Ieyasu was not only a general of eminent abilities, who had from his youth been accustomed to the responsibility and management of great campaigns, but he was a statesman who knew how to secure the advantage to be obtained from victories and conquests. After the decisive battle of Sekigahara, when the control of the empire became fixed in his hands, we hear little more of him as a general, excepting in the battle at Ōsaka, when the fortunes of Hideyori were finally and definitely settled. The common conception of Ieyasu is not that of a great commander like Hideyoshi, but rather of an organizer and law-maker, who out of confused and dismembered provinces and principalities of the empire constructed a firm and abiding state.226 After his settlement of the dissensions at home, and his admirable adjustment of the outstanding difficulties with Korea and China, which we have already traced, we shall find Ieyasu principally engaged in framing a government which should be suited to the peculiar [pg 270] wants and founded on the historical antecedents of the country.

There was one characteristic of Ieyasu which has not received sufficient attention. Although not a great scholar in any sense, even in the age in which he lived, he was more familiar than most men of affairs of his day with the Chinese classical writings, and was in the more leisurely periods of his life a noted patron of learned men. The Chinese classics were said to have been brought to Japan at an early period, even before the first introduction of Buddhism. But the period was too early and the condition of the country too rude to make the reading and study of the philosophical and political writings of Confucius and Mencius an essential part of the [pg 271] education of the people. The culture which Buddhism brought with it, accompanied with a knowledge of the writing and reading of the Chinese letters, was all that obtained any currency during the disturbed and warlike ages of Japanese history. But when peace was at last established by the supremacy of Ieyasu, and the active Japanese intellect had some other employment than fighting, then learning took a great start. And as the only idea which the Japanese possessed of learning was that which prevailed in China and was imbedded in the Chinese writings, they naturally turned to them for thought and systematic training.

Fortunately Ieyasu was a man who appreciated at its full value the effect of learning on the character of his people. He caused the Confucian classics227 to be printed at a press which he patronized in Fushimi, and this was said to be the first time these works had ever been printed in Japan. He gathered scholars about him at Fushimi, at Yedo, and after his retirement at Shizuoka (Sumpu). He favored education and encouraged the daimyōs to establish schools where the children of their retainers could be taught not only military accomplishments but the elements of a good education. The Chinese classics were made the essentials of such an education, and the chief duty of a school was to teach the [pg 272] pupils to read and write and understand the works which their venerable and learned neighbor had furnished them.

Unfortunately this movement in behalf of learning was hampered by the impracticable nature of the Chinese written language. Instead of a few characters representing sounds, like European alphabets, it consists of thousands of symbols, each representing an idea. The pupil must therefore spend years in learning to make, and know and read the mere signs of language. And in the modern necessities [pg 274] of printing,228 the compositor must handle not less than 4,000 or 5,000 Chinese characters, besides the Japanese

The castle of Yedo was reconstructed and enlarged after the battle of Sekigahara, while Ieyasu continued [pg 275] to reside at Fushimi. The Jesuit fathers, who accompanied the Father Provincial on his visit to Ieyasu, assert that 300,000 men were employed in this work. Very much of the ground where the present city of Tōkyō now stands, was then, according to old maps, covered with water. In excavating the moat which surrounds the castle, and the canals connecting this moat with the Sumida-gawa, immense quantities of earth were obtained, which were used to fill up lagoons and to reclaim from the shallow bay portions which have now become solid land. This work of building the castle and fitting the city for the residence of a great population, was carried on by many of the successors of Ieyasu. The third shōgun, Iemitsu, the grandson of Ieyasu, made great improvements both to the castle and the city, so that the population and position of Yedo in no long time placed it as the chief city of the empire.229

The task to which Ieyasu devoted himself during the years of his residence at Yedo was that of consolidating and settling the feudal system of the empire. The daimyōs had for centuries been so accustomed to conduct themselves independently, and to govern each his own province in his own way, that they might be expected to resent any efforts to restrict their action. Fortunately Ieyasu was a mild and temperate man, who, while he could act [pg 276] with firmness, was most considerate of the feelings and motives of others. After the decisive victory of Sekigahara he readily and cordially made terms with his enemies, and did not show himself rapacious in exacting from them undue penalties for their hostility. To the daimyō of Satsuma, as we have already seen, he restored the entire territory which Taikō Sama had given him. The daimyō of Chōshū was allowed to keep two of the provinces out of the ten which he had acquired by conquest, yet these two made him still one of the richest and most powerful princes in the empire. With others he dealt in the same liberal spirit, so that out of the old proud daimyōs whom he spared and permitted to continue in their holdings, he created for himself a body of fast friends.

But it must be remembered that the end Ieyasu had in view was to establish a system which should continue loyal to his successors, and to a line of successors who should be of his own family. Hence out of the confiscated territories, and out of those which were in part vacated as a fine on the former holders, and out of those which had become vacant by natural causes, he carved many fiefs with which he endowed members of his own family and those retainers who were closely affiliated with him. He had twelve children,230 nine sons and three daughters. The daughters were married to three daimyōs. The oldest of his sons, Nobuyasu, had died at an early age. His second son, Hideyasu, had been adopted by Taikō Sama, and to him Ieyasu gave the province [pg 277] of Echizen as his fief. The third son, Hidetada, who shared with his father the command of the forces at the battle Sekigahara, had married a daughter of Taikō Sama, and succeeded his father as shōgun. On his youngest three sons he bestowed the rich provinces of Owari, Kii, and Mito, and constituted the families to which they gave rise as the Without undertaking to give a detailed account of the feudal system as modified and established by Ieyasu, it will be sufficient to give the classes of daimyōs as they continued to exist under the Tokugawa shōgunate.231 It must be understood that feudalism existed in Japan before the time of Ieyasu. It can be traced to the period when Yoritomo obtained from the emperor permission to send into each province a The classes of daimyōs as arranged and established by Ieyasu were not altered by his successors, although the number included under each class was liable to minor changes. Before Ieyasu's time there were three classes of daimyōs, viz.: eighteen Ieyasu divided all daimyōs into two distinct classes, the We give here the classification of the daimyōs as enumerated by M. Appert233 in his list for the epoch about 1850:

The five leading Besides these daimyōs of different classes, Ieyasu established an inferior kind of feudal nobility, which was termed The authority coming from so high and so revered a source did not grow less during the centuries of feudalism which followed. The

The

It was an essential part of the education of a young The foundation of the relations between the feudal chiefs and their retainers lay in the doctrine of Confucius. The principles which he lays down fitted in admirably to the ideas which the historical system of Japanese feudalism had made familiar. They inculcated absolute submission of the son to the father, of the wife to her husband, and of the servant to his master, and in these respects Japanese feudalism was a willing and zealous disciple. On these lines Ieyasu constructed his plans of government, and his successors enthusiastically followed in his footsteps.

In religious belief the nation by the time of Ieyasu was largely Buddhistic. Through ten centuries and [pg 288] a half the active propagation of this faith had been going on, until now by far the greater number of the population were Buddhists. In his Legacy Ieyasu expresses a desire to tolerate all religious sects except the Christian. He says: “High and low alike may follow their own inclinations with respect to religious tenets which have obtained down to the present time, except as regards the false and corrupt school (Christianity). Religious disputes have ever proved the bane and misfortune of the empire, and should determinedly be put a stop to.”240

While he was therefore tolerant towards all the different sects of Buddhism and towards the old Shintō faith of the country, he particularly patronized the Jōdo sect to which his ancestors had been attached, and to which he charges his posterity to remain faithful.241 In the archives of the Buddhist temple Zōjōji at Shiba in Tōkyō was preserved an account written by the head priest of the time, how Ieyasu, in 1590, visited the temple and took it under his patronage, saying,242 “For a general to be without an ancestral temple of his own is as though he were forgetful of the fact that he must die.... I have now come to beg of you to let me make this my ancestral temple here.” So that from the time of Ieyasu the Jōdo was the authorized sect to which the court of the shōguns was especially attached, and to this is to be attributed the fact that its [pg 290] temples and monasteries in Tōkyō have always been of the most majestic and gorgeous character.243

Ieyasu did not long hold the office of shōgun, which the emperor had conferred upon him in 1603. It is not easy to understand why a man, who was only sixty-three years of age and who was still in vigorous health, should wish to throw off the responsibilities of office and retire to private life. We must remember, however, that it was the custom of his country, consecrated by the usage of the imperial house and of the shōguns and regents who had preceded him. Morever, though he surrendered to his son the title of shōgun, he retained in his own hands a large part of the power which he had hitherto exercised.

It may be supposed that he was anxious to establish the succession of the shōgunate unquestionably in his own family. For this purpose he deemed it wise to initiate a successor while he still had the influence and the power to compel the acquiescence of the feudal lords of the empire. Acting upon these [pg 291] considerations Ieyasu, in 1605, retired in favor of his third son Hidetada. He received from the emperor the title of In the meantime important events had been taking place which had great influence on the history of Japan. The contest between the Spanish on the one hand, and the Dutch and English on the other, was not confined to the Atlantic, but broke out in the Pacific, where the Portuguese and Spaniards had so long been predominant. A preliminary to the opening of trade with the Dutch were the arrival of William Adams and his extraordinary experiences in Japan. As we learn from his own letters,245 he was [pg 292] born near Rochester in England, 1574, and when twelve years old was apprenticed to Nicholas Diggins as a pilot. With him he served for twelve years, then took service as pilot major of a fleet of five sail, which was about to be despatched by the “Indish Companie” to take part in the trade of the East Indies. This fleet had a rough time, and with fevers and scurvy and want of food a great part of the crews of the five vessels died. They sailed by the way of the straits of Magellan, then northward past Chili, and westward across the broad Pacific. Two of the ships turned back at the straits and returned to Holland. A third vessel was captured by the Spaniards, and the pinnace of a fourth was seized by eight men, and run into some island on their way, supposed to be one of the Sandwich Islands, and there wrecked, and the eight men probably eaten. The two vessels still remaining were the Hope and the Charity. The former of these was never more heard of. The sole remaining vessel was the Charity, of which Jaques Maihore was the master, and William Adams was the pilot. Sickness, especially the scurvy, which was the frightful scourge on board the vessels of that day, had reduced the crew, so that only four were able to walk, of whom Adams was one, and four more could creep on their knees.

In this condition they reached, on the eleventh of April, 1600, the northeastern coast of the island of Kyūshū, landing in the province of Bungo, whose [pg 293] prince in earlier days had been the friend and patron of the Portuguese Jesuits. They were kindly received, the governor of the district furnishing a guard to protect their property—too late however for the preservation of much of it—and a house in which the sick could be cared for. In a few days a Portuguese Jesuit and other Portuguese arrived from Nagasaki, through whom the Dutch could communicate with the natives. The national and religious animosity between the strangers and their interpreters could not fail, however, to manifest itself. The Portuguese tried to create the impression that the refugees were pirates and unworthy of protection and help.

In accordance with the usual custom, word was immediately sent to Ieyasu (whom Adams calls the emperor), who at this time was at the castle of Ōsaka. He sent boats to Bungo, by which Adams and one of the crew were conveyed to his castle. Adams gives an interesting account of his reception, of the questions asked concerning his country, and its relations to the Spanish and Portuguese. He took occasion to explain, that the object of the Dutch in entering the East was purely that of trade, that they had in their own country many commodities which they would be glad to exchange for the products of the eastern nations.

After this interview Adams was kept thirty-nine days in prison, expecting to suffer the punishment of crucifixion, which he understood was the common mode of disposing of such characters. He found afterwards that the Portuguese had been using means [pg 294] to poison the mind of Ieyasu by representing them as dangerous characters, and recommending that all the refugees should be put to death as a warning to others. But he tells us246 that Ieyasu answered them, that “we as yet had done to him nor to none of his lands any harm or dammage [and it was] against Reason and Justice to put us to death. If our countreys had warres the one with the other, that was no cause that he should put us to death.”

While Adams was thus kept in prison, the Charity had been brought to Sakai, near to Ōsaka. Finally he was set at liberty, and suffered to revisit his ship, where he found the captain and remnant of the crew. The goods and clothing on board had been stolen by the natives, which Ieyasu tried to recover for them. But everything had been so scattered that it was impossible to regain it, “savinge 50,000 Rs in reddy money was commanded to be geven us” [as compensation]. After this settlement they were ordered to sail with their ship to the “land of Quanto and neere to the citie Eddo,” whither Ieyasu was about to proceed by land. Here they had a mutiny among their men, which ended in the entire disbanding of the crew, and the dividing up among them the money which they had received for their goods. Each man was left to shift for himself. The captain got permission to sail in a Japanese junk to Patan, where he hoped to meet Dutch vessels.

Adams himself was kept about the shōgun's court, [pg 295] and was made useful in various ways. His first achievement was to build a vessel of about eighteen tons burthen, which gained him great favor, in which he made several short voyages. Then in 1609, by command of the shōgun, he built another ship of one hundred and twenty tons burthen, which also was a successful venture. For it so happened that the governor of Manila was on his way to Nova Spania247 in a large ship of one thousand tons burthen, and was wrecked on the east coast of Japan, in the province of Shimosa. The governor and those of his comrades who were saved from the shipwreck were sent on to Acapulco in the ship which Adams had just built. In the year following, the governor, in recognition of their kindness to him, sent back to the Japanese government a much larger vessel as a present, the original being sent to and retained at Manila.

Adams was a straightforward, honest fellow, and commended himself to Ieyasu by usefulness not only in such matters as building ships, but in furnishing information concerning foreign affairs, which at this time were pressing on the government. In order to render him more content, Ieyasu gave him a small holding at Hemi, near the present town of Yokosuka, a few hours' sail from Yedo. He himself speaks of this property as “a living like unto a lordship [pg 296] in England, with eighty or ninety husbandmen, that be as my slaves or servants.”248 He probably also had a residence in Yedo, for there is to this day a street called The first appearance of the Dutch after Adams' shipwreck, as above described, was in 1609, when the Red Lion and the yacht Griffon arrived at Hirado. They were well received by the daimyō, and [pg 297] a deputation was sent to Yedo to visit the shōgun. Adams, in his second letter, speaks of their being “received in great friendship, making conditions with the emperor (shōgun) yearly to send a ship or two.” They were given a letter addressed to the “King of Holland,” with which they went back, arriving home July, 1610. This letter, among other things, promises, “that they (your subjects), in all places, countries, and islands under mine obedience, may traffic and build homes serviceable and needful for their trade and merchandises, where they may trade without any hindrance at their pleasure, as well in time to come as for the present, so that no man shall do them any wrong. And I will maintain and defend them as mine own subjects.”250

In accordance with this agreement the first vessel to arrive was a small yacht in July, 1611. A deputation from this vessel also went to visit the shōgun and the retired shōgun. It so chanced that a Portuguese party had preceded them by a few days. These deputations met at the court of Ieyasu. By the assistance of Adams, who was ready to do a favor to his old friends, the Dutch were kindly welcomed by the ex-shōgun's court, and in spite of the hostility, or perhaps aided by the hostility, of the Portuguese, they received from him a patent for continued trade. As given in Kaempfer in translation it is as follows:

“All Dutch ships that come into my empire of Japan, whatever place or port they may put into, [pg 298] we do hereby expressly command all and every one of our subjects not to molest the same in any way, nor to be a hindrance to them; but, on the contrary, to show them all manner of help, favor and assistance. Every one shall beware to maintain the friendship, in assurance of which we have been pleased to give our imperial word to these people; and every one shall take care that our commands and promises be inviolably kept.

“Dated (in Japanese equivalent to) August 30, 1611.”251

This was the authority on which the Dutch trade in Japan began, and under which, with many changes and vicissitudes, it continued to the time when the country was opened by treaty to foreign nations.

The effort made by English merchants to open a trade with the Japanese was made only a little after this time. Indeed, it is said that the report brought back by the Dutch in the Red Lion concerning Adams' presence and influence in Japan, gave the impulse which started an expedition under Captain John Saris in January, 1611. Saris was an old adventurer in the East, and therefore fitted to encounter the varied experiences of his proposed trip. He carried a letter from James I., then king of England, to Ieyasu the retired shōgun. At Bantam on his way he found that Adams' first letter,252 contained in the collection of his letters, and dated October 22, 1611, had just been received by the [pg 299] English merchants. It encouraged Saris to push on in his expedition. He arrived at Hirado, June, 1613, where the daimyō welcomed him and immediately sent off a special messenger to the shōgun's court to summon Adams to their aid. He came at once, and by his advice Captain Saris with a party set out to pay his respects to the retired shōgun. He gives an interesting account253 of this journey and visit, which resulted in a charter of privileges254 for the London East India Company to trade in any port of the empire. Having arranged to his great satisfaction this important matter he returned to Hirado, where he established a factory to serve as the basis for future English trade. In this, however, he encountered no little opposition from the Dutch traders, who had a factory in the same place. For while these enterprising nations, who had been allies in the days of the Armada, could combine very readily in opposition to the Spanish and Portuguese, it was not easy for either of them to look on complacently while the other secured for itself superior advantages in the matter of trade. Captain Saris tried to come to some agreement with his rivals, so that the prices of commodities might be kept up, but he was compelled to see the Dutch factory, in order to crowd him out of the field, putting the goods which they had for sale at prices which were ruinous to both. Having established matters, however, on as satisfactory a footing as he could arrange, and having left [pg 300] his comrade, Captain Cocks, in charge of the English factory, he sailed for home.

