RECEPTION OF FOREIGN MINISTERS BY THE TYCOON
ON our return to Yedo we were horrified to learn of the death by his own
hand of poor Vidal, the junior student interpreter. No motive was
assignable for the terrible act, except ill-health. Insane he certainly
was not. A more lucid intellect it would be difficult to find. He had
abilities of a very high order, but was a prey to a torpid liver, which
seemed always to embitter his existence. His first nomination was to
Siam, but before he had taken up his appointment he was transferred to
Peking. After a year or two there, finding the climate did not suit him,
he obtained a change to Japan. But even there he was not content with
his lot, and preferred annihilation.
The next few days were spent in visiting Atami and Hakoné in company
with some friends from Yokohama. There is nothing worthy of record about
this excursion, except that Atami, which then contained only a couple of
hotels, now (1887) possesses at least a dozen, and has become a
fashionable winter resort, much frequented by the higher classes living
in Tôkiô (Yedo). The cost of transport then was much less than it would
be now. We paid the coolies who carried our baggage over to Hakoné, a
distance of about ten miles, 1-3/4 _ichibus_, about 2 shillings and 4d
per man. At that time there existed a barrier at the eastern end of the
village, at which all travellers had to exhibit their passports to the
men on guard. The notice-board at the guardhouse, among other
provisions, stated that dead bodies, wounded persons, and individuals of
suspicious aspect were not allowed to proceed without the production of
a passport. A lady of our party accomplished the difficult feat of
riding on a Japanese pony down the steep and badly paved road which
descends from the top of the pass to Odawara. We established ourselves
in the official inn, where we were received with due respect and
cordiality by the innkeeper. It was a one-storied building spread over a
considerable area, and containing ten or fifteen rooms of the regulation
size, namely 12 feet square, besides a huge kitchen and an entrance
hall. Here we passed the night, and on the following day Noguchi
procured for us packhorses and coolies at the government rates, which
were 1 horse load 464 cash, 1 coolie load 233 cash, for a distance of
ten miles. Now 6600 cash were equal to one _riô_, that is four
_ichibus_, or at par rates about 5s 4d, so that the official rate for
the coolie was about two and a fifth pence for the whole distance or a
little over the 1/5 of a penny per mile. The coolies were obliged to
perform the labour as corvée, and if they were not in sufficient number,
the population of the post towns had to hire men at ordinary rates to
let them out at the government tariff. It was a heavy tax, and one of
the first reforms of the new government established after the revolution
was the abolition of this system. At Hodogaya I parted from the rest of
the party, who returned to Yokohama, and went on to Kanagawa, where I
slept at the _hon-jin_ or official hotel, occupying the best rooms,
which were reserved for _daimiôs_ and high officials of the government.
I rode in a _kago_ or palanquin from Hodogaya, just five miles, and was
two hours accomplishing that short distance. It was, however, the
ordinary rate of travelling in those days. One of the native legation
guard went ahead, also in a _kago_, preceded by a big bamboo and paper
lantern on a pole, then came my _kago_, followed by a coolie carrying my
baggage in a couple of wicker boxes slung on a pole (_riô-gaké_), and a
second guardsman. Noguchi probably walked. Next morning when I came to
discharge the bill for my whole party, including rooms, _saké_ and
_sakana_, supper and breakfast, I found it amounted to about 8s 6d, and
I gave one _ichibu_ (say 1s 4d) to the hotelkeeper as _cha-dai_ or tea
money, which was considered quite enough. In Japan the charge for a
night's lodging, called _hatago_, used to include everything, rice, tea,
sleeping accommodation, fuel, candles, and use of the hot bath. The only
extras were _saké_ and _sakana_, which a liberal-minded traveller
ordered "for the good of the house," but if he was of an economical
turn, he contented himself with the regular two meals, which were quite
enough to satisfy his appetite. _Sakana_ (fish) is more played with than
eaten, and is merely the excuse for _saké_. The comparison with a
European hotel bill, with its charges for candles, firing and bath, is
striking. Moreover, in Japan, you give no tips, for none are expected,
and the tea money takes the place of the charge for the room you occupy.
