[Illustration: 'I trust you, honourable sir, to speak further if you so
desire.']
Shibusawa
or
The Passing of Old Japan
By
I. William Adams
[Illustration]
Illustrated by
E. Dalton Stevens
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York and London
The Knickerbocker Press
1906
COPYRIGHT, 1906
BY
I. WILLIAM ADAMS
=The Knickerbocker Press=
PREFACE
To hope to understand in a few short years or even in a lifetime the
development of the humane, refined, and notably progressive people of
Japan would be presumptuous; yet, if I can in these pages contribute in
some degree toward that end, I shall feel amply rewarded.
I am indebted to those who have preceded me in this field for much of my
detail. I shall, moreover, always hold that to my Japanese friends and
others, who so cheerfully rendered me assistance in obtaining original
matter, should be attributed any merit which this tale of old Japan may
possess. Without them it could not have been, and for its shortcomings I
alone am responsible.
NOTE.--The superior figures throughout the text refer to the
notes in the appendix.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTORY vii
I. THE CHRISTENING 1
II. EARLY LIFE 12
III. MEETING WITH KINSAN 21
IV. COURSE DETERMINED 29
V. THE HIDDEN CAVE 35
VI. THE PLEDGE 47
VII. AN UNEXPECTED COMMAND 51
VIII. THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY 59
IX. THE WEDDING FEAST 65
X. THE STOWAWAYS 78
XI. CAST ADRIFT 81
XII. A WOMAN'S PRIVILEGE 89
XIII. DANGER IN SHIBUSAWA'S ABSENCE 97
XIV. THE "NO" DANCE 104
XV. HOME ABANDONED 111
XVI. A GREAT SORROW 118
XVII. THE CHILD 122
XVIII. THE VOW OF VENGEANCE 129
XIX. THE POET'S BANISHMENT 132
XX. THE FORTY-SEVEN RONIN 136
XXI. THE HOME-COMING 142
XXII. A MEETING IN THE GARDEN 147
XXIII. AN UNEXPECTED CALL 153
XXIV. THE GEISHA PARTY 160
XXV. THE UNHAPPY MEETING 167
XXVI. DAIMYO'S PROCESSION 175
XXVII. SHIBUSAWA RECLAIMED 182
XXVIII. THE DAIMYO'S ARREST 188
XXIX. MAIDO'S PENALTY 199
XXX. THE EARTHQUAKE 208
XXXI. THE CHILD'S FATE 212
XXXII. RONIN RAIDS 218
XXXIII. THE RISE OF SHIBUSAWA 223
XXXIV. NEHACHIBANA'S REVENGE 232
XXXV. MOBILIZING THE SAMURAI 241
XXXVI. BATTLE OF FUSHIMA 248
XXXVII. THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH 255
XXXVIII. SAVING THE ARMADA 258
XXXIX. THE BIVOUAC 265
XL. SIEGE OF TOKYO 267
XLI. THE RESTORATION 278
APPENDIX 281
[Illustration]
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
"I TRUST YOU, HONOURABLE SIR, TO SPEAK
FURTHER IF YOU SO DESIRE" _Frontispiece_
THE TWO-LIPPED CUP WAS OFFERED ...
TAKARA MOISTENED HER LIPS THEREFROM,
THEN PASSED IT TO THE BRIDEGROOM 62
KINSAN SAT IN DEEP THOUGHT ... WITH
THE CHILD FONDLED IN HER LAP 172
THEIR STEELS RANG WITH THE PERFECTION
OF THEIR MAKING 276
INTRODUCTORY
That to the new the old must yield had ever been exemplified in Japan,
as elsewhere, though until the time of this narrative she had not chosen
earnestly to measure the test outside the confines of her own borders.
The flowery kingdom of Nippon[1] did not know the world as others knew
it, nor had she as yet cared to know it, for she was occupied and
contented within her own sphere, hence satisfied and progressive without
coming into contact with another civilisation.
