AGITATED
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 Portrait of Baron li Kamon-no-Kaini Naosuke. in his [mperiai 
 
 court dress, and his autograph poem. (For translation 
 
 of the poem see uert page).
 
 Omi no mi kishi utsrt naini no iku tabimn, 
 Miyo ni kokoro wo kudaki mini kana. 
 
 Poem by li Kamon-no-Kami. 
 
 Literal translation ; Rocks break the tide and the 
 Sea of Omi is never ab rest : So is my soul in its 
 yearnings for the beloved land. 
 
 Note : The Sea of Omi is the poetical ap- 
 pellation of the Lake Biwa. The Baron's 
 territory bordered on that lake; hence, 
 the use of its waters for the metaphor. 
 
 As beats the ceaseless wave on Omi's strand 
 So breaks my heart for our beloved land. 
 Reviser's Translation.
 
 AGITATED JAPAN 
 
 LIFE OF BARON II KAMON-NO-KAMI NAOSUKE 
 
 (BASED OX THE KAIKOKU SHIMATSU 
 OF SHIMADA SABURO) 
 
 BY 
 
 II. SATOH 
 
 :,ATK OF THE I.MPKHIAL COMMERCIAL COLLEGE OF 
 TOKIO, JAI'AX. 
 
 REVISED BY 
 AVM. ELLIOT GRIPFIS, D.D. 
 
 AU'riion OF THE MIKADO'S KMPIT:K. 
 
 TOKIO : 
 
 DAT XTPPON TOSHO KABUSHIKI KATRHA : 
 Z. P. MARUYA &. To. 
 
 LOXDOX: 
 KEOAN PAUL, 'I'RENCII, TRUBNKK & Co. 
 
 XEW YORK : 
 D. APPLETON <t. Co. 
 
 1S9G.
 
 PRINTED AT 
 THE TOKVO-SEISHIBUNSHA.
 
 PREFACE. 
 i i 
 
 Since the appearance of Mr. S. Shimada's 
 book, Kaikoku Shimatsu, (Summary of the 
 Opening of Japan to Civilization), I have been 
 desirous of introducing the great subject of his 
 book more widely to the public of the Land of 
 Liberty, for it was Baron li who sacrificed his 
 life in order to conclude a commercial treaty 
 with the United States of America. Having 
 been thus far prevented from accomplishing my 
 purpose, I availed myself of the leisure afforded 
 in a short stay in America, to boldly attempt 
 the writing of an abridged account of the 
 Baron's political and diplomatic career. In so 
 doing I have been encouraged by Dr. W. E. 
 Griffis who kindly undertook to revise my 
 manuscript. Without his help the book would 
 never have been completed. 
 
 1993000
 
 The facts mentioned are all based on Mr. 
 Shimada's careful investigations embodied in 
 his Kaikoku Shimatsu. I claim no originality 
 except in the arrangement of topics in which I 
 have followed my own judgment, in order to 
 remove difficulties from the minds of readers 
 who are not familiar with the history of Japan. 
 In presenting this little book to the American 
 public, I hope for their kind indulgence. My 
 lack of literary merit is unavoidable, owing to 
 imperfect knowledge of the English language. 
 The style of any passages showing merit is 
 attributable to the scholarly attainments of the 
 reviser, Dr. William Elliot Griffis, the author 
 of " The Mikado's Empire." The commonest 
 things often receive merits through the touch of 
 a master hand. The illustrations have been 
 taken from Kaikoku Shimatsu with the author's 
 permission. 
 
 The delay in publishing this book has been
 
 caused by the official duties 011 which I had to 
 enter immediately on my return from America. 
 The humble service I had to render to the 
 General Headquarters for the Expeditionary 
 Armies during the late hostilities with China 
 required my presence in Hiroshima, and after- 
 wards in Shimonoseki where the Treaty of 
 Peace with China was concluded, and also in 
 Chefoo where the ratifications were exchanged. 
 
 H. H. 
 Tokio, December, 1895.
 
 HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN 
 
 COMPILED AND TRANSLATED 
 
 FOR 
 
 IMPERIAL JAPANESE COMMISSION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 WOBLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION 
 CHICAGO 1893. 
 
 FOR SALE BY 
 
 Z. P. MARUYA & Co. 
 
 TOKIO, JAPAN.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I'AOK 
 
 PREFACE BY COL. J. A. COCKERILL i 
 
 PREFACE sr CAPT. F. BRINKLEY II. A. v 
 
 REVISER'S INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 PREFACE TO KAIKOKU SHIMATSU BY VISCOUNT 
 
 OKUBO ICHI-O xv 
 
 PREFACE TO KAIKOKU SHIMATSU BY PROF. 
 
 NAKAMURA xvii 
 
 POEM TO KAIKOKU SHIMATSU BY COUNT 
 
 KATSU xx 
 
 PREFACE TO KAIKOKU SHIMATSU BY MARSHAL 
 
 YAMAGATA xxiii 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER I 
 
 CHAPTER I. PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE . . 27
 
 II CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. NAOSUKE AS BARON OF HIKONE . 3(3 
 CHAPTER III. THE Two GREAT PROBLEMS OF 
 
 THE AGE 47 
 
 CHAPTER IV. THE TAIRO Ii SIGNS THE AMERI- 
 CAN TREATY 02 
 
 CHAPTER V. THE CONSEQUENCES 87 
 
 CHAPTER VI. THE ASSASSINATION Iii9
 
 PREFACE 
 
 BY 
 
 COL. JOHN A. COCKEKILL, 
 
 Special Correspondent, "New York Herald." 
 
 For nearly fifty years the world has stood in 
 amazement before the wondrous progress, the 
 marvellous achievements of Japan. To the 
 people of the United States this "youngest 
 child of the world's old age " lias seemed a 
 veritable protege. To us it was given to draw 
 the blinds which shut this strange, Asiatic race 
 from what we are pleased to term the Higher 
 Civilization. We have been to Japan a friend 
 and admirer. To our schools her youth first 
 appealed. Our friendship has been steadfast ; 
 nay, more, we have poured our wealth into her 
 lap in exchange for her incomparable products.
 
 I am pleased to believe that the people of Japan 
 have appreciated our kindly sentiments and 
 that the intelligent men here do not regret the 
 hour that brought our insistent fleet to their 
 gateway. 
 
 The history of Japan the modern Japan 
 must always be interesting to our people. The 
 men of Japan who had the wisdom and the 
 foresight to maintain the policy of throwing 
 down the barriers which closed their sealocked 
 empire to the world were statesmen who 
 wrought even better than they knew. They 
 merit all honor. To the Baron li Kamon-no- 
 Kami, the wise Tairo of the final era of the 
 Tokugara rule, whose deeds are recorded in this 
 work now laid before the English-speaking 
 world by Mr. Satoh himself a splendid type of 
 the progressive Japanese -both honor and 
 gratitude are due. He changed the destiny of 
 Japan. For years a cloud rested upon his name
 
 because of his new political system 'this man 
 who gave Japan her material prosperity, who 
 set her on the road to glory and whose life was 
 sacrificed that his country might take its place 
 in the sisterhood of nations. Like Cromwell 
 and Washington and scores of masterful leaders 
 who have advanced peoples into the sunlight 
 of progress and intelligence, Baron li Naosuke's 
 name has passed from obloquy to universal 
 reverence. Modern Japan reveres and honors 
 his name and his work. The people of our 
 great Eepublic, who are indebted to him for 
 the crowning success of the Perry Expedition, 
 our first commercial treaty, will delight to 
 know of him and will be proud to honor his 
 memory. 
 
 It is with pleasure that I commend to my 
 countrymen the great majority of whom I 
 believe share with me my admiration for 
 the striving, earnest-purposed, ever-ambitious
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 people of Japan this timely biography of 
 one of Japan's most potential and valuable 
 servitors. 
 
 JOHX A. COCKEIULL. 
 Miyanoshita, Japan. 
 
 December 21st 1895.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 BY 
 
 CAPT. P. BE INKLE Y II. A. 
 
 If western students of Japanese history could 
 
 / 
 obtain a clear insight into the development of 
 
 public opinion in Japan during the years 
 preceding the Restoration, they would be able 
 to resolve a riddle that has long perplexed 
 them. Changes so radical as those that Japan 
 has undergone during the past thirty years, 
 must necessarily be suspected of superficiality, 
 and therefore of irnpcrmanence, imless it can 
 be shown that they were prefaced by an appro- 
 priate growth of national sentiment. But ap- 
 parently there is nothing either shallow or 
 transient in these changes, and the inference is
 
 then forced upon us that they came when the 
 country was ripe for them. How was that 
 condition of ripeness brought about '? What 
 influence had been working silently before the 
 Meiji era to undermine feudalism and prepare 
 the minds of the people for the reception of so 
 many phases of Western civilization ? These 
 questions, vital to any intelligent perception of 
 the Japanese problem, can be answered only by 
 profound and minute study of the social, indus- 
 trial, and political story of the Tokugawa 
 Epoch. Such a study is practically beyond the 
 reach of foreigners, owing to the almost in- 
 superable difficulties that they encounter in 
 obtaining access to sources of information. It 
 must be undertaken by Japanese historians, 
 and even of these very few can be expected to 
 possess the necessary qualifications. Promi- 
 nent among the few must be placed Mr. Shima- 
 da Saburo, one of Japan's leading politicians
 
 and thinkers, who now supplements his nume- 
 rous contributions to Japanese literature by an 
 able sketch of the life of the great feudal 
 chieftain and far-seeing statesman, li Kamon- 
 no-kami, perhaps the most conspicuous figure 
 in the drama of the Restoration. The memoir 
 deserves careful perusal, not only for the sake 
 of the light that it throws on Japan's passage 
 from the old to the new, but also because it 
 helps to enforce the truth that, if some sangui- 
 nary and cruel acts were committed against 
 foreign life in the years immediately preceding 
 the Meiji era, they had their origin not so much 
 in the hearts of the people as in the political 
 turmoil of the time. Perhaps this latter lesson 
 does not any longer need to be inculcated. 
 Perhaps those that profess to find traces of 
 anti-foreign bias still lurking beneath Japanese 
 urbanity and liberalism, see in reality a reticc- 
 tiou of their own racial prejudice rather than a
 
 true image ol Japanese feeling. However that 
 may be, these interesting pages of history, com- 
 piled by Mr. Shimada and excellently trans- 
 lated by Mr. H. S;ktoh, will help in some 
 measure to dispel a delusion that certainly 
 tends to hold Japanese and foreigners asunder. 
 
 F. Brinkley. 
 Tokyo, January 5th., 1896.
 
 REVISER'S INTRODUCTION. 
 
 When in June, 1890, with the aid of a 
 Japanese friend, Rev. T. Harada, of Tokio, 
 I read the book here condensed in English, I 
 said at once, " This is the typical new book in 
 New Japan." In The Literary World of May 
 0, 1898, I have described the work and indicated 
 its relations to tin; literary movement in Japan. 
 On hearing from Mr. Satoli of his proposed 
 translation, I encouraged him to proceed. My 
 work of revision, a labor of love, as an Ameri- 
 can who honors the memory of the noble 
 dead, -has been in some slight corrections of 
 idiom and the consecution of tenses, with dates 
 in the Gregorian style, and a few notes. I am 
 glad to add a leaf to the wreath laid on an 
 honored tomb. 
 
 The title, Ivaikoku Shhnatsu, means literally,
 
 REVI8EB 8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 " Opening of the Country, Beginning and End.'' 
 The author is Mr. Shimada Saburo, editor of a 
 widely circulating daily newspaper at Tokio. 
 He is a scholar in English, a traveller in Europe 
 and America, and a member of the Liberal 
 Party, holding a seat as representative in the 
 Lower House of the Imperial Diet. He is 
 still in the early forties, and educationally is 
 one of the fruits of American missionary enter- 
 prise. His work marks a new era in Japanese 
 historiography. Even the searching criticisms 
 of those whose sympathies, from memory and 
 loyalty, are with the old House of Mito have not 
 been able to invalidate his statements. One 
 can easily see that Mr. Shimada has trained 
 himself to write history according to the canons 
 of the science in vogue in Christendom. 
 
 The reviser's first sight of Japanese humanity 
 was in Philadelphia in I860, when the first 
 embassy ever sent from Japan to the United
 
 REVISER S INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 States proceeded up Walnut Street in carriages. 
 What impressed the boy-spectator even more 
 than their magnificent garments and their 
 superb swords, was the elegant culture, the easy 
 politeness of these hermit-islanders from that 
 East which was so far as to be on our West. 
 It was while in America that these oriental 
 gentlemen heard of the cruel death of their 
 master. This was in reality the first blood 
 shed in what was to be a prolonged civil war, 
 lasting fitfully from 1860 to 1870. The Orient 
 and the Occident had come into collision and 
 the struggle is still going on, nor is the end 
 yet. After Japan's must come China's turn 
 to reform. 
 
 Later on, when out of college and in Japan, 
 laying some of the first foundation stories of 
 the national system of free public education, 
 I made myself not only acquainted but familiar 
 with the men and scenes described in this book.
 
 REVISER S INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The white walls of the castle of Hikone, aud the 
 streets of the lake-town, and in Yedo the man- 
 sion, route of visit to the Shoguu's palace, the 
 scenes of the assassination, the Sakurada Gate 
 and the interior of the grounds first Shogunal 
 and then Imperial, are all clear pictures in my 
 mind's eye. Still farther, with nearly all of the 
 survivors mentioned in this book, and some of 
 those now passed away, I enjoyed personal 
 acquaintance and, with several, familiar 
 friendship. 
 
 One of the mightiest problems before the 
 whole world and to all humanity is the recon- 
 ciliation of the oriental and the occidental 
 civilizations. Such a task is worthy of the 
 noblest powers of the statesman, philosopher, 
 and seeker after God. In the roll of those who 
 have achieved success in this difficult and 
 delicate work, Williams, Perry, Harris, Parkes, 
 Iwakura, and others, that of li Kamon no Kami
 
 REVISER S INTKODUCTION. 
 
 stands not least. Despite the limitations of his 
 age and nationality, he achieved a noble work. 
 He fell a martyr to truth. For a generation 
 his memory has suffered, as most men tem- 
 porarily unsuccessful but ultimately vindicated 
 usually suffer. The foreign as well as the 
 native books of the seventh, eighth, and ninth 
 decades of this century are full of his " swag- 
 gering" and " bullying " spirit, and nothing 
 was too vile to say about the murdered Premier. 
 Yet as Cromwell had his Carlyle, so has li 
 had his Shimada. Cleansed from insult and 
 stain, we now behold a sincere patriot, possess- 
 ing indeed the human infirmities common to 
 mortals in Old Japan, but who read the signs 
 of the times and saved his country from India's 
 fate and China's humiliation. Drawing back the 
 bolts from the inside, li opend Japan to the 
 civilization of Christendom. He saved his 
 country from bloodshed by aliens, probably also
 
 KKVISJCB S INTRODUCTION. 
 
 from conquest and dismemberment, by shedd- 
 ing his own. Americans who wish to see 
 Asia civilized and Christianized, but not in 
 the British way of conquest as in the case 
 of India, or of opium-forcing and land-seizure 
 as in the case of China, and who even expect 
 mutual blessings to come from mutual bene- 
 volence, as the West receives benefits from 
 the East, will welcome this narrative. It 
 tells the story from the inside of agitated 
 Japan. It complements handsomely the numer- 
 ous European and American narratives of 
 travel and diplomacy in Japan, written during 
 the early part of this generation. Incidentally, 
 the work sheds lustre upon the whole work of 
 Towiisend Harris, the unarmed and solitary 
 first American Minister Eesident in Japan. 
 
 Win. Elliot Griffis. 
 Ithaca N.Y. March 20 1894.
 
 PREFACE TO KAIKOKU SHIIYIATSU 
 BY VISCOUNT OKUBO ICHI-0. 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 A perusal of Kaikoku Shimatsu reminds me 
 of the old days. On the evening of the 24th 
 day of the Oth month of the 5th year of Ansei 
 era (1858), when I went to see the Tairo, Baron 
 li, to inform him of my departure to Kioto on 
 the following day, I told him that as to the 
 appointment of the SliSgun's heir, I had heard 
 it directly from the Shogmi himself; but as to 
 the question of foreign affairs, I said that I had 
 embodied my opinion in a poem, and asked him 
 if that were his view. I had the poem written 
 on my pocket paper and presented it to his con- 
 sideration. He carefully perused it and said 
 that he approved of it, instructing me at the 
 same time to act up to the spirit of that poem.
 
 XVI PREFACE BT VISCOUNT OKDBO ICHI-6. 
 