The subsequent events in the history of English trade with Japan may as well be traced here. The relations of the English and Dutch in the East grew steadily more inimical. Perhaps this was due to the increasing rivalry in trade and navigation which prevailed between them at home. In 1617 the London East India Company fitted out an expedition of five large vessels. This fleet arrived in the East in the summer of the following year. After much hostile skirmishing in which the Dutch obtained the permanent advantage, and the English commander was about to retire, word was brought to them from Europe that a peace had been arranged between the two countries. The English and Dutch vessels accordingly sailed to Japan, where they took a hand at trade; because in those days ships always were sent to the East prepared either to fight or trade as the case required. But this amicable arrangement did not last many years. The massacre at the Spice Islands in 1623, for which Cromwell afterward exacted an indemnity, ended all attempts at co-operation in the East. Soon after this the English company withdrew entirely from the Japanese trade, having lost in the effort forty thousand pounds. The Dutch were thus left without a rival, and we shall see on what conditions and at what sacrifices they continued to maintain their monopoly.

During the period of Ieyasu's retirement, which lasted from 1605 until his death in 1616, he devoted [pg 301] himself, as we have seen, to the consolidation of his family dynasty and to such literary occupations as his leisure allowed. He was a patron of the art derived from Korea, which then was popular in Japan, of printing with movable types.255 This art fell into disuse afterwards, but during Ieyasu's retirement in Sumpu he interested himself in printing with blocks as well as by the new method. When he died he was engaged in seeing through the press an edition of an important Chinese work.

He left behind him a document, called the Legacy of Ieyasu, which to those desirous of studying the character and motives of the founder of the Tokugawa dynasty possesses a supreme interest. Some doubt has been thrown by Japanese critics on the authenticity of this composition. It has been asserted that it was not the work of Ieyasu and therefore not worthy of the reverence in which it has been held. But whether the Legacy256 was originally composed by him or approved and sanctioned by him, matters little for our purpose. It dates from the time of the founding of the Tokugawa shōgunate, [pg 302] and has been an unimpeachable authority during all its history. One of the singular features in the disposition of the Legacy, to which Professor Grigsby directs attention, was the secrecy in which it was kept. The original was preserved in Kyōto and was never seen, while an authenticated copy was kept at the shōgun's court in Yedo, and once a year was open to the inspection of all above a certain rank. To us it seems unaccountable that a body of so-called laws, by which the conduct of men was to be guided, should be kept secret from them. But it must be remembered that in those days there were no such things as laws in the sense we now understand the term. There were magistrates who heard causes and complaints, but their decisions were based not on laws which had been enacted by the government, but upon prevailing custom and upon the innate sense of justice which was assumed to be present in the mind of every man. Whatever laws or rules therefore were in existence were not for the information of the people, but for the guidance of the magistrates.

The Legacy of Ieyasu consists of one hundred chapters, arranged without any attempt at logical order. Each chapter treats of a single, separate subject, and is usually of a very moderate length. As Professor Grigsby has pointed out: “Sixteen chapters consist of moral maxims and reflections; fifty-five are connected with politics and administrations; twenty-two refer to legal matters, and in seven Ieyasu relates episodes of his own personal history.” The moral maxims are quoted chiefly [pg 303] from the works of the Chinese sages, Confucius and Mencius. While the collection on the whole has a military aspect, and plainly encourages and promotes the well-being of a military class, yet we see in it the mild and peaceful nature of Ieyasu. The fifteenth chapter says: “In my youth my sole aim was to conquer and subjugate inimical provinces and to take revenge on the enemies of my ancestors. Yuyō teaches, however, that ‘to assist the people is to give peace to the empire,’ and since I have come to understand that the precept is founded on sound principle, I have undeviatingly followed it. Let my posterity hold fast this principle. Any one turning his back upon it is no descendant of mine. The people are the foundation of the empire.”

His estimate of the social relations is given in the forty-sixth chapter, in which he says: “The married state is the great relation of mankind. One should not live alone after sixteen years of age, but should procure a mediator and perform the ceremony of matrimonial alliance. The same kindred, however, may not intermarry. A family of good descent should be chosen to marry into; for when a line of descendants is prolonged, the foreheads of ancestors expand. All mankind recognize marriage as the first law of nature.”

The old custom of servants and retainers following their masters to death, and committing suicide in order to accompany them, is referred to in the seventy-fifth chapter.257 It is not improbable that [pg 304] some exhibition of this custom occasionally was seen in the days of Ieyasu, for he very sternly condemns it thus: “Although it is undoubtedly an ancient custom for a vassal to follow his lord to death, there is not the slightest reason in the practice.... These practices are strictly forbidden, more especially to primary retainers, and also to secondary retainers even to the lowest. He is the opposite of a faithful servant who disregards this prohibition; his posterity shall be impoverished by the confiscation of his property, as a warning to those who disobey the laws.”258

It is not necessary to follow in detail the line of Tokugawa shōguns. Few of them impressed themselves in any marked manner on the history of their country. Iemitsu, the third shōgun, who was a grandson of Ieyasu, was a man of great ability, and left many marks of his talents upon the empire. Under his administration the capital made great advances. He bound the daimyōs to his house by [pg 305] requiring them to maintain residences in Yedo under the surveillance of the government. His mausoleum is placed with that of his grandfather amid the august glories of Nikkō. Tsunayoshi (1681-1709) during his incumbency was more than usually interested in the peaceful prosperity of his country, and is gratefully remembered for his patronage of education and letters. But on the whole they were content to fill the office of shōgun in a perfunctory manner, and to leave to subordinates the duty of governing.

Japan reached the acme of her ancient greatness during the Tokugawa dynasty. The arts which have given her such a deservedly high rank attained their greatest perfection. Keramics and lacquer, which are her most exquisite arts, achieved a degree of excellence to which we can now only look back with hopeless admiration. Metal-work, as shown in the manufacture of bronze and in the forging and mounting of swords, was scarcely less notable. The still higher art of painting, which came to Japan from China, rose during the Tokugawa period to the rank which it still holds in the estimation of the artistic world.

The best evidence, however, of the civilization of a people is found in their social condition. To learn the true culture of a nation it is necessary to study their education and literature, their laws and system of government, and their morals and religion. In some of these particulars it is still difficult to obtain an adequate knowledge of Japan. But gradually they are being revealed to us. The laws and legal [pg 306] precedents259 which prevailed during the Tokugawa period have been unearthed from the archives of the Department of Justice and are being published in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society.

The medical and scientific advancement of Japan in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was not co-ordinate with her progress in the arts. They were hampered with the old Chinese notions about a male principle and a female principle which were conceived to prevail in nature, and with the five elements to which the human organs were supposed to correspond. Fortunately nature has ways of healing diseases in spite of theories and drugs. To this benign principle must be assigned the fact that the human race has survived the surgery and medicaments of mediÆval Europe as well as mediÆval China and Japan. In one particular the medical art of Japan seems to have been differently, perhaps better, conducted than in Europe. It is narrated by the Japanese annalists,260 that if a physican made a mistake in his prescription or in his directions for taking the medicine he was punished by three years' imprisonment and a heavy fine; and if there should be any impurity in the medicine prescribed or any mistake in the preparation, sixty lashes were inflicted besides a heavy fine.

Three peculiar modes of medical practice deserve [pg 308] notice. The first was acupuncture, which consisted in inserting a thin needle through the skin into the muscles beneath. A second was the cauterization by moxa261 (Japanese

Many of the improved notions of western medicine were introduced by the Dutch, and this accounts for the unprecedentedly rapid advance which this science has made since the opening of the country.

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The most potent cause which led to the breaking down of the Tokugawa Shōgunate, was the attitude which the empire had assumed toward foreign nations. There were other causes which co-operated with this, but none which were capable of such far-reaching and revolutionary effects. We have seen that this attitude was due to the fears entertained concerning the designs of the Portuguese and the Spanish. These fears may have been unfounded, but they were none the less real and operative. Such fears may have been stimulated by the Dutch, who had no reason to deal tenderly with the fanatical enemies of the independence and religion of their country. The spirit of trade with large profits was at the bottom of the great enterprises which were sent out from Europe to the East and West Indies during the seventeenth century.

The rivalry between the Dutch and Portuguese resulted in the banishment of the latter, and the establishment of the Dutch at Nagasaki in 1640. They occupied the little artificial island of Deshima, about three acres in extent, where were erected their houses, [pg 310] their offices and stores, and where for more than two hundred years their trade was conducted. And this, together with a like limited arrangement with the Chinese, was the sole foreign intercourse allowed with Japan.

It is plain now that this seclusion was a great mistake. It would have been of inestimable value to this enterprising and progressive people, to have kept in the race for improvement with the other nations of the world. They would not at this late day be compelled, under a dreadful strain of resources, to provide themselves with the modern appliances of civilization. Long since they would have tried the experiments with which they are now engaged, and would have found a way through the intricacies of politics to a free and stable government. To Ieyasu and his successors the way of safety seemed to be, to shut themselves up and sternly deny admittance to the outside world, while they continued to work out their destiny in their own way.

With whatever shortcomings the Dutch are to be charged in their intercourse with Japan, the world owes a great debt of gratitude to them for what they accomplished. Whatever was known concerning Japanese history and civilization down to the times of Commodore Perry, came chiefly from the Dutch. And not less than the debt of the rest of the world is that of Japan herself. Although the influence of the government was always exerted against the admission of foreign ideas, not a few of the seeds of western civilization were by them planted in a fertile [pg 311] soil and bore abundant fruit. To Kaempfer and Baron von Siebold particularly we must always look for our knowledge of the Japan of the days of its seclusion. Many efforts were made at successive times to open intercourse by the representatives of different nations. The Russians were the most persistent, and their attempts did not cease until the imprisonment of Captain Galowin in 1811. In comparatively recent times numerous essays were made resulting in disappointment. The American brig Morrison in 1837, the British surveying ship Saramang in 1845, Captain Cooper in 1845, Commodore Biddle in 1848, Admiral Cecille in 1848, Commander Glynn in 1849, and Commander Matheson in the same year, all made efforts to communicate with the government, but were rebuffed. It is plain that affairs were rapidly verging towards a point when the isolation of Japan must be given up.

Several causes contributed to the creation of a special interest in the United States of America, concerning the opening of negotiations with Japan. One of these was the magnitude to which the whale fishery had attained, and the large financial investments262 held in this industry by American citizens. A second cause was the opening of China to foreign trade as a result of the opium war. But the most active cause was the discovery of gold in California in 1848, and the consequent development of that state as a centre of trade. It was an early scheme to run a line of steamers from San Francisco to the newly opened ports of China. To Hongkong the [pg 312] distance is about 6,149 nautical miles, and if a steamer is to traverse the whole distance without a break, she must carry an enormous load of coal. The only remedy lay in establishing a coaling station on the Japanese islands, and this could only be effected when Japan abandoned her policy of seclusion and entered with a free heart into the comity of nations.

The interest of the government and people of the United States at last eventuated in the expedition under Commodore Matthew C. Perry. He had for a long time been convinced of the importance and feasibility of such an undertaking, and when he was summoned to take charge of it he made the most thorough preparation for his task.

At his suggestion the government procured all available books, maps, and charts, and he made himself master of every conceivable detail. From manufacturing establishments he secured models of railways, telegraphic lines, and other interesting industrial equipments. He realized the necessity of taking with him such a naval force that its appearance in Japanese waters would produce a profound impression upon the government. And knowing that all his predecessors, who had sought access by way of Nagasaki, had been repelled, he resolved to avoid it and its Portuguese and Dutch traditions and venture boldly into the bay of Yedo.

As soon as it was known that a diplomatic expedition was to be despatched to Japan under the command of Commodore Perry he was deluged with applications, both from England and America, to be permitted to join it.

[pg 313]

But Perry resolutely declined all these enterprising offers. In his long career as a naval officer he had seen the danger of admitting on board men-of-war persons who were not under the authority of the commander. From such dangers he meant to be free. He therefore refused to take on board the ships of his squadron any but regularly accredited officers and men over whom he exercised legitimate control. He even made it a rule that if any of the officers kept diaries during the progress of the expedition, they should be the property of the Navy Department and could not be published without its permission and authority.

Commodore Perry carried with him a friendly letter from the President of the United States to the Emperor of Japan,263 who is therein addressed as “Great and Good Friend.” The letter pointed out the contiguity of the two countries and the importance of their friendship and commercial intercourse; it announced that Commodore Perry had been sent to give assurance of the friendly sentiment of the President, and to arrange for privileges of trade, for the care of shipwrecked sailors, and for the appointment of a convenient port where coal and other supplies might be obtained by the vessels of the United States.

After some provoking delays and disappointments the expedition sailed from Norfolk on the 24th of [pg 314] November, 1852,264 proceeding by the way of the cape of Good Hope to the China sea. There taking on board Dr. S. Wells Williams as interpreter, and visiting several ports in China, the Bonin islands, and the Ryūkyū islands, they sailed to Japan. The squadron, led by the Susquehanna and followed by the Mississippi, the Plymouth, and the Saratoga, entered Yedo bay, July 8, 1853.265

Illustration

Commodore M. C. Perry.

The Japanese government had been warned of the preparation and coming of this expedition by the Dutch. Eager to maintain their position with the government the King of the Netherlands addressed to the Shōgun a letter in 1844 suggesting the relaxation of the laws excluding foreign nations from trade. But in the following year he received an answer declining to make any changes.

With all the warning, however, which the government had received and the preparations which had been made for the momentous occasion, the appearance of the squadron at the entrance of Yedo bay was an intense surprise. Two large steam frigates—the Susquehanna and the Mississippi—and two sloops-of-war—the Plymouth and the Saratoga,—although much inferior to the squadron promised, composed such an array as had never before made its appearance in Yedo bay. As they plowed through the peaceful waters, in full view of the white-capped peak of Fuji-yama, every height and vantage ground along the shore seemed alive with troops and with [pg 316] wondering and alarmed inhabitants. The vessels came to anchor off the village of Uraga, which is not far from the present site of the dockyards at Yokosuka.

The account266 of the preliminary negotiations conducted by Commodore Perry with the officers of the government is interesting, as showing the efforts made by them to send him to Nagasaki, and his absolute refusal to go thither or conduct his business through the Dutch or Chinese. When there seemed no other way, consent was given to receive, through an officer of adequate rank, the letter from the President of the United States to the Emperor of Japan. When he had formally delivered this letter, he took his departure with an intimation that he would return at a future day and receive the answer.267

There can be no doubt that the display of force which Commodore Perry took care to make in all his transactions with the Japanese officials at the same time that he was careful to convey assurances of his friendly purposes and objects, produced a deep impression on the government with which he had to deal. It is useless to deny that it was on this display of force that Commodore Perry largely relied for the success of his expedition. That he was prepared to use force had it been necessary we [pg 317] may feel sure.268 But the instructions of his government and his own sense of international justice bound him to exhaust every peaceful resource before resorting to measures of coercion.

The government of the shōgun was greatly troubled by this responsibility so suddenly laid upon it. They knew not what would be the result of their refusal to enter upon negotiations when Perry returned. The seclusion in which they had kept themselves so long had cut them off from a knowledge of the relations in which the nations of the world stood to each other. Notwithstanding Commodore Perry's protestations of friendliness, they were afraid of his great ships and their powerful armaments. Should they, as they might easily do, make their way up the bay till they were within gunshot of the capital, what resistance could the government show, or how could it prevent them from battering down the castle and all the daimyōs' residences.

The sentiment of loyalty to the emperor and opposition to the shōgun, which had been growing up so insidiously and had now become really formidable, was a source of the greatest perplexity to the Yedo government. Should they proceed with their negotiations and make a treaty with the Americans, this anti-shōgun sentiment was ready to manifest itself [pg 318] against them with terrible effect. If they refused to negotiate, then they must be ready to meet the invaders of their soil with their miserable obsolete armor and with hearts that two hundred years of peace had rendered more obsolete than their armor.

