881

1876
UC-NRLF

SB E^b 213
 THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
PRESENTED BY
KOFOID AND
PROF. CHARLES A.
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID
4 JiCsZoTV, O+^JquJz £l7-i_
 V

KINSE SHIRIAKU.
A

HISTORY OF JAPAK

THE FIBST VISIT OF COMMODORE FERRT

IN

1*8 5 3

THE CAPTURE OF HAKODATE BY THE

MIKADO'S FORCES.
IN

i 3 e -9 .

"
TRANSLATED FROM JE JAPANESE
BY E. M.\§AToV,
Japanese Secretary totuB, M. Le<JatUsrt %

RE-PUBLISHED FROM THE "JAPAN WEEKLY MAIL;'

2 N ]) EDITION.

YOKOHAMA :

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KINSE SHIRIAKU.
A

HISTORY OF JAPAN
FROM

THE FIRST VISIT OF COMMODORE PERRY

IN

18 5 3
TO

THE CAPTURE OF HAKODATE BY THE

MIKADO'S FORCES.
IN

18 6 9 .

TRANSLATED FROM THE JAPANESE

BY E. Mi SATOW 3

Japanese Secretary to II. B. M. Legation.

RE-PUBLISHED FROM THE "JAPAN WEEKLY MAIL,

2nd EDITION.

YOKOHAMA :

3T , R . WETMORE&CO;
1876,
 Y3

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

This compilation commences with the arrival of the

American squadron in 1853 and ends with the taking of

Hakodate in 1869. have found slight discrepancies in

I

the various accounts of this period which I have seen, and

have endeavoured to arrive at the truth by consulting
them impartially. I have no doubt, however, that more
learned persons than myself will be able to discover mis-
takes and obscurities in what I have put together in this

way, and I shall be grateful for their suggestions.

Public documents and memorials are often of unneces-

sary length. I have therefore been careful to abridge

them as much as possible, so as not to fatigue my reader.
Ati old axiom says that a historian is worthless unless
he possesses native talent, learning aud wisdom. As
I cannot lay claim to any one of these qualifications, there

is no doubt that in thus rashly taking up my pen, I expose

myself to the accusation of having attempted what is be-

yond my powers. But there are few complete and au-

thentic histories of modern events. In the one or two
works which do exist, the authors have either omitted

everything which they thought likely to give offence, or

have made their relation so obscure as to render it impos-
sible to understand clearly what the real course of events
has been. For this reason I have disregarded my own
unfitness for the task, and have recorded summarily w hat r

has taken place for the use of those who may hereafter

wish to write upon this subject.

S
^ SHQZAN YASHI.
1871.

M^ftA^CT
 INTRODUCTION.

It is almost impossible that any person whose attention

has been drawn to the extraordinary efforts which the
leaders of the Japanese nation are daily making to raise
their country to a level in point of moral and material civi-

lization with the Occidental World should remain content

with noting merely what is passing around him at the

present moment. An analysis of the causes of this desire

for progress, which seems to be peculiar to Japan alone

among Eastern Nations, would require a far greater know-

ledge of its past political history and habits of thought

than any foreigner yet possesses but at the same time some
;

light may evidently be obtained from the study of the

most recent events. It is a fortunate thing, therefore, that
a native writer should have undertaken to compile a work
which presents so compact a summary as this does of what
has passed since the sudden arrival of the American squad-
ron in1853 awoke Japan from the almost undisturbed
slumber of the last two and a half centuries. To any fu-
ture foreign historian of the relations between it and the
outer world, such a work, compiled from the most trust-

worthy sources, cannot fail to be of the greatest use,

and it is with the object of facilitating such labours
chiefly
that the task of putting it into an English dress has been
undertaken.
•

The author, for what other reason than a dislike to

notoriety does not appear, has chosen to conceal his iden-

 TT.

tity in the preface under the fictitious name of '

the rustic
annalist of the pepper mountain,' but as he has half re-

vealed iton the title-page, which announces that the work

is printed for Yamaguchi Uji, there can be no indis-
cretion in stating that he is an ancient official of the For-

eign Department as it was constituted under the adminis-

tration of the Shoguns, and now an official of the Mom-
bus ho or Education Department. These two facts are

presumptive evidence of impartiality, since to favour the

one side too much might be stigmatized as ingratitude for

past benefits, while too great leniency to the other would

indicate an indifference to present emoluments somewhat
rare.

For the literary merits of the work there is little to be

Raid. It is composed in imitation of the terse style of the

Chinese annalists, and is therefore almost incapable of

being rendered at once literally and into idiomatic English.
Freedom of translation, where the object does not happen
to be the illustration of native modes of expression, is al-
ways advisable, especially if the idea of the original is

thereby more correctly conveyed, and it may be as well to

warn students of the language that they must not expect
to find here an instrument to aid them in the dissection of

Japanese (or rather Chinese) syntax.

Dates on which events occurred are often stated vaguely
in the original, the month only being usually given. As
the Japanese months seldom coincide with those of the

Gregorian calendar (which has only been adopted since the

commencement of the current year) it has seemed prefer-
able to translateliterally in this instance and to give in
brackets the Gregorian dates which correspond to the

beginning and end of each month. The precise day.

where possible, has been supplied in footnotes from the
Genji Yume-monogatari (G.Y.M.), Parliamentary Papers
and other sources.
The Translator.
 KINSE SHIRIAKU,
OR

SHORT HISTORY OF RECENT TIMES.

VOLUME I.

1853. — In the sixth month (July 5th— August 3rd,

1853. July Till. G. Y. M.) of the sixth year of Ka-

yei, in the reign of the Emperor Komei Tenno, the Ame-

rican Envoy Perry arrived at Uraga in Sagami with four
ships, and, handing in a letter, asked for a treaty of amity

and commerce. In those days all classes of the nation were

so accustomed to a peaceful and enjoyable existence that the

suddenness of the event caused great excitement. It was

an ancient custom not to allow foreign vessels to enter

any port but that of Nagasaki, and this old law was fully

explained to the Envoy, who, however, would not listen.

The Bakufu 1
eventually received the letter at Shimoda,
and ordered the daimios 2 to
guard the most important
strategical positions in Musashi. The ohject of the
American mission was then reported to Kioto, and orders

(1) Bakufu is the term by which the Shogunate was usually

spoken of by its political opponents. It is derived from bakit, a
curtain (in allusion to the fact of its head being a general, whose
camp in Japan was usually surrounded by a curtain) and/**, a
government oilice.
(2) Territorial nobles. Although it is somewhat of a barbarism
to make the plural of a Japanese word with an English suffix, it is
better to do so for the sake of clearness.
were sent by the Imperial Court to the Shinto priests at
the shrines of Ise to offer up prayers for the
sweeping
away of the barbarians.
The American Envoy demanded an answer in the 7th
—
month (August 4th September 1st), but the Bakufn, ex-
plaining how the condition of affairs necessitated its con-

sulting the general opinion of the nation, insisted on a

delay. The Envoy was obliged therefore to sail 3 from

Uraga, after promising to return the following year. Short-
r
ly a terwards the Baknfu communicated the American
letter to all the clans, and asked their opinion. Some ad-
vocated entering into amicable relations, while others took
the opposite view, and maintained that all advances on
the part of foreigners ought to be repelled.
In the course of the same month 4 the Shogun Tyeyoshi
died, and was succeeded by lyesada.
In the 8th month (Sept. 2 Oct. — 1) a Russian ship
came to Nagasaki and begged leave to enter into friendly

relations, in order to discuss the question of the northern

boundary between the Jnpanese territory and their own.

During the same month the ex-Chinnagon of Mito was
appointed a commissioner for the superintendence of the
maritime defences. In the year 1811 this Prince had
been placed in confinement at one of his secondary palaces
in Yedo for having melted down the bells of all the Bud-
dhist monasteries in his domain to cast cannon with, and
for other similar acts, but the Minister Abe Ise* no kami
now pardoned him by order of the Shogun, and directed
him to make extensive military preparations. The Prince
had always had two objects namely an increase
at heart,

of respect for the Mikado and the expulsion of bar-

barians, 5 and he was celebrated for his energy and

(3) July 16. G.Y.M.

(4) August 25. G.Y.M.
(5) In Japanese son 6, jo i.
 3

Permission to build war vessels was also given in the

9th mouth (October) to all the daimids, and the red ball

on a white ground, representing the sun, was chosen as

their distinguishing flag.

The construction of the forts in the sea at Shiuagawa

was commenced during the same month, and numbers of
large cannon were cast. The expenses were met by a
contribution levied on Yedo and the villages round and
on the rich merchants of Ozaka.
Takasliima Shiuhau 6 was released from prison about
this lime and placed with Egawa Tarozaemon as musketry
instructor. His lessons speedily became fashionable, and
the European system of artillery was thus introduced into
this country. Shiuhan had learnt the art from a Dutch-
man at Nagasaki, and its introduction is therefore due to
him.
1854.— In the 1st month (Jan.
25) of 1854
7
28— Feb.
the American envoy again arrived with his ships, anchor-

ing this time at Shimoda hi Idzn, and demanded the same

things as had been urged in the letter presented the pre-
vious year. lie waited until the 4th month (April 26 —
May 25), when the Bakufn promised to accord kind treat-
ment to ship-wrecked sailors, permission to obtain wood,
water, provisions, coals and other stores needed by ships
at sea, with leave also to anchor in the ports of Shimoda
in Idzu and Hakodate in Matsumae. In the 6th month

(June 24
—July 23) the envoy
Shimoda, and the same
left

privileges as ho had obtained were shortly afterwards

granted also to the Russians and the Dutch.
Whilst the American Envoy was at Shimoda, a Cho-
shiu man, named Yoshida Shoin, and
his pupil Shibuki,

suddenly appeared on board of his ship and asked leave to

sail with him. The Envoy refused and sent them ashore.
For this infraction of the laws Yoshida, Shibuki, and
((I) Shirodaiyu and Kihei are other names by which this man is
known.
(7) Feb. 18. G.Y.M.
 4

Sakuma Sh6zan were cast into prison. Sakuma was a

Matsushiro (in Shinano) man of vast learning, and also

acquainted with European literature. He was Shoin's

first instructor in the military art. Shozan had said to the
latter: "In these days you should travel in foreign coun-
" and acquaint yourself accurately with the state of
tries
" At that moment the Baku fa had com-
things there."
missioned the Dutch to construct a man-of-war for ir, and
Shozan said ; "Rather than entrust the commission to the
'*
Dutch, send Japanese to Holland to study their most
"
important aits, and let them purchase a man-of-war by
" the same Besides cur will be-
occasion, countrymen
" come
expert in navigation as they travel backwards and
"
forwards, and will learn the condition of all countries.
" This would be of immense value to us." He laid this
proposition before the authorities, but it was not favourably
entertained. and being mightily taken
Shoiu heard of it,

with the idea, conceived a desire of making a sea-vovage.

By chance a Russian vessel put into Nagasaki, and Shdin,

pretending that he was merely going there on a visit, but
with the secret intention of accompanying her to foreign
countries, took leave of Shozan. Shozan divined his plan,

gave him money for his travelling expenses, and composed

a stanza of Chinese poetry in which he wished him a safe
and pleasant journey. Shoin then started off direct for

Nagasaki, but on his arrival found that the ship had

already left. He then returned to Yedo and asked Slid-
zan's advice about taking passage in the American vessel.
Shozan secretly told him how to set about it, and after
the failure of the plan his farewell stanza was discovered
in Shoin's trunk, when the latter was arrested, and he
was punished as an accomplice. These men were after-
wards sent back to their respective elans and thrown into
prison.
In the 7th month (July 21 —Aug. 22)8 ftn
English

(8) Eear-Admiral Sir James Stirling arrived at Nagasaki about

man-of-war came to Nagasaki and presented a letter, say-
" Hostilities have broken out between our
ing: country
" and
Russia, and we may possibly come to blows with
"
them in the vicinity of your shores. We may also be

"obliged to obtain wood, water and provisions, in which

" wo what we
case beg you to furnish us with
" The Bakuftl granted permission for this
may require."
to be done at the two ports of Hakodate and Nagasaki.
In the Hlli month (Dec. 19— Jan. 16,
9
1855) the sea
overflowed its limits at Shimoda in Idzu, and wrecked a
Russian vessel which was anchored in the bay, The
chronological period was changed this year from Kayei to

Ansei.
1855.— In the 3rd month (April 16— May 14) the Court
gave orders that the bells of all the Buddhist monasteries

throughout the country should be melted down and cast

into cannon and muskets, but the Princes of Chionin and

Rinndji opposed the measure, and it was therefore aban-

doned.
In the 4th month (May 15 —June 12) the two houses
of Sendai and Satake were ordered to garrison the north,
east and west coasts of Yezo.

During the same month Katsu Rintaro was despatched

to Nagasaki to learn from the Dutch how to manage
steam-vessels.
In the 10th month (Nov. 9 — Dec. 7) 10 a great earth-

quake occurred in the eastern provinces. It was felt

most violently at Yedo, where one hundred and four

thousand persons lost their lives.

1856. — In the first month of the 3rd year of Ansei

(Feb. 5 — Mar. 5) the Rakufu commenced to rebuild the
Mikado's Palace, which had been destroyed by fire

in the previous year as well as the castle at Yedo

7th September, and signed a convention with the Japanese

plenipo-
tentiaries on the 14th October. Pari. Papers.
(9) December 22. G.Y.M.
(10) November 10. G.Y.M.
 6

and the Shrines fof the Shoguns] at Shiba and Uyeno,

which had been destroyed by fire some time before.
In olden times, whenever any works of the kind were
required, (he clans were called upon to contribute towards
the expense, but the rule was departed from on (he

present occasion, in view of (he great charges they had

been put to during the last year or (wo in maintaining

garrisons at various places. The Taknfn treasury was,

however, reduced to a very low ebb.
In the 7th month, (July, 31 —
August 22) batteries were
erected at the two mouths of the Ozaka river.

During the same month an American named Harris

arrived at Shimoda in Idzu, bearing a letter. lie stated
that he was entrusted by his nation with full powers, and
that he was instructed to reside in Japan. He also re-
quested leave to present his credentials to the Shogun.
About the same time an English vessel 11 came again to
Nagasaki and commissioned the Dutch to ask permission
for them to enter into relations of amity and commerce.

A great storm occurred in the eastern provinces during

the 8th month (Aug. 29 —
Sept. 27), and more than
a hundred thousand persons lost their lives at Yedo.

During the same mouth Hotta Bitchiu no kami was

appointed a Minister, with rank above his colleagues. It
is said that this was done
by the advice of the Minister
Abe Ise no kami, who found the burden of state affairs too
much to bear, for various portents had occurred during
the last two years, and the Bakufu was driven to its wits'

end by the repeated visits of the foreigners.

1857. —
In the first month (Jan. 25— February 22) the
chief of the Dutch factory at Nagasaki sent in a letter,

saying: "I advise you to he careful, for in intercourse with

"foreign countries disputes often arise out of the smallest

(11) This is an evident mistake for the visit of Rear-Admiral

Stirling in October 1855 to exchange the ratifications of the Con-
vention concluded by him in the previous year.
"matters, let alone questions of right and wrong. To be
"
ignorant of your own weakness is certainly not the way
" to
preserve your country from danger. It was for this
" reason that China some ten of her
years ago lost psirt

"territory after the opium war, and that the province of

w is now a desert." The Ministers believed
Kunng-tung
that this mention by the Dutch of the Canton war was not
a mere exaggeration of the facts, prompted by a desire to

gain their own ends, and they began to fear that if they
excited the wrath of the foreigners beyond a certain point,

Jiipau would bring on herself the same fate as the province

of Kuang-tung. If they were to change the law which had
been in existence since 1639, and to enter into friendly

relations, they would also have to change their method of

treating foreigners, and act in accordance with the prac-
tice observed previous to that year. The Bakufu thus
came to the conclusion that it must do its best to pre-
serve peace.

During the same month the ex-Chiunagon of Mito

declared his uuwillinguess to have any further share in

public affairs. This resolution was attributed to his dis-

satisfaction with the course pursued towards foreigners

by the Bakufu.
The American Harris, who was residing at Shimodaall
this while, preferred frequent requests for permission to
proceed to Ycdo in order to have an interview with the

Shogun. An ancient custom forbade the entry of for-

eigners into Yedo,and the Bakufu, quoting this, exhausted

every possible art in order to dissuade him from his pro-

ject. Harris, however, would not listen, and it had no
resource but way. When it informed the
to give
princes of Mito, Kishiu and Owari and the princes of the
Extraordinary Council (Tamari no ma dzitmej, most of
them, especially the ex-Prince of Mito and the Council,
were disgusted, and recorded their opinion in a written
protest,
 8

Harris eventually reached Yedo in the 9th month

(Oct. 17
—Nov. 15). He had an interview with the Sho-

gun and presented his credentials, after which lie with-

drew and returned to his lodgings. Shortly afterwards lie

had an interview with the Ministers and briefly stated his

demands. These were, unrestricted trade between the
merchants of both countries ill all articles except gold and
cereals, without any official interference ; the closing of
Shimoda and the opeuing of Kanagawa and Ozaka ;
the
residence of a minister plenipotentiary at Yedo, to settle
all diplomatic questions, and the conclusion of a treaty in
detail, to be ratified by the Japanese Government.
1858. — The Baku fu was a fraidofexciting hostile comment
amongst its own people, and sent Hay ash Daigakn no kami
i

to Kioto in the 12th month (Jan. 14— Feb. 12, 1858) ill

order to request the Mikado's sanction, and the failure of

this negotiation being reported to Yedo, the Minister
Hotta Bitchiu no kami was also despatched in the 1st
month of the 5th year of Ansei, (Feb. 13
—
March 13) to
explain the critical state of affairs and to ask for sanction.
Several of the court nobles (hige), however, sent in a, joint
memorial Mikado, in which they strongly opposed
to the

the measure, and the opinion of the court was divided.

In the 2nd month (March 14 April 12) the American —
Harris, rendered impatient by the long interval which
had already elapsed without anything being commu-
nicated to him about the treaty, threatened that if his
time was to be wasted in this way, he would proceed forth-

with Kioto and arrange it himself. He was surprised,

to

after being informed that Yedo was the seat of govern-

ment, to find such dilatoriness on the part of the Bakufn,

and he gave it a certain number of days within which
it must make up its mind. The Bakufu at once sent
messengers post haste to stir up Bitchiu no kami, but

(12) September 24. G.Y.M.

 9

from the state of things at Kioto it was evident that

nothing would persuade the Court to give way.

There was a certain retainer of the prince of Hikone,
named Nagano Shinzen, who happened to be on intimate
terms with one Shimada, a retainer of the Knambakn,

Knjo dono, and the Bakufu induced Shimada through

Shiuzeii to talk the Kuambaku over. The Kuambaku
then issued a decree stating that full powers were given
to the Baknfn to deal with the foreign question. Sanjo
Naidaijin and eighty-eight other Court nobles reproached
the Knambakn for having lightly decided so weighty an

affair, and the opinion of the Court undergoing a complete

change, the negotiation became a failure. Hotta Bitchiu
no kami returned to Yedo in the 3rd month (April 13 —
May 11).
It was at this time that Ii Kamon no kami was elevated

by the Bakufu to the office of Tairo (or Chief Minister).

—
In the 6th month (July 10 Aug. 7.) an epidemic of
cholera spread throughout the land, and about 30,000
Yedo alone.
persons died in
The Shogun lyesada being childless, Ii Kamon no kami
chose Iyemochi, the prince of Kishiu, to be his heir and
successor.

During the same month American and Russian men-of-

war came to Yokohama and gave information that the
English and French squadrons would arrive in a few
days with the object of concluding a treaty. Harris took

advantage of this to point out what he considered the

best ccurse for them to pursue, and to urge the ratifica-

tion of his own treaty. Ii Kamon no kami began to think

that if, in the presence of these constant arrivals of foreign-
ers of different nations, he were to wait for the Kioto

people to make up their minds, some unlucky accident

might bring the same disasters upon Japan as China had
already experienced. He therefore concluded a treaty at

Kanagawa, and affixed his seal to it, after which he

 10

reported the transaction to Kioto. Immediately afterwards

the Russians, English and French entered Yedo, and con-
cluded treaties on the model of the American treaty. It

was at this time that the agitation for i

expelling the
barbarians' was started, and many people began to discuss
domestic and foreign affairs.

Some time before this the Shogun Iyesada had fallen

ill, and he eventually died in the 8th month (Sept. 6 — Oct.

5).
l3 He was succeeded by Iycmochi, who was only
twelve years of age. Ii Kamon no kami kept him in his

power, and wielded immense authority. lie was gener-

'
ally nicknamed the swaggering Chief Minister' (Bakho

Genro). When a proposal to choose an heir to the late

Shogun was first made, the princes of Owari, Echizen and

several others advised that Shitotsubashi Giobukio, who
was a grown man and had both reputation and popularity
on his side, should be adopted by the head of the Toku-

gawa famiiy. was the eighth *•* son of the ex-

Giobukio
prince of Mito, who loved him more than all his other
children, but Ii Kamon no kami rejected his candidature,
and put in the prince of Kishiu. When the treaties were
made, the princes of Owari and Echizen and the ex-prince
of Mito, who were much offended at his arbitrary conduct*
at once ordered their palanquins and proceeded to the
castle. The populace was afraid that an outbreak of a
dangerous kind would result from this extraordinary
event. The three princes insisted on seeing the Shogun,
in order to argue the matter with him personally, but Ii
Kamon no kami refused, and receiving them himself
crushed their remonstrances. The three princes retired
in a rage, and liKamon no kami forbade them to appear
again at the castle. Ii Kamon no kami was devoted to a

species of theatrical entertainments called No, and he

(13) August loth, G.Y.M.

(14) 7th according to the Taihei Bukan, or list of Japanese
territorial nobles.
 11

borrowed ten thousand riofrom the public treasury to

defray his expenditure. Every day he had performances

and gave himself up to amusement ;
when the Court,
but

hearing of the state of affairs at Yedo, summoned him and

the three to Kioto, in order to restore peace
princes
among them, he reported the circumstances which had led
to the disgrace of the princes, and excused himself from

appearing on the ground of his multifarious public duties.

During the same month secret instructions were sent
from Kioto to the ex-prince of Mito, which ran thus :

" The Baknfn has shown great disregard of public opi-

" n ion in concluding treaties without waiting for the opinion
" of the
Court, and in disgracing princes so closely allied
u
by blood to the Shogun. The Mikado's rest is disturbed
by the spectacle of such misgovernment when the fierce
**

" barbarian is at our

very door. Do you therefore assist
" the Bakufu with
your advice expel the barbarians,
;

"content the mind of the people, and restore tranquillity

" to His bosom."
Majesty's
When the princes of Owari and Echizen tried to have
Shitotsubnsln Giobukid adopted as the Shogun's suc-

cessor, Ajima Tatewaki and Aizawa Idaiyu, retainers of

Mito, and Ukai Kichizaemon and his son who were resi-
dent at Kioto, sought .counsel in the matter, by order of
the Court, from Kobayashi Mimbutaiyu, a retainer of
Takadznkasa dono, and Muraoka, one of Takadzukasa
dor.o's Avomen. It happened also that Hashimoto Sanai
came Kioto upon the same business, and consulted with
to

Kobayashi. They were also assisted by Kusakabe Isoji and

Ii-idzumi Kinai at Yedo. Isoji eventually came to Kioto by

Ajima's orders, whereupon they all took counsel together

and the negotiations were going on well, when the whole

project was ruined by the opposition of Ii Kamon no

kami. Isoji was eventually selected to carry the private

instructions of the Court to the ex-prince of Mito.

Ii Kamon no kami had some time previously sent his
 12

retainer Nagano Shiuzen to Kioto as a spy. This man

discovered that the secret instructions had been sent, and
also got hold correspondence of Ajima Tate-
of the
waki and the rest relative to the proposal to make the
Giobukio heir to the Shogun. There was also a consid-

erable body of Court nobles' retainers and of Chinese pro-

fessors who blamed Ii Kamou no kami's conduct in the

matter of the treaties, and Shiuzen, having ascertained

their names, reported everything to his master. Ii Kamon
no kami at once despatched the Minister Mauabe Shimosa
no kami to Kioto, where, after having consulted with

Sakai Wakasa no kami, the Shogun's Resident, he placed

Takadzukasa, Konoye and Sanjo (Court nobles) in confine-
ment, and arresting Kobayashi Mimbutaiyu, Kasuga Sa-
nuki no kami, Moridera Inaba no kami, Takahashi Hiobu,
the woman Muraoka, Ukai Kichizaemon and his son 5011,

Hashimoto Sanai, Rai Mikisaburo and Umeda Genj iro,:

thirty persons in ail, sent them to Yedo in the charge of
an armed force. Twenty-seven persons, including Ajima
Tatewaki, Kusakabe Isoji, Ii-idzmni Kinai and Fujimori

Koan were arrested at Yedo.

1859.—In the 12th month of the 6th year of Ansei

(Jan. 3
— Feb. 1, 18o9) the office of Shogun was conferred
by the Mikado on Iyemochi.
The ex-prince of Mi to had frequently pressed the

questions of the necessity of showing due respect to the

Mikado and the expulsion of the barbarians on the atten-
tion of the Baku fu, which however paid no attention to
him, and he finally put his views in writing and forwarded
them to Kioto. In the 8th month (Aug. 27— Sept. 24)
the Chief Minister and his colleagues reproached the

ex-prince, saying : "When we refused to listen to your

"
you laid your views before the Court,
lordship's advice,

"upon which Ajima Tatewaki abused the Bakufn, alleg-

u order to mislead
ing that it
misgoverned the country, in

" the Court nobles. He then privately brought instruct-

 13

u ions to your lordship from the Court, and nearly suc-

11
ceeded in bringing about a rupture between the Mikado

"and the Sh6gun. Furthermore, when the succession

"question was pending, he obstinately besought the
M Mikado to order the
adoption of Shitotsubashi Giobukio.
"Although the ostensible actor was Tatevvaki, your lord-
"
ship was the real author of these proceedings, and you,
" whose is to be the of the
duty support Bakufu,
" have failed in your obligations." They consequently
placed the ex-prince in perpetua lconfinenient at Mito, and
in order to punish Shitotsubashi for having desired the
office of Shoguu, they forced him into retirement. Short-

ly afterwards they made the princes of Ovvari, Echizen,

Tosa and Uwajima resign their diamiates to their sons,
and retire into private life at their secondary yashilcis^ for
the offence of having shared in the conspiracy. Kobayashi

Mimbutaiyu and twenty others were condemned, some to

exile, and others to imprisonment, while Ajima, the two

Ukai, Hashimoto, Umeda, Rai and others were put to

death.

In the same month Yoshida Shoiu of Choshiu suffered

capital punishment. He had been confined in prison ever

since the Bakufu delivered him to his clan in the autumn
of 1854. During this period his fanatical patriotism
constantly increased, and hopes were fixed on forc-
all his

ing the Bakufu to expel the barbarians. Some one having

proposed to make war on the Bakufu, Shoin, who felt
the injustice of such a proceeding, wrote a pamphlet

against the scheme, and was afterwards released from pri-

son. When Ii Kamon no kami assumed the reins of gov-
ernment, and the Bakufu, estranged from the princes who
were blood-relations of the Shogun, was left without sup-
porters, Shorn declared that it could not be saved. He

(15) Every dahnio had a kami yashikl or chief residence, and one or
niore thirno yaihiki or private residences ,
 14

secretly wrote to a court noble named 6hara Shigetami 16

inviting him down to Choshiu, in order to get up an agita-

tion in the clan for the expulsion of the barbarians, and
the restoration of the Mikado. It happened that Manahe

Shimosa no kami had arrested, by order of the Chief Mi-

nister, all the patriots of Kioto: and Shoin, collecting a
number of desperate men, despatched them to the capital

to assassinate Shimosa uo kami. The project came to

nothing, and the clan, observing that there was something

strange in Shoin's proceedings, cast him a second time

into prison, fearing to incur the resentment of the Bakufu.

Not long afterwards the Bakufu found reason to suspect

"
Shoin, and despatched Nagai Uta to Choshiu, to bring 1

him to Yedo in a cage. He was then interrogated

about his having convened an anonymous document
into the Palace at Kioto, and about a secret conspiracy
into which he had entered with Umeda, when the
latter was on a visit to Choshiu. Shoin had always been
a friend of Umeda's, and knew nothing about the anony-
mous document. He therefore gave complete explanations
on these two points, but confessed his letter to Ohara and
his plot to assassinate the Minister. These matters had
been hitherto quite unknown to the Bakufu, which was

exceedingly astonished when it heard of hem, and inflicted t

capital punishment on Shoin. Every plan conceived by

this man since his failure in the attempt to get a passage
on board the American squadron had ended in disaster,

and his fate excited universal pity. A great number of

upright and loyal men lost their lives about the same
time, and their fate was compared to that of the learned
men of Tunglin under the Ming dynasty.
Kanagawa, Nagasaki and Hakodate were opened in the

(lf>) This is the elder Ohara, still alive at the present day (69 years
old in 1873). known also as Ohara Sakingo, Envoy from the Court to the
Shdgunate in
September, 1863.
(17) Nagai Uta was a Choshiu man who held moderate views, and
wrote a pamphlet to prove that the daimids owed allegiance to the
Shdgun, and not to the Mikado,
 15

summer of this year, and permission was given to Japan-

ese and foreign subjects to trade with each other. In the
10th month (October 25— November 22) the chief Castle
at Yedo was destroyed by fire.
1860. — Envoys were despatched to the United States
of America for the first time in the first month of the 1st

year of Manyen (January 22— February 20, 1860).

When Ii Kamon
no kami punished the princes of Owa-
ri, Mito and Ecbizen all classes held their breath and
looked on in silent affright. From that moment his poAver

increased daily, but a few roiiins conspired to assassinate

him, and watching for an opportunity, approached his

palanquin one day as he w as proceeding to the castle,
r

under the pretence of presenting a petition. Snow hap-

pened to be falling heavily, and rendered every object in-

distinct, so that the escort taking the men to be ordinary

petitioners, scarcely noticed them. Suddenly the head of

the train w as attacked, and the commotion which ensued
T

in that quarter drew away the attention of the guards

at the side of the palanquin. The petitioner profited by
his opportunity to cut down the bearers, and to reach the

palanquin, and a number of confederates sprang up instant-

ly, who succeeded in slaying the Chief Minister, and
in escaping with his head. The escort engaged the men
who had attacked the front of the train, and fought

vigorously. Four, including Nagoshi Genji and Kusakabe

Naiki, were killed on the spot, while Kusakari and nine-
teen others were wounded. The affair occurred so sud-

denly that they were unable to assist their master, and on

looking round were horrified to see what had happened.

They pursued the roiling* but could not overtake them.
This affair, known as the Sakurada outrage, occurred ^on
the 3rd day of the month (March 23)18

(18) In Sir R. Alcock's despatch to Lord Russell of the 2nd April

18G0, the attack on the Regent is said to have taken place on the 24th
March. As will be seen by reference to this despatch, Sir R. Alcock
was still unaware of the result when he wrote, and it is quite possible
 16

The perpetrators of this deed were 6zeki Washichiro,

Sano Takesuke, Saito Kemmotsu, Kuroda Chiuzaburd,
Arimura Jizaernon, and twelve other Mi to men. Some
were while others escaping to the house of the
killed,
Minister Wakizaka Nakadzukasa no taiyu, addressed a
letter to which they enumerated the crimes of Ii
him in

Kamon no kami. They accused him firstly of possessing

himself of the person of the young Shogun, and
of dismissing and appointing officials as his own
selfish objects suggested ; secondly, of receiving
enormous bribes and granting private favours thirdly, ;

of having driven away the princes of Owari, Mi to,

and Echizen, thereby depriving the Shogun of the sup-

port of those who were most nearly allied to him by blood;

fourthly, of having deluded His Highness Knjo, by
means of Manabe Shimosa no kami and Sakai, the Sho-
gun's Resident, besides confining Prince J6ren-In
and

many Court nobles, and putting numbers of the Samurai

and common people to death ;
and fifthly, of being
frightened by the empty threats of the foreign barbarians
into concluding treaties with them, without (he sanction

of the Mikado, and under the pretext of political necessity.