 Now, I have the pleasure of appending that 
 poem here as an evidence that the Baron was 
 in favor of opening the country to intercourse 
 with foreign nations. The poem reads : 
 
 " However numerous, and diversified the 
 nations of the earth may he, the God who reigns 
 over them all (or, binds them together) can 
 never he more than one." 
 
 (Signed) Okuho Ichi-o. 
 
 X. 11. Viscount Oku bo held an important position 
 under the Tokugawa Shoguuate. His departure to 
 Kioto, referred to in his preface, was in reference to 
 his official errand to the Imperial Court. When the 
 new system of peerage was established by the reigning 
 Emperor, he was made a viscount in recognition of 
 his political services before and after the Restoration. 
 At the time of writing Kaikoku Shimatsu lie was still 
 living and was looked up to as one of the living- 
 authorities of the history of those days when Baron 
 li was at the head of the government.
 
 PREFACE TO KAIKOKU SHIMATSU BY 
 PROF. NAKAMURA MASANAO. :: 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 Tlie power of sincerity may call up the 
 departed spirit, and open communication with 
 the other world. Observing the existence of 
 party feelings, and the frequency of partial 
 representation of facts on the pages of his- 
 torical writings, it has awakened in the 
 breast of my friend, Mr. Shimada, a strong 
 desire to correct those misrepresentations. As 
 the fruit of his sincerity, he has succeeded in 
 freeing Baron li from the undeserving dishonor 
 in which he had been buried. This work of 
 Mr. Shimada had its origin in the 27th anni- 
 versary of the Baron's death, which cannot 
 be looked upon as a mere accident. It is 
 
 * The original is in Classic Chinese.
 
 XV111 PREFACE BY PROF. NAKAMORA MASANAO. 
 
 wonderful, when we consider that the departed 
 spirit apparently chose a person to whom to 
 entrust the custody of his private papers and 
 through him to deliver them to Mr. Shimada. 
 The power of sincerity is sure to find an echo. 
 Who can say that consciousness has no place in 
 the departed spirit ? 
 
 (Signed) Kei-u Nakamura Masanao. 
 
 N. B. Professor Xakamurawas one of the professors 
 of Chinese literature in the University of Tokugawa 
 Shogunate. He studied English when every body 
 was opposed to it. His widened view, by his study of 
 that literature, placed him above his colleagues, and 
 with the opening of the new period of Japan's history, 
 his name became synonymous with erudition. He 
 was looked upon as one of the few literary geniuses 
 of that era. He had a school of his own from which 
 many able men were sent out to the world. He died 
 a few years ago and was lamented by all, high and 
 low, cultured and illiterate. Among his many books, 
 translated in Japanese, Mill on Liberty, The Constitu-
 
 PREFACE BY PROF. NAKAMDEA MASANAO. XIX 
 
 tion of the United States, English Literature etc., 
 his translation of Smile's Self-help was almost uni- 
 versally read by the literary circle of Japan, and is 
 now held in high esteem.
 
 POEM TO KAIKOKU SHIIYIATSU BY 
 COUNT KATSU. 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 The proud pine though evergreen, and with 
 outspread branches in the balmy air of the 
 Land of the Eising Sun, may suffer decay in its 
 roots buried deep in the heart of the earth ; or, 
 a worm eating into its substantial stem, it may 
 fall before the tempest, or break under the heap- 
 ing snow. 
 
 Ah, thou who didst brave the storm which 
 came raging from over the great sea, who didst 
 make a shelter before the heaping snow of 
 dangers and difficulties, who didst thus sacri- 
 fice thy life for thy country, how hast thou 
 fallen a miserable victim to the frailties of the
 
 POEM BY COUNT KATSU. 
 
 world ! Yet true to the dying instruction of 
 him whom tlion hast served, thou didst set 
 little store on thine own weal. Neither hefore 
 rank nor power didst thou falter. Straight in 
 the course of law, thou didst never deviate. 
 
 Richly dost thou deserve to be ranked with 
 the few worthies that adorn the House of the 
 Ruler over this land. Yet not only was this 
 honor refused thee, but thy merit was the cause 
 of thy death. On the evergreen pine, now dead 
 and fallen, has malice heaped shame and dis- 
 honor, with none to plead on its behalf! 
 
 But time flies and passes away, its good and 
 its evil, all vanish like a dream. Now in this 
 reign of Sacred Wisdom, thy hidden merits 
 began to appear, embodied in this book. The 
 fallen pine has regained its life. Its new foliage 
 will thrive in this reign of wisdom. Let the 
 blessings of the Great Sovereign be remembered 
 with gratitude, and be impressed deep on heart
 
 AUTOGRAPH TRANSLATED. 
 
 and memory, as long as mind and memory last. 
 
 (Signed) Kaishiu Katsu AWA.* 
 Late Antnmn, 
 
 20th year of Meiji (1887). 
 
 * Ex-Minister of Navy under the Shogun and 
 Mikado. He commanded the first Japanese steam- 
 ship \vhieh crossed the Pacific Ocean and brought 
 out the embassy from Yedo to the United States in 
 1859. Still living.
 
 PREFACE' TO KAIKOKU SHIIYIATSU 
 
 BY FIELD MARSHAL COUNT YAMA- 
 
 GATAt EX-MINISTER-PRESIDENT 
 
 OF STATE. 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 During the time of the Tokugawa IShogunate, 
 Japan's intercourse with foreign nations was 
 limited to China and Holland. Hence the 
 people knew little of the civilization of other 
 nations. Peace universally reigned. The 
 swords were kept in their sheaths and the 
 arrows were enclosed in their quivers. Luxury 
 and effeminacy followed in the wake of peace. 
 The sudden appearance of the problem of 
 foreign intercourse in the 6th year of the era of 
 Kayei (185;-Jj resulted in the universal cry of 
 
 * The original is in Classic Chinese. 
 t Called by the Western press the Woltke of the 
 East.
 
 XXIV PREFACE BY FIELD MAKSHAL COUNT 
 
 exclusion. The power of the Shognuate was 
 gradually uiidenniued by this new event. 
 
 It is not to be wondered at that this cry was 
 raised on every side, for people were kept in 
 utter ignorance of things outside of their country. 
 Their condition was like that of a frog in a 
 well.* Things outside were completely shut up 
 from their view. Along with this perplexity, 
 the advocates of the virtual authority of the 
 Throne, assailed the Tokugawa Shogunate. 
 Baron li was the person who had to face these 
 great problems. Confident in the wisdom of 
 his policy, he bravely opposed public opinion, 
 and was hated even by his relations. The 
 result was that lie had to sacrifice his life for 
 the policy he followed. 
 
 Yet this sad event not only saved our country 
 from the misfortune that befell our neighbor, 
 
 * The frog in the well knows not the great ocean 
 Japanese proverb. Gr.
 
 YAMAGATA EX-MIN1STEK-PRKSIDKNT OF STATE. XXV 
 
 China, but opened the pathway of civilization in 
 oar own land. This merit is attributable to 
 no one but Baron li. 
 
 Mr. Shimada has prepared a biography of the 
 Baron, under the title of Kaikoku Shimatsu. 
 (Summary of the Opening of the Country.) On 
 perusal I find that his representation is both 
 powerful and impartial. His penetrating insight 
 is coupled with his literary power. In Mr. 
 Sliimada's ability, mental and literary, Baron 
 li has found an able advocate that has lifted 
 him up out of the malice and enmity in which 
 he had been so long buried. 
 
 (Signed) Count* Yamagata Aritomo. 
 
 11 th month, 20th year of Meiji. 
 
 (November 20, 1887.) 
 
 * Now Marquis. Promoted to that rank in recogni- 
 tion of his noble arid successful service as Coni- 
 urmder-in-chief of the First Expeditionary Army 
 during the Japano-Chinese war.
 
 His Imperial Highness Prince Kita- 
 shirakawa honored Mr. Shimada's Kai- 
 koku Shimatsu, with his autograph of 
 four Chinese characters meaning: 
 
 " Heaven's ordination baffles the 
 human." 
 
 Signed Kiodo, (the nom-de-plume 
 of the Prince).
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAITEK. 
 
 Without the least taint of flattery it may 
 be safely asserted that Japan is indebted to 
 no other country so much as to the United 
 States. This indebtedness began on her 
 first trial of that international intercourse 
 which she has kept up ever since,, and will 
 doubtlessly continue as long as the world 
 shall last. It is an undeniable fact that the 
 honor of having opened the hitherto secluded 
 Empire of Japan to foreign intercourse, 
 commercial and otherwise, rests with the 
 United States. Although in the order of 
 chronology, the priority of commercial re- 
 lations with Japan, belongs to the Nether- 
 lands, yet the actual opening of the Empire
 
 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 to active foreign intercourse dates from the 
 time when Commodore M. C. Perry was 
 sent by the American government to knock 
 
 *J 
 
 at the door which had been kept closed for 
 hundreds of years. 
 
 The sudden appearance of the American 
 war-ships off Uraga in 1853 acted on Japan 
 like the sounds of a cannonade in the ears 
 of a warrior who, after years of hard fight- 
 ing had been slumbering in perfect enjoy- 
 ment of undisturbed rest. " HH up and 
 doing" was echoed and re-echoed through- 
 out the length and breadth of the whole 
 Kmpire. Not to speak of the mass of 
 people, even the so-called educated class 
 knew little of the serious consequence 
 involved in their actions. The cry "repel 
 the foreigner" was heard on every side. 
 This party of exclusion quickly found
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 3 
 
 adherents in every part of the Empire. 
 The castle of Yedo in which the " Tycoon" 
 or Shogun had his seat of government was 
 assailed on every side with the demand for 
 obedience to the traditions of seclusion. 
 The Shogunate found itself between the 
 dilemma of foreign intercourse and civil 
 war. The lioju, or Senators of the Sho- 
 gunate, were divided amongst themselves, 
 and the results of this division were seen 
 in frequent changes in the personnel of 
 this Senate or Cabinet of the Tokngawa 
 Government which had ruled in Yedo 
 since A.D. l()():j. 
 
 Request of time for consideration had 
 been made to the American envoy, Perry, 
 on his first coming to Japan, but now the 
 matter could not be put off under the same 
 excuse. The question had to IK; referred
 
 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 to the Empsror in Kioto, but no favorable 
 answer was received. The Daimio, or 
 Barons of the land had been consulted, but 
 they were in favor of isolation. The officers 
 of the Shogunate knew well the impossi- 
 bility of refusing intercourse with foreign 
 nations. Placed between two conflicting 
 elements, the Tokugawa government in 
 Yedo could make no advance in either way. 
 Yet the thing could not be left in abeyance 
 any longer. Sufficient time for considera- 
 tion had been granted by the American 
 envoy and the answer must be given. 
 
 Among the Princes of Tokugawa lineage, 
 Prince liekko of Mito, better known in 
 annals of those days as the Senior Prince 
 of Mito, was the most powerful and zealous 
 advocate of the exclusion policy. Even if 
 there had been a single daimio who knew
 
 i>jL'RODuaroKr CHAPTER. 
 
 the impossibility of keapitig the country 
 closed, public opinion was such, and the 
 power of the Exclusion Party was so 
 great, that he dared not express his own 
 convictions. Since the establishment of 
 the Tokugawa family nothing had shaken 
 the whole empire like this question of 
 foreign intercourse. 
 
 Hitherto it had been the policy of the 
 Shogun to decide political matters without 
 reference either to the Imperial Court or 
 to the daimios. In a word, his govern- 
 ing power was unlimited ; and this was 
 never disputed by the Emperor or his 
 Court. When in the seventeenth century, 
 the order to close the country to foreign 
 commerce had been issued, lyeyasu 
 never referred the question, great as it 
 was, to the Emperor for his approval, nor
 
 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 did the Imperial Cabinet ever blame him 
 for so doing. In other words, the Shogun 
 was invested with nearly absolute rale. 
 Having once possessed the power to close 
 the whole country to foreign commerce, 
 and to prohibit Japanese subjects from 
 going abroad, why should the Yedo govern- 
 ment hesitate now in making decisive 
 answer to the American demands ? AVhy 
 did it not enter into a commercial treaty 
 with the United States, if it deemed it to 
 he of any interest to the nation ? Why 
 was it that, instead of taking the whole 
 responsibility on itself, it referred the 
 question to the Mikado and to the daimios ? 
 
 In explanation of this apparej.it deviation 
 from the policy hitherto followed two 
 things offer themselves : 
 
 (1) The Cabinet of the Shogun lacked
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 an able leader bold enough to take the 
 whole responsibility on his own shoulders. 
 
 (2) The officers of the Shogunate were 
 sufficiently acquainted with the spirit of 
 the times outside of Japan, which clearly 
 showed them the difficulty of strictly adher- 
 ing to the traditions of exclusion, and yet 
 they feared the public opinion at home. 
 
 The Tokugawas had, up to this time, 
 enjoyed an undisputed rule over the whole 
 land for more than two hundred years ; yet 
 it seems there could be no exception to the 
 inevitable tendency to weakness and de- 
 generacy which attends upon long enjoy- 
 ment of peaceful rule. History is full of 
 similar instances. 
 
 The Tokngawas after the eighth Shogun 
 (Yoshimune, 1717-1744) began to show 
 signs of effeminacy and decay. The hardy
 
 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 race of soldiers who had hitherto guarded 
 the honor and power of the House founded 
 by lyeyasu sought enjoyment, not in the 
 exercise of arms, but in music and dancing. 
 This tendency culminated at the time of the 
 thirteenth of the line, lyesada, '(1833-1858) 
 generally called Onkio-in. His period of 
 rule, though of short duration was unlike 
 any of his predecessors in outward refine- 
 ment and enjoyment of ease. Factors 
 were already at work which were under- 
 mining the power of the Tokugawas. 
 These, though they did not come to the 
 surface, were actively operative, concealed 
 under guise of fidelity to the Shogunate 
 and quiet submission to its rule. Let but 
 an occasion arise and those factors were 
 ready to start up in opposition to the Yedo 
 autocrat.
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 Divided within, and critically watched 
 without, the Shogunate suddenly found 
 itself confronted with the insoluble problem 
 of foreign intercourse. The whole country 
 was at once left in anxious suspense. Only 
 extraordinary ability and rare foresight 
 could effect complete deliverance. Never 
 was the need of an able pilot so keenly felt 
 as at this time of opposing currents which 
 involved the whole country in a state of 
 ceaseless commotion. The only way to 
 obtain a man for the hour lay in the aboli- 
 tion of the long established custom of limit- 
 ing eligibility to the Shogunate by lineal 
 or political influence. The gateway to 
 responsible position in the government 
 must be thrown wide open so as to admit 
 men of desired abilities. Hence it was 
 that at this time the instances of promo-
 
 10 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 tion were more frequent, while abnormally 
 rapid, than at any time, since the establish- 
 ment of the Yedo government by the great, 
 if not the greatest statesman of the land of 
 Yamato Prince Tokugawa lyeyasu. 
 
 Wisdom and ability were naturally 
 sought among the students of the Yedo 
 University (Shoheiko) and many were 
 selected therefrom to fill important posts. 
 But the long established methods of choos* 
 ng officers could not at once undergo so 
 great a renovation as to admit any of those 
 students to the high office of lioju or 
 Senator. However able and qualified the 
 graduates of the University might be, they 
 never rose higher than to the offices of 
 Metsuke* (Overseer) and Bugio, .Governor 
 
 * The O-nietsuke or " spy " of European hooks on 
 Japan. G.
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 11 
 
 or Director). As such, however, they were 
 no doubt consulted by the Senators on 
 matters of great importance. The office of 
 Roju was only open to those Daimio or 
 Barons who submitted themselves as vas- 
 sals to Prince lyeyasu before he became 
 the Shfigun or Mikado's lieutenant. This 
 class in the landed nobility was called the 
 Retainer Barons (Fudai Daimio) in con- 
 tradistinction to those Daimio who had 
 been Lords of provinces (Koku-shu) before 
 the Tokugawa Shogunate was established. 
 \Yhen these Province-lords yielded to the 
 authority of the Yedo government, they 
 were suffered to hold their inherited lands 
 under the obligation of submitting them- 
 selves to the rule of the Tokugawas acting 
 as lieutenants of the Emperor, or Shoguns. 
 It was out of the Fudai or Retainer
 
 12 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 Barons that the high officers were ap- 
 pointed. The official positions next in 
 grade, such as overseers, directors, etc., 
 were filled by Hatainoto, or Supporters of 
 the Flag, one of the military classes that 
 formed the personal guard of the Shdgnn. 
 
