Japan Part 16

Shimazu continued his journey to Yedo in the summer of 1862, where he endeavored to impress on the _bakufu_ the necessity of taking measures to pacify the country. It is safe to say that his suggestions were coldly received, and he was made to feel that he was in an enemy's camp. It is said that the shogun refused to receive him personally, but referred him, for any business which he had to present, to the council. It is certain, therefore, when he left Yedo in September, 1862, with his train and escort, he was in no amiable frame of mind. And it was in this condition of irritation that he became the chief actor in an event which was the saddest of all the collisions between the j.a.panese and the foreigners.

The Satsuma train left Yedo on the morning of the 14th of September by way of the _Tokaido_, which runs through Kawasaki and skirts the village of Kanagawa. It consisted of a semi-military procession of guards on foot and on horseback, of _norimonos_, in which the prince and his high military and civil attendants were carried, of led-horses for them to ride when they desired, and of a long straggling continuation of pack-horses and men carrying the luggage of the train. It was said to contain not less than eight hundred _samurai_ in attendance on their master.

The etiquette of the road for such trains was well settled in feudal j.a.pan. The right of way was always accorded to the daimyo, and all unmilitary persons or parties were required to stand at the side of the road while the train was pa.s.sing, to dismount if on horseback, and to bow to the daimyo's _norimono_ as it was carried past. It may be supposed that the _samurai_ in attendance upon the incensed Shimazu were in no humor to have these rules trifled with, and especially would not deal very tenderly with any foreigners who might fall in their way.

On the afternoon of the day on which the Satsuma train left Yedo, a small riding party left Yokohama for the village of Kawasaki, on a visit to the temple at that place. It consisted of one lady and three gentlemen, one of whom was Mr. Charles L. Richardson, who had for many years been a merchant at Shanghai, but who was visiting j.a.pan previous to his return to England.

A few miles north of the village of Kanagawa they encountered the head of the train, and for some distance pa.s.sed successive parts of it. They were either ignorant of the etiquette which required them to withdraw during the pa.s.sage of such a cavalcade, or underrated the danger of disregarding it.

Presently they came upon the troop which had special charge of the _norimono_ in which the prince was carried. It was surrounded by a formidable body of retainers, armed with swords and spears. The reckless riders paid little heed to their scowling looks, and rode carelessly on, sometimes even threading their way through the interstices of the straggling train. When they were nearly opposite to the prince's _norimono_, which they were about to pa.s.s without dismounting or saluting, they were so alarmed by the evidences of danger that one of the gentlemen called out to Mr. Richardson who was riding ahead, "Don't go on, we can turn into a side road." The other also exclaimed, "For G.o.d's sake let us have no row." Richardson, who was foolhardy and ignorant of those with whom he had to deal, answered, "Let me alone, I have lived fourteen years in China and know how to manage these people." Suddenly a soldier from the centre of the procession rushed upon them with a heavy two-handed sword and struck Richardson a fatal blow on his side under the left arm. Both the other gentlemen were also severely wounded, and the lady had her bonnet knocked off by a blow aimed at her, but escaped unhurt. They all started at full speed towards home, riding over the j.a.panese guards who undertook to interfere. All except Richardson reached Kanagawa without further hurt; he after riding a few rods fell from his horse and died from the effect of his terrible wound.(290)

The excitement in the town was intense. There was a proposition to organize immediately a force and pursue after the train, in order to capture the murderer and the Satsuma chief. It was with no small effort and with the almost unanimous sentiment of the foreign community against him, that Colonel Neale, the British _charge d'affaires_, restrained them from an act which would have brought quick vengeance upon the town and involved Great Britain in a war with j.a.pan. A demand was made upon the government for the capture and punishment of the a.s.sa.s.sin of Mr.

Richardson, and for the payment of an indemnity of 100,000, by the shogun's government and an additional sum by the daimyo of Satsuma.

Neither the surrender of the a.s.sa.s.sin nor the payment of this indemnity was willingly undertaken by Satsuma. It ended therefore in Admiral Kuper being despatched with a squadron of seven vessels to Kagoshima in order to enforce on the recalcitrant daimyo the terms agreed upon with the government at Yedo. He arrived on the 11th of August, 1863, and was received with frowning batteries and a terrible typhoon of wind and rain.

Negotiation failed to effect a settlement and the naval force was called upon to play its part. Three valuable new steamers, which the daimyo had recently purchased, were captured and burned. The batteries which lined the sh.o.r.e were dismantled by the guns of the ships. The city of Kagoshima, said to have had at this time a population of 180,000 and to have been one of the most prosperous towns in j.a.pan, was almost completely destroyed by fire. After this drastic lesson the money demanded was paid, but the murderer of Richardson was not and probably could not be surrendered, and never has been publicly known.

