THE RESTORATION
Shibusawa had no sooner provided for Kinsan's temporary comfort than he
hastened to resume his command. The halt in his progress had given
Daikomitsu time to withdraw the rebellious samurai in order and hastily
prepare a cover for his retreat.
After having induced the hesitating troops to abandon Tetsutaisho,
Daikomitsu had found himself necessarily pressed into their command. In
consequence he withdrew from the palace grounds, and taking a temporary
stand at Uyeno park undertook, with a small detachment, to check
Shibusawa's advance until, with the main body of the samurai, he had
fought his way through the enemy's line to the northward.
It had grown late in the day by the time Shibusawa had completed his
investment of the palace and resumed the advance. The lateness of the
hour proved greatly to Daikomitsu's advantage; so much so that when the
mikado's troops reached Uyeno they were unable to dislodge the enemy,
but met with such resistance as to check their advance until the
following morning. Each assault had been sharp but decisive, and every
attempt met with positive repulse. The loss of life was great and to the
surprise of both sides proved to be nearly equal.
Though the battle of Uyeno has ever been accounted a victory for the
mikadate, Daikomitsu had cleared the way, and under cover of night
marched through the enemy's lines toward Hakadata in the north. In the
meantime Okotsuba had withdrawn the rebel fleet and proceeded on his way
to the same place, where they again joined forces and later gained a
signal victory over Shibusawa and his modernised army, who had followed
hot in pursuit.
They were, however, soon doomed to entire defeat, and upon their final
surrender both Daikomitsu and Okotsuba were brought back to Tokyo, and
in consideration of their faithfulness and humanitarianism given
liberty. The doom of the shogunate had been sounded with the fall of
Tetsutaisho, and no power afterwards could have saved their final and
complete overthrow.
The news of the great victory of July 4th soon reached Kyoto, and the
mikado began making preparations to remove to Tokyo. Without needless
delay he started thither, and upon his arrival proclaimed himself
emperor of Japan, changed the capital city to Tokyo, and promulgated the
constitution as promised: Shibusawa had gained the liberty to marry whom
he chose, and he lost no time in so doing.
Upon his return from the north he was offered the highest place in the
gift of the emperor, but declining with the utmost respect, Shibusawa
chose to become a private citizen; the emperor excusing him only upon
his earnest personal request, trusting to his loyalty for the necessary
and proper readjustment. Accordingly, Shibusawa forthwith called a
meeting of all the daimyos, at which Kido was named mediator; a
memorandum being drafted and signed, without a dissenting voice, wherein
they declared their willingness to surrender to the new government their
titles, their fiefs, and their arms.
The emperor promptly accepted their resignations and promulgated what is
known as the Patriotic Act, whereby those who chose were retitled and
all reimbursed according to the value of their respective estates.
Shibusawa remained a loyal subject and settled at the capital city, in
the old castle under the hill which had for centuries been the home of
his ancestors and a pride to the once glorious but now departed court.
Here he gathered around him the loyal and the faithful. Others were
pensioned or rewarded, and none was dissatisfied. Kinsan had recovered,
and the quaint halls once more echoed to the sound of marriage bells.
There were a host to do him honour, and a world to keep them faithful,
while no sorrow of the past shadowed their future. The prattle of
children, the song of a mother, and the solicitude of a father graced
their home and cheered their lives, making the battle worth the victory.
They lived as they had hoped, a blessing came as the reward of their
faith, and whether in the social hall or before the footboards of the
great Donjero: though at toil in the world or at rest in the home, they
had found peace, the brightest jewel in the crown of life.
APPENDIX
Nearly all Japanese words should be spoken without accent, or,
rather, with a slight and equal accent upon each syllable. The
pronunciation should begin with a perceptible force, which
gradually softens to the last, through a quick succession of all
the syllables.
=1=. =Nippon= (N[)i]p-p[vo]n). This was the Japanese name for Japan,
though foreigners had always confined or limited its use to the name of
the largest island, or mainland, of the Japanese archipelago.
To those who are familiar with things Japanese the sound of this name
carries a special significance, for in it are wrapped the origin and
growth of Japanese life, its religion, customs, traditions, and beliefs.
Their history covers an unbroken reign, the longest of any progressive
people now on earth, so far as we know, and their version of the
Creation contains a principle that is pre-eminently theirs; for
Shintoism knows only Japan. Their religion, like the Christian with
Christians, is co-extensive with their history; each beginning the
record, as do all others, at its separation from myth.
=2=. =Daimyo= (d[=i]-m[)i]-[=o]-). The highest official in a province
under the shogunate. By way of comparison, his position might be said to
have corresponded to that of governor of a state in America, though his
powers and duties were very dissimilar. The title originated under the
mikadate, but from necessity as well as policy the daimyos generally
became allied with the shogunate, hence in fact a part of it.
=3=. =Shogun= (sh[=o]-g[)u]n). The official head of the shogunate (one
of the dual sides, or heads, of the Japanese government) which was
established in the twelfth century, and lasted until abolished in 1868.
From the beginning of recorded Japan until the twelfth century the
mikado was the sole ruler, both spiritual and temporal, and during the
latter part of his reign, as such, the shogun existed, but only as an
inferior: the commander-in-chief of the mikado's armies. Thus intrenched
behind the military forces the shogun became enabled to enlarge his
powers, and finally forcibly made the office hereditary, and himself
secure in the material rule of the empire.
