RATIFICATION OF THE TREATIES BY THE MIKADO
SIR RUTHERFORD having quitted Japan, the conduct of affairs was assumed
by Mr. Winchester as Chargé d'Affaires. Before long despatches reached
us from Lord Russell expressing the entire satisfaction of the British
Government with the policy pursued by our late chief, and we heard that
he had been rewarded by promotion to the more important post of minister
at Peking. He was succeeded by Sir Harry Parkes, who came to us invested
with the prestige of a man who had looked death in the face with no
ordinary heroism, and in the eyes of all European residents in the far
east held a higher position than any officer of the crown in those
countries. And whatever may have been his faults and shortcomings,
especially towards the latter part of his career, it must be
acknowledged that England never was represented by a more devoted public
servant, and that Japan herself owes to his exertions a debt which she
can never repay and has never fully acknowledged. If he had taken a
different side in the revolution of 1868, if he had simply acted with
the majority of his colleagues, almost insurmountable difficulties would
have been placed in the way of the Mikado's restoration, and the civil
war could never have been brought to so speedy a termination. He was an
indefatigable worker, entirely absorbed in the duties of his post,
untiring in his endeavours to obtain a correct view of his surroundings,
never sparing himself, and requiring from his subordinates the same
zealous assiduity. Of his personal courage I had the opportunity
afterwards of witnessing one striking example, and brilliant as have
been the achievements of many of our Indian civilians, I do not think
that his coolness and fortitude in the moment of peril have ever been
surpassed by any man not bred to war. He was strict and severe in
service matters, but in his private relations gracious to all those who
had occasion to seek his help, and a faithful friend to all who won his
goodwill. Unfortunately I was not one of these, and the result was that
from the beginning we were never friends, down to the very last, though
he never had reason to complain of sloth or unreadiness to take my share
of the work, and so it came about that before long I became one of his
assistants, and in the end of 1866 was finally transferred from the
Yokohama Consulate (where I had been appointed interpreter early in
1865) to the Legation.
The accomplice of Shimidzu Seiji in the murder of Bird and Baldwin,
named Mamiya Hajimé, was executed on the 30th October 1865. I went out
early with Flowers in pouring rain to question the prisoner on some
points which had to be cleared up in connection with the crime. He was
condemned to the same punishment as his confederate, and we went out
again at one o'clock to be present at his decapitation. It was a pouring
wet day, and the dull leaden sky overhead was in keeping with the
melancholy occasion. Mamiya was a young fellow, and endowed with far
less fortitude than Shimidzu, and in order to enable him to face the
executioner he had been allowed to stupify himself with drink. His head
was taken off at a single blow. The usual doubts as to his identity were
expressed by the local foreign press, but for myself I was convinced
that he was one of the assassins. If the Tycoon's government had
substituted any other criminal for a man whom they had not succeeded in
capturing, the truth would have surely leaked out, and by this time we
had sources of information which would have enabled us speedily to
detect any trick.
Sir Harry Parkes reached Yokohama early in July, and Mr. Winchester took
his departure for Shanghai, where he had been appointed to be consul. F.
S. Myburgh was transferred at the same time from Nagasaki to the
Yokohama consulate. In passing through Nagasaki Sir Harry had already
learnt from the agents of some of the _daimiôs_ that a civil war was
expected at no distant date, the object of which would be the overthrow
of the Tycoon. He already in September began to speak to the Tycoon's
council of the desirability of obtaining the Mikado's ratification of
the treaties, but the credit of the idea is in reality due to Mr.
Winchester, who (I did not know it at the time) as early as April had
suggested to the British Government that the written adhesion of the
Mikado to the treaties, and the reduction of the import duties to a
uniform tariff of 5 per cent. _ad valorem_ might be obtained in return
for the partial abandonment of the Shimonoséki indemnity, the Tycoon's
ministers having stated they could not continue to make the quarterly
payments of $500,000 at a time, as had been stipulated in the
convention. In fact Sir Rutherford Alcock had begun to lay stress on the
necessity of the Mikado's ratification of the treaties almost
immediately after the bombardment of Shimonoséki. This suggestion was
approved by Lord Russell, who at once communicated it to the governments
of Holland, France, and the United States, and sent despatches to Japan
to the same effect which reached Sir Harry Parkes towards the end of
October. He lost no time in consulting with his colleagues, and in
proposing that they should proceed in a body to Ozaka, supported by a
considerable squadron of men-of-war, to negotiate direct with the main
body of the Tycoon's ministers. I should have mentioned before that the
Tycoon was at Kiôto, having proceeded thither in the month of June,
ostensibly for the purpose of taking command of the army which was to
chastise the presumptuous rebel, the Prince of Chôshiû, and was still
detained there by various intrigues and the insufficiency of his
military means.