 According to the constitution of the Yedo 
 government, it was possible to appoint an 
 officer who should rank above the Roju or 
 Senators. Tairo was the name of that 
 highest office. Literally it means the 
 Great Elder, and may be translated Pre- 
 sident-Senator. A Tairo was to be 
 appointed in times of great urgency only, 
 and on no other occasions. But sometimes 
 this title was given to some one in recogni- 
 tion of his meritorious services. The 
 authority vested in the Tairo was dicta- 
 torial. Nobody, except the Shogun, had a
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 13 
 
 right to say anght against what he com- 
 manded. There were not many in the 
 whole history of the Tokngawas (1603- 
 1868) who were appointed to this highest 
 office, and the subject of this brief biography 
 was the last Tairo. To foreigners he was 
 usually known as the G-o-Tairo. The first 
 syllable being purely honorary. 
 
 The times were such, as we have already 
 mentioned, that without an able guiding 
 hand, the whole country might easily be 
 involved in irreparable strife, commotion, 
 and woe. Without a bold statesman who 
 could bear the whole responsibility on his 
 own shoulders, without a sincere patriot 
 prepared to die for the cause of his country, 
 and without diplomatic talent backed by 
 keen insight into the future of Japan, the 
 whole empire might fall a miserable prey
 
 14 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 to the dangerous strifes of political factions 
 and party rivalries. Thanks be to Heaven, 
 this great ability and a patriotism sufficient 
 to meet the requirement of the times were 
 found in the person of the Lord of I [ikone 
 Castle, Baron li Xaosuk;'- by nam >, better 
 known in foreign annals as li Kamon-no- 
 Ka.rni. 
 
 Yet this man's merits, varied and ex- 
 traordinary as they were, had as yet 
 scarcely commanded public recognition. A 
 majority of the politicians and public- 
 writers of those days, were either ignorant 
 of current thought outside of Japan, or 
 were so blinded by their political prejudices. 
 that they not only failed to appreciate the 
 rare merits of the great Baron, but th;-v 
 openly attacked his policy and loudly 
 cried : " Exclusion ! Exclusion ! No foreign
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 15 
 
 barbarians in this laud of gods." 
 
 Even if there were some who approved 
 of his policy, and clearly saw the necessity 
 of opening intercourse with foreign nations, 
 the power of the Exclusion Party was so 
 predominant that they dared not express 
 their own ideas. If there were a few 
 brave enough to publish their approbation 
 of Karon li's policy, their voices were soon 
 drowned by the almost universal cries of 
 exclusion and isolation. The political 
 opponents of the great .Baron would not 
 have hesitated to call him publicly a rebel, 
 or a betrayer of national interest, if they 
 were only free to express their feelings. 
 In private conversation and correspond- 
 ence, they applied to him every name that 
 malice and hatred could invent. 
 
 The great man was so much in advance
 
 16 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 of his times, that what he did for his 
 country was not appreciated until many 
 years after his death. His foresight was 
 so far-reaching that in what his contem- 
 poraries saw nothing but unmixed evil, he 
 clearly beheld benefit and advantage for 
 the future of his beloved country. While 
 he lived, and for many years after his cruel 
 assassination, his name was remembered 
 only as that of a selfish autocrat. Making 
 a determined stand against public opinion, 
 he could not help but create bitter political 
 enemies, while his arguments so much in 
 advance of his times, and his strict adher- 
 ence to the interest of the Tokugawa Sbo- 
 gunate, made not a few personal enemies, 
 both among the officers of the government 
 and the Princes and Barons of the land. 
 His cruel assassination was nothing else
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 17 
 
 than an outcome of bitter feelings against 
 him, political as well as persona] in their 
 nature. 
 
 According to feudal law, if any one in 
 the military classes, gentry or Barons, were 
 assassinated, the pension and land entailed 
 upon the person assassinated, were liable 
 to confiscation, and the family to be politic- 
 ally extinguished. 
 
 Baron li Naosuke was assassinated. 
 Should his baronetcy be confiscated and his 
 title be extinguished? Should the most 
 prominent among the Retainer Barons be 
 cast out of the great honor and privilege '? 
 Should he who died a martyr to the in- 
 terest of the whole Empire be deprived of 
 the rank of a Baron? The assassins except 
 one, were those who had been retainers of 
 the Prince of Mito, who was the greatest
 
 18 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 political opponent of the dead statesman. 
 Naturally enough, the retainers of the un- 
 fortunate Baron understood the cruel act as 
 originating from the Clan of Mito. Re- 
 venge on Mito was the only thought among 
 the followers of the Lord of Hikone, and 
 attempts at vengeance would have involved 
 the two powerful clans in bloody strife. 
 Let war be once declared, and the conse- 
 quence would have been far more serious 
 than at other times. 
 
 One party in the Hikone Clan worked 
 hard to escape, if possible, the penalty 
 attending the unfortunate death of the 
 bel )ved master. In order at least to 
 lessen the impaneling penalty, the two con- 
 fidential secretaries of the great Baron, 
 Nagano Shuzen and Utsugi Roknnojo, 
 were put to death. The spirit of revenge
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 19 
 
 grew more and more among the Hikone 
 Clan, but with great difficulty it was 
 pacified. This was done by calling the 
 attention of the excited men to the instruc- 
 tion that had been given by one of their 
 former lords, Naotaka by name, which 
 happily served to stifle for a while all seri- 
 ous agitation. Implicit obedience to the 
 Tokugawa government was clearly set forth 
 in this instruction, which, having been 
 issued by him who was counted among the 
 greatest of the Lords of Hikone, exerted a 
 sufficiently potent influence to pacify the 
 excitement agitating the whole clan. 
 
 Here again the already disturbed Sho- 
 gunate found itself face to face with another 
 great problem the confiscation of territory 
 and extinction of the title of first in rank 
 among the Retainer Barons ; but for-
 
 20 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 tnnately it did not abide by the letter of the 
 law. The Yedo government satisfied legal 
 requirements by confiscating only a part of 
 the baronial land. 
 
 The great, and to some, the terrible 
 Tairo being dead, attacks on the Shogun's 
 policy became louder and louder. Along 
 with these assaults the name of li Kamon- 
 no-Kami came to be ranked with those of 
 cho-telci,,* traitors or rebels. The feeling 
 against him was so bitter that in order to 
 prevent any further misfortune falling upon 
 the Clan of Hikone, it became necessary to 
 burn up all the official papers and records 
 of him who was now classed, by the in- 
 flamed public opinion of the times, among 
 the worst of rebels and enemies of the land. 
 
 * For the awful associations of this word, in 
 Japanese history, see The Mikado's Empire, index.
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 21 
 
 It was given out that those decuments had 
 been committed to fire by two of the 
 Baron's retainers, Kiuhoji and Okubo. 
 
 Nevertheless Okubo managed to save 
 the precious documents. " There will 
 be nothing," he said, " to prove the 
 sincerity and unmixed fidelity of Lord 
 Naosuke, if these papers be destroyed. 
 Whatever may come, I dare not burn them. 
 If my secret concealment of these papers 
 be exposed, then will I burn them, and 
 atone for the guilt of concealment by kill- 
 ing myself. I am determined to preserve 
 these precious documents at the risk of my 
 life." 
 
 These words were spoken to Kiuhoji 
 when he advised Okubo of the danger 
 of keeping the valuable papers, but 
 when on every side they were believed to
 
 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 have been consumed to ashes, they came 
 forth to serve a noble purpose. They save 
 the home of a great statesman and patriot 
 from the shame and dishonor in which it 
 had long been buried. 
 
 The able instrument of this noble service 
 is Mr. Shimada Saburo. The occasion was 
 the 19th year of Meiji, 1886. Then, 
 Okubo, who had survived his friend, Riu- 
 hoji, felt safe for the first time since their 
 concealment, in bringing out those valuable 
 papers before those who assembled at the 
 sepulchre of Riuhoji to celebrate the anni- 
 versary of his death. It was entirely 
 through the deceased man's secrecy that 
 Okubo had been enabled to save those 
 papers as well as his own life. Mr. 
 Shimada Saburo had already been seeking 
 materials for the biography of Baron li
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTKB. 23 
 
 Naosuke, but such data as he could obtain 
 were far from impartial and satisfactory. 
 At last be beard of the existence of the 
 original papers These were gladly lent 
 him, and from them, and from what be 
 could gather from living authorities, ha 
 succeeded in compiling a book which is 
 now ranked among the great works of the 
 Meiji era. The appearance of bis book 
 was like a new star in the literary sky of 
 new Japan. 
 
 Before committing to print, copies of 
 the book were distributed among those 
 persons for criticism, who were acquainted 
 with the politics and public opinion of the 
 days before 1861. The book was then 
 published with those criticisms in a form 
 of notes. This fact, together with a careful 
 study on the part of the author, makes the
 
 24 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 work doubly valuable and authentic as a 
 historical record. The criticisms are very 
 favorable, and at the same time confirm 
 the conclusion which the author draws 
 from his own studies and observations. 
 
 Besides his disinterested loyalty to the 
 Tokugawa Shogunate the great merit of 
 Baron li Kamon-no-Kami as a remarkable 
 statesman and an able diplomat, lies in his 
 conclusion of a commercial treaty with the 
 United States. 
 
 To his compatriots, Mr. Shimada has 
 shown, through his book, the admirable 
 merits of this great man, but no biography 
 of him. has yet been written in English, so 
 that his true merits have not been fully 
 made known to the American public. The 
 artist Shima Sekka who was a sincere 
 admirer of the Baron, carved his statue in
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 25 
 
 wood and exhibited the work at the World's 
 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It was 
 then presented by the sculptor to the 
 Museum of Washington, D. C., where it 
 now stands as a memorial of him who 
 sacrificed his life to secure the friendly rela- 
 tions now existing between the United 
 States and tha Empire of Japan.
 
 26 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 "Nothing is worse than a barrier against 
 the communication of thought." 
 
 Maosuke,
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. 
 
 Naosnke was the fourteenth son of Baron 
 I.i Kamon-no-kami Naonaka. He was born 
 on the '29th day of tho tenth month of the 
 twelfth year of Bunkwa era (November 30. 
 A.D. I8l5). The family of li is a very old 
 one. Its record goes as far back as the 
 latter part of tenth century. Its ancestor 
 Bitchiu Taro rendered meritorious service 
 to the Emperor Ichijo (A. D. 987-1011) 
 in subduing the rebels of Yezo.* He was 
 rewarded with the ownership of the place 
 in which he was born, viz., lidani (Valley 
 
 * Y"e/o wars the northern part of the empire 
 occupied by the barbarians or uncivilized Amos.
 
 AGITATED JAPAN. 
 
 of Ii) in the Province of Totomi, where 
 he built his castle in which his des- 
 cendants continued to live until the 
 time of Naomasa. The family name of Ii 
 was taken from that of the place where 
 the castle stood. 
 
 It was Naomasa who first formed an 
 intimate connection with Prince lyeyasu, 
 the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate 
 under which Japan was restored after long 
 civil wars to a universal peace which lasted 
 for nearly three hundred years. In recogni- 
 tion of the faithful service rendered by 
 Naomasa in the great work of bringing the 
 whole land under the rule of the Shogunate, 
 the first Tokugawa Shogun, lyeyasu, made 
 him Lord of the Castle of Hikone, with 
 greatly increased territory. He also gave 
 him the foremost rank among the "Fudai
 
 CHAP. I. PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. 29 
 
 or Retainer Barons. To him and his 
 family belonged the honor of protectorship 
 of the Imperial City of Kioto and for this 
 reason the family of li was stationed in 
 Hikone, which is within a short distance 
 of the Imperial city.* 
 
 The father of the subject of this biogra- 
 phy was the thirteenth Lord from Naomasa. 
 According to the usage of the li family, 
 all the sons except the eldest who was the 
 heir, were either given as adopted sons to 
 other Barons, or were converted into re- 
 tainers with a pension which was generally 
 very small. The law of progeniture, the 
 exceptions being in cases of insanity or 
 bodily defect only, was enforced throughout 
 the Empire. Naosuke being the fourteenth 
 
 * The Mikado's Empire, 276.
 
 30 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. I. 
 
 in order, there was little or no hope of his 
 accession to the Lordship of the Hikono 
 Clan. His elder brothers, except the 
 eldest, had been adopted into other families 
 and had thus become the lords of their 
 respective clans. Naosuke still lived in his 
 father's territory. The pecuniary allow- 
 ance he received from the family was so 
 small that he must needs lead a quiet life, 
 no better than that of an ordinary samurai. 
 He had a small house built for himself, 
 where he spent the whole of his time in 
 military exercises and literary pursuits. 
 All of his friends were of gentle, but not 
 lordly birth. Among these he found 
 Nagano Shuzsn, who afterward became 
 one of the two confidential assistants who 
 helped him to steer through the boisterous 
 seas of political factions.
 
 CHAP. I. PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. 31 
 
 Naosuke was seventeen years of age 
 when he moved into his private residence. 
 Four years afterward, he had to go to Yedo 
 (the present Tokio) where the Baron of 
 Hikone had his regular mansion within 
 the enclosure of Yedo Castle, in a locality 
 known as Sakurada or Cherry-field. Ac- 
 cording to the law of the Shogunate, the 
 Dairnio, besides the castles in their respec- 
 tive provinces, were required to have one 
 or more mansions in Yedo. They were 
 obliged to live every alternate year in one 
 of the two places. 
 
 Naosuke's journey to Yedo in this case 
 was not to meet the requirement of this 
 law for he was as yet only a private man. 
 In the following year, he came back to 
 Hikons, where his time was spent in 
 attending the academy of the clan or School
 
 32 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. I. 
 
 of Chinese Learning which had been esta- 
 blished by the Lord of the Oistle for the 
 military and literary education of the 
 retainers. 
 
 By nature, Naosuke was a man of a 
 remarkably strong will and firm decision. 
 He was earnest and serious in anything he 
 attempted. Whatever he did, his whole 
 soul was in it. His qualifications for 
 statesmanship in times of turbulance were 
 already visible in his youth. " A military 
 man," he used to say, " must always be 
 prepared for emergencies," and this princi- 
 ple showed itself in his daily conduct. 
 Once decided, he was as firm as a rock. 
 No amount of difficulties would make him 
 falter or find him irresolute. What he had 
 aimed at he would persevere in till he 
 would win. His obscure private life, dur-
 
 
 Private liesictance c
 
 vosuke in Hikone.
 
 CHAP. I. PARENTAGE AND EAELT LIFE. 33 
 
 ing which he could observe every grade of 
 human life, was a fit preparation for the 
 great career reserved for him. In those 
 days it was a rare opportunity for a Baron's 
 son to study the ways and thoughts of 
 ordinary people, and at the same time to 
 exercise his ability in contending against 
 varied difficulties unknown to persons of 
 higher birth. 
 
 Naosuke afterward came and lived in 
 Yedo, where in 1850 he heard of the serious 
 illness of his brother, the Baron. He im- 
 mediately obtained from the Yedo govern- 
 ment a permit to leave for Hikone. As it 
 was against the usage of the times for any 
 Baron to make a journey at so short a 
 notice, his aged retainers at Hikone remon- 
 strated against his departure from the 
 usual custom. '' What is usage," said he
 
 34 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. I. 
 
 in one of his letters, " if an opportunity be 
 lost thereby V Before it shall be too late, 
 I am determined to go." An express 
 message again reached him in Yedo, and 
 he immediately started for his province. 
 Before he reached his destination, however, 
 a report of the Baron's death was received, 
 and he, instead of pursuing his journey, 
 turned back and came to Yedo. 
 
 Naosuke's eldest brother who had suc- 
 ceeded to his father's estate, had no male 
 issue, and Naosuke, now twenty-seven years 
 old, was appointed the heir-apparent of the 
 Hikone Baronetcy. This was an occur- 
 rence quite unexpected, that the fourteenth 
 son of the late Baron, leading a common 
 quiet life in a corner of a town on lake 
 Biwa should be raised to the heirship of 
 t e great Baronetcy. But here it was
 
 CHAP. 1. PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. 35 
 
 that a way was opened for the fall play 
 of that rare ability and that strong will 
 which were combined in the future Baron 
 of Hikone. Thus it was that a passage 
 was cut for a guiding spirit which the 
 tendency of the times needed so much. 
 This important event of his life was 
 in 1846.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 NAOSUKE AS BARON OF HIKONE. 
 
 On the 21st day of the llth month of 
 the same year, (Christmas day, 1850), Kao- 
 suke was publicly authorized by the Sho- 
 gunate to succeed to the Baronetcy and 
 Baronage of Hikone and to assume the 
 title of Kamon-no-Kami. 
 
 Here it is worth while to notice that, at 
 a time when so much importance was 
 attached to the traditional usage, Naosuke's 
 sudden departure against the remonstrances 
 of aged followers, and also against common 
 custom, was no slight presage of that 
 strength of will and keenness of foresight 
 which afterward showed themselves in his
 
 CHAP. II. NAOS0K4 AS BAROX OF HIKON&. 37 
 
 political and diplomatic career. In an age 
 of dangerous conservatism, these two 
 qualities placed him beyond the clutch of 
 the so-called customs and traditions. He 
 rose superior to these and at the sacrifice 
 of his life, opened for his country a way of 
 progress and development hitherto unat- 
 t:tined. 
 