In love as in law this kindly civil and quaintly constituted people had
been moved and swayed, governed and ruled, by the one master spirit,
ancestor worship, as marriage was contracted and government prosecuted
in accordance with its divine precepts. Regardless of mutual love or
natural affinity, the family in its official capacity chose for the
husband a wife; and without its decree there was no release, though love
was the basic element of their social existence.
For better or for worse this condition prevailed and would have
controlled the destinies of Shibusawa, as it had those before him, had
not a new spirit risen within and possessed him as well as others with
whom he was to become related. At the birth of this young prince, which
occurred in the month of April, A.D. 1834, Maido, his father, was the
lord daimyo[2] of Kanazawa prefecture, comprising the then wealthy and
prosperous provinces of Kaga, Echigen, Sado, Echigo, Wakasa, Etchu, and
Noto, in the northwestern part of Japan. It was the largest and most
powerful of the shogun's[3] many prefectures, and Maido was the last in
succession of one of the longest unbroken lines of royal daimyos: under
the shogun, he was an undisputed ruler, and his people were among the
most progressive and peaceful in the land.
Here, as elsewhere, the lord daimyo knew no law except of his own
making; always subject, however, to the dictates of an inborn religion
and the payment of just dues to his recognised superior, the shogun.
Within the prefecture was the daimyo's estate and the source of his
material support, and though Tokyo, the shogun's capital city, was
decreed his legal residence, his prefectural land was the place of his
birth and succession, his principal home, and the real seat of his
power. Yet with all his wealth and influence and character, that he,
too, as we shall see, must inevitably bow is the unalterable law of
progress.
SHIBUSAWA
[Illustration]
SHIBUSAWA
CHAPTER I
THE CHRISTENING
[Illustration]Maido, the lord daimyo, came strolling, late one May day,
along a pebbled pathway in his castle grounds at Kanazawa, and while
doing so he caught a last glimpse of the great red sun as it slowly sank
toward the western horizon.
"What a glorious sunset!" said he to himself, as he halted and breathed
deeply the sweetened air that floated by, lazily flagging the cherry and
cypress trees standing here and there in the garden about him.
He paused only a moment, and then slowly approached the family mansion,
where he cast his sandals upon the flagstone and bounded upon the
polished veranda with a vigour that bespoke a well-preserved age at
fifty or more. Once in the house he quietly proceeded to the great
chamber and softly clapped his hands, whereupon a servant noiselessly
approached, bowed low, and held for his convenience a silken kimono,[4]
which he donned and folded in front. Having thus clad himself he turned
his back upon Kimon (the Gate of Demons, or northwest comer of the
room), crossed his toes under him, and squatted upon the soft, matted
floor.
A second call brought another servant who placed on the floor in front
of him a lacquered brazier filled with live coals, a tobacco tray with
tobacco, and a little metal pipe with a long bamboo stem. Maido then sat
there, quiet and alone, smoking and wondering, and looking out over the
glistening waters at the beautiful sunset, until his eyes closed and his
head nodded, and perchance he dreamed of the glories yet to befall the
great and good house of Kanazawa.
Presently a sliding partition softly opened and there stole to his side
a little butterfly whose fairy-like steps did not awaken him and whose
presence was unheeded until she cautiously whispered:
"Heigh! my lord, my daimyo, am I welcome, that I come?"
"Heigh! my wife, my Kakezara, I trust it may not be other than welcome
now that you have chanced to come without Maido's permission."
"Even so, my honourable master, I present you with a child, born
erstwhile the seventh day."
"Then have you no better words than these? You know well my wishes.
Seven wives have I married and do now give shelter within this splendid
castle. To you, the last, is well known my wish, my hope, my command. It
is well that you bow low, for if the word be spoken falsely, and speak
you shall, then will I unsheathe the sword of Amanosakohoko and bury the
tempered steel deep in your heaving breast. No, I will not so degrade
you, but will sentence you to harakiri[5]--a death and punishment more
befitting your stupid self, for it is a great sin to disobey your lord
and master. But speak the word, and truly, and I will raise up your
blushing face and mete you the proudest and grandest within my gift.