The French minister, who was at first strongly opposed to the
abandonment of the indemnity in exchange for the opening of a port, had
received instructions from his government which had induced him to come
over to the views of the British representative, who found the United
States Chargé d'Affaires and Netherlands Political Agent equally willing
to follow his lead. As to the latter, we were accustomed to believe that
Sir Harry had him "in his pocket," as the phrase goes, and the Americans
had at that time partially abandoned the affectation of acting on
different lines from the "effete monarchies of Europe." Unity of action
being thus secured, the word was passed to the naval commanders to get
ready for sea, and the legations having packed up a sufficient quantity
of foolscap paper, silk tape, quill pens and bottles of ink, embarked on
board the next day but one after the signature of a protocol in which
the four diplomatic representatives had recorded their views and
projects. Sir Harry took with him John Macdonald, Alexander von Siebold
and myself.
The squadron was an imposing one, though not so overwhelmingly strong as
that which had destroyed the batteries at Shimonoséki in the previous
year. Of British ships there were the "Princess Royal," 73, flying the
broad pennant of Admiral St George Vincent King; the "Leopard," 18;
"Pelorus," 22; and "Bouncer," 1; of French, the "Guerrière," 36;
"Dupleix," 12; and "Kienchang," 4; while the Netherlands contributed the
corvette "Zoutman." Our Admiral was extremely good-natured, and had
fitted up private cabins for us three civilians on the main deck. I was
delighted to find myself on board with my friend A. G. S. Hawes, a
marine officer recently transferred to the flagship from the "Severn."
The foreign representatives, it was rumoured, proposed, in addition to
the Mikado's ratification of the treaties and the reduction of the
tariff, to ask for the opening of Ozaka and Hiôgo to foreign trade on
the 1st January 1866. By the Treaty of 1858 these places were to have
been opened on the 1st January 1863, but the powers had in 1862 agreed
to a postponement of five years, in order to give time for things to
settle down. In return, the four powers were ready to forgo two-thirds
of the Shimonoséki indemnity, and the option of deciding was to be left
to the Tycoon. This much was bruited about among the members of the
foreign legations. Outsiders said that we were about to present an
_ultimatum_, and that the creation of two new centres of foreign trade
was to be demanded without alternative. The men in the service who
expected appointments would of course have been eager to believe this
version but for the glorious uncertainty which surrounds all diplomatic
projects.
The Yedo government were alarmed at the energetic step on which the
representatives had resolved, and Midzuno Idzumi no Kami, the only
member of the first council who had remained behind in Yedo when the
Tycoon went up to Kiôto, came down in the company of Sakai Hida no Kami,
one of the second council, to exert all his powers of dissuasion with
Sir Harry. It was the first time that a functionary of so high a rank
had ever visited a foreign legation, and the evidence of anxiety thus
afforded simply confirmed the resolution that had been taken to bring
matters to a crisis. That Midzuno and his subordinate hoped their
efforts would be successful there is no reason to suppose, and in fact
they contented themselves mainly with offering some advice as to the
best method of proceeding on the arrival of the representatives at
Hiôgo.
We left on the 1st November, and proceeding in a leisurely manner along
the coast, passed the Idzumi Straits at 8 a.m. on the 4th. The guns were
loaded and the men beat to quarters, but the garrison of the forts at
Yura showed no signs of molesting us, and everybody soon quieted down
again. At half-past eleven we came in sight of Ozaka, lying on the low
land at the mouth of the Yodo river. The mountains which enclose the bay
on either side here appear to retire far into the interior, until they
disappear in the haze. The Tycoon's castle was easily distinguished by
its innumerable many-storied white towers, rising at the back of the
city. But of the town very little was visible owing to the slight
elevation of the houses and the distance from the deep water outside
where we were passing. The allied squadron formed in one line, headed by
the "Princess Royal," and gradually rounded off in the direction of
Hiôgo, where we anchored at half-past one. One by one the other ships
came in and took up the positions indicated to them.
