CHAPTER XLVI
New Dutch Treaty—Mr. Harris, American Consul at Shimoda—His Convention with the Japanese—His Journey to Yedo—Second Visit to Yedo—Conditional Treaty—British Treaty—French and Russian Treaties—Japanese Embassies to the United States, A.D. 1854-1860.
The success of the Americans in forming a treaty with Japan led to negotiations on the part of the Dutch, by which the narrow privileges enjoyed by that nation were considerably extended. By this treaty, which was signed January 30, 1856, the ports open to the Americans were opened also to the Dutch. They were allowed to exercise their religion, and to bring their wives and children to Japan. They were authorized to trade directly with Japanese merchants, and to hold free intercourse at Deshima with other foreigners. They, in their turn, undertook to supply the Japanese with a war steamer, and to give them instruction in naval matters.
In August, 1856, the United States steamer “San Jacinto” arrived at Shimoda, bringing out Mr. Townsend Harris, a merchant of New York, who had been appointed consul to Japan; as it proved, a very judicious selection.[130] A temple near Shimoda was appointed for his residence, but the whole circumstances of his reception showed that the Japanese dislike of foreign intercourse remained almost as strong as ever. They had taken some steps, however, to execute the treaty. They had built a stone landing-place at Shimoda, had brought from the mines several hundred tons of coal, and had constructed a large bazaar for the sale to Americans of Japanese wares. But it was very apparent that Shimoda, from its situation, never could become a place of much trade; while the necessity of purchasing through a Japanese official, and the low valuation put upon American wares, as estimated in Japanese currency, were additional obstacles.
Mr. Harris obtained the confidence and good-will of the authorities at Shimoda, and succeeded in negotiating a convention, in March, 1857, by which American citizens were allowed to reside at Shimoda and Hakodate, and to trade at Nagasaki; and by which, also, it was hoped that the currency difficulty would be arranged.
Mr. Harris had brought with him a letter from the president to the emperor, and at length, after much importunity and more than a year’s delay, he obtained leave to visit Yedo to deliver it. Yedo is only eighty miles by land from Shimoda, yet it took several days to make the journey. Mr. Harris thus describes it in a private letter:
“My train numbered some one hundred and fifty persons, composed of guards, norimono-bearers, cooks, grooms, shoe-bearers, cane-bearers, fan-bearers, and last, though not least, a standard-bearer, and a large number of coolies. I had permitted the Japanese to arrange and dress my train according to their ideas of propriety, and what they conceived was due to the representative of the President of the United States. My guards, each with two swords in the girdle, and clad in new silk dresses, as they swelled and strutted about, appeared to be ‘mightily uplifted in heart,’ while they and my bearers and grooms appeared to have ‘broken out’ all over their bodies with ‘spread eagles,’ as the back, breast, and sleeves of their dresses were sprinkled over with the arms of the United States, which were neatly painted on them. I performed the journey partly on horseback, and partly in a norimono, which is the Japanese name for a palanquin. The Japanese norimono will compare with the celebrated iron cage of Cardinal Balue, of France, in which the poor inmate could neither lie down nor stand up. In the norimono the Japanese kneel and place their feet close together, and then sit on their heels; if they wish to repose themselves they lean forward, and rest the chin on their knees, so that the body and limbs form three horizontal folds or piles—a position that they assume and keep without annoyance, from long practice, and from the great flexibility of their joints, but which is almost unattainable by a white man, and is absolutely unendurable.
“I had a norimono made for me seven feet long, and in it I put a mattress and pillows, which made it as comfortable as the Indian palanquin; but, of all modes of travelling, the camel, the elephant, and the palanquin are the most fatiguing.
“On the morning of Monday, November 23, I started for a long-desired goal of my wishes. Four lads, with small bamboo wands, led the way as harbingers, and their voices sounded quite musical as they sang the Japanese words for ‘clear the way,’ ‘kneel down,’ ‘kneel down.’ Next followed a Japanese officer on horseback; then came a large lackered tablet, bearing my name and titles in immense Chinese characters. The tablet was supported by two huge transparent lanterns, which bore similar inscriptions. (When I halted, the tablet was placed in front of my quarters, and at night the lanterns were lighted and hung up over the gate of the house.) Next came a stout fellow, bearing the ‘stars and stripes,’ with four guards. I followed, either on horseback or in my norimono, and attended by twelve guards. Next came Mr. Heusken (interpreter), and after him I do not recollect how it was arranged, except that the Vice-Governor brought up the rear.