 Because of the firm stand he made 
 against his political opponents, Naosuke 
 has been represented as too obstinate and 
 proud to receive advice. On the contrary, 
 a letter which he personally wrote, in 
 response to a representation made by one 
 of his retainers, fully shows that he not 
 only kept the gate wide open to any sincere 
 advisers but also encouraged them to tender 
 suggestions freely. The amount of con- 
 fidence he placed in his two secretaries also
 
 38 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. II. 
 
 fully indicates his capacity to avail himself 
 of the views of others. When once he 
 saw his way, he was iramoveable as a rock, 
 but until then his mind was quite open to 
 counsels and monitions from whatever 
 source they might come. Again in instruc- 
 tions which he gave to his clansmen upon 
 his accession to the Baronetcy, there is a 
 clause which especially sets forth the ne- 
 cessity of communicating popular feelings 
 to one's Lord. He encouraged his re- 
 tainers, irrespective of their class, office, or 
 condition, to be ready to open their mind 
 on anything of political or social import- 
 ance. " Nothing," he said, " is worse than 
 a barrier against the communication of 
 thought. Let any and all of you be free 
 and outspoken on matters of importance." 
 His succession to the Baronetcy was also
 
 CHAP. II. NAOSCTKE AS BARON OF HIKONfe. 39 
 
 marked by a liberal donation of 15,000 Bio 
 (dollars) to bis clansmen. This was no 
 small sum in those days when money 
 was much dearer than at present. This 
 was the surplus amount realized during 
 his brother's administration, and he 
 attributed this gift not to himself, but to 
 his deceased brother. " This gift is from 
 rny predecessor," he wrote. " He came to 
 an untimely end before he could carry out 
 his desire to distribute the sum among his 
 retainers." 
 
 Naosuke also introduced several reforms 
 in the government of his clan, among 
 which the most conspicuous was the can- 
 cellation of an instruction by which the 
 retainers were required to have their family 
 treasures stored up in the public store- 
 houses of the clan. They were dissatisfied,
 
 40 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. II. 
 
 though silent about this and were eager to 
 see a change ; when to their joy those 
 treasures were returned to their respective 
 owners. He also made several trips 
 through his territory so as to observe the 
 actual state of affairs. 
 
 A case was once brought up before him 
 for decision, which had stood for years 
 unsettled. It was a dispute of a boundary 
 line between two villages. Each party 
 had its own reason to advance, and the case 
 w r as looked up to as one of the most dif- 
 ficult to decide. The new Baron went to 
 the place in dispute and finding there were 
 natural barriers between the two villages, 
 he gave a clear decision that those lines 
 which nature had drawn should be the 
 boundary from that time and forever. 
 Owing to the complicated nature of the
 
 CHAP II. NAOSUKJS AS BARON OF HIKON^. 41 
 
 case, the former judges had been more or 
 less influenced by the arguments advanced 
 by one of the parties who would not have 
 the natural barrier recognized as the 
 boundary line. This cause of much trouble 
 and great expense to the contesting parties 
 during a long period was now so clearly 
 removed that it left no seed of doubt or 
 dispute. 
 
 Naosuke also encouraged the military 
 and literary education of his clansmen. 
 Those proficient in either of the two branch- 
 es did not escape his notice and patron- 
 age. The learning and experience of Naka- 
 gawa Rokuro was highly esteemed by the 
 new Baron. It was this man who showed 
 the impossibility of the further exclusion 
 of Japan from foreign intercourse. It was 
 he who influenced the future Tairo to
 
 42 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. II . 
 
 make a bold departure from the old tradi- 
 tions. It was through his careful in- 
 vestigations of the affairs both at home and 
 abroad that Naosuke was led to make a 
 firm stand against the public opinion of his 
 time. Yet this advanced view of Nakagawa 
 involved him in shame, and his name, 
 together with that of his master and of the 
 Baron's two secretaries, was classed by the 
 Exclusion Party with the enemies of 
 Japan's national interests. These four 
 men were looked down upon as betrayers 
 of the long-sustained dignity and sacred- 
 ness of the Land of the Rising Sun. 
 
 When in 1853 the question of foreign 
 intercourse was referred to the Barons of 
 the land, most of them were in favor of 
 exclusion, while some of them expressed 
 the inadvisability of seclusion at the expense
 
 CHAP. II. NAOSurf AS BARON OF HIKONE. 43 
 
 of peace. But none of them proposed a 
 scheme whereby the interest of the nation 
 could be upheld. Naosuke's answer to 
 this query of the Shogunate distinctly 
 stated among other things the tendency of 
 the times which made it difficult to adhere 
 to the traditions of the land ; and he also 
 proposed to rescind the law issued early in 
 the seventeenth century, prohibiting the 
 building of large vessels suitable for foreign 
 trade. He again advised the Shogunate 
 to build navies for the protection of the 
 coasts. " Thus prepared," he writes, " the 
 country will be free from the menaces and 
 threatenings of foreign powers, and will be 
 able to uphold the national principle and 
 polity at any time." In preparing this 
 representation to the Yedo government, 
 the learned Nakagawa was his sole sup-
 
 44 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. II. 
 
 porter among the retainers of Hikone. 
 When Naosuke opened a conference with 
 his followers before preparing his answer 
 to the Shogunate, it was found that all of 
 them except Nakagawa were for exclusion. 
 In opposition to the united opinion of his 
 numerous followers, Naosuke saw truth in 
 what Nakagawa said, and with his help he 
 prepared the document to be sent to Yedo. 
 This paper offers important proof of his 
 advanced views even before he became 
 Tairo. 
 
 Personally, Naosuke shared with men of 
 his time the feeling of hatred toward 
 foreigners. That which constitutes the 
 main point of difference between him and 
 his contemporaries lies in the fact that he 
 kept his personal feelings entirely separate 
 from the great problem of national interest.
 
 CHAP. II. NAOSUKi AS BARON OF HIKON*. 45 
 
 It is not only the characteristic of the 
 politicians of Japan at that time, but of 
 those in all ages and countries also, that 
 they seldom draw a distinct line of separa- 
 tion between personal feelings and national 
 interest. He who can do so, certainly 
 deserves the name of a great statesman. 
 
 The adoption of Nakagawa's view against 
 the so-called majority, goes to prove both 
 the strong will of Naosuke, and his clear 
 insight into the future of his country. It 
 also proves his bravery and the profound 
 interest he felt for his country, for it is no 
 easy matter in any age to go against the 
 majority. It is only clear fort-sight, 
 coupled with strong disinterested determina- 
 tion that enables one to act in defiance of 
 public opinion. It is only in weaker and 
 more selfish hands that absolute power is
 
 46 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. II. 
 
 open to abuses. Let it be bestowed upon 
 a man of Naosuke's type and character, 
 and it will not only be free from abuses, 
 but will help to open a new and decidedly 
 profitable career, otherwise closed. How- 
 ever strongly one may denounce absolute 
 power, it has often proved to be a benefit 
 to a nation, as in the case of li Naosuke, 
 where great abilities and a disinterested 
 mind were united with clear insight into 
 the future of the whole nation. Without 
 him the so-called majority might have 
 involved Japan in a policy not simply de- 
 trimental, but also dangerous to the in- 
 terest and dignity of the whole empire.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE Two GREAT PROBLEMS 
 OF THE AGE. 
 
 What has already been written will 
 clearly show to the reader that one of the 
 two great problems was that of opening the 
 country for foreign intercourse. The other 
 problem was the appointment of the Sho- 
 gun's Heir. The reigning Shogun, lyt- 
 sada, had no male issue. It therefore 
 became necessary to appoint the Heir Ap- 
 parent from one of the three Princely 
 families related to the Tokngawas, Mito, 
 Kii and Ovvari. 
 
 There were two candidates. One was 
 the Prince of Kii or Kishiu, and the other
 
 48 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. III. 
 
 was one of the sons of the Senior Prince of 
 Mito. The former was a mere boy, while 
 the latter was a young man already known 
 as a clever and able prince. He had been 
 adopted into the family of Hitotsubashi,* 
 and was then the Prince of that family. 
 When viewed from, the side of blood 
 relationship to the Shogun, he was more 
 distant than the young Prince of Kishiu, 
 but the party that would have him succeed 
 to the Shogunate based their argument on 
 the necessity of the times. They said that 
 the crisis demanded a full grown able Sho- 
 gun, and that no better could be found 
 than the present Prince of Hitotsubashi. 
 Several of the powerful Bart ns favored 
 
 * Literally One Bridge. The name is perpetuated 
 in one of the great gates of the Castle or Shiro in 
 Tokio looking north upon the old grounds of the 
 Imperial University, G.
 
 CHAP. III. THE TWO GREAT PROBLEMS OF THE AGE. 49 
 
 this view, while among the officers of the 
 Shogunate, many were found who were of 
 this opinion. The other party dwelt on 
 the necessity of determining the Heirship 
 by nearness of blood relationship. 
 
 lyisada, who was of a remarkably reserv- 
 ed nature, did not support the candidacy 
 of Prince Hitotsubashi. This Shogun has 
 been taken for a weak-minded man. The 
 account given of him, however, by those 
 who were admitted into his confidence 
 iully contradict popular notions concerning 
 his intellectual capacities, and show clearly 
 that he was in full possession of at least 
 ordinary intelligence. He found himself 
 face to face with the double problem of 
 foreign intercourse and of appointing his 
 Heir. His Senators, the Roju, with Baron 
 Abe at their head did not possess sufficient
 
 50 A.GITATED JAPAN. CHAP. III. 
 
 strength to determine the question of 
 opening the country to foreigners, and this 
 lack of firmness finally resulted in the 
 reference of the question to the Imperial 
 Court and also to the Barons of the land. 
 This was of course an entire departure 
 from the usage of the Shogunate, for in 
 any political question, the decision of the 
 Yedo government was at once final and 
 absolute. 
 
 History clearly states that Prince lye- 
 yasu, the founder of the line of the Toku- 
 gawas, in the year 1613, entered into a 
 commercial treaty with England, which, 
 however, was given up on the part of the 
 latter in 1625 because there was more loss* 
 than profit in her trade with the Japan of 
 
 * .40.000
 
 CHAP. III. THE TWO GREAT PROBLEMS OF THE AGE. 51 
 
 those days. This treaty was concluded 
 without any reference either to the Em- 
 peror or to the Barons. 
 
 Now, however, assailed by the question 
 of foreign intercourse, the Cabinet of the 
 Shogunate under lyesada, exposed its 
 weakness by refusing to make use of its 
 absolute power in political matters. A 
 forfeiture of absolute power is seldom 
 without a sudden outburst of conflicting 
 opinions, and this was exactly the case in 
 the time of agitated Japan. 
 
 By a strange coincidence, the Senior 
 Prince of Mi to was at the head of the 'Exclu- 
 sion Party as well as of the party supporting 
 the candidacy of his son, Prince Hitotsu- 
 bashi. These two parties, though different 
 in name, were almost one and the same 
 ui.de r his leadership. Notwithstanding
 
 52 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. III. 
 
 liis near relationship to the Shogunate, as 
 one of the Three Houses of the Tokugawa 
 Family, Rekko proved to be a powerful 
 political opponent of the Yedo administra- 
 tion. The very fact that the Slogan's 
 Senators or Cabinet advisers referred the 
 question of commercial treaties to the 
 Imperial Cabinet and to the Barons, 
 proves that the former must have seen the 
 irnpcssibility of keeping Japan any longer 
 in exclusion. If they saw that it was 
 possible they would have taken the decided 
 step of closing up the country, for they 
 knew that they would be supported by the 
 public opinion of the time. This departure 
 from the clear precedents of the Shogun's 
 government was nothing short of an evasion 
 of a responsibility in the face of a great 
 problem.
 
 CHAP. III. THR TWO GREAT PROBLEMS OF THE AGE. 53 
 
 Those who supported the candidacy of 
 Prince Hitotsubashi were actuated by dif- 
 ferent motives. Some thought that his 
 cleverness and ability being admitted on 
 every side, he would be able to keep Japan 
 insulated from foreign contact, and thus 
 uphold the dignity and sacredness of the 
 land. 
 
 Others wanted to strengthen the power 
 of the Shogunate by putting the man of 
 universal popularity into the Shogunal 
 office. They hoped in this way to open 
 the country to intercourse with foreign 
 nations. 
 
 Others again knew the power and in- 
 fluence of the Senior Prince of Mito with 
 the Imperial Cabinet and the .Barons. 
 They also knew that in Kioto and among 
 the Fudai Daimio, the Shogunate had
 
 54 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP TIT. 
 
 strong opponents. They reasoned there- 
 fore that by appointing Prince Hitotsu- 
 bashi to the heirship, the two opposing 
 parties would be reconciled, since the can- 
 didate was a son of the powerful Prince of 
 Mito. 
 
 As already mentioned, the reigning Sho- 
 gun was not in favor of Prince Hitotsn- 
 bashi, and yet he dared not openly express 
 his disapproval. His reserve was so great 
 as to make his officers believe that he had 
 formed no opinion in this matter. Further- 
 more, he did not like to offend the old 
 Prince of Mito, who naturally wished to 
 see his able son become virtual ruler of 
 the land. 
 
 The power of Mito party was growing 
 day by day, and some able men were sent 
 to Kioto for the purpose of persuading the
 
 CHAP. III. THK TWO GREAT PROBLKMS OF THE AGE. 55 
 
 Imperial Court to decide the question of 
 heirship in behalf of Prince Hitotsubashi. 
 The sole power of appointing the Heir, of 
 course, rested with the reigning Shogun, 
 but before so strong an opposition, he 
 dared not take a decided step. 
 
 One evening, Hiraoka, one of the con- 
 fidential officers of the Shugun, who is still 
 living to bear witness of what is related 
 here, found his master, lyesada, unusually 
 melancholy and morose. Hiraoka knew 
 what was troubling him. He said that 
 trustworthy help could be found in the 
 person of Baron li Kamon-no-Kami Nao- 
 suke, and proposed to appoint him as the 
 Tairo, which office the nature of the times 
 so much required. Before this, the Sho- 
 gun must have heard of Naosuke's opinion 
 through some of his Senators ; and he now
 
 56 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. III. 
 
 made up his mind to vest the power of the 
 government in the Baron of Hikone whose 
 family had always proved to be not only 
 faithful but also possessed of ability ir. 
 itmes of need. 
 
 Baron Abe* who had long been the 
 
 \ Senior of the Roiu or Senators, was at 
 ^j J 
 
 his own suggestion succeeded by Baron 
 Hotta* whom he had nominated. 
 
 The warships of the United States that 
 had come to Uraga in 1853, left Japan 
 after a short stay, promising to come in 
 the following year for a reply. Their re- 
 appearance in 1H54 was followed by the 
 arrival of English ships, and also of Dutch 
 and Russian vessels, with whom conven- 
 tions for the relief of ships and sailors had 
 
 * Abe Ise no Kami, and Hotta Bitchiu no Kauri are 
 the full titles of these d;iiiiu6.
 
 CHAP. III. THE TWO GREAT PROBLEMS OF THE AGE. 57 
 
 been concluded. Bat it was not until the 
 arrival of the United States Consul-G-eiieral, 
 Mr. Townsend Harris, in 1856, that the 
 question of foreign trade and residence 
 began to assume a definite shape. After 
 repeated interviews with local officers and 
 agents sent from Yedo, and after many 
 provoking delays of over fifteen months, 
 the American Consul-General was admitted 
 for the first time into the Castle of Yedo 
 to present his credentials from the Govern- 
 ment of Washington.* 
 
 Baron Hotta was now at the head of the 
 Senators, and was the principal diplomatist 
 of the country that had been closed up so 
 long. The draft of a treaty was prepared 
 
 * See " Townseud Harris First American Minister 
 to Japan," Atlantic Monthly, August 189^ ; also the 
 " Townsend Harris" by Grriffis.
 
 58 AG1TATKD JAPAN. CHAP. III. 
 
 with considerable modifications of that 
 drafted the previous year. 
 
 The Japanese people of those days little 
 knew the nature of that treaty. They had 
 not the slightest idea of its commercial 
 character. Consequently they mistook the 
 American demand for the opening of Kana- 
 gawa, Yedo, Osaka, Pliogo, and Niigata for 
 a scheme of territorial aggression. The 
 result, as might be expected, was a still 
 stronger opposition to the opening of the 
 country to a foreign intercourse. 
 