The bay was crowded with junks of all sizes, and we counted seven
Japanese steamers lying at anchor. From one of these, belonging to the
Tycoon's War Department, a couple of officers came on board to make the
usual inquiries, and shortly afterwards some very inquisitive
shore-going officials came off, who put a great many questions about the
object of our visit and where we had come from. They got very little
information in reply, but were told that some officers would be going by
sea to Ozaka on the following day, and that notice should be sent to the
governor of the city in order that he might despatch somebody down to
the landing-place to meet them. They were also requested to provide
pilots for the two vessels to be despatched to Ozaka, but they declared
themselves unable to promise anything we asked. However, as by their own
rules they were under an obligation to send information to the governor,
this refusal was not of any great consequence.
The Abbé Girard, who had acted as interpreter to Admiral Jaurès the
previous year at Shimonoséki, was on this occasion replaced by M. Mermet
de Cachon, a Jesuit attached to the French legation. He, with Messrs
Macdonald and von Siebold of our legation, and Mr. Hegt, the clerk of
the Netherlands Political Agent, were despatched on the following day in
the "Kienchang" to Ozaka bearing letters from the foreign
representatives. The "Bouncer" was to have taken our people, but her
commander was not able to get up steam in time, so that the French flag
alone made its appearance at the bar of Ozaka. First point scored by the
French. M. Mermet had ingeniously prepared the French's minister's
letter in Japanese, inserting at the end a long paragraph, which did not
appear in the other three letters, empowering himself to state in
outline to the Tycoon's council the objects of the foreign
representatives, hoping thus to become the spokesman for all four.
On arriving at the mouth of the river, they were met by the two
governors of the city (all officials were kept in duplicate in those
days), who conducted them to a building close at hand, evidently
prepared beforehand for their reception. On learning that M. Mermet and
his companions desired to have a personal interview with one of the
council, the governors started off immediately to fetch him, as they
said, promising that he should be down by four o'clock. In the meantime
Macdonald, Siebold and Hegt started off to walk to Ozaka, intending to
seek out the ministers there, but after wandering a long distance, they
found themselves at three o'clock only just in sight of the city, and
had to hurry back in a boat. The governors, however, did more than keep
their promise, and instead of one, produced two of the council, namely
Ogasawara Iki no Kami and Abé Bungo no Kami. The letters were delivered
to them, and they listened civilly and even affably to the messages
which Mermet and Macdonald delivered, but were unprepared of course to
give any answer. It was agreed, however, that Abé should proceed to
Hiôgo on the 9th to meet the four representatives on board the "Princess
Royal," as sole negotiator on behalf of the Tycoon, who, it was stated,
had gone up to Kiôto. For me had been reserved the less glorious task of
opening up communications with the local officials, and in company with
Captain W. G. Jones I went ashore to talk about beef, water, coals, and
other ship's requirements. We also informed them that the officers would
land, and requested that the townspeople might be ordered to treat them
with civility. This they promised to do, but added that their duty to
their chiefs, the governors of Ozaka, would oblige them to detail one or
two constables to watch over the safety of each party. After we had
conversed awhile with the head constable, a young man of 19 or 20, some
higher officials made their appearance and assumed the power. They
promised to do everything we asked, and to help their memories made very
full notes. In the afternoon accordingly, leave to go ashore was given
to all the ships, and many of the officers availed themselves of the
opportunity of visiting what was then a _terra incognita_ to most
Europeans. The Admiral, Sir Harry and myself walked from one end of the
town to the other, and found the inhabitants well-disposed, though they
followed us in crowds.