The most important result which followed this severe experience was its moral effect on the Satsuma leaders. They had become convinced that western skill and western equipments of war were not to be encountered by the antiquated methods of j.a.pan. To contend with the foreigner on anything like equal terms it would be necessary to acquire his culture and dexterity, and avail themselves of his ships and armaments. It was not long after this therefore, that the first company of j.a.panese students(291) were sent to London under the late Count Terashima by the daimyo of Satsuma, and the purchase of cannon and ships of war was authorized.

In the meantime another collision still more serious had occurred with the treaty powers. The daimyo of Choshu had, as we have seen, taken sides with the court of Kyoto against the more liberal policy of the shogun's government. He had placed men-of-war as guards and had erected batteries within his territory on the sh.o.r.es of the Shimonoseki straits through which ships usually pa.s.sed on their way to and from the western ports. It is claimed, and is not improbable, that he was encouraged by the Kyoto statesmen to attack foreign ships on their way through these narrow straits, in order to embroil the Yedo government with the treaty powers.

Accordingly on the 25th of June, 1863 the _Pembroke_, a small American merchant steamer on her way from Yokohama to Nagasaki was fired upon by two men-of-war belonging to the daimyo of Choshu. She was not hit or hurt and escaped through the Bungo channel without injury. Shortly afterwards, on the 8th of July, the French gunboat _Kienchang_ while at anchor in the straits, was also fired upon and severely injured. And lastly the Dutch ship-of-war _Medusa_, in spite of a warning from the _Kienchang_, undertook to pa.s.s the straits and was fired upon by the ships and batteries of the daimyo of Choshu, to which she responded with decisive effect.

News of these hostile acts was brought immediately to Yokohama. The U. S.

Steamship _Wyoming_ was lying there, and was at once despatched to avenge the insult to the American flag. She arrived at Shimonoseki on July 16th, and in a conflict with ships and batteries sunk a brig and exploded the boiler of a steamer. On the 20th inst. the French frigate _Semiramis_ and the gunboat _Tancrede_ under the command of Admiral Juares arrived to exact vengeance for the attack on the _Kienchang_. One of the batteries was silenced, and a force of two hundred and fifty men were landed who destroyed what remained.

These acts of signal vengeance were followed by negotiations for damages.

The shogun's government disavowed the actions of their rebellious subordinate; but this did not free them from responsibility for the injuries which he had inflicted. The American minister secured the payment of twelve thousand dollars for alleged losses by the _Pembroke_, although as we have seen the vessel got off without any damage. Negotiations in regard to freeing the Inland sea from obstructions dragged along for almost a year. The _bakufu_ promised to take measures to reduce to a peaceful att.i.tude the daimyo of Choshu whose territories bordered on the narrow straits of Shimonoseki. But the growing political disturbances of the nation and the impoverishment of the shogun's treasury made it impossible to carry out its pacific designs.

Finally an expedition was organized by the treaty powers to visit Shimonoseki, in order to destroy whatever might be in existence there. It consisted of nine British(292) ships-of-war, four Dutch, three French, and one steamer, chartered for the occasion to represent the United States.(293) It sailed from Yokohama on the 28th and 29th of August, 1864.

The attack was made from the 5th to the 8th of September. The daimyo, finding it useless to contend against such overwhelming odds, gave in his absolute submission.

After the return of the expedition the representatives of the allied powers held a conference with the j.a.panese ministers of foreign affairs with reference to the final settlement of this unfortunate business. A convention(294) was entered into between the interested parties, dated the 22d of October, 1864, by which an indemnity of three million dollars was to be paid by j.a.pan to the four powers for damages and for expenses entailed by the operations against the daimyo of Choshu. This sum was to be paid in instalments of half a million dollars each. The four powers agreed among themselves as to the division of this indemnity: That France, the Netherlands, and the United States, in consideration of the actual attacks made on their shipping, were to receive each one hundred and forty thousand dollars, and that the remaining sum should be divided equally between the four powers.

It has always been felt that the exaction of this large indemnity was a harsh if not an unwarrantable proceeding. The government of Yedo had disavowed and apologized for the conduct of the rebellious daimyo, and promised, if time were allowed, to reduce him to subjection. Of the powers which were allied in the expedition, Great Britain had suffered no damage, and the United States had already received an indemnity for the injuries and expenses of the vessel fired upon. To insist, therefore, upon the government not only paying for the damage inflicted, but for the expense of an unnecessarily large and costly expedition to suppress the rebellious subordinate, which was sent contrary to the express protest of the responsible government, seems too much like that overbearing diplomacy with which western nations have conducted their intercourse in the East.(295) The promised sum, however, was at last, after much financial distress, all paid, and the painful episode was ended.

