinforcements, finally routed the remainder of the Choshiu men, and they fled in confusion. Many were killed, and others were taken prisoners. This therefore disposes of two detachments of the force which had started from the Tenriuji at Saga. Buildings As there was a report that some men were lying set on fire. *• J o flagrlS' in ambush in the houses of the townspeople, Hitotsu-bashi gave orders to set fire to any buildings suspected of harbouring them. The consequence was a sudden conflagration, and owing to the previous dry and hot weather, and the accident of a violent wind having been blowing since the morning, the flames, which had been kindled in several places, spread, and the confla- §™sions gration became very general. o^iaga/ I* has been said that the Choshiu division under fusion. HISTORY OF JAPAN. 417 Kunishi Shinano, which also came from Saga, had §|^p. been put to a disorderly flight, just as /they were on —SJ~ the point of forcing their way into the palace, by the arrival of a Satsuma detachment. This happened just when the Choshiu division ' which had entered by the Hamaguri gate had, as has now been recounted, been defeated, and drivenout of the palace enclosure by the united forces of Satsuma, Aidzu, and Kuwana. The consequence of this is thus related : " The commander, Kunishi Shinano, and his sambo Katsura Kogoro and Sakuma Sahioyei, collected the remains of their beaten troops, with the hope of being able to communicate with their comrades, and to concert with them a new and vigorous plan of operations. But he had now become a rebel against his Sovereign, and every man's hand was against him. The other clans would give no help, but on the contrary turned their arms against him. Whilst his own men were thus defeated and scattered to the four winds, he heard also that Fukubara Echigo, who had marched out from Fushimi, had been cut off on his way, and been defeated. Seeing therefore that there was no longer any hope left, he collected around him a small number of soldiers and fell back on the Tenriuji at Saga." All the force which had started from Saga was Yamazau n ' ¦« -, division thus defeated, and we must now turn to that which starts had had its head-quarters at Yamazaki, and see how it atother.and fared. These were the kiheitai, and the Choshiu men under the Jcaro Masuda. The whole number, commanded by him and another officer, are stated to have exceeded five hundred men. They started at a little before eleven o'clock at night, clad in complete vol. i. 2e 418 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. chap, armour, with two flags in front, inscribed with the %*~^££~' names of the gods Kora I)ai-mi6-jin, and Kantori Dai-mio-jin.* When the advancing force had proceeded about half way, the sound of musketry was heard continuously in the direction of Fushimi, and, taking this for an indication that the division under Fukubara Echigo had already started from there, they hastened their march. The sky was overcast, and the dawn appeared close at hand, when they again heard the noise of artillery roaring in the direction of Kioto. Fired at the thought that the Saga division had got ahead of them, they sounded the gongs and drums, and hastened quickly forwards. As they approached the city,' the shades of night began to fade away. ^SiSSu1 They advanced to the Sakaimachi gate. The Saga macin gate, division had already reached the front of the Hamaguri and Nakadachiuri gates, and had begun the fight. As all the nine gates were shut fast and guarded vigilantly by the troops, several of the officers entered by the back gate of the kuambaku's palace, on the east of the Sakaimachi gate, and were followed by the men under them. FigM with Meanwhile the Echizen troops, to whom was Echizen, ~ v, x £dw5Skbn6 trusted the defence of the Sakaimachi gate, began to troops. gre a£ |.jie })ack;-gate of the kuambaku's palace. They were, however, met by such volleys from the other side that they deserted their post, and were fleeing in con- # Kora Dai-mio-jin is the name under which. Takenouchi no Sukune was canonized as a Kami. He was Prime Minister of Jingo Kogo, the conqueress of Oorea. He was a mighty warrior, and is said to have lived over 250 years. Kantori Dai-mio-jin is the name under which Eutsunushi, who with Takemikadzuchi was sent from heaven to conquer Japan, was canonized.—E. S. HIST0BY OF JAPAN. fusion, when about one hundred men of the Kuwana clans came running to their aid. Greatly encouraged by this, they re-formed their broken ranks, in conjunction with the Kuwana men. But their adversaries of Ch6shiu, nothing daunted, attacked the united force of Echizen and Kuwana, and, driving it back, were about to force their way into the Imperial flower-garden. Just then, Ii Kamon no Kami, the lord of Hikone, came from his head-quarters in the city at the head of more than eight hundred men, and the forces of the three clans of Echizen, Kuwana, and Hikone joining together, attacked the men of Ch6shiu. Then ensued a fight, some of the incidents of which are thus characteristically related: " Forth from the Hikone rushed Saigo Masanoske, shouting that he was the first spearman, and darted with his spear among the Choshiu men. Then a runaway of Chikuzen, named Nakamura Tsunejir6, thrust forth his spear from the midst of the Chdshiu, saying, ' Here ! try if you can meet my spear-point;? and the two spears were seen for a short time thrusting and parrying, while those wTho held them brought all their hidden skill into play. Perhaps it was that Naka-mura's superior courage gave him the victory, for at last he thrust Saigo right through the breast, and ran up to take his head. But Awoki Tsuyemon, of the Hikone clan, determined not to let the slayer of his friend escape, ran up and thrust his spear right into Nakamura's side, who was thus killed. "Then Utsugi Sanshir6, Sone Sajiur6, andKamid Sozaemon and others of the Hikone . clan, cut their way into the midst of the Choshiu force, and performed prodigies of valour ; upon which Nawa 2e 2 420 HISTOEY OF JAPAN. xxvf: Matajiro, a hot-blooded young warrior, darted out ^i86i^^ shouting his