This was a very different reception from what the Tycoon's officers had
warned us to expect. They always talked to us of the hostility of the
_daimiôs_ and the dislike and fear of us entertained by the common
people, but we met with nothing but indications of goodwill from all
classes. It became clearer to us every day that the Shôgunate feared
lest free communication between foreigners and those sections of the
Japanese people who were outside its direct control would impair the
authority of the institutions that had now lasted, with no small benefit
to the Tokugawa family, for the last 260 years, and that consequently it
could not be a desirable policy for Great Britain to endeavour to
bolster up a decaying power. As an instance of the manner in which the
Tycoon's officials endeavoured to obstruct intercourse, it may be
mentioned that they published a notification in Ozaka forbidding the
townspeople to visit the ships, knowing full well that a closer
acquaintance would make their subjects and foreigners better friends.
The next few days were spent in exploring the neighbourhood with a view
to selecting a site for a foreign settlement, and there was a good deal
of running up and down to Ozaka by sea with messages for the council.
Abé was not able to come on Thursday, and at first it was held out that
another member of the council would replace him, but when the day
arrived, the two governors of Ozaka made their appearance with other
excuses. Sir Harry spoke very strongly to them, and insisted on seeing
some one on Saturday at the latest. But as he did not expect that his
request would be complied with, he despatched Siebold, Hegt and myself
early in the morning to Ozaka. On approaching the anchorage, however, we
saw a Japanese steamer coming from the opposite direction, and lowering
a boat we went on board. We found that she was conveying Abé Bungo no
Kami to Hiôgo to see the foreign ministers. It was arranged therefore
that Siebold should return with him, while Hegt and I went on with a
couple of officials lent to us by Abé. But as soon as we anchored these
men began to be obstructive, refusing to accompany us on shore until the
port officers had first visited the ship. Seeing, however, that we were
determined to go, without them if necessary, they at last stepped over
the side into the boat with a very bad grace indeed. We rowed in safely
in the ship's gig, with four bluejackets well-armed, over the bar, which
a few days before had been rendered impassable by a strong west wind,
and landed in a small creek behind the battery at Tempôzan Point. We at
once took possession of a house where Macdonald and Siebold had lodged
on their last visit, disregarding the excuses of the officials, who said
it was occupied by a sick person, but we were used to such subterfuges,
and of course there was no sick man there at all. After a while we
returned to the gig, and rowing up the river in half-an-hour, reached
the outskirts of the city, where we landed to inspect a house that had
been assigned for the accommodation of the foreign representatives. The
latter intended to negotiate in Ozaka itself, but this idea was
subsequently abandoned. As this one house was evidently not large enough
for the representatives and their suites, I said I would go to the
governor and ask him to provide other accommodation. The officials
became alarmed at this, and at once offered to show us another house, to
which they would take us in a boat. As we wished to see something of the
city, I declined this proposal, and to their horror we proceeded to walk
along the bank. A dense crowd of people gathered round us, but they were
very quiet, and after passing the Ajikawa-bashi, the first of the series
of bridges that span the river right up to the castle, we were shown a
temple which, however, proved to be again insufficient for our needs. It
being clear that our guides were not animated by goodwill, I again
menaced them with a visit to the governor, but here they became utterly
obstinate, and I had to give way. So we returned to our gig, and
resolving to have a good look at the city, got on board and started to
row up stream.
Before long we reached a barrier composed of native boats moored right
across from bank to bank, with the evident intention of impeding our
further progress. Some officials in a guardhouse on the bank shouted to
us to go back, but we pushed straight ashore, and I ascended the steps
to demand the reason of this obstruction. Orders from the governor was
the reply. A somewhat heated altercation ensued, and I demanded that
either we should be allowed to pass or that I should at once be
conducted to the governor's house. At last they gave way and removed one
or two of the junks, leaving just enough space for our gig. Taking one
of the guardhouse officials on board, we proceeded up the river, not a
little proud of our victory over the bumbledom of a city of 400,000
people, and fully determined to go right up to the castle. Dense crowds
of people collected on the bridges, sometimes yelling and abusing us,
now and then throwing stones. Hegt began to lose his temper, and drawing
his revolver, threatened to fire, but I made him put it back in his
pouch. We were in no danger, and could not afford to commit murder for
such a trifling reason.
