SHIMONOSEKI; PRELIMINARY MEASURES
SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK returned from Europe early in March 1864, and
Colonel Neale took his departure. The members of the legation gave him a
farewell dinner, at which he delivered himself of prognostications as to
the future of those who had served under him. For me he prophesied a
professorship of Japanese at an English University, but so far his words
have not come true. The new chief was liked by everyone, and he was
particularly gracious to myself, relieving me from all chancery work, so
that I could devote the whole of my time to my Japanese studies. Willis
and I occupied a wooden house in a back street between the native town
and the foreign settlement, and there I worked industriously with my
three teachers. Sir Rutherford had brought with him very ample powers,
which he determined to make use of to chastise the Chôshiû clan for its
hostile attitude. We had, it might be said, conquered the goodwill of
Satsuma, and a similar process applied to the other principal head of
the anti-foreign party might well be expected to produce an equally
wholesome effect. In the summer of the previous year the Chôshiû people,
acting upon the orders which they had extorted from the Mikado for the
"expulsion of the barbarians," had fired upon an American merchant
vessel, a Dutch corvette and a French despatch-boat as they passed
through the straits of Shimonoséki. The corvette had returned the fire,
and in the other two cases satisfaction of an incomplete kind had been
obtained by the United States sloop "Wyoming" and the French squadron
under Admiral Jaurès respectively. The batteries had been destroyed, but
as soon as the foreign men-of-war quitted the scene, the Chôshiû men set
to work to rebuild the forts, to construct others, and to mount all the
guns they could bring together. So the hornet's nest was after no long
interval in good repair again, and more formidable for attack and
defence than before. That no foreign vessels could take their way
through the straits of Shimonoséki, which they had been in the habit of
passing from time to time after touching at Nagasaki in order to make a
pleasant and easy passage to Yokohama, instead of encountering the
stormy Cape Chichakoff, was felt to involve a diminution of western
prestige. Nothing but the complete subjugation of this warlike clan, and
the permanent destruction of its means of offence, would suffice to
convince the Japanese nation that we were determined to enforce the
treaties, and to carry on our trade without molestation from anybody,
irrespective of internal dissensions.
Sir Rutherford Alcock therefore lost no time in diligently setting to
work in order to bring about a coalition with the representatives of
France, Holland and the United States. In this he completely succeeded.
The Tycoon's government were warned that if they did not within twenty
days give a satisfactory undertaking to re-open the straits, the foreign
squadrons would be despatched thither to bring the Prince of Chôshiû to
reason. By a curious coincidence there had just returned to Japan two
out of a band of five young _samurai_ of Chôshiû, who the year before
had been smuggled away to England to see the world, and learn something
of the resources of foreign powers. Their names were Itô Shunsuké and
Inouyé Bunda. The other three who remained in England while their
companions, armed with the new knowledge, set forth on their journey to
warn their fellow clansmen that it was no use trying to run their heads
against a brick wall, were Endo Kinsuké, Inouyé Masaru and Yamao Yôzo.
They made themselves and the object of their return known to Sir
Rutherford, who promptly seized the opportunity thus offered of entering
into direct communication with the _daimiô_ of Chôshiû, and while
delivering a sort of ultimatum, of affording him the chance of
abandoning his hostile attitude for one more in accordance with the
treaties. He obtained the consent of his colleagues to the despatch of
two men-of-war to the neighbourhood of Shimonoséki in order to land the
two young men at a convenient spot, and delivered to them a long
memorandum for presentation to their prince.
A French officer (Commandant Layrle) and a Dutch naval officer, besides
Major Wray, R.E., were sent at the same time to gain what information
might be obtainable as to the present condition of the batteries, and to
my great joy I was lent as interpreter, along with my colleague, Mr. J.