“For the first three days the route was entangled among mountains and deep ravines which compose the peninsula of Izu. The path (for it could not be called a road) was narrow, and in many places was formed by cutting steps in the Fufa rocks, and sometimes it ran over mountains four thousand feet high. On the second day I reached Ugashima, and as I emerged from the gorges of Mount Amagi, I had my first view of ‘Fuji Yama,’ the ‘Matchless Mountain.’ The sight was grand beyond description. As viewed from the Temple at Ugashima, the mountain appears to be entirely isolated, and shoots up in a glorious and perfect cone ten thousand feet high! It was covered with snow, and in a bright sunlight it glittered like frosted silver. For the two nights I was lodged in temples, which had been fitted up for me with new bath-rooms, and other appliances to contribute to my comfort. On the evening of the third day I arrived at Mishima, a town on the Tōkaidō or great East Road, and from thence to Yedo the road is wide and good. On the great roads of Japan nice buildings are erected for the accommodation of the princes when they travel; they are called Honjin; and it was in them that I had my quarters for the remainder of my journey.
“My first day’s journey on the Tō-kai-dō was over the mountain Hakone, which is some four thousand and five hundred feet high.
Townsend Harris
“The passage of Mount Hakone was not completed until after nightfall; but I did not regret being belated, as it afforded me the novel sight of my train brilliantly lighted by a large number of huge bamboo torches. As the train twisted and turned among the descents of the mountain, it looked like the tail of a huge fiery dragon. On reaching the plain I was met by the authorities of the city of Odawara, and a whole army of lanterns, of all imaginable sizes and colors, each being decorated with the arms of its owner, and the whole forming an ensemble that was lively and pleasing. I passed Sunday, the 29th of November, at Kawasaki. From my first arrival in Japan up to the present day, I have always refused to transact any business or to travel on Sunday. I soon got the Japanese to understand my motive, and I am sure it has increased their respect for me.
“The roads were all repaired, and cleanly swept, on the whole of my route, before I passed; bridges were put in order, and many new ones built; all travel on the road was stopped, so that I did not see those crowds of travellers, priests, nuns, etc., described by Kämpfer; the shops in all the towns and villages were closed (except cook-shops and tea-houses), and the inhabitants, clad in their holiday clothes, knelt on mats spread in front of their houses; not a sound was heard, nor a gesture indicative of curiosity seen; all was respectful silence. The people were ordered to cast down their eyes as I passed, as I was too high even to be looked at; but this order was only partially obeyed, for the dear daughters of Eve would have a peep, regardless of consequences. The authorities of the towns and villages met me at their boundaries, and saluted me by kneeling and ‘knocking head’; they then led the way through their little jurisdictions, and took leave by similar prostrations.
“On Monday, the 30th of November, I made my entry into Yedo. My followers put on their kamishimo, or dresses of ceremony, decorated with any quantity of eagles.
“I should not have known when I passed the line which separates Shinagawa from Yedo, had the spot not been pointed out to me, as the houses form a continuous street for some miles before you reach the actual boundary of the city. From the gate by which I entered the city to my quarters was about seven miles. The streets of Yedo are divided into sections of one hundred and twenty yards, by gates and palisades of strong timber. This enables the police to isolate any portion of the city, or any line running through it, and thus prevent the assembling of crowds or mobs. When we approached a gate, it was opened, and as soon as the rear had passed through, it was closed. The gates of all the cross streets were also kept closed. I could see immense crowds beyond the gates, but the people on our actual line of march were those only that occupied the buildings on the route. Notwithstanding all this, the number that assembled was prodigious. The centre of the way was kept clear, and the crowd kept back by ropes stretched along each side of the street. The assemblage was composed of men, women, and children, of all ranks and conditions—the women being the larger number. I estimated the two lines of people that extended along the way, from my entrance into the city to the place provided for my residence, to have been full three hundred thousand. Yet in all this vast concourse I did not hear a word, except the constant cry of the harbingers, Sátu, sátu![?].