Satisfied with temporal supremacy the shogunate never attempted to
encroach upon the mikado's spiritual distinction, as ever held by the
people. Nor was it alone policy that so long prompted a continuance of
this dual form of government, but it was the ruling spirit quite as much
of the shogunate as of the people at large. This has been repeatedly
denied--in fact, it has been denied that there ever was actually two
heads of government--but the facts hardly justify any such conclusion.
Brushing aside all technicalities, a brilliant and polite administration
of upwards of a thousand years stands out in its dual capacity as
distinctly as do the two sister planets, and if that is not sufficient
to establish authenticity as such then man must be at a loss to
comprehend what constitutes the right of recognition.
There was, in fact, a dual form of government: the one head, the mikado,
spiritual; the other, the shogun, material--each in its sphere, as
related to a homogeneous whole. By a compromise these two were, in 1868,
merged into one--the empire--with a discontinuance of the shogunate, and
a continuance of the mikadate line of succession as the sole, reigning
emperor. (See No. 9, Mikado.)
=4=. =Kimono= (k[)i]-m[=o]-n[=o]). The outer, or principal garment worn
by the Japanese, both male and female.
=5=. =Harakiri= (há-rá-kâ-râ). An honourable method of committing
suicide under the shogunate. It was generally done under an official
decree of death, and performed by cutting or ripping open the belly with
a sharp knife or dirk.
=6=. =Koto= (k[=o]-t[=o]). A kind of harp, or stringed instrument used
in Japan, more for the production of classic music.
=7=. =Geisha= (g[=i]-sh[.a]). A professional singer or musician of the
female sex, who sings or plays for hire, at both private and public
functions.
=8=. =Etas= ([=e]t-[)a]s). The "unclean"; such as grave-diggers, etc.
=9=. =Mikado= (m[)u]-k[.a]-d[=o]). The official head of the Japanese,
both spiritual and temporal, from the beginning until the twelfth
century, when the shogun rose to power and seized the material functions
of government.
Thence a dual form ensued, the mikado remaining the spiritual and the
shogun the temporal ruler until 1868, when both were merged into the
empire, with the mikado's line reigning as emperor. The office of shogun
was then abolished. (See No. 3, Shogun.)
=10=. =Joro= (j[=o]-r[=o]). A woman who for hire submits herself to the
practice of sexual intercourse, in accordance with custom and law. When
done under stress of circumstances, such as the financial aid of a
distressed parent, it was deemed a virtue, and the participant, except
for the time being, did not lose caste, but when the contract time had
elapsed (usually three years) was received by her friends and the
community as a sort of martyr.
=11=. =Kakemono= (k[)a]-k[=e]-m[=o]-n[=o]). The predominant Japanese
picture used for decorating the walls of a house. It is usually painted,
or scrolled upon a long, narrow piece of silk or sheet of paper, and
mounted upon a roller. Its use is similar to that of the ordinary
European framed picture, and it was the means of expressing their
highest art in painting and writing.
=12=. =Kuge= (koo-g[)a]). A class, consisting of nobles and members of
the former mikado's court.
=13=. =Ronin= (r[=o]-n[)i]n). At first an organized band of disaffected
patriots, but afterwards a malcontented clan who held themselves in
readiness, for hire or otherwise, to commit some depredation upon
organised society, or its members. The Band of Forty-Seven have been
much written about in prose and poetry.
=14=. =Bakufu= (b[.a]-koo-foo). A class consisting of retainers and
members of the shogun's court.
=15=. =Samisen= (s[.a]-m[=i]-s[)e]n). A stringed musical instrument
resembling something between a banjo and a guitar. It is commonly used
by the geishas, and is popular with the lower classes.
=16=. =Kokyu= (k[=o]-ky-[=u]). A kind of musical instrument.
=17=. =Sayonara= (s[=i]-y[=o]-n[)a]-r[.a]). The Japanese for "good-bye."
=18=. =Koku= (k[=o]-koo). A unit of measure, whose degree of value
varied with time and locality.
=19=. =Hinin= (h[)i]-n[)i]n). The vile; such as slaughterers, beggars,
etc. At one time they were by law made social outcasts.
=20=. =Obi= ([=o]-b[)i]). A kind of sash, or girdle, worn about the
waist for convenience and ornament.
=21=. =Yamabushi= (yá-má-boo-sh[)i]). Mendicant monks.
=22=. =Tokaido= (T[=o]-k[=i]-d[=o]). The great military road, or
highway, between Tokyo and Kyoto.
Transcriber Notes:
Passages in italics were indicated by _underscores_.
Passages in bold were indicated by =equal signs=.
Small caps were replaced with ALL CAPS.
Throughout the document:
an "a" with a dot was replaced with "[.a]",
an "a" with a breve was replaced with "[)a]",
an "e" with a breve was replaced with "[)e]",
an "i" with a breve was replaced with "[)i]",
an "o" with a breve was replaced with "[)o]",
an "u" with a caron was replaced with "[vu]",
an "a" with a macron was replaced with "[=a]",
an "e" with a macron was replaced with "[=e]",
an "i" with a macron was replaced with "[=i]",
an "o" with a macron was replaced with "[=o]", and
an "u" with a macron was replaced with "[=u]".
Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of the
speakers. Those words were retained as-is.
The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up
paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate.
Errors in punctuations and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected
unless otherwise noted.
On page 100, there was conflict between one instance of the name Katsu
and one instance of the name Kotsu, both referring to the same person.
Katsu Yoshikuni was a loyal retainer of the Tokugawa regime and served
in the navy. Therefore, Kotsu was replaced with Katsu.
On page 126, a period was added after "leaned back in silence.".
On page 160, a period was added after "to still the cares of men".