Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852’1912 (167 page)

5
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, pp. 531–32. Iwakura was accompanied on this occasion by Nakaoka Shintar
ō
.

6
. For details, see Marius B. Jansen,
Sakamoto Ry
ō
ma and the Meiji Restoration
, pp. 343–44, and
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, pp. 545–46. It is not clear who sent the assassins, although it has been suggested it was probably a “hit squad” of the shogunate.

7
. Construction had started on October 19 (
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, p. 516). The shogunate had raised the needed money by levying a tax of 3 percent on each 100
koku
of village income throughout the country (p. 528).

8
. Paper currency, valid for two years, was issued by the shogunate on December 14 (
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, p. 548). These questions were four of eight specific points raised at this time (pp. 532–33).

9
. Tokugawa Yoshinobu’s recollections of the inexperienced court are related in
Ō
kubo Toshiaki,
Sekimukai hikki
, p. 271.

10
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, pp. 532–33. The text of the edict is on p. 534.

11
. Sir Ernest Satow,
A Diplomat in Japan
, p. 285. Satow dates this impression December 7, 1867.

12
. Ishii Takashi,
Boshin sens
ō
ron
, p. 74.

13
. This description of the contents of Nishi’s
Gidai s
ō
an
is derived from ibid., pp. 75–76.

14
. Quoted in ibid., p. 77.

15
. The term in Japanese is
taikun no monaruki
(Ishii,
Boshin
, p. 78).

16
. In
Boshin
, Ishii favored the former view. Sasaki Suguru expressed the later interpretation in
Boshin sens
ō
, pp. 11–12. A similar view was expressed in Haraguchi Kiyoshi,
Boshin sens
ō
, p. 45.

17
. The text of the proclamation and other details are given in
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, pp. 557–60. See also Ishii,
Boshin
, p. 86. The three titles, all created at this time, were short-lived. The office of
s
ō
sai
, established in January 1869 and abolished in May, was a supervisory post filled by a prince. It was one of the three highest posts (
sanshoku
).The office of
gij
ō
, created at the same time, was an administrative office filled by a prince, a
k
ō
shaku
, or a daimyo. At first it was one of the
sanshoku
, but after the
sanshoku
were abolished, four
gij
ō
were appointed to supervisory posts. The office of
san’yo
(counselors), created in January 1868 as the third of the
sanshoku
, was filled by nobles, daimyos, and retainers with supervisory duties over all branches of the government. It was abolished in August 1869.

18
. This summary of Y
ō
d
ō
’s statement is a conflation of materials in Shibusawa Eiichi,
Tokugawa Yoshinobu-k
ō
den
, 4, p. 127, and
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, p. 561. The most detailed account of the meeting is found in Tada K
ō
mon, ed.,
Iwakura-k
ō
jikki
, 2, pp. 157–61. Ishii, not citing sources, wrote that Y
ō
d
ō
“roared” (
dog
ō
) his anger over the underhanded way in
which
ō
sei fukk
ō
had been brought about. Ishii attributed Y
ō
d
ō
’s overbearing manner to chronic alcoholism (
Boshin
, pp. 86–87).

19
. Tada, ed.,
Iwakura
, 2, p. 159.

20
. Ibid., 2, p. 159. See also Shibusawa,
Tokugawa
, 4, p. 127.

21
. This probably meant that he would suffer a reduction of one degree in his court rank, not that he would totally deprived of rank. Yoshinobu’s court rank was junior second rank. The return of land was expected to bring the government 2 million
koku
of Yoshinobu’s income of 4 million
koku
, but Yoshinobu later told envoys of the court that the shogunate’s income was not, as supposed, 4 million
koku
but only 2 million
koku
(Shibusawa,
Tokugawa
, 4, p. 132;
Ō
kubo Toshiaki,
Iwakura Tomomi
, p. 207).

22
. Tada, ed.,
Iwakura
, 2, pp. 159–60; Shibusawa,
Tokugawa
, 4, pp. 127–28. Iwakura began his impassioned address by conceding that Tokugawa Ieyasu’s benefits to the country had not been insignificant, but he deplored the many offenses of Ieyasu’s successors and especially the shogunate’s actions since the arrival of the foreigners in 1853.

23
. Tada, ed.,
Iwakura
, 2, p. 160;
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, p. 562; Sasaki,
Boshin sens
ō
, p. 14.
Ō
kubo’s speech, as summarized in Shibusawa,
Tokugawa
, 4, p. 128, does not call for subjugating Yoshinobu if he failed to obey the court.

24
. Tada, ed.,
Iwakura
, 2, p. 160.

25
.
Ō
kubo,
Iwakura
, p. 208. Similar accounts are in M
ō
ri Toshihiko,
Iwakura To-momi
, p. 83; Inoue Kiyoshi,
Saig
ō
Takamori
, 2, p. 52; and Ikai Takaaki,
Saig
ō
Takamori
, p. 22. Neither
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
nor
Iwakura-k
ō
jikki
mentions Saig
ō
’s remark.

26
. This is the view of Ishii, who wonders whether Got
ō
did not see the post of
san’yo
flickering before his eyes (
Boshin
, p. 88). Got
ō
was in fact appointed as a
san’yo
on the twelfth day of the twelfth month, along with fourteen other men from five domains—Satsuma, Owari, Aki, Echizen, and Tosa (
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, p. 565).