The first thing to be done was to consult the daimyōs and learn to what extent they could rely on their co-operation. The daimyō of Mito,269 a descendant of the famous Mitsukuni, seemed to have inherited one at least of the opinions of his ancestor. He advocated the observance of a greater reverence for the emperor at Kyōto, and criticised the assumption of imperial powers by the shōgun. At the same time he was an ardent foreign-hater, and in 1841 had been placed in confinement because he had melted down the bells of the Buddhist temples of his domains, and cast cannon for their protection. But now he was pardoned and appointed to take measures for the defence of the country. On the 15th of July—the American squadron was still in the bay, for it left on the 17th—the daimyō of Mito sent in to the government a memorial270 setting forth his decisive views on the subject. He gave ten reasons against a treaty and in favor of war. We give them here in Mr. Nitobe's translation:

“1. The annals of our history speak of the exploits of the great, who planted our banners on alien soil; but never was the clash of foreign arms heard [pg 319] within the precincts of our holy ground. Let not our generation be the first to see the disgrace of a barbarian army treading on the land where our fathers rest.

“2. Notwithstanding the strict interdiction of Christianity, there are those guilty of the heinous crime of professing the doctrines of this evil sect. If now America be once admitted into our favor, the rise of this faith is a matter of certainty.

“3. What! Trade our gold, silver, copper, iron, and sundry useful materials for wool, glass, and similar trashy little articles! Even the limited barter of the Dutch factory ought to have been stopped.

“4. Many a time recently have Russia and other countries solicited trade with us; but they were refused. If once America is permitted the privilege, what excuse is there for not extending the same to other nations?

“5. The policy of the barbarians is first to enter a country for trade, then to introduce their religion, and afterward to stir up strife and contention. Be guided by the experience of our forefathers two centuries back; despise not the teachings of the Chinese Opium War.

“6. The Dutch scholars say that our people should cross the ocean, go to other countries and engage in active trade. This is all very desirable, provided they be as brave and strong as were their ancestors in olden time; but at present the long-continued peace has incapacitated them for any such activity.

“7. The necessity of caution against the ships now lying in the harbor (i.e., Perry's squadron) has [pg 320] brought the valiant “8. Not only the naval defence of Nagasaki but all things relating to foreign affairs have been entrusted to the two clans of Kuroda and Nabeshima. To hold any conference with a foreign power outside of the port of Nagasaki—as has been done this time at Uraga—is to encroach upon their rights and trust. These powerful families will not thankfully accept an intrusion into their vested authority.

“9. The haughty demeanor of the barbarians now at anchorage has provoked even the illiterate populace. Should nothing be done to show that the government shares the indignation of the people, they will lose all fear and respect for it.

“10. Peace and prosperity of long duration have enervated the spirit, rusted the armor, and blunted the swords of our men. Dulled to ease, when shall they be aroused? Is not the present the most auspicious moment to quicken their sinews of war?”

The government sent to all the daimyōs copies of the American letter to the shōgun, and asked for their opinions concerning the course to be pursued. Many answers were immediately received. They almost unanimously declared against the opening of the country. Some advocated the alternative suggested in the letter itself, to open the country temporarily and try the experiment for three years, or five years, or ten years. In the meantime the defences of the country and new and improved arms and armaments could be perfected. The government did indeed busy itself [pg 321] during Perry's absence in hurrying forward defensive preparations. The line of forts which still are visible in the shallow water of the bay opposite Shinagawa, the southern suburb of the capital, were hastily constructed. Bells from monasteries and metal articles of luxury were melted down and cast into cannon. Lessons were given and became quickly fashionable in the use of European small-arms and artillery. The military class from the various clans flocked to Yedo and Kyōto in large numbers, expecting to be called upon to defend their country against the impudent intrusion of the barbarians.

During this busy time of perplexity and preparation the Shōgun Ieyoshi,—the twelfth of the Tokugawa dynasty—died August 25, 1853. His son Iesada succeeded him as the thirteenth shōgun. The death of the reigning shōgun did not produce any marked effect upon the policy of the government. Long before this time the custom of abdication, and the habits of luxury and effeminacy in which the family of the shōgun was reared, had dragged the house down to the usual impotent level. The government was conducted by a system of bureaucracy which relieved the titular shōguns from all responsibility and allowed them to live in profitless voluptuousness. So that one died and another reigned in his stead without causing more than a ripple upon the surface of current events.

Shortly after the departure of the American squadron from Yedo bay, the Russian Admiral Pontiatine appeared in the harbor of Nagasaki, and made application for a national agreement to open [pg 322] ports for trade, to adjust the boundary line between the two nations across the island of Saghalien, and to live in neighborly intimacy. English vessels were also in Chinese waters watching the Russians, and the war, usually called the Crimean war, actually broke out in the spring of 1854. A visit from these vessels might therefore be expected at any time.

Commodore Perry during the interval between his two visits to Japan sailed to the ports of China where the Taiping rebellion was then in action. The confusion and insecurity occasioned by this uprising rendered the presence of the squadron most acceptable to the American merchants.

On the 13th of February, 1854, he made his appearance a second time in Yedo bay with a fleet of seven ships, viz., three steam frigates and four sloops-of-war. Three additional vessels were to join, and did join, the fleet in Yedo bay. So that when the fleet was all mustered there were ten fully armed vessels, comprising such an array as had never before appeared in Japanese waters.

After some haggling about the place where the negotiations should be conducted, it was finally settled that the place of meeting should be at Kanagawa, near the village (now the city) of Yokohama. Here after much deliberation and discussion, proposals and amendments, banquets and presents, a treaty was agreed upon. The signing and exchange took place on the 31st of March, 1854. It was immediately sent to Washington for ratification.

As this was the first formal treaty271 made with [pg 323] any western country we give a synopsis of its provisions.

Art. I. Peace and amity to exist between the two countries.

Art. II. The port of Shimoda to be opened immediately and the port of Hakodate to be opened in one year, and American ships to be supplied with necessary provisions in them.

Art. III. Shipwrecked persons of either nation to be cared for, and expenses to be refunded.

Art. IV. Shipwrecked and other persons not to be imprisoned but to be amenable to just laws.

Art. V. Americans at Shimoda and Hakodate not to be subject to confinement; free to go about within defined limits.

Art. VI. Further deliberation to be held between the parties to settle concerning trade and matters requiring to be arranged.

Art. VII. Trade in open ports to be subject to such regulations as the Japanese government shall establish.

Art. VIII. Wood, water, provisions, coal, etc., to be procured only through appointed Japanese officers.

Art. IX. If at any future day privileges in addition to those here enumerated are granted to any other nation, the same to be allowed to Americans.

Art. X. Ships of the United States not to resort to other ports than Shimoda and Hakodate except in stress of weather.

Art. XI. Consuls or agents of the United States to reside at Shimoda.

[pg 324]

Art. XII. The ratification of this treaty to be exchanged within eighteen months.

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As might have been expected, as soon as this treaty with the United States had been signed there was a rush of other nations to obtain similar terms. Admiral Sir John Sterling, acting in behalf of the government of Great Britain, negotiated a treaty which was signed at Nagasaki on the 15th of October, 1854. Admiral Pontiatine negotiated a similar treaty for Russia, which was signed at Shimoda on the 7th of February, 1855. A treaty with the Netherlands was signed on the 30th of January, 1856.

None of these were in any general sense commercial treaties, providing for trade and making regulations by which it might be conducted. They were rather preliminary conventions, making arrangements for vessels to obtain necessary provisions, and stipulating for the protection of those suffering shipwreck, and for vessels driven under stress of weather to take shelter in the harbors of Japan. They each provided for admission to two ports: The American treaty to Shimoda and Hakodate; the English treaty to Nagasaki and Hakodate; the Russian treaty to Shimoda and Hakodate.

All these treaties contained what is called “the most favored nation clause,” so that where the privileges granted to any one nation were in excess of those granted previously to others, these privileges were also without further negotiation extended to the nations that had already made treaties.

[pg 325]

These dealings with foreign nations produced the most intense excitement throughout the empire. The old sentiment of hostility to foreign intercourse showed itself in unmistakable intensity. The song of the Black Ship, by which term the vessels of foreign nations were designated, was heard everywhere. Two distinct parties came into existence called the Jo-i party, who wished to expel the barbarians; and the Kai-koku party, who were in favor of opening the country.272 The members of the latter party were principally connected with the shōgun's government, and had become impressed with the folly of trying to resist the pressure of the outside world. The Jo-i party was made up of the conservative elements in the country, who clung to the old traditions of Japan that had matured during the two centuries of the Tokugawa rule. Besides these conservatives there was also a party who nourished a traditional dislike to the Tokugawa family, and was glad to see it involved in difficulties which were sure to bring down upon it the vengeance of the nation. These were chiefly found among the southwestern daimiates such as Satsuma, Chōshū, Hizen, and Tosa. The daimyō of Mito273 although connected with the shōgun's family was bitterly hostile to the policy of holding any friendly relations with foreigners. He was therefore regarded as the head of the Jo-i party, and many of the disaffected It was charged against the shōgun that in making treaties with foreign nations he had transcended the powers274 that rightly belonged to him. He was not the sovereign of Japan and never had been. He was only the chief executive under the emperor, and was not even next in rank to the emperor. It was impossible, therefore, that treaties made by the shōgun and not ratified by his sovereign should be regarded by the Japanese as legitimate and binding.

The question of the legality of the treaties which the shōgun had made was an important one, and interested not only the Japanese themselves but the foreigners whose privileges under these treaties were at stake. There is no doubt that Commodore Perry as well as all the subsequent negotiators, believed that in making treaties with the shōgun they were dealing with a competent authority. The precedents occurring in the history of Japan seemed all to bear in this direction. The Portuguese and the Spanish had dealt with the shōgun and never with the emperor. The Dutch had received from Ieyasu the privileges of trade and had ever since continued under the shōgun's protection. Captain Saris in his negotiations in 1614 received written assurances of protection and privileges of trade from the shōgun.

[pg 327]

It was because the shōgun's power had become weakened, and there had grown up an active sentiment against him, that the question in reference to his legitimate authority arose. “Had the treaty” (with Perry) “been concluded when the power of Yedo was at its former height, it is probable that no questions would have been asked.”275

According to the terms of the treaty made with the United States it was provided that a consul should be appointed “to reside at Shimoda at any time after the expiration of eighteen months from the signing the treaty.” In execution of this provision the United States government sent out Townsend Harris, who arrived in August, 1856. After some hesitation he was allowed to take up his residence at Shimoda. He was a man of great patience and tact, and gradually urged his way into the confidence of the government. He became the counsellor and educator of the officials in everything pertaining to foreign affairs. He was received December 7, 1857, by the shōgun with the ceremony due to his new rank of plenipotentiary which he had then received.276 In a despatch, dated July 8, 1858, he tells of a severe illness which he had suffered; [pg 328] how the shōgun sent two physicians to attend him, and when a bulletin was sent to Yedo that his case was hopeless, the physicians “received peremptory orders to cure me, and if I died they would themselves be in peril.”

The principal effort of Mr. Harris was the negotiation of a commercial treaty which should make provision for the maintenance of trade in specified ports of Japan. The treaties already made by Japan with foreign nations only provided for furnishing vessels with needed supplies, and for the protection of vessels driven by stress of weather and of persons shipwrecked on the Japanese islands. It remained to agree upon terms, which should be mutually advantageous, for the regular opening of the ports for trade and for the residence at these ports of the merchants engaged in trade.

The excitement occasioned by the steps already taken rendered the shōgun's government exceedingly reluctant to proceed further in this direction. It was only after much persuasion, and with a desire to avoid appearing to yield to the appearance of force277 with which the English were about to urge the negotiation of a commercial treaty, that at last, [pg 329] on the 17th of June, 1857, a treaty “for the purpose of further regulating the intercourse of American citizens within the empire of Japan” was duly concluded. The port of Nagasaki was to be opened in addition to those already stipulated. American citizens were to be permitted to reside at Shimoda and Hakodate for the purpose of supplying the wants of the vessels which visited there.

This does not seem to have been adequate, for only about a year later a further treaty, revoking that of June, 1857, was arranged. It was signed at Yedo on the 29th of July, 1858. Equivalent treaties were negotiated by other nations, and it is under the terms of these that the intercourse between Japan and the nations of Europe and America is still conducted. They provided for the opening of the ports of Ni-igata and Hyōgo, and for the closing of Shimoda, which had been found unsuitable, and the opening in its place of Kanagawa.278 They fixed dates for the opening of the cities of Yedo and Ōsaka, and provided for the setting apart of suitable concessions in each of them for residence and trade. They provided that all cases of litigation in which foreigners were defendants should be tried in the consular court of the nation to which the defendant belonged, and all cases in which Japanese citizens were defendants [pg 330] should be tried in Japanese courts. They fixed the limits within which foreigners at any of the treaty ports could travel, but permitted the diplomatic agent of any nation to travel without limitation. They prohibited the importation of opium. Commercial regulations were attached to the treaties and made a part of them, which directed that a duty of five per centum should be paid on all goods imported into Japan for sale, except that on intoxicating liquors a duty of thirty-five per centum should be exacted. All articles of Japanese production exported were to pay a duty of five per centum, except gold and silver coin and copper in bars. These trade regulations stipulated that five years after the opening of Kanagawa the export and import duties should be subject to revision at the desire of either party. The treaties themselves provide that on and after 1872 either of the contracting parties may demand a revision of the same upon giving one year's notice of its desire.

These stipulations in reference to a revision of the treaties, and especially of the tariff of duties to be paid on imported goods, have been a source of great anxiety and concern to the Japanese government. The small duty of five per centum, which it has been permitted to collect on the goods imported, is scarcely more than enough to maintain the machinery of collection. And while the initiative is given to it to ask for a revision of the treaties, it has never yet been able to obtain the consent of the principal nations concerned to any change in the original hard terms.

[pg 331]

Another provision in the treaties which has been the occasion of endless debate is that which requires all foreigners to remain under the jurisdiction of the consuls of their respective countries. It is claimed on the part of the Japanese that this provision, which was reasonable when the treaties were first made, is no longer just or necessary. The laws have been so far perfected, their judges and officers have been so educated, and the machinery of their courts have been so far conformed to European practice that it is no longer reasonable that foreigners residing in Japan should be under other than Japanese jurisdiction. It is earnestly to be hoped that these sources of irritation between Japan and the treaty powers may speedily be removed, and that the efforts of this progressive race to fall into line in the march of civilization may be appreciated and encouraged.

Any one who reads the diplomatic correspondence covering this period will see how serious were the troubles with which the country was called upon to deal. He will realize also how almost impossible it was for the diplomatic representatives of the western powers to comprehend the difficulties of the situation or know how to conduct the affairs of their legations with justice and consideration.

A succession of murders and outrages occurred, which awakened the fears of the foreign residents. It is plain enough now that this state of things was not so much due to the want of effort on the part of the government to carry out its agreements with foreign nations, as to the bitter and irreconcilable [pg 332] party hatred which had sprung up in consequence of these efforts. The feudal organization of the government, by which the first allegiance was due to the daimyō, rendered the condition of things more demoralized. It was an old feudal custom, whenever the retainers of a daimyō wished to avenge any act without committing their lord, they withdrew from his service and became It was in consequence a bloody time through [pg 333] which the country was called to pass. The prime minister and the head of the Suddenly on the 23d of March, 1860, Ii Kamon-no-kami was assassinated as he was being carried in his The assassins were eighteen The death of the regent was an irreparable blow to the government. There was no one who could take his place and assume his rÔle. His loss must be reckoned as one of the principal events which marked the decadence of the shōgun's power.

[pg 335]

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The outrages which now succeeded each other with terrible frequency were not confined to the native members of the opposing parties. Foreigners, who were so essentially the cause of the political disturbances in Japan, were particularly exposed to attacks. On the 14th of January, 1861, Mr. Heusken, the secretary and interpreter of the American legation, when riding home at night from the Prussian legation in Yedo, was attacked by armed assassins and mortally wounded. The object of this murder is supposed to have been the desire of one of the ministers of foreign affairs to take revenge on Mr. Heusken,281 for his activity in promoting foreign intercourse.

The weakness and the fears of the government [pg 336] were shown by the warning, which they sent to the foreign ministers to avoid attending the funeral of Mr. Heusken, lest further outrages might be committed. They did attend, however, and no disturbances occurred. It only remains to mention that Mr. Harris subsequently made an arrangement with the government for the payment of an indemnity282 of $10,000 to the mother of Mr. Heusken, who was then living at Amsterdam in Holland.

The next circumstance which awakened universal attention was an attack made on the British legation, on the night of the 5th of July, 1861. At this time the British minister occupied as a legation the buildings of the temple Tozenji, situated at Takanawa in the city of Yedo. It was guarded by a company of Japanese troops, to whom the government had entrusted its protection. Mr. Alcock had just returned by an overland journey from Nagasaki, and with a number of other Englishmen was domiciled in the legation. The attacking party consisted of fourteen That the government regarded such outrages with alarm is certain. They took the earliest opportunity to express their distress that the legation under their protection had thus been invaded. They assured Mr. Alcock with the most pitiable sincerity that “they had no power of preventing such attacks upon the legation, nor of providing against a renewal of the same with a greater certainty of success.” “They could not,” they said, “guarantee any of the representatives against these attempts at assassination, to which all foreigners in Japan were liable, whether in their houses or in the public thoroughfares.”285 They pretended to punish, and yet were afraid openly to punish the persons engaged in this attack.286 They promised to do what they could for the protection of the foreign representatives; but their measures necessarily consisted in making the legations a kind of prison where the occupants were confined and protected.

