Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852’1912 (62 page)

Two days later, on February 7, Meiji set out for Yamato Province in order to fulfill a long-standing wish to worship at the tomb of Emperor Jimmu, his distant ancestor. On the way he stopped on the bridge over the Uji River and watched fishermen cast their nets from dozens of little fishing boats. He spent that night at Uji where, admiring the moon, he composed this
tanka
:

On the following day the emperor visited the Phoenix Hall and inspected the buildings and treasures of this famous temple. Afterward he and his escorts traveled to Nara where he stayed at the T
ō
dai-ji from where he enjoyed the splendid view of nearby mountains.

On February 9 Meiji went to worship at the Kasuga Shrine. Shint
ō
rites were performed, and he listened to
kagura
. In the afternoon he visited an exhibition of treasures from the T
ō
dai-ji and H
ō
ry
ū
-ji and saw a performance of the n
ō
play
Shakky
ō
performed by actors of the Komparu school.
³

Later that day Emperor Meiji was shown the imperial collection of treasures in the Sh
ō
s
ō
-in. Although the building was normally sealed shut, it was opened for this occasion. Inside the Sh
ō
s
ō
-in the emperor expressed interest in the celebrated
ranjatai
, an ancient log of incense wood. Ashikaga Yoshimasa in the fifteenth century and Oda Nobunaga in the sixteenth century had received slivers of the
ranjatai
, perhaps as a tribute to their place in history. After he had returned to his quarters that night, Meiji asked for a piece of the
ranjatai
. The director of the museum cut off a sliver two inches long and offered it to the emperor, who broke it into two pieces and burned one. “A fragrant smoke filled the temporary palace.”
⁴
The emperor took back to T
ō
ky
ō
the remaining piece of
ranjatai
.

On February 11, corresponding to the date in the lunar calendar of Jimmu’s coronation,
⁵
Meiji worshiped before his tomb. In 1863 a spot had been designated as Jimmu’s tomb, and repairs had been made during K
ō
mei’s reign. Since then it had been neglected, but from now on it would be shown proper respect. On the day he visited the tomb, the emperor watched folk dances that had been preserved since ancient times at Kuzu in Yoshino as well as
bugaku
dances. Afterward he inspected the machines used to make the famous Miwa vermicelli.

On February 12 Meiji visited sites associated with Sugawara no Michizane, who had passed through this region on his way into exile. That morning there were snow flurries, and a holy purity seemed to fill heaven and earth. The emperor could not bear the thought of leaving a place sacred to his first ancestor and so intimately associated with the history of the country. He said he would like to stay for another day, but the imperial household minister replied that it would cause hardship for people if he prolonged his stay. Besides, the news from Kagoshima was so disquieting that the emperor should return to T
ō
ky
ō
as soon as possible. The emperor at once agreed.

The emperor’s seeming imperturbability in face of threatening news from Kagoshima is little short of astonishing. Of course, his travels in the countryside of Yamato were not merely pleasure excursions. Apart from the importance he attached to paying homage before the tombs of Jimmu and other emperors, his travels (like earlier journeys to Ky
ū
sh
ū
and to Hokkaid
ō
) served the vital function of bringing him closer to the people. When he decided to keep to his original plan of visiting Nara, despite the threat of war, he may have been following the advice of Kido Takayoshi, who wrote in his diary on February 10, after describing the alarming situation in Kagoshima, “I maintain that a sudden change of the schedule on account of this civil disturbance is improper; and that if a rebellion breaks out before the end of the tour, the emperor should stay where he is.”
⁶

In any case, while the emperor was pursuing his leisurely journey around Yamato, visiting schools, spinning mills, and imperial tombs, troops of the Household Guards Division and the T
ō
ky
ō
and
Ō
saka garrisons were being dispatched to Ky
ū
sh
ū
. On February 12 in response to intelligence received from the Kumamoto garrison, Army Minister Yamagata Aritomo sent a message to Prime Minister Sanj
ō
Sanetomi concerning strategy. He warned that the situation in Kagoshima was extremely tense. It would be difficult to predict what would occur if war broke out or what changes might result afterward, but they would not be insignificant. Moreover, once Kagoshima moved into action, other provinces in different parts of Japan were likely to join.

Yamagata admitted that he did not know what strategy Kagoshima might adopt in the event of a full-scale rebellion, but he listed three possibilities: Saig
ō
’s forces might stage a sudden raid, using steamships, on T
ō
ky
ō
and
Ō
saka; his troops might attack Nagasaki and the Kumamoto garrison to gain control of Ky
ū
sh
ū
; or they might ensconce themselves in Kagoshima and, keeping an eye on signs of shifting loyalties throughout the country, wait for the right moment to strike. Yamagata correctly inferred that Saig
ō
would choose the second course—an attack on the Kumamoto garrison—and he believed that the best way to counter such a strategy would be a joint army–navy onslaught on Kagoshima Castle, the nerve center of Saig
ō
’s forces. He was sure that once this castle was taken, it would not be difficult to destroy rebellious domains elsewhere.
⁷

On February 13 at 8
P.M
., Sanj
ō
left Ky
ō
to for the emperor’s residence in Nara, arriving at midnight. He had gone to ask the emperor’s permission to send warships to Kagoshima. Permission was granted, and Sanj
ō
(at 2
A.M.
) withdrew from the imperial presence. He sent authorization to Rear Admiral It
ō
Sukemaro in K
ō
be, who immediately raised the
Kasuga
’s anchor and set sail for Nagasaki. The
Ry
ū
j
ō
was already there.