27
. Shibusawa,
Tokugawa
, 4, p. 132. See also
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, pp. 562–63, and Tada, ed.,
Iwakura
, 2, p. 162.

28
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, p. 569. Satow wrote, “He [Yoshinobu] began by explaining his policy, vindicating his retirement from Ki
ō
to, and expressing his determination to abide by the decisions of a general council. His reply to the particular question asked by the ministers was that foreigners should not trouble themselves about the internal affairs of Japan, and that until the form of government was settled he regarded the conduct of Foreign Affairs as his own function” (
A Diplomat
, p. 304).

29
. Apparently a reference to Iwakura, Sanj
ō
, and others who were exiled during the reign of Emperor K
ō
mei.

30
. The summary and translation represent a conflation of
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, pp. 571–72, and Tada, ed.,
Iwakura
, 2, pp. 187–88. The latter purportedly presents Yoshinobu’s text as composed, but it is too prolix to be quoted here.

31
.
Boshin
was the cyclical designation for the year 1868.

32
. For details, see Shibusawa,
Tokugawa
, 4, pp. 167–68. In a more recent account, Ikai Takaaki attributes the incidents to Sagara S
ō
z
ō
, acting under orders from Saig
ō
(
Saig
ō
Takamori
, p. 25). See also
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, p. 581, where Saig
ō
and
Ō
kubo Toshimichi are jointly given responsibility. Not all the incidents were the work of
r
ō
nin;
some were committed by bandits who only pretended to be
r
ō
nin
(
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, p. 574).

33
. Rumors circulated at this time that the
r
ō
nin
, taking advantage of this and other fires they had set, had abducted the widows of two previous shoguns (Iemochi and Iesada), and carried them off to Satsuma (Inoue,
Saig
ō
, 2, p. 61). Because Tensh
ō
-in, the widow of Iesada, had originally been from Satsuma, it was also rumored that she was in contact with Satsuma samurai and had helped them burn the castle (Shibusawa,
Tokugawa
, 4, pp. 168–69). Satow heard the same rumor: “The Satsuma people had contrived to set a part of the castle on fire, and carried off Tensh
ō
-In Sama, a princess of theirs who had married the last Tycoon but one. Thereupon the government people attacked all the Satsuma
yashikis
in Yedo and burnt them, and the occupants getting on board their steamer put to sea” (
A Diplomat
, p. 309). Note that in this citation Satow refers to the supporters of the shogun as “the government.”

34
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, p. 575. The English seem not to have been impressed by the uniforms. Satow described a similar drill: “Their uniform was in imitation of European style, black trousers with red stripes down the side, and black coats; happy the soldier who could muster a pair of boots, the rest had only straw sandals. On their heads they had hats of papier-maché, either conical or of dish-cover shape, with two horizontal red bands. They used the English infantry drill, with the quaint addition of a shout to indicate the discharge of their firearms” (
A Diplomat
, p. 263).

35
. Inoue,
Saig
ō
, 2, p. 59.

36
. Ibid., 2, p. 65.

37
. The memorandum consisted of eight points, mainly dealing with where the emperor should be moved, who should accompany him, who should remain in Ky
ō
to, and so on. For the text, see Tada, ed.,
Iwakura
, 2, pp. 231–32.

38
. Inoue,
Saig
ō
, 2, p. 65. See also
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, p. 583. Asukai Masamichi provides an additional twist: the imperial palanquin would be sent off toward Hiei-zan, to make the shogun’s forces suppose the emperor had escaped in that direction (
Meiji taitei
, p. 117).

39
. For example, in 1159 Emperor Nij
ō
, disguised as a woman, left his palace to seek safety with Taira no Kiyomori at Rokuhara. The incident is described in
Heiji monogatari
.

40
. Sasaki,
Boshin
, p. 23.

41
. Ishii,
Boshin
, p. 66.

42
. A sword bestowed by the emperor on the commander of an army when he sets out to do battle.

43
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, p. 585. The shogun was known as
seii taish
ō
gun
(great general, conqueror of barbarians),” but in this instance the commanding general was charged with conquering the east, the stronghold of the Tokugawa shoguns.

44
. Sasaki,
Boshin
, p. 26.

45
. Satow gives a brief but unflattering description of Yoshiaki: “Just after leaving the prince’s residence we were stopped in the road to let Ninnaji no Miya pass. He was on horseback, a stoutish, swarthy, thick-lipped young man, with his hair just beginning to sprout; for until recently he had been in the Buddhist priesthood” (
A Diplomat
, p. 357).

46
. In a letter dated April 7, 1867, to Tsuchimochi Masateru, Saig
ō
characterized himself as
ikusa zuki
—someone who loves war (Ikai,
Saig
ō
, p. 28).

47
. Sasaki,
Boshin
, p. 27.

48
. It has been claimed that Yoshinobu mistakenly boarded the American ship, unable to distinguish it in the dark from the
Kaiy
ō
maru
, but it is generally agreed that he knew it was the
Iroquois
(Ishii,
Boshin
, pp. 106–7).

49
. Shibusawa,
Tokugawa
, 4, p. 190; Sasaki,
Boshin
, p. 30.

Chapter 15

1
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 1, pp. 595–96.

2
. Sir Ernest Satow,
A Diplomat in Japan
, p. 324.