A history of the Japanese people

by F. Brinkley; Dairoku Kikuchi

THE 121ST SOVEREIGN, THE EMPEROR KOMEI (A.D. 1846-1867)

The Emperor Ninko died in 1846 and was succeeded by his son, Komei, the 121st sovereign. The country's foreign relations soon became a source of profound concern to the new ruler. Among the Court nobles there had developed in Ninko's reign a strong desire to make their influence felt in the administration of the empire, and thus to emerge from the insignificant position to which the Bakufu system condemned them. In obedience to their suggestions, the Emperor Ninko established a special college for the education of Court nobles, from the age of fifteen to that of forty. This step does not seem to have caused any concern to the Bakufu officials. The college was duly organized under the name of Gakushu-jo (afterwards changed to Gakushu-iri). The Yedo treasury went so far as to contribute a substantial sum to the support of the institution, and early in the reign of Komei the nobles began to look at life with eyes changed by the teaching thus afforded. Instructors at the college were chosen among the descendants of the immortal scholars, Abe no Seimei, Sugawara no Michizane, and others scarcely less renowned. The Emperor Ninko had left instructions that four precepts should be inscribed conspicuously in the halls of the college, namely:

Walk in the paths trodden by the feet of the great sages.

Revere the righteous canons of the empire.

He that has not learned the sacred doctrines, how can he govern himself?

He that is ignorant of the classics, how can he regulate his own conduct?

A manifest sign of the times, the portals of this college were soon thronged by Court nobles, and the Imperial capital began to awake from its sleep of centuries. The Emperor himself evinced his solicitude about foreign relations by fasting and by praying at the shrines of the national deities, his Majesty's constant formula of worship being a supplication that his life might be accepted as a substitute for the safety of his country. The fact was that the overthrow of the Yedo Bakufu had begun to constitute an absorbing object with many of the high officials in Kyoto. It had hitherto been an invariable rule that any policy contemplated in Yedo became an accomplished fact before a report was presented in the Imperial capital. But very soon after his coronation, the Emperor Komei departed from this time-honoured sequence of procedure and formally instructed the Bakufu that the traditional policy of the empire in foreign affairs must be strictly maintained. The early Tokugawa shoguns would have strongly resented such interference, but times had changed, and Ieyoshi bowed his head quietly to the new order. Thenceforth the Bakufu submitted all questions of foreign policy to the Imperial Court before final decision.

COMMODORE PERRY

In the year 1853, Commodore Perry of the United States Navy appeared in Uraga Bay with a squadron of four warships and 560 men. The advent of such a force created much perturbation in Yedo. Instead of dealing with the affair on their own absolute authority, the Bakufu summoned a council of the feudatories to discuss the necessary steps. Meanwhile, the shogun, who had been ill for some time, died, and his decease was pleaded as a pretext for postponing discussion with the Americans. Perry being without authority to resort to force, did not press his point. He transmitted the President's letter to the sovereign of Japan, and steamed away on the 17th of July, declaring his intention to return in the following year. This letter was circulated among the feudatories, who were invited to express their opinions on the document. Their replies are worthy of perusal as presenting a clear idea of Japanese views at that time with regard to foreign intercourse. The gist of the replies may be summarized as follows:

-The ultimate purpose of foreigners in visiting Japan is to reconnoitre the country. This is proved by the action of the Russians in the north. What has been done by Western States in India and China would doubtless be done in Japan also if opportunity offered. Even the Dutch are not free from suspicion of acting the part of spies.