Earlier, as signs of impending conflict were multiplying, Iwakura Tomomi had suggested to
Ō
kubo Toshimichi that if there was a disturbance in Kagoshima, an imperial envoy should be sent to admonish Saig
ō
Takamori and Shimazu Hisamitsu. When word was received of the seizure of arms by “students” of Saig
ō
’s private schools, Iwakura proposed himself as the envoy and offered to leave at once for Kagoshima.
Ō
kubo did not agree, contending that at a time when the emperor was in the western part of the country, Iwakura’s responsibilities were too heavy to permit him to leave the capital. But as more and more reports on the situation in Kagoshima reached T
ō
ky
ō
, it became clear that something had to be done to end the “students’ violence.”
Ō
kubo decided to leave for Ky
ō
to to be with the emperor. It was as yet unclear what course of action Saig
ō
and Shimazu would take, and Iwakura decided not to reveal publicly that a punitive force would be sent to Ky
ū
sh
ū
.

In the meanwhile the emperor continued his visits to places of interest in the Kansai region. On February 14, attired in court robes, he worshiped at the Sumiyoshi Shrine. Later in the morning he changed to informal clothes and visited the tea house where Toyotomi Hideyoshi had once amused himself. The emperor and his party went next to
Ō
saka, where soldiers of the garrison, lined up along the way, presented arms. The houses were decorated with flags, lanterns, and brightly colored pennants in honor of the visit. At the garrison he was greeted with an artillery salute and gave an audience to Yamagata Aritomo and Kido Takayoshi. After lunch he went to the
Ō
saka English Language School, where he heard the pupils recite in English and observed a science experiment. From the English school Meiji went to the
Ō
saka Teachers Training School where there was a repetition of classroom visits, and he gave prizes to the outstanding students. Finally the emperor proceeded to the
Ō
saka Mint where he received various dignitaries and ate a Western meal.

Granted that Meiji was still a young man, the day must nevertheless have been exhausting, and the remainder of the journey was equally taxing. On the fifteenth, among other activities, he quizzed gifted children from city elementary schools about Japanese history, asking about the achievements of six emperors—Keik
ō
, Nintoku, Goshirakawa, Gouda,
Ō
gimachi, and Goy
ō
zei. After resting briefly he asked a similar group of schoolchildren from the countryside about Japanese geography. On the sixteenth, before leaving
Ō
saka, the emperor visited an indigo-dyeing factory and watched stages of the process. He returned to Ky
ō
to that day.

This is one of the moments in the life of Meiji when the biographer would give anything for a glimpse into his reactions. How did he feel when he learned that Kagoshima, a highly important province, was on the brink of secession and likely to be joined in rebellion by other provinces? And how did he react to the possibility that his government’s troops might soon be fighting against those commanded by Saig
ō
Takamori, who was not only the hero of the Restoration but a man for whom he had special affection? Perhaps the energy with which Meiji threw himself into routine visits may have been his way of putting such thoughts from his mind. The apathy he displayed during the rest of his stay in Ky
ō
to may have stemmed from the same cause.

On February 16
Ō
kubo arrived in K
ō
be from T
ō
ky
ō
and met with It
ō
Hirobumi and Kawamura Sumiyoshi. The three men had a prolonged discussion, after which
Ō
kubo and It
ō
left for Ky
ō
to to meet with Sanj
ō
Sanetomi. On the following day they (and Kido) went to the Gosho where they conferred for several hours in the presence of the emperor. Yamagata, who arrived late, also joined the discussion, and they agreed to send an imperial envoy to Kagoshima. The emperor summoned Prince Taruhito and commanded him to serve as his envoy. Taruhito planned to leave on February 18 aboard the steamship
Meiji maru
. The ship was about to sail when a message arrived from the Kumamoto garrison reporting that a spearhead of Kagoshima rebels had entered Kumamoto Prefecture, and it seemed likely fighting would break out at any moment. Taruhito’s departure was delayed.

The entrance into Kumamoto of Kagoshima troops commanded by Saig
ō
began on the fourteenth. All accounts agree that Saig
ō
was reluctant to initiate hostilities, but reports of his intended assassination had incensed his men. On the twelfth he, together with his lieutenants Kirino Toshiaki and Shinohara Kunimoto, had sent a letter to
Ō
yama Tsunayoshi, the governor of Kagoshima, announcing their intention of traveling with their soldiers to T
ō
ky
ō
, where they intended to ask questions of the government.
⁸
On the following day
Ō
yama in turn sent messages to Sanj
ō
Sanetomi and several governors, informing them that Saig
ō
and his escort would be passing through their prefectures on their way to T
ō
ky
ō
. He also hinted at Saig
ō
’s grievance, the alleged plot on his life.
⁹
The same message was sent to the garrison.

Before an answer could be received, the Kagoshima army had moved into Kumamoto. Saig
ō
’s army consisted of seven battalions of infantry plus artillery and support troops, a total of about 15,000 men,
¹⁰
most of them provided with modern weapons. Even after word had been received that Saig
ō
’s troops had crossed the border into Kumamoto, the emperor’s life in Ky
ō
to at first remained undisturbed. On February 18, for example, he went to Tenry
ū
-ji Village, where he visited the villa of the patriot and poet Yamanaka Ken (1822–1885). After lunch he watched fishermen catch carp in the
Ō
i River and inspected a paper mill.

That night Prime Minister Sanj
ō
Sanetomi, having decided that there could be no mistaking the rebellious intent of the students of the Kagoshima private schools, conferred with Kido, Yamagata,
Ō
kubo, and It
ō
. The next morning he informed the emperor of the crisis, and the emperor issued the command to punish the rebels. Prince Taruhito was named general of the punitive expedition. Army Minister Yamagata Aritomo and Navy Minister Kawamura Sumiyoshi would assist him. The emperor announced his intention of remaining in Ky
ō
to until the rebellion had been suppressed.