“You may think it impossible that silence could have been maintained among so large a number of women, but I assure you it was so.
“The house prepared for me was situated within the fourth circle of the castle, or aristocratic portion of the city, and large enough to accommodate five hundred persons, in the Japanese manner.
“On my arrival I was warmly welcomed by my good friend the Prince of Shinano [Inouye Shinano-no-kami], who showed me the various provisions that had been made for my accommodation and comfort, and which included chairs, tables, bedsteads, etc., none of which are used by the Japanese.
“The following day the Prince of Tamba [Toki Tamba-no-kami] visited me in great state. He said he came as a ‘special embassador’ from the Emperor to congratulate me on my arrival, and to ask after my health. After receiving these compliments, and making a suitable reply, the Prince pointed to a large box, which he said was a present to me from his Majesty. I found the box contained five large trays of bon-bons, weighing one hundred pounds.
“I subsequently visited the hereditary Prince of Hotta [Hotta Bitchū-no-kami], Chief of the great Council of State and Minister for Foreign Affairs. The visit was a pleasant one, and the arrangements for my audience were completed. I gave the Prince a copy of my intended speech to the Emperor, and before I left, he gave a copy of the reply the Emperor would make to me. By this arrangement, the speeches being both translated beforehand, we would be enabled to dispense with the presence of interpreters at the audience. On the Monday week after my arrival, I set out for the Palace. My train blazed out in new silk dresses, and my guard wore their breeches rolled up to the middle of the thigh. You must know that the wearing of breeches in Japan is a mark of high rank, or, if worn by an inferior, that he is in the service of one of the highest rank. A new flag, made of Japanese crape, was carried before me. This flag is the first foreign banner that was ever carried through this great city, and I mean to preserve it as a precious relic. The distance from my residence to the Palace was over two miles. On arriving at the bridge over the third moat, or ditch, all my train left their horses and norimono, and proceeded on foot. I continued in my norimono, and was carried over three moats, and through as many fortified gateways, up to the gate of the Palace itself. I was received at the entrance by two chamberlains, who, having ‘knocked head,’ conducted me to an apartment where I found a chair for my use. Tea, bon-bons, and other refreshments, were often offered to me. A large number of the princes came to be presented to me. At length I was told the Emperor was ready to receive me. I passed through a large hall, in which some three hundred to four hundred of the high nobles of Japan, all dressed in their court dresses, were kneeling, and as silent and as motionless as statues; and from this hall I entered the audience-chamber. At this moment a chamberlain called out, in a loud voice, ‘Merrican Embassador,’ and the Prince of Shinano threw himself down and crawled along as I walked in. Mr. Heusken, my secretary, who carried the President’s letter, halted to the entrance; I advanced up the room, making three bows as I proceeded, and halted at the head of two lines of men, who were prostrate on their faces; those on my right were the five members of the Council of State, with the Prince of Bitchū at their head and those on the left were three brothers of the Emperor.
“His Majesty was seated on a chair placed on a dais, elevated some three feet above the floor of the chamber. He was dressed in yellow silk, and wore a black lackered cap that utterly defies description. After a short pause, I made my address to him; and, after a similar pause, he replied to me in a clear and pleasant voice. When the Emperor had finished, Mr. Heusken brought the President’s letter to me. I removed the silk cover (striped, red and white), opened the box, and displayed the writing to the Prince of Bitchū, who now stood up. Then, closing the box, I handed it to the Prince, who placed it on a lackered stand, prepared for the purpose. Mr. Heusken having returned to his place, and the Prince being again prostrate, the Emperor bowed to me, smiling pleasantly at the same time. This ended my audience, and I backed out of the room, making three bows as I retired.
“The usual dress of the Japanese nobles is of silk; but the court dress is made of a coarse yellow glass-cloth, and for a coronet they wear a black lackered affair that looks like a distracted night-cap. I did not see a single gem, jewel, or ornament of any kind, on the person of the Emperor, or on those of his courtiers, who comprised the great nobility of Japan.
