SOCIAL INTERCOURSE WITH JAPANESE OFFICIALS—VISIT TO NIIGATA, SADO GOLD MINES, AND NANAO

Our relations with government officials suddenly from this time onward assumed a character of cordiality which formerly would have been thought impossible. This was, of course, in consequence of very explicit instructions given by the Tycoon to his ministers to cultivate the friendship of the foreign missions, and especially of the British Legation, in order doubtless to counteract the intimate intercourse which was known to be carried on between ourselves and the retainers of Satsuma and ChÔshiÛ. Each of the commissioners for foreign affairs in turn invited me to dine with him in Japanese fashion, and as I was extremely ignorant of Japanese etiquette, Noguchi used to accompany me on these occasions to be my tutor. An exchange of presents was always an important part of the entertainment, and this was a very troublesome business on account of the difficulty of buying anything at the foreign stores in Yokohama that was worth giving away as a specimen of English productions. Most of these officials lived in a very modest way. The rooms in which they gave their entertainments were usually upstairs, perhaps not more than twelve feet by fifteen, but as there was no furniture, there was plenty of space. On arriving at the house we were shown up a very narrow staircase, and through an equally narrow door. Down we plumped on our knees immediately, and bowed our heads to the mats to the host, who did the same. Then ensued a contest of politeness, our entertainer trying to get us nearer to the top of the room, and we protesting that we were very comfortable where we were. Of course it ended in my being put down in front of the recess (tokonoma), which is the seat of honour, while Noguchi remained where he was, just inside the door. Usually I was then allowed to cross my legs in tailor fashion, owing to my joints not having yet acquired the lissomness of the Japanese. Then Noguchi with great solemnity unwrapping the present, would slide across the floor and deposit it between the host and myself. In Japan you don't use brown paper for parcels, but every household possesses a set of cloths of different sizes, silk or crape for the smaller, of cotton dyed green for the larger, which fulfil the same purpose as paper. Then I pushed the present gently towards my entertainer, saying "This is really a very shabby article, but as it is a production of my contemptible country, I ..." To which he would reply, "Really I am quite overpowered. What a magnificent article. I am really ashamed to deprive you of it." And then all women folk, the servants, and the children who were peeping in at the door or round the corner of the balcony which ran along the front of the room would crane out their necks to get a glimpse of the precious rarity from the far west. Then the other guests, three or four in number, would begin to arrive. If they were strangers, the following dialogue would take place. Each person putting his hands together on the mat in front would bend over and almost touching them with his forehead, say "I have the honour to present myself to you for the first time. My name is so-and-so. I hope to enjoy your friendship in perpetuity." To which either may add that he has often heard of the great fame of the other, and longed for an opportunity of meeting him.

When these bowings and prostrations are over, a small apparatus for smoking is brought in and placed before the guest, after which tea and sweetmeats are served. Perhaps an hour passes in this way, for the entertainment is provided from a restaurant, as the domestic who performs the office of cook in a household only knows how to boil rice and make commonplace stews; and in those days at least neither clocks nor punctuality were common. If you were invited for two o'clock, you went most often at one or three, or perhaps later. In fact, as the Japanese hour altered in length every fortnight, it was very difficult to be certain about the time of day, except at sunrise, noon, sunset and midnight. At last you began to hear a gentle clatter of dishes below stairs; the teacups, cakes and sweetmeats were removed, and a covered lacquered basin was set before you on a square tray, with a pair of chopsticks, the ends of which were neatly wrapped in paper. At the same time a girl put a basin half full of water down on the middle of the floor, with a small pile of diminutive flat cups by the side. Your host took one of these, held it out for a little of the hot sakÉ, which is poured from a slender porcelain bottle, and having drunk it, slid forward to the basin to wash it. Having well shaken it, he crawled to where you were sitting, bowed profoundly, and presented the cup to you on his crossed palms. You bowed, and taking the cup between your own two hands deposited it on the floor, after which you were bound at once to present it to the damsel to be filled for yourself.

