Chapter 19

1616, on the business of the English trade, at which time he visited Adams’ seat, which he calls “Phebe,” doubtless mistaking the sound of the real name “Meni.”—See Chamberlain’s _Things Japanese_, 1892, p. 15.

249 His place of burial was identified in 1872 by Mr. James Walter of Yokohama on a beautiful hill near Yokosuka, where both he and his Japanese wife lie buried. His will, which was deposited in the archives of the East India Company in London, divided his estate equally between his Japanese and English families. His Japanese landed estate was probably inherited by his Japanese son. His personal estate is stated at about five hundred pounds sterling.—See _Letters of William Adams_, p. 39.

250 Hildreth’s _Japan_, etc., p. 142, quoted from Purchas, vol. i., p. 406.

251 Hildreth’s _Japan_, etc., p. 157.

252 See _Letters of William Adams_, No. 1.

253 See Purchas’ _Pilgrimes_, part 1, book iv.

254 These privileges are given in full by Hildreth, p. 169, taken from Purchas.

255 Mr. Satow has collected many facts concerning the history of printing in Japan, and among others has shown that printing with movable type in Korea was used as early as 1317, that is one hundred and twenty-six years before the date of the first printed book in Europe.—_Asiatic Society Transactions_, vol. x., p. 63.

256 A translation of this document was made by Mr. J. F. Lowder and published in Yokohama in 1874. We are indebted to W. E. Grigsby, Esq., formerly professor of law in the University of Tōkyō, for a valuable paper on the _Legacy of Ieyasu_ in which a careful analysis is given and a comparison of its details is made with the provisions for the regulation of early communities elsewhere.—See _Asiatic Society Transactions_, vol. iii., part 2, p. 131.

257 Ieyasu may have had in mind a shocking example of _junshi_ (dying with the master) which occurred in his own family. Tadayoshi, his fifth son, to whom had been assigned an estate in Owari, died young, and five of his retainers, in order to follow their master, committed _hara-kiri_ in accordance with the old feudal custom. This is believed to have been almost the last instance of the kind, and must have touched Ieyasu very closely.—_Mikado’s Empire_, by W. E. Griffis, D.D., p. 272.

258 Notwithstanding this positive prohibition left by Ieyasu, occasionally the strength of the old feudal habit was too great for the more merciful spirit. It is said when the third shōgun of the Tokugawa family (Iemitsu) died, two of the daimyōs, Hotta of Sakura and Abe of Bingo, committed _hara-kiri_. Hotta’s sword, still stained with blood, is retained in the _kura_ of the daimiate at _Tōkyō_, and on the anniversary of the event is shown to the _samurai_, who appear on the occasion in full dress.

259 See _Asiatic Society Transactions_, vol. xx., Supplement, in which Prof. J. H. Wigmore has undertaken to publish the material discovered by him, with a valuable introduction on the “Administrative and Commercial Institutions of Old Japan.”

260 See Whitney’s “Notes on Medical Progress in Japan,” _Asiatic Society Transactions_, vol. xii., part 4, p. 276.

261 See a description of this process in Kaempfer’s _History of Japan_, and also in Whitney’s “Medical Progress,” _Asiatic Society Transactions_, vol. xii., part 4, p. 289.

262 See Griffis’ _Life of Matthew Calbraith Perry_, p. 296.

263 The term emperor was employed in this letter in accordance with the usage of the Jesuit Fathers, the Dutch writers, and William Adams, all of whom designated the shōgun as emperor, although this term could be properly applied only to the Tennō at Kyōto.

_ 264 Official Narrative of the Japan Expedition_, vol. i., p. 80.

_ 265 Official Narrative of the Japan Expedition_, vol. i., p. 231.

266 See the _Official Narrative of the Japan Expedition_, vol i., p. 233 _et seq_; also Griffis’ _Life of M. C. Perry_, p. 314 _et seq_; also Bayard Taylor’s _India, China, and Japan_, 1855, p. 411 _et seq_.

267 I have received from Mr. F. S. Conover, who was a member of the Japan expedition as lieutenant of the navy, many interesting details of experiences in Yedo which I have incorporated in my account.