 It was in the l - 2th month of the 4th year 
 of Ansei era (1857) that after diplomatic 
 interviews with the American representa- 
 tive, the Senators signed a representation 
 to the Imperial Cabinet of Kioto, stating 
 the difficulty of exclusion, and a recom- 
 mendation to conform to the necessity of
 
 CHAP. Til. THE TWO GREAT PROBLEMS OF THE AGE. 59 
 
 the times. The influence of the Exclusion 
 Party was such that no answer came even 
 in the first month of the following year. 
 
 Pressed on one side by Mr. Harris, the 
 American representative, and urged on the 
 other side by his anxiety for his country, 
 Baron Hotta now went in person to the 
 Imperial Capital. There he did his best in 
 explaining the impossibility of adhering to 
 the old tradition, but the influence of the 
 opposing party in Kioto was too great. 
 The result was that he received instruc- 
 tions to consult farther with the princes of 
 the Tokugawa Family and with the Barons 
 of the land, before again submitting the 
 question to the Imperial Cabinet. 
 
 This instruction from the Imperial 
 Court was next to a flat refusal of the 
 Shogunate's proposal. On the 20th day of
 
 60 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. III. 
 
 the 4th month of the 5th year of Ansei era, 
 (June 2, 1858} Baron Hotta came back to 
 Yedo from his unsuccessful mission to the 
 Imperial City. 
 
 Thus the great question of making 
 treaties with foreign nations had reached 
 the climax of difficulty. None but a 
 master- mind could solve this problem ; 
 while the other, that of the appointment of 
 the Shogun's heir, had also reached a 
 crisis which allowed of no delay. 
 
 The Shogun now made up his mind. 
 On the 22nd day of the 4th month of the 
 same year, June 4, two days after the 
 return of Hotta from Kioto, a private mes- 
 senger was sent to the Yedo mansion of 
 Baron li. The Shogun's wish was that 
 the lord of Hikone should be Tairo. 
 
 On the following day the subject of this
 
 CHAP. III. THE TWO GREAT PROBLEMS OP THE AGE. 61 
 
 biography was publicly installed into that 
 high and responsible position, only next to 
 that of the Shogun himself. li was vir- 
 tually master of the situation. 
 
 The tendency of the times daily increased 
 the power and influence of Prince Rekko 
 of Mito. The fact that he was an earnest 
 advocate of the exclusion policy drew to 
 him many adherents. His influence ex- 
 erted on the question of the Shogun's Heir 
 proved to be a formidable offset to the 
 other party led by the Baron of Hikone.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE TAIRO Ii SIGNS THE AMERICAN 
 TREATY. 
 
 On the assumption of the great res- 
 ponsibility of Tairo Naosuke found himself 
 face to face with the two great problems 
 which had agitated the whole country 
 during several years. The solution of 
 both now centred in his own person. 
 
 As to the appointment of th ; Shogun's 
 Heir, Naosuke believed that the matter 
 rested entirely with the Shogun himself. 
 He looked on the question as that with 
 which the subjects had nothing to do. lye- 
 sada had his own desire already formed, but 
 as he was extremely reserved by nature, and 
 since he knew that there were many power- 
 ful princes and barons in favor of Prince
 
 CHAP IV. AMERICAN TREATY SIGNED. 63 
 
 Hitotsubashi, he dared not give any public 
 expression to his feelings. In his new 
 Tairo, however, he found a man who could 
 carry out his wishes, and appoint as his 
 heir the one on whom he had set his heart. 
 On the 1st day of the 6th month, 1858, 
 (July 11) a little over a month after Nao- 
 suke's installation into the office of Tairo 
 preliminary notice of the appointment of 
 the Prince of Kishiu as the Heir Apparent 
 was given to Princes of the Tokugawa 
 family* and to the Barons of the land. 
 
 * The Princes of Mito, Owari, aud Kishiu were called 
 Sanke or the Three Houses, while Princes Hitotsu- 
 bashi, Tayasu, and Shimizu were denominated Sankio, 
 or the Three Princes. The first trio was created at 
 the time when the Shogunate was organized by Prince 
 lyeyasu. The other three were created afterward. 
 They were branches of the Tokugawa family, and the 
 former ranked higher than the latter. They might 
 be cilled the Major and Minor Princes of Tokugawa 
 blood.
 
 64 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. IV. 
 
 The date of public or national announce- 
 ment was fixed on the eighteenth day of 
 that month (July 29). The reason for 
 this procedure was that the matter had to 
 be presented for the Emperor's sanction, 
 which however was a mere formality. 
 
 In those days of imperfect means of 
 travelling, this period of eighteen days was 
 required for a messenger to go up to Kioto 
 and bring back an answer. According to 
 calculation, the Imperial sanction would 
 reach Yedo on the 14th day of the same 
 month, if nothing occurred to prevent ap- 
 proval on the part of the Kioto Cabinet. 
 In this case, however, the expected answer 
 did not come even on the 15th. 
 
 Here a word of explanation may be 
 necessary. The actual power of govern- 
 ment was of course vested in the Shogun,
 
 AMERICAN TREATY SIGNED. 
 
 but this did not nullify the sovereignty of 
 the Emperor who had his capital in the 
 city of Kioto, where he had his own 
 Cabinet of Ministers and Counsellors. 
 There were several things which had to 
 receive the Imperial sanction, such as 
 appointment of the Shogun's Heir, the 
 granting of official rank, etc. The rank 
 and title of the Shogun himself had not 
 been self-assumed. Their only source was 
 in the Emperor himself and the Yedo 
 ruler was the Mikado's lieutenant. In the 
 course of two centuries and a half, the 
 lease of power by the Shogunate had be- 
 come so much like a permanent national 
 institution that in time Imperial requests 
 for sanction had settled into matt ;rs of 
 polite routine. Although the Emperor 
 had bis own Cabinet, yet its Premier.
 
 66 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. IV. 
 
 Ministers, Counsellors, efcc. existed only in 
 name. They had little or nothing to say 
 against anything done by the Shoguns. 
 
 This style of government, called in histo- 
 ry, Bunion Seiji, or government by the 
 military class, originated with Yoritonio, 
 about seven hundred years ago, and after 
 meeting with several changes and vicis- 
 situdes, it had come down with constant 
 increments of power to the days of the 
 Tokugawas.* 
 
 Nevertheless, what had long been a 
 shad >\v was now becoming a substance 
 
 * This duarchy \va.s popularly spoken of as ' 'J'he 
 Throne and the Camp/' the Mikado always having his 
 court at Kioto, the Shogun holding the purse aud 
 sword in the east, tirst at Kamakura, (1192-1573) and 
 then at Yedo (1603-1863). The families holding power 
 in succession were the Minamoto (1192-1219), the 
 Hojo regents of the " puppet" .^hoguus (1219-1333), 
 i he Ashikaga (1333-1571), and Tokugawas (1603-1868).
 
 CHAP. TV. AMERICAN TREATY SIGNED. () I 
 
 and the old body took 011 new life. Pie- 
 quests for imperial sanction ceased to be a 
 mere formality from the moment the ques- 
 tion of foreign intercourse rose into view. 
 Henceforth the Kioto Cabinet showed that 
 it would have a voice in the management 
 of state affairs. The Imperial Premier, or 
 Dai-Jo-Dai-Jin, Great Minister of the Great 
 Government was Prince Naotada. 
 
 The party of Prince Kekko, having 
 representatives in Kioto, were busily engag- 
 ed in influencing the imperial Cabinet to 
 veto the policy pursued by the Yedo 
 government. The powerful princes and 
 barons who favored the views of Prince 
 Kekko, also made their influences felt on 
 the Kioto Cabinet. The result of this 
 double pressure was that among the Kugv, 
 or Court nobles, several men of power and
 
 AGITA'IKD JAPAN. 
 
 influence sided with the opposition to the 
 Shogunate. The Imperial Premier, Prince 
 Naotada, however, was not influenced by 
 the opponents of the Yedo government, 
 and he was the only support among the 
 Imperial Cabinet on which Naosuke could 
 rely. 
 
 As to the question of making a treaty 
 with the American envoy, the party of ex- 
 clusion which also supported the candid- 
 acy of Prince Hitotsubashi was busy in 
 making its influences felt on the Imperial 
 Cabinet. 
 
 Meanwhile the coming of the Mikado's 
 sanction was awaited with anxious suspense 
 at Yedo, but as it did not come, Naosuke 
 dispatched a special message to Kioto. 
 
 Just at this unfortunate juncture, an 
 express message reached Yedo, that two
 
 CHAP. IV. AMERICAN TREATY SIGNED. 69 
 
 American men-of-war* bad come to Shimo- 
 <la, and that one of them proceeded up 
 the Bay of Yedo as far as Koshiba. This 
 was on the 13th day of the month. (-Inly 
 24, 1858). On the 16th day, (July 27,: 
 another message came reporting an arrival 
 of Russian war-shibs, and saying also that 
 they were soon l.o be followed by English 
 and French squadrons which had been 
 victorious in their war with China. 
 
 The Yedo government sent Governor 
 Inouye and Overseer Iwase to hold con- 
 ference at Kanagawa with Mr. Harris, the 
 United States Consul-General at Shimoda. 
 In this conference Mr. Harris pointed out 
 the impossibility of exclusion, and the 
 danger attending adherence to the tradi- 
 
 * Tho U. S. S. S. Powhatan and Mississippi, Com- 
 modore Tatnall.
 
 70 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. IV. 
 
 tional policy. The conference was closed by 
 a, request for speedy settlement of the 
 treaty negotiations then nnder way. Assur- 
 ances were given by the American repre- 
 sentative of a friendly intervention in 
 Japan's future intercourse with other 
 powers of the West whereby she might 
 obtain favorable terms with European na- 
 tions. 
 
 The two commissioners retu nod to Yedo 
 on the H)th day ,'July 80) to report the 
 result of their interview with the repre- 
 sentative of the United States. The Sho- 
 gunate now assembled its official advisers 
 to discuss the great question which had 
 been pending for several years. At this 
 meeting they were all of opinion that the 
 question had Assumed such a form that 
 only speedy settlement could save the na-
 
 CHAP. IV. AMERICAN TREATY SIGNED. 71 
 
 tion from irreparable barm. Therefore, it 
 would not only be better, bat absolutely 
 necessary, to act in the matter at once. 
 
 Here was the decisive moment not only 
 in the history of the Tokugawa Shogunate, 
 but of Great Japan itself. 
 
 Shall Naosuke, by virtue of the power 
 vested in him, decide the question before 
 obtaining a formal sanction of the Imperial 
 Cabinet ? The unsuccessful mission of 
 Baron Hotta to the Imperial City was too 
 recent an event to be forgotten by anybody. 
 The renewed presentation of the same ques- 
 tion would not only involve delays, but 
 would surely meet with the same fate as 
 on the former occasion. Naosuke believed 
 that investment with the power of govern- 
 ment; carried with it the right to meet 
 emergencies according to the judgment of
 
 the person so invested. lie also knew 
 that the national safety and dignity \vere 
 involved in this question. He therefore 
 decided to assume the entire responsibility. 
 
 No sooner was the decision made than 
 he immediately dispatched Inouye and 
 Iwase to Kanagawa, authorizing them to 
 sign the provisional treaty which has since 
 been called the Temporary Kanagawa 
 Treaty, which was to be subject to revision 
 after a specified term of years, but which 
 has never been changed in spite of the tens 
 of years that have since elapsed, even after 
 the point of time designated.* 
 
 On the 21st day of the same month, 
 (August 1st) Prince Piekko wrote a letter to 
 the Tairo "Xaosiike, stating his anxiety as
 
 CHAP. IV. AMERICAN TREATY SIGNET) 76 
 
 to the conduct of the Shogunate in the 
 question of foreign intercourse. He also 
 clearly stated the inadvisability of taking 
 the decisive step of signing the treaty before 
 the Imperial sanction was received. Ho 
 advised that the acts of the Shogunate he 
 limited to what was unavoidable and then 
 to dispatch either the Tairo or some of the 
 Senators as a messenger to Kioto to lay 
 the matter before the Throne. Among 
 other things he again clearly expressed his 
 disapproval of permitting residence on the 
 soil to the ministers of foreign nations or 
 of allowing their nationals to trade. 
 
 According to the tenor of his letter, the 
 Prince himself must have been aware oi 
 the impossibility of utter exclusion, for he 
 advises the Yedo Cabinet to limit its conduct 
 to " such parts as are entirely unavoidable."
 
 74 AGITATED JAPAN*. CHAP. TV. 
 
 Hence the difference between him and 
 the Tairo may be considered as resting on 
 the one point of " before" or " after" the 
 coming of the Imperial sanction. Even in 
 the time of Baron Hotta it had been 
 impossible to obtain this, and now that 
 the influence of Prince Rekko and the Ex- 
 clusion Party had so increased, little suc- 
 cess could be expected when the question 
 should be brought before the Imperial 
 Cabinet. Meanwhile procrastination at 
 Kioto might have involved the whole count- 
 ry in seiious consequences and irremedi- 
 able calamities. Naosuke knew too well 
 the kind of difficulty into which China had 
 involved herself. He was prepared to 
 risk his life rather than to see his country 
 plunged in similar miseries which moreover 
 might be attended with national shame.
 
 AMKRICAN TREATY RIGNKP. 
 
 On the 22nd day, (August 2 ) the Taird 
 dispatched a message to Kioto stating the 
 impossibility of dosing up the country to 
 foreign intercourse, as well as the trouble 
 and danger attending the exclusion. At 
 the same time he gave assurances that the 
 Sbogunate would do its utmost to protect 
 the coasts and insure safety for the whole 
 land. 
 
 On the same day, the Princes and Barons 
 were summoned to the Castle of Yedo, 
 where the conduct of the Shdgunate in 
 reference to the treaty with the United 
 States was publicly notified. The tenor of 
 the notification was similar to that of the 
 report sent to Kioto except the one clause 
 which required them to state their views to 
 the government in reference thereto. On 
 the 23rd day, Naosuke himself wrote an
 
 7f> AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. IV. 
 
 answer to Prince Rekko, thanking him for 
 his kind advice, but regretting his inability 
 to follow his counsel owing to the unavoid- 
 able nature of the case in hand. He also 
 fully stated the circumstances, asking the 
 Prince's sympathy with him in the 
 serious and difficult position in which he 
 was now placed. He also humbly express- 
 ed his lack of ability for so important a post 
 at such a crisis, and requested the Prince of 
 Mito to oblige him with further counsels 
 for the s:ike of the nation at large. 
 
 On this very same day, ( % 23rd) the Im- 
 perial sanction for appointing the Prince 
 of Kishiu to the Heir Apparent of the 
 Shogun was received from Kioto. It was 
 dated the 8t;h day, (July 1 ( J) and all other 
 correspondences from Kioto under the same 
 date reached Yedo on the 14th day (July 25).
 
 CHAP. IV. AMERICAN TREATY SIGNED. 77 
 
 Why was this one document containing 
 the imperial sanction delayed so long ? 
 In all probability it mu^t have been pur- 
 posely kept back by some of the opposition 
 party with a view to effect their own end, 
 yet, as it proved, without success. 
 
 A few days alter this, the Chief of the 
 Privy .Recorder, Shiga, through whose 
 hand the paper reached the Tairo, com- 
 mitted suicide. .Nobody could explain his 
 death at that time, but it was said to be in 
 order to escape the punishment attending 
 the withholding of the Imperial sanction. 
 
 The i>5th day (August 0) had been fixed 
 for the public announcement of the ap- 
 pointment of the Heir Apparent. Jmi the 
 Princes of Mito and Uv\an, and JJaron
 
 78 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. IV. 
 
 Matsudaira of Eohizen * as well as those 
 of the same opinion with them still tried 
 hard to have Prince Hitotsubashi appointed 
 as the ileir. 
 
 On this day, changes took place in the 
 Yedo Cabinet. The two Senators, Jiaron 
 Hotta and Baron Matsudaira, were succeed- 
 ed in their office by Barons Ota, Matsu- 
 daira of Nishiwo, and Manabe. The 
 reason of the change was because Baron 
 Hotta had lost the Shogun's confidence on 
 account of his unsuccessful mission to 
 Kioto, while .Baron Matsudaira favored the 
 candidacy of .Prince Hitotsubashi. 
 
 The moment the conclution of the Tem- 
 porary Treaty was made public, the exclu- 
 
 * -Fur a portrait of this enlightened daliuio a,ud 
 notice; of his life, see The Mikado's Empire, 
 pp. 308,6 )U.
 
 CHAP. IV. AMERICAN TREATY SIGNED. 79 
 
 sion party began to show an increased 
 vehemence in their opposition. Baron 
 Matsudaira of Echizen called on the Tairo 
 Naosuke in his mansion and a long discus- 
 sion took place, but before coming to any 
 conclusion, the latter had to excuse himself, 
 much to the former's dissatisfaction, for the 
 hour came for him to go to the Court. 
 
