Here I leave my soul and exhibit to the world the intrepidity of a Japanese heart.
CHAPTER XXX
KIOTO—AUDIENCE OF THE MIKADO
On March 19 the whole legation crossed to Ozaka in H.M.S. "Adventure." I left my Japanese escort behind, as they would have been in the way at Kiôto, and probably, being Tokugawa retainers, in fear of their lives the whole time. Our party slept at the vice-consulate, and next day we rode up to Fushimi, escorted by Komatsu and a couple of Hizen officers, one of whom named Nakamuta was the commander of the "Eugénie," a steamer recently acquired by Nabéshima. The party on horseback consisted of Sir Harry, Lieutenant Bradshaw and myself, with the legation mounted escort. We went nearly the whole way at a foot's pace, the road being in fairly good condition, but the bridges at Yodo having been burnt during the recent fighting we had some difficulty in getting across the Kidzukawa, which falls into the river there. We got to Fushimi about six o'clock, and found comfortable quarters prepared for us in the guest rooms of a Buddhist monastery, where we were well looked after by some Hizen officers. The rest of our party, together with the infantry guard of the 2/ix, were to come up in boats, starting at three o'clock in the afternoon, and travelling through the night. They gradually reached Fushimi next morning, and we managed to make a start about ten o'clock. The first half of the way we were escorted by Hizen men, who were then joined by Owari troops, and here we were met by Gotô and our cheery little friend Nakai. The streets were crowded with spectators, who observed perfect order. Chi-on-in, a very fine Buddhist monastery at the foot of Higashi-yama, had been prepared for our accommodation, and guards were posted consisting of Higo, Awa and Owari troops. We found the Owari officials who were in charge to attend to our comforts very dilatory people, and as yet quite unacquainted with foreigners and their requirements. The apartments assigned to us were magnificently decorated, altogether in the style of a feudal noble's palace, such as we had seen at Tokushima the previous year. Shimadzu Osumi no Kami (father of the Prince of Satsuma) had occupied them for some time when he first visited Kiôto. As soon as we settled in, a grand feast of many dishes in Japanese style was served up to us, but of course we had brought our own cooks and utensils with us, for most of us were unaccustomed to Japanese food. Old Yôdô of Tosa, whom Willis had been attending, was reported to be out of danger and in a fair way of recovery.
The 22nd March was spent by the chief in making a round of visits. It took the Owari folk three hours to get us the necessary palanquins and bearers. We called first on Yamashina no Miya, who was very affable and jolly, his dirty beard shaved off, and his teeth dyed black in correct style; he was dressed in the costume called nôshi, and wore the tiny black lacquered hat as before. The conversation turned upon the delightfulness of the occasion which had brought the British Minister to Kiôto. Just after leaving the prince's residence we were stopped in the road to let Ninnaji no Miya pass. He was on horseback, a stoutish, swarthy, thick-lipped young man, with his hair just beginning to sprout; for until recently he had been in the Buddhist priesthood. Our next visit was to Sanjô, who had had his title of Dainagon just restored to him, a pale effeminate-looking undersized man of thirty-three years of age. He discoursed very formally on the happiness it gave to all the Court people to see foreign ministers in Kiôto. From there we went through the enclosure known as the Nine Gates, past the Imperial Palace. It was surrounded by a finely stuccoed wall four feet thick at the base, with gates like those of a Buddhist temple, very neatly thatched with small shingles. Iwakura, whom we called on next, had his temporary residence just inside and opposite the Kugé Mon gate on the west of the palace. He was a severe-looking oldish man, but frank in speech. He told the chief it was true that the Mikado and Court Nobles had hated foreigners hitherto, and talked of "barbarian-expelling" (jô-i), while the Bakufu was all for "opening the country." But now that was completely changed. They had specially to thank the English for having been the first to recognize the truth that the Mikado was the sovereign. Itô told me that after we had left the house Iwakura expressed to him a fear that he might have given offence by speaking too frankly about the former attitude of the Court towards foreigners. We then went to the Hizen yashiki, and saw the prince, a young good-looking man of about twenty-four years of age; he had been appointed to the department of Foreign Affairs, but we would not discover that he had any great aptitude for official work. Daté and Higashi-Kuzé luckily were not in when we called. We also visited the younger Chôshiû prince, Nagato no Kami, whom we easily recognized by his likeness to the photograph taken when Admiral King was in Chôshiû. At the other houses we had been accommodated with chairs, but here we had to squat on the floor in Japanese fashion, and when we rose to leave it was with difficulty that we could straighten our knee joints. We exchanged with him hearty expressions of goodwill and congratulations on our ancient friendship. On returning to Chi-on-in we found Daté and Gotô who had come to discuss the details of the audience that was to take place on the morrow. They expressed much anxiety lest the Mikado should find some difficulty in making his speech to the minister, as he had not up to the present ever spoken to any one but inmates of the Palace, and it was only ten days since he had first shown his face to a daimiô. So we finally arranged that His Majesty's speech should be written down, that he should try to repeat it, and then hand the copy to Yamashina no Miya, who would read it out, and hand it to Itô for translation. The document was finally to remain in Sir Harry's possession. Then the latter would reply direct to the Mikado through Itô acting as interpreter. The only member of the legation staff to be admitted to the audience was Mitford, as he alone had been presented at court in England. He was to be introduced by Yamashina no Miya, and the Mikado would salute him with the word kurô, which might be freely rendered by "Glad to see you." The Shishinden where the audience was to take place was, they told us, a large hall 28 yards deep by 36 in length, with a floor of planking, with a dais and a canopy for the Mikado, and another dais, rather lower, specially arranged for the ministers. Daimiôs who were received in audience had, we were assured, to kneel on the bare planks. The three foreign representatives, Roches, Sir Harry and Polsbroek were to assemble in one room, and be thence conducted into the presence of the Mikado.