Speak as I command, Kakezara, and you shall be the choice of my heart,
the queen of my household. All other wives shall be as servants and
shall respond to your bidding. Of kimonos you shall have without number.
Your chair shall be inlaid with mother-of-pearl and lacquered with pure
gold from the mines of Sado. Sweets suited to your taste shall be made
of the best and purest. Speak, O Kakezara, and you shall henceforth
reign queen of Maido's household."
"My lord, my daimyo, then I would that it were not true, for I cannot
undo that which is done even though I am to suffer the ills of an
unhappy lot: position is a husband's due, then a wife's happiness. By
the spirit of my ancestors and the grace of the gods your command has
been obeyed--it is a son."
"Ebisu! Ebisu! O Ebisu! god of good luck, how Maido is this day honoured
and the gods pleased! for it is my command that he be named Shibusawa,
and it is the will of Jimmu that he rise up to good and mighty deeds.
Rise, Kakezara, my queen, and place the child in the arms of Okisan; and
you, slave, take care that your charge receive due attention that he may
grow up strong of body and mind, for so sure as he live he shall be
tried by all the gods of hatred and woe. I charge you that no morsel be
given him except by your hand, for should ill befall this my child then
beware of the ancestral demons who dwell at the shrine of Jigoko.
"Kakezara, my lady, proceed to the inner chamber and there remain in
strict seclusion until coolies have fetched water from the river Yamato
in which to bathe; for as you live you have a secret, and until
strengthened by the spiritual waters the temptation to divulge might
overcome your desire to obey. I have imparted to you something of that
which the gods have willed Shibusawa, that a mother's love and
solicitude may the better shield his tender years. Keep it sacred under
pain of displeasing your husband and provoking the wrath of Oni, for as
it has pleased me that you obeyed so let it please you to obey. Hence,
my lady, my Kakezara.
"Yendo, ass that you are, pretending ancestral birth befitting to serve
a lord daimyo so good and great as I, come hither and bow low before the
father of Shibusawa. Go carry Maido's command to the temple of Yeiheiji
that seven times seven solemn strokes be sounded, calling upon the
spirit of Amaterasu to awaken, that she may welcome the new born. Send
swift running messengers to notify all the people that Maido, their lord
and master, is the father of a son, christened Shibusawa, whom it has
pleased the gods shall rule his ancestral heritage in obedience to the
dictates of his own conscience and with honour to his majesty's shogun.
Cause to be hung above the entrance to every house red and yellow
lanterns that all may take notice, for to those who remain ignorant
shall appear spirits mounted upon dragons with eyes of fire and nostrils
belching clouds of flame and smoke, as they charge down through the
heavens toward Ema-O.
"Convey to the people my command that from the new to the old moon,
following next, none shall eat more than half his allowance of rice or
drink more than half his sake, bringing the remainder to their daimyo's
storehouse that a great feast may be indulged. They shall also bring of
their silk one-half and of their potted flowers many, that Kakezara, the
noble mother, may have kimonos without number and her gardens may be
filled with beauty and fragrance. Those engaged in the making of sweets
shall make such as will please her taste, and beware that none
displease, for better that ten thousand times ten thousand slaves perish
at their labour than Kakezara, queen of Maido's household, be not served
without the slightest displeasure. Let the most famed of workers in wood
and lacquer be called together that they may counsel with one another
about the making for Kakezara a chair; and, as I myself have taught them
well in this art, let all beware that when the work is done there be
none other so good; for I shall not be so base as to spare even one who
shall in the least manner slight his labour or fail in his part.