If your host, or one of the guests who has offered you the cup, wished to be very polite indeed, he waited before you with his hands resting on the floor in front of him while you emptied the cup, or at least took a good sip. When this ceremony had been gone through with all the guests, your host lifted the cover off his soup-basin, and invited you at the same time to follow his example. You drank a little of the soup, just dipped the end of the chopsticks into it by way of pretending to touch the meat, and laid down the bowl again; usually you replaced the cover. A number of dishes were brought in piled up with fish-cake, white beans boiled with sugar, raw, broiled and boiled fish, perhaps some boiled fowl or roast wild duck, cut up in small pieces, and these were served on small plates or saucers, and each person received a bowl containing a sort of pudding made of eggs, loach and the large seeds of the maidenhair tree. The raw fish, which was usually either bonito or sole, was sliced up very thin, and eaten with soy, raw laver (seaweed) and grated wasabi, which is the root of a plant belonging to the same order as the horse-radish, and resembling it in taste.

Towards the end of the feast a second water souchÉ was brought in, and perhaps some broiled eels. The courses were not removed as each succeeding one was brought in, and the plates collected on your tray and the floor close by you till all the extent of the feast was exhibited. You ate very little, picking here a mouthful, there a mouthful, but you drank as much sakÉ as you could stand, and sometimes more. After two or three hours of conversation, perhaps enlivened by some music and singing performed by professionals hired for the occasion, and you felt that you had had enough liquor you bowed to your host, and said that you would like some rice. This was the well-understood signal. A fresh tray was brought in with a large lacquered bowl for rice, and a couple more containing soups, accompanied almost invariably by the fish of ceremony called sea-bream, and the bigger it was the greater the honour. You had your bowl filled with rice, of which you were, however, not able to eat much, as your appetite had been nearly destroyed by the repeated libations of warm sakÉ, so after a few mouthfuls you handed the bowl to the maid, who filled it half full of very weak tea, or on very formal occasions with hot water, and thus you managed to swallow the contents, aided by a piece of salted radish or vegetable marrow pickled in the lees of sakÉ. That over, you carefully replaced the covers on their respective bowls, pushed the tray a foot or two away from you, and executed a bow of profound gratitude to your entertainer. The feast was then removed downstairs, where all the portable parts of it were packed into a box of white wood-shavings and delivered to your servant, if you had one in your train, to carry home. Freshly infused tea was brought in, after which you thanked your host for the feast, and took your leave, being accompanied to the door of the house by the whole family, to whom you made as low a bow as possible before mounting your pony or entering your palanquin.

For the next six or seven weeks we were very busy arranging with the Japanese the details of a scheme for organizing their navy, with the assistance of a body of English officers who were to be sent out from England, as a counterpoise to the French Military Mission, which had been at work since the beginning of the year, and for the establishment of a college to be superintended by a body of graduates from English Universities. The former plan was successfully carried out, and some months later a mission under the command of Commander, now Admiral, Richard Tracey, arrived in Japan. The educational proposal, however, came to nothing. Ultimately the Japanese obtained the assistance of a leading American missionary residing at Nagasaki, and the present (in 1885) educational system was in fact established by teachers from the United States.

Sir Harry, as I have said before, had already visited Tsuruga, which was suggested as a possible alternative to Niigata as the port to be opened on the west coast, but before deciding this question, it was necessary to make a careful examination of Niigata itself. So in the latter part of July he started off on a voyage of inspection, taking Mitford and myself with him. I had Ono SeigorÔ, one of the legation writers, and my trusty Noguchi with me. We left Yokohama on the 23rd July in the "Basilisk," commanded by Captain, afterwards Sir William, Hewett, V.C. In less than four days we reached HakodatÉ, where the usual visits were exchanged with the governor, a little dark-faced man named KoidÉ Yamato no Kami. A good deal was said about the coal mine at Iwanai on the west coast of Yezo, at which a commencement of working had recently been made under the superintendence of my friend Erasmus Gower. Admiral Keppel was already here in the yacht "Salamis," and on the 1st August we left again for Niigata, arriving there after a prosperous voyage of thirty-six hours.