And yet, with all these assurances of danger, the foreign representatives seem to have been singularly ignorant of the real difficulties with which the government had to deal. This was due, no doubt, to the want of candor on the part of the Japanese officials in not explaining frankly and fully to them the [pg 338] political complications which existed between the governments of Yedo and Kyōto. They represented a widespread discontent to have grown up since the negotiation of the treaties, owing to the increased price of provisions, the derangement of the currency, and the danger of famine. In view of these pressing difficulties they asked for the postponement of the time fixed by the treaties for opening a port on the western coast and Hyōgo on the Inland sea, and for the establishment of definite concessions in the cities of Yedo and Ōsaka. These modifications of the treaties were finally accepted, and it was arranged that the opening of the ports named above should be postponed for a period of five years from the first of January, 1863.

This postponement of the opening of the ports was the chief reason for sending to foreign countries their first embassy. This set out from Yokohama in January, 1862, and visited the United States, then England, and the other treaty powers. They were everywhere received with the utmost kindness and distinction. The immediate object of their mission was, as we have seen, accomplished. The opening of additional ports was deferred on condition that in those already opened the obstacles which had been put in the way of trade should be removed.

But, besides the attainment of this end, the visit of the embassy to foreign capitals and countries produced a salutary influence both on the foreigners whom they met and on the influential personages of which it consisted. The former learned to their surprise that they had a cultivated, intelligent, and [pg 339] clever race to deal with, whose diplomatists,287 although inexperienced in European politics, were not unqualified to enter the courts of western capitals. But the revelation to the Japanese envoys was still greater and more surprising. For the first time they saw the terrible armaments of western powers, and realized the futility of attempting to make armed resistance to their measures. But they encountered on every hand not hatred and aversion, but the warmest interest and kindness,288 and a desire to render them every courtesy. Instead of barbarians, as they had been taught to regard all foreigners, they found everywhere warm-hearted and intelligent friends who were anxious to see their country treated with justice and consideration.

On the 26th of June, 1862, a year after the first, a second attack was made upon the British legation. Lieutenant-Colonel Neale was at this time In the meantime the relations between the courts at Kyōto and Yedo had become more and more strained. The efforts at reconciliation, such as the marriage between the young shōgun and the sister of the emperor in 1861, produced no permanent effect. The disease was too deep-seated and serious to be affected by such palliations. Shimazu Saburō, the uncle289 and guardian of the young daimyō of Satsuma, came in 1862 to Kyōto with the avowed purpose of advising the emperor in this emergency. He was accompanied by a formidable body of Satsuma troops, and on these he relied to have his advice followed.

On his way thither he had been joined by a body of The emperor's court, although bitterly hostile to the liberal policy which prevailed at Yedo, were alarmed by the desperate allies which Shimazu was bringing with him. He presented their memorial to the emperor, and favored their wishes to use all the force of the country to dislodge the hated foreigner from its soil. Other powerful daimyōs were collected at the same time at the imperial capital, and its peaceful suburbs resounded with the clank of warlike preparations. The most notable of these was the daimyō of Chōshū, who at this time was joined with the Satsuma chief in the measures against the shōgun's government.

Shimazu continued his journey to Yedo in the summer of 1862, where he endeavored to impress on the The Satsuma train left Yedo on the morning of the 14th of September by way of the Tōkaidō, which runs through Kawasaki and skirts the village of Kanagawa. It consisted of a semi-military procession of guards on foot and on horseback, of The etiquette of the road for such trains was well settled in feudal Japan. The right of way was always accorded to the daimyō, and all unmilitary persons or parties were required to stand at the side of the road while the train was passing, to dismount if on horseback, and to bow to the daimyō's On the afternoon of the day on which the Satsuma train left Yedo, a small riding party left Yokohama for the village of Kawasaki, on a visit to the temple at that place. It consisted of one lady and three [pg 343] gentlemen, one of whom was Mr. Charles L. Richardson, who had for many years been a merchant at Shanghai, but who was visiting Japan previous to his return to England. A few miles north of the village of Kanagawa they encountered the head of the train, and for some distance passed successive parts of it. They were either ignorant of the etiquette which required them to withdraw during the passage of such a cavalcade, or underrated the danger of disregarding it.

Presently they came upon the troop which had special charge of the The excitement in the town was intense. There was a proposition to organize immediately a force and pursue after the train, in order to capture the murderer and the Satsuma chief. It was with no small effort and with the almost unanimous sentiment of the foreign community against him, that Colonel Neale, the British Neither the surrender of the assassin nor the payment of this indemnity was willingly undertaken by Satsuma. It ended therefore in Admiral Kuper being despatched with a squadron of seven vessels to [pg 345] Kagoshima in order to enforce on the recalcitrant daimyō the terms agreed upon with the government at Yedo. He arrived on the 11th of August, 1863, and was received with frowning batteries and a terrible typhoon of wind and rain. Negotiation failed to effect a settlement and the naval force was called upon to play its part. Three valuable new steamers, which the daimyō had recently purchased, were captured and burned. The batteries which lined the shore were dismantled by the guns of the ships. The city of Kagoshima, said to have had at this time a population of 180,000 and to have been one of the most prosperous towns in Japan, was almost completely destroyed by fire. After this drastic lesson the money demanded was paid, but the murderer of Richardson was not and probably could not be surrendered, and never has been publicly known.

The most important result which followed this severe experience was its moral effect on the Satsuma leaders. They had become convinced that western skill and western equipments of war were not to be encountered by the antiquated methods of Japan. To contend with the foreigner on anything like equal terms it would be necessary to acquire his culture and dexterity, and avail themselves of his ships and armaments. It was not long after this therefore, that the first company of Japanese students291 [pg 346] were sent to London under the late Count Terashima by the daimyō of Satsuma, and the purchase of cannon and ships of war was authorized.

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

Accordingly on the 25th of June, 1863 the Pembroke, a small American merchant steamer on her way from Yokohama to Nagasaki was fired upon by two men-of-war belonging to the daimyō of Chōshū. She was not hit or hurt and escaped through the Bungo channel without injury. Shortly afterwards, on the 8th of July, the French gunboat Kienchang while at anchor in the straits, was also fired upon and severely injured. And lastly the Dutch [pg 347] ship-of-war Medusa, in spite of a warning from the Kienchang, undertook to pass the straits and was fired upon by the ships and batteries of the daimyō of Chōshū, to which she responded with decisive effect.

News of these hostile acts was brought immediately to Yokohama. The U. S. Steamship Wyoming was lying there, and was at once despatched to avenge the insult to the American flag. She arrived at Shimonoseki on July 16th, and in a conflict with ships and batteries sunk a brig and exploded the boiler of a steamer. On the 20th inst. the French frigate Semiramis and the gunboat Tancrede under the command of Admiral Juares arrived to exact vengeance for the attack on the Kienchang. One of the batteries was silenced, and a force of two hundred and fifty men were landed who destroyed what remained.

These acts of signal vengeance were followed by negotiations for damages. The shōgun's government disavowed the actions of their rebellious subordinate; but this did not free them from responsibility for the injuries which he had inflicted. The American minister secured the payment of twelve thousand dollars for alleged losses by the Pembroke, although as we have seen the vessel got off without any damage. Negotiations in regard to freeing the Inland sea from obstructions dragged along for almost a year. The Finally an expedition was organized by the treaty powers to visit Shimonoseki, in order to destroy whatever might be in existence there. It consisted of nine British292 ships-of-war, four Dutch, three French, and one steamer, chartered for the occasion to represent the United States.293 It sailed from Yokohama on the 28th and 29th of August, 1864. The attack was made from the 5th to the 8th of September. The daimyō, finding it useless to contend against such overwhelming odds, gave in his absolute submission.

After the return of the expedition the representatives of the allied powers held a conference with the Japanese ministers of foreign affairs with reference to the final settlement of this unfortunate business. A convention294 was entered into between the interested parties, dated the 22d of October, 1864, by [pg 349] which an indemnity of three million dollars was to be paid by Japan to the four powers for damages and for expenses entailed by the operations against the daimyō of Chōshū. This sum was to be paid in instalments of half a million dollars each. The four powers agreed among themselves as to the division of this indemnity: That France, the Netherlands, and the United States, in consideration of the actual attacks made on their shipping, were to receive each one hundred and forty thousand dollars, and that the remaining sum should be divided equally between the four powers.

It has always been felt that the exaction of this large indemnity was a harsh if not an unwarrantable proceeding. The government of Yedo had disavowed and apologized for the conduct of the rebellious daimyō, and promised, if time were allowed, to reduce him to subjection. Of the powers which were allied in the expedition, Great Britain had suffered no damage, and the United States had already received an indemnity for the injuries and expenses of the vessel fired upon. To insist, therefore, upon the government not only paying for the damage inflicted, but for the expense of an unnecessarily large and costly expedition to suppress the rebellious subordinate, which was sent contrary to the express protest of the responsible government, seems too much like that overbearing diplomacy with which western nations have conducted their intercourse in the East.295 The promised sum, however, [pg 350] was at last, after much financial distress, all paid, and the painful episode was ended.

One undesigned benefit resulted from the Shimonoseki expedition. Just as the bombardment of Kagoshima had taught the daimyō of Satsuma the folly of resisting western armaments, so now the daimyō of Chōshū had learned by an expensive experience the same bitter lesson. For the future these two powerful clans might therefore be counted on, not only to oppose the moribund government of Yedo, but to withstand the folly of trying to expel the foreigners who by treaty with an unauthorized agent had been admitted into the country. The Chōshū leaders had also taken advantage of their experiences in this conflict with foreigners to put their troops on a better basis as regards arms and organization. For the first time the privilege of the Another noteworthy military event deserves mention here. Colonel Neale had applied to his government for a military guard to protect British interests [pg 351] at Yokohama. Two companies of the 20th regiment were sent from Hongkong, and with the consent of the Japanese government took up their residence in 1864 at barracks in the foreign settlement. They were afterwards joined by a French contingent, and for many years they were a familiar sight, and gave a sense of security to the nervous residents.

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

Two important games were in progress. Yedo was the field on which one of these was to be decided, and the players were the representatives of the treaty powers on the one side, and the shōgun's government on the other. Victory had already been [pg 352] virtually declared in favor of an open country and foreign intercourse. The other game was being played at Kyōto between the shōgun's friends and his enemies. The stake was a momentous one, namely, to determine whether the present dual government was to continue and who was hereafter to wield the destinies of the empire.

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

These repeated outrages seriously disturbed the Yedo government, and led to several attempts to curtail the privileges which by the treaties were [pg 353] secured to foreigners. The last proposition of the kind which was made was one conveyed to the French government by an embassy sent out in 1864. They presented a request to have the port of Kanagawa closed up and trade to be confined to Hakodate and Nagasaki. They received no encouragement, however, and returned with their eyes “opened by the high state of material and moral prosperity which surrounded them,” and reported the complete failure of their attempts at persuasion. “The It is necessary now to trace the course of events at Kyōto. According to the theory of the government of Japan the emperor was the supreme and unlimited ruler and the shōgun was his executive. The maintenance of the emperor and his court was a function of the shōgun, and hence it was almost always possible for him to compel the emperor to pursue any policy which he might desire.

At the time now under review Kōmei, the father of the present emperor, occupied the imperial throne. He had succeeded to this dignity in 1847 at the age of eighteen, and he died in 1866 at the age of thirty-seven. The shōgun was Iemochi, who in 1858 had been chosen from the family of Kii, because of the failure of an heir in the regular line. At the time of his election he was a boy of twelve years of age, and was placed under the guardianship of the prime minister Ii Kamon-no-kami. After the assassination [pg 354] of the prime minister in 1861, Hitotsubashi Gyōbukyō, a son of the daimyō of Mito, was appointed guardian, and served in this capacity until the shōgun's death.

Around the court of the emperor were gathered many discordant elements. The party of the shōgun was always represented, and the daimyō of Aizu, its ardent friend and champion, had the honorable distinction of guarding the imperial palace. By invitation many other daimyōs were at Kyōto with retinues of officers and attendants, and with guards of troops. The southern and western daimyōs were present in imposing numbers, and although they did not always agree among themselves, they were in harmony in the general purpose to discredit the government at Yedo and to promote the imperial authority.

The expulsion of foreigners was the common subject of discussion and agitation. Although again and again it had been assured that it was impossible to dislodge the treaty powers from their position in the country, the court still continued to direct its efforts to this object. For the first time in two hundred and thirty years,298 when Iemitsu went up to the imperial court, the Shōgun Iemochi visited Kyōto in 1863 in order to consult about the affairs of the country. In accordance with the precedent set by Iemitsu, the shōgun distributed on this occasion rich presents to the emperor and the officers of his court. He also scattered among the townspeople his largesses, until “the whole populace, moistened in [pg 355] the bath of his mercy and goodness, were greatly pleased and gratified.”299

Conferences300 were held between the daimyōs who were present in Kyōto and the officials of the court, and in spite of the objections and remonstrances of the Yedo official, an imperial edict was issued and entrusted to the shōgun for execution, to expel from the country the hated foreigners. This edict was notified to the representatives of the treaty powers by the Yedo officials. They seemed, however, to regard their duty fully done when this notice was given. No serious steps were ever taken to carry out these expulsive measures, unless the obstruction of navigation of the Shimonoseki straits by the daimyō of Chōshū be regarded of this character.

In 1863 a plot was alleged to have been formed by the Chōshū men to seize the emperor and carry him off to their own territory. The object aimed at by this plot was of course to get the court out of the hands of the shōgun's friends, and surround it by influences favorable to the plans of the southern daimyōs. The court, however, became alarmed by the reports in circulation, and steps were taken to forbid the Chōshū troops, who guarded Sakaimachi gate, access to the grounds of the imperial palace. Offended by this action they retired to their own territory. Seven of the most prominent court [pg 356] nobles ( The departure of the Chōshū clansmen and the triumph of the shōgun's party seemed to have put an end to the anti-foreign policy. The emperor and his court had been forced to the conclusion that the effort to expel the treaty powers was far beyond the powers of Japan, even if it were united and its exertions directed from one centre. From this time may be estimated to begin a new phase in the contest which was to end in the restoration of the original form of government.

The territory of Chōshū had become the rendezvous for all the disaffected elements of the empire. The daimyō was looked upon as the patriotic leader of the country, and

Illustration

Kido Takeyoshi.

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

In 1865 Sir Harry Parkes arrived in Japan as the envoy plenipotentiary of the British government. He had resided in China from boyhood, and had been especially conspicuous in the war between [pg 359] China and Great Britain in 1860. His career in Japan continued until 1883, when he was promoted to the court of Peking. He had the good fortune to be the representative of his country during the most momentous years of modern Japanese history, and in many of the most important events he exerted an influence which was decisive.

Illustration

Udaijin Iwakura Tomomi.

The troubles in Chōshū were finally brought to a close. The efforts of the shōgun, although conducted [pg 360] at great expense, were unavailing. Satsuma, when summoned to render aid in crushing the rebellious prince, declined to join in the campaign. Through the efforts of Saigō Kichinoske,305 a treaty of amity was effected between the two clans. The kind treatment of the Chōshū prisoners in the attack on Kyōto was remembered, and the help and alliance of the powerful Kyūshū clan were eagerly accepted. Peace was negotiated between the shōgun and the rebels. Thus the Chōshū episode was ended, with no credit to the shōgun's party, but with a distinct gain to the cause of the imperial restoration.306

It had long been recognized that the treaties which had been made by the foreign powers would possess a greatly increased influence on the Japanese people if they could have the sanction of the emperor. The shōgun Iemochi had been summoned to Kyōto by the emperor to consult upon the concerns of the nation, and was occupying his castle at Ōsaka. The representatives of the foreign powers thereupon concluded that it would be a timely movement to proceed with their naval armaments to Hyōgo, and [pg 361] wait upon the shōgun at Ōsaka, with the purpose of urging him to obtain the imperial approval of the treaties. This was accordingly done, and an impressive display of the allied fleets was made at the town, which has since been opened to foreign trade.

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

A memorial307 was presented to the emperor in the name of the shōgun, setting forth the embarrassment under which the administration of the country had been conducted on account of the supposed opposition of the emperor to the treaties, and begging him to relieve them by signifying his sanction; and assuring him that if this is not given, the foreign representatives who are at Hyōgo will proceed to the capital and demand it at his hands.