The five crimes being such as neither the gods nor men
could pardon, they as the representatives of divine anger
had chastised him. They prayed that death might be
at once inflicted upon them, and shortly afterwards under-
went capital punishment.
Fromthis time the advocates of the expulsion of the

barbarians increased every day, and in the 8th month

(Sept.-14
—
Oct. 12) a motley band of thirty men came
to the Satsuma yashiki, praying the clan to give their
support, and to allow themselves to lead the van. The

therefore that he may also have been misinformed about the date-
Anyone can verify the date given in the text by comparing the
European and Japanese almanacs back to the year 1800. The
earliest comparative Japanese and European almanac accessible to
the translator was that of 1864.
 17

Satsuma clan pacified them, and lodged them for a while

within the walls of the yashilci.
During the same month a large number of dissatisfied

men, who also advocated the expulsion of the barbarians,

collected together in Hitachi and Shimosa. The foreign
merchants had been daily arriving in greater numbers at
Yokohama, which so increased in wealth and importance
as to form a new city of itself. The ronlns in Hitachi
and Shimosa consequently conceived the idea of attacking
it, but the Bakufu issued orders to the neighbouring clans

to take every possible precaution. However, the secretary

of the American Minister who resided at Yedo, one Heus-
ken 19
, waa assassinated one evening in Mita as he was
returning home from an excursion.
During the 10th month (November 12
— December 10)
the re-erection of the Shogun's principal castle at Yedo
was commenced.
1861. — During the 1st month of the 1st year of
Bunkiu ( February 9 — March 9 ) the number of
the ronlns in Hitachi and Shimosa increased to such
an extent they that
proceeded into Kodzuke
and Shimotsuke, where, under pretext of requiring war
contributions for the expulsion of the barbarians, they ex-
torted money from the peasants aud tradespeople. The
Bakufu ordered the house of Mi to to arrest them.
During the same month some Russians landed in
Tsushima under the pretext of repairing their vessel.
So Tsushima no kami complained of their behaviour to

the Bakufu, which despatched some of its officers to

bring them to reason and make them leave the island.

In the 5th month (June 7 July 6), some ronins —
attacked- the house occupied by the English at Tozenji
in Takanawa. The vassals of the Bakufu and the troops
of the Koriyama clan who acted as guards to the temple

Mr. Heusken was murdered on the night of January 14, 1861.

(10)
(20) This attack was made on the 20th day of the 5th month or
July 5th. Takanawa is the southern suburb of Yedo.
 18

repelled the assailants, and a large number of the ronins

were killed. The
troops of the Bakufu also suffered some
loss in killed and wounded, while two of the English

were wounded by the ronins. The English

Minister was angry, and said such ruffians only
existed because the Japanese Government- could not
rule its own country. Remarking that in future it would
be useless to appeal to reason with such a people*
he retired with the French and Dutch representatives to
Yokohama, in order to prepare for an attack with troops.
The Bakufu made ten thousand apologies, and the affair,

after some was peaceably settled. From this

difficulties,

time onwards English troops were always stationed at

Yokohama, to guard against surprises, and they were com-

*
monly called the Scarlet Regiment' from the colour of
their clothing.

During the same month the Bakufu ordered the House

of Mi to to arrest the men who had broken into the English

temple-residence, but they made their escape into dshiu

and Dewa.
The ex-prince of Mito died in the 8th month (Sept. 4 —
Oct. 3). Whilst he was still alive Ii Kamon no kami
applied to Kioto make him give up the letter
for leave to

of instructions which had been sent to him some years

previously by the Court, and his application was granted.

Ii Kamon no kami then despatched Amid Tsushima no
kami to communicate this to the house of Mito, but the
sunurai refused, believing it to be nothing but an in-
vent ion of the Bakufu, and hundreds of them were ready
to quarrel about the affair. A
great commotion ensued in
the clan, which the house of Mito had much difficulty in

appeasing. The ex-prince, who disliked having to resist

the Shogun's orders, wrote a letter for the information
of his retainers, which was so perfectly reasonable that

they withdrew their opposition. Upon this the Imperial

letter was given up to the Bakufu,
 10

In the 11th month (December 2—30) the Princess

Kazu, younger sister of the The

Mikado, arrived in Yedo.
Minister had argued that the marriage of the adopted
daughter of the prince of Satsuma with the previous Sho-
gun had been evidence of the subuiissiveness of that great
clan. But he had died early, before any support could be
derived from his consort's relatives. On this occasion they
married the Shogun to the Mikado's younger sister, in
order to show to the world that the Imperial family and
the house of Tokugawa agreed in their political views.

Envoys were despatched this year to 21 England, France,

Russia, Holland, Prussia and Portugal for the first time.

1862. —In the 1st month of the 2nd year of Bunkin

(Jan. 30
— February
28) as the Minister Ando Tsushi-
ma no kami was going to the castle, a number of ronins
attacked him in front of the Sakashita gate. 22 His escort

repelled the assailants, and Tsushima no kami escaped with

a wound on his shoulder. Several of the ronins were
killed, and a document was found on each of them in

which Tsushima no kami was reviled. The substance of

was " The Minister Ando,
it :
inheriting the ideas of the
u Chief Minister Ii Kamon no kami, has made friends of
" the barbarians. In concert with the Resident Sakai
"Wakasa no kami he has placed in confinement honour-
"able and loyal Court nobles. He has abused the influ-
"ence of the Bakufu in order to bring the Mikado's sister
" to Yedo, and, worst of all, lias commanded learned Japan-
" ese scholars to collect
precedents for the deposition of
(t
the Emperor, his intention being to depose the Son of
"Heaven. His crimes are too heinous to be spoken of
"with calmness, and we have therefore sacrificed our
"lives in order to kill this wicked traitor." The Bakufu
(21) The embassy to the Treaty Powers left on the 21st Jan. 18G2,
before the Japanese New Year, which accounts for the apparent
misstatement in the text.
(22) This gate stands between the Hommaru or Chief Castle, and the
Nishi no Manx, or Western Castle, formerly appropriated to the heir
apparent of the Shogun, and now converted into a Palace for the
Mikado. The attack took place on the 11th Feb. G.Y.M.
 20

at once deprived Tsushima no kami of his office as Minis-

ter, and tried to get into the good graces of the influential
court nobles by increasing the official salaries of Kujo,

Hirohashi, Bojo, Asukai, Chikusa, Iwakura and thirteen

'
others.

During this period the samurai deserted from their

clans in daily increasing numbers. They allied themselves
with the ronins in all parts of the country to raise the cry
(
of honour the Mikado and expel the barbarian,' thus
creating a great ferment throughout the empire. In the
2nd month (March 1 — 29) the house of Shimadzu published
a proclamation to its retainers, expressing approval in the
main of the policy of supporting the Mikado, but forbid-

ding them to ally themselves with the ronins for the

advancement of the objects above-mentioned, or to do

anything without the instructions of their superiors.

Not long previously the Prince of Choshiu, who was in

Yedo, had addressed a letter to the Bakufu, saying:

" Since the conclusion of the treaties the
people of this
"
empire have done nothing but protest against them. They
" declare that
you have disregarded the Mikado's wish
" that the should be closed to and that
country foreigners,
"
you treat him as if he were not of the slightest iraport-
"ance. I beg most earnestly that the Shoguu will
u
recognize the supremacy of the Mikado, so that the
"
harmony existing between the two may be made evident,
"and the comments of the people be put a stop to." He
added that his Vetainer Nagai Uta was familiar with the
state of opinion at Kioto, and the Bakufu sent for him to

ask his advice. Nagai was altogether in favour of a con

ciliatory policy, and his advice entirely fitted in with the
views of the Ministers. The Bakufu rewarded him hand-
somely, and proposed to send him to Kioto with secret
instructions, but the very suspicion of his being in the
Bakufu's interests greatly diminished his influence with
his own clan.
 21

In the 4th month (April 29— May 18) Nagai Uta

arrived at Kioto, furnished with special instructions from
the Minister Kuze Yamato no kami, and addressed a
letter to the Tensb-% Nakayama Dainagon, in which he set

forth in detail the nature of the circumstances which ren-

dered the Imperial sanction to the treaties so necessary.
At this moment the agitation for the expulsion of foreign-
ers arose throughout the length and hreadth of the land.
A great deal of hostile criticism was directed against
Nagai, who was unable to attain his object, and shortly
afterwards set out to return to Yedo. The Choshiu men
who were Kioto were much offended with his expres-
at

sed opinions and lay in wait to assassinate him at Otsu

on the Tokaido. Nagai divined their intentions, and
avoided them by starting earlier and taking the route by
the Nakasendo. In the following year the Choshiu clan
ordered him to perform disembowelment.
2^
During the same month Shimadzu Idzumi was travel-
in Harima.
ling to redo, and had got as far as Himeji
It

happened that a certain Hirano Jiro of Chiknzen, who

was lurking in those parts, had caused a good deal of
excitement by raising the cry of honour the Mikado and
*

expel the barbarians.' He had collected together a body

of two hundred sympathetic spirits, and proposed to them
that as it was impossible to preserve discipline amongst so
motley a society, the best plan would be to place them-
selves tinder the leadership of one of the great
clans. They were on the look-out for an ally of the kind
they wanted, when they heard of the arrival of Shimadzu
The Tensd were Court nobles appointed to act as medium
(23)
of communication between the Court and the Skogunate. They
were generally two in number. The institution of this office is
Ten is to communicate' to an inferior ;
'
attributed to Yoritomo.
' '

sd, to report to the Sovereign.

(24) The father of the Prince of Satsuma, afterwards notorious
as Shimadzu Saburd, then known as Shimadzu Osumi no kami and
now as Shimadzu Jiusammi. He is the younger brother of Satsuma
no kami, the previous prince of Satsuma, who having no children of
his own, adopted the eldest son of Saburd. SaburO is thus legally only
the uncle of the prince of Satsuma— (Prince of Satsuma no longer.)
 22

Idzumi at Himeji. Hirano, who was aware of the intrepid

character of this prince, at once proceeded thither with
his men and addressed a letter to him. It said " The :

" Bakufu has heen treating the Mikado's orders

lately
"with contempt, and has concluded treaties without his
"sanction. The Empire is on the point of becoming a hell.
" We wish therefore to get you to become our leader, in
" order that we may release the Court nobles who have
"been confined in consequence of the Bakufu's displea-
" 25 Hikone and Nijo, send
sure, seize the castles of Ozaka,
"orders to all the clans, carry the Mikado to Hakone,
"
punish the crimes of the Shogun, and immediately after-
" wards out the barbarians. take our
sweep Pray request
"into your gracious consideration, oh Prince, and grant
"it." They then asked him to forward their letter to
the Imperial Court. Idzumi felt secretly alarmed at
their violence, and giving an evasive answer, pacified
them as well as he could. Having left them at the
town of Fushimi he went on to Kioto, and sent Hirano's
letter to Konoye (a Court noble). The Court was so

frightened at the seditious style of the letter, that it

retained Idzumi at Kioto to keep the ronins in order.

Ithappened that the ronins at Ozaka and some Satsuma
samurai of the same way of thinking heard of this, and
were enraged at what they called Idzumi's temporizing
policy. Some forty or fifty started for Kioto at once,

intending to put pressure on him, and proceed to action.

On receiving this news, Idzumi sent some of his retainers
to stop them at Fushimi, and to persuade then to remain
quiet. The efforts of the retainers were unavailing, and
after a long dispute, they were obliged to use force.
Numbers were killed on both sides, and the town become
the scene of an indescribable commotion.

(25) The castles of Ozaka and Nijd (at the end of Nijd street in
Kioto) belonged to the ShCgun ;
that of Hikone in Omi to the Ii
family.
 23

Not long before this the prince of Choshiu, who was

still at Yedo, had addressed a letter to the Baknfu in
which he said that the domestic and foreign troubles which
threatened the land were entirely destroying the national

tranquillity. The Shogun ought

therefore to proceed to

Kiolo, and an assembly of daimios in order to ascer-

call

tain the opinion of the nation. All matters concerning

the general government of the country ought to be ordered

by the Court and the Bakufu in concert, in which case tho

general opinion would be easily obtained. The Court at
once sent for the writer of this letter, and ordered him to

undertake the preservation of order among the ronins in

conjunction with the house of Shimadzu.
In the 5th month (May 29— June 26) the English
addressed a letter 2G to the Bakufu in which
they asserted
that the Bonin islands did not belong to Japan. However,
the Bakufu had already, in the previous year, despatched
Midzuno Chikugo no kami thither to ascertain the facts,
and they were thus enabled to produce proofs of our title
in reply.

On the 22nd day of the 6th month (18th of July)27 a

retainer of Matsudaira Tamba no kami, named Ito Gum-
pei, one of tlio
guard at Tozenji, in Takanawa, the lodging
of the Englishmen, murdered two of them in the garden,
and returning at once to his house committed suicide.
The English and their allies demanded satisfaction from
the Bakufu, which produced to them the corpse of Gum-
pei,and made an apology. The charge of maintaining
guard was also taken away from Tamba no kami.
Gumpei himself hated foreigners, and, chafing under
the idea that his prince should have to protect the objects

(26) The despatch here alluded to does not claim the Bonin
Islands for Great Britain, but, on the contrary, offers to
recognise
the right of Japan to those islands so long as the European settlers
are not disturbed.
(27) An error for 26th June. The second attack took place on
the anniversary, according to the Japanese calendar, of the
previous
attack, namely, on the 29th day of the 5th month. There is no
reason to suppose that this was anything but a coincidence.
 m
of his dislike, had hoped that something would happen to

put a stop to it. It happened to he Gumpei's turn to be

on guard, and one of the Englishmen having committed
an act of discourtesy towards him, he flew into a rage,
and took advantage of the darkness to accomplish his pur-
28
pose.

During the same month the Mikado's envoy, Ohara

Saemon 29 no kami came down to Yedo and delivered the
following message from His Majesty. Firstly, the Sho-
guu must come up to Kioto with all the daimios, great
and small, ascertain the opinion of the country, expel the
barbarians, and so calm the indignation of the Mikado's
divine ancestry. Secondly, five of the greater princes
were to be selected, according to the precedent established

by Toyotomi Taiko (Taicosama), to be consulted as Chief

Ministers upon the conduct of public affairs. Thirdly,
Shitotsubashi Giobukio was to be appointed guardian to
the Shogun, and the ex-prince of Echizen (Matsudaira

Shungaku) to be made Chief Minister of Stale.

2 The ^
object of these three measures was the renovation of the
institutions created by the founder of the Tokugawa line,

and promote the efficiency of the administration. The

to

Bakufu undertook to carry out these instructions, and

determined to go up to Kioto. Two hundred and thirty
years had elapsed since the Shogun Iyemitsu had last
observed this practice, and most people ouly became aware
of the fact that the rule existed for the first time.
In the 7th month (July 27— Aug. 24) the Bakufu
Wakasa no kami from office, and confined
dismissed Sakai
him in his own domains. It also ordered the house of Ii

to inflict capital punishment on Nagano Shinzen.

(28) The author does not apparently mean that either the un-
fortunate sentry or corporal of marines who fell victims to the fury
of Gumpei was the person who insulted him. It is more than pro-
bable that the story of an act of discourtesy having been commit-
ted is a fiction.
(29) Also called Ohara Sakingo.
(29a) According to the G-. Y. M. these three alternatives were
offered to the ShOgun, and he might accept any of them. It will
be seen that the first and third were elected by his advisers.
 25

Some time before this the Bakufu, in obedience to the

orders of the Court, had released Prince Joren-In,
Takadzukasa, Konoye, Sanjo, the ex-prince of Owari,
Shitotsnbashi Giobukio, the ex-dai?nios of Echizen, Tosa,

Uwajima and others from domiciliary confinement. The

Sbogun now had frequent interviews with Owari,
Shitotsnbashi and Eehizen, and passed the time in friendly
conversation with them. At the same time Itakura
Suw6 no kami [afterwards Iga no kami], who was one of
the Ministers, made great changes among the officials of
the Bakufu. Shitotsnbashi was raised from the rank of
Giobukio to that ofChiunagon, and appointed guardian
(/token) to the Shogun, while the ex-prince of Echizen
was made Supreme Director of Affairs (Seiji-sosai-shohi)
in accordance with the orders of the Court.

In the same month some ronins murdered Shimada

Sahei and Ugo Gemba, retainers of Knjo dono, at Kioto,

and pilloried their heads on the dry bed of the river at

Shijo. The cause of this deed was the fact that these two
men had been active associates of Nagano Shiuzen when
he was at the capital. The Court therefore punished
Kujo, Koga, Chikusa, Iwakura, Tomi-no-koji and other
Court nobles, and appointed Takadzukasa to be Kuambaku.
It was generally supposed that these measures were
attributable to the misconduct of the above-named persons
in the negotiations with Yedo.

prince of Tosa was now in Kioto, and the Imperial

The
Court, anxious to preserve the tranquillity of the capital,

commanded him to act in concert with Satsuma and Cho-

shiu in the repression of disorder. From this time, when-
ever the people wished to express the influence and popu-

larity of the princes they always mentioned Sat-cho-to

(a compound of the first half of each clan's name).

In the intercalary 8th month (Sept. 24— Oct. 22) the

Bakufu established an office at Kioto called Shiugosliolcw
 26

(or Protectorate), and Matsudaira Higo no kami, the

prince of Aidzu, was chosen to fill it.

Hitherto had been a part of the Bakufu's system

it

that the princes should pass eachalternate year at Yedo,

their wives and children being compelled to reside there

continually. The object of this rule was to divide the

strength of the clans and to render them easier to keep iu

order. But in consideration of the great expenditure re-
quired from the country the time which they had to pass
in Yedo was now lessened, and they were permitted to

keep their wives and eldest sons at home in their domains.

The style of dress was also reformed, unnecessary orna-
ment being discarded. The prosperity of Yedo, which
had measure depended on the residence of the
in a great

princely families, received a heavy blow from this consti-

tutional change.

During the same month the Bakufu, after enumerating

the crimes of the lute Ii Kara on no kami, confiseated
two-sevenths of the lands belonging to his heir, and

punished Ando Tsushima no kami and other adherents of

the murdered Minister.
1863.— In month (Dec. 21— Jan. 19, 1863)
the 11th

Sanjo Chiunagon* and Ane-no-kqji Shosho came to Yedo

as envoys from the Mikado. The message they bore de-
clared that the Bakufu must clear away the old abuses,

entirely reform the constitution,and so give peaee to the

Mikado's mind. Further, that the Shogun must come up
to Kioto iu the following spring, issue his orders to the

clans, and proceed without delay to achieve the expulsion

of the barbarians.

Shortly before this the Court had ordered the Bakufu

to proclaim a general amnesty for political offences. A
decree was therefore published throughout the country
by which all persons who had been confined for taking

* Now (1873) Daijo-Daijin, or Chief Minister of State under the

Mikado.
 27

interest in the national affairs since 1858 were released.

Pensions were also granted to the widows and orphans of
those who had suffered death for their opinions.

During the same month the Bakufu besought the Court

to make Toda Wasaburo, a relation of the Toda family
of daimios, commissioner of the Imperial Tombs, and to
raise him to the rank of Yamato no kami. Yamato no
kami was a man who had remonstrated against those tombs
being left in their dilapidated state, and had conducted
their restoration.

During the 12th month (January 20 —February 17)

certain persons unknown set fire to # the residence which
the Bakufu was erecting for the English at Gotenyama
behind Shinagawa. 30 Hanawa Jiro was also assassinated
on the top of Kudanzaka. This man had been much
detested for having collected precedents for the deposition
of the Mikado by the orders of Ii Kamon no kami. The
act was generally attributed to men of the Choshiu clan.
During the same month the House of Shimadzu pre-
sented ten thousand hohu of rice to the Imperial Court.
Some time before, as Nakagawa Shiuri no Daibu was
passing through Fushimi on his way to Yedo, Prince
Jdren-In and the Court nobles sent a number of samurai

belonging to various clans to rebuke him for placing Yedo

before Kioto. He thereupon turned back to the capital,
and the number of princes who were now assembled there
waa more than eighty. The city became more crowded
than had ever been within the memory of man.
it

During this year the Bakufu commissioned Holland to

build it Enomoto Karnajiro,

a man-of-war, and despatched
Akamatsu Daisaburo, Uchida Tsunejiro and others to that
country, to study the art of naval warfare. It also enlisted
men belonging to the lower classes to serve as infantry

soldiers, and formed its own vassals the Hatamoto into

(30) This event happened on the night of February 1. Several

men of low social standing who had a share in the work are now
high officials of the Mikado's Government.
 28

cavalry and artillery. These troops went by the name of

the Sampeitai.31 Enomoto and those who went with him
to Holland made great progress in their studies, and five

years later they all returned to Japan with the man-of-

"
war, which was named the Kaiyo-Maru."
Shitotsubashi Chiunagon arrived at Kioto in the first
month of year ofBunkiu (February 18
the 3rd March —
18) whereupon the samurai of the different clans and the
r onin 8 pressed him about the expulsion of the barbarians.
He replied that the matter would be settled as soon as

the Shogun should arrive. The ronins were disgusted

with this temporizing policy, and assassinating Kagawa
Hajime, a retainer of the noble Chikusa, sent the head to
the Chiunagon as a blood-offering for the expulsion of
the barbarians. They sent the arms to Chikusa himself.
Kagawa was a man who in previous times had intrigued
with Shiraada and Ugo in the interests of the Yedo
Government. Todoroki Buhei of Higo and Kusada Gisuke
of Choshiu also called on the Kuambaku, and urged him
to fix a date of the expulsion of the barbarians.

It was about this time that Miwada Koichiro of the

Matsuyama clan and a number of ronins cut the heads

off

some wooden images of Ashikaga Takauji, Yoshinori and

Yoshimitsu, 32 which were enshrined at the temple of
Tqji-In, and pilloried them in the dry bed of the river at

Sanjo. This was intended as a hit at the Tokugawa

family, whose acts might be compared to those of the

Ashikaga. The prince of Aidzu, offended at this outrage,

arrested Miwada and his accomplices. The city was in a
commotion, and the prince of Choshiu interceded for their

(31) Lity. three bodies of troops. It would be more con veirieut in

English to call them by the name of The Drilled Troops."
'

K ol) Takauji (b 1805, d. 1358) was the first Shogun of the Ashikaga
line. His son Yoshinori (b. 1330, d. 1867) did not rise above the rank
of Dainagon. He was succeeded by Yoshimitsu, who became Shogun
in 1368 and died in 1-408. The insult offered to their effigies
oocurred on 9th April. G.Y.M.
Ashikaga Takauji at first took the
side of Godaigo Tenno against the Hojo family, but afterwards turned
traitor and seized the power for himself.
 29

lives, but the prince of Aidzu and ex-prince of Echizen

were obdurate. From this time onwards the ronins enter-

tained great affection for the province of Choshiu.

In the same month the Court established the Gaknjiu-

In, which was intended as a place wherein the samurai

might freely express their opinion on politics. The prince

of Kururae recommended Prince J6ren-In to both the
Court and the Bakufu, who permitted him to lay aside
his priestly robes. He was henceforth styled Prince
Nakagawa, and took part in affairs.
In the 3rd month (April 18— May 17) the Shogun
came up to Kioto and went to Court on the same day,
afterwhich he took up his quarters at the castle of Nijo.
During the same month the prince of Satsuma
33

addressed a memorial to the Mikado, saying " For some :

" time
past I have criticised the political situation, and
" have offered
my humble opinion to Your Majesty. But
" the of the slanderer has been busy, and my sug-
tongue
" have not been carried out. If under these cir-
gestions
u cnmstances I remain at the
capital, I am merely justify-
"
ing the slanders which have been uttered against me,
" and I am afraid that some disaster be themay result.
"
Besides, as the time for the expulsion of the barbarians
" is
drawing near, I must make
my preparations. I beg
" therefore that Your
Majesty will grant me a few months'
u leave of absence." sent in this letter he depart-
Having
ed for Kagoshima on the following day, without waiting
for an answer. It was currently reported that he was
moved to this course by the remarks which had been
made by some of the clans 34 at Kioto about the assumption

by the house of Shimadzu of too large a control over affairs.

(33) When the Prince of Satsuma is spoken of as taking a part in

affairs, it must be understood that either Shimadzu Saburo or the
leading men of the Satsuma clan acted under his name. Scarcely
any of the daimifo, except the ex-princes of Hizen, Tosa, Echizen
and Uwajima, were of any personal importance. It is clear in the
present instance that it is Shimadzu Saburo who writes.
(34) The word han, here translated clan, literally means fence, the
duty of a han being to defend the throne against its enemies but clan
;
 80

During Court deliberated daily upon the

this period the

expulsion of the barbarians, and finally sent the prince

of Mito down to Yedo, to superintend the closing of the
ports. All the maritime princes were sent home to their

respective provinces to make preparations for war.

The samurai of the different clans and the renins had
addressed themselves frequently ex-prince of
to the

Echizen, pressing him about the date for the expulsion

of the barbarians. The ex-prince, who knew the difficul-
ty in which this matter was involved, resigned his office
of Supreme Director of Affairs, and furtively quitting the
capital,returned to his native province.
—
In the 4th month (May 18 June 15) the Shogun,
Shitotsubashi Chiuna£on, the Minister Itakura Iga no
kami and other high officials of the Bakufn went to

Court. The Mikado thereupon fixed the 2oth of June as

the date for the expulsion of the foreigners, and ordered

the Bakufn to communicate it to all the clans. The
Bakufn found itself compelled to obey, but privately
resolved to do nothing. The Mikado next proposed to
visit Otokoyama, 35 and to deliver to the Shogun at the

shrine of Hachiman the sword emblematic of his author-

ity to expel the barbarians. The Shogun, however, de-

clined to join the procession, on the ground of sudden
illness, but sent Shitotsubashi Chiunagon, who was in
attendance on him, to act as his proxy. Shitotsubashi
was extremely embarrassed, and suddenly pretexting ill-
ness, descended from the shrine. When the ronins heard
of this they were violently angry, and said : "Bah ! this

seems the best term by which to denote a fractional part of the nation,
which, held together under one chief by the closest ties, looked
with hostile eves on other similar fractions of the nation. As an
instance of this feeling it is sufficient to state that a daimifi's
retainer invariably meant by the term my country' not Japan, but
'

the territory ruled over by his lord.

(35) Otokoyama in Yamashiro, also called Iwashimidzu, situated
on the left bank of the Yodogawa some fifteen miles from Kioto, is
the site of a celebrated shrine to the memory of 6jin Tenno, whose
worship was there established under the title of Hachiman Daibosatsn.
This deified emperor is considered a sort of patron of warriors.
 31

" is not fit for the work." They therefore insisted

sluggard
upon the Mikado's taking the field in person, and asked to
be allowed to march in the van. The Court, however,

managed to appease their wrath for a while.

Daring thi-s month the Court appointed the ex-prince

ofOwari assistant to the Shogun, while the ex-prince of
Hizen was made Superintendent of Civil and Military
matters. Shitotsuhashi Chfunagon was sent down to Yedo
to assist the Prince of Mito in closing the ports.

About this time the Shincho-gumi disturbances occurred

at Yedo. There was a Dewa man named Kiyokawa
Hachiro in that city, who for some years past had ad-
vocated the expulsion of the barbarians. He persuaded
one Adzumi Goro and several others of the same way of

thinking to join him in disturbing the peace of Yedo and

its vicinity. They had committed several murders, and

being hotly chased by the secret police, had fled by way

of Echigo into Oshiu and Dewa, whence they managed to
reach Kioto without detection. The agitation for the

expulsion of the barbarians was going on there, and

Hachiro tried to c^ on the samurai of the Satsuma
and Choshiu clans. At this moment the Bakufu was

collecting the ronins from all parts of the country at

Yedo. It gave them pay and formed them into a corps

under the name of the Shincho gumi. Hachiro, profiting

by lucky event, obtained pardon for his previous
this

offences through friends in the Aidzn clan and among the

went down to Yedo, and became chief of the
officials,

corps. The men composing it amounted to five hundred,

and there were a large number of lawless ruffians among
them. They exacted money from the rich citizens under
the name of contributions towards the expulsion of the

barbarians, and were preparing to attack Yokohama.

Great uneasiness was felt far and wide, and the efforts of

the Bakufu to restrain these men were almost ineffectual.

At last it issued orders to the clans to arrest them

 32

wherever they might be found, and the ring-leaders

having been caught, tranquillity was restored. Hachir6

is said to have been killed not long after by an Aidzu

man named Sasaki.

All this while the Court was daily urging the Yedo
Government to close the ports. The prince of Mi to,
Shitotsubashi Chiunngon and the Minister Ogasawara Iki
no kami finally told the foreign representatives resident at
Yokohama : "Our
people dislike intercourse with for-
3( >

eigners, and numbers of them are ready to assassinate

"you at any moment. Our Government has done all
" that
ingenuity could suggest, but the effect of this dis-
" like is that the Mikado has ordered us to inform foreign
"countries that the ports are to be shut and foreign inter-
" course terminated. We beg yon to consent." The
foreign Representatives replied: "When the treaties
"were concluded a compact was made that they were not
" to be then do you now wish make a
changed. Why to

"change ? If your country designs such an extraordinary

"thing as this, extraordinary calamities will follow. We

"are here by order of our respective nations, and have no
"authority to decide such an important matter without
"referring home. You had better consult our govern-
1
"ments about it, who will decide as they think right.'
The Bakufu consequently prepared to send ambassadors
to foreign nations.

In the 5th month 37 (June 16 —July 15) the English

came to Shinagawa by sea, having certain requests to

(36) This announcement was made by letter on the 24th June, after
the indemnities demanded from the Shogunate for the second attack on
the English Legation in 1862, and for the murder of Mr. Eichardson had
been fully paid. The author has reversed the two transactions.
(37J The negotiation here referred to was commenced at Yokohama
in April when a despatch containing the demands of the English
Government was sent in to the Shogunate. The Havoc alone proceeded
to yedo on that occasion. The period granted for a definite reply to be
given was repeatedly extended, until on the 20th June the English
Charge d'Affaires found himself compiled to place the affair in the Ad-
miral's hands. The Pearl and perhaps another vessel were sent up to
Yedo, but in the meantime, the Japanese Government consented to all
the demands, and hostilities were avoided.
 33

make. When Ohara went down to Yedo in the previous

year as Envoy fromMikado he was accompanied by
the
Shimadzu Saburo (formerly Idzumi), and on his way back
some English people came riding through the head of his
train at a place called Namamngi in the province of Mu-
sasbh The prince's escort was enraged at this insult and
slew the offenders. The Mikado's envoy had just reached
the town of Shinagawa, when he heard of the affair. He
delayed there for three days in consequence. The English
then came with their men-of-war to Yokohama, and
addressed a letter to the Bakufu, saying "Last year you :

" killed some of our officers. You must arrest the

person
" who directed this act to be done, and execute him in the
"
presence of our officers. If you cannot do this, we shall
" demand an
indemnify of $500,000 from the Bakufn, and
" we will also to and take there
go Kagoshima $30,000
"also." The letter also fixed a date by which the reply
must be given.

As the Shogun was still at Kioto the Ministers could

do nothing but repeat over and over again that the affair
should be adjusted on his return. They also sent a hasty
message to the Shogun, wIjo represented the state of mat-
Yedo to the Mikado, and asked
ters at for leave to return

home. The Court refused to grant it, and the clan of

Satsuma, on learning what had occurred, said to the
Bakufn "We hear that the English have demanded the
:

"
person of Saburo, a relation of our prince, and that the
" much embarrassed by
government is their demands.
" Saburo the English insulted me, and
says :
my escort

"simply inflicted punishment upon them. But" if the

" Government can be removed by the Eng-
anxiety of the
" lirli
getting hold of me, let it be decided by an appeal
" to arms. I will not surrender to them un-
certainly
" This is what Saburo and he prays
resistingly. says,
"for the instructions of the Government." The Bakufn,
anxious and troubled about domestic and foreign affairs,
 34

debated for several months without coming to a conclus-

ion. The English were daily expecting to receive our
answer, and the day for the payment of the indemnity
was drawing nigh. The Bakufu, fearing that hostilities
would break out, issued a proclamation to the towns-
people of Yedo, who packed up their property and took
refuge in the country round. The commotion was so great,
that the Bakufu at last made up its mind, saying " It :

" looks as if the

wrong was on our side in the affair of
" Let us clear our reputation, and then put
Namamugi.
* an end to foreign intercourse." So it gave the indem-
nity to the English, who then departed from the Bay of

Shinagawa.
For some time past the house of Mori had been con-
structing batteries at Shimonoseki in Choshiu, with the
commencing hostilities against the barbarians.
object of
Some Dutch, American and French vessels happening to
pass through the straits, our troops fired on every one of
them. Several of the foreigners were killed and wounded,
while the batteries were destroyed in a visit from a second
American vessel. When the order for the expulsion of
the barbarians was first issued, the Kokura clan believed

that the Bakufu was in reality averse from the measure,

and therefore afforded no help to Choshiu on these occa-
sions. The Court consequently issued a proclamation to
the clans observing; that it had learnt that certain clans
had put their hands in their pockets and looked on quietly
when the barbarian ships had been attacked. This had
profoundly distressed the Emperor, for, now that a com-
mencement had been made by Choshiu, it was the duty of
all the clans to strive to achieve the work with all possible

speed.
During the same month the house of Mori presented
ten thousand rid in gold to the Imperial Court.