It was after my return from this journey that Mitford and I removed to a
little house outside the legation, situated in a pretty garden on the
rising ground which overhangs the side road leading from the Tôkaidô to
Sen-gaku-ji. It was in reality a small monastery named Monriô-In, and we
occupied the guest apartments, having each a bedroom and one sitting
room. No palisade surrounded it, and our only protection was a hut at
the gate which held three or four of the _betté-gumi_. We thought
ourselves very plucky in thus braving the risks of midnight
assassination, when the legation grounds below us were patrolled all
night, and sentries passed the word to each other as the hours struck.
Here we spent several months together, living entirely on Japanese food,
which was brought three times a day from a restaurant known as _Mansei_,
much frequented by our friends the Satsuma men.
Mitford devoted himself with unflagging diligence to the study of the
Japanese language, as he had before at Peking to that of the Chinese,
and made rapid progress. I began to compile for his use a series of
sentences and dialogues which some years afterwards were published under
the title of Kwai-wa Hen. It was convenient to be outside the legation
compound, because I could receive visits from the retainers of _daimiôs_
without obstruction. I used to go a good deal to the Satsuma _yashiki_
in Mita to get political information from two men named Shibayama
Riôsuké and Nambu Yahachirô; the former met his death towards the close
of the year in a remarkable manner. The _yashiki_, having gained evil
repute as the refuge of a number of _rônin_ and other disorderly
political characters, was surrounded and set on fire by the Shôgun's
police. There was a fight, many were killed, but Shibayama was made
prisoner. When brought up for examination, he boldly avowed that he had
been the ringleader, and then drawing a pistol from the bosom of his
dress, shot himself through the head. He was a capital companion, and I
had more than one agreeable adventure with him.
Towards the middle of April the foreign diplomatic representatives moved
in a body down to Ozaka. The French Minister, M. Roches, had already
been there in March in furtherance of the special line of policy he was
pursuing, and seen the Shôgun; doubtless promises of support had been
given; at any rate, counsel had been offered. In fact, as it afterwards
turned out, M. Roches so far committed himself with the _Baku-fu_ that
he found it impossible to remain one day longer in Japan after its final
overthrow. On our side Sir Harry Parkes was resolved henceforth to treat
the Shôgun as of no more importance than a vice-gerent; henceforward he
was styled by us His Highness, while for the Queen we used a Japanese
title placing her on full equality with the Mikado.
Sir Harry took with him to Ozaka the mounted escort under Captain
Applin, and a detachment of 50 men from the 2/ix, commanded by Captain
Daunt and Lieutenant Bradshaw. Lady Parkes was also of the party. The
staff consisted of the secretary of legation, Sidney Locock, Mitford,
myself (I was acting Japanese secretary), Willis, Aston and Wilkinson.
We had persuaded Sir Harry to let Charles Wirgman come with us. We
numbered about seventy Europeans, besides some thirty Chinese and
Japanese, writers, servants and grooms. The Tycoon's government
furnished all the fresh supplies required. Great offence was caused by
this exclusive privilege, and Rickerby in the "Japan Times" poured out
his wrath upon the head of our friend the artist. It was perhaps not an
unreasonable complaint from their point of view that no representatives
of the mercantile community were invited to accompany the foreign
ministers, but it is quite certain that they would have been very much
in the way.