"I command that the governor of each province select the fairest
daughters from among his kinsmen, that there may assemble at the shibai
(place of amusement), during the first moon of the iris and the lotus,
not less than seven times seventy-seven virgins with rosy complexions
and pleasing manners, for the goddess Benten has willed Maido the
pleasures of at least three moons. Tell the household keeper to make
ready chambers fronting on gardens filled with the perfume of flowers
and the song of birds, and, when the hour has come, to assemble these
fairies in the silken hall of love, that their lord daimyo, like Jimmu
of old, may descend the fêted stair into a world of beauty and pleasure.
"And when all else has been done you will instruct him that henceforth
Kakezara shall occupy the choicest pillow at the head of Maido's lawful
wives, and that of them her voice shall be first in authority: that her
rank at bath shall be next to Shibusawa's and first among her sex."
The news of Shibusawa's birth and christening soon spread, and the
excitement wore heavily from the meanest coolie to Maido himself, though
probably none was more worried than Yukesan, the oldest and meanest
servant in the household. This faithful old slave had climbed daily, for
seven successive days before the christening, to the top of Onnasaka,
and each time as often bumped her head upon the cold hard stone at the
base of Kishemogin's tomb, praying for the goddess mother of fiends to
come and claim the new born. For seven months prior thereto even, she
had importuned this fiendish goddess to render Maido's lawful wives
incapable of bearing a male child, hoping that her own fatherless imp,
Okyo,--now seven years of age, with slight form and stooped shoulders,
his eyes small and his head peaked, whose hair stood out like bristles
on a porcupine, while his nose looked owlish and his ears as a
squirrel's,--might naturally be adopted and thus become the inheritor of
his master's rank and place.
The rest of the household busied themselves with the day's rounds or
discussing the probable change at the castle, for little were they
interested in outside affairs. They were not concerned with the possible
new daimyo's bearing upon the welfare at large, for they were destitute
of power to aid, hence without any inclination to heed; where the only
hope in life was to do the bidding of a master. Each courted his own
content and permitted others likewise to suffer or adapt their own
circumstances. They were an independent lot, hence their abject
dependence.
When, therefore, the hour for feasting had arrived, and each little
tray, hustled in and set upon the floor in front of the person served,
was seen to contain a small satsuma bowl, filled with a rare
delicacy--consisting of real live worms (a kind of salt water shrimp),
wriggling and crawling, and served only upon extraordinary
occasions--everybody accounted his master a noble of the royal blood.
Eating, smoking, and drinking were interspersed with a lagging
conversation until the last was stretched at length upon the spotless
matting, his only place of sleeping. Maido, too, had gone to sleep at an
early hour, and when he awakened the next morning he felt refreshed, and
was well pleased with a recollection of preceding events. Without
rising, he reclined on his elbow and looked out at the landscape around,
for early in the morning servants had noiselessly removed the outer
partitions so that their master could lounge on the floor and enjoy the
open air at his pleasure. This morning the sun's rays seemed to give a
little more warmth than usual, and as they fell amongst the green
foliage the large drops of dew reflected sparkling gems that lolled on
the hollow leaflets, or trickled down the long and bended blades of
grass.
"What a glorious world, and how sweet to live in!" thought he, as he lay
there revelling in the beauties of art and nature.
Strong and vigorous of body, mind, and heart, as only those are who are
at peace with the world, he arose and briskly crossed the room to the
inner veranda. Then, casting off his night kimono, he lightly tripped
down upon a marble slab, and running along the smooth footpath to an
arbour, overhung with vine and flower, plunged into the bracing waters
already prepared for his coming. After the bath, massage, and shave,
attended by waiting servants, he donned walking apparel and sprang down
along the winding walk among dwarfed trees, under artificial cliffs, and
around miniature mountains; here he crossed a red-lacquered bridge and
there passed a gorge or waterfall; coming, presently, to a crystal lake,
he made an unsuccessful throw or two, then cast his rod aside and
continued his tramp in the open or through the brush and bamboo to a
distant corner of the garden. Here he slackened his gait and with
reverence approached the solemn shrine wherein stood the tomb of Hajama,
the illustrious founder of his august family; and there, in the quiet,
and alone, at the base of this strangely carved monument, he knelt and
clapped his hands and reverently bowed to the spirit of his immortal
ancestor.
