In 1867 the Emperor Kōmei died, and was succeeded by his son, the
present Emperor, Mutsohito, then a boy. His advisers had by now
concluded that the anti-foreign agitation was a mistake, and thence
forward it was only carried on by a few isolated Daimios. The real
problem was one of ruling, and this culminated in 1867 by the Shogun
resigning his power, and becoming a species of minister.
The adherents of neither party were favourably disposed towards this
middle course; and ultimately civil war, in which the ex-Shogun’s party
were continually defeated, resulted.
The ironclad Adsuma was in the hands of the Imperialists, as also
were most of the other warships; but the ex-Shogun had owned seven
ships, mounting between them 83 guns, and these Yenomoto, his admiral
(one of the Dutch-trained officers) absolutely refused to surrender.
Chased by Nahamoto, the Imperial admiral, he took refuge in Hakodate,
where the remnants of the rebels had collected. A naval action
resulted disastrously for Yenomoto. In July, 1869, the rebels finally
surrendered, and Japan entered upon a new era, in which much of the
power hitherto wielded by the Daimios passed into the hands of the
Samaurai, whose descendants now supply the bulk of naval and military
officers, retaining all the courage of their fierce ancestors, and
more of their exclusiveness than is generally supposed. But further
particulars under this head will be found in a later chapter.[4]
[4] See Personal Characteristics.