Japanese Memories | Page 2

the Daimyos after the death of lyeyasu. No
words can describe the beauty of these trees, with their dark foliage and
deep shade, through which fairy gleams of light play between the
branches.
When the Daimyos passed along the roads the route was cleared and no
human being was permitted to show himself. These feudal lords were
considered too great for mortal eyes to behold, and if by chance anyone
met a Daimyo's procession, it was expected that he would immediately
conceal himself behind the trees or bushes on pain of a prompt order of
" Off with his head! " In every house along the road the doors and
windows had all to be closed. The wives of the Daimyos resided mostly
in Tokio, by the Shogun's orders, being kept there more or less as
hostages.
Gradually the rule of the Shogun became quite unbearable. He had
taken complete control of the Government, and never consulted the
Emperor; he had collected an enormous military circle round him in
Tokio, and by various large payments had induced merchants and men
of all professions and crafts to settle there. His influence appears to

have spread to the Samurai, who also by degrees got entire control over
the Daimyos, since the latter, living in complete seclusion, took
scarcely any exercise and were rarely seen or spoken to. Consequently
they became physically and mentally weakened, until they were quite
unfit to rule and unable to think or act for themselves. In spite of the
power the Samurai exercised they still did obeisance to their lord, and
always prostrated themselves in his presence. But they forced him to
say and do all they demanded, and held his purse so tightly that he did
not even know the extent of his wealth and possessions. They gave
gifts in his name without his knowledge, except when the time came
for him to be thanked. They built and enlarged his houses, and
managed his affairs so completely that he himself became in the course
of time merely a figure-head. As the Japanese idea of true dignity and
greatness is a stoical endurance of pain and sorrow with no outward
show of feelings, the Daimyo's face had under all circumstances to be
entirely expressionless.
It is with the Province of Satsuma, in the South, that my reminiscences
are chiefly concerned. This was one of the most important of the
Provinces, whose Daimyo is said to have been formerly the richest and
most powerful of all the barons; the ratio of his vassals among the
population having been calculated at twentyfive per cent, as against
five per cent, of the other Provinces. The inhabitants of Satsuma are
fighting men of a typical seafaring kind, exceptionally strong in
physique, who may be compared with an English type such as Charles
Kingsley graphically described in " Westward Ho! " and other novels. "
Rough diamonds " in plenty are to be found among them, besides an
endless array of brilliant leaders and commanders in both Services.
Among the soldiers I may mention the great Commander-in-Chief,
Oyama, Nozu, Kiroki, etc.; and among naval men, the famous Togo
(the Nelson of Japan), and countless well-known Admirals and
Commanders. There is, in fact, an old saying among the men of
Satsuma that if Japan were valued at one hundred pounds their
Province would have to be estimated at half that price. So that,
historically speaking, the Province is exceptionally interesting one of
its most notable personalities having been the Daimyo Tokahiro
Shimadzu, ancestor of Prince Tadashige and his brothers.

It was in Kagoshima, the capital of Satsuma, that the first service held
by missionaries in Japan took place in the sixteenth century. But the
Jesuits who had settled in the country, and more particularly in the
South, became so powerful that the men of Satsuma began to resent
their influence; and in consequence the door was gradually closed to all
foreigners, Japan isolated herself, and for many years no Englishman
could enter Satsuma, so prejudiced had the clan become against outside
interference.
Long afterwards, however, the men of Satsuma encountered the
English under very painful circumstances.
In 1863 Japan was in a ferment of unrest. The tyranny of the Shogun
was becoming unendurable, and the clans of Satsuma and Choshu (an
adjacent Province) conceived the notion of getting rid of the Shogun
and investing the Emperor with full authority. This was reported to the
Shogun and his adherents, and a large gathering of Daimyos was
convened to take counsel on this matter.
At the height of the excitement the Duke of Satsuma's procession was
passing along the road that led to Tokio, when a party of English
people, including a missionary, Mr. Richardson, unwittingly crossed
the path of the Daimyo and his retainers. They knew nothing