It ended in the sanction of the treaties being signified October 23, 1865, by the following laconic decree308 addressed to the shōgun: “The imperial consent is given to the treaties, and you will therefore undertake the necessary arrangements therewith.”

During this critical time the Shōgun Iemochi died September 19, 1866, at his castle in Ōsaka at the [pg 362] age of eighteen. He had been chosen in 1858, in the absence of a regular heir, by the determined influence of Ii Kamon-no-kami, who was then all-powerful at Yedo. He was too young to have any predominating influence upon affairs. Until the assassination of the prime minister Ii Kamon-no-kami in 1861 the boy shōgun had been under his guardianship. Since then that duty had been devolved upon Hitotsubashi, a son of the diamyō of Mito, who had been himself strongly pressed for the office of shōgun, but who was alleged to be too mature and resolute a character for the prime minister's purposes. As guardian, Hitotsubashi had taken an active part in the effort to obtain the sanction of the treaties, and the final success of this important step must in a great measure be attributed to him.

After the death of Iemochi without direct heirs, the office of shōgun was offered to Hitotsubashi as a representative of Mito, one of the “honorable families” from whom a shōgun was to be chosen in case of a failure of direct heirs. It is said that he accepted the office with great reluctance, knowing the troubles which would surely await him who assumed it. He assented only on the command of the emperor and the assurance of support from many of the diamyōs. He has thus the distinction of becoming the last of the long line of Tokugawa shōguns, under the name of Tokugawa Yoshinobu.309

A few months after the death of Iemochi, on the 3d of February, 1867, Emperor Kōmei also died [pg 363] from an attack of small-pox. He is said to have been strongly prejudiced against foreigners and foreign intercourse, and it was claimed at the time of his death, that when he sanctioned the foreign treaties the divine nature left him to fall a prey to the ravages of ordinary disease. His son Mutsuhito, then in his fifteenth year, succeeded him and is now the reigning emperor, the one hundred and twenty-first of his line.

Illustration

The Reigning Emperor.

[pg 364]

It was thought that the death of an emperor of strong prejudices and of a mature age would naturally favor a more complete control by the new shōgun. It was not to be anticipated that an emperor, still only a youth, would pursue the same policy as his father, and undertake to assume a real and active part in the government of his country. But the shōgun and his friends underrated the influences which were gathered at Kyōto, and which now went far beyond an anti-foreign sentiment and were chiefly concerned with schemes for restoring the imperial power and unifying the form of government.

The daimyō of Tosa, who was a man of liberal sentiments and of great penetration, addressed a letter to the shōgun in October, 1867, in which he frankly says: “The cause [of our trouble] lies in the fact that the administration proceeds from two centres, causing the empire's eyes and ears to be turned in two different directions. The march of events has brought about a revolution, and the old system can no longer be persevered in. You should restore the governing power into the hands of the sovereign and so lay a foundation on which Japan may take its stand as the equal of other countries.”310

Illustration

Imperial Crests.

The shōgun being deeply impressed with the wisdom of this advice drew up a document addressed to his vassals, asking their opinion of the advisability of his resignation. Among other things he says: “It appears to me that the laws cannot be maintained in face of the daily extension of our foreign [pg 365] relations, unless the government be conducted by one head, and I propose therefore to surrender the whole governing power into the hands of the imperial court. This is the best I can do for the interests of the empire.”311 According to this announced [pg 366] resolution, on the 19th of November, 1867, the shōgun resigned into the hands of the emperor his authority. This surrender was accepted, and thus a dynasty which had lasted from 1603 came to an end. That this surrender might be declined and the power still continue to be held by the Tokugawa, was perhaps the hope and wish of the last shōgun. But it was not to be. The powerful clans who for years had labored for the destruction of the Tokugawa primacy were ready to undertake the responsibility of a new government. And although the change was not to be effected without a struggle, yet from this point may be counted to begin the new period of the restoration.

[pg 367]

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The resignation of the shōgun was accepted by the emperor, on the understanding that a conference of the daimyōs was to be called and its opinion taken in reference to the subsequent conduct of affairs. In the meantime the ex-shōgun, under the command of the emperor, was to continue the administration, particularly of those interests which concerned the foreign powers. But the allied western daimyōs feared the effect of leaving the administration in the hands of their enemies. The possession of the person of the emperor was always reckoned an important advantage. Especially was this the case when the emperor was only a boy, whose influence in the affairs of the government could have little weight. They resolved, therefore, to take measures which would definitely ensure the termination of the shōgun's power, and secure for themselves the result for which they had been so long laboring.

On January 3, 1868, by a so-called order of the emperor,312 but really by the agreement of the allied [pg 368] daimyōs, the troops of the Aizu clan, who were in charge of the palace gates, were dismissed from their duty, and their place assumed by troops of the clans of Satsuma, Tosa, Aki, Owari, and Echizen. The One of the first acts of the new government was to recall the daimyō of Chōshū, who had been expelled from Kyōto, in 1863, and to invite back the This powerful clan,314 which had suffered such a [pg 369] varied experience, was destined to take and maintain a leading position in the future development of the restored empire.

The Aizu and other clans which had been devoted friends of the Tokugawa shōguns were especially outraged by this conciliatory spirit shown to the Chōshū troops. They claimed that this clan by resisting the imperial commands had merited the opprobrious title of rebels ( At the suggestion of his friends the shōgun retired to his castle at Ōsaka, and the troops attached to his cause also retreated and gathered under his standard. The situation of affairs was for a time uncertain. The shōgun had resigned, and his resignation had been accepted, but he had been asked by the emperor to continue his administration. Subsequently, under the pressure of the allied clans, the emperor had abolished the shōgunate and entrusted the administration to a provisional government. This last action the friends of the ex-shōgun resented as the doings of revolutionists. It is believed that he himself was averse to further conflict. Any step which he might take in the vindication of his rights must involve war with the allied clans, and he was not a man of war.

While these critical events were taking place, the [pg 370] representatives of foreign powers came down from Yedo to Hyōgo with an impressive array of men-of-war. By invitation of the ex-shōgun they visited him at Ōsaka. In reply to the representatives he made an address,315 complaining of the arbitrary conduct of those who now had possession of the imperial person, and notifying them that he was willing and able to protect their rights under the treaties, and asking them to await the action of a conference to be summoned. In consequence of the conflict which was now imminent, the representatives of the treaty powers issued a notice to their citizens that neutrality must be maintained under all circumstances, and arms and ammunition must not be sold to either party.

The first armed conflict between the two parties took place during the closing days of January, 1868. Two of the allied daimyōs, Owari and Echizen, were sent to Ōsaka to confer with the ex-shōgun, in the hope that some terms might be agreed upon, by which further difficulty could be avoided. They were both Tokugawa daimyōs, Owari belonging to one of the After the envoys had gone his friends raised suspicions in his mind concerning his personal safety. The daimyōs of Aizu and Kuwana offered to accompany [pg 371] him in case he determined to go. They organized, therefore, a force of about 10,000 men with which they proposed to escort him. He must have known that a formidable military escort like this would precipitate a conflict. However, he set out. The news of the preparations of the ex-shōgun was brought to Kyōto, and aroused a determination to resist his invasion of the capital. He had been invited to the palace by the emperor, but he was to come as a peaceful visitor. If he had determined to come with a guard composed of the enemies of the empire he must be resisted.

Troops of the Satsuma and Chōshū clans were, therefore, posted to intercept the march of the ex-shōgun's escort. It is believed that they numbered about 1,500316 men. The fighting took place on the roads leading from Ōsaka to Kyōto, and lasted during the 28th, 29th, and 30th of January. It ended in the complete defeat of the rebel army, although it so far outnumbered its adversaries.

The ex-shōgun being thus disappointed in his plan to enter the capital with a commanding force retired to his castle at Ōsaka, from which he proceeded on a steam corvette to Yedo.317 The castle at [pg 372] Ōsaka was burnt, and the defeated troops made their way by land to the same rendezvous. The antipathy existing between the Satsuma clan and the Tokugawa adherents showed itself in a very pronounced manner in Yedo. The Satsuma On February 8, 1868, the emperor sent to the foreign representatives a request that they communicate to their governments the fact that hereafter the administration of both internal and external affairs would be conducted by him, and that officers would be appointed to conduct the business which may arise under the foreign treaties.

In token of the sincerity of this communication an invitation was conveyed to the representatives of [pg 373] the powers then at Hyōgo to present themselves before the emperor on March 23d. The significance of this event can scarcely now be conceived. Never before in the history of the empire had its divine head deigned to admit to his presence the despised foreigner, or put himself on an equality with the sovereign of the foreigner. The event created in the ancient capital the utmost excitement. The French and Dutch ministers had each in turn been conducted to the palace and had been received in audience. No serious incident had occurred. But during the progress of Sir Harry Parkes,318 the British representative, from his lodgings to the palace, two fanatical The court, by whose invitation the ministers had undertaken to present themselves before the emperor, was overwhelmed with mortification. High officers at once waited upon Sir Harry and tendered their sympathy and profound regret. After making every reparation in their power, arrangements were made to hold the audience on the day following that originally appointed. It was held accordingly without further incident. Warned by this alarming occurrence, the government issued an edict, that as the treaties had now been sanctioned by the emperor, the protection of foreigners was henceforth [pg 374] his particular care; that if therefore any The scene of the brief contest was now shifted to the east. The ex-shōgun seemed to vacillate between a complete surrender of his power and a provisional retention of it until the will of the nation could be taken by a conference of the daimyōs. On the arrival of the imperial forces in Yedo the final terms of his future treatment were announced to the ex-shōgun: That he retire to Mito, and there live in seclusion; that the castle in Yedo be evacuated; and that the vessels and armaments now in the possession of the ex-shōgun be surrendered. These terms were accepted, and he took up his residence in his ancestral province of Mito. Subsequently he was permitted to remove to the castle of Sumpu at Shizuoka. With him the dynasty of Tokugawa shōguns vanishes from history.

His adherents, however, still continued to resist the imperial forces. For months the Aizu troops hovered about Yedo, and at last came to blows with the imperial troops at the grounds of the Uyeno temple on July 4, 1868. It was a hard-fought battle, and was at last decided by an Armstrong gun in the hands of the Hizen troops. The fine old temple was destroyed, and the rebel forces withdrew to the north.

[pg 375]

Further complications arose—fighting at Utsunomiya, etc.,—but at last they were ended by the surrender of the castle of Wakamatsu, where the daimyō of Aizu had made a stand. With generous fortitude he took the blame upon himself and submitted to the clemency of his sovereign.

It is only necessary now in order to bring to a close the account of this short military contest, to refer to the movements of the fleet lying at Shinagawa. It will be remembered that by the terms accepted by the ex-shōgun these vessels were to be surrendered to the imperial forces. There were seven of them, mounting in all eighty-three guns. They were under the command of Enomoto Izumi-no-kami, who had learned in Holland the science of naval war. He did not approve of his master surrendering these muniments of war. On the morning of the day when the vessels were to be delivered over to the imperial commander, they had disappeared from their anchorage. In the night Enomoto had got up steam, crept out through Yedo bay, and sailed northward to more friendly climes. The imperial fleet followed, and after some manoeuvring at Sendai proceeded to Hakodate. Here the warlike operations between the rebels and the imperial troops lasted till July, 1869. Finally, the leaders, Enomoto and Matsudaira Tarō, seeing that it was hopeless to contend longer against a constantly increasing enemy, offered to commit While these events were transpiring in the east and north, the work of establishing a system of administration was proceeded with at Kyōto.

A constitution was drawn up, detailing the various departments of the government, and the duties of the officers in each. These departments were: 1. Of supreme administration; 2. of the Shintō religion; 3. of home affairs; 4. of foreign affairs; 5. of war; 6. of finance; 7. of judicial affairs; 8. of legislative affairs. This scheme underwent several changes, and for a long time was regarded as only tentative.

The ablest men in the movements which were now in progress were afraid of the traditions of indulgence and effeminacy which attached to the court at Kyōto. In order to restore the government to a true and self-respecting basis, it seemed necessary to cut loose from the centuries of seclusion in which the emperor had remained, and enter upon the work of governing the empire as a serious and solemn task. It was in this spirit that Ōkubo Toshimichi of Satsuma, one of the ablest of the statesmen of the new era, made in 1868 a novel and startling proposition. It was in a memorial319 addressed [pg 377] by him to the emperor. He proposed that the emperor should abandon the traditions which had grown up respecting his person and his court, and rule his empire with personal supervision. To do this successfully, he recommended that the capital be transferred from the place of its degrading superstitions to a new home. He suggested that Ōsaka be the place selected.

If the emperor's court had been under the same influences as had governed it in past years, such a proposition would have been received with horror. Perhaps even the bold proposer would have been deemed fit for the ceremony of Acting on these principles the emperor followed his victorious army and, November 26, 1869, arrived at Yedo and took up his residence in the castle. Reports were made to him of the complete settlement [pg 378] of all difficulties in the north and the establishment of peace. In token of his arrival the name of Yedo had been changed to Tōkyō320 (eastern capital), by which name it has since been known. As a compensation to the disappointed and disheartened citizens of Kyōto, their city received the corresponding designation of Saikyō (western capital). The year-period, which from January, 1865, had borne the name of Keiō, had been changed to Meiji321 (Enlightened Peace), and was fixed to begin from January, 1868. Heretofore the year-periods had been changed whenever it seemed desirable to mark a fortunate epoch. But by the edict establishing the Meiji year-period, it was settled that hereafter an emperor was to make but one change in the year-period during his reign.

The emperor returned to the western capital during the spring of 1869 for a brief visit. The usual etiquette of mourning for his father required his presence at the imperial tomb. He also availed himself of this visit to wed the present empress, who was a princess of the house of Ichijō,322 one of the ancient families descended from the Fujiwara. He came back again in April, but there was so much opposition on the part of the inhabitants of the ancient [pg 379] capital to the complete loss of their emperor, that it was deemed most prudent for the newly married empress to remain behind. She did not set out for Tōkyō to join her husband until the November following, where she arrived without incident.

A surprising reminiscence of the Christianity which was supposed to have been extinguished in the seventeenth century came to light in 1865. Several Christian communities in the neighborhood of Nagasaki323 were discovered, who had preserved their faith for more than two hundred years. Without priests, without teachers, almost without any printed instruction, they had kept alive by tradition through successive generations a knowledge of the religion which their ancestors had professed. These communities had no doubt maintained a discreet quiet as to the tenets of their belief. They had a traditional fear of the persecution to which their fathers had been subjected and sought by silence to remain undisturbed. It was the rejoicing at their discovery which directed the attention of the government to the fire which had been so long smouldering.

A new edict of the imperial government, displayed upon the public edict-boards in 1868, first called the notice of the foreign representatives to the measures which were being taken.324 It was as follows: “The evil sect called Christian is strictly prohibited. Suspicious persons should be reported to the proper officers, and rewards will be given.” Nearly all the [pg 380] ministers of foreign powers remonstrated against this proclamation, as throwing discredit on the religions of their countries. The Japanese officials defended the punishment of Christians by alleging the national prejudice against them, which had come from the preceding centuries. They argued that the question was one of purely domestic concern, of which foreign nations could have no adequate knowledge, and in which they had no right to interfere.

The Christians chiefly lived in Urakami, a village near Nagasaki. They were said to number about four thousand. Orders were sent by the government from Tōkyō in June, 1868, that all the families who would not recant should be deported and put in the charge of daimyōs in different provinces. Only a small part of the Christians were thus exiled. The government probably dealt with greater leniency because they found the treaty powers so deeply interested. Subsequently the measures taken against the native Christians were withdrawn. In March, 1872, those who had been dispersed among the daimyōs were granted permission to return to their homes, and persecution for religious belief was ended forever.

On April 17, 1869, before his court and an assembly of daimyōs, the emperor took what has been called the charter oath325 in five articles, in substance, as follows:

1. A deliberative assembly shall be formed, and all measures decided by public opinion.

[pg 381]

2. The principles of social and political economics should be diligently studied by both the superior and inferior classes of our people.

3. Every one in the community shall be assisted to persevere in carrying out his will for all good purposes.

4. All the absurd usages of former times should be disregarded, and the impartiality and justice displayed in the workings of nature be adopted as the basis of action.

5. Wisdom and ability should be sought after in all quarters of the world for the purpose of firmly establishing the foundations of the empire.

The promise in the first article to establish a deliberative assembly was watched with the greatest solicitude. And when during the same year the That it was a thoroughly conservative body is apparent from the result of its discussion upon several of the traditional customs of Japan. On the proposition to recommend the abolition of the privilege of We must now give an account of the most remarkable event in the modern history of Japan. We refer to the termination of feudalism by the voluntary surrender of their feudal rights on the part of the daimyōs. This action was a logical consequence of the restoration of the executive power into the hands of the emperor. It was felt by the statesmen of this period that in order to secure a government which could grapple successfully with the many questions which would press upon it, there must be a centralization of the powers which were now distributed among the powerful daimyōs of the empire. To bring this about by force was impossible. To discover among the princes a willingness to give up their hereditary privileges and come down to the position of a powerless aristocracy was something for which we have hitherto looked in vain.