About the same time 38 the Minister Ogasawara Iki no

(38) On the 22nd July. G.ST.M.

 35

kami arrived at dzaka by sea, and was about to enter the

capital, when the Court refused him leave to do so. It

proceeded to censure hitn for his misconduct in paying

the indemnity to the English without asking for sanction,

deprived him of his rank and titles, and confined him in

his yashihi at Ozaka.
—
In the 6th month (July 16 August 13) the western
castle at Yedo was burnt to the ground. It was rebuilt

during the following year, and is now know as the castle

of Tokio.

During the same month the guardianship of the palace

gates by the Satsuma clan was discontinued. Some time
previously Ane-no-koji Shosho had been assassinated one
evening in the streets on his way home from the palace.
The murderer and was not discovered, but common
fled

report said that he was a Satsuma man. It was also

rumoured that the order above alluded to was given

because the Court secretly disliked the Satsuma clan for
the murder of the Shosho.
In the 7th month (August 14— Sept. 12)39 the English
came with ten men-of-war, to Kagoshima in Satsuma,
saying :
"Although the affair of
Namamugi is settled so
" far as
regards the Japanese Government, we must have
"twenty thousand dollars from your clan for the support
"of the widow and orphans of the murdered official. We
"also ask why you killed an Englishman." The Satsuma
clan was about to reply when the English seized the men-
of-war belonging to the clan without the slightest provo-
cation. A
great storm was raging at the time, and the
troops seized the opportunity to repel the enemy. Several
artilleryengagements ensued in which the English ships
were severely knocked about and had to retire. They
burnt the town of Kagoshima before leaving. After a
short interval had elapsed the English began to prepare

(39) The squadron arrived before Kagoshima on the 1 2th August and
left on the 1 7 th. £25, 000 was the indemnity demanded from Satsuma.
 36

for a second attack, upon which the house of Shimadzu

sent men to Yokohama
pay over $20,000, which they
to

borrowed from the Bakufu, aud the affair was peaceably

arranged. When our troops fired on the English ships,
the crews were in such a hurry to escape that one vessel
had no time to get in its auchor, so the cable was cut and
the anchor left behind. Our troops seized it, and handed
itover at the earnest request of the English. When the

English get hold of an enemy's anchor they proclaim the

fact everywhere, to show how they have gained the vic-
tory. The enemy bitterly feels the disgrace, and when

peace is made, often pays large sums of money to recover

the article. But as the English got back their anchor
without the expenditure of a single cash they were moved
to admiration for Japanese magnanimity.
Shortly before this Shitotsubashi had addressed a letter
to the Mikado in which he said : "I have been the un-
"
worthy recipient of Your Majesty's boundless favours,
"and have received the office of Guardian to the Shogun.
" But I have been
completely unsuccessful, aud feel most
"uneasy in my mind. Your Majesty has also specially
" instructed me to arrange for the closing of the ports,
"but though I have striven day and night to requite one
" ten-thousandth
part of the benefits I have received from
" Your
Majesty, I have been unable to carry out that
" measure also.
My guilt in accepting such a grave re-
sponsibility, without duly appreciating the action of

"events, and estimating my own capacity, is too great to

"escape unpunished. I pray Your Majesty, therefore, b}
r

"an exercise of that great goodness which is Your

"Majesty's chief attribute, to release me from the office of
" Guardian to the
Shogun." The Court had always
placed great confidence in the Chiunagon, and therefore
refused to grant his request.

The prince of Aidzu was rewarded by the Court with a

sum of money in gold and a war surcoat for his services
 . 37

in protecting the capital, and the Shogun was allowed to

return to Yedo.
When the Court decided upon expelling the barbarian^
some of the princes declined to obey. The ronins, also,
had been active in seditious intrigue, and the Court began
to feci secretly alarmed. From this time onward it
began
to believe in the Bakufu.

During this month the Bakufn despatched envoys to

Choshiu, to reprimand the clan for having fired on foreign

vessels without orders. The Choshiu people insisted that
they had only obeyed the instructions of the Court and
the Bakufu, justified their proceedings, and refused
to acknowledge themselves in the wrong. Eventually they
forcibly detained one of the envoys named Nakane, and
as he did not return, it was believed that he had been as-
sassinatedby them. From this moment a breach was
formed between the Bakufu and Choshiu. Some of the
court nobles supported the former ;
others detested Cho-
shiu for its high reputation. Another party occupied a
neutral position, but the Court cherished a secret dislike
to the clan.

A short time previously the Choshiu clan had besought

the Mikado to make a progress to Yamato in order to
show to the Empire his intention of taking the field in
person against the barbarians. The proposal was accepted^
and public notice was given that he would proceed to
open the campaign in person. Some, however, remonstrat.
ed, saying that Choshiu merely wished to get possession
of the Mikado's person in order to be able to dictate to the

Empire. This accusation caused the Court and the Baku-

Mi to regard Choshiu with suspicion, and they became
desirous of excluding him from a share in the councils of
the Mikado. On the uight of the 18th day of the 8th
month (30th September) Prince Nakagawa, the Prince of
Aidzu, with certain court nobles and men of military
class assembled together, and proposed to dismiss Sanjd
 38 .

and six other Court nobles and the Choshiu clan. Fearing
an outbreak they hastily gave orders to all the clans in
the capital to guard the palace gates most vigilantly. The
town was thrown into a state of violent commotion and
the public anxiety became great. Mori Sanuki no kami,
prince of a subordinate Choshiu clan, and Kikkawa Kem-
motsu knew nothing of what was intended, until they saw
the excitement of the citizens, and imagining that a
revolution must have broken out at the palace, hastened
thither with all speed. Admission was refused
them, to

and their men were removed from the guardianship of

the Sakai machi gate, which was placed in charge of the
house of Shimadzu. The two clans of Satsuma and

Choshiu, though devoted Mikado, had

to the cause of the

all along been on bad terms, and this occurrence showed

that they were not likely to act any further in conjunc-

tion.

Prince Nakagawa was at the side of the throne, and

assembling Konoye, Tokudaiji and other nobles, said :

"
Sanjo Chiunagon and his friends, adopting the violent
" views of the Choshiu
men, have falsified the wishes of
" the and have
Mikado, given out that His Majesty in-
" tended to
go to Yamato in order to take the field in per-
" son His Majesty is deeply
against the barbarians.
" offended with them. The and his friends
Chiunagon
" have
plotted high treason with the Choshiu men."
Orders were then issued that the Imperial progress should
not take place, and a resolution was taken to punish Sanjo
and the other six Court nobles.
The Choshiu samurai, discovering on the 18th (Sept.
30) the change which had occurred in the policy of the
Court, made their preparations and departed for their
native province, and the seven nobles fled with them.
The Court thereupon deprived the latter of their titles

and rank, punished eighteen other official court nobles

who had been acting in concert with Choshiu all along,
 39

and prohibited the Mori family from entering the capital.

Troops were levied in the surrounding provinces, and
measures were taken for the defence of the city. A pro-
clamation was also issued, which declared that many of
I lie decrees lately promulgated were, from the mixture of
truth and falsehood in them, calculated to mislead the peo-

ple. But those which appeared after the 18th (30th

Sept.) were to be considered as genuine expressions of the
Mikado's will.

About the same time Matsumoto Kenzaburo, Fujimoto

Tesseki and Adzumi Goro took up arms in Yamato.
These men had previously been wandering about from
place to place in Yamato and Kawachi, and advocating the
expulsion of the barbarians. They were joined by a
court noble named Nakayama Tadamitsu, who had ab-
sconded from the capital some time before because the

dilatory policy of the Bakufu disagreed with his own anti-

barbarian views. Nakayama was elected commander-in-
chief by this band of men, who now numbered a thousand
"
strpng) and styled themselves the Teuchiu-gumi.'^O Pre-
tending to act by orders of the court they sent detach-
ments to Sayama Tannai, Shiraki and other places in
Kawachi, to talk over the daimios and borrow muskets,
cannon, saddlery, etcetera, from them. Having crossed
by Chihaya they arrived during this month at Gojo in
Yamato, attacked the residence of Suzuki Gennai, the
Collector, murdered him and five subordinate officials,
seized all the rice, weapons and ammunition they could
find, and established their head-quarters there. They
were prompted to these acts by Gennai's refusal to comply
with their orders. Proceeding next to inform the people of
the locality that the Mikado was about to make a progress
into the province, they declared the country round Gojo to

bo Imperial territory, and remitted one half of the land-

tax, in order to become popular with the inhabitants.

(40) Lity. the Heaven's chastisement band.

 40

Before they had been long at Gojo they received inform-

ation that the court had undergone a
policy of the

change. Matsumoto and

companions debated together,
his
"
saying Seeing the turn which affairs have taken, the
:

" Bakufu will Rather than sit down

assuredly punish ns.
" to await its let us make one effort."
attack, desperate
On the morning of the 9th October therefore a detach-
ment of hundred men attacked the town of Takatori,
five

also situated in the province of Yamato. The troops of

Uyemura Suruga no kami, prince of the domain, defended
it.The attack was so fierce that the ratlins almost
succeeded an entrance, but the garrison fought
in forcing

so valiantly that they eventually repulsed the Tenchiu-

gumi, and made fifty prisoners. The Tenchiu-gumi re-

treated to the hills near Amanogawa-tsuji and placed

pickets all round them.

The Bakufu had already ordered the clans of Kishin,
Hikone, Todo and Koriyama to march against the rebels,
and Midzuno Tamon, the Kishiu commander, led his
troops to the attack on the 18th October. The assault

was received with a well directed fire of musketry. Ta-

mon received a bullet-wound, and lost a good many of his
men. On the 20th Todo Shinshichi, the Todo comman-
der, advanced against Amanogawa-tsnji with five hundred
men. The Tenchiu-gumi had planted an ambuscade, and
pretended to take to flight, and as Todd's troops, who fanci-
ed the victory already won, advanced and fell into the

trap, they arose on all sides, and routed the advanced

body ;
but the Hikone troops coming up to the rescue, the
united forces finally succeeding in repulsing the roni?is f
whom they pursued as far as Totsugawa. Hereupon the
victors withdrew from the field of battle, as the sun was

setting. During the evening the Tenchiu-gumi surprised

the Hikone quarters, and retreated again after inflicting a
loss of thirty killed.

On the 25th the Todo troops fell upon the rear of the
 41

Tenchiu-gmni, and succeeded at last in capturing the

stockade of Amanogawa-tsuji. The ronins dispersed, but
detachments of the Kishiu, Ilikone and Koriyaraa troops
pursued them far and wide, inflicting a sanguinary defeat
on them. Matsumoto Kenzaburo, Fujimoto Tesseki and
others were killed. Nakayama Tadamitsu fled to Ozaka,
while Adznmi Goro and fifty more were made prisoners.
The common name for this outbreak was '
the disturbances

of Gojo.'

Hirano Jiro, who was at Kioto before this event, had

obtained leave to try and pacify the Tenchiu-gnmi. He
proceeded accordingly to Gojo, and had been there some
time when he heard of the change which had occurred at
Kioto on the 30th September, and he at once returned
the Mikado to re-admit the seven court
thither, to pray
nobles and the house of Mori to the capital. The Court
paid no attention to his petition, and Jiro, perceiving that
everything was arranged as Prince Nakagawa and the
prince of Aidzu pleased, went off to Choshiu. Here he
got hold of one of the seven nobles named Sawa, and with
the object of renewing the agitation in favour of the
Mikado's opening the campaign in person, went to Ikuno
in Tajima in the 10th month (November 11 December —
10) with no more than one hundred soldiers under his
command. Having proclaimed the crimes of the prince of
Aidzn, he was preparing to enter Kioto to present a peti-
tion to the Mikado. He began by attacking the resi-
dence of the local Collector in order to provide himself
with the funds necessary for the accomplishment of his

object, and seized all the money and rice to be found there.
But the peasants arose on all sides and attacked him,
while the Bakufu sent orders to the neighbouring clans
to take the field. His followers occupied Miokenyama, and

fought valiantly for three days until they could hold out
no longer. Some were killed, while others fled back into
Choshiu with Sawa. It will be remembered that in 1862
 42

Hirano Jiro assembled together a number of hot-headed

spirits, and tried to force Shimadzu Saburd to commence
the great work, but that he was placed in confinement in
his native province because of the seditious nature of

the project. The Court had sent for him in the previous
part of the year, and had appointed him chief of the
Gaknjin-In. Having absconded from Kioto before, he was
now captured by the troops of Sengokn.
During the course of this month Shimadzu Saburd
arrived again at Kioto, and had an audience of the Mikado
on the same day, to urge the necessity of a second visit
from the Shogun and Shitotsubashi Chiunagon. Probably
he wanted to take counsel with them.
In the 11th month (December 12— Jan. 8) the Mikado

appointed Prince Nakagawa President of the Censorate

( Danjo-no-In). Henceforth he went by the name of the
In no Miya, The Bakufu also increased his allowance,
and gave him a thousand bags of rice annually in addition.

Daring the same month the Chief Castle at Yedo was

burnt a second time, and it has never been rebuilt since.
About this time the Court dismissed Takadzukasa from
the office of Kuainbakn, and appoint el Nijo in his stead.

Shortly before this, when the Baku fn was about to shut

the ports, it
represented to the Mikado that it was afraid
of the clans proceeding to commit acts of violence, and the
Court now issued an order to the princes, directing them
to wait for instructions from the Bakufu. The latter

then despatched Ikeda Chikugo no kami on a mission to

foreign countries to discuss the closing of the ports. The

advocates of the expulsion of the barbarians were dis-
satisfied on hearing of this, feeling that the Court was

becoming retrograde in its policy, and fled in a body to

Chobhiu.
End of Vol. I.
 43

VOLUME II.

1864.— Daring the twelfth month (Jau. 9- Feb. 7) u a

Satsuma merchant vessel, which had anchored off Tanoura
in Buzen on her way from Hiogo to Nagasaki, was fired
on from the forts on the opposite shore of the strait, the
Choshiu people mistaking her for a foreign vessel on
account of her build. Thirty Satsuma men were killed,
and the resentment of the clan was great.
Shitotsubashi Chiunagon went up to Kioto during the
course of the same month.
In the first month of the year of Genji (Feb. 8
first —
March 7) the Shogun proceeded a second time to Kioto,
where he Avas joined immediately afterwards by Echizen
Chiujo. On the 28th February the Shogun went to Court
accompanied by Shitotsubashi Chiumigon and Aidzu Chiu-
jo, and the In no Miya addressed him on behalf of the

Emperor as follows "We : are not in favour of a hasty

"and ill-considered attempt to expel the barbarians, but
" no 42 and
Fujiwara Saneyoshi others, wilfully blind to
" the actual condition of affairs in the
Empire, have mis-
"
represented Our will, have proclaimed the expulsion of
" the barbarians without
being properly authorized to do so,
" and have stirred war the Bakufu. The turbu-
up against
" lent retainers of the Saisho of
Nagato have made a fool
" of their have fired on barbarian vessels with-
lord, they

(41) Feb. 1. G.Y.M.

(42) The Court Noble SanjO Chiunagon, now (1873) Prime Minister,
 44

" out
provocation they have murdered the envoy sent to
;

" their
prince by the Bakufu, and finally seduced Saneyo-
"shi and his companions to follow them down to their
" native These fellows must be punished,
province.
"Nevertheless the true cause of these evil deeds is our
"own want of virtue. Henceforward do you assist us in
"
carrying out our wishes, by restoring domestic harmony
" to the
country and cutting off foreign intercourse." By
speaking thus, after having previously proclaimed the ex-
pulsion of the barbarians, the Court brought upon
itself

the reproach of inconsistency.

In the 2nd month (Mar. 8 —

Apr. o) Satsuma proposed
to despatch an envoy Choshiu
to to demand satisfaction

for the merchant-vessel having been tired upon in the end

of the previous year, but the Bakufu persuaded him not

to do so, promising to oblaiu redress for him.

During the same month Shimadzu Saburo, father of the

prince of Satsuma, was raised to the rank of Sakonye no
Shosho, and associated in the direction of affairs at Court.
The rank of Sangi ^Counsellor-of-state) was offered to

Aidzu Chinjo, but he refused it.

—
In the 4th month (May 6 June 3) the office of Guard-
ian to the Shogun was taken from Shitotsiibashi Chinna-

gon, who was appointed Protector of the Imperial Palace

and Commander-in-chief of the Maritime Defences in the

Bay of Ozaka.
In the same month the Bakufu presented a new law
containing five articles to the Imperial Court firstly, the ;

Bakufu would provide two thousand bags of rice towards

the expenses of the Shrines at Watarai in Ise : that the

Shogun and daimios on succeeding their respective pre-

decessors should present themselves at Court and acknow-

ledge the bounty of the Emperor thirdly, that all the

;

western daimios should pay court at Kioto, on their way

to Yedo ; fourthly, that all the clans should make annual
presents of their produce to the Emperor, and fifthly, that
 45

playing on musical instruments should be stopped for a

certain number of days after the death of a prince of the

blood. All these things were done to honour the Court,

which consequently gave its consent.
In the fifth month (June 4 —July 3)
the Imperial
Court formally placed the direction of affairs in the hands
of the Bakufu, which was also ordered to punish Choshiu
and the seven runaway nobles. On the 23rd of June
Shimadzn Saburo returned to Kagoshima, whilst the Sho-
gun made way back to Yedo.
his

During the same month certain retainers of the Prince

of Mito, named Fujita Koshiro, and Tamaru Inanoyemon
with others, took up arms in Hitachi and Shimotsuke,
with the avowed object of expelling the barbarians.
To go back some years ;
—
In the period called Tempo
(1830—43) the ex-Chiunagon of Mito had selected Fujita

Toko, a certain Toda, a certain Imai and others from

anion": his retainers, and with their aid had inaugurated

great reforms in the administration of the clan. At that

time Yiiki Tornji, a Karo^ of the clan, a man of crafty
and inlriguing nature, and who had obtained great in-
fluence with the ex-Chiunagon, had a greater voice in the

Government of the clan than any other, and was extremely

averse from changes in the system of administration. He
consequently was highly annoyed at the recent elevation
to power of Fujita and his associates, and exerted himself

to obstruct their reforms. Having been dismissed for this

by the ex-Chiunagon, he secretly informed the Bakufu

that military preparations were being made in the clan.
Some time previously the ex-Chiunagon and Fujita had
proposed to abolish Buddhism, thereby incurring the hos-
tility of the bonzes, who circulated a report that the ex-

Chiunagon was forming ambitious schemes. The Bakufu

therefore placed the ex-Chiunagon and Fujita in domici-

(43) The principal retainers of daimid were called kar6, or

'
old
men of the family.
'
It was a hereditary office.
 46

Mary confinement, and Yuki regained his share in the

administration of the clan. From this moment Yuki and

Fujita headed two opposite parties, that of the former

being called the Wicked Party (Kan to), while that of the
latter was known as the Righteous Party (Seigito). Sub-

sequently the ex-Cliiunagon was pardoned and associated

Shogunate, upon which he punished
in the councils of the

Yuki a second time, and restored Fujita to his former

position. From this time onwards the Righteous and
Wicked Parties constantly quarrelled with each other,

hardly a day passing away quietly. Fujita and the ex-

Chiunagon having shortly afterwards died in quick suc-
cession, thepower fell into the hands of Ichikawa San-
zayemon and Asaina Yataro of the Wicked Party. Fujita
Toko's son Koshiro, Tamaru Inanoyemon, Tanaka Genzo
and their friends were extremely angry, and under the
pretence of carrying out the views of the ex-Chinnagon,
loudly professed the combined policy of 'honouring the
sovereign and sweeping out the barbarians,' hoping there-
by to get the upper hand of the Wicked Party.
To resume the thread of our narrative Fujita and his ;

associates took the field with three hundred men, carrying

with them the monumental tablet of the ex-Cliiunagon,
and coming to Ohirayama by way of Utsunomiya, ordered
the towns-people of Tochigi to supply them with the funds
which they required in order to carry out their design of
expelling the barbarians. The towns-people, unwilling to
submit quietly to this demand, reported the outbreak to

the Bakufu, which gave orders to the clans in the vicinity

to chastise the rioters. The troops of Arima Iliogo no

kami44 hastened to the scene of disorder, and fought with
them in seven encounters, in which neither side was
victorious. The rioters then set fire to the town of Tochigi,
and the inhabitants took to flight. In the 6th month (July
4 — August 1) they arrived at Tsukuba yama in the

(44) Fukuige in Shimotsuk^ ; 10,000 toht.

 47

province of Hitachi, where they constructed a stockade to

protect themselves from attack. Ichikawa and others of the
Wicked Party, having asked leave of the Prince to attack
the rioters, the Baknfn, to whom
he referred their request,
concerted measures with them, and joining forces they at-
tacked the rebels at Tsukuba yama. The latter were
however so ferocious in their resistance that they bore all

before them, and the news brought from Yedo day after

day Shitotsubashi Chiunagon, the Military Governor of

to

Kioto (prince of Aidzu) and the Minister of state was

most disheartening.
The Choshiu people had several times addressed letters
to the Imperial Court, in which they endeavoured to ex-

plain their conduct since the middle of the previous year,

but the Court had refused to receive them.
During the
—
same month (July 4 August 1) Fukubara Echlgo, a
Choshiu Kard, arrived at Ozaka by sea, and proceeded
to Fushimi whence he addressed a letter to the Court,

which ran somewhat as follows :

" Since the Prince and
" his Son
obeyed His Majesty's desire that the barbarians
" should be
expelled, they have passed their days and
"
nights in ceaseless anxiety lest they should fail in car-
"
rying out his sacred will, and the whole clan is unable
" to understand
why the Court should attribute guilt to
"
Sanjo and his companions. It therefore humbly prays
" that the seven nobles
may be restored to their functions,
"and that the Saisho and his Son may be permitted to
" re-enter the
capital." Having sent in this letter he en-
deavoured to get up a fresh agitation at Court for the ex-
pulsion of the barbarians. The Bakufu ordered him to

send away the part of his men, and to wait where he was
for further orders. A
short time afterwards the Karos
Kunislii and Masuda also arrived at the head of several
hundred men, Kunishi encamping Temple of Ten-
at the

riuji at Saga in the vicinity of Kioto, and Masuda taking

up his quarters at Teunoji at Yamazaki.
 48

Ki6fco at this moment was full of the troops of various

clans, who guarded the Nine Gates, leading to the Imperi-

al Palace. Tiie In no Miya, Shitotsnhashi Chiunagon,

Aidzu Shosho and the rest declared that the appearance
of the Choshiu men with troops was nothing but an attempt
to coerce the Court, and in their rage asked the Emperor's
permission to attack them. Shitotsnhashi, Satsumn,
Echizen, Aidzu, Kuwana, Ogaki, Hikone and others order-
ed their troops to he in readiness to take the field, and the
inhabitants of Kioto, seeing that a conflict was imminent,

packed up their property and sought safety in flight.

The Choshiu forces at Saga, Yamazaki and Fushimi,
hearing what was in store for them, resolved to anticipate
their enemies. Having laid their plans for a sudden
attack, which was to result in removing the Aidzu clan
and the other evil advisers of the Emperor from his side,
they marched straight on Kioto on the 20th of August
before the day broke. The Saga troops entered first, the
Commander-in-chief Kunishi advancing against the Naka-
dachiuri Gate, and the Colonel Kijima against the Shimo-
dachiuri and Hamaguri Gates. Shitotsuhashi's troops
engaged the front files of Kunishi's force, but were put to

flight, and the latter reached the Hamagnri Gate, through

which Kijima a men had already forced their way into the

Palace enclosure. Here they vigorously attacked the

Aidzu troops, and had nearly defeated them, when the
Satsuma forces arrived on the spot, and took them in
flank. The Choshiu men were shaken, and forced out of
the Hamaguri gate, on which Kijima rallied his men and
renewed the fight with such desperation that he retrieved
this temporary check. Kunishi's men then endeavoured
to combine their with those of Kijiina's men, but
efforts
one Nire, a Satsuma Colonel, falling on his rear with two
hundred men, called his attention in another direction, and
the Shitotsnhashi troops, plucking up courage, returned
to the fight. The Choshiu men were thus caught between
two fires, and were at last put to flight.
 49

The Chdshiu force at Yamazaki, consisting of five

hundred men under the command of Kuzaka Gisuke,
Iriye Kuiclii and Maki Idzumi no kami, arrived later
than the Saga division, and seized the Palace of Takadzu-

kasa, where the troops of Echizen, Hikone and Kuwana

attacked them without success. They then advanced,
and were just ahout to enter the Imperial Garden when
the Satsuma and Aidzu troops arrived in hot haste, and
assisted the three former clans in defending it. The bul-

lets of the contending forces fell as thick as hail, and the

fight lasted during four hours, at the end of which the
Takadzukasa Palace was burnt and the Choshiu forces

were defeated with great slaughter. Kusaka and his

colleagues were killed, while the survivors took to flight.
In the defeat of the Saga division, Kijima, one of its

best officers, received a bullet wound. He fell from his

horse and expired. Kunishi barely escaped with his life.

The Fushimi division had started thence in the middle

of the night to attack the capital. The Hikone troops

attempted to bar their passage, but were attacked and
forced to retreat. Profit ting by this success the Choshiu
men advanced in drums beating, but filling
a body wish
into an ambush of matchlock men which the Ogaki

colonel Obara Nihei had planted by the side of the road,

were put to flight with many killed and wounded. Their
commander Fnkubara Echigo barely escaped with his life.

In this way the three divisions were prevented from

effecting a junction in the city, the greater part of which
was consumed by the conflagration which accompanied the
conflict. Many of the residences of the kuges and
(hi'nuios were burnt, and an unusual number of men were
killed and wounded on both sides, so that the roads were
strewn with dead bodies. When the Yamazaki division
of the Choshiu force started, the commander Masuda was
left behind with a hundred men to act as a reserve, and
upon the main body being defeated, Maki Idzumi no
 50

kami escaped back to inform Masuda and his men of the

result. He made Masuda take to flight, preferring
himself to die there. Later on when the Satsuma troops
who were sent in pursuit arrived at Saga they did not
find a single Choshiu soldier, and returned to Kioto after
having burnt the quarters which had been occupied by the
Choshiu troops.
On the following day the Aidzu and Kuwana troops
attacked Yamazaki. Maki Idzumi no kami and the fifty
men with him fought desperately for a while, and then
perished by their own hands, after having set fire to their
quarters. On the 29th August the Baku fa expressed
its thanks to all the clans which had contributed to the

victory, and obtained an increase of

rank from the Mikado
for the various daimios who had headed them. Adzumi
Goro, flirano Jird and others who had been imprisoned
for their share in the outbreaks at Gojo in Yamato and
Ikuno in Tamba were decapitated, and their heads were

exposed in public.

During the same month Ikeda Chikugo no kami and

the other members of his Embassy returned from Europe.

They had been sent in the previous year on a mission to

the various countries bearing the order for the closing of
the ports, and arriving first in France proceeded to ex-

plain the object with which they were sent. The French
rejected their proposals aud refused an answer. The eyes
of Ikeda and his companions were opened by the high
state of material and moral prosperity which surrounded
them, and they returned without proceeding any further
on their mission, to report the failure of their attempts at

persuasion. The Bakufu reprimanded them for

having
disgraced their functions, and reducing their incomes,
forced them to retire into private life.
In the 8th month (September), the Bakufu begged the

Imperial Court to deprive the Mori family and its

branches of their titles, in consequence of the attack made
 51

by the Chdshiu 45
upon the Palace, and issued an
clan
order to all the other clans to march to the chastisement
of the two provinces of Nagato and Suwd. Owari Dai-
nagon was appointed commander-in-chief, while to the
troops of Satsnma and twenty other clans were allotted
the points against which they were to move. With the

object also of making preparations for the Shogun to take

the field in person, the hatamoto (vassals of the Shdgun-

ate, not being daimlo) were brigaded, and orders were

given to lay in stores of provisions along the line of
march.
Before this the foreign representatives at Yokohama
had been holding daily councils of war with the object of
despatching their ships against Choshiu, and on hearing
of the orders issued by the Bakufn, determined to be first
in the field. They therefore attacked Akamagaseki (or
Shiraonoseki) in Chdshiu with eighteen vessels of war
on the 5th September, and fired against the shore. The
shore replied by firing at the ships. Cannon balls flew
about everywhere, and the smoke of the guns, covered the
surface of lie sea,
t until sunset caused both parties to

withdraw.
On the following day the ships returned and opened a

heavy on the batteries, from which the gunners were

fire

compelled to withdraw. The foreigners then landed,

and occupying the hills on the 7th harassed our troops.
Our men fought with enthusiastic bravery in several en-

counters, with varied success, but their ammunition be-

ing exhausted they had no resource left but to propose a
cessation of hostilities. The foreigners found fault with
their conduct in the previous year, but the Choshiu army
produced certified copies of. the orders which they had
received from the Imperial Court and from the Shogun,
upon which peace was restored. The foreigners then

(45) Choshiu is the Chinese name for Nagato, by which both that
province and the dahalo of Hagi in Nagato are usually designated.
 62

came to Yokohama and made demands on the Bakufu,

" We
saying :
expect get an indemnity of three
to
" million dollars for this business. We will be
guided by
"your decision whether we shall go back to Choshiu and
" take or whether the Japanese Government will
it,

"undertake to receive it and give it to ns." The Bakufu

replied :
—" Our Government will take it from Choshiu
" and it to the nationalities interested." This settle-
give
ment having been arrived at, the foreigners pressed every

day for paymeut of the indemnity, and the Bakufu was at

its wit's end.

At the same time the troops of the Bakufu and of Ichi-

kawa were daily attacking Tsukuba yama. Fujita and
his friends fought with fierce desperation, but from the
want of discipline among the men, and the contradictory
orders given, many chances were thrown away, while the
forces of the Bakufu attacked them vigorously and ren-
dered their position less hopeful every day.
Ichikawa and his party gradually acquired greater

power, owing to the support given to

them by the
Bakufu. They hated the Righteous Party, whose members
they either placed in confinement or dismissed from office.
The Righteous Party, unable to endure this persecution,
determined to proceed to Yedo and complain to their
prince. With this object three hundred men quitted
their homes and reached Koganei in Shimosa, where
entry into Yedo was refused to them by the Bakufu,
which ordered their prince to pacify them. At this
moment Takeda Iga happened to be in Yedo, and begged
leave to undertake the service of pacifying the two parties,
and the Prince, knowing that Takeda had been regarded
with much favour by the ex-Chiunagon, on account of his

belonging to the Righteous Party, requested permission

from the Bakufu to send him. The Bakufu therefore
despatched Matsudaira 6i no kami, the head of a cadet
family of Mito, aud attached Takeda Iga to him. Oi no
 53

kami, Takeda and his companions arrived in Mito at the

head of the Koganei men on the 10th September, and
were about to enter the Castle, where Iehikawa and his

friends refused to admit them, on the ground that they

belonged to other Party, and having posted their
the

troops all about (he neighbourhood, waited to see how

Takeda would act. Takeda tried to repulse them iu

order to proceed on his way, whereupon the matchlock-

men of the Wicked Party opened lire upon him iu con-
cert, throwing his men into confusion ;
and following up
their advantage, forced him to retreat.. He was compel-
led therefore to carry off Oi no kaufi and flee to Iso-no-

hama, where after holding a council of war, he attacked

the Wicked Party at Iwafuue yama on the 12th. Kawa-
kami, the commander of the Wicked Party, was killed,
together with ten of his men, and the remainder of the
force retreated from Iwafune yama to the port of Naka.
Takeda and his friends crossed the river on the 16th
and advanced against Naka, which they took and occupied
after exchanging a few shots with the enemy. Iehikawa
revenged himself by denouncing Takeda and his friends
as criminals,and complained to the Bakufu, after which
he arrested and threw into prison the wives and children
of Takeda's followers who were in the town. He then at-
tacked Takeda himself, but the troops of the latter fought
with great courage, and the losses were equal on either side.

Fnjita and his followers at Tsukuba yama became

aware of what had taken place, and proposed to unite
their efforts with those of Takeda Iga in order to chastise
the Wicked Party. There were a number of ramus from
various provinces among them, who declared as they had
taken up arms simply in order to expel the barbarians,

they saw no reason why they should concern themselves

about the private feuds of the two parties, and they fled
from Tsukuba yama in a body. This afforded an oppor-

tunity to the Bakufu to kill more than half of them, and

 54

Fujita, finding that somany of his men had deserted,

joined Takeda Naka in the same month with
at the three
hundred men who still remained to him.