The British Legation occupied four spacious temples or monasteries at
the further end of a street called Tera-machi, the other representatives
being accommodated in perhaps somewhat inferior buildings nearer to its
entrance. But the British Minister had taken the trouble to send down
two of his staff beforehand to make all the arrangements, while the
others were ready to be contented with what was provided for them by the
Japanese Government. Mitford, Wirgman and I occupied one end of a temple
(Chô-hô-ji) overlooking the city, while at the other end were Sir
Harry's "office" and the temporary chancery. The whole mission messed
together in the temple on the other side of the street, where Sir Harry
and Lady Parkes had their abode. Next door was a temple given up to the
officers of the guard and two student interpreters, and the fourth was
set apart for guests. I had a charming set of rooms on three floors. The
bottom was occupied by the Japanese writers and my retainers, the centre
floor, consisting of two rooms, served as a bedroom and "office," and
the top was a sort of parlour where I received guests, only twelve feet
by nine, but large enough to accommodate a dozen persons, as it did not
contain a single piece of furniture.
It was a busy time. I was employed from morning till night translating
and interpreting, and remember that on one occasion I had to talk
Japanese for eleven successive hours, as the chief had Japanese guests
both at luncheon and dinner. For this reason I found no time to keep my
journal, and what follows is a pure effort of memory, aided only as far
as the dates are concerned by reference to printed sources.
A great part of our time was taken up with the regulations under which
settlements were to be formed at Hiôgo and Ozaka, the conditions under
which land was to be leased to foreigners, and the creation of a
municipality at each place, and Sir Harry being the most practical man
among the whole body of foreign representatives, the work fell in the
main on his shoulders. The Japanese Government were evidently desirous
of conciliating the representatives, and the negotiations proceeded with
unaccustomed smoothness and celerity. No more angry discussions and
heated arguments (in which the heat and anger of our chief were opposed
to the stolid calm of the imperturbable Japanese Ministers) such as had
characterized our official interviews at Yedo. At the word of the new
Shôgun an entirely new line had been adopted, and a serious endeavour
was made to convert the treaty of friendship into a reality.
Then we had visits from Satsuma, Awa and Uwajima men, and tried to
ascertain what was likely to be the out-turn of the political movement
that had been in progress now for thirteen years. But on the whole
everything seemed to point to the triumph of the Shôgun over his
opponents. And one of the principal objects with which he had invited
the foreign ministers to Ozaka was that he might make their personal
acquaintance, and thus manifest his desire to cultivate friendly
relations with foreign countries. Who put this into his head I do not
know, but it does not seem _á priori_ unlikely that a closer intimacy
with the legations had been suggested to him by one of the
representatives themselves. A good deal of time was consumed in
discussing the etiquette to be observed at the audiences of the Shôgun,
but in the end it was arranged that it should be entirely according to
European fashion. The first interview was a private one. Sir Harry
proceeded to the castle on horseback, accompanied by all the members of
the mission, preceded by the mounted escort, and with a detachment of
the infantry guard before and behind. A cloud of the Japanese guard
called _betté-gumi_ hovered on our flanks and kept back the crowd. A
rather ludicrous incident was the presentation of arms by the soldiers
who lined the open space in front of the castle to the officer in
command of the escort, whose resplendent uniform had led them to mistake
him for the minister. At the nearer end of the causeway crossing the
moat there used to stand a wooden board inscribed with the Chinese
characters for "alight from horseback," but as had been agreed upon
beforehand, we took no notice of this and passed on through the gateway
to the very door of the palace. If I recollect rightly, this was almost
close to the gate. The palace unfortunately exists no longer, having
been destroyed by fire during the retreat of the defeated _Baku-fu_
forces early in February 1868. But it was reputed to be the most
splendid example of domestic architecture then extant in Japan. It
certainly was far superior to the Mikado's Palace at Kiôto. Wide and
lofty matted corridors, partitioned off by painted screens, of choice
cryptomeria wood, ran along the front of a succession of large rooms and
away to the right by the side of the three large apartments constituting
the _ôbiroma_ or hall of audience. The other apartments had each a
specific name, and the _daimiôs_ were classified according to their
right of waiting in one or the other for their turn of admission to the
presence. Over these wooden screens were large panels of carved wood
representing birds and animals surrounded by foliage, but somewhat too
richly painted, very much in the style familiar to those who have
visited the mausoleum of Iyéyasu at Nikkô.
