A Diplomat in Japan / The inner history of the critical years in the evolution of Japan when the ports were opened and the monarchy restored, recorded by a diplomatist who took an active part in the events of the time, with an account of his personal experiences during that period

by Ernest Mason Satow

The translation of the June Constitution, which superseded one that had been promulgated in March, had given me a great deal of trouble. I was unable to decide upon the best name in English for the second department. It might be Imperial Council, Privy Council, or Cabinet. It appeared that the officials of this department were merely secretaries to the two prime ministers, and had no real executive authority; and that the administration was divided into this nameless department and the other four which followed it. This was Okubo's explanation. It was, however, pretty evident that this constitution was not to be the final one, and it seemed to me to contain in itself the elements of change. There were so many appointments that were held by dummies of high birth, while the real work was done by their underlings. The ancient ranks and precedence had been practically done away with, and I could not help thinking that the court and territorial nobles (kugé and daimiôs) would have to be struck out of the list of officials. There was hardly one of them fit to occupy the place of head of a department, and yet these appointments were confined to them, no commoner being eligible.

The 25th August was chiefly occupied with arrangements made with Nakai for the opening of Yedo on October 1, by instructions from the chief, the abolition of the absurd existing rules about passports for foreigners proceeding to Yedo, and for ordering one of the naval instructors there to buoy the channel. The ex-Tycoon's government had arranged to have a huge hotel built for the accommodation of foreign visitors, and the owners would have liked to let it, but it seemed unlikely that any foreigner would undertake to run such an establishment on his own account, and I advised that they should engage a man from Yokohama to act as steward for the proprietors, make out the visitors' bills and purchase the necessary wines and provisions.

It was evident that the imperialists were gathering their forces for a combined attack on Aidzu, and as Nakai said, if they could not crush him with their troops they now had in the field, they never would succeed. An American sailing barque named the "Despatch" was hired for $3000 to carry men to Hirakata. On August 25 I saw 200 men march through Shinagawa to embark for the north; on the 22nd a large body of Chô-shiû men arrived, and were billetted in Sengakuji, the temple in which the 47 Faithful Rônins were buried. And Nakahara Naosuké, a Satsuma man, usually believed to be their admiral, but in reality an artillery officer, had been sent to Echigo with four companies of artillery, and great things were expected of him.

August 26 I went to see Katsu, and found him greatly relieved in his mind as the result of a visit paid to him on the previous day by Komatsu. He said that the Castle of Sumpu had been handed over to the head of the Tokugawa clan on the 18th, but that the territories assigned to him had not yet been vacated by their previous possessors, who were very difficult to move, so that the lands at present available did not exceed 80,000 koku in extent. He hoped Kaménosuké, by which he, of course, meant the guardians of the six-year-old child, would not go to any great expense in building or in engaging crowds of retainers. He said that the "Kaiyô-maru," flagship of Enomoto Idzumi, who commanded the Tokugawa fleet, was supplied with provisions by that clan. Enomoto, otherwise known as E. Kamajirô, was a naval officer who had been trained in Holland.

I asked him whether the son of the late Prince of Mito was dead, or whether he was to be set aside in favour of Mimbu Taiyu. On this he gave me the following account of Mito politics, which had been a puzzle for many years to foreign observers.

Noriakira, commonly called "the old prince of Mito," was the younger son of Harutoshi, and his childhood's name (zoku-miô) was Keisaburô. His elder brother Narinobu was the heir, and his portion as a younger brother was only 200 koku. Being averse to society on account of his deafness, he spent his time in wandering about the country and acquainting himself with its actual condition, and no doubt then formed the habits of simplicity and frugality which distinguished him in after life. On the death of Harutoshi, Keisaburô's elder brother succeeded him, but dying shortly afterwards, left the prince-dom vacant. By that time two parties had gradually formed themselves in the Mito clan, one which supported the ancient Kiôto policy of the author of the Dainihonshi, the other which, fearing Keisaburô, had formed an alliance with the Court of Yedo, at that time ably directed by Midzuno Echizen no Kami, father of Idzumi no Kami until lately a member of the Go-rôjiû (Council of State). The latter party schemed to set aside the claims of Keisaburô in favour of an adopted heir from the then Shôgun's family. A will of the late prince was however discovered, in which he declared his desire that the claims of blood should be respected, and his brother Keisaburô be appointed as his successor. The will was backed up by a strong party known as the Tengu-ren, and Keisaburô became prince of Mito. This was in 1834 when he was about 30 years of age.