 This was on the 24th day (August 4). 
 On the same day, the Senior and Junior 
 Princes of Mito, together with the Prince 
 of Owari, suddenly presented themselves 
 to the Castle or the Shogun's Court. Baron 
 Matsudaira of Echizen, hearing of this 
 sudden visit of the three Princes also fol- 
 lowed them to the Castle. In this era, 
 there were curtain days fixed lor the ap- 
 pearance of respective Princes and Barons 
 at the Shogun's Castle, or they were
 
 80 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. IV. 
 
 required to give due notice of so doing. 
 This sudden visit of the three Princes was 
 wholly contrary to the rule and usage of 
 the tunes. The officers of the Court were 
 naturally taken by surprise and when the 
 matter was brought before the Cabinet, 
 the Senator liaron Mauabe said to the 
 Tairo that the meaning of the sudden 
 appearance of the three Princes was more 
 than clear. The piTson whom they looked 
 upon as the principal opponent being the 
 Tairo, it would be better for the Senators 
 to see the visitors without Naosuke, lest his 
 presence should involve the matter in a 
 serious complication. 
 
 Naosuke replied that his failure to see 
 them, (he Princes of "AJilo, and Owuri, 
 would be taken for timidity, and that the
 
 The meeting of the leaders of two oppo 
 (2) The Tairo li Naosuke.
 
 parties in the Great Parlor of Yedo CastLs- 
 (1) Prince Rekko of Mi bo.
 
 CHAP. IV. AMERICAN TREATY SIGNED. 81 
 
 official dignity of the Tairo required him 
 not to avoid this meeting. 
 
 The three Princes, two of Mito, and one 
 of Owari, were admitted to the Hall of 
 Audience where high dignitaries alone are 
 permitted to come. The Lord of Echizen 
 remained in an ante-room near by. Now 
 took place one of the great events in 
 the history of Ansei era (1854-1859). A 
 rumor flew fast and wide that the Princes 
 of Mito and Owari had suddenly appeared 
 at the Castle to convince Naosuke of his 
 great mistake and to require him to 
 commit scppuku * for his conduct. 
 
 The leaders of the two rival parties 
 having now met face to face, nothing short 
 of a hot discussion could be expected. 
 
 * The more elegant Chinese Term for " belly- 
 cutting " or hara-kiri.
 
 82 AGITATKD JAPAN. CHAP. IV. 
 
 The debate was opened with the ques- 
 tion of foreign intercourse, Prince Rekko 
 blamed Naosuke for concluding the Ame- 
 rican treaty before the Imperial sanction 
 had been received. But when the Tairo 
 explained the irrepressible tendencies of the 
 times and professed his confidence of meet- 
 ing with Imperial approval under the 
 circumstances, this subject could not be 
 pressed any further. 
 
 The three Princes then began to show 
 the need of the times for a full-grown able 
 prince for the Shogun's heir. They said 
 that none would be better qualified than 
 Prince Hitotsubashi. To this, Naosuke 
 simply replied that the right of appointing 
 the Heir Apparent rested solely with the 
 Shogun, and this rule left no room for any 
 of his relations or of subjects to say aught
 
 CHAP. I\ r . AMERICAN TRKATY SIGNED. 83 
 
 against what he had appointed. He also 
 stated that the matter of heirship having 
 been already settled, and being ready for 
 formal announcement on the following day 
 ( - 25th), it would be improper now to further 
 discuss that affair. 
 
 Prince Eekko thereupon advised the 
 Tairo to withhold the announcement of 
 heirship for a time and thus manifest a 
 proper sense of respect and deference toward 
 the Imperial Cabinet, especially after the 
 conduct of the Shogunate in concluding 
 the American treaty before obtaining the 
 Emperor's order. 
 
 Naosuke's reply was that he had perfect 
 confidence that the matter would meet with 
 the Emperor's approval, and that the long 
 vacancy of the Shogun's heirship being
 
 84 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. IV. 
 
 against the Imperial will, be could not 
 follow the advice of the Prince. 
 
 " Why does not Your Excellency dispatch 
 a messenger to Kioto to explain the cir- 
 cumstances attending the conclusion of the 
 treaty ?" was the next question of Prince 
 Bekko. 
 
 Naosuke answered that it had already 
 been decided to send Senator Baron Manabe 
 to Kioto, and that his official instructions 
 would be given him on the following day. 
 
 The last subject which Prince Bekko 
 brought up was his advice to appoint the 
 Baron of Echizen to the office of the, 
 Tairo, * to which Naosuke replied that in 
 this question he was entirely powerless. 
 
 At this point the timely wit of Baron 
 
 * Matsudaira, Lord of Echizeii was appointed Tairo 
 in 1862.
 
 CHAP. IV. AMERICAN TREATY SIGNED. So 
 
 Manabe caused both parties, bitter rivals 
 though they were, to close their interview 
 amid unexpected laughter on both sides. 
 Manabe's joke was this : " The number of 
 the Honorable Houses of Tokugawa, be- 
 sides the Hhogun, is limited to three, how 7 
 can anybody make the number four. There 
 is only one office of Tairo, and I cannot see 
 how it can be made into two." When 
 written down or translated, the reason of 
 the fan is not evident, yet the effect was 
 powerful. Evidently the witticism must 
 have been uttered in a way only known to 
 the practiced joker. 
 
 During this interview Prince Rekko 
 called aloud for Baron Matsudaira of 
 Echizen, but Naosuke objected on the 
 ground that his official standing did not 
 entitle him to a place in the Hall of
 
 86 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. IV. 
 
 Audience. He also objected to the request 
 of the Prince of Owari to have an interview 
 with the Shogun, on the ground that the 
 latter was too ill to see anybody. 
 
 Whatever enmity might have lurked in 
 the breast of those men present at this 
 interview, the gathering was brought to a 
 peaceful close. Matsudaira of Echizen who 
 was not admitted to the presence of the 
 Tairo held a conference with Senator 
 Baron Manabe, and after expressing the 
 same views as those of Prince Rekko, also 
 retired from the Court.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CONSEQUENCES. 
 
 The double problem which had so long 
 agitatel the whole country found complete 
 solution at the hand of the TairO Nao- 
 suke, but the feelings of enmity and opposi- 
 tion created by his acts suffered no abate- 
 ment. 
 
 The question of heirship not being so 
 open to discussion as the other, the force of 
 the Opposition Party was now concentrated 
 on the question of the treatment of for- 
 eigners. The Opposition attacked Xao- 
 suke's policy of concluding the treaty before 
 obtaining the Emperor's formal sanction. 
 They condemned him for an act which, 
 according to their views, was disobedience 
 to the Imperial will.
 
 88 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 Now the whole question turns on this 
 point : was the conclusion of the treaty dis- 
 obedience to the Emperor, or was there 
 sufficient reason authorizing Naosuke to 
 reverse the order of routine and formality 
 in this affair ? 
 
 Those who condemn Naosuke's policy 
 build their argument on the fact that he 
 went against the Imperial will by signing 
 the American treaty before obtaining sanc- 
 tion from Kioto. But whatever may be 
 said, there is nothing to show that Naosuke 
 disobeyed the Imperial order, for the 
 Cabinet of Kioto never expressly gave 
 orders that the country should be closed to 
 oreign nations. All the instruction given, 
 went no farther than to require further 
 conference among the Princes, Officers, 
 and Barons of the land. To any impartial
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES 89 
 
 judge, this fact will clearly exonerate 
 Naosuke from the serious charge of dis- 
 obedience to the Imperial instruction. 
 Further, when the tendencies of the times 
 are fully considered, it will also establish 
 his disinterested love for his country. 
 Failure to carry out an instruction and 
 wilful disobedience are two things that 
 must never be confounded. 
 
 Shogunate did not open a conference 
 with the Princes and Barons as required 
 by the Imperial instruction that Baron 
 Hotta had received at Kioto. Under the 
 circumstances already narrated, the Tairo 
 did not call a council of the Daimio. 
 Since the Tairo had substantial reasons 
 for changing the traditional and formal 
 order of procedure, he is not only ex- 
 onerated from the charge of disobedience,
 
 AGITATKP .TAPAN. 
 
 but it is seen that the nature of power 
 vested in him authorized him to abide by 
 his own judgment,, especially when he saw 
 clearly that it was in the national interests 
 so to act. 
 
 Indeed it is not too much to say that 
 without Naosuko's bravery and clear fore- 
 sight, Japan, now in the full enjoyment of 
 the enlightened Meiji era, would not have 
 realized a career of progress so smooth, 
 peaceful, and rapid, nor have taken so great 
 strides in politics, science, and social im- 
 provements such as those we witness to- 
 day. 
 
 Another party threw blames not only on 
 Naosuke, but also on the United States 
 representative, Mi 1 . Townsend Harris. 
 They asserted that the latter used threats 
 in forcing Japan to enter into a treaty with
 
 CHAP. V. THK CONRKQUKNCKS. 91 
 
 the United States, and that Naosuke was 
 compelled to do as he was dictated to by 
 the American representative. 
 
 The merit of this view will become ap- 
 parent when one examines the nature of the 
 so-called threats. " Were they founded on 
 truth, or were they mere words of menace 
 which had no foundation in truth? " His- 
 tory proves that China fought against the 
 allied forces of France and England, and 
 that her bigotted adherence to the policy of 
 exclusion resulted not only in her defeat, 
 but also in giving a part of her dominion 
 to the conqueror. A diplomat who should 
 carry out the instructions of his govern- 
 ment could not be blamed for availing him- 
 self of any occurrence that might help him 
 to forward the cause of his mission. When. 
 moreover, it is clear that whatsoever the
 
 92 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 United States representative said was 
 based on a friendly feeling, there is little 
 room for criticism of Mr. Harris's attitude 
 toward the then government of Dai 
 Nippon. 
 
 On the 25th day (6th month) the appoint- 
 ment of the Prince of Kishiu, aged thir- 
 teen years, to be Heir Apparent to the 
 Shogun was publicly announced. 
 
 On the 2nd day of the 7th month, 
 (August 11), the formal congratulations of 
 the Barons were presented in person, and 
 were received at the Castle in Yedo by the 
 Shogun, and his Heir, whose name was 
 lyemochi. On the night of this auspicious 
 day, the Shogun was suddenly taken ill, 
 and on the following day, his illness 
 became serious. 
 
 On the 4th day, he felt a little better
 
 CHAP. v. THE CONSEQUENCES. 93 
 
 and calling the Tairo and Senators to his 
 room, the mighty problem of how to deal 
 with the Princes of Mito and Owari, and 
 also of the Baron Matsudaira of Echizen, 
 was decided, the result of which was made 
 known on the following day. The Senior 
 Prince of Mito was ordered to confinement 
 in a separate mansion, the Prince of 
 Owari and the JJaron of Echi/en were 
 ordered to retire from active duty and 
 transfer the government of their territories 
 to their respective heirs. The Prince of 
 Mito and Prince Hitotsabashi were sus- 
 pended from the privilege of presenting 
 themselves at the Shugun's Court or 
 Castle. 
 
 On the Gth day, (August 15,), an order 
 was received from Kioto, requiring either 
 the Tairo or one of the Princes of the
 
 94 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 Three Houses of Tokngawa to appear at 
 the Imperial Court in reference to the 
 question of foreign intercourse. 
 
 On the night of the same day the Shogun 
 breathed his last. 
 
 Two days before this, (on 4th), three 
 English ships arrived at Shinagawa, a 
 suburb of Yedo, while the Russians came 
 into the city itself and took up their tem- 
 porary abode in one of the Jiuddhist tem- 
 ples. 
 
 So many things of serious importance 
 came up in so short a time, that all was 
 confusion in the offices of the Shogunate. 
 Each officer had more business than he 
 could transact. The state of affairs was so 
 complicated that it was enough to bewilder 
 minds of ordinary capacity. 
 
 Placed iii the midst of these complica-
 
 CHAP. v. THIJ CUNSUQUKNCES. 05 
 
 tions, Naosuke dispatched Senator Baron 
 Oca to hold a conference with the British 
 representative,* with whom the business 
 was facilitated by the previous treaty with 
 the United States. A messenger was sent 
 to Kioto at the same time, stating the cir- 
 cumstances which made it impossible to 
 comply with the Imperial order. A still 
 more important line of business lay in pre- 
 paring against emergencies that might 
 follow the sentences of condemnation pro- 
 nounced on the Great Princes and the 
 Baron of Echizen. 
 
 It has been stated that the Shogunate 
 intended to dispatch Senator Baron 
 Manabe to Kioto to explain its conduct 
 toward the United States. A paper had 
 
 * See Chapter V. Vol. li of Ln.urence Oliphant's 
 Lord Elgin's Mission to China and Japan.
 
 96 AGITATKD JAPAN. CHAT. V. 
 
 been prepared for that purpose but owing 
 to the death of the Shogun, the appointed 
 messenger was prevented from going up, 
 and the paper alone was sent to the Premier 
 Naotada for his perusal. The substance of 
 the document was as follows : 
 
 " The question of foreign intercourse is 
 pregnant with serious consequences. The 
 reason why the treaty was concluded with 
 the United States was because of the case 
 requiring an immediate answer. The 
 English and French squadrons after their 
 victory over China were very soon expected 
 to our coasts, and the necessity of holding 
 conferences with different nations at the 
 same time might cause confusion from 
 which little else than war could be ex- 
 pected. These foreigners are no longer to 
 be despised. The art of navigation, their
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 97 
 
 steam-vessels, and their military and naval 
 preparations have found full development 
 in their hands. A war with them might 
 result in temporary victories on our part, 
 but when our country should come to be 
 surrounded by their combined navies, the 
 whole land would be involved in con- 
 sequences which are clearly visible in 
 China's experience. This question of 
 foreign intercourse had been referred to 
 the Barons, and most of them knew the 
 disadvantage of war with foreigners. 
 Under these circumstances no other re- 
 course was found than to conclude a treaty 
 and open some of the ports to them for 
 trade. Trying this policy for ten or twelve 
 years, and making full preparation for pro- 
 tection of the country during that period, 
 we can then determine whether to close up
 
 93 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 or open the country to foreign trade and 
 residence. To commit the nation to the 
 policy of exclusion before any experiment, 
 appears to be highly inadvisable. If it 
 were only one nation with which we had 
 to deal, it would be much easier, but 
 several nations, coming at the same time 
 \vith their advanced arts, it is entirely im- 
 possible to refuse their requests to open 
 intercourse with our country. The ten- 
 dency of the times makes exclusion an 
 entire impossibility. Compliance with 
 their requests will tend to bring safety to 
 the whole laud, and thus we shall be able 
 to keep His Majesty free from cares and 
 anxieties for his subjects." 
 
 The paper also stated the advisability of 
 opening Hiogo, to which there had been an
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. ?9 
 
 objection because of its nearness to the 
 Imperial Capital. 
 
 A careful examination of the original 
 docummt sho\vs that special attention was 
 given to the use of words, in order not to 
 enter into collision with anti-foreign pre- 
 judices. To state the power and strength 
 of Western nations without reserve, would 
 certainly wound the pride of the politicians 
 and yet the thing could not be kept entirely 
 covered up. The only way was to clothe the 
 circumstances with the words " unavoid- 
 able," and " tendency of the times." The 
 unsuccessful mission of .Baron Hotta before 
 the Kioto Cabinet was said to have been 
 mainly due to his unreserved description 
 of the po\ver of the Western nations, in- 
 stead of convincing the party of opposition 
 the unavoidable nature of the case. Baron
 
 100 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 Hotta's representation bad only served to 
 kindle their blind prejudices, and thus 
 make bis mission entirely fruitless. 
 
 Such was the feeling of those days. 
 Even those who knew the strength of for- 
 eign nations, would not dare to fully ex- 
 press their knowledge, lest they should be 
 misunderstood. The paper also distinctly 
 shows an unfriendly feeling toward for- 
 eigners, and this was again a marked 
 feature of those days. An expression of 
 friendliness to a foreign nation Would only 
 have stirred up prejudices, and made inter- 
 course with Western nations more and 
 more difficult. 
 
 The death of the Shogun lyesada was 
 publicly announced on the Sth day of Hili 
 month (September 15), and Prince Tayasu
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 101 
 
 was appointed to the regency of the young 
 heir lyemochi. 
 
 By this time, the alienation between the 
 Shogunate and the Prince of Mito became 
 more and more serious. The former kept 
 a strict watch over the actions of the latter, 
 and the residence of Prince Piekko was 
 guarded by the officers of the Shogunate. 
 In Kioto also, the friction between the two 
 parties grew day by day. The Yedo party 
 was led by the Premier Prince Naotada, 
 while the anti-foreign party had a leader in 
 Prince Takatsukasa who was one of the 
 Imperial Councillors, and possessed several 
 influential adherents both in and out of the 
 Imperial Ca-bmet. 
 