When Fnjita and his friends

first commenced opera-

tions, Takeda had regretted the rash and hasty manner in

which had been done, and had hoped to arrange matters.
it

When, therefore, Ichikawa expelled the Righteous Party

from the Castle, he proceeded to Mito under the nominal

leadership of Matsudaira Oj no kami, with the object

of attempting a solution of the difficulties which had

arisen, but Ichikawa resisted him by arms and prevented

his entering the Castle. He had consequently occupied
the port of Naka and fought eveiy day with Ichikawa,
until the latter endeavoured to split up his force
by luring
awny Oi no kami with fine words. Oi no kami was about
to go and join him, when Takeda remonstrated, saying :

" The enemy refuses to admit us, and invites your Lord-
" His intentions cannot be trusted, and I
ship alone.
"
secretly entertain fears for your Lordship's safety." Oi
no kami refused to give way to the efforts made to detain

him, and proceeded to the town of Mito with a small num-

ber of men. Ichikawa reproached him, saying " Your :

" received to effect a

orders and be-
Lordship pacification,
" hold He then made
you are
!
league with rebels."
in

the prince commit suicide, by orders received from (he

Shogun, and continued to plot against Takeda. When

Takeda heard of what had occurred, he became indignant
and said :
" The traitorous scoundrel has done as I feared."
It was then that he accepted the adherence of Fnjita, with
whom he henceforth acted in concert, thus justifying the
accusations of Ichikawa and his friends. Upon this the

Bakufu despatched the Drilled Troops, under the command

of the Vice-Minister Tanuma Gemba no kami, to chastise

Takeda and his companions, and it also ordered the

clans of the vicinity, as well as Ichikawa, Asaiua and
their friends, to render him active aid.
 55

In the 10th month (October 31— November 28) the

troops under Takeda and Fujita issued repeatedly from

their fastnesses and attacked the forces of the Bakufu*
The soldiers of Torii Taniba no kami fought well, and
seriously impeded the operations of Takeda, whom the
Bakufu's army had now completely surrounded. To add
to his difficulties, the provisions began to run short, and
some ofhis men had secret communication with his en-

emies.The Bakufu therefore made an attack in force, and

Takeda, resolving to proceed to Kioto and make a com-
plaint upou the besieging force with five hun-
there, fell

dred men, which w ere all that remained to him, broke his
r

way through and reached Serata in Kodzuke. On the

night of the 11th December he by the darkness
profited
to cross the Tone gawa, and found his way on to
the Nakasendd. The Bakufu despatched other troops
in pursuit and issued orders to all the clans dwelling

along the road to chastise him. As he entered the

town of Takasaki in the province of Kodzuke, the local
troops turned out to attack him, bat were unsuccessful
lie then reached the province of Shinano, where he made
a vigorous attack on the troops of Matsudaira Tamba
no kami and Snwa Inaba no kami, who held the Wada
pass, and putting them to flight eventually got iuto Mino.

Having crossed the Kiso gawa at Ota, he bivouacked at

Kaud, and was preparing to march west and enter Kioto,
when the troops of Hikone and Ogaki took up a strong
position to his front and barred the road. This forced him
to ehange his route, and in the 12th month [I860] (Dec.
29 —Jan. 26) he crossed over the Haiboshi pass into the
neighbourhood of Ono in Echizen. The Kaga troops
occupied a stockade at Kaidzu in the province of Omi, and
Takeda Iga despatched a messenger thither to say that he
and companions had been slandered by Ichikawa and
his

others of the Yuki party, their fellow clansmen, and that

having incurred the displeasure of the Bakufu, they

 56

wished to find shelter with Shitotsubashi, a relation of

their prince, and lay the whole matter before him. This
message was also embodied in a letter, asking for permis-
sion to pass through Kaidzn, but the Kaga troops refused.
Shitotsubashi Chiunngon, who was at Kioto, had heard
of the approach of Takeda and his followers, and ha.ving
applied to the Imperial Court for leave to chastise (hem,
marched at the head of some soldiers in the direction of

Kaidzn, accompanied by the troops of Odawara, Kuwana,

Aidzu, Chikuzen and several other clans. Takeda Iga
addressed a letter to him, appealing for pily and consid-

eration, but the Chiunagon would not listen, and wished

on the contrary him in force, so as to crush him
to attack

completely. No resource remained but to seek shelter in

Kaga, where it was refused to them. Takeda then ad-

dressed a letter, saying: "We
are informed that your
"clan refuses to admit men who have earned the name of
" We have repeat-
rebels, and we bow to your decision.
" resisted the forces of the Bakufu on account of
edly
"certain private disputes in our single clan; we have
"broken the august laws of the Empire and cannot atone
" for our offences. We do not
hope to preserve our lives,
" and for that reason we submit to
you in a body but al- ;

though we do not expect to live, there is one thing

" which still compels us to spend our breath in talking ;

"it is the vile name of '

rebels' which has beeu applied
"to us. This is what Ave cannot bear with equanimity.
" We humbly pray you to take these our humble senti-
" ments into consideration." In this
way they asked that
the stigma of rebellion might be removed. The Kaga
clan forwarded the letter to the Bakufu, which placed
Takeda and his followers in the custody of the local clans.

Shitotsubashi then returned to Kioto. The Bakufu con-

fiscated the lands of Matsudaira 6i no kami and im-

prisoned his family in one of- his yashllci.

In the follow-
Four
ing mouth Takeda and the rest were all decapitated,
 57

years later the Takeda Party succeeded taking the livesin

of Jchikawa and his associates, which event at last put an

cntH 6 to the dissension of the Righteous and Wicked Par-
ties.

In the antnmn of this year certain ratlins assassinated

Sakuma Shozan in a street at Kioto. Shozan had in the

year 1854 been condemned confinement by the au-

to

thorities of his own clan for complicity in the crime for

winch Yoshida Shoiu was punished, but having been sub-

sequently pardoned, was at this moment residing in the
capital. He was
constantly employed on business be-
tween the Court and the Bakufu, and was a strenuous
advocate for the opening of the country to foreign-
ers. He was constantly to be seen mounted on
horseback with a saddle and bridle of foreign make,
and the hatred which he thus excited in the breasts of

those whose object was to expel the barbarians was the

cause of the event just mentioned. Common report attri-
buted his murder to some Higo men.
In the same month the ex-Dainagon of Owari, com-
mander-in-chief of the forces sent to chastise Choshin,
took up his quarters at Hiroshima in the west of Geishiu.
He demanded explanations from the House of Mori, and
met with an offer of complete submission. Some time be-

fore this, those samurai of the clan who had abstained

from taking part in the attack on Kioto had taken council
together, and had either condemned to domiciliary confine-
nient or to imprisonment Mas u da, Fukubara, Kunishi and
all those who had shared in the government of the clan

at the time of the attack. They had also confined the

prince and his son in a temple, thereby offending the

general body of their fellow-clansmen,

who stigmatized
the authors of these measures as the Vulgar View Party
(Zokuron-to). The Vulgar View Party retorted by arrest-

ee) The author did not foresee that the feud would break out
again in the end of 1872. .
 58

the ex-
ing their traducers and effectually put a stop to
pression of such opinions.
Such being the condition of affairs "when the invading

army appeared on the frontier, the Vulgar View Party

destroyed the fences and gates of the batteries placed at
the most important strategical points, and barred the
doors of every house in the town. They then invited in
the officials of the Bakufu, decapitated the three Karo
and thirteen other prisoners, and delivered up their heads
as an atonement for the offences they had been guilty of.

These proceedings struck fear into the inhabitants of the

town.

Owari, the Commander-in-chief, having received the

report of the Bakufu's officials, proceeded to pronounce sen-
tence on the Kttges remaining out of the seven who

had originally taken refuge iu Choshiu. Of the other

two, one had died there, while another had removed to a
neighbouring province. The five were placed in the cus-
todv of Satsuma, Chikuzen and Higo, and they were
forced to give guarantees of sincere contrition for the satis-
faction of the Bakufu. In the 1st month of the 1st year
of Kei-6 (Jan. 27 — Feb. 25) the army was withdrawn to

Ozaka, and rumours became current that the expedition

against Choshiu being over, the Sbogun would proceed iu

person to that city in order to determine the culprit's

punishment
During the same month Takasugi Shinsaku took up
arms in the territory of the clan, which again became the
theatre of commotion. When the Vulgar View Party
Karo in confinement they had
originally placed the three
also tried to arrest Shinsaku, who escaped by a miracle
and fled to Chikuzen. hearing that the three Karo
On
and other members of his party had been put to death, his
indignation was extreme. Having returned to Shimono-
seki with the intention of ousting the Vulgar View Party,

aud restoring the previous state of things, he despatched

 59

messengers to all parts to summon troops to his aid. So

far back as 1863, when the House of Mori began to plan
the expulsion of the barbarians, Shinsaku had arrived at
the conclusion that the luxurious samurai class was of no

practical value in the field, and he obtained permission

from the authorities of the clan to organize troops on a
new system. This consisted in breaking through the

prejudice which existed in favour of birth, in selecting

strong able-bodied men from the common people as well
as from the sainurai class, and in fixing the pay of the
battalions which he thus formed at a high rate. The
strictest discipline was enforced, and even the most
ruffianlyvagabonds willingly obeyed him. His troops
were bold and valiant in fight, and went by the name of
Kiheitai, or the "Irregular Troops." In the execution of
these measures he was aided chiefly by Iriye Kuichi and
Kuzaka Gisuke, and the old abuses were rapidly reformed.
The whole clan caught the infection, and large numbers
enrolling themselves, raised Shinsaku, Kuzaka and Iriye to
the command. Kuzaka and Iriye, however, had fallen at
Kioto, and when Shinsaku fled to Chikuzen the men dis-

persed into hiding. No sooner did they hear of his pro-

clamation than five hundred men came flocking to join
him. Having taken counsel with Ota Ichinoshin, Yama-
gata Kiosuke and others, Shinsaku attacked the govern-
ment offices at Shimonoseki, seized all the ammunition
he could find, and ordered the rich merchants of the town
to supply him with money. Having collected a large
quantity of provisions and arms, he next prepared to attack
the castle of Hagi at the head of his troops.

The Vulgar View Party were terribly alarmed, and re-

ported the outbreak of the insurrection to the Bakufn, and
carrying the prince and his son into the castle, sent orders
throughout the two provinces for the speedy chastisement
of the rebels. The common people were also forbidden to
sell food or clothing to the Irregular Troops, and finally a
 60

Karo named Awaya took command of the forces and

marched to attack (hem. The Irregular Troops anticipat-
ed him, and inflicted a severe defeat upon the Vulgar
View Parly, who thereupon brought more men into the

field, and continued the fight for three whole days, hut

being finally worsted, were compelled to retreat and defend

the castle of Hagi. Here they w ere immediately surround-
ed by the victorious Irregulars, who were on the point, of

taking the plaee by storm, when peace was arranged

through the medium of a third party. Takasugi and his

friends decapitated the chiefs of the Vulgar View Tarty

and pilloried their heads in the camp. From this moment
dissension ceased, and the whole clan worked for one com-
mon object. Takasugi and his friends carried off the
prince and his son to Yamaguohi in Suwo, where extensive
fortifications bad been constructed in the year when the

expulsion of the barbarians was first resolved upon, The

two priuces had been originally removed to this strong-
bold, but after the attack on Kioto the Vulgar View Party
had placed them in a temple at Hagi, and they were now
carried back again.

Having thus far been successful, Takasngi and his

friends took counsel. It was evident that the objects

aimed by the Bakufu in attempting to punish the clan
at

would not be satisfied by the execution of the three Karo,

and besides it was certain to make a fresh attack as soon

as it The
became acquainted with the recent proceedings.
only course make a determined resistance, and
left w as
r
to

if necessary, by laying down their lives, to soothe the

souls of those who had preceded them in death. These

ideas being communicated to their followers were received
with universal enthusiasm.

In the fight at Kioto it was the valour of the Satsuma

clan which led to the defeat of the Choshiu men, a large
number of whom had fallen into its hands. But the
Satsuma men now began to regret the course which they
 61

had taken on that occasion. In face of passing events,

idly to fightamongst themselves, and to wrangle over

petty matters was a bad policy fur the Japanese. It

seemed much better that the Government of the country

should be conducted from one centre, and that the nation
should be united for the defence of the empire. They
therefore treated the prisoners with great kindness, and

loading them with presents, sent them back to Choshiu.

When the occurrences just related took place, Saigo Kiohi-
nosuke sent a secret messenger to Choshiu to negotiate a
common understanding between the two clans. The
Choshiu men deliberated together; they felt that of course

victory could not be hoped for in a contest in which all

the available forces of the Empire were ranged against an
isolated fortress, but that all they could expect was, when
their strength was finally exhausted, to perish with their
household gods. If in a critical moment like this, when
their existence hung but by a hair, they were to enter

iuto relations with another clan, posterity would condemn

them as cowards. Some, who acknowledged the justice
of these arguments, were yet of opinion that to reject such
a magnanimous oiler as that of the Satsuma clan might
seem ungracious. Besides it was not impossible that
with such aid they might be enabled to preserve their
own clan from destruction. It happened that a Tosa man,
named Sakamoto Rio ma, who was in Choshiu at this mo-
ment, supported these views, and his advice being fol-

lowed, the enmity of the two clans was henceforth at an

end.

Saigo had spent the time between 1854 and 1859 in

Kioto and Ozaka. Being much dissatisfied with the course
things were taking, and possessing definite views £>f his

own, he gradually formed a party, but when Ii Ktunon no

kaini came into power he returned to his native proviuce.
During his residence in Kioto he had become intimate
with a bouzc of the monastery called Jojiu-Iu, named Gas-
 62

sh6\ a man of patriotic viejys. In the year 1858, when all

1he men of spirit in various country were

parts of the
arrested, Gassho was also captured, but succeeded in
making his escape and fled to Satsuma, where he found
concealment in Saigo's house. Having explained to the

latter the state of things at Kioto, he said "

Seeing that :

matters have come to this pass, and that we shall all be killed,
rather than die by the hand of some traitor, it is better to

jump into the sea and make an end of ourselves." Saigo

agreeing, they went secretly by night and threw themselves
into the sea. Fortunately it was a moonlight night and a
boat was just passing the spot. The boatmen, seeing
what had occurred, saved them, and finding both to be per-

fectly insensible, applied all the remedies in their power.

Saigo was recalled to life with great difficulty, but Gas-

sho was a corpse. 47 When the Satsuma authorities heard
of this they exiled Saigo to Oshima, fearing the comments
of the Bakufn. Before this Saigo had already been twice
banished to Oshima for some reason or another, and he
now changed his name to Oshima Sanyemon, in allusion to

his having visited that island three times. As a special

favour he was afterwards allowed by the authorities of
the clan to return home, and at the time when he sent the

envoy Choshiu he appears to have had a great share

to in

the direction of affairs in Satsuma.

The Court and the Baknfu were as yet ignorant that
Satsuma and Choshiu had entered into relations, and the
former, hearing of the outbreak in Choshiu, sent repeated
orders to the Shogun to proceed to Kioto. In the 4th
—
month (April 25 May 24) the Shogun again proclaimed
his intention of chastising Choshiu throughout the empire,
and the points where the two provinces of Nagato and
Suwo were to be attacked were definitely mapped out.
(45) This account is not quite correct. SaigO and the bonze
were being conveyed across the bay from Kagoshima to Sakura-
jima in a boat under guard, and profitting by the inattention of
their conductors jumped overboard. They were picked up by the
boatmen, but the bonze was saved last.
 63

The Shogun was himself to take the field at the head of

and the troops were frequently exercised
all his vassals,

before him on the parade ground which had been formed

at Komabagahara (near Yedo).
The ex-Dainagon of Owari had written a letter in the
—
5th month (May 25 June 22), to the Shogun, as soon as
he had heard of the affair, saying " Last —
year I report-
:

" ed that Choshiu had made atonement

by inflicting capit-
" al
punishment on his chief retainers, and yet your High-
" ness is
preparing to take the field in person against him .

" I confess I see no

adequate reason for this course, for if
"he was justly accused of any crime, the whole Empire
" would declare that he
ought to be chastised, and would
" march It is not right wantonly to take
against him.
u arms without manifest cause. Besides the very exist-
up f-
" ence of the
Tokugawa family depends on the result, and I
"
pray your Highness therefore to give this matter your
u consideration before to act." The
profoundest proceeding
Shogun was deaf to these remonstrances. Katsu Awa no
kami also maintained that there was no just cause for

going to war, to the great displeasure of the Shogun's

ministers, who
suspected him of being in Choshiu's in-

terest, and dismissed him from office.

In the intercalary 5th month (June 23 July 22) the
—
Shogun eventually started from Yedo by the Tokaido,
and had an audience of the Mikado on the day following
his arrival at Kioto. He then proceeded at once to

Ozaka. The troops of the dependent daimios and the ha-

tamotos advanced by the Tokaido about the same time,
but theirmarch was greatly impede.! by the swollen con-
dition of the rivers consequent upon the heavy rains
which had fallen. The post-towns were crowded with
troops, and the last who left Yedo did not arrive in

Ozaka until fifty-three days after the Shogun.

In the 6th month (November 18 — December 17) 48 the

(48) The dates given are all incorrect. The English, French and
 64

foreign representatives resident at Yokohama prepared to

proceed 6zaka with the object of presenting a request

to

to the Shogun. The Ministers, who were alarmed at the

prospect of their presenting themselves in the vicinity of
the Imperial capital, endeavoured to dissuade them, but,
the representatives declined to listen, and finally arrived
at Tliogo, whence they forwarded their letter. Shitotsu-

hashi Chiunagon, Aidzu Chiujo, Ogasawara .

Jijiu and
others thereupon addressed a joint memorial to the Court,
" The
saying : foreigners have come up to the Home
"Provinces to request that your Majesty will signify

"your consent to the Treaties and to demand the opening

"of Hiogo. They say that they have come to arrange
" these matters
directly with Your Majesty, as the Bakufu
" is unable to settle them. Your servants will do all in their
"
power to create delays, but unless the Imperial consent
"to the Treaties is given, the foreigners will not quit the
"Inland Sea. If we were lightly to use force against
" we might be
them, victorious for the moment, but a
"
tiny piece of territory like this could not long withstand
" the combined armies of the universe. We are not so
"much concerned for the preservation of the Bakufu aa
" for the If the result be what
security of the throne.
" we must
anticipate, your people will be plunged into
" the
depths of misery. Your Majesty's sacred wish of
"
protecting and succouring your subjects will be render-
" ed
unavailing and the Bakufu will be unable to fulfil
" its
mission, which is to govern the country happily.
" Your servants cannot find heart to
obey Your Majesty's
Dutch squadrons left Yokohama On Nov. 1, carrying the English,
French and Dutch Ministers and the American Charge d'AIFaires, and
arrived at Hiogo on the 4th. Negotiations were commenced on the
following day, and were terminated on the 24th by a letter from the
ministers of the Shogun, in which they enclosed a copy of the decree
announcing the Mikado's general consent to the Treaties. With
duplicity they omitted from this copy the postcript in
characteristic
which the opening of Hiogo was forbidden and a revision of the
Treaties also commanded. As there is no article in the Japanese
language the omission of these two conditions made it appear that
the Mikado had given his consent to the Treaties as they then stood,
which was not his intention.
 65

" order to break off

foreign relations, and humbly pray
" that Your Majesty, deigning to take these things into

"consideration, will at once give your consent." The

Court debated over the matter, and after having carefully
weighed the political stale, sent the two Tenso Asnkai
and Nonomiya to communicate His Majesty's consent to
the Bakufn on the 30th November, ordering it at the
same time to revise the hitherto existing Treaties. At
the same time the opening of the port of Iliogo was pro-
hibited. It is said that this last order was given because

the Satsnma clan had shortly before addressed a memorial

Court remonstrating against the opening of Hiogo.
to the

From the time when the Bakufu first concluded Treaties

in 1855 the whole country had been constantly discussing
the matter with great eagerness, but the Imperial consent
'

was now obtained for the first time.

The Shogun, who felt severely the weight of domestic

and foreign affairs, about this time sent in a memorial to
the Mikado praying for leave to resign his office to Shitot-

suhashi Chiunagon, on the ground of ill-health. The

Imperial Court expressed great sympathy for him, but
refused his request, and urged him to settle the Choshiu
affair without delay.
1866. In the 12th month (Jan. 17— Feb. 14) the
Bakufu sent orders for a Choshiu Karo to come up to

Ozaka, and Shishido Bingo no suke came in obedience to

the summons as far as Hiroshima in Geishiu, where the
Bakufu reproached him with the equivocal appearance
which the late conduct of the House of Mori presented.
Bingo no suke gave full explanations, which nevertheless
did not remove the suspicions of the Bakufu officials, who
arrested him and placed him in the custody of the prince
of Geishiu. The Bakufu about this time despatched the
Drilled Troops and the troops of the various clans to the
western frontier of Geishiu, with the ohject of taking mea-
sures against Choshiu, and they remained there in their

quarters without moving until the beginning of spring.

 In the 4th month (May 15—June 12) a report coming
to the Chdshiu troops quartered in the south of Suwo that
the eastern forces were lying inactive in Geishiu, a hundred
and fifly men, disregarding orders, secretly left Chdshiu,

and seized Kurashiki in Bitcliiu, but the Bakufu's men in

Geishiu, hastening to the spot, attacked the band at
Abekawa in the vicinity and put it to flight..

Orders had previously been issued by the Bakufu to all

the clans, directing them to bring their troops into the

field, but the Satsuma clan now sent in a memorial, pro-

testing against the injustice of the war, and declining to

furnish its quota.
The Samurai of the Choshiu clan had sent a letter to
" Since the
Geishiu, saying :
prince and his sou gave
" undoubted
proofs of contrition in the winter of the
"
year before last all the clans have been expecting to
"see the Bakufu behave with leniency towards them,
" but This
troops are daily arriving iu your territory.
" causes
great anxiety and excitement throughout our
"clan, and a hundred and fifty men who were encamped
" in the southern
part of the territory secretly deserted
"on the 16th of May, with arms in their hands, and we
" do not know what has become of
them, except that
" went sea. It not
they away by is impossible that,
"
believing false rumours, they may commit violent
"acts in a fit of desperation, for which the clan
" would be held We
responsible. beg yon, therefore, to
"arrest them, should they enter the limits of your juris-
" diction. Please at the same time to communicate the

"contents of this letter to the Bakufu." Hereupon the

Bakufu at last issued i(s commands to the House of Mori,
saying: "Although you have shown evidence of a sub-
" missive
temper by inflicting capital punishment on your
" Karos and their
advisers, and by confining yourselves
" within the walls of a
monastery, you must be held re-
sponsible for having lost the art of ruling your retain-
 67

" ers. Permission has therefore been obtained from the

" three additional penalties on
Imperial Court to infliet

"yon, namely, the forfeiture of one hundred thousand

" JcoJcu of land, the perpetual confinement of the chief of
" (he clan and his
son, leaving the succession to your eldest

"grandson, and the extinction of the families of the three

" Karos." A day was fixed for the answer to be sent in.
The indignation of the clan knew no bounds. It, was
resolved to await the attack of the Bakufu and to try the
issue of a resort toarms, and they purposely delayed
answering in order to gain more time for their prepara-
tions.

The Bakufu had established its headquarters at Hiro-

shima in
Geishiu, under the prince of Kishiu, Commander-

in-Chief, and Ogasawara Iki no kami, Lieut. General of

the forces, who issued their orders to the other divisions
from this place. After waiting thirty days, and finding
that no answer came, they decided that the judgment had
been treated with contempt, and applied to the Imperial
Court for leave to attack. The Imperial Court in reply
bade them do their duty with all speed.
In the 6th month (July 12
— Aug. 9) therefore, the
Bakufu at last sent troops to attack Nagalo and Suwo on
all sides. The drilled troops, in conjunction with the
troops of Kishiu, Iiikone, Takata and a naval division,
advanced on the Geishiu side. The troops of Tottori,

Matsue, Hamada, Fukuyama and someofKishin advanced

by way of Ivvami (or Sekishiu). Those of Higo, Yana-
gawa and Kokura, with another naval division were to

act from Buzen (on the opposite side of the Shimonoseki

while a detachment of the drilled troops and the
Strait),

Matsuyama troops attacked the island of Oshima.

On the 13th July Ogasawara Iki no kami proceeded to

Kokura to direct the operations of the Buzen column.

On the 19th Kduo Toda and some others arrived at
Oshima with a force composed of fifteen hundred infantry
 68

and the Matsuyama troops, all embarked in large vessels,

and bombarded the shore, setting fire to the villages. The
Choshiu forces not replying, the eastern troops landed, at-

tacked the Choshin barracks on the morning of the 23rd,

and took them by assault. Taknsugi Shinsakn and Yama-
gata Kiosuke, commanding in Choshin, on hearing of the
attack, despatched fighting the eastern
vessels against

troops, and the losses were about equal on either side.

On the 26th the Choshin forces invited an encounter

by sending out a small body of men, who being attacked
by the eastern troops, took to flight, and led them, flushed
with victory, into the midst, of an ambuscade. They
were speedily routed, and throwing away their arras,
took refuge on board the ships. Sakuma Ikkaku, a Matsu-
yama leader, was killed on this occasion. At midnight
the Easterners collected their defeated men, and returned
to Geishiu. The Choshiu men laughed scornfully at the
cowardice of the eastern troops, and said they were not
worth contending with.
The Geishiu column advanced by sea and land, and the

vangnnrd, composed of Hikone and Takata troops pre-

pared to cross the frontier. It had been resolved on the
Choshiu side to anticipate the attack, and, accordingly,
Ota Ichinoshin and Ichikawa Kogoro, at the head of eight
hundred men, quietly crossed the upper waters of the
Osegawa, and attacked the eastern army in the rear,
while at the same time they despatched another detach-
ment to engage its vanguard. The battle thus began in
front and rear at the same moment, and the eastern army
after suffering a severe defeat, fled, the men throwing
away their muskets and abandoning their artillery. The
Choshiu men followed up their victory by entering the
Geishiu territory, where they occupied Otake Ogata and
Kuwa having Shijiuhassaka between themselves and the
enemy, who retreated and encamped at Ono.
The eastern forces in Iwami had fixed on a day for
 69

making an attack by several roads, when the Choshiu

commanders Inouye Ban da and Omura Masujiro made an
irruption into the Hamada territory at tlie head of twelve
hundred men. The Matsue and Hamada troops had
taken np a position on Mounts Ilibari and Taema, where

they resisted the attack, but the Choshiu troops made a

and encamped at the foot of the hil's.
circuit to their rear

The Matsue men then ascended to the summit, and poured

down such a fire that the Choshiu leaders were put to

flight, but again putting their men

in motion, they climbed

mount Taema, and attacked the Hamada camp with

skirmishers. The Hamada troops being unable to with-
stand the assault, abandoned the place and fled. Having
thus obtained possession of Mount Taema, they took the
Matsue troops on Mount Hibari in flank, who after a
vigorous, but ineffectual resistance were compelled to

retreat to the town of Hamada.

At this moment another composed of Hamada
division,
and Fukuyama troops, about sixteen hundred in number,
was lying at Masuda. On the 28th July a thousand Cho-
shiu men, taking advantage of the morning mist, surprised
it iu Trent and rear, and routed it most effectually. Yama-
moto Hanya, a Hamada leader, fell on this occasion. The
Choshiu forces retook Masuda, seized all the provisions

inthe place, crossed the river Sufugawa and attacked the

town of Hamada. The troops of Kishiu, Matsue, Fukuyama,
Hamada, and other clans, who were stationed in the

vicinity, offered a vigorous resistance,

but were thrown
into disorder after several skirmishes, losing au officer of

rank named Mieda Giobu.

The Choshiu troops attacked Hamada on the following
day, and the garrison, knowing their own inability to re-
sist, set fire to the place and retreated. The Prince and
his family fled to Idzumo by sea, and the whole of the
eastern forces having retired into Geishiu, the Choshiu

men advanced and seized the government building of the

 70

collectorate of Omori With ibis operation the subjuga-

tion of the province of Iwami by the arms of Cbosbiu

was completed.
The commander of the Kokura division also prepared
about this time to attack Sliimonoseki, whereupon Taka-

sugi, Yamagata and other Cbosbiu leaders gave orders

for three large vessels to attack Tanoura (on the south
and a party having been landed, an
side of the strait),

engagement took place with thirteen hundred picked Ko-

kura loops commanded by Shimamura Shima.
t The
Cbosbiu men maintained the struggle from eight o'clock
in the morning until four in the afternoon, but getting
the worst of it, burnt the village and retired, carrying off
the arms they had found there.

Shortly before this a French man-of-war had called at

Sliimonoseki on its way from Yokohama to Nagasaki to
inform the Cbosbiu people that their nation had entered
into an alliance with the Japainse Government, and that

if Cb6shiu refused to obey the orders of the latter, they,

the French, would be compelled to assist their ally. They
therefore recommended Cbosbiu to submit. They also

gave notice that they would return from Nagasaki in leu

days for an answer. Having delivered a letter to this

effect the vessel proceeded on its

voyage.
The Cbosbiu men deliberated, saying: "Why should
u we
accept dictation from foreign countries in our inter-
u nal affairs ? We had better proceed to take active mea-
sures before the Frenchmen arrive." They therefore

ravaged the domain of Kokura with fire, and when the

French came a second time, and reproached them, they re-
plied "The Bakufu has ravaged the island of Oshlma
:

" which
belongs to us, and has burnt the villages, killing
" all the innocent inhabitants.
Besides, the Kokura clan
"has for a long time not acted as neighbours should.
"
Further^ the eastern army is stationed in their
territory,
"and is
ready to attack us at any moment. What obliga-
 71

" tion down

compels OS to sit quietly and await its onset?"
It happened that an English vessel turned up at this
moment, and the commander having effected a reconcilia-
tion by his good offices, the Frenchmen at last departed.
It was said that they had been to Nagasaki on a secret
errand for the Bakufu.

On the 30th of July, the Drilled Troops and the troops

of Ogaki and Kishiu being encamped at 6no, the Choshiu

troops advanced over Shijiuhassaka in a direct line, at six

o'clock in themorning and from Matsugahara against the
enemy's flank, and profiting by the mist surprised 6no.
The eastern forces defended themselves vigorously, and
the bullets fell as thick as hail. About ten o'clock the
Ghosh in troops were defeated and forced to retreat, with
very heavy losses, to Kuwa, where they halted.
Before dawn on the 5th of August the Choshiu forces

again crossed Shijiuhassaka and attacked the Eastern

camp. The Easterners bombarded their rear with their
men-of-war, and scattered them. At this moment another
detachment was advancing from Takinokuchi by a bye-
path, and encountered an united volley fired by the East-
erners from the top of a hill, but attacking the hill with
skirmishers, who fired as they climbed, they succeeded
in dislodging them. Then bringing their field artil-

lery into play, they directed their fire upou the enemy
in the valley below, throwing him into great confusion.

Profiting by this success they made a direct attack on the

camp, where a fierce combat ensued. At noon, neither side

having gained the advantage, they discontinued firing, the
Easterners retreating to 6no. In this battle both sides

fought with desperation, and lost so many men in killed

and wounded that the were covered with corpses.

fields

Shortly before this, Matsudaira Iloki nokami, who had

replaced Ogasawara Iki no kami at Hiroshima, set Shishido

Bingo no suke at liberty and sent him back to Choshiu.
This act w as regarded by the Prince of Kishiu,
T
who was
commander-in-chief, as highly calculated to obstruct the
success of the operations, and in bis anger be reported it
to Ozaka. The Bakufu consequently summoned Hoki no
kami to Osaka, and reprimanded bim for bis bad conduct.
Hoki no kami endeavoured to
exculpate himself, spying :

" When your servant was at Hirosbimn, be heard that

"the Satsuma clan bad secret relations with the enemy,
"and that a large number of Choshiu men bidden in the
(i
three capital cities, were continually spying out the state
" of our affairs. We are unable therefore to conceal the
" facts from them. Besides the English were secretly
i:
selling ships and gunpowder to the enemy, who were
"gaining strength every day. With the object, of nnder-
"
mining their strength, your servant therefore took the
" resolution of
confiding his private opinion to Bingo no
" whom be sent back." sent in a letter to
suke, Having
this effect, he awaited his punishment.
On the 6th of September the Eastern forces again
arrived at Ono, and daily councils were held as to the means
of making a general attack on Choshiu by sea and land.