“From the audience-chamber I was taken to another room, when I found the five great Councillors of State, who, having been presented to me, congratulated me on my audience, and expressed their wonder and astonishment at what they called my ‘greatness of heart.’ When I asked for an explanation, they said that they were filled with admiration to see me stand erect, look the awful ‘Tycoon’ [Taikun] in the face, speak plainly to him, hear his reply—and all this without any trepidation, or any ‘quivering of the muscles of the side.’ I write all this to let you see that the Japanese princes understand the use of court compliments. I was then shown a present of fifteen silken robes from his Majesty, and was taken to a room where a banquet, set out on sixty trays, twelve inches high, was prepared for my single stomach. There was food enough for one hundred hungry men!
“You must know that the dinner-trays (like the breeches) are a mark of rank in Japan; and the rank indicated by the height of the trays, which vary from three to twelve inches in height. Again, if the trays are lackered it diminishes the honor connected with the actual height of the tray, for it indicates that it can be used on another occasion; but if it be made of unpainted cypress wood, the honor is complete, for it says, as plain as words can do, ‘You are so sublime in your rank that no one can dare to eat from a tray that you have used!’ My attention was particularly called both to the height of the trays, and to the flattering fact, that, ‘by a special edict,’ they were made of unvarnished wood. You must know that this same dinner had been the subject of grave discussion, both in Shimoda and in Yedo. They were very anxious that I should eat at the Palace. I replied that I would do so cheerfully, provided a person or persons of suitable rank would eat with me; but said that self-respect would forbid my eating at a table where my host or his representative declined to sit down. When I had admired the very neat arrangement of the banquet, I was again asked to sit down. I then said, ‘Say to his Majesty that I thank him for his offered entertainment.’ At last the whole affair was sent to my quarters, where I distributed it among my Shimoda followers.
“After the exhibition of the dinner I was reconducted to the room I first entered, and, after I had drank of the celebrated ‘powdered tea,’ I left, being conducted to the entrance by the two chamberlains, who knocked head with all the force that was due to one who had ‘seen the king, and yet lived.’ By the way, I forgot to state that the old formula of an audience, which was ‘kneel down,’ ‘knock head, so that the by-standers can hear your skull crack,’ if it ever did exist at the court at Yedo, was not used in my case. A faint request was made to me, at Shimoda, that I would kneel, but I told them the request was offensive, and must not be repeated. That ended it.
“My return to Shimoda was on a steamer presented to the Japanese by the Dutch.”
In April, 1858, Mr. Harris returned again to Yedo, and after three months spent in arguing with the Japanese that it would be impossible for them to maintain their policy of isolation, he succeeded in negotiating a new treaty. By this treaty, the port of Kanagawa, present Yokohama, a suburb of Yedo, was substituted for Shimoda as a place for American trade and residence; and in 1860, Hiōgo, the harbor of the most commercial city of Ōsaka, was also to be opened to them. American residents were to enjoy religious freedom, and the privilege of direct trade with the Japanese merchants. The right to have an ambassador resident at Yedo was also included; a position since filled by Mr. Harris himself.
Within a few weeks after the negotiation of this treaty, Lord Elgin, British commissioner to China and Japan, arrived at Shimoda with a considerable British squadron. Mr. Harris went on board his ship, and accompanied him to the Bay of Yedo. On the 20th of August, a treaty was signed with the Japanese by Lord Elgin, on the basis of the American treaty. It contained the additional provision,—of which we also have the benefit to render the clause of our treaty giving us all privileges bestowed on other nations,—that no export duty should be charged higher than twenty per cent; certain articles, including cotton and woollen goods, to be admitted at five per cent. On the 9th of October, a similar treaty was signed with Baron Gros, who had visited Yedo as French commissioner. Similar privileges, it is understood, are granted to the Dutch and Russians.
With the signing of these treaties the Japanese authorities may be considered as having yielded the point of the re-establishment of foreign intercourse. But a great difference of opinion as to this policy is understood still to exist among the nobles and princes of the Empire; and it is not impossible that these concessions to foreigners may lead to internal commotions.