At last, after grounding once or twice on the sandbanks, we reached the
Kiô-bashi just below the castle. On our left was a small boat full of
officials who called to us to come and report ourselves, while on the
right extended a grassy bank crowded with soldiers dressed in
semi-European costume, among whom were a few men in plain dress,
apparently noblemen's retainers. One of these came down to the water's
edge, close to which we had approached, and shouted out to the Japanese
who was with us for his name and office. Our man replied: "Who are you?"
and they wrangled for about five minutes, while we kept a watchful eye
on the straggling soldiery. But it was clearly unadvisable to land in
the midst of a hostile armed crowd, and we reluctantly turned the boat's
head down stream, which now carried us swiftly along. The same crowds
still occupied the bridges, and shouted abusive epithets as we passed,
to the great alarm of the Japanese official, who had not got over Hegt's
fierce demeanour on the way up, and trembled for fear lest there should
be a row. Landing the poor fellow, whose tone had become remarkably
fainter and humbler since he first made our acquaintance in the morning,
we pulled out across the bar to the "Bouncer," and in a few minutes more
were on our way back to Hiôgo, having seen a good deal more of Ozaka
than any one else, and braved the wrath of multitudinous _yakunins_. I
began to feel contempt for the weak-kneed officials who so easily
allowed themselves to be browbeaten by a few Europeans.
A curious rencontre took place during our stay at Hiôgo. A Satsuma
steamer was lying in the port, and one day the captain, Arigawa Yakurô,
came on board the flagship with some of his officers. One of them
remembered having seen me at Kagoshima, and we immediately fraternized
very heartily. After drinking and smoking a good deal they took leave,
promising to send a boat for me next day to accompany them ashore to a
Japanese dinner. But they forgot their promise. The day after my
expedition to Ozaka, Siebold and I went on board Arigawa's ship to find
him on the point of weighing anchor. He was very glad to see us,
abounded in apologies for being unable to fulfil his engagement to give
an _onna gochisô_, and showed us the cabin that had been fitted up for
the entertainment. This gentleman was too civil by half, but still the
contrast to the "offishness" of the Tycoon's officials was very
agreeable. If I would like to visit Kagoshima and Loochoo he would be
glad to give me a passage. We passed some time on board eating raw eggs
and drinking _saké_. I rather think I here met Kawamura for the first
time. A few days later when the steamer returned I again went on board
and made an even more interesting acquaintance. This was a big burly
man, with small, sparkling black eyes, who was lying down in one of the
berths. His name, they said, was Shimadzu Sachiû, and I noticed that he
had the scar of a sword cut on one of his arms. Many months afterwards I
met him again, this time under his real name of Saigô Kichinosuké. I
shall have more to say of him hereafter.
Abé Bungo no Kami had a _five hours'_ interview with Sir Harry on the
10th, after which he went on board the "Guerrière" to see Mr. Roches,
the French envoy. I learnt from Siebold that the conversation had not
been of a satisfactory character. His answer to the three propositions
of the representatives amounted to a _non possumus_. The Tycoon would
pay up the second instalment of the indemnity rather than run the risk
of incurring unpopularity by giving way to our demands. _Jin-shin
fu-ori-ai_, the popular mind very unsettled, was the excuse then, and
for many a day after. Sir Harry had given Abé a piece of his mind, and
said he had better return to his colleagues and get them to reconsider
their answer.
On the 13th he was to have come down again, but feigning indisposition
as an excuse (this is well-known in Japan under the name of _yaku-biô_,
official sickness), he sent a member of the second council, Tachibana
Idzumo no Kami, to inform the representatives that the Tycoon had
hitherto never spoken to the Mikado about acknowledging the treaties,
but that now he had made up his mind to do so. But he required a delay
of fifteen days for this purpose. The ministers up to this moment had
believed, on the faith of assurances given by the Tycoon's council in
1864 after the Shimonoséki business, that the Mikado had long ago been
approached on this subject, and that Abé himself had been entrusted with
a mission to Kiôto to that effect. They were therefore naturally both
surprised and incensed, but consented to a delay of ten days. The
prospects of the negotiation looked very dark indeed. The Tycoon seemed
either unable or unwilling to obtain the Mikado's sanction to the
treaties, and it began to be thought that we should have to throw him
over entirely. If the Tycoon was controlled by a superior authority, he
was clearly not the proper person for foreign Powers to deal with, who
must insist upon direct communication with the authority. For the
present, however, it was too early to talk of going to see the Mikado
against his will. We had not sufficient men in the allied squadrons to
force a way up to Kiôto, and even if we had, Sir Harry's instructions
would not have enabled him to take such a step. So there was nothing for
it but to wait.