Illustration

Mori Arinori.

Doubtless the fainÉant condition of nearly all the daimyōs at this time made the accomplishment of this event more easy. With only a few exceptions, the hereditary princes of the provinces had come to be merely the formal chiefs of their daimiates. The real power was in the hands of the energetic and [pg 383] capable The most notable circumstance in this series of events was the presentation to the emperor of an elaborate memorial signed by the daimyōs of Chōshū, Satsuma, Tosa, Hizen, Kaga, and others, offering him the lists of their possessions and men. This memorial329 appeared in the official gazette March 5, 1869. Its preparation is attributed to Kido Takayoshi, and bears supreme evidence to his learning and statesmanship. With lofty eloquence the memorial exclaims: “The place where we live is the emperor's land, and the food which we eat is grown by the emperor's men. How can we make it our own? We now reverently offer up the lists of our possessions and men, with the prayer that the emperor will take good measures for rewarding those to whom reward is due and taking from those to whom punishment is due. Let the imperial orders be issued for altering and remodelling the territories of the various classes.... This is now the most urgent duty of the emperor, as it is that of his servants and children.”

The example thus set by the most powerful and influential daimyōs was followed rapidly by others. Two hundred and forty-one330 of the daimyōs united [pg 385] in asking the emperor to take back their hereditary territories. And in the end only a small number remained who had not so petitioned. Prince Azuki in his memorial says: “1. Let them restore the territories which they have received from the emperor and return to a constitutional and undivided country. 2. Let them abandon their titles and under the name of In response to these memorials a decree331 was issued by the emperor August 7, 1869, announcing the abolition of the daimiates, and the restoration of their revenues to the imperial treasury. It was also decreed that the ranks of court nobles ( Thus at one stroke the whole institution of feudalism which had flourished from the time of Yoritomo was cut away. The government made provision for the administration by creating prefectures ( The financial questions involved in the suppression of the feudal system were serious and difficult. When the daimyōs surrendered their fiefs, they did so with the understanding that they themselves should “receive such properties as may serve their wants,”332 and that the emperor should take “measures for rewarding those to whom reward is due.”333 It was decided that each ex-daimyō, and each of the suzerains that were dependent on him, should receive one tenth of the amount of their income from their fiefs. The ex-daimyōs received this amount free of any claims upon them for the support of the non-productive To many of the Several minor but noteworthy steps in reform were taken. The ancient disqualifications of the Several international events deserve notice here. A number of Ryūkyū islanders (vassals of Japan) had been shipwrecked on Formosa and some killed by the semi-savage inhabitants. To punish this cruelty, and to insure a more humane treatment in the future, the Japanese government sent an expedition under General Saigō Tsugumichi. They made short work of the inhuman tribes and enforced upon them the lesson of civility. China, who claimed a sovereignty over this island, acknowledged the service [pg 388] Japan had rendered, and agreed to pay an indemnity for the expenses of the expedition.

The long-pending dispute between Russia and Japan concerning the boundary in Saghalien was settled in 1875 by a treaty335 which exchanged the Japanese claims in Saghalien for the Kurile islands (Chishima).

An unexpected attack by the Koreans upon a Japanese steamer asking coal and provisions awakened an intense excitement in Japan. An expedition after the pattern of Commodore Perry's, under the command of General Kuroda Kiyotaka, was despatched in January, 1876, to come to an understanding with the Koreans. The negotiations were entirely successful, and a treaty336 of amity and commerce was concluded, and thus another of the secluded kingdoms of the East had been brought into the comity of nations. Then outbreaks of this kind in Saga, in Higo, in Akizuki, and in Chōshū occurred, but they were all put down without difficulty or delay. The promptness with which the government dealt with these factions boded no good to the reactionary movements that were ready to break out in other places.

Although the Satsuma clan had taken the most prominent part in the destruction of the shōgunate and in the restoration of an imperial government, there was in it a greater amount of conservatism and opposition to modern innovations than was to be [pg 389] found elsewhere. Indeed, the clan had split into two distinct parties, the one aiding in all the reforms and changes which the government was attempting to carry out, the other holding resolutely to the old feudal traditions which they saw endangered by the present attitude of the emperor's counsellors. The latter party had for its leaders Shimazu Saburō and Saigō Takamori, both of whom had played conspicuous parts in the recent history of their country. The government had tried to conciliate these two influential men and to secure their co-operation in the administration. But both had retired from Tōkyō, and declined longer to share the responsibility of a course which they could not approve.

Saigō, who was the idol of the The government was naturally solicitous concerning these collections of inflammable material. A collision with the students over the removal of some stores of arms and ammunition, revealed their readiness to break into rebellion. It is not improbable that designing conspirators took advantage of the [pg 390] open and chivalric character of Saigō to push him into the initiation of hostilities. Admiral Kawamura, himself a Satsuma man and a connection of Saigō, was sent down to hold an interview with him and if possible to make a peaceful settlement. But the interview was declined. The rebellious elements were at once gathered together, and Saigō, at the head of a force of 14,000 men, started about the middle of February, 1877, on his march up the west coast of Kyūshū, on his way to Tōkyō. The conspirators estimated that a force of 30,000 troops could be counted on to take part in the expedition.

The first impediment in their march was the castle of Kumamoto,337 where the government had a garrison of 2,000 to 3,000 men under General Tani. Saigō determined to reduce it before making further progress. He spent several weeks in this vain attempt. This was a precious delay for the government, which it spent in organizing and sending forward troops for opposing the advance of the rebels. All available forces were collected and put in motion to the seat of war. Prince Arisugawa-no-miya was appointed commander-in-chief and established his headquarters at Fukuoka.

The equipment of troops at the seat of government was under the supervision of General Saigō Tsugumichi, a younger brother of the rebel leader. Loyal as he was to his emperor, it was a painful task for him to organize war against his brother. [pg 391] With native delicacy he left to others the duty of fighting on the field, and confined himself to the less conspicuous part of gathering and sending troops as they were needed.

The rebels had besieged Kumamoto and had already reduced it to great straits. But the imperial forces came in time to its relief. There was desperate fighting, but at last the besiegers were compelled to withdraw.

They retreated toward the east coast with the apparent purpose of seeking a way to the north by Hyūga and Bungo. Promptly they were followed and confined to a defensive attitude. The most desperate battles were fought in this part of the campaign. Though disappointed and outnumbered, the rebels fought with consummate bravery. They were almost in the shadow of the mountains where their celestial ancestor was fabled to have descended upon the Japanese islands.338 Their last stand was at Nobeoka in the northeast corner of Hyūga. Their leaders realized that to continue the contest would only cause unnecessary and hopeless slaughter.

Under these circumstances Saigō saw that to end the fighting and save his followers he must leave them. Accordingly with about two hundred of those who were personally devoted to him, he broke through the imperial line and escaped to Kagoshima. The army, finding they were forsaken, surrendered, August 19, 1877. Saigō, with his little band, entrenched himself on the summit of the hill Shiroyama overlooking Kagoshima. Here he was surrounded [pg 392] by the imperial forces and bombarded night and day. The veteran leader was at last wounded in the thigh, and seeing that all hope of escape was gone, he requested one of his lieutenants to perform for him the friendly office of severing his head from his body. After the capture of the stronghold, the bodies of Saigō and his comrades were discovered. Admiral Kawamura himself with tender hands washed the bloody head of his dead friend, and saw that the bodies of all were decently buried. Thus, on September 24, 1877, the last and most serious of the attempts which have been made to disturb the empire in its new career came to an end.

There was, however, one mournful sequel to this rebellion. Ōkubo Toshimichi, a statesman and patriot of the purest type, had from the beginning resisted the reactionary movements of his clan. At the time of the rebellion he was minister of Home Affairs and put forth all his exertions to suppress it. A baseless slander that he had sent to Satsuma hired assassins to take Saigō's life, had been used by the reckless conspirators to force the rebel leader to an outbreak. This was believed by many of the

Illustration

Okubo Toshimichi.

What followed these important events must be told in a summary manner. There was a powerful and growing party in the empire, who looked forward to a modification of the absolute form of government to which they had returned in 1868. This party was particularly aggressive in the province of Tosa. They recalled to themselves and others the solemn pledge which the emperor had [pg 394] given to his people in his charter oath,339 when he announced that “a deliberative assembly shall be formed, and all measures decided by public opinion.”

The ruling minds in the government feared that the people were too inexperienced and too unaccustomed to deciding and acting for themselves to be entrusted with the grave duty of constitutional government. As a preparation for so important a step local assemblies were authorized and established in 1878. Matters referring to the government of each In further pursuance of the plan of constitutional government, the emperor, on February 11, 1889, at his palace, promulgated a constitution340 for his people. In the presence of his cabinet and court he took a solemn oath to govern under its limitations and powers. This constitution contains seven chapters consisting of one hundred and eleven articles: Chapter I. The Emperor; II. Rights and Duties of Subjects; III. The Imperial Diet; IV. The Ministers of State and Privy Council; V. The Judicature; VI. Finance; VII. Supplementary Rules. The emperor also announced that the imperial diet [pg 396] would be convoked in the twenty-third year of Meiji (1890), and that the constitution would go into effect at the date of its assembling.

Illustration

Ito Hirobumi.

It would seem that no great advance can be secured in Japan without the sacrifice of a valuable life. As Ii Kamon-no-kami was murdered in 1860, and as Ōkubo fell by the assassin's hand at the close of the Satsuma rebellion, so now on the very day when the emperor was to promulgate this liberal constitution, Viscount Mori Arinori fell a victim to the fanatical hatred of one who looked with distrust upon the progress which his country was making. No one could look, or did look, on this progress with more interest than Mori. He had so long and so earnestly advocated a liberal and tolerant policy in the councils of his country, and had been a leader in all that was high and noble, that we cannot regard, except with profound regret, his untimely death.

[pg 397]

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(The list here printed is the official list issued by the government, and has been revised by Mr. Tateno, the Japanese Minister at Washington.)

Name.	Date of Access.	Date of Death.	Age at Death.
1. Jimmu	660 B.C.	585 B.C.	127
2. Suizei	581	549	84
3. Annei	548	511	57
4. Itoku	510	477	77
5. Kōshō	475	393	114
6. Kōan	392	291	137
7. Kōrei	290	215	128
8. Kōgen	214	158	116
9. Kaikwa	157	98	111
10. Sūjin	97	30 A.D.	119
11. Suinin	29 A.D.	70	141
12. Keikō	71	130	143
13. Seimu	131	190	108
14. Chūai	192	200	52
Jingō (Empress Regent)341	201	269	100
15. Ōjin	270	310	110
16. Nintoku	313	399	110
17. Richū	400	405	67
18. Hanzei	406	411	60
19. Inkyō	412	453	80
20. Ankō	454	456	56
21. Yūriyaku	457	479	——
22. Seinei	480	484	41
23. Kenzō	485	487	——
24. Ninken	488	498	50
25. Muretsu	499	506	18
26. Keitai	507	531	82
27. Ankan	534	535	70
28. Senkwa	536	539	73
29. Kimmei	540	571	63
30. Bidatsu	572	585	48
31. Yōmei	586	587	69
32. Sujun	588	592	73
33. Suiko (Empress)	593	628	75
34. Jomei	629	641	49
35. Kōkyoku (Empress)	642	——	——
36. Kōtoku	645	654	59
37. Saimei (re-accession of Kōkyoku	655	661	68
38. Tenji	668	671	58
39. Kōbun	672	672	25
40. Temmu	673	686	65
41. Jitō (Empress)	690	702	58
42. Mommu	697	707	25
43. Gemmyō (Empress)	708	721	61
44. Genshō (Empress)	715	748	69
45. Shōmu	724	756	56
46. Kōken (Empress)	749	——	——
47. Junnin	759	765	33
48. Kōken (re-enthroned)	765	770	53
49. Kōnin	770	781	73
50. Kwammu	782	806	70
51. Heijō	806	824	51
52. Saga	810	842	57
53. Ninna	824	840	55
54. Nimmyō	834	850	41
55. Montoku	851	858	32
56. Seiwa	859	880	31
57. Yōzei	877	949	82
58. Kōko	885	887	58
59. Uda	888	931	65
60. Daigo	898	930	46
61. Shujaku	931	952	30
62. Muragami	947	967	42
63. Reizei	968	1011	62
64. Enyū	970	991	33
65. Kwazan	985	1008	41
66. Ichiyō	987	1011	32
67. Sanjō	1012	1017	42
68. Go-Ichijō	1017	1028	29
69. Go-Shujaku	1037	1045	37
70. Go-Reizei	1047	1068	44
71. Go-Sanjō	1069	1073	40
72. Shirakawa	1073	1129	77
73. Horikawa	1087	1107	29
74. Toba	1108	1156	54
75. Shutoku	1124	1164	46
76. Konoye	1142	1155	17
77. Go-Shirakawa	1156	1192	66
78. Nijō	1159	1165	23
79. Rokujō	1166	1176	13
80. Takakura	1169	1181	21
81. Antoku	1181	1185	15
82. Go-Toba	1186	1239	60
83. Tsuchi-mikado	1199	1231	37
84. Juntoku	1211	1242	46
85. Chūkyō	1222	1234	17
86. Go-Horikawa	1221	1234	23
87. Yojō	1232	1242	12
88. Go-Saga	1242	1272	53
89. Go Fukakusa	1246	1304	62
90. Kameyama	1259	1305	57
91. Go-Uda	1274	1324	58
92. Fushimi	1288	1317	53
93. Go-Fushimi	1298	1336	49
94. Go-Nijyō	1301	1308	24
95. Hanazono	1308	1348	52
96. Go-Daigo	1318	1339	52
97. Go-Murakami	1339	1368	41
98. Go-Kameyama	1373	1424	78
99. Go-Komatsu	1382	1433	57
100. Shōkō	1414	1428	28
101. Go-Hanazono	1429	1470	52
102. Go-Tsuchi-mikado	1465	1500	59
103. Go-Kashiwabara	1521	1526	63
104. Go-Nara	1536	1557	62
105. Ōgimachi	1560	1593	77
106. Go-Yojō	1586	1617	47
107. Go-Mizuo	1611	1680	85
108. Myōshō (Empress)	1630	1696	74
109. Go-Kōmyō	1643	1654	22
110. Go-Nishio	1656	1685	49
111. Reigen	1663	1732	79
112. Higashiyama	1687	1709	35
113. Naka-mikado	1710	1737	37
114. Sakuramachi	1720	1750	31
115. Momozono	1747	1762	22
116. Go-Sakuramachi (Empress)	1763	1813	74
117. Go-Momozono	1771	1779	22
118. Kōkaku	1780	1840	70
119. Jinkō	1817	1846	47
120. Kōmei	1847	1867	37
121. Mutsuhito (reigning emperor)	1868

[pg 402]

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Appendix II. List Of Year Periods.342

