Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852’1912 (61 page)

On the morning of January 24, the emperor and his suite traveled by train to Yokohama, where he boarded the
Takao maru
. The ship, escorted by two warships (the
Kasuga
and the
Seiki
), sailed the same morning. That day he composed the following
tanka
:

The poem confirms the emperor’s confidence in the ship, regardless of the weather, but the sea was rougher than he had expected. The waves rose, whipped by a fierce northeasterly wind and by rain, and the ship rocked so badly it was decided to anchor at Toba until the storm abated. The emperor described his feeling in these words:

The storm continued for several days. Not until January 27 were the ships able to resume the voyage, reaching K
ō
be the next day. The emperor landed and, after a brief rest at the post office, went by horseback through the city to the railway station, acclaimed by crowds that lined the streets. He traveled by train from K
ō
be to Ky
ō
to, where he was again greeted by crowds as he proceeded from Higashi Hongan-ji (where he briefly rested) to the Gosho. He was no doubt moved to return to the scenes of his childhood, but the only surviving expression of his pleasure is found in this
tanka
:

Arriving at the palace, he was welcomed by the empress and the empress dowager. Later that day he granted an audience to members of the imperial family. On January 29 the emperor received members of the nobility in his study. He distributed gifts to various princes and princesses as well as to high-ranking nobles. It may have seemed as if Ky
ō
to’s old glory had at least temporarily been restored, although the buildings of the Gosho had suffered from neglect during the emperor’s absence in T
ō
ky
ō
.
²³

That night, quite unknown to those who attended these ceremonies at the court, a group of young men (described as “private school students”) raided the army ammunition dump at S
ō
muda in Kagoshima, the first clash of the Satsuma Rebellion.

The immediate cause of this action by “students”—samurai who had attended the private schools
²⁴
founded by Saig
ō
Takamori—was the report that the national army, disturbed by reports of unrest, had sent a steamship to transfer ammunition stored in Kagoshima to the
Ō
saka Artillery Arsenal. Attacks on army ammunition dumps and on the arsenal attached to the naval shipyard continued during the following week. The vice commandant of the shipyard repeatedly asked the governor of Kagoshima for police protection, but he was ignored. On February 3 the vice commandant closed the shipyard, suspecting that the governor’s failure to act was occasioned by his sympathy for the attackers. Two days later the “students” occupied the shipyard and began to manufacture weapons and ammunition.

Behind these actions were the frustration and anger felt by Saig
ō
Takamori and other Kagoshima samurai when his request to be sent to Korea as an ambassador was finally rejected. After returning to Kagoshima they decided that the samurai needed special training to make them effective defenders of the prefecture, which—in their view—was an all but independent country. In June 1874 Saig
ō
founded a school outside the city of Kagoshima at the foot of Shiroyama in buildings that had been the stables of the Satsuma clan. A branch school, smaller in size, was founded within the city itself, and other branches were soon established elsewhere in the prefecture. The guiding spirit of these “private schools” was Saig
ō
Takamori. A set of maxims, penned by Saig
ō
himself, was displayed at each school, including one declaring that reverence for the monarch and compassion for the people were the foundation of learning. If thoroughly investigated, this principle would enable the samurai to perform their Heaven-appointed duties in a righteous manner.
²⁵

The instruction given at these schools emphasized the reading of the Chinese classics, especially those relating to the art of war, and the study of the traditions of the samurai class.
²⁶
No guidance was provided in Japanese learning (such as Shint
ō
or poetry composition) or in Western technology. The purpose of the schools was to make members of the samurai class aware that although they were neglected by the government in T
ō
ky
ō
, they were the repositories of Japanese tradition. Even though they emphasized the importance of study, the private schools closely resembled political parties; the students were committed to a program of action; and their interest in learning was in no sense academic.

Some Kagoshima samurai, particularly those who came from places outside the city, were reluctant to attend the schools, but social pressure eventually obliged them to show solidarity with others of their class. The schools enjoyed the covert support of the governor, who appointed “students” to local political offices.

In December 1876 the government sent a police officer named Nakahara Hisao and various other men
²⁷
to Kagoshima to investigate reports of subversive activities by the private schools. Soon after arriving they were captured by students of these schools and accused of being spies. Later they were accused of an even graver crime: their mission, it was charged, was to assassinate Saig
ō
. Nakahara was tortured and forced to sign a confession admitting his guilt.
²⁸
He later repudiated the confession, but it was widely believed in Kagoshima—even by Saig
ō
—that the government wished to kill Saig
ō
.
²⁹
This revelation became for those associated with the private schools a pretext for starting a rebellion in order to protect him.