From the sea the view of Niigata is very fine. In the background the mountains of Aidzu rise at some distance inland, stretching far away to right and left. In front lies a level plain, consisting mainly of rice fields, fringed with trees. The foreground is a sandy shore, rising into sandhills to the right of the river mouth, and at some distance to the west the prospect terminates in the lofty peaks of Yahiko yama. I landed immediately with Dr Wilson of the "Basilisk," and the sea being quite smooth we crossed the bar without difficulty. Inside the water is very deep, and some eighty junks were lying there at anchor. The town is situated a little way up the river, not quite close to the bank. We chose what seemed a convenient landing-place, and pushed ashore. Immediately a number of two-sworded officials made their appearance, and forming themselves into an escort, led the way to a Buddhist temple, the reception rooms of which had been prepared for the use of foreigners.

After we had waited for a few minutes the governor came in; he proved to be Shiraishi ShimÔsa no Kami, an old acquaintance of mine when he held a similar post at Yokohama in 1864 and 1865. In those days we used often to have serious disputes about the claims of British subjects against defaulting Japanese merchants and questions of customs' duties, but I found him now in quite a different mood. He was very polite and cheery, and alluded with regret to the ridiculous arguments which in former days under a different rÉgime he had been obliged to maintain against me. Now that the foreign ministers had visited the Tycoon at Ozaka all was to be changed, and our intercourse was to be really friendly. He had himself received from KiÔto a copy of instructions to that effect. After some further talk about the possibility of Niigata being made an open port, I arranged for him to call on Sir Harry on the following morning on board the "Basilisk," bringing all the maps in his possession, and took my leave.

On our way back to the ship we stopped at a new hotel, where we dined in Japanese fashion, and made some purchases of the curious lacquered articles called mokusa-nuri, which are manufactured in Aidzu, and China grass cloth woven in the villages further inland. This was not to be had in the shops, but was hawked about the town by people from the country. Here for the first time I saw the frozen snow, which in those days was the Japanese substitute for ice, and we found it a great luxury at that season of the year. Niigata was laid out in the form of the truncated segment of a circle, and intersected by canals, the banks of which were lined with willow trees, suggesting a Dutch model. The canals, however, were narrow and dirty, and better deserving perhaps the name of ditches. At this moment the feast of Tanabata was at hand, and the streets were crowded with little boys carrying paper lanterns of all sizes and colours, many of them adorned with clever sketches in colour representing Japanese historical traditions and popular customs.

On the following day the promised interview came off on board, and we returned the governor's visit in the afternoon at his official residence. He had hastily had some benches constructed, which were covered with red cloth, the best substitute procurable for leather-bottom chairs.

Old Shiraishi renewed acquaintance with me some twelve years later at TÔkiÔ, and used to give me lessons in the interpretation of the utai plays; his son became my librarian, and died in my house.

After a two hours' talk we started off to inspect an island in the river which it was proposed should be converted to the uses of a foreign settlement. Sir Harry, who was of an active inquisitive temperament, here signalized himself in the eyes of the natives by scrambling up to the top of a large shed, under which a junk was in course of construction, to get a view of the surrounding country, much to the horror of Mitford and myself, who were so orientalized by this time in our notions that we longed to see our chief conduct himself with the impassive dignity of a Japanese gentleman. This exploit being over, he dragged us all, including Hewett, about the town till half-past six, not to the improvement of the tempers of that gallant officer or of his boat's crew, who thus lost their dinner. I remained behind with Noguchi, dined again in Japanese fashion, and spent the night on shore, in the enjoyment of a few hours' perfect freedom. In fact, I did not return to the ship till the following afternoon, and then had some difficulty in getting off, as there was a heavy swell on the bar, though outside there was neither wind nor rough sea.

From Niigata we crossed over to the island of Sado, the site of gold mines that have for a long period been famous. The Japanese proverb is that the "soil of Sado is the most effective of love-philtres." We had been told by the governor of Niigata that there was a good port here, where foreign vessels could lie, when the bar at the mouth of the Shinano River was too rough to cross owing to the northwest winds that prevail during the winter.

A letter had been sent off from Niigata on the previous day to announce the visit of the British Minister, and as soon as we let go our anchor some of the local officials came off to call. The mines however lay at Aikawa on the other side of the island, where the governor resided. He had sent over his own kago for Sir Harry to perform the journey in, but the chief did not relish either the idea of locomotion after this fashion, nor yet of walking across the island and of passing the night on the floor of a Japanese house in native quilts, and with nothing better than rice and fish to eat. So he decided to send me across in his stead, and proceeded round to Aikawa in the "Basilisk." This arrangement suited me down to the ground. It was much jollier to travel by one's self than to play second fiddle to one's chief always. The distance was about sixteen miles to Aikawa, and the officials made me extremely comfortable for the night.