Name.	Japanese Era.	Christian Era.
Taikwa	1305	645
Hakuchi	1310	650
Saimei	1315	655
Tenji	1322	662
Sujaku	1332	672
Hakuhō	1333	673
Suchō	1346	686
Jitō	1347	687
Momm	1357	697
Daihō	1361	701
Keiun	1364	704
Wadō	1368	708
Reiki	1375	715
Yōrō	1377	717
Jinki	1384	724
Tembiō	1389	729
Tembiō shōhō	1409	749
Tembiō hōji	1417	757
Tembiō jingo	1425	765
Jingo keiun	1427	767
Hōki	1430	770
Tenō	1441	781
Enriaku	1442	782
Daidō	1466	806
Kōnin	1470	810
Tenchō	1484	824
Jōwa	1494	834
Kajō	1508	848
Ninju	1511	851
Saikō	1514	854
Tenan	1517	857
Jōgwan	1519	859
Gwangiō	1537	877
Ninna	1545	885
Kwampei	1549	889
Shōtai	1558	898
Engi	1561	901
Enchō	1583	923
Jōhei	1591	931
Tengiō	1598	938
Tenriaku	1607	947
Tentoku	1617	957
Ōwa	1621	961
Kōhō	1624	964
Anna	1628	968
Tenroku	1630	970
Ten-en	1633	973
Jōgen	1636	976
Tengen	1638	978
Eikwan	1643	983
Kwanna	1645	985
Ei-en	1647	987
Eiso	1649	989
Shōriaku	1650	990
Chōtoku	1655	995
Chōhō	1659	999
Kwankō	1664	1004
Chōwa	1672	1012
Kwannin	1677	1017
Ji-an	1681	1021
Manju	1684	1024
Chōgen	1688	1028
Chōriaku	1697	1037
Chōkiū	1700	1040
Kwantoku	1704	1044
Eijō	1706	1046
Tengi	1713	1053
Kōhei	1718	1058
Jiriaku	1725	1065
Enkiū	1729	1069
Jōhō	1734	1074
Jōriaku	1737	1077
Eihō	1741	1081
Ōtoku	1744	1084
I.—The Dynasty of Minamoto. 1186-1219. 1. Minamoto Yoritomo, 1186-1199, died; received his appointment as shōgun in 1192. Note.—In this as in the later cases, the dates will be cited which correspond to the attainment of power and its general recognition, but which do not, in many cases, correspond to the grant of the title, which frequently was much later. 2. Minamoto Yori-iye, 1199-1203, son of the preceding, first deposed by his grandfather, Hōjō Tokimasa, and banished to Izu, there was murdered in 1204. 3. Minamoto Sanetomo, 1203-1219, eleven years old, brother of the preceding, murdered by his nephew Kokio, the son of Yori-iye. The Time of the Shadow Shōguns. 1220-1338. The shōguns of this period, taken partly from the Fujiwara family, partly from the princes of the imperial house, were mostly children, and in every instance the weak agents of the Hōjō family, whose chiefs, as regents ( 4. Fujiwara Yoritsune, 1220-1243, nine years old, dethroned by Hōjō Tsunetoki, died 1256. 5. Fujiwara Yoritsugu, 1244-1251, son of the preceding, seven years old, deposed by H. Tokeyori, died 1256. 6. Munetaka Shino, 1252-1265, eleven, according to others thirteen, years old, deposed by H. Tokimune, died 1274. 7. Koreyasu Shino, 1266-1289, son of the preceding, three years old, deposed by H. Sadatoki, died 1325 (1326?). 8. Hisa-akira Shino, or, as he was called, Kumei Shino, 1289-1307, sixteen years old, deposed by H. Sadatoki, died 1328. 9. Morikuni Shino, 1308-1333, son of the preceding, seven years old, dethroned by Nitsuda Yoshisada, died in the same year. 10. Moriyoshi Shino, 1333-1334, son of the reigning Emperor Go-Daigo, dethroned by Taka-uji, murdered, in 1335, by Minamoto Nao-yoshi. 11. Nari-Yoshi Shino, 1334-1338, dethroned and murdered by Taka-uji. II.—The Regents of the Hōjō Family. Hōjō Tokimasa, died 1215, did not have the title of regent ( Hōjō Yoshitoki, 1205-1224, from 1205 regent ( Hōjō Yasutoki, 1225-1242, died. Hōjō Tsunetoki, 1243-1246, grandson of the preceding, retired in favor of his younger brother, Tokiyori, and died thirty-three years old. [pg 412] Hōjō Tokiyori, 1246-1256, retired in favor of his son, Tokimune, and died 1263, thirty-seven years old. Hōjō Tokimune, 1257-1284, seven years old, under the guardianship of H. Nagatoki and H. Masamura, died. Hōjō Sadatoki, 1284-1300, adopted son of the preceding, retired in favor of Morotoki, the grandson of Tokiyori, but continued to exercise a potent influence over the regency, died 1311. Hōjō Morotoki, 1300-1311, died. Hōjō Takatoki, 1312-1326, the son of Sadatoki, nine years old, under the guardianship of Hirotoki and Mune-nobu, retired in favor of his younger brother, Yasuye, who likewise soon withdrew. Until the fall of the Hōjō family Takatoki really conducted the regency, although others held the title. After the taking of Kamakura by Nitta Yoshisada in 1333, he killed himself. III.—The Dynasty of Ashikaga. 1334-1573. 12. Ashikaga Taka-uji, 1334-1358, died fifty-three years old. 13. Ashikaga Yoshimori, 1359-1367, retired in favor of his son Yoshimitsu, died 1408, fifty-one years old. 14. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, 1368-1393, retired in favor of his son, Yoshimochi, at the age of thirty-seven years, died 1409. 15. Ashikaga Yoshimochi, 1394-1422, retired in favor of his son, Yoshikatsu. 16. Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, 1423-1425, died nineteen years old. Ashikaga Yoshimochi, 1425-1428, the fifteenth shōgun, took the power again, and died forty-three years old. 17. Ashikaga Yoshinobu, 1428-1441, murdered by Akamatsu [pg 413] Mitsusuke, forty-eight years old. From 1429 called Yoshinori. 18. Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, 1441-1443, son of the preceding, eight years old, died. 19. Ashikaga Yoshinari, called Yoshimasa, 1443-1473, brother of the preceding, eight years old, retired, and died in 1490. 20. Ashikaga Yoshinao, 1473-1489, died twenty-five years old; from 1488, called Yoshihiro. 21. Ashikaga Yoshimura, 1490-1493, nephew of Yoshimasa, twenty-five years old, taken prisoner and dethroned by Hosokawa Motomoto. 22. Ashikaga Yoshimitsi, 1493-1508, had to flee, died 1511; from 1449 called Yoshitaku, and from 1502 Yoshisumi; Yoshitada, 1508-1521, is Yoshimura, who from the year 1501 bore the name, and since that time was the shōgun of the enemy at war with Yoshisumi, had to flee, was deposed, and died, 1523. 23. Ashikaga Yoshinaru, 1521-1546, son of Yoshisumi, retired in favor of his son, Yoshifushi, died 1550, forty years old. 24. Ashikaga Yoshifushi, 1547-1565, eleven years old, killed himself in his palace, having been confined there by the rebels. 25. Ashikaga Yoshigi-ei or Yoshinaga, 1568 died, important as opposition shōgun. 26. Ashikaga Yoshi-aki, 1568-1573, deposed by Nobunaga, died 1597. IV.—The Time of the Usurpation. 1573-1603. 27. Taira-no-Nobunaga, 1573-1582, killed himself, having been forced to do so by Akechi Mitsuhide. Akechi Mitsuhide, who usurped the title of shōgun, ruled only twelve days, and fell conquered by Hideyoshi [pg 414] 28. Samboshi, 1582-1586, grandson of Nobunaga. 29. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 1586-1598, was never shōgun, but kwambaku; (on his retirement called Taikō-sama). 30. Hidetsugu, 1591-1595, nephew of the preceding, killed himself, was also kwambaku. 31. Hideyori, 1600-1615, son of Hideyoshi, killed himself, conquered by Ieyasu. According to other accounts, he escaped and fled to Satsuma; was Naifu (Minister of the Interior) from 1603. V.—The Dynasty of the Tokugawa. 1603-1868. 32. Ieyasu, 1603-1605, died 1616; 1603 appointed shōgun (posthumous title Gongensama). The shōguns of this dynasty frequently retired, as soon as their successors grew up, but in spite of this fact they continued to lead the regency. 33. Hidetada, 1605-1623, died 1632, son of the preceding. 34. Iemitsu, 1623-1651, died 1652, son of the preceding. 35. Ietsuna, 1651-1680, died, son of the preceding. 36. Tsunayoshi, 1681-1709, son of Iemitsu, killed by his wife. 37. Ienobu, 1709-1712, grandson of Iemitsu, died. 38. Ietsugu (Ietsubo according to Klaproth), 1713-1715, died, son of the preceding. 39. Yoshimune, 1716-1745, retired, died 1751, formerly fifth Prince of Kii. 40. Ieshige, 1745-1760 (according to others 1761 or 1762), son of the preceding, died. 41. Ieharu, 1760-1786, son of the preceding, died. 42. Ienari, 1787-1836, died 1841, son of the preceding. 43. Ieyoshi, 1837-1852, son of the preceding. [pg 415] 44. Iesada, 1853-1857, son of the preceding. 45. Iemochi, 1858-1866, died, formerly thirteenth Prince of Kii. 46. Yoshihisa (Yoshinobu according to Adams, vol. ii. p. 37), 1867-1868, son of the Prince of Mito, Nari-akira, adopted by the Prince of Hitotsubashi, retired at the fall of shōgunate in 1867. [pg 416] Appendix IV. Laws Of Shōtoku Taishi.344 [From Dai Nihonshi, vol. xii., folio 28 to 31.] I.—Harmony shall be esteemed and obedience shall be held in regard. Because dissensions prevail, therefore men are often unfaithful to their prince and disobedient to their fathers. Let adjoining districts be left in peace, thus harmony between superior and inferior shall be cultivated and co-operation in matters of state shall be promoted, and thus the right reason of all things may be reached and the right thing accomplished. II.—Let bountiful honor be always paid to the three precious elements of Buddhism, that is, to its priests, its ritual, and its founder. It is the highest religion in the universe, and all people in all generations must pay becoming reverence to its doctrines. Do not harshly censure men's wickedness but teach them faithfully until they yield obedience. Unless men rely upon Buddhism there is no way to convert them from the wrong to the right. III.—To the commands of the Emperor men must be duly obedient. The prince must be looked upon as the heaven and his subjects as the earth. The earth contains all things and the heaven stretches over it. The [pg 417] four seasons pass orderly along and the spirit of the universe is harmonious. If the earth were to cover the heaven the effect would be distraction. Hence the prince must command and the subject obey; superiors must act and inferiors yield. Men ought therefore to pay due heed to the orders of the Emperor; if not they will bring ruin on themselves. IV.—Politeness must be the chief rule of conduct for all officers and their colleagues in the court. The first principle governing subjects must be politeness. When superiors are not polite then inferiors will not keep in the right; when inferiors are not polite their conduct degenerates into crime. When both prince and subjects are polite, then social order is never disturbed and the state is kept in a condition of tranquillity. V.—Covetousness and rapacity must be expelled from the hearts of officers, and they must adjudicate with just discrimination in all suits that come before them. Even in a single day there are thousands of such suits, and in the course of years how great must be the accumulation! If the suit is won through bribery, then the poor man can obtain no justice but only the rich. The poor man will have no sure place of dependence, and subjects will be driven to abandon their duty. VI.—To punish vice and to encourage virtue is the rule in good ancient law. The virtuous man must therefore be promoted, and the vicious man must be surely punished. The man who is untruthful is a powerful instrument to endanger the state and a keen weapon to destroy the nation. The flatterer loves to tell the faults of the inferior to the superior, and also to disclose the errors of the superior to the inferior. Such men are alike unfaithful to the prince and unfriendly to fellow citizens, and in the end fail not to stir up social disorder. [pg 418] VII.—The duty of men in the government must be assigned according to their capacity. When intelligent men take service the applause of the people follows, but when bad men are in office calamities ensue. If wise officers are put on duty the matters of state are well managed, and the community is free from danger and prosperity prevails. Therefore in ancient times the wise king never selected the office for the man, but always selected the man to suit the office. VIII.—Too often officers and their colleagues come early to their offices and retire soon; so that the public work accomplished in a single day is small. It is incumbent on them to devote sufficient time to their tasks; if not, then the work of the government cannot be done. IX.—Everything must be faithfully done, because fidelity is the origin of justice. The distinction between good and bad, between success and failure, depends on fidelity. When both prince and subjects are faithful then there are no duties which cannot be accomplished, but when both are unfaithful nothing can be done. X.—Give up all thoughts of indignation and be not angered with others on account of a disagreement of opinion. Each one may have a different point of view and may therefore come to a different conclusion. If the one side be right then the other must be wrong, or the cases may be just reversed. It would be unjust to set down one man as surely wise and another as positively stupid; because men cannot attain perfection in their characters. It is impossible to decide either side to be perfectly right or perfectly wrong. While you are angry with another who has a different view from you, you cannot be sure lest you be in the wrong. Therefore though you may think yourself in the right, it is safer to follow the opinions of the many. [pg 419] XI.—Let merit and demerit be carefully considered, and let rewards and punishments be meted out accordingly. In times past this has often failed to be justly done. It is incumbent on all who are entrusted with the direction of public affairs and on all officers of the government to look carefully after the distribution of rewards and punishments. XII.—Governors of provinces and their deputies must be careful not to impose too heavy duties on their subjects. One state never has more than one prince, and in like manner the subjects cannot have more than one master. The prince is the head of all his dominions and of all his subjects. The officers of government are also the subjects of the prince; and there is no reason why they should dare to lay undue burdens upon others who are subjects of the same prince. XIII.—Each officer of the government has his appointed duty. Sometimes officers complain of the stagnation of business, which, however, is caused by their own absence from their appointed duties. They must not make a pretence of the performance of their duties, and by their neglect interrupt public affairs. XIV.—Subjects and officers must not be jealous of each other. If one person is envious of another, the second is sure to be envious of the first. Thus the evils of jealousy never end. If men shall envy each other on account of their talent and wisdom, no single wise man would ever be obtained for government service through a thousand years. What a noble method of governing a state would that be which expelled from its service all wise men! XV.—To sacrifice private interests for the public good is the duty of the subject. When men are selfish there must be ill-will; when ill-will comes, then with it must [pg 420] come iniquity, which will disturb the public welfare. Ill-will is sure to bring about the breaking of wholesome rules and the violation of the laws of the state. It is for this reason that the harmony between superior and inferior spoken of in the first article is so important. XVI.—To select a convenient season in which to employ men for public work is the rule of good ancient law. Winter is a time of leisure; but during the season between spring and autumn, in which they are employed on their farms and in feeding silk-worms, it is not expedient to take men from their work, or interfere with them in their efforts to supply food and clothing. XVII.—Important matters should only be settled after due conference with many men. Trifling matters may be decided without conference, because they are not so material in their effects; but weighty matters, on account of their far-reaching consequences, must be discussed with many councillors. It is thus that the right way shall be found and pursued. A large number of songs are handed down in the traditions of this period. They are in the most ancient form of the language and are not easy to translate. We give as a specimen Jimmu's song from Chamberlain's translation of Kojiki, Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. x., Supplement, p. 142. Into the great cave of Ōsaka people have entered in abundance and are there. Though people have entered in abundance and are there, the children of the augustly powerful warriors will smite and finish them with their mallet-headed swords, their stone-mallet swords: the children of the augustly powerful warriors, with their mallet-headed swords, their stone-mallet swords, would now do well to smite. 50. For example, the organization of a parliament took place in 1890, which in the Japanese reckoning would be 2550 from Jimmu's setting up his capital in Yamato. 51. See p. 32. 52. See list of emperors, Appendix I. 53. Satow, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. ii. p. 113. 54. We follow in these figures the chronology which has been authorized by the government. Appendix I. 55. E. M. Satow, “Ancient Sepulchral Mounds in Kaudzuke,” Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. viii., pp. 11, 330. 56. Chamberlain's translation of Kojiki,—Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. x., Supplement, p. 208. 57. The roads or circuits here spoken of refer to the roads constructed by the government along contiguous provinces and used for the passage of troops and other government purposes. These circuits have continued in use down to the present time. 58. Yamato-hime or Yamato-princess had been appointed high priestess of the temples in IsÉ, and in that capacity had charge of the imperial regalia which were deposited there. She is a very celebrated person in Japanese legendary story and is said to have lived several hundred years. See Chamberlain's translation of Kojiki, p. 183, note 7; Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. x., Supplement. 59. See p. 45. 60. See Satow's paper on the use of the fire drill in Japan, Transactions of Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. vii., p. 223. 61. It is one of the favorite subjects of Japanese art to represent the Princess Oto-Tachibana sitting upon a pile of mats and the boat with her husband sailing off in the quieted waters. 62. The name by which these savage tribes were designated was Yemishi; the name however is written in Chinese characters which signify Prawn-Barbarians; in allusion to their heavy beards which gave them the appearance of prawns. See p. 22. 63. See Chamberlain's translation of Kojiki,—Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. x., Supplement, p. 218. 64. He is chiefly notable to foreigners because he is said to have lived through the reigns of three emperors and to have reached the age of three hundred years. 65. She is not included in the government list of emperors, and is given in Appendix I. as empress-regent. 66. See Kokushian, compiled under the Department of Education. Ad Locum. 67. See Appendix I. 68. Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. x., Supplement. 69. E. M. Satow, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. ii., p. 135. 70. E. M. Satow, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. vi., p. 435. 71. Satow, “Ancient Japanese Rituals,” Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. vii., p. 423. 72. E. M. Satow, Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. vii., p. 109. 73. Ditto, p. 119. 74. Cotton is said to have been brought to Japan from India in the reign of the Emperor Kwammu, a.d. 800. T. B. Poate, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. iv., p. 146. 75. Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. x., Supplement, pp. 39 and 40. 76. Henry von Siebold, Japanese ArchÆology, Yokohama, 1879, p. 16. The diagram in the text is from this work on ArchÆology, and shows the variety of jewels in use in prehistoric times. 77. For the so called cave dwellings see p. 68. 78. Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. v., p. 110. 