One undesigned benefit resulted from the Shimonoseki expedition. Just as the bombardment of Kagoshima had taught the daimyo of Satsuma the folly of resisting western armaments, so now the daimyo of Choshu had learned by an expensive experience the same bitter lesson. For the future these two powerful clans might therefore be counted on, not only to oppose the moribund government of Yedo, but to withstand the folly of trying to expel the foreigners who by treaty with an unauthorized agent had been admitted into the country. The Choshu leaders had also taken advantage of their experiences in this conflict with foreigners to put their troops on a better basis as regards arms and organization. For the first time the privilege of the _samurai_ to do all the fighting, was disregarded, and a division(296) of troops was formed from the common people, which was armed with foreign muskets and drilled in the western tactics. They went by the name of "irregular troops" (_kiheitai_), and played no small part in rendering nugatory the efforts of the shogun to "chastise" the daimyo of Choshu in 1865 and 1866.

Another noteworthy military event deserves mention here. Colonel Neale had applied to his government for a military guard to protect British interests at Yokohama. Two companies of the 20th regiment were sent from Hongkong, and with the consent of the j.a.panese government took up their residence in 1864 at barracks in the foreign settlement. They were afterwards joined by a French contingent, and for many years they were a familiar sight, and gave a sense of security to the nervous residents.

While these serious collisions were taking place between j.a.pan and the foreign powers, there was an increasing and irreconcilable animosity developed between the Kyoto and Yedo governments. The ostensible reason, which was put forward on all occasions, was the difference of opinion upon the question of the foreign treaties and foreign intercourse. The Yedo government had by the force of circ.u.mstances become practically familiar with the views of the representatives of foreign nations, and had been convinced that the task of expelling foreigners and returning again to the ancient policy of seclusion was far beyond the power of j.a.pan. On the contrary, the court of the emperor was a hot-bed of anti-foreign sentiment in which all the ancient prejudices of the empire naturally flourished, and where the feudal princes who were jealous of the shogun found a ready element in which to foment difficulties.

Two important games were in progress. Yedo was the field on which one of these was to be decided, and the players were the representatives of the treaty powers on the one side, and the shogun's government on the other.

Victory had already been virtually declared in favor of an open country and foreign intercourse. The other game was being played at Kyoto between the shogun's friends and his enemies. The stake was a momentous one, namely, to determine whether the present dual government was to continue and who was hereafter to wield the destinies of the empire.

The government of the shogun had long been convinced that it was necessary to make the best of the presence of foreigners in the country and that it was vain to make further exertions for their expulsion. But a vast number of the feudal retainers of the daimyos were still bitterly hostile, and took frequent occasion to commit outrages, for which the government was held responsible. Besides the cases which have been already mentioned, a new legation which the British government had built in Gotenyama, a site which the j.a.panese government had set apart in Yedo for foreign legations, was burned to the ground in 1863. In the same year the temple buildings in Yedo which the United States had leased for a legation were burned. Twice the shogun's castle in Yedo had been destroyed by fire. A murderous attack was made upon British subjects in Nagasaki; Lieutenant de Cannes of the French troops was a.s.sa.s.sinated in 1864; and in the same year Major Baldwin and Lieutenant Bird, two British officers, were murdered at Kamakura.

These repeated outrages seriously disturbed the Yedo government, and led to several attempts to curtail the privileges which by the treaties were secured to foreigners. The last proposition of the kind which was made was one conveyed to the French government by an emba.s.sy sent out in 1864. They presented a request to have the port of Kanagawa closed up and trade to be confined to Hakodate and Nagasaki. They received no encouragement, however, and returned with their eyes "opened by the high state of material and moral prosperity which surrounded them," and reported the complete failure of their attempts at persuasion. "The _bakufu_ reprimanded them for having disgraced their functions, and, reducing their incomes, forced them to retire into private life."(297)

It is necessary now to trace the course of events at Kyoto. According to the theory of the government of j.a.pan the emperor was the supreme and unlimited ruler and the shogun was his executive. The maintenance of the emperor and his court was a function of the shogun, and hence it was almost always possible for him to compel the emperor to pursue any policy which he might desire.