When his morning prayer was finished Maido quietly left the misty place
and walked out again into the freshness of life and past the playground
where groups of children romped on the green or chattered with childish
glee. As he passed them by he paused only to look at them for a moment
and then walked on toward the great gate in front. Now and then he
stooped to pluck a leaflet, or stood listening to the tuneful zephyrs as
they played among the branches; sometimes he stopped to watch the light
and shadows chase each other across the grassy sward, or started at the
sonorous, "Haugh! Haugh! Haugh!" wafted from high overhead.
"Truly he is the master bird," sighed he, as he watched the black thing
perching upon a lofty branch or soaring above, issuing his harrowing
notes and stirring the nerves of superstitious Japan.
Presently, as usual upon such occasions, Okyo emerged from a cluster of
bushes and came bowing and bumping and crawling--half confident, half
fearful--after his master; who now stood admiring the huge wisteria
which overhung the black-lacquered gate and bronze trimmings. Observing
the boy's presence, Maido said, kindly, and without turning around:
"Heigh! is that you, Okyo, my funny little slave? Pray tell me what
brings you here so early in the day?"
"Heigh! I thought you might be lonely and I'd come and drive away the
fox."
"But, my lad, what have you been doing that your kimono is wet and
covered with mud?"
"I've been down at the beach fishing for crabs. I wonder why Kami
doesn't make crabs grow on land?"
"My child, he has placed them in the waters of the deep sea so that none
but the industrious and the brave may enjoy so choice a food."
"Are daimyos industrious and brave?"
Maido made no answer to the boy's inquiry but turned toward the fragrant
vine, and stood admiring the bright foliage, possibly dreaming of the
future of his son and heir, until Okyo once more began chattering.
"Heigh! great master, please why is the vine so large and beautiful?"
"Heigh! Okyo, it is because our ancestral gods have so created it."
"But why do not the gods create vines so large and so beautiful for all
men?"
"Because, my child, all men are not given to such beauty."
"Are all daimyos inclined toward only that which is beautiful?"
"Yes. They are descended from the gods of goodness and love, and as the
spirits of these gods dwell in the realms of heavenly beauty so do the
minds of daimyos dwell upon things of earthly beauty."
"If daimyos think and do only things which are beautiful, why do they
cut men's heads off?"
"That is done in obedience to the commands of our superiors; and, I
assure you, there is nothing more beautiful than an act of obedience to
our masters."
"Will Shibusawa be a daimyo when he grows up?"
"Yes; if his head be spared so long and his father's not."
"Will I, too, be a daimyo when I am a man?"
"No, child. How came you to think of such a thing?"
"Because mother says I look like Shibusawa, and I don't see why I
shouldn't be just like him."
"You shall be Shibusawa's friend and confidant."
"Why shall I be his friend and confidant?"
"Because you will comfort and console him during moments of
contemplation and despair, just as you have myself since you were first
able to tread about my gardens on wooden stilts."
"Why will I comfort and console him?"
"Because you are the son of--only a mother, who is of Kishemogin and
possessed of less wit and more cunning than a fox. Now then, hie you
away to your mother's mat and feast well upon rice and fish so that you
may grow strong in endurance, for you shall have many and severe trials
in following this youth ere he has much passed your age."
"Oh," said Maido, to himself, "see him run away in obedience to my
command! There is not yet a twig so crooked or a thing so small but it
can be made of use. As the mould is shaped so will be the cast. He is of
the right material. I shall see that he grows up after my liking, bend
him to the task properly, and thus provide the instrument through which
Shibusawa may acquit himself of the thankless duties imposed by
Bishamon, god of provocation."