268 “The question of landing by force was left to be decided by the development of succeeding events; it was of course the very last measure to be resorted to, and the last that was to be desired; but in order to be prepared for the worst, the Commodore caused the ships constantly to be kept in perfect readiness, and the crews to be drilled as thoroughly as they are in the time of active war.”—_Japan Expedition_, vol. i., p. 235.

269 See the _Kinsé Shiriaku_, a history of Japan from 1853 to 1869, translated by E. M. Satow, Yokohama, 1876.

270 See Nitobe’s _Intercourse between the United States and Japan_, p. 39.

271 See _Treaties and Conventions between Japan and Other Powers_, p. 735.

272 See the _Constitutional Development of Japan_, by Toyokichi Iyenaga, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins Press, 1891, p. 12.

273 See p. 279.

274 See selections from a pamphlet by a German resident at Yokohama given in Mossman’s _New Japan_, pp. 142, 143, and quoted in Nitobe’s _Intercourse between the United States and Japan_. “The reason the Tycoon breaks his promise is because he cannot keep it, and the reason he cannot keep it, is because he had no right to give it.”

275 See Nitobe’s _Intercourse between the United States and Japan_, p. 59.

276 Prince Hotta was at this time president of the Council of State (_Gorōjiu_) and had charge of this first audience. I have seen in the possession of his descendant, the present occupant of the beautiful family _yashiki_ in Tōkyō, the original of the memorandum showing the arrangement of the rooms through which Mr. Harris was to pass, and the position where he was to stand during the delivery of his congratulatory remarks.

277 In a despatch to the Secretary of State, dated November 25, 1856, Mr. Harris explains the condition of the negotiations in reference to a commercial treaty. He narrates his interview at Hongkong with Sir John Bowring, who told him that he was empowered to negotiate a commercial treaty. Mr. Harris shrewdly observes: “I shall call their (the Japanese government’s) attention to the fact that by making a treaty with me they would save the point of honor that must arise from their apparently yielding to the force that backs the plenipotentiary and not to the justice of their demands.”

278 Although Kanagawa was made an open port for trade by these treaties, the adjoining village of Yokohama was found practically better suited for the purpose. The very proximity of Kanagawa to the _Tōkaidō_, which led foreigners to prefer it when the treaties were made, proved to be an objection in the disordered times that followed. On this account Yokohama rapidly rose to the importance which it still holds.

279 The word means Curtain Government, in reference to the curtain with which the camp of a general was surrounded. The term is equivalent to Military Government, and is used to designate the shōgun’s as distinguished from the emperor’s court.

280 See _The Life of Ii Naosuke_, by Shimada Saburo, Tōkyō, 1888; also the _Constitutional Development of Japan_, by Toyokichi Iyenaga, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1891, p. 15.

281 Mr. Heusken who had gone to Japan with Mr. Townsend Harris in 1858 was a Hollander by birth. The Dutch language at that time was almost the only medium through which communication could be had with the Japanese. A native interpreter turned the sentiment into Dutch, and then a person who understood both Dutch and English translated it into the latter tongue. This circuitous system of interpretation was, however, soon remedied by native scholars learning English, and by English and American scholars learning Japanese.

282 See _American Diplomatic Correspondence_, November 27, 1861.

283 A full account of this affair may be found in Alcock’s _Capital of the Tycoon_, and in the _Life of Laurence Oliphant_.

284 A translation of this paper cited from the correspondence presented to Parliament is given in Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. i., p. 138.

285 See Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. i., p. 139.

286 In Mr. Satow’s translation of _Kinsé Shiriaku_ (p. 18) it is said that the _bakufu_ ordered the house of Mito to arrest the men who had broken into the English temple residence, but they made their escape into Ōshiu and Dewa.

287 See the account of the negotiations of this embassy with Earl Russell in Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. i., p. 177 _et seq._

288 One of the officials naïvely told the American minister when speaking of the reception of the embassy in the United States: “We did not believe you when you told us of the friendly feeling of your country for us; but we now see that all you said was true.”

