THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH
After the battle Shibusawa remained at Fushima until the dead were
buried, the wounded cared for, and the enemy had gone well out of the
country. Then, after directing some further defences, upon plans
suggested during the engagement, he busied himself with making
preparations for the return march; which, however, did not begin until
Saigo had arrived with a relief force.
Receiving the congratulations of the veteran commander, and bidding each
other good-bye, Shibusawa withdrew and began the march back along the
Tokaido toward the gates of Kyoto. His small army had been sadly
reduced, but they came proudly, as the heroes of a victorious struggle;
and when they had arrived they met with a scene which they had not
expected. The decorations and festivities intended for the shogun had
been put to quite another use; the crown of welcome had been turned into
an arch of triumph, and the victorious general passed under, the hero of
the hour. Nor was that all; for upon reaching the gates he there met
face to face the mikado himself. Such a thing had never been known, and
for the first time in the history of the nation their divine sovereign,
on the 7th day of February, had appeared in public.
Shibusawa, mindful of time-honoured custom, prostrated himself at the
mikado's feet, and there received a blessing and his own promotion.
Mutsuhito spoke in a clear and kindly voice, saying:
"I declare myself, Mutsuhito, the sole ruler of this land; and I appoint
you, Shibusawa, the commander-in-chief of all the forces in the nation's
service; and I promise the constitution at the fall of Tokyo."
Thereupon he handed to Shibusawa a roll bearing the inscription of a
letter, embodying the foregoing and the written signature of the mikado,
the first to appear in public. After this there were presented to the
newly made commander-in-chief the emblems of his office, consisting of a
brocaded banner and the sword of justice. These he accepted at the hands
of Kido, whereupon the mikado retired and Shibusawa proceeded to the
discharge of his duties.
The public appearance of the mikado and the announcement of his
patriotic intentions, though sudden and unexpected, had not been made
without careful deliberation and a full consciousness of its ultimate
effect. Mutsuhito, fully advised of the situation, had pledged his whole
heart, hand, and life for the good of his country. From the time of his
accession to the throne he had been a keen observer, and now that the
greatest clash of arms since the destruction of the Chinese armada, six
hundred years before, had resulted in a complete victory for their side,
he understood the patriotic outburst of approval that centred around
Shibusawa, the supporter of his cause; and he proposed to strike, like
the man that he was, where he knew the blow would tell most for what he,
too, believed to be right.
Shibusawa had not anticipated such applause nor had he expected so great
a recognition; he had gone forth at the first opportunity to do only
what he believed to be an honour and a privilege. He had acted as his
heart told him to act, and the results seemed but the incidents of
fortune. He accepted the responsibility with dignity and no further
ambition than to serve his country and honour the name his fathers gave.
Nor was he unmindful of the part Takara had played in moulding his
purpose and building his fortune, even to winning the crown of success.
Yet he could not return her that love which completes life and makes it
worth the living; he had given it to another and it was not his to
recall. He set himself to work at a lighter task, and presently the
force of his great ability made itself felt in the complete
reorganisation and equipment of the grandest army that had ever marched
or fought in the flowery kingdom of Japan.