79. See p. 32. 80. In the Kojiki it is said that the king of Kudara sent with Wani the Confucian Analects in ten volumes and the Thousand Character Essay in one volume. It conflicts seriously with the chronology of this period to learn, as both Mr. Satow and Mr. Chamberlain have pointed out, that the Thousand Character Essay was not written until two centuries after the date assigned to the advent of Wani. 81. The Kojiki's statement is that the elder brother was banished to Iyo. 82. The name, “Island of the Dragon-Fly” had already been given to the Main island by Jimmu Tenno. 83. In these early days a See the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. viii., p. 88. The inscription is in part as follows: Castle of Taga, Distant from the capital, Ri 1500 Distant from the frontier of Yezo, Ri 120 Distant from Hitachi, Ri 412 Distant from Shimotsuke, Ri 274 Distant from Makkatsu, Ri 3000. 104. Education in Japan, New York, 1873, p. 17. 105. See p. 47. 106. These instances are taken from the paper on abdication and adoption, by Shigeno An-eki, as translated by Mr. Walter Dening, Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. xv., p. 74. 107. See Chamberlain's Things Japanese, under the article on abdication. Yokohama, 1892. 108. See p. 66 et seq. 109. At the time that Dickson collected his statistics of the families of the court, two of the Sugawara family were teachers of the young emperor. Six families of The title of shōgun is said to have been created by the Emperor Sujin, who divided the empire into four military divisions, each commanded by a shōgun or general. When Yoshinaka assumed control in Kyōto at the time of his victory he was appointed See G. Appert's Ancien Japon, vol. iii., p. 84; also Satow's note to Adams' History of Japan, vol. i., p. 42. 119. Adams, in his History of Japan, vol. i., p. 37, gives a quaint quotation from Nihon-Gwaishi as follows: “The crimes of the Heishi against the imperial family were atoned for by their services, and heaven therefore would not cut off their posterity. And this probably was right.” 120. See Satow and Hawes' Handbook, p. 57. 121. There are almost as many legends current concerning Benkei as his master. Their first encounter was upon the Gojō bridge in Kyōto, where Benkei prowled for the purpose of robbing passengers. YoshitsunÉ, then only a youth of sixteen years, displayed so much agility and swordsmanship that the veteran robber yielded to him, and ever after followed him as his faithful body servant. The Japanese Fairy World, by W. E. Griffis, contains the legend of Benkei stealing a huge bell five feet high from the monastery at Miidera, and carrying it on his shoulders to Hiyēsan (see p. 93). When YoshitsunÉ was compelled to flee from the vengeance of his brother, he came with Benkei, both disguised as begging priests, to a guarded barrier. The custodians refused them passage, but Benkei, who was cunning as well as strong, pulled out from his bosom a roll of blank paper and pretended to read a commission from the abbot of Hōkōji, in Kyōto, authorizing the two travellers to collect funds throughout the country for casting a great bell for their temple. The custodians were deeply impressed with this holy message and allowed the travellers to pass without further question. 122. There are many legends, existing among the Ainos, of YoshitsunÉ having lived among them and taught them improved arts of hunting and fishing. There is a wooden image of him at the village of Upper Piratori, which is saluted (not worshipped) in token of honor to his memory. Rev. John Batchelor, who has lived as a missionary among the Ainos many years, is of the opinion that this reverence is largely due to a desire on the part of the Ainos to conciliate their Japanese masters. It has seemed not unreasonable to suppose that the traditions concerning YoshitsunÉ among the Ainos have been carried from the Main island by the retreating tribes, and that YoshitsunÉ never lived with them in Yezo, but was only familiar with them in the wild regions of Mutsu and Dewa. See paper by Rev. J. Batchelor, Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. xvi., part 1, p. 20. 123. Ōye-no-Hiromoto was a powerful adherent of Yoritomo, and was a member of his administrative council. He was the ancestor of the Mōri family, who afterward became famous as the daimyōs of Chōshū. 124. We owe to Kaempfer, perhaps, the erroneous notion which has been repeated by subsequent writers that there was both an ecclesiastical and a temporal emperor. This was never true. There has been only one emperor, who, in the Japanese theory, was the direct descendant of divine ancestors and who has always been the supreme authority. From the time of Yoritomo, however, the administration was in the hand of an hereditary shōgun who always received the commission of the emperor for the performance of his duties. See Kaempfer's Histoire de l'Empire du Japon, vol. i., p. 182. 125. The Japanese term is The official list of emperors will be found in Appendix I. The names of the northern which are not included in this list are as follows: Date of Accession. Kōmiō, 1996 years from Jimmu, 1336 a.d. Shukō, 2009 years from Jimmu, 1349 a.d. Go-Kōgen, 2012 years from Jimmu, 1352 a.d. Go-Enyū, 2032 years from Jimmu, 1372 a.d. Go-Komatsu, 2043 years from Jimmu, 1383 a.d. 137. See Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. xiii., p. 139. 138. It is said that in this disastrous time the poverty of the country was so great that when, in a.d. 1500, Go-Tsuchimikado died at his palace in Kyōto, the corpse was kept for forty days because the means for the usual funeral expenses could not be had. M. von Brandt as quoted in Rein's Japan, p. 261. 139. Mr. W. A. Woolley, in a paper read before the Asiatic Society of Japan, gives an account derived from Japanese sources as follows: “Amongst those who landed on this occasion was one of the Literati of China, who acted as interpreter between the foreigners and the chief of the island Hyōbu-no-jō Tokitada. [Since both the Chinese and Japanese used the same ideographic characters, they could understand each other's writing but not speech.] In reply to questions the interpreter is represented as having described his friends the foreigners as being ignorant of etiquette and characters, of the use of wine cups and chop sticks, and as being, in fact, little better than the beasts of the field. The chief of the foreigners taught Tokitada the use of firearms, and upon leaving presented him with three guns and ammunition, which were forwarded to Shimazu Yoshihisa, and through him to the shōgun.”—Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. ix., p. 128. 140. See Adventures of Mendez Pinto, done into English by Henry Cogan, London, 1891, pp. 259 etc. 141. Hildreth's Japan, etc., 1855, p. 27, note. 142. Adventures of Mendez Pinto, p. 281. 143. This is the name by which Pinto calls this city (see Adventures of Mendez Pinto, London, 1891, p. 265); the real name, however, at this time was Fumai, and is now Ōita. 144. The author himself saw in Japan in 1874 the native hunters using an old-fashioned matchlock, in which the powder was fired by a slow burning match, which was brought down to the powder by a trigger. This kind of firearm, which was in use in Europe in the fifteenth century, was taken to Japan by the Portuguese, and continued to be used there until the re-organization of the army introduced the modern form of gun. 145. In the accounts given by the biographers of Xavier, it is said that there were two companions of Anjiro who in the subsequent baptism received the names of John and Anthony. 146. This was the name of the seminary in Goa where Anjiro had been educated. 147. See Coleridge's Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier, London, 1872, p. 237. 148. Bouhour's Life of Xavier, p. 274. 149. In the Life of St. Francis Xavier by Bartholi and Maffei the following circumstance is given: “It seems that a rat had invaded the sanctuary and gnawed the ornaments of the altar. The sacristan appealed to the saint thus: ‘Father Francis! people say that you passed from this life in the vicinity of China; that you were a saint, that your body still remains entire and incorrupt at Goa. Now here am I your sacristan; and I ask is it consistent with your honor that a rat should have the audacity to gnaw the ornaments of your altar? I demand his death at your hand.’ On opening the door of the sanctuary the next morning the sacristan found the culprit quite dead.” 150. See Woolley, “Historical Notes on Nagasaki”, Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. ix., p. 129. 151. For these facts concerning Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, and the condition of the country during their times, the author is largely indebted to the Life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, by Walter Dening, Tokio, 1890. 152. The word “This will seem to you less strange, if you consider how the Apostle St. Paul commands us to obey even secular superiors and gentiles as Christ himself, from whom all well-ordered authority is derived: for thus he writes to the Ephesians (vii. 5): ‘be obedient to them that are your temporal lords according to the flesh, with fear and trembling in the simplicity of your heart, as to Christ; not seeming to the eye, as it were pleasing men, but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart, with a good will seeming as to the Lord and not to men.’ ” The above is an extract from an Epistle of St. Ignatius, the 26th of March, 1553, which is still regarded as authoritative and is read every month to each of the houses. It was supplied to me by Dr. Carl Meyer and verified by Rev. D. H. Buel, S. J. of St. Francis Xavier's College, New York City. Dr. Meyer has also pointed out that the Second General Congregation, 1565, severely forbids any Jesuit to act as confessor or theologian to a prince longer than one or two years, and gives the minutest instructions to prevent a priest from interfering in any way with political and secular affairs in such a position. 209. This edict of Ieyasu is given by Mr. Satow in his contributions to the debate on Mr. Gubbins' Review of the Introduction of Christianity into China and Japan. Fifteen rules to guide the Buddhist priests in guaranteeing the orthodoxy of their parishioners are also given.—Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. vi., part i., p. 46. 210. See Gubbins' paper, Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. vi., part i., p. 35. 211. See Mr. Satow's contributions to the debate on Mr. Gubbins' paper, Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. vi., part i., p. 51. 212. Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. vi., part 1, p. 35. 213. See chapter xi. of a Description of the Kingdom of Japan and Siam, by Bernhard Warenius, M.D., Cambridge, Printing-House of John Hayes, Printer to the University, a.d. 1673. The volume is in Latin, which, as well as a translation of the same in manuscript, has been furnished to me by Mr. Benjamin Smith Lyman, of Philadelphia. Warenius was a Lutheran, and need not be suspected of being prejudiced in favor of the Jesuits. See also History of the Martyrs of Japan, Prague, 1675, by Mathia Tanner, containing many engravings of the horrible scenes, such as burnings, crucifixions, and suspensions in the pit, etc.; also Histoire des Vingt-six Martyrs du Japon, CrucifiÉ À Nagasaqui le 5 FÉvrier, 1597, par D. Bouix, Paris, 1862. 214. See Woolley's “Historical Notes on Nagasaki,” Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. ix., part 2, p. 134; also Mr. Satow's contributions to the discussion of Mr. Gubbins' paper, Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. vi., part 2, p. 52. Specimens of the metal plates are in the Uyeno Museum of Tōkyō. 215. See KÆmpfer's Histoire de l'Empire de Japon, tome i., p. 287. 216. In the narrative which we give of this insurrection we have relied chiefly upon the accounts of Mr. Gubbins in his “Review of the Introduction of Christianity,” Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. vi., part 1, p. 36; of Mr. Woolley in his “Historical Notes on Nagasaki,” do., vol. ix., part 2, p. 140; and on Dr. Geerts' paper on the “Arima Rebellion and the Conduct of Koeckebacker,” do., vol. xi., p. 51. Mr. Gubbins and Mr. Woolley had access to Japanese authorities, and we have in their papers been enabled to see this bloody episode for the first time from a Japanese standpoint. Dr. Geerts has rendered an invaluable service in giving us translations of letters written by Koeckebacker, the head of the Dutch factory during the events, which show us how this insurrection was regarded by the Dutch East India Company. 217. A Mr. Koeckebacker says: “The rebels counted in all, young and old, as it was said, about forty thousand. They were all killed except one of the four principal leaders, being an artist who formerly used to gain his livelihood by making idols. This man was kept alive and sent to Yedo.”—Dr. Geerts' paper, Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. xi., part 1, p. 107. There is a tradition that a number of the prisoners who were captured at this castle were hurled down from the rocks of the island now called Papenberg in Nagasaki harbor. But Dr. Geerts ridicules this notion and says: “A little local knowledge would show it to be impossible to throw people from the rocks on Papenberg into the sea, as the rocks are by no means steep bluffs, but possess an inclined shape and a shore. A little knowledge of the Dutch language would further show that the name Papenberg means ‘mountain of the priest,’ in allusion to the shape of a Roman Catholic priest's cap or bonnet.”—Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. xi., part 1, p. 115. 222. See Dr. Geerts' paper, Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. xi., part 1, pp. 110 and 111. 223. A Japanese writer thus sums up the result of the effort to introduce Christianity into his country: “After nearly a hundred years of Christianity and foreign intercourse, the only apparent results of this contact with another religion and civilization were the adoption of gunpowder and firearms as weapons, the use of tobacco and the habit of smoking, the making of sponge-cake, the naturalization into the language of a few foreign words, and the introduction of new and strange forms of disease.”—Shigetaka Shiga's History of Nations, Tōkyō, 1888. The words introduced into the language from the Portuguese, except several derived from Christianity, are as follows: As illustrative of Buddhism at its greatest splendor we give here the figures of the great bronze image of Buddha at Kamakura, and of the great bell at the temple of Daibutsu in Kyōto. [Transcriber's Note: This bell is shown as the Frontispiece to the book.] The former was erected about a.d. 1252 after plans initiated by Yoritomo before his death. The statue in its sitting posture is nearly fifty feet in height. It is constructed of separate plates of bronze brazed together. Formerly it was enclosed in a temple, but this was twice destroyed by tidal waves, and since its last destruction in 1494 it has not been rebuilt. The bell given in the illustration is that at the temple of Daibutsu, the inscription on which is said to have offended Ieyasu. It is nearly fourteen feet in height and nine feet in diameter. Its weight is more than sixty-three tons.—See Satow and Hawes' Handbook, p. 368. 244. In the account given by Don Rodrigo de Vivero, the late governor of Manila, of a visit made in 1608 by him in behalf of Spanish trade, Yedo is described as a city of seven hundred thousand inhabitants, and Sumpu, which he calls Suruga, where the emperor (as he denominates Ieyasu) lived, is estimated to contain from five to six hundred thousand inhabitants. He was so pleased with the country through which he travelled that he declares, “if he could have prevailed upon himself to renounce his God and his king he should have preferred that country to his own.”—See Hildreth's Japan, etc., pp. 145, 147. 245. These letters were written from Japan between 1611 and 1617. They were printed in part in Purchas' Pilgrimes, and are included in the publications of the Hackluyt Society. From the latter source they were printed in pamphlet form by the Japan Gazette at Yokohama, 1879. It is from this last source these references are taken. 246. First letter of Adams in pamphlet edition. Yokohama, 1878, p. 8. 247. This name, Nova Spania or New Spain, was first given to the peninsula of Yucatan, and was afterward extended to the territory of Mexico conquered by Cortez. Finally it was given to all the Spanish provinces extending on the Pacific coast from Panama to Van Couver's island. Acapulco was the principal harbor on the Pacific coast.—See Prescott's Conquest of Mexico. 248. Captain Cocks in his “Diary,” contained in Purchas' Pilgrimes, part 1, book iv., gives an account of a visit he made to Yedo in 1616, on the business of the English trade, at which time he visited Adams' seat, which he calls “Phebe,” doubtless mistaking the sound of the real name “Meni.”—See Chamberlain's Things Japanese, 1892, p. 15. 249. His place of burial was identified in 1872 by Mr. James Walter of Yokohama on a beautiful hill near Yokosuka, where both he and his Japanese wife lie buried. His will, which was deposited in the archives of the East India Company in London, divided his estate equally between his Japanese and English families. His Japanese landed estate was probably inherited by his Japanese son. His personal estate is stated at about five hundred pounds sterling.—See Letters of William Adams, p. 39. 250. Hildreth's Japan, etc., p. 142, quoted from Purchas, vol. i., p. 406. 251. Hildreth's Japan, etc., p. 157. 252. See Letters of William Adams, No. 1. 253. See Purchas' Pilgrimes, part 1, book iv. 254. These privileges are given in full by Hildreth, p. 169, taken from Purchas. 255. Mr. Satow has collected many facts concerning the history of printing in Japan, and among others has shown that printing with movable type in Korea was used as early as 1317, that is one hundred and twenty-six years before the date of the first printed book in Europe.—Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. x., p. 63. 256. A translation of this document was made by Mr. J. F. Lowder and published in Yokohama in 1874. We are indebted to W. E. Grigsby, Esq., formerly professor of law in the University of Tōkyō, for a valuable paper on the Legacy of Ieyasu in which a careful analysis is given and a comparison of its details is made with the provisions for the regulation of early communities elsewhere.—See Asiatic Society Transactions, vol. iii., part 2, p. 131. 257. Ieyasu may have had in mind a shocking example of From Japanese Chronological Tables, by William Bramsen, 1880. The system of counting from year-periods ( The numbers in the second column of this table indicate the years as counted from the founding of the empire by Jimmu Tennō. According to the official chronology this occurred b.c. 660. 343. Translated from the chronology of the shōguns in Mittheilungen der deutschen Gesellschaft fur Natur und Volkerkunde Ostasiens, Heft 3, 1873. 344. The translation of these laws of Shōtoku Taishi was furnished by Mr. Tsuji Shinji, late vice-minister of state for education, and by Mr. Matsumoto Kumpei. Updated editions will replace the previous one — the old editions will be renamed. Please read this before you distribute or use this work.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Clyx.com