To add still more to the critical position of affairs in Japan at this time, the Emperor died, being about thirty-eight years of age, and leaving a young boy as his heir and successor. It does not clearly appear who has been pulling the strings of political action on the part of the boy-Emperor; but there can be little doubt but that the two Daimios to whom Yedo was the most grievous offense, and whose ancestors had smarted from the rise of the Tokungawa family under Iyeyas, Satsuma and Choshiu, have not been idle. On the other hand, the wealthy Daimios from the north—Sendai, and other Kamong or relatives of that family—seemed determined to uphold the position of the family, and carry out the principles of Iyeyas at all hazards. Between these parties the Shiogoon, who is said to be an able man, tried to steer a neutral course until he saw what would turn up. At length he came to think that submission to the Emperor was the true policy for himself and for the empire, and he humbly placed himself at the disposal of the Emperor rather than involve the country in another civil war. His submission was accepted by the Emperor in the following terms:
“The conduct of Tokungawa Yoshi hisa having proceeded to such an extreme as to be properly called an insult to the whole empire, and having caused the deepest pain to the mind of the Emperor, both sea and land forces were sent to punish him. Hearing, however, that he is sincerely penitent, and lives in retirement, the excess of the imperial compassion shall be exhausted, and the following commands be enjoined upon him. Let him be respectfully obedient to them. A period of eleven days is granted him in which to comply with all these orders.
“1st, Yoshi hisa having, on the 12th month of the last year, and afterward, insulted the Emperor, attacked the imperial city, and fired upon the imperial flag, was guilty of a most heinous crime. The army was accordingly sent out to pursue and punish him. But as he has manifested sincere contrition and obedience, has shut himself up in retirement, and begs that his crime may be pardoned: in consideration of the no small merit of his family, which, since the time of his ancestors, for more than two hundred years has administered the affairs of government, and more especially of the accumulated meritorious services of Mito zo Dainagoon [the father of Yoshi hisa, and rival of the Regent]; for these various considerations, of which we are most profoundly sensible, we give him the following commands, which if he obeys we will deal leniently with him, grant that the house of Tokungawa be established [i.e., not destroyed from the list of Daimios], remit the capital punishment his crimes deserve, but command him to go to the castle of Mito, and there live shut up in retirement.
“2d, The castle [of the Shiogoon in Yedo] to be vacated, and delivered over to the Prince of Owarri.
“3d, All the ships of war, cannon and small arms to be delivered up; when a proper proportion shall be returned [to the head of the house of Tokungawa, which is reduced to the rank of an ordinary Daimio].
“4th, The retainers living in the castle shall move out and go into retirement.
“5th, To all those who have aided Yoshi hisa, although their crimes are worthy of the severest punishment, the sentence of death shall be remitted, but they are to receive such other punishment as you shall decide on. Let this be reported to the imperial government. This, however, does not include those persons who have an income of more than 10,000 koku—i.e., Daimios; the imperial government alone will punish such.”
An important political step has been taken within the last few months, during the present year 1869. The Daimios appear to have become aware of the weakness which inevitably accompanies division, and of the strength which would be gained to the country by consolidation and unification under one head. The threatening position taken up by some or all of the foreign nations with whom treaties of friendship had been concluded brought up the subject at some of the recent great councils. The crushing defeats which had fallen upon Satsuma and Choshiu warned individual Daimios of their weakness as units in carrying on operations of war; the enormous expense entailed upon them in procuring munitions of war, and in exercise, and in the purchase of steamers, alarmed these lords in the prospect of annihilation from exhaustion, and they came to the conclusion that such expenses could only be borne by the empire as a whole, and that to gain such an advantage the privileges of the class must in some degree be given up. The removal of the Shiogoon presented a favorable opportunity for carrying out the proposal, and they agreed heartily to restore all their fiefs into the hands of the Emperor, and to give up the exclusive privileges which each held in his own state, that these might all be thrown into one government, with one exchequer, one army, and one navy. The latest accounts confirm this cession of their independent rights—in which cession Satsuma, the most powerful, but the Daimio who suffered most from the independent system in the very severe punishment which he received in loss of men, destruction of steamers, and payment of indemnity, with total loss of prestige and position as a military power, has been foremost. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that henceforth there will be only one responsible ruling power in Japan.