name, and brought Utsugi Sanshiro, the foremost, to the ground with one thrust of his spear. Sone and Kamio seeing this, resolved not to let a foeman so worthy of their steel escape, and fell upon him straightway; and Nawa, after defending himself against both at once, at last fell dead at the hands of the Hikone xlan. " Then Sawa Soda of the Hikone clan engaged in single combat with Abe Goichi of Ch.6sh.iu, and the latter, being already tired with all the fighting he had done, was killed in his turn." The leaders of the Hikone troops, having commenced the fight, were striving vigorously to enter the kuambaku's garden, and the Choshiu men were equally determined to prevent them from so doing. One band made a sortie from the postern in the northern wall, and, levelling their pieces, poured in a dropping fire, retreating as they fired, and firing as they retreated. Many of the Echizen and Hikone men were struck down by this fire, and others were wounded. The combatants fought indifferently with fire-arms or with spears, and a hand to hand contest continued for some time, without the victory inclining to either side. At this moment, however, the fight that had been going on in front of the gate of the Nobles, as recounted above, came to an end, and all the Ch6shiu forces (those which had come from Saga) withdrew from Arrival of the interior of the palace. A lame body of Aidzu men the troops iit • • i r* t n i i wwc^had were therefore enabled to join the fight irom the north mlnC?romiu side. To these were added a body of Satsuma men, Saga* and Hitotsubashi himself arrived at the head of four or five hundred troops, to lead the attack on horseback. HISTOBY OF JAPAN. 421 CHAP. XXVI. This division of Choshiu was very brave, and, despising death, met the "innumerable host" of"-TS^T^ Hitotstibashi, Aidzu, Satsuma, Echizen, Hikone, and Kuwana men without flinching. Hitotstibashi therefore ordered up two companies of infantry and two pieces of cannon, and the contest became more desperate. But the Imperial forces were constantly reinforced by fresh bodies of men, while the Choshiu troops lost numbers of killed and wounded in each skirmish, so that their strength was very considerably reduced. An aide-de-camp now came running up to inform ™2iB^a-Hitotstibashi that his presence was required at the the palace, palace on business of great urgency. He at once left his men, and, accompanied by one or two followers, proceeded to the palace. There he was met by a number of kuges, who asked how the battle was going. Hitotstibashi answered that he was confident of gaining the victory. The nobles then said that, though £ues?et°f there might be disgrace in making peace after a defeat, makePeace-there could be none in offering terms when the victory had been already gained. Several bullets had already found their way into the Mikado's courtyard, and the thunder of musketry was so loud as to make them fear for his Majesty's safety. It would be advisable therefore to make peace, and to order the Prince of Choshiu and his son to come up to the Capital. Hitotstibashi Sif in-was highly indignant at the proposition, and said that dlgnatl0n-it was impossible to entertain the notion of making any terms with brigands who had fired against the sacred precincts ; that, for his own part, he felt it his duty not to let a single rebel escape. If, however, the contest lasted much longer, and the opposition Miyas secretly made peace, the Empire would be brought to 422 HISTOBY OF JAPAN. xxvl the brink of ruin, and the very existence of the Toku- i86i gawa family imperilled. He felt therefore that the best policy was to settle the affair with all possible bueiidingsSto speed, and to that end He gave orders for attacking parties to be sent round to the back from the Hamaguri and Sakaimachi gates, to kindle fires all round and lay everything in ashes. baku'^111" The soldiers engaged in the assault obeyed with palace is . <=><=> ./ burnt- alacrity, and threw shell after shell into the roof of Takadzukasa's sleeping apartments. Suddenly the devouring flames blazed forth and upwards, and the whole interior of his palace was filled with smoke, so that it was impossible to distinguish even the nearest objects. The neighbouring streets, occupied by the townspeople, were also set on fire here and there, so that the rebels were soon surrounded by a circle of flames. The rem- After much desperate fighting, the Choshiu force Ch6shiu became so enfeebled that it could do no more. Several force take to flight, of the officers, who had been severely wounded, committed hara hiri after the usual Japanese fashion, and in order to prevent their heads from falling into their enemy's hands, they threw themselves dying into the flames of the burning buildings. Other captains made up their minds to retreat, and joining themselves to the Saga and Fushimi divisions, endeavoured to bring their fallen fortunes to life again. So they collected the remnants of the force, and prepared to make a sudden sortie with the object of breaking through the enemy, and thus escaping. The position of the Imperial troops round the burning palace of the kuambaku was this : at the front gate were collected the forces of Echizen, Kuwana, and a division of Hikone ; at the north gate, the HIST0EY OF JAPAN. 423 troops of Hitotstibashi, Satsuma, and Aidzu; at the giAP. back gate, another division of Hikone. The remnants ^TsST^ of the Ch6shiu troops, however, opened the back gate suddenly, discharged a volley into the midst of the enemy, and with loud shouts cut their way through, and escaped in different directions. The intention of these men to put themselves in communication with the Saga and. Fushimi divisions,, in order to make a fresh attack, could not be carried out; we have already seen that the forces under Kunishi Shinano and Raijima Matabei had been routed, the latter captain being dead, and the former could not then be found. The Choshiu yashiki at Kawara- fhuer^hfsh?u machi in Kioto had also been burnt by the rusiu, or &o!in official in charge, when he heard of his clan's defeat. We will now turn to the remaining Ch6shiu divi- Sta1