An interesting visit was that of some retainers of Aidzu and Hosokawa,
who came on board privately to talk politics and to pick up what
information they could for their own princes. The former was the
commander of the Tycoon's garrison in Kiôto, the latter one of the more
important _daimiôs_ in the island of Kiûshiû, nominally a partizan of
the Tycoon, but already beginning to consider whether it would not suit
him better to go over to the other party. For by this time a definite
issue had been raised between the Tycoon and the court of the Mikado.
The former being the friend of foreigners and an usurping vassal, the
war cry of the latter was "serve the sovereign and expel the
barbarians." My visitors talked a great deal about the "unsettled state
of popular feeling." They said the Mikado had already given his sanction
to the treaties in a general sort of way, and had consented to Nagasaki,
Hakodaté and Shimoda being opened to foreign trade. But Kanagawa had
been substituted for the latter port without his approval. They felt
quite certain that the Mikado would not agree at present to the
establishment of foreign merchants at Hiôgo. They maintained that the
anti-foreign feeling was pretty general among the people, but admitted
that Chôshiû made use of it as a mere party cry with the object of
dispossessing the Tycoon of his power.
After an interval of five days Tachibana paid Sir Harry another visit.
He reported that the Tycoon had not yet started for Kiôto to obtain the
Mikado's ratification of the treaties, being detained at Ozaka by a
headache! Abé and Ogasawara were afflicted with indisposition which
prevented their having the pleasure of coming down to call on the
British minister. Sir Harry administered some home-truths to the
unfortunate prevaricator, and demonstrated very clearly to him that as
the council acknowledged the inability of the Tycoon to carry out the
treaty stipulations in respect of the opening of new ports without the
Mikado's consent, which they had little hope of obtaining and still less
desire to get, they must eventually go to the wall, and the foreign
Powers would be compelled to make a demand for the ratification direct
on the Mikado. It was pitiable to see the shifts that the Tycoon's
officials were put to in face of his merciless logic; they were
perpetually being driven into a corner and left without a leg to stand
on.
The demands presented by the foreign representatives had created a
considerable movement at Kiôto, and dissension followed among the
advisers of the Tycoon. In a few days we heard that Abé and Matsumai
Idzu no Kami had been dismissed from office. They were believed to be in
favour of accepting our demands, and their disgrace seemed to threaten
the failure of the negotiations. The representatives thereupon resolved
on the important step of addressing a _note identique_ to the Tycoon
himself, containing a repetition of the demands already made, and
warning him that if an answer were not made within the period of ten
days originally fixed, it would be assumed by them that their
propositions were refused. M. Mermet and I went ashore together to
deliver the letters of our respective chiefs, and I learnt that the
indefatigable little man had translated the French copy into Japanese
and induced his minister to sign the translation. He had also addressed
it to the council, instead of to the Tycoon, though he told me
otherwise. On our arrival at the governor's house, he wrapped it in a
sheet of Japanese paper, in order that I might not see the address, but
the officials who received the Notes, of whom I afterwards inquired,
voluntarily assured me that it was addressed to the council at Ozaka.
What Mermet's object can have been I was not able to conjecture, and it
is probable that he did it merely to keep his hand in. It is a dangerous
thing for an habitual intriguer to get out of practice by acting
straightforwardly, even in unimportant matters. We learnt that the
Tycoon had presented a memorial to the Mikado urging him to ratify the
treaties as well for his own sake as for that of the nation in general.
That on its being refused, he had resolved to return to Yedo, but was
stopped by an order from the court before he had got half-way to Ozaka.