At the time now under review Komei, the father of the present emperor, occupied the imperial throne. He had succeeded to this dignity in 1847 at the age of eighteen, and he died in 1866 at the age of thirty-seven. The shogun was Iemochi, who in 1858 had been chosen from the family of Kii, because of the failure of an heir in the regular line. At the time of his election he was a boy of twelve years of age, and was placed under the guardianship of the prime minister Ii Kamon-no-kami. After the a.s.sa.s.sination of the prime minister in 1861, Hitotsubashi Gyobukyo, a son of the daimyo of Mito, was appointed guardian, and served in this capacity until the shogun's death.

Around the court of the emperor were gathered many discordant elements.

The party of the shogun was always represented, and the daimyo of Aizu, its ardent friend and champion, had the honorable distinction of guarding the imperial palace. By invitation many other daimyos were at Kyoto with retinues of officers and attendants, and with guards of troops. The southern and western daimyos were present in imposing numbers, and although they did not always agree among themselves, they were in harmony in the general purpose to discredit the government at Yedo and to promote the imperial authority.

The expulsion of foreigners was the common subject of discussion and agitation. Although again and again it had been a.s.sured that it was impossible to dislodge the treaty powers from their position in the country, the court still continued to direct its efforts to this object.

For the first time in two hundred and thirty years,(298) when Iemitsu went up to the imperial court, the Shogun Iemochi visited Kyoto in 1863 in order to consult about the affairs of the country. In accordance with the precedent set by Iemitsu, the shogun distributed on this occasion rich presents to the emperor and the officers of his court. He also scattered among the townspeople his largesses, until "the whole populace, moistened in the bath of his mercy and goodness, were greatly pleased and gratified."(299)

Conferences(300) were held between the daimyos who were present in Kyoto and the officials of the court, and in spite of the objections and remonstrances of the Yedo official, an imperial edict was issued and entrusted to the shogun for execution, to expel from the country the hated foreigners. This edict was notified to the representatives of the treaty powers by the Yedo officials. They seemed, however, to regard their duty fully done when this notice was given. No serious steps were ever taken to carry out these expulsive measures, unless the obstruction of navigation of the Shimonoseki straits by the daimyo of Choshu be regarded of this character.

In 1863 a plot was alleged to have been formed by the Choshu men to seize the emperor and carry him off to their own territory. The object aimed at by this plot was of course to get the court out of the hands of the shogun's friends, and surround it by influences favorable to the plans of the southern daimyos. The court, however, became alarmed by the reports in circulation, and steps were taken to forbid the Choshu troops, who guarded Sakaimachi gate, access to the grounds of the imperial palace. Offended by this action they retired to their own territory. Seven of the most prominent court n.o.bles (_kuges_)(301) who sympathized with Choshu in his aims and purposes accompanied them, and were thereupon deprived of their rank and revenue.

The departure of the Choshu clansmen and the triumph of the shogun's party seemed to have put an end to the anti-foreign policy. The emperor and his court had been forced to the conclusion that the effort to expel the treaty powers was far beyond the powers of j.a.pan, even if it were united and its exertions directed from one centre. From this time may be estimated to begin a new phase in the contest which was to end in the restoration of the original form of government.

The territory of Choshu had become the rendezvous for all the disaffected elements of the empire. The daimyo was looked upon as the patriotic leader of the country, and _ronins_ from all parts hastened to enroll themselves under his banner. In the summer of 1864 the Choshu forces, to the number of several thousand, composed not only of the _samurai_ of the province, but also of the disaffected _ronins_ who had gathered there, and of the "irregular troops," _kiheitai_, which had been organized, started to re-enter Kyoto in order to regain the position they had previously occupied. The contest which followed has been described with lurid distinctness by native annalists. They were encountered by Hitotsubashi in command of the troops of Aizu, Echizen, Hikone, and other loyal clans.

After a battle which lasted several days, and which raged chiefly about the imperial palace, the Choshu troops were completely defeated and forced to retire. It gives us an idea of the terrible earnestness of these j.a.panese warriors to read how a little remnant of the Choshu troops took refuge on Tennozan; and when they heard their pursuers approaching, how seventeen of them committed _hara-kiri_(302); and lest their heads should be recognized and their names disgraced, how they had thrown themselves into the flames of a temple which they had set on fire. Three of the company who had performed the friendly act of decapitation for their comrades had escaped by mountain roads and made their way back to Choshu.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Kido Takeyoshi.