 The victory or defeat of either of the 
 two parties seemed to rest in the instruc- 
 tions from His Majesty, the Empsror, but
 
 102 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 so long as Naotada held the Chancellorship 
 and Naosuke the office of Tairo, their joint 
 power was well established, for any instruc- 
 tions from the Emperor must necessarily 
 pass through the hand of the Premier. 
 
 Once it appeared that the Premier was 
 going to lose his power, for his opponent 
 Prince Takatsukasa almost prevailed on 
 him to resign, but the tidings of the public 
 announcement of the Shogun's death, and 
 the installation of the young heir under the 
 regency of Prince Tayasu, encouraged him 
 to continue in the office, for he saw thereby 
 that Naosuke was resolute and unflinching 
 in his policy, in spite of strong opposition. 
 
 Among the Imperial Councillors and 
 gentry of Kioto, however, the influence of 
 Prince Bekko was as strong as ever. The 
 loss of his power in Yedo being nothing
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 103 
 
 short of the decadence of the influence of 
 his party in Kioto, the Imperial instruction 
 requiring the presence of either the Tairo 
 or one of the Princes of the Three Houses 
 of Tokugawa, was issued, in order to 
 strengthen the power of the Fxclusion 
 Party. The Premier tried to stop the 
 issue of this order, but in vain. 
 
 Naosuke knew, however, that should he 
 go up to Kioto to discuss the question, he 
 would place himself at the mercy of his 
 opponents, and that the final result would 
 be the reversal of the policy already taken 
 by the Shogunate. An extraordinary pres- 
 sure of business at this time, supplied him 
 with a laudable excuse for his non-appear- 
 ance, while the confinement of the Princes 
 of Mito and Owari, and the youth of the 
 Prince of Kishiu prevented any of the full-
 
 104 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 grown Princes from going up to the Im- 
 perial City. 
 
 Failing in their attempt to call Naosuke 
 to Kioto, and learning that Senator Baron 
 Manabe was coming in his place, the bitter 
 feeling of the Exclusion Party against the 
 Tairo increased all the more, nor were they 
 idle in the meantime. They took advan- 
 tage of the Premier's absence on account 
 of illness, and managed to draw up two 
 Imperial instructions, one to the Shogunate 
 and the other to the Prince of Mito. The 
 tenor of the instruction to the former was 
 disapproval of opening the country to 
 foreign intercourse, and it also required an 
 explanation of the failure of any of the 
 Tokugawa Princes, or the Tairo, to come 
 to Kioto as commanded in the previous 
 instruction.
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 105 
 
 This Imperial paper was received on the 
 18th day of the 8th month (September 25), 
 and on the same day a notice was received 
 from the Prince of Mito that he had been 
 honored with direct instructions from His 
 Majesty. Strangely enough, this document 
 for Prince Mito reached him one day earlier 
 than the one furnished to the Shogunate. 
 In Kioto the paper was delivered through 
 one of the Court Councillors to Ukai, the 
 representative of Prince Mito, whose men 
 immediately left Kioto, and travelling pri- 
 vately reached the Yedo mansion of Prince 
 Mito before the regular bearer of the Im- 
 perial paper to the Shdgnnate arrived in 
 the same city. 
 
 The Prince of Mito being yet in his 
 confinement, was not allowed to come to 
 the Court, and the two Senators, Barons
 
 106 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 Ota and Maiiabe, were dispatched to the 
 Prince's mansion to see the Imperial 
 document. It was found to be almost the 
 same with the one received by the Sho- 
 gunate. 
 
 This direct granting of an Imperial 
 communication to any other than the 
 Shogunate was a serious departure from 
 long established usage. The Senior Prince 
 of Mito of course knew how it came, but 
 the Junior Prince did not know the secret 
 of its origin. Afterward learning that only 
 the instruction to the Shogunate had been 
 accompanied by a document from the 
 Court Officials, assuring that no contention 
 existed between the Imperial Cabinet and 
 the Shogunate, he asked the two Senators 
 as to what he should do. The moment he 
 had received the communication from
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 107 
 
 Kioto he felt uneasy as to the course he 
 should pursue, for should he keep the 
 matter secret from the Shogunate, it would 
 be a disregard of the Imperial order. On 
 the other hand, should he make these facts 
 known to the Shogunate, he would expose 
 himself to the suspicion of secret treachery 
 toward the Yedo government. Hence his 
 asking the judgment of the two Senators 
 as to the proper course he should take. 
 Their answer was that they should consult 
 with the Tairo about his question. 
 
 On the 22nd day (September 29), a 
 letter was received from one of Naosuke's 
 confidential men, saying that the Premier's 
 absence had been taken advantage of by 
 his enemies, and that the Premier found it 
 too late to stop the Imperial instruction 
 already drawn up. The letter also stated
 
 108 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 that the Premier was awaiting the arrival 
 of Baron Manabe in order to initiate proper 
 measures to counteract the artifices of the 
 other party. This piece of news hurried 
 the departure of the Baron, and on the 
 2'.)th day, (October (>) Naosuke held con- 
 ference with the Senators as to the tenor 
 of the message to be forwarded to Kioto. 
 He di'ew up a lengthy paper stating the 
 circumstances of the situation in detail. 
 Baron Manaba, however, was inclined to 
 leave the greater part of the case to a 
 verbal explanation, and as he was the per- 
 son to represent the Shogunate, his sug- 
 gestion was adopted. He left Yedo on his 
 important mission on the 3rd day of the 9th 
 month (October 10). 
 
 The relation between the Shogunate 
 and the Party of Exclusion may well be
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 109 
 
 likened unto that of fire and water. The 
 antagonistic feeling had almost reached its 
 acme. It was ready to burst out on the 
 slightest occasion. A secret message of 
 the Exclusion Party to one of the Karo 
 or Elders of the Mito Clan, dated loth of 
 9th month (October 22), was intercepted 
 by one of Naosuke's detectives. The letter 
 strongly advised personal violence against 
 Baron li Naosuke. In this way it was 
 hoped that his power would be crippled 
 and Prince Rekku be released from con- 
 finement. 
 
 A comet appeared at the time and out of 
 superstition grew many stories, which were 
 more or less indicative of the spirit of the 
 times. 
 
 In the view most prevalent, a serious 
 rebellion was anticipated. Hitherto hos-
 
 110 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 tilities between the two parties had pro- 
 ceeded no farther than obstruction. Now, 
 however, the power of the Exclusion Party 
 had assumed a threatening aspect. Their 
 audacity went so far as to persuade the 
 Premier Prince Naotada to resign his 
 office. They saw that the arrival of Baron 
 Manabe in Kioto marked the critical 
 moment in the history of both parties and 
 they tried to undermine the power of tin 1 , 
 Shogunate by pulling down the only sup- 
 port it had in the Imperial Cabinet. The 
 Premier had to yeild to their persuasion, 
 and notified of his intention to resign. 
 
 This serious news reached Yedo after 
 Baron Manabe had left the city for Kioto, 
 and the Tairo was utterly ignorant of what 
 had occurred. Nothing surprised Nao- 
 suke more than this report. He im-
 
 CHA.P. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. Ill 
 
 mediately dispatched a message to over- 
 take Baron Alanabe, in which he instructed 
 him to take advantage of the absence of 
 Imperial permission to the Premier's pro- 
 posed resignation. A mere application to 
 resign did not release any one from his 
 official duties. He also gave instructions 
 that business should be transacted only 
 through the Premier. 
 
 The increasing influence of the other 
 party, and the threatening attitude they 
 began to assume, prompted Naosuke to 
 take decisive measures againt those in 
 Kioto who were active against the policy 
 pf the Shogunate. He ordered the arrest 
 of Umeda, Ukai, and his son, who had 
 done their utmost to subvert the political 
 measure of the Yedo government. Many 
 others were also arrested and thus their
 
 112 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 strength in the Imperial City was con- 
 siderably reduced. 
 
 This act of Naosuke forms the part of 
 his political career most vulnerable to cri- 
 ticism. While the nature of the power 
 invested in him, and the need of the times 
 authorized him to resort to these severe 
 measures, it cannot be denied that this act 
 of his resulted in a loss of many of the able 
 and brave men of the country. This is an 
 indispensable side of any political change, 
 yet when one considers the greatness of 
 the revolution, which Japan was beginning 
 to undergo, her loss of able men seems 
 comparatively small. 
 
 It was on the 10th day of the 9th month 
 (October 17), that Baron Manabe arrived 
 in Kioto. His time was at first spent in 
 suppression of the power of his political
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 113 
 
 opponents. His energetic movements pro- 
 duced so remarkable a change in the state 
 of thing* in the Imperial City, that Prince 
 Nijo who was one of those who had per- 
 suaded Naotada the Premier to resign, 
 now entirely changed his attitude. Pie 
 met the Premier on the Hth day of the 
 10th month and. advised him to withdraw 
 his application for resignation which had 
 been kept in abeyance since the 9th month. 
 On the loth day, Naotada was honored 
 with a letter from His Majesty, the Em- 
 peror Komei, encouraging him to continue 
 in his office as Premier. 
 
 Naotada could desire nothing more and 
 he began to attend the Cabinet meetings 
 from the 19th day, the political situation in 
 Kioto undergoing a still greater change in 
 favor of the ShO'Minate.
 
 AGITATED .JAPAN 
 
 The Exclusion Party had built the 
 citadel of their resistance in oppsition to 
 the opening of Hiogo as a treaty port, and 
 so made it difficult to carry out the pur- 
 pose of the Shogunate in this matter. The 
 re-instatement of Prince Naotada however 
 opened a way to explain the conduct of 
 the Shogunate in reference to foreign 
 affairs. Baron Manabe presented himself 
 at the Imperial Court on the 24th day of 
 the 10th month, (November 30) to offer 
 explanations, his success being at once 
 apparent. 
 
 On the following day the formal in- 
 auguration of lyemochi to the office of 
 Shogun was issued by the Emperor, and 
 Prince Nijo was appointed as the bearer
 
 CHAP. V. TUB CONSEQUENCES. I L5 
 
 of this Imperial message to the Castle of 
 Yedo.* 
 
 On the 1st day of the l'2th month 
 (January 4, L859), lyeshige formally re- 
 ceived this Imperial investiture through 
 the hand of Prince Nijo. 
 
 On the List day of the same month, 
 (February 3, 1859) an Imperial answer in 
 reference to foreign affairs was received 
 by Baron Manabe in which it was stated 
 that the said question had been a constant 
 source of anxiety to His Majesty, in as 
 much as it concerned a departure from a 
 long tradition, and also the dignity of the 
 Empire, but the unavoidable circumstance 
 
 * Tho right of inaugurating any person to the office 
 of Shogim was reserved iu the Emperor, ami every 
 now Shogun had to receive a form il appointment 
 from th'j Emperor t ) that olfije, through a special 
 messenger seat down from Kioto.
 
 116 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 of the times having been fully recognized 
 by His Majesty, and the intention of the 
 Shogunate to resume the policy of exclu- 
 sion having been assured, time is granted 
 for that purpose, and the Shogun is 
 authorized to take temporary measures to 
 suit the requirements of the present time. 
 
 The granting of this instruction had 
 come after one hundred and three days 
 from the arrival of Baron Manabe in Kioto, 
 during which time highest order of elo- 
 quence and wisdom had been engaged to 
 secure this deliverance from the Throne. 
 
 Those leaders of the Opposition who had 
 been arrested were sent down to Yedo for 
 examination. They reached the eastern 
 city on the 29th day of the l'2th month 
 (February 8, 1859). A Special Court was 
 opened for their trial, and they were dealt
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 117 
 
 with in accordance with the laws of those 
 days. The ringleaders were sentenced to 
 capital punishment, while minor offenders 
 were banished to respective islands. 
 
 This action of the Tairo called down on 
 him the vilest names and malicious epithets 
 that could be invented. They naturally 
 came from the sympathizers of those poli- 
 ticians who were very numerous in those 
 days. What they wrote forms a large part 
 of the Ansei literature. The name of Nao- 
 suke came to be identified by many with 
 that of a proud and selfish autocrat of the 
 worst type. 
 
 Yet when we judge him by the standard 
 of his age, when political liberty was next 
 to unknown, it would be clear to any 
 impartial judge that this action of Naosuke 
 was based, not on his personal enmity, but
 
 118 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 on sincere love for bis country and on bis 
 firm confidence in the advantage of the 
 policy to be followed. It is often by a 
 painful surgical operation that a serious 
 injury and danger to life is avoided. Kao- 
 sukr's purpose in punishing some of the 
 notorious ringleadeis of the Exclusion 
 Party was in order to save the whole land 
 from a dangerous agitation, which might 
 result in an irremediable mistake. 
 
 The granting of this latest order from 
 the Emperor was a signal victory of Nao- 
 suke's party, and Baron Manabe came back 
 to Yedo on the 1 5th day of the 3rd month, 
 (April 1<S 1851)). Now that the ringleaders 
 of the Opposition had been dealt with, the 
 question was what to do with the Imperial 
 instruction sent to the Prince of Mito. 
 Another question was whether to publicly
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 119 
 
 announce the last order from Kioto, or to 
 keep it officially secret. How to deal with 
 the Imperial Ministers and Councillors in 
 the Exclusion Party was also a question of 
 the times, but before any decided measure 
 was taken by the Shogunate, Prince Taka- 
 tsukasa and his son, and Princes Konoye 
 and Sanjo resigned. 
 
 The Imperial instructions, ho\vever, 
 allowed merely a temporary opening of 
 the country. Naosuke being fully con- 
 vinced of the impossibility of entire 
 exclusion, now endeavored to obtain 
 unqualified sanction of the Emperor to for- 
 eign intercourse. In order to accomplish 
 this end, h \ tried by every means to cement 
 the relation between the Imperial Court 
 and the Shogunate. Not for his personal 
 aggrandizement but for the good of the
 
 lV!0 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 Empire, he purposed to prevent the ex- 
 tension of any counteracting influence on 
 the Kioto Cabinet. Hence he proposed 
 the granting of Her Imperial Highness, 
 Princess Kazu, in marriage to the young 
 Shognn. This was a political marriage 
 which Naosuke effected in order to guard 
 against future differences between the two 
 courts, of Kioto and Yedo. Although this 
 marriage took place after the death of the 
 Tai.ro,* yet it was the fruit of his labors in 
 increasing and cementing the amicable 
 relation between the Mikado and his lieu- 
 tenant. Thus strengthening the basis of 
 the whole duarchy, Naosuke tried gradually 
 
 * The Princess Kazn, aunt of the present Emperor, 
 received the title of Ivazu Miya and Princess of the 
 Blood July 5, 1861. She arrived in Yedo and was 
 married in December to the young Shogun.
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 121 
 
 to effect the political purposes he had 
 in view. 
 
 As to the public announcement of the 
 last orders from Kioto, there was a dif- 
 ference of opinion between the Tairo and 
 Baron Manabe, who said that it would be 
 necessary to obtain permission from the 
 Premier before the instruction could be 
 published. The matter was kept in abey- 
 ance, but this difference together with 
 some other causes, finally resulted in the 
 latter's resignation in the l'2th month of 
 that year, 1859. 
 
 Now the question demanding immediate 
 attention related to the Imperial instruc- 
 tion sent to the Prince of Mito. The 
 whole power of government had been con- 
 ferred on the Shogunate since the time of 
 its organization in 1(503, and an Imperial
 
 122 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 instruction on political matters sent to a 
 person other than the Shogun, was detri- 
 mental to the sole right of government 
 vested in him. 
 
 A conference with the, Imperial Cabinet 
 resulted in a new order to the Prince of 
 Mito, requiring him to return the instruc- 
 tion. The opinions of the Clansmen of 
 Mito, however, were strongly divided on 
 this point. One party said that the Imperi- 
 al instruction should not be given up, and 
 that the new order sent to the Clan must be 
 a cunning artifice of the Shogunate which 
 could not have its origin in the Emperor 
 himself, while the other party approved of 
 quietly returning the paper in compliance 
 with the new order. 
 
 The differences of the two factions went 
 so far as an appeal to the sword. The
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 123 
 
 former party actually armed themselves 
 and camped out in order to stop the mes- 
 senger that might he sent to receive the 
 paper. The whole territory of the Prince 
 of Mi to was in a state of great agitation. 
 Some of their eminent men who advocated 
 the returning of the paper were assassinat- 
 ed on the street, and on one occasion the 
 party of those who would not give up the 
 paper, assembled in a body and fought 
 against a band of soldiers sent down to dis- 
 perse them. It was after some loss of 
 lives on both sides that they were finally 
 driven away. 
 