Next day Sir Harry and a large party, including some of the officers of the "Serpent," Commander Bullock and W. G. Aston our interpreter, landed at SawanÉ, where I went to meet them, and we walked over the hills to the village near the mines, where I had put up. On his arrival at the house where I had lodged, which in fact had been prepared for his reception, one of those scenes occurred which were not infrequent in those days, when the Japanese tried to treat foreigners with indignity, and it became necessary to resent their impertinence. At the door he was met by one of two vice-governors, who ushered him into a side room, where the idea was that he should do "ante-chamber" till the governor deigned to receive him. But Sir Harry was equal to the occasion, and promptly turning round without saying a word, walked out of the house. I overtook him at the gate, and having found out what was the matter, was on my way back to tell the alarmed officials that the governor must receive the British Minister at the door of the house, when I met the two vice-governors hurrying after us with some ridiculous excuse. So we turned back, walking with immense dignity so as to give him time, and by the time we arrived back again the old fellow made his appearance beaming with smiles, as if nothing had happened. He was at once forgiven, and led the way into a large room where a long row of chairs extended down one side for ourselves, faced by three others for himself and the vice-governors.

We speedily became great friends and drank a quantity of sakÉ together, Sir Harry and the governor vying with each other in the manufacture of the most high-flown compliments. After this the whole party adjourned to visit the gold mines, which were then, whatever they may be now, low-roofed burrows half full of water, and those who ventured in returned to the outer air again looking more like half-drowned rabbits than human Englishmen. I had never been able to see much pleasure in this sort of subterranean excursion, and carefully stayed outside. We got on board that night, and weighed anchor in order to proceed to Nanao in Noto. There a fine harbour was said to exist, which we thought could perhaps be substituted for Niigata.

Early on the morning of the 7th August we came in sight of the lofty mountains of EtchiÛ, which centre round the volcanic peak of TatÉyama, nearly 10,000 feet high, and at eleven o'clock reached the southern entrance of the harbour, which is formed by a considerable island lying opposite to a bay. The "Serpent" led the way, in discharge of the functions appertaining to her as a surveying ship, but we had to take great care on account of the numerous patches of shoal water, and did not come to an anchor in front of the town till half-past twelve. Nanao, or Tokoro no kuchi, at that time containing from 8000 to 9000 inhabitants, was rising into importance as a port for the few steamers belonging to the daimiÔ of Kaga, and was administered by a machi bugiÔ or prefect named AbÉ JunjirÔ. He was a young man who had been to Nagasaki and knew a little English, both of which facts in those days gave him a title to be considered travelled and learned, but he had no authority to speak on behalf of his prince. We therefore waited until the arrival of some more representative officials named Sano and Satomi, who were expected from Kanazawa, the capital of this daimiate. They turned up on board the "Basilisk" on the 9th August, and sat talking, or rather being talked to, by Sir Harry for five mortal hours. The chief topic was the question of the suitability of Nanao as a substitute for Niigata. What the Kaga people feared was that this would lead to its being taken away from them by the Tycoon's government, as in former times had happened in the case of Nagasaki and Niigata. But they did not venture to state this openly, and alleged therefore various other excuses, such as that the inhabitants were not accustomed to see foreigners, that the majority would object on account of the general rise in prices which would follow on the exportation of produce, and the daimiÔ, however willing to see the place opened to foreign trade, must of course act in harmony with the wishes of the people.