289 The daimyō was really his own son who had been adopted by his brother, the former daimyō, and who on the death of his brother had succeeded him as daimyō. Shimazu Saburō was therefore legally the uncle of his own son.

290 Dr. J. C. Hepburn, a resident in Kanagawa at this time, attended to the wounded men at the U. S. Consulate. In a letter to me after reading the above account, he says that, “it was the common report at the time that Richardson did ride into Satsuma’s train and that he (Satsuma) said, ‘Kill him.’ It was the general belief that Richardson brought the whole catastrophe on himself.”

291 In addition to Terashima there were in the company Mori Arinori, Yoshida Kiyonari, Hatakeyama Yoshinari, and others. They became deeply imbued with the spirit of western institutions and with the principles of constitutional liberty and toleration. Their influence upon the new career of their country was marked and salutary. Through the agency of Mr. Laurence Oliphant a part of them became misled with the delusions of Thomas Lake Harris, and with him removed to Brocton on the shores of Lake Erie, U. S. where they resided for a time as members of the Brotherhood of the New Life. They had as associates in this singular community Lady Oliphant and her distinguished son, and like them were called upon to perform the ordinary menial employments connected with the community.

292 It should be stated here that a despatch to the British envoy from Earl Russell arrived just after the sailing of the expedition in which he says: “That Her Majesty’s government positively enjoin you not to undertake any military operation whatever in the interior of Japan; and they would indeed regret the adoption of any measures of hostility against the Japanese government or princes, even though limited to naval operations, unless absolutely required by self-defence.” Had this order arrived in time, it is probable that the expedition would not have sailed.—_Correspondence Respecting Affairs in Japan_, 1875, No. 1, p. 45.

293 It will be remembered that the United States at this time had occasion to use all her ships-of-war at home in the civil war that was raging.

294 See _Treaties and Conventions between the Empire of Japan and Other Powers_, p. 318.

295 The only additional circumstance that deserves mention in this connection is that in response to a widely expressed public sentiment the Congress of the United States in 1883 refunded to Japan $785,000.87, her share in this indemnity.—See _Treaties and Conventions between the Empire of Japan and Other Powers_, p. 320.

296 See translation of _Kinsé Shiriaku_, Yokohama, 1876, p. 59.

297 See translation of _Kinsé Shiriaku_, Yokohama, p. 50.

298 See translation of _Kinsé Shiraku_, Yokohama, p. 24.

299 See citation in Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. i., p. 260.

300 Toyokichi Iyenaga, Ph.D., in his pamphlet on the _Constitutional Development of Japan_, p. 17, traces the evolution of the present parliamentary institutions to the conferences which were held at this and subsequent times.

301 Among these was Sanjō Saneyoshi, who afterwards for many years was the prime minister of the restored government.

302 See Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. i., p. 431.

303 The annalist from whom Adams quotes gives the number of houses burned as 27,000. Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. i., p. 434.

304 See the Genji Yumé Monogatari and Satow’s note in Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. i., p. 407.

305 This distinguished soldier is better known under the name of Saigō Takamori. He was originally an ardent anti-foreign partisan, and through this sentiment became an advocate of a restoration of the emperor. His services in this revolutionary movement were rewarded by a pension granted and accepted by the emperor’s express command.—See Mounsey’s _Satsuma Rebellion_, London, p. 22.

306 In this reconciliation of the Satsuma and Chōshū clans the court noble, Iwakura Tomomi, took a prominent part, and after the restoration was complete he became one of the principal officers in the new government, holding the office of _Udaijin_ until his death. He is best known to foreigners as the head of an embassy which visited western countries in 1872-3.

307 See this memorial as given in Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. ii., p. 24.

308 See Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. ii., p. 24.

309 See Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. ii., p. 37.

310 Translation of _Kinsé Shiriaku_, Yokohama, p. 30.

311 Translation of _Kinsé Shiraku_, Yokohama, p. 80.

312 See translation of _Kinsé Shiriaku_, Yokohama, p. 82.

313 See translation of _Kinsé Shiriaku_, Yokohama, p. 82.

314 With that talent for nicknaming which the Japanese exhibit, the leading party in the new government was called _Sat-chō-to_; derived from the first syllables of the clans, Satsuma, Chōshū, and Tosa.