It was now our turn to suffer an assault at the hands of the fanatics of patriotism, from which our constant advocacy of the rights of the sovereign afforded us no protection.
It was arranged that we should start from Chi-on-in for the palace at one o'clock on March 23. The procession was to be headed by the mounted escort, led by Inspector Peacock and Nakai, then Sir Harry and Gotô, myself and Lieutenant Bradshaw, the detachment of the 2/ix, followed by Willis, J. J. Enslie, Mitford in a palanquin (being unable to ride) and five naval officers who had come up with us. We descended the whole length of the street called Nawaté opposite to the main gate of Chi-on-in, but just as the last file of the mounted escort turned the corner to the right, a couple of men sprang out from opposite sides of the street, drew their swords, and attacked the men and horses, running down the line and hacking wildly. Nakai observing what was passing jumped down from his pony and engaged the fellow on the right, with whom he had a pretty tough fight. In the struggle his feet got entangled in his long loose trousers, and he fell on his back. His enemy tried to cut off his head, but Nakai parried the blow, receiving only a scalp wound, and pierced the man's breast with the point of his sword at the same time. This sickened him, and as he was turning his back on Nakai he received a blow on the shoulder from Gotô's sword, which prostrated him on the ground, and Nakai jumping up hacked off his head. In the meanwhile the troopers on the left had turned, and some of them pursued the other villain, who rushed down the street from which Sir Harry and I had not yet emerged. I had only just arrived at a comprehension of what was taking place; my presence of mind had deserted me, and as he passed my sole idea of defence was to turn my pony's head round to ward off the blow aimed at me. It was a narrow escape, as I afterwards found, for the animal received a slight cut on the nose, and was also wounded on the shoulder an inch of two in front of my knee. As soon as I recovered my equanimity I moved up to the head of the procession. There I saw Sir Harry Parkes, in his brilliant uniform of an Envoy and Minister calmly sitting on his horse in the middle of the cross-roads, with Inspector Peacock close by, also on horseback, and a crowd of Japanese spectators. The Japanese infantry, 300 men of Higo, who had led our procession had disappeared, as had also those who had originally brought up the rear. But our Japanese grooms stuck to us with the greatest cool pluck. Behind me was the infantry guard of the 2/ix, facing to the left. Upon them he hurled himself, cutting one man over the head and inflicting a severe wound, but here his career came to an end, for one of the soldiers put out his foot and tripped him up, and others drove their bayonets into him. Nevertheless he managed to get to the end of the line, where being stopped by Mitford's palanquin, he fled into the courtyard of a house, dropping his sword outside. Here he was found by Bradshaw, who discharged a pistol at his head, but the bullet struck the joint of the lower jaw, and did not penetrate the bone. On this he fell down in the yard, and became nearly insensible. Our wounded were too numerous to admit of our proceeding to court. Nine of our escort were wounded, and one of the 2/ix guard, besides Nakai and Sir Harry's Japanese groom. We therefore procured bearers for the palanquins which had been abandoned by their frightened porters, and returned to our quarters without any further mishap. When the wounds were examined it was found that none were in a vital part, though there had been much loss of blood. A cut into the knee of one man, and the almost complete severance of the wrist of another were the worst cases. It was a great piece of good fortune that we had such an experienced surgeon as Willis with us. The captured assailant appeared to be a Buddhist priest, at least his head was shaven. Assisted by a retainer of Sanjô's we examined him. He expressed great penitence, and asked that his head might be cut off and exposed publicly to inform the Japanese nation of his crime. His wounds were attended to by Willis, and he was carefully deposited in the guard-room. Nakai brought the head of the other man back with him, and kept it by his side in a bucket as a trophy; it was a ghastly sight; on the left side of the skull a terrible triangular wound exposed the brain, and there was a cut on the right jaw which apparently had been dealt by the sword of one of the escort.
My diary contains no further entry until the middle of May, and letters I wrote to my parents narrating the incidents which befel us at Kiôto have not been preserved. A very full account of this affair, written by Mitford to his father, was communicated to the "Times," and the despatch of March 25 in which the chief reported the whole affair was included in a volume of "confidential print" and has not been published. See also "Memories" by Lord Redesdale, ii. 449. A briefer narrative based on official documents is to be found in vol. II of "The History of Japan" by F. O. Adams. As long as we remained at Kiôto I was so busy with interpreting between the chief and Japanese high functionaries and in translating documents that my journal had to be neglected, and my memory of what occurred over fifty years ago, left unrecorded at the time, is scarcely full enough to afford material for completing this chapter unaided.