We were conducted along the matted corridor by the Commissioners for
Foreign Affairs, who had some difficulty in walking, as the court rules
prescribed their wearing long wide trousers that extended far beyond
their feet, so as to give them the appearance of moving on their knees,
until we reached the further room, where the Shôgun was awaiting us. He
shook hands with Sir Harry, and sat down at the head of a long table,
with Sir Harry on his right and on his left Itakura Iga no Kami, who
might be styled Prime Minister. The rest of the staff sat next to Sir
Harry, and I had a stool between him and the Shôgun. He was one of the
most aristocratic-looking Japanese I have ever seen, of fair complexion,
with a high forehead and well-cut nose--such a gentleman. I felt
somewhat nervous, not knowing whether I had got hold of the forms of
speech required by court etiquette, and remember making a ridiculous
blunder over an observation of Sir Harry's that all that was
disagreeable in the past relations of Great Britain and Japan was now
forgotten. There was no business talk on this occasion, and after the
conversation was over, the whole company adjourned to a smaller
apartment where dinner was served in European style. The Shôgun sat at
the head of the table, and was very gracious. Round the walls hung
paintings of the thirty-six poets, and Sir Harry having admired them,
the Shôgun made him a present of one. Whiskey and water were produced
after the repast, and I had the honour of brewing toddy for the great
man. It was dark when we left.
A few days later there was a formal audience, at which the captains of
the men-of-war were presented. We had arranged beforehand the address of
Sir Harry and the reply of the Shôgun, who had been tutored also into
saying a few words to each person presented to him. These somewhat
resembled the Turkish Pasha's remarks as translated by the dragoman at
the famous interview described in _Eothen_. To Captain Haswell, who had
been on a polar expedition, for instance, he said what really amounted
to "you had a long journey," but was interpreted in much more
complimentary style.
I remember receiving a visit from Saigô and others of that party, who
were not at all pleased at the _rapprochement_ between us and the
Shôgun. I hinted to Saigô that the chance of a revolution was not to be
lost. If Hiôgo were once opened, then good-bye to the chances of the
_daimiôs_.
The street in which the foreign representatives lodged was shut in at
each end by solid wooden gates, at which a number of the _betté-gumi_
were stationed on guard day and night, and it was impossible to get out
into the city without an escort, as the guard had instructions to follow
us wherever we went. This was very irksome to Mitford and myself, until
we found out a gap in the wall which surrounded one of the temples, and
from that time we used to make nocturnal excursions to all parts of the
town, accompanied by my retainer Noguchi. The sense of a certain peril
to be encountered, combined with a sort of truant schoolboy feeling,
rendered these explorations into the night life of Japan very enjoyable.
On one occasion young Matsuné joined us on an expedition to the quarter
occupied by singing and dancing girls; it was a moonlight night, and the
chance of detection by the guard was so much the greater. After getting
through our gap, we doubled back, and passing behind the legations, got
into a lower street running parallel to that in which we lived, where we
ran along for some distance keeping close in the shadow of the houses,
then darted into another street at right angles, turned to the right
again until we felt sure of having baffled any possible pursuers, after
which we walked on quietly, and crossing one of the long bridges over
the river, found ourselves at our destination. A room had been taken in
Matsuné's name, and some of the bepowdered and berouged girls were
awaiting the arrival of the Japanese party they had expected to meet,
when to their surprise and horror three Europeans were ushered into
their midst. We were at that time objects of more alarm than interest to
the women of Ozaka. The fair damsels starting up with a scream fairly
ran away, and no assurances from our friend would induce them to return.