Sir Harry then gave up pressing the point directly, enlarged on the inconveniences of the anchorage at Niigata, the need of a port of refuge, and the "fact" that none existed nearer than Nanao. He said nothing of our having inspected Ebisu Minato in Sado with the view of using it as an alternative anchorage to Niigata. Would the daimiÔ object to foreign vessels anchoring at Nanao when the weather was bad at the bar of Niigata. The reply was that for the sake of humanity and of our friendly relations he would be unable to refuse this. Well then, as ships could not afford to lie a long time at Nanao doing nothing, would there be any objection to their cargoes being landed and stored till they could be transported to Niigata. No, probably not, in the interests of humanity. Who then, asked Sir Harry, should undertake the construction of the necessary warehouses? The reply was that either foreigners or the Kaga administration could do this as seemed most convenient. Well then, supposing that the people of Nanao should wish to buy any of the goods so stored by foreigners, would it not be a hard thing to prevent the sale? They said perhaps it might be, but to give such permission would lead to converting Nanao into a foreign trading port; nevertheless, if all the articles required were ordered beforehand, and not selected from those stored with a view to their transportation to Niigata, there could be no objection. But in actual fact, to speak frankly, they thought they could undertake the regulation of the port and the storage of goods without the assistance of the Tycoon's government. The territory of Nanao had belonged to the Maeda clan from very early times; it was the only good port in the three provinces of Kaga, EtchiÛ and Noto, and could ill be spared. They would dislike to share the local administration with the government, nor could they give it up to them altogether.

Sir Harry expressed his concurrence in these views, and then proceeded to talk about the means of transport for himself and his party overland to Ozaka. This subject had been discussed in the legation before our departure from Yedo, though when the governor of Niigata had asked Sir Harry whether it was not his intention to return by land from Nanao, our very diplomatic chief had replied that such an idea had never entered his head. They received his suggestion with no marks of cordiality, and drew on themselves a severe rebuke for their want of friendship towards foreigners, so different to the feelings displayed by certain other clans. This plain speaking completely spoiled their temper. They became very sulky and silent, and alleging hunger, probably with much truth, took their departure.

As soon as they had left the ship Sir Harry made up his mind to send Mitford and myself overland to Ozaka, while he went round by way of Nagasaki in the "Basilisk." It was, of course, evident that we could travel through the country in a much less formal style than would be necessary for him, and on our part of course we were only too delighted to get the opportunity of seeing a part of the interior where foreigners had never been before. I was therefore sent on shore to get hold of the prefect. Bullock was ordered to remain behind with the "Serpent" to make a complete survey of the bay. The Admiral, who had arrived from Niigata the day before us, got up steam in the "Salamis," and was off at half-past three, the "Basilisk" following a couple of hours later.

The chief, who liked to keep us by him till the last moment, took us as far as the entrance of the harbour, where we put our traps into a boat belonging to the "Serpent." But just as we were pulling away, the "Basilisk" got ashore in a shallow place, and they signalled to us to return to her. Eventually we were released from dancing attendance on him, and reached the shore at eight o'clock in the evening.

We proceeded to a house where I had more than once passed the night, and shortly received a visit from Sano and AbÉ, who were to make all the arrangements for our journey. Thither came also two officials of the Yedo Foreign Department, who had come from Yokohama with Sir Harry, and whom he had left behind with injunctions to facilitate the survey of the harbour by Bullock. But as soon as they heard that we were going overland, they conceived the plan of offering that one of them should accompany us, to spy upon our movements. They alleged that although everything might go well with us in the territories of the daimiÔ of Kaga, we should meet with difficulties further on. We should be unable to procure baggage and palanquin coolies; we might be attacked and killed. They had instructions in fact to accompany us wherever we went on shore, and that it was a law of Japan that foreigners must not travel without foreign department officials to look after them. To this I replied with equal weight that they were bound to respect the injunctions laid on them by Sir Harry, to whom they had been lent by the Tycoon's Council. He had told them to remain at Nanao for a specific purpose, while we had positive orders from our chief not to take them. We felt assured that the daimiÔs of Kaga and Echizen, which was the territory that lay immediately beyond, would do everything to smooth our way; and as regarded the rest of the line of road, they might write to the Tycoon's people at KiÔto to send down the necessary instructions, and even take on themselves the responsibility of transmitting the orders direct to the authorities of the towns we should have to pass through.

As for the law they mentioned, I felt convinced that it had no existence. At best there was only a custom to that effect, which we could decline to abide by at our option. These considerations proved to them that argument would not help them, so they tried to work upon my feelings by representing that they would get into hot water with their superiors in Yedo if they suffered us to depart alone. But this also failed. Finally they washed their hands of the business, and begged to be excused from all responsibility for any difficulties we might encounter. This request was most readily granted, and they retired with a secret intention of getting Bullock to dispense with their services, while we betook ourselves to our beds with the consciousness of a victory achieved.