The Choshiu forces had at this moment seized Dairi

and Tonoura in Buzen, where they constructed batteries,

and then engaged the Higo and Kokura troops with three
hundred men, which was the whole number at their disposal.
The Kokura troops having been frequently defeated,
thirteenhundred Higo men engaged the enemy Akazaka at

and routed him, with a loss of one hundred men. When

the news was brought to Choshiu, fresh troops were des-

patched from Shimonoseki, and wiib this reinforcement

a series of engagements was fought, until at sunset both
combatants retired from the field, the Choshiu forces

encamping at Dairi.

Ogasawara Iki no kami having been unsuccessful on

several occasions, Higo and Yanagawa withdrew their

troops, and Iki no kami, hastily embarking in a man-of-

war, fled to Nagasaki. The Choshiu forces profited by
 73

the lucky turn affairs had taken to attack Kokura with

vigour, and its defendants being now entirely unsupported,

burnt the castle on the 9th of September, and retreated to
Kaharu.
The eastern army at 6no crossed the pass of Shijiuhas-
saka on the 10th September, and the land and sea forces

advancing in concert attacked the enemy in Kuwa and

Obata. The hitter came forth to give battle, and the
noise of artillery resounded on all sides, causing the hills

to roll down happened that rain had

into the valleys. It

been falling for several days, and the roads were every-
where so muddy that both combatants were much
impeded in their movements. After an engagement
which lasted from ten o'clock a.m. to four o'clock

p.m. the left wing of the eastern army was broken, and
the Choshiu men made an attack with all their available

force, to which the enemy succumbing, burnt the village

of Kuwa and retreated. At the same moment the troops
of Takata, Hikone and Kishiu were engaging the Choshiu
forces at Matsugahara and Kunai, but being defeated with

great loss, they had lo retreat to 6no.

On the 16th of September the Choshiu forces, divided
into three columns, surprised 6no under cover of a storm of
wind and rain, and invited a battle with their musketeers,

but the eastern army, which had not recovered from

the panic caused by its defeat of the previous day, did not

accept the challenge, and finally retreated to Hiroshima.

The Choshiu troops at once pursued it, and after taking
Ono advanced upon Hiroshima.
In this campaign the eastern troops wore armour and
surcoats, and their weapons were swords and spears, while
the Choshiu men, clad in light, short-sleeved garments,
and dispensing with their swords, were chiefly armed with
muskets. Their drill, too, was excellent. In fact the
Choshiu clan had gained a great deal of experience in the
year 1863, which they had turned to account in remodel-
 74 ,

ling their military system. This enabled them on each

occasion to beat the eastern army, which at no period was
able to gain a footing on the Choshiu territory.
Some time before this the Shogun fell ill, and a mes-
senger was sent to Ozaka by the Mikado to inquire after

his health.

The Imperial Court then ordered Shitotsubashi Chiu-

nagon to take the direction of the forces in the Shogun's

stead, and he was on the point of setting off for Geishiu
when the news of the last defeat arrived at Kioto and

Osaka. The clans who had joined the expedition at once

withdrew their troops, and the whole country was in a
state of alarm, not knowing what would come next. The
Shogun was agitated by constant anxiety, and on the 19th
September he died at Ozaka. Hereupon Shitotsubashi
Chiunagon began to regret his previous willingness to
obey the Mikado's will, and consequently sent in a memo-
rialin which he took blame to himself for having com-

mitted this error, and declined to proceed to Geishiu.

He also requested leave .to assemble all the Princes
who had supported him at Kioto, in order to deli-
berate on the state of affairs. The Imperial Court
having given its sanction to his proposal, the Chiu-
nagon himself drew up a circular, summoning the ex-
Daiuagon of Owari, Matsudaira Shimotsuke no kami
(eldest son of the Prince of Chikuzen), Matsudaira Kanso

(ex-Prince of Hizen), Matsudaira Yodo (ex-Prince of

Tosa), Date Totomi no kami (ex-Prince of Uwajitna in
lyo), Shimadzu Osumi no kami (father of the Prince of
Satsuma) and Nagaoka Rionoske (younger brother of the
Prince of Higo).

On the 3rd October the Imperial Court gave orders for

the operations against Choshiu to be discontinued, pre-

texting the death of the Shogun, which orders were noti-

fied to all the clansby the Bakufu.
In the course of the month the Imperial Court conferred
 75

the succession to the headship of the Tokugawa family

upon Shitotsubashi Chiunagon.
At this very time the Choshiu forces were encamped
before Hiroshima in Geishiu, and their garrison at Kokura

continually harassed the troops of that clan, the cause of

their hostility being the quarrel which had lasted since
first the Choshiu men began expel the barbarians.
to

The Kokura clan laid its griefs before the two clans of
Satsuma and Higo, who thereupon sent an envoy to Cho-
shiu to effect a reconciliation. The latter demanded an
oath in writing from the Kokura would lay
clan that they

down their arms, which was signed by the prince and all
his family. The Choshiu clan notified this to the garrison
in Buzen, and peace was restored.
In the course of the same month the Bakufu, recogniz-

ing the high estimation in which Katsu Awa nokami was

held by all the clans, sent him to Geishiu, to offer terms to
Choshiu and to withdraw the troops. He was received
inconference by Hirozawa Hioske and Inouye Bunda, and
communicated to them the will of the Mikado and the
orders of the Shogun. The Choshiu forces were ordered
to return home, but the men were angry and refused to
obey. The two commanders, unwilling to disregard the
Shogun's order and grateful for the courtesy of Awa no
ka,mi, succeeded in pacifying them, and they returned in

great triumph to their native province after five days

had elapsed.
The war was now over at last. During its continuance
the Bakufu had expended vast sums of money until its
treasuries were almost exhausted, and yet it was unable
to have its way with Choshiu. From this time onwards
the great clans neglected to obey the commands of the

Bakufu, and its power eventually decayed.

1867. — On the 6th of January 1867, the Imperial Court
offered the appointment of Shogun to Shitotsubashi Chiu-
nagon. He repeatedly declined it, but the Court, while
addressing Mm
most graciously, insisted on his acceptance
of it, and he found himself compelled at last to give way.

The Mikado's envoy then proceeded to the castle of Nijd

(at Kioto, not far from the Palace) and invested him with
the office.

Onthe 3rd of February the Emperor Komei Tenno

died, and was succeeded by the heir apparent, who is the

reigning sovereign.
In the early part of the year the Bakufu obtained some
Frenchmen to instruct the infantry, cavalry and artillery.
In the course of the Slimmer riots occurred anions; the

peasantry of Koshiu and Shinshiu, but the Bakufu des-

patched the drilled troops against them and order was
speedily restored.
In the autumn Enomoto Kamajiro and his companions
came back to Japan from Holland on board the Kalyo'
maru.
About the same time the Bakufu despatched Envoys to

Russia to treat about the boundary in Sagalien. In 1862

Takenoiichi Shimotsuke no kami and Matsudaira Ivvami
no kami had been previously sent thither to discuss the
same question. Tliey proposed ou that occasion to fix ou
the fiftieth parallel of latitude as the boundary, because it

marked the division between the tribes called Aino and

Smelenkur. Our officers were to proceed thither to

govern the natives, and a map was prepared in which the

respective territories were coloured red and green, the
fiftieth parallel of latitude lying between the two. The
" On what
Russians replied :
grounds do you call this your
u ? If we were to consult an impartial person he
territory
" would decide that the island
belonged to Manchuria.
"Besides, no Ainos are to be found north of the fortieth
U parallel, and you have quite disregarded the position of
" the tribes iu
your unjustifiable desire to take the fiftieth
" How is it possible for us to ac-
parallel as a boundary.

"cept this ? There is nothing in this island by which a

"boundary can be properly laid down, and under tbese
"circumstances, if
you upon laying one down, it
insist
" will
give rise to complications between the two powers.
" We are
naturally averse to having our frontier undefin-
" but we are averse to it on insuf-
ed, equally defining
" ficient
grounds, or on such as do not suit our conveni-
"ence. Let us, therefore, leave the matter as it is for
" the
present, permitting our respective subjects to occupy
" the island in
common, as was provisionally determined
"
by the treaty concluded with Japan at Shimoda. At
"some future day, when we have both examined the

"localities, we can confer again. But if you still find it

"absolutely necessary to settle

something, we will take

"AniwaBay (at the extreme south of Sagalien) as our

"boundary." Although Takenoiichi and his colleagues

perceived from the evasive nature of their arguments that
their design was to seize the whole island, they were
unable to refute the reasoning of the Russians because

they were insufficiently acquainted with the nature of the

locality.

An engagement having been entered into in writing to

the effect that the discussion should be renewed on the
basis of an examination of the localities, the envoys re-
turned to Japan, reported the evident desire of the Rus-
sians to make themselves possessors of the whole island,
and requested that some person who was well acquainted
with the geography of the island should be sent to nego-
tiate. The Bakufu, although desirous of despatching a
second mission, had so much on its hands during the
five years which followed that it was unable to carry
out its intention, and the Russians took advantage of
this long interval to form extensive settlements in Saga-
lien. When the Bakufu became aware of their proceed-

ings, it was highly alarmed, and forthwith despatched

Koide Tamato no kami (Governor of Hakodate) and
Ishikawa Kawachi no kami (a commissioner for foreign
 78

affairs).On arriving at St. Petersburg, Koide produced

the agreement made by Takenoiichi and bis colleagues in

1862, and proposed to discuss the question on the basis

of the nature of the localities. The Russians feigned
never to have heard of the arrangement, and offered in

exchange for Sagalien certain of the Kurile Islands, which

belonged to them, but Koide and his colleagues denied
their jurisdiction over the Kuriles, and upbraided them
for their disingenuousness. The argument became warm,
until the Russians at last said "It is not a matter about
:

" which we
ought to wrangle. Let us both colonize and
"
occupy it." Koide and his colleague consulted together,
"
saying :
Though we have exhausted all possible argu-
"ments, the fact remains that their colonies extend south
"of the fiftieth parallel. It is our fault for putting the

"negotiation off solong." Eveutually they made a con-

vention by which the island was to be occupied jointly by
Russian and Japanese subjects, and returned home in the

following spring to report the result of their mission.

—
In the 4th month (May 4 June 2) Date Iyo no kami
and Shimadzu Osumi no kami arrived at Kioto, where
they were shortly afterwards joined by Matsudaira Shuu-
gaku (ex-Prince of Echizen), Nabeshima Kanso (ex-Prince
of Hizen) and Yamanoiichi Yodo (ex-Prince of Tosa4 9).

Shortly before this the representatives of the foreign

powers had come to Hiogo congratulate the Shogun

to

upon his succession, and to make certain requests of him.

He invited them to an interview at Ozaka. The foreign
representatives then urged the speedy opening of Hiogo,
and the Shogun consequently addressed a memorial to the
Mikado, saying: "Although the date originally fixed
" for the
opening of Hiogo has now been exceeded by two
"years, your servants were able to put the foreigners

(49) These are the same persons as those mentioned as being

summoned by the new ShOgun. The author has anticipated events
in making them here resume their proper surnames, as that change
was not made until after the revolution of 1868.
 79

" disturbed state of the country,

off, by alleging the
" but now have come to press for the perform-
they
" ance of the
promise. Among the numerous nations of
" which the universe outside
Japan is composed, for
" fear the
strong should oppress the weak, it is the custom
" to enter into treaties according to which the inter-
" course of
great and small is regulated and good faith
" observed. Such
weighty matters are treaties. There-
"
fore, even though they come to Hiogo, your servant can
"ensure that they do not treat us in an overbearing man-
" ner. the
Besides, opening of Hiogo is stipulated in the
" and w e cannot break our word. I pray^ there-
r
treaties,

fore, that the Imperial Court will give its consent."

The Imperial Court consulted the clans, most of whom
signified their approval, and it accorded its consent in the
month of June.
In the 6th month (July
2—30) a rich merchant of
Osaka, named Yamanaka Zenyemon, was chosen with
nineteen others to form a trading corporation ( Shosha) ;
annual grants of rice were made to them, aud they were

privileged to wear swords. This was done in view of

the opening of Hiogo.
In the course of the same month the Bakufu, finding
its coffers empty, proposed to issue paper money.

Although the Bakufu continued to carry on the gov-

still

ernment, it
usually referred all matters of importance to the

Imperial Court for decision. Shimadzu Osumi no karat

and the other five princes remained at Kioto, but Yama-
noiichi Yodo returned
to his native province on account of

serious ill In the 9th month (Sept. 28 Oct. 26),

health. —
after he had for some time secretly grieved over the

troubled state of the country, he addressed a letter from

Tosa to the Shogun, advising him to restore the whole
governing power to the Imperial Court. The letter said :

"It appears to me that although the government and tho

"
penal laws have been administered by the Military Class
 80

" ever since the middle

ages, yet, from the arrival of
"
foreigners we have been squabbling amongst ourselves,
"and much public discussion has been excited. Tbe east
"and west have risen in arms against each other, and
" civil war has never
ceased, the effect being to draw on
" us the insult of Tbe cause of this lies
foreign nations.
"in tbe proceeds from two
fact that the administration
u
centres, causing the Empire's ears and eyes to be tnrn-
"ed in two different directions. Tbe march of events has
"
brought about a revolution, aud the old system can no
"
longer be obstinately persevered in. You should restore
" the
governing power into tbe hands of the sovereign,
" and so
lay a foundation on which Japan may take its
" stand as the of all other countries. This is the
equal
" most
imperative duty of the present moment, and is the
"heartfelt prayer of Yodo. Your Highness is wise
" to take this advice into consideration." He then
enough
despatched his retainers Terauchi Sazen and Goto Shqjiro
to advise the Shogun to resign the reins of power. The
Shogun from this time frequently summoned Goto and
Komatsu of the Satsuma clan to bis castle of Nijo to dis-
cuss politics with perfect freedom, and both of them per-
sistently advocated the formation of an imperial Govern-
ment.

The Shogun became convinced of its expediency, and

drew up a document for communication to his vassals. It
" When I
said :
contemplate the changes which have
"come about in the political condition of the Empire, it

"
appears to, me that when the imperial authority decayed
"
many centuries back, the power was seized by the Fuji-
"wara family. During the wars of Hogen and Heiji
it passed into the grasp of tbe
"(1156-1159) Military
" Class. ancestor was a recipient of especial favours
My
" at the hands of the
Emperor, and during over two hun-
" dred
years his descendants have enjoyed the same favours
*l successively. Although I hold my ancestor's office, there
 81

"has been great inal-administration of the government and

"of the penal laws, the result being the present state of
" affairs. This is the effect of my want of virtue and I can-
" not it. It appears to me that the laws
sufficiently deplore
"cannot be maintained in face of the daily extension of
" our
foreign relations, unless the government be conducted
"by one head, and I propose therefore to surrender the
" whole
governing power into the hands of the Imperial
" Court. This is the best I can do for the interests of the

"Empire in this moment, and I call upon you all to give

"your opinion as to the advisability of this course." Al-
though none of the samurai made any open opposition,
some of them were secretly dissatisfied.

On the 19th of November, the Shogun eventually sent

in a memorial offering his resignation to the Mikado.
This was accepted in considerate language, and he was
informed that he was desired to carry on the administra-
tion as with the exception of directing the
heretofore,
actions of the daimios, which question would be decided as
soon as the prince of Kaga and thirty-three other great

princes should arrive at Kioto. A

proclamation was then
issued throughout the country notifying the Shogun's

resignation of the governing power. The princes who were

under obligations to the -Tokugawa family advised the
Imperial Court not to take the direction of affairs upon its
slvonlders without due consideration, and the Court began
to feel distrust in its own capacity. It was said by some
people that a secret understanding existed between Toku-
gawa Naifu (the ex-Shogun), the In no Miya and the
Kuambaku, that his retainers were acting in concert
with the latter, and that the vacillation of the Court was
due to these causes. Hereupon the Court nobles and the
samurai of Satsuma, Tosa aud other claus, who had been
agitating for a return to the ancient regime of the Mikados,
said to themselves :
" See how the Court conducts
itself,
•*
at the very moment when the affairs of the Empire seem
 82

" on the The opportunity

point of being settled. will

"be lost." They proceeded to. infuse their vehement

opinions into the councils of the Court, which began to

bestir itself.

1868. — On the 3rd, of January 1868, an order was

suddenly issued by the Imperial Court, dismissing the

Aidzu clan from the guardianship of the Palace gates, and
substituting the clans of Satsuma, Tosa and Geishiu. On
t same day the In no Miya and Nijo were dismissed,
lie

and the offices of Kuambaku and Shogun were abolished.

Three kinds of offices, called Sosai, Gijo and Sanyo, were

provisionally instituted, and various Court uobles (huge),
territorial princes (daimib), and samurai were appointed to
fill them, and to carry on the administration. decree A
was also issued announcing that the Government of the
country was henceforth solely in the hands of the Imperial
Court-

Some time before this, whilst Tokugawa Naifu still

held the office of Shogun, he, Shimadzu and three other

princes had memorialized the Court with a view to the

recall of the seven court nobles (who in 1863 fled to Cho-

shiu), and the summoning of the house of Mori
to the

capital. These propositions being approved, the Bakufu

sent for a member of the Mori family to communicate the
order, whereupon Mori Takumi arrived at Hiogo in Setsu,
as the representative of the prince, at the head of eight
hundred men, whom the Bakufu was desirous of locating

at Ozaka. The commander, Yamada Ichinojo, and his

lieutenant Kono Jiuro refused, and prepared to enter the

Capital without passing through Ozaka. As soon, how-

ever, as the Government came into the hands of the Im-

perial Court, it at once summoned the Choshin clan to

Kioto. The troops started immediately from Hiogo and
arrived at Kioto on the 5th of January. A decree was

immediately issued by which all their honours and titles

were restored to the members of the House of Mori, and

 83

shortly afterwards the seven court nobles also re-entered

the capital.

Although peace had been made between Tokugawa and

Mori, it seemed as if the feeling of mutual hostility en-
gendered by the war had not completely died out, and the
Aidzu samurai, in particular, were dissatisfied. They
were extremely unwilling to be considered on a level with
the Choshiu men, and were highly offended at their pre-

Tokugawa Naifu himself w as also

T
sence in the capital.

by the order to turn out his troops from

bitterly mortified
the Palace which had been issued on the 3rd, and his
views undergoing a complete change, he at last summoned
the Aidzu clan and others of his adherents to a council at
the castle of Nijo. He then addressed them as follows :

" has the policy of the Court altered thus in the last
Why
" few days ? There must be some one who, in order to
M succeed in a plot, is misleading the young Emperor."

Annoyed at having been excluded from participation in

the measures adopted on the 3rd, he informed the Court
that he would act upon its previous order, and take charge
of affairs ;
that order having declared that everything
should be determined by a council of princes to be as-
sembled at the capital. The conduct of the Naifu in
sending up such a memorial after having surrendered the
governing power caused him to be regarded with general
distrust.

The Palace at this moment was guarded by Satsuma,

Choshiu, Tosa, Geishiu and various other princes, while
the greater part of the Tokugawa family's troops occupied

the castle of Nijo, and seemed to be keeping a keen watch

on the movements of the others. The public feeling was
very uneasy, and various rumours flew about. Some of
the Tokugawa officers and men advised the Naifu not to
submit tamely to the will of his
opponents, but to occupy
Ozaka and so block up their line of communica-
in force,

tions, which would enable him to control their actions.

 84

The Naifu consented, and leaving a letter behind for the

Court, in which he pretended that he was going away to

Ozaka order to calm the passions of his retainers, sud-

in

denly proceeded thither on the night of the 6th at the head

of the troops, accompanied by the princes of Aidzu
and Knwana and Itakura Iga no kami (his chief adviser).
The court considered this proceeding so suspicious that it

prohibited the clans of Knwana and Aidzu from re-en-

tering the capital.

As soon as the news was brought to Yedo measures

were actively taken for patting the ci'y in a condition of
defence. For some time previously the troops of Sakai
Sayemon no Jo had pal rolled the streets. It happened
also that several hundred renins bad concealed themselves
in the Satan ma ytshiki situated in that quarter of the

cily called Shiba, and having formed themselves into a

corps, were in the habit of sallying forth by night to

plunder the richer citizens. On one occasion they also

fired into the Sakai barracks, and a great commotion
ensued. The Sakai troops, inflamed with
anger, begged
for leave to attack the Satsuma yashiki, and the matter
being referred to Ozaka, it seemed to Tokugawa Naifu
that the recent change in the councils of the Mikado was
due to the influence of the Satsuma samurai and that the
same clan had no doubt been hounding on the ronins to
disturb the peace of the Kuanto. He therefore sent
orders to Yedo for the chastisement of the rioters. The
Tokugawa officials proceeded to surround the Satsuma
yashiki, burnt and made the whole band prisoners.
it,

From this moment the Tokugawa and Shimadzu were

bitter enemies, and the Naifu sent up a memorial in which
he complained of the robberies committed by the Satsuma
clan in the Kuanto, and prayed the Mikado to dismiss all

the samurai of that clan who had any share in the gov-
ernment. The Court, however, took no notice of his re-

presentations,
 . 85

The
Gij6 and Sanyo then took counsel together, saying:
"Although the Imperial family is now in possession of
" the it has no means of its ex-
Government, meeting
u The Tokugawa and other clans should be made
penses.
" to contribute." The Mikado therefore ordered Owari
Dai n agon and Matsudaira Shungaku to go and talk over
the Naifu, who was to be made a Gijo. They were ac-

companied by Naruse Hayato no kami, Tanaka Fujimaro,

Washidzu Kid 6 and Meujiu Hiroshi, and proceeding to
Ozaka communicated the wishes of the Court, offering at
the same time to admit (he Naifu to the Mikado's pre-
sence. They also advised him under present circum-
stances to dismiss all feelings of resentment, and to

bring but a small escort with him to Kioto. If he felt

uneasy about his safety, they, his relations, would guard
him with The Naifu expressed his inno-
their troops.

cence of any treasonable intentions, and promised to obey

the Mikado's orders, but in his heart he disliked the pro-

posal. When he first went down to Ozaka, he had left

Kondo Isami, leader of the corps called Shiusen-gumi,

Hijikata Saizo commander of the infantry, and others, at
Fushimi, and at this moment the number of the eastern
troops stationed in that town amounted to several thou-
sands. Washidzu and his colleagues therefore remarked
to Nagai Gemba no kami and Tsukahara Tajima no
kami, who were in chief
command, that as the Naifu, in

obedience to the Mikado's orders, w as about to appear

r
at

Court, it was absolutely necessary that the troops should

be withdrawn from Fushimi, and they enlarged repeated-

ly on the.duty of submission. Nagai and his colleague

were willing to comply, but they had not power to
carry
out their promise. On the 25th of January the two ex-
princes of Owari and Eehizeu returned to Kioto and re-
ported that Tokugawa Naifu had promised obedience to

the Imperial orders, but they did this in ignorance of his

real intcntious.
 86

The same night the princes of Aidzu and Kuwana and

and addressed the
their chief retainers assembled at Ozaka,

Naifu as follows " No faith can be placed in the declara*

:

" tions of the ex-Princes of Owari and Echizeu. If

your
"
Highness determines to go, your servants will follow
" even at the risk of their own lives. On this
expedition
" we will remove from the
Emperor li is bad counsellors,
"and try the issue with them by the sword." Hereupon
the Naifu made up his mind, and determined to enter
Kioto with the clans of Aidzu and Kuwana in the front of

his following.

When this news reached the capital the public feeling

was much excited. The Court sent the clans of Satsuma
and Choshiu to lie outside the capital, and blocking up tho
Fushimi and Toba roads, to obstruct the advance of the
eastern army. The leaders Ijichi Shoji (of Satsuma) and
Yamada Ichinojo (of Choshiu) accepted the duty, say-
ing: "Your servants have ascertained by means of spies
'•
that strange things are on foot at Ozaka, and they
" believe that a
large force will endeavour to force its
" the barriers. We for leave to
way past pray, therefore,
" act as the
emergency may require." The Court gave
them orders to the effect that, although Tokugawa Naifu
was permitted to enter the capital, he could not be allowed
to do so at the head of a large force. As for t he clans of
Aidzu and Kuwana, admission was to be absolutely denied
to them, and instructions- were given to them to act

according to circumstances. The commanders then bade

their men to make preparations for resistance, and quietly
to await the course of events. The Kioto forces at this
moment numbered some six thousand five hundred men,
while the eastern army was reported to be thirty thousand

strong. Sakuma 6mi no kami and Kubota Bizen no

kami* headed the drilled troops on the Tokugawa side,
while the troops of Takamatsu, Hamada, and other princes

*
Formerly commander of the Japanese garrison at Yokohama.
 87 •

rabjeet to the ex-Shdgun acted as a reserve. The clans of

Aidzu and Kuwana marched in the van, and were ready
toadvance by the Fushimi and Toba roads.
On the 27th the messengers of the House of Tokugawa
came to the barriers which had been placed on both roads
and asked leave to pass, which was refused by the sentries.

The messengers then " Our

said :
priuce is
going to Court
"by the order of the Mikado, and if you venture to ob-
" struct his Hav-
passage he will force his way through."
ing said this they departed, and then the great force began
toapproach. The Kioto forces, seeing that matters had
come to a head, discharged their artillery, to which the
easterners with a volley from their muskets.
replied
The ordnance thundered for a while, but the Kioto forces

eventually put the enemy to flight. At this moment a

fire broke out in the town of Fushimi, and the easterners
came again by both roads to attack the Kioto forces,
who defended themselves vigorously. After having
lost several killed and wounded both combatants
retired from the field about six in the evening.
At midnight spies were sent from the Kioto side to

seewhat the enemy who had advanced by the Toba road

might be doing, and they returned with information that
he was quartered there and was taking food. Orders
were givento surprise him, and the easterners,
entirely
losing their presence of mind, flung down their weapons
and fled. The reserves, however, coming up to their ail,
the defeated troops plucked up courage, and rallied again to
the fight,They charged fiercely info the Kioto forces,
and threw them into disorder, but the captains Ichiki,
Oyama and Goto, encouraging their men, met the attack
and fell upon the left wing of the eastern army, which
began to waver. The Kioto forces profited by this and
engaged them vigorously, so (hat the eastern army was at
last defeated, but the three captains above-mentioned were

killed. The Kioto forces withdrew at two p.m. (for two

a.m,?) from the field of battle.
 88

At eight o'clock on the morning of the 28th the two

armies fought again on the Fushimi and Toba roads. The
Ki6to party had placed some skirmishers in a bamboo
thicket at the side of the Toba road. When the eastern

army pressed up along the two roads in great force, the

Kioto troops opposed them with energy, Yanaada Magoi-
chiro and Ijiu-in Kinjiro distinguishing themselves by
their courage. At last enemy was put to flight on the
the
Fushimi road, while from Toba he advanced with greater
determination than ever, and his ferocity was terrible.
Some of the rebels' bullets actually struck the gold brocade
standard of the Mikado, which the commander-in-chief,
Prince Ninnaji, had ordered to be carried before him as
he advanced. At this moment the men in ambush fired a

simultaneous volley from the thicket, and the bullets fell

in the centre of the rebels as thick as hailstones, laying

low immense numbers of them. The loyal forces

50 on the

road profited by this opportunity to charge the rebel van,

which scattered in all directions, the fugitives tramping

on the dead and dying in their hurry to escape. Imme-

diately afterwards fires broke out in the village of Toba,

and the rebels retreated to the town of Yodo. In this
engagement Sakuma Omi, Kubota Bizen and many other
rebel officers were killed, while the loyal forces lost Kajiki,
Hiraoka and some twenty or thirty more.
At dawn on the 29th the loyal army attacked Yodo,
which the rebels defended from the other end of the
bridge. The loyal forces then directed a steady artillery
fire against the town, to which the rebels replied. Neither
party seeming willing to advance, the rebels lodged a
corps of one hundred spearmen in the rushes by the side
of the river, and a party of musketeers was sent out to

provoke an attack from the loyal army, but the latter,

knowing of the ambuscade, did not move. Bat a Captain
(50) The common Japanese expression is Kuan-gun, of which
'
'
Government army would he the most literal rendering, hut '

loyal
army, is a more convenient equivalent for ordinary use.
 89

named Ishikawa Wakasa no suke* said :

" We shall bo
"laughed at if wogood chance because we see dan-
lose a

"ger," and with these words, lie attacked the rebels at the
head of a small number of musketeers. The rest were
excited by the example, and shouting out: " We must not
"sacrifice our troops to the enemy for nothing," followed

the others eagerly. Upon this the men in ambush

arose to right and left of them, and the musketeers came
on again in large numbers. Ishikawa, ltd and Nakajima
were killed, but Yamada, Ijiu-In, Fujimura, Miura, and
other captains, rousing their men to the same height op
enthusiasm as they were themselves animated by, charged
the foe, whose ranks began to fall into disorder. Their
men then raised a shout and finally succeeded in routing
the rebels. They took the castle of Yodo about noon,
while the rebels retiring in abody held Hashimoto.
The Tsu clan (from Ise) had been holding the barrier
at Yamazaki in the interests of the eastern army, but an

envoy was sent to them by the Mikado, who enlarged

upon the duty of obedience and talked them over. In
obedience to the Mikado's orders they admitted the loyal
Hashimoto (on the opposite bank
forces, but the rebels at
of the river) knew nothing of their defection.

On the 30th the loyal forces prepared to attack Hashi-

moto. On the preceding day the rebels had wished to
occupy the castle- of Yodo, but the samurai of that clan

refused to admit them, and they were forced therefore to

find lodgings in the town. When the loyal forces arrived
at the castle, they suspected the clan of siding with the
enemy, and reproached them, upon which they related
how they had repelled the rebels, in order to prove their
sincerity. The Yodo troops were then placed in the van,
and an attack was made on Hashimoto, which the rebel

army stoutly defended, until a flank fire of artillery was

opened upon head quarters from the redoubt at

their

Yamazaki, by which a large number of them were killed.

 90

The whole army broke and fled, pursued by the loyal

forces, down to Ozaka. Before this, news of the daily
defeats had been received there, and Tokngawa Naifu,
the prinCes of Aidzn and Kuwana, Itakura Iga, Ogasa-
wara Iki and the rest of the officials had betaken them-
selves in a hurry on board of a man-of-war, in which
they fled eastwards. The castle of Ozaka was burnt

immediately afterward.
On the 2nd of February Prince Ninnaji no Miya ad-
vanced and entered Ozaka. In this short campaign the
Satsuma clan had one hundred and fifty men killed, in-

cluding Ijiu-In Yoichi, while the Choshiu clan lost Kata-

yama Kinjiro and one hundred and twenty more. These
large losses arose from the fact of these two clans alone
having been opposed to an enemy far superior in numbers,
but their reputation for valour rose immensely.
The having thus achieved a great victory
loyal forces
sent detachments against Takamatsu and other clans, in
order to bring the whole of the neighbouring provinces
into order, and to enforce obedience. All the clans

changed their policy and submitted.

When the eastern forces first occupied the castle of Nijo
the Court Nobles had been in dire state of fright, dreading
lest hostilities should be commenced in the capital itself,

but they were considerably relieved when the ex-Shogun

made his retreat to Ozaka. The commanders Ijichi Shoji
and Yamada Ichinojo, and the lieutenant Kono Jiro,
were dissatisfied, and said to themselves " Since ancient
:

''times nearly all attacks on Kioto have been successful.

" The Eastern
army has retreated for no good purpose.
"
They intend to occupy Ozaka, cut off our means of ob-
taining supplies, bring the troops of Kuan to up by the
"Tokaido, and then by blockading Iliogo with their flcet ?

" to catch us like rats in a So they resolved upon

cage.''

sending troops to the provinces of Tajima, Tamba and

Tango, to seize that tract of country, and to retreat thither
 91

and there lay their plans

for a while, if the necessity arose,

for a second attempt. Hardly had they arrived at this

determination when the war broke ont, and they at once

despatched thither a body of three hundred picked

men
under the command of a court noble named Saionji Chiu-

nagon, but victory declaring itself on the side of the Mi-

kado the necessity for a retreat did not arise. At the same
time the presence of Saionji in those parts had a good
effect in determining the local daimios to submit. The
public praised the completeness of the Imperial tactics.
Three thousand Kishiu troops had been encamped at the
temple of Tennoji, close to Ozaka, and when the war broke
ont their leaders secretly despatched a messenger to the

loyal army to ask for instructions. The councillors at-war

"
deliberated, saying: Although the loyalty of the Ki-
" shin clan is
well-known, the prince is a relative of the'
"
ex-Shogun, and we cannot be sure of his intentions. The
" best
plan would be to send them away from Ozaka back
"to their native province." This decision being reported
by the messenger, the Kishiu troops returned home. Hi-
kone, Ogaki and other clans had already joined the royal
army, and by this time all the princes of the centre and
west of Japan supported the Mikado.
It is said that when the proposal was made to return to

the ancient form of Government by the sovereign, Saigo

Kichinoske, who was behind the scenes, disapproved of the
use of force, and that the war was caused by the change
which the policy of the Tokugawa family underwent at
a critical moment. The public remarked freely upon the
fact that the Naifu had acted contrary to his own convic-
tions.

