Shibusawa had no sooner provided for Kinsan’s temporary comfort than he hastened to resume his command. The halt in his progress had given Daikomitsu time to withdraw the rebellious samurai in order and hastily prepare a cover for his retreat.

After having induced the hesitating troops to abandon Tetsutaisho, Daikomitsu had found himself necessarily pressed into their command. In consequence he withdrew from the palace grounds, and taking a temporary stand at Uyeno park undertook, with a small detachment, to check Shibusawa’s advance until, with the main body of the samurai, he had fought his way through the enemy’s line to the northward.

It had grown late in the day by the time Shibusawa had completed his investment of the palace and resumed the advance. The lateness of the hour proved greatly to Daikomitsu’s advantage; so much so that when the mikado’s troops reached Uyeno they were unable to dislodge the enemy, but met with such resistance as to check their advance until the following morning. Each assault had been sharp but decisive, and every attempt met with positive repulse. The loss of life was great and to the surprise of both sides proved to be nearly equal.

Though the battle of Uyeno has ever been accounted a victory for the mikadate, Daikomitsu had cleared the way, and under cover of night marched through the enemy’s lines toward Hakadata in the north. In the meantime Okotsuba had withdrawn the rebel fleet and proceeded on his way to the same place, where they again joined forces and later gained a signal victory over Shibusawa and his modernised army, who had followed hot in pursuit.

They were, however, soon doomed to entire defeat, and upon their final surrender both Daikomitsu and Okotsuba were brought back to Tokyo, and in consideration of their faithfulness and humanitarianism given liberty. The doom of the shogunate had been sounded with the fall of Tetsutaisho, and no power afterwards could have saved their final and complete overthrow.

The news of the great victory of July 4th soon reached Kyoto, and the mikado began making preparations to remove to Tokyo. Without needless delay he started thither, and upon his arrival proclaimed himself emperor of Japan, changed the capital city to Tokyo, and promulgated the constitution as promised: Shibusawa had gained the liberty to marry whom he chose, and he lost no time in so doing.

Upon his return from the north he was offered the highest place in the gift of the emperor, but declining with the utmost respect, Shibusawa chose to become a private citizen; the emperor excusing him only upon his earnest personal request, trusting to his loyalty for the necessary and proper readjustment. Accordingly, Shibusawa forthwith called a meeting of all the daimyos, at which Kido was named mediator; a memorandum being drafted and signed, without a dissenting voice, wherein they declared their willingness to surrender to the new government their titles, their fiefs, and their arms.

The emperor promptly accepted their resignations and promulgated what is known as the Patriotic Act, whereby those who chose were retitled and all reimbursed according to the value of their respective estates.

Shibusawa remained a loyal subject and settled at the capital city, in the old castle under the hill which had for centuries been the home of his ancestors and a pride to the once glorious but now departed court. Here he gathered around him the loyal and the faithful. Others were pensioned or rewarded, and none was dissatisfied. Kinsan had recovered, and the quaint halls once more echoed to the sound of marriage bells. There were a host to do him honour, and a world to keep them faithful, while no sorrow of the past shadowed their future. The prattle of children, the song of a mother, and the solicitude of a father graced their home and cheered their lives, making the battle worth the victory.

They lived as they had hoped, a blessing came as the reward of their faith, and whether in the social hall or before the footboards of the great Donjero: though at toil in the world or at rest in the home, they had found peace, the brightest jewel in the crown of life.

APPENDIX

Nearly all Japanese words should be spoken without accent, or, rather, with a slight and equal accent upon each syllable. The pronunciation should begin with a perceptible force, which gradually softens to the last, through a quick succession of all the syllables.

1. Nippon (Nip-pon). This was the Japanese name for Japan, though foreigners had always confined or limited its use to the name of the largest island, or mainland, of the Japanese archipelago.

To those who are familiar with things Japanese the sound of this name carries a special significance, for in it are wrapped the origin and growth of Japanese life, its religion, customs, traditions, and beliefs.

Their history covers an unbroken reign, the longest of any progressive people now on earth, so far as we know, and their version of the Creation contains a principle that is pre-eminently theirs; for Shintoism knows only Japan. Their religion, like the Christian with Christians, is co-extensive with their history; each beginning the record, as do all others, at its separation from myth.

2. Daimyo (di-mi-o-). The highest official in a province under the shogunate. By way of comparison, his position might be said to have corresponded to that of governor of a state in America, though his powers and duties were very dissimilar. The title originated under the mikadate, but from necessity as well as policy the daimyos generally became allied with the shogunate, hence in fact a part of it.