The new prince was bent on carrying out certain reforms which the luxurious habits of the age appeared to him to render necessary. With this object he obtained a relaxation of the ancient rule which required the head of the house of Mito to be a resident in Yedo, the more easily because he had rendered himself obnoxious to the Go-rôjiû by the ostentatious manner in which he seemed to reprove their pomp and luxury by the simplicity of his own dress and manner of life, and retiring to his province on the pretext that it was necessary for him to superintend personally the government of the clan, he devoted his time to drilling troops in the only fashion then known in Japan. Openly advocating the supremacy of the Mikado, and non-intercourse with the western world (Kin-ô, jô-i), he secretly introduced into the province every Dutch scholar he could find, and made himself acquainted as far as was then possible with the resources of European science. With incredible labour he constructed from drawings contained in old Dutch books a frigate, which long lay at Yokohama for the protection of foreigners, but had he believed been since broken up. The report of his doings having been brought to Yedo, it was represented to the Go-rôjiû that the drilling of men and building of warships were merely preparations for carrying out the traditional Mito policy, and that the prince was plotting rebellion. In 1844 he was compelled to retire into seclusion, and he was succeeded by his son, the late prince, then a mere boy.

In 1851 a Dutch man-of-war made its appearance at Nagasaki, and caused no slight consternation at Yedo. It was said that the Nagasaki Dutchmen were becoming restive, and that the ship was merely a precursor of the English, who at that time bore the detestable reputation of being a nation of pirates ready for any violence. Succeeding events proved to the Shôgun's government that Japan was in danger of being forced into relations with European Powers; the advent of Admiral Perry and his squadron heightened their alarm to such a degree that they yielded to the voice of public opinion, and inviting the old prince of Mito to Yedo admitted him again into their councils.

In 1858 the Shôgun Iyésada died, and the old prince of Mito wished to secure the succession to his seventh son, who having been adopted as heir to the house of Shitotsubashi was in a legitimate position to become the Shôgun's heir. It was at this moment that Ii Kamon no Kami came into power, and though it is uncertain whether he had a previous understanding with the Ki-shiû family that they should furnish an heir, it is certain that he found them ready to comply; and his influence was strong enough to force old Mito to retire a second time into private life, and to order Echizen, Tosa and Uwajima, who had supported the Mito claims, to resign their daimiates to their sons. The assassination of Ii Kamon no Kami a couple of years later by Mito men was the consequence.

Other influences were then at work in the west. The Kiôto policy and the expulsion of foreigners had been warmly espoused by Satsuma and Chô-shiû. Hence the bond of union between them and the Tengu-ren section of the Mito men, who on hearing that civil war had broken out at Kiôto, made their appearance before the castle of the prince, and demanded that he should carry out the clan policy. This action proving unsuccessful they raised the standard of rebellion on Mount Tsukuba in Hitachi, whence they were expelled by the forces of the Shôgun after some hard fighting. Their fate among the mountains of Kaga was a well-known tale. Takéda Kô-un-sai, who had been driven by the force of circumstances to join them, and several hundred of his comrades were beheaded at Tsuruga. The remainder of the Tengu-ren fled to Kiôto, where the ex-Tycoon, at that time still bearing the name of Shitotsubashi, took them into his pay. Now that the revolution of the previous January had so completely changed the face of affairs, these men had returned to their native province, headed by Takéda Kinjirô, a grandson of Kô-un-sai, and their political opponents, whom they styled Kan-tô (traitors), finding themselves on the losing side, and likely to be in a perilous minority, since the Tengu-ren were backed up by the imperialists, had gone off to Echigo, to the number of some five hundred. The Tengu-ren, out of gratitude to their former protector, had determined to set aside the heir in favour of Mimbu Taiyu, Shitotsubashi's younger brother, and had despatched agents to bring the latter back from Paris.