On the 5th of February the Court deprived Tokugawa

Naifu and his followers of all their honours 'and dignities,
and published a proclamation throughout the country,
" After
saying, Tokugawa Keiki retired to Ozaka upon a
" certain
pretence, the ex-princes of Owari and Echizcn
 92

" were sent thither to summon him to

Ki6to, in order to
" come to au had
arrangement. Keiki already been for-
" hidden Kioto with a large train. He declared,
to enter
"
however, that he would come to Court, with the clans of
**
Aidzn and Kuwana at the head of his following, and
" This was not obedience
actually approached the capital.
" to the
Mikado, and was, in fact, an attack upon His
u The advance the
Majesty. loyal forces resisted his in

"environs of the capital, and hostilities broke out. Keiki

"still continued to place his vassals in the field, and for
" several
days in succession fired upon the imperial stand-
"ard. Having been defeated he has fled to the east, but
u he cannot
escape the consequences of his criminal at-
"
tempt to deceive the Imperial Court. It has therefore
a been resolved to send a
large army to subdue his ter-
" ritories." All the clans were called
upon to furnish
troops and Prince Arisugawa was appointed Commander-
in-Chief of the Army of Chastisement, a brocade banner
and a sword of justice being granted to him.
At this moment all the foreign representatives were at

Kobe, whence they issued a declaration of neutrality on

the 18th of February, and proclaimed to their countrymen
resident there, saying: " A civil war is about to breakout
"between the eastern and western portions of Japan. The
"
people of our nations must not help either party, nor sell
•'
arms to them." 1

was not yet settled.

End of Vol. II.

 +
93

VOLUME III.

The governing power having now reverted to the Im-

perial Court, it took steps to inform the foreign represent-

atives of the fact that Kioto would henceforth be the seat
of the Japanese Government. This announcement was
received with due submission, and the representatives then
said "During the last few years some forty or fifty of
:

*'
our countrymen have been killed by yours, and inex-
" As the
pressible grief has been caused by these acts.
"
sovereign has now freshly assumed the ruling power,
" let him
give an order throughout the country prohibiting
"such deeds." The court thereupon issued a general pro-
clamation.
But there were still many in the country who hated

foreigners, and on the 8th of March, some Tosa men fired

on sixteen French sailors at Sakai in Idzumi, killing some
and wounding others. Already aBizen man had assassin-
ated a Frenchman at Kobe in Setsu, 51 and this
together
with the more recent affair excited the anger of the French

Minister, who accordingly made five demands on the Go-

vernment. Firstly, that a high officer of the Government
should go on board the French man-of-war to make an

(51) This affair occurred on the 4th February. The Frenchman said
to have been assassinated' only received a slight wound, and an Ameri-
•

can seaman was shot through the body. As the attack was directed
generally upon all the foreigners who happened to be in the street at
the time the Foreign Representatives demanded that capital punish-
ment should be inflicted on the officer who had given the order to fire,
 -v
94

apology. Secondly, that no Japanese officer should be

allowed to enter the foreigu settlement with swords on. 52

Thirdly, that an indemnity of one hundred and fifty

thousand dollars should be paid. Fourthly, that the Go-
vernment should make a written apology. Fifthly, that
the Japanese soldiers who were implicated in this murder-
ous act should be capitally punished. He also insisted on
the acceptance of these demands within three days, threaten-

ing that if this limit were exceeded he should resort to other

measures. The Government was at this moment deeply
engaged reorganizing the administration, and feeling
in

also that the wrong was on the side of Japan, at once ac-

cepted four
53 of the five articles. Sixteen Tosa and Bizen
men were arrested and decapitated on the 18th March. r>i
Thus the matter was settled.
The ex-Prince of Uwajima and Higashi-Kuze Shosho
had already informed the foreign Representatives at Ozaka
that a Department of Foreign Affairs having been formed
with themselves placed at its head, they desired hence-
forth to act in concert. Also, that the Mikado wished to

see the Representatives at Kioto before long. The

Representatives replied that they had been informed that
an expedition was about to be sent against the House of

Tokugawa, and that they proposed to return at once to

Yokohama, to provide for the safety of their countrymen.
If the Mikado wished to see them the matter could bo

arranged at once. They requested, therefore, that a day

might be fixed. Higashi-kuze answered that he and his
colleague would be responsible for the safety of the
foreigners at Yokohama and Hakodate. The Representa-

(52) The second demand was that Tosa troops should not enter
any of the open ports.
(53) Was
the second demand not insisted on ? The
Parliamentary
Papers do not mention its having been withdrawn.
_
(54) The Bizen officer was executed on the evening of March 3rd •

eighteen Tosa soldiers and two officers was likewise cendemned to

suffer death and the sentence was
duly carried out in the case of
eleven of their number, the other nine being reprieved at the
request
of the French Authorities. This was on the 16th March.
 95

tives need be under no apprehensions on that score. The

Representatives responded that nevertheless they could
not wait long. Upon this the Court, after debating, fixed
a day. Some
persons remarked that to invite the bar-
barians to the Palace would cause public comment, but one
of the Sanyo laughed and treated the idea with contempt.
On was going to
the 23rd as the English Representative
Court some ron ins suddenly made an attack on him, and
wounded some of his escort. The Japanese officials and
the English guards repelled the attack, and killed the
The Representa-
renins, so that nothing serious resulted.
tive, however, returned home without going through the
ceremony.
During the same month, in order that the nature of its

intended polic}^ might be understood, the Court proclaimed

throughout the country that foreign relations would be

continued. This was in accordance with the precedent
contained in the Imperial sanction given to the Treaties iu
the preceding reign.
On the 24th 55 the English Representative had an inter-
view with the Ten no, and the Dutch, American and French
Representatives were presented after him. They con-
gratulated His Majesty on the magnificence of the Im-

perial rule, and gave renewed promise of friendly rela-

tions. It is said that when the Kobe and Sakai affairs

occurred the functionaries were much troubled in their

minds, lamenting the uncertain future of the Empire. But

now foreign affairs had been settled, the home provinces
were quiet, and the samurai and lower classes of the
capital gave themselves up to rejoicing.

About this time the Councillor of State Okubo address-

ed a memorial to the Mikado, saying "Although Your
:

(t
Majesty's forces have been victorious in the battles of

(55) The English Minister had his audience of the Mikado on

the 26th March, the French and Dutch Ministers
having been
presented on the 23rd. The American Minister did not visit
KiCto with his colleagues, and was therefore not presented on this
occasion,
 96

"Fushimi and Toba the ringleader of the rebels has made

" his The dispositions of the various clans are
escape.
"
uncertain, and our relations with foreign countries are
"not on a satisfactory footing. Extreme measures are
" Since the middle ages our Em-
necessary in a crisis.
u
perorhas lived behind a screen, and has never trodden
" the earth.
Nothing of what went on outside his screen
" ever
penetrated to his sacred ear the imperial resi- ;

" dence was

profoundly secluded, and naturally unlike the
" outer world. No more than a few court nobles were
" allowed to approach the throne, a practice most opposed
•'
to the principles of Heaven. Although it is the first duty
"of man to respect his superior, if he reveres that su-
"
perior too highly he neglects his duty, while a breach is

" created between the who

sovereign and his subjects, are
"unable to convey their wants to him. This vicious
" been common But now
practice has in all ages. let
"
pompous etiquette be done away with, and simplicity
" become our first Kioto is in au out-of-the-way
object.

position, and is unfit to be the seat, of government. Let

•'

" His abode temporarily at Ozaka,

Majesty take up his

"removing his capital thither, and thus cure one of the

" hundred abuses which we inherit from This
past ages.
" seems to me to be a matter of and I
great urgency,
" wisdom to decide this without loss of
humbly pray your
"time." This memorial produced a lively effect on the
Court, and to the advice contained in it the subsequent
removal of the Mikado to Yedo was no doubt due.

During the same month the public notice boards

throughout the country were taken down and replaced by

new ones.

The castle of Nijo had been converted into an office for

the Council of State (Dai-jo-ka?i), where its members met

to decideupon what measures should be adopted. The
Mikado proceeded thither in person and, in the presence

of the assembled Court nobles and the territorial princes,

 9?

took an oath. By this oath he promised that a deliberative

assembly should be formed, and all measures be decided

by public opinion ; that the uncivilised customs of former

times should be broken through, and the impartiality and
as a
justice displayed in the workings of nature be adopted
basis of action ;
and that intellect and learning should be
sought for throughout the world, in order to establish the

foundations of the empire. A discussion then ensued as

to the best means of developing the resources of Yezo.
Shortly afterwards the Mikado went down to Ozaka as the
firststage in his personal campaign against the adherents
of the fallen power, and inspected the fleet.

During this time the loyal army was marching to the

attack of Yedo by various roads. The troops of Satsuma,
Kishiu, Choshiu, Todo, Bizen, Sadowara, Kameyama ?
Minakuchi, Omura, Inshiu, Higo and Echizen advanced
along the Tokaido. Another detatchment of Satsuma
troops,with those of Inshiu, Tosa, and Ogaki advanced by
the Nakasendd.

Reports of the approach of the loyal forces reached

Yedo day after day. The retainers of the Tokugawa
family and the samurai of the subject clans (fudai) met
together in council of war. During the war at Fushimi
and Toba a party had arisen in the two clans of Kishiu
and Ovvari which advocated supporting the ex-Shogun,
as head of the Tokugawa family, and placed itself in
communication with Yedo. The ex-Prince of Owari,
who was annoyed at this, having taken counsel with his
retainers Kose Shintaro, Tamiya Joun, Tanaka Fujimaro,
Washidzu Kido, and Niwa Juntard, issued a proclamation
that loyalty must take precedence of affection for relatives.
He inflicted death upon Watanabe Shinzaemon, Sakaki-
bara Kageyu, Ishikawa Kuranojo, Terao Takeshiro,
Tsukada Kakushiro and eight other ringleaders, besides
confiscating the revenues of Suzuki Tango, Naruse Buzen,
and fifteen more some of whom he threw into prison,
j
 98

others being confined to their own houses. In this way

the views of the whole clan were rendered uniformly loyal
to the Mikado. On the other hand, those of the Kishiu
clan who happened to be at Yedo bent all their efforts

towards aiding the chief of the family, and took part in the
plans of the Tokugawa retainers. Ivoudo Isami and his
friends also happened to be there, and consultations were
held day and night at the castle. Some proposed to send
a force to occupy the pass of Hakone, while others sug-

gested a naval attack upon Qzaka. These plans they

pressed upon the attentiou of Keiki, and completely rob-
bed him of his rest and appetite. But the ex-Shogun
already repented of his late conduct, and animated by a
spirit of respectful obedience, refused
to entertain their

proposals. He summoned Katsu Awa and Okubo Ichio

to a private chamber, and then addressed a letter to his
retainers, prohibiting them from resisting the imperial

forces, and added that those who did so would be pointing

theirweapons against himself. Immediately afterwards
he quitted the castle, and retired into voluntary confine-
ment in the monastery of Kuanyeiji at Uyeuo.
Keiki's fanatical retainers were excessively disgusted
with his submissiveness, and they all began to collect

troops with the intention of acting independently

of him.

Some of them fled into Hitachi and Kodzuke together

with the Drilled Troops, and some into the province of
Kai. The Tosa and Inshiu forces, having advanced from
Shinano into Kai, had taken the town of Kofti, and the
Tokugawa vassals there, entering into a plot with those who
had rim away from Yedo, erected a stockade at the town
of Katsunamn, and occupied the hills, harassing the loyal

troops. The Tosa troops forced the stockade, and surprised

the enemy's rear, on which the rebels destroyed all the

bridges along the road, and constructing batteries out of

gabions, resisted their advance. Upon the loyal forces
attacking them with firearms, they set fire to the houses
 of the common people, so as to prevent an advance. Un-
able to overcome this obstacle, detachments of Tosa and
Inshiu troops climbed the hills on both sides, attacked the
rebels and succeeded in routing them, killing or capturing

nearly all. Leaving the town of Kofu in charge of the

house of Sanada (Matsushiro) the Inshiu and Tosa forces
pursued their march towards Yedo.
During the course of this month the Satsuma, Choshiu
end Ogaki troops arrived at Haniu in Musashi, and engag-
ing the runaway troops assembled at Yamada, inflicted a
severe defeat on them* They then advanced, and laid

siege to the town of Oshi-no-Gioda. When the runaways

first visited that town the clansmen had secretly given aid
to them, and upon the approach of the Imperial forces,

one of the commanders disembowelled himself by way of

expiation, and the rest of the clan joined the Mikado's

banner. Upon this the young noble Iwakura, who com-
manded the Nakasendo column, took up his quarters at
the town of Itabashi (just outside Yedo).

By this time the Prince Commander-in-Chief had ar-

rived at the town of Sumpu on the Tokaido at the head
of his forces, while Keiki, worn out by trouble and
anxiety, was respectfully awaiting his commands in a
small room at Uyeno. Rinnoji no Miya and the Shitlo^

Gakuo-In, moved by pity for him, proceeded to Sumpu

and begged for mercy, while Kazu Miya and Tensho-
In 57 also sent some of their women as messengers
along the Tokaido. These envoys followed each other
in rapid succession. Shortly after the vanguard
advanced to Shinagawa, whither at once came Katsu
Awa to see Saigo Kichinoske, 58 the military ad-
viser of the royal army. Having fully explained the

(56) Shittd was an office corresponding to the Soba-yonin, or man

of business, of a daimio.
(57) Widows of the Shogun Iyemochi and Iyosada.
(58) Takamori is the name by which he is mentioned in the original,
but he is best known to both
Japanese and foreigners by his common
, appellation (zokumio) of Kichinoske,
 100

submissive temper of Keiki, he begged that the loyal

army would desist from making an attack. Katsu was

an old acquaintance of Saigo's and repeated his visits

frequently, using all the eloquence at his command in sup-

port of his prayers. Saigo at last replied that he would

leave the matter to the decision of the Miya Command-
ing-in-Chief, and demanded material guarantees of good
faith. Katsu promised to give these, and Saigo addressed
a letter to the Miya Commanding-in-Chief, who after
consulting with those about him, issued the necessary
orders to the various divisions of the army. In this way
Yedo was preserved from an assault, and was occupied by
the loyal army, which took up its quarters in different
parts of the town.
On the 26th of April the Mikado's envoy made his

entry into the castle of Yedo. The retainers of the

Tokugawa family swept the roads clean and went forth

to meet him in their best clothes. At the interview
which took place between the envoy and Tayasu Chiuna-
gon the former announced the Mikado's will, as follows:
" Deliver
up the castle, the men-of-war, and all your fire-
arms. Condemn to a punishment one degree less severe
than death those who aided Keiki in his rebellion, and

report thereon. be spared, and he must

Keiki's life will

confine himself at the town of Mito." The Chiunngon

signified his readiness to obey, but when the seditiously
inclined members of the clan heard of the terms granted

they absconded to the north-east in large bodies. After

the lapse of three days Keiki retired to Mito.

Aidzu Katamori had pieviously retired to his territory,

while Itakura Iga, Ogasawara Iki and their friends had
concealed themselves in the north-east. Some of the
hereditary subject daimios of the Tokugawa family who
were at Yedo went up to Kioto, while others retreated to

their territories. The result was that the city became

quite deserted,
 101

The samitrai of Aidzu and the runaway troops had

been engaged for some time in talking over the daimios
and rich inhabitants of Kadzusa, Shimdsa, Shimotsuke
and Kodzuke, and liad collected both money and pro-
visions. They were joined by Midznno Hiuga, the prince
of Yiiki, but Obata Heima and some others of his retainers,

amounting to sixty men in all, adopted loyal views, and

placing the prince's son at their head, expelled Hiuga and
the runaway troops. Shortly afterwards Hinga and the
runaway troops attacked and took the castle, after having
killed Obata and his party. The son fled and sought
refuge with the loyal army, and the rebels began to show
a formidable front. At this moment the troops of Hikone
and other clans were occupation of Utsunomiya, which
in

the rebels, presuming upon their strength, formed the de-

sign of taking. On the alarm being brought to Itabashi

the Military adviser Kagawa Keijo, with Arima of the
Satsuma clan, Soshiki of the Choshiu clan, Uyeda of the
Tosa clan and others, advanced to Senji at the head of
three hundred men. A detachment of rebels had occupied
Nagareyama, but upon being suddenly attacked by the
loyal forces, found themselves unable to make a stand, and
throwing away their weapons, took to flight. The loyal
forces followed in pursuit and captured Kondo
their leader

Isami, who was sent to Itabashi in a cage. This man had

long been celebrated for his intrepid courage. In the

winter of 1868, when the Shogun retired to Ozaka, he
had commanded the van as far as Fushimi, where he final-
ly remained to obstruct the passage of the loyal troops.

When the war broke out he directed the movements of

the troops, receiving a bullet-wound in the thigh, and

upon the defeat of the Eastern army, accompanied it in

its flight to Yedo. Having incited some of the Tokugawa
retainers to proceed with him
Koshiu, he effected a
to

junction with the local troops, and offered resistance to

the Tosa and Inshiu forces at the town of Katsunuma, but
 102

being defeated, fled with the men under his command to

the vicinity of Yedo. The loyal forces, having at last cap-
tured him, put him to death, and sent his head preserved
in sake to Kioto, where it was pilloried on the dry bed of

the river close to Shijo. This was done because during

the last few years he had to a great extent assisted in the
counsels of the Aidzu clan at Kioto.

The rebel troops at Nagareyama having now been

annihilated, Kagawa and
Soshiki profited by the victory
to advance into Shimotsuke and attack the castle of Yiiki.
Hiuga and the rebel troops with him abandoned the place
and fled. Soshiki at once occupied the castle at the head
of the troops of the Susaka clan, while Kagawa and the
other commanders proceeded to Utsunomiya with the
Hikone troops. Shortly afterwards the rebel leader
Otori Keiske, came to attack Yiiki at the head of all his

men, and having re-taken it, he made it the basis of his

further operations. The loyal forces fled to Utsunomiya.
On the 9th of May Otori Keiske advanced to the town
of Oyama at the head of two thousand men, and attacked
the loyal army. The troops of Hikone, Akimoto, Ogaki
and Kasama went out to meet him, but owing to the use
made by the enemy of skirmishers, were unable to hold
their ground. A Choshiu captain named Namlm and an
Akimoto captain named Ishikawa, besides others, lost
their lives. At four o'clock in the afternoon the loyal

army retreated to Utsunomiya, while the rebels took up

their quarters at the town of Tochigi. In this engage-
ment the Hikone troops suffered the greatest loss in killed
and wounded.
On the day-break, Otori Keiske made
11th, before
another attack on Utsunomiya at the head of his whole
force. He was
resisted by the troops of Matsumoto,

Kurohane, Kasama, Mibu, Toki, Iwamurata, Susaka,

Hikone, Ogaki and Utsunomiya, who met him outside the
castle, but the rebels fought w ith such
T
desperation that
 103

the loyal forces were compelled to retreat and occupy the

castle. At the same time another detachment of rebels
advanced on their flunk from Kanuma, while the Aidzn
clan also advanced by the Sanno Pass,** and an united

attack was now made on the castle. The noise of artil-

lery resounded on all sides, until the loyal forces, becom-

ing at last unable to continue the defence, abandoned the
caslleand dispersed. The daimio fled to Tatebayashi.
Ifakura Iga was in the castle, having some time previous-

ly surrendered to the Ilikone forces, and he fell into the

hands of the rebels, in whose complete possession the town

of Utsunomiya now was.
The rebel leader, Otori Keiske, was an excellent

strategist and manoeuvred his men with the greatest ease.

Most of the troops at his disposal had been drilled
by
Frenchmen, so that their good discipline and valour
caused much trouble to the loyal forces. The latter

were accustomed to look upon him as equivalent to a

whole nation of enemies.
Although the clans of the neighbourhood had all

joined the loyal forces after the battles of Oyama and

Takei, their men were usually defeated by the enemy
owing wearing armour and using only swords and
to their

spears. The rebels were therefore enabled to occupy all

the most important positions one after the other. An ap-

peal for aid was therefore made to It abas hi and Yedo.

The Imperial court prepared to despatch reinforcemenis,
and the order to march was given to the troops of Sat-
snma, Choshiu, Ogaki, Tosa and Inshiu. They started

forthwith, and, having effected a junction with the troops

of the local clans at Mibu, attacked Utsunomiya in force
on the morning of the 14th. The rebel forces issued
forth from the castle to a distance of about one ri to

resist the royal army, which advanced to engage them at

(59) On Mutsu and Skimotsuke, near a place

the boundary of
called Ikari, between Wakamatsu and Utsunomiya.
 104

Yasudzuka. Upon this the rebels suddenlyupon the

fell

rear of the vanguard, composed of Satsuma and 6gaki

troops, by a bye-road, and the bullets fell like hail, so that

the loyal forces were almost routed. But a detachment of
their fellow clansmen coming up to their aid from
the town of Suzume-no-miya, they were enabled to

rally, and finally put the rebels to flight. The

latter then occupied the castle and the temples of
Miojin and Hachiman, whence they discharged their
cannon, and the loyal forces surrounding them on all
sides responded to their fire. The discharges from both
sides shook the whole country round, and the smoke
rose up to heaven in such volumes that no man could dis-

tinguish his neighbour's face. At six o'clock in the even-

ing the rebels still maintained their position and kept up a

cannonade against the loyal troops, many of whom were
killed and wounded. Kawada Saknma, on Inshiu captain,
became enraged, and said: "lam profoundly indignant
u that so of our soldiers should be lost for the sake
many
" of a herd of rebels. We will exterminate them before
"the sun sets and take the castle.
Here, of you exert
all
" So saying, he shouted loud, and endeavour-
yourselves."
ed to inspire the rest with the enthusiasm he felt. The
Inshiu troops were excited to desperation, and climbing

up into the castle, captured one of its faces. At this mo-

ment the general attack became fiercer, and the rebels
giving way, the castle and both temples were deserted
simultaneously by their occupants, who broke through
the attacking line, and fled to Nikko. By the time the

loyal forces recovered the castle, the sun had set.

It is

said that the rebels were enabled to make such a deter-

mined stand because deserters from neighbouring clans had
joined them, and the loyal forces were sore fatigued after
the assault.

Even after this Otori Keiske made frequent sallies

from the vicinity of Nikko. The Tosa troops encountered
 105

him at Imaichi without any decisive result. Shortly after-

wards the loyal forces inflicted a severe defeat on the re-
bels, most of whom dispersed, and 6tori was compelled to
take refuge in Aidzu with the few men who still remained
to him.

Some time earlier a number of runaway vassals of the

Tokugawa family had taken up a position at Kisaradzu in

Kadzusa, where they collected large quantities of provi-
sions. The Miya Commanding-in-chief despatched troops
to attack them, upon which they advanced to the town
of Funahashi. At this moment the Bizen troops
happened to be at Yawata ;
those of Todo were at Kai-
dzuka the Chikuzen men
;
at Giotoku, and the Sadowara
troops at Kamagaya. Before dawn on the loth of June
the rebels suddenly sallied forth and attacked the quar-
ters occupied by Todo and Bizen, to the great discomfiture

of those clans. The rebels profited by the advantage thus

gained to pour in a heavy fire, the two clans retreating as

they fought. In this way the pursuit continued as far as

the ferry at Ichikawa, where many of the clansmen were
drowned in their hurry to reach the boats. As soon as
the Sadowara troops heard the sound of artillery they
started from Kamagaya, but were intercepted on their
march by another rebel detachment. They concealed
themselves in a field of millet, and throwing out skir-

mishers, fired with steady aim at the rebels, many of

whom fell.
They then opened fire with a mortar
and put the remainder to flight. At this moment
the main body of the rebels had defeated the loyal forces
at Yawata and Kaidzuka, and
having quartered themselves
at Funahashi, were taking their food. The Sadowara
troops, after this by means of spies,
having ascertained
separated into three bodies one of which advauced along
;

the seashore to the rear of Funahashi, while a second

took the main roailand the third proceeded along a bye-
path. In this way they suddenly surprised the place, and
 106

the rebels defended themselves in wild confusion. For-

tunately the Chikuzen, Todo and Bizen troops came

charging up, and they all attacked the rebels in conjunc-
tion. As the latter fought in the most desperate manner,
the loyal forces set fire to the town, and burnt their den.
The smoke and flames filled the sky, and the rebels falling

finally into confusion, fled in all directions. Three days

after this all the runaway troops in Kadzusa had been
annihilated.

During this month Sanjo Sadaisho was residing at

Yedo in the quality of Kansasshi. The Imperial Court 60

made Tayasu Kamenoske successor to the headship of the

Tokugawa family, and the decree of investment was con-
veyed to him by the Kansasshi. The reason of this pro-
ceeding was that the ex-Shogun had already given satis-
factory proofs of repentance. The value of the fief was
however, not yefc determined, and his retainers murmured
loudly. When Katsu Awa became so frequent a visitor

to the loyalarmy, as before narrated, those who entertain-

ed violent opinions had been offended with his proceedings,

and had secretly plotted to assassinate him ;
and when the

castle, together with all the munitions of war, had after-

wards be given up, they were more displeased than
to

ever. Hereupon they assumed the name of Shogitai (lily.

theBand which makes duty clear) and seized Toyeizan. ,;i

The chief members of the Tokugawa family had for

generations been buried at Kuanyeiji, and it is also said
to

have been intended for emergencies like the present.

Having seized upon the person of Rinnoji no Miya, these
seditious persons thought they could devise something.
The Gakno-In pretended to be perfectly qualified to
Shit/6

judge of right conduct and duty, and taking upon

himself
to find fault with the late proceedings of the Imperial

(60) This was a temporary office, created

for the moment. It
would be translated censor in China, but as there is no real English
equivalent it is best to retain the native term.
(61) The name of the park at TJyeno which contains the cemeteries
of several of the Tokugawa SbOguns. It is also called Kuanyeiji.
 107

Court, completely deceived the Miya, and obtained his

sanction to the doings of the seditious ones. The Aidzu
clan and samurai belonging to other clans of the Kuantd
assisted with their moral support, and the seditious gained
confidence. They invited men to enlist and repaired their

arms. Many of the runaway troops, who had been hid-

ing in Yedo since their defeat, and low fellows who were
out of employment, spread the news and came to join, in

hopes of filling their bellies for the moment. There is

no law or order amongst a heterogeneous body of this sort

(lit. a collection of tiles, an assemblage of rooks). When

they walked forth for amusement they carried long swords
in their girdles, wore
high clogs, put on the airs of swash-
bucklers, and swaggered as much as possible. The
loyal troops wore a piece of brocade sewn on to
their clothes as a mutual sign, and the inhabitants of the
'
city used to ridicule them in secret, calling them shreds
'
of brocade' (Kingire). If the Shogitai met with a shred
of brocade' in the streets, they immediately heaped all
manner of insults upon him, or attacked and killed him
with their swords. A number of loyal soldiers were
large
murdered in this
way. The townspeople all feared the
prowess of the Shogitai, who became highly elated, and
the indignation of the troops of the various clans was so strong
that they petitioned for leave to inflict chastisement. The
Miya commander-in-chief and theTvausasshi issued an
order to the Tokngawa family disband the troops col-
to

lected at Toyeizan, but the Shogitai refused to obey. The

Imperial court then summoned Rinnoji no Miya, with the
object of reasoning with him, but Gakuo-In interfered,
and prevented him from attending. It then became neces-

sary for the Court to issue orders for an attack to be made

upon the Shogitai. Omnia Masujiro, the chief director
of Military Affairs, was taken into council, and it was he
who assigned to the different divisions the points which
they were to attack. Satsuma, Higo and Inshiu advanced
 108

from Yujima, Ch6shiu, Hizen, Chikngo, dmura and Sa-

dowara from Hong6, and besides these Bizen, T6d6, Awa,
Owari, Kishiu, Geishiu, and Chikuzen had various posts
given to them. The rebels having heard of the plana,
several hundred of them profited by the night of the 3rd
July to make their escape.

Oil the morning of the 4th, just as day was beginning

to break, the loyal forces made a simultaneous advance

upon Toyeizan. The rebels had previously taken quanti-

ties of said, and under its influence they made a vigorous

charge out of the gate, which caused the loyal forces to

retire on Hirokqji.62 Under cover of a violent storm of
rain and wind which prevailed at the time the latter fought,

with enthusiasm, and having finally made a breach at one

corner of the Black Gate, put the rebels to fight. Gakuo-
In and his friends were dismayed, and taking the Miya
with them barely escaped with their lives by a bye-path,

seeking concealment in the town. Another body of rebels

had occupied Sanno Yama63 whence they fired down on
f

the loyal forces. The troops of Satsuma and other clans

thereupon climbed into the trees, and fired up at them.
The bullets of the rebels fell like
hail, and a large number

of men were knocked over, but the loyal forces kept on

bringing up fresh men, and succeeded at last in driving the

rebels from their position. The rebels then occupied the
hondo (Chief Hall) of the monastery, and endeavoured to
defend themselves, but the loyal forces set it on fire, com-

pelling them to escape in a body. The loyal forces at

Nedzu and Dango zaka were lying in wait, and completely

annihilated them. During this engagement most of the
part of the town in the immediate vicinity of Toyeizan
fell a prey to the flames. The hondo continued to burn
with increasing fierceness during the night, and the smoke
and flames rose up to the sky ;
it was not till ten o'clock

(62) The wide

street leading up to the main gate.
(b'3) An
elevated spot in the grounds of Toyeizan where stood a
shrine to the Shinto deity Sann6.
 100

at night that the conflagration ceased. Fear fell upon all

men, and the inhabitants of the city when they saw the
*
shreds of brocade,' communicated their awe to each other,
so that the '
shreds of brocade,' at last commanded respect
throughout Yedo. Shortly afterwards the Imperial Court
fixed the amount of the Tokugawa fief. Seven hundred
thousand koku of land in Stiruga, Totomi, Oshiu and
Dewa were granted to the clan, while the retainers were
deprived of their titles. Before the amount of the fief
was determined the retainers of the Tokugawa family had
expected that three million koku would be granted, or
two million at least, so that when the decree was issued

they were filled with consternation,, and all said that the

Shogitai had really ruined the business.

Seme time before this Hayashi Shonosuke, in concert
with the runaways, had departed to his fief at the head
of several hundred men, and now occupied the pass of
Hakone. The Imperial Court despatched two of its Mili-
tary Inspectors named Nakai and Mikumo to Odawara, to

attack Hayashi and his companions with the troops of

that clan ;
but the Odawara people secretly aided Hayashi,
and having killed Nakai, expelled Mikumo from the
town. The Imperial Court immediately marched its

armies against Odawara to demand satisfaction, to the,

great alarm of its clan, which found itself perfectly help-

less. It put the ringleaders to death, and begged for
mercy on the condition of attacking Hayashi and his com-
panions, but the latter shortly afterwards escaped by sea
to the north. The Imperial Court deprived Odawara of
a portion of its territory, and pardoned its offence, after
which the eight provinces of the Kuanto became quiet
again.
During this month the Court announced to the Toku-
gawa family, lhat, as a special act of grace, it would take
intoits service the
remaining retainers. This was fol-

lowed by the submission of a large number of them.

 110

Before this aii expedition bad been despatched to

attack Aidzu. The troops of Kaga, Owari, Satsuuia,
Choshiu, Echizen, Matsushiro and Matsumoto advanced
from the Echigo side, while otber detachments of Satsnma
and Choshiu, with the troops of Ogaki and Oshi-no-Gioda,
advanced by way of Shirakawa in Oshin. The runaway
soldiers of Tokugawa, together with the troops of Aidzu,
Sendai, Tanagura, Nakamura and other clans, had

occupied the castle of Shirakawa, and defended their

position with vigour. The loyal forces engaged them
hotly, and, after experiencing an average loss in killed
and wounded, succeeded in taking the place. This was
followed by the general submission of the surrounding
district. Shortly afterwards the rebel army attacked
Shirakawa in great force, and defeating the loyal forces,

occupied the castle.