 This state of affairs must have been 
 occasioned by the strong feeling of enmity 
 entertained by many of the clansmen 
 against Naosuke who held the whole power 
 of the Shogimate, and opposed the policy of
 
 124 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 Prince Bekko. It was on the 17th day of 
 the 12th month (1859), that the Shogunate 
 officially informed the Prince of Mito of 
 the order from Kioto requiring him to 
 return the Imperial instruction given him. 
 Baron Ando was the bearer of this message. 
 
 On the 16th day of the 1st month ; Feb- 
 ruary 8, I860), the Prince sent one of his 
 Elders with an escort to the city of Mito, 
 about twenty-five leagues north-west of 
 Yedo. These were instructed to bring back" 
 the Imperial paper, but when they arrived 
 at a place about four miles from the Castle 
 of Mito, they found their way blocked by 
 an armed band of the other party. The}' 
 could not make them open a way for them, 
 so they had to come back to Yedo without 
 fulfilling their mission. 
 
 The party opposed to the return of the
 
 CHAP. V. THE CONSEQUENCES. 125 
 
 Imperial order, fearing that the paper 
 might be secretly stolen away, concealed 
 it in the sacred building in the cemetery 
 of Mito Princes. 
 
 All that could now be done under the 
 circumstances by the Prince of Mito was 
 to ask the ShOgnnate for an extension of 
 time. Matters continued in this state for 
 some months, during which time some 
 drew up a memorial stating the absence of 
 reason for returning the paper with which 
 the clan had^once been honored, while 
 others resorted to force to keep the paper 
 in their clan. 
 
 Time went on in this state, and in the 
 3rd month ; March, 1860) the paper could 
 not be received back, for on the 3rd day 
 of that month, the Tairo Naosuke on his 
 way lo the Shogun's Court, was suddenly
 
 A.OITA.TKD JAPAN. 
 
 attacked by a band of assassins and met 
 a cruel death at their hands. 
 
 Thus ended the short but brilliant career 
 of one of the greatest statesmen of the 
 East. At the risk of his personal safety he 
 had broken th-3 thick ice of exclusion and 
 opened this country to the civilization of 
 the 1'Jth century. The hard ice once 
 broken, Japan has made giant strides 
 in her advancement within only thirty 
 years. She now enjoys a perfect peace 
 and unrestrained progress lender a sound 
 constitutional government, presided over 
 by the Emperor of an unbroken lineage of 
 nearly three thousand years.* 
 
 Naosuko was forty-six years old when 
 this sad event cut him off, but according to 
 
 * Traditionally from 6dO B. 0., historically from the 
 fifth centary. Gr.
 
 CHAP. V. THK CONSKgiJWNCKS. 127 
 
 the orders of the Shoguuate, his death was 
 not aiuiouiiced until the last day of the 
 following mouth. It was given out that 
 he was wounded. To keep up appearances, 
 formal messengers from the Shogun's Castle 
 were frequently sent to the mansion, no- 
 minally to inquire after his health. 
 
 This year, 1861, was a leap-year and had 
 an intercalary period, making two months 
 of the same name, that is the third. The 
 Tairo's death, when publicly announced was 
 officially dated on ; the last day of the second 
 3rd month (May '21, I860). In those days, 
 and until 1872, the "Lunar calendar was 
 used. Every leap-year used to have thir- 
 teen months, the duplication of the month 
 differing in each year according to the 
 calculation of the Yedo astronomers. The 
 dead Tairo was buried (May 30th) in
 
 128 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V. 
 
 the ground of the Temple Gotokuji in 
 Sedagaya village near Yedo, beside the 
 tombs of his predecessors. Eight sons 
 and eight daughters survived him. The 
 eldest son having died young, the second 
 son, Naonori, succeeded, who was made 
 a Count by the present l^mp/ror, when he 
 established the five orders of peerage 
 The present master of this historical family 
 is Count li Naonori,* the second son of 
 the martyr of a policy which gave a new 
 life to an old.country isolated for hundreds 
 of years. 
 
 * Educated in Trooklyn X. Y.
 
 Baron Matsudaira pursuadir
 
 he Tairo to resign his office.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ASSASSINATION. 
 
 The 3rd day of the 3rd month (March 
 '25) was one of the five annual festivals, 
 when the Princes and Barons of the land 
 had to present themselves at the Shogun's 
 Castle to offer congratulations of the occa- 
 sion. Being the last month of Spring, it 
 is usually not cold, but on this special day 
 nature seemed to portend by an unusual 
 phenomenon the dark event which was to 
 make it a black day in the annals of Japan. 
 She seemed to show her sympathy for the 
 heavy loss about to fall upon the whole 
 empire; for instead of a bright clear day, 
 the sky was overcast with gloomy clouds, 
 the temperature was exceptionally low, and
 
 130 AGITATKU JAPAN. CHAP. VI. 
 
 snow be^an to fall thick and heavy. The 
 smiles of nature on mountains and plains 
 were completely veiled from view by this 
 untimely visitor from midwinter. The 
 snow-flakes fell so thickly that objects but 
 a few yards off could not be distinctly seen. 
 It was the custom whenever a Prince or 
 Baron went out in public to be accompanied 
 by an extended following. On festival 
 occasions the procession was especially 
 large. The brilliant body-guards were 
 dressed in a light jaunty style, and were 
 armed with two bright swords in hand- 
 somely lacquered scabbards, which combin- 
 ed artistic taste with practical use. The most 
 prominent feature of the procession was 
 the Kayo, or palanquin, carried on men's 
 shoulders within which the Daimio was 
 seated. The insignia and blazonry of the
 
 CHAP. VI. THE ASSASSINATION. 131 
 
 various feudal families made a brave display. 
 Those consisted of crests, spears, horse- 
 decorations, and various emblems peculiar 
 to Japanese heraldry. These always 
 preceded the cortege proper. 
 
 Immediately following came the second 
 division. The Kago was borne in the 
 middle with personal guards attendant on 
 each side. The rear was brought up by 
 other retainers and guards. At the Castle 
 men expert in recognizing the heraldic 
 insignia were on the watch for each pro- 
 cession as it approached, and it was their 
 duty to announce the name of the Prince 
 or Baron as he passed through the gate. 
 
 The procession of Baron li Kamon-no- 
 Kami left his mansion at a half past the 
 5th watch, or U A. M. In a few minutes it 
 came near the Sakurada (Cherry-field) Gate
 
 132 AG1TATKT) JAPAN. CHAP. VL. 
 
 (one of the inner Mon or fortified entrances 
 to the Castle and facing south'). A few 
 men dressed like ordinary Samurai with 
 reddish brown rain-coats, suddenly came 
 up, and audaciously tried to snatch away 
 one of the spears. A struggle ensued. 
 The report of a gun which almost imme- 
 diately followed, was answered by the 
 appearance of a band of armed men from 
 both sides of the street and a bloody fight 
 at once began. 
 
 The guards and retainers of the Baron 
 were entirely unprepared for this sudden 
 attack. It was a time when the whole coun- 
 try was in the enjoyment of immemorial 
 peace. Especially when it rained or snowed, 
 the sword guards and handles were covered 
 in a way which made it difficult to un- 
 sheathe with sufficient readiness. Several
 
 CHAP. VI. THK ASSASSINATION. 133 
 
 of the Baron's followers, not having time to 
 draw, had to defend themselves with their 
 swords while still in their scabbards. The 
 blows they dealt took effect only when the 
 sheaths, which fortunately were of wood, 
 broke in course of fighting. 
 
 This lack of preparation on the part of 
 Naosuke's followers, coupled with covered 
 swords and flowing rain-coats, made it 
 comparatively easy for the assassins to effect 
 their cruel purpose. Sfcill these were not 
 allowed to go unharmed. Two of them 
 were killed on the spot, while three were 
 mortally wounded and fell down on the 
 road. The one who carried off the head of 
 the Baron found himself disabled on account 
 of his wounds, and killed himself at Tatsu- 
 nokuchi, (Dragon's Mouth) a distance of 
 about a mile and a half from the place of
 
 134 AGITATKD JAPAN. CHAP. VI. 
 
 attack. Two others died afterward from 
 the wounds they had received. The loss 
 on the part of the Baron's retainers was 
 four killed, and nineteen wounded, four of 
 whom afterward died. 
 
 The band of assassins consisted of eighteen 
 men, all of whom were those from the 
 Mito Clan, except one man who came from 
 Satsuma. But before they committed their 
 cruel deed, they had resigned from the clan 
 to which they belonged, and thus became r<l- 
 nin or wave-men. This was in accordance 
 with feudal tradition, for otherwise they 
 would have involved their lord in their un- 
 lawful deed. 
 
 Almost in a moment after the report of 
 the signal gun, Naosuke's kago was sur- 
 rounded by three or four men with drawn 
 swords. The guards were overpowered,
 
 CHAP. VJ. THE ASSASSINATION. 1^5 
 
 and the Baron was stabbed several times 
 through the sides of his palanquin, so that 
 when dragged out he was already dead, 
 yet their vengeance was not yet satisfied, 
 for each dealt a blow at the corpse. It was 
 the Satsnma man who cut off the Baron's 
 head, and started off with it, followed by 
 one of his comrades. The pair were pur- 
 sued by a retainer of the .Baron, Kokawara 
 by name, who although severely wounded 
 yet inspired by devotion to his lord, over- 
 took them and dealt a blow on the head of 
 the Satsuma man. Nevertheless Kokawara 
 was overpowered. The wound he had in- 
 flicted had its effect, for it disabled the man 
 from going any farther than Tatsunokuchi, 
 where he hastened death by his own hand. 
 The whole tragedy was the work of only 
 a few minutes, and when other retainers of
 
 136 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. V]. 
 
 Naosuke prepared to inarch to the place of 
 attack, it was all over,* and they met the 
 return of their master's kago. Four of 
 the assassins delivered themselves to the 
 Senator Baron Wakizaka, the other four 
 to Baron Hosokawa, while the rest of them 
 made their escape toward Kioto. They of 
 course deserved capital punishment, and 
 their execution took place in the 7th month 
 of the following year (August 1861 ). 
 
 The name of Hasula stands first in the 
 principal paper signed by the seventeen 
 assassins in which they stated the reason 
 for their act. The man of Satsuma did not 
 sign the paper although he played so active 
 a part in the cruel deed. There were two 
 
 * For a full a.nd detailed account, in fiction, but 
 with careful study of the historic background of li's 
 assassination, see chapters XXIX XXXI [ of Arthur 
 Maclay's, " Mito Yashiki."
 
 CHAP. VI. THE ASSASSINATION. 137 
 
 papers which they presented to the authori- 
 ties of the Shogunate when they delivered 
 up themselves after their murderous work. 
 The one was the principal document and 
 the other was a supplement. The substance 
 of the principal paper was as follows : 
 
 " While fully aware of the necessity for 
 some change in policy since the coming of 
 the Americans to Uraga, it is entirely 
 against the interest of the country and a 
 shame to the sacred dignity of the land to 
 open commercial relations, to admit foreign- 
 ers into the castle, to conclude a treaty, 
 to abolish the established custom of tramp- 
 ling on the picture of Christ, to permit 
 foreigners to build places of worship of their 
 evil religion, Christianity, and to allow the 
 three Ministers to reside in the land. Under 
 the excuse of keeping the peace, too much
 
 138 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. VI. 
 
 compromise has been made at the sacrifice 
 of national honor. Too much fear has been 
 shown in regard to the foreigners' threaten- 
 ings. Not only has the national custom 
 been set aside, and national dignity injured, 
 but the policy followed by the Shogunate 
 has no Imperial sanction. For all these 
 acts the Tairo Baron li Kamon-no-Kami is 
 responsible. 
 
 " Taking advantage of the youth of the 
 Shogun, he has assumed unbridled power. 
 In order to effect his own end, his auto- 
 cracy has gone so far as to confine, under 
 false charges, the Princes and Barons who 
 would be faithful and loyal to the cause of 
 the Imperial Cabinet and of the Shogunate. 
 He has proved himself an unpardonable 
 enemy of this nation. The power of 
 government in his hand will be too dan-
 
 CHAP. VI. THE ASSASSINATION. 139 
 
 gerous for a harmonious relation of the 
 Imperial Cabinet and the Shdgunate, for 
 he has gone so far as to interfere in the 
 matter of the Imperial succession. Our 
 sense of patriotism could not brook this 
 abuse of power at the hands of such a 
 wicked rebel. 
 
 " Therefore we have consecrated ourselves 
 to be the instruments of Heaven to punish 
 this wicked man, and we have assumed on 
 ourselves the duty of putting an end to a 
 serious evil by .killing this atrocious auto- 
 crat. Our conduct, however, does not in- 
 dicate the slightest enmity to the 8ho- 
 gunate. We swear before Heaven and 
 earth, gods and men, that our action is 
 entirely built on our hope of seeing the 
 policy of the Shogunate resume its proper 
 form and abide by the holy and wise will of
 
 140 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. VI. 
 
 His Majesty, the Emperor. We hope to see 
 our national glory manifested in the ex- 
 pulsion of foreigners from the land. Thus 
 will the whole nation be established on a 
 basis as firm and unmoveable as Mount 
 Fuji itself." 
 
 Dated, ord Month, Seventh year 
 
 of Ansei (March, 1850). 
 Signed by liasuda and sixteen others. 
 
 The supplementary paper was a more 
 minute elucidation of what is stated in the 
 paper just referred to. 
 
 Whatever epithets, malice and enmity 
 may have heaped on Naosuke, the mute 
 eloquence of the fruits of his political career 
 now indisputably pleads his merits as a 
 patriot and a statesman of rare ability and 
 of the highest order. 
 
 Here, it will be well to remember the
 
 CHAP. VI. THE ASSASSINATION. L-tl 
 
 strength of his sense of duty and his con- 
 tempt of pe 'sonal safety. This is most 
 clearly seen in his interview with Baron 
 Matstidaira of Yada. 
 
 Since the time of Prince Bekko's con- 
 finement, and especially at the period of 
 the great agitation in his clan when the 
 Imperial paper was ordered to be returned, 
 many feared that attempts might be made 
 on the life of the Tairo Naosuke. 
 
 Baron Matsudaira of Yada, who was an 
 intimate friend of Naosuke, personally came 
 to persuade him to resign and thus get 
 him out of the impending danger. 
 
 The Tairo \vhile thanking him for his 
 kind advice said that his sense of duty 
 would not allow him to evade his personal 
 danger in times of great difficulty. " My 
 own safety is nothing," said he, " when I
 
 142 AGIXATKU JAPAN. CHAP. VI. 
 
 see a great danger threatening the future 
 of my country." 
 
 His friend then advised him to increase 
 the number of his guards when he went 
 out. Naosuke simply replied that their 
 number being fixed by the statute of the 
 Shogunate, he as the Tairo, must not form 
 a precedent of freely modifying the esta- 
 blished rule for the sake of his personal 
 safety. 
 
 Baron Matsudaira became so earnest in 
 his pleading that when Naosukt: asked to 
 be excused, as the time came for him to go 
 to the Court, he held the Tairo by one of 
 the sleeves of his dress, urging him to take 
 his advice, and a part of the dress was torn 
 as Naosuke tried to shake off his firm 
 grasp. Seeing that the Tairo's resolve 
 was too strong, the kind liaron before
 
 CHAP. VI. THE ASSASSINATION. 143 
 
 leaving his friend's mansion, told some of 
 Naosuke's retainers to be prepared for an 
 emergency that might be expected at any 
 moment. This was on the 28th day of the 
 2nd month (March 21st), only a few days 
 before the assassination. 
 
 Baron Matsudaira of Yada, was not the 
 only person who tried to persuade Naosuke 
 to avoid danger by resigning his office. 
 Several of his own retainers, as well as 
 some of the Shogun's officers gave him 
 similar advice, but his answer was always 
 the same. " Resignation is easy, but the 
 times are difficult. I will not, and must 
 not, avoid both danger and difficulty on 
 the simple ground of seeking personal 
 ease." 
 
 To a person who remarked that his 
 refusal to resign was said to be based 011
 
 144 AGITATED JAPAN. CHAP. VI. 
 
 his love of power, he made answer in a 
 poem, a literal translation of which is as 
 follows : 
 
 " Spring has not yet advanced to melt 
 the ice on the pure fountain, and none 
 has yet drawn water from its depth." 
 By the pure fountain he meant his 
 heart, and he regrets that his true inten- 
 tion has not been understood. 
 
 Only after many years have his sin- 
 cerity and true merit come to he seen by 
 the people for whom he had sacrificed his 
 whole being. 
 
 "After passing a night of fleet- 
 ing dreams the flower of the 
 heart opens and blossems to-day 1 ' 
 (Katsu). 
 
 FINIS
 
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