The dismissal of the pro-foreign members of the council seemed to
forebode resistance and the probable outbreak of hostilities. Japanese
steamers lying at Ozaka got up steam and went off in every direction,
some passing through Hiôgo on their way. Siebold and I pulled on board
one of these which belonged to Satsuma, and learnt that she was going
off to Yura in Kishiû in order to be out of the way in case the Mikado
should issue such orders to the Tycoon as might result in war-like
measures being taken by the allied squadron. On the 24th, the last day,
notice was given to the governor of Hiôgo that the ships would move on
the morrow to Ozaka to await there the answer of the Tycoon's
government. From him we learnt that Ogasawara would surely be down next
day with the reply, but as had already happened so often in the course
of these negotiations, he was ill, and Matsudaira Hôki no Kami took his
place. The interview with the foreign representatives lasted several
hours, but the gist of it was that the Tycoon had at last obtained the
Mikado's consent to the treaties, by his own urgent representations,
backed by those of his cousin Shitotsubashi, who declared (so it was
said) that he would perform disembowelment unless the Mikado yielded. At
last the latter gave way, saying "Well, speak to the nobles of my court
about it." The opening of Hiôgo was, however, to be still deferred until
January 1, 1868, but the tariff would be revised, and the remaining
instalments of the indemnity paid punctually. Thus the foreign
representatives had obtained two out of the three conditions, and those
the most important, while giving up nothing in return. It must, however,
be acknowledged that the payment of the indemnity was never completed by
the Tycoon, and survived the revolution to be a constant source of
irritation and ill-feeling between the Mikado's government and the
British minister.
Hôki no Kami, on leaving the "Princess Royal," promised that a note
embodying these arrangements should be sent off in the course of the
evening. But as it had to be sent up to Ozaka to receive the signatures
of his two remaining colleagues, the document did not reach us before
half-past two in the morning. I sat up till that hour in expectation of
its arrival, and was called into the cabin to read it to Sir Harry and
M. Roches, and then make a translation. The Mikado's decree to his
vizier the Kwambaku delegating the conduct of foreign affairs to the
Tycoon, a short document of only three lines, was enclosed in it. At Sir
Harry's request Hôki no Kami added an engagement to promulgate the
decree throughout the country. It was a proud night for me when I
displayed my knowledge of written Japanese in the presence of the French
minister, whose interpreter, M. Mermet, even could not read a document
without the assistance of his teacher.
Thus successfully ended the negotiations which up to the day before
showed no signs of fruit. The foreign representatives had to
congratulate themselves on having secured the means of tranquillizing
the country, while at the same time consolidating the relations between
the Japanese people and foreign nations. The opening of Hiôgo on the 1st
January 1866 was a concession which few people had been sanguine enough
to expect, but something had been secured which was of more immediate
value, namely the solemn reiterated promise of the council to adhere to
the London agreement of 1862. It was hoped also on good grounds that Sir
Rutherford's convention of the previous October would also be carried
out in its entirety. At dinner the following evening the Admiral made a
speech, proposing Sir Harry's health and giving to him the whole credit
of the success achieved. He replied by disclaiming any merit, and
attributing a far greater share of the achievement to M. Roches; "but
after all," he added, "it was you who did it, Admiral, for without you
and your magnificent ship, we should not have made the slightest
impression."
On our return to Yokohama we found that the wildest rumours had been
flying about. The United States Chargé d'Affaires, Portman, was said to
have been killed, and Sir Harry taken prisoner, while Siebold and myself
were also reported to have fallen martyrs to the cause. The "Japan
Times," a newspaper conducted by Charles Rickerby, affected to pooh-pooh
the whole affair, and denied the authenticity of the Mikado's decree,
which, he said, ought to have been covered with seals. I wrote a letter
to his paper, controverting his arguments, but without convincing him.
There was one point about it, however, that escaped notice at the time,
namely that the existing treaties were not explicitly sanctioned. All
that the Mikado had given was a general authority to conclude treaties
with foreign countries, and he had added a rider enjoining on the Tycoon
the cancellation of the undertaking to open Hiôgo and Ozaka to trade.
This, however, was carefully concealed from the foreign representatives,
and we only came to know of it later. But without seeing it, no one
could have guessed that the document represented to the foreign
ministers to be the Mikado's sanction to the existing treaties had not
that meaning, because of the absence of the definite article in
Japanese. In English it makes a great deal of difference whether you say
"the treaties are sanctioned," or simply "treaties are sanctioned," but
in Japanese the same form of expression does for both, and we had no
ground for suspecting the Tycoon's ministers of taking refuge in an
ambiguity in order to play a trick on us and to gain time.