The usual concomitant of fighting in a town had followed, and a great part of Kyoto had been destroyed by fire.(303) The Satsuma troops had taken an important part in this repulse of Choshu. They had intervened at a very critical moment, and had captured a considerable number of Choshu prisoners. But they had treated them with great consideration, and subsequently had even sent them home with presents, so that the Choshu men felt they really had friends instead of enemies in the warlike southern clan. It is in this battle we catch the first glimpse of the Choshu leader, Kido Takeyoshi, then known as Katsura Kogoro.(304) He must have been about thirty-four years of age, and already gave promise of the talents which made him one of the most conspicuous and influential statesmen of the restoration.

In 1865 Sir Harry Parkes arrived in j.a.pan as the envoy plenipotentiary of the British government. He had resided in China from boyhood, and had been especially conspicuous in the war between China and Great Britain in 1860.

His career in j.a.pan continued until 1883, when he was promoted to the court of Peking. He had the good fortune to be the representative of his country during the most momentous years of modern j.a.panese history, and in many of the most important events he exerted an influence which was decisive.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Udaijin Iwakura Tomomi.

The troubles in Choshu were finally brought to a close. The efforts of the shogun, although conducted at great expense, were unavailing. Satsuma, when summoned to render aid in crushing the rebellious prince, declined to join in the campaign. Through the efforts of Saigo Kichinoske,(305) a treaty of amity was effected between the two clans. The kind treatment of the Choshu prisoners in the attack on Kyoto was remembered, and the help and alliance of the powerful Kyushu clan were eagerly accepted. Peace was negotiated between the shogun and the rebels. Thus the Choshu episode was ended, with no credit to the shogun's party, but with a distinct gain to the cause of the imperial restoration.(306)

It had long been recognized that the treaties which had been made by the foreign powers would possess a greatly increased influence on the j.a.panese people if they could have the sanction of the emperor. The shogun Iemochi had been summoned to Kyoto by the emperor to consult upon the concerns of the nation, and was occupying his castle at Osaka. The representatives of the foreign powers thereupon concluded that it would be a timely movement to proceed with their naval armaments to Hyogo, and wait upon the shogun at Osaka, with the purpose of urging him to obtain the imperial approval of the treaties. This was accordingly done, and an impressive display of the allied fleets was made at the town, which has since been opened to foreign trade.

The shogun was both young and irresolute, and personally had neither weight nor influence. But his guardian, Hitotsubashi, was a man of mature years and judgment. He recognized the importance of obtaining the approval of the emperor to the foreign treaties, and of thus ending the long and ruinous agitation which prevailed in the country.

A memorial(307) was presented to the emperor in the name of the shogun, setting forth the embarra.s.sment under which the administration of the country had been conducted on account of the supposed opposition of the emperor to the treaties, and begging him to relieve them by signifying his sanction; and a.s.suring him that if this is not given, the foreign representatives who are at Hyogo will proceed to the capital and demand it at his hands.

It ended in the sanction of the treaties being signified October 23, 1865, by the following laconic decree(308) addressed to the shogun: "The imperial consent is given to the treaties, and you will therefore undertake the necessary arrangements therewith."

During this critical time the Shogun Iemochi died September 19, 1866, at his castle in Osaka at the age of eighteen. He had been chosen in 1858, in the absence of a regular heir, by the determined influence of Ii Kamon-no-kami, who was then all-powerful at Yedo. He was too young to have any predominating influence upon affairs. Until the a.s.sa.s.sination of the prime minister Ii Kamon-no-kami in 1861 the boy shogun had been under his guardianship. Since then that duty had been devolved upon Hitotsubashi, a son of the diamyo of Mito, who had been himself strongly pressed for the office of shogun, but who was alleged to be too mature and resolute a character for the prime minister's purposes. As guardian, Hitotsubashi had taken an active part in the effort to obtain the sanction of the treaties, and the final success of this important step must in a great measure be attributed to him.

After the death of Iemochi without direct heirs, the office of shogun was offered to Hitotsubashi as a representative of Mito, one of the "honorable families" from whom a shogun was to be chosen in case of a failure of direct heirs. It is said that he accepted the office with great reluctance, knowing the troubles which would surely await him who a.s.sumed it. He a.s.sented only on the command of the emperor and the a.s.surance of support from many of the diamyos. He has thus the distinction of becoming the last of the long line of Tokugawa shoguns, under the name of Tokugawa Yoshin.o.bu.(309)

A few months after the death of Iemochi, on the 3d of February, 1867, Emperor Komei also died from an attack of small-pox. He is said to have been strongly prejudiced against foreigners and foreign intercourse, and it was claimed at the time of his death, that when he sanctioned the foreign treaties the divine nature left him to fall a prey to the ravages of ordinary disease. His son Mutsuhito, then in his fifteenth year, succeeded him and is now the reigning emperor, the one hundred and twenty-first of his line.