J. Enslie. On the 21st July we left in the corvette "Barrosa," Captain
W. M. Dowell, and the gun vessel "Cormorant," Commander Buckle, and
passing up the Bungo channel, anchored off Himéshima Island after dark
on the 26th. We ran ashore, but managed to get off again, smashing the
jib-boom of the "Cormorant" as we did so. Early on the following morning
we landed our two Japanese friends Itô and Inouyé (who at that time went
by the name of Shiji), after promising to call for them on the 7th
August at the island of Kasato, off the coast of Suwô. On the way down I
had talked a good deal with them, and between us, with the aid of my
teacher, Nakazawa Kensaku (a retainer of Ogasawara, who had to seek his
livelihood in consequence of his master's disgrace), we had managed to
put Sir Rutherford's memorandum into Japanese. They were to cross over
in an open boat and land at Tonomi in Suwô. At eight o'clock we saw them
leave the shore. In Nakazawa's opinion the chances were six or seven out
of ten that their heads would be cut off, and that we should never see
them again.
We landed later on in the day at Himéshima and found the people very
friendly. They sold to us a plentiful supply of fish, but there were no
vegetables, beef or chickens to be had. Cattle were pretty plentiful and
fat, but the people looked poor and half starved. The population was
about 2000. The island was not fertile. I tried to buy some beef, but
the pretext that it was wanted as medicine for sick sailors (a Japanese
idea) was useless. Half the population was engaged in salt-burning; 1/2d
and 1d banknotes were current, and very little coin was to be seen. At
one place we gave a man an _ichibu_, worth say 10d. He pretended to turn
it over and look at it carefully, and then said "these are very rare
things here."
Next day we went round to the north side of the island and anchored
there. Here we again landed to visit the salt pans, and met with the
same friendly reception as before. On the 29th we crossed in one of the
ship's boats to Imi in Iyo, where the villagers refused to have anything
to do with us, but at Takeda-tsu, a mile or two further west, they made
no difficulties, and we were able to lay in a supply of pumpkins and
brinjalls. On the 1st August we weighed anchor before sunrise, and stood
away towards the straits. The "Barrosa" anchored about ten miles on this
side of Shimonoséki, and we went on in the "Cormorant," steaming towards
the coast of Buzen and then up to Isaki Point. When half-way across the
mouth of the straits we saw signal guns fired all along the north coast
from Chôfu to Saho. After going nearly up to Tanoura, keeping carefully
out of the range of the batteries, and cruising backwards and forwards
for a while, in order that the situation of the batteries and the number
of guns might be accurately noted, we finally returned to Himéshima. We
used to go on shore there for a walk every day, and found the people
inquisitive but friendly. On one occasion, however, as we were returning
through the village to our boats, we met a party of four _samurai_, who
appeared to form part of a detachment sent over from Kitsuki in Buzen to
protect the island against a possible attack from us. I spoke civilly to
them, and asked where they had come from, but they answered in a surly
manner, "from a distance." They looked as villainous a set as one could
wish to see, and remained at the water's edge watching our movements
until we got on board.
On the 6th August we made another trip to Shimonoséki in the "Cormorant"
to reconnoitre, going in a little further than before in the direction
of Tanoura. On this occasion, in addition to the signal guns, the
batteries fired a round shot and a shell as a warning, which fell in the
sea about a mile ahead. When we got back to the "Barrosa" at half-past
ten in the evening we found Itô and Shiji had already returned. After
dinner we had a long talk, and received the prince's answer. They
brought with them a single retainer, but said they had been accompanied
down to the coast by a guard of soldiers given them by their prince.
They commenced the delivery of the communication with which they were
charged by saying that they had found him at Yamaguchi, and had handed
over the letters of the four foreign representatives to him in person.
He had then consulted with his chief retainers and come to the following
conclusion: that he entirely acknowledged the truth of what was stated
in the letters, and was conscious of his own inability to cope with the
forces of western nations. But he was acting under orders which he had
received, once from the Tycoon, and oftener from the Mikado, and not on
his own responsibility, and it was out of his power to reply to the
foreign representatives without first receiving permission. It was his
intention, therefore, to proceed to Kiôto in order to impress his own
views on the Mikado, which he calculated would take about three months.
He begged therefore that the powers would postpone operations for that
period.
They brought no written documents with them, not even a letter to
certify that they were the accredited agents of their prince, but told
us they could procure one if the vessels were delayed for two or three
days. They were informed that a mere verbal reply such as they had
brought could not be expected to satisfy the foreign representatives.
They then inquired whether they should send a written reply to Yokohama
with copies of the orders of the Tycoon and Mikado, but Captain Dowell
replied that their prince might do as he liked about that. His
instructions did not go so far as to enable him to express an opinion.