315 See Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. ii., p. 84.

316 The numbers here given, of 10,000 troops in the rebel army and 1,500 in the imperial army, are much less than those claimed by the Japanese authorities, but Mr. Satow who had means of ascertaining the truth gives the numbers as stated in the text. See Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. ii., p. 99, note.

317 An incident connected with this return illustrates both the times and customs of the country. Hori Kura-no-kami, a prominent retainer of the ex-shōgun, besought his master to commit _hara-kiri_ as the only way in which his own honor and the dignity of the Tokugawa clan could be preserved. He offered to join him in this tragic ceremony, but the ex-shōgun declined to end his life in this way. Thereupon the devoted retainer retired and in the presence of his own friends himself committed _hara-kiri_.

_ 318 American Diplomatic Correspondence_, April 3, 1868.

319 An English translation of this memorial will be found in Black’s _New Japan_, vol. ii., p. 84. It shows what prejudices the statesmen of that day had to overcome. See also _American Diplomatic Correspondence_, 1868, p. 727.

320 See _Kinsé Shiriaku_, Yokohama, p. 116.

321 See _Kinsé Shiriaku_, Yokohama, p. 125. Also _American Diplomatic Correspondence_, March 14, 1871.

322 This house was one of the five regent families (_go-sekké_) all of the Fujiwara clan, from whom the _kwambaku_, _daijō-daijin_, or _sesshō_, the highest officers under the emperor, were always filled and from which the emperors selected their wives.—Dickson’s _Japan_, p. 52.

323 See Chamberlain’s _Things Japanese_, 1892, p. 300.

324 Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. ii., p. 126. _American Diplomatic Correspondence_, May 30, 1868.

325 Iyenaga’s _Constitutional Development of Japan_, p. 33.

326 See the despatch of Sir Harry Parkes, _British State Papers_, Japan, 1870.

327 See Iyenaga’s _Constitutional Development of Japan_, p. 35.

328 See _British State Papers_, 1870, Japan.

329 A translation of this memorial will be found in the _British State Papers_, 1870, Japan; also cited in Adams’ _History of Japan_, vol. ii., p. 181.

330 See an analysis of the daimyōs who joined in this memorial in _British State Papers_, 1870, Japan.

331 See _British State Papers_, 1870, Japan.

332 See Prince Azuki’s _Memorial_.

333 See Kido’s Original _Memorial_.

334 See Mounsey’s _Satsuma Rebellion_, pp. 247, 248.

_ 335 Treaties and Conventions between Japan and Other Powers_, Tōkyō, 1864, p. 646.

_ 336 Treaties and Conventions between Japan and Other Powers_, Tōkyō, 1884, p. 171.

337 This castle was built by Katō Kiyomasa after his return from the Korean war. It still stands, being one of the most notable castles of Japan.

338 See p. 47.

339 See p. 380.

340 This able document was prepared by Count Itō Hirobumi. An official translation was published at Yokohama in 1889.

341 In the official list Jingō is not reckoned, and the time of her reign is counted with that of her son and successor.

342 From _Japanese Chronological Tables_, by William Bramsen, 1880.

The system of counting from year-periods (_nengō_) was introduced from China. These periods of Japanese history do not correspond to the reigns of the emperors. A new one was chosen whenever it was deemed necessary to commemorate an auspicious or ward off a malign event. By a notification issued in 1872 it was announced that hereafter the year-period should be changed but once during the reign of an emperor. The current period, _Meiji_ (Enlightened Peace), will therefore continue during the reign of the present emperor.

The numbers in the second column of this table indicate the years as counted from the founding of the empire by Jimmu Tennō. According to the official chronology this occurred B.C. 660.

343 Translated from the chronology of the shōguns in _Mittheilungen der deutschen Gesellschaft fur Natur und Volkerkunde Ostasiens_, Heft 3, 1873.

344 The translation of these laws of Shōtoku Taishi was furnished by Mr. Tsuji Shinji, late vice-minister of state for education, and by Mr. Matsumoto Kumpei.