The keeper of the house besought us to leave, as a crowd might collect,
and if there was any disturbance he would get into trouble, and so we
had to submit to our disappointment. But even the slight glimpse we had
of the native beauties seemed to compensate for the risk run, for here
in Ozaka no foreigner had ever been admitted to the quarter. On another
occasion, when we were accompanied by some of the guard we had better
success, and enjoyed the society of some gei-shas for several hours, the
government officials having given their consent and even interfered, I
believe, on our behalf. Matsuné, being a _daimiô's_ man, was looked on
with much suspicion. It seemed a plucky thing on his part to spend so
much time with us, and even to accompany us in broad daylight to the
tea-gardens opposite to where the Mint now stands. Everything was new
and delightful in Ozaka, politics and diplomacy afforded unceasing
interest and excitement, the streets, shops, theatres and temples were
full of life and character of a kind thoroughly distinct from what we
were accustomed to in Yedo and Yokohama, and the difference of dialect
and costume imparted additional piquancy to the women.
During the whole five weeks we spent there we had not a single dull day.
There was always something to do in the intervals of our official work,
visits to temples and theatres, tea-drinking according to the elaborate
ceremonial of the _cha-no-yu_, an excursion to the large commercial town
of Sakai, the existence of which in such close proximity to Ozaka seems
hard to explain. Near our residence was a florist's establishment,
famous for its collection of orchids, which in Japan are cultivated more
for their foliage than for their flowers; this taste is conditioned by
the fact that in Loochoo, China and Japan there are very few species
bearing conspicuous or fine blossoms, and the amateur makes the best of
what is procurable. More attractive to the European was the exhibition
of tree-peonies, which was going on during our stay. These flowers are
now fashionable in England, but at that time were not much known; the
magnificent pink or white blossoms of various shades, often as much as
nine inches in diameter, are quite unsurpassable, and fully justify the
Chinese title of "king of flowers." In Chinese and Japanese decorative
art it is always associated with the lion, and has often been mistaken
for the rose by European writers. _Curio_ shops and silk stores also
took up a good deal of our time, but the fabrics of the loom had not
then attained the high artistic development of later years. We went
about the city in every direction, and though frequently encountering
men of the two-sworded class, never met with any instance of rudeness,
while the common people were uniformly friendly to us.
The negotiations between the foreign representatives and the delegates
of the Japanese Government proceeded satisfactorily though somewhat
slowly, and about the middle of May had reached a stage at which it was
felt that nothing more could be done for the present. All the ministers,
therefore, made their preparations for returning to Yedo. Before leaving
that part of the country Sir Harry made a trip across to Tsuruga, which
had been talked of as a possible substitute for the port of Niigata,
reported to be practically closed to commerce for one half of the year
by the combined inconveniences of a bar at the mouth of the river on
which it stands, and the persistent north-west gales that raise a most
dangerous sea. It had been agreed between us and the Japanese that as a
supplementary refuge for ships the harbour of Ebisuminato in the island
of Sado should be opened if necessary, but only as an anchorage. If
after an inspection of these two places the combined arrangement should
appear unworkable, then some other port was to be substituted, either
Tsuruga or Nanao. Sir Harry was accompanied by Lady Parkes and some of
the staff. He proceeded by way of Fushimi, along the western side of the
Biwa Lake, and returning by the eastern shore. The anti-Shôgun party
made a great grievance of this journey, and fell foul of the government
for having permitted the "barbarians" to approach so near to the sacred
capital, Fushimi being practically a suburb of Kiôto, and the Satsuma
people put in a written memorial on the subject, more to annoy the
Tycoon's government than as a mark of real hostility to us. Of course we
did not know of this until long after. I obtained leave to return to
Yedo overland, and Wirgman became my travelling companion.
A proposal was made to Sir Harry by the Tycoon's government through
Kawakatsu Omi no Kami to procure professors for English for a large
public school to be established in Yedo on the basis of the existing
Kaiseijo. Dr Temple was asked by Her Majesty's Government to furnish a
sufficient staff at salaries which we in the legation thought quite
adequate, but he took no trouble about the matter, and we thus lost the
opportunity of giving an English turn to the higher class education of
the country.