By one of the articles of this new treaty, negotiated by Mr. Harris, the Japanese agreed to send an embassy to Washington, as bearers of the Emperor’s ratification. The fulfilment of this promise was for some time delayed, partly, perhaps, by reason of the caution and slowness characteristic of Japanese policy, but principally, it is supposed, on account of the strong opposition of a large party of the princes and nobles to the new scheme of foreign intercourse. At length, however, on the 27th of February, 1860, the ambassadors, three in number, with a suite of seventy-three persons, embarked on board the United States steamer, the “Powhatan,” the American government having undertaken to convey them to the United States, and to carry them back again. The “Kanrin-maru,” a war steamer of two hundred and fifty tons, built for the Japanese by the Dutch, and manned with a Japanese crew of seventy men, arrived at San Francisco on the 14th of March, after a passage of forty days from the Bay of Yedo, to give notice of the approach of the ambassadors. The “Powhatan,” after touching at the Sandwich Islands, reached Panama on the 25th of April. The ambassadors, with their attendants, were immediately conveyed on the railroad to Aspinwall, where, the next day, they embarked on board the U.S. steamer “Roanoke,” lying there to receive them. The “Roanoke” sailed for New York, but on arriving at Sandy Hook she was ordered to Norfolk, it having been determined that the embassy should be first received at Washington. At Norfolk the Japanese were transferred to the steamer “Philadelphia.” They reached Washington on the 14th of May, disembarked at the Navy Yard, and were then conveyed to quarters which had been provided for them at Willard’s Hotel. To protect them against imposition, and to provide for their comfort and security, three navy officers who had visited Japan were appointed to the general oversight of the embassy while it remained in this country. On the 14th they visited General Cass, the Secretary of State, and on the next day had a formal audience from the President. Though received as ministers plenipotentiary, their powers appeared to be limited to an exchange of the ratifications of the treaty, and to obtaining information as to the relative value of Japanese and foreign coins,—a point which still remained unsettled in Japan, and was the occasion of much complaint on the part of the foreign residents.
Junks
The New Battleship Mikasa
The Old and the New
The Japanese remained in Washington till the 8th of June, spending their time in visits to the various public buildings, and a good deal of it in shopping, for which many of them seemed to have a great fancy. After passing through Baltimore, where they remained one night only, they spent a week in Philadelphia, where the Mint and its processes were special objects of interest. From Philadelphia they went on to New York, where they were received at the Battery by an escort of five or six thousand men of the New York militia, and conveyed through an immense crowd to the quarters which had been provided for them at the Metropolitan Hotel. Here they remained for two weeks, and on the 1st of July embarked on board the United States steam-frigate “Niagara,” to return to Japan by the Cape of Good Hope, being thus the first of their nation to make the circumnavigation of the globe.
The time of their stay in this country was limited by express orders brought with them from Japan, and they declined the numerous invitations which they received to visit other cities, and also an excursion which the government had planned to the Falls of Niagara. The short time they had to spend was no doubt more advantageously employed by restricting their observations to two or three places. Of the seventy-six persons, of which the embassy and its suite were composed, forty-six filled the position of attendants or servants to the remaining twenty, though some of them, directly attached to the person of the three ambassadors, were far above the rank of ordinary menials. The three ambassadors, though they bore the title of princes, were understood not to belong to the small class of hereditary nobles, but to owe their titles to the positions which they hold in the Emperor’s service. Among the seventeen persons next in rank to the ambassadors were a treasurer, having charge of the finances of the embassy,—though, except as to such purchases as they made, this office was a sinecure; a marshal, so to speak, charged with oversight and government of the servants; several secretaries, interpreters, and doctors, and others who might be called attachés. There was no priest or chaplain, nor any appearance of any formal worship. The three ambassadors affected a good deal of reserve; the others were inclined to sociability; but their ignorance of the language, and the necessity that all communications should undergo a double interpretation from English to Dutch, and then into Japanese, or vice versa, was a great obstacle to the communication of ideas.
In New York, besides their visits to public places and institutions, the more curious of the Japanese were taken to visit a number of large manufactories of various kinds, in several of which they exhibited a good deal of interest. They made a good many purchases, and received a good many presents, the manufacturers of various articles hoping in this way to open a market for their wares in Japan.
Though a good deal pressed upon at times by over-curious crowds, their reception was everywhere of the most kindly character, and can hardly fail to leave upon them a strong impression of American good-will.
Since the negotiation of the recent treaties, a number of Americans and Englishmen, agents of mercantile houses, have established themselves at the open ports. A few cargoes of Japanese products have been shipped, but the trade is still in its infancy, and the extent to which it can be carried remains very problematical.