Although the emperor was kept informed of developments in Kagoshima, he showed no signs of wanting to return to T
ō
ky
ō
or to take command of efforts to put down a rebellion against his authority. Instead he spent his days in Ky
ō
to inspecting schools, a brewery, various factories, and even a stock-farming ranch. He paid his respects at various Shint
ō
shrines and, in the company of the empress, the empress dowager, and his aunt Princess Sumiko, attended a program of n
ō
at the Katsuranomiya Palace.
³⁰
He continued these peaceful activities (and visits to the tombs of his ancestors) even as conditions in Kagoshima rapidly worsened.

On February 6 reports reached T
ō
ky
ō
on the tense situation in Kagoshima, causing great surprise and consternation because their content diametrically contradicted the appraisal prepared by Hayashi Tomoyuki (1823–1907), an officer of the Interior Ministry. After he had inspected conditions in Kagoshima and returned to T
ō
ky
ō
, he discounted the seriousness of the reported unrest.
³¹
Hayashi now asked to be sent back to Kagoshima so that he might get a better grasp of the changed situation. Sanj
ō
Sanetomi, Kido Takayoshi, and It
ō
Hirobumi acceded to Hayashi’s request, and he was ordered to return to Kagoshima along with Admiral Kawamura Sumiyoshi (1836–1904). They expressed particular concern over the possibility that unrest might spread to other parts of Japan that were close to Kagoshima either geographically or spiritually.
³²
In view of the gravity of the situation, they suggested that Hayashi, Kawamura, and the others in the party proceed to Kagoshima by the steamship
Takao maru
, the fastest way to get there.

The
Takao maru
sailed from K
ō
be on February 7 and arrived in Kagoshima two days later. A messenger was sent to the prefectural office to report the mission’s arrival. Soon afterward the governor,
Ō
yama Tsunayoshi, came aboard. He informed Hayashi and Kawamura that the students of the private schools were upset because of the report that assassins had been sent to kill Saig
ō
. In fact the whole prefecture was seething with indignation. He relayed Saig
ō
’s request that Kawamura (Saig
ō
’s cousin) go ashore so that they might discuss the matter. Hayashi replied that it was unlikely that any assassins had been sent to Kagoshima. He urged
Ō
yama to join with Saig
ō
in calming the agitation.
³³

Hardly had
Ō
yama left the
Takao maru
than seven or eight small boats approached, each bearing a dozen or more armed men. They attempted by force to board the
Takao maru
, but the captain, cutting the moorings, ordered the ship to proceed toward Sakurajima.
Ō
yama returned later that day with a message repeating Saig
ō
’s eagerness to meet with Kawamura. Hayashi replied that he could not permit Kawamura to go ashore until the turbulence had been calmed. He labeled the attack on a ship belonging to the government an act of lèse-majesté and informed
Ō
yama before dismissing him that in view of prevailing conditions, the ship would be leaving at once.
³⁴

The
Takao maru
returned to K
ō
be on February 12. It was met by Yamagata Aritomo and It
ō
Hirobumi, who had gone there when word of the incident in Kagoshima reached Ky
ō
to. That night at an inn in K
ō
be, preparations for sending troops to Kagoshima were discussed. There seemed to be no doubt that the outbreak of war was imminent.

Chapter 28

February 1877 was one of the memorable months of modern Japanese history. The Satsuma Rebellion, the last civil war to be fought in Japan, broke out this month, pitting heroes of the Restoration against one another. The war represented a great threat not merely to the evolution toward democracy desired by principal members of the government but to the very survival of the regime. At the start it was by no means certain that the Satsuma Rebellion would fail, and if it succeeded, the entire political configuration of Japan would undoubtedly have changed.

Emperor Meiji was kept abreast of developments from the first stirrings of the rebellion, and he was not indifferent to what he heard; but his life in Ky
ō
to at this time seems to have been completely unruffled by the dramatic events taking place in Kagoshima. He visited schools, listened to pupils recite, and rewarded the bright ones with money for textbooks. At first he rode virtually every day. Once in a while he left Ky
ō
to. On February 5, for example, he visited all the stations on the newly opened railway line between Ky
ō
to and K
ō
be. Kido Takayoshi’s diary evokes the stuffily formal nature of the ceremonies:

At 9 the emperor boarded the train to go to
Ō
saka station. On his arrival there the Army Band formed ranks and played some music, while several government officials welcomed the emperor. A throne had been prepared in the railway station. The ministers of foreign nations were lined up to the left of the throne; and, as the prime minister was ill, I headed the line of Japanese officials to the right of the throne. The Grand Master of Ceremonies introduced the Governor of
Ō
saka, who headed the delegation of governors, secretaries, head district chiefs, and other officials; and the Governor stepped forward in front of the throne to offer a congratulatory address. The emperor honored him with a message in reply.
¹