About the same time some four hundred troops of the
Mi to under the leadership of Ichikawa and Asaina,
clan,
two of the ' wicked party,' joined the rebel army in Echi-
go. The rebels were in occupation of the Castle of Na-
gaoka, Ochiya and other places, and their strength was

increasing daily but the

; loyal forces attacked them at

Ochiya and put them to flight. Detachments were then

posted at various points, some on the opposite side of the

Shinano gawa, while others held the Enoki pass, Miokeu
and Kanagura yama, The Enoki pass is very steep on ;

the left it commands the Shinano gawa, while on the right

it lies Kanagura yama, in the direct road to Na-
close to

gaoka. This pass had hitherto been occupied by the

rebels, but they were expelled from it by the Matsushiro
and Owari troops. The loyal forces then advanced
on Nagaoka from all sides,but the rebels fought stoutly
for several days in succession, without the victory declar-

ing itself for either side. After an interval of ten days,

the rebels surrounded Miokeu and the Enoki pass in

great force, which places were defended by the troops

 Ill

of Satsuma, Choshiu, Owari and Uyeda. The loyal forces

on the eastern bank of the river, being thus cut otF from
their supports, were left alone in a position of great peril.
The Military Counsellors Kuroda Riosuke and Yama-
gata Kioske picked out the best men from the troops on
the right bank, and sent them to fall upon the rebels in
front and rear. Profiting by the morning mists the cap-
taius Miyoshi Gun tar 6, Hori Sentaro and Sakeda Jiuzae-
lnou started in command of two hundred Choshiu and
Takata troops, '
with gags in their mouths,' Gi and cross-

ed the river Chikuma gawa. Heavy rain had fallen for

some weeks previously and the river was so swollen that

the boats were nearly upset. The men had great difficul-
ty in reaching the opposite bank, but landed without loss

of time and attacked the rebel earthworks. Great confu-

sion ensued, and the rebels hastily abandoned their posi-
tion. The loyal forces then took possession of the artil-

lery, and turned it on the rebels, several tens of whom

fell. At the same moment three hundred men of the
Satsuma and other clans crossed from Uyeshita mura,
took a rebelredoubt, and put the occupants to flight. The
rest of the forces then crossed the river, and the loyal
troops from the Enoki pass and Mioken also hastening up?
the rebel army fell into great confusion. The loyal troops
then advanced simultaneously with drums beating, and
the rebels, after burning the Castle, retreated to Tochio

by a byeroad, taking the dalmio of Nagaoka with them.

The loyal army occupied the town at noon.

Upon the news of the reverse at Shirakawa being

brought to Yedo the Imperial Court despatched the troops
of Inshiu, Bizen, Yanagawa, Sadowara and
Omura,
Kasaina as reinforcements, and upon their arrival joint
attack was made by the whole army. The rebels were
dismayed, and throwing down their arms took to flight.
—
In the 6th month (July 20 Aug. 17) the castle was at

(64) This is a Chinese metaphor, not warranted by Japanese practice.

 112

lastretaken by the loyal forces. The road to ShirakawB

being very hilly the possession of the place carried with
it
great advantages both for offence and defence, and it was
on this account that the two armies contested it so hotly.

Having thus taken the castle of Shirakawa, the loyal

forces proceeded to strengthen its defences, with the ob-
ject of advancing on Aidzu with the least possible delay.
The rebels on their side being strongly posted at the
castles of Tanagura and Iwakidaira, they then separated
into two divisions, one of which advanced by way of

Hata, while the other took the high road. About day-
break on the 12th August they closed in upon the castle
of Tanagura, and after spending some time in bombarding

it, captured it at two o'clock in the afternoon. The rebels

thereupon concentrated their best troops at Iwakidaira,
and they maintained such a bold front that the loyal
army was almost unable to advance. In the seventh
—
month (August 18 September 15) the Military Adviser
Kawada Sakuma and his officers determined on a plan for
making the attack with the combined forces of all the
clans. The Inshiu, Yanagawa, Sadowara and Bizcn
troops advanced by Yumoto ; another body of Yanagawa

troops with those of Satsuma, Shoshiu and Omnia

taking the Onahama road. Before dawn on the 30th
August they approached Iw akidaira,
r
but the rebels

having obtained information beforehand, had left the

castle and thrown up a battery about a ri distant. The
Inshiu, Yanagawa aud other troops nevertheless attacked
and put them to flight, after which they advanced to-
wards the castle. The rebels had erected a stockade
outside the gate and discharged a volley of musketry
from behind it on the Yanagawa troops, but the latter
made a spirited attack and forced their way in. The
Satsuma troops also captured the outer ring of the castle.

Still the rebels kept up an artillery fire from the other

end of the bridge. A hundred and fifty Yanagawa men
 113

crept .secretly along the beams which supported it and

suddenly fell on the right wing of the rebels, while others
of the loyal troops advanced along the bridge. The
rebels now gave way and retreated into the keep, followed

closely by the loyal forces, who attacked thern in their

stronghold. The defence was stout, and the thunder of

the artillery resounded on all sides, enough to
crumble heaven and earth into ruins. As night had come
on the loyal army withdrew to a secure position outside the

castle, intending to renew the attack on the following

day, but about twelve o'clock in the night flames burst out
in thekeep with great violence, and when the loyal forces
hastened together to the spot they could not find a single
rebel soldier. During the fight of the previous day the
rebels had resisted to the utmost of their strength, and
had exhausted nearly all their powder but before their
;

resistance had lasted twelve hours the loyal forces had

assembled on the outside of the castle. They recognized

the consequent of
trying to continue the
uselessness

defence, and therefore fled eastwards along the scashoic-

road, after setting fire to the castle. The loyal forces thus
obtained command of the whole neighbourhood. Iwaki-
daira is. famed for having a stronger position than any
other place in Oshiu or Dewa it is convenient to defend
;

but difficult to attack. To this cause was ascribed the

fact that the loyal forces lost more than the rebels in killed
and wounded.
At this momeut Ninnaji no Miya, accompanied by the
two Court nobles Saionji and Mibu, was in Echigo at the
head of the forces, having been appointed Commander-in-
chief of the Expedition for the chastisement of Aidzu.
The army occupied Nagaoka, and was engaged in throw-
ing up earth works in the vicinity. On the side of the
rebels also great activity was displayed in the construc-
tion of fortifications close which were manned by
opposite,
runaway Tokugawa soldiers, and by the troops of the
 114

Aidzu, Yonezawa, Nagaoka and other clans, and they

completely blocked up the roads. Cannonading went on
every day without any decisive result. council of war A
was held by the loyal forces on the 10th of September,
at which it was decided to break through the rebel lines

and to march on Aidzu. The points at which each divi-

sion was to attack were duly laid down, and as it had

been reported that another division of the loyal forces
had landed from a large war vessel somewhere in the
territory of Shibata, the whole army lay down to take a

slight sleep, with the intention of taking the field on the

morrow at day-break. The
were however perfect-
rebels

ly acquainted with plan, and in the middle of the

this

night they sent a body of picked troops to attack the most

exposed earthworks. Profiting by the disorder created

amongst the loyal troops by their vigorous musketry and

artillery fire theyadvanced upon Nagaoka, the garrison
of which, on hearing the sound of firing, supposed it to
be a signal that their own side was attacking the rebels,
and made ready to march. Soon fires burst out in alt

directions and the sound of firing gradually approached ;

and they were astounded when the scouts reported, say-

ing the rebel troops have advanced to the attack.'
:
'
The
rebels arrived immediately afterwards, and falling violent-

ly on the loyal troops, inflicted a severe defeat on them.

Following up their advantage, they pursued the fugitives
and hurled them into the river. A large number of the

loyal troops were thus killed. Shortly afterwards the

day broke, and the rebel troops succeeded in recovering
Nagaoka. From the moment of the capture of this town
by the loyal army tho towns-people had been in constant
communication with the rebel forces, and kept them daily
informed of what went on in the loyal army, and on the
occasion of this battle they had been particularly useful in
this way, which was believed to be the cause of the mark-
ed success of the rebels,
 115

On the 12th, one part of the loyal army collected at

the Euoki pass and at Miokenzaka, while the other occu-

pied the left bank of the Shinano gawa. They busied

themselves hi constructing batteries on the edge of the river,
and in fighting the rebels. The latter prepared to cross

the river in great force and to come to close quarters, and

the loyal army had great difficulty in maintaining its

ground. Some proposed to Mikuui pass

retreat over the
in order to elude the rebels while they were fresh, and

attack them when they became exhausted, but the mili-

" To retreat a
tary adviser Yamagata replied :
single step
" at the would be
present juncture simply encouraging
" the we take in advance dis-
rebels, while every step
" concerts need we
their plans. Why consider that
" our
strategy has failed because of a single reverse ?
" I am informed that the Shirakawa
army has already
u taken
possession of the surrounding country and is daily
" further into Mutsu and Dewa. I am of
forcing its way
" must look and
opinion that these slaves to their rear,
" that
they cannot long hold out. Do you gentlemen
" strive
your hardest." A
plan for renewing the attack
was then determiud on, while the rebels rendered com-
placent by their victory of the previous day, were gradually
relaxing their vigilance.
At day-break on the morning of the 15th the loyal forces

profited by a dense fog to reconnoitre the rebel camp from

Mioken, and ascertained that the rebels were still asleep.
Upon this they drew their swords, and rushed in, hacking
about them on all sides, and killing several tens of the
rebels. They then poured in a vigorous fire with their
muskets, and the blood of the defeated rebels dyed the
earth. The loyal forces then appeared on all sides, 'and
advanced on Nagaoka with shouts, throwing the rebels
into complete confusion. Having fired the town in every
quarter, they opened fire with the artillery, and the dis-

mayed rebels fled out of the place, which the loyal army
 116

succeeded in occupying. Those of the inhabitants who

had been in communication with the rebels were arrested
without exception, and condemned to death. The town
of Nagaoka had been so frequently fired by the soldiery

since the fifth month (June 20 — July 19) that the castle
and had been almost entirely destroyed, leaving
streets

nothing but a wide aud desolate waste.

During this month the name of Yedo was changed to
T6kio.<> 5

A short time before these events three commanders of

the Aidzu expedition, namely the Court nobles Kujo
Sawa and Daigo, had proceeded by different roads into
Mutsu and Dewa, accompanied by eighty Satsuma and
Choshiu soldiers, to assume the direction of the clans in

those provinces, but most of the clans mistrusted them,

and they were unable to enforce their orders. The troops
of Akita, Tsugaru and Ikoma
alone obeyed them.
When the Aidzu clan first withdrew to its territory, it

eommenced making preparations for war, and the prince

of Shonai also gave orders to his clan to give secret
moral support to Aidzu. The Akita and Ikoma troops

consequently had several encounters with Shonai, in

which they were usually defeated. Shortly afterward the
runaway Tokugawa soldiers, in combination with deserters
from Sen da and the Shonai
i
troops, invaded the territory
of Akita, which complained to Kujo, who, with Daigo, was
at this moment at Sendai. The Sendai and Yonezawa
clans, on receiving orders to join the expedition against

Aidzu, had despatched troops to the frontier, where they

received letters from Aidzu imploring their pity. They
consequently withdrew their troops, and having assembled

(G5) Or Tokei, another pronoun elation. It is possible that this

change, apparently so unnecessary, was made in order to facilitate the
Mikado's removal from Kioto, by familiarizing the people with the idea
of two capitals, an eastern and a western one Though the name Kioto
has been retained as the official designation of the ancient residence
of the sovereign, it is more often called Saikio, or Western capital, by
all classes, in contradistinction to Tokio, thus proving that the object if
there was one, has been attained.
 117

a conference at Shiralshi of Nambn, Nlwa, Miharu and

seven other clans, entered into a league, the object of
which was to obtain the pardon of Aidzu, as set forth in a
joint' petition which they addressed to Kujo. The Mili-
tary Counsellors replied "If
: Aidzu sincerely wished to
"
beg pardon for his offence, he would give material proof
" of subuiissiveness
by surrendering his castle and hand-
ling over his arms. But instead of acting thus, he has
" detached
troops to the castles in the neighbourhood, and
" is
straining even now to strengthen his defences, thus
" At the same
offering resistance to the Loyal Army.
" time he sends in his errors and im-
letters, palliating
" Is this the proper way to ask pardon for
ploriug pity.
" offences ? And do the clans consider this
light? We
"have also heard that samurai of the Sendai and other
" clans have
secretly joined the rehel army in large
" numbers."
They therefore rejected the letter without
taking any notice of it, and gave orders to march the troops
against Aidzu. Sendai, Yonezawa and the other clans
were decidedly unwilling to obey, and the seditious clans-
men grew angry, saying :
ci
The
generals were willing to
"
graut our request, but the Military advisers have inter*
" fered and
prevented their doing so. They make use of
" the
Imperial Court as a tool for the execution of their
"own schemes, and their treasonable practices will he
"
punished as they deserve." They then assassinated the
Military adviser Serata, and published the list of crimes of
which they accused him, in order to stir up Nambu and the
other claus to resistance. Great excitement was the result,
and the clans took counsel together to aid Aidzu in concert.
The commotion spread far and wide. Kujo and his com-
panions thereupon quitted Sendai and came to Morioka,
but as this clan had joined the league, the soldiers carried
off Kujo and Daigo, and took refuge in Akita, where they
fouud Sawa. Having consulted together they despatched
a secret messenger to Yedo with information of the alarm-
 118

ing state of affairs. The Imperial Court was profoundly

alarmed. All the daimios of Mutsu and De\va were
deprived of their titles,and orders having been issued to
chastise them, troops were moved forward in increasing
numbers. no Miya and Gakuo-In, who had
Rinnoji
absconded some time before, were in the north, and they
now entered Sendai, where they were acknowledged by
the clan. The confederated clans became more confident,
and breaking off all relations with the loyal army, at last
advanced upon Akita. This clan, left entirely to itself,
was immiuent danger of being defeated and crushed,
in

but the troops of Satsuma, Tosa, Hizen, Shimabara and

Hirado arrived shortly afterwards, and the loyal army
recovered its strength in a great measure. Kujo and the
others, finding themselves surrounded by enemies and
obliged to wander about and undergo all sorts of hardships,
had been in a very uncomfortable position, so that they
now felt as if they had been restored to life.
The loyal army in Akita, being now recruited, daily
made excursions into the neighbourhood, which conse-
quently had to submit. The other divisions also daily
advanced further into the enemy's territory, and captured
both Nihommatsu and Miliar u. The troops of Sendai,

Nambu, Yonezawa and Shonai made an obstinate resist-

ance, but the loyal army, some hard fighting, suc-

after

ceeded in taking Komagamine in the Sendai territory.

At the same time detachments were sent by the different
divisions to attack Nambu, Yonezawa and Shonai, but the
rebels resisted so sturdily that the loyal army met with
frequent reverses. But not long afterwards the rebels
began to feel disheartened at the defeats which they had
sustained in Echigo and at Shirakawa, while the loyal
army was everywhere triumphant, and began to close in

upon Sendai and the other three clans.

In the eighth month (September 16 —
October 15) Kayo
no Miya was deprived of his patent of nobility. This
 119

Prince, who harboured schemes of his own, had been in

communication with the Kuan 6 from (he time of Toku-
1

gawa Reiki's flight to the east, and had sent secret mes-

sengers to him. Keiki, however, rejected his overtures,

and returned no answer. When the Prince's intrigues

w ere
r
discovered, he was banished to Geishiu. Kayo no
Miya is the same person as the In no Miya.

During Reiki's residence in Mito fighting continued to

go on in the immediate vicinity, and it was falsely
rumoured that the seditious intended to seize his person ;

so that he had reason to fear newT complications. The

retainers of the Tokugawa family being now settled on the

fief in Suruga, Keiki sent in a memorial, praying for leave

to remove to Sumpu, and the Imperial Court granted his
request. He removed thither, and remained there
at once

in strict seclusion.

During this month Enomoto Kamajiro, Matsudaira Taro

and Arai Ikunosuke, with Nagai Gemba at their head,
carried off the Kaijo,
Kaiten, Banriu, Shinsoku, Chokei,
Oye and Hogo, seven vessels in all, from the Shinagawa

anchorage. The Imperial Court had at first intended to

take possession of all the war-vessels belonging to the

Tokugawa family, but Enomoto and his friends petitioned

to be allowed to keep them, so that the Court was obliged

to be content with the Fujiyama and three others, be-

stowing the Kaiyo Maru and the rest upon the Tokugawa
family. Enomoto was a skilled navigator, and the officers
under his command were also experienced in their pro-

fession. The Kaiyo Maru, of which he was captain, car-

ried twenty-six guns, and the engines were of 400 horse-
power she was solidly constructed and well-equipped,
;

and had the reputation of being the finest vessel in Japan.

Presuming on the possession of such a ship, the naval men
had constantly found fault with the submissiveness of the
chief of the clan. When the Drilled Troops deserted from

Yedo, Enomoto, who happened to be lying off Shinagawa,

 120

secretly entered into combination with them, and they

promised to assist each other when the opportunity should
arrive. When
he and his companions heard of the rising
of the confederated clans in Mutsu and Dewa they took
counsel together, saying " Who in the
:
empire can resist
" command
us, being in of such a powerful war- vessel ? It
" will be for us to roam at will over the
perfectly easy
u and lend aid to the land forces." So they sent in a
sea,
letter to the Court, in which the necessity of pacifying
the crews was given as the pretext for leaving, and then

departed. The Tokugawa family sent a despatch-vessel

in pursuit, but being unable to overtake them, handed in

the letter to the Imperial Court. The Court was violently

angry, and severely censured the Tokugawa family for

the haughty and insolent language of the document. The
Tokugawa family was at its wit's end. The Court then
declared Enomoto and his companions to be pirates, and
in communicating this to the representatives of foreign
countries, desired them to hold no communication with
the ships. A
proclamation was also issued to the people,
interdicting them from furnishing supplies to the runaway
vessels.

By army, having occupied Nihom-

this time the loyal

matsu, was attacking Sendai and the other clans with

separate detachments. It advanced every day further into

the enemy's territory, but without taking any notice of

Aidzu. The Aidzu clan and the runawT ay soldiers held
all the roads in that district, and continued strengthening
their position. The Military advisers Ijichi and Itagaki
took counsel together, saying " Aidzu is the root of the
:

"
rebellion, while Sendai aud the other clans are but the
" leaves aud branches. If the leaves and
you pursue
" branches and
neglect the root, they will spring up again
" as often as we destroy them. The best plan would be
" to disturb the
root, for if that once moves, the leaves
'-'
and branches will wither of themselves. Besides, thirty
 m
u
days from this the castle of Wakamatsu will be deep in
"
snow, and the cold will be so intense that the army will
" be unable to advance. We must lose no time." So leaving

the other clans to act against Sendai and its confederates,

they started from Nihommatsu ou the 7th of October at

the head of the Satsuma, Choshiu, Tosa, Ogaki and Omura

troops, and marched in the direction of the Katanari pass,

which forms the boundary between the fiefs of Aidzu and
Nihommatsu. The rebels had previously constructed a
battery on the summit of the pass, and as the troops
advanced they opened fire. The loyal forces put them to

flight in the first engagement, and captured Inawashiro

on the same day. Having constructed a temporary bridge
in place of the bridge at the side of the lake, which the
rebels had destroyed in order to stop the way,
they crossed the river, and routed the troops
which were stationed on the Takizawa pass. On
the 8th, they entered pell-mell into the town of Waka-

matsu, and straightway took the outer ring of the

castle. The rebels were taken by surprise, and said: "Has
u the *'
and retired within the
loyal army flown here ?
castle in a body. The Aidzu clan had stationed large
bodies of troops at Aidzugawa, Slionai, Fujiwara, Sando-

goya and other passes to meet the attack of the loyal

army, and trusting to the precipitous character of the
Inawashiro pass had only detached a few tens to that

place, so that the loyal army, profiting by their weakness

at this point, quite took the rebels aback. Advancing
upon the town, it bombarded the castle day after day, so
as to crush the spirit of the rebels, and give time for the

remaining divisions to
up. come When the rebel
detachments who were scattered about to hold the other

passes heard that the loyal army had entered the town of
Wakamatsu they abandoned their posts and fled to the

castle.

Early on the morning of the 10th the garrison sallied

 122

forth in great numbers and attacked the loyal forces,

defeating (hem completely and killing many. The mill*
tary advisers therefore dispersed their troops for a while,
and the rebels, not venturing to follow them up, retired
into the castle. The loyal army then reassembled, but was
a second time routed by the garrison, who attacked it

about noon. At the same moment, however, a detachment

of the loyal army upon the rear of the rebels and
fell

created great confusion. This enabled it to rally and

inflict a severe defeat on the garrison, which retreated

into the castle.

On the same day the troops of Owari, Kishiu, Hizen,

etcetera,advancing from Shirakawa, and those of Geishiu,
Utsunoraiya, Otawara, etcetera advancing from Fujiwara,
attacked the rebel troops whom
they encountered on their
line of march, and entered the town of Wakamatsu by

dusk. At twelve o'clock at night the garrison stealthily

assaulted thecamp of the loyal army, which repulsed them
after some hard fighting. These nocturnal sorties became
henceforth matters of frequent occurrence, and the loyal

army had hard work to defend itself.

At this moment the loyal Echigo advanced

army in

upon Aidzugawa with the object of entering Wakamatsu.

The rebels had constructed a line of posts twenty miles in
length on the opposite side of the river, which the loyal

forces, after some desperate fighting, succeeded in turning.

But the rebels put forth their strength, and fought so

hard that they keep the road effectually
managed to

barred. Shortly afterwards the loyal army which was at

Wakamatsu advauced upon the rebels at Aidzu-gawa, and
drew off theif attention, thus giving the loyal army of

Echigo an opportunity, of which it availed itself to defeat

thj rebels. The latter therefore abandoned their posi-

tions and reached the castle of Wakamatsu by bye-roads.
On the 25 th October the whole of the loyal army of Echigo
entered the town of Wakamatsu, and effected a junction
 123

with the other divisions. The loyal army was therefore

in great force. That division of it which had advanced
from Nihommatsn bad captured Tenneiji yama, close to
the castle in a commanding position. Field pieces were
at once placed in position and a cannonade directed upon
the interior of the fortress. The garrison defended them-
selves stoutly, and replied to the fire, so that the loyal

forces found it another battery over

necessary to construct
against the southeast corner of the castle, from which

they kept up a vigorous bombardment.

On the night of the 28th the garrison made a sortie in
force to the east of the castle and surprised the loyal army,
which, owing to its ignorance of the locality, was defeat-
ed and dispersed, with great loss both in killed and
wounded. On the following morning the loyal army
bombarded the castle with shell, hitting the towers and
keep with destructive effect. A large number of the
garrison were killed by the fragments, and the inmates of
the castle were aghast. Nevertheless the garrisou flew
kites over the castle, in order to convey the idea that

they had plenty of leisure for amusement. Not long

afterwards the division which lay on the west of the cas-
tle pressed up and cannonaded it,but the garrison replied
with such effect as to lay many of the loyal troops low.
On the 30th the whole army made a combined advance
on the castle, thus preventing the garrison from making

any more sorties. The Military Advisers Tjichi, Yama-

gata and Itagaki took counsel together, saying "When :

"an army advances far from its base into a mountainous

"country, and continues this long, calamities are not un-

likely to befall it. The best plan would be to assault
"the castle boldly, scaling it in a body, and so settle the

"question of victory or defeat." They then assigned to

each division the point at which it should make the attack.
The duty of leading the van was imposed upon the
Yonezawa clan, which had lately given in its adhesion to
 124

the loyal army. It consequently set its troops in motion,

and the garrison, henceforth deprived of its moral support,

was considerably weakened. In the confusion consequent
upon the entrance of the loyal army from Nihommatsu,
the rebels had been unable to put the castle in a complete
state of defence, and their provisions were already ex-

hausted. Moreover, the Sendai and other clans, dis-

heartened by repeated reverses, were on the point of

offering their submission and praying for pardon.

On the 3rd of November Teshirogi and Akidzuki of the
Aidzu clan sent a messenger to the Yonezawa camp, the

occupants of which, afraid of incurring suspicion, bound

him and sent him to the Tosa camp. On being interro-
gated by the Tosa troops, he explained that the garrison
wished surrender.
to After consulting together, the
Military advisers granted the following conditions, name-

ly that the prince and his son should come and surrender
themselves, and that the castle, together with the arms,
should be handed over, by a certain day. They then dis-
missed the messenger. The Aidzu clan accepted the con-
ditions.

On the 7th the prince, his son and their principal re-
tainers came forth from the castle and surrendered,
offering possession of the castle and the arms at the same
time. It. is said that a certain principal retainer of the

clan, humiliated by this result, slew his wife and children,

and by falling on his sword. Five days
killed himself

later Sendai, Nambu, Shonai and the other clans submitted,

and gave up their arms. The Nambu clan subsequently

revolted again, but was subdued by the loyal army in a

single engagement.
Shortly before this when the fall of Wakamatsu be-
came imminent, Ichikawa and Asaina, members of the
Wicked Party in Mito, entered that town with several
hundred of theirassociates, but the Righteous Party
resisted them, and many were killed or wounded on either
 125

side. The Righteous party then reported the affair to

the Imperial Court, which despatched the clans of the

vicinity to chastise the Wicked Party. They were se-

verely defeated, and Asaina and Ichikawa, barely es-
caping with their lives, sought a hiding place in the neigh-
bourhood of Narita in Shimosa, but being discovered and
arrested by the Mito clan, suffered death by decapitation.
When the loyal army attacked the castle of Waka-
matsu, was only provided with twelve-pounder guns,
it

the larger cannon being too heavy for transport on account

of the hilly nature of the surrounding country. It was

this cause which lengthened out the siege of a single

fortress by so large a force to thirty days. When the
Eastern war broke out the clans of Mutsu and Dewa
were armed with ordinary muskets, while the loyal
all

army opposed them with breechloaders of American in-

vention, which was the cause of their being so terrible in

fight.
On the 22nd of this month (Nov. 6) no capital punish-
ments were any part of the Empire, it being
inflicted in

the Tenno's birthday, and he entertained all his officii Is

with a banquet. Henceforward the day was constituted
the Imperial Fete, and the whole empire was commanded
to celebrate it as an occasion for
rejoicing. The chrono-
logical period was also changed to Meiji (Enlightened
Government), and an imperial proclamation was published
making it a rule for all time that there should be only one
chronological period for each reign.
During the spring of this year the Gazette Dojokan
nisshi was printed, and published to the empire, so that
all the people might be acquaiuted with the administra-
tive decrees.

During the summer of this year government paper

money was manufactured, in consequence of the expendi-
ture being in excess of the revenue. It was first placed
in circulation in the following spring.
 126

A treaty was concluded with. Spain in the autumn.

Englishmen were hired to build lighthouses at various

points on the coast, so as to facilitate the navigation of the

seas.

On the 16th November 6t> the Ten no arrived in Tokio.

Arisugawa, the Miya Comimanding-in-Chief, returned into

his hands the brocade banner and the sword of justice

(setto) in token of the pacification of the north and east.

His Majesty graciously thanked him for his services, and
bestowed gifts of money on the other military officers.
He then ordered all his officials to discuss the sentences to
be passed on the clans of Mutsu, Dewa and Echigo which
had given in their submission.

In the 11th month (December 14 January 12, 1869), —

the Prince of Aidzu aud his son and the Princes of

Sendai, Youezawa and the other clans were summoned

to Tokio. Shortly afterwards Rinuoji no Miya and his
following returned from the north. He was placed in
seclusion in the Palace of Fushimi no Miya at Saikio

(Kioto). Itakura Iga and his son, aud the other runaway

leaders, also returned aud were placed in seclusion.

1869. — In the 12th month (January 13 — February

10) a special Imperial Proclamation was published con-
demning the Princes of Aidzu, Sendai, Youezawa and
other clans to punishment one degree less than death, aud
to seclusion in their several clans. The territories of Sen-
dai, Youezawa and the rest were all diminished by one-

third, and the succession to those fiefs given to a member

of each family. The province of Mutsunoku (Mutsu, or

J&shiu) was divided into live, namely Iwaki, Iwashiro,

Rikuzen, Rikuchiu and Mutsuuoku. Dewa was divided
into two provinces, Uzen aud Ugo. Iu the following year
lands at Tonami in Mutsu, assessed at 30,000 koku of
rice, were bestowed on the Hoshiua family, in order that

(66) This is an error for November 26th*

 127

its ancestral sacrifices 67 might be kept up. The troubles

of the Empire were now nearly at an end.

During the month an imperial order was given to

Iwakura Uhioyei no kami to persuade the representatives

of England, France, America, Holland, Italy and
Prussia, to withdraw their neutrality notifications, and he
" The rebellious clans of
gave them a letter, saying :

"
Mutsu, Dewa and Echigo have now asked for pardon
" and have The chiefs of
given in their submission.
" those clans have come to Tokio and are
looking for the
" decision of the
government. There is therefore no clan
" in the
country which opposes the Government, and no
"
objection can exist either to selling or lending war-
u vessels and arms to I to
my government. pray you
" consent to this." After several days consultation the

representatives issued notifications to their subjects by

which the neutrality was abolished. The Tenno then
returned to Saikio.

Through the withdrawal of the neutrality notifica-

tions by the foreign countries our Government was for

the first time enabled to obtain possession of an iron-

clad This ironclad had been purchased by the Toku-

gawa family from America and had arrived at Yokohama

during the summer of the year 1868. Upon its arrival the
Government had desired to take it over, but the Ameri-
cans hoisted their flag on it, and because of the neutrality

proclamation refused to give it up. When the neutrality

came to an end, the Government persuaded them to give

(67) If Shinto is a genuine product of Japanese soil, then the custom

of sacrificing to ancestors might fairly be termed its origin and essence ;

but it is difficult not to suspect the latter of being of Chinese origin, like
so many of the customs which are usually regarded as native. The
practice of adoption, which supplies the childless with heirs, is common
all over the east, but its justification in Japan is the necessity of
keeping
up the ancestral sacrifices in the case of the prince of Aidzu this neces-
;

sity is the pretext for not driving the clan to extremities by reducing
it to absolute beggaiy. Hoshina was the original family name of the
princes of Aidzu, but they were permitted to bear that of Matzudaira
as distant relatives of the Tokugawa Shoguns. After the fall of Keiki,
all those princes who had borne this fictitious surname discarded it,
some from choice, others because they were compelled to do so,
 i28

it up. The Kaiyo Mam had been looked upon as the

finest war-vessel in Japan, but when the ironclad arrived
it was considered by some the better of the two.
When the clans of the north and east all gave in their

submission, Enomoto Kamajiro and his friends, who were

in the Sendai territory with the war vessels, found them-

selves deprived of shelter. Otori Keiske also retreated

from Aidzu at the head of the runaway troops, and fleeing
to Sendai, sought shelter with the marine army. Here-
upon, after consulting together, they resolved to seize
upon Hakodate as a base for their operations. Having
quitted Sendai, they came to the port of Washinoki, dis-
tant about ten ri from Hakodate. Shimidzu-dani
Jijiu, the Governor of Hakodate, was at the fort of Kame-

da, by stationing a few tens of Satak6,

and protected it

Tsngaru, Matsumae, 6no, Ogura and Fnkuyama troops

on hearing of the approach of the
at various points, but

runaway vessels, he quitted the fort aud retired into the

town. He eventually retired to Awomori in Tsugaru,
and despatched the Sanji (Vice-Governor) Hori Shingoro
to Tokio to give the alarm. The rebel army shortly after-

wards landed at Washinoki and separated into two bodies,

oue of which was directed against Hakodate under the
command of Otori Keiske, while the other advanced to
Togeshita, but being attacked by the loyal army at the
village of 6no, was forced to retreat. On hearing of this
6tori Keiske sent fresh troops to their aid, and the loyal

army was finally routed.