3. Shogun (sho-gun). The official head of the shogunate (one of the dual sides, or heads, of the Japanese government) which was established in the twelfth century, and lasted until abolished in 1868.

From the beginning of recorded Japan until the twelfth century the mikado was the sole ruler, both spiritual and temporal, and during the latter part of his reign, as such, the shogun existed, but only as an inferior: the commander-in-chief of the mikado’s armies. Thus intrenched behind the military forces the shogun became enabled to enlarge his powers, and finally forcibly made the office hereditary, and himself secure in the material rule of the empire.

Satisfied with temporal supremacy the shogunate never attempted to encroach upon the mikado’s spiritual distinction, as ever held by the people. Nor was it alone policy that so long prompted a continuance of this dual form of government, but it was the ruling spirit quite as much of the shogunate as of the people at large. This has been repeatedly denied—in fact, it has been denied that there ever was actually two heads of government—but the facts hardly justify any such conclusion. Brushing aside all technicalities, a brilliant and polite administration of upwards of a thousand years stands out in its dual capacity as distinctly as do the two sister planets, and if that is not sufficient to establish authenticity as such then man must be at a loss to comprehend what constitutes the right of recognition.

There was, in fact, a dual form of government: the one head, the mikado, spiritual; the other, the shogun, material—each in its sphere, as related to a homogeneous whole. By a compromise these two were, in 1868, merged into one—the empire—with a discontinuance of the shogunate, and a continuance of the mikadate line of succession as the sole, reigning emperor. (See No. 9, Mikado.)

4. Kimono (ki-mo-no). The outer, or principal garment worn by the Japanese, both male and female.

5. Harakiri (hÁ-rÁ-kÂ-rÂ). An honourable method of committing suicide under the shogunate. It was generally done under an official decree of death, and performed by cutting or ripping open the belly with a sharp knife or dirk.

6. Koto (ko-to). A kind of harp, or stringed instrument used in Japan, more for the production of classic music.

7. Geisha (gi-sh?). A professional singer or musician of the female sex, who sings or plays for hire, at both private and public functions.

8. Etas (et-as). The “unclean”; such as grave-diggers, etc.

9. Mikado (mu-k?-do). The official head of the Japanese, both spiritual and temporal, from the beginning until the twelfth century, when the shogun rose to power and seized the material functions of government.

Thence a dual form ensued, the mikado remaining the spiritual and the shogun the temporal ruler until 1868, when both were merged into the empire, with the mikado’s line reigning as emperor. The office of shogun was then abolished. (See No. 3, Shogun.)

10. Joro (jo-ro). A woman who for hire submits herself to the practice of sexual intercourse, in accordance with custom and law. When done under stress of circumstances, such as the financial aid of a distressed parent, it was deemed a virtue, and the participant, except for the time being, did not lose caste, but when the contract time had elapsed (usually three years) was received by her friends and the community as a sort of martyr.

11. Kakemono (ka-ke-mo-no). The predominant Japanese picture used for decorating the walls of a house. It is usually painted, or scrolled upon a long, narrow piece of silk or sheet of paper, and mounted upon a roller. Its use is similar to that of the ordinary European framed picture, and it was the means of expressing their highest art in painting and writing.

12. Kuge (koo-ga). A class, consisting of nobles and members of the former mikado’s court.

13. Ronin (ro-nin). At first an organized band of disaffected patriots, but afterwards a malcontented clan who held themselves in readiness, for hire or otherwise, to commit some depredation upon organised society, or its members. The Band of Forty-Seven have been much written about in prose and poetry.

14. Bakufu (b?-koo-foo). A class consisting of retainers and members of the shogun’s court.

15. Samisen (s?-mi-sen). A stringed musical instrument resembling something between a banjo and a guitar. It is commonly used by the geishas, and is popular with the lower classes.

16. Kokyu (ko-ky-u). A kind of musical instrument.

17. Sayonara (si-yo-na-r?). The Japanese for “good-bye.”

18. Koku (ko-koo). A unit of measure, whose degree of value varied with time and locality.

19. Hinin (hi-nin). The vile; such as slaughterers, beggars, etc. At one time they were by law made social outcasts.

20. Obi (o-bi). A kind of sash, or girdle, worn about the waist for convenience and ornament.

21. Yamabushi (yÁ-mÁ-boo-shi). Mendicant monks.

22. Tokaido (To-ki-do). The great military road, or highway, between Tokyo and Kyoto.