Japan

by Walter G. Dickson

XIII. Iyay sada ko, appointed in 1853. He had no sons.

XIV. Iyay mutchi ko, 1858, formerly Haru taka, son of Kii, thirteenth child of the eleventh Shiogoon, succeeded to the office. The death of Iyay sada without an heir was the origin of much intrigue and trouble in the empire during the year 1858. There were two claimants to the succession; the one was the son of Mito, who had been adopted by Tokungawa, Mimboo kio, the ninth son of the twelfth Shiogoon; the other was the eldest surviving son of the eleventh Shiogoon, who had been adopted by Kiishiu. It became, therefore, a struggle between the two houses of Mito and Kiishiu, and the regent sided with the latter. It was a question between a son adopted out of the line and a youth who had been adopted into the line. Iyay mutchi died in 1867, and was succeeded by Stotsbashi as Yoshi hissa, who in his turn abdicated in 1868, and so the dynasty of Tokungawa terminated.

It has been stated above that the offices about the court of Yedo were all settled by Iyeyas. In his testamentary rules he laid down the rank and order in which they were to stand in the court. These may be here more particularly described.

In the family of the Shiogoon, as given above, mention is made of the San kay and of the San kio. The former name means the three families, the latter the three princes of the blood.

The “three families” referred to are the descendants of the three youngest sons of Iyeyas—to the one of whom was given the lordship of Owarri, to the other that of Kii, and to the third that of Mito, a town and district in the province of Hitatsi. The heirs of these nobles stand at the top of the list of Daimios, and from out of these families is chosen, in case of vacancy, a successor to fill the seat of Shiogoon.

The San kio (three princes of the blood) were sons of the eighth and ninth Shiogoons, and having in view the possible extinction of the direct line of Iyeyas at the time, these young men and their families seem to have been set apart, in imitation of the Sin we, or imperial families at Miako. They were assigned residences within the palace enceinte at Yedo, but take no regular part in public business. They are paid a yearly income by the Shiogoon, each having a separate little court. The three princes are respectively called Ta yass, Stotsbashi, and Say midzu. The last, the house of Say midzu, is, so to speak, at present extinct and the residence unoccupied, and though it is in the power of the Shiogoon to reappoint a member of his family, it is not likely soon to be filled up. The Go San kio are not styled Daimios.

The Go tai ro, or Regent.—In a hereditary jurisdiction, such as that of the Shiogoon, provision must be made for the contingency of the youth or incapacity of the heir upon his succession. Under this name, which means the great or illustrious elder, a regency—an office similar to that of the Sessio at Miako—is provided. It is an office which is only filled when necessity calls for such an appointment; and there are only certain men eligible for the office. He must be a Fudai Daimio, and, if possible, one of the four known as the Si Ten wo. These are Eeyee or Ee, Sakakibarra, Sakkai, and Honda. Of these the first, Ee Kamong no kami, is called the Do dai, or foundation-stone of the power of the dynasty; the ancestor of the family, Ee nawo massa, having been lieutenant-general and right-hand man to Iyeyas.

So long as things go smoothly, and the wheels of government revolve, such rules may be carried out; but when any country begins to ferment, the ablest or the least scrupulous man comes to the surface. Previous to the accession of the thirteenth Shiogoon, Iyay sada, Ee had gradually crept into a position of power (to which he may have been more or less entitled) through the mental infirmity of the reigning Shiogoon. He assumed or was voted into the office of regent. Intrigues were rife in Yedo and Miako, and in consequence of his leaning toward foreigners, or for other reasons, he was assassinated.

It seems to have been the custom that the Fudai and Kamong Daimios settled who was to be regent without any reference to the Emperor; but since the opening up of the country the Emperor has risen in importance, and at present he or his officers settle who is to be the highest officer when necessary. A common or vulgar name for the Gotairo is Koken, or Oshiru me—i.e., looker back or behind. They have seldom held office long, and have too often come to an untimely end.

The Go ro chiu, or Toshi yori (the senior central officers, or the “Cabinet,” as they may be called), consists generally of four or five Fudai Daimios appointed to the office by the Shiogoon. All Fudai aspire to the office, but the members are in quiet times chosen from the thirteen families mentioned in the laws of Iyeyas as head Fudai. Among the members of the Cabinet one is generally looked upon as Prime Minister; but they all take duty in monthly rotation. It is considered a great honor to have been ten years in office, and the Shiogoon in such a case raises the territorial income of such officer. This is the most responsible office, and too often in times past has entailed upon its possessor the mistaken duty of retrieving an error by the cowardly retreat of suicide. They are responsible for the whole acts of government, which are supposed either to have originated with them or to have been carried out with their cognizance. The Go ro chiu meets daily at 10 A.M. in the Go yo shta be ya, a room in the palace. They preside in the Hio jo sho, or deliberative assembly of acting officers, when the Shiogoon is not present. But it is natural to suppose that when great international questions come before the country, as the opening up of trade with foreigners, the larger Daimios and Koku shiu should have a voice, and should take a share in changes of such magnitude. Consequently of late the Go ro chiu has been rather set aside as things move toward Miako, where before long the power and responsibility will fall to the corresponding office at the imperial court.