At the same time a rebel leader named Hijikata Saizo
started from Washinoki in command of other troops, and
crossing the Kawasui pass, arrived at Hakodate by a bye-
road. He then sent out detachments to scour the country,
and occupied the villages ofOno and Fumidzuki. The
troops of Fukuyama and other clans opposed them at
Nanae, and inflicted a severe defeat on them, but not long
afterwards the rebel army carne baok iu great force to
 129

fight. The loyal army fought bravely, and killed Ooka

and Suwate, two rebel captains, but the rebels were not
dismayed, and after several hard-fought engagements
severely defeated the loyal army, which lost heavily in
killed and wounded. Encouraged by their success, the

rebels then proceeded to capture the fort at Kameda, and

two of the runaway vessels, namely the Knaiten and
Banriu, came round from the harbour of Washinoki to
Hakodate. The loyal troops had previously retired to
Awamori with the governor, so that the town was entire-
ly undefended, and the rebels had only to land aud take
possession. The Kaiyo and other war vessels now re-
moved from Washinoki to Hakodate, and the rebels elect-

ing Nagai G-emba be their temporary chief,

to made him
governor of the town. They informed the foreign re-
sidents of this arrangement and promised that he should

settle all business affairs with them. At the same time

the rebel marine forces put to sea in the Banriu, and ad-
68
vancing along the straits of Tsugaru , closed in upon the
castle of Matsumae. The Matsumae troops fired upon the
Banriu from the forts, and the
manoeuvring the
rebels,
vessel within the port, responded with shell. They des*
troyed one of the shore batteries, but the firing from the
others redoubled, and solid shot constantly struck the
runaway vessel, which, being unable to get in close to the

castle, finally departed. The rebel land forces then ad-

vanced in conjunction with the ships : the marine army
came to the bay of Fukushima and opened fire, while the
land army under the leadership of Otori and Hijikata
closed in upon the castle of Matsumae by way of the
villages of Fukushima and Ono.
With the object of enabling the clansmen to maintain an
obstinate defence, the prince had proceeded to Esashi, but
the captain Yasuda Setsuzo and his son, aware that they

(68) Called Shiratsu Nada in the original.

 130

would be unable to resist successfully, advised the prince to

remove to another province. When other clansmen named

Suzuki Oritaro and Tazaki Adzuma etc. heard of this,
they were enraged at what seemed to them a love of
inglorious ease, and
proceeding attacked and
to Esashi,

slew Yasuda and his son. A

commotion ensued in the
clan, by which the rebels profited to enter the castle

straightway. Tamura Riokichi and others of the garrison

set the castle on fire, and died in its defence. Thus the
castle of Matsuinac fell into the hands of the rebels. Five
days only had elapsed since the first attack, aud the loss
of the clan, killed and wounded, had been considerable.

Having thus taken Matsuinac, the rebel naval and

military forces proceeded to concert measures for the re-

duction of Esashi and Tate. One division of the land

forces advanced along the highroad from the castle while

the other took a bye-road from the fort at Kameda.
Euomoto and his companions, embarked
Kaiyo in the

Maru, had already arrrived at he head of the naval force

I

in the bay of Matsumae, whence they sailed along the

coast, and anchored before Esashi. The Prince of Matsu-

mae and seventy followers had previously quitted Esashi
and retired to Tsugaru. The naval force thereupon
landed, and occupying the town, waited the arrival of the
laud army. In the night the winds and waves becamG

very violent, and the Kaiyo Maru^ilmost parted from her

moorings. The rebels put on more steam, with the
object of getting out to sea, so as to avoid the rocks ; but
the gale continued to increase, tossing the vessel about

violently until she suddenly touched a hidden rock,

and
became perfectly unmanageable. The rebels were com-
pletely dismayed, and
the commanders at Hakodate, on

hearing of the accideut, despatched the Kuaiten

and
Shinsoku to bring aid, but the unabated force of the gale
In fact
prevented the two vessels from approaching.

they barely contrived to turn round and get away,

Eno-
 131

nioto and his companions remained on board the Kaiyo

Maru for four days, when the wind abated a little, and
they were enabled to laud with their arms. Ten days
later the ship became a perfect wreck, and the rebels felt

like one who has lost his lantern on a dark night.

The loyal forces were still in possession of the barriers

of Osuuago and Inakuraishi, and the fort of Tate, but the

rebel leader Hijikata advanced at the head of several
hundred men, and beating them in a single fight, crossed
the hills of Osunago, whence the tide of victory carried
him right up to E^ashi. The other rebel
division, which
was advancing along a bye-road, captured the barriers at
Inakuraishi, and immediately closed in upon the fort at
Tate, The loyal army closed the gates, and discharged
vollies of musketry and cannon balls, while the rebels,
who had been unable to carry any artillery over the moun-
tain paths, could only advance under cover of a musketry
fire. Suddenly two rebels came running up, and crawling
under the gate, threw it open from the inside, and admit-
ted their friends, who pressed in pellmell with loud yells,
The loyal army resisted vigorously, and the ranks were
thrown iuto such confusion that it became impossible to

distinguish friends from foes. A loyal soldier named

Mikami Chojiun, brandishing his sword in his right hand
and carrying a fishmonger's chopping-block in his left,

engaged the rebel captain Ina Seichiro and cut him down
on the spot. A rebel captain named Yokoda, who saw
this, came running up with a pistol in his hand, aud was
likewise cut down by Mikami. Upon this two rebel soldiers
ran up, and pierced Mikami through the body from be-
hind so that he died. The loyal army having by this time
beeu completely defeated, the rebels captured the fort, and
advanced along the high-road, where they fell in with the
other division. Having effected a junction they reached
Kumaishi, which they found deserted by the loyal troops.
On this the rebel army returned to the fort at Kame*da
 132

and a volley of blank cartridges was fired from the men-

of-war and the batteries by way of a salute in honour of
their having taken possession of the surrounding country.

Enomoto shortly afterwards had an interview with the

foreign consuls resident at Hakodate and the captain of
the English and French men-of-war, and informed them
that he would decide all matters of business which might
arise in the port. The captains of the English and French
men-of-war sought to place him at his ease with smiling
words, saying that they would act as mediators, and per-
suade our government to withdraw their troops. Euomoto
thanked them for their generous sentiments, and prepared
a letter in which he proposed to get a scion of the Toku-

gawa family come among them, in order that they

to

might develope the resources of Yezo and keep the key

'

of the northern gate.' He entrusted this to the captaius

for delivery to the Government. The rebel troops were
then ordered to appoint their chiefs by ballotting publicly
for them. The result of the election was that Enomoto
Kamajiro was chosen Governor-general (Sosai), Matsu-
daira Taro Assistant Governor-general (Fuku-sosai),
Arai Ikuuoske Commissioner of the Navy (J\aiguahtigio)
and OtoriKeiske Military Commissioner (Rikugun bugib).
This was done in imitation of the practice observed in the
r
nited States of America, where these things are settled

by the wish of the majority. The fort at Kameda was

constituted the head quarters, and governors (bugio) were

placed at Hakodate,Matsumae and Esashi, to superintend

With a view to the development of Yezo
local affairs.

they removed two hundred men to Mororau, and appoint-

ed one Takezawa governor of that place.
As soon as the Imperial Court heard that the runaway
vessels had taken Hakodate it ordered the Tokugawa
chastisement, and
T
family to inflict Tokugaw a Keiki prayed
that he might go in person to chastise them. This the
Court refused, aud gave the order instead to the prince of
 133

Mito. When the Court, therefore, read Enomoto's letter

itwas more than ever displeased at the insolence of his
conduct, and issued orders to the whole Empire to chas-
tise the runaway vessels. The rebels had already lost

the Kaiyo Maru, and their military strength was corres-

pondingly reduced, while the Government possessed the

ironclad, and its naval forces were more formidable.
In the firstmonth of the second year of Meiji (Feb. 11
—Mar. 12, 1869) the daimios of the home provinces and
the western part of the country attended at Court to con-

gratulate the Emperor on the occasion of the new year.

On the 15th of February the Counsellor (sanyo) Yokoi
Heishiro was attacked and murdered by some ronins on
his way home from the Palace. No one knew the motive
of this deed, but some said that the opponents of the con-
stitutionalchanges which he constantly advocated had
69 and
falsely charged him with professing evil opinions,
the ronins, believing this, had acted in consequence.
The ronins who had plotted this crime were afterwards
arrested and decapitated, their heads being publicly ex-

posed after their execution.

During this month it was prohibited to clear the road
( '
for the Nobles, to shout out Shitauiro or otherwise to
affect an empty dignity.
In the second month (March 13th —April 11th) a 'place
of public debate' (Kogisho) was established, and samurai
of all the clans were appointed members (gi-in), with
leave to discuss at their own discretion the means of gov-
erning. Its name was afterwards changed
College of to '

Discussion in Assembly' (Shiugi-In). This was carrying

out the proposal made in 1868 of establishing meetings
for discussion on a large scale, and of deciding upon all

measures by impartial arguments.

During the same month the barriers which had hereto-

fore existed at Hakone and other places on the high-

(69) i.e. Christianity.

 134

roads were abolished in order to facilitate travelling,

Permission to print newspapers was accorded shortly
afterwards. The punishments of transfixing with spears
and death by burning were also abolished.
Iu the third month (April 12th—-May 11th) the Tai-
sho-In was established for the reception of memorials
from samurai and the general population. Tt was after-
wards made subordinate to the Shiugi-In,

In the same month the Tenno again visited Tokid. The

Court nobles {huge) and daimios had been previously
summoned thither also, and they now assembled round the
throne. The Imperial Court asked their opinion as to the
basis of the principles of Government ;
this was also seek-

ing after impartial discussion. They were shortly after-

wards dismissed from attendance, but the Tenno prolong-
ed his stay at Tokio, which was regarded by the people
as the sign of an intention to transfer the capital thither.

In view of the projected expedition against Hakodate

the Imperial Court now notified the representatives of
foreign countries to cause the subjects of those countries
to remove from the port, aud the sea and land forces were
put in motion. The Imperial troops of Fushimi and the
troops of the Hakodate Fu, as well as those of the Satsu-
ma, Higo, Choshiu, Bizen, Mi to, Todo, Kurume, Fuku-
yama, Hirosaki, Matsumae, Tokuyama, Ono and Kuroishi
clans, amounting to about 6,500 men, started on different
days in the direction of Hokodate. As for the naval
forcesShinagawa Yomoichi, Hijikata Kenkichi, Akatsu-
ka Genroku, Nakamura Kuranoske, Oka Seisaburo, Ishi-
kawa Teinojo, Yamagata Kiutaro and others commanded
the iron-clad, the Kasuga (Keangsoo), Teibo, Yoshun
and other war-vessels.
Of these the ironclad, the Kasuga, Teibo, Yoshun and
three others were the first to leave, and they betook
themselves to the harbour of Miyako in Nambu. When
the rebels heard of this they began to discuss how they
 135

might best resist the expedition, and Arai Ikunosuke* left

Hakodate with the Kuaiten, Banriu and Takao. On the
29th of April, before dawn, a war vessel arrived braving
the billows and flying American colours. The ships
imagined it to be a foreign vessel, and therefore paid no
attention, but the strange vessel, on fiuding that the
others were unprepared, suddenly hoisted the national

flag, discharged its guns, and bore down upon the iron-

clad. The ships then perceived for the first time that it

was the Kuaiten, and immediately lit the fires under their
boilers, but they were unable either to manoeuvre or to

work their guns. Olsuka, Nomura and other rebels took

advantage of this to draw and leap on board

their swords

the ironclad, but Shinagawa, Hijikata, Waki and other

loyal soldiers brandished their pikes, and straightway

laid

the rebels low, the captain of the rebel ship,

Koga Gengo,
who was sitting on the bridge of the Kuaiten, gave orders
to discharge a fifiy-pounder gun, and the shot struck

the deck of the iron-clad, wounding a number of loyal

soldiers. The shots of the combined fleet now began to

shower down upon the runaway vessel, while Koga,

manoeuvring backwards
his ship and forwards, responded to
their fire. vSome of the loyal troops took aim at the rebel

captain with small-arms, hitting him iu the left thigh and

right arm, but Koga was not to be daunted, and continued

to cheer on his men. At last they contrived to lay him
low, upon which the rebel soldiers lost heart, and sudden-

ly quitted the harbour. The fleet pursued, but could not

come up with the fugitive, whose object had apparently
been the capture of the ironclad. It is said that the naval
laws permit a vessel to enter a port flying the flag of
another country, and after opening fire to hoist its own
national flag, which proceeding was imitated by the
Kuaiten on this occasion.

The Kuaiten set out on this expedition accompanied by

the Banriu and Takao, but the two last named vessels
 136

were separated from her by stress of weather and driven

out to sea. An
accident occurred to the Takao's engines,
and she found herself close to the harbour of Miyako
unable to go ahead. The Captain, one Kikkawa, and his
crew of seventy men, after setting the ship on fire, land-
ed in the Nanabu territory and surrendered to the Mori-
oka clan. The burning
vessel was espied by the fleet as it
was pursuing the Kuaiten, but on nearing her, it was per-
ceived that the flames had reached the hold and that she
was quite deserted ; so the fleet left her and quitted the
spot. After this the
fleet entered into a compact to ad-

vance straight upon Hakodate. The rebels therefore de-

tached the Kuaiten, Banriu and Chioda to cruise round
the harbour of Hakodate day and night, to watch over its

safety. They also placed detachments of troops at the

Kameda fort, at
Hakodate, Matsumae, Esashi, Fukushima,
Mororan and other places, and theu notified the foreign
residents that they must withdraw. The foreigners then
embarked on board the war vessels of their respective
nationalities and departed.
The Choyo and other men-of-war arrived in the north

during the fourth month (May 12 — June 9), and on the

1 2th of May w eighed
T
anchor from Awomori in Tsugaru
in company with the ironclad, the Kasuga, Yo^bun,
Teibo and the rest of the fleet. They passed close in
front of Esashi at dawn on the morning of the 20th, and
landed the troops at the village of Otobe. The troops
at once proceeded to occupy the important position of

Jogai zan. As soon as the rebels heard that the loyal

forces had disembarked they sent a body of troops, but

the loyal forces fired upon them from their elevated posi-

tion, while the fleet cannonaded their flank. The rebels

were completely defeated, and retiriug to the other side
of the Tsuchiba river, kept up the flight. On this the
fleet turned round and closed in upon Esashi, to the as-
tonishment of the rebel troops at that place and at the
 137

Tsuchiba river, who finally fled to the castle of Matsumae,

The loyal troops then advanced and took possession
of
Esashi.
On the 22nd the loyal army separated into two divisions
in order to attack Matsumae. One advanced from the
Esashi side, the other from the village of Udznra. At
this moment the rebels made a violent onset, with loud
shouts, hoping to recover Esashi. The loyal army en-
countered them fight, but the rebel troops were so
in

ferocious as to come to close quarters with fixed bayonets,

and it had
to fall back, abandoning its cannon and
muskets, and leaving a considerable number of dead on
the field. But the other division which had advanced
to Kikonai and Futamata inflicted a severe defeat on the
rebels.

On the 24th the loynl troops 'with all the men gagged,'
took advantage of the morning mist to surprise the rebel

quarters at Kikonai and Futamata a second time. The

rebels w ere
r

lying concealed among the hills, and poured

in such a hot fire that the loval troops suffered greatly
and were unable to advance. A great battle ensued at
Kikonai in which they were finally defeated with great
loss.

At this moment five hundred runaway troops from

Sendai joined the rebels, who were considerably strength-
ened by this reinforcement, ami the rebel commanders at
the castle of Matsumae, on hearing of the victories at
Kikonai and Futamata, determined to make an attack on
Esashi with (heir whole force. At dusk on the 27th they
arrived at the village of Kiyobe, on which the Kasuga
approached the shore, and opened fire on their flank. The
land forces also advanced, and in conjunction with ho I

fleet inflicted a severe defeat on the rebels, killing a great

number of their officers. The survivors all fled to

Matsumae.
At daybreak on the 28th the loyal army, both marine
 138

and terrestrial, made a combined attack on Matsumae. The

rebels had occupied the battery at Orido on the highroad,
and in
defending it their sharpshooters brought down
several tens of loyal soldiers, preventing the force from

advancing. At the same moment some other loyal troops

had proceeded along the hill path, and they also were met
by another detachment of rebels but by fighting fiercely
;

and advancing with determination they routed them, and

came out into the highroad on the other side of Orido,

thus getting theenemy between two fires. The fleet had

already approached the castle of Matsumae, and was en-
gaged in bombarding castle, batteries and town. The
rebelsbecame so short of cannon-balls that they had to
defend themselves with 18-pounder guns loaded with 12-

pound shot, and these also came to an end at last. The

loyal army, both marine and terrestrial, persisted in the
attack, they completely routed the rebels, who at
until

dusk fled to Fukushima. In this way the castle of Matsu-

mae was taken by the loyal army, while the rebels con-
tinued to hold Fukushima, Shiriuchi and Kikonai.
At six on the morning of the 30th the loyal
o'clock

troops profited by a dense fog to surprise the rebel quart-

ers at Kikonai. Great confusion ensued among them,
which rendered their defeat more easy but at this mo- ;

ment the rebels w ho were at Shiriuchi, hearing of the

T

defeat at Kikonai, suddenly appeared in the rear and fell

upon the loyal troops. This revived the courage of the

rebels, who returned to the encouuter, and the loyal troops,

completely caught between two assailants from opposite

sides, were defeated and put to flight. The rebels then
re-occupied Kikonai.
At eight o'clock on the morning of the 5th June
another division attacked Futamata, but the rebels made
a stout resistance, and nothing could dislodge them.
Fresh men constantly came forward to the fight, and the
discharge of artillery re-echoed far and wide. When
 139

evening came on the result was still undecided, and both

parties withdrew their troops.
At daybreak on the 4th June, the ironclad, the Kasuga,

Choyo, Yoshun, and Teibo, five vessels hi all, advanced

upon Hakodate, while the rebels put the Kaiteu, Banriu
and Chioda in motion to oppose them, and an engagement
ensued in which the opposing squadrons were
separated
sometimes by 5 cho (600 yards), sometimes by 10 cho

(1,200 yards). The sea appeared to boil over. At noon

the fleet withdrew for a while, and shortly afterwards ad-
vanced again. Tbe rupaway vessels, knowing that they
were no match for the loyal fleet, callei in the aid of the
batterv at Benten, and having ascertained the range of the

guns in the battery, made a pretended retreat to the centre

of the harbour in order to draw on the loyal vessels. When
tbe latter followed the fugitives with yells, the shot from
the battery fell right in amongst them, destroying the
bridge and battery of the Choyo, and penetrating her side.
This did not dishearten the fleet, which continued to ad-
vance close, but the increasing intensity of the fire from
the battery and want of knowledge of the depth of water

prevented it from going far in, and it finally drew off.

The fight which took place at Futamata on the same

day was indecisive. The rebel soldiers fired about a
thousand rounds from their muskets, which became in

consequence too hot to hold, and they were obliged to

provide themselves with buckets of water, in which they
cooled their weapons at intervals. On the following day
several hundred of them made a charge right over the
fort, and drove the loyal forces a hundred paces to the
rear. Komai Masagoro, a military inspector, saw this

from an elevated spot, and

filled with impetuous ardour,

rushed down straightway at the head of forty or fifty

men, trampling the enemy down. This revived the
courage of the loyal troops who returned to the fight aud
;

attacked the rebels vigorously, forcing them to retreat and

 140

bold their forts. The number of killed and wouuded on

both sides in this action exceeded four hundred, and the

military inspector Komai met his, death from a random

bullet fired by one of rebels.
At daybreak on the 9th June the loyal forces, both
marine aud terrestrial, advanced in concert upon Yaburai.
The land army advanced in two divisions, and was en-
countered by Otori Keiske at the head of 500 men. At
the same time a detachment of loyal troops began to climb
a steep hill at the side of the road, with the intention of

attacking the rebel left Aving, but were observed and fired
upon from a breastwork which the rebels had constructed
half-way up the ascent. Many of them were killed, and
they had to take another route. Shortly afterwards the
whole loyal army, full of enthusiasm, advanced with deter-
mination, aud succeeded in routing the rebels, while the
iron-clad aud other ships, approaching the shore, opened
fire on the rebel flank. The 100-pounder guns of the
iron-cladbombarded the battery without intermission, and
destroyed the guns mounted therein. Completely crushed
and dispersed, the rebel army abandoned its positious, and
fled to the fort of Kameda and town of Hakodate, where

the fugitives reassembled. Its loss in officers was

very
great. Upon this the loyal army advanced, and captured
the fort, and arrived soon after at Arikawa.
On the 11th June the loyal army advanced to Nanae-
harna and the village of 6no.During the night the rebels

surprised their Nanaeshima, defeated them and

camp at

forced them back on Oiwake. During the following night

the rebels attacked the camp at Ono, and retired again ;

the loyal troops had a hard fight of it, and lost an ex-

traordinary number of killed and wouuded.

At daybreak again moved up to
on the 13th the fleet
the harbour of Hakodate, where was encountered by the
it

Kuaiten, Banriu and Chioda, which in conjunction with

the fort kept up such an incessant fire as caused the sea
 141

to rook. A Bliot from the Kasnga liit the Banriu in her

engines, while those of the ironclad killed several tens of

men in the fort. The rebel fire slackened suddenly, hut
the Meet judged it expedient, to retire, as the evening was
closing in.

At dawn on the 14th, as the iron-clad and other vessels

of the fleet were lying scattered in the neighbourhood of

Hakodate, a runaway vessel came forth, and steered
straight for the iron-clad and the Choyo. On perceiving
the enemy the ships opened fire, but he continued to ad-

vance slowly without returning and charged down

it,

upon the iron-clad. Recollecting the disaster which had

the iron-clad tried
nearly occurred at the port of Miyako,
to avoid the shock. The Choyo continued to fire vigorous-

vessel's but she abstained

ly at the side, still
runaway
from returning the fire, and passing between the iron-clad
and the Choyo, departed. The two vessels were much
to look, found
puzzled, but on approaching near enough
that she had not a man on board, and that her engines

were completely destroyed. They consequently took pos-

session of her, to the great amusement of the rebels, who

said:
" This is what may be called dead Shokatsu put-
"
"ting living Chiudatsu to flight.™' The fact was that
the Chiotla had gone ashore close toBeuten, having lost
her way during the night. The captain, one Morimolo.
in depair, at once smashed the machinery and broke in

the touch-holes of the guns, and then landed in one of the

boats. Enomoto and the others censured him for his

precipitate action, which was so prejudicial to I he cause,

and degraded him to the rank of common seaman, but an
officer named Ichikawa was so ashamed of the affair that

he committed suicide by way of apology to the rest.

When the tide turned, the Chioda began to float, and was
carried out by the current.

(70) An illustration from the Chinese history, vide Jiuhasshiriaku,

vol. III. p. 39.
 142

On the 18th the fleet weighed from Arikawa and stood

over to the harbour of Hakodate. The rebels had placed
the Banriu, which was incapable of steaming, close to the

fort, and converted her into a floating battery. The

Kuaiteu was the only vessel which they were able to op-
pose to the fleet, and a 300-pouiider shot which the iron-
clad immediately discharged killed several tens of rebel
troops, and smashed the eccentric, an important part of
her machinery, thus rendering her also unable to move.
The rebels ran her on to a shoal, and converted her into
a floating battery. Some of the shot fired from her struck
the bows of the Kasnga and killed several of the loyal
troops, after which the fleet retired. On this day the
fleetmight certainly have destroyed the rebel nest with
the expenditure of a little time, but it was prevented from

following up the attack to its result by ignorance of the

depth of water.

On the 17th the loyal army encamped at the villages of

Nanae and Okawa, and during the night the rebel leader
Furuya made a sortie from the fort at Kameda at the head
of 300 men. It happened to be very rainy and windy;
the loyal troops had gone to sleep with less precaution
than usual, and the rebels took advantage of this circum-
stance to attack the camp. A
great commotion ensued,
and the whole camp arose with speed to engage the enemy,
but the night was so dark that no man could see a foot
before him. Some of the troops shot down their own
comrades by mistake, and the rebels departed after
trampling them flat.
During the same night a rebel
soldier, named Okawa, came to the village of Nanae with
several hundred men, and profiting by the darkness to set
fire to the camp made an attack; but the
loyal troops
repulsed him after some hard fighting.

Ou the 18th 6tori Keiske came again to Nanae at the

 143

head of 800 men, bat the loyal troops had previously

placed men in ambush at Okawa and Okagawa, who upon
seeing the rebels approach at once opened fire, and put
them to flight. The loyal troops pursued theui and re-
treated again at nightfall.
The whole of the loyal forces, both marine and terres-
now advanced on Hakodate. On the morning of the
trial,

20th the Kasuga and Yoshun arrived early at the back of

the town, while the land forces, having been brought up
to the village of Saraiifjawa in the Mannen maru and in

a flotilla of boats, were placed in ambush among the hills.

Soon after the ironclad, the Choyo and the Teibo closed
up to the front of the town. The Banriu had been re-
paired by this time and the rebels launched her at the
fleet, supporting her with the fire of the floating battery

Kuaiten and the forts on shore. At this moment the

land troops which had been concealed amongst the hills

suddenly charged the rebels, broke their line and put

them to flight. The Kasuga also advanced to the front

and joined the ironclads and her consorts in an uninter-

mitting attack upon the forts and the Banriu, almost cap-
turing the latter. But the rebel commander Matsuoka
Hankichi defended himself well, and manoeuvred his ship

with the greatest swiftness and ease. He ordered a gun-

ner named Nagaknra to discharge the ' Napoleon' guns,
and the shells struck the powder room of the Choyo.
Black smoke sprang into the air, the roar re-echoed for
ten ri,and the ship suddenly sank. The rebel troops
clapped their hands and shouted repeatedly delightful,'
(

while the fleet advanced to save the dead and drowning.

Encouraged by the occurrence the rebels returned to the

fight, and routing the loyal troops, drove them back to

Nanae-hama, under a cross fire from the Banriu. As

soon as the ironclad and the Kasuga beheld this, they
closed atonce upon the Banriu, and poured in so hot a
fire as nearly to blow her to pieces. Shrinking from the
 144

Combflt, in wlilch shewas no longer able to defend her-

she took to flight and retreated under the fort.
self, The
crew then threw her guns into the sen, destroyed the
engines, set fire to her and to the Kuaiten, and landed.
In this manner the rebels lost all their war-vessels, and
the loyal land forces being no
longer afraid of being taken
in the rear, advanced
again in a heroic and determined
manner to charge the rebels. They slew the rebel leader

Ilijikata Saizo and forty or fifty more, and the defeated

rebels fled to the forts of Kameda and to the batteries at

Cliiyooka and Benten, leaving the loyal army in possession

of the town of Hakodate. The fighting on this day was
very tierce, for both the loyal and rebel armies were des-

perate; ii lasted from six o'clock in the morning until six

o'clock in the evening.
On the 21st the fleet advanced to attack the fort at Ka-
meda, and the ironclad shelled it from a distance of thirty
cho (3,600 y-\^.) without hitting it, but after the captain
had measured the range every shot told. A great part of the
breast-work was knocked to pieces and many of the rebels?
were killed, while the survivors were much discouraged.
On the 22nd, a loyal soldier named Nagayama went to

the battery at Benten and suggested to the rebel troops

ihe advisability of surrendering. Many of them wished to

do so, but some held an opposite opinion and opposed the

idea. Nagayama went again to the rebel camp and saw
Enomoto, to whom he pointed out clearly the advantage ;>l
submission and the injury which persistence in treason
would entail on them. Enomoto was fully alive to the

justice of his reasoning, but was afraid of acting contrary lo

the inclination of his followers; he therefore merely assented

vaguely, and thanked Nagayama for the interest he bad

taken in them. Nevertheless a great number of rebel sol-
diers deserted secretly, and came to surrender themselves.
On the 25th the loyal army sent a different messenger
to Cliiyooka, to talk the rebels over, but instead of obeying
 145

the order, they insulted the bearer of it. This excited

the anger of the loyal army, which thereupon advanced in.
three bodies from Nanae-hama and Kikiono. Captain
Kijirna Raizo, attacking Chiyooka at the head of his troops,
was hit in the right leg by a rebel bullet, but disregarding

his wound, he continued to cheer on his men. Taruzawa,

Kamiyama, Mori, Sudo, Iwami, Shirako and others broke
in the gates or jumped over the ditch. The rebel general
Nakajima Saburoske, a valiant man with his two sons

Tsunetaro and Fusajiro, and Shibata, Asai, Koudo, Fuku-

nishi and others ascended the breastwork and resisted the
attack, Taruzawa distinguished himself by engaging
Nakajima seven
; times they separated and seven times
they met again, until after receiving more than ten wounds
and being covered with his own blood, he succeeded in
laying Nakajima low but his own life was the price of
;

his victory. During this interval the rest of the loyal

troops slew Nakajima's two sons, Shibata and the rest,

and having defeated the rebel army completely, captured
their encampment.
Shortly before this, when the rebel army was so severe-

ly defeated,Enomoto Kamajiro sent a present to the loyal

army consisting of two volumes of '

The complete digest
of the maritime laws of all nations,' which he had former-
ly studied when in Holland. The Military Counsellors
addressed a letter to Enomoto, which they said
in " We :

"thank you for presenting us with two volumes the like

" of which are uot to be found in
Japan, out of regret
" that
they should become the property of the crows.
" Your
generous feeling lays us under a great obligation.
" Some
day or other we will cause a translation of them
" to be
published throughout the empire, and we hope you
" will have no cause to
regret this act." They also seut
five tubs of soke and said by way of thanks, "a slight
" consolation offered to the officers and samurai
for their
'*
fatigues."
 146

On the 26th Tajima Keizd, a loyal soldier, persuaded

Enomoto and his companions to surrender, and on the
following day the rebel leaders, that is to say, Enomoto
Kamajiro, Madsudaira Taro, Arai Ikunoske and Otori
Keiske actually gave themselves up at the loyal camp, in
order that they might suffer punishment in place of the
many. Their surrender was followed by that of Nagai
Gemba, Matsuoka Hankichi, Soma Kazuye and others.
When the rebel army made up its mind to surrender, the
commanders had sent a messenger to Mororan with orders
and the troops which had
for the evacuation of that place,

been stationed there now came in and surrendered. All

the prisoners were subsequently sent to Yedo.
In this compaigu the rebels had the advantage of pos-

sessing in their naval force men well acquainted with their

profession, and the place they had to defend was natural-

ly strong from its position. These two things caused the
heavy losses suffered by the loyal army, but on the other
hand the iron-clad, which advanced without being at all
affected by the shots which struck her, was a source of
great annoyance to the rebels.
When Euomoto and
companions first absconded
his

from Shinagawa three Frenchmen shared their flight, in

order to assist them in their operations, but when the
became evident, Enomoto talked
failure of the operations
them over and sent them back to Tokio. The Govern-
ment consequently informed the French representative
that it could not allow these persons to remain in the coun-

try. The French representative punished them, and when

Hakodate was taken, sent them back to their nalive land.
This was done because they had violated the neutrality.

During the same month the ringleaders belonging to

the Aidzu and other clans underwent the penalty of the
law. Shortly afterwards a Shokonsha (Shrine for wel-
coming spirits) was erected on Kudanzaka in Bancho (at

Yedo) for the celebration of rites in honour of those who

 14?

fell fighting on the 3rd day of the 1st month (Jan. 27,
1868 at the battle of Fushimi), the 15th of the oth month
(July 4, 1868 at Uyeno Yedo), aud the 23rd of the 9th
in

month (Nov. 7, 1868, before Wakamatsu), on account of

the great importance of the battle of Fushimi, the fight
at Uyeno and the surrender of Aidzu. telegraph was A
erected from Tokio to Yokohama to facilitate the com-
munication of business.
In the 6th month (July 20 —
August 17) an Imperial
proclamation was issued by which rewards were granted
for the military services performed since 1867 and 1868.

Pensions and sums of money weie granted to the Hiobu-

kio no Miya (Ninnaji no Miya) the Dazai no Sotsu Miya
(Arisugawa no Miya), to Kujo Sadaijin, Sawa Sammi and
twenty-one Court nobles (huge), to the houses of Shimadzu
and Mori and the chiefs of eighty-eight others clans, to
Saigo Kichinoske, Omura Masujiro and more than a hun-
dred other individuals. Shortly afterwards the offices of

Sadaijin, Udaijin, Dainagon and Sangi were created, and

the names of all other offices under Government were re-
formed. As official titles had been little more than empty
appellations since the chronological period called Daiho
(701-703) it was determined that henceforward the titles

should correspond to the reality.

In the spring of this year the clans of Satsuma, Cho-
sliiu, Tosa and Hizen addressed a memorial to the Throne,
in which it was argued that the daimios fiefs ought not to

be looked upon as private property, and leave was asked

to restore the registers of the clans to the Sovereign. The

other clans followed the example. The Court, however,

declined to decide on its own authority, and only accorded
itsconsent after consulting the general opinion. Shortly
afterwards the designations of Court nobles (kuge) and
territorial princes (shoko, more commonly called
daimio) were abolished and replaced by that of noble
families (kuazoku), A new constitution was framed by
 148

which the three forms of administration called city (FuJ,

clan (Han) and district
(Ken) were combined in one

whole, and the former lords of the clans were temporarily

appointed Governor of clans (Chihanji), the feudal system
being thus completely changed. From this moment the
governmental power was concentrated in the family of the

sovereign, and the Empire was grateful for universal peace.

The End.
«
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
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