In private conversation they afterwards told me that their prince had
originally been favourable to foreigners, but had gone too far now in
the opposite direction to be able to retract, and they did not believe
that the matters at issue could be settled without fighting. They
suggested that it would be a good measure for the foreign
representatives to throw over the Tycoon, and proceeding to Ozaka,
demand an interview with the Mikado's ministers in order to conclude a
direct treaty with him. They spoke with great bitterness of the Tycoon's
dynasty, accused them of keeping all the trade, both foreign and native,
in their own hands, by taking possession of every place where trade was
likely to develope, such as Nagasaki and Niigata, and they said these
feelings were shared by most of the people. The way in which they
delivered their message made me suspect that it was couched in far more
uncompromising terms than those which they made use of in communicating
it. This was the first occasion on which I had been in full and frank
communication with men belonging to the anti-Tycoon party. Their
proposal that we should at once try to enter into negotiations with the
Mikado was a bold one, and calculated, if it had been adopted, rather to
injure than help their cause. The time was not yet ripe, for the
Shôgun's authority, though much weakened, was still admitted and obeyed
by a large majority of the _daimiôs_. His troops had not as yet
exhibited their inferiority in arms, and as a matter of fact almost at
this very moment the forces of the Prince of Chôshiû were suffering an
overwhelming defeat in their attack upon Kiôto, which was defended in
the Tycoon's interest by Aidzu and Satsuma. By the time we returned to
Yokohama, and before the idea could have been even considered by the
foreign representatives, Chôshiû's principal men were either fugitives
or dead, and the Tycoon was temporarily master of the field.
Itô and his companion left again during the night. I could not help
feeling sorry for their failure to impress on their prince the warning
which they had come all the way from Europe to impart. But there was no
help for it. We weighed anchor early on the following morning and
arrived at Yokohama on the 10th.
As soon as it became known that Chôshiû would not give way preparations
were actively made for carrying out the resolutions previously agreed
upon by the representatives of the four Powers. They held a conference
with the ministers of the Shôgun, in order to impress on them that the
moment had now come when the naval forces must be charged with the duty
of opening the straits, but before the meeting had separated there came
like a thunderbolt on their deliberations an announcement of the return
from Europe of a mission that had been despatched in the month of
January to treat with Great Britain and France. They brought with them a
convention concluded with the latter Power which provided for an
indemnity in respect of the attack on the French gunboat, for the
removal by the Shôgun's government within three months of the
impediments to the navigation of the straits of Shimonoséki, for a
modification of the import tariff in favour of French manufactures, and
for the payment of an indemnity of $35,000 to the relatives of
Lieutenant Camus. This news seemed to Sir Rutherford Alcock to threaten
an utter collapse of his plans, for if the convention were ratified, the
French at least would be compelled to withdraw from the coalition. But
it was of course clear to those on the spot that the second article
could not be possibly carried out by the Tycoon's government, and never
could have been seriously intended, at least on the Japanese side.
Pressure was therefore put on the council to make them declare that they
would not ratify the convention, and a note from them to this effect
reached the foreign representatives on the 25th August. On the same day
they signed a memorandum declaring the necessity of a resort to force,
which was then communicated to the naval commanders-in-chief, and four
days later the allied squadrons put to sea to carry into execution the
plans decided on before the return of the envoys had for a moment seemed
to threaten the disruption of the diplomatic union so strenuously worked
for by our chief. It was an immense responsibility that he had assumed.
There was no telegraph in those days to any point nearer than Ceylon,
but a despatch dated 26th July was already on its way to him positively
prohibiting the adoption of military measures in the interior of Japan,
and limiting naval operations against the Japanese Government or princes
to defensive measures for the protection of the life and property of
British subjects. By the time it reached his hands, his schemes had
already been accomplished with the happiest possible results, and he was
able to console himself with the conviction that he had done the right
thing, even though he might be censured for acting contrary to the
wishes of Lord John Russell, and have incurred the penalty of a recall
from his post.
The United States steamer "Monitor" had been fired at as she lay at
anchor in a bay on the north coast of Nagato on July 11. This afforded
fresh justification of the action adopted by the foreign
representatives.