CHAPTER XII
EVENTS FOLLOWING THE ABOLITION OF THE SHIOGOONATE
Mr. Dickson’s history was published in 1869. During the years that have since elapsed we have witnessed a complete transformation of Japan. To make intelligible the sequence of events, it may be well to describe more in detail the incidents which preceded, attended and immediately followed the downfall of the Tokungawa Shiogoonate which, for more than two and a half centuries, had possessed the substance of power in Japan, only the shadow thereof being retained by the Mikado. Within less than a year after January 6, 1867, when Keiki had been made Shiogoon, much against his will, the Prince of Tosa and many able representatives of the Daimio and Samurai castes urged him to resign and permit a government to be constituted on the principles which had prevailed in the ante-Shiogoon era, namely, before the year A.D. 1200. In November, 1867, Keiki so far yielded to public opinion as to tender his resignation; but, as the Aidzu clan, which was stanchly loyal to him, continued to guard the Mikado’s palace, it remained for a time uncertain whether Keiki might not resume his functions. Ultimately, a combination was formed by the Satsuma, Choshiu, Tosa, Etsizen and other clans, whereby the followers of the Tokungawa family were expelled from the imperial palace and an edict was issued in the name of the young Mikado, Mutsuhito, to the effect that the office of Shiogoon was abolished, and that the government of Japan would be henceforth carried on by the Mikado himself. A provisional administrator was appointed, and all the important civil and military posts were allotted to unflinching upholders of the prospective regime. The ex-Shiogoon, however, was persuaded by his retainers to retract his resignation, and, at the head of a large force, he undertook to re-enter Kioto [Miako] for the purpose of reasserting his former authority. After a battle, which lasted three days, he was beaten by the loyal troops and was forced to take refuge in his castle, where he announced that he would never again take up arms against the Mikado. Nevertheless, the Tokungawa clan showed, for a time, signs of disaffection; but by July 1, 1869, all vestiges of rebellion had ceased and the Mikado’s party was triumphant. The trials of the new government now began. The Kuge, or court nobles, and the whole body of Samurai, or two-sworded men, desired to drive foreigners out of the country, but Okubo, Goto and Kido, who were conversant with foreign ideas, opposed the execution of the plan and sent a noble of the imperial court to give the Mikado’s consent to the treaties and to invite the foreign Ministers to an audience with the Emperor in Kioto. The conversion of the court nobles to the party that desired to see Japan reconstructed on European principles now went on rapidly, and the young Mikado was induced to appear in person before the Council of State and to promise that a deliberative assembly should be eventually formed. Indicative of an intention to revolutionize the mode of government was the Emperor’s departure from Kioto, which had been the seat of his ancestors for twenty-five centuries, and his adoption of Yedo, thenceforth called Tokio, for his capital. To a considerable extent, freedom of the press was now guaranteed, and a number of newspapers sprung up. Books expounding European methods of thought and education were published, and many pamphlets advocating the abolition of feudalism appeared. Four of the great Daimios, or feudal lords, advocated the change. They addressed a memorial to the throne offering to restore the registers of their clans and proposing that the Mikado should resume possession of their fiefs. In conformity to this request, an edict was issued in September, 1871, summoning the Daimios to Tokio for the purpose of arranging their retirement to private life. With scarcely an exception, the order was obeyed; even the Daimios who disapproved of the measure were unwilling to oppose the resolute men who had framed the edict. The truth is that, even under the feudal system, the real power in each clan had lain in the hands of able men of inferior rank who ruled their nominal masters. These are the men who, during the last thirty years, have controlled Japan. Having first driven the Shiogoon into private life, they then compelled the Daimios to follow him into retirement. Of the men who have governed the country since 1868, not one is a Daimio by birth, and only two or three are Kuge, or court nobles. Almost